How did everyone know? (OOP pages 610-625 -- American Hard Cover)

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 123134


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "tonihollifield" <tonisan9 at h...>
wrote:
> 
> 
> ...
> 
> After the altercation between DD, Fudge, etc. in DD's office, we're 
> told that notices of Umbridge becoming Headmistress have gone up all 
> over the school overnight, but that 
> 
> "they did not explain how every single person within the 
> castle seemed to know that Dumbledore had overcome two Aurors, the 
> High Inquisitor, the Minister of Magic, AND HIS JUNIOR ASSISTANT to 
> escape." (My emphasis, sorry about the caps, I couldn't figure out 
> how to italize.)
> 
> Now, I know that I've read past discussion about who it was that 
> started to spread the news around the school, but I don't think I've 
> seen anyone suggest that it was Percy. I would argue that the 
> information spread is classic Percy.  We know that Percy was not 
> present in DD's office during the altercation, ...
> 
> ...edited...  
> 
> Any thoughts?
> 
> Toni 


bboyminn:

As others have suggested, given how outraged the Headmaster/mistriss
protraits were by Fudge's action, that it was indeed they who spread
the word. First to other portraits then eventually those other
portraits passed the news to students and teachers.

As to Percy's inclusion, I think that probably occurred because some
students and portraits would have seen Percy arrive with Fudge and two
Aurors; so his presents was known and people would have assumed he too
was involved.

It's possible Percy did speak to someone on his way to the owlry, but
the information he would have conveyed would have been that Dumbledore
had been caught. Or, he may have said something that made other people
or portraits realize that something MAJOR was afoot in the
headmaster's office. 

Any clues he dropped would have made people aware something was up and
 would have then heightened the level of curiosity. That high level of
curiousity would have increased the speed at which news would have
spread once that news was available. Even before the events had played
out, there would have been people and portraits eagerly waiting to
find out the details.

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn