[HPforGrownups] Re: Questions for JKR

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 173042

Dungrollin:
>2. Why didn't Voldemort tell Snape to side-along apparate to 
>Grimmauld Place with a gang of Death Eaters?

Bart: 
I'm sure the spell would account for that; that's kind of an obvious workaround the secret keeper. 

Dungrollin:
>3. What was Wormtail doing at Snape's house at the beginning of Half-
>Blood Prince?

Bart:
I thought that was obvious: Spying on Snape. Morty STILL didn't quite trust Snape. 

Dungrollin:
>6. Why did you write in Quidditch Through the Ages that no wizards 
>can fly without brooms unless their animagus form can fly?

Bart:
Quidditch Through the Ages is a metabook (a real world copy of a fictional book), and, within its continuity, it was written at a time when this was believed to be correct.

Dungrollin:
>8. Was it Harry's sacrifice (willingness to die) which made him able 
>to block Voldemort's AK with an Expelliarmus, or was it the fact that 
>he was the master of the Elder Wand?

Bart:
Well, DD made it KIND of clear (and I'm going to have to reread the section to be absolutely sure). Here's the way I read it, at least. Just like not all containers for water are bottles, not all containers for souls are horcruxes. While Harry is containing a piece of Voldemort's soul, and acting in a way similar to a horcrux, he is not one. Essentially, Morty's soul had been split so badly that when his AK backfired, triggering off a series of events which included the explosion and Harry's scar, yet another piece of his soul broke free, and just entered the nearest living being, Harry. Therefore, Harry did not need to be destroyed to free the soul piece, as would a horcrux. Also, Morty's soul piece did not blend with Harry's; it stayed separate, albeit accessible by Harry (AND Morty). Now, when Morty recreated his body using Harry's blood, it created an additional link, and a new level of protection for Harry. Here's where it goes to guesswork on my part. It is not uncommon in drunk driving accidents that the drunk has the fewest injuries. That is because the drunk is relaxed; the muscles don't work against the bones, and much of the shock is allowed to pass through the body instead of being absorbed by it. In giving himself up for sacrifice, Harry, plus the extra protection, ensured that only the Morty piece was exposed to the AK spell. This was WHY DD couldn't let Harry (or even Snape) know that it would work; if Harry knew he wasn't going to die, then, paradoxcially, he would have. This was also the reason for DD's momentary look of triumph when he found out HOW Morty got resurrected; he saw how to keep Harry from dying (and, once again, Morty's own actions ensuring the prophecy). Could DD have found another way of keeping Harry alive? Possibly. 

In any case, Harry wasn't expected to gain mastery of the wand, only the knowledge (and ability to use the stone). 

Dungrollin:
>9. What happened to Lucius and Narcissa and Umbridge?

Bart:
I expect the courts treated Cissy well, seeing that she ended up helping Harry at great risk to herself.  

Dungrollin:
>11. Harry can't be an auror, because he can't risk anybody else 
>becoming the master of the Elder wand, so what was his job after 
>Hogwarts?

Bart:
In case you hadn't noticed, Harry had a small fortune from his parents, a large fortune from Sirius, not to mention his interest in George's successful business. So, he probably lives off investments; JKR has also stated that he give occasional lectures at Hogwarts, and it's not impossible that he does so elsewhere, as well. 

Dungrollin:
>12. What happened to the Defence Against the Dark Arts curse?

Bart:
JKR has stated that it's gone.

Dungrollin:
>13. Why didn't it occur to Tom Riddle that other students must have 
>found the Room of Requirement if it was full of their hidden 
>possessions?

Bart:
Look up "psychopath". I'm being serious. I did, and even just the info readily available on the web (Wikipedia makes a good starting point, with a lot of references to primary source material) gives a LOT of insight into Morty. I dare say that JKR did her research, as well. 

Dungrollin:
>14. If DD planned to be the last master of the Elder Wand, why did he 
>leave clues for Harry to unite the Deathly Hallows?

Bart:
I don't think he did; I think he left clues for Harry to know about them, but to NOT try to unite them.

Dungrollin:
>15. In the Hospital Wing at the end of Half-Blood Prince, why didn't 
>it occur to Lupin or McGonagall that Snape might have repented over 
>the death of Lily? Surely they were aware, like Lily's friends, that 
>they'd been friends at Hogwarts?

Bart:
Ah, this gives me a chance to go on a bit more about my impressions of Snape and Lily. First of all, I do not believe that there was anything sexual between them. From what we have been shown, the love Snape had for Lily was closer to the love Harry has for Hermione. Well, MAYBE "friends with benefits". Maybe even married. But, to my mind, it was a deep friendship, not a romantic relationship; this was the flaw in most LOLLIPOPS theories. But, when the events of "Snape's Worst Memory" took place, Lily saw that his love for her was IN SPITE of the fact that she was Muggle-born. I have read that, in American African-Caucasian marriages, sooner or later, the Caucasian partner is very likely to use the so-called "n" word (actually, I read that it's a certainty, but I also know that there are Americans who were never exposed to the term until it was too late for it to go into their subconscious, so they wouldn't use it any more than a RW person would use "mudblood" as an insult). The point is that Lily realizes that thinking that, because he loves her, Snape is without the bigotry that his friends show, is an empty hope. She let Snape know, it was the Death Eaters or her, and Snape made his choice. But it is also clear from the events in SWM that the Marauders were not aware of HOW good friends he was with Lily; she was probably a little embarrassed to admit being that good a friend of a member of the Death Eaters crowd, especially on seeing that, at that age, she didn't particularly like the Marauders, either. By the time she fell in love with James, Snape was a (painful?) memory. She might have told James about her past friendship, but there was no need for Lupin or Sirius to find out. From their point of view, any affection Lily had for Snape was her general kindness to inferior beings. 

Bart