Being Unreceptive to Owls, Kinds of Messages (WAS "Your Owl Will Find Me")

[Cindy C.]

No: HPFGUIDX 29877

Heather wrote:

> I think the theory that there is some way to block the owls is a 
good 
> one. However, I don't think it can just be not being receptive. 
Hermione 
> received Howlers and hate mail after Rita Skeeter's article about 
her 
> and Harry. She would be just as unreceptive to that as Harry would 
be to 
> fan mail. Likewise, no one would be receptive to Howlers. I don't 
have 
> my own theory, and something about this one appeals to me, but it 
needs 
> some tweaking. :)

And Megan:

>Dumbledore has said
> he gets letters every week as to the satisfaction of how he runs
> Hogwarts.  Hermione received "undesirable" hate mail post-Witch 
Weekly
> article.  >

Oh.  Howlers and bubotuber pus.  I completely forgot about that.

I think the theory isn't dead yet, though, although tweaking surely 
is in order.  The blocking/receptivity is based on the person sending 
the owl, not the substance of the package itself.  So Neville's 
grandmother can reach him any time, whether she is sending 
Rememberalls, howlers, or love notes because Neville hasn't decided 
to "block" owls from his grandmother.  

What I can't figure out is which makes more sense -- blocking or 
receptivity?  I suppose maybe wizards are generally receptive to 
receiving anyone's owl, unless they decide to "block" owls from 
certain people.  But maybe it is better the other way around.  Or 
maybe it is a combination of the two.  Who knows?

Megan wrote:

>I theorize that owls in general *cannot* be
> tracked, because their ultimate duty is uphold their owners and 
simply
> deliver the mail.  Magically, this is their job, and that is ONLY
> their job.  They would be impossible to track because this is not in
> an owl's duty.  >

Mmmm, I think owls can be tracked.  Sirius tells Harry, "Don't use 
Hedwig, keep changing owls."  This must be because he is worried 
Hedwig will draw attention, and his location could be determined if 
Hedwig is used too often.

Let me throw in a quick random thought.  Bertha Jorkins is missing, 
yet no one at MoM thinks to just send her an owl.  If the owl came 
back with the message as undelivered, this would be a very bad sign.  
Maybe the reason no one at MoM bothers with this is because having 
the message come back undelivered wouldn't solve the mystery because 
they wouldn't know if it came back undelivered because Bertha was 
dead or Bertha was blocking it.

Cindy