TBAY: Stunning!Neville With Invisibility (WAS All these kids with Inv. cloa)

[Cindy C. <cindysphynx@comcast.net>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51963

A sleek, grey owl dive-bombed the Safe House, a tiny scroll of 
parchment tied tightly to its right leg.  It swooped in the kitchen 
window, snagged a Pop Tart from Risti's plate and landed gracefully 
on the countertop.  It screeched once in triumph, shook the 
rainwater off its feathers and began nibbling its prize.

"Owls really like the Strawberry ones," Elkins said with 
amusement.  "Or so I've heard."

"Seriously, Melody, have you given any thought at all to maybe 
beefing up security?" Cindy asked, fumbling with the note tied to 
the owl's leg.  "You know, basic stuff every Safe House should have, 
like maybe some bars on the windows?"

"What's it say?" asked Risti with interest, peering over Cindy's 
shoulder.

"It's from *Tom!*" Cindy said excitedly.  "Ooooh, he's new around 
here!  An MD specialist of considerable skill, I've heard."  She 
paused, reading the note silently.  "And he's one sharp cookie, 
too!" she added, smiling broadly.

"Tom says, 'GoF clearly states that Hagrid, Professor Moody, 
Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick came walking into the 
stadium to patrol the outside of the maze.  So Moody was *supposed* 
to be there.  He would have been visible to everyone.  So there was 
certainly no use of an invisibility cloak by Crouch!Moody during the 
Third Task.'"

Cindy looked up from the note, smiling in appreciation.  "Oh, I 
think Tom's exactly right.  I always assumed Moody and the three 
other teachers were stationed on the four sides of the maze and 
intended to look distinctive to the crowd -– they had 'large, red, 
luminous starts on their hats.'  I picture them as having wands at 
the ready, waiting for red sparks from the contestants.  Had Moody 
pulled out an invisibility cloak, someone surely would have seen him 
do it or missed him when he disappeared.  No, that would be too 
risky.  Unnecessary too, as it would be perfectly normal for Moody 
to have had his wand in his hand, and no one would have heard him 
muttering curses.

"Not only that," Cindy went on, "it really doesn't make sense for 
Crouch Jr. to have *two* invisibility cloaks at Hogwarts.  It would 
be more logical for him to leave one cloak with Wormtail, don't you 
think?"

"But wouldn't it have been a lot safer for Moody to fire curses from 
inside the invisibility cloak?" asked Melody thoughtfully.

Cindy shook her head.  "Actually, I don't think you can fire a curse 
from inside an invisibility cloak."

"What?" 

"Well, have we ever seen a wizard fire a curse from inside an 
invisibility cloak?" Cindy asked, raising one eyebrow.  "Harry 
hasn't, of course.  While Crouch Jr. was imprisoned with Crouch Sr., 
he didn't have a wand, so he didn't do any magic.  But most 
importantly, Snape doesn't fire a curse from inside the invisibility 
cloak in the Shrieking Shack, either, although it would have made 
perfect sense to do so.  He takes the cloak off, *then* ties up 
Lupin.  Also, Snape *could* have apparated from the first floor of 
the house into the room where Lupin, Black and the Trio were, but he 
didn't, did he?  I think that's because you can't do any magic 
inside an invisibility cloak.  No apparating, no curses, no nothing.

"Not only that, but it makes sense for plot reasons for JKR to have 
such a rule.  How sporting is it to allow people to sneak up on 
others under cover of an invisibility cloak and shoot them in the 
back?  Nah, it's way more exciting if you have to de-cloak first."

"Are you *meta-thinking,* Cindy?" Elkins asked, her eyes twinkling 
with amusement.

"You're asking *me?*" Cindy said.  "Hey, pass that box of Frosted 
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Pop Tarts, will ya, Elkins?  No, not that one.  
The *Big* one!  Yeah, that's the ticket."

Risti poured herself a second cup of coffee and took a tiny sip.  "I 
had no idea invisibility cloaks could be so interesting.  We hardly 
ever talk about them."

"Yeah," Elkins agreed, "but I'm not sure we've gotten anywhere with 
this.  Maybe people in the DMLE have invisibility cloaks and other 
people don't."  She shrugged.  "It's kind of boring, if you ask me."

"Oh, *no!*  Cindy exclaimed.  "Once we know that law enforcement 
wizards are more likely to have invisibility cloaks, we can have all 
manner of fun.  Let's go back to this idea that Mrs. Longbottom 
stunned Neville and concealed him under Frank's invisibility cloak 
the night the Pensieve Four burst into their home.  I submit to you 
that concealing stunned people under invisibility cloaks is common 
practice in the wizarding world."

"There she goes off canon again," Melody sighed.

"No, really," insisted Cindy.  "Crouch Jr. kills his father.  Then 
he tells us he carried Crouch Sr.'s body into the forest 
and 'covered it with the Invisibility Cloak.'  So why wouldn't Mrs. 
Longbottom be smart enough to use that same technique?

"In fact, if you really want to have some fun, you can imagine what 
might have happened when law enforcement arrived at the Longbottoms' 
house and found them insane.  The Pensieve Four wouldn't have 
discovered Neville because he was stunned and lying under an 
invisibility cloak.  But that means no one else could see Neville, 
either, so the authorities wouldn't be able to find him and revive 
him.  Neville ought to *still* be lying there in his parents' house, 
right?  But what would happen if *Moody* were one of the first 
aurors on the scene!  Moody can see through invisibility cloaks!  He 
would have seen Neville, and that could be how Neville was 
discovered and rescued!  Pretty cool, huh?"

"Neville *stunned* and then covered with an invisibility 
cloak . . . " Elkins mused with interest.  "I like it, Cindy!  It 
works *perfectly.*  Count me in!"

Cindy shot Elkins a sharp look, pushed her chair back from the table 
and rose from her seat, backing slowly away from Elkins.  She 
reached inside her uniform and drew her wand, pointing at Elkins' 
heart.  "Hold it *right* there, Elkins!" she yelled in a high-
pitched voice.  "Stay calm, everybody!"

"Cindy, what are you *doing?!*" cried Risti.  "Have you gone mad!?"

"That is *not* Elkins!"   

"Of *course* I'm Elkins!" said Elkins.  "Who else would I be?"

"A very clever *imposter,* that's who," breathed Cindy.  "Oh, that's 
a *great* disguise.  How'd you pull it off, anyway?  Plastic 
surgery?  Timeturner?  *POLYJUICE!?*"

"Calm *down,* Cindy," Melody said with a puzzled expression.  "What 
makes you think this isn't Elkins?  It sure *looks* like Elkins."

"Little Miss Charlatan here made a mistake, that's what," Cindy 
said.  "A Big one.  You know this idea that Mrs. Longbottom 
*stunned* Neville to protect him?  The real Elkins would be all over 
that theory.  She'd rip it to shreds."

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Cindy!" Elkins snapped.  "Put your wand away 
before somebody gets hurt -- before *I* get hurt.  You know how 
SYCOPHANTS feel about being *hurt.*  Mrs. Longbottom might have 
stunned Neville.  So what?"

"So what!" Cindy cried.  "I'll tell you what.  The *real* Elkins 
declared herself a MemoryCharm!Neville believer in the OoP 
prediction polls.  But if Neville was stunned throughout his 
parents' torture, then he wouldn't have seen it or heard it, would 
he?  

"And if he didn't witness the torture, then he doesn't need a Memory 
Charm, does he, **Elkins**?" Cindy sneered.  "Oh, the real Elkins 
would be *all* over that little inconsistency.  The only way this 
InvisibilityCloak!Neville idea can work with any kind of Memory 
Charm theory is if Mrs. Longbottom uses a Full Body Bind instead of 
stunning.  Then Neville is conscious and able to hear his parents' 
screams and see everything –- which is absolutely essential for all 
Memory Charm theories."

"You're making no sense at all, Cindy," Elkins laughed, waving her 
hand dismissively.  "Sit down and finish your breakfast."

"Oh, I can't *believe* I didn't catch on to this little ploy 
immediately!" Cindy muttered to herself.  "No way is this pretender 
the real Elkins!  Where's the talk of 'narrative function?'  The 
discussion of 'reader reaction?'  The intricate analysis of history, 
literature, culture?  Where's the *Latin,* Ms. Imposter?"  

"Uh . . . " Elkins swallowed hard.  "QED?" she said hopefully.

"Oh, that is *pathetic!*"  Cindy spat.  She advanced on Elkins, 
poking her in the chest with her wand.  "*Out* with it!  What have 
you done with the *real* Elkins?"

Just then, the door to the Safe House banged open and another Elkins 
stumbled inside, soaked to the skin and wild-eyed.  She was an exact 
replica, identical to the other Elkins, right down the last pudgy 
finger.  She stood in the entrance to the kitchen swaying slightly, 
a pool of water forming beneath her.  "*I'm* the real Elkins!" she 
cried.  She raised her arm slowly, pointing one index finger at the 
other Elkins.  "She attacked me!  She -– that *person* is a *FRAUD!*"

"Fraud?!" cried the other Elkins, rising from her seat.  "*I'm* the 
real Elkins!  *She's* the Fraud."  

The soaking wet Elkins turned to Cindy beseechingly.  "You don't 
recognize me, Cindy?  You have to *believe* me!  Would I ever lie to 
you?"

Cindy stood wide-eyed and wordless, pointing her wand first at one 
Elkins then the other.

"Oh, cool!"  said Melody brightly.  "More Elkins to go around!" 

*****************

Cindy

*****************
 
For further explanation of the acronyms and theories in this post, 
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