Ministry storyline, Harry's army and Mrs Figg

[Miles]

No: HPFGUIDX 143724

Sorry, I forgot to add my remarks on Mrs Figg in my last mail, they are at
the end of this one ;).

lupinlore wrote:
> The Ministry is a hanging thread, all right.  And it hangs all the
> more prominently considering the personal factors involved, for
> instance Percy's ultimate fate and Harry's career plans.
<snip>
> If there was going to
> be a major Ministry storyline, then OOTP or HBP would have been the
> place to do it.  Now it may very well be too late to advance that
> particular plot thread, except perhaps in rapid telegraphic style

Miles:
I agree and disagree at the same time.
I agree, that to bring the storyline of the Ministry to an accurate end,
could be a major part of book 7 - too much besides all the horcruxes, the
losses for Harry to come and the final showdown.
But there is no need to do it. If Harry will succeed in his fight with
Voldemort, this will be a major earthquake for the wizarding community - and
could be a spark to start kind of revolution. This would be another story,
not to be told within Harry Potter, maybe part of the epilogue.

Jen Reese wrote:
> Harry has made quite a few human and creature allies over the years,
> as well as acquiring enchanted objects which haven't made an
> appearance yet. I wonder who and what will reappear at a pivotal
> moment in Book 7?

Miles:
There is an army that could play a role and is not in your list. There is
not only Dobby - there are (I assume) thousands of Elves. We learnt
something about them, but I am sure not all. We know, that they are
extremely powerful creatures with magical skills partly beyond the skills of
human wizards. We know, that they communicate, have a kind of underground
society not recognized by the wizards and witches. And - they know Harry
Potter. They know him to be kind and friendly to Elves. Ok, Dobby is not the
main authority at all. But we know, that Elves *do* know if they are abused,
and they appreciate a friendly attitude towards them (Hermione is not
friendly to them). I do not expect an elvish army standing on Harry's side -
but there may be unexpected help for him.

agdisney wrote:
> We can assume that Mrs. Figg is not really Mrs. Figg due to the
> comments that her house smells like cabbage which is probably a
> constant supply of poly juice potion.

Miles:
Is there any information about the smell of polyjuice potion in canon? And
isn't the smell in Mrs Figg's house cat's smell?

agdisney wrote:
> Could there really be no record of her because that is not who she is?
> Can Regulas be in hiding in the form of Mrs. Figg?  It could be that
> he
> isn't allowed to use magic because it would blow his cover?

Miles:
Very interesting idea. I can add another detail: the inside of one of the
tents the Weasley's use at the Quidditch Worldcup is identical with the
interieur of Mrs Figg's house. And Mr Weasley borrowed the tent from a
fellow witch at the Ministry (I have no quote, no English version of GoF at
hand). We can be quite sure, that this detail will be important. Maybe kind
of witness-protection programme?
But I doubt, that there will be polyjuice potion involved. To use it, "Mrs.
Figg" would have to drink it every hour, and the real Mrs Figg must be
hidden somewhere - for some 15 years.

> Marianne S.:
> While I kinda like this theory, I don't think Kreacher (and 12
> Grimmauld
> Place) would have passed into Harry's possession if Regulus was alive
> in
> any shape or form.

Miles:
We do not know the way the inherence of houses and elves is determined. So,
"legal death" could matter, even if the "dead" person is alive in reality.