Nagini's attack on Arthur in OotP

[terri-testing.livejournal.com]

We know that Arthur was an Order member, guarding the door to the DoM (and asleep on the job under an invisibility cloak which didn't hide him from a creature that hunted by heat and scent), when Voldemort's snake attacked him.

What did the Ministry think, and the average Prophet reader?


If Fudge had realized Arthur was there on Dumbledore's orders, surely he'd have sacked him?

In fact, why wasn't Arthur sacked anyway? What business had he to be in the Ministry at all in the middle of the night? Much less loitering suspiciously outside the DoM with an invisibility cloak?

And just what kind of security does the Ministry have, that Order members, Voldemort's slaves and pets, and schoolkids, can come and go after hours as they please? I've never worked anywhere that didn't lock up when everyone left.

In fact, aren't the Aurors based in the building? Shouldn't they have a night shift (what, Dark wizards never operate at night, you tell me?), and therefore a night shift on reception to check people in who have business there?

Finally, if Fudge didn't think the snake was Tom's pet, whose did he think it was and how did he think it got in and escaped?

Thoughts?

Comments

[sharaz-jek.livejournal.com]

Rowling wanted Ginny's magnificence to be kept 'secret'

Really? Did she ever explain why? Or is this just something she said when some pesky person who'd actually read the books asked "where did Fiery!Ginny come from?

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

No, that's my interpretation/slant on things; I don't think Rowling ever said something as exact as that. Although that was what she actually wrote, wasn't it? Ginny was hidden way in the background for books 1-4 (appearing as victim!girl rather than 'Ginny' in CoS) and only having a slight presence in OotP. But then in HBP she's revealed in all her sudden artificial glory; Pansy tells us in one of the first chapters that she's so good looking "a lot of boys like her" and the book went downhill from there.

Right after HBP was published Rowing had a lengthy interview wherein she patted herself on the back for her work; her comments on Ginny are in part 3, here (http://www.mugglenet.com/jkrinterview3.shtml). There's a lot of 'informed attributes' being passed down from the mount with that interview, I think.