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Reader Comments: (Page 10)

I think those flash backs into Snape's past were significant, myself. What do you all think?

The Prophecy and the veil are going to be included in the 7th book, I think. We need to know more about them.

Who here also thinks aunt Petunia is keeping something from Harry? I do. Perhaps about Lily...perhaps she knows something about Harry's parents.

Posted by Joanna Crabtree from St Albans, S/E England on February 11, 2007 03:57 AM

I think that Aunt Petunia is like Neville: not quite a Squib, there is enough magic in her to be a witch, but not enough to perform any spells quite spectacularly. I think that maybe she went to Hogwarts for a semester, maybe a year, then decided to stay a Muggle.
Obviously the prophecy be included. without it there is no Harry Potter story line. I am only interested in the veil because my friends fleur, hermione, and i are obsessed with Padfoot and have concocted a brilliant theory about his "" and nonverbal spells..
One more thing. If Harry were walking around in the Pensieve, could he really go wherever he wanted to? or would he have to stay somewhat near Snivellus because thats what Snape remembers? Is anyone else totally confused by that?

Posted by Ashley from Missouri on February 12, 2007 4:25 PM

MacBerjoin, when Voldemort's body d his soul was not destroyed --it was released with nowhere to go because he had a horcrux (or many horcruxs) keeping his soul earth bound. a soul without a horcrux would normally "pass on". read Kevin's article about Magick moste Evile- what is (and isn't) a horcrux. he really explains it quite well. then check comments---it helps clarify.

Ashley, I don't think Neville is anywhere near being a Squib. He has increasing shown more ability throughout the books. he really came into his own in OoTP and HBP. I think we see a more capable Neville in DH.

As for Petunia, JKR has said she has never used magic and never (you can find her exact quote in the rumors section of her official website). she is either a muggle or a Squib.

Some of us have theorized that perhaps Lily and Petunia came from a witch family but many (or at least a couple) generations back--so she may be a Squib/muggle. I was actually thinking that if this were true, then maybe Dudley be the character who does magic in dire circumstances. Just a thought.

Posted by Heather from NJ on February 12, 2007 7:47 PM

McGonagall says somewhere that Neville's main problem has been confidence. That's a very reasonable comment for a teacher who may well see ability that just isn't showing on the surface. As he grows up and realises that he has good friends and as his very real talent for herbology is recognised this could easily translate into greater confidence in other areas. Harry's teaching seemed to help too, and finally, Neville has been using his father's wand. Probably not a good thing. I think Neville is going to do something quite spectacular in Dumbledore. Was it coincidence that Ollivander only disappeared AFTER selling Neville his new wand? Neville thought that he'd got the last one Ollivander sold. Food for thought. What was special about that wand? Did Fawkes give another feather, and Ollivander fled before Voldemort could come looking for information about linking wands? Or am I barking up a gum tree?

Posted by Elizabeth from Australia on February 13, 2007 04:33 AM

I personally think Neville could be a Squib if he got any less magical. Or maybe its just like with Merope: there is so much pressure on him that all the magical gets squashed out sometimes. Look at his grandmother! Look at Snape! they are definately not helping much with his magical-ness.

Posted by Ashley from Missouri on February 13, 2007 06:37 AM

Elizabeth, once again you amaze me. i didn't remember that Neville may have gotten Ollivander's last wand. you may have hit on something there--did Neville get a wand with a feather from Fawkes? maybe this is why Ollivaner is missing. I had origanlly thought that Ollivander was kidnapped by voldemort and his cronies so that they could understand the "wand connection" and perhaps try to "fix" that.

I think that fact that Nevillle shows any ability at all in herbology and in making an attempt to fight off the eaters proves that he is no Squib. Just because Snape or other external pressure may inhibit him, doesn't mean that he is not a wizard. He had been using his father's wand, after all, and i would expect that now that he has a wand that has "chosen him" he do better.

A Squib is useless with an wand entirely. Mrs. Figg says to Harry after the dementor attack in OoTP "Don't put your wand away, boy, don't I keep telling you I'm no use?" Neville is no Squib.

Posted by Heather from NJ on February 13, 2007 09:39 AM

Elizabeth,
I think you are onto something. I hope you are right because I hate to think Voldemort kidnapped Olivander. The only problem is I think Dumbledore says in the HBP or OoTP (I don't have my books on me) that Harry and Tom Riddle are the only two with with Fawke's feathers in their wands.
Neville seems to me a bit like Hermione in the sense that they always have secrets or unheard stories.

Posted by Asidi from Alaska on February 13, 2007 7:44 PM

I like very much the idea of Neville having Ravenclaw's wand, itself being a Horcrux. Harry would have to find Ollivander, just to learn that the object he looked for is in Hogwarts, and belongs to one of his friends.

Posted by herve from strasbourg on February 15, 2007 07:37 AM

Elizabeth, Neville got a cherry wand with a unicorn tailhair for a core. I agree with all these comments about Neville coming into his own in book 7. I'm looking forward to seeing his character develop more fully.

Posted by Patty from Quincy,Massachusetts on February 16, 2007 05:26 AM

First, I want to comment on the last part of this article, about why the memory was in the bottle, instead of in Dumbledores head, and the suspicion that for much of the book Dumbledore was not Dumbledore. You are not alone in this, and the person that I think of is Wormtail as a possible switch for Dumbledore, because of the hand thing. Dumbledore has the whithered hand, and Wormtail also has a whithered hand, Wormtail owes the life to Harry, and Wormtail was with Snape in Spinners End, and that has always bugged me, because we know there was a giant vat of polyjuice potion on scene during HBP. I have also seen a very well thought out supported theory that it was Slughorn that switched places with Dumbledore.

Secondly, I too see something big coming from Neville, because he was placed in Griffindor House. And because he has just as much reason to want Voldermort as Harry does. He lost his parents also, and the Prophecy could still mean him too I am thinking.

Posted by Karen from C Texas on February 17, 2007 8:31 PM

Maybe Dumbledore had the memory in the bottle as a precaution. If he d before Harry saw the memory it would have been lost forever. There might now be a library of memories for Harry to access which Dumbledore put aside for him, knowing his life was at risk in the fight against Voldemort.

Posted by Patty from Quincy Massachusetts on February 18, 2007 05:38 AM

Patty: I think Dumbledore put some memories in a bottle, because in book 7, we'll see a younger Dumbledore, and this younger one need some memories from the Dumbledore we know - who is . This ensure the connection from "book 6 Dumbledore" to "book 7 Dumbledore".

For instance, there be a memory about how Dumbledore helped Harry to come back three hours earlier to save Sirius, about what he told Harry, and so on.

We could wonder how Dumbledore exactly knows what to put inside the bottle. Certainly not all his memories, like in a hard disk copy. Just what he found in the bottle in book 7.

I don't know if I'm clear: time traveling is very complicated.

Posted by herve from strasbourg on February 20, 2007 01:48 AM

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