Slytherins heir? Says who?

bkb042 brian042 at hotmail.com
Wed Sep 4 16:54:36 UTC 2002


No: HPFGUIDX 43600

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., eloiseherisson at a... wrote:
> snip: assuming his mother had also been at Hogwarts, there were 
likely to 
> be other students who knew her family, some of the staff were 
likely to have 
> known her. Perhaps the old head of Slytherin house quietly took 
him aside one 
> day and told him.
> I think there are ways he could have found out.

BIG assumtion.  Faculty and student body both know a lot more about 
Harry's parents and family history than Harry does, and they tell 
him nit. Draco rubs his nose in this fact in PoA. Even Sirius, his 
Godfather, the best man at his parents' wedding tells him nothing. 
All we really know about Lily and James is he was good at Quidditch, 
and she didn't have to die. You'd think that the sire and dam of The 
Boy Who Lived would have had something written about them. Hermione, 
any luck finding it? We know qualitatively more about Longbottom's 
parents than Harry's.


>> Brian:> 
> >      One explaination would be the ability to speak 
parseltongue. 
> > Again, in the Chamber, Diary!Riddle describes himself and Harry 
> > as "probably the only two Parselmouths to attend Hogwarts since 
the 
> > great Slytherin himself". A thousand years since Slytherin left 
> > Hogwarts and then TWO parselmouths in the same century? Diary!
> > Riddle's use of the word "probably" was prudent because there's 
no 
> > way for him to know for sure.  After the incedent at the 
duelling 
> > club, Ron tells Harry that "it's not a very common gift". Either 
> > this is the understatement of the year, or the ability just 
isn't 
> > seen (or heard, for that matter) in England very often. If the 
gift 
> > was as rare as Diary!Riddle seems to think, why would Harry's 
use of 
> > it create the stir that it did? It would show up so seldom that 
no 
> > one would have memory of it, and nothing would be written about 
it 
> > other than through association with Slytherin, probably as a 
> > footnote in his official bio. 
> 
> Eloise:
> I think you've put your finger on it. It is *extremely* rare (to 
say the 
> least), but it was one of the things Slytherin was *famous* for 
(COS, 147, UK 
> PB). Rather than being a footnote, I think that everyone except 
Harry 
> *immediately* made the connection.
> I also think that there may well have been other Parselmouths in 
the interim, 
> who had the good sense to keep their ability hidden! Harry would 
have, I'm 
> sure, if he'd realised the implications.

I think you misunderstood me slightly. Quantitativly, there is a 
significant difference between "not very common" and "*extremely* 
rare (to say the least)". Other than that, we seem to be on the same 
sheet of music here.
> 
> Brian:> 
> >      Working hypothesis: Riddle, as a first year, read the 
Slytherin 
> > bio and was intrigued by the legend of the Chamber of Secrets. 
He 
> > then began to study all that he could over the next few years 
about 
> > Slytherin himself, and his research eventually took him into the 
> > restricted section of the library. Being a favorite of almost 
the 
> > entire faculty (Dumbledore excepted), such access should not 
have 
> > posed much of a difficulty.  It was in the restricted section, 
that 
> > he obtained the clues to give him the location of the entrance 
to 
> > the Chamber. At this point in my theory, I should point out that 
I 
> > do not believe he was a parselmouth. 
> 
> Eloise:
> You mean that he is not yet a Parselmouth at this stage of the 
theory?
> And yes, we know he did five years' research before finding the 
entrance.
> 
> Brian:
> He had found the tap with the > snake scratched on it and dedeuced 
the 
> > parseltongue "password". He then transfigured himself into a 
snake in order 
> > to open the tunnel. (I am not suggesting that he was an 
animagus; Animagi 
> > transform at will but wizards can transfigure themselves with 
spells as 
> > evidenced 
> > by Krum in the second trial of the Triwizard tournament.)
> > This is how he gained access to the Chamber and it's contents. 
One 
> > of the items I think he discovered was a "Last Will and 
Testament" 
> > which was enchanted with some of the essence of Salazar 
Slytherin in 
> > much the same way that the diary was imbued with a little of Tom 
> > Riddle. It was after Tom's possession by this document that he  
> > literally became Slytherin's heir, AND aquired the ability to 
speak 
> > parseltongue because, in a sense, Slytherin HIMSELF now lives!
> 
> Eloise:
> That's an interesting theory and I think it works, although it 
depends on a 
> few things for which we have no canonical proof. But doesn't it 
also imply 
> that Slytherin must also live in Harry via the curse that failed?

What things are those? Absence of evidence does not constitute 
evidence of absence. That's why canon is canon, and theory is theory!


snip 

bkb042

Teeth still clenched, but one eye cautiously open 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





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