Hagrid in Knockturn Alley (WAS: Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent)

Mon Mar 3 14:22:20 UTC 2003

No: HPFGUIDX 53081

Hey all~

I've been following a few discussions about CoS clues and the 
importance of Hagrid's Knockturn Alley visit, and I just wanted to 
throw in my two cents.

Tanya said, in a list of possible CoS clues:
>Hagrid shows up in Knockturn Alley. Not very big in the book, but 
>Coltrane plays it up onscreen and Coltrane knows where his 
>character is going.

Me:
Exactly. I know that TMTMNBN is not canon, but we know for a fact 
that JKR has shared important things about her characters' futures 
with the actors that play them. She knows what's coming, and I 
wouldn't be at all surprised if Coltrane's deliverance of the Flesh-
Eating Slug line was meant to make us think. (Even if it wasn't, 
trust HPFGU Listees to think about it anyway. ;-D)

I admit that Finwitch's idea about Hagrid spending time in Knockturn 
Alley because of his "broken wand" status is more plausible than 
what I'm about to suggest, but the whole affair seems to have been 
kept rather quiet. After all, Dumbledore tells us that very few 
people even know that Voldemort and Riddle are the same person (Ch. 
18 CoS). When Harry is wondering whether or not to report the 
robbery of Riddle's diary, he hesitates because he doesn't want to 
bring Hagrid into the picture:

"He'd have to tell a teacher all about the diary, and how many 
people knew why Hagrid had been expelled fifty years ago? He didn't 
want to be the one who brought it all up again." (Ch. 14 CoS)

What with that and the number of parents who send owls to Dumbledore 
in GoF, telling him "in no uncertain terms" that they would have 
something to say if he sacked Hagrid, I have a hard time believing 
that Hagrid is viewed as any kind of criminal. What I'm suggesting 
is something along the lines of Spy!Hagrid. We know that Dumbledore 
is well aware of what's going on in the wizarding world. We also 
know that he trusts Hagrid, since he often chooses him to carry out 
important tasks (i.e. rescuing baby Harry, collecting the PS/SS from 
Gringotts). So why shouldn't Dumbledore be using Hagrid to keep an 
eye on Lucius Malfoy?

It makes sense to me that Dumbledore would keep a close watch 
on "former" DEs, simply for the sake of keeping the wizarding world 
safe. These people are dangerous (obviously), and keeping track of 
their doings in public situations would be an advantageous thing for 
Spymaster!Dumbledore to do. Simple enough, right?

Wrong.

Okay, maybe it really is that simple. But think about it: not only 
did Hagrid show up in Knockturn Alley, he also popped out of nowhere 
in Flourish and Blotts to pull Arthur and Lucius apart when they 
were attempting to rip eachother to pieces. And what happened a 
second later? Lucius handed Ginny her Transfiguration book *with 
Riddle's diary inside*. So what's going on here?

I'm thinking that we might be looking at a manifestation of 
Dishwasher!Dumbledore. It seems possible that he knew about the 
diary, and about Lucius's connection with it. After all, he doesn't 
seem surprised when Harry makes the connection. He smiles and 
behaves quite calmly (Ch 18 CoS). But I have a really hard time 
believing that Dumbledore was totally in control of the plot in CoS. 
I subscribe to the idea that he more or less knew everything that 
went on in PS/SS, and that the obstacles guarding the Stone were 
tailored to the talents of HRH, to give them "practice" for what was 
to come. In CoS, however, things were much more dangerous. The 
entire school was affected, and several students escaped death by 
lucky chance.

Maybe Dumbledore's handling of Lucius at the end of CoS was just 
typical Dumbledore behavior. It's true that we rarely see him get 
upset. However, he seems slightly amused, which reminds me of his 
reaction to Snape's hospital wing tantrum at the end of PoA, when he 
knew what was going on and Snape didn't have a clue.

All right, I've just confused myself, and most likely several 
others, so if anyone can set me straight, I'd be grateful. Forgive 
me if any of this has been brought up before, but I just couldn't 
resist.

Peace,

Kate
who has finally delurked and hopes that she won't get anything 
thrown at her due to half-cocked theorizing