What really happened on the tower.

[Ken Hutchinson]

No: HPFGUIDX 155649

justcarol67 wrote:
> If Harry can cast a nonverbal spell (other than Levicorpus), why is he
> shouting his spells at Snape (who wouldn't have to tell him to keep
> his mouth shut if he were doing it)? Also, Harry didn't "defeat two
> wizards." He hit the Brutal-faced Death Eater *in the back* with the
> first Petrificus Totalus. He wasn't fighting him; the DE didn't know
> he was there. And we *are* told that Harry didn't have time to raise
> his wand before Fenrir Greyback leaped on him, which (along with
> Greyback's rancid breath in his face) strongly suggests that Harry was
> in no position to cast the spell himself.

I don't recall how I interpreted this passage when I first read it. My
second and third readings were influenced by those who claim it wasn't
Harry who cast the PT. Reading it with an open mind again as the
result of this discussion leads me to believe there is no reason why
Harry could not have cast the spell. Yes, Fenrir was on him and
knocked him down *before* he could raise his wand. It does not say
that Harry's arms were pinned helplessly to the ground. It does not
say that Harry could not raise his wand *after* being knocked over. It
does not say that Harry could not move his wrist enough to point his
wand at some part of Fenrir, which is all he would have to do. It
might have been someone else who cast the spell. The simplest reading
that fits the text is that Harry cast the spell. It could not have
been Snape, he and Draco had already disappeared around the corner.

Later on Harry tries to cast a non-verbal spell at Snape and Snape
blocks it because Harry cannot close his mind any more than his mouth.
Harry is *so* not ready to face either Snape or LV. I don't
necessarily accept your theory that Harry will defeat LV by possessing
him but the text has given us absolutely no reason to believe he could
defeat him in a duel.

Ken



> 
> JKR has someone shout the spell but she chooses not to identify the
> caster. It's most unlikely to be Harry, and certainly you can't state
> as fact that he "defeated two wizards" using nonverbal spells when we
> don't know any such thing. I do, however, agree with you that Harry
> needs to take Snape's advice and cast his spells nonverbally--as snape
> has been trying to teach him to do all year.
> 
> As for Fenrir Greyback being a wizard, I think he must be considering
> that he's a Death Eater. The narrator mentions his DE robes being
> tight across his chest, and he must have had the Dark Mark on his arm
> to get through the barrier on the tower stairs. I don't think that
> Voldemort would allow a Muggle to be a Death Eater no matter how
> vicious he was. Certainly Greyback is part of the WW and has been for
> a long time, given his attack on child!Remus some thirty or so years
> earlier. And if he were a Muggle, he probably wouldn't even be able to
> see Hogwarts. granted, he doesn't seem to use a wand, but he wouldn't
> have attended Hogwarts (he's apparently older than Lupin), so he
> wouldn't be a fully qualified wizard. He may not even have received a
> Hogwarts letter, not because he isn't a wizard but because Hogwarts
> didn't accept werewolves in his day.
> 
> Carol, wondering if Greyback is related to dear Delores since they
> both have pointy teeth
> 
> Carol
>