Some new OOP thoughts from a second reading

[falcongk81]

No: HPFGUIDX 64785

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "banjo_ken" <banjoken at o...> 
wrote:
> I must say I'm enjoying the book even more on my second reading. I'm
> starting to think that this just may be my favorite of the series 
so far.
> 
> Anyway, there are a few things that I don't think have been 
discussed
> here yet, so I thought I'd point them out. Has anybody else realized
> that Professor Marchbanks (the O.W.L. examiner) is probably about 
175
> years old? See this quote, from pg. 711 of the US edition:
> 
>      "I doubt it," shouted tiny Professor Marchbanks, "not if
> Dumbledore doesn't want to be found! I should know....Examined him
> personally in Transfiguration and Charms when he did N.E.W.T.s...Did
> things with a wand I'd never seen before..."
> 
> Considering that Dumbledore is about 155 years old when this takes
> place, and he probably took his N.E.W.T.s when he was 18 or so. I
> don't think this is just a simple mistake, and Marchbanks really is
> supposed to be that old. I would not be at all surprised to see him
> again doing something important in the future.
> 
> Aside from that I've been thinking a lot about Sirius. I know a lot 
of
> you don't want to hear this, but I'm going to argue from a slightly
> different angle. I think that considering who/what they were up
> against, the order was very lucky to have only lost one member in 
that
> battle. Given the kind of powerful wizards they were fighting, it's
> pretty amazing that Sirius was the only one who didn't survive,
> especially when you consider that the order managed to tie up 
several
> important death eaters by the end. As much as it hurts to say this,
> the order came away with a very important victory, despite their 
great
> loss. 
> 
> I'm still very sad to see Sirius go, but I really think he almost
> would have preferred it this way. He had been locked up in his old
> house with Kreacher and that portrait of his mother for almost a 
year.
> He was going mad knowing that because he was still a fugitive from 
the
> MoM, he had to keep himself inside. This is just a guess, but I 
think
> it probably occurred to him when he finally went out to help save
> Harry that he might not be coming back. He was probably in some way
> satisfied that he gave his life to save his godson and be useful to
> the order in a way that he never could have been in Grimmauld place.
> 
> Ken

Wow, you know, I hadn't thought about that.  Prof Marchbanks IS 
really old!

As for Sirius, while I hate to agree with you, I'm gonna have to.  In 
the grand tally of things, the Order certainly came out on top.  Its 
just terrible for Harry to have to go through more losses.  To be 
honest, I was quite upset that Sirius had to go.  It should have been 
someone else, anyone else.  Harry needed that link to his parents.  
He needed his Godfather, it made him feel like he wasn't a complete 
orphan.  And to top it off, he feels guilty for it.  I do kinda blame 
him there though, he had those darned two-way mirrors.  Going to the 
MoM was totally unnecessary.

FalconGK