MalfoyMotto/DD'sOffice/SenseOfHumor/Animagus-Patronus/CrystalBall/FullMoon

Sun May 2 23:29:18 UTC 2004

No: HPFGUIDX 97549

Lady McBeth asked in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/97108 :

<< Do we know the Malfoy family motto? >>

I don't recall ever seeing any Malfoy family motton in canon, so I
made one up: "Watch Your Back". That's good advice to Malfoys and even
better advice to people who think they're friends or colleagues of
Malfoys.

The beautifully named Potioncat asked in  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/97296 :

<< In one of those scenes you never notice at first, one of the DA
members says that a portrait in DD's office told him about Harry
killing the basilisk with Gryffindor's sword. My thought was: Why
was this kid in DD's office? >>

I had assumed he had been sent to the Headmaster's office as a
punishment, or to have a punishment assigned. (The same as I was
constantly sent to the principal's office in elementary school.)
Another possibility is that he had been summoned there to be told of
the health emergency of one of his family members. It is not clear to
me how those tasks are divided between Head of House and Headmaster. 

Just Carol wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/97452 :

<< Neither Hermione nor Harry has much of a sense of humor. IIRC,
neither of them has ever initiated a joke or a pleasantry. >>

Harry has a sense of humor. Narration that follows his thoughts
includes many amusing turns of phrase; for example, I always remember
when in CoS, he imagined young Hagrid letting the monster spider out
'to stretch its many legs."

It is Hermione's lack of a sense of humor that disturbs me, because
Hermione is supposed to be based on JKR. JKR has stated that an otter
is the animal that she would like to be able to turn into, if she were
an Animagus. The Animagus form reflects the wizard's personality (see
below).  Otters are good swimmers, hunters, fighters, but they are
best known for their playfulness. JKR has demonstrated her playfulness
as a writer, with wordplay and ROTFL scenes, but Hermione hasn't.
Hermione should be seen making puns or trying to balance one
butterbeer bottle on top of another or at least working logic puzzles
or cryptograms in a Muggle book thereof.

JKR has confirmed in interviews that the Animagus doesn't get to
choose his/her animal form, but instead the animal form is a
reflection of his/her personality.

http://www.geocities.com/aberforths_goat/October_2
000_Live_Chat_America_Online.htm
Q: Does the animal one turns into as an Animagi reflect your
personality?
JKR: Very well deduced, Narri! I personally would like to think that 
I would transform into an otter, which is my favorite animal. Imagine
how horrible it would be if I turned out to be a cockroach! 

http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/author/transcript2.htm
Q: If you were Animagus, what kind of animal would you be?
A: I'd like to be an otter -- that's my favourite animal. It would be
depressing if I turned out to be a slug or something.

Adi asked in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGr
ownups/message/97325 :

<< Suggesting that there is a correlation between human parts and
animal parts when a wizard transforms into an animal. But many animals
do not have organs that are found in humans and they have extra organs
which are not found in humans. How do people transforming into these
animals manage with it? >>

The organs appear when changing into the form that needs them and
vanish when changing into the form that doesn't use them. It's magic.

<< Is a wizard's patronus same as the form he takes as an animagus? >>

I also would like to know the relationship between Animagus form
Patronus form. As I mentioned above, JKR has said that she would like
to be an Otter if she were an Animagus, and she gave her avatar
character (Hermione) an Otter for Patronus. Also, Cho's Patronus was a
swan, which I think is an Animagus form that would suit her
personality: beautiful but vicious. 

I think JKR simply takes it for granted that the form of a person's
Patronus is the same form that person would take as an Animagus. To me
that is illogical: she seems to be assuming that always what protects
people is themselves, not their parents nor their faith in God nor
their commitment to justice and/or the rule of law nor their luck nor
their powers of deception.

However, given an Animagus becomes the same creature as hiser
Patronus, it would be wise for anyone to learn the Patronus spell
before embarking on the difficult project of learning the Animagus
spell, because that way they would find out whether the end product is
worth the effort.  

(Earlier I said, that would solve my concern about what if a person's
Animagus form were some kind of fish --- if they didn't know what the
form would be until they first turned into it, their success would be
to immediately drown in air, since they hadn't known to practise
beside a pond or ocean. But a couple of listies assured me that fish
don't drown *that* fast in air, they would have time to change back to
human.)

Just Carol wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/97455 :

<< If Lupin isn't afraid of his future, why would he give Trelawney
such a wide berth when she offered to read it in a crystal ball? >>

Surely because he perceived, as I did, that Trelawney was making that
offer as an excuse to get him alone to put the make on him. Surely the
reason she so unusually came down to Christmas dinner (as shown by the
first thing she said, "Where is dear Professor Lupin?") is because she
was hoping for an opportunity to sit next to him and put her hand on
his knee, or sit across from him and play footsie. I gather she has
lived such a secluded life that at her age she still hasn't learned
the unrealism of thinking "if I can get the man I fancy alone, somehow
it will turn out that he fancies me, too."

Shaun Hately wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/97532 :

<< Those times do not indicate the full moon is visible during
daylight. Rather they indicate the moment of complete totality,
when the moon may well be below the horizon - in fact, it will
absolutely certainly be below the horizon for about half the
planet.

The time the moon rises depends on your location.

Let's just look at one of the dates so we can see what is indicated
here. January 7 2004 - 10:40am EST.

Because it's EST, we'll grab a US east coast location - New York. I
could use any other location - I just already have its settings.

At that point, while the moon is full, it's *well* below the
horizon - 20 degrees below the horizon in fact.

It won't rise until 4:36pm - 8 minutes before sunset. >>

I wish I could figure out how this relates to when does a werewolf
transform? The impression I got from folklore is that he turns into a
wolf at sunset and back to human at dawn, on the night of the Full
Moon. When the instant of totality (that's the word for eclipses, I
prefer 'plenitude' for Full Moon) is at 10:40 am, is it the night
before or the night after which is the night of the Full Moon? Or does
he transform on *both* nights when the moment of plenitude is during
daylight? 

Or does he transform six hours before --> six hours after the moment
of plenitude rather than at sunset and sunrise? The latter is
suggested by JKR's answer in the same Scholastic chat cited above, if
we assume that she meant 'full' rather than 'up' in her answer,
because long ago listies proved that the moon came up before or
shortly after he entered the Shack (because the sun had already set),
and being inside the Shack didn't prevent him from transforming during
his school years.

(PoA, Chapter 17, CAT, RAT, AND DOG: << Harry's mind had gone blank
with shock. The three of them stood transfixed with horror under the
Invisibility Cloak. The very last rays of the setting sun were casting
a bloody light over the long- shadowed grounds. Then, behind them,
they heard a wild howling. (...) They set off back toward the castle,
walking slowly to keep themselves hidden under the cloak. The light
was fading fast now. By the time they reached open ground, darkness
was settling like a spell around them. (...) "Harry," she whispered,
"I think we're in the Shrieking Shack.")

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/quickquotes/arti
cles/2000/1000-scholastic-chat.htm

<<Q:  Can you explain how Lupin turns into a werewolf, since he didn't
turn in the Shrieking Shack in Prisoner of Azkaban, but instead he
turned only when the full moonlight hit him outside the tunnel? If he
only turned into a wolf in the moonlight, why didn't he just stay
inside? Did it have to do with the potion? Or was the moon not up yet?

JKR: The moon wasn't up when he entered the Shrieking Shack. >> 