The Potter's supposed wealth.... and Time Paradoxes

[Melanie L Ellis]

No: HPFGUIDX 58051

First off, how much money did the Potter's have?

It's been speculated here that perhaps one reason LV went after the
Potters is because they were quite wealthy and were bankrolling the
anti-LV efforts. Unless they've got some more money stashed away - or
spent a *lot* of it on the LV war before they died, there's only a "small
fortune" tucked away in Gringott's. I can't remember exactly where the
thought is, but IIRC, even though Harry is at first amazed by the money
left for him, he later realizes that he's going to have to be careful
spending his money because he knows he's got to make it last for at least
7 years to get him through school. I suppose the "they spent most of it
before they died" argument could be true, but I just don't get that sense
from what's been discussed about James and Lily in the books.

********
Time paradoxes:
"Koticzka" wrote:
> Was Buckbeak killed at first in PoA? I had an impression he was 
actually decapitated. And afterwards the deer appears.
> 
> Note: If time traveling works consequently - Hippogriff should be 
dead and there should be no deer at the first version of events.
> OR Hippogriff should be spared nad deer should appear.
> Another mistake? - I suppose so. But I have to check it up

Okay, time travel loops are hard to grasp, but I'll see if I can clear it
up. Let me see if I can go through the "first" time line and tie it in
with the "second" time line and we'll see if it makes more sense. As a
previous poster used, I'll use HH1 and HH2 to make distinctions between
which sets of Harry/Hermoines I'm talking about:

1. HH1 and Ron are heading out under the Invisibility Cloak to go see
Hagrid before the execution. "They skulked in an empty chamber off the
entrance hall, listening, until they were sure it was deserted. They
heard a last pair of people scurrying across the hall and a door
slamming." (page 327, American) This "last pair of people" was HH2
running into the broom closet and slamming the door. So that had already
happened, but HH1 did not know that it was HH2 who was running and
slamming.

2. While HH1 and Ron are visiting Hagrid, HH2 are waiting in the edge of
the forest, listening to everything. They don't make any noises or knock
over anything that HH1 hear, so there are no clues (like the running feet
and slamming door) to HH1 that anyone is outside. 

3. Buckbeak's execution: HH1 and Ron don't get to hear all the formal
talk and signing of the papers because they're running across the
grounds, trying to get back to the castle under the Cloak. All they hear
is:
" The rat was squealing wildly, but not loudly enough to cover up the
sounds drifting up from Hagrid's garden. There was a jumble of indistinct
male voices, a silence, and then, without warning, the unmistakeable
swish and thud of an axe." (page 331, American) To HH1 and Ron, they
believe this to be the swish and thud of an axe executing Buckbeak. They
are too far away to hear what is actually said, nor can they see. But, in
actuality, it is the swish and thud of the executioner slamming the axe
into the fence. So no, Buckbeak was *never executed* - but HH1 did not
know it. Then - "Then, behind them, they heard a wild howling. 'Hagrid,'
Harry muttered." (page 332, American) HH1 and Ron assume that it is
Hagrid howling in grief, But remember, they're too far away to hear
precisely. Really, it is Hagrid howling and crying in relief (all that
pent-up nervous energy, ya know!) because Buckbeak had got away and he's
happy.

4. Skippity-skip through all the re-hash of the Shrieking Shack and head
for the Dementors and the Patronus: Okay, this is where it gets a tiny
bit harder to understand because Harry actually sees himself and the
"loop" seems a little weirder. Harry1 is lying on the ground, about to
get "kissed" when the silvery light appears around him, he looks up and
sees the Patronus stag (although at first, he doesn't know what kind of
an animal it is) and he sees the stag go to the person on the bank, who
pats it gently. Harry1 then passes out. What he doesn't know is that the
person on the bank is Harry2. So the Patronus does appear in the first
time line, but Harry1 doesn't know how it got there. In the repeated time
line, Harry2 finally realizes that he was responsible for the Patronus,
and since he *knows* it appeared fully strong the first time, this gives
him the confidence to actually be the one to be responsible for casting
it. 

Now, did I miss anything, or screw it up? Sometimes to "get" time travel,
especially when it loops in on itself like in PoA, you have to just step
back and let it just flow quietly through you instead of trying to buckle
down and try to make real sense out of it. I think kids probably have an
easier time with it, which may be one reason why JKR decided to use it.

Melanie Ellis
Alabama Homeschool Message Board
http://pub77.ezboard.com/balabamahomeschoolmessageboard

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