Baruffio/MagicTheory/SeeNoDiff/Auror!H/Diary!T/DobbyWinky/Horcrux!H/Vindicti

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 160570

Seca wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/160187>:

<< Unfortunately, what I remembered most about your post was the error
contained in the last paragraph. The spell is /Wingardium Leviosa/,
not /"___" Leviosa/. The entire spell causes something to raise up or
fly, as evidenced by Ron's use of it against the troll in the bathroom
where he does *not* say "Clavium Leviosa" to levitate the club. >>

There is a theory that the incantation (the magic word/s) for a spell
consists of two 'words', one referring to the action and one to the
object. "Accio Firebolt" and "Locomotor trunk" are kind of obvious
examples; 'Mobilicorpus' and 'Mobiliarbus' consist of the action
'Mobili' and the object, corpus = body and arbus  = tree. A listie
suggested that 'Alohomora'is the action, 'aloho' = welcome me, plus
the object, 'mora' = wall. The new learner must say both words while
forming the intention in his/her mind; a more experienced wizard need
speak only the action word because his/her trained intention is enough
to specify the object; a highly skilled mage needs only wand and
intention: for him/her, no words are necessary; Dumbledore needs only
intention (referred to somewhere as 'wandless magic').

The example of Ron and the bathroom troll indicates to me that even
the beginningest student only needs wand and strong, focussed
INTENTION -- if the words of the incantation were really so important,
saying the incantation for levitating a feather would not have worked
for levitating a club!

Which further suggests that Flitwick's warning anecdote of Baruffio
saying S instead of F and unexpectedly getting a buffalo on his chest
is not a true tale, and also is an unneccessary warning.

Jordan Random wrote of Wingardium Leviosa in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/160137>:

<< Out of curiosity, any thought on why 'wingardium' instead of
'penna'? Is there a reason why most spells are latin, and , further,
is there a reason why some are not? "crucio" and "imperio" are both
latin, but "avada kedavra" is aramaic. >>

And 'Alohomora' is neither Aramaic nor Latin.

The incantation ('magic words') for Potterverse spells are, as Jordan
said, this weird mix of things that sound like Latin and things that
sound like Aramaic and things that sound like English and things that
kind of sort of sound like Hawaiian (Aloho / Aloha). 

One theory is that these particular phonemes (their sound waves)
interact with the elementary particle/waves of Magic (the fifth force). 

Thus finding the right incantation while making up a spell would
require trial-and-error, which would be more effective with either a
conscious or a habitual knowledge of what sounds go with what magic. I
like to think that Potterverse arithmancy, rather than being a form of
divination like muggle arithmancy, is analysis of what the magic
elementary partiwaves are doing, and thus would be helpful in
developing the phonemes for new incantations as well as the
accompanying wand movements for new spells.

The similarities to sounds in existing languages could be a
co-incidence, or evidence that certain languages were invented by
wizards for magical use and later adopted, adapted, and de-magic-ized
by muggle tribes. That Wizard Latin is the one of those magical
languages most commonly known by modern British wizards doesn't
prevent there being other magical languages in the same relationship
to muggle Sumerian and Middle Egyptian and other awe-inspiring muggle
languages. I strongly suspect that the modern wizarding folk believe
this theory, and folk of my hypothetical Aramaic School of Magic use
Wizard Sumerian as the base language of their incantations, and folk
of my hypothetical Coptic School of Magic use Wizard Ta.wy.i as the
base language for their incantations.

Another theory, which I happen to believe, is that the phonemes are
arbitrary to the wavicles. The phonemes are meaningful only to guide
the wizard's INTENTION. Thus, when inventing a spell, incantations
that sound like words of known meaning and that sound awe-inspiring
work better in the trial-and-error tests than incantations that sound
silly and meaningless. The wizard who invented the Wingardium Leviosa
spell probably earlier tried Penna Leviosa and levitated a pin or a
(quill?) pen or hiser earlobe or nothing, and said: "Well, that one
doesn't work. What shall I try next?"

Pippin wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/160139>:

<< I've mentioned this a couple of times and not gotten a response,
but I'm really interested in what others would have to say about this,
so I'll try again. When Snape says, "I see no difference" IMO, that's
JKR showing us how cruel and wrong it is not to distinguish between a
lesser evil and a greater one. Does the fact that Hermione's teeth
weren't pretty to begin with excuse Snape from doing anything about
the fact that they'd been cursed? Does the fact that Draco was not a
very nice person to begin with excuse Dumbledore from trying to save
him from Voldemort? >>

I think, if that was JKR's intention, it failed for the number of
people who saw nothing wrong with Sevvie having made a funny little
joke except Hermione over-reacted, and it failed for the number of
people who saw the message as it's wrong to hurt the feelings of
someone the reader likes. 

Aussie Hagrid wrote IN
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/160149>:

<< Ugh. For Harry to be an Auror, he would have to go back and
complete his NEWTs at Hogwarts. That would mean an 8th book.
Unfortunately, there will only be 7 - - Harry has to die >>

Geoff already said that JKR said there will be an epilogue, so Harry
can do a tone of stuff without any need of an 8th book. 

Furthermore, British listies used often to post that OWLs and NEWTs,
being modelled on O-levels and A-levels, are administered NOT by
Hogwarts but by the Ministry of Magic, and therefore can be taken in
many different places (some gave the example of on a Navy ship at sea,
under the supervision of a Naval officer) following many different
courses of study, apparently including independent study as well as
on-the-job learning.

Alla wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/160150>:

<< But for some reason called **Prophecy** I think he would anyways.
Harry's life is not maybe more valuable in the fight, he is the only
one who can do it, end of story. >>

I thought Dumbledore, who said that many prophecies never come true,
wouldn't have been *so* certain that this particular prophecy was
accurate. Heroic and essential as Harry will be in the culmination, I
very much hope it is Neville or Colin Creevey or Pansy Parkinson who
actually KILLS Voldemort, thus proving the Prophecy  wrong.

Carol wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/160158>:

<< And can someone please answer my question about why DD *chose* to
fly to the tower in his weakened state knowing that Draco would try to
kill him and the UV would be activated unless he knew he was dying,
knew or hoped that Draco would realize that he wasn't a killer, and
knew that Snape would have to kill him? Why, Alla and those who agree
with her, didn't he just stay at the Three Broomsticks, trusting the
Order to take care of things, and summon Snape ("I need Severus!")
with his Patronus? >>

He's no good at delegating?

Goddlefrood summarized Chapter 23 in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/160180>:

<< 4. However insignificant the distinction, is the difference in the
description of Slughorn's wagging finger between the two versions
perhaps a clue to something? >>

I didn't notice it until you mentioned it, but perhaps the finger
being sugar-coated the first time and not the second time is a
reference to Sluggy's STORY being sugar-coated the first time and not
the second time.

I see in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/160241>
that this is also your theory, and Potioncat's, so this is a forbidden
"I agree" post.

Carol wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/160213>:

<< I also wonder what would have happened if Diary!Tom, animated by
Ginny's soul, had encountered Vapor!mort. Would he have allowed his
own seventh of a soul to possess him and re-formed the Death Eaters in
the guise of a sixteen-year-old boy? >>

As you know, <http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/faq_view.cfm?id=17>
says:

<<Q: In 'Chamber of Secrets', what would have happened if Ginny had
died and Tom Riddle had escaped the diary?

JKR: I can't answer that fully until all seven books are finished, but
it would have strengthened the present-day Voldemort considerably. >>

Potioncat wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/160216>:

<< Dobby and Winky. This time around the elf relationship has taken on
a different slant to my mind and I was wondering... Does anyone else
think there is a "real" relationship here? Dobby went to visit her.
Dobby suggested they look for a place together...Dobby takes care of
her when she's drunk. Is there something more?---Would their child be
named Dinky? (Wobby?) >>

IIRC Dobby and Winky as a long-married couple is a fanfic cliche. In
the books it seems to me that Dobby, her self-appointed chivalrous
protector, may well be in love with her, but she doesn't particularly
act like she's in love with him. Has anyone thought they might be
brother and sister? That Crouches and Malfoys mated Crouch's Winky's
mother with Malfoy's Dobby's father?

Does anyone know how House Elves are named? If their masters name
them, do free-born House Elves go nameless? Why was Kreachur not named
Kreachy? (That is, why is he the ONLY House Elf introduced so far
whose name doesn't fit the --y pattern?)

Carol wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/160480>:

<< If Harry is inhabited by a soul bit, he must be an accidental
Horcrux. If he's a Horcrux, he must be destroyed or Voldemort can't be
killed. If Harry's destroyed, he can't kill Voldemort. This is not a
mere JKR-style complication. It's an unresolvable dilemma. >>

It's resolvable: they die simultaneously. I like the idea of them
falling together over the Reichenbach Falls... 

Charles wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/160532>:

<< Yes, Hermione is vindictive. So is Dumbledore, who told Tommy boy
that "I admit that merely taking your life would not satisfy me," >>

Surely Voldemort thought that Dumbledore meant that he wanted to
inflict extra suffering on Voldemort for revenge as well as killing
him, but I totally don't think that was what Dumbledore meant. Surely
Dumbledore meant that he would remain unsatisfied if Tommy boy didn't
sincerely repent, resume his humanity, and save what's left of his soul.