ghosts, magicians and babies was Re: Questions

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 118959


Snow wrote: 
> 
> (1)Nearly Headless Nick is the Gryffindor house ghost. 
snip
 Isn't bravery and 
> chivalry equal to fearlessness like when Harry dashes off without 
a 
> thought to his own safety? It seems quite odd that Nick was in 
> Gryffindor when he didn't display such qualities. 

Potioncat:
But we don't know what brave things he faced prior to death.  And 
we've seen Neville who is very frightened fit well in Gryffindor.  
Quite a few of the housemembers sometimes fall short of reaching the 
ideal qualities of their houses. (Think twins hissing at a new boy 
because he was sorted into Slytherin.)

A bigger question I think is why the Fat Friar, of all people, would 
be afraid to go on to the Hereafter.


> 
> (2)If the Dursley's are so against anything having to do with 
magic, 
> why was Dudley allowed to watch a magician on television? 
snip 
> I 
> realize that the Dursley's are more than permissive when it comes 
to 
> Dudley but when it comes to the dirty "M" word and the possibility 
> that Harry might be influenced if he were to see the magician 
> program, why was Dudley allowed to watch it?  (It is the small 
> somewhat insignificant details I tend to question)

Potioncat:
I think it's one of those exceptions that you always find with rigid 
people. Magicians are accepted in the Muggle world as 
being "pretend" not really magic.  I'm sure if it had been Harry 
rather than Dudley who wanted to watch it, they would have said no.  
And I also think it's a funny little thing JKR put in.  I wouldn't 
be surprised to learn in a later book that the Great Humberto is 
really a wizard.
> 
> (3)Why do the 3rd year students need a permission form signed by 
> their guardians to visit Hogsmeade but the children who were 
underage 
> participants of the 2nd task in Goblet, i.e. Hermione, Gabrielle, 
> Ron, did not need to inform their parents or have permission, 
> wouldn't this task be more dangerous than Hogsmeade? 

Potioncat: 
Well, they were supposed to be 17 and that is "of age."  But in 
Harry's case the magical contract was more binding than  the human 
restriction.
> 
>> (5)Neville's father was an auror and both of Neville's parents 
were 
> in the Order but what was Neville's mother's occupation, something 
> Gran didn't approve possibly like the Department of Mysteries 
where 
> one of Harry's parents worked perhaps? There were quite a few 
spies 
> for Voldemort on the inside of the Ministry. How else would 
Voldemort 
> have known who was pregnant or who just had a baby? (Not front-
page 
> news stories)

Potioncat:
I'm not sure I follow this question.  We don't have any clue that I 
know of about Alice's occupation, nor whether Gram approved of her.  
And if LV wants to know who had a baby in July, I think it would be 
easy enough to find out.   
> 
> 
>