MrsBlack/BlackHouse/Sociopath/Dementors/HogwartsExpress/Sirius/Music/Lupin

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 142545

Jen Reese wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/142308 :

<< Also, Mrs. Black knowing Riddle from her school days is 
plausible, but locating the orphange where he returned in the 
summers and locating Muggle staff who knew him 40 years afterward
seems unlikely. >>

The young Tom Riddle was an exceptionally charming boy. Maybe the
future Mrs Black (I like to think she was Miss Black) was one of the
'useful friends' he collected in Slytherin House (I'm sure Lucius
Malfoy's father was another). Maybe he told her where the orphanage
was so she could visit him during the summer; maybe he bragged to her
about whatever he did to those children and even took her to see the
cave where he did it. 

I don't think she has any role in the plot beyond what we saw in OoP,
but if she did, if she was in school with TMR, if he was horny was
well as charming and she was pretty as well as domineering, she might
have been his girlfiend, and might have been closer than any of his
other useful friends.

Steve bboyminn wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/142311 :

<< All those years that Black house sat empty, who paid the property
taxes on it? I seriously doubt that the Tax Office just magically
forgot about the taxes on a substantial townhome, or that the Tax
office magically forgot that a several hundred year old parcel of 
land even existed. >>

This is a forbidden 'I disagree' post. I mean, I think the tax office,
office of deeds and titles, etc, DID just magically forget about it.

Jaimee wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/142315 :

<< If Voldemort was 'born' a sociopath and simply unable to have any
remorse for his actions, does he then not have any responsibility for
the horrible things he has done? >>

Even if he is unable to feel any remorse, he IS intellectually aware
that the things he has done are horrible (he brags about it). 

colebiancardi wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/142328 :

<< As far as Lord Voldemort using such "unreliable allies", well,
aren't all of his allies unreliable? You can't trust evil, which is
why Dumbledore doesn't believe the MoM should use dementors to guard
Azkaban - DD doesn't believe the MoM has control over them, >>

Um. I thought DD didn't believe that Dementors should guard Azkaban
because being surrounded by Dementors is 'cruel and unusual'
punishment even for murderers and torturers.

colebiancardi wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/142337 :

<< The train seems to be school property, no? It is called the
Hogwarts Express. >>

Only JKR knows how these things are handled in the wizarding world,
but in the Muggle world, schools do not own trains just because there
is a 'school train' to bring students at the beginning of term. The
school might charter the train from the railway company, or the
railway company might just put on the extra train because its knows 
it will have the extra passengers. I remember when I lived in New
York, there were a lot of extra trains on the D line on nights when
the Yankees had a home game, and George Steinbrenner does not actually
own NYCTA.

Alla wrote in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/142362 :

<< I might have found the excuse of "keeping Sirius safe" to be more
convincing, IF we did not see that at the end of GoF Dumbledore sends
Sirius off to alert "old crowd". >>

It just occurred to me, now that we know that the Order communicates
via Patronus, why did DD send Sirius as messenger instead of his Patronus?

Carol wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/142395 :

<< In any case, living at 12 GP is his decision. He still has
Buckbeak. He could fly back to his tropical paradise at any point. >>

It just occurred to me, what about Kreachur? Only Sirius has the 
power to control him (until Sirius dies, then only Harry has the 
power to control him). He hates the Order, loves Narcissa and
Bellatrix, wants to tell Narcissa everything he's learned about the
Order that could be used to harm them. Does the spell that enslaves
House Elves allow complicated commands like 'obey Mr Weasley as you
would obey me'? I mean, was Sirius supposed to stay on site to 
protect the Order from Kreachur? (I hope not, as he didn't do a very
good job of it.)

Expectopatronnie wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/142490 :

<< OTOH, nobody broke from Azkaban before Sirius did, right ? ;) >>

Barty Crouch.

Nora wrote in http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/142495 :

<< We have Wizarding Wireless, but we've never seen evidence of 
any of those at Hogwarts. No mention of them in the dormitories, 
for sure. >>

I absolutely cannot comprehend how the Quidditch fans SURVIVE 
without being able to hear their favorite team's matches on 
Wizarding Wireless. Anyway, why doesn't Harry subscribe to QUIDDITCH
ILLUSTRATED where the photos would be like movies of all the past
week's matches?

<< Muggle technology doesn't work at Hogwarts either (camera FLINTs
aside and all of that), so no LP listening for the Muggleborns at
Hogwarts. No evidence of music education, that's for sure. >>

I'd like to believe that the wizarding folk have no way of recording
sound (except when in the Muggle world, of course), so they are 
forced to depend on live performances for their music. Since I think
they have a small population (20,000 wizarding folk in UK) and a
relatively large number of professional musicians, that wouldn't
really be difficult; every wizarding pub and coffee shop could have
live music, and every dinner party also, and if they borrow a
1000-seat hall (not that large by Muggle standards) every witch and
wizard in Britain could hear Celestina Warbeck in a measly 20 shows!

But the Weird Sisters have to have fans who are not aged between 11
and 18, or else they have to make their entire living during school
holidays, unless they give concerts at schools during term (and JKR
claims that Hogwarts is the only wizarding school in Britain).

But alas for my beautiful theories, QTTA says (p.36) that Puddlemere
United's 'team anthem "Beat Back Those Bludgers, Boys, and Chuck 
That Quaffle Here" was recently recorded by the singing sorceress
Celestina Warbeck'.

Lucianam wrote in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/142532 :

<< I wondered how Lupin felt about it. Did he resent it? Did he want
to be Head Boy and was disappointed when James got his HB badge
instead of him? >>

I feel that Lupin didn't want to be Head Boy, at least when he 
thought about it, because the higher position he is in, the more
people observe him, the more chance that someone will figure out the
timing of his absences and whatever other clues and tell about his
furry little problem.