Nagini and the Invisibililty Cloak - thoughts?

[jastrangfeld]

No: HPFGUIDX 172815

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "irenetsui" <irenetsui at ...> wrote:
> > On 7/25/07, doppioprego <doppioprego@> wrote:
 > >  In Godric's Hollow, Nagini (as Bathilda) was able to see,
> recognise and
> > >  beckon Harry to come into the house, despite the fact he and
Hermione
> > >  were under the cloak AND disguised as a middle-aged couple. In the
> > >  Shrieking Shack during the Voldemort/Snape showdown she is shown is
> > >  floating around in the bubble whilst Snape repeatedly asks Voldy
> > >  to 'let me bring you the boy'. Why would Nagini not have spotted
> Harry
> > >  hiding under the cloak and told Voldy of this? Would have spared an
> > >  awful lot of time and magical effort in destroying the Hogwarts
> castle
> > >  to root him out.
> > 
> 
> Irene:
> 
> At that time, Harry was still inside the tunnel, underneath a crate.
> He was not standing blatantly in the room, under the cloak. Nagini did
> not see him.
>



You're reading way more into this than necessary.  Point is:  Nagini
could NOT see them.  

All references to US DH edition:
p330-331
"But then he heard a rustle and saw a little eddy of dislodged snow in
the bush to which Hermione had pointed.  Ghosts could not move snow."

Nagini had just spotted an old couple putting a rose wreath on the
Potter's grave.  It's only after they saw the snow scene I mentioned
about that they put the invisibility cloak on.  

Nagini probably figured they'd go look at the house next.  The house
appears to bring forth a sign when it knows someone is there.

p332:
"His touch on the gate seemed to have done it.  A sign had risen out
of the ground in front of them,"

Not to mention a hand must have appeared out of nowhere for Nagini:
p332:
"He slipped a hand from beneath the Cloak and grasped the snowy and
thickly rusted gate"

Now on p334, Harry makes some assumptions:
"She was standing there gazing at a house that ought to have been
completely invisible to her, if she was not a witch.  Even assuming
that she was a witch, however, it was odd behavior to come out on a
night this cold, simply to look at an old ruin.  By all the rules of
normal magic, meanwhile, she ought not to be able to see Hermione and
him at all.  Nevertheless, Harry had the strangest feeling that she
knew that they were there, and also who they were."

Yes, she saw the hand, followed from the graveyard.  Knew which
direction to look because there was a sign right in front of them, he
had just touched the gate.

She doesn't speak until she is in another room.  
p336:
""Come!" called Bathilda from the next room.
Hermione jumped and clutchd Harry's arm.
"It's okay," said Harry reassuringly, and he led the way into the
sitting room."

Now, if Hermione had said, "what's that hissing noise" instead of just
jumping, Harry might have had a clue that he had just heard more
parseltongue.

It was probably another way to test that it was Harry Potter (seeing
as he could recognize the parseltongue) instead of just some old
couple.  Remember, they're still looking like an old couple.  If
Hermione is around, Nagini doesn't speak, just nods, gestures, or
looks stupid.

It's not until she's upstairs that she asks
p339
"You are Potter?" she whispered.
"Yes, I am."

So no, I do not believe that Nagini can see through the cloak.  Just a
lucky set of circumstances, and a little bit of knowledge that Harry
might just come looking for his parents graves and the house.

Julie