Phineas/chapter31/Galleon/LVnoHeir/DEs/chains-Sirius,James,Lupin,Peter/ more

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 118271


Lupinlore wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/117894 :

<< One is Phineus Nigellus. It is a reasonable assumption that before
being "Hogwarts' least popular Headmaster" he was Head of Slytherin.
It is interesting that, unlike the case with Salazar and Snape, we
have no indication that Nigellus was ever tainted with being a Dark
Wizard (except perhaps by association with the Black family). Also
it is of interest that in his interactions with Harry and Dumbledore
he comes across as snotty and sarcastic, but never evinces the bitter
pettiness, or the extreme unfairness, that characterizes Severus. >>

The Portrait of Phineas Nigellus is an adorable snarky character, but
it seems to me that if Phineas Nigellus was the least popular
Headmaster that Hogwarts ever had (Hogwarts has been around for a
thosand years, so it must have gone through many Headmasters), he
*must* have been nastier in real life than as a portrait. And it seems
to me that simply having been generous in handing out floggings,
hanging from the ceiling by the hands, and so on, wouldn't have been
enough to have been *most* hated; it seems to me that there must also
have been unfairness involved. 

Perhaps the portrait is much better behaved than the real person
because the portrait has less opportunity to behave badly. Perhaps the
portrait felt sympathy for Voldie, Lucius, and Belletrix, and distaste
for Muggle-lovers Albus, Arthur, Sirius, Harry, and Hermione, and
would have *liked* to betray the Order of the Phoenix to the Death
Eaters, but was unable to do help Voldie etc or harm DD etc because
apparently all the portraits of former Headmasters and Headmistresses
were oath-bound to help the current Headmaster, and perhaps that oath
is a powerful piece of magic that a portrait cannot disobey, and I
imagine that portraits can't as good as House Elves at betraying their
masters.

Juli summarized Chapter 31 in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/117895 :

<< In the afternoon Harry and Ron had Divination, and of course they
failed it since neither one could see anything. >>

Harry "lost his head completely during tea-leaf reading, saying that
it looked to him like Professor Marchbanks would shortly be meeting a
round, dark, soggy stranger, and rounded off the whole fiasco by
mixing up the life and head lines on her palm and informing her that
she should have died the previous Tuesday." Ron "had told the examiner
in detail about the ugly man with a wart on his nose in his crystal
ball, only to look up and realise he had been describing his
examiner's reflection." 

It *sounds* funny, and fiasco-like, and especially that Ron's examiner
would be prejudiced against Ron for calling him 'ugly', but for all we
know, those were the *right* answers.

Carol wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/118106 :

<<Discussion questions
>
> 1. Why was Draco Malfoy next to Harry during their Charms
> exam? If they were called alphabetically, Draco must
> have been called long before Harry.
>
Granted, there would be six people between Malfoy and Harry (Moon,
Nott, Parkinson, the Patil twins, and Sally-Anne Perks, SS/PS Am. ed.
131), just as there were during the Sorting ceremony, but IIRC, we're
told that Harry stepped up to an examiner who didn't have a student
with him at the moment. It's like being in line at a bank and going to
the "next available teller," who will not necessarily be next to the
teller serving the person in front of you. Or checking in your luggage
at an airport (where they've now resorted to holding up signs to tell
you which counter to go to). So Harry could easily have ended up next
to Draco, who would be finishing his exam as Harry began his. >>

Harry was called with "Parkinson, Pansy - Patil, Padma - Patil,
Parvati - Potter, Harry" so it appears that Sally-Anne Perks didn't
take the Charms OWL.

<< wondering who Moon is >>

I also wonder who Moon is, and I hope it's an old wizarding family,
because I've used it all over my fanfic, like naming a character
Madeline "Mad" Moon. 

Del wrote in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGr
ownups/message/117907 :

<< Dungrolling wrote : <<< that makes an approximate exchange rate of:
1 Galleon = £5.12 >>>

Now all your British folks : what do you think of that exchange rate ?
Does it feel right to you ? We don't know the price of many things, so
it's hard to say, which is why I'm just asking for a general feeling.

Of course, if that exchange rate is not really advantageous to
Muggles, I could always argue that it's because JKR is bad at maths,
>>

Also, JKR said in a chat that a Galleon is worth about 5 pounds.
http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2001/030
1-comicrelief-staff.htm
<<Rebecca Boswell - What is the approximate value of a galleon?
JKR: About five pounds, though the exchange rate varies! >>

Which was around 7 US dollars at the time, altho' now closer to 10
*sigh*

I remember that, before GoF, I tried to figure the value of a Galleon
from canon, and I thought it should be like $40 - $50 (in which case,
the exchange rate is *damn* favorable to Muggles), but I can't
remember what my reasoning was.

Kim wrote in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGr
ownups/message/117948 :

<< Also, there's the frightening, not to mention nauseating, thought
that Voldemort may have had a love-child (hate-child?) that he's
unaware of, sometime over the years, despite the general belief that
he's the last heir of Slytherin. >>

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/extras/JKRWorldBookDay2004.html
<< Harry: Has Voldermort any children
JK Rowling replies -> No. Voldemort as a father... now that's not a
nice thought. >>

Also, in the "Rumors" section of her website, one rumor is "Voldemort
is Harry's real father/grandfather/close relative of some description"
and part of her answer is "And hasn't Dumbledore already told Harry
that Voldemort is the last surviving descendent of Salazar Slytherin?
Just to clarify - this means that Harry is NOT a descendent of Salazar
Slytherin."

<< After all, even evil old Salazar must have found time for "romance"
or he wouldn't have *had* any heirs. >>

He wouldn't have had to find *much* time, only a few minutes. If all
he wanted was the heir, not the sex, maybe he could have saved time
and avoided messiness by magically transporting his sperm from, um,
inside his body to inside the devoted volunteer's body. 

Potioncat wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/117994 :

<< Did Tom form the Death Eaters or did he rise in their ranks? >>

http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2003/0619-bbcnews-paxman.htm

<< JK ROWLING:  - in here is the history of the Death Eaters and I
don't know that I'll ever actually need it - but at some point - which
were once called something different - they were called the Knights of
Walpurgis. >>

I have in my mind that JKR said somewhere (but maybe I dreamed it)
that the Knights of Walpurgis existed before LV took it over.

Dungrollin wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/117915 :

<< Have I missed it, or has anyone come up with a way of making
the '... chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight, the
servant will break free ...' fit with Sirius, who escaped from
Azkaban 10 months previously? >>

I believe both Sirius and Lupin are Good Guys, but on that night,
Sirius was freed of being thought a murderer & traitor by Lupin and
Harry. 

Ravenclaw Bookworm wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/117981 :

<< who wonders why we refer to James and Sirius by first names, but
Lupin by his last name >>

Because the narratorial voice does!

Neri wrote in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforG
rownups/message/118003:

<<"Sirius's great redeeming quality is how much affection he is
capable of feeling. He loved James like a brother and he went on to
transfer that attachment to Harry.">>

I strongly believe in Sirius's utter doggy loyalty to James and Harry,
but it occurs to me that 'love him like a brother' isn't that great a
recommendation. How much did Sirius and Regulus love each other? How
much do the Twins love Percy?

<< Of course, the solution to this small problem is obvious: There
must be TWO people named Sirius in the HP saga, and JKR was referring
to the other Sirius in this quote. >>

Like everyone else, I LOL at your efficient suggestion.

Kneasy wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/118201 :

<<  If he was in animagus form I'd have thought Crookshannks would
have forced him out of it. Being chewed up as moggy appetiser is
just as bad and much more immediate than being chased by DEs. (snip)
when Scabbers runs away (when Ron thinks Crookshanks has eaten him) >>

An Animagus keeps his/her own mind in animal form but a Transfigured
person has only the mind of the animal that they were Transfigured
into. So if Peter had been Transfigured into a rat, how did he think
of leaving blood & stuff on the bed to fake his death?

<< As a final indicator there's his name, and we all appreciate how
JKR likes fitting names to characters. Pettigrew - small of stature,
nothing special there; but Peter - the rock, that's something else. >>

Peter, who denied Christ three times before cockcrow. Someone posted
that his personal and family names both mean 'to become smaller':
Peter as in 'to peter out' and Pettigrew as in 'grew petty'.

Potioncat wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/118072 :

<< Have we discussed whether the awards on JKR's site are canon? I'm
talking about the trophies that include such names as Percy Weasley,
Sirius Black, Frank Longbottom, Bellatrix Black, Tom Riddle, James
-----, Lily Evans. What does the group think? Did these characters
earn awards or is this just window dressing? >>

I suspect that the Trophy Room of the website is not canon, or at
least has nothing to do with whether those people won those awards, or
any other awards, but in case it is canon, I previously suggested that
Sirius's cup might for Dueling Champion or Broomstick Racing (i.e. an
individual sport).  

Siriusly Snapey Susan:

<< who, after viewing photos of the PoA launch party in London, wants
to take some scissors to some of these young men's hair! check it out
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4020000/n
ewsid_4024300/4024351.stm

http://www.hpana.com/imageviewer.cfm?nid=18404&f=dan-alfonso.jpg >>

I *love* their beautiful long hair! I hope this means it's coming back
into style.

Sophierom wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/118219 :

<< Peter  ...  feeds LV Nagini's milk in a bottle >>

I *think* he feeds LV Nagini's *venom* in a bottle, as 'milking' a
snake is the word for extracting venom from it (by getting it to bite
a towel or something so that the venom runs into a beaker) to use to
make antivenin or whatever.