[HPforGrownups] Dress Robes and a question about Sirius/Lupin

[GulPlum]

No: HPFGUIDX 53691

At 03:57 13/03/03 , grace701 wrote:
>My first question is can anyone direct me to where I can see what dress 
>robes look like?  I have never seen one before and I find it hard to 
>imagine what the Trio, and everyone else, are wearing for the Yule 
>Ball.  I automatically switch to suits and dresses.  Plus, I just can't 
>picture guys wearing robes, if that's what it actually looks like.

Well, in the books, the kids wear robes all the time. So unless you're 
suffering movie contamination, you should be able to imagine it. There was 
a very lengthy discussion in October about just how true to the books the 
movie costumes were, just what JKR means by "robes".

If you're having trouble imagining boys wearing robes, take a look at this 
page (it came up during that discussion): 
http://home.freeuk.com/mkb/SUG/Blcoat.htm
although, strictly speaking, they're wearing "coats" rather than "robes", 
but you get the picture.

>How does Sirius know exactly where to find Harry at the Dursley's on 
>Privet Drive?

Strictly speaking, he finds him in Magnolia Crescent rather than Privet 
Drive. Where Harry lives seems to be fairly common knowledge in the magical 
community (Harry recalls having encountered one or two wizards during his 
childhood and they knew who he was).

Furthermore, although the Dursleys never wanted to have anything to do with 
the Potters, I suspect that Lily and James, being the downright decent 
people they were, would have sent them a Christmas card every year anyway 
so they would have known the address. (It probably would have immediately 
landed in the bin, but that's another issue.) As their best friend, Sirius 
probably would have known too. He certainly would know their name, at the 
very least. Remembering that they lived in a place called Little Whinging 
is no big stretch. You don't need deliberate mnemonics to associate the 
Dursleys with that place name! :-)

So Sirius could simply have prowled around Little Whinging in dog form and 
waited to see something James-like; considering Harry's appearance is so 
much like his dad's (not to mention he was hauling a trunk at the time of 
the encounter), Sirius would've known who he was even if he'd not seen a 
picture of him somewhere.

Or, being a wizard with his best friend's wife a Muggle-born, he may well 
have learned something about Muggle technology and simply used a telephone 
directory. :-)

>And why hasn't Lupin tried to contact Harry once he's reached Hogwarts?

Mainly, plot reasons. That, however, is an unacceptable explanation. :-) 
Psychologically, it's perfectly understandable that he might not want to 
get involved, both for his own good and Harry's. It's clear that Harry 
doesn't know much about his parents' past, and Lupin could easily come to 
the conclusion that Harry wants to distance himself from that knowledge, 
that talking or thinking about his parents is painful for him (which it 
is). Or, he could be under orders from Dumbledore (again, mainly for plot 
reasons) :-) not to discuss anything about Harry's and his parents' past 
unless he's asked a direct question.

Furthermore, Lupin is embarrassed about his lycanthtropic status, and any 
mention of James's past is inextricably linked with that, so perhaps 
thinking about those days is painful for *him*. Not to mention that 
everyone who knew James as a boy sees him in Harry, and I suspect that for 
all of James's friends, his name has immediate connotations with his death 
and the dark times.

Overall, I don't have any problem buying Lupin's reluctance to talk to 
Harry in PoA, although I do have a little difficulty in accepting his 
silence throughout GoF. Sure, Harry has Sirius to contact if he needs to, 
but Sirius is still formally an escaped convict. Contacting his former 
teacher, whose reputation is still fairly intact, would be far more sensible.

My main problem with PoA is Lupin's reluctance to tell Dumbledore about 
Sirius's Animagus status. Lupin was presumably employed as DADA teacher to 
keep an eye on Harry and to protect him, and to assist in apprehending 
Sirius. Keeping silent about the fact that he can transform is a pretty 
major oversight. He wouldn't have needed to go into detail about how it 
came about; he could even have been tentative about it and he needed to say 
was "I think that Sirius might be able to turn into a huge black dog. Be on 
the lookout for one".

Black had got into the school grounds, attacked the Fat Lady, and even got 
as far as the boys' dorm. I don't buy Lupin's explanation that Black had 
done it using Dark Magic. There seems to be a blase attitude that Hogwarts 
is protected from ingression by any means - Sirius's ability to get through 
*must* have been down to more than the protections were geared up for, and 
an Animagus made perfect sense...

--
GulPlum AKA Richard, rambling again