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[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 70615

Number 12 Grimmaud Place *is* a grim old place. Also, if Padfoot was 
a Grim, it was a Grim's "old place". 

However, my first thought was Grimaldi, which is the name of the 
royal house of Monaco, which began 700 years ago when their founder 
-- the way I remembered it was that he was then a mere man-at-arms, 
but conquered the unbreakable castle of Monaco by sneaking into it 
through a secret passage which he had learned about when employed 
there, and opening it to his side's army from within. Which sounds 
alarmingly like Kreachur, yes?

But I went web-surfing and all I found was that he was already a 
Prince and he conquered the castle by going into it disguised as a 
Franciscan monk. Still a scary hint of the Order not being as safe as 
they think in Grimmaud Place.   

Kelly Grosskreutz wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/70328 :

<< we are told Edgar had a sister, Amelia, who survived. Amelia has a 
daughter, Susan, who is a Hufflepuff in Harry's year at Hogwarts. >>

I *think* Susan Bones said that Amelia is her aunt, not her mother. 
Anyway, I would have expected that Susan's Bones parent was her 
father, because surnames seem to be patrilineal in the Potterverse. 
In that case, that older generation of Boneses was two brothers and a 
sister, counter-example to those who say that the Weasleys are the 
only wizarding family with more than two children and the only 
wizarding family with children of both sexes.

Dorothy Zebco606 wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/70333 :

<< Every time I read Ollivander I find myself mentally breaking it 
down into olive wand. Of course an olive branch symbolizes peace. >>

I'm not a language scholar either, but my mind goes "ander = man" (as 
in "Alexander" from "Alexandros", "andros" means "man") and then it 
goes "olive vendor". It also thinks that a million years ago when I 
used to read Robert Graves, he wrote that one of the ranks of Druids 
was "ollaves".

Darrin wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/70357 : 

<< Harry asks him to help find D-Dore in GoF and Snape clearly enjoys 
making Harry wait, an action on Snape's part which has never been 
fully explained, considering it delayed D-Dore from finding Crouch Sr. 
>>

I used to be very upset about that incident until someone (was it 
psychic_serpent Barb?) explained to me that Harry had been about to 
run off to the staff room, and Snape was actually keeping him at 
Dumbledore's door long enough for Dumbledore to come out and see 
what he wanted. So, yes, he enjoyed annoying Harry, but he wasn't 
indulging himself at Dumbledore's expense.

Julia Eowyn wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/70364 :

<< Take one silver hand, and one werwolf, who wins? >>

JKR has never said that Potterverse werewolves have a special 
reaction to silver, and I believe that one bit in OoP was put there 
specifically to show that they *don't*. Remember the dinner at 
Grimmaud Place where Mundungus asks Sirius if the goblet is solid 
silver and Sirius said yes? Later in the meal (page 83 UK regular 
edition), "Lupin, who had been about to take a sip of wine, lowered 
his goblet slowly, looking wary." I am convinced that the Mundungus 
and Sirius bit was put in there ONLY to show that the goblet Lupin is 
holding is silver. It didn't need to be there to demonstrate 
Mundungus's character or the Black house's history, as both were 
demonstrated elsewhere.

Lupinwolf2001 wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/70369 :

<< Could Salazar Slytherin be going age to age (finding powerful 
magic users that either submit to being possessed or are taken 
forceably)? >>

I like that idea, but only if Salazar was actually evil, rather than 
merely misunderstood. In my own little universe, he was around 600 
years old at the time of the Founding (he had either made or stolen a 
Philosopher's Stone) and had turned evil out of bitterness and 
cynicism at all the bad history he saw during his life during the 
Fall of the Roman Empire and the Dark Ages.

<< If so, is the same true of a bloodline of Godric G as well? >>

Surely not. Good, brave Godric wouldn't have been too scared to go on 
to 'the next great adventure', and Nick told us that wizards become 
ghosts from that cowardice.

ratalman wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/70377 :

<< Why was Tom Riddle raised in a muggle orphanage, if he had a witch 
mother? Aren't there orphanages in the wizarding world? >>

I don't think there are orphanages in the wizarding world, but 
wizarding orphans are simply taken in by relatives or their parents' 
friends. Tom's mother apparently had no friends, at least not after 
being impregnated and deserted by a *Muggle*. I don't think there's 
any Department of Children and Family Services in the Ministry of 
Magic -- no bureaucrat in charge of making sure that every wizarding 
little baby has a home: the wizarding world doesn't seem that well 
organized to me. Ffred Manawydan's 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/70604 is very 
good on this.

<< How did he get the money needed to attend Hogwarts? >>

I can't find any proof, but I'm convinced that Hogwarts doesn't 
charge tuition -- they get enough income from the return on their 
large endowment (which has had 1000 years to grow!). Harry only needs 
money for books, clothes, supplies, and trips to Hogsmeade. There may 
be a charitable fund at Hogwarts for books, clothes, and supplies for 
students who are *very* poor --- it might supply other students' 
discarded used books and clothes, which would be humiliating. 
(Similar to Nemi's 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/70414 )

Pooh Carol wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/70519 :

<< one possibility I haven't managed to find anyone else raising is 
that Snape is or is perceived to be gay. James may have a prejudice, 
heightened by his denial that one of his friends is gay. I know that 
the subject of Sirius being gay has been raised but it is Lupin who 
neither acknowledges, condones or prevents the bullying. He tries to 
distance himself. I believe that this is because he knows that he has 
a parallel with Snape is some way. It is either the vampire/werewolf 
thing or that they are both gay. >>

I have long (I mean, back when this list was an e-group) believed 
that Snape's nastiness, and his having joined the Death Eaters, is 
due to his internal pain due to self-loathing, which is partly caused 
by self-directed homophobia and attempted denial of his orientation.

I have also been a Sirius/Remus shipper for a very long time. But I 
don't believe that James had a problem with it. My view of arrogant 
wizards is that they feel "MY friends have the right to do whatever 
they want, so it doesn't matter if you no-accounts gossip about them 
being gay (or whatever)." 

And I don't feel that Remus feels some kinship with Severus. 

Kattfirmin1 wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/70530 :

> Jenny, while everything you said is VERY true, I'd like to add 
> something.  Prejudice aren't just generally an upper class or 
> majority problem, but a way to make an average, or not so average 
> person feel more important.   (snip)
> 
> Now, (to not be off topic), I think the same type of prejudice does 
> exist very heavily in the wizarding world. (snip) we are to believe 
> that in Potterville, witches and wizards have been persecuted for 
> centuries.  Since they were subjected to that, some wizards felt 
> pretty insignificant, and starting creating their own prejudices 
> against others, to make themselves feel better.  People like Malfoy 
> Sr. strikes me like that.  Someone who has to put others down to 
> make themselves superier. (Can you imagine Malfoy's humiliation at 
> having to hide from Muggles?)  And you're right, "Mudblood" is an 
> excellent term JKR created to capture that prejudice.

I'm breaking the list rule against replies that say only "What a 
great post! I entirely agree!"

Lee Dee Dolly wrote in 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/70539 :

<< Lupin, as well as the other faculty, call him by his first name, 
Severus, but you'd think that Lupin would call him "Professor" Snape 
considering the animosity. >>

Remus is very quietly enjoying needling Severus, who resents being 
first-named by someone he hates, but can't very well complain that 
Remus is following Dumbledore's advice that all faculty members 
should first-name each other.