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Why are there any poor wizards? They can so easily get rich with muggle money and then exchange it.
Because of the Office for Prevention of Uunfair Advantage, Ministry for Magic. This office is in charge of ensuring that no magical powers will allow a wizard to use his/her skills to better a Muggle. And couple that with the stringent rules of magic in front of Muggles. Besides the fact, most (pure blood) wizards are too clueless about Muggle life to be able to do anything in it.
For a real in-depth analysis of this, read Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.
Is it true that Harry Potter is jewish?
Harry Potter is a fictional character (although he is real – inside our heads), and therefore there is no real answer to that question. It would be unfortunate if he was, because ????? ?? ???? would pretty much bring his adventures to a short end. He is certainly not religious, which is evident from many many places in the story. So many that I won’t bother bringing any.
You are probably talking about the actor, Daniel Radcliffe. Who has absolutely nothing to do with our thread, because we are absolutely discussing the Book Series, not the films, which are a terrible portrayal of a brilliant saga.
There is a new Shabbos app. I don’t know many details, but the manufacturers profess to have created an app that will allow the user to have full functioning phones without being ???? ???, even though they can keep on texting and phoning. There has been a great deal of hype from those calling to ban the app, and from those defending it.
I hope it’s a joke.
If a memory is a magical concept that can be altered, removed, planted and stored, then it is not confined to that which is directly in the subjects sight-line, rather an imprint of the subjects perception in that given time. It would seem the one visiting the memory cannot perceive more than the subject, for example a conversation the subject was too far away to hear or a room he never entered.
Altering, removing, planting and storing are all examples of various processes that can be performed on an already existing memory. The memory itself can only be what the subject remembers, however [see any dictionary definition of “memory”].
It is clear that the visitor is constrained to the boundaries of the subject.
“Harry looked anxiously behind him again. Snape remained close by, still buried in his exam questions – but this was Snape’s memory and Harry was sure that if Snape chose to wander off in a different direction once outside in the grounds, he, Harry, would not be able to follow James any further.”
However, the incredible detail of conversation between the 4 marauders, and especially after “Snape was on his feet again, and was stowing the OWL paper in his bag. As he left the shadows of the bushes and set off across the grass, Sirius and James stood up. Lupin and Wormtail remained sitting: Lupin still staring down at his book, though his eyes were not moving and a faint frown line had appeared between his eyebrows; Wormtail was looking from Sirius and James to Snape with a look of avid anticipation on his face.” – it seems that there is far too much detail for Harry to notice that Snape clearly couldn’t have known or seen then.
Pygmie Puff.
There was a blanket ban on all WWW products, so that isn’t counted.
Coffeeroom ages… I think (I can’t be bothered checking!) the same joke is on here somewhere back in the 34 pages about BUSH!
SIDI – Lol. I hope you were joking.
sirvoddmort – I would change that:
Don’t know
Don’t know
Don’t know
No.
Don’t know.
Will tell you in a few years, bezr”H!
Another point – not a question or inconsistency, but a seemingly illogical point: Quidditch is a great game. But 150 points for catching the snitch? Slightly out of proportion. It means that essentially, the game is being played by the two seekers [and 2 beaters slightly involved here], and the whole rest of the team are trying to make sure that they stay within a fifteen point margin. It seems irrational to make it that one snitch can counter 14 goals. If I would have made the game, I would have given the snitch a maximum of 50 points.
I always wondered: If a pensieve is a memory, surely only the things one sees can be remembered. The visitor should only be able to see things from the view of the original baal-hazikoron! How Harry – every time he visits – see things from different angles? See other details?
How many times did you guys read each book?
9 and three quarters.
And this is further proof that Dumbledore trumped Voldermort in virtually every category, including that one path Voldermort thought he alone had trod further than anyone.
This isn’t proof that Dumbledore trumped Voldemort in the one path Voldemort thought he trod further than anyone.
Hallows, not Horcruxes.
7)The entire Sirius storyline is dependent on him being the secret-keeper for james and Lilly, yet at shell cottage Bill is HIS OWN secret-keeper. Um, what? Why didn’t James just become his own secret keeper?
James held it as a ????? to give it to Sirius. Why does the father of the baby not carry the baby and put it on the ??? ?? ????? and be ?????
“It states in the Hogwarts letter that you can bring an owl, toad, or cat but Ron brings his rat, Scabbers”
??? ?????
???? ???? ???? ?????
Once you start with the dates, nothing works. Whether Christmas is a Sunday, Wednesday or Thursday does not fit with the dates. None of the dates are consistent. The only date mentioned really in the story is the Deathday of Nearly Headless Nick (and it could be some of the gravestones too).
And the seemingly obvious answer to that is that the spell did rebound, in a fashion, as it killed a part of Voldermort’s soul (apparently the Killing Curse can kill horcruxes). And that segment of soul was more than an invader, a parasite. It was a segment of Harry himself. As such, as the spell hit, it affected both of them. Therefore, while Harry was protected, he was not shielded, and therefore travelled to ‘King’s Cross’.
Forgive me for not understanding, but surely both Harry and the horcrux were protected by the charm? Neither the Horcrux, nor Voldemort himself, should have been able to die, seeing as they both should have been under the protection of Lily’s Charm, as Dumbledore reveals. (I would have said that the charm couldn’t work on Voldemort, who was so far removed from Love, but I am clearly wrong with that!) And whatever caused the spell to rebound should have done so here as well! (And there was no scar here, although in Godrics Hollow there was!)
“Rebbe…is it ok for me to go to the opera?”
“Why do u ask?” asks the Rav.
“I thought maybe there was an issue of Kol Isha?”
“Well”, said the Rav thoughtfully. “You aren’t oiver until the fat lady sings!”
“Does Voldemort know when a Horcrux is destroyed, sir? Can he feel it?” Harry asked, ignoring the portraits.
“A very interesting question, Harry. I believe not. I believe that Voldemort is now so immersed in evil, and these crucial parts of himself have been detached for so long, he does not feel as we do.”
So why does Voldemort (and possibly the childlike figure in “Kings Cross”) faint when Harry is killed?
When Harry gave himself up to be killed, his revival is attributed to the fact the Voldemort took Harry’s blood for his own rebirth:
How does this work? Lily’s charm was supposed to disappear when Harry came of age, which had happened already. Why should the charm last in Voldemorts body after that? “His body keeps her sacrifice alive”?! And why does Voldemort die, if he DOES have that protection? Why doesn’t he receive the option to come back down?
And why back in Godrics Hollow, the first attempt at Harry’s life, did he not go to “Kings Cross” and receive an option to move on? Surely it was the same charm that saved him both times?
you chose “Sir Voldemort, for some reason 😉 )
I believe that the name is an anagram of sorts. But none of you would understand it unless you knew the identity of the poster!
Who suggested that happy and serious would contradict each other? We were discussing sadness. Of course, during the 3 Weeks, we are ????? over the Churban, over our loss, and of what we want to get back. However, a person shouldn’t mourn over the state of his life, his matzav, because that would be a ????? in ?????. One with true ????? will understand that everything that happens to him is heavenly ordained, and that HKB”H is ??? ???? ????? ?? ??????.
“For heavens sake it’s not real” (Shopping613, quite a lot of posts back)
Well it’s in my head, so what makes you say it’s not real?
What does the oilom think?
Huuuuuuh?
Sam2 – I always understodd it that one who is truly maamin in HKB”H and understands that everything comes from Him and any matzav you are in comes from him, one wouldn’t be sad (perhaps similar to the Ibn Ezra on jealousy).
You raise a valid point, that since there is bechira, and my own choices can lead me to certain situations “without HKB”H causing it” (Enter Yediya/Bechira).
Perhaps one can say that it is because He is in charge, and will provide you what you need, and whatever Matzav you see yourself in, whether He caused it or you caused it, He can get you out, and will do what He decides is best for you.
See Chovois Halvovois Shaar Bitachon.
A nun walks into a bar.
The bartender looks up: “Where are the rest of the Aleph Beis?”
We should indeed. In fact, any feeling of discontentment is a sore lack of Emunah. However, there is no mitzvah to “Be Happy”.
showjoe – I am not just being pedantic, when asking advice, every tiny difference changes everything. Even when not asking advice, one cannot be ‘deep’ without a full understanding of the story.
Moving on.
“And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!” cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers’ smiles had become rather fixed.
Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.
“Everyone pick their favorite tune,” said Dumbledore, “and off we go!”
And the school bellowed:
“Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they’re bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we’ve forgot,
just do your best, we’ll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.”
Why does this minhag stop the year Harry comes to Hogwarts? Granted, Harry (and in effect, us) misses the sorting in Book 2, Book 3, and Book 6, but there is no mention of the song at any other time. And he was there at the END of the Opening feast for most of them.
I often find that when facing a deep question, although to you (or whoever is facing the difficulty at the moment) the moshol sums up your entire problem without revealing details, it is hopelessly incompetent when asking advice. If you truly want advice, and it very much sounds like you do, give the story. If you don’t feel comfortable here, go to somebody – parent, rabbi, therapist – who you do feel comfortable in front of. The real advice can only be with every detail of the story.
and to attempt to answer them one must drift into the realms of unsubstantiated inventions and wild conjecture…
From this point forth, we shall be leaving the firm foundation of fact and journeying together through the murky marshes of memory into thickets of wildest guesswork. — Albus Dumbledore.
[Further points to ponder – Is Magic a psychological, physical or spiritual power. Logic would dictate a blend of all three, or perhaps some sort of bonding power between those elements (bear in mind the need for one to visualise, understand a spell and preform the correct physical movements to elicit a physical or other reaction). Understanding this is the key to understanding many of these questions, particularly those involving magical theory and perception]
For a fascinating read and a great enjoyable book, which is revolving around the very issue you bring up here, read Harry Potter and the Method of Rationality, by Eliezer Yudkowsky (Jewish? No hint of it). Available free online [no links allowed, just google it!]
I believe I have recommended this to you in the past, in person.
??
[Further points to ponder – Is Magic a psychological, physical or spiritual power. Logic would dictate a blend of all three, or perhaps some sort of bonding power between those elements (bear in mind the need for one to visualise, understand a spell and preform the correct physical movements to elicit a physical or other reaction). Understanding this is the key to understanding many of these questions, particularly those involving magical theory and perception]
I always saw the spells and magic in general similar to kinyanim. A maaseh kinyan (spell) can lead to certain results, but in order to give the koichos to the kinyan, you need kavanna from the poiel of the kinyan. (Not working with the shittas that the kavanna is the main power in the kinyan, which is how I understand wandless magic like Dumbledore and Quirrell.)
Really? They were trying to act like muggles, and spells were forbidden on the campsite.
But if you read the chapter, you will see that many wizards were doing their best to simply get around the rules. In that queue were wizards who were stubbornly not conforming with the rules.
One possible answer is that the rules that apply to solid foods do not apply to liquids (assuming the above ‘creamy sauce’ is more cream than anything else, and thereby a drink, being a by-product of milk).
Been there done that. But I don’t like it; cream is harder than alcoholic beverages. Secondly, there shouldn’t be any rational explanation to differentiate between liquids to solids; all FOODS are the exception.
This would make more sense overall, seeing as how as a baby Harry thought they were simply pretty lights, and with him being in a seeming state of shock after Cedric’s death.
Seeming state of shock???? Not very good.
R’ Avraham Gurvitz shlit”a told me that this ideology comes from R’ Nachman miBresliv, and that the Nesivos in his tzavooh speaks very sharply against this idea. He said, (apparently like R’ Yaakov Kaminetsky), that a correct version would be Simcha Gedolah Liheyos BMitzvah Tamid.
It seems that the Machloikes is how to explain ???? ?? ?’ ?????, “Serve God with Happiness” – whether the happiness is a means of its own to serve God, or whether the happiness is the ideal way of serving God (i.e. Serve God happily)
“But how come the Ministry didn’t realize that Voldemort had done all that to Morfin?” Harry asked angrily. “He was underage at the time, wasn’t he? I thought they could detect underage magic!”
“Dobby,” growled Harry; this injustice still rankled. “So if you’re underage and you do magic inside an adult witch or wizard’s house, the Ministry won’t know?”
“They will certainly be unable to tell who performed the magic,” said Dumbledore, smiling slightly at the look of great indignation on Harrys face. “They rely on witch and wizard parents to enforce their offspring’s obedience while within their walls.”
“Well, that’s rubbish,” snapped Harry.
At those points in the series, it is highly probable that Voldermort was not much more than a consciousness, inhabiting the area around him, and indeed, nearby animals such as that eagle. And whilst he may have had some semblance of a body, it is unclear his mind was confined to it.
This would explain why the ‘outside view’ visions are only up until his resurrection.
I anticipated your response, but I don’t think it sufficiently answers the eagle scenario.
This wasn’t by chance, that the closest animal happened to be the eagle, which was ‘caught’ in Voldemort’s trap. Harry was looking from the point of view of the rider, as is stated clearly when the eagle rider steps off.
The most plausible explanation is that Moody/Crouch wished to continue at Hogwarts as Voldermort’s spy. If Harry disappeared under Moody’s watch, he would be quickly found out. But for Harry to mysteriously go missing in the maze (remember, the Cup would have returned by itself), the blame would not fall on Moody, especially with Krum under the Imperius Curse and ready to take the blame (admittedly, this is all conjecture, but it does appear to make sense).
To add, Voldemort always wanted a spy around Dumbledore. “One of our number has left us forever” makes it sound that he suspected Snape of treachery and of becoming a member of the Order. He would have wanted to replace Snape. However, he could have Imperiused anybody else to present Harry with a Portkey, or even sent it to him for Christmas!
And it’s worth remembering, Crouch was a certified madman.
But whatever Voldemort’s problems were, he wasn’t the certified madman Crouch was. He wouldn’t have let through such a plan.
I have had this question for a while, and pashtus it’s simply a plot device.
“Impaled on your own sword, Gilderoy?”
Its not a choice between a ‘maisah nesinah or a kavono leshachrer’. In both cases there is a ????, with the ??? coming to the hands of the elf. However, the House-Elf must, in Dobby’s words, ‘receive clothes’. The key lies in the word ‘receive’. The ???, in this case the elf, must be ???? clothes from his master. This ???? could either be through a ????? ??? ????, which does not require ????, or a ????? ?? ??? ????, which in order to be a ???? must be ?????. As in both cases the requirements of the elf ‘receiving’ clothes has been met, so there is no problem with the two separate forms. The ??? is ???? on ????? ?????, not ??? ?????.
Not much better. I like your play on the ‘recieve’, but it’s not great. Its not at ?????. If it is true that you need ????? to make it “recieve”, then that should be the makeit or break it. You are being ?????? ???? ?????.
Question 4 and 5 are both plot twists, not inconsistencies in the series.
Disappointing, yekke2. Simply writing these questions off as an inconsistency is not the same as addressing them. A ???? in basic ???? is as pertinent as any stirah. Despite this, as you can see, I broadly agree as far as Q4 is concerned. Although…
I wasn’t writing off the questions. I answered one. I don’t have an answer for the second.
Finally, there is the Prophecy. The prophecy dictated that it would be Harry who would finish off Voldemort, if anybody would ever. Dumbledore had to try arrange that to the best of his ability.
You of all people should know that a prophecy is open to interpretation. Perhaps Voldermort marked Harry out as his equal, which led to a simple ???? that one must end up killing the other, but that does not mean Harry, or indeed Dumbledore, had to take the prophecy in any particular way. So no, not ‘dictated’.
Of course. That is the entire point of my answer. Dumbledore, knowing that the Prophecy required Harry to finish Voldemort off, tried to facilitate that the Prophecy would cooperate with his plans by arranging them to suit him. Dumbledore chose this as the easiest interpretation open to manipulation.
He couldn’t just make anything a Portkey. He wanted ONLY HARRY in the graveyard. If he turned any random thing into a portkey, how could he know that no other student would touch it? Even in his office – there have been numerous times where students sneaked into teachers’ offices and touched/taken things they weren’t supposed to. So it had to be in the maze.
It would be a lot easier to slip him a portkey while Harry was in his office, and a lot more guaranteed than Harry winning the cup, which took a tremendous amount of effort, and wasn’t guaranteed.
Question 12) What happens when a secret keeper dies? Seems to be a contradiction whether the secret dies with him (Book 3) or whether all those to whom the secretkeeper divulged the secret to become keepers in their own rights?
Question 13) Can prefects dock points? Incosistency. In Book 5, Malfoy is informed that prefects cannot dock points, however in book 2 Percy docks points from Ron for being in Myrtls lavatory. (Although “cannot dock points from other prefects“, it is clear from that chapter that it was a chiddush that Malfoy could dock points at all. V’dok.
Question 11) If Parselmouth is a skill born with, it makes no sense that Ron could imitate it. The very fact that it is imitateeable means that anybody could learn the language.
Question 10) Why by the Quidditch World Cup do they have to queue up for water, it the Aguamenti charm could work just fine? (And it wasn’t just for Muggle freaks like Mr Weasley!!)
Question 9) Food cannot be conjured (One of Five Exceptions to Gamps Elemental Law of Transfiguration). Why then in Book 4 can Mrs. Weasley slammed a large copper saucepan down on the kitchen table and began to wave
her wand around inside it. A creamy sauce poured from the wand tip as she stirred.?
How does Ollivander manage to produce wine from Harry’s wand?
How does Dumbledore conjure gin (Pensieve Book 6) and mead (Dursleys home book 6)?
How does Fudge conjure whiskey (10 Downing Street, Book 6)?
How does Umbridge conjure different drinks when trying to interrogate Harry? (DADA Office, Book 5)
(there were other examples, but I can’t think of them offhand)
How does the Aguamenti charm work?
It could be that charms are different, and Aguamenti and Avis are charms, not transfiguration. Dumbledore and Fudge may have magically transported the alcohol somehow, not conjured it from scratch (Note “Madam Rosmerta’s finest”). Doesn’t answer everything, though.
Question 6) We now understand that Harry’s ability to see Voldemort in his dreams comes from the fact that a part of his soul belonged to Voldemort, and when Harry’s emotions were weak Voldemort “took over”, and therefore he saw things from Voldemort’s point of view. Why then did he see the dream in the opening chapter of #4 from behind, so that he couldn’t see the figure in the chair (Voldemort)? Why did he see another dream from the point of view of an airborne eagle? Surely it should have been from Voldemorts point of view?
Question 7) When the reverse spell effect kicked in, and the victims of Voldemorts curses came out, surely Harry’s mother should have come first, seeing as she was killed second?
Question 8) Why could Harry only see the Thestrals after seeing Cedric, he had already watched his parents die as a child? And on the homeward journey after seeing Cedric die he couldn’t see them either, they only arrived at the beginning of #5?
Question 4 and 5 are both plot twists, not inconsistencies in the series.
Dumbledore wanted as little people as possible to know about it, so as not to alert anybody to the fact that he was doing this. Perhaps as a tactician he was unwise to select Harry, but Dumbledore being the Dumbledore he was, Harry was his most obvious choice. Harry’s deepest desire and personal interest was to destroy Voldemort, and Dumbledore would have known that and respected that, and would have wanted to give him the chance. Dumbledore probably felt that he owed it to Harry to finally explain everything to him, and give him the ultimate chance to sort it out himself.
Harry was the one who would have given up his entire life to destroy Voldemort, and ultimately would be the one who had to give up his life to destroy himself, the Horcrux. It definitely would have saved a lot of mess to arrange him giving himself up rather than trying to trap Harry into falling to Voldemort. Harry coming to the decision himself, after having a full understanding on what Horcruxes were and Voldemorts psych, was the wisest choice.
Finally, there is the Prophecy. The prophecy dictated that it would be Harry who would finish off Voldemort, if anybody would ever. Dumbledore had to try arrange that to the best of his ability.