# New Harry Potter questions and theories, w/ spoilers to Ootp and spec beyond... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 15, 2003, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081 "2003-12-15T06:59:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/81 "2003-12-29T14:48:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fretful Porpentine \* > \*\* > And I’m willing to bet a few Galleons that it will happen at the end of Book 7 and involve a trip back to Godric’s Hollow on October 31, 1981. You heard it first from me 🙂 \*\* Don’t make me come through your screen and grab you by the neck to reveal what this date means. I don’t have time to re-read the entire series to satisfy _this_ little nugget you’ve just dropped in there. IRC, Oct 31, is Nearly Headless Nicks’ Death Day. But, 1981…was Harry born in '81? Were his parents killed on that date? I see great things coming to Neville Longbottom. He’s been the hopeless screw up for so long, that he is finally going to get his self esteem and mojo going and become a force to be reckoned with. An image that has always stayed with me is when they arrive as first years, the boat ride to Hogwarts, it is Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville. These four are all key pivotal players, and will really bond more in #6. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/82 "2003-12-29T14:50:19Z")
Any guesses on when #6 will be released? I am guessing in time for either summer 2005 or Christmas season 2005. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/83 "2003-12-29T15:05:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Don’t make me come through your screen and grab you by the neck to reveal what this date means. I don’t have time to re-read the entire series to satisfy this little nugget you’ve just dropped in there. > > IRC, Oct 31, is Nearly Headless Nicks’ Death Day. But, 1981…was Harry born in '81? Were his parents killed on that date? Yes, that’s the date his parents were killed. (Harry, for the record, was born on July 31, 1980, which also happens to be **Brother Porpentine’s** birth date. I think this is very cool, although my brother is distinctly unimpressed.) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/84 "2003-12-30T04:29:17Z")
From what I’ve read at [mugglenet.com](http://mugglenet.com), Rowling herself has said we will not see James and Lily alive. So…no. Some theories and speculation of mine: Neville will go out in a blaze of glory, dying a hero’s death. Aunt Petunia knows more than she’s letting on. (There’s been some whisper that Lily’s parents were actually Squibs, not Muggles). And that a “Mark Evans” is actually Harry’s cousin, by an unknown brother of Lily’s and Petunia’s. BTW, Emma Thompson will be portraying Professor Trelawny and Julie Christie was cast as Madame Rosmerta. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/85 "2003-12-30T05:29:39Z")
Not to rehash the “Snape as spy” theory again, but I wanted to point out this one passage in OotP: > [@](#): > > “That is just as well, Potter,” said Snape coldly, “because … it is not up to you to find out what the Dark Lord is saying to his Death Eaters.” > “No – that’s your job, isn’t it?” Harry shot at him. > He had not meant to say it; it had burst out of him in temper… But there was a curious, almost satisfied expression on Snape’s face when he answered. > “Yes, Potter,” he said, his eyes glinting. “That is my job.” > -pg. 591 So perhaps he doesn’t directly spy on Voldemort, but he’s definitely getting info on what’s happening from someone. Of course, he’s obviously not getting very good info or the OotP members would have known what was going on, but he’s some sort of spy at least. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/86 "2003-12-30T16:22:46Z")
I’ve been listening to #1 on tape and something kinda jumped out at me that I missed during the reading. (I don’t know if Trevor did this in the movie or if it was ignored, I can’t recall right now.) \*\*Neville Longbottom’s Toad Trevor \*\* jumps out of his hands just before Hermione does the Whole Body Lock (whatever its called) curse on Neville. I think Trevor is an **animagi**. Possibly in hiding like Peter Pettigrew/Scabbers. And if he is hit with a spell from someone who knows what they are doing, then will transform back into human shape. Which is why Scabbers did not transform in his first scene with Ron Weasley attempting to turn him yellow, as the spell George/Fred gave him was bogus. ---
**Author:** ![horowitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@horowitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horowitz)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/87 "2003-12-30T16:42:18Z")
Any thoughts on if S.P.E.W will play an important role before things end, or will all the house elves remain happily enslaved? ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2003, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/88 "2003-12-30T22:39:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by karomon \* > \*\*They are magic versions of our muggle species. When Ron brought Scabbers to the pet store to be checked out in PoA, he was told that his rat couldn’t be expected to live for very much longer, as it was a non-magical animal, and that he should buy a magical rat instead. \*\* Surely he was about as magical an animal as he could be? ---
**Author:** ![Sketch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Sketch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sketch)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/89 "2003-12-31T02:45:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest \* > \*\*I’ve been listening to #1 on tape and something kinda jumped out at me that I missed during the reading. (I don’t know if Trevor did this in the movie or if it was ignored, I can’t recall right now.) > \*\*Neville Longbottom’s Toad Trevor \*\* jumps out of his hands just before Hermione does the Whole Body Lock (whatever its called) curse on Neville. > > I think Trevor is an **animagi**. Possibly in hiding like Peter Pettigrew/Scabbers. And if he is hit with a spell from someone who knows what they are doing, then will transform back into human shape. > > Which is why Scabbers did not transform in his first scene with Ron Weasley attempting to turn him yellow, as the spell George/Fred gave him was bogus. \*\* You know there is this whole theory about Trevor going on. A Baslisk (probably spelled that wrong) can be created by having a toad sit on a normal chicken egg. Some people think that it was Trevor that created the Basilisk in the CoS. Espescially since Neville’s toad is always suspiciously missing. But now I think there’s something going on with his plant, and it would be too much if Neville has a special plant and toad. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/90 "2003-12-31T04:07:36Z")
Another thing-about kids born in magical families-are THEY allowed to do magic? Because it says that when Ron was little, Fred turned Ron’s teddy bear into a giant spider. But where they allowed to do magic because they didn’t live in the muggle world? Also, how do kids like the Weaselys and such learn how to read and write? Homeschooling? ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/91 "2003-12-31T12:00:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest \* > \*\*I think Trevor is an **animagi**. Possibly in hiding like Peter Pettigrew/Scabbers. And if he is hit with a spell from someone who knows what they are doing, then will transform back into human shape. \*\* I think the whole “animagus hidden among the students” thing is on the verge of being overused, with Sirius and Rita Skeeter, and that if Trevor turned out to be one as well it would (at least to me) overuse the concept. I think Trevor is just a tool to show that Neville is forgetful/clumsy/whatever. The plant, though, could be useful. I just finished re-reading SS, and started CoS, and I’m trying to look for things that I haven’t noticed before in the first four books - or those connections that weren’t apparent at first. Most of my thoughts so far concern Filch and Mrs. Norris, but I don’t have them clear enough in my mind to state them yet. Once I get back through the first four books, I’ll clarify and post them. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/92 "2003-12-31T20:26:44Z")
**Guinastasia** , maybe Fred turned Ron’s bear into a spider on accident, sort of how Harry made the snake’s glass wall disappear. Don’t they say somewhere in the books that magical things just kind of happen and that’s a sign that the kid is a wizard? As for how they learn, I’m guessing good ol’ home schooling. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/93 "2004-01-01T05:09:30Z")
**Crookshanks** : we already know that he’s a pretty phenomenal cat, because Sirius has talked to him. Given that Crookshanks is smart enough to talk to and convince of things, and moral enough to decide between good and evil, he’s definately something special, at least from our idea of cats. But then, EVERY cat in the series seems to be exceptional, from Mrs. Norris, who reports things to Filch, to Mrs. Figg’s cats, which obey her orders and act as lookouts. It may be that these are just all the sort of “magical animals” we heard about in Book 3, or it might just be that all cats are like this in the Potter universe. I also wanted to point out, in defense of crazy theories, that Rowling very often hides very important clues by concoting perfectly reasonable explanations for things, and having her characters think them. The best example is in Book 4, where Hermoine interpret’s Winky’s strange behavior in the woods at the World Cup as her struggling against her need to stay in her master’s tent as she flees (she’s actually fighting an invisible Barty Crouch). So, just because something has a perfectly ordinary and reasonable explanation doesn’t necessarily mean that it doesn’t also have a double meaning. Occam’s Razor doesn’t apply in Rowling’s books. That said, I’m not quite as intrigued by the Percy theory as I was. The letter, in particular, is not very good evidence. Hearing it again, it does sound perfectly normal for Percy, and the words and subjects he covers, while they seem interesting out of context, make perfect sense in the context of the letter and it’s place in the book. Of course, as I said above, that doesn’t mean that they couldn’t also conceal hints as to a Percy plot. But there isn’t that much pointing to it in the letter either. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/94 "2004-01-01T05:49:17Z")
[This page has a very neat theory: Fawkes originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor](http://www.hp-lexicon.org/essay-fawkes.html). ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/95 "2004-01-01T06:02:47Z")
Definate possibility there, though it’s hard to see what the further plot implications for it could be. The real question is why Voldemort would ever have chosen a wand with a Phoenix core in the first place if it is so strongly a Gryffindor symbol. His desire to escape death might have something to do with it, but it’s still pretty fishy. Voldy is a half-blood who hates muggles (understandable) but yet also appeals to those with a pureblood mania (not quite as understandable, though some, like Mrs. Lestrange, appear to simply be in denial). He is the heir of Syltherin, yet he has a wand that contains a core closely associated with Dumbledore and Gryffindor, and indeed a core with a feather of the same bird that has twice so far that we’ve seen helped foil his plans. Also, I forgot this, but that site reminded me: Crookshanks is known to be part Kneazle, not just any old cat. Not sure if this implies anything about Norris, Mr. Tibbs, or the rest. [http://www.hp-lexicon.org/crookshanks.html](http://www.hp-lexicon.org/crookshanks.html) ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/96 "2004-01-01T06:08:47Z")
That site also reminded me of the debate over the Puffskeins. [http://www.hp-lexicon.org/bestiary\_n-s.html#Puffskein](http://www.hp-lexicon.org/bestiary_n-s.html#Puffskein) Not a major matter, but there are some dead ones under the sofa in 12 Grimuald Place. Puffskeins have long “snakelike” tongues which sound suspiciously like they would be the main ingredient in George and Fred’s extendable ears. Have G and F been murdering the poor Puffskeins to make their contraptions? (We know that they do experiment with Doxies in order to make some of their Skivving Snackboxes) ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/97 "2004-01-01T11:58:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\* > > And am I the only one who is glad Harry’s getting over Cho? I never really liked her. \*\* It’s not Cho herself that I don’t like; it’s Harry’s attitude towards her. I don’t like men who put a woman on a pedestal and get all bent out of shape when she does or says anything that doesn’t match up with the image they’ve created. Granted, her weepiness was somewhat grating. And the fact of their being in different houses made it difficult for them to get to know each other. But heck, Percy managed to get together with Penelope, and they were Gryffindor/Ravenclaw! Harry’s intolerance of Cho every time she _didn’t_ act like she was posing for the cover of a Harlequin romance was far more annoying than her boo-hoo-hooing. If he’d really cared for her as a person, he’d have taken it upon himself to coax a smile from her. In book 5, Harry was just too self-centered to hook up with anyone. And I hope he doesn’t get with Luna either; he doesn’t deserve her any more than he deserves Cho. If he gets with anyone, it should be Ginny, because as strong as she was in book 5, and now that she’s taken him off his pedestal, she won’t put up with any of his nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/98 "2004-01-01T13:55:22Z")
> [@](#): > > From what I’ve read at [mugglenet.com](http://mugglenet.com), Rowling herself has said we will not see James and Lily alive. > > So…no. Well, I can imagine a scenario like the one I’ve described unfolding _without_ Harry (and us) actually seeing his parents alive – if, for instance, he’s still struggling to restrain Person X while the deaths take place just out of sight. So I’m not quite willing to give up on my pet theory yet. As another random bit of speculation, I think we _are_ going to meet a living Regulus Black, or at least find out a lot more about him. JKR doesn’t seem to give people siblings unless they’ve got a definite role to play. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/99 "2004-01-01T20:08:08Z")
Actually, I’m glad Harry’s gotten to be something of a brat in the last two books-it makes him more human and less of the UberCharacter. ---
**Author:** ![Exet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8797f3/32.png) [@Exet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exet)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081/100 "2004-01-01T20:26:02Z")
:smack: I’ve never even thought of the stuff in this thread… I get to snarled up in books to be able to analize them… atleast not in the way you have done, looking for hidden meanings and clues [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-harry-potter-questions-and-theories-w-spoilers-to-ootp-and-spec-beyond/219081.md?page=6)