Recurrences

[arrowsmithbt]

No: HPFGUIDX 88591

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Iggy McSnurd" <CoyotesChild at c...> 
wrote:
> 
> Iggy de-cloaking for a second:
> 
> The sphinx is depicted as having the head of a woman and the body of a
> lion (large cat.)
> 
> He has met an example earlier... a few in fact.  Mrs. Figg (who is very
> close to her cats), and Hermione, who is very close to her ginger cat,
> Crookshanks.  (Ginger, btw, does happen to be a color only slightly
> different than that of a lioness.  Also Sphinxes are incredibly
> intelligent... just like Hermione is.)
> 
> While it does not end in an attack, the encounter definitely has the
> overtone of quietly veiled lethal power.

> He has already.  While Nagani has an Indian name (and is probably from
> there), you also need to remember that cobras also exist in Egypt as
> well.
> 
> The Red Spitting Cobra (Naja pallida)ranges in Southern Egypt (which,
> IIRC, is near where the Pyramids are located...)
> 
> Egyptian Cobras (Naja haje), also known as the Aspis, has a maximum
> length of about 3 meters (about the size of Nagani... who can be
> expected to be larger than normal, as wizards familiars commonly
> are...), and range all over Egypt in almost any environment other than
> purely desert.  (They have even been spotted swimming in the
> Mediterranean.)
> 
> Those are the two main cobra species found in Egypt.  Harry has been in
> danger from an Egyptian creature connection.  On the other hand, he has
> not encountered something from India in a passive situation.  (Well,
> unless you count the Patil sisters...  *grin*)



Well, I'd  hardly call a woman-headed lion a species of cat. Be a bit like
claiming the Hungarian Horntail is a form of Salamander, too much of
a stretch for comfort. The critical aspect of a Sphinx is surely the human 
bit; the intelligent fraction. That's what makes it dangerous. (And Egyptian
lore has soooo many beings that seem to be composites of human and 
animal origin. Nice! Could  be fun. "What larks, Pip! What larks!")
But the point remains - it did not attack and that is the key to my obtuse
hypothesis. The python in the zoo could also have attacked, but it didn't.

Trolls  - in my original post I pointed to Crabbe and Goyle for Troll
characteristics - they seem less intellectual than even Dudders.

The snake thing; any evidence that Nagini is a cobra? I can't seem to
find any. There was a thread on this a while back and the only possible 
clue was her name, though 'naga' is just the Sanskrit for 'serpent' of
any type. As you say, 'Naja' is the cobra genus, which doesn't quite fit
Nagini. Naga *can* also refer to a mythical Indian beast that is half
snake, half human, but I don't think Nagini has shown any human traits.
She's a bit big, *at least* 12 ft  according to Frank Bryce, and her 
bite seems to cause more physical damage than most of the venomous 
snakes I know of (except perhaps the Bushmaster which can strike hard 
enough to break ribs, and that's S.American anyway. I'm ignoring the
Fer-de-Lance, the Bushmaster is bigger). 
Did Nagini attack Harry in the graveyard? Not to my knowledge. She just
hung around in the background, sulking.
The  Basilisk is derived from a snake egg hatched beneath a toad, so the
snake aspect of my guess is covered already and if(!) I'm right, JKR rarely
duplicates plot devices anyway.

Sorry, *potential danger*  doesn't count. An actual attack is required to
test the hypothesis. So I'll  have to sit, twiddling my thumbs until the
next volume (or the one after that) adds evidence or shoots it  down in
flames.

Could be a long wait.

Kneasy