Pottermore : New material from Prisoner of Azkaban

[dracasadiablo.livejournal.com]

Hogwarts portraits are able to talk and move around from picture to picture. They behave like their subjects. However, the degree to which they can interact with the people looking at them depends not on the skill of the painter, but on the power of the witch or wizard painted.

When a magical portrait is taken, the witch or wizard artist will naturally use enchantments to ensure that the painting will be able to move in the usual way. The portrait will be able to use some of the subject’s favourite phrases and imitate their general demeanour. Thus, Sir Cadogan’s portrait is forever challenging people to a fight, falling off its horse and behaving in a fairly unbalanced way, which is how the subject appeared to the poor wizard who had to paint him, while the portrait of the Fat Lady continues to indulge her love of good food, drink and tip-top security long after her living model passed away.

However, neither of these portraits would be capable of having a particularly in-depth discussion about more complex aspects of their lives: they are literally and metaphorically two-dimensional. They are only representations of the living subjects as seen by the artist.

Some magical portraits are capable of considerably more interaction with the living world. Traditionally, a headmaster or headmistress is painted before their death. Once the portrait is completed, the headmaster or headmistress in question keeps it under lock and key, regularly visiting it in its cupboard (if so desired) to teach it to act and behave exactly like themselves, and imparting all kinds of useful memories and pieces of knowledge that may then be shared through the centuries with their successors in office.

The depth of knowledge and insight contained in some of the headmasters’ and headmistresses’ portraits is unknown to any but the incumbents of the office and the few students who have realised, over the centuries, that the portraits’ apparent sleepiness when visitors arrive in the office is not necessarily genuine.

Maybe it's just me, but I find that this "explanation" only makes it more confusing then before. The portrait lore was a mess as it was but now it's even harder to make heads or tails of it.

Also, what this means for the DD's portrait?
Was he painted long before his death and then spent a lot of time talking with his portrait?



Perhaps no students (even including Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Tom Riddle) have ever explored the castle and grounds of Hogwarts as thoroughly and illicitly as the four creators and contributors to the Marauder's Map: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

James, Sirius and Peter were not initially impelled to explore the school grounds by night out of devilment alone (though that played its part), but by their desire to help their dear friend Remus Lupin to bear his lycanthropy. Prior to the invention of the Wolfsbane Potion, Lupin was compelled to undergo an excruciating transformation every full moon. Once his condition was discovered by his three best friends, they sought a way to render his transformations less solitary and painful, which led to them learning to become (unregistered) Animagi, so that they could keep him company without harm to themselves. The ability of Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and James Potter to become, respectively, a dog, a rat and a stag, enabled them to explore the castle grounds by night undetected. The interior of the castle, meanwhile, was mapped over time with the help of James Potter's Invisibility Cloak.

The Marauder's Map is lasting testimony to the advanced magical ability of the four friends who included Harry Potter's father, godfather and favourite teacher. The map they created during their time at Hogwarts appears to be a blank piece of parchment unless activated by the phrase: I solemnly swear that I am up to no good, a phrase that, in the case of three of the four makers, should be understood as a joke. The 'no good' of which they wrote never denoted Dark magic, but school rule-breaking; similar bravado is evinced by their use of their own nicknames on the map ('Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs').

The magic used in the map's creation is advanced and impressive; it includes the Homonculous Charm, enabling the possessor of the map to track the movements of every person in the castle, and it was also enchanted to forever repel (as insultingly as possible) the curiosity of their nemesis, Severus Snape.

Although the precise circumstances surrounding the makers' loss of their map are not given in the Harry Potter novels, it is easy to conclude that they eventually over-reached themselves and were cornered by Argus Filch, probably on a tip-off from Snape, whose obsession it had become to expose his arch-rival, James Potter, in wrongdoing. The masterpiece of a map was confiscated in Sirius, James, Remus and Peter's final year and none of them were able to steal it back from a well-prepared and suspicious Filch. In any case, their priorities changed in their final months at school, becoming far more serious and focused on the world beyond Hogwarts, where Lord Voldemort was successfully rising to power. All four of the map's creators would shortly be inducted into the renegade organisation headed by Albus Dumbledore, the Order of the Phoenix, and a map of their old school - no matter how ingenious - would no longer be of use to them except as a piece of nostalgia.

The Marauder's Map was, however, of immense use to the young Weasley twins. The story of Fred and George's acquisition of the map is told in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It was a mark of their high esteem for Harry Potter, and their belief that he stood in need of assistance with a destiny none of them yet fully understood, that they later gifted the map to him, unwittingly passing it on to the child of one of the creators.

The map was subsequently confiscated from Harry Potter by a Death Eater in disguise at the school, who recognised it as a likely source of his own discovery.

I just love the "...a phrase that, in the case of three of the four makers, should be understood as a joke. The 'no good' of which they wrote never denoted Dark magic, but school rule-breaking..." part.
JKR probably heard the "Marauder's Map might have been made with Dark magic" theories and jumped to explain how the Marauder were too good for things like that.
Sorry, Jo. But I still think that Snape knew what he was talking about when he said that the map must have dark magic in it.




Gobstones is an ancient wizarding game that resembles marbles, the principal difference being that every time a point is conceded, the winning stone squirts a foul-smelling liquid into the loser's face. Players start the game with fifteen small, round Gobstones each (Gobstones are sold in sets of thirty) and the winner must capture all of his opponent’s stones. Though most commonly (as the name implies) made of stone, Gobstones may also be made of precious metals.

Professional Gobstone players compete in national leagues and international tournaments, but it remains a minority sport within the wizarding world, and does not enjoy a very 'cool' reputation, something its devotees tend to resent. Gobstones is most popular among very young wizards and witches, but they generally 'grow out' of the game, becoming more interested in Quidditch as they grow older. The National Gobstone Association has attempted recruitment campaigns such as 'Give Gobstones A Second Glance', although the choice of accompanying picture (current Gobstones World Champion Kevin Hopwood being squirted with an eyeful of gunk) was perhaps ill-chosen.

Gobstones enjoys limited popularity at Hogwarts, ranking low among recreational activities, way behind Quidditch and even Wizarding Chess.

The mother of Professor Severus Snape, Eileen Prince, was President of the Hogwarts Gobstone Club in her time at school.

Because there's no way Snape's mother could have been involved in something "popular", "interesting" or "loved" by other kids.
No, it's a game that is popular with little kids and "generally 'grow out'" of. And of course, because she (probably) played the game often Eileen Prince probably had gunk and slime in her hair. *eye roll*




The mood-enhancing properties of chocolate are well known in both the Muggle and wizard worlds. Chocolate is the perfect antidote for anyone who has been overcome in the presence of Dementors, which suck hope and happiness out of their surroundings.

Chocolate can only be a short-term remedy, however. Finding ways to fight off Dementors – or depression – are essential if one is to become permanently happier. Excessive chocolate consumption cannot benefit either Muggle or wizard.




In the late twentieth century, the Nimbus Racing Broom Company dominated its competition. The Nimbus Two Thousand and Two Thousand and One models outsold all other top-class brooms combined by a factor of three to one.

Little did the Nimbus designers realise that a racing broom was in development that would knock them from their number one spot within twelve months of its release. This was the Firebolt, a top-secret project developed by Randolph Spudmore (son of Able Spudmore of Ellerby and Spudmore, who produced the Tinderblast in 1940 and the Swiftstick in 1952, both serviceable brooms, but never achieving great popularity).

A skillful and innovative broom designer, Randolph was the first to use goblin-made ironwork (including footrests, stand and twig bands), the secrets of which are not fully understood, but which seem to give the Firebolt additional stability and power in adverse weather conditions and a special non-slip foot grip that is of particular advantage to Quidditch players. The handle is of polished ebony and the twigs of birch or hazel according to personal preference (birch is reputed to give more ‘oomph’ in high ascents, whereas hazel is preferred by those who prefer hair-trigger steering).

The Firebolt is a costly broom and Harry Potter was among the first to own one. It continues to be made in relatively small quantities, partly because the goblin workers involved in the patented ironwork are prone to strikes and walkouts at the smallest provocation.

Harry was "among the first to own one" of the more expensive and rare brooms but he's not spoiled, entitled or special at all.

Comments

[oryx_leucoryx]

So after Harry
s death the goblins will be coming for his broom? Or will they come for their part in his broom once Randolph Spudmore dies? Why do goblins still make anything for wizards?

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

Wait, the wizarding world has patents and organized labor concepts like collective strikes? Do the goblins have a union? /snark

As to the Map, I don't particularly care if the activities falling under "up to no good" involve this or that technical form of magic. I'd say the question or whether or not they are intended to harm and humiliate someone is far more important.

I won't even start on the portrait issue. I'm ignoring JKR on that because NOTHING she says makes any sense.

[snapes-witch.livejournal.com]

Somehow I can't imagine headmasters Snape or Black coaching their portraits!

JKR's Pottermore comments are no longer canon as far as I'm concerned.

[ladyzenobia.livejournal.com]

wow.. I haven't been here for a while... anyway...
I can totally see Dumbles talking to his portrait. It's so him!

Also, if gobsones is a minority sport how come there even is a National Gobstone Association and why are they based in the Ministry of Magic? Don't they have some better use for that space?

[nx74defiant.livejournal.com]

I tend to ignore JKs interviews, But in her interview she said Snape didn't have a portrait because he "abandoned" his post. Later she said Harry had one put in.

So it made me think;

Snape doesn't have a portrait because while he was Headmaster he was to busy actually running the school, protecting the students without letting the Carrows or Voldemort realizing what he was doing, getting the sword to Harry, etc to spend time on something as frivolous as a portrait.

Imagine a portrait commissioned by Harry (shudders)

The person who painted Mrs. Blacks portrait must have really hated her.

[oneandthetruth.livejournal.com]

Randolph was the first to use goblin-made ironwork (including footrests, stand and twig bands), the secrets of which are not fully understood, but which seem to give the Firebolt additional stability and power in adverse weather conditions

Like thunderstorms? Thanks, I think being on a wooden broom in the sky would be invitation enough to lightning bolts, without adding iron fittings to make it an even more tempting target.

Harry was "among the first to own one" of the more expensive and rare brooms but he's not spoiled, entitled or special at all.

No, of course not. It's not like he asked for it, or demanded it, or any of those other things spoiled, entitled kids do. It was just given to him by a stranger, in the grand tradition of fairy tale heroes and heroines getting magical trinkets to make their quests easier. Of course, they usually get those trinkets because they're good, kind, humble, hard-working, and respectful to others. Let's just ignore that like discrepancy, shall we?

[night-axe.livejournal.com]

Harry's first broom, the Nimbus, could be read as a reward for standing up to bullying. A reward from the author, that is. McGonagall couldn't care less about bullying, she just wanted Harry for a Seeker. Nevertheless it's satisfying when Harry defends Neville and ends up rewarded even though he broke the no flying rule. It almost seems as if he exists in a moral universe.

But the Firebolt proves that the only morality involved is "Harry deserves all the things because the author says so". Aside from the ridiculousness of a hunted man interrupting his his quest for vengeance to buy his godson new sports equipment, Harry is richer than Sirius. Why can't he buy his own broom?

[guardians-song.livejournal.com]

"Hogwarts portraits are able to talk and move around from picture to picture. They behave like their subjects. However, the degree to which they can interact with the people looking at them depends not on the skill of the painter, but on the power of the witch or wizard painted."
Oh, really? So Ariana Dumbledore has the most interactive portrait in existence?

...Hm, I suppose that explains why her portrait actually contains an honest-to-goodness tunnel.

Still. You'd think that Tom Riddle would have twenty portraits of himself painted, for use in-case-of-Horcrux if nothing else. "If you are seeing this portrait, Bellatrix, please kidnap an Order member, haul your rear to Albania, and cart what you find there back to Little Hangleton for a certain ritual. You'll be rewarded with a nice silver hand afterwards. Get to it!"

"When a magical portrait is taken, the witch or wizard artist will naturally use enchantments to ensure that the painting will be able to move in the usual way. The portrait will be able to use some of the subject’s favourite phrases and imitate their general demeanour. Thus, Sir Cadogan’s portrait is forever challenging people to a fight, falling off its horse and behaving in a fairly unbalanced way, which is how the subject appeared to the poor wizard who had to paint him,"
Oh, that amuses me. Lucky for Albus that Aberforth didn't paint HIS picture, eh? He'd be constantly twittering on about the Greater Good, walking out of the frame whenever anyone actually needs him, and looking down his long nose at anyone who doesn't meet his holier-than-thou standards.
"while the portrait of the Fat Lady continues to indulge her love of good food, drink and tip-top security long after her living model passed away."
That's not how the Oxford Comma works. And that really should be "good food and drink AND tip-top security", "good food, fine drink, and tip-top security", or "good food, drink, and security" - unless the writer really wanted to say "good tip-top security". Presumably this is security provided by the Department of Redundancy Department - I didn't realize they'd branched out to that industry, too! Truly versatile people in truth!
(Though, since redundancy can be a good thing in security, that might be a field for which their high qualifications make them highly qualified. All right, I'll stop now.)

[guardians-song.livejournal.com]

"However, neither of these portraits would be capable of having a particularly in-depth discussion about more complex aspects of their lives: they are literally and metaphorically two-dimensional. They are only representations of the living subjects as seen by the artist.

Some magical portraits are capable of considerably more interaction with the living world. Traditionally, a headmaster or headmistress is painted before their death."
Considering that this makes out the portraits to be based solely upon living, breathing subjects, I'M NOT SURPRISED. Are they traditionally born before death, too?

"Once the portrait is completed, the headmaster or headmistress in question keeps it under lock and key, regularly visiting it in its cupboard (if so desired) to teach it to act and behave exactly like themselves, and imparting all kinds of useful memories and pieces of knowledge that may then be shared through the centuries with their successors in office."
Kept in a cupboard, taught to emulate the headmaster, and used as a monument to continue the personality cult after the headmaster's - Harry is Dumbledore's meatportrait?

Poor boy. He never had a chance.


This is an utterly bullshit plothole. If a portrait can be put into play BEFORE the wizard's death, huge chunks of the plot have just been smashed to smithereens. Voldemort is the ABSOLUTE BIGGEST one. The diary was bad enough - but it could at least be patched over with Voldemort not wanting to tell Lucius outright that he was carrying about a chunk of Voldemort's soul. Similar reasoning applies to the other Horcruxes. But a PORTRAIT? Something which is, we learn, nothing more than a storage device, a literal way to store loads of data with a rudimentary magical A.I. attached to prevent information being given to the wrong people, enable adaption to unforeseen situations, and possibly manipulate the weak-willed (if we stretch the "two-dimensionality")?

Again, I ask - why doesn't Tom Riddle have twenty of these?!


[I previously supposed that portraits were a way of fixing ghosts in one spot - Snape said ghosts were only imprints of departed souls, after all, so I figured that their caricatured behavior aligned reasonably with those of portraits. I know that was a silly supposition, but I liked it better than this. NEVER have I been so glad that I don't consider Pottermore canon!]

(If I comment on the other parts, I'll comment later. This one deserved a comment to itself. *bleep*ing LJ character limits...)

[snapes-witch.livejournal.com]

JKR should read Eats, Shoots & Leaves!

[guardians-song.livejournal.com]

"The magic used in the map's creation is advanced and impressive; it includes the Homonculous Charm, enabling the possessor of the map to track the movements of every person in the castle, and it was also enchanted to forever repel (as insultingly as possible) the curiosity of their nemesis, Severus Snape."
Pfft. Called it. (Or intended to call it - I may not have written it down.) I suspected there was some sort of charm to make him dismiss its usefulness. [Or, at least, I'm taking the "enchanted to forever repel" as a literal compulsion. Random insults would not repel someone actually interested in breaking into the Map, and the Marauders were smart enough to know that.]

But if the Homonculous HOMUNCULUS Charm is so useful, why doesn't everyone use it? Why didn't the Death Eaters use it to track the residents of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts? Why doesn't the Ministry use it as a security system? Why doesn't St. Mungo's use it? If this is an actual Charm, and NOT just something achieved by fiddling with Hogwarts (I assumed the database was already there, much as the Hogwarts rolls contain the names of all witches and wizards in England*, and the Marauders just hacked into it), why isn't it used bloody well everywhere?

Sorry. This is a SPECTACULARLY overpowered and plothole-filled set of information. And, as I'm somewhat under the weather, my temper is not handling the information all that well.

*I assume that the reason the rolls aren't public knowledge is because the Founders reasoned there might be times when it would be best for the Headmaster NOT to know the names of every member of Wizarding England. It doesn't help that Hogwarts can actually determine the exact address of anyone enrolled in Hogwarts or being invited to enroll in Hogwarts down to the cupboard in which they reside. Hence, I suspect the circumstances under which anyone can actually access the information in Hogwarts' magical database are extremely limited, and that the loophole in making yourself known to these powers is, of course, withdrawing your children from Hogwarts (or informing Hogwarts via post that none of your children will be attending when they come of age.)

This being DTCL, somebody will immediately point out seven occasions disproving my point and making it clear that the infinitely benevolent headmasters can of course find out exactly where any student lives at any time, and so stomping a plothole straight through the canon regarding how anyone could think Snape was on Voldemort's side, considering that he could trace the locations of several of Dumbledore's known followers at any given time by mailing the families of those children of Order members who were still enrolled in Hogwarts. *sigh* And if none of you do, the next Pottermore update will.

[oryx_leucoryx]

The only other tracking charm I can think of, besides the map and the Hogwarts quill system, is the one used in Molly's clock, perhaps a primitive version of the one on the map, or perhaps the most one can do without the magic of Hogwarts. And whatever it is that the owls use - which is inconsistent, sometimes tracking a person, sometimes a location. Hmm, Albus' owl to Petunia was addressed to the kitchen, not sure how this fits with anything.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Come to think of it, every year the book lists are sent to all the students once the teachers' roster is finalized. And these owls always find Harry, even if he is at the Burrow or once in the Fidelius-protected 12GP. But in DH the trio did not receive their book lists. Did they formally withdraw from the school? Or did Minerva fear Severus might letter-bomb them and somehow stopped their owls? But Ginny must have received her list safely, so what gives?

[danajsparks.livejournal.com]

----But if the Homonculous HOMUNCULUS Charm is so useful, why doesn't everyone use it?

----I assumed the database was already there, much as the Hogwarts rolls contain the names of all witches and wizards in England*, and the Marauders just hacked into it.

I had also assumed that the Marauders had just hacked into a pre-existing database. Maybe "Homonculous Charm" is just the name of the spell that's used to connect to a database.

[mmmarcusz.livejournal.com]

Sorry. This is a SPECTACULARLY overpowered and plothole-filled set of information. And, as I'm somewhat under the weather, my temper is not handling the information all that well.

Hardly any more overpowered than Apparition, Portkeys, time travel, Imperius, house elves etc., all of which would make war immensely confusing if people actually used them properly

[guardians-song.livejournal.com]

Also -
"It was a mark of their high esteem for Harry Potter, and their belief that he stood in need of assistance with a destiny none of them yet fully understood,"
Gag. Barf. Puke.

"the secrets of which are not fully understood, but which seem to give the Firebolt additional stability and power in adverse weather conditions and a special non-slip foot grip that is of particular advantage to Quidditch players. "
Footrests and twig bands are not fully understood by wizards? Because tying the twigs together has nothing to do, as far as they can see, with additional stability? And they can't figure out how footrests might help people stay on their brooms?

How do these people manage to avoid drowning in rainstorms (http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/turkey.asp)?

"partly because the goblin workers involved in the patented ironwork are prone to strikes and walkouts at the smallest provocation."
Hm, funny, the only people who can actually produce the goods demanded by a greedy, brainless society that denies them equal rights... know that they hold these idiots captive by their consumption, and decide to use this power over them as frequently as they can.

Remarkable, that.

[hwyla.livejournal.com]

"The magic used in the map's creation is advanced and impressive; it includes the Homonculous Charm..."

First - this makes no sense - have we ever heard of this 'charm' before? 'Homonculous' refers to a very teensy representation of a human body form. That would 'seem' to mean that it puts little teensy bodies on the map, not the footprints of the movie.

From Wikipedia: The homunculus first appears by name in alchemical writings attributed to Paracelsus (1493-1541). De natura rerum (1537) outlines his method for creating homunculi:

That the sperm of a man be putrefied by itself in a sealed cucurbit for forty days with the highest degree of putrefaction in a horse’s womb, or at least so long that it comes to life and moves itself, and stirs, which is easily observed. After this time, it will look somewhat like a man, but transparent, without a body. If, after this, it be fed wisely with the Arcanum of human blood, and be nourished for up to forty weeks, and be kept in the even heat of the horse’s womb, a living human child grows therefrom, with all its members like another child, which is born of a woman, but much smaller.

And IF these bodies are therefore somehow 'transparent' (not invisible) replicas of the humans they represent (since they have the same names), then 1) why didn't Harry notice that the Barty Crouch in the potions room wasn't the Barty Crouch Sr. that he had already met? & 2) Harry's 'watching' Ginny in DH becomes a whole different form of stalking if he can physically see HomonculousGinny in the shower!

Next comes the question of just how these little representations are actually connected to the people they represent and the tracking of them. An Homonculous is more like a golem in whatever connection it might have with 'magic'. I can understand JKR using it because it is related to alchemy and Paracelsus, however none of this has anything to do with connecting these little bodies to the people they represent on Hogwarts' grounds, which I think is the point most of us find closest to 'dark magic'. A Homonculous (in the 'magic/alchemical' sense) doesn't come from 'nothing'. It comes from sperm, which I certainly HOPE is not how the Marauders performed the spell, however I can accept that the 'spell' version results in something other than a 'true'
Homonculous, tho' that means it is a misnamed spell. So what does it comes from? Since the Map updates for every person on the grounds, it must have some sort of tracking and identifier as others have already discussed, but also some way of 'sampling' each person to get a form of Homonculous.

[oryx_leucoryx]

I don't consider the movies canon at all. What the books say is that the map shows dots and names, no footprints, no forms. If there are forms they are microscopic enough that they are indistinguishable to the naked eye.

What I object to is that the spell's name implies it is specific to humans, whereas according to POA the map also shows Peeves and Mrs Norris.

[danajsparks.livejournal.com]

----However, the degree to which they can interact with the people looking at them depends not on the skill of the painter, but on the power of the witch or wizard painted.

Why does it matter how powerful a portrait's subject is if the way to make a portrait more interactive is simply to impart memories and knowledge while still alive?


----The 'no good' of which they wrote never denoted Dark magic, but school rule-breaking

Ahem! In Snape's Worst Memory, Sirius cast Petrificus Totalus on Severus. This spell is the Full Body-Bind CURSE, and Rowling has consistently stated that curses are dark magic.

Furthermore, since werewolves are classified as dark creatures, how can 'no good' not denote Dark magic if the main reason for creating the map was so that the Marauders could go gallivanting with a transformed werewolf?

[maidofkent.livejournal.com]

Not to mention the 'illegal hex' cast on Bertram Aubrey which turns up in the detention records.

Pottermore also contains the Standard Book of Spells in which we read:

“Dark charms are known as jinxes, hexes and curses. This book does not deal with such spells'

Oh, maths consistency.

However, perhaps the map was not used when casting those particular spells, so that would be alright then.

One of the four did mean to use the map for dark purposes? Are we to assume that Pettigrew, who is clearly meant to be the fourth, borrowed the map and snuck off to use it for secret dark magic purposes? Given what we see of the relationship between him and the other Marauders in SWM, it seems highly unlikely he would ever get to use it on his own.

[danajsparks.livejournal.com]

Are all of those copies of Dumbledore's chocolate frog card connected to his portrait in the headmaster's office?

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

That would bring new and creepy meaning to this exchange at the beginning of OotP:

Theyʹre trying to discredit him,ʹ said Lupin. ʹDidnʹt you see the Daily Prophet last week? They reported that heʹd been voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards because heʹs getting old and losing his grip, but itʹs not true; he was voted out by Ministry wizards after he made a speech announcing Voldemort's return. Theyʹve demoted him from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot ‐ thatʹs the Wizard High Court ‐ and theyʹre talking about taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class, too.ʹ

ʹBut Dumbledore says he doesnʹt care what they do as long as they donʹt take him off the Chocolate Frog Cards,ʹ said Bill, grinning.

[mmmarcusz.livejournal.com]

Sorry, Jo. But I still think that Snape knew what he was talking about when he said that the map must have dark magic in it.


Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain! Unless the good guys made it, or it's a painting, or something whimsical.

In the late twentieth century, the Nimbus Racing Broom Company dominated its competition. The Nimbus Two Thousand and Two Thousand and One models outsold all other top-class brooms combined by a factor of three to one.

If it sold that well, it was probably only a mid-range broom anyway.

[radicalhighway.livejournal.com]

I noticed the knee jerk reaction to Dark magic as well for the MP. Also, MP itself is hillariously overpowered now.

I also liked how even the firebolt has to be rare on top of being expensive. My, Harry Potter sure isn't a special fellow.

[oryx_leucoryx]

At least the part about the subject updating the portrait closes one complaint I saw from anti-Snapers. The complaint was that Severus should have known that Harry already 'won' the sword once so there was no need for him to undergo the ordeal of the frozen pond in order to obtain it, so Severus risked his life needlessly ont he word of a portrait that must have not been up-to-date on events.

Dumbly knew for a year that he was going to die, that he was planning to pass the Horcrux hunt on to Harry and that Harry should be able to destroy the Horcruxes with the sword. And Severus knew that Dumbles knew when he was about to die. So it is logical and natural that Severus would expect Albus to have passed the essential information of his planned to the portrait. If the portrait insists that Harry needs to win the sword again why should Severus doubt it?

[guardians-song.livejournal.com]

Hm, really? I assumed the thing had to be re-won each time. Seems fairly clear if we assume logic from canon, and makes sense by the screwy "true Gryffindor" logic - once a true Gryffindor is not always a true Gryffindor. Didn't realize anti-Snapers tried to use that against Snape.

[hwyla.livejournal.com]

One of the main eye-openers for me about the Headmaster Portraits info is that it pretty much means that Albus' portrait would never be able to testify at his murder trial (if Snape had lived through the battle). Because he would not have been there to see/witness his death and since he was dead he couldn't tell his portrait. I'm not positive that the portrait could even testify about the planning as it wouldn't remember itself, only what it was told by Albus, therefore all of the portrait's testimony would have fallen under 'hearsay'.

In other words, if Snape lived to face trial as a DE for Albus' murder, then the only non-DE witness would be Harry. Snape would have been bound for Azkaban for sure. I can't see Harry testifying with any clarity. The prosecution would ask what he saw - he'd tell them and them attempt to say something about Snape as good guy and he'd be cut-off so all that got entered was the 'facts' of what he actually saw. That "Severus, please..." would bury him.

[oryx_leucoryx]

There is the memory of Albus ordering him to do it and the memory of Albus insisting that Severus can't back out. Recorded memories should be the equivalent of security camera recordings.