You are assuming that there are any urges in the first place. People with Lycanthropy transform during full moon, not few days leading up to it.

Bloodlust, sadism, and desire to hunt are normal human traits. There is no reason to assume that Lycanthropy is reason for them being there. Believe it or not, but Greyback probably was like that even before he was infected. Voldemort is also moster and he is not werewolf.

Furthermore, why do you assume that werewolf (I mean that animal during full moon) is sadistic? It's just an animal. That means that it will do its best to survive and get some food. Animals are not sadistic. Only intelligent people are. Sadism is Human trait. It's much easier to believe that Lycanthropy is just a curse, or disease or whatever and no more than that.

I am talking about werewolfs. Bill is not werewolf. He is not capable of transforming during full moon, so he is not infected by lycanthropy.

Bill just got most basic characteristics of werewolf. He got hightened senses and he likes meat. It didn't change his personality nor he has to fight anything.

 

Werewolf is not an animal, it's a mythical creature whose main characteristics (at least in the interpretation chosen in Harry Potter) are cruelty and bloodlust. Werewolf is a physical manifestation of the phrase "Homo homini lupus".

 

As stated by arkkitehti above me, werewolves were never considered 'just' animals.

The ones in HP even less so. They're not pack creatures, no matter that you might see in a shitton of fanfics which have Lupin talk about 'his pack', call Harry his 'cub' and shit like that. They're bloodthirsty, but from what we're told/shown indirectly through the books, that bloodlust is directed only towards humans. Though there is that one time that Hagrid wondered if werewolves were killing the unicorns in "Philosopher's Stone".

Personally? I prefer my werewolves as monsters. Whether they're like the one from "American Werewolf in London", "Bad Moon", "Ginger Snaps" and a few notable others where the werewolf is inherently and by instinct a destructive force or whether they're consciously acting as such, like the ones from "Dog Soldiers", werewolves in the end should be monsters.

Mind you, I'd prefer them bipedal, eight feet tall monstrosities, but Rowling went along with the whole 'slightly larger than regular wolf' thing, which isn't exactly bad, just not my cup of tea.

 

Yeah, these werewolves from Dog Soldiers are awesome. That's how I imagine werewolves too. I will have to watch that film again...

 

Gingersnaps, oh yeah.

The presentation in those movies is optimal. It doesn't make you a wolf- it makes you a wolf-shaped raging monster that kills to enjoy the bloodbath. In JKR's safety-padded version they have this rep but Lupin doesn't quite demonstrate that- he can be distracted by something as simple as Hermione mimicking a wolf howl.

I'm beginning to think Lupin took his potion after all, but that it was never enough to prevent the change, just to poison and sedate the monster so it wouldn't have the energy to fulfill its rage.

 

He basically says that, doesn't he? That he still transforms, but is content to just curl up in front of the fire or something.

 

You should probably tell that to Dolphins. Apparently they haven't gotten that memo.

 

Let's not forget to include sea otters as well, seeing as they have a tendency to rape baby seals to death.

 

Random question:

You know how computers are considered to be modular? Ie, you can swap out parts.

At my work, my mechanic (I program cars in a mechanic shop) insists that cars are modular too. Problem is, I don't think they are.

For one thing, computers have a lot of universal standards... sata, usb, hdmi, pci-e, etc. You can put in the weakest part to the most powerful part of its category into these slots.

Whereas you can't do that in cars... the parts inside cars (the heads or the exhaust, for instance), have to be specifically designed to match the engine for to be plug play. You can't, for instance, put a header from a E63 AMG to a E350 engine...primarily because the E350 has a different engine.

My mechanic says cars are modular in that he has a choice of engine or transmission or suspension setup that he can put into cars.

Which is true, except that for instance, you need to fabricate a lot of stuff in order to fit a corvette engine info a 70 mustang. It's not exactly plug and play, the way computers are.

What are your thoughts?

 

I'm gonna be a bit blunt here, but what does that have to do with Harry Potter?

Granted, neither does my mention of the baby-raping otters in the post above you, but at least it's kind of related. Maybe. Okay, it's not, it's just an amusingly disturbing fact.

 

I think he was aiming for the "RL questions that don't deserve their own thread" thread.

 

Modularity has little do with the ability to swap out parts. If a system is modular it means that distinct areas (geographical or logical areas) have distinct functions. It can also refer to a system in which a function produced by the whole system can be understood as being composed of distinct local "sub-functions".

It's entirely possible for a system to be modular without the ability to change parts. The human brain, for example.

The opposite of a modular system is a holistic system, where a function can only be understood as arising from the entire system, not a particular sub-section. In a holistic system it's impossible to understand any part of the system without the context of all the other parts.

 

Was it ever explained how Voldemort managed to fly unaided by any external tool?

I'd be willing to accept a decent fanfic explanation for this.

 

It wasn't, but I suspect he did so by being Tom Motherfucking Riddle.

 

Magic.

Duh.

 

Personally, I didn't like that whole "unaided flying" bit. It really adds nothing to the Story, he could have just as easily used a broom or something, and in all honesty it would likely be a nightmare to control the flying while worrying about all the little practicalities of flying anything.

Moving on, what happens if someone drank Polyjuice with Tonks hair in it? Would they turn into something messed up like Hermione, a hypothetical "base form", Tonks as she looked the moment her hair was taken, or even become a [shape-shifter] themselves?

 

That's a complicated question.

We know that Barty changed into a version of Moody without a leg and without an eye and with all the scars. So the potion is NOT purely genetic.

I suspect they would change into Tonks-As-She-Was-At-The-Time, but would not be able to transform as she can.

 

One thought that I had for flight relates to a variation of the featherweight charm. If Voldemort was able to deconstruct a spell to see how the intent reacts with gravity, he could potentially create another gravity-manipulation charm, changing his own personal gravity, causing him to fall upward/forward. You'd need an impressive amount of control to pull it off though.

The only reason I think it could be something so convoluted is because there seems to be something preventing unaided flight in Harry Potter's world, otherwise quidditch would be broomless.

Of course if the featherweight charm isn't based around gravity manipulation, but instead just "Make this lighter," there is a problem with the above possibility.

 

Anyone know what year the frying pan incident with Petunia occurred?

 

It was the summer after the first year iirc.