Pottermore: GOF chapters 1-20
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deathtocapslockThe Pottermore wiki has info for the first half of GOF at this point. There is surprisingly little material, compared to the earlier books. Maybe Rowling is getting tired of making things up on the spot.
Chapter 4 has a blurb about The Floo Network. Nothing new, but there's a story about how in 1855 a witch named Violet Tillyman entered the fireplace at her home while sobbing (following a fight with her husband). As a result instead of going to 'Mum's house' she ended up at the residence of Myron Otherhaus, with whom she stayed for 20 years and had 7 children. Violet only resurfaced after her husband's death. For more details follow the link. I suppose in 20 years she never ran across her husband in Diagon Alley. The lesson is, if you are interested in meeting random distressed magical folks, change your last name to something that rhymes with 'house'.
Chapter 6 tells us about Portkeys. Nothiing we didn't know. So 200 Portkeys around Britain covered all locations where wizards lived? I wonder how many Portkeys were needed for places like London or Hogsmeade alone.
We are not how hard is it to avert Ministry authorization of creating a Portkey (as Dumbledore does a few times in canon).
Chapter 7 informs us of the significance of colors, especially of clothing. As one might suspect, the color green has sinister connotations related to Dark magic and should not be worn at weddings. Makes one wonder what Molly was thinking with giving Harry green sweaters and green dress robes, surely avoiding association with Dark Magic is more important than something that brings out the color of his eyes? Also, doesn't Minerva sometimes wear green?
In chapter 15 we learn about Beauxbatons Academy of Magic
Not much new about this school. It is located in a chateau surrounded by formal gardens and lawns in the Pyrenees. Students come from France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg. (Possibly also a small number from other countries. I'm wondering about where Italian and Swiss wizards go. Rowling could have had a school for students from countries speaking Romance languages and have the students from countries speaking Germanic languages attend another school, but she did not follow such a division.) The Flamels are alumni and may have contributed to the school's funding with their alchemically-derived gold.
Other alumni include Vincent Duc de Trefle-Picques, who escaped the Terror by creating an illusion that he was already decapitated (and how believable was this when he walked around?), Luc Millefeuille, the infamous pastry-maker and Muggle-poisoner (see, Muggle-murderers aren't limited to DEs). Fleur Delacour was awarded medals for bravery from both the French and British Ministries of Magic - for her participation in the Battle of Hogwarts. (Not that we know what she did there.) Olympe Maxime is still headmistress.
Beauxbatons had 62 wins in the Triwizard tournament to Hogwarts 63 (was this tidbit supposed to compensate for Fleur's poor performance in the second task in GOF?)
We also learn about Durmstrang
The new details:
- There are apparently 11 wizarding schools, worldwide.
- Rowling claims that this school once had the darkest reputation, but admits it wasn't actually merited. In all its centuries of existence (at least 7, since that's how old the Triwizard Tournament is) it only had 2 headmasters who were 'wizards of dubious allegiance or nefarious intent' (how do they compare with Twinkles?), and the second of these was Igor Karkaroff.
- Durmstrang was founded by the great Bulgarian witch Nerida Vulchanova
- After her mysterious death, the headship was taken by Harfang Munter. He emphasized dueling and martial magic, and these remain central to the school's curriculum. (So - just the school for Harry?)
- Karkaroff was an unprincipled and egotistical man who encouraged a culture of fear and intimidation among the students, and many parents withdrew their children from Durmstrang while he was in charge. (Well, while under Dumbles' we see a culture of fear and intimidation - aka bullying - that ran for two generations, but we don't know of parents withdrawing their children. Then again, if children whose names Harry doesn't remember were withdrawn, how could we ever find out? What happened to Sally-Anne Perks? The mysterious disappearing Gryffindor girls? One might argue that up to 12 of Harry's classmates were withdrawn by 6th year.)
- Gellert Grindelwald was the most notorious Durmstrang former student.
- The school is probably located in the far north, but visitors are Obliviated of details of their travel (and that would include all members of Triwizard Tournament delegations during those times the tournament was hosted at Durmstrang).
- The famous Durmstrang ship is apparently routinely moored in a mountain lake behind the school.
Oh Dear Maths: The Tournament was established in the late 13th century and held every 5 years. There was a notorious instance in 1792 when the three headmasters were injured by a cockatrice. Assuming that until then the tournament was being held on schedule then the first one was probably held in 1292, and the 1792 was the 101st Tournament. I suppose Harry's victory counts as Hogwarts' 63rd, which means that the Tournament was held at least 124 times before that - 23 of them after the cockatrice incident. 1792 + 5*23 = 1907. This really leaves very little time for disbanding the tournament and attempting to restart it, even if we assume no wins by Durmstrang whatsoever. (Another way of looking at it: (1995 - 1292)/5 = 140.6 Knowing the tournament was held at least 125 times, no more than 15 opportunities to hold it were skipped even if we assume no Durmstrang wins.) It looks as though the Tournament was discontinued in the days of Headmaster Black (or perhaps just before his appointment as Headmaster), though there may have been a few later instances. As Hagrid says in chapter 16, "Never thought I'd live ter see the Triwizard Tournament played again!" Given the new information about the number of times it was played, there is indeed a good chance Hagrid did see it being played before, in one of the renewal attempts.
Another question: If Durmstrang has such a strong emphasis on combat spells, how come they hardly ever won the Tournament? Is that why Igor felt such pressure to give Viktor an advantage?
In chapter 18 we are told about The daily Prophet. No new information, but examples of Rowling's attitude: Wizardkind tends not to require alternative political flavours in its news coverage (which is not to say, however, that the Prophet does not have a political agenda). As a small, outsider and occasionally beleaguered community, wizards are, by and large, interested in the same kinds of stories: the Quidditch League results, whether anyone is in trouble for infractions of the International Statute of Secrecy, what irritating legislation the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office has come up with now, and when the next Celestina Warbeck/Weird Sisters concert will take place.
Chapter 4 has a blurb about The Floo Network. Nothing new, but there's a story about how in 1855 a witch named Violet Tillyman entered the fireplace at her home while sobbing (following a fight with her husband). As a result instead of going to 'Mum's house' she ended up at the residence of Myron Otherhaus, with whom she stayed for 20 years and had 7 children. Violet only resurfaced after her husband's death. For more details follow the link. I suppose in 20 years she never ran across her husband in Diagon Alley. The lesson is, if you are interested in meeting random distressed magical folks, change your last name to something that rhymes with 'house'.
Chapter 6 tells us about Portkeys. Nothiing we didn't know. So 200 Portkeys around Britain covered all locations where wizards lived? I wonder how many Portkeys were needed for places like London or Hogsmeade alone.
We are not how hard is it to avert Ministry authorization of creating a Portkey (as Dumbledore does a few times in canon).
Chapter 7 informs us of the significance of colors, especially of clothing. As one might suspect, the color green has sinister connotations related to Dark magic and should not be worn at weddings. Makes one wonder what Molly was thinking with giving Harry green sweaters and green dress robes, surely avoiding association with Dark Magic is more important than something that brings out the color of his eyes? Also, doesn't Minerva sometimes wear green?
In chapter 15 we learn about Beauxbatons Academy of Magic
Not much new about this school. It is located in a chateau surrounded by formal gardens and lawns in the Pyrenees. Students come from France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg. (Possibly also a small number from other countries. I'm wondering about where Italian and Swiss wizards go. Rowling could have had a school for students from countries speaking Romance languages and have the students from countries speaking Germanic languages attend another school, but she did not follow such a division.) The Flamels are alumni and may have contributed to the school's funding with their alchemically-derived gold.
Other alumni include Vincent Duc de Trefle-Picques, who escaped the Terror by creating an illusion that he was already decapitated (and how believable was this when he walked around?), Luc Millefeuille, the infamous pastry-maker and Muggle-poisoner (see, Muggle-murderers aren't limited to DEs). Fleur Delacour was awarded medals for bravery from both the French and British Ministries of Magic - for her participation in the Battle of Hogwarts. (Not that we know what she did there.) Olympe Maxime is still headmistress.
Beauxbatons had 62 wins in the Triwizard tournament to Hogwarts 63 (was this tidbit supposed to compensate for Fleur's poor performance in the second task in GOF?)
We also learn about Durmstrang
The new details:
- There are apparently 11 wizarding schools, worldwide.
- Rowling claims that this school once had the darkest reputation, but admits it wasn't actually merited. In all its centuries of existence (at least 7, since that's how old the Triwizard Tournament is) it only had 2 headmasters who were 'wizards of dubious allegiance or nefarious intent' (how do they compare with Twinkles?), and the second of these was Igor Karkaroff.
- Durmstrang was founded by the great Bulgarian witch Nerida Vulchanova
- After her mysterious death, the headship was taken by Harfang Munter. He emphasized dueling and martial magic, and these remain central to the school's curriculum. (So - just the school for Harry?)
- Karkaroff was an unprincipled and egotistical man who encouraged a culture of fear and intimidation among the students, and many parents withdrew their children from Durmstrang while he was in charge. (Well, while under Dumbles' we see a culture of fear and intimidation - aka bullying - that ran for two generations, but we don't know of parents withdrawing their children. Then again, if children whose names Harry doesn't remember were withdrawn, how could we ever find out? What happened to Sally-Anne Perks? The mysterious disappearing Gryffindor girls? One might argue that up to 12 of Harry's classmates were withdrawn by 6th year.)
- Gellert Grindelwald was the most notorious Durmstrang former student.
- The school is probably located in the far north, but visitors are Obliviated of details of their travel (and that would include all members of Triwizard Tournament delegations during those times the tournament was hosted at Durmstrang).
- The famous Durmstrang ship is apparently routinely moored in a mountain lake behind the school.
Oh Dear Maths: The Tournament was established in the late 13th century and held every 5 years. There was a notorious instance in 1792 when the three headmasters were injured by a cockatrice. Assuming that until then the tournament was being held on schedule then the first one was probably held in 1292, and the 1792 was the 101st Tournament. I suppose Harry's victory counts as Hogwarts' 63rd, which means that the Tournament was held at least 124 times before that - 23 of them after the cockatrice incident. 1792 + 5*23 = 1907. This really leaves very little time for disbanding the tournament and attempting to restart it, even if we assume no wins by Durmstrang whatsoever. (Another way of looking at it: (1995 - 1292)/5 = 140.6 Knowing the tournament was held at least 125 times, no more than 15 opportunities to hold it were skipped even if we assume no Durmstrang wins.) It looks as though the Tournament was discontinued in the days of Headmaster Black (or perhaps just before his appointment as Headmaster), though there may have been a few later instances. As Hagrid says in chapter 16, "Never thought I'd live ter see the Triwizard Tournament played again!" Given the new information about the number of times it was played, there is indeed a good chance Hagrid did see it being played before, in one of the renewal attempts.
Another question: If Durmstrang has such a strong emphasis on combat spells, how come they hardly ever won the Tournament? Is that why Igor felt such pressure to give Viktor an advantage?
In chapter 18 we are told about The daily Prophet. No new information, but examples of Rowling's attitude: Wizardkind tends not to require alternative political flavours in its news coverage (which is not to say, however, that the Prophet does not have a political agenda). As a small, outsider and occasionally beleaguered community, wizards are, by and large, interested in the same kinds of stories: the Quidditch League results, whether anyone is in trouble for infractions of the International Statute of Secrecy, what irritating legislation the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office has come up with now, and when the next Celestina Warbeck/Weird Sisters concert will take place.
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Date: 2014-01-22 05:32 pm (UTC)Hm, if Violet and Myron were together for 20 years and in that time had seven children, then some of them must have gone to Hogwarts before Albert died. So,how it's possible nobody figured out that Violet was alive and well?
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Date: 2014-01-22 08:44 pm (UTC)Hm, if Violet and Myron were together for 20 years and in that time had seven children, then some of them must have gone to Hogwarts before Albert died. So, how is it possible nobody figured out that Violet was alive and well?
Maybe they gave the children Myron's last name, so no one had reason to make the connection.
The legalities of the whole story are pretty muddled; it would have been interesting to know what they were in the mid-nineteenth century when this happened and what has changed in current times. (The attitudes, unfortunately, still seem much the same.)