portrait in GH (was Re: Remus & Sirius - How Dumbledore Knew.)

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 97430

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "quigonginger"
<quigonginger at y...> wrote:
> > >(snip of both Rosebeth and Steve's posts speculating that a 
> portrait in GH may have informed DD.)


> Laura Walsh added: 
> > Given that it is GODRICK's Hollow and that Harry is a Gryffindor,
> > why couldn't the portrait have been of Godrick Gryffindor?
> > 
> > Sorry for the short post.   I gather some people dislike them.

 
> Ginger adds:  
> Good point on GG's portrait, but it could also have been Bowman 
> Wright, inventor of the snitch, who also hailed from GH QttA p. 14,
>  US).  He would have been an important historical figure, or at 
> least had an admirer who commissioned a portrait.
> 
> Ginger,

bboy_mn:

I'm not saying it absolutely would not be a portrait of someone
specifically from Hogwart's history, only that the field of likely
candidate is far bigger and more likely if they are taken from general
wizard history.

We also have to consider the likelihood of a Hogwart's
Headmaster/Headmistress portrait being at Godric's Hollow. Phineas
Nigellus was a headmaster and a member of the Black family, so
logically he would be at both Hogwarts and 12 Grimmauld Place. But why
would a headmaster's portrait be in the Potter's house?

A headmaster portrait could, indeed, be in Potter's house, but why? It
makes more sense to draw from the much larger history of wizards in
general. Ginger's suggestion of Bowman Wright is a perfect example.

Also, we don't know anything about the house at Godric's Hollow. Was
it the Potter's ascestral home, just a house they rented, a house
loaned by a friend, maybe arranged for by Dumbledore, wizard house or
muggle house, consequently, we don't know if the possessions contained
in the GH house have any connection to the Potters themselves.
Perhaps, Dumbledore loaned them a portrait just for this occassion,
and the Potters, the portrait, the house, and the town have no connection.

As far as it being specifically Godric Gryffindor's portrait, that
portrait would probably be nearly 1,000 years old, and not likely to
be one found in most homes regardless of the geographic location.

So, in conclusion, I'm not say a 'Heads' portrait is impossible, just
that it is more likely to be a person from general wizarding history.

bboy_mn