ADMIN: OOP:READ THIS FIRST - Frequently Asked Questions & Most Frequent Answers

[bluesqueak]

No: HPFGUIDX 67079


For those most Frequently Asked OOP Questions - the most Frequent 
Answers. Feel free to disagree with them!

So, you've decided to join the list after OoP. A good moment, you 
think. A new start. Maybe you used to lurk. Maybe you're new. Maybe 
you were on hiatus. Maybe you were here all along. And suddenly, 
there are 2000 posts staring at you in the face in the course of 
three days. How can anyone keep up? How can you know if your 
thoughts have been discussed to death? The answer is not easy, so 
(having kept up with the list for 12 straight hours before my brain 
started to leak out of my ears), I have composed a FAQ of OoP 
questions: 


Ministry of Magic, Department of Mysteries & The Black Veil 
-----------------------------------------------------------

· How could a bunch of children walk through an official building at 
night? 

The DE probably cleared the way of obstacles so Harry would reach 
the prophecy. 

· What's the deal with the Department of Mysteries? 

The department of mysteries, as the name indicates, contains 
sections for the mysteries of the world: time, love, death, the 
future, thoughts, the universe and who knows what else (it's a 
mystery 
:D ) 

· What the deuce is the Black Veil?

The Black Veil is a very common representation of death. To cross 
the Veil is a way of describing death. 'To go beyond the veil' is 
another common phrase.


Thestrals
---------

· Why aren't they in Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them?

They are there - look under Winged Horses (right at the end) 

· Why can Neville see them?

Neville explains he saw his Grandfather die

· Why hasn't Neville mentioned them before?

Neville is very tight-mouthed. He probably has his reasons, but he's 
never been very open with Harry (or anyone else, AFAWK) 

· Harry and the Thestrals:
        - Didn't Harry see his mother die?

        No - the list more or less agrees that, in this case, "see" 
refers to "understand" (like "this is so-and-so." "I see."). Harry 
was a baby and as such didn't understand what he saw. 

        - Harry sees Quirrell die in PS. What gives? 

        Harry loses consciousness at the end of the fight. THEN 
Dumbledore arrives and Voldemort flees, and only then Quirrell dies 
(the books are not the film!). By then, Harry is in no condition to 
see anything. And Harry has never reflected on that death, and thus 
has never "understood" it (see above) 

        - Harry sees the carriages at the end of GoF, after seeing 
Cedric's death, but doesn't see the thestrals. Is it a Flint? 

Quite possibly not - Harry is still in shock at the time. He didn't 
accept and understand Cedric's death until later, and thus hadn't 
yet "seen" death. This is JKR's official explanation, as seen in her 
Royal Albert Hall interview. Other people on the list do think it's 
a FLINT, but the matter is debatable. 

House Championship
------------------

·So, who won the House Championship?

We don't know. We *do* know that the Inquisitorial Squad managed to 
drastically reduce or empty the points of all houses but Slytherin, 
and that McGonagall awards 240 points to Gryffindor at the end 
(which normally wouldn't be enough to win: in PS, Gryffindor needs 
482 points to win). More points might have been awarded during the 
feast, which Harry doesn't attend, though. 


James
-----

· Was James an idiot?

Maybe, or maybe not. Some point out that, as Sirius says, James is 
15 in the pensieve scene. People change, particularly at the end of 
adolescence. Others maintain that Lily was right--he was as bad as 
Snape was, and probably worse.
Still others feel that we shouldn't trust Snape's memory of events, 
or that one incident may not show the true James.

· How did he become Head Boy if he wasn't prefect? 

Not all prefects become Head Boys (since there are many more 
prefects than Head Boys) and, while prefects seem to be a 
responsibility-oriented position, Head Boy may be awarded to 
academical achievements (which fits with Percy, James and Tom). Or 
something may have happened between 15 and 17 which changed James's 
character noticeably. 

· Why do people speak so highly of a bully?

James wasn't always a 15 year old. Furthermore, he's dead - people 
tend to speak well of the dead. Beyond that, he *did* defy Voldemort 
3 times, so he was a hero once he outgrew being a teenager.


Marauders Map
--------------

· When did Harry get it back? It was in Crouch!Moody's possession in 
GoF! 

Dumbledore tends to give Harry back his things, even if they can be 
used for violating school rules. 
For example, he gave him back his invisibility cape in PS. And this 
is something very similar: an object that used to belong to his 
father. 

However it was done, it was off-page, but while it might have been 
better to show it as it happened, it is really a minor point. 

Pensieve
-----------
.Did the Pensieve scene happen before or after the Prank?

A. Most likely it was before the Prank. James was fifteen. In PoA, 
Snape says Sirius was sixteen when he tried to murder Snape.

Q.Is the Pensieve objective?

A. There's no consensus on this. Some list members have theorized 
that the Pensieve shows only Snape's subjective recollection of 
events. He couldn't have overheard what the Marauders were saying to 
each other, or seen what James was doodling when his nose was 
against his exam.

Others maintain just as strongly that the events happened just as 
Harry saw them, since Sirius and Lupin both confirmed his account 
when he questioned them. They note that Harry was able to look 
around in Dumbledore's pensieve and see things that Dumbledore 
wouldn't have been able to see. They theorize that the pensieve is 
useful precisely because it opens an objective window on the past.

Neville's Wand
--------------

· No wonder Neville was bad at magic! He had his father's wand, not 
one suited for him. Now that he'll have a proper wand, he'll surely 
become much more powerful! After all, Olivander said "You will 
never get such good results with another wizard's wand" 

Not necessarily. Ron had a non-suited wand in PS and CoS and a 
suitable wand in the rest and his magic didn't suddenly improve 
(ignoring the fact that during CoS his wand malfunctioned). 

Beyond that, according to canon, all Neville needs is "confidence". 
And indeed when he joins DA he gains confidence at such rate that in 
the end he's amongst the best in the class. 


OWLs
----

· There are only 8 subjects you can take at the same time - how 
could Charlie, Percy and Bill get 12 OWLs each? 

It is possible that you get separate OWLs for the practical and the 
theory exam of each subject. 


The Prophecy
------------

· What are those letters in the title of the prophecy? 

They are the initials of the prophet and the witness of the 
prophecy: Trelawney and Dumbledore. 

· What does it mean?

The most obvious meaning is that either Harry will kill Voldemort, 
or Voldemort will kill Harry. BUT The most obvious meanings tend to 
be Red Herrings in HP books. And of course traditionally the 
prophecy's meaning is hidden, and only really clear once the 
situation has happened. Thus, many listees have proposed their own 
interpretations. 

· Could it be referring to Neville and not Harry? Could it be 
talking about both? Why did Voldemort choose Harry? 

It is clear that we will be discussing the prophecy for the years to 
come (probably until book 7). 

Several members have expressed the following opinions, but the 
debate is far from over. Yes, it could refer to Neville, or both 
(since the line about being born is repeated, slightly changed) and 
we have no idea why Voldemort chose Harry - maybe he was going to 
kill both, and Harry was the first he had access to (since it's 
logical that both were under Fidelius Charm). 

. Who was the person who overheard part of the Prophecy?

Canon doesn't say. Some list members think it was Snape and it 
convinced him to change sides. Others note that Mundungus Fletcher 
was banned from the Hog's Head twenty years before, and this could 
be why he would have been thrown out four years later.


Sirius & Harry
--------------

· Sirius and Harry have changed a lot! Are they Out Of Character? 

Depends who you ask, but being forced to stay in a house where 
everyone hates you and being stopped from doing anything useful can 
drive anyone up a wall. Harry is 15, is an adolescent and as such is 
very well written - adolescents tend to be self-centred and subject 
to easy rage. Sirius has spent many years in Azkaban, never had the 
chance to grow up, and having to stay in the house constantly 
affects him. 

· What killed Sirius?

Probably crossing the veil (see "the black veil", above). We don't 
know exactly what spell Bellatrix used. Some members have said that 
a well-aimed stupefy spell to the chest might stop the heart, thus 
killing the person. Sirius did look surprised, which is a face many 
people have when they die. 

        - Is he really dead?

        Seems so, sorry. If you can't accept it, you are welcomed to 
join U.S.S. SAD DENIAL (Sirius' Awful Death Didn't End Neatly; It's 
A Lie!), a theory captained by Terry LJ for those that think Sirius 
isn't really dead. Many already have (knowingly or unknowingly). 

· What was the point of Sirius's death?

Everyone has an opinion. Some accuse JKR of sloppy writing. Others 
point out that death rarely has a meaning, in RL, and thus doesn't 
need it in the books. Others give their own explanations of  why 
Sirius was the chosen one. Searching for "Sirius death point" might 
be a good idea before attempting this subject. 

· Harry forgot about Sirius's mirror! Why? Is it a Flint? Did JKR 
forget? 

No. Harry has forgotten about presents before - particularly, 
Sirius's knife, that he needed in the second task of GoF, and the 
sneakscope, that has spent 4 years inside a sock. 

· Harry didn't become a prefect? Can he become a Head Boy? 

Yes! His father wasn't a prefect, but still was Head Boy. 

        - But will he?

        No idea - ask me after book 7.

Severus Snape
-------------

. Was that scene we saw in the Pensieve really his worst memory? 
Wouldn't the Prank be worse?

The text never calls it that, only the title of the chapter does.
Still, some list members think it had to do with being saved by a 
girl and a mudblood - Lily. And that was not the only memory in the 
pensieve, nor did we see all of it.

. Did Snape overhear what the Marauders were saying?
Wouldn't he have found out that Lupin was a werewolf?

We don't know. Possible answers include:
He was out of normal hearing range -- he imagined it and added it to 
his memory later.

He was out of normal hearing range -- but the pensieve's power 
truthfully revealed what they were saying.

He has extraordinarily acute hearing but thought it was a joke.

He did find out that Lupin was a werewolf, and entered the tunnel 
despite that because he was under an Imperius curse.

. Is Snape poor? He has grey underwear.

 Old clothes don't grey, they get holes and go yellow. Whether 
Snape didn't allow his underwear to be cleaned or it was grey to 
start with is open to debate. (Or whether it turned grey BECAUSE it 
was cleaned--with too many black robes!) 

. Shouldn't Harry have apologised for going into the Pensieve?

 Most members seem to think so.

. Why didn't Harry go to Snape when he needed a member of the Order?

 Some folks think that Harry still doesn't trust Snape (Ron keeps 
suggesting that Snape is trying to HELP Voldemort see into Harry's 
mind, not STOP him), and the last time he asked him for help, Snape 
stalled and was a hindrance, rather than a help (GoF, when Harry 
needs to tell someone about Crouch, Sr. in the Forbidden Forest).

However, The text says that Harry forgot, so many list members think 
it had nothing to do with his not trusting Snape. Harry's 
realization that he forgot is right there with him *willing* Snape 
to read his mind; this makes it seem that he wouldn't have had any 
problem going to Snape to save Sirius--he just *forgot.* Whether 
he "forgot" because of Ron continually trying to convince him that 
Snape isn't trustworthy is up for debate.

. What is Snape's job in the Order?

Many theories there, but no answers. Most agree he is spying on
Voldemort, given what he told Harry during Occlumency lessons about 
his own capacity to resist Voldemort's ability to detect people who 
are lying to him.

. What was Snape doing during the Ministry incident?

 Snape was the one that tipped off the members of the Order, and 
then went searching for Harry in the Forbidden Forest. Some 
speculate that since he is spying on Voldemort, he couldn't have 
joined in, as that would have given him away.

. Snape isn't in the Black family chart! Is he mixed blood? Or
Mudblood?

 Not every wizard is necessarily related to the Blacks, the 
implications about inbreeding aside. It is doubtful that a Mudblood 
would either call anyone by that name OR be Sorted into Slytherin 
House, but we have no specific information about Snape's 
background. Because of his house and his use of this epithet one 
might assume that he is at the very least a half-blood.

. Will knowledge of Snape's role in the Order, which is right there 
in Harry's mind, endanger Snape if Voldemort "sees" that memory in 
Harry?

 Many list members have wondered (or worried about) this, and it 
might very well be why Snape agreed to participate in the Occlumency 
lessons (self-preservation); there is no clear answer yet.

Dumbledore
---------------

. Why was it safe for Dumbledore to talk to Harry at the end?


We don't know and JKR left us to worry about it. We may find out in 
Book Six. Possible explanations include:
Dumbledore felt that Voldemort wouldn't be up to invading Harry's 
mind just then because he was still recovering from his defeat in 
the duel.

Harry's mind was such a jumble of emotions that Voldemort wouldn't 
be able to read it.

Voldemort could no longer endure the power of Harry's heart once it 
had been unleashed by his reaction to the loss of Sirius.

Dumbledore has renounced the 'safe' path - that is the whole point 
of the conversation. He realises that keeping Harry away from risks 
just opens up new, worse risks. His reason for not talking to Harry 
through most of the book was to try to downgrade the importance of 
Harry to himself in Voldemort's thoughts. The fact that D turned up 
in person to defend Harry means V can no longer be fooled by this.

This is another topic that will probably be discussed until the next 
book.


Dennis Creevey
-------------------

Q. How could Dennis Creevey be at the meeting in the Hog's Head when 
he was only in second year?

A. This might be another Flint. OTOH Dennis may have asked his big 
brother Colin, who had a chat with his classmate Ginny Weasley and 
found out about the secret tunnels to Hogsmeade. Or, it's possible 
that Dumbledore had relaxed the age of the Hogsmeade visits. We will 
once again have to wait to hear from JKR. 

Hope that helps,

Grey Wolf

[Written by Grey Wolf, who has given the Administration Team 
permission to use this post. We thank you.] 

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