OOP: Mysteries SPOILERS!

[kslivlib]

No: HPFGUIDX 64363

I am sorry for not replying to this earlier, I needed a chance to 
collect my thoughts on this.  My original post (#69274) dealt with 
each of the rooms in the Department of Mysteries and how I thought 
that the things in each room were being studied.  

SocialMongoose wrote me back, when I talked about the difficulties 
of studying prophecies.
In a message dated 24/06/03 19:10:20 GMT Daylight Time, 
socialmongoose at h... writes:

I would think that if there are people who study these prophecies, 
then they would be able to look at them in the "Prophecy Room". I 
think I remember Neville holding Harry's prophecy, and he certaintly 
didn't go mad (although, we must remember, before Voldemort attacked 
Harry, the prophecy involved Neville too). I think they idea is that 
only Voldemort of Harry would be able to *remove* the prophecy from 
that room. I would think that others would be able to study it. 
Also, chances are, once a prophecy has been fufilled, anyone can 
look at it. Remember, knowing the future is something that's full of 
paradoxes and impossibilities. The fewer people who know it, the 
better.

Nick X then replied to socialmongoose:

According to the canon, you are wrong here.  Only ones involved in 
the phophecy can remove the prophecy, not from the room, but from 
where it was sitting.  If you do not remember, Lucius asked for it 
as soon as Harry picked it up.  Once Harry had picked it up it was 
safe for anyone to hold. People studying the prophecies would not be 
able to touch it.  

I reply:
I agree with you here partially.  Dumbledore says that no-one could 
lift the prophecy off the shelf withough going mad when he 
explains "everything" to Harry at the end of the book.  However, in 
the same conversation Dubledore also says that the "keeper of the 
room of prophecies" relabled the prophecy to include Harry's name 
when Vodemort attacked Harry.  This mysterious person would be the 
one with the "spidery hardwriting" mentioned when Harry reads the 
lable on the prophecy.  This person may just have "lableing" rights, 
but then again who knows?  It is possible since no one can take 
these things off the shelf without going mad, it may just be a room 
where these things are stored, but I'd like to think that more goes 
on here.  

Which brings me to the second half of Nic X's reply to 
socialmongoose:
I dont see where you have got the idea that they are studying the 
prophecies.  There is nothing in the canon to suggest they are 
studied there.   

Loadsa love
Nic x

I reply:
The idea of studying was mine, so I will try to defend it.  I had to 
go back and re-read the last quater of the book to see where I had 
found this idea of "studying." (Don't get me wrong, reading OOP is 
not a chore.)  I found what I was looking for last night, and then 
promptly forgot to bring the book with me to work this moring where 
I have a computer, but I will give this my best shot.  In the scene 
where Harry is speaking with Nearly-Headless-Nick about death, NH-
Nick mentions that be beleives that death is "studied" at the 
department of mysteries.  Now I realize that I streched this one 
line of cannon to include each of the rooms or "topics" found in the 
Department of Mysteries, and I realize that I am taking a ghost's 
word for what goes on in the Department of Mysteries in the first 
place.  But if we do take NH-Nick at his word, then at least one 
topic - death - is being studied.  In my orginal post (#69274) I 
talked about how this "study" theory would apply to each room, and 
the phophecy room was the one I had the most problems with.  
My "study" theory may not fly concidering how the prophecy room 
works, but there is much more going on in the Department of 
Mysteries than we will ever know about, and while I only have a tiny 
line of cannon for my "study" theory it is still a line of cannon.

Kelly (who is facinated by the Department of Mysteries and whishes 
that she could be an unspeakable)