Unanswered questions answered, and another asked

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 39489



>(1) Why didn't anybody receive a Howler during Harry's first year?
>Harry was unacquainted with them until Ron got one the second year.
>They seem pretty common after that.

They're not that common.  Ron gets one in CS, Neville in PA, and Percy in 
GF.  Maybe there's a mention of Hermione getting one also after the 
Bubotuber Pus in GF (am bookless, can't check).

The other reason, of course, is:  so we can learn about them later and JKR 
doesn't shoot her whole wad in Book One.  <shivers happily at the thought of 
magical wonders and curiosities still to be revealed>  But I do think it's 
realistic that Harry wouldn't have happened upon one after only one year in 
the WW.

>(2) Why doesn't Dumbledore have a real, functional sneakoscope
>sitting in his office?  Wouldn't that help root out some of those
>those pesky polyjuiced staff members?

I think he probably does have one, or something better, but like Crouch Jr., 
finds it useless because there's so much dishonesty (and not just among 
students).  They really are not very well-honed tools if all they can do is 
pick up when someone in the vicinity is being dishonest or untrustworthy; 
they must go off every time someone compliments him on his dress sense.
Alina responded to the Invisibility Section question:

>>Remember in PS Dumbledore told Harry that he (Dumbledore) doesn't
need an invisibility cloak to become invisible? Maybe it's a very
powerful magic available only to powerful wizards, maybe it's even
beyond the abilities of most of the teachers in Hogwarts, not to
mention the students.

and Marcus wrote:

>It may very well be extra powerful, but in that case why have a whole
section dedicated to it?  Seems a waste of resources.

I figure the Hogwarts library is like the Library of Congress (Harvard, the 
Bodleian, whatever).  It is THE library resource for the wizarding world in 
Britain.  So there's lots of stuff in there that even a 7th-year wouldn't 
begin to understand; people who would understand it travel from afar to do 
research there

>(7) Why did Dumbledore just open the back of Colin's camera?  Yes,
>the film was fried, but if it wasn't, he would have destroyed some
>very valuable evidence.

Even brilliant wizards can be clueless about Muggle objects.

Now for my question:  What house is prefectmarcus Prefect of?

Amy Z

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