[HPforGrownups] Re: The real vampire/ flightless animagi

[Edblanning at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 36117


Nyarth:
> 
> There is a precedent in folklore for part vampires.  In Eastern 
> European traditions, they are called dhampirs or dhamphirs, and they 
> are the result of a rape of a human woman by a male vampire.
> Traditionally, dhampir have no overtly vampire characteristics, but 
> they do have the abilty to "see" invisible vampires.  For this 
> reason, they were often vampire hunters.  
> They would ride into your village, see your invisible vampires, kill 
> your invisible vampires, charge you an extortionate amount of money 
> and ride out.
> Admittedly, this smacks more of Gilderoy Lockhart than Snape, but 
> such things as part-vampires do exist.  JKR also admits she twists 
> 

I thought that was really interesting.
But I've also got to wondering, especially after Tabouli brought up the 
theatricality of Snape's behaviour (although I'm personally not sure now if I 
can distinguish between Snape's theatricality and Alan Rickman's 
theatricality), whether this vampire thing is all part of an act that Snape's 
putting on.
Surely, in the context of holding a position at Hogwarts, if you were a 
vampire, or part vampire and thus on the margins of the wizarding world, if 
not an outcast, possibly not even allowed to posses a wand, you'd want to try 
to hide it -  just as Hagrid hasn't gone round shouting about his giant 
blood, and Lupin kept his lycanthropy hidden. Yet Snape appears almost to 
revel in projecting this vampirish image.
He *dresses* like a vampire, for goodness sake. His movement, either silently 
gliding or sweeping around, robes billowing, is surely done for effect, or at 
the very least is within his control. He doesn't court popularity, he enjoys 
terrorising students, he surely knows his reputation for an obsession with 
the Dark Arts - what better way to add another little frisson of fear into 
the teacher-student relationship, than by having them suspect that you might 
be even worse then they think you are already. If he *isn't* one, then he can 
play this little game quite safely. I just think it would appeal to his 
particular sense of humour.
I also wonder if it all started when he was at school, if his gothic looks 
got him teased, with the likes of the Marauders jumping out from behind 
bushes and shouting 'Vampire!' at him. (That might explain Lupin's deliberate 
mentioning of the vampire essay in front of him.)

Catlady:
>Kenilworthy Whisp's introduction to Quidditch Through the Ages 
>mentions bat animagi (IIRC the adjective was 'rare') as the only 
>wizards who can fly without a broomstick or other enchanted object. 

I can't find our copy. Must be in a child's room, for some unaccoutable 
reason :-) !
But that's interesting. So is Rita Skeeter's animagic form a *flightless* 
beetle, then? What does she do, transform outside the grounds and then crawl 
to the castle/ lake, wherever? I'm surprised Crookshanks hasn't eaten her! 
But when Hermione has her in the jar, she's 'buzzing' against the glass, 
which implies that she does have wings.
It also implies that the speculation a while back about Dumbledore being a 
bee animagus is wrong. Unless he's a flightless bee, which seems really to be 
a pretty useless thing to spend years learning to turn into.

Eloise






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