GoF chapter 24-26 Post DH look

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 182029

Not all of `em," said Hagrid hoarsely. "Not all of `em wan me ter 
stay." "Really, Hagrid, if you are holding out for universal 
popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long 
time," said Dumbledore, now peering sternly over his half-moon 
spectacles.  "Not a week has passed since I became headmaster of this 
school when I haven't had at least one owl complaining about the way 
I run it.  But what should I do?  Barricade myself in my study and 
refuse to talk to anybody?" – p.454

Alla:

LOL. Dumbledore never tried out for universal popularity for sure.


"Hiding, are you?" he said softly. "I'm coming to get you, Peeves
 
You've done and stolen a Triwizard clue, Peeves
. Dumbledore'll have 
you out of here for this, you filfy, pilfering poltergeist" – p.468

Alla:

I am pretty sure I asked this question before, but I do not remember 
the answer. Why does the word filfy seems to be one of the strongest 
curse words in the series? I mean, we hear "you and your filfy 
father" from Snape, we hear "filfy mudblood", Harry tells Snape to 
take his filfy hands off the cloak, etc.


"Did I hear that correctly, Snape?" he asked slowly. "Someone broke 
into your office?" "It is unimportant," said Snape coldly.  "On the 
contrary," growled Moody, "it is very important.  Who'd want to break 
into your office?"
"A student, I daresay," said Snape.  Harry could see a vein 
flickering horribly on Snape's greasy temple.  "It has happened 
before.  Potion ingredients have gone missing from my private store 
cupboard ... students attempting illicit mixtures, no 
doubt...." "Reckon they were after potion ingredients, eh?" said 
Moody.  "Not hiding anything else in your office, are you?"
Harry saw the edge of Snapes sallow face turn a nasty brick color, 
the vein in his temple pulsing more rapidly.
"You know I'm hiding nothing, Moody," he said in a soft and dangerous 
voice, "as you've searched my office pretty thoroughly yourself."
Moodys face twisted into a smile. "Auror's privilege, Snape. 
Dumbledore told me to keep an eye -" "Dumbledore happens to trust 
me," said Snape through clenched teeth.  "I refuse to believe that he 
gave you orders to search my office!"
"Course Dumbledore trusts you," growled Moody.  "Hes a trusting man, 
isn't he? Believes in second chances.  But me - I say there are spots 
that don't come off, Snape.  Spots that never come off, d'you know 
what I mean?"
Snape suddenly did something very strange.  He seized his left 
forearm convulsively with his right hand, as though something on it 
had hurt him.
Moody laughed. "Get back to bed, Snape."
"You don't have the authority to send me anywhere!"  Snape hissed, 
letting go of his arm as though angry with himself.  "I have as much 
right to prowl this school after dark as you do!" "Prowl away," said 
Moody, but his voice was full of menace.  "I look forward to meeting 
you in a dark corridor some time.... You've dropped something, by the 
way. ..." With a stab of horror. Harry saw Moody point at the 
Marauders Map, still lying on the staircase six steps below him.  As 
Snape and Filch both turned to look at it, Harry threw caution to the 
winds; he raised his arms under the cloak and waved furiously at 
Moody to attract his attention, mouthing "It's mine!  Mine!"
Snape had reached out for it, a horrible expression of dawning 
comprehension on his face - "Accio Parchment!"
The map flew up into the air, slipped through Snapes outstretched 
fingers, and soared down the stairs into Moody's hand.
"My mistake," Moody said calmly.  "It's mine - must've dropped it 
earlier -" But Snape's black eyes were darting from the egg in 
Filch's arms to the map in Moody's hand, and Harry could tell he was 
putting two and two together, as only Snape could. . . .  "Potter," 
he said quietly.
"What's that?" said Moody calmly, folding up the map and pocketing 
it.  "Potter!" Snape snarled, and he actually turned his head and 
stared right at the place where Harry was, as though he could 
suddenly see him.  "That egg is Potters egg.  That piece of parchment 
belongs to Potter.  I have seen it before, I recognize it!  Potter is 
here!  Potter, in his Invisibility Cloak!"
Snape stretched out his hands like a blind man and began to move up 
the stairs; Harry could have sworn his over-large nostrils were 
dilating, trying to sniff Harry out - trapped. Harry leaned backward, 
trying to avoid Snapes fingertips, but any moment now-"There's 
nothing there, Snape!" barked Moody, "but I'll be happy to tell the 
headmaster how quickly your mind jumped to Harry Potter!"
"Meaning what?"  Snape turned again to look at Moody, his hands still 
outstretched, inches from Harry's chest.
"Meaning that Dumbledore's very interested to know who's got it in 
for that boy!" said Moody, limping nearer still to the foot of the 
stairs.  "And so am I, Snape . . . very interested...." The 
torchlight flickered across his mangled face, so that the scars, and 
the chunk missing from his nose, looked deeper and darker than ever.
Snape was looking down at Moody, and Harry couldn't see the 
expression on his face. For a moment, nobody moved or said anything.  
Then Snape slowly lowered his hands.  "I merely thought," said Snape, 
in a voice of forced calm, "that if Potter was wandering around after 
hours again ... it's an unfortunate habit of his ... he should be 
stopped.  For - for his own safety."
"Ah, I see," said Moody softly. "Got Potter's best interests at 
heart, have you?" There was a pause.  Snape and Moody were still 
staring at each other, Mrs. Norris gave a loud meow, still peering 
around Filch's legs, looking for the source of Harry's bubble-bath 
smell.
"I think I will go back to bed," Snape said curtly.
"Best idea you've had all night," said Moody.  "Now, Filch, if you'll 
just give me that egg-" "No!"  said Filch, clutching the egg as 
though it were his firstborn son.  "Professor Moody, this is evidence 
of Peeves' treachery!" – p.472-473

Alla:

I did ask the question about why Snape would seem to be apprehensive 
of Moody Barty in one of the recent recaps, I know and I actually 
really liked one of  Zara's suggestions that Moody is a living 
reminder to Snape of the very worst he was capable of, of his deepest 
falling, etc, I like that, and  I am just bringing this whole scene 
because to me it is such a delight to reread after closed canon, it 
sort of shines with new colors.

I mean, of course even after the end of GoF I and I am sure many 
people already read it differently. We cannot read it anymore as 
Barty having any honest concern about Harry, since we know he did 
not, and when he talks about hating DE who went free, well, we know 
that it is not an old Auror talking, etc.

But after DH, to me the most fun is to reread innuendos about Snape 
having Harry's best interests in heart. I mean, I am definitely not 
saying that Snape has Harry's best interests in heart, quite the 
contrary, but  heeee, he definitely seem to have Harry's safety and 
staying alive at heart.

And hmmm, how does Snape know that Moody searched his office before 
if he shows up on the map as Crouch?

"It turned out that Hagrid knew quite as much about unicorns as he 
did about Monsters, though it was clear that he found the lack of the 
poisonous fangs disappointing" – p.484

Alla:
Yeah, I think Hagrid had some potential for good teacher, sigh.





"You has to eat this, sir!" squeaked the elf, and he put his hand in 
the pocket of his shorts and drew out a ball of what looked like 
slimy, grayish-green rat tails.  "Right before you go into the lake, 
sir - gillyweed!"
"What's it do?" said Harry, staring at the gillyweed.
"It will make Harry Potter breathe underwater, sir!"
"Dobby," said Harry frantically, "listen - are you sure about this?"
He couldn't quite forget that the last time Dobby had tried to "help" 
him, he had ended up with no bones in his right arm.
"Dobby is quite sure, sir!"  said the elf earnestly.  "Dobby hears 
things, sir, he is a house-elf, he goes all over the castle as he 
lights the fires and mops the floors.  Dobby heard Professor 
McGonagall and Professor Moody in the staffroom, talking about the 
next task. . . . Dobby cannot let Harry Potter lose his Wheezy!" – 
p.491


Alla:

Okay, so far I had been deliberately ( as I mentioned before) and 
with utmost delight avoiding mentioning house elves in my summaries ( 
or quotes, or something), but this I just have to ask since it is 
sort of surprising to me. Dobby hears the things, eh?

How exactly Dobby eavesdropped on Minerva and  Fake Moody? Is it the 
nobody makes the postman the prime suspect of the murder sort of 
thing? That nobody would pay attention to house elf?
But I would think that young Barty due to being with Winky all the 
time before would be the person to pay very close attention to house 
elves near him and that he would have noticed Dobby, unless Dobby was 
invisible?
Can house elves become invisible at will?

"Dumbledore could speak Mermish" – p.505

Alla:
Love, how she drops hints about Dumbledore's academic talents. Have 
we met another person in the series but him who can do so?