The Potters' Profession // Mrs. Norris the Auror or Spy // Basilisk

[catlady_de_los_angeles]

No: HPFGUIDX 36293

Lizzy Gizzy wrote:

> One thing that JKR did reveal is that James had inherited a great 
> wealth and "did not have to work." I suppose that doesn't mean he
> did not work, but she seemed to indicate that he had a life of 
> leisure.

Leisure = unpaid work? I feel certain that the Potters were 
top-ability operatives in the fight against Voldemort, which does not 
necessarily mean they were Aurors. They could have been working for 
the Ministry as Aurors, Unspeakables, or whatever, or they could have 
skipped the Ministry and been working directly for the Resistance 
(maybe 'the old gang', maybe named The League Against Voldemort or 
The Order of the Phoenix) under Dumbledore. I wonder whether the the 
Resistance paid salaries -- where would the money come from? 

If they were working for the Ministry, they could have been helping 
as "talented amateurs" (who remembers Emma Peel?) or Sickle-a-year 
persons (in Muggle USA, dollar-a-year men, the most recent example I 
know of is Los Angeles's recently termed-out Mayor Riordan: having 
made a hundred million dollars in leveraged buy-outs, he announced 
that he would save the taxpayers' money by not accepting his salary 
as mayor, except for one dollar a year to make the employment 
contract legal).

As unpaid workers, they could have, like so many beloved fictional 
characters, had 'cover identities' as idle rich who cared only about 
parties and fashion, or it could have been fairly well-known that 
they were helping the Ministry or the Resistance. The first thought 
is that all Resistance operatives would keep it a secret: announcing 
it is like painting a target on their backs. But second thought is, 
no more of a target than working for the Ministry without being a 
Dark Side secret operative. If Crouch Sr could live in his home with 
his House Elf despite being a target, so could the young Potters. 
They could rely on their magical guards and wards (giving yet another 
aspect to Snape's sneer about Harry's father's 'arrogance') -- they 
had BETTER have reliable magical guards and wards, because they would 
be a target ANYWAY, just for being talented (Head Boy and Head Girl) 
and having turned down the inevitable Dark Side recruitment offers. 
The only operatives who need to keep their Resistance affiliation 
secret are the Spies.

------------------------------------
A few sentences of fanfic:
James: "What kind of idiot would think I might even consider joining 
a movement whose goal is to murder MY WIFE?"
Death Eater: "An idiot who knows that you could make a deal to exempt 
your wife in exchange for your loyal service."

Lily: "What kind of idiot would think I might even consider joining a 
movement that wants to enslave and torture MY PARENTS?"
Death Eater: "If you were helpful to the Dark Side, you could be in a 
position to protect your parents."
------------------------------------

Tabouli wrote:

> Well. You see, Snape was never properly sprung. He started out as a 
> Death-Eater and is still fawning on Draco, torturing students and 
> being generally nasty to keep everyone guessing. We don't know for 
> sure, but the contrast between his public and private behaviour 
> suggests Voldemort may still think Snape's on his side or at least
> retrievable. 

How can Voldemort have failed to learn that Snape was outed in a 
courtroom before some 200 witnesses? Even if Rita Skeeter wasn't 
covering Karkaroff's clemency hearing (I can't think what else to 
call it), out of 200 spectators/jurors, surely some would babble.

> he'd cursed her into a cat (a fitting punishment because she hated 
> cats, maybe?) (snip) (the way he drowned her pet cat weeks earlier).

Tabouli wrote:

> What if she's really a Muggle-born witch, turned irreversibly into
> a cat by her Death-Eater husband, 

Why would a Death Eater marry a Mudblood? Like a Klansman marrying a 
(black person) or a Nazi marrying a (Jew). 

> OK, so the Basilisk left behind by Salazar is being sneaked out by
> his Heir out through the sink, aiming to rid the school of 
> Muggle-Borns.

Personally, I don't believe that the Basilisk can be aimed, and that 
it catching only Muggle-borns (NHN?) was as big a co-incidence as it 
merely petrifying them instead of killing them.