Unanswered Questions

[meriaugust]

No: HPFGUIDX 92440

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "american_sweetie_xoxo" 
<american_sweetie_xoxo at y...> wrote:
> Ok I have read all the books and so far there are a few things I 
> don't understand....

Meri: Only a few? Wow. My list of things I don't understand is miles 
long! 

> 1.) Snape was a Death Eater (no big shock) The Dark Lord has 
> attempted to kill or maime all the traitors, or they were sent to 
> prison....so why is Snape still alive? I know Dumbledore trusts 
him 
> and that's why he is working at Hogwarts and all that good stuff 
but 
> why isn't the Dark Lord looking for Snape? How come he and Lucius 
are 
> still buddy buddy even though Snape has turned his back against 
his 
> Master?? 

Meri here: Well, I would say that these are some of the crucial 
questions about the relationships between Snape, LV, Malfoy and DD. 
And you make a good point: we have very little cannon from which to 
deduct an answer. How is Snape still spying? How has he convinced LV 
that he can be trusted? How did he hide his loyatly to DD from LV 
when LV was resding in the back of Prof. Quirrell's head? And how 
can DD be sure that Snape is truly trustworthy? I think that part of 
the answers to your and my questions lies with Occlumency and 
Legilimency. These abilities, to block people from being able to see 
your thoughts and the ability to see others' thoughts, can come in 
very handy. DD, LV and Snape are all accomplished at these 
techniques, though someone must be better at it than the other two, 
or the abilities would just cancel each other out, wouldn't they? I 
would watch for more explantion about Occ. and Legi. in future 
books, and I would think Harry would have to continue to learn these 
skills, though hopefully not from Snape. 

> 2.) Ok so we all found out the history of the 4 houses in 
CoS..that 
> there was a disagreement about letting "Muggles" into Hogwarts. We 
> all know that passed and they are now permitted to join the 
> school..What I don't understand is, who is the one who decided 
> what "muggles" are worthy of such a education? How do 
> these "Muggles" feel about knowing there is another world out 
there? 

Meri again: Technically the students that Salazar Slytherin was so 
concerned about letting into the school aren't Muggles, they are 
Muggle-born, like Hermione and Dean Thomas and the Creeveys and Lily 
Potter, as opposed to those students who are "pure blooded" like 
Draco Malfoy, Sirius Black, the Weasleys and James Potter, or those 
who are half-bloods, like Seamus Finnegan and Remus Lupin. (Squibs 
are again something different: children of a wizarding family that 
cannot do magic, but whatever other powers or abilites they may have 
we as of now do not know.) Slytherin didn't trust the Muggle borns 
because he feared that they would reveal the WW's secrets to the 
Muggle world, while the other three founders had a bit more faith. 
But there are not any actual full blooded Muggles at Hogwarts, 
because a Muggle is by definition a person who cannot do magic, and 
doesn't have any magical blood in their viens, which would make it 
v. hard for them to pass their transfiguration and charms finals. 
Hogwarts is off limits to non in the know Muggles (who, due to the 
enchantments protecting the shool would just see a mouldy, dangerous 
old ruin), and those few who do have knowledge of the WW, like 
students' parents, probably for the most part are okay with the 
whole wizarding thing, or their kids wouldn't be at Hogwarts in the 
first place (the exceptions here being the Dursleys and Tom Riddle 
Senior, who abandoned his witch wife and wizard son out of fear/hate 
of the magical world). As for Muggles with no familial connection to 
the WW who discover or are told about it, there are only a few of 
these we know about: Aunt Marge, who's had her memory modified, and 
the Muggle Prime Minister, who was in the know about the Sirius 
Black affair. Fudge had faith in the PM not telling anyone about the 
WW simply because no one would believe him anyway, and I would 
assume that this lack of belief, and a few well place memory charms, 
help to keep us Muggles blissfully ignorant. 
Meri (who wonders if a pair of Squibs had a baby if there would be 
any chance of that baby having magical powers)