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Reader Comments: (Page 13)

Just because people are in different houses doesn't mean they can't get into a different house. In the 7th book, Harry is able to go in the Ravenclaw so why can't Padma come in to the Griffindor?

Posted by Lozza from England, Kent on July 31, 2007 01:38 AM

David's point is gets a reassurance in book 7. When Harry and his friends get caught by the Snatchers, they are asked which house they where in Hogwarts (p. 450 in the American version):
"'Slytherin' said Harry automatically
'Funny 'oe they all think we wants to 'ear that' jeered Scabior out of the shadows 'but none of 'em can tell us where the common room is'"
As it turns out, the Snatchers assume that people who spent seven years in Hogwarts won't be able to tell even where the Slytherin common room is unless they are from Slytherin house (Harry can tell, of course, because he sneaked in there in the fifth book). Harry visited Ravenclaw's common room for the first time in book 7, and only because of a real emergency, and he never visited Hufflepuff's common room. So it seems unlikely to find a non-Gryffindor in the common room under normal circumstances.

Posted by Yoel from Haifa, Israel on August 1, 2007 10:46 PM

I think it's pretty certain that in the films Padma Patil is in Gryffindor. Why they did this I don't know, but the filmmakers might have thought it would make it less confusing for people who haven't read the book, or that it would cut down on screentime if they didn't need to explain which twin is in which house.

To devotees of the book this may seem unacceptable, but I guess that the filmmakers want to make the films enjoyable for everyone, and not just those who read the book thoroughly, so they ignore what they perceive to be relatively minor details in the context of the whole story.

(This isn't to say I disagree with you, Dave - I think it's pretty slack, too - but I'm just looking at it from the filmmakers' perspective.)

Also, about the green vs. blue eyes, I have heard that originally cosmetic lenses were going to be used, but for some reason Radcliffe was unable to wear them. Maybe he's allergic to them or something.

Posted by Miriam on August 8, 2007 12:11 AM

your right! padma patil is not a gryffindor, and therefore shouldnt be in the common room. all that does is confuse people.

Posted by victoria from vancouver alaska on August 12, 2007 10:54 AM

does it really matter what she was doing there? in HBP Romilda Vane managed to get inside the Gryffindor Common Room and she's not a Gryffindor either.

Posted by MR DUCK from The Shrieking Shack on August 13, 2007 01:15 AM

I don't think it's really a big deal. it's not important to the story and if the director wanted to add his own creativity to the movie that's fine with me. the movies are supposed to be able to stand alone anyways so I don't think it change a lot for the people who only see the movies and for people who do read the books there's a simple explanation...

she was in the common room for the purposes of the movie because it would have been too difficult to show the twins in different houses and explain how Harry and Ron end up going with them.

Posted by Tomgrl from hogsmeade on August 17, 2007 7:18 PM

In COS, when Harry hears the parseltounge, why can't his friends hear it? Everyone should hear it, just not understand it. When Harry spoke parseltounge in the dueling club, everyone HEARD him, just had no idea what he was saying.

Posted by elantheconqueror from Birmingham, Alabama on August 21, 2007 10:03 AM

elantheconqueror:

If you heard someone whispering, and you could understand him or her, would it stand out more than if someone was hissing nonsense? It's not that loud, and since nobody but Harry could understand it, nobody really noticed it, whereas Harry heard someone whispering and didn't know it was in Parseltongue, so it stood out.

Posted by C.J. from Utah on August 21, 2007 5:01 PM

Well, in the seventh book Harry goes in the Ravenclaw common room, so it might not be a strict rule.

Posted by Stevie from PA on August 25, 2007 11:07 AM

Stevie:

When Harry went in the Ravenclaw common room, he was already in danger of Azkaban, so if there was a rule, I don't think it would matter if he broke it.

And in SS, McGonagall says that a House is like a family. So isn't a House's common room like their home, their own "turf"? There probably is a very strict rule about it, and it is likely that if Harry and Ron had been caught in the Slytherin common room in CoS, they would have been in a lot of trouble, and not just for stealing from Snape and being in the girl's bathroom, but also for breaking into another House's common room.

Posted by C.J. from Utah on August 27, 2007 6:41 PM

C.J:
Good point! But don't you visit people outside of your family? I would think as long as they were invited then they would be able to go in a common room that was not their own.

Posted by Stevie from PA on August 28, 2007 5:24 PM

There are defintely differences between the books and the movies, and the books are always better. It has been pointed out that in PoA Sirius was able to get into the Gryiffindor common room, possibly because he was in that house and possibly because an alternate guard (Sir Cadogan) was on duty. But did you notice that in the movie, the fat lady was on duty - it was she who Dumbledore questioned about the break in.
Also, another upsetting difference in the book v. movie debate comes in OotP. The character of Marietta is completely cut, in order to streamline the movie I'm sure, however, Cho gets blamed for ratting out the DA to Umbridge. While I understand the cutting of Marietta, I still feel like that was unfair to Cho. Also, Snape remarks that Umbridge used the last of the veritaserum on questioning Cho (in the movie) but in the book, veritaserum was only attempted with Harry.

Posted by momr from long island ny on August 29, 2007 5:32 PM

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