Portraits & Photographs

[mellaf88]

No: HPFGUIDX 190415


> Joey:
> Was just reading a bit of OoTP during the weekend and thought of these things:
>
> Portraits:
>
> Fat Lady, Sir Cadogan, Sirius's mom, Phineas Nigellus and all other Hogwarts headmasters are quite aware of what's happening around and live just via portraits.
>
> So, why didn't Harry ever consider getting a portrait of his parents or even Sirius? Nick said Sirius would have gone on and will not be back as a ghost. Is this applicable to portraits too? If yes, does that mean that DD has not gone on?
>
> Photographs:
>
> CoS: Harry is trying to move out of the frame in Lockhart's photograph
>
> OoTP: Percy walks out of Mr Weasley's family photograph at his office
>
> DH: DD looks dolefully at Harry and Hermione from his photograph
in the Life and Lies of DD book
>
> Flitting in and out of a photograph is one but reflecting current emotions of the real-life counter part is another. Does this mean that photographs capture more than the picture and are "connected" to the real-life counterparts?
> <snip>


mellaf88:
I agree with you and have wondered the extent of the paintings as well. At one stage, Harry walks into Dumbledore's office and interrupts a conversation (more than once I think...) between Dumbledore and the previous Heads. Does this imply that the portraits maintain a certain sentience? Would the same apply to busts, etc? The paintings have opinions, moods, habits but are they "shadows" of their lives or are they like a benign horcrux?