Draco, Snape and Others: Castles in the air?

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 124776


> > Neri (previously):
> > So, will you be satisfied if all the foreshadowing about memory charms
> > (from which we had more in OotP) will simply come to naught?

> Lupinlore:
> I'm not at all sure we've had any foreshadowing at all about memory
> charms with regard to Neville.  That may well be a situation where
> castles have been built in the air.  What are you referring to in OOTP?
> 

Neri:
Of course, it might not be Neville. It might someone else. Like his
parents, for example, and he only gets a whiff of it through the
bubblegum wrappers. But fact is: in each and every book until now we
were reminded about memory charms. In OotP we've met Lockhart again
and were shown that the effect might be very strong and long-lasting.



> > Neri (previously):
>  And Uncle
> > Algie who gave Neville both the Mimbulus mimbeltonia and Trevor (who
> > is still around after five years, and toads don't generally live
> > longer than rats do).

> Lupinlore: 
> The boy has an uncle who likes to give him things.  A toad is one of
> the standard pets at Hogwarts, if not popular these days, so it's a
> reasonable going to school gift, and what better present for Neville
> than a magical plant?  As to Trevor's age, maybe JKR just doesn't know
> the life-span of a toad (or doesn't care if she does).
> 

Neri:
I'd believe that had she not used the same clue about Scabbers. She
can't have forgotten about that. And if Neville gets another present
from his uncle all my alarms would go off: in stories you don't get
three presents from a wizard for no reason.



> > Neri (previously):
>  And Neville can't sleep at night after that tea
> > with Crouch!Moody,

> Lupinlore:
> Neville is a bundle of nerves, and tea does have caffeine in it.

Neri:
The question is not only why Neville can't sleep, but why JKR bothers
to tell us about it, while Harry doesn't notice it.



> > Neri (previously):
>  and someone sent the Lestranges after the
> > Longbottoms,

> Lupinlore:
> Who were Aurors and longstanding enemies of Voldemort.  Maybe the
> LeStranges took that personally.

Neri:
It's practically obvious that the Longbottoms were attacked for some
important reason. The question is: is Neville only an ordinary boy
wizard whom his parents were attacked, or is there also something
special about Neville himself?



> > Neri (previously):
>  and Neville could have been The One (at least we might
> > get some information about this soon).

> Lupinlore:
> The prophecy pretty much determined that.  It's arbitrary, but
> prophecies tend to be.
> 

Neri:
The question is: why had JKR ever made Neville an option at all? What
does the story gains from it? It's either a red herring or it's
something important, but it is not arbitrary and not a coincidence. 



> > Neri (previously):
>  I mean, wouldn't it feel like
> > cheating if JKR will just supply standard boring explanations to all
> > these things? 

> Lupinlore:
> Well, I don't know that most of them need to BE explained.

Neri:
Heh. This is JKR we are talking about. Each of these clues alone could
have been explained away, but taken together (and there's more I
didn't mention) it's like Neville has a big sign on his back saying
"Very Suspicious Wizard!". There's no way JKR didn't notice she's
implicating Neville in so many ways. It could be a red herring, but
not something she has done without thought. The thing is: red herrings
exist for a reason, to draw our attention from something else. For
example, Bagman was created to draw our attention away from
Crouch!Moody, and in the end of GoF he was exposed as a red herring.
But if Neville has been a red herring for five books now, then for
what cause?

Also, I noticed you didn't try to deny the Snape mystery. So why is it
so important to deny the Neville mystery? The fact is, we DO seem to
have mysteries about characters other than Harry, and why are these
mysteries so complicated if the characters are simple?

Neri