And, since I have the time on my hands, I'll go ahead and answer that other, unasked, question! Ah, there are two main reasons why JKR had to include muggles in the World Cup.

One: We get to see a muggle who isn't aware of wizards, trying to deal with the weirdness that is wizards trying to pass as muggles. There's a bit of comedy there, but also the horror of seeing a muggle getting casually and repeatedly obliviated. One wonders how he made out, financially, given that any wizarding currency he was given, accidentally, was confiscated. In short, the reader gets a little chuckle, then a little education.

Two: So he and his family could be tormented by death eaters, later. That attack is part of what sets the tone in GoF, and is the first real introduction of death eaters. Without those muggles around to torment- Well, I'm sure JKR could have given the DEs some reason to cause trouble, but this has the added impact of seeing just how casually cruel and callous they are toward muggles.

 

And unfortunately inspired thousands of fics where all the Death Eaters do is go around torturing people instead of trying to take over the country.

 

Yeah, people tend to forget that these particular Death Eaters were, you know, drunk.

 

I am pretty conviced that those writers drunk too.

 

And the only reason why they wanted to take over the country is so they could go around torturing people.

 

At what point in time is Harry aware of the facts that Snape is the reason Voldemort went after him and that James saved Snapes life?

 

That James saved Snape's life is told in Philosopher's Stone.

That Snape told Voldemort the prophecy is in Half-Blood Prince, when Harry catches Trelawney drunk in the corridors, playing with tarot cards.

Incidentally, yet another example of Trelawney successfully predicting the future.

 

Thanks.

That is the same day he and Dumbledore went after the locket. So he learns that and sees Snape kill Dumbledore in the same day. That's an invitation for Harry to do something more drastic than a cutting curse when he catches up to Snape at the gates.

 

By cutting curse you mean dark cutting curse which kill in minutes?

 

Did they ever explain how/when James went from notorious prankster/dick to Head Boy/someone Lily would want to date? I like to imagine my own Head Canon where he matures after he realizes Snape almost died because of Marauder pettiness back in Sixth Year, but I'm all too aware that's just Head Canon, and do wonder if Canon ever elaborated on that regard.

 

When Voldemort was at Hogwarts, there clearly would have been no obstacle to him taking the route that Percy Weasley did, and joining the Ministry and working his way up. I think he decided against this for several reasons.

Firstly, his primary objectives would always be securing immortality and what must have been essentially a course of self-study in the Dark Arts. This would have been difficult to combine with a busy life advancing through the Ministry, tied down dealing with things like Floo Network regulations. Secondly, keeping up the disguise of charming, polite deference, as he did with Dippet and Hogwarts, would have been harder as an adult wizard. We saw how it slipped with Hephzibah Smith on sight of the locket.

In addition, assuming he got to the top, he wouldn't have permanent job security. Dumbledore might not have been able to keep him out of the post, but he would still have more than enough pull in the wizarding world to obstruct his goals, or even overthrow him. Later on, by the time he actually launches the war, the post of Minister might also be a valuable inducement for valuable recruits. While Voldemort will always be in control of real policy, they would have the open prestige, and personal leeway in minor matter.

Having said all that, it's possible that he considered an alternative path, based on Dumbledore's own career, when he first applied for the Hogwarts DADA position straight after graduation. He would have had plenty of time to undertake his own researches and cultivate and train new adherents while in post, and harness Hogwarts secrets and powers for his own use. He could have even attempted to murder Dumbledore, while framing somebody else or passing off the whole thing as an accident. If he succeeded, then he could then have been offered the position of Minister, combining it with a power base within Hogwarts.

 

I agree with this, and there's also the idea that he knew about Horcuxes before leaving Hogwarts, so he would have been excited about the opportunity to begin his hunt for magical treasures and artifacts to use as phylacteries.

Good point noting that he tried to stay on at Hogwarts as a professor, as this would have allowed him to finish finding what was there in addition to traveling over the summers as Quirrell(?) apparently did before taking the Defense post.

Borgin and Burke would have been the next best option in the endeavor to find the objects he desired. As for the veneer of polite deference, perhaps that wasn't a veneer so much as a preferred mode of operation.

He did like power, and what you say about the limitations of political power holds true, but he also, even at Hogwarts, just seemed like the type of guy who liked to have proxies around and in front of him, so that he could do what he liked and have someone there to take the fall if there was some need for that.

lol, While drunk! She was at the Hog's Head (apparently trying to ease her nerves?) when the original prophecy about Voldemort's demise was made. And Harry smelled cooking sherry in PoA too, before her other prophecy.

EDIT: Ah, never mind, I was wrong about PoA.

 

Does anyone here (from outside the English speaking countries obviously) publish their fics in their native language? I never thought abut doing it because, well, they are shit, with not even mediocre ones, and the communities are tiny.

But a friend of mine said I shoud do it, specially because of that. To help them and myself... I'm not going to pretend to have written a masterpiece, but since (a part of) DLP found my chapter and a third to be decent, I'm confident to say that it's better than everything I read in a fic in portuguese. Nevermind the fics here in the Library.

I have mixed feelings about this, and I want to know if anyone here has any experience or opinion about that. The things I love most about DLP is the high standards and diversity of smart and interesting people here, writers or not. I'm aways learning new things here, and enjoy mysef a lot. In the portuguese sites I doubt I would have that.

Also, no one here read Dresden Files. No realy, no one. The second most popular book series here is Heroes of the Olympus. And ASoIaF, but that's cheating.

 

The entrance to the Leaky Cauldron is invisible to muggles, right?

 

Yes. However I can't remember if it's canon that the parents of muggleborns can see it if they are in contact with the kids.

 

Was there any mention of how this turned out in case of Hermione? It's been a while since I read the books. Did she go to the Leaky Cauldron with her parents and one of the teachers or just a teacher?

 

McGonagall introduced Hermione to magic at her house. In book 2 I believe her parents were with her in Diagon Ally because Lucius mentions Arthur's disgrace of associating with muggles. I'm pretty sure that happened outside of the movie.

---------- Post automerged 09-02-2014 at 11:04 AM ---------- Previous post was 09-01-2014 at 03:41 PM ----------

Just out of curiosity has anyone ever come across a fic where the Heads of the schools become the competitors in the Triwizard Tournament as opposed to canon?

 

No but it sounds interesting.

What we know from canon about how Lucius escaped punishment for what he did in the first war? I am no longer remembering what is canon and what fanon in this case.