Unresolved issues in HP and the Philosopher's / Sorcerer's Stone

[sueeeyqbong]

No: HPFGUIDX 70831

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "annemehr" <annemehr at y...> 
wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "sueeeyqbong" <sue at s...> 
wrote:
> > Hello everyone. I've started re-reading the Harry Potter series 
> > again, to reassess them in the light of OoP. What interested me 
in 
> > particular were the clues and things which, by the end of OoP, 
> still 
> > weren't explained or resolved... an which might point to what's 
> > contained in books 6 and 7.  I thought it might be useful to 
make 
> a 
> > list of them, and would love it if people would add to it the 
> things 
> > I've missed.
> 
> Great!  I'm hooked already!  Okay, let's see...
> 
>  
> > 3)In chapter 1, there are TONS of mentions of all the wizards 
and 
> > witches in the streets around Vernon's place of work, all 
> > celebrating something. [...] then  in 
> > chapter 2, (p.27) the 11 year old Harry reflects on the peculiar 
> > srangers who often bow/shake hands then disappear. This implies 
> that 
> > there is a sizeable magic community in Little Whinging...yet 
> there's 
> > never any other mention of them, and in OoP, I'm sure I remember 
> > Harry being amazed that there was anyone magic living near him 
(on 
> > discovering that Mrs Figg was magic).
> 
> I don't think much will come of this (but see comment on #6); 
> perhaps the business district of Little Whinging became a 
gathering 
> place for the wizards who lived in the wider area right after V 
> fell.  Similarly, Harry seemed to meet them on shopping 
expeditions, 
> on the bus, etc.  This does not contradict that he would be the 
only 
> wizard in his own neighborhood.
> > 
> > 4)  p.45, Hagrid says (discussing why Voldemort went after 
Harry's 
> > parents')  'maybe he thought he could persuade them, maybe he 
> wanted 
> > them out of the way'.  Evidently Hagrid doesn't know of the 
> > prophecy, or any other reason why V targeted the Potters.  And 
yet 
> > he was in the order at the time. Do you think Ddore kept 
everyone 
> in 
> > the order in the dark (except, presumably, those mentioned in 
the 
> > prophecy). If so, this seems like a risky way of conducting a 
> > resistance movement. Wouldn't it make the order members' job 
> easier, 
> > to know who V might target next?
> > 
> > 5)  p.47 (Hagrid discussing what might have happened to V after 
> his 
> > demise) 'Cause there was something about you which finished him. 
> > There was something going on that night he hadn't counted on _ I 
> > dunno what it was, no-one does'. Same point as point 4 above, 
> > really...puts Ddore's reticence with the truth in OoP in a new 
> > perspective.
> 
> These two illustrate what I see as the first book being a bit less 
> developed in detail than the others.  Either JKR had not worked 
out 
> exactly how she was going to handle these issues, or she had not 
> worked out exactly who knew what.
> > 
> > 6)  some names in Harry's first visit to the Leaky Cauldron 
which 
> > may ( or may well not!) appear later...
> > Doris Crockford, Dedalus Diggle,
> 
> Well, in OoP, Dedalus Diggle turns up at Grimmauld Place!  He had 
> also introduced himself to Vernon the day V was defeated, by the 
> way.  I once posited that he was responsible for helping to set up 
> Harry's protection with the Dursleys. 
> > 
> > 7)   p. 57 'it's about the you-know-what in vault 713'. Just a 
> point 
> > already mentioned in pre OoP posts : wasn't Sirius' vault later 
> > mentioned a number 712...ie next door to the one used by Ddore 
to 
> > store the philosopher's stone? Significant? Insignificant? 
Anyone 
> > have a clue?
> 
> Has this been brought up on the "Who inherits Sirius' stuff" 
> thread?  Maybe we'll soon find out!  I'll just note once again 
that 
> Sirius' vault number was edited out of the Scholastic version for 
> some reason (and I think it may have been 711).
> 
> > 12)  p.82  why did Scabbers attack Malfoy and crew when they 
were  
> > attacking the trio on the train? Can't see any reason for 
> > this...Pettigrew doesn't seem the type to put himself out for 
> anyone 
> > but himself.
> 
> I'll just bet Goyle was reaching for something Scabbers wanted! 
> > 
> [...] 
> > 27) Oh, that's it. There is no number 27.
> 
> Yeah, there is!
> 
> 27)Hagrid's wand: is it the umbrella or *inside* the umbrella?  
Did 
> he or Dumbledore ever repair it or is it still in pieces and if 
so, 
> how can it work as well as it does?  What exactly did Dumbledore 
do 
> for Hagrid after his expulsion besides landing him a job?
> 
> Looking forward to your next...
> 
> Annemehr

Thanks Annemehr.  Oh, I like your number 27...I've never wondered 
before how Hagrid ended up at Hogwarts and whether or not there'd be 
an interesting back story with Dumbledore here. That would be fun...

Something else I forgot to add to the list  (so I'll make it number 
28) was the whole mystery of why it took Hagrid all day until 
nightfall - while McGonagall was waiting on the wall - for Hagrid to 
reach Privet Drive, and what happened during those 'missing 24 
hours'. There's tons of interesting stuff about this on the FAQ and 
the Lexicon, so I won't repeat it all here, but I hope that that 
missing day will become an integral part of the overall series plot 
eventually, and not just an unexplained plot gap.