[personal profile] oryx_leucoryx posting in [community profile] deathtocapslock
Peeves splashes the kids with waterballoons. Of course Ron fares worse than Harry and Hermione. And Minerva is helpless to stop Peeves. Is the drying spell Albus uses on Harry in HBP so advanced these incoming 4th years don't know it yet?

Harry hopes the Sorting would end soon. The oldest among this year's new students were born 10 months after the end of VoldWar 1. If British wizards had a post-war Baby Boom, this cohort is its first, so I hope Harry finds the patience.

Can someone please tell me why Dennis Creevey is in the story? Is it just to frustrate any attempt to understand the inheritance of magic in Rowling's world? But since he is here we are reminded of Parvati's twin sister, who will be needed as a date to the ball - and then forgotten.

Yes Harry, Severus' hatred (or resentment, or something) intensified the night of Sirius' escape, but not necessarily for the reason you think. Don't forget that Severus shut up immediately when he realized Sirius' escape was orchestrated by The Twinkly Headmaster. And Severus recovered the wand that Sirius used that night. Which means that once he got to his rooms, and recovered from the events of the night (which included sustaining a concussion), Severus must have arranged to PI his wand (just to know to what use Sirius had put it) and discovered that Sirius was the one who banged his already injured head against the walls of the tunnel, but also that Peter was alive and a rat Animagus (via the spell that forced him into human form). Which means Peter was the traitor - and also that this traitor escaped. IOW Severus is angry with the trio for attacking and injuring him that night, and thus setting up the events that led to Peter's escape. Of course he is also angry with Sirius for still believing Severus deserved to be eaten by a werewolf at 16 and for aggravating his injuries in the shack. (BTW we have no evidence to suggest Severus needed a new wand after being disarmed by the trio and being injured with his own wand by Sirius. In case you were wondering.)

The first years are soaking wet. The drying spell, Minerva! No such luck. Maybe it really is advanced magic.

The Sorting Hat claims to have never been wrong. Yet it sometimes Sorts people 'too soon'.

MALcolm BADdock, the boy with the most ominous name ever, joins Slytherin House, to the brave and bold hissing of the twins. Harry wonders if the boy knows he is joining the House that produced more Dark witches and wizards than the others. And what do you think do Slytherins think when Dennis Creevey is Sorted to Gryffindor? The House of bullies, jerks and vain peacocks?

Nearly-Headless-Nick performs his third-most significant plot function by bringing the Hogwarts house-elves to Hermione's attention.

Dumbledore makes sure students break the rules all year by telling them it was Filch who forbade the various assault-toys. (Thanks, Terri, for this observation!)

Oh no! No Quidditch this year! Good thing we had the World Cup to remind us of the who-has-the-better-broom contest!

Aha! This year's villain makes a dramatic entrance! Why doesn't anyone pay attention to the sound effects?

Albus and Hagrid are the only ones to applaud 'Moody'. Does this make him an 'interesting creature'? Looks like even those familiar with Moody's record don't appreciate him becoming DADA teacher. Or perhaps it's because of that familiarity?

'Moody' drinks from his hip-flask, but eats the food served in his plate. Has the wizarding world not invented the ability to deliver poisons in food?

So, the Triwizard Tournament was started around 1300, give or take a few years, held every 5 years for a while, then disbanded for centuries but for an occasional failed attempt to restore it. So whose idea was to hold it at Hogwarts now? Especially when the very same departments were involved in hosting the QWC? I used to think it was Dumbles' reaction to Peter's escape and Sybil's second prophecy, but obviously if Bertha knew so much about it before leaving for Albania the planning must have started much earlier. Was this Ludo Bagman's idea of creating more venues for gambling? Or Fudge's idea of distracting the populace from the failed hunt for Sirius Black?

I know: The mastermind of it all was Ludo Bagman! After all Bertha Jorkins had been working in his department. He initiated the renewal of the Triwizard tournament specifically in order to bring Voldemort back. He then gave Bertha the idea to visit Albania so that Voldemort would capture her and use her information. And yes, he got Arthur the tickets in order to give Barty Jr a chance to observe Harry from close-up. The whole business with the goblins was just a cover.

Anyway, everyone agrees that's the best way to establish ties between students of traditionally rival schools who know nothing about each other. Just look how well the House Cup competition does this kind of thing at Hogwarts!

Dumbledore will ensure personally that no underage student will get hirself selected. We'll see how hard he's going to work on that. Anyway, it seems Albus believes that once a wizard is of age it is completely up to hir choice to go and risk hir life for fame and riches (or just walk to death to weaken an enemy).

Fred wants to enter the tournament because he might be able to do forbidden magic and get 1000 Galleons.
Ron wants to have a chance at the money too.
Neville wants to enter to appease his grandmother. He also reminds us of the existence of the trick stair.

Dean adds a Quidditch poster to his football one. Maybe some Muggle-raised wizards do not completely disown the world of their birth? (Though 3 years from now he will be camping with runaway wizards and goblins, not staying with Muggle family and friends.)

Once more Harry dreams of being a star despite already being one for 3 years running.

Date: 2011-03-19 04:57 pm (UTC)
sunnyskywalker: Young Beru Lars from Attack of the Clones; text "Sunnyskywalker" (spandex jackets)
From: [personal profile] sunnyskywalker
Maybe the Creevey brothers support the theory (Red Hen's, I think?) that there's a bunch of different magical "genes" (or whatever), and if you inherit enough different ones, that tips you over into being magical - so Mr. and Mrs. Creevey evidently had just the right combo. Although I don't remember whether we heard anything about Mrs. Creevey, so is it possible she was a witch and left the Muggle world after Dennis was born or something?

The Tournament really doesn't seem like a good way to get the kids to like each other, does it? Now, if the Champions had to work together on the tasks, that would be another story.

It seems odd that they haven't invented magical security cameras to keep an eye on the Great Hall just in case the age line fails. It's almost like they wanted underage kids to cheat to get in...

I like your Ludo Bagman speculations! Maybe unbeknownst to everyone he's the "most devoted servant" :D

Date: 2011-03-20 02:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] madderbrad.livejournal.com
The wonderful story "The Lie I've Lived" by jbern on fanfiction.net has Harry castigating Dumbledore for his leaving the goblet open to sabotage. Later on someone else tries to interfere with its workings (it's used again in the story) ... and we find that Dumbledore actually learned from his prior mistake ... and he'd put up a magical portrait to keep watch over the goblet at all times. The portrait saw everything and tells Dumbledore the identity of the saboteur (although it didn't actually raise an alarm at the time of the intrusion, hmmm).

So that's your "magical security camera" - Rowling's magically sentient paintings.

Date: 2011-03-20 03:44 am (UTC)
sunnyskywalker: Young Beru Lars from Attack of the Clones; text "Sunnyskywalker" (spandex jackets)
From: [personal profile] sunnyskywalker
Now there's an idea!

I wonder - are we supposed to believe that with portraits all over Hogwarts, there aren't any in the Great Hall? Or were they asleep (or Confunded)?

Invisibility cloak

Date: 2011-03-20 10:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] urbanman1984.livejournal.com
Crouch had an invisibility cloak. Moody had two. None of these cloaks was a Deathly Hallow, but I expect they both made the impostor invisible.

Re: Invisibility cloak

Date: 2011-03-20 08:22 pm (UTC)
sunnyskywalker: Young Beru Lars from Attack of the Clones; text "Sunnyskywalker" (spandex jackets)
From: [personal profile] sunnyskywalker
Now that could have been interesting, because Dumbledore knows Harry has a cloak - if he had had portraits keeping an eye on things, that's something that would make him think maybe Harry really did put his name in somehow. Of course it would also mean he'd have to consider "Moody," and it's way too early in the book for that. (He'd also have had to have to put an anti-Disillusionment charm on the line, something like that waterfall at Gringott's maybe.)

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