[HPforGrownups] Re: Some mistakes in book1???

[Sherry Garfio]

No: HPFGUIDX 47798

My, I *am* feeling chatty today...

Maria Kirilenko wrote:
> I was flipping through PS/SS the other day and found some things
> that might be mistakes.
> 
> 1. How could Fluffy bite Snape's leg? Fluffy is supposed to be a dog
> that "took up the entire space between the floor and the ceiling."
> Wouldn't it be rather hard for it to bite Snape's *leg*? If I were
> that dog, I'd probably just bite his head off.

bboy_mn replied:
> That assumes he was standing up, and standing under the dog.

Now me:
It also assumes that he was *bitten*.  I don't recall ever hearing any details
about the mauling.  Maybe Fluffy clawed him.

Maria continued:
> > 2. During the Gryffindor/Slytherin Quidditch match Lee Jordan says a
> Bludger hit Katie Bell (or one of the other Chasers, don't remember)
> on the back of the head. She's probably have a concussion - since
> Bludgers apparently hit with a strong enough force to break an arm.

bboy_mn responds:
<snip>
> Also, wizards and witches seem very resilient. Neville fell from 50ft
> and only broke his wrist. Harry fell from a similar height (onto soft
> wet ground) and was unhurt. He was unconcious because of the Dementor,
> not because of the fall. That's the equivalent of falling off a FIVE
> story building.

Me again:
Total nitpick here, but I seem to recall that we learn after the fact (from
Hermione?) that Dumbledore used a charm to slow Harry's fall before he hit the
ground.  It does seem, however, that wizards are much more resiliant than
Muggles.

bboy_mn again:
> Hagrid also commented that Lily and James couldn't
> possibly have been killed in a car accident (paraphrased) with the
> implication that a car accident wouldn't have been enough to kill them.

Now me:
I took Hagrid's statement to mean that attributing the Potters' death to a car
crash is blasphemous, considering that they really died fighting the most
powerful Dark wizard of our time, and that Harry's survival is so much more
significant than a baby in a well-constructed car seat surviving the crash that
killed his parents.  The car crash explanation trivializes their death.  It
doesn't even acknowledge their sacrafice: if the Dursleys had come up with a
story about how they got caught in the middle of an armed robbery and Lily took
a bullet to save Harry, then at least that part of Harry's past would have been
preserved for him.  Hagrid says this in the midst of discovering that Harry
knows nothing about his parents or about wizards in general, and is quite
worked up at this point over the Dursleys' deceit.  They deprived Harry not
only of knowledge of magic, but also of facts that would have lent Harry a
sense of self-worth and of having been loved by his parents.  Which, of course,
is representative of their entire treatment of Harry.

Again, I do agree that wizards seem very resiliant; I just read so much more
into this particular statement of Hagrid's, especially after seeing Robbie
Coltrane's portrayal of it (which was nearly identical to how I saw it in my
head - I just *love* the casting of the movies so far).

Sherry


=====
"The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above-average drivers."

      -Dave Barry, "Things That It Took Me 50 Years to Learn"

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