It tends to be a love it or hate it fic series, I've found. If you get into it, you'll probably love it, but if something about it puts you off (the angst, the slash, the repetitiveness...), then you might think it amongst the worst fanfic ever written. Personally, I love it - although it has been a good few years since I read it.

 

As we see with Diagon Alley and Hermione's parents, once non-wizards are within a protected area's anti-muggle spells, the non-wizards are able to function fine.

Even if we discount that, he does work there; he hasn't sneaked over the walls in the dead of night. When talking about squibs, JKR notes "they still function within the wizarding world because they have access to certain magical objects and creatures that can help them". Rendering a squib immune to Hogwarts' anti-muggle defences could well be as simple as handing him an object enchanted with the correct counter-charm.

There are two different words because there is a cultural need to separate them. The difference between squib and muggle is in antecedence not in the end result. Squibs have at least one magical parent. Muggles do not. That is the only objective difference, but it causes subsequent cultural ones. Because of their parents and upbringing, squibs live with one foot in the wizarding world. To quote JKR, "their parentage often means that they will be exposed to, if not immersed in, the wizarding community."

Think of it like... Illegal immigrants and normal immigrants. You can't take one of each and differentiate them based upon biology, but that doesn't mean they isn't a different. The difference is in how they came to be in the country, just as how the difference between squib and muggle is in how they came to be period. The pre marriage bastards and the post marriage legitimate children of a couple would be another analogy.

Finally, and in dereference to Taure, I'd point out that we are dealing magic here. Squibs and muggles may be identical for all intents and purposes but there is a difference in their parentage. Just as you could probably create a spell which only affected bastards despite the fact that only social and legal factors differentiate them from legitimate children, you could probably create a spell which targeted squibs but not muggles or muggles but not squibs.

 

Why couldn't Hermione tell Harry the reason why she wanted him to come to the Three Broomsticks with her(Harry/Cho date)?

Was Hermione the one to advise Ginny to act differently and date other boys to get Harry's attention?

Why was Hermione such a bitch to Luna?

Who is far more creepier: Romilda or Ginny?

 

Ignoring 1)

2) Pretty sure it wasn't to get Harry's attention, just to get Ginny's mind off him

3) Hermione is very orderly and logical, Luna is pretty much the antithesis of all things Hermione

4) far more creepier is too many words for the idea, creepier on its own is enough. Also Romilda tries to Love Potion Harry (read: date rape) and Ginny had a crush on him.
ugh

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OT: When a person dies under polyjuice does the corpse revert? confused by GoF when preparing for a fic, and the girlfriend says corpses might still revert. I was pretty sure it was clear Mrs. Crouch still looks like Barty Jr because that was her form on death.

 

I'm not seeing how this is a problem. Hermione's parents could enter Diagon Alley, so Filch can enter Hogwarts.

 

Disregarding the possibility that Squibs ≠ Muggles, is it ever conclusively shown that Muggles can't pass through the barrier in Kings Cross or use Floo powder?

 

Hermiones parents get in.

 

Yeah, it seems fairly clear that Muggles and Squibs can pass anti-Muggle charms if led through by wizards.

 

Hum it seems I have gotten too used to fanon. I was sure there was some measurable difference between Muggles and Squibs not just a name difference due to cultural reasons.

 

Perenelle Flamel or Madame Maxime maybe?

 

Griselda Marchbanks was my first thought- she was still kicking at 150, having been old and respected enough to evaluate Dumbledore for his OWLs and still running the evaluations in Harry's time.

Perenelle Flamel could be twisted into this shape. Just assume she had more forethought than her husband in stockpiling the Elixir of life. I like to think she's a Metamorphmagus whose blood became the key ingredient in making the Philosopher's Stone in the first place. After all, if you can change shape old age is merely another identity.

Classic figures referenced in the Chocolate Frog cards include Circe, Morgana le Fey, & Baba Yaga (though she may be a BAMF hag and not a witch). See jbern's Turn Me Loose for an awesome Baba Yaga.

Dilys Derwent was a Headmistress and Healer of importance.

 

Mrs Figg could see Dementors. Muggles can't. There is some difference between Squibs and Muggles with regards to magic.

 

You could probably count Olympe Maxime, the Headmistress of Beauxbatons. She has obvious magical skill to become the Head of one of Europe's best school plus the benefits of being a half-giantess.

 

You get a thumbs up just for writing "Maxime" instead of "Maxine." Christ, I hate that shit. :fire

Didn't they sort of imply that she was more or less faking it on Harry's behalf?

If so, she was the last woman to do so, I assure you.

 

Her witness statement about dementors didn't sound too convincing - "dementor stumbled" or something like that, was it?

 

JKR said on her (old) website Figg didn't see the Dementors and lied in court (how many times has this been stated on DLP now?).

Now, JKR's out-of-book statements occasionally run against canon so you have to kinda take them case by case. In this particular case, rereading the section in OotP it's actually quite clear that JKR had this in mind all along: Figg's description of the Dementor's is awful (she describes them, incorrectly, as running), and Fudge is rather sceptical.

In the end her testimony is accepted on the basis of her description of the Dementor's effects, not their appearance.

 

Actually, JK Rowling confirmed that Figg was lying and couldn't see them at all.

Edit: fucking ninja'd, that's what I get for not reading everything ahead.

 

Rowling has the amazing ability to make shit up on the spot to appease fans, so I take very little of what she says in interviews as canon.

Anyways, Hogwarts is charmed to look like the ruins of a castle to Muggles (or something to that effects). Obviously, Filch (a squib) has been working at Hogwarts for at least a decade. Excusing that by saying that he's not effected by the charm once inside seems very flimsy once inside. I'm not going to really beat a dead horse (for the ten thousandth time) by bringing up the squib =/=muggle argument.