Potter Geography

[Steve <bboy_mn@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 49421

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Jim Ferer <jferer at y...>"
<jferer at y...> 

Jim Ferer wrote:
> ... ... ...but just where do we think Godric's Hollow was located?"
>  
> Can we assume then that Godric's Hollow must be somewhere in the
> WestCountry or Wales? What other flight plan point of origin would 
> take one over Bristol on the way to somewhere south of London?"
> 
> That's been the consensus. ... [BBOY_MN replies: No concensus.]
> 
> What's not clear is if Godric's Hollow is a town or village or if
> it's the name of James and Lily's house (a la The Burrow).  Since 
> Hogsmeade is the only all-wizard settlement in Britain, then 
> Godric's Hollow, if it's a village, is a Muggle village.
>
> Jim Ferer

bboy_mn:

Two theories-
1.) The first is very similar to your speculation. I believe, and I'm
sure others will correct my if I'm wrong, but JKRowling at one time in
her childhood lived in Bristol then moved to a small village North of
Cardiff, Wales. So, I suspect she has placed Godric's Hollow in that
general vicinity. I would say, somewhere near the Black
Mountains/Brecon Beacons National Park. 

2.) Now another wild theory. A while back we were once again
discussing the Missing 24 Hours. There is a 24 hour period between
when Hagrid takes Harry from his home and when he delivers him to
Dumbledore at the Dursley's. Somehow/somewhere during this time,
Hagrid tells Prof. McGonagall that Harry will be at 4 Privet Drive in
Little Whinging, Surrey. So where could Hagrid have possibly been that
he would run into McGonagall? It's unlikely McGonagall was in Wales
unless she was maybe vactioning on the beach in Cardiff or something.
Somehow McGonagall doesn't seem the beach vacation type though. 

So now I have to come up with a way to reconcile Hagrid meeting
McGonagall and Hagrid flying over Bristol. One possible theory is that
Hagrid picked up Harry and flew to Hogwards. That's a long fly, so the
missing 24 hrs shrinks substantially when you add fly time in two
directions. He would have probably only been at Hogwart a few hours
before he had to start flying back to Surrey. I speculated the might
fly straight north over the Irish Sea to get from the Cardiff/Godric's
Hollow area to Hogwards, and for security, fly that same route on the
way back. There is only one small problem with that theory. The Irish
Sea is a training ground for the RAF (Royal Air Force). Not likely
that Hagrid would want to fly through the RAF fighter jet training
area, although he could have still done it if he had flown very low. I
think you only need to be under a couple hundred feet to be under
typical radar. To a fighter jet a couple hundred feet is almost the
same as being on the ground. But to a half giant on a motorcycle, 200
feet is still flying pretty high. (200Ft= roughly a 20 story building)

Finally, this question alway leads us back to the so called Missing 24
Hours. Where was Hagrid between the time that he picked up Harry and
the time the he delivered Harry to the Dursley's? 

Some speculate that Hagrid can take care of dragons and three headed
dogs but would be incapable of taking care of a 1 year old for a few
hours. That leads to the assumption that Hagrid took Harry to someone
who had more maternal instincts. The two most common theories, if you
do not accept my Hogwarts theory, is the Weasleys or the Longbottoms. 

Some theorize that the Longbottom were tortured bacause it became know
that Harry was in their care, and  Death Eaters would then assume that
Longbottoms had inside information on the wear abouts of
Vaporform-Voldemort. However, some brilliant Brit-o-phil pointed out
the any '...bottom' names like Longbottom are likely to come from
Northern England, and Neville's reference to being thrown off
Blackpool Pier seems to comfirm that belief. So how do you get from
Northern England to Surrey by way of Bristol? Although, it is the long
route, you could fly straight south from Liverpool or Manchester, then
turn left at Bristol and fly to Surrey. Again, this could be justified
for security reasons.

Now Godric's Hollow; one other possibility is that Godric's Hollow is
the equivalent of Diagon Alley in London. I suspect other major cities
in the UK also have small magical neighborhoods hidden within them,
the same way London has Diagon Alley. However, for the moment, all we
can do is speculate, but I think before the series is over, we will
get to visit Godric's Hollow, perhaps to visit the graves of Harry's
parents. This could also be the new magical place that Harry will
visit in the next book. Although, most bets are on him visiting Azaban.

Just a few thoughts.

bboy_mn