[HPforGrownups] Squibs, Wizards, Witches and Warlocks

[Patricia Bullington-McGuire]

No: HPFGUIDX 58600

On Sat, 24 May 2003, indyattic wrote:

> I would like to revisit the theory that the wizarding world rejects 
> the sqibs. I'm not convinced of it, and am wondering if anybody else 
> thinks that perhaps Madam Rosmerta might be a squib? I have a 
> Canadian version of POA, and on page 152 Fudge is explaining some of 
> the Black situation to her. 
> 
> Fudge: "Dumbledore told {James and Lily} that their best chance was 
> the Fidelius Charm." "How does that work?" said Madame Rosmerta, 
> breathless with interest.<End Quote>
> 
> To me it seems that if Rosmerta was a witch she would already know 
> about how the Fidelus Charm worked.

Not necessarily.  No one can know about every charm, the Fidelius Charm 
seems to be quite specialized and uncommon, and Madam Rosmerta would have 
little call for it in her line of work.  It seems perfectly reasonable to 
me that she could be a witch but never have heard of it.

Would you also expect Stan Shunpike to know the ins and outs of the
Fidelius Charm?  There does seem to be a "working class" of wizards who
don't have a need for really advanced spells but are magical people
nonetheless.

<snip examples of Rosmerta's good looks and age>
 
> The above statement indicates that she was already tending bar when 
> Black and James Potter were attending Hogwarts, so she is older than 
> them. Combined with the physical description of a younger woman, 
> which could indicate the slower aging process, and a demonstrated 
> lack of advanced magical knowledge, I present my theory that Madame 
> Rosmerta is perhaps a squib working in the wizarding world.

A few comments:

First, there is no reason a woman in her late 30s or 40s could not be a 
knockout, even in the Muggle world.  That would still make her older than 
Sirius and Co., and wouldn't have any bearing on whether or not she is 
magical.

Second, would squibs get the slowed aging advantages that wizards have?  
If wizards live longer than muggles because of magical medicince, then I
would say yes.  But if wizards live longer because of their inherent
magic, then squibs would not live any longer or age any slower than
muggles since squibs have no personal magic, despite their magical
ancestry.  We don't really know why magical folk live longer at this point
so I can't really answer the question, but it's worth thinking about.

My impression from Ron's comments about squibs is that they are really
rare.  I wouldn't expect to find them everywhere.  (Then again, animagi
are supposed to be really rare and they keep popping up around every
corner.)  I do have to wonder why it would matter if Rosmerta is a squib.  
There is a narative reason for Filch to be one, but I can't see how it
adds to the story (what we've seen of it so far) for Rosmerta to be
magic-less. 

----
Patricia Bullington-McGuire	<patricia at obscure.org>

The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered
three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the
purely hypothetical.  They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each
nonexisted in an entirely different way ... 
                -- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad"