More HP Theories

[piasharn]

Since some people expressed interest in my previous entry on the subject, I decided to post some more ideas about books six and seven. Also, the recent Q&A session with JKR at the Edinburg Book Festival made me feel as though I'm on the right track, which is very comforting.

I'll start with some musing on the identity of the

First off, JKR has explicitly said several times that the HBP is neither Harry nor Voldemort, so we can eliminate those two right off the bat. We can also exclude all female characters, unless JKR plans to do an Utena and make the Prince a girl. Ron, Neville, Draco and other pure blood wizards are similarily out of the running, as are all muggle borns.

We actually don't get much information on bloodlines, but there are a few characters that we know are halfbloods. Dean Thomas (info is on JKR's website), Seamus Finnegan (stated in book one) and Remus Lupin (revealed in the World Book Day chat) are all halfbloods. I've seen a lot of people that are theorizing about Lupin at the moment, but I don't think it's him.

See, JKR has told us that the title and some info in book six almost went into CoS. Although HBP is not a continuation of CoS, there are still some relevant themes within that novel. At one point, she told us to think about what Harry learned in CoS in order to figure out where HBP would be heading.

There's a lot of things that Harry learned in CoS. Many little things... Like Ginny's crush on him. Or that Lockhart should not be allowed around Cornish Pixies. We learned about Mandrakes and what they're used for. But these are all fairly minor points, and I think it's safe to pass them by. If there's a clue here, it's going to be connected to the larger plot of the series.

One theme that really stands out in CoS is the pure blood vs. muggle born attitude. We learned that there are quite a few bigoted wizards out there who think that they are superior because of their breeding. We learned that some wizards are willing to go to extreme lengths to purify the wizarding world.

We learned that this attitude goes all the way back to the very founding of Hogwarts. While Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw were willing to take all magical students, irregardless of their birth, Salazar Slytherin wanted to be much more selective. He felt that only pure bloods should be allowed in.

Salazar Slytherin has one remaining descendant. A man who started out life as Tom Riddle and would later become the most feared wizard in history. A man who swore that he would finish Slytherin's plan to purify the wizarding race.

But what about the other founders? In particular, I can't help but think of the person who was once Slytherin's closest friend, before their beliefs drove a permanent wedge between them. I am, of course, referring to Godric Gryffindor. I think that there is a good chance that he is the HBP mentioned.

To add to this, the "Do Not Disturb" sign came off of the locked door on JKR's website yesterday. I managed to get back there and nabbed a screenshot of the clue she left. It was an image of a scrap of paper with the following lines written on it...

"[He] looked rather like an old lion. There were streaks of grey in his mane of tawny hair and his bushy eyebrows; he had keen yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles and a certain rangy, loping grace even though he walked with a slight limp."

The connection between the founders and the animals they chose to symbolize their houses does not appear to be coincidental. Slytherin picked the snake because of his parselmouth ability. It would make sense for the other founders to also choose animals that suited them. Given that Gryffindor's animal is a lion, I think that there is a very good chance that the above description refers to him.

I'm also more convinced that Harry is related to Gryffindor. Isn't it interesting that his parents went into hiding in a place called Godric's Hollow? Besides, she refused to answer the question outright in the World Book Day chat, which makes me feel as though we're on to something with that idea.

And, some bits and pieces concerning the barman at the Hog's Head and other

While I was reading OotP, this line jumped out at me:

"The barman sidled towards them out of a backroom. He was a grumpy-looking old man with a great deal of long grey hair and a beard. He was tall and thin and looked vaguely familiar to Harry."

I'm getting the hang of JKR's method of dropping hints, and that last line is the equivilent of a large, flashing sign that reads, "CLUE!" I realized that right away, so I paused while I tried to think about who it could be.

Old... tall... thin... long hair... beard... Y'know, that sounds a bit like Albus Dumbledore, actually. Of course, it can't be Dumbledore, but doesn't he have a brother named Aberforth? And Harry has seen a picture of Aberforth; he was in the group photo of the original Order that Moody showed him.

Also, Dumbledore mentioned in PS/SS that Aberforth had gotten in trouble for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat, and there was this line in OotP...

"The Hog's Head bar comprised one small, dingy and very dirty room that smelled strongly of something that might have been goats."

I don't think I want to know the story behind the goats, but it seems like there is a good chance that the barman is Aberforth. A while ago, I was poking around on the HP Lexicon and found that they too had that theory, so I know I'm not alone. Also, this question came up at the Edinburg Book Festival the other day.

Audience Member: "Why is the barman of the Hog’s Head vaguely familiar to Harry? Is he Dumbledore’s brother?"

JKR: "Ooh - you are getting good. Why do you think that it is Aberforth?"

Audience Member: "Various clues. He smells of goats and he looks a bit like Dumbledore."

JKR: "I was quite proud of that clue. That is all that I am going to say." [Laughter] "Well yes, obviously. I like the goat clue - I sniggered to myself about that one."

She didn't outright confirm it, but, more importantly, she didn't deny it. As I pointed out above, when she darts around the question like that, it usually means that someone is on the right track. If they're not (like the theories that Harry is related to either Voldemort or Dumbledore), she'll come right out and tell us, "No."

And when you get right down to it, having an Order member as the barman of a rather disreputable location is very handy. Think about it... The village is the only all-wizarding one in Brittain, so you get a lot of non-humans and dark creatures like hags and goblins, some of which have been known to support Voldemort. You also get a lot of dark wizards, theives, smugglers and the like in the Hog's Head, due to it's reputation and cheapness. Imagine what the barman could overhear there.

Some other questions (and answers) from the Book Festival that I need to ponder over...

Audience Member: "Is Aunt Petunia a Squib?"

JKR: "Good question. No, she is not, but -" [Laughter] "No, she is not a Squib. She is a Muggle, but -" [Laughter] "You will have to read the other books. You might have got the impression that there is a little bit more to Aunt Petunia than meets the eye, and you will find out what it is. She is not a squib, although that is a very good guess. Oh, I am giving a lot away here. I am being shockingly indiscreet."

Well, she obviously can't be a squib, because squibs have to have magical parents, and Lily and Petunia's parents were muggles. It is interesting, though, that one daughter ended up with magical abilities and the other didn't. I've often wondered if Petunia was jealous of Lily because of that.

Audience Member: "Does Harry have a godmother? If so, will she make an appearance in future books?"

JKR: "No, he doesn’t. I have thought this through. If Sirius had married - Sirius was too busy being a big rebel to get married. When Harry was born, it was at the very height of Voldemort fever last time so his christening was a very hurried, quiet affair with just Sirius, just the best friend. At that point it looked as if the Potters would have to go into hiding so obviously they could not do the big christening thing and invite lots of people. Sirius is the only one, unfortunately. I have got to be careful what I say there, haven’t I?"

That last bit, incidentally, is referring to the fact that some audience members had not read OotP yet, so she didn't want to reveal that Sirius died.

There really isn't much to this, I just thought that the "...Sirius was too busy being a big rebel to get married." line was cute. It has started squabbles amoung the Remus/Sirius shippers, though. Some people feel as though this quote indicates that Sirius is straight, and thus wouldn't be involved with Remus. Others claim that gay marriage could be legal in the wizarding world, or that Sirius could be bi, so it doesn't prove anything.

(While I am fond of R/S, I'd put my money on the "Just Friends" option. I think it would be nice if JKR put a same-sex couple into the books, and I think that R/S has the best chance of being canon out of all the slash pairings. Still, it's probably nothing more than wishful thinking.)

Finally, JKR gave two questions which she has never been asked, but feel that she should have been asked...

"The first question that I have never been asked - it has probably been asked in a chatroom but no one has ever asked me is, "Why didn’t Voldemort die?" Not, "Why did Harry live?" but, "Why didn’t Voldemort die?" The killing curse rebounded, so he should have died. Why didn’t he? At the end of Goblet of Fire he says that one or more of the steps that he took enabled him to survive. You should be wondering what he did to make sure that he did not die - I will put it that way. I don’t think that it is guessable. It may be - someone could guess it - but you should be asking yourself that question, particularly now that you know about the prophesy. I’d better stop there or I will really incriminate myself."

I did notice that back in GoF, but let it slide for the moment. After all, we know that Voldemort's quest is to defy death, and that he's willing to go to any length to achieve that goal. I figured that we would find out what steps he took to prevent his death eventually, so I moved on.

Now that she brings it up, though... Well, I've suddenly realized that Harry is going to have to get past that if he wants to kill Voldemort. If having Avada Kedavra backfire on him wasn't enough, how is he going to do it? Can he do it without killing himself?

I think I need to go analyze that prophesy a bit more...

"The other question that I am surprised no one has asked me since Phoenix came out - I thought that people would is why Dumbledore did not kill or try to kill Voldemort in the scene in the ministry. I know that I am giving a lot away to people who have not read the book. Although Dumbledore gives a kind of reason to Voldemort, it is not the real reason.... Dumbledore knows something slightly more profound than that. If you want to wonder about anything, I would advise you to concentrate on those two questions. That might take you a little bit further."

Again, I wondered about that at the time, but after finding out about the prophecy, I wondered if Dumbledore didn't try because he knew that only Harry has the ability to kill Voldemort.

I think... I think that there's something Harry needs to learn or do that will enable him to kill Voldemort. I think that one reason Dumbledore has been a bit lenient with allowing Harry to tackle Voldemort (or his memory) in the first couple of books is because he wanted to prepare Harry for the future. And then there was that line in GoF...

"He said my blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's" Harry told Dumbledore. "He said the protection my - my mother left in me - he'd have it too. And he was right - he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face."

For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes. But next second, Harry was sure he had imagined it, for when Dumbledore had returned to his seat behinf the desk, he looked as old and weary as Harry had ever seen him."

Voldemort passed some of his powers on to Harry when he tried to kill him as a baby. Now some of Harry's powers have been transferred to Voldemort. This is significant, although I'm not quite sure why. Barriers can both keep one thing out and keep another in. Perhaps the protection Lily left Harry would have hindered him in some way.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Lily's protection was born of love, an emotion that Voldemort has never known, and one that he cannot stand. Rather than strengthening him, it may just weaken him.

All right, enough rambling.

As a side note, I've noticed, as I'm sure others have, that many of my recent entries have been about the HP series. I'm not doing this intentionally. There isn't much going on in my life at the moment apart from school, and I doubt anyone want to read an entry about the urinary system and other parts of the body. (Incidentally, did you know that a high protein diet makes your urine more acidic, while a vegetarian diet makes it more alkaline? See, I told you; it's pretty boring.)

I just wanted to mention that, yes, I do have a life outside of Harry Potter. However, I also want to write entries that are at least somewhat interesting to read. And I figured that more people would be interested in this than me moaning about my boring life.

Comments

[abazoe.livejournal.com]

Hi,
You are on my friends friends list, which occasionally (when I'm bored or have nothing to do) I read. But this caught my eye, and I wanted to say wonderful! Your analysis seems spot on, and I really appreciate reading what someone else has to say about things that I can't figure out. So, as a random passer-by -- thanks!

*silliness*

[sudaki.livejournal.com]

HAGRID FOR HALF BLOOD PRINCE! HAGRID FOR HALF BLOOD PRINCE!