50 Questions I would like answered in Books Five, Six, and Seven

[Tom Wall]

No: HPFGUIDX 55064

Replies to Queen of Serpents, Catlady, 
and Greicy in this post.


Queen of Serpents wrote:
16) Will Hagrid's name be formally cleared?

I reply:
Do you mean cleared with reference to opening the Chamber of
Secrets, or with reference to being a half-giant. `Cause he is
a half-giant, so I don't see that as a real possibility. As for
opening the Chamber of Secrets, wasn't he already cleared? 

In CoS, Fudge tells us that "If someone else is caught, you'll be let 
out with a full apology." (CoS, US paperback Ch.14, 261) And by PoA,
Hagrid is back with bells on, and teaching a class to boot. I'd say 
that this constitutes a clearing of Hagrid's name.


Catlady asked:
7) Is Professor Sinistra a witch or a wizard?

I reply:
I believe that canon definitely suggests that
Professor Sinistra is a witch, because Crouch!Moody
dances with her at the Yule Ball in GoF.


Catlady asked:
17) Is there ever a Muggle-born student Sorted into
Slytherin? How do they stand the abuse from the
purebloodists?

I reply:
Well, we know of one very famous Mudblood that was
sorted into Slytherin – Tom Riddle. As for whether or
not there are others, well, I agree that it would be
an uncomfortable situation for them. In CoS, we learn
that the password to the Slytherin common room was
actually 'pureblood' for a while, so that doesn't seem
to pleasant a state of affairs for a half-blood student.
But it doesn't discount the possibility. After all, a 
half-blood, like Tom Riddle, could still turn out to 
be bigoted enough to join up with the pure-blood cause.


Greicy asked:
46) Is Fudge a "Voldemortist", or just in denial of
his return because he's a wimp? Is Bagman a "Voldemortist"?

I reply:
By `Voldemortist,' do you mean `Death Eater?'

Because, if you do mean `Death Eater' I don't think
that we have evidence to conclude that either Fudge or
Bagman are involved with Voldemort's, ahem,
organization... except for Fudge's reluctance to believe
Dumbledore and Harry in the Parting of the Ways chapter of
GoF, which is dubious evidence at best, IMHO.

I think that it's unlikely that either is a Death Eater 
because of the situation that existed back at the 
Triwizard Tournament. Fudge was definitely present 
upon Harry's return. As for Bagman, well, there's more
leeway regarding him.

Judging by the chaotic state of affairs we see upon
Harry's return from the Portkey, I conclude that both 
Fudge and Bagman *could* have found a way to sneak off 
to the Graveyard if/when they felt their own marks burn. 

But Fudge is right there when Harry gets back, and it
would have been pretty impossible for him to get back
*that* quickly, given that one can't apparate on the
Hogwarts grounds. So, I don't think that Fudge is a
Death Eater, because he could probably have slipped off 
in the confusion, but didn't. And has been discussed 
previously, it's likely that Voldemort wouldn't accept
any excuses. He calls, you go. Simple as that.

As for Fudge's denial, we have to accept that as far
as WW public opinion might go, Dumbledore does have a
credibility gap here, as does Harry. *We* know, trust, 
and love Dumbledore. But let's face it, there are many 
in the WW that might not idolize him the way that we do. He
has made some "poor" decisions (Lupin, Hagrid) that *we*
understand, but that the public might not. 

AND, he has been maligned by, amongst others, the highly
influential Lucius Malfoy, as well as the highly
influential Rita Skeeter. Didn't she actually refer to
him as an `obsolete dingbat,' or something to that
effect? Heck, even Mrs. Weasley, who knows that
Skeeter `goes out of her way to cause trouble,' even that
same Mrs. Weasley snubs Hermione as a result of one of
Skeeter's articles. And she should know better.

I firmly believe that this is going to be important to
future plotlines. 

So, whereas *we* know that Harry is telling the truth, 
because we were there, and whereas *we* trust Dumbledore, 
Fudge is taking the stance that a majority of the WW 
might not believe that Voldemort has returned, based on 
the possibly disturbed (fits, pains in the scar, and a
history of crazy stories) Harry's shaky credibility in
addition to the lack of any other credible witnesses.

In addition, Fudge knows (and Dumbledore confirms)
that a large portion of the WW will not approve of
contacting the giants, or dismissing the dementors
from Azkaban. Let's just hope that Rita Skeeter really
keeps her mouth shut, otherwise Dumbledore's going to
be up the creek without a paddle: cavorting with a
wanted murderer, interfering at the Ministry of Magic
– this stuff is just ripe to be exploited.

Plus, with this new spoiler, well, it all just sounds 
deliciously ominous.

-Tom