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Why did Dumbledore have James' cloak?

by David Haber

On a new post on her official web site, J.K. Rowling admitted she made a mistake in New York when she was asked, what question have you never been asked that you ought to have been asked? She now says the question should have been, Why did Dumbledore have James' invisibility cloak at the time of James' death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?

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Reader Comments: (Page 26)

Dumbledore had James' cloak for the same reason that the note left with baby Harry and the Howler sent after dementors attacked dudley and harry, were not the only correspondences dumbledore had with petunia. The same way petunia grudgingly takes harry in, i think she also helped her sister and james when they were in hiding (unknown to vernon)

If its so, it may mean that petunia had been to godric's hollow and so, may have information (horcrux, RAB, etc) that help harry in his quest.

I considered that she might have actually been at Godric's hollow when voldemort ed lily and james, but her description in sorceror's stone makes this unlikely. However, her reaction to vernon, when he asked if she'd heard from her sister, fits perfectly, if she'd been hiding that she's been secretly visiting them.

This theory would also explain Jo's assertion that, while petunia is not a witch or a squib, There is more to her than meets the eye.

Posted by leah from ny on December 5, 2006 02:04 AM

VX...
James being DD is kind of hard to work out since they were both in the order togerther..
They were both in that picture of the Order that Moody showed Harry right?
I fall back on my old statement...
NO ONE could pretend to be DD and fool McGonagal....

Posted by Kevin from Wisconsin on December 5, 2006 09:38 AM

Since the "someone impersonating Dumbledore" thing came up again, I'd like to throw this out there. This has been bothering me since I first read it. There is a phrase that DD says...I think it is when he and Harry are out after the horcrux...yep, just found it...they are at the lake in the cave and DD has just found the invisible chain that holds the boat..."Oho," said Dumbledore happily...(pg.563 amer.hardcover)
Have you ever heard DD say that? Slughorn says that many times but never Dumbledore....What's up with that?

Posted by tracy on December 5, 2006 4:52 PM

Tracy,
before HBP we don't really see DD outside of his roll as Headmaster...
could be, Sluggy started saying,"Oho!", because he picked it up from DD..
some one impersonating DD could fool Harry....
but as I've said before, and still stand by, no one but NO ONE could fool McGonagal...

Posted by Kevin from Wisconsin on December 6, 2006 10:02 AM

DD is James? Impossible. James is . We saw his shadow come out from LV's wand in the graveyard during Priori Incantatem. Which incidentally also s a possibility of him having a Horcrux. I don't think anyone has ever impersonated DD.

I think Snape does love Lily. That does tend to explain why he hated James so much. He was definitely not jealous coz of James' Quidditch talent. It seems too trivial for that much of hatred. But why did Snape call Lily a 'filthy little Mudblood'?

Posted by Aditi from Nagpur, India on December 6, 2006 11:15 PM

Aditi
You ask why did Snape call Lily a MUDBLOOD? I am not a Professor in psychology, but it is so obvious! He was humiliated by James and Sirius and this in front of other students and the GIRL he most certainly loved/admired.

When we are cornered like Snape was, we have the tendency to strike out just like Snape did. In a moment like that, the last thing you want is that the person you love FEELS sorry for you!

Who knows, maybe Sirius guessed Snape�s secret and that was the REASON he wanted to lure him into the Shreiking Shack. It would make sense, does it not; we shouldn�t forget James was like a brother to him!

Posted by Mistral from Switzerland on December 7, 2006 04:48 AM

After about a week, I have finally read all 26 pages of comments! This is a really great site!

What do you think of the theory that Nagini is meant to be a temporary Horcrux until LV achieves Harry's ? A snake may not be a good permanent Horcrux, but as DD says to Harry - he believed LV was one Horcrux short when the went to the Potter's house that night. LV would never consider that he wouldn't succeed in ing Harry, so he might consider a temporary resting place for the 6th piece of soul, especially one that is useful to him?

Also, we have been discussing Harry being a Horcrux, and the way Slughorn describes it (p. 499 am ed "ing rips the soul apart") regardless of whether someone wants to make a Horcrux - it just happens that if that person wants to he can make one from the torn part of the soul. Which brings me to Harry - LV has chosen to make 6 Horcruxes because 7 is the most magical number, but he has ed more than 6 times, so his soul must be in tiny shreds by now. What if during the AK curse a small bit of his soul was transferred to Harry to help Harry fufill the prophecy of "marking him as his equal"? This would continue to give Harry insight to LV's mind and feelings and would explain a lot of the connection. I am hoping Harry can eject it with love as was mentioned earlier.

One other little comment - a couple of times in the books it is mentioned that DD knows how to do "dark" magic but chooses not to use it. I think McGonnagal says it. Not that I think DD made a Horcrux, although he could have after defeating Grindewald, but why would JKR mention this if not in connection with Horcruxes?

The Cloak - definitely a family heirloom, probably gives Harry more protection than just a normal invisibility cloak, especially the way DD always likes protecting Harry with it, but I can't find enough clues to lead to anything else. I have liked reading all of the theories. I agree that James left it with DD for safekeeping along with the Gringott's key, because he no longer felt safe. He might have hoped it was for Harry, or for Lily, or for Sirius if they were all found and ed by LV, but I don't think it is a Horcrux, because James is . It probably won't show its magical powers until needed like the room of requirement or the hat producing the sword. I hope we get Book 7 by this time next year!

Posted by Raow from Petaluma, CA on December 7, 2006 11:07 PM

Mistral, I don't think that Snape called Lily a mudblood because he was humiliated infront of her. If that was the case, he would have screamed at her telling her I don't need your help or told her to go away. Mudblood is "the" worst thing you can call someone. I don't think you'd use something "derogatory" for someone you love or admire even if you are humiliated infront of them.

Posted by Aditi from Nagpur, India on December 8, 2006 03:24 AM

Aditi
Most of the time I value your opinion but on the subject of Snape calling Lily a Mudblood, I disagree.

Why certainly, calling your loved one by a foul name like that, is for a civilized person not comprehensible. Don�t forget young Snape had an abusive father! Remember his overreaction when he pulled Harry out of the Pensieve. Why did he almost curse Harry after that incident? Because Harry watched him being �made fun of� by James and Sirius? Oh no, that should have been a happy moment for Snape, Harry seeing his father in such a bad light!

I stick to it and absolutely insist it was because he called Harry�s mother a MUDBLOOD!
Maybe I have to eat my own words;-) but this is the way it makes sense to me.
Personally I would never call my loved ones by names like that. And we shouldn't forget that at that time, Voldemort was still in power!

Posted by Mistral from Switzerland on December 8, 2006 11:24 AM

Hmm...I guess that might be true and I did read that something big about Lily Potter is going to be revealed in the last book. But still, I am not totally convinced. For instance, Lily was a Muggle, and so was Snape's father (wife-beater, foul-mouthed etc etc). Would'nt he have bitter feelings about Muggles in general?

Posted by Aditi from Nagpur, India on December 9, 2006 01:01 AM

I think it's impossile for the cloak to be a horcrux. James would have had to someone else. And I don't think he knew that much about the dark arts! He hated defence against the dark arts. But, it's still a mystery. I never gave it much thought.

Posted by Tasmeeah from London, England on December 9, 2006 02:01 AM

Here's a stray thought...What if the Weasleys are the Gryffindor line? ...You know ..."hmmm, another Weasley, I know just what to do with you...GRYFFINDOR!"
Don't know if it would matter much...just a thought.

Posted by tracy on December 11, 2006 9:23 PM

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