Figgses and Fiddlesticks & Pausanias (Was: Book Covers)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 166946

Peter J. Wagner wrote:
> 
> <SNIP>
> If it was a basilisk, then I would hazard the guess that they 
> are in Slytherin's tomb.  That certainly might be a place where
> Voldemort would hide a Horcrux: IF its location was generally 
> unknown, of course.
> 
Goddlefrood responded:
><snip>

> Quite interesting, I believe you may find ;). There is also 
> there a picture of the Lion Gate as it is today. What value
> has this, you ask? Well my inference from this is to join the
> dots from Lion to Godric Gryffindor. If there is indeed a
> depiction of a tomb on the cover mentioned by me above then
> based on this small matter as outlined, I posit that it would 
> be Gryffindor's tomb or treasure-house that is the more likely
> candidate as being the one visited at some point in DH.
> 
Carol responds:
I agree with Goddlefrood that the tomb or vault is likely to be that
of Gryffindor, not Slytherin, not only because they're more likely to
visit it but because of the proliferation of rubies, matching the
rubies in the Sword of Gryffindor. The colors of Gryffindor are red
and gold and the stones in the Gryffindor hourglass are rubies, in
contrast to emeralds in the Slytherin hourglass. There's not an
emerald in sight on the Bloomsbury children's cover, but rubies are
everywhere, including on the helmet. Why it would be crowned with a
dragon, or why the breastplate would have what appears to be a snake
with a bird's beak on it, I have no idea. I suppose Slytherin's
breastplate could have gotten into Gryffindor's tomb or vault somehow,
but I don't know how.

As for the tomb being in Mycenae, I suppose that's no stranger than
the final confrontation occurring (apparently) in a Roman arena, but I
suspect that we're actually seeing the hidden treasures and mysteries
of Hogwarts.

By the way, if the Bloomsbury children's cover artist is the same one
who drew the original back cover of the children's edition of PS (not
Dumbledore, but the mysterious brown-bearded wizard)

http://www.hp-lexicon.org/about/books/ps/rg-ps00.html

perhaps we shouldn't place too much faith in the depictions on the
covers. I wonder whether that first artist even read the book!

I forgot to provide a link to the quote about the Scholastic cover
depicting shadowy people, not gravestones, in the background in my
previous response to Goddlefrood. Here it is:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Media__Entertainment__Art/Publisher_unveils_cover_of_new_Harry_Potter_book/articleshow/1830960.cms

Goddlefrood:
> This is linked into Mrs. Figg, whom it had been inferred from a
previous post of mine, might be a different person from Arabella Figg.
I'll be honest now and say that it never crossed my mind, but it did
lead me back to take a closer look :)
> 
Carol:
I take it you're not arguing that they're two different people. I
think the inference was drawn from a typo in which you seem to have
mistyped "Dumbledore" as "Arabella Fig":

"I must say, having analysed the chapter "The Hearing" in OotP
in some depth recently, *I find it unlikely that Mrs. Figg is
related to Arabella Fig* for the simple reason that it seems,
to me at least, probable that one of the members of the
Wizengamot would have said something when Dumbledore called
on the same Mrs. Figg to testify."

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/166511

However, as I'm sure you realize, Mrs. Figg gave her name as Arabella
Doreen Figg at Harry's hearing, so she and the Arabella Figg that DD
mentioned along with Mundungus as part of the "old crowd" have to be
the same person.

Goddlefrood:
<snip>
> 
> (ii) In OotP she says: "'Of course I know Dumbledore, who 
> doesn't know Dumbledore? But come on - I'll be no help if they 
> come back, I've never so much as Transfigured a teabag.'"
> 
> This may suggest, as it has previously to others, as I recall
> from the archives, that she may be a prime candidate for the
> person who will perform magic later in life in desperate
> circumstances. Further, she may do this due to an attack on
> Number 4 Privet Drive by Harry's enemy or enemies after he 
> reaches the wizarding age of majority.

Carol:
Here I agree with you. I won't repeat my reasons here, but anyone
who's interested can do a site search for previous posts on the topic.

Goddlefrood: 
> (iii) When Mad-Eye shows Harry the picture of the members of
> the original Order of the Phoenix in the course of the Chapter
> "The Woes of Mrs. Weasley" in OotP Mrs. Figg is not noted as
> one of those present in the photo, I wonder why, especially 
> when Dumbledore described her as one of the old crowd in GoF? <snip>

Carol responds:
I don't think we've ever seen the entire Order together. Dumbledore
isn't in the photograph, either. Nor is McGonagall, but I don't think
her absence definitively proves she wasn't in the Order earlier. (We
know the Weasleys weren't.) Mrs. Figg could have taken the photo, but
my guess is that she seldom or never goes to Order headquarters. Being
a Squib, she can't Apparate, and it would be a bad idea to drive (if
she can even drive) there and park her car in front of 11 or 13 GP.

Carol, noting that potion-making requires a wand for stirring, so it's
unlikely that Mrs. Figg was brewing polyjuice potion (as mentioned in
a snipped part of the post. JKR has said somewhere that you have to be
a witch or wizard to perform magic, including brewing potions.)