What's with all the parchment and DD's wand

[lucianam73]

No: HPFGUIDX 148112

Here's some thoughts on parchment. 

I think it's remarkable how all those messages to Harry are minutely
described throughout HBP. We're always told five things about them: 

1- who wrote the message
2- contents of message 
3- who hands Harry the message 
4- who actually passed the roll of parchment to the messenger
5- time and place of delivery to Harry.

And, well, it is always a roll of parchment but no surprise in that I
guess as they (people in Potterverse) actually use those a lot.

In all messages wrote by Dumbledore and Snape (supposedly written by
them, but I'm not questioning this as I see no reason why I should),
the messenger is identified. They're all Gryffindors and mostly people
from the Gryffindor Quidditch team, with the exception of Luna. 

(Oh, and if you count Dumbledore's letter to Harry in chapter 3, it
was delivered by owl. The only owl-delivered message Harry gets in
HBP, btw, except for his OWLS.)

The other two messages in HBP_ not counting OWLS and Dumbledore's
letter in chapter 3_ were delivered by unidentified students. One, by
a "breathless third yead girl" and the other by "a girl".
Respectively, messengers of Slughorn's invitation to the Slug Club
meeting in the Hogwarts express and of Hagrid's letter asking Harry to
attend the burial.

It all smells fishy to me. I wonder why JKR would go all through this
trouble? All through this simetrical trouble? If anyone wants to check
on the messages, they are eight, in pages 135 of chap. 7, 172 of chap.
9, 222 of chap. 11, 228 of chap. 12, 329 of chap.17, 397 of chap.20,
440 of chap.22 and 504 of chap. 25, children's British edition.
Answers to items 1,2,3,4 and 5 are respectively (yes I'm having fun!):

1- Slughorn, DD, Snape, DD, DD, DD, Hagrid, DD
(hints of authenticity are mentions of DD's writing, or mention of
Harry recognising the letter as DD's in all of Dumbledore's rolls of
parchment.
In Hagrid's roll of parchment_ maybe I should call them RP, it's
easier_ there are mentions to blotches suggesting tears, but it is
also said, upon reception of RP, that asking Harry to leave school at
night is not consistent with Hagrid's usual behavior. I think this was
perhaps done on purpose, as to leave doubt of the message's authenticity.)

2- invitation to Slug Club, scheduling Harry's next lesson with DD,
fixing a new time for Harry's detention, also scheduling lesson with
DD, same as previous, same as previous, asking Harry to attend
Aragog's burial, scheduling lesson with DD.

3- 3rd year girl, Jack Sloper, Demelza Robbins, Ginny, Hermione, Luna,
a girl, Jimmy Peakes.

4- not mentioned, with the probable exception of message #3, very
likely sent by Snape. We know this because Harry asks Demelza: "From
DD?" and she answers "No, from Snape." In NONE of the other cases the
person who sent the message is mentioned by the messenger, all they
ever say is "I'm supposed to give you this" or a similar combination
of words. 

5- Hogwarts's express September 1st, just outside DADA class and just
after that class, Gryffindor's common room in the evening of the day
Quidditch trials were held, breakfast table just before leaving for
the first Hogsmeade weekend, Gryffindor's common room just after Harry
arrived from Christmas holidays, seventh floor corridor just after Ron
left the hospital wing, courtyard after lunch in the day of Aragog's
burial, Gryffindor's common room in the evening right before Harry and
DD went searching the Horcrux.

I don't have a proper theory, but maybe DD was worried about the
Ministry's lack of honor when their political interests are concerned.
 Scrimgeour wouldn't feel too bad about opening and reading Harry's
private letters, for instance. So DD could have thought of an
alternative way of informing Harry of his lessons, perhaps with the
help of Snape.

I think it is possible Snape was helping DD with the messages because
HIS own message was delivered in the exact same manner, perhaps it was
Snape himself who had the idea of using Harry's Quidditch team members
and close friends, so they's find Harry easily and quickly. I don't
think using, say, a random Hufflepuff would be as efficient as using a
student close to Harry and who would already know where to find him.
Snape also saw Harry with Luna at Slughorn's party and assumed they
were close, so he used her as well.

I find it interesting, if all this could ever be true, that Snape used
Jack Sloper. It makes such sense, after all Sloper was a beater in the
previous year so Snape assumed he still was. It's just too much to
expect Snape to be on every detail about Gryffindor's Quidditch team,
right?

I can easily imagine Snape handing the kids a RP, telling them to give
it to Potter and slightly Confunding them or blurring their memories
so they wouldn't remember to say who gave them the RP. A precaution
unnecessary in the case of Harry's detention, obviously.

Well. On a lighter note, does anybody know what happened to
Dumbledore's wand? Was it burned with his body? Was it mentioned after
the tower, I really don't remember.

lucianam