TBAY: DRIBBLE SHADOWS (long)

[nkafkafi]

No: HPFGUIDX 128765


> SSSusan:
> "Damn!  That hurts.  
> 
> "You know, Neri, I realize this is going to sound like a total 
> fabrication, but I actually foresaw this possibility!  Which is why 
> I had a tetanus booster and have this handy dandy first aid kit in 
> my cooler!"
> 
> SSSusan grins as she whips out Neosporin, an Ace bandage & a huge 
> roll of gauze, careful not to knock over the remains in her 
> margarita pitcher.  
> 
> "I really did think someone might suggest this possibility.  And I 
> really DO love elegant solutions.  I've always said JKR will end the 
> series in some elegantly simple way, you know....  Anyway, you're 
> right – it *is* more plausible that Snape got the ointment ready in 
> time and Lily used it.  But, darn it!  Then I don't have an answer 
> for the missing 24 hours, and I really wanted to fit that in, too.
> 
> "So... let me take you and ol' William (and his $!@#*&!# razor) and 
> accept your simplification.  YOU wanna take on the 24 hours, then, 
> Neri?  Hmmm??"
> 
> SSSusan smiles sweetly and waits, hopefully, for Neri's response.
> 

Neri:
Hey, you should know that Theory Bay is a dangerous place. At least no
one is after you with a big paddle. I still have a half-sunk ship of
myself to float, and it doesn't look like I'll manage it before
hurricane Jo comes to visit. So what can I say about the 24 hrs? They
always seemed superfluous and inelegant to me. Why do we need them at
all? Maybe they were just an excuse for Uncle Vernon to see wizards
and owls and hear things about the Potters before DD enters left
stage. But JKR said she rewrote this chapter so many times, so there's
has to be more to it.

So what do we know about the 24 hrs? <rummages frantically through
drawers> I once decided to write my own copy of "The Fully-Annotated
Harry Potter". I actually made it all the way to the end of the first
chapter of the first book <g>. Aha, here it is. I knew it would come
handy one day. So what can we tell from Ch. 1?

A) DD didn't meet Hagrid, or even had a chance to communicate with him
in detail during the 24hrs, because when Hagrid appears at the
Dursleys' he has to tell DD where he got the motorcycle and that he
didn't have problems taking Harry out of the house. Unless they're
both putting a show, of course, but for whom? For McGonagall? Besides,
Hagrid isn't good at this kind of stuff.

B) Yet DD did know that Hagrid was bringing Harry, so either he did
have some brief communication with Hagrid, or he saw it in this
mysterious watch of him. He looks at his watch and says "Hagrid late".
The watch has twelve hands and tiny planets around the edge, and in
the Potterverse planets tells about destiny.

C) Yet we know that Hagrid either communicated with or met McGonagall
during the few hours after the Potter's house collapsed, because she
admitted he told her where she can find DD, and she was already
waiting near the Dursleys' house in the morning. This means that very
early in the morning Hagrid already knew he has to bring Harry to the
Dursleys.  

D) But why did she have to wait there the whole day? Either Hagrid
failed to tell her he'll be there only late in the evening, or he
didn't know himself when he'll be there (at least he didn't know in
the morning when he told her). This suggests that he communicated with
DD during the day.

E) During these 24 hrs DD placed on Harry the blood protection charm
that Petunia sealed by taking Harry. This sounds like he had Harry
with him (a slight problem with A) unless he can perform this charm
from a distance, or unless merely putting the baby on the Dursleys'
doorstep consists of the whole charm, which would be slightly
disappointing.

F) By the morning the whole WW already know that there was an attack
on the Potters, that there was something with their son Harry, and
that Voldy lost his powers. Well the third one isn't such a big
mystery, I guess, because all these imperioed Wizards probably came
back, or there were other indications that Voldy's powers broke.
Still, someone seemed to come out very early with the news, and DD is
the main suspect.

G) We also know that DD had corresponded with Petunia before, but it
doesn't look like he did during the 24hrs, because Petunia was in a
very good mood when Vernon was back from work.

So, here is one scenario that would fit:

1. Hagrid is sent by DD and takes Harry out of the wreckage. He
borrows the motorcycle from Sirius. Then he gets a birdie from DD that
he has to deliver Harry to the Dursleys', but first he has to leave
him somewhere else. How about Hogwarts? He leaves Harry for DD there
but doesn't actually meet DD (keeping with A). Then McGonagall, who
has no idea where's DD and what's happening, corners Hagrid and he
lets out (as usual) that DD will be at Number 4 Privet Drive, but not
when or why. In the meantime DD had already sent many owls with the
news of what happened in GH, and now he takes Harry to place the
protection charm over him. When he's through with this, he leaves
Harry with someone and goes to do something else, while Hagrid comes
to pick Harry (still keeping with A) and delivering him to the
Dursley's. They passed over Bristol in the way.

Hmmm, elegant it most definitely ain't, and there's too many
somewheres, someones and somethings, but I think I didn't make any
superfluous assumptions <checks sand under feet>. Here's a slightly
simpler scenario:

2. Hagrid is sent by DD and takes Harry out of the wreckage. He
borrows the motorcycle from Sirius. Then he gets a birdie from DD that
he has to deliver Harry to the Dursleys', but in the meantime he has
to wait with him somewhere else. During this wait McGonagall calls
Hagrid, and he tells her that DD will be at Number 4 Privet Drive, but
not when and why. In the meantime, DD at Hogwarts watches green smoke
coming out of silvery instruments, and carefully mixes the essence of
Harry with the essence of Petunia (or whatever). When he's through
with this (no way to know how long it takes; could be enough to
justify any part of the 24 hrs) he sends a birdie to Hagrid to bring
Harry to the Dursleys', and apparates there himself.

Still far from elegant, but JKR said Ch.1 wasn't the best thing she
wrote because she needed to tell a lot but hide even more. She had to
introduce us to the Dursleys and several wizards, tell us about the
Potters, that Harry was delivered and that he had a scar. We already
know she had to hide what exactly happened in GH, that DD placed a
charm on Harry, that he communicated with Petunia before and that
there's a story about Sirius. The question is, is this enough to
justify 24hrs, or are there additional things she haven't told us yet?
And if there are, how can they make scenarios 1 or 2 more elegant?

Neri