Chapter Discussions: Chapter 4, Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place

[junediamanti]

No: HPFGUIDX 83768

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "jwcpgh" <jwcpgh at y...> wrote:
>>> Laura:
> > Marianne's post made me wonder if one of the reasons the Order 
chose 
> Grimmauld Place was that it was in a somewhat iffy neighborhood, 
> perhaps the kind of place where the residents purposely don't take 
> notice of each other's comings or goings.  "So people show up in 
the 
> middle of the night apparently from nowhere?  Well, that's their 
> business, not ours."  And once the Order members are in and 
satisfied 
> that no one from the DEs has followed them, they can leave freely.  
> It doesn't much matter if the neighbors see them-they won't pay 
> attention anyhow.  Does that make sense?

June:  I got the distinct and purely subjective sense of a couple of 
particular neighbourhoods in London here.  I'd be interested to hear 
the views of anyone else who knows London about this.

My geographical siting of 12 Grimmauld Place was (for no other reason 
but that I know them fairly well) either Hackney in North East London 
or Stoke Newington - similarly located and virtually next door.  Both 
these areas are full of large victorian properties which are how 
shall I put it? Run down.  Ever so slightly seedy.  Laura's comment 
about people not taking notice of goings on was what prompted me to 
think a bit further about this.  

Stoke Newington (FYI) was the home of England's only home grown 
terrorist group in the 1970's - the Angry Brigade.  This is not a 
place for a long digression on their activities, but certainly this 
neighbourhood I'm thinking of fits the description Laura has of a 
dodgy area where people choose not to pay too many attentions to the 
comings and goings around them.  "Oh, we thought they were just 
students".

I also used to live in a decidedly dodgy neighbourhood in Newcastle 
upon Tyne and one of the things I remembered was that when you hear a 
noise or commotion outside at night - you DO NOT look to see what is 
going on.  Perhaps this is the kind of neighbourhood that houses 12 
Grimmauld Place and for this reason was chosen by a 
rather "eccentric" old family intent on protecting their privacy and 
certain aspects of their life from the prying eyes of others.

Perhaps the apparent mob-handed departure of order members is a way 
of being "up for it" should they leave the premises and find they are 
attracting the wrong kind of attention.  

Snape may also need a certain amount of "cover" if he is involved in 
any spy activities.  I should imagine that on emergence from a "safe 
house" you are particularly vulnerable.

June