101 "most" important remaining questions: pt. 1 of 101!

[Peter Wagner]

No: HPFGUIDX 166899

A group of Harry Potter fans at a Tolkien discussion group who had way
too much time on our hands this winter (due to a lot of airport delays
for me!) put together a list of 101 outstanding questions raised by the
books that (might) be answered in Deathly Hallows. The full details of
the survey can be read here.
<http://forums.theonering.com/viewtopic.php?t=96184> However, the mods
here requested that I post just one question a day, in order to keep
this a discussion rather than just a survey!

Note that we omit a lot of questions that fans raise:there is an
important difference between, say, "what did James and Lily do for
jobs?" and "Why did Dumbledore trust Snape?": the latter is an issue in
the books, the former is not.  For the most part, we have pursued a
Chekovian philosophy: that is, we are asking about the literary guns
that are still on the walls.  However, we have thrown in questions that
Rowling herself has introduced (e.g., late blooming wizards, the
more-than-meets-the-eye Petunia, etc.)  And we do have a few questons
that dear old Anton might not have asked, but from which we could not
restrain ourselves!

To make it a survey, we came up with as many responses as we could find
to the different questions, reflecting different common ideas.  We have
tried to remain cognizant of different ideas, and we include possible
responses that none of us took seriously.  However, there is no way that
we got all of the ideas: that just is not possible.  Still,we can kill
many birds with one stone here (a favorite plot device of Rowlings!).


We order the questions largely based on the characters or devices central
to the question. So, the first group of questions center around
(surprise, surprize!) Harry, the protagonist!  The second group center
around Voldemort, the antagonist.  Then there is a batch about Snape:
indeed, we had to edit to stop this from being a Snape survey.  There
are some questions about other secondary characters (Ron, Hermione,
etc.) that come later, as well as questions about plot devices
(Horcruxes, etc.).

Note also that a lot of the questions are (possibly) related, and that the
same answers can be used for many questions.  For example, if you are fan
of the hypothesis that Snape loved Lily, then you'll find that this is
an answer to a lot of questions.  If you are not a fan of that
hypothesis, then you will have other options for those questions.

So, for each question, first provide an answer.  Let's say that you think
that the answer to the first question is a).  First enter"1. a"and then
say "why".  (Oh, and cut all of the reply stuff replicating this post:
we do not need to see this posting replicated a dozen times!).  So, I
would give:

******************************************************
1. a

Dumbledore states in Chamber that Harry has a piece of Voldemort in him,
and as Dumbledore is an outstanding theoretician, that's good enough
for me.  Sure, the link could be something else: but why invoke
two explanations when one will do?  (Yup, Chekov and Occam in
one post.....)
******************************************************

Short answers are nice, by the way: just state exactly why you think
what you do!

Now, suppose that I was stuck between a & b.  Then, answer:

******************************************************
1. a/b.

blah, blah blah.....
******************************************************

Finally, suppose that I thought that both a & b are correct.  Then, I
would answer:
******************************************************
1. a b.

blah, blah blah.....
******************************************************

With that, I give you the first question.  Enjoy....


1. The link between Harry and Voldemort is due to:
    a.    the "bit" of Voldemort that is in Harry.
    b.    a Protego Charm somehow cast there in the backlash of Lily's
sacrifice.
    c.    Lily's soul (or some essence thereof) split between the two from
the backlash of Lily's sacrifice.
    d.    Lily's soul (or some essence thereof)imprinted on the two from
the backlash of Lily's sacrifice.
    e.    something still different (but that will be clarified).
     f.    something that will not be revealed.




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