Red Flags, Red Herrings

[Haggridd]

No: HPFGUIDX 19080

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., dragonsbloodmoon at a... wrote:
> In a message dated 5/18/2001 12:47:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
> absinthe at m... writes:
> 
> 
> > Rowling leaves a number of clues in her books that foreshadow 
events 
> > (red flags) in the upcoming ones, for example Mrs. Figg.
> 
> I'm sorry if I missed something, but what's the significance of Mrs. 
Figg, 
> other than being Harry's baby-sitter when they Dursley's went 
somewhere.
> > 
> > THE SNEAKOSCOPE
> > When last we heard of it, it was in Harry's trunk (GoF)
> 
> Again, I think it was comic relief.
> 
 
> Toby
>

Toby,  Mrs. Figg has now been explicitly identified in GoF, as 
Arabella Figg, "one of the old crowd", and confirmed by JKR in an 
online chat as the babysitter.  She is no longer red flag or red 
herring.  In all liklihood she is a member of the Order of the 
Phoenix, function of which to be made explicit in Book V.

The sneakoscope was not by any means comic relief.  It was a red flag 
during PoA, in that its alarms were always discounted, even though 
they were true.  I personally feel that its utility now is somewhat 
less than that of polyjuice potion, which the majority of posters to 
this message board would rather not see in future books (I still think 
Snape will use it to become Barty Jr., nyah, nyah!)

Haggridd