Predictions on the something small

[erinellii]

No: HPFGUIDX 88391

 
> Iggy de-cloaking for a second:
> 1:  Considering the intricacy of the entrance to the chamber, both 
in the books and in the movie, I can't see that Slytherin himself was 
the one who built it... it was more likely that he hired some goblins 
to build it in secret while the school itself was constructed.  (And 
then he added the magical aspects later... like needing to speak 
Parseltongue to open the chamber.)

Erin:
Intricacy?  Come on, it's just a big tunnel you slide down.  Why 
couldn't he have built the whole thing with magic, come to that?  
He's specifically said to have built the chamber himself, not hired a 
bunch of goblins to do it.  And if he had, wouldn't you think there'd 
be some legend of him slaughtering the goblins afterwards to keep his 
secret?  (Whether he actually did or not, he's got such a nasty 
reputation that it would add to the legend, and surely someone would 
have thought of putting it in there over the years.)  At the very 
least, he would probably have used a memory charm on them afterwards.

I just don't think Slytherin would have trusted goblins enough to 
have them work on his extremely secret chamber, especially 
considering all the goblin rebellions that took place back then.


Iggy: 
> 2:  While goblins might keep something secret from people who don't
> employ them, I can't really see them as the type to not gossip among
> themselves.
> 3:  Bill worked for the goblins at Gringotts for years as a curse
> breaker... He probably overheard them mentioning it at some point.
> Another possibility is that, since the Egyptians are famous for 
secret passages and hidden rooms, the chamber was probably 
accidentally brought up by one of the goblins in a conversation with 
them.


Erin:
Ok, 2 and 3 are based on 1, and since I don't accept that there were 
any goblins involved in the first place, I'm afraid I can't buy 2 and 
3.



Iggy: 
> 4:  You mention that the only ones who know about the chamber in 
Harry's time were the Slytherins... but Bill, technically, isn't from 
Harry's time.  He left the school *years* before Harry ever got 
there.  It's more appropriate to say that he's from the generation 
between Harry, and Arthur & Molly.  (Especially when you consider how 
slowly people seem to age in the WW...) 

Erin:
You've got that backwards, I'm afraid.  Considering how slowly people 
age in the WW would actually make it *more* likely that Bill would be 
percieved as part of Harry's generation.  Fourteen years or so would 
seem like a lot smaller age gap to a 150-year-old than to, say, a 75-
year-old.

But even in terms of muggle generations, Bill and Harry could easily 
be in the same one.  A generation is either 20 or 25 years, depending 
on who you listen to.  Bill and Harry cannot be that far apart, since 
Ginny can remember Bill being in school. 



Iggy:
 He could have heard about it as a "residual urban
> legend" that died off by the time Harry got there.
> 
> 5:  Bill MAY have heard it from Arthur and Molly at some point, 
since the original opening of the chamber, IIRC, happened around the 
time that the parents were going to school.


Erin:
I doubt the residual urban legend thing simply because it was 
actually so well covered up.  Not even many students in Hagrid and 
Tom Riddle's time knew what was really going on.

And also I doubt it because of the *way* Ron recalled the memory.  He 
didn't seem to have attached any negative conotations to it when he 
first recalled it.  Just remembered that there was a secret chamber.  
That makes me believe that Bill had told Ron the story to Ron in a 
rather different way than Ron might have heard it from someone who 
*didn't* sympathize with Slytherin.

And Molly and Arthur?  That depends on what timeline you accept.  As 
of OoP, I don't believe we have a canon age for either of them.  And 
seeing as how they were dating in school, I'm one of those who sees 
them as getting married and having kids right after school, not 
waiting 20 years like the timeline that has them at school with 
Hagrid would require.  


Iggy: 
> 6:  If the only people who knew about the chamber in Harry's time 
were the Slytherins... why bother to ask the teachers about it?  And 
how would they know?  (Oh, wait... all the teachers are former 
Slytherins, no matter what house they're associated with... right?  
*grin*)

Erin:
All right, all right, so I should have said the only students.  I 
give on that one.  I imagine teachers are given some information 
about the school that no one else has access to, though.

Good to see you on the main list, Iggy.  

Erin