List: Off-Hand remarks that will mean something in future books

[sharana.geo]

No: HPFGUIDX 68720


Pickle Jimmy wrote:
> And while Harry was sure he had never heard the name T. M. Riddle 
before, it still seemed to mean something to him, almost as though 
Riddle was a friend he'd had when he was very small, and had half 
forgotten. But this was absurd. He'd never had friends before
Hogwarts, Dudley had made sure of that.
>
> Q: Is Harry related to the Riddles? Or, did he just have a Riddle 
as 
a friend in Godric's Hollow?

I think the reason why Tom's name means something to Harry is 
because it's part of the "knowledge and powers" that 
Voldemort "transferred" to Harry the night he received his scar. Of 
course there could be more to it...


Pickle Jimmy wrote:
> Q: Why is it that Snape picks mainly on Harry and Neville - the 
prophecy boys. Is there something more to this?

Someone said a few days ago (sorry can't remember who), that Snape 
picks on them, but also shows them where the mistakes were made. 
Granted that it's not the easiest way to learn, but it's true that 
we learn more from our mistakes. And Harry and Neville learn to cope 
with adults who bother them, considering the fate of the Wizard 
World could be in their hands, they should be able to learn how to 
handle all kinds of people without loosing control. This same person 
also pointed out that the points Snape takes from Gryffindor aren't 
that high either. I don't remember much from that post, it was very 
well written, and I agree with it.

Pickle Jimmy wrote:
> Neville had already stretched out his hand, into which his mother 
dropped an empty Drooble's Best Blowing Gum wrapper.
>
> Q: Is Neville's mum more "with it" than we know, or is this just a 
sign of Neville's affection.

I'm not sure but I think that even crazy people have better ways to 
show a sign of affection than just giving a candy wrapper. I knew 
this sweet old lady who in her sickness didn't recognize her 
family's members anymore (living with them), and she behaved like a 
little girl, but she could hug you if she really liked you. So I 
wouldn't count the wrapper scene as her only way of showing 
affection.

As Neville has a lot of these wrappers, many have pointed out the 
possibility that she is trying to give Neville a clue, maybe he 
should try to find out who gives her these candies and have them 
analyzed to see if they have been "tampered" with something. 

Pickle Jimmy wrote:
> `Well, I've lost most of my possessions,' said Luna 
serenely. 'People 
take them and hide them, you know. But as it's the last night, I 
really do need them back, so I've been putting up signs.'
She gestured towards the noticeboard, upon which, sure enough, she 
had pinned a list of all her missing books and clothes, with a plea 
for their return.
An odd feeling rose in Harry; an emotion quite different from the 
anger and grief that had filled him since Sirius's death. It was a 
few moments before he realised that he was feeling sorry for Luna.
`How come people hide your stuff?' he asked her, frowning.
`Oh... well...' she shrugged. `I think they think I'm a bit odd, you 
know. Some people call me "Loony" Lovegood, actually.'
Harry looked at her and the new feeling of pity intensified rather 
painfully.
`That's no reason for them to take your things,' he said flatly. 
D'you want help finding them?'
'Oh, no,' she said, smiling at him. `They'll come back, they always 
do in the end. It was just that I wanted to pack tonight.'
>
> Q: Does this seem odd to anyone else? Is Luna just Loonier than we 
take her for, or is there more to her things just going missing and 
then mysteriously returning?

I don't think she's crazy or anything, she's different, she just 
sees life in a different light and doesn't care what others think 
about her, she hold up to what she believes. I think she is very 
self-confident. 

I see this scene as a way of Harry realizing that he isn't the only 
one that suffers from being "weird" in school. Along the books we 
see how Harry has a bad time when ever the Newspapers talk bad about 
him, saying he was crazy, and all, and how he feels that others 
whisper behind his back and criticize him. Harry doesn't pick on 
her, instead he feels bad by the way others treat her.

As for why her things disappear, well kids can be cruel and silly; 
they must think it's funny to pick on her like this. How her things 
return to her by the last day? Maybe the teachers have something to 
do with this, or there is some kind of magic in the castle to ensure 
that students don't leave anything forgotten in it over summer 
holidays. I wonder why she only really bothers to recover her things 
the last day and not before. It seems then that she doesn't need 
those things.

She certainly is different, strange, but there's nothing wrong with 
it.

Sharana