DH - unanswered (and irritating) questions

[susanmcgee48176]

No: HPFGUIDX 173308

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "ciraarana" <ciraarana at ...> 
wrote:
>
> Kia ora!
> 
> <snip>
> 
> Q: Who is the one who, according to Rowling, performs magic quite 
late in life?

****I don't think there has been any conclusive answer to this.
Merope is shown doing magic in her shack (her father tells her to 
mend a plate).....Ted Tonks was "muggle born", not a muggle....maybe 
JKR forgot about that or it was in an earlier version?



> 
> Q: Did the Sorting Hat burn completely? What or who is Sorting now?

I think it survived...certainly  it was after it  burst into flames  
that Neville pulled the Sword of Gryffindor out of it...remember that 
Voldemort's spells weren't working too well....


> 
> Q: Why didn't Snape know about the Horcurxes? He's a Dark wizard.
> Voldemort is boasting about his near immortality. Snape is a clever
> man. Why didn't he know??

That information/knowledge is suppressed. DD had the books hidden in 
his study. My guess, however, is that he put a spell on them so that 
only Hermione would be able to get them. Then he tells Harry to tell 
Ron and Hermione about the horcruxes...


> 
> Q: Where is Snape's portrait?? He was Headmaster of Hogwarts. We saw
> how their portraits pop up after their death. And I'm sure Harry 
would
> have noticed Snape's portrait. So, where is it?? 

My theory is that it's there. Remember the first time after 
Dumbledore's death that Harry went into the Headmaster's office? DD 
was asleep in his portrait. I theorize that it takes a while for the 
portraits to awaken after death...


> 
> Q: How could Dumbledore have known Draco's mission before Draco did?
> 

I think that's a good question. I assumed that DD (who was a great 
keeper of secrets, trained to do so in his childhood) had another spy 
among the Death Eaters, but that's not too plausible....I wondered 
that as well.

<snip>


> 
> Q: Snape approached Voldemort with the plea to not kill Lily? And
> Voldemort agreed? He agreed to not kill a "Mudblood"?? (And he did
> agree, didn't he, because he gave Lily the choice to step away.)
> Looking at Voldemort's policy ... Are we supposed to accept that?

I think this one is totally understandable. People who choose evil in 
their lives love to exert power and humiliate others. Rape is not 
about sex or love, it's about power over someone and humiliation of 
someone....Snape would have been smart enough to tell Voldemort that 
he wanted to possess Lily to gain vengeance against James Potter (who 
he vocally hated) and against Sirius Black. This would have made 
sense to Voldemort, who loved to humiliate and punish people. Why 
else make Pettigrew wait for his new hand? Why the "slow torture" of 
the Malfoys by recruiting Draco to kill Dumbledore? Why not just kill 
Lucius..... Also evil people like to demonstrate their power and 
omnipotence, making their followers/victims more afraid to thwart 
them...Voldemort would have loved the idea of handing Lily over to 
Snape.

<snip>

> 
> Q: The Polyjuice Potion. It only lasts for an hour. That was 
important
> in GoF. And in this book it's never even once mentioned! And some of
> the adventures took longer than an hour. Is this a new version of
> Polyjuice? Why aren't we told so?


Good question. Either they found a stronger PP, they took it every 
hour but she doesn't mention it, or it's a flaw...


<snip>
 
> Q: Harry peering in on Voldemort. Excuse me, but Voldemort is the 
one
> who is in control of the connection. During HBP, he kept it shut. 
And
> now, suddenly, Harry can creep in again? Without Voldemort 
noticing? 
> (Okay, perhaps Harry didn't always notice when Voldemort came to 
peek
> into his mind in OotP, and perhaps now Voldemort doesn't know 
Harry's
> there.) And Voldemort didn't even once use the connection to try
> something like he did with Sirius? He never used it to look in on
> Harry and see where the boy was? You know, to better catch him, and
> all that. I half-expected it for the first several hundred pages. It
> never happened. And I can't understand why not.

I'm wondering if it had something to do with Voldemort's possessing 
Harry and finding it intolerable. Doesn't DD say something about it 
being like unbearable......? But more likely, Harry explains 
it....Snape WAS trying to teach him occlumency, but could only teach 
Harry to do it the way HE knew how to do it...for Harry, the emotions 
of love/grief etc. was the way to keep Voldemort out of 
himself....doesn't Harry say he finally learned how to do it?



> 
> Q: The Trace. Rubbish. Excuse me, but it is. I mean, in CoS Harry is
> accused of having used the Hover Charm. The Ministry didn't know it
> wasn't him. Somewhere, I think at the end of HBP, Dumbledore even 
told
> Harry that the Ministry can only detect that magic is performed, but
> not by whom. And now we are introduced to the Trace, which allows 
the
> Ministry to tell exactly who performed which spell?? No. Doesn't 
make
> sense. Or is it a new ministry policy and I simply missed that bit?
> 
Not sure. And why didn't the MOM put a trace on people who called 
Voldemort the "Dark Lord"? (When they were still relatively 
uninfiltrated.....)



> Q: If Expelliarmus changes the wand's allegiance 
 then nobody from
> the DA is still using their own wand. No wizard or witch who has 
ever
> been taught that spell at Hogwarts would be using their own wand
> (although considering the DADA teacher problem 
) But wouldn't Harry
> have won Voldemort's wand in the graveyard scene in GoF?
> 
> 
I think this charm only works with the Elder Wand.



Susan McGee
(If you're over 40, and interested in a low volume list, email me 
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