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Poll Results For What Albus Dumbledore Should Have Done To Protect The Sorcerer's Stone?
I added a poll to this post I wrote about āWhat Albus Dumbledore Should Have Done to Protect the Sorcererās Stone?ā The article used to be published on HubPages (it was first posted on on 10/01/2014), but I decided to move it to my Potter Plotholes Tumblr blog instead.
Honestly, there are so many ways the Stone could have been protected that wouldnāt have had any risk to the students, or really much risk at all. Of course, this is assuming the Stone should have been protected at all.
First off, why does the Stone need to be in Hogwarts at all? Why does Dumbledore need to be involved? Hell, why was it even in England in the first place? Flamel is french, and according to Potter canon, he lived in France at the time of the first book. If he and his wife werenāt already prepping for death - in which case, the whole āprotect the Stoneā thing was utter nonsense, because they had already decided to die anyways and could/should have just destroyed it instead of sending it off to Gringotts in London - then why wouldnāt they have it within easy reach in order to keep producing the Elixir of Life. The thing they need in order to keep living. Which they presumably wanted to do.
By all rights, the Stone shouldnāt have been in Gringotts at the time that Harry and Hagrid went to London. In the conversation between Harry and Dumbledore at the end of the book, Dumbledore heavily implied that the decision to destroy the Stone didnāt occur until after Harry had his confrontation under the trap door. Of course, Dumbledore being Dumbledore, this doesnāt actually mean that the Flamels made their decision then, however, but the timing of that conversation is crucial to how the Stone should have been dealt with.
Say the Flamels didnāt decide to die until after the Quirrellmort confrontation. If thatās the case, then the Stone really should have never left France to begin with, assuming the protection of the Stone from Voldemortās plans was the actual sole goal here. Itās unknown how much Elixir they had saved up for āsetting their affairs in orderā, however, if they wanted to keep living, then at some point they would need to retrieve the Stone from its protections in order to make more. Logically speaking, this means the Stone should have stayed in easy reach. Better yet, keep it on their property, and involve no one else in its protections. The fewer people who know anything, the safer it would be. Ideally, they should have just locked the Stone in a box or drawer, then Hidden it, or the room it was in, under the Fidelius charm. Or, if the charm can only work on full structures, build a tiny little structure - hell, no bigger than a dog house - on their property, stick it in there, and stick that under Fidelius. Simple, no one else need be involved - because the Flamels themselves could be the Secret Keeper - and even if a thief broke into their house, the thief could never find it.
And, you know, access to the thing that lets them keep living their lives.
One would have to assume that Voldemort is not the first would be thief in over 600 years, and that the Flamels would be skilled enough to prevent themselves from being tortured into giving up the Secret.
Of course, that was assuming the Flamels had not already decided to die. If the Flamelsā decision actually came before the Stone was sent off to England - which I personally believe, just based off how events unfolded in the book - then they should have never sent it away at all. Presumably their stash of Elixir for setting their affairs in order was already made before the events of the book - because once the Stone was hidden it would be rather difficult for them to make more - so then why bother with the whole big production? Better yet, why risk the lives of all those children just to set a trap for a known genocidal terrorist who is known to kill children? Itās stupid. They should have just destroyed the stone themselves, and saved everybody the stress and risk and danger.
TL:DR Dumbledore should have never been involved with the Stone. The Flamels should have either put it under the Fidelius themselves if they wanted to live, or just destroyed it. It was their responsibility, no one elseās.
@magicaltimelady44Ā - yes, yes, yes to all of this. Completely agree.
Even if the Sorcererās Stone really needed to be in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for some reason (though I also believe that it really shouldnāt have been put in a school full of children), then why would Albus Dumbledore say something about it?
Okay, so he didnāt outright say the stone was hidden in Hogwarts. However, during the opening feast, he basically hinted at such when he talked about how the third floor corridor was forbidden on pain of death.Ā
I mean, why would he say something like that to a bunch of kids? Children are naturally curious, so words like this could tempt them to check out the third floor corridor.Ā
This is especially so for those prone to being troublemakers such as Fred and George Weasley. I mean, what if he never said anything? What if he just kept quiet about it?Ā
Sure, itās possible that students wandering around might stumble across the corridor should they happen to get lost or whilst exploring, but thatās another thing.Ā
If the corridor was forbidden, then why didnāt it have more wards to prevent students from actually going there?Ā
How come it was so easy to open the entrance to where Fluffy, the three-headed Cerberus, was that even three first year students were able to do it?
For someone like Albus Dumbledore whoās supposed to be old and wise, shouldnāt he know way more magic and spells and the like that could protect the Sorcererās Stone?Ā
And, even if he doesnāt, then what about the Flamels who have lived for hundreds of years?
Then thereās also the fact that the traps that were supposed to protect the Philosopherās Stone were so easy to get past that even first year students could do it.Ā
If the goal was really to keep the stone safe, then why not make all the traps harder to get past?Ā
Make the traps deadly, or at least ensure that the would-be thief would be completely incapacitated until Dumbledore and his backup could arrive to apprehend said thief.
Take the potions trap for example - why does the potion to get past the ring of fire have to be right there? Why was there even a riddle to potentially help the thief solve the puzzle? Why give the thief clues that could help them get past the trap?Ā
If there really needs to be a clue or puzzle there, why not make it misleading? Have a puzzle that leads to the wrong bottle.Ā
Alternatively or in addition to that, why not have all the potions be filled with poison or potions that could incapacitate the thief, like render them unconscious, until Dumbledore shows up to deal with them?
So, yeah, I completely agree that the Philosopherās Stone never should have been put in Hogwarts in the first place. It shouldnāt have been in Gringotts either.Ā
As you pointed out, the Flamels could have been the one to keep it somewhere safe.Ā Ā
But if they really wanted Dumbledore to be the one to hold on to it, then how come Dumbledore didnāt just keep it on his person the whole time?Ā
Why put it in a school full of children? Why not use the Fidelius Charm to hide it instead of relying on traps that couldnāt even stop first year students?
The full title of this post is āWhy did Albus Dumbledore leave baby Harry Potter on the doorstep of the Dursleysā house?ā
In Harry Potter and the Sorcererās Stone, book 1 of the HP series by J.K. Rowling, we found out that Headmaster Dumbledore decided to leave baby Harry on the doorstep of his relativesā house after his parents, James Potter and Lily Evans, died.
Dumbledore explained that he decided to leave Harry with Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley because of the blood wards.Ā
IMHO, I think he could have gone with some other way to keep Potter safe. I talk more about this here and here.
The question though is how come Albus Dumbledore couldnāt even be bothered to tell the Dursleys himself that he wanted Harry to live with them now?Ā
He was already right there in front of their house.Ā How come he couldnāt even knock and spare a few minutes to explain the situation to them?
Harry was on that doorstep until the next morning when Petunia discovered him while bringing out the milk bottles for the milkman. This was grossly negligent of Dumbledore, McGonagall and Hagrid. The weather forecast even predicted a rainy night.
Did we ever find out what he wrote in the letter with Harry that induced Petunia to accept him? I know his howler to her was phrased āRemember my lastā but apart from sounding very ominous and maybe extending some kind of protection to the household by giving Harry residency of sorts, grudgingly given as it was I canāt recall if it was ever clarified? Anyway itās still gross negligence to never check up on him and the āsurveillanceā of Mrs Figg is patently useless. Honest to God Iād not let Albus take care of my plants let alone the prophesied vanquisher of voldemort.
When I was a kid, I was like, eh thatās what you do with an orphan right?
As a parent, I am fucking horrified that someone left a child. A child!! Out on a doorstep all night. Harry was over the age of 1. My daughter was walking at 9 months. They left a fucking child who was possibly (probably) walking out on a doorstep with no fucking supervision all fucking night.Ā
As an adult, I hateĀ Albus Dumbledore for this. This is so grossly negligent that it would get him prosecuted in courts. Think about that. He did soooĀ many questionable things, but this thing, had anyone known about it, would have gotten him fucking jail time. Fuck Albus Dumbledore.
Yeah, it was grossly negligent of Albus Dumbledore to just leave baby Harry Potter on the doorstep of the Dursleysā house.Ā
One of the things that doesnāt make sense is why he couldnāt spare the time to knock on the door and personally give the Boy-Who-Lived to either Petunia or Vernon to ensure the childās safety.
He was already right there in front of the house. Why bother with a letter instead of speaking to them in person? What if the Dursleys have questions or something?Ā
Plus, since he was apparently supposed to be worried about Harry being attacked and hurt by the Death Eaters, shouldnāt this be reason enough for him to make sure that Potter was safely inside the Dursleysā house?
Minerva McGonagall could and should have said something. After all, she already expressed doubt about leaving Harry with the Dursleys.Ā
At the very least, maybe she could have offered to be the one to talk to the Dursleys. She also could have checked up on Harry Potter every once in a while or something.
Yeah, I agree that having Mrs. Figg there didnāt really help. Also, wouldnāt it have been better to have a witch or wizard be the one to watch over Harry instead of a squib?
In case thereās an emergency, someone with magic could help right away. If it was just Mrs. Figg, what would she have done? By the time she managed to call for help, it might be too late for Potter.
If Dumbledore was worried about the witch or wizard being unable to fit in with the Muggles, then couldnāt he just get a Muggleborn to be the one to watch over Harry?Ā
*Notes:
text was added to Harry and Dumbledore pic using Canva
The full title of this post is āWhy did Albus Dumbledore leave baby Harry Potter on the doorstep of the Dursleysā house?ā
In Harry Potter and the Sorcererās Stone, book 1 of the HP series by J.K. Rowling, we found out that Headmaster Dumbledore decided to leave baby Harry on the doorstep of his relativesā house after his parents, James Potter and Lily Evans, died.
Dumbledore explained that he decided to leave Harry with Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley because of the blood wards.Ā
IMHO, I think he could have gone with some other way to keep Potter safe. I talk more about this here and here.
The question though is how come Albus Dumbledore couldnāt even be bothered to tell the Dursleys himself that he wanted Harry to live with them now?Ā
He was already right there in front of their house.Ā How come he couldnāt even knock and spare a few minutes to explain the situation to them?
My personal head canon is he knew if given a choice Petunia would immediately say no. Sadly the only acceptance she gave Harry was limited to picking him up off that doorstep. Dumbledore is shown repeatedly to have a fanatical belief in the blood wards and so he insisted that Harry had to live with Petunia for them to work so he HAD to make Petunia accept Harry. Hence leaving a toddler on a doorstep overnight. I mean toddlers toddle for Godās sake. What use a blood ward if Harry got hit by a milk float while looking for his parents? The milk bottles are there when Petunia takes him in as well I think. Was the milkman sleepwalking? Didnāt a snoozing baby raise any eyebrows?
Personally from what we see the blood protection do in the books I donāt think itās worth the price to Harryās health, wellbeing and growth but Iām not Dumbledore.
Yeah, I think Petunia Dursley wouldnāt have taken in Harry if she had a choice, which is why I think it could be possible that she was basically forced to let Potter live with them.Ā
Because if thatās not the case, then how come Petunia didnāt just give the Boy-Who-Lived up for adoption or something? Why not just send him to an orphanage or something?
Another thing I donāt get is why Headmaster Dumbledore couldnāt personally hand over baby Harry to Petunia. I mean, he was already right there in front of 4 Privet Drive.Ā
So what stopped him from knocking and explaining the situation to the Dursleys instead of just dumping Harry Potter on the doorstep of the house?Ā
What, he couldnāt spare a few minutes even just to make sure Harry was safely inside the house instead of just leaving him there outside?Ā
Heās lucky that nothing bad happened to Potter while he was out there on his own.
Yeah, I also think the blood wards couldnāt possibly be the only way to protect Harry from the Dark Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.Ā
For instance, what about using the Fidelius Charm with Albus Dumbledore as the Secret Keeper?Ā
The only reason the Fidelius Charm failed for James Potter and Lily Evans was because they ended up trusting the wrong person, right?
If Sirius Black had been the Secret Keeper, he never would have revealed the whereabouts of the Potters no matter what.Ā
Also, according to information from Pottermore (https://www.pottermore.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/secret-keeper):
āThe secret cannot be forced, bewitched or tortured out of a Secret Keeper who does not wish to give up their secret; it must be given voluntarily.ā
So with Albus Dumbledore as the Secret Keeper, Harry could have been sent to live with a family who would actually take care of him and love him.
*Notes:
text was added to Harry and Dumbledore pic using Canva
Harry Potter And The Sorcererās Stone Has A Very Boring Beginning?
This post is also known asĀ āThoughts on a popular book series with a boring beginningā.Ā
Yup, I think that a certain (considering the title, the huge pic and the fact that itās being posted here, you already know what I mean, ne?) popular, famous and well-known series has a boring beginning. So, whatās up with that then? Why is it boring? Is it really boring?
Do you think Harry Potter and the Sorcererās Stone or Harry Potter and the Philosopherās Stone, book 1 of the HP series by J.K. Rowling, has a very boring beginning?
For me, I thought the scenes with the Dursleys in the first few chapters werenāt really all that interesting.Ā
The pace also seemed quiet slow since it took a bit of time before things really started happening (such as Harry going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and learning a variety of spells).Ā
But things started to get more interesting and fun especially when we got to Hogwarts and got to see more of the magical and fantasy aspects of the story.
So what about you? What do you think about this? Feel free and welcome to share your thoughts and opinions by reblogging this post or by leaving a comment below.
Reply to Comment onĀ Why Lily Evans Should not Have Chosen Either James Potter or Severus Snape
As mentioned in this post, Iāve been on a long hiatus for quite a while. Iāve only just recently gotten back to trying to post regularly on this blog and all my other blogs.Ā
Since Iāve been away for a while, I also ended up neglecting to check on the notes and comments my posts have gotten.Ā
Now, Iām trying to go through the backlog of notes and comments, so I can reply to the ones that could use a response.Ā
The following is my response to this comment from this post:
Tasha9313Ā
Hey, I'm sorry but you keep saying James continued to bully Snape after he got with Lily. But Remus said he only hexed Snape because Snape never lost an opportunity to curse him either. So it was mutual by then. There's no evidence that Remus lied.
And the author JK Rowling herself said the following quotes:
1.) It was only after James toned down some of his more "bombastic" behavior that he managed to win over Lily.
2.) "I think there was a lot of good in James," Rowling said. "I think that Lily would have been great for James because she wouldn't have put up with any of his rubbish. So I think he would have become a lot less spoiled."
3.) "I know much more about James than appears in the book," Rowling said. "I think James was a bit spoiled by his parents. He's an only child. He was really adored. He was talented. He was reasonably good looking, not as good looking as Sirius but still not bad."
Sirius and Remus said he deflated his head and stopped hexing people for fun except Snape whom also never lost an opportunity to curse him. Why should we assume the worse though. Why not see the best him? Or give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps James is an ambiguous character that we'll never really know.
He only said "Don't make me hex you Evans" after Lily pulled out her wand on him. It was basically a if you hex me, I'll hex you back. He was a jerk in that scene, and the way he asked Lily out was deplorable. But he did take her no for an answer. When she said no, he didn't continue pressing on. He actually listened to her and let Snape down (until Snape used Mudblood on her). He did seem genuinely hurt by her words against him even if he tried to hide it (What's her problem?" he asked as if it was a question of no importance).
I'm not saying he changed into a saint. He was still a flawed person. But isn't it possible that he did improve to an extent? Changing is a gradual process isn't it? He was said to stop hexing others for fun, and there's no reason to believe he hexed others for any reason other then self-defense. Even in the case of Snape, it was said to be a mutual hexing/cursing war. Plus, Remus said Snape cursed while James hexed. Curses are more dangerous than hexes.
Whatever James' faults were, he did love Lily. Otherwise, he would have gotten bored with her and having to put on a "face" (that people accuse him of) and dumped her after a few months. He chose to make the ultimate commitment with her. There's no other reason for him to marry her. He also died for her and Harry.
My reply:
Does James Potter have Something to Hide from Lily Evans?
Sirius Black and Remus Lupin said that James Potter continued bullying Severus Snape behind Lily Evansā back.Ā
If itās true that James was just defending himself from Snape, then why would he bother hiding this from Lily?Ā
Why wouldnāt he want to tell her? This makes it seem as if he has something to hide.Ā
Could it be that heās not entirely innocent, or that there were times when heād been the one who started the fight, and thatās why he doesnāt want Lily to know about this?
After all, if James was just defending himself, then Lily Evans would understand that, right? She wouldnāt get mad at him for defending himself, would she?Ā
Also, isnāt this a good way for James to show or prove to Lily that he really had changed?
Why Lily Doesnāt Like James?
It wasnāt just Jamesā "bombastic behavior" that Lily didnāt like. She also hated that he was an "arrogant, bullying toerag".Ā
She didnāt like Potterās attitude of "showing off with that stupid Snitch" and "walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys [him] just because [he] can".
No to Objectifying People
Also, for me, IMHO, Iām not all that fond of the praise "win over" because this makes it sound like Evans was nothing more than a prize to be won.Ā
I donāt like the way sheās being objectified here, as if sheās not even an actual person, or as if she was nothing more than a trophy for Potter and Snape to fight over.Ā
Itās like sheās nothing more than a reward, a prize that James will get if heās good.
I feel that this takes away Lilyās autonomy and agency. Itās as if she canāt choose for herself, as if she canāt make decisions, as if only Jamesā opinion matters.
Actually, weāve seen a bit of this in the Snapeās Worst Memory scene where James refused to listen to Evans who kept telling him to let her best friend go.Ā
Instead of listening to Lily, he tried to blackmail her into going out with him ("Go out with me and Iāll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again").Ā
Reason Why James Potter Bullies Severus Snape
He even tried to make excuses (if it could even be called that) as to why he was doing what he was doing.
When Lily asked him why he was bullying Severus Snape ("Whatās he done to you?"), James could have said any number of things.Ā
He could have lied to make himself look better, like saying 'Iām just defending myself; he started it'.Ā
Or he could have said, 'heās a Slytherin; heās a budding or future Death Eater; heās practicing the Dark Arts, etc'.
But, no. Of all the things that Potter could have said, he chose to say that he was bullying Snape simply because he exists.Ā
Are these the words of someone whoās supposed to be one of the good guys? He hurts Snape just because he exists? This is despicable behavior.
James Potter = Both Good and Bad?
Yes, I agree that there was some good in James. He did do a lot of good things for his friends and family. He did die for his wife and son.Ā
He fought against Voldemort. He fought for the rights of Muggleborns and Muggles. But that doesnāt erase the bad things he did.Ā
The point is that he wasnāt a wholly good person. He wasnāt perfect. He had bad traits too. He wasnāt some saint.Ā While he did good things, he did bad things too. So, itās not all black and white.
Are Lily and James Good for Each Other?
"I think that Lily would have been great for James."
Again, this is just IMHO, but itās lines like this that really seem to objectify Lily and treat her as nothing more than a prize to be won.Ā
So, she might have been good for James, but what about James? Would he have been good for her?
"she wouldn't have put up with any of his rubbish"
Now, I wonder if this is the reason why James kept things from Lily.Ā
Maybe he didnāt tell her he was still fighting with Snape because she wouldnāt have put up with that, and she might have broken up with him if she found out he was still bullying people behind her back.
Did James Potter Really Change?
"he would have become a lot less spoiled"
I really wish we had been able to see more of this in the books.Ā
Even just one example to show that James had changed and stopped being so arrogant and full of himself would have done a lot of good in order to prove that James had matured and grown up.
I also wish we could have seen what really caused James to change. What got him to stop hurting and bullying people?Ā
What caused him to mature? What was the catalyst that brought about this change? Was it really just because of Lily?
Except it doesnāt really seem that way, at least not entirely, since even when Lily told him to stop during the Snapeās Worst Memory scene, he didnāt listen to her.Ā
Even though Lily clearly disapproved of his actions back then, and even though sheād made it clear that she found his attitude repulsive ("You make me SICK"), he didnāt stop or listen to her.
It also couldnāt have been the werewolf prank scene because this happened before the Snapeās Worst memory scene. If nearly getting Snape killed didnāt cause him to change and stop bullying Severus, then what did?
Why James Potter only Deflated his Head a Bit?
"Sirius and Remus said he deflated his head"
Yeah, they did say that. They also added the words "a bit" to that statement. They specifically said that he only deflated his head a bit.Ā
But why did they bother adding those words? Were they just being brutally honest with Harry? Was it to say that James hadnāt fully or truly changed?Ā
Did he only deflate his head a bit, just enough for Lily to think he had changed even though he really only just learned to hide his more unpalatable behavior from her?
For me, itās hard to see that James had changed because the way he was presented, portrayed, or shown in the books was that of a bully.Ā
The Snapeās Worst Memory Scene in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
In the Snapeās Worst Memory scene in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, book 5 of the HP series by J.K. Rowling, James acted more like a villain or antagonist rather than the hero or good guy he was supposed to be.
This is all the more so because Snape was just minding his own business when he was suddenly attacked. The Marauders didnāt even have a good reason to hurt Severus.Ā
They only bullied him because Sirius said he was bored. Needless to say, the behavior of the Marauders was appalling and deplorable in this scene.
This goes double for James and Sirius since they were the ones actively hurting Snape. But even Lupin and Pettigrew arenāt without blame.Ā
Wasnāt Lupin a prefect in this scene? Instead of just standing there watching, he should have tried to stop his friends. And as for Peter Pettigrew, he seemed to enjoy watching his friends bully a fellow student.
Show, Donāt Tell
Also, one thing that makes it hard to believe that he changed was the fact that we, the readers, didnāt really get to see this happening.
Instead of being shown how James transformed from an arrogant bully whoās way too full of himself to a mature person who no longer starts fights just because he can, weāre just told that this happened.
It really is too bad that we didnāt get to see this happening. It would have been more believable if weād been shown how he changed instead of just being told.
Abusive Relationship?
The "donāt make me hex you, Evans" bit actually reminded me of abusive relationships where the abuser says "donāt make me hurt you", as if it was the fault of the one being abused as to why theyāre being hurt or beaten by someone who supposedly loves and cares about them.
"He was a jerk in that scene, and the way he asked Lily out was deplorable."
Yes, I agree with this.
Did James Potter Listen to Lily Evans?
"But he did take her no for an answer. When she said no, he didn't continue pressing on. He actually listened to her and let Snape down (until Snape used Mudblood on her)"
Sorry, but, no, he didnāt listen to her. Check out this extract from the Snapeās Worst Memory scene from Pottermore (https://www.pottermore.com/book-extract-long/look-who-it-is) for a quick reference.Ā
Basically, Sirius says heās bored, so when James spots Snape, he immediately pounces on him. The 2 have their fun, and a crowd gathers to watch the Slytherin being bullied.Ā
Lily shows up to put a stop to the bullying. She tells James to let Snape go ("Leave him alone"). She actually says "leave him alone" four times. But James doesnāt listen.
Instead, he tries to get Lily to go out with him. He basically tries to blackmail her by saying heād stop bullying her best friend if she went on a date with him.
So what does that say about Potter? What this seems to show or portray is that he doesnāt seem to respect Evans at all.Ā
Itās like he doesnāt care about her feelings and what she wants. All that matters is what he wants, as if her thoughts on the situation donāt matter at all.
Four or Two Against One
"Even in the case of Snape, it was said to be a mutual hexing/cursing war."
This is pretty hard to believe in light of what we saw in the Snapeās Worst Memory scene. Because itās not just James versus Snape.Ā
Itās actually the Marauders versus Severus. Even if we say that it was mostly just James and Sirius Black against Snape, thatās still 2 against 1.
Snape was alone. A lot of the students were watching the spectacle, but no one, except for Lily, showed up to help him. Not even the Slytherins showed up to aid Severus.
Weāve seen how Severus was no match for James and Sirius when he was alone and had no one to help him.
Even Lily wasnāt really effective in stopping James since, even though Potter supposedly likes her, he apparently canāt be bothered to listen to her when she tells him to stop bullying her best friend.
Your Thoughts and Opinions
What does everyone else think about this? Feel free and welcome to chime in and join the discussion by reblogging this post or by leaving a comment below or on the āWhy Lily Evans Should not Have Chosen Either James Potter or Severus Snapeā post.
*Notes:
text was added to James and Lily pic using Canva
second pic is byĀ KarlaFrazetty (CC:BY-ND) via deviantArt
fourth pic is byĀ MachoMachi (CC:BY-ND) via deviantArtĀ
ninth pic is byĀ MachoMachi (CC:BY-ND) via deviantArtĀ
the rest of the pics are from Amazon.com; links shown above
the quotes in italics are from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. RowlingĀ
Problems With Voldemortās Plan In Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
The Dark Lord Voldemort is supposed to be smart, right? Or is he actually supposed to be stupid?
Is that why he came up with such a convoluted, crazy plan to kidnap Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, book 4 of the HP series by J.K. Rowling?Ā
You know, if Voldemort actually used his brains, then he would have succeeded in capturing Harry and maybe he would have succeeded in killing him as well. What should he have done instead?
Do you think Voldemort should have come up with a different plan to kidnap the Boy-Who-Lived in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, book 4 of the HP series by J.K. Rowling?
What do you think about this? Feel free and welcome to share your thoughts and opinions by reblogging this post or by leaving a comment below.
How Come No One Else Knows About Remus Lupin Being A Werewolf?
Or, is Hermione Granger the only intelligent/smart student in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?Ā
What about the other students there especially those from Ravenclaw house? Surely, thereās at least one or some more children who are as smart and intelligent as Hermione?
As such, was there really no other student aside from Hermione Granger that was able to discover the fact that Remus Lupin, their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, book 3 of the HP series by J.K. Rowling, was really actually a werewolf?
I just posted the results of the āIs Hermione Granger the only intelligent/smart student in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?ā poll in this post.
For reasons that Iāll talk about in another post on another one of my blogs, Iāve decided to delete the Opinion Stage poll from this post (How Come No One Else Knows About Remus Lupin Being a Werewolf) and replace it with one from SurveyMonkey instead.
This is the new poll:
Your Thoughts and Opinions
So, what about you? What do you think about all this? Feel free and welcome to share your thoughts and opinions by answering the poll, liking and/or reblogging this post, replying to this post, or by leaving a comment below.
*Notes:
Hermione Granger pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
Results of the Hermione Granger Smart Student PollĀ
In the post entitledĀ āHow Come No One Else Knows About Remus Lupin Being a Werewolf?ā, I added an Opinion Stage poll.
For reasons that Iāll talk about in another post on another one of my blogs, Iāve decided to delete the Opinion Stage poll and replace it with one from SurveyMonkey instead.
The poll in question was created on 19 July 2015.
On my dashboard on the Opinion Stage site, the statistics page for this poll looks like this:
New Poll
This is the new āIs Hermione Granger the only intelligent/smart student in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?ā poll from SurveyMonkey:
Your Thoughts and Opinions
What about you? What does everyone else think about all of this? Feel free and welcome to share your thoughts and opinions by liking and/or reblogging this post, replying to this post, leaving a comment below, or by answering the poll.
Related Posts
Iāve also written more about Hermione Granger in the following posts:
Why Did Hermione Granger Lie About The Troll?Ā
Why Hermione Granger Is Always With The Weasley Family?
Why Hermione Granger Decided To Brew Polyjuice Potion In Myrtleās Bathroom?
Was Hermione Granger Out Of Character In Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets?
*Notes:
Hermione Granger pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
Text was added to the Hermione pic using Canva
The rest of the pics are screenshots from my Opinion Stage account
Why and How Remus Lupin Forgot to Drink the Wolfsbane Potion?Ā
Agree with @mysnarkyslytherinsecret. I also find it hard to believe that Remus Lupin forgot to drink the Wolfsbane potion. I even wrote about it here and here.
I mean, how long has Lupin been a werewolf? For someone whoās been a werewolf for practically his whole life, shouldnāt he know all about when the full moon would be?
Being a werewolf doesnāt really sound like something that one would easily forget, especially for someone like Remus Lupin who was so troubled by his condition.Ā
So it doesnāt seem believable that he would forget to drink the potion.Ā
Really, doesnāt it seem awfully convenient that he forget, as if this only happened because the plot said so?Ā Ā
I think Lupin was being irresponsible for forgetting to drink his potion. As a teacher, one of his priorities should have been ensuring the safety of his students.
Why the Hogwarts Students Told Their Parents About Lupin?Ā
Also, very good point on how if the students really liked Lupin, then they wouldnāt have told their parents about him being a werewolf.Ā
This makes me wonder about several things:
Maybe only a few students, other than Harry Potter, believed that Remus was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher they ever had
For those in Harryās year, it would be easy for them to think so since they only have Gilderoy Lockhart and Quirinus Quirrell to compare Lupin to.Ā
But the older students would have had other DADA professors. Itās possible that those other teachers were better than Remus.
Maybe there were a lot of students who were prejudiced against werewolves
But, surely, not all of the students were like that.Ā
Is it possible that most of the prejudiced students were those who have influential parents while the non-prejudiced ones had parents who couldnāt really speak up and get a werewolf to teach DADA?Ā
Albus Dumbledore was very influential and had a lot of people who believed in him
So, if Dumbledore thought or believed that Remus was a pretty good teacher, couldnāt he have spoken up for him?Ā
Couldnāt he have told those who were inclined to follow him that he trusted Lupin?Ā
Or could it be that Albus was disappointed with Remus because of how he forgot to drink his potion and endangered the Hogwarts students?
And could this be why the headmaster let the werewolf go instead of trying to keep him as a Hogwarts professor?
Your Thoughts and Opinions
What does everyone else think about all of this? Feel free and welcome to share your thoughts and opinions by liking and/or reblogging this post, replying to this post, or by leaving a comment below.
Sources:
Pics are from Amazon.com; links shown above
Text was added to the Remus Lupin pic using Canva
mysnarkyslytherinsecret
Technically, he didnāt get Remus fired. Ā He simply allowed people to learn that Remus was a werewolf (which is actually true). Ā If the students liked Lupin so bloody much, they wouldnāt have told their parents or seemed to think that there was a problem with their favorite professorās furry little problem.
And, to be fair, Remus nearly killed the Golden Trio because he somehow forgot that it was a full moon and didnāt take the Wolfsbane potion (both of which I find hard to believe, but if he was indeed that irresponsible, he deserved to be fired).
Even though Snape didnāt like Harry and Co, he didnāt want them MURDERED BY A WEREWOLF (probably bringing back memories of having nearly been murdered by the same exact werewolf as a teenager himself).
Snapeās Worst Memory happened after Siriusā werewolf prank.
Iāve seen countless posts talking about how the werewolf prank was the climax of the big war between Snape and the Marauders. Ā
It sort of makes sense - you can see the progression of James maturing from attacking Snape at the lake to saving him by the Whomping Willow. Ā Thereās a beautiful idea in James not realising just how serious his behaviour had been over the years, and then when Sirius takes things a step too far, James realises and not only saves Snape, but calms things down moving forward.
Only, sadly, the timeline is the other way around.
The distressing, inconvenient truth is that after Sirius recklessly sent Snape down to a transforming werewolf, putting his life into danger (and it mustāve been in danger to invoke a life debt), James thought it was absolutely fine to bully Snape at the lake because he exists. Ā
Hereās how it fits together:
Lily reassures Snape that theyāre still friends - best friends.
āā¦thought we were supposed to be friends?ā Snape was saying, āBest friends?ā
āWe are, Sevā¦ā
Moments later, Lily challenges Snape about the events on the night of the werewolf prank:
She dropped her voice. āAnd youāre being really ungrateful. I heard what happened the other night.Ā You went sneaking down that tunnel by the Whomping Willow, and James Potter saved you from whateverās down thereĀ āā
Snapeās whole face contorted and he spluttered, āSaved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friendsā too!ā
Despite their disagreement, they finish their discussion as friends:
Harry doubted that Snape had even heard her strictures on Mulciber and Avery. The moment she had insulted James Potter, his whole body had relaxed, and as they walked away there was a new spring in Snapeās stepā¦
Later, Snapeās Worst Memory happens:
And the scene dissolvedā¦Harry watched again as Snape left the Great Hall after sitting his O.W.L. in Defense Against the Dark Arts, watched as he wandered away from the castle and strayed inadvertently close to the place beneath the beech tree where James, Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew sat together.Ā
But Harry kept his distance this time, because he knew what happened after James had hoisted Severus into the air and taunted him; he knew what had been done and said, and it gave him no pleasure to hear it againā¦ He watched as Lily joined the group and went to Snapeās defense. Distantly he heard Snape shout at her in his humiliation and his fury, the unforgivable word: āMudblood.ā
Following which, Lily cuts ties with Snape completely:Ā Ā
ā ā to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?ā
He struggled on the verge of speech, but with a contemptuous look she turned and climbed back through the portrait holeā¦
It is impossible for the timeline to be the other way around, as it would mean Lily and Snape becoming best friends again after he called her a Mudblood.
Thanks for this timeline, which clearly shows that the Snapeās Worst Memory scene happened after the werewolf prank scene.Ā
Sometimes, I get people who say that events happened the other way around such as in this post.
I think it would have been nice if the prank scene happened after Snapeās Worst Memory.Ā
James having to save Severus Snape from Remus Lupin in werewolf form could have been the catalyst that caused him to change and mature into a better person.Ā
This could have been a great way to show that James Potter did change. So itās unfortunate that things didnāt happen like that at all.
The fact that even after Snape nearly died or got bitten by a werewolf didnāt cause James to think about his actions and stop bullying Severus is one reason why it can be hard to believe that he changed and matured.
Your Thoughts and Opinions
What does everyone else think about all of this? Feel free and welcome to share your thoughts and opinions by liking and/or reblogging this post, replying to this post, or by leaving a comment below.
Sources:
Pics are from Amazon.com; links shown above
Text was added to the James Potter, Lily Evans, and Severus Snape pics using Canva
Comments for Is Harry Potter the Only 1 Who Got Detention From Professor Umbridge?
The following are comments from the post entitledĀ āIs Harry Potter the Only 1 Who Got Detention From Professor Umbridge?ā back when it used to be posted on Daily Two Cents.
Jess Schira
Lots of students received detention from Umbridge. Thereās a really short passage in the book about it and it also come up in the movie.Ā
If my memory serves, itās between where Umbridge gets Dumbledore fired and before the Weasley twins bolt from Hogwarts.
Freya Yuki (reply to Jess)
Thanks. I might have forgotten that part. But if many other students got detention from Professor Umbridge, does that mean that she also used the blood quill on them?Ā
And, if she did use the blood quill on those children, then how come they didnāt say anything about it? Didnāt anyone complain or try to do something about this?Ā
They could have told their parents, teachers, head of house, etc. They could have refused to go to detention.
Surely, there were those who were headstrong and who wouldnāt just take this kind of abuse lying down without fighting back? So, how come no one does anything?Ā
Why were they all passive about this? Why did they just let this happen? Was there really nothing that could be done against Umbridgeās horrible abuse towards these kids?
Shaun Zhang
If I was in Harry Potterās place and Umbridge forced me to use a Blood Quill, here are the steps that I will take.
First, I will tell the staff members about it, if they couldnāt be bothered to care about what Umbridge had done to me, and tell me to be quiet, and if Dumbledore does not care about this, I will drop out of Hogwarts silently, and attend a school that supports me (maybe the school in another country).Ā
If Voldemort kills the Minister of Magic and takes over the Wizarding Britain, I donāt care, its all Fudgeās problem in the first place.
Your Thoughts and Opinions
What do you think about all of this? Feel free and welcome to share your thoughts and opinions by liking and/or reblogging this post, replying to this post, or by leaving a comment below.
Related Posts
Here are some more articles that Iāve written about Dolores Umbridge:
1 Way to Get Umbridge to Teach DADA Class ProperlyĀ
Why Albus Dumbledore Let Dolores Umbridge Use Blood Quills On Hogwarts Students?
Why The Hogwarts Students Didnāt Complain About Professor Umbridge?
How Come Ron & Hermione Didnāt Tell Anyone What Umbridge Did To Harry Potter?
Note: As mentioned in this post, Iām now trying to finish working on all the articles listed on the drafts page of this blog after a very long hiatus from Tumblr. This particular post is one of those drafts. The post date is listed as Jul 6th, 2017 4:46:55pm.
3 Problems With Professor Snapeās Trap To Protect The Sorcererās Stone
Why is Professor Severus Snapeās trap to protect the Sorcererās Stone useless? Whatās wrong with it?
The Philosopherās Stone is a magical artifact that is said to be capable of granting its user immortality. This is why many, including Dark Lord Voldemort, want to get their hands on this item.
How to protect the Sorcererās Stone?
This is why Albus Dumbledore (the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) decided to hide the aforementioned object in Hogwarts.
He and some of the school teachers put up traps that were meant to protect it from potential thieves. But these traps, including Professor Snapeās trap, were pretty much useless.
I just posted the results of the āDo you think that Professor Snapeās trap to protect the Sorcererās Stone was useless?ā poll in this post.
For reasons that Iāll talk about in another post on another one of my blogs, Iāve decided to delete the Opinion Stage poll from this post (3 Problems With Professor Snape's Trap To Protect The Sorcererās Stone) and replace it with one from SurveyMonkey instead.
This is the new poll:
Your Thoughts and Opinions
So, what about you? What do you think about all this? Feel free and welcome to share your thoughts and opinions by answering the poll, liking and/or reblogging this post, replying to this post, or by leaving a comment below.
*Notes:
Severus Snape pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
Agree with @oldnewsisgoodnews. Sometimes, Harry Potter really can come across as a Mary Sue / Gary Stu especially in light of everything youāve pointed out.Ā
Itās like heās a special snowflake. The blatant main character favoritism can be quite infuriating.
For example, what about all the times when Harry had gotten / was given special treatment? Like during his first year in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
First years werenāt allowed to be on the Quidditch team. They werenāt even allowed to bring their own brooms to school. And yet what happened with Harry?
He broke the rules. Yes, he was trying to get Neville Longbottomās remembrall, but that doesnāt erase the fact that he broke the rules. He was told not to fly without supervision and yet he still did.
Even if itās just a light punishment or something, he should have still been reprimanded. HowĀ ābout giving him points for trying to help Neville then giving him detention for breaking the rules?
It was no wonder that Harry was deemed as the youngest seeker in a century. If other first years had been allowed to join the team, then maybe he wouldnāt be the youngest seeker in a century.
Aah! This brought up memories. Thanks for tagging me, @potter-plotholesĀ
And so true! I hadnāt even thought to bring up the fact that Harry often got rewarded for breaking the rules. And it happened a lot, the quidditch/seeker thing just being one (very good) example. At best, Harryās bad behavior was overlooked/treated as if it wasnāt actually a problem. (E.g. That kid seriously needed some anger management classes in Book 5. Perhaps understandable why he had anger issues, but the fact that those issues got almost completely glossed over/ignored drove me crazy.)Ā
With the one admittedly major exception of Siriusās death, I donāt recall Harry ever facing real/serious consequences for his impulsive actions - or even being reprimanded in earnest for things that were legitimately his fault.Ā
This partially goes back to the point ofĀ āwell, yeah - sucky things did happen to Harry on occasion, but for the most part, they were the kind of things that were very explicitly portrayed as not being his fault.ā ThatĀ āalways the victim, never the causeā treatment is a hallmark of Mary Sues and Gary Stus that doesnāt always get enough attention. Especially because I feel like it disguises itself very well: At first glance, it might seem like,Ā āoh, well, yeah, this personās life is (at least moderately) hard. They donāt have it all easy.ā But in fact, it contributes to the very Mary Sue-ish sense ofĀ āthis character can do no wrong, because none of the bad shit that happens is actually their fault. Poor guy, having to deal with everybody elseās BS while giving no BS him/herself!ā
(Apologies for the Ramble, Part 2, there. But thanks for your analysis. I really enjoyed it, both for your take and for pulling up the memory.)
@oldnewsisgoodnews - thanks. I enjoyed your analysis, too.
Harry being rewarded for breaking the rules was one of the things that really frustrated me especially because of how it came across as main character favoritism.Ā
It was as if the rules didnāt apply to Potter just because he was the Boy-Who-Lived.
And, yeah, I also didnāt like how Harryās behavior wasnāt dealt with in an appropriate manner. He got away with so many things that other students / other characters wouldnāt have been able to get away with.Ā
I also wish Harry had been made to face the consequences of his actions. Like if he breaks the rules, then he should be punished, not rewarded.Ā
He does have the tendency to rush recklessly into things.Ā
I think it would have been interesting to see him do this with disastrous or negative consequences instead of having everything turn out all right for him.Ā
This way, he could have learned from his mistakes and done better next time.
Results of the Snapeās Sorcererās Stone Trap PollĀ
In the post entitled 3 Problems With Professor Snapeās Trap to Protect the Sorcererās Stone, I added an Opinion Stage poll.Ā
For reasons that Iāll talk about in another post on another one of my blogs, Iāve decided to delete the Opinion Stage poll and replace it with one from SurveyMonkey instead.Ā
The poll in question was created on 22 Nov 2014.
On my dashboard on the Opinion Stage site, the statistics page for this poll looks like this:
New Poll
This is the new āDo you think that Professor Snape's trap to protect the Sorcerer's Stone was useless?ā poll from SurveyMonkey:
Your Thoughts and Opinions
So, what about you? What do you think about all this? Feel free and welcome to share your thoughts and opinions by answering the poll or by leaving a comment below.Ā
Related Posts
Iāve also written more about the traps to protect the Sorcererās Stone as well as the Philosopherās Stone itself in the following posts:
Harry Potter Plotholes: What Albus Dumbledore Should Have Done to Protect the Sorcererās Stone?
Why Didnāt Albus Dumbledore Use a Fake Sorcererās Stone?
Why the Traps Protecting the Sorcererās Stone Are Useless?
4 Problems With Professor Flitwickās Trap to Protect the Sorcererās Stone
Note: As mentioned in this post, Iām now trying to finish working on all the articles listed on the drafts page of this blog after a very long hiatus from Tumblr. This particular post is one of those drafts. The post date is listed as Jul 11th, 2018 10:47:45am.
*Notes:
Severus Snape pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
Text was added to the Snape pic using Canva
The rest of the pics are screenshots from my Opinion Stage account
