Death in the Wizarding World

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 129835

>>Lilhogan/Lauren wrote n Post #129782:
snip
I guess that the fact JKR said "very elderly widower" leans towards
Nott having an older mother as well, but I'm also not sure if women
in the WW can have children at an older age. This leaves me
wondering how T. Nott's mother died--whether it was through
something related to LV/DE (which would maybe explain him ending up
to be the "Good Slytherin", but I can't imagine him living with his
DE father in that case). Otherwise, do we know specifically what
other things people in the WW can die from? Accidents? Hexes? Falling 
off a broomstick?
Snip

Potioncat:
Welcome to our group!

We don't know whether Nott's mother was old or young or in between. 
I'm assuming her death is the one he saw (he can see Threstrals) JKR 
hasn't given us any clue about Mrs. Nott's cause of death. Luna's 
mother died in a magical accident. I'm sure there could be magical 
illnesses, accidents, or even murder.

>>Inkling wrote about Tom Riddle's birth in #129794
snip 
No, of course not, but again, speaking just for myself, I'd be 
surprised if a mediwizard even in the 20's and 30's could not 
prevent death from happening in the first place, especially in the 
case of childbirth.

Potioncat:
I thought she either had the child in a Muggle hospital or at the 
Muggle orphanage. It's very likely that Muggle treatments wouldn't 
work on a witch. But even with today's technology, pregnancy and 
childbirth are not the safest experiences in the world.

In #129832, which I can't seem to make my computer copy and paste, 
Steve and Chys discussed if Nott could be related to Snape. That idea 
actually came up a long time ago, before we knew the weedy boy was 
Nott, even before we knew Nott was raised by a widower. The idea came 
from both Theo Nott and young Snape being described in weed-like 
terms. Of course, there are several groups of descriptions that run 
through the WW and it's hard to tell if a family relationship is 
being implied.

A relationship to Snape might have an impact if for some reason 
Theodore's situation becomes important to the plot. For example, if 
his mother is dead and his father is in Azkaban, where will he go 
over the Holiday and does it impact Harry in some way? 

OTOH, your standard HP fan --and if you're reading this, you are not 
a standard fan— has never read about Nott's father being a widower, 
would most likely not remember the two weed descriptions, and might 
not recognize the name Theodore Nott. 

>>Jaanis wrote: 
I don't really see Theodore Nott as the "good Slytherin". He's just 
cleverer than Draco and doesn't feel the need to join his gang (or 
any other gang for that matter). His father _is_ Death Eater after 
all, and it looks like he's OK with it.

Potioncat:
We know that Theo Nott was reading the Quibbler with Draco in the 
library. He's part of the Slytherins in the classes, but he doesn't 
seem to hang around with Draco at other times. We know he didn't join 
in on the hexing party on the train when Draco, Crabbe and Goyle 
attacked Harry. We don't know what his relationship with his father 
was like. Or if that will matter. 

Seems the less we know, the more we can project and imagine and the 
more fun it is!
Potioncat