Possible Flint: Fireplace in the common rooms

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 83426

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "wry1352000" <wry1352000 at y...> 
wrote:
> Maybe Hogwarts fireplaces are magically restricted in such a way 
>that they can only be used for "head" travel, not "full body" 
>travel?  
<SNIP>
>The only case of someone actually stepping out of a 
> Hogwarts fire so far happened when Snape summoned Lupin to his 
>office 
<SNIP>
> At any rate, 
> Sirius didn't try to enter the Gryffindor common room via 
>somebody's fire in CoS when he was after Pettigrew/Scabbers, but 
>tried to get there the usual way. 
<SNIP>
>Umbridge tried - and nearly did - catch Sirius by 
> hand when he was talking to Harry via Gr. fire.  So are there more 
> than 2 ways of getting through the fire?  If one can make one's 
> head appear in the fire and one's hand appear there on separate 
> occasions, can one manage to have both appear at the same time?  Or 
>maybe it's just Umbridge who seemed to give herself many additional 
>surveilance powers ....


Siriusly Snapey Susan here:
Zinaida, sorry for all the snipping to your post, but these are the 
points I wanted to respond to.  :-)

First, didn't DD also step out of his office fireplace, in OoP, after 
the battle at the Ministry?

Anyway, here are the assumptions [*assumptions*, not facts, so please 
don't yell at me, folks!] I am operating on, regarding floo travel:

1) *Outside* Hogwarts, only heads may "visit" via the floo network--
no full-body transfers.  This may be something for which exceptions 
can be granted from within Hogwarts by staff or by just Dumbledore.  
This would explain both why Sirius couldn't just "floo" into 
Gryffindor Tower to get to Harry in PoA--he could hardly ask for an 
exception from DD!--and why DD could manage to "floo" into his own 
office from the MOM in OoP.

2)*Within*-Hogwarts travel by fireplace is possible, since as Zinaida 
noted, we've seen Snape do it.  While not yet addressed in canon (I 
don't think), I'm wondering whether it might be possible that the 
staff members have this privilege, while students are restricted from 
it through some sort of magic.

So I think Dolores' hand in the fire is "permissable" (just as her 
whole body would be), since it's *within* Hogwarts (and possibly 
because she's staff).  She doesn't need to have set up any super-
duper, special surveillance powers for herself if staff can 
regularly "floo" within Hogwarts.

Siriusly Snapey Susan