I kind of think those are just regular goblin names. Griphook could be like John for goblins for all we know.

 

It could be the translation of their name in gooboedegook

 

It's like you guys didn't even read Sesc's post...

In line with the guidelines, here's what can be said:

Canon 1. The Goblins have their own language.
Canon 2. The Goblins don't like humans, and least of all wizards.

Real world 1. Languages generally have their own names, though language families can share similar names (Alexander, Alejandro, etc)

I leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine, in light of these facts, the likelihood of Goblins naming their offspring in English or with names that have English meaning/etymology.

 

Does Canon say anything about Quirrel as a teacher?

 

It says in the beginning of chapter 9 "Potions Master" that Harry had been looking forward to DADA but considered the subject to be a joke with Quirrel's stutter and feigned fear of his subject.

 

So the goblins earn or are given a second name when they go to work near the surface.

In the Queen's English of course.

 

Could the Unforgivable Curses be cast silently or do they require to be called out aloud every time? Someone is currently trying to blur up my memory and I'm not sure if Voldemort actually cast a silent Killing Curse at Dumbledore or not at one point.

 

I'm pretty sure we see them casted with words everytime. Not positive though.

 

Just checked and found that Voldemort was using non-verbal spells which are described as jets of green light against Dumbledore so I'm pretty sure unforgivables can be silently.

 

All because it wasn't explicated written as him using an incantation, doesn't mean it was non-verbal.

 

Bellatrix in the second chapter of HBP:

 

That doesn't mean anything. Just because it wasn't written that she said words doesn't mean she cast it silently. It means that the author wanted the green light to represent the entire process of casting a curse. After all, it doesn't say that she used a wand, either, so should we assumed she cast the Killing Curse wandlessly?

 

There's a reason I included the last sentence in that quote.

Narcissa ignored "wait", but stopped and turned because of the flash of green light. If she had heard Bellatrix saying the Killing Curse's incantation then surely that would have made her pause and turn before she saw the light (which struck the fox in front of her), hence it's reasonable to conclude it must have been silent.

I understand people want the Killing Curse to require the incantation so it's not far and away the best offensive spell. But if that were JKR's intention I doubt she would have included passages such as these that are at least open to interpretation.

I have no problem with the Killing Curse being verbal only in fanon, but people shouldn't pretend that is canon. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. At no point in the text is it suggested that the Killing Curse (or any spell, really) cannot be cast silently by a sufficiently skilled wizard.

 

Is the hard part inside a fruit called 'core' or 'seed'? In German its 'Kern', which I believe could translate to both, so I'm not sure.

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[/FONT]That's the sentence I'm having trouble with, to give some context.

 

Nectarines, peaches, and plums all have pits.

 

You could use either for the sake of brevity, really, in this case(although I think they're called something else for nectarines). You wouldn't for an apple however, cause its core and its seeds aren't one and the same.

 

This is a logical fallacy. It's impossible to disprove the statement but it is also pretty much useless for the discussion since we don't have all the facts about how the scene happened. According to your(Cosmos as well) logic she could, in theory, have used a chicken to cast the spell since it isn't written explicitly. This discussion is then all about probability in which case we must assume that any spell incantation would be written out because that is the norm.
Regarding the wandless magic, it is known to be much harder and more volatile to use than with the wand as a focus and as far as I know it has only been used to move/levitate objects or cast simple spells. Thus it would be an incredible leap of logic to think that something like the Killing Curse could be done wandlessly since it's hard to cast even with a wand. We do know of many spells that can be cast silently and there should be no reason why something can't be cast this way, though it obviously increases the difficulty somewhat but nowhere near the extent of wandless spellcasting.

 

I still don't see how someone suitably talented with ANY spell would not be able to use it silently. Rowling's spells are intent and experience-based, so I don't think its too hard to stomach non-verbal killing curses (or anything else). Now, it would surely be more difficult to use the spell that way, so it would have to be something regularly used by the caster, they would have to have sufficient hatred for the target, and they must have the requisite ability with silent magic.

Harry during Hogwarts would not be able to do it, but Voldemort would be more than capable of using all three Unforgivables silently, as would Snape, Bellatrix, possibly Malfoy and a few others from canon.

To me, silent killing curses are plausible, but only amongst the best (and darkest) wizards of all. All curses/hexes/jinxes can be done silently if the caster is familiar with the spell. Wandless magic should only be simple intent-driven spells (summon this pencil, turn on these lights, put out these torches, etc.) and nothing that's capable of significant injury (with the exception of banishing items into people). You can't Avada Kevadra wandlessly just as you cant Expelliarmus or Stupefy wandlessly. You can, however, cast Lumos without your hand on your wand or extinguish every light in a room.

My stuff is all opinion-based, however. Feel free to curb stomb my opinions with proof from canon.

 

Edit: deleted.

 

Aside from the Weird Sisters and Celestina Warbeck, has there ever been any mention of another musician/music band in the HP books?