Just where *IS* Sirius' motorbike then?

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 116523


Carol said:
> "If I understand you correctly, "I'd best get this bike away" is the
> later reading (2000) and "I'll be takin' Sirius his bike back" is
the original reading (1997), retained in the American edition. "
> 
> DuffyPoo responded:
> Correct.  I have a box set of the first three hardback books
purchased the Christmas after GoF was published (2000).  The PS/SS
hardback says published in 2000 as well but I believe it is just a
reprint of the original published in 1997.  CoS and PoA say published
in 1999.  My box set of the first 4 paperbacks, all say published in
2000 and that's where *all* my edition changes for those four books
are found.  <snip>
 
> Carol said:
> "But the date, not the writing style, is what's important here:
Yours is a later printing and seems to indicate an attempt by JKR to
> eliminate the discrepancy between Hagrid's two versions of the
story, i.e., she's trying to make the British edition of PS agree with
PoA. Unfortunately, she seems to have left in the line, "young Sirius
Black lent it me," which makes the change to "I'd best get this bike
away" rather pointless--a nice Hagridian line referencing a character
we'll meet later is changed to a feeble and forgettable one without
removing the idea the the motorbike was merely lent. Or did she also
change the "lent it me" line in your edition, DuffyPoo?"
> 
> DuffyPoo wrote:
> 
> Paperback (new 2000 edition) says "Borrowed it, Professor
Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, cimbing carefully off the otorbike
as he spoke.  "Young Sirius Black lent it me." - word for word what is
in the Hardback edition.

Carol again:
Aargh. Thanks. Then what we have is a pointless revision of perfectly
good dialogue, and we still have a discrepancy between the "borrowed"
and "lent" of SS/PS and the "gave" of PoA.

Why would she do that? Conspiracy theories, anyone? ;-)

Carol

P.S. What were the other changes, Duffypoo? Do they make sense from a
plot perspective? C.