Polyjuice!Arabela and other Polydoubts

[Morgan D.]

No: HPFGUIDX 53067

Im gonna risk bringing up this old topic again, in hopes that I can
add up a point or two that hasnt been exhaustedly discussed yet.
(Gosh, dont you all wish Yahoo archive search system were more
friendly?) Besides, Im less interested in the possibility itself than
in the need for this theory altogether.

In PS/CS ch 2, Harry describes Mrs Figg as a mad old lady who lived
two streets away, and he says her whole house smelled of cabbage. In
CoS ch 12, Harry drinks Polyjuice Potion and thinks it tasted like
overcooked cabbage. That was enough to convince many readers that
Arabella isnt an old lady at all.

But Polyjuice Potion isnt a tool for simple shape-shifting. It gives
the drinker the appearance of someone else. So if Arabella isnt the
old lady described by Harry, there IS some old lady that looks like
that somewhere. Where is she?

In GoF, Barty Jr has to keep Moody around and alive because, according
to Dumbledore (ch 35), the impostor needed, of course, to keep the
real Moody close by, so that he could continue making the Potion.
Under Veritaserum, Barty Jr adds, I kept him alive, under the Imperius
curse. I wanted to be able to question him. To find out about his past,
learn his habits, so that I could fool even Dumbledore. I also needed
his hair to make the Polyjuice Potion. (also ch 35)

But isnt Arabella one of the good guys? She wouldnt keep an old
woman in a trunk for 14 years, would she?

Honestly, I dont see why Barty Jr has to keep Moody around and alive.
For interrogation, perhaps -- but he kept Moody in that trunk for about
nine months! Wasnt that time enough for him to get all the info he
needed? Considering Barty Jr apparently managed to impersonate Moody
without attracting any suspicions even in the very beginning, wouldnt
keeping Moody alive imply on a very unnecessary risk?

(Small side notes: 
1. I personally find very suspicious that Dumbledore, whos known Moody
for decades, bought so easily the farce executed by someone who
certainly didnt know Moody as well as he did. Should I mention I have
a thing for MAGIC DISHWASHERs?
2. I personally find puzzling that Moody never managed to fight the
Imperius curse and free himself, since weve seen younger, less
experienced wizards -- Harry and Barty Jr -- doing it. How long does
the effect of a Stun spell last anyway?)

Anyway, interrogation is the only reason I can think of for Barty Jr to
keep Moody alive. Moodys hair is used for the potion, but hair is a
dead tissue. It shouldnt lose its properties even if cut from the
subject years before the making of the potion. But, well, does that
mean Dumbledore is wrong? Would I dare to correct the Headmaster? Yes,
he apparently commits some judgement errors from time to time (does
he?), but should I dispute his knowledge of potions?

So lets say magic has quirks that are unknown to Muggle chemistry and
Arabella does need to keep that old lady around to get her hairs or
nails. Does that mean there are two women living in that house? Or the
old lady lives someplace else and Arabella has to go visit her from
time to time?

According to Hermione (CoS ch 10), the Polyjuice Potion takes about a
month to be brewed (at least the lacewings have got to be stewed for
twenty-one days). Arabella must have a cauldron of potion ready all
the time, because -- unless shes an extraordinary Seer -- she cant
predict a month in advance when Harry will come to visit her. So either
Arabella has spent good part of the last 14 years (more? less?)
drinking the potion every hour, or she keeps brewing the potion on and
on but only drinks it when Harry shows up -- which means that the
original old lady is there in the house too, and Arabella only takes
her place every now and then.

But there is another problem here. According to Veritaserum!Barty Jr
(GoF ch 35), Wormtail and I did it. We had prepared the Polyjuice
Potion beforehand. But Voldemort and Wormtail only rescued Barty after
the World Cup Final, which took place either one or two weeks before
the September 1st (the references to that, in chapters 3 and 10 of GoF,
seem contradictory). Theres not enough time for them to brew the
potion before the school term. I dont know what to make of this. Even
if Wormtail had started brewing the potion weeks before, wouldnt Barty
Jr, under Snapes strongest Veritaserum, considering the detailed
report of events he volunteers (without being specifically prompted
by Dumbledore, I mean), said something like, They had everything
planned. Wormtail had already started brewing the Polyjuice Potion, and
I helped him finish it?

Back to Arabella. Lets assume for a moment that the potion doesnt
need a month to be brewed somehow. Lets also assume that both
Dumbledore and Barty Jr are wrong and the Polyjuice Potion doesnt
require fresh material. Arabella has had the hair/nail/whatever tissue
samples she needs for ages. Shes the only woman in that house,
drinking the potion every hour for over a decade, stealing her looks
from some old aunt of hers. 

Question: why?

I could think of 3 possibilities:

1. The Dursleys would be able to recognise Arabella, and she doesnt
want that. 
--> How they met? No idea. I do wonder if a simple disguise wouldnt be
easier though. Back to my first point, Polyjuice Potion gives the
drinker the looks of another existing person. Why would Arabella want
to look like that particular old lady? The Dursleys dont seem
particularly fond of her. If not being recognised is the whole point,
she could simply dye her hair, gain a few pounds, use lots of make-up
-- not to mention use some less troublesome magic spells to alter her
looks. 

2. There are Death Eaters watching Harrys neighbourhood, and Arabella
doesnt want them to recognise her. 
--> Again, arent there easier disguise spells she could use instead of
a dead-give-away cabbage-smelling potion you have to keep drinking all
the time?

3. Arabella Figg IS an old lady -- secretly a witch -- but the woman
Harry knows is NOT Arabella Figg. Shes actually a Death Eater that
took the place of the witch Dumbledore planted there to protect Harry
(a disguise under a disguise under a disguise). In that case, the real
Arabella could be very well locked in some trunk inside the house. 
--> The problem with this possibility? Its farfetched. Unless you can
think of a reason why a DeathEater!Polyjuice!Arabella wouldnt have
seized the occasion of Harrys visits and killed him already.

However, what bothers me the most about the whole Polyjuice!Arabella
theory is, why to create it?

Of course, we make up wild theories because thats what we do, duh!
^__^  We just cant read cabbage twice and not to wonder if theres a
connection. Who cares if Harry doesnt say Moaning Myrtles bathroom
smelled of cabbage for a month? Who cares if Harry doesnt say that
Moodys office or Fake!Moody himself smelled like cabbage?

Ive found lots of Polyjuice!Arabella in fanfiction. The idea seems to
be: Harry must have a godmother lying around somewhere, and what better
candidate than Mrs Figg?

Okay, fine, lets say Mrs Figg is Harrys godmother. That doesnt say
why shed have any need of Polyjuice Potion. The Dursleys dont seem to
recognise Sirius Black, neither by name nor looks, as Harrys
godfather. Why would they know about his godmother? And if shes hiding
from other wizards who might recognise her, wouldnt have been a
cleverer idea to change her name too?

And in fanfiction, Polyjuice!Arabella is always a beautiful woman in
her thirties. But, A) a godmother isnt necessarily the same age as the
childs parents; B) a godmother isnt necessarily the godfathers
girlfriend or wife; and C) Ive never read a Polyjuice!Arabella fic
that didnt sound suspiciously Mary Sueish.

Why cant we leave Arabella as an old woman? Would that make her
uncool, is that the problem? Is it a need to find Sirius some young,
beautiful love interest? Is it out of aversion for old people? 

Dumbledore lists Arabella as part of the old crowd. Along with Remus
(young) and Fletcher (old). No clues from there.

All in all, wouldnt be more plausible to assume JKR simply hates
cabbage and thinks of it whenever she must describe a sickening smell
or taste? (Now THATs a feeling I can relate to...)

Hoping no one kills me,

Morgan D.
Hogwarts Letters - http://www.hogwartsletters.hpg.com.br

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more
http://taxes.yahoo.com/