[HPforGrownups] Re: Dumbledore: Patronus and Dementors

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 173761

Potioncat:
>I expected a bumblebee or phoenix because I thought his spirit guardian 
>would reflect Dumbledore. Many expected a unicorn for Lily. So the 
>moment I saw the doe Patronus,I knew it was Snape's and LOLLIPOPS had 
>won. 

Bart:
Can you tell me why? The reason why I ask is because the same thing happened to me, and I asked myself, why do I KNOW that this is Snape's Patronus? I even went online to look for "doe" in the group archives (which were open even when the group was closed); unfortunately, Yahoo's search engine insisted on looking up "does", making far too many hits (unlike eBay's, which allows you to limit a term to a single form by putting it in quotes). Was there any prior discussion in the group about Snape's Patronus being a doe, which triggered off a subconscious recollection? Was there anything in the canon that might have pointed to it? 

>I'm having to believe that in JKR's mind, not everyone in the WW picks 
>up on the Patronus's symbolism as quickly as DD, Snape or readers of HP 
>books. If they did, perhaps McGoangal, Lupin and the other Order 
>Members would have had a better understanding of Snape's loyalties.

I don't believe that Snape used the PPN (Phoenix Patronus Network). I don't have DH in front of me, but I believe that the scene where Snape shows his Patronus to Dumbledore comes well after the PPN was in place (btw, the spelling above shows why I refer to the Transfiguration teacher as "Minnie the Cat"; it's MUCH easier to spell). Here are the nicknames I'm sticking with:

Voldemort: Morty. I tried a bunch, but turning it into a prosaic Muggle name (not unlike Martin & Lewis's use of "Melvin") just seems to work for me. 

Harry, Hermione, and Ron: "Ninny" would be a cute takeoff on Krum's pronunciation, but I seem not to have a real problem with these names, and people seem to accept the "Hermoine" typo.

Dumbledore: DD. Virtually everybody uses it, and for good reason.

Prof. Flitwick: Flitty or Flit. Simple shortening, everybody understands it. 

Umbridge: Dolly the Pink. I was thinking Pink Dolly (for pink doily), but it makes a nice pun on the song "Lilly the Pink" (it, in itself, a pun on Lydia Pinkham), about a patent medicine which works, but in such a way as to make things worse. 

Prof. McGonagall: It took a while, but "Minnie the Cat" is both accurate and evocative of a character very unlike the proper professor at the same time.

Snape, Hagrid, Neville, Draco, Luna, and Sirius: All simple enough on their own.

Lucius Malfoy: The Golden Ass. Nice description, and pun on Lucius Apuleius (wtiter of the Roman novel, THE GOLDEN ASS). 

Fleur and Bill Weasley. Fleur is easy enough. Bill, I call "Beel", from what Fleur calls him. Bill is easy to spell, but Beel is funnier.

Bellatrix and Narcissa: Cissy and Trixie. I know a lot of people call Bellatrix "Bella", but "Trixie" is the kind of name that if you used it to her face, it would turn all sorts of pretty colors. 

Bart