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HP Questions that don't deserve their own thread V2

Discussion in 'Fanfic Discussion' started by Sesc, Oct 22, 2014.

  1. Seratin

    Seratin Proudmander –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    I've never been one to subscribe to the notion of anti-apparition wards that can slam down over a place like Diagon Alley in the event of an emergency. Is there anything in Canon aside from Hogwarts to suggest there is a set of wards around Diagon that just snap into place?
     
  2. buzzer

    buzzer Slug Club Member DLP Supporter

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    I've re-worded this reply about three times because I have no idea. On the one hand in DH I think that Harry, Ron and Hermione have to go through the Leaky Cauldron to get to the alley and they have to escape via dragon (this is probably just Gringotts, but worth mentioning). On the other hand when people started getting kidnapped from Diagon Alley in HBP the Death Eaters didn't seem to have any problems. However, if there are any wards they almost certainly can't just snap into place, someone would have to cast the spells like Hermione does when they move camp or like in the final battle when Flitwick starts casting spells out of the window.
     
  3. Sesc

    Sesc Slytherin at Heart Moderator

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    The entire concept of "wards" does not exist in Canon. It's always called "protections" or by its nature -- "charm" etc. What does exist is an anti-disapparition jinx. Dumbledore casts it in OotP/DoM fight.

    This does, of course, sound more like something you put onto a person, but something similar does cover Hogwarts and is lifted for the Great Hall during Apparition training, as well as Hogsmeade in DH:

    Interestingly, I don't think it's ever said whether it also works in reverse. In the Hogsmeade example, they do, in fact, apparate in, and can't get out again. But even if it doesn't, it seems reasonable to assume there'd be another spell for that. As for how easy those can be put up, Dumbledore seems to be done fairly quickly. But for FF purposes, you can naturally make it as easy or hard as you like to do what the DE did in Hogsmeade.
     
  4. Mickey

    Mickey Squib

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    Is Daphne Greengrass physical features ever described in canon?

    Is Susan Bones having big tits canon?
     
  5. Seratin

    Seratin Proudmander –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    Nope, all fanon.

    Daphne Greengrass could have red hair and azn tits for all we know. Susan is a similarly blank slate, thought I think there may be a brief mention of her in "The Sorting Hat," in PS.
     
  6. lopeck

    lopeck Groundskeeper

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    There is no mention of Susans hair color in the sorting ceremony.
    Daphne is mentioned exactly once: during the OWLs in a list with other students.
    Susan is mention further in book 5 in regards to the DA. But on a quick once over she is never physically described - neither in hair color, nor in breast size. She appears again in book six when she splinches herself during apperation practice. Again she isn't described in any more detail.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2018
  7. Blinker

    Blinker Seventh Year DLP Supporter

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    We find out that Susan has her hair in a long plait in book 5, but that's all we get of her physically there. Daphne is, I believe, only actually mentioned once in the entire series, with no information given other than her name and ability to leave a chamber.
     
  8. lopeck

    lopeck Groundskeeper

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    The plait part is correct.
     
  9. Villanelle

    Villanelle Groundskeeper

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    At the risk of opening a big can of worms — what is the general consensus on how Voldemort can be defeated?

    In a universe where it's not the Power of Love and Harry's kind heart, what can kill him?

    Dumbledore? Grindelwald? The former just doesn't kill, the latter has been rotting for years.

    I've read maybe half a dozen old threads on the subject and one even ended up with Taure copy-pasting the actual final battle from Deathly Hallows. Is this a question that's been answered well enough, or is this something that the fandom has been running in circles with for ages? I've only been around the fandom proper for a bit under two years, so I can't quite be sure.

    I also like to view Tom's charm and the reach of his influence as another thing that makes him powerful. He has a mastery over the "dark arts", but not everything else. Dumbledore taunts him about that during/before their fight at the Ministry. So, a Voldemort that has systematically lost his followers would be weaker. Maybe not considerably so, but perhaps that and a non-trivial amount of luck could make for a decent chance at containing him, for someone like Dumbledore?

    He's also not the type you can just "break" psychologically. Reduce him to nothing. Can't see that happening, unless it's by his own doing somehow.

    The only thing I can think of is just have him change his mind. Once there's no opposition, he realises how bored he is. He just wanted a game worth playing. Consumed by apathy, Tom turns to a life of hedonism, mindless violence and — oh wait. :(
     
  10. Skeletaure

    Skeletaure Magical Core Enthusiast ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    First off, not really an appropriate question for this thread, which is about canon queries with factual answers, not speculation.

    Anyway, do you mean defeat him in a duel? Dumbledore is the only one who could do it, but it would be a coin flip. My money is on Voldemort.

    The point with Harry, however, is not that Harry is destined by birth to defeat Voldemort, but rather that it is in Voldemort's nature to do things recklessly which create weaknesses which can later be exploited. We see this over and over:

    1. Recklessly killing Lily, despite knowing the sacrifice counter-charm.

    2. Recklessly using Harry's blood to resurrect himself, tethering Harry to life.

    3. Recklessly killing Harry in exactly the same situation as he killed Lily.

    4. Recklessly depending on his dubious mastery of the Elder Wand.

    Harry's victory wasn't a one-off piece of luck, it was an inevitable consequence of a flaw in Voldemort's character which pops up again and again. What this means is that inevitably, someone would defeat Voldemort, because he has a habit of creating the conditions for his own defeat. Dumbledore explained this in HBP:
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2018
  11. Jarizok

    Jarizok Auror DLP Supporter

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    This has probably been asked a bajillion times but I can’t find it.

    What’s the house split in the class schedule at Hogwarts?

    Gryffindor has potions and defense with Slytherin, Herbology with Hufflepuff and Charms with Ravenclaw in first year if I remember correctly. Did that change at all in later years? What about the other subjects? Is the split the same for every year group? (Did Percy have defense and potions with Slytherin as well? Fred and George?)
     
  12. Goten Askil

    Goten Askil Groundskeeper

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    I don't remember the Slytherins being in Defense in 1st year (except in the movies), nor the Ravenclaws in Charms. Actually I don't remember any Defense or Charms class being shown in that book. However the Flying class is with the Slytherins, like the Care lessons after 3rd year.

    As far as I can tell, all Potions and Care classes are with the Slytherins and all Herbology with Hufflepuff, so I'd say the grouping don't change. I don't think any other house is mentionned in other classes.

    Edit: Hermione was with the Hufflepuffs in Muggle Studies in 3rd year, but it was at the same time as Divination so maybe it was because of her hectic timetable.
     
  13. Jarizok

    Jarizok Auror DLP Supporter

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    Yeah, agreed on the groupings not changing for a year group. That should been obvious with 6 years of G/S Potions classes really.

    The whole Leviosa thing is in Charms class first year so I’m fairly sure we get told something there. Just not 100% it’s the ravens there with them.
     
  14. Goten Askil

    Goten Askil Groundskeeper

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    Oh man, can't believe I forgot that one. But I re-read it quickly, and only Gryffindors are mentioned.
     
  15. James018

    James018 Third Year

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    As far as I'm aware, the only composite classes that are mentioned explicitly are Potions, Herbology, Flying and Care of Magical Creatures. At least one class that I remember (Lupin's first Defense lesson, with the Boggart) is strongly implied to be Gryffindors only. But I choose to imagine that composite classes are the norm rather than the exception, amongst other reasons because 10 or fewer students in a class seems extremely small. It is notable that NEWT Potions combines all four houses, and I would expect similar arrangements would be made for other NEWT classes and electives, depending on enrolment numbers.

    The answer to this (perhaps surprisingly) is no. I only noticed this in OOTP very recently (chapter 12):

    This strongly implies that in Ginny's year, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw have Herbology together.
     
  16. Rhaegar I

    Rhaegar I Death Eater

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    1. What do we actually know, from Canon, about the process of becoming an animagus?

    2. Is it Canon that animagus forms are the same as their patronus?
     
  17. Microwave

    Microwave Professor

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    I remember reading something on Pottermore a while ago about keeping a mandrake leaf in the mouth for an entire month.
    Besides that, I don't think we actually know any information at all about becoming an animagus, so that's a lot of extra wiggle room for fanfiction writers.

    In canon, we literally know only of five characters that are animagi: James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Minerva McGonagall, and Rita Skeeter. The problem is that we don't really know the patronuses of any of characters, so I guess that's left to interpretation.
     
  18. Skeletaure

    Skeletaure Magical Core Enthusiast ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    JK Rowling has detailed the process in its entirety in the ebook "Pottermore Presents: SHORT STORIES FROM HOGWARTS OF HEROISM, HARDSHIP AND DANGEROUS HOBBIES".
     
  19. Agent

    Agent High Inquisitor DLP Supporter

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    Logically speaking though, shouldn't every class be at least a composite of two houses? Based on Harry's house/year, it seems that there's only about 10 students per house per year.

    Now, this might be my public education shining through but that seems like an awfully small class. It would also means that there would be about 28 other classes going on at the same time (4 classes for each house per year multiplied by how many years there are). I don't think Hogwarts even has half that many subjects.
     
  20. James018

    James018 Third Year

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    Even with composite classes the timetable doesn't work. It's just that they only require the teachers to be in 2 places at once most of the time, rather than 5 for single classes.
     
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