Hagrid in GH (and Harry at PD)

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 140584

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Mark" <torinarg at h...> wrote:
> > Geoff:
> > He wouldn't try to lie low in the Welsh valleys. Sparsely 
> > populated is hardly the description I would use. The Welsh 
> > valleys were the centre of the coal-mining areas and are the 
> > centre of heavy industry. <snip>
> >
> > Geoff:
> > <snip> On the question of distances, Bristol lies about 120 
> > miles almost due west of London. If we place Little Whinging 
> > on the western edge of the capital and assume that there will
> > be fairly quick access to the M4 motorway, you could get from 
> > there to the centre of Bristol in a little over 1½ hours; the 
> > speed limit on a dual carriageway in the UK is 70 mph. If, as 
> > some of us think, Godric's Hollow is perhaps beyond Swansea in 
> > West Wales would be a further 2 hours or so. <snip>

torinarg:
> Indeed the Welsh Valleys are a highly industrialised area, alas 
> since the downfull of the coal industry they are now some of the 
> poorest and most deprived areas of the UK. However, further to 
> the west, past Swansea, is a very rural area wehere the rather 
> mystic Welsh language is still spoken, GH could well be in that 
> area, and Bristol would be on a direct path to the rather 
> affluent Surrey.

Geoff:
I have been turning my mind a little further to this question. Some 
of the points I am about to make - particularly about Harry during 
the journey - have been aired in the distant past, but blowing the 
dust off them might get people thinking again.

First, looking at Hagrid's journey. The consensus of opinion and 
canon evidence tends to place Little Whinging to the west of London, 
north of the river and probably close to Heathrow in the area I have 
labelled "Surrey-that-was-Middlesex".

If you draw a straight line from here to Bristol and project it 
westwards, you miss the Welsh coast altogether and Ireland and are 
heading across the pond! So Hagrid could not have stuck rigidly to a 
straight line. In message 140519, Musicgal raised the question a day 
or so ago as to whether Hagrid could Apparate. I replied 
"Why not? I know he says that he is not allowed to do magic but does
this count? Some people have also suggested that he might have
Apparated when Harry left Paddington on the train home...

`The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid
until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose
against the window but he blinked and Hagrid was gone.'
(PS "Diagon Alley" p.66 UK edition)"

This suggests to me that Hagrid may have Apparated to Godric's Hollow 
to be there in time to help after the attack. Now, I harbour 
suspicions that Hagrid's navigational skills may not be of the best 
so that when he was on Sirius' motorbike with Harry, he would look 
for the easiest way to get back to London. From West Wales, he could 
have followed two options - to follow the coast past Swansea, 
Porthcawl and round to Cardiff, or to pick up the western end of the 
M4 motorway at Pont Abraham and follow that into towards Cardiff. 
Remember that it was dark so a coastline or a motorway would have 
made it easier for him. From Cardiff,  the M4 motorway could be 
followed over the old Severn Bridge (the new one wasn't opened until 
the mid-1990s) and Little Whinging couldn't be far off this route as 
you approach London.

The second point - about Harry - arises from the fact that Harry was 
15 months old when Godric's Hollow was attacked. He was not a baby, 
but most likely a toddler. The great majority of children are able to 
get around by this age. On the way, he was awake until they reached 
Bristol but possibly quiet and Hagrid did have him in his arms but 
what about when Dumbledore placed him on the doorstep? I have doubts 
whether a toddler of 15 months placed in this situation would 
normally remain tucked up and asleep for several hours which 
apparently was the case with Harry.

Did Dumbledore cast some sort of sleeping spell on him to prevent him 
crawling off to explore the garden?