What did they see at the TriWT?(Was: What will happen in 5th year)

[Steve <bboy_mn@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 52021

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "pastafor5 <twoplus3 at j...>"
<twoplus3 at j...> wrote:
> Greicy wrote:
> > I'm sure some more parents were at the TriWizard Tournament saw 
> > what happened, even though Fudge wants to  keep it on the low. 
> > (snip) Maybe they'll be finally confronted  about the whole 
> > Voldemort situation instead of tip-toeing around 
> > it. 
> > 
> 
> I'm just wondering, exactly what DID the audience see at the tri-
> wizard tournament?  Were they able to see Harry and Cedric disappear 
> with the cup?  Or did they just see Harry appear on the ground, 
> holding Cedric's dead body (hand/arm?)?  This could make some people 
> doubt Harry's word (especially after Rita Skeeter's last article 
> about him) and perhaps think that Harry killed Cedric in order to
> win.
> 
> This would play into the "new theory post" that Harry could be taken 
> to St.Mungos.  Mr. Diggory may play a key part in encouraging this, 
> too.
> 
> One other question:  OotP begins with Harry lying in a flower bed.  
> Any thoughts on how he got there?  Just staring up at the sky on a 
> summer day, or did he fall out of a window and land there?  
> Hmm...could have been pushed, too.
> 
> -Sue

bboy_mn:

I never thought about what the audience saw until a while back when
someone brought it up. If you take it on surface reading, during the
first task, they got to see the champions tackle a dragon.

But during the second task, a thousand people sat bored to death
staring at the surface of a lake for an hour. And the third task, the
sat staring at some overgrown hedges for an hour. As someone said,
'...and they gave up Quidditch for THAT?'.

We during that discussion I had several suggestion for the second
task, none of which held much ..er.. water. Ludo Bagman telling
stories of his glory days in Quidditch. Little bubbles with the
champions name on them floating over the surface indicating their
location (weak and full of holes). Some miscellaneous entertainment
arranged by Dumbledore; the Wierd Sisters, dancing bears, magic
tricks, a long boring history leason about the tournement, etc....
(also very weak)

During the third task, we need to remember the the hedges are 20ft
high, but the STANDS are designed to raise people to a height that
allows them a generally eye-level veiw of a Quidditch game that is
taking place at an average height of 50 ft. So persumably, people
could see from the stands down into the hedge rows. Not all people
could see all locations, and the people seated the highest seats would
have the best view. People on the end would be able to see into the
the hedge rows that ran the length of the field and people sitting on
the sides would have a better view into the hedge rows that ran the
width of the field. So I have to believe that every seat allow you
some limited view into the maze and some limited view of the
champions. Logic, at a least my logic, tells me that the Tri-Wiz Cup
was located in a larger opening in the center of the maze (or perhaps
the far end of the maze) which gave most people a view of the cup.
Since taking the cup was the triumphant moment, that would be the one
thing that they would want the most people to be able to see. 

So while Harry and Cedric stood in the hedge row discussing who should
take the cup, I would say that perhaps 30% to 60% of the people might
be able to see them. When they step into the clearing to take the cup
together, I would say that maybe 70% to 100% of the people could see
them. All based on the assumed height of the hedges, the assumed
layout of the stadium seating, and the assumed intent to let people
see the cup being taken by the champion. 

So, based on my model, what did most people see? They saw Cedric alone
step into the Tri-Wiz Cup area, they saw him pause and turn away from
the cup apparently talking to someone, they saw him step out of the
Cup area, they saw Harry and Cedric emerge together and take the cup
together, then they saw them disappear. Not everyone, but most people
saw this. Other saw more, others saw Harry stop the spider from
attacking Cedric, others saw Cedric turn and rescue Harry from the
spider, but that would only people in the best seats and people at
just the right angle. Again, a majority of people saw Harry and Cedric
take the trophy together.

I'm of the belief that the Tri-Wiz Cup was always a portkey intended
to take the winner back to the entrance of the maze, and that's why it
took Harry and Cedric back to Hogwarts when they touched it in the
graveyard. The trip to the graveyard was like an intermediate stop
that was added by Fake!Moody.

Side note: when Harry went into the maze every thing went silent. He
couldn't hear the crowd anymore. Probably to prevent people in the
crowd for shouting out warnings to the champions, and to prevent the
champions for getting clues from the audience reactions or the
on-going commentary. 

So Harry couldn't hear the crowd, but could the crowd hear Harry? I
don't think there was an out going sound barrier, but I think the
voices of the champions would be sufficiently muffled by the hedges
that it wouldn't matter, the crowd still wouldn't be able to hear the
champions talking.

Back to the taking of the cup. They took the cup together which I'm
sure made a lot of people curious about what was going on, especially
since Cedric was obviously there first. When they disappeared that may
have shocked the crowd but I'm sure for the first few seconds
Dumbledore and the judges were calm, but as time when on and the
champions didn't appear, a curiously rose to concern that eventually
rose to panic as they scrambled around trying to figure out what was
happening. Since this whole 'where did they go' scenerio would
gradually grow in intensity, and assuming Harry was only gone for 30
to 45 minutes (does it say how long he was gone? I don't remember). It
was probably just reaching a fever pitch of panic when Harry and
Cedric reappeared.

My personal opinion is that not everyone there realized Cedric was
dead. As the word spread, I think most of the people outside the
immediate area of Cedric and Harry didn't believe it. So while the
rumor was strong, I think it took quite a while for the official
'Cedric's dead' word to spread. I suspect even the next day there were
a lot of people who passed it off as a rumor, and assumed Cedric was
in the hospital recovering with Harry.

But there is that mysterious gap in time between when they disappeared
and when they reappeared, and that gap leave room for unlimited
speculation. Given Harry's uniqueness, he could just as easly be
accused of being a marginal wizard as accused of being a wizard
capable of anything including Dark Magic and murder.

His sanity and stability have already been called into question more
than once. So I think there is a real possibility that some story is
building around this. It seems to be too powerful and promenent a
theme to be something that was mentioned in passing. I have to believe
that a significant portion of the next book will be related to the
quesioning of Harry's sanity, stability, and safety. Of course, when I
say 'safety', Harry's safety is alway in question, but I'm referring
to the safety of people around Harry relative to his sanity. As other
people have pointed out 'sanity' has come up way too many times in the
last book for it to not be of any significants. Exactly how it will
play out, I'm not sure; Fudge takes Harry from the Dursley's to St.
Mungo's, or people's attitudes when he gets to Howgart's, or Harry is
take from Hogwarts after an incident to St. Mungo's, or
...????????.... But I believe without a doubt Harry's stability will
play a big part in one of the subplots. 

I like the idea of Harry going to St. Mungo's (well, that's not the
part I like) and discovering that the Longbottoms are in a lot better
shape than everyone has been lead to believe (that's the part I like),
and that somehow, against all odds (as usual) Harry is able to help
the Longbottoms escape to Hogwarts where they are protected by
Dumbledore and nursed back to health by Madem Pomphrey. I really feel
sorry for Neville and his parents, and perhaps suddenly seeing his
parent somewhat OK again will be the thing Neville needs to pull him
out of his daze and let him realize the power wizard he is.

Finally, Harry in the flower bed. We only ASSUME it is Harry. The
'teenage boy' laying in the flower bed outside 4 Privet Drive, is the
last person left outside. So who is the teenage boy, and where did
everyone else go, and while everyone was outside, what were they doing
out there?

Alternate possibility, Ron and Hermione visit Harry at Privet Drive.
Dudley is his typical JERK self, and Ron knocks him on his butt, and
H/R/H go back inside. I'm not saying that I think that happened, I'm
just saying there are many alternative scenerios that end with a boy
in a flower bed and everyone else going back inside.

After all that I doubt that I truly answered your question but I think
 a few things have been clearly set up for the next book-

1.) problems surrounding Harry stability and sanity.
2.) attempts to get Dumbledore out of the school.
3.) possible attempts to get Fudge out of office and get someone even
more favorable to Voldemort.
4.) In everyone of these, I think Lucius Malfoy is going to play a big
big big part.
5.) Exactly what is Snape's secret mission? The only thing I can think
of is that, he is going to go back to Voldemort, and claim he was a
double agent pretending to spy for Dumbledore while really spying for
Voldemort. Can he pull it off?
6.) Sirius Black's situation is either going to get better, or much
much worse.
7.) Longbottom's mystery - Neville's and his parent's
8.) Godric's Hollow - who, what, when, and where?
9.) Why Voldemort wants Harry dead.
10.) foreshadowing of the fate of Draco Malfoy. Death Eater or
extremely annoying irritating spoiled but redeemed brat of a rich kid.
11.) And the one thing I want to know... WHERE IS THAT FLYING
MOTORCLCLE?! That has to come back into the plot. If JKR isn't going
to use it anymore, I'll be more than happy to take it off her hands.
12.) Oh so much more....

No wonder it's such a long book.

bboy_mn