timing of DEs' arrival at DoM (was: Snape and Occlumency)

[dungrollin]

No: HPFGUIDX 121930


> Dungrollin wrote:
> Chapter thirty-five: Beyond the Veil "Black shapes were emerging
out of thin air all around them, blocking their way left and right; 
<snip>
> An interesting question is what was happening there. There's no
cracking noise reminiscent of apparation, but similarly you'd expect
both Harry and the narrator to recognise invisibility cloaks, ...

> Becky responded:
> There is of course the possibility that they had been hiding in 
wait in the MoM using a spell similar to the one used on Harry when 
flying to the OOTP headquaters. It made him blend in with his 
background while in effect and then re-appear when it was removed.

> Carol notes:
> Since they were all in black (robes, cloaks, hoods, and masks), 
they would have blended into the shadows anyway and no such spell 
would have been needed. IIRC, the place was dimly lit, possibly only 
by the Prophecy orbs themselves. Harry and friends may have had 
their backs turned to them as well. (They emerged from left and 
right but they could have come from behind along both sides of the 
shelves while Harry and his friends were all focusing their 
attention on the Prophecy orb.) Maybe Lucius was watching to see 
when Harry would pick up the orb and gave the DEs the signal to move 
forward and surround them.
(snip)


Dungrollin replies:

Sorry to pick on you, Carol, as I know several others have suggested 
this.  But how exactly does "Black shapes were emerging
out of thin air" equate to "Someone yelled 'Now!' and they all 
legged it round the corner of the row (which Harry had, BTW, just 
searched behind) and arrived in time to surround the kids, panting 
slightly from the unexpectedly sudden burst of exercise, but 
nevertheless taking the children completely by surprise"?  Silencing 
charm on their footsteps, perhaps?

The prophecy hall is lit by candles set in brackets at intervals 
along the shelves, with blue-burning flames.  "They had reached the 
end of the row and emerged into more dim candlelight."  Yes, it's 
not very brightly lit - in fact "... the further ends of [the rows] 
were in near-total darkness."  But, Harry "... ran up the space at 
the end of the rows, staring down them.  Empty aisle after empty 
aisle flickered past.  He ran the other way, back past his staring 
companions.  There was no sign of Sirius anywhere, nor any hint of a 
struggle."  Nor, presumably, does Harry see a group of DEs trying to 
blend in and look like innocent bits of dusty shelves.

"Emerging out of thin air" suggests very strongly to me that magic 
was used.  I like the disillusionment charm idea a lot.
Wonder if that's what DD used when he spied on Harry and Ron looking 
in the mirror of Erised...

Dungrollin