Socks of Erised/Vanishing Cabinets/Victorian Morality /Nvbl / Drawing Up

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 152591

houyhnhnm wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/152235>:

<< I, too, have been puzzled by DD's comment about seeing himself with
socks in the Mirror of Erised.  I took it partly as an evasion and
partly as an example of Dumbledorian whimsy, but also felt it must
have some added significance.  I never made the connection with Dobby
and his socks of liberation though. What is the nature of Dumbledore's
servitude? And whence comes his power which seems to be so far beyond
that of other wizards? >>

My friend got a theory after reading CoS, that Dumbledore is Nicolas
Flamel's House Elf, disguised with Flamel's permission as a human. His
strong magic is because House Elves have stronger magic than wizards.
The socks of Erised are his desire to be freed from slavery (even
though Flamel must be, in this theory, a very kind master).

I, of course, believe that DD is human and that the socks of Erised
are the hideously ugly and not very comfortable hand-knit ones his
late wife or late mother used to give him for Christmas every year.
What he wants is the deceased beloved, not the socks themselves. 

Another theory is that Socks of Erised show that his heart's desire is
to free all the House Elves of Hogwarts, but they don't want it (yet).

The servitude of the human wizard Dumbledore is 'from whom much has
been given, much is due'. Born with great magic power and great
intelligence, and having acquired so much knowledge and also a liking
of goodness, he feels bound to fight evil, guide children, try to
protect the wizarding world, and thus he is still Headmaster of the
Hogwarts and leader of the Order of the Phoenix, not retired, at an
age when he is both physically tired and his heart is tired of all
these deaths and betrayals. I believe he looked forward to death not
so much as 'the next great adventure' but as a chance to rest.

Sue whtwitch91 wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/152277>:

<< The vanishing cabinets are not like a pair of shoes, they don't
even look alike, one is black, the other black and gold and in
conventional muggle magic they work alone, usually.  Someone, I think,
set them up to work together as a passageway between Borgin and Burkes
and Hogwarts.  Who would do such a thing, and why?  (snip) there is a
reason why someone would want to go from Borgin and Burkes to Hogwarts
and that is Voldemort himself.  (snip) he came back to Hogwarts to ask
for a teaching position that he didn't really want.  On that visit he
could  have taken a nostalic tour and casully touched the cabinet.  A
quick spell and it is linked to the Knockturn Alley cabinet. >>

It could be. My theory is that the pair of cabinets were originally
created linked, and only because people didn't know of the link did
they call them Vanishing Cabinets instead of Portal Cabinets or
whatever their real name is. I figure one was in the Headmaster's
office or living quarters and the other was in the home of the
Headmaster's girlfriend or boyfriend or somewhere else he often to
visit often. When that Headmaster died, the new Headmaster didn't want
that ugly cabinet and ordered it moved. When the owner of the other
cabinet died, his/her heirs sold most of the stuff, some of it to
Borgin and Burkes. I don't know how much magic it takes to make or to
connect Portal Cabinets.

Gerry wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/152302>:

<< There is no indication whatsoever that the WW has this kind of
Victorian morals. >>

GoF Chapter 27: 

<< "I told you!" Ron hissed at Hermione, as she stared down at the
article. "I told you not to annoy Rita Skeeter! She�s made you out to
be some sort of � of scarlet woman!"

Hermione stopped looking astonished and snorted with laughter.

"Scarlet woman?" she repeated, shaking with suppressed giggles as she
looked round at Ron.

"It�s what my mum calls them," Ron muttered, his ears going red again. >>

steven1965aaa wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/152388>:

<<  we know James used the [Levicorpus] Spell, and we know that Snape
invented it.  How did James learn the spell?  Since its nvbl, he did
not hear Snape say it and copy him.  He could only have learned it
from the HBP potions book.  How did he get his hands on Snape's
potions book? >>

As Zanooda wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/152463>:

<< Lupin told Harry that the spell was very popular :"There were a few
months in my fifth year when you couldn't move for being hoisted into
the air by your ankle" (HBP, 336 US, 315 UK). >>

However the knowledge of the spell got around, it seems intensely
unlikely that it was by dozens and dozems of students all getting
their hands on Snape's potions book. I suppose Snape taught it to some
of his Slytherin friends, who taught it to other Slytherins, one of
whom taught it to his/her Ravenclaw girl/boy/friend, who taught it to
the other Ravenclaws, including a Ravenclaw prefect who taught it to
the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor prefects...

Tim <evangelist> wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/152587>:

<< For instance, we have Dumbledore "drawing" up a chair at the court
in OOtP, yet Molly and the house-elves seem to have to physically cook
edible food rather than simply conjuring it. Is there a contradiction
here or have i missed something? >>

When Dumbledore draws up a chair for Professor Trelawney in PoA, "And
he did indeed draw a chair in midair with his wand, which revolved for
a few seconds before falling with a thud between Professors Snape and
McGonagall." and when he conjures up hundreds of squashy purple
sleeping bags in the same book, he might be summoning them from a
storage room rather than creating them ex nihilo. Or he might, as a
particularly powerful wizard, be able to create things that last for
as much as several hours before dissolving back into nothingness. Food
that dissolves back into nothingness wouldn't be very nutritious,
although it is often yearned for by those of us with weight problems.