TIPS - and traps - IN WORKING OUT CLUES

[samnanya]

No: HPFGUIDX 84284

thesparksiii
=============
TIPS ON WORKING OUT CLUES IN THE HARRY POTTER SERIES
First, look closely at the statement following the 
phrase "AS THOUGH." ,<snip>
Second, watch out for what seems like only a couple of
uninteresting descriptions of situations that we barely
notice.<snip>
Last, DIVERSION. In the middle of an exciting scene,
JKR slips in important stuff that is quite immaterial
on what's exciting and tension-filled that is happening,
we tend to overlook it.<snip>

samnanya
==============
Thats a great start! The only problem is that JKR is
such a good plotter that there are literally dozens of
clues scattered everywhere that support all kinds of
different conclusions. The goal of  any good author 
is to keep the reader guessing. A reader who
has finished the series can usually find the buried 
clues, even if the gleeful author doesnt actually 
point them out. However, in the process all the red
herrings that were scattered along with the true clues
are quickly forgotten. 

What makes fansites like this so much fun {as long as we
dont take all this TOO seriously) is that there are clues
for almost EVERY result we want to see -- for shippers,
there is "canon" for every ship out there, 
HH HG HL RH RL NG NL and on and on .....
EVERY ONE of the above ships (except perhaps NL)
have several "clues" planted so that the alert
reader will say AHA! I KNEW IT! THAT IS  WHAT HAD TO
HAPPEN! - if and when it does.

I have conjectured on the "Who REALLY killed Sirius"
theme and have mentioned several canon clues .....
the important thing to remember is that "It aint
necessarily so!" - just because there are clues doesn't
mean it has to happen! 
However, without the clues, if Lupin did kill Sirius,
the  reader would go "Aw cmon! You've gotta be kidding
me!"; with the clues, if Lupin did kill Sirius, then
the reader cant say that it was beyond the realm of
possibility because we haven't always read what
we thought we read {remember the muggles eyewitness
accounts of Pettigrew's death?}

The only method that is guaranteed to lead to failure is
the "too critical to the plot/Harry" trap. JKR is in the 
business of providing a good read -- and suprises are
essential to her achieving that goal. Characters seemingly 
on the verge of failure in a mission always make for a great
read. A predictable book is usually a boring book and if
it ends up all being a dream ....

That said, here is what I believe should NOT be assumed -
Harry must live
Dumbledore must die
Anything whatsoever about Snape
The Ministry is on the side of good/evil
Lupin cannot be evil

{FINH i.e. Fill in name here} is too important to die

{FINH} and {FINH} are (dear friends/mortal enemies)
except for "Draco/Harry are dear friends" with no
redeeming canon for a  friendship that I have seen
in any of the 5 books.

There are entirely too many living Weasleys walking
around, so {one/a bunch} of them has to die

Hogwarts must endure forever 

Luna is too dotty to be an important character
(yeah, right, just look at Neville...}

Flitwick {the champion duelist-look out Yoda!}
and/or Sprout are just there for color and since
they havent done anything yet they won't 

Slytherin can be redeemed

Anyone who is dead stays dead (that return of Diggory's 
body to his parents bit makes me wonder if they arent 
all vampires... but what about the effect of AK on
vamprires? hmmm I am getting a headache, and i am not
even mentioning S-.}

and finally, 
You cant apparate in Hogwarts (its been said so many
times by so many different characters that I am
suspicious, but thats me)

Happy clue hunting!