Centaurs; Bode's Visitor; Snape Knowing MWPP; Cleaning Reference; Hearing Voices

[Phyllis]

Kimberly wrote:

> I can't imagine that centaurs could have any desire to see 
> Voldemort come back into power, since he would doubtlessly 
> encroach on their territory (both physically and figuratively) 
> sooner or later. Do they not care either way?

I think Bane answers this in PS/SS by stating "Centaurs are concerned 
with what has been foretold" (Ch. 15).  It seems as if the centaurs 
believe that events will unfold as the heavens predict they will, and 
centaurs do not believe they should interfere with what they seem to 
think is the star-driven inevitable course of events.

Randy wrote:

> Did you notice that the person who came to see Brodrick Bode was "a 
> very old stooped wizard with a hearing trumpet".

I wonder if it was Croaker.  At the QWC in GoF, Arthur Weasley points 
out Bode and Croaker, both Unspeakables from the Department of 
Mysteries, to Harry et al.  I've been wondering about those two ever 
since, especially since Arthur said "No idea what they get up to."

On the re-read, I thought it was interesting how many hints JKR gave 
along the way that Bode was going to die.  Such as being 
with "*Croak*er" at the QWC; described as having a "mournful" face 
and speaking in a "sepulchral" voice when he runs into Harry and 
Arthur on their mad dash to Harry's hearing; and described 
as "mournful" looking as he lay in St. Mungo's.

Barb wrote:

> It seems strongly implied that he knew about these names when he 
> suggests to Lupin in PoA that Harry got the map straight from 'the 
> manufacturers.'

I've never thought that Snape recognized the nicknames on the map.  I 
think if he had, he wouldn't have confronted Lupin about it in front 
of Harry, he would have had a private chat with Lupin about it 
instead.  The fact that the interchange took place in front of Harry 
leads me to believe that Snape did not recognize the nicknames.

Which then returns us to Amanda's original question of why Snape 
didn't put the pieces together when he saw the map.  This is kinda 
lame, but could it be that Snape perhaps only heard the reference 
to "Prongs" that one time, and didn't connect it with the map many 
years later?

Jim wrote:

> On p. 109 (UK), it says, "*Snape* might refer to their work as 
> cleaning..." However, I don't see any reference to Snape saying 
> anything about cleaning up to this point in the book. It would make 
> more sense to say *Sirius* rather than *Snape*. Did I miss 
> something?

I got stuck on this, too, but figured it out after some pondering. 
IMO, it's awkward – you have to go back 30 pages to find Sirius' side 
reference to Snape asking him how the cleaning is going.

Jim again:

> Something that puzzled me about the Arch Room was why some of 
> the "sexumvirate" seemed to hear the voices behind the black veil, 
> and some didn't. Harry, Neville, and Ginny became entranced and had 
> to be dragged away, while Hermione and Ron did not. Luna heard the 
> voices, but apparently did not have to be dragged away. This is not 
> the same pattern as the ability to see Thestrals, so I wonder why 
> each person reacted in the way they did. Any thoughts?

I immediately made the connection to the Thestrals as well – I 
thought that perhaps those who have seen death would be the ones who 
could hear the voices behind the veil.  However, Ginny's entrancement 
threw me since she can't see the Thestrals, which means she hasn't 
seen death.  However, it doesn't state that Ginny could *hear* the 
voices – Luna and Harry hear them, but Neville and Ginny were 
staring "entranced" at the veil.  So while I'm still confused as to 
why Ginny is in this group, I still think it's possible that only 
those who have seen death can hear the voices.

I have a strong suspicion that we're going to accompany Harry behind 
that veil in Book 7.  JKR keeps hinting in interviews that Harry's 
going to die.  While I can't believe she would really do this, 
perhaps (in a Christ-like allegory) he'll die and then return from 
the dead, but during the period he's dead, he'll see his mother, 
father and Sirius behind the veil.

~Phyllis