[HPforGrownups] Re: Petunia's Eyes/Snape, Snape, Snape

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 169988

> Magpie:
> I think she's been pretty clear about what these terms mean since 
> they are important terms in canon, though.

Random:
I agree that the bulk of cases are perfectly clear. But, any of the
theories given here, really _anything_ that she could have said after
the "but", are edge cases. We have _no_ information in canon on whether
such individuals could or could not be called "muggles", because there
are no examples.

Magpie:
If we're talking about someone like the person that Petunia's being
described as in this scenario, a Muggle-born girl who is frightened of
herself as magic before she's ever even done any and somehow manages to
repress it in herself I think the more obvious is question is why would we
assume there are any of these people? It seems to go against everything
we've been told. The ones in canon who are witches who lose their powers
temporarily are called witches. Petunia is more like the tree that falls in
the forest and nobody heard it. 

Random:
(I really think "Fanon" should be a TBAY character) This alone indicates
that our understanding of the word "muggle" is in conflict with JKR's.

Magpie:
Not really, imo. "Muggle" is also a derogatory term. Neville's family
saying that he's "all Muggle" meant they thought he was a Squib or a poor
Wizard. Neville saying that he is "practically a Squib" means that he's an
incompetent Wizard--he's not a Squib. They're using a word that means
something else intentionally to exaggerate. Such as when in our world, say,
a kid might have called another kid who misses a fly ball a "spaz" after
the former name for the charity for people with cerebral palsy. It's not in
conflict with JKR's understanding of the word, it's just using the word in
a different context as an insult. Its use in those cases depends on the
understanding that the word is being used incorrectly for exaggeration. 

Random:
The "she knows things" angle for that statement isn't credible. OF
COURSE she knows more about the wizarding world than the average muggle -
her sister was a witch, she's the reluctant guardian of Harry Potter, etc.
That would be utterly unsurprising and certainly not worth "I'm
being shockingly indiscreet" for hinting at that, if that were indeed
the "but". There has to be something.

Magpie:
There's something--but it doesn't have to be that she's not a Muggle or
that she is a Witch. I don't think it's so very obvious that Petunia is
hiding something, actually, to casual readers. It only really comes out in
OotP, and I could easily believe that JKR could here be, in her mind,
referring to whatever interesting secret Petunia has. Even if people have
figured out she knows stuff, the secret itself could still be a surprise.
Or it could be something else. I just don't see how it could be that she is
or was ever able to perform magic. Or even why that would be such a big
deal to the story. It's kind of an even less relevent version of Neville
being almost the Prophecy boy, a fact that means absolutely nothing to the
story or to Neville, ultimately. Even if Petunia could have been a witch,
she's not, so it doesn't matter.

Random:
Regarding the Heir of Gryffindor thing - can you just answer one thing?
If he _is_ the Heir of Gryffindor, and it's supposed to be a surprise,
what else could she have said?

Magpie:
Anything but "yeah" when asked if the theories about Harry being the Heir
of Gryffindor had been shut down.:-) She could have said "I'm not saying he
is or he isn't, but why would it shut it down?" or "I don't know...does it?"

Or what she said once earlier in a different interview:

Q: Is Harry related to Godric Gryffindor? 
JKR: "People are always wondering who Harry might be related to. Maybe he
is ;)"

JKR isn't trying to mess with us imo; she's basically in the position of
being someone who has "read" all the books so knows more than we do. She
doesn't want to spoil us, but she will talk about the story. So if somebody
hits her with a question that she knows is true, I can't see why she'd say
it isn't or make a mistake.

For instance, what if someone post-GoF had had this fictional exchange
based on the Heir of Gryffindor one:

Fake Interviewer: What about Sirius' family--does he have any sisters?

JKR: No. 

Fake Interviewer: That sort of shuts down the theories about Sirius being
related to Narcissa Malfoy then.

JKR: [Pause.] Yeah. Well - yeah.

Fake Interviewer: Another one bites the dust.

Magpie again:
There were not Sirius related to Narcissa theories that I know of, but the
point is, I can't imagine that if JKR had been hit with that pre-OotP that
she would ever had said "yeah" anymore than I would if I were talking to
someone who hadn't read OotP. Because I would know that Sirius and Narcissa
are related. If I were not wanting to share the fact yet not wanting to
lie, I could say something like "No sisters, definitely."

Random:
One perennial theory is that Petunia is the older sister, misjudged what
her parents' reaction would be, and has regretted it ever since.

It's apparently not possible to become a "licensed wizard" without
completing [at least to fifth year] a Hogwarts education - that's why 
expelees have their wands snapped. So perhaps if she refused such an 
education, the authorities would have arrived to somehow remove or bind her
magic.

Magpie:
Binding a witch's powers happens a lot on Charmed, but we've never seen it
in the Potterverse (and if it were possible I think we definitely would
have)--on the contrary, Hagrid still does magic, so nobody bound anything.
So far we've never seen it to be possible. Hagrid's wand was snapped, but
he was thought to have killed someone. We don't know that that's always
what happens when you're expelled--Sirius' wand may have been snapped as
well, and Bellatrix's and Barty's, but they could grab another and use it. 
If Petunia regretted her decision, I'm sure she could have gone to Hogwarts
later. I don't think an 11 year old would be held accountable for a bad
decision. Not that Petunia would have gotten a chance to misjudge her
parents' decision. They'd get the letter when it came to her and a Wizard
would come and explain it to all of them. Regardless, Petunia has never
performed magic, so I don't think she'd have any reason to get the letter. 

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