Colonel Fubster

[Berit Jakobsen]

No: HPFGUIDX 90323

Many of us believe we're going to meet Mark Evans again in book 6, 
revealed as a wizard and enrolled at Hogwarts. -Anyone ever wondered 
whether old Colonel Fubster is going to pop up again? Colonel Fubster 
is the old neighbour of aunt Marge who takes care of her dogs when 
she is visiting her brother Vernon. This is what we know about him:

Quote (from PoA, UK Ed):

"'Who's looking after the dogs, Marge?' Uncle Vernon asked.
'Oh, I've got Colonel Fubster managing them,' boomed Aunt 
Marge. 'He's retired now, good for him to have something to do.'" (p. 
23)

"At that moment, the wine glass Aunt Marge was holding exploded in 
her hand ... 'Not to worry,' grunted Aunt Marge, mopping her face 
with her napkin. 'Must have squeezed it too hard. Did the same thing 
at Colonel Fubster's the other day. No need to fuss Petunia, I have a 
very firm grip...'
But Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon were both looking at harry 
suspiciously...
...Outside in the hall, he [Harry] leant against the wall, breathing 
deeply.  It had been a long time since he'd lost control and made 
something explode. He couldn't afford to let it happen again." (p. 25)

"'This one's [Harry] got a mean, runty look about him. You get that 
with dogs. I hade Colonel Fubster drown one last year. Ratty little 
thing it was. Weak. Underbred.'" (p. 26)

I hope you agree with me that it is clear from the text that it was 
Harry's anger who made the wine glass shatter in Aunt Marge's hand. 
That's why I find it very interesting that the exact same thing 
happened in the presence of old Colonel Fubster... Rowling dropping 
little details like this is rarely coincidental! And Colonel Fubster 
is mentioned three times in just a few pages. My bet is that Colonel 
Fubster is more significant than what meets the eye, just like 
Arabella Figg came into her own in book 5 after having only been a 
crazy old neighbour mentioned in passing for the first four books. I 
believe Colonel Fubster is a (retired?) wizard (there is no canon 
evidence squibs can make glass shatter by magic). Just like Harry, 
old Fubster is having a hard time controlling his temper when Marge 
is around :-)

I have no idea what Colonel Fubster is doing in Aunt Marge's 
neighbourhood, but since she seems to know him well he probably has 
been living there for a long time (at least a year; see quotes). So I 
have no theory as to why he might be a wizard, I just find the clue 
about the shattered glass very intriguing.

Anyone else who thinks Colonel Fubster will be revealed as a wizard 
in later books?

Berit
http://home.no.net/berjakob/snape.html