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< The Library ~ The Portraits

celeritas

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 10:53 am

Joined: 01 Jul 2005 Posts: 11 Location: Manchester,UK

Whenever a Headmaster/Headmistress at Hogwarts dies, a portrait of them appears in what was their office, as we saw in HBP when Dumbledore dies. But wizarding portraits are intelligent, capable of independent thought and can even move through the castle if they have more than one frame. So why the big fuss if someone dies? Couldn't Dumbles just reign over the school in painting form? Surely he isn't truly dead if there is a version of him out there which is capable of doing everything that he could except for using things outside the picture world?

Your thoughts are appreciated... Please reply.

Sanguine

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 11:37 am

Joined: 27 Dec 2004 Posts: 5

Phineas showed that protraits could have opinions and remember things, as he comments on his 'grandson' Sirius and is shocked at his death. So maybe Dumbledore's portrait can still help Harry... but that would require him returning to Hogwarts...

liquidscissors

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 12:22 pm

Moderator Joined: 27 Dec 2004 Posts: 164

I'm sure it would stunt JKR's plot arc for Harry to do something as practical and commonsense as talk to the painting of MC Dumbledizzle. After all, she has 600 pages of plotting, double-crossing, fruitless searches and Quidditch matches to fill.

Wolf Moonshadow

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 12:56 pm

Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 12 Location: A state of delusion (Florida)

JKR has stated in interviews that while ghosts and portraits still can interact with people somewhat, they have no real powers, and are limited in other ways. I do think, though, that Dumbledore's portrait will play a large role in book 7, once he wakes up. This also gives Harry a reason to return to Hogwarts, if only occasionally.

~Wolf

_________________
The wild dogs cry out in the night, as they grow restless, longing for some solitary company.
(Toto-Africa)

azazello

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:58 pm

Joined: 29 Nov 2004 Posts: 183 Location: Northern UK

Quote:

and Quidditch matches to fill.

No more Quidditch. She said so. That last Quidditch match in book 6 was the last she's writing.

A strong clue that Book 7 will not be Hogwarts centred.

_________________
Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony ~ Monty Python and the Holy Grail

liquidscissors

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 2:27 pm

Moderator Joined: 27 Dec 2004 Posts: 164

Scrap Quidditch and replace it with Harry!Angst. Maybe Draco can appear in leather pants, and Snape can do a 180o reform and babysit some small children.

This stuff writes itself, I'm telling you.

Kherezae

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 7:40 pm

Joined: 16 Jul 2005 Posts: 29 Location: Maryland

I think Harry'll end up going back to Hogwarts. He's a rash kid o.o Someone may well talk him into going back. McGonagall or something. I mean, he's got tons more to learn, and you'd think he would at least need an ordinary wizard's education if he's going up against Voldemort... or at least that it'd be handy. Look what happened to Dumbledore's arm trying to destroy a Horcrux -- Harry's not nearly that powerful!

Besides, ages ago JKR said something about school in the 7th book, a Head Boy and Girl being chosen who aren't necessarily in Gryffindor, and random other oddities that point toward school actually opening again. She may have changed her mind, or the other students may go back without the trio (I doubt the former, but the latter's quite plausible).

At the Lexicon, it has a page for what is known about book 7. (And book 6, simply because it was made before HBP came out.) That's the page that made me think Harry'll probably end up going back.

edit http://www.hp-lexicon.org/about/books/book_6-7.html

azazello

Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 9:17 pm

Joined: 29 Nov 2004 Posts: 183 Location: Northern UK

Liquidscissors wrote:

Quote:

Scrap Quidditch and replace it with Harry!Angst. Maybe Draco can appear in leather pants, and Snape can do a 180o reform and babysit some small children.

This stuff writes itself, I'm telling you.

S'called the Draco Trilogy....

celeritas

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:46 am

Joined: 01 Jul 2005 Posts: 11 Location: Manchester,UK

I think I'd rather have Severus in the leather pants, actually... Cool

Verity Brown

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 5:24 pm

Joined: 14 Mar 2005 Posts: 150 Location: Midwest USA

Kherezae wrote:

I think Harry'll end up going back to Hogwarts.

I certainly hope so. If he doesn't, educators everywhere will be howling their heads off.

I agree that Harry's decision not to return to school was quite rash. I suspect that cooler heads will prevail by the time September rolls around again. Although I suspect that school will be less conventional than it has been up to now.

Verity

_________________
I still have implicit faith in Severus Snape. Now more than ever.

Two Methyloctane

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 8:00 pm

Joined: 17 Jul 2005 Posts: 96 Location: Calgary, Canada

Harry hasn't exactly proven himself good at "thinking before acting," that's generally Hermione's bit. I think if he takes some time to think about it, he'll discover going back to Hogwarts will be the best thing for him because of the support of the other teachers, who are experts in their fields, and if anything as a base to do his planning and research. While Grimmuald belongs to him, it may be more vulnerable now that Dumbledore's dead.

Plus, not having an education leaves a gigantic gap in his knowledge, especially if he's expected to destroy Voldemort. Somehow I don't think Voldemort would be up for a couple rounds at St. Andrews...

_________________
**In Snape We Trust**
"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Voltaire

deus-ex-maria

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 9:39 pm

Joined: 10 Mar 2005 Posts: 12

I hope he doesn't end up back at Hogwarts. I'm looking forward to seeing how JKR handles an adventure novel. I'd like to get a look at how the parts of the WW we haven't seen yet work too.

azazello

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:43 pm

Joined: 29 Nov 2004 Posts: 183 Location: Northern UK

I'm dying to see Godric's Hollow - I've been waiting for that since book 3.

High time! And I am neutral about it being at Hogwarts or not. S'long as we get a good story (as good as HBP? Hope so!) I don't mind where it is located.

I'll also reiterate that I'd like to see more of the wizarding world.

mouseII

Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 2:43 am

Joined: 05 May 2005 Posts: 76

I think the fact that Harry has decided not to go back to school might be an indication that he's not going to survive past book 7. Who needs education if you're going to die when you're 17?

I feel a bit odd about him not going back to Hogwarts - as if the series has suddenly died and something altogether new has sprouted in its place. To me, the Harry Potter books were always about a kid who didn't know he was a wizard, going off to wizarding school.

However, I am also firmly of the opinion that whatever an author decides to do with his or her creation is allowed; I have great faith in artists, and don't consider their creations "mine" even when said creations have started to live and breathe inside my head. So JKR can do what she likes, and I will just have to deal with it, whatever it might be. Razz

Verity Brown

Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 3:09 am

Joined: 14 Mar 2005 Posts: 150 Location: Midwest USA

mouseII wrote:

I feel a bit odd about him not going back to Hogwarts - as if the series has suddenly died and something altogether new has sprouted in its place. To me, the Harry Potter books were always about a kid who didn't know he was a wizard, going off to wizarding school.

A lot of things about this book gave me that same feeling. The shift from "prepare to defeat Voldemort" to "Horcrux treasure hunt" was one big thing that really changed the 'feel' of the series for me. Harry's friends acting like idiots instead of faithfully standing by him in his trials was another. Dumbledore is gone, and Snape is no longer in the picture as a teacher, even if school resumes and Harry goes back. It seems as if we're suddenly dealing with a very different kind of story, and even if we can make some predictions about what is likely to happen, the actual story itself appears to be taking a different form.

In some ways this shift reminds me of The Chronicles of Narnia (although I understand that JKR never finished reading them). Admittedly, those books were tied together much more loosely than the HP books. But there was a definite shift in tone in the final book of that series, as the author told a quite different kind of story than any of the previous books had been. I feel much the same about book 7: I have the feeling that it will be something quite different from what has come before.

Verity

_________________
I still have implicit faith in Severus Snape. Now more than ever.

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