How did Hagrid get to the Hut-on-the-Rock?

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 144256

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Sydney" <sydpad at y...> wrote:

hpfan_mom: 
> > "Flew," said Hagrid.
> > 
> > "Flew?"
> > 
> > "Yeah - but we'll go back in this [Uncle Vernon's boat].  Not 
s'pposed 
> > ter use magic now that I've got yeh."  (pp. 63-64)
 
Sydney:
> I wonder if that wasn't a pun on "Floo", for Floo powder?  But I'm not
> sure if there would have been a suitable fireplace on the island!
> 
> > hpfan_mom, suddenly worried that the whereabouts of the motorcycle 
> > were mentioned in HBP and she completely missed it

Geoff:
I have to admit that the possibility that what Hagrid actually said 
was "Floo" had never occurred to me previously. However, if he had 
meant that, I wonder why he didn't go on to explain.

But....
...two pieces of information argue against this.

'BOOM.
The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the 
door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.'
(PS "The Letters from No One" p.38 UK edition)

Hagrid enters from stage left. There is a fireplace in the hut - Vernon 
has already tried to start a fire:
'He (Uncle Vernon) tried to start a fire but the empty crisp packets 
just smoked and shrivelled up.'
(ibid. p.37) 

whereas Hagrid does it more successfully :
'His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shrivelled crisp packets in 
it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see 
what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a 
roaring fire there.'
(PS "The Keeper of the Keys" p.40 UK edition)

The second point:
'"Er - yes - sorry about that," said Mr.Weasley, lowering his hand and 
looking over his shoulder at the blasted fireplace. "It's all my fault, 
it just didn't occur to me that we wouldn't be able to get out at the 
other end. I had your fireplace connected to the Floo Network, you see -
 just for an afternoon, you know, so we could get Harry. Muggle 
fireplaces aren't supposed to be connected, strictly speaking...."'
(GOF "Back to the Burrow" p.44 UK edition)

So, Hagrid comes in from outside -  no fireplace. This fireplace in a 
disused old shack is hardly likely to be connected and I can't see 
Hagrid having the necessary 'clout' to get it done even if he had 
thought about it.