What can kill a wizard? (was Re: Hagrid)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 117110


> On Mon, Oct 25, 2004 at 23:24:08 EDT, Carol scribbled these
> curious markings (most of which I've snipped): 
> > another. And, yes, of course, potions are one of those ways, and
> > Snape's classes, especially his lessons on anecdotes, are going to
> > prove important. 
> 
> Anecdotes, eh? :)

> 
> Neglect not, friend, thine Wolfsbane
> Lest all ye shalt know is paine
> 
> Although I don't exactly see Snape composing such a thing to remind
> Lupin of what to do.

Carol responds, blushing:
Anecdotes? I can't believe I typed that. Antidotes, of course. (But
I'd dearly love to hear a Snape anecdote, which might also be useful
to Harry.) These typos can be entertaining as well. I noticed that
someone else referred to the Streaking Shack. That would also be, erm,
interesting to witness through Harry's POV! (BTW, anecdotes are
normally prose stories, like Lockhart's supposed adventures, not
rhymed couplets dispensing advice in an unidentifiable meter.) :-p!!

Christopher: 
> On a more serious note, I've been thinking about the lethal potions
> idea. We know that Harry attended Hogwarts in the 1990s. The Muggle
> world at least had extensible knowledge of how to mix certain
substances together to make them go boom. Surely a wizard or witch can
do the same for an exploding potion? Add a little magic and you have a
wizarding grenade. I'd hate to know what it'd do to your insides if
you imbibed it... though I imagine that Hagrid would drink it like
normal people do coffee. :)

Carol again:
That's an interesting idea. I do think that Crouch!Moody's supposed
fear (and Moody's real fear?) of Dark Wizards easily poisoning
people's drinks must have some real basis and Harry might be
well-advised to find a bezoar. (Maybe that's why Aberforth, who I
don't believe is really illiterate, keeps goats?) Potions is clearly
an important branch of knowledge, and antidotes tie in with DADA.
Surely both will play some unexpected role in the upcoming war? (Snape
proves his loyalty by saving an Order member with one of his
anecdotes, erm, antidotes?)

Christopher:
> Not that it's in a different class than what's already been listed,
but you can add the knife with which Peter produced his sacrifice. I'm 
> fairly certain that he would have bled to death -- though that's not 
> quite the point that I wish to make here. If a wizard can mutilate 
> himself so thoroughly with a certain knife, it's logical to assume
that the same implement could be used for more ... directly lethal
(e.g. through the heart) actions.

Carol again:
Then why not Hagrid's crossbow, which some posters have assumed can't
be used on wizards? And Macnair's axe (I'm trying to picture him
fighting like Gimli on a battlefield). Of Godric Gryffindor's sword,
which I've already noted is a Muggleish sort of a weapon for a wizard,
suggesting that maybe GG was a halfblood with Muggle aristocrats on
his mother's side.

Wizards can survive splinching and witch burning, but evidently they
can't survive a (botched) muggle execution (NHN), so maybe Muggle
weapons can kill them, especially if they're enchanted Muggle
artifacts (with spells of destruction written in Daeron's Runes on the
hilt--oops. Wrong story.) There has to be more to WW warfare than
Avada Kedavra.

Carol, thanking Christopher for *knowing* that I know an anecdote from
an antidote and not assigning me to write "It's 'antidote', you fool!"
500 times on parchment with a quill from Fawkes and ink from the Giant
Squid