| Saturday, July 21 |
|---|
|
UPDATE: The Room of Requirement is open at jkrowling.com I've finished the book, in case anyone is wondering. |
| Thursday, July 19 |
|---|
|
"Ravenclaw will have their day..." For speculation as to who will do the day-having, I present, A list of major(?) Ravenclaw characters Filius Flitwick Honestly, is there a better teacher at Hogwarts? McGonagall might complain that Transfiguration is a more difficult subject, but she seems to get fewer results despite handing out twice as much work. Consider that Neville got an E in Charms but only an A in Transfiguration. His own grandmother went the other way (and his parents obviously did N.E.W.T.-level Transfiguration) so you can't blame genetics. It's safe to guess that Neville put out at least the same effort in both classes -- probably more in Tranfiguration, considering that he was trying to meet Gram's expectations. So who deserves credit for the superior performance in Charms? Snape probably knows his subject (Potions) best, but he's too horrible to the students to be effective. Sprout? Even if she's as good as Flitwick, her subject matter simply isn't as important. Filius just keeps on keepin' on, turning out class after class of well-trained students who are able to get through their exams in what seems to be the most essential class. Expect Flitwick to be the new Deputy Headmaster. Expect him to be quietly and unassumingly effective. Luna Lovegood We all like Luna, and vaudree has said more (and probably knows more) so I won't bother adding anything here. See below. Moaning Myrtle Thanks to Rowling, we know that Myrtle was a Ravenclaw. But is she that clever? And will she be that helpful? Myrtle seems awful moody, obsessed with death, and overly-sensitive. But let us not forget her finest hour in Goblet of Fire: "I'd try putting that in the water, if I were you." "You need to put your head under too," said Myrtle, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying bossing him around. "Go on!" "Slow, aren't you?" He had never seen Moaning Myrtle so cheerful, apart from the day when a dose of Polyjuice Potion had given Hermione the hairy face and tail of a cat.... He ran this theory past Myrtle, who smirked at him. "Oooh, very good," she said, her thick glasses twinkling, "it took Diggory much longer than that!"We know that Myrtle had already seen Cedric figure all of this out, so we are left to guess what Myrtle figured out independently. One thing we can say for sure is that if Myrtle had solved the riddle-of-the-egg immediately, she wouldn't have been in any hurry to give Cedric the answer. But the main point is, Myrtle likes to drag the dim-witted living through complex mental deductions. She loves it, even more than being asked about how she died! And I'm going to argue that part of Myrtle's delight in seeing Hermione's Polyjuice fiasco was the opportunity to observe a unique and experimental use of the Potion. If Myrtle doesn't help Harry solve any mysteries using her own intelligence, she can still play this game simply by giving out knowledge she's accumulated as a ghost. Mabye she saw what T.M. Riddle did after he left Dumbledore's office where he'd been turned down for the D.A.D.A. post. The Grey Lady Speaking of Ravenclaw ghosts.... There has been numerous speculation that the Grey Lady is some known character (like Rowena herself). I like the idea, but I heavily favor the Bloody Baron as a pre-established character and I don't think Rowling will do the same trick with two different House ghosts. Remember, there can be a sort-of-new character that we don't know anything about. Penelope Clearwater Penelope strikes me as a singularly interesting character. EXHIBIT A - Gone but not forgotten Minor or mid-major characters whom Rowling has introduced and referred to in later books:
EXHIBIT B - The Transparent Clearwater Penelope appeared in two consecutive books (CoS, PoA). She had an established relationship with another character (as Percy's girlfriend), her House was established (Ravenclaw), she was known to be a Prefect (as if Percy would date any other), and she spoke to Harry at least once. We also get a hint that she's interested in Quidditch, having bet Percy 10 Galleons on the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match in PoA. Of course, this just might have been something to make Percy happy. In addition to corresponding all summer and snogging Perce all over the school, this last appearance suggests she really does like Percy: "...I'll have a lot of proposals to make about Magical Law Enforcement!" [Percy] told the only person who would listen -- his girlfriend, Penelope.No other character has had this level of development (relatively minor, but compare to similar cases) and then disappeared without mention for more than one book. Penelope hasn't been mentioned for three. Did Rowling forget her? EXHIBIT C - Penelope In the Odyssey, Penelope was the wife of Odysseus. Her great accomplishment was... waiting. She strung along or put off suitors for twenty years while awaiting her husband's return. The name is synonomous with patience and fidelity. So the return of Penelope in book seven should come as no surprise to those of who believe the real Percy has been on his own unpleasant Oddysey for over two years. Cho Chang Cho is great. Seriously, now. What's not to like about Cho? First, she's smart enough to be in Ravenclaw and talented enough to have started as Seeker in her fourth year. Second, she has good taste in boyfriends. Cedric Diggory -- heck of a guy. Harry Potter -- likewise. Michael Corner... well, two out of three. Actually, there's nothing seriously wrong with Michael. He was good enough to date Ginny. And being a sore loser doesn't make him any worse than Oliver Wood. So let's talk Marietta Edgecombe. Marietta is what I'd call a "liability". Well, guess what? Not all of Harry's friends are perfect, either. Look at Hagrid: He breaks the law and endangers people by purchasing an illegal dragon egg. Harry sticks with him. Harry all but admits, in his own mind, that Grubbly-Plank is a better Care of Magical Creatures instructor. But Harry doesn't vocalize this -- he stays loyal to Hagrid. Remember, too, how Marietta's plot-line started: Cho got her to join the D.A.! Doesn't that say something good about Cho? And after the nasty sneak incident, here's what Cho said: "She's a lovely person, really," said Cho. "She just made a mistake--"She admits Marietta was wrong, but refuses to condemn her. Could Cho have done any better in terms of both staying loyal and being fair? I can't imagine how. And Cho makes a fair point about Hermione's Jinxed contract being deceptive. Cho's only real "problem" is that she's a bad match for Harry. So let's forget the romance and try to imagine what else she might do. As one of the few Ravenclaw characters who's been developed, there are possibilities. Dealing up with Harry shouldn't be too difficult. They didn't break up on bad terms, they "just sort of fell apart." Each harbors some positive feelings still, and they've had over a year to get over the rest. Finally, Cho's future is wide open because she's just left school. I wonder if it's a coincidence that another major character has done the same: Fawkes had stopped singing. And he knew, without knowing how he knew it, that the phoenix had gone, had left Hogwarts for good...I'm not necessarily saying Fawkes is a metaphor for Cho. But tears have healing powers in more ways than one. Regnat corvina ungula |
| Thursday, July 19 |
|---|
|
I have some links to an brilliant little discussion forum called Severus Snape's Dungeons.
First, let me apologize for not bringing these to everyone sooner. Those of us on the LBaRF thread on HPANA have been enjoying tidbits from vaudree (one of the main contributors) for many months. Well... the rest of you have a day left, I suppose. :-) The theories are all pretty short and always fun to read. Snape-related Theories < Snape’s Broom Was Jinxed (from memories during Occlumency), Crookshanks Knew Harry was the Greater Threat (from the Shrieking Shack), and more. Theories on Other Characters Lily Commenting on Snape’s Love Life, Petunia Wanted to See Harry Baptised, and more. Theories on the Way Magic Works Alastor Moody Fears Love Potions, Following the Disapparator’s Trace, and more. Vaudree's Mini-Theories Demelza Robins and Jimmy Peakes (a mini-ship), Scrimgeour told Fudge to Arrest Hagrid, Cedric’s Dead Body Reminds Snape of Regulus, and more. Here's something (from the last link, Vaudree's Mini-Theories) that impressed the heck out of me, just to give you a taste:
 |
|
|
| Tuesday, July 18 |
|---|
|
How are you today?
I'm twitchy. Excited. Anticipatory. Un-Entish, you might say. The theory well is dry, but there a couple of new Top Twelve Lists: "Things to do while Waiting for Deathly Hallows", and "Behind-the-Scenes Predictions for Deathly Hallows." *goes back to twitching* |
| Tuesday, July 17 |
|---|
|
I expect to shut down my computer sometime on Friday. After I've finished reading Deathly Hallows, I'll post an annoucement here saying just that and nothing else. Any comments on the book will appear in the Ginnymented Forum under the new category After Seven. The small group of existing members on the forum are trustworthy, and new members are (for now) restricted from posting to protect us from spoiler trolls. So, barring hacker activity, you should be free to browse Ginnymented.com up to and even after the release date without fear of spoilers. If I put up any commentary or analysis, it'll be on a back page with adequate spoiler warnings in the link. Voldemort hid a Horcrux inside the Mirror of Erised. It's not an entirely new idea, but certain observations struck me. In particular, Dumbledore calls his Mirror-trick with the Philosopher's Stone one of his "more brilliant" ideas, then, in a bizarre concordance (at the end of CoS), he calls Tom Riddle the "most brilliant" student ever to come through Hogwarts. Voldemort's trick would be similar. Only one who wanted to find the exact item would be able to get it. If, for example, you wanted to destroy the Horcrux, you would only see it destroyed and would not be able to recover the intact artifact. That's just one idea. You can read more speculation and evidence in the 'Leftovers' part of the Predictions section. If you visit the Looking Back and Reaching Forward thread on HPANA, you'll notice that links have been temporarily removed by the administrative staff (as part of a generalized anti-spoiler effort). But in addition, be advised that some of those links are now off the mark, owing to the fact that a frequent poster on the thread got his/her account deleted, thus shifting all the page numbers. This applies to some of the links on Ginnymented.com (which point to the thread) as well. I'll try to repair the links, but in the meantime, you can usually find something by just altering the page number. For example, the link to the Ginnymented theory on HPANA is currently pointed at this URL: http://www.hpana.com/forums/topic_view.cfm?tid=61056&p=96#p6247747 But it has shifted back to this URL: http://www.hpana.com/forums/topic_view.cfm?tid=61056&p=93#p6247747 The post id is unchanged, only the page number is off. The later the post occurs in the thread, the bigger the shift. Near the beginning, the links are still correct. Near the very end, you'll need to shift back four pages. Sorry for the inconvenience. Regnat corvina ungula Our day is coming. |
| Saturday, July 14 |
|---|
|
Another eleventh hour theory!
This one covers the final stage of the Ginnymented scenario: Regurgitating Harry's soul into his body. We have a possible "tutorial" for the necessary magic in the rudimentary body that Voldemort used during Goblet of Fire. I suspect that body was not created from scratch, but was in fact the body of a hapless demented Muggle child. True, it looked like Voldemort. But so did the back of Quirrell's head. Voldemort's soul creates that kind of an impression. And with the victim's own soul gone, Voldemort would be free to take over the rest of the hardware and make perhaps an even stronger impression. Here's the connection to the finale of Deathly Hallows: Voldemort invented the spell that made this kind of soul movement (into a demented body) possible. He taught the spell to Wormtail. Now Wormtail can do a favor for Harry after Voldemort has been killed by using the spell again. The full theory, with more evidence, is on the Leftovers Page in the Predictions section. Regnat corvina ungula One week to go! |
| Wednesday, July 11 |
|---|
|
Scuttlebutt had it that Ginny's Patronus is shown in the Order of the Phoenix film as a horse.
Nothing against a horse, of course, assuming, of course, that it is a horse.... But I thought a unicorn was more fitting, so I wanted to test my guess about how it was shown in the movie. Spot on. Exactly as I predicted: We saw a lot of Ginny's Patronus while it was forming, but as it fully coalesced the head was aligned with the very top of the screen. This can be a unicorn.  Why a unicorn? If you recall, one of the minor parts of the Ginnymented theory suggests that the Harry/Ginny symbiont will raise a monster of a Patronus to drive off the dementors at the conclusion of the final battle. As long as the forms are going to meld, they may as well both be ungulates, right? Score one for the horse or the unicorn. A quick glance at some myths, folklore, and astrology suggests that a horse can symbolize or represent: burial, birth, nobility, independence, talent, sincerity, energy, time, treachery, sexuality, wealth, etc. So you can get a horse to mean almost anything you want. But unicorns, now -- they've already been established in Potterland, and here I see a possible connection to the Ginnymented theory: "The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, a cursed life, from the moment the blood touches your lips."Neither Ginny nor Harry is doing any evil slaying in my end sequence, so I think they're excused from this curse. But Ginny would be saving Harry when he is "an inch from" being demented; Harry would be completely "defenseless"; and from the moment his soul touches her lips, they will each have a kind of "half-life", being two souls in one body. If that seems like a stretch, lets go back to the Grand Unified Patronus theory. The first time Harry saw his own corporeal Patronus, it was twice compared to unicorns and horses: Harry opened his eyes. The dementor must have released him.... And out of the end of his wand burst, not a shapeless cloud of mist, but a blinding, dazzling, silver animal.... It looked like a horse.... I started a thread in the Ginnymented Forum for OotP Reviews, where I'll be posting a more detailed critique of the film in a bit. Eleventh Hour Predictions! Bob has a startling idea about Hagrid's final secret; And vaudree has put together a convincing case that Amycus and Alecto are werewolves. Both these were originally posted on the LBaRF thread on HPANA and I've summarized them at the end of the Predictions section (links above). |
More daily journals...)
Home Predictions In-depth Theories Magic of Music Links & Resources Top Twelve Lists Journal Archives Credits & Copyrights FanFic Forum FAQ Picture Gallery Book Seven Facts Fun Stuff Customize
© 2007 Jason Drake