To kill or not to kill and resolutions of the storylineWAS :Re: Disarming spell

[montavilla47]

No: HPFGUIDX 185537

> Carol earlier:
> > > > > I think not. The narrator says, "They [Charlie and Slughorn] 
> seemed to have *returned* at the head of *what looked like* the
> families and friends of every Hogwarts student who had returned to
> fight, along with the shopkeepers and homeowners of Hogwarts." Note
> the narrator's uncertainty, which reflects Harry's. 
> > 
> > Pippin:
> > Hmmm... my copy definitely says "had remained to fight." 
> >
> Carol responds:
> Oops. Yes. It's "remained to fight." But the first "returned" is
> correct. Look again at the quotation, quoted correctly this time:

Montavilla47:
Hey!  Why I oughta...!  (Teach me not to check the book myself!)


Carol:
> "They [Charlie and Slughorn] seemed to have *returned* at the head of
> what looked like the families and friends of every Hogwarts student
> who had remained to fight, along with the shopkeepers and homeowners
> of Hogwarts."

Montavilla47:
Hehe.  It's "Hogsmeade."  We'll get that sentence right one of these 
years.


Carol:
> Charlie, of course, is not returning despite the wording of the
> quotation. It's Slughorn who's returning. Where has he gone? To the
> Hog's head with the Slytherins (and presumably from there to
> Hogsmeade.) Can he and Charlie possibly have recruited all those
> people by themselves if they includea anyone other than the students
> of Hogsmeade? Can you imagine Slughorn and Charlie somehow knowing how
> to find the friends and families of all the students who had remained
> at Hogwarts to fight? It makes no sense. They must have had help, and
> Slughorn would not have gone for help to the families of students
> 9other than a few Sluggies) who weren't in his own House. And how
> would he or Charlie have known where they lived, in any case? It makes
> much more sense for the older students who can Apparate to go for help
> to their own families once they've gotten the little kids safely home.

Montavilla47:
Here's something that makes even more sense:  All those students
who "remained to fight" sent out owls to their friends and family.  Or,
heck.  They could have floo'ed them from any one of the many fires
in Hogwarts which are no longer being monitored by Umbridge.  
Actually, if the fires were being monitored, then that could actually 
help word get out quicker--as the monitors might also help send out
word with an old-fashioned phone (or floo) tree.

Carol:
> Once again, all we have is Harry's hurried and jumbled impression,
> complete with "seemed" and "looked like" just before the Centaurs and
> House-Elves rush in to add to the chaos. And people expect Harry to
> recognize anybody besides Slughorn and Charlie in that melee?

Montavilla47:
Are we even sure that they're Centaurs and House-Elves?  I know 
Harry's shoulder-narrator tells us that that they are, but now I'm
so unsure of Harry's ability to recognize anyone that they might as
well be grindylows and garden gnomes.