Who was on duty?

[annemehr]

No: HPFGUIDX 91936

 
> Carol:
> I agree with annemehr that the Order must have stopped guarding the
> door after Arthur was bitten by the snake (though I thought the cloak
> had slipped; I'm not sure that Volde!snake could see through it).

Annemehr:
There was a small thread on what the snake could see last summer, and
I actually *found* it using the search function!  It began with
bboy_mn who noted:

Message #74316, Steve bboy_mn quoting OoP:
***************************
---OoP Am Ed HB Pgs 462 - 463---
(as seen through the eyes of the snake and Harry's eyes)

...a man was sitting on the floor ahead, ... his outline gleaming in
the dark....

...sitting in front of a door at the end of the corridor....

But the man was stirring ...A SILVERY CLOAK fell from his legs as he
jumped to his feet;...
---end quote---
***************************

Annemehr again:
There was a reply (msg. #74358) from Tzvi of Brooklyn who noted that
snakes can see into the infra-red, and so could probably "see" the
heat coming from someone wearing an invisibility cloak.

For what it's worth, I do believe that Arthur was covered by the cloak
until he stood up at which point the cloak parted and uncovered his
legs.  The phrase about the snake seeing "his outline gleaming in the
dark" is what does it for me -- it's the gleaming part.

Carol:
> We're also reintroduced to Dedalus
> Diggle, who has been mentioned in passing in more than one book, IIRC:
> Harry meets him twice in SS/PS and McGonagall suspects him of setting
> off fireworks (or wand sparks?) to celebrate the defeat of Voldemort
> in SS/PS chapter one. It's clear (to me) that Dedalus Diggle has some
> important role to play in either Book 6 or Book 7 or we wouldn't have
> been introduced to him so early and so often.

Annemehr:
I agree Dedalus Diggle will be important.  Actually, I think I said so
before OoP came out.  I think he is the wizard who hugged Vernon
Dursley as Vernon left work in the first chapter of PS/SS, though
others believe that was Prof. Flitwick.  Because Diggle appeared so
much in the first book, I theorised he had something to do with
Harry's protection in Little Whinging.  Now that I've read OoP and
found out he's actually in the Order, I really think I'm right.  But,
it's another layer of protection *apart* from the Lily-Petunia blood
relation thing, of course.  It could just be that Dumbledore was
having Harry followed all his life, and also had Diggle casing Vernon
beforehand.  Well, we'll see.

Annemehr
who realises she's not be the only one who took note of ol' Dedalus
before OoP, but is the only one she's aware of who thought he had
anything to do with protecting Harry.