Pettigrew's silver hand and Book 7

[deborahhbbrd]

No: HPFGUIDX 148056

Ceridwen speculates intelligently about the value and virtue of
silver, compared to other metals suited to the manufacture of
artificial hands ...

I assume that the silver = moonlight connection is behind the
vulnerability of werewolves to silver. Which is trite, but it works.
One nice point was made in a 70s kiddy fantasy novel called, I think,
Red Moon and Black Mountain and written by a woman called Joy Chant
who had obviously, er, read widely in the field. But her nice point
was that the children from our world who end up elsewhere in the
universe in order to save this magical planet from the baddies assume
that gold should be the royal and most precious metal there, as it is
here. And get smacked down! Gold is unchanging, and therefore suitable
for merchants – silver needs ongoing maintenance to keep its beauty
and integrity, and is therefore the royal and magical metal par
excellence.

Taking this further, the Slytherin colours of green and silver
actually suggest ongoing maintenance of what one values, as vegetation
fails to thrive without constant attention as well. Perhaps part of
the 'good Slytherin' scenario that people are hoping for could be a
realisation of the value of honest toil if one's highest aspirations
are to be met.

Deborah, thinking about Hufflepuff golden honey, still for tea