Wolfsbane Potion-Veritaserum-Warmth Spells-Harry'sStrongPoints-ADream-Luc/Na

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 45022

Eric Oppen wrote:

<< we do have canon that potions _have_ been invented very recently, 
what with the Wolfsbane Potion that is supposed to make poor Lupin 
safe to have around. (Me, I'd have gone for the good old Muggle 
methods---a cage, or a cell that are werewolf-proof---but that's just 
me). >>

I suppose those -- strong cages, stout chains, dungeons -- were the 
methods used before the Wolfsbane Potion was invented and when no 
Shrieking Shack (itself a form of dungeon) was available. I suppose 
those methods were very hard on the werewolf, surrounded by human 
smell that made him go crazy with blood-lust and fight to [escape the 
bondage to] get at the humans, not stopped by damaging himself 
physically in the struggle, not slowed by feeling terrible pain from 
damaging himself... It would also be dangerous for the humans in the 
vicinity, in case the werewolf *did* manage to escape  his bonds. The 
humans would have to kill the werewolf in mere self-defense, despite 
knowing that the other 29 days of the month he was their beloved 
friend/relative.  

Canon on the subject: "My transformations in those days were -- were 
terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated 
from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The 
villagers heard the noise and the screaming". We can argue about what 
that means. Was he referring to the physical pain of one's body 
stretching, shrinking, and sprouting a tail, or to the pain of being 
driven by blood-lust? I really believe that "I was separated from 
humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead" means "I was 
separated from humans to bite, [even tho' I could smell them enough 
that I was driven crazy with blood lust that made me] bit[e] and 
scratched myself [in the effort to get the chains off that kept me 
from the humans]." 

Eric Oppen wrote:

<< if I were pumped full of Veritaserum or fast-penta, I would not 
suddenly know things I didn't know before."

Yes, but would you temporarily "know" information that that was 
normally covered up by a Memory Charm or a Confundus Charm? I believe 
that that information must normally be in/around you, just concealed, 
or else how could it be possible to break a Memory Charm? Would a war 
between the Memory Charm and the Veritaserum cause the person to have 
convulsions and then explode into hamburger?

Me: << do we know of any warmth spells in canon? >>
Michelle Bailey: << Hermionie created a portable blue flame/fire to 
carry about in a jar to keep the trio warm >>

Yes, she did, but I don't think a portable flame, even if water-
proof, would be much help to keep a person who was stranded in 
cold sea-water from dying of the cold ... whenever there is a big 
airplane crash over open ocean, the news gives some statistics about 
how long a person could possible survive in water of different 
temperatures, except I don't remember them.

GulPlum wrote:

<< in fact the only thing at which he has proven to be unnaturally 
adept is at summoning a Patronus, >>

And flying a broom and catching a Snitch. And Parselmouth, but that 
is a minus. Btw, I sometimes wonder if Harry got his flying and 
Seeking ability from Voldemort the same as his Parselmouth: wouldn't 
it make him crazy to find out that his proudest accomplishment came 
from his worst enemy? 

sugar Katey wrote:

<< my english teacher last year told us that ending a story with 
the character waking up and everything having been a dream is the 
ultimate cop-out >>

Yes, but it worked for Alice in Wonderland, and Harry Potter may be 
as classic as Alice.

Emerald Snake wrote:

<< But anyways, what do you people think of the Lucius/Narcissa 
pairing? >>

My opinions: Lucius and Narcissa are about the same age. Both are 
from wealthy and socially prominent families (in my universe, they're 
first cousins - Draco is inbred), so each is a suitable match for the 
other. However, they chose to marry each other as their own idea, not 
arranged by their families. And they made that choice because they 
like each other and have the same goals, not just because of being 
'suitable'. Neither of them likes children (which is not a sign of 
Evil, as I don't like children either); altho' they also both knew 
the duty of passing on the family name, they planned to postpone 
childbearing as long as possible. Then there came a reason that all 
the Death Eaters had to rush out and have children, and that included 
the Malfoys. 

They found infant Draco very boring and pretty much left him to be 
raised by his doting Nanny. However, when he got a little older, they 
tried to teach him proper behavior. In my universe, their method of 
teaching is to punish him with very cutting vicious words or with 
physical blows when he doesn't do what they consider right; canon 
Draco the wimp is then given lavish presents to make up for having 
hit him, while fanon Draco has to wheedle and manipulate each of 
those presents out of his parents, and has to deal with particularly 
savage punishments when his father loses his hot temper -- that is, 
unfortunately, how young people learn to be so very perceptive of 
other people's minds and so concealling of their own. 

Btw Lucius has a very cold hot temper, where his anger doesn't make 
him shout, or act without thinking how the action will affect his 
plans. In my universe, he learned that cold self-control and careful 
plotting from his godfather, Tom Marvolo Riddle.

I mentioned Lucius and Narcissa each having a good sense of what they 
owe to the family reputation? Part of what they owe to the family 
reputation is that they must have active, and often separate, social 
lives. Lucius must be seen in the most fashionable nightclubs of 
Diagon Alley with trophy girlfriends, while Narcissa must be rumored 
to be having affairs (sequential not simultaneous) with top Quidditch 
players or pop musicians. It is important for keeping up the Malfoy 
reputation that people gossip about how Lucius Malfoy can get all 
the gorgeous witches he wants. And it would be shameful if people 
gossiped that Narcissa Malfoy can't get laid... I mean, that she 
can't entice any desirable wizard to keep her company while her 
husband is away. I imagine that when their social calendars allow 
them to dine at home alone together, they happily welcome the 
opportunity to have dinner served in Narcissa'a boudoir and turn it 
into a private orgy.

(In my universe, Divination predicted that a boy conceived around 
Halloween 1979 and born around Lammas 1980 would have great magic 
powers. Previously, I had Voldemort discovering this prediction and 
ordering his followers to go out and spawn, because he was hoping 
that this powerful mage would be born into his service. That is in my 
post http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/42888 )

(But I thought about it some more and the Death Eater Baby Boom 
consists of Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, possibly MacNair, possibly 
the other Slytherins of Harry's year (Zabini, Parkinson, Bulstrode, 
hypothetical). That is awfully few and awfully Mafoy-centric to be 
the spawn of ALL the Death Eaters: maybe it was Lucius who discovered 
the prediction and created the plan to get the special boy's powers 
for HIS own use, not his Master's.)