Chamber of Horcruxes

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 161354

k12listmomma (Shelley) wrote:

> About this, I think Dumbledore is smart enough to understand that
this language is Parceltongue, and to figure out approximately what
was said. I was surprised that he didn't ask Harry to translate,
meaning either the exact words weren't important, he had enough of an
idea that he was "ok" with it, or that maybe there IS another
Parceltongue somewhere out in the wizarding world that is a close
friend of Dumbledore's that he asked already about it. Or, like you
suggested, he's Parcel-eared.  <snip>
> 
> I think of another incident where Dumbledore speaks another
language- it was with the Merpeople in the TriWizard Tournament, to
find out what happened at the bottom of the lake. I often wondered
just WHEN he acquired Mermaid-language- was it in school, afterward,
or was it a natural gift of his to pick up languages? So much of
Dumbledore is important to the story, and I have to wonder if this bit
is essential to the ending of the story, or just a side element thrown
in just to show how smart and wise Dumbledore really is. It might be
relative to Harry if some of those gadgets were given to Harry to help
him later, either directly, or "just in the nick of time, as needed",
just like the Sorting Hat, Gryffindor Sword and Fawkes were sent to
Harry in the Chamber of Secrets in his time of need.

Carol responds:
I think that DD's knowledge of Mermish, aside from being a plot
device, indicates his great intelligence, just like Crouch Sr.'s
ability to speak something like 150 languages (possibly an
exaggeration of Percy's part, but still we're meant to realize that
he's a gifted linguist).

Parseltongue, however, is not a human language or one spoken by
magical beings like Goblins or Merpeople. It's an animal language and
the ability to speak it seems to be inborn (but note that Animagi can
speak with animals, too--PP with rats and Sirius Black with a
half-Kneazle cat. Interesting that Squibs can also communicate with
cats, though I don't think they speak, erm, cat language). At any
rate, I don't think that DD can understand Parseltongue or he'd have
heard the Basilisk in the pipes in CoS, much less speak it or he'd
have been able to find and open the chamber. Not being Slytherin's
true Heir, he couldn't do it. So I think you're right that he's
intelligent enough to figure out more or less what Morfin is saying
from the context, from his behavior, and from Bob Ogden's reactions.
Or he understands enough to be getting on with, to borrow his own
expression, even if he doesn't understand the specics. One other
possibility, and I'm waiting to hear everyone jump on this idea as
unlikely, is that he can perform Legilimency on memories and read
Memory!Morfin's thoughts. Just a possibility I'm tossing out, not an
interpretation I'm arguing for.

Carol, apologizing to Shelley for getting her ID wrong in my previous post