Question: If Voldemort is now controlling the Ministry of Magic, why does Dolores Umbridge have a position there? In Order of the Phoenix, she refused to believe that he had returned. I wonder why he didn't kill her for opposing him.
Answer: She refused to acknowledge it openly, that doesn't mean she didn't believe it, or hope for it.
She knew that he returned, but was allied with him all along.
Question: I've heard that Lucius was right in Voldemort's inner circle so why is he treated even worse than Pettigrew?
Answer: In addition, Lucius is directly responsible for the destruction of his first horcrux, the diary, for the frivolous reason of trying to discredit Arthur Weasley.
Voldemort was angry with Lucius because he repeatedly failed him. Lucius smuggled the Diary Horcrux into Hogwarts via Ginny, the plan failed. Lucius also failed to retrieve the prophecy orb from the Ministry of Magic, resulting in a huge battle and certain Death Eaters being sent to Azkaban prison. Voldemort usually severely punished anyone who failed him.
Except Voldemort was still in hiding in Albania when Lucius did this. He never told Lucius to give it to Ginny.
Lucius took advantage of an opportunity to use Ginny to get the Diary into Hogwarts rather than as an act to discredit Arthur. He couldn't risk giving it to Draco, who he would not have trusted to carry out the mission.
Except that Lucius putting Tom Riddles' diary into Ginny's cauldron happened in "The Chamber Of Secrets." Not in this movie. The question was why Voldemort treated Lucius even worse then Pettigrew.
It might have happened in an earlier movie, but that doesn't mean Voldemort forgot.
Question: Is there any other way that Hermione could have possibly protected her Muggle parents from Voldemort and his followers besides erasing their memories, like casting a protection spell over them similar to what was done with Harry for the past 17 years or taken them to the Burrow to be protected, or even Grimmauld Place?
Chosen answer: Any of those options would provide some degree of protection, but, should Voldemort ultimately triumph, it's extremely likely that those measures would eventually be circumvented by his forces, leaving her parents entirely at his mercy. By erasing herself entirely from their memories, they cannot be used against her, as they cannot be linked to her (it's reasonable to assume that Hermione would also have arranged for any files linking her to them or that address to be destroyed or altered as well). Erasing their memories also has the side effect of sparing her parents from grief should she fall in the ensuing conflict.
In the book, in addition to erasing their memories, Hermione also sent her parents to live in Australia, further removing them from danger. She not only erased their memories to prevent them from being tortured and divulging any information, but if she was killed, they would not grieve the loss of their only child for the rest of their lives.
Question: Why did Charity Burbage encourage magical folk to reproduce with Muggles? I know that not all of them hate Muggles, but what did she particularly like about wizards pairing up with them?
Answer: She may not have gone out of her way to encourage it at all, but in Voldemort's eyes, anything other than actively condemning the interbreeding of wizards and Muggles would be tantamount to "encouragement."
Answer: Simple genetics. Wizards staying within the wizarding world are trading the advantage of preserving the wizarding gene for the many disadvantages of breeding within a smaller and smaller genepool.
Answer: Burbage was probably teaching students to go against blood purity as a Muggle is no different to a wizard. Death Eaters are blood purists, so they aren't happy with this.
Question: In the Ministry of Magic when they try to get to Umbridge's locket, how does she knows that it's Harry? Did she use some magic?
Chosen answer: Umbridge did not know that it was Harry. During the interrogation scene when they are trying to retrieve the locket, Harry is still disguised as Albert Runcorn by the Polyjuice potion. The only thing that Umbridge noticed was that Harry suddenly produced his wand from his coat sleeve. This made Umbridge suspicious and she asked "Albert" what he was doing. That is when the polyjuice potion started to wear off and Harry was transforming back to himself, but he "stupified" Umbridge before she knew exactly what was happening.
Question: Why did Hermione clear her parents memory of her at the beginning?
Chosen answer: To protect them from Voldemort. She knows that if he discovers anyone is helping Harry hunt the horcruxes, the Dark Lord will murder their families in retaliation. In the book, Hermione also sent them to Australia under a new identity, and Harry broke off his relationship with Ginny to protect her.
Question: I didn't get it, but who was the "ghost" deer that led Harry to the pond with the Griffindor sword in it? Or why did it lead him there?
Chosen answer: It's not a ghost. It's a patronus, like the one Harry conjured in "The Prisoner of Azkaban," to save Sirius Black. Every wizard's patronus takes a different animal form. An as yet unknown ally (revealed in part 2, and the book) sent the doe patronus to lead Harry to where the Sword of Gryffindor was hidden.
Question: How did Grindlewald know that Dumbledore was buried with the wand?
Chosen answer: This is actually never explained in the movie. In the book, Voldemort located Grindelwald in Nurmengard prison so he could learn the whereabouts of the Elder Wand. Grindelwald lied to Voldemort about ever having possessed the Elder Wand, perhaps in a belated effort to protect Dumbledore, his former friend and foe. Voldemort read Grindelwald's mind using Legillimancy and learned that Dumbledore had captured the wand from Grindelwald after defeating him in their epic duel many years before. Voldemort murdered Grindelwald, then deduced that the Elder Wand must have been entombed with Dumbledore.
Question: In the scene where Ginny asks Harry to zip up her dress, George come into the kitchen in the middle of Harry and Ginny's kiss and says "Morning". What is that's sticking out of his ear hole/bandage?
Chosen answer: It's his toothbrush. He's brushing his teeth when he comes into the room, and sticks it in his ear for effect.
Question: When Harry finds the Sword of Godric Gryffindor in the frozen lake, why doesn't he just use the Wingardium Leviosa spell to levitate it out of the lake instead of diving in to get it himself? I assume that this is how J.K. Rowling wrote it in the book, but does this still count as a mistake?
Chosen answer: It is not a mistake. Harry does attempt to summon the sword with a spell, but like the locket horcrux in the sea cave in (in HP and the Half-blood Prince), all the horcruxes, as well as other particularly strong magical objects (like the three Deathly Hallows), are impervious to all types of summoning charms. They therefore must be retrieved by other means.
Question: A question that has been nagging me for so long: When the trio is chased by the Snatchers, why don't they just disapparate?
Answer: Apparition is not an easy spell to use. Wizards are only allowed to apparate at age 17 and are given lessons from that age. Ron definitely has never apparated before, only Harry and Hermione. It's highly unlikely they would have been able to take Ron along with apparition (side-along apparition) in the stressful situation without danger. If you do it wrongly, you get what is called "splinching," meaning parts of your body won't arrive at the destination. Ron already has injuries because of that. So, in short, it's too dangerous for them to try to apparate out of the situation.
Ron took the Apparating class at Hogwarts with Harry and Hermione. He failed his first license exam only because an overly-strict Ministry tester noticed he splinched some eyebrow hairs. Ron most certainly became practiced at it while hunting the Deathly Hallows. A hasty exit can be dangerous, however, as when Hermione hastily apparated herself, Harry, and Ron to escape the Ministry of Magic and is how Ron got his shoulder splinched.
Answer: I've wondered the same thing. There's no explanation, but it could be argued they were just panicked when the Snatchers took them by surprise. For all their abilities, they are still kids and occasionally lack critical thinking and failed to have a fallback plan for such an event or if they somehow became separated. Of course, it serves the plot as the story needs for them to be transported to Malfoy Manor. You should submit this as a plot hole.
I think even adults can panic in scary situations and not think of something that seems like an obvious solution. I've read online "tips" for getting away from muggers/robbers, but when I was actually shot by one, none of those came to mind.
In one of the books, Mr. Weasley says that many adult wizards don't apparate. It needs to be precise and it feels uncomfortable. Some would rather use a Portkey or fly on a broomstick.
Question: It's been stated that the wand chooses the wizard. Why then, is Voldemort able to use Lucius' wand if the wand chose Lucius as his wizard?
Answer: A wizard can use any wand, but it will not perform as well as one that "chose" them. For example, although Voldemort could use Dumbledore's "Elder Wand", it resisted his commands because it was unknowingly (to Voldemort) aligned to another wizard after Dumbledore's death (first Draco and then Harry). By contrast, when Harry captured Draco's wand, it changed its allegiance to him and performed well. If Draco had merely been given his wand back, it would not have worked as well for him as before.
Question: This is actually a question to all of the books and movies, Why did Voldemort wait for the end of the school year to attack Harry Potter? Except, of course, in this movie, where Harry drops out of Hogwarts.
Answer: I agree with the other answer, but it is also a matter of plotting. Rowling has carefully structured each book to cover one school year at Hogwarts, usually starting with the summer break ending and the students preparing to return to school. The ensuing events cover the next nine months, with the story building up to the end-of-the-year climax, just before students part ways to return home for another summer. This formula allows for a continual timeline with only short breaks in-between major events. Otherwise, the story's momentum would slow down and much exposition would be needed to fill in gaps.
So basically, it's plot armor. Besides the main antagonist of the story is Voldemort so therefore he should be in the climax where it deals around him except in the third film/book. This answer makes me think that Voldemort really cares for Harry's education. ;-)
Answer: He didn't plan all these attacks except for the Goblet of Fire one. It took so long for Quirrel to get the stone, it took Voldemort's soul in the diary that long to influence Ginny and take control of her, it required the triwizard tournament finals to attack Harry. All these things just took till the end of the school year to happen.
What about in Order of the Phoenix and Half Blood Prince?
In Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince he was gathering strength, both personally and his army. In Order of the Phoenix the story is more about trying to convince the wizarding world that Voldemort is back and Voldemort trying for as long as possible to not draw attention to himself so it's easier to recruit, get stronger, etc. He is also busy with the prophecy, trying to get to it without exposing himself (thus using Harry to do it), knowing it is the key to his survival. In Half-Blood Prince Voldemort wants Dumbledore dead before he goes further with any other planning. Initially Draco is ordered to do it but he takes almost the entire schoolyear to do it, until he eventually manages to get deatheaters enter the school. It's not planned by the villain, but makes sense to have an entire year at Hogwarts continue each and every time. Until eventually Voldemort starts his coup.
In Order of the Phoenix, Voldemort didn't want to reveal himself as most of the Wizarding world didn't believe he was back. As such he used his Death Eaters to try and take the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries. He only arrived at the Ministry late on as it was an optimal chance to kill Harry, Fudge seeing him wasn't intended. In the Half Blood Prince, Voldemort was afraid of fighting Dumbledore and the only way he could duel him personally would be to attack Hogwarts which would be unwise. Again, he used his Death Eaters or in this case Draco Malfoy to try and assassinate Dumbledore.
Voldemort wasn't afraid to fight Dumbldore in Half-Blood Prince, he was trying to kill Dumbledore whilst Dumbledore was protected by Hogwarts, he couldn't get to him. So he had Draco do it.
He assigned Draco to do it as a consequence of what his father failed to retrieve, which is the prophecy.
Question: Why did Bellatrix Lestrange kill the elf?
Answer: Several reasons. Dobby was once owned by the Malfoy family until Harry freed him, which Bellatrix would consider a betrayal. She knows Harry is close to Dobby and killing the elf will hurt Harry. Dobby, as an elf, is magically powerful and a strong ally to Harry's cause. Having once been owned by the Malfoy family, Dobby has much inner knowledge about them and Voldemort. She was also making one last strike before Harry and the others escaped.
Thank you.
Question: This question might be more for the book, but Mad Eye said they would have to transport in ways the trace can't detect. But the trace would only detect magic used near an underage person. Harry is the only one who is underage. So they could have used a portkey. I understand that they need to cast a spell to make a portkey but they could have cast the spell before they were near Harry and then transported to the burrow. Or have I made a mistake?
Answer: The trace detects when an underaged wizard casts a magic spell whenever they are away from Hogwarts. It doesn't detect adult wizards using magic near a minor. If a portkey was used to transport Harry, it could have been detected when he touched it because he would be using magic. The safest and least detectable way to move him from point A to B, was to fly him there.
Answer: Two things. 1. You are not allowed to create an unauthorized portkey. The ministry must be aware of it. I think the incantation (portus) is traced. 2. Using a portkey is magical use, so the moment Harry touches it, the ministry would be alerted and possibly know where the portkey transported to.
Then how did Dumbledore get away with it in Order of the Phoenix when he made a portkey to get the children to Grimmauld Place?
Well he is an extremely powerful wizard and the headmaster of Hogwarts. I think he made it at Hogwarts yes? He could have had a trick up his sleeve to do it. Might be a bit more tricky for Mad-Eye and the rest whilst the Ministry is under control of deatheaters. Just too risky.
Also, using magic near an underage wizard isn't traced. Just when it is used by an underage wizard.
No, the trace is meant to detect magic used near an underaged wizard.
The wiki specifically says it's a trace of magic in the vicinity of an underage wizard, not the underage wizard him/herself. It's mentioned working like that by Alastair Moody in the books too.
When Harry used magic to repel the dementors that attacked him and Dudley in Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry of Magic instantly detected that he cast a patronus spell. He was immediately "charged" for using underage magic. What would happen when a young wizard was at home for the summer and holidays and is around adult wizards using magic all the time? The trace would be going off continually for every underaged magic person. It was mentioned in the books that if an underaged wizard did use magic at home, it could be confused with the adults who were casting spells.
Harry once got a warning from the "improper use of magic office" for casting a hover charm, even though it was Dobby who did it. I don't know where you get your information from, but it is wrong. The trace can only detect magic has been used, not who used it. This is explained by Alastair Moody in Deathly Hallows Chapter 4.
Question: 2 questions: 1. What Is the significanceof the Deathly Hallows story (Luna's dad wears it around his neck, is it some sort of religion?), and 2. Why did Dumbledore draw the symbol in correspondence with Grindlewald?
Answer: It's a bit complicated. The Deathly Hallows were not tied to any religion but to mythology. They were the three powerful and revered magical objects (the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility) that, through history and legend, were believed to give whoever possessed them immense power and mastery over death. The Deathly Hallows symbol, like the one Mr. Lovegood wore, is a circle, a triangle, and a straight line that represent the three objects.Voldemort only coveted the Elder Wand, wielded by Dumbledore, because it was the most powerful wand in the world. Dumbledore won the wand from his former friend, the evil wizard, Gellert Grindelwald, after defeating him in a fierce duel. Mr. Lovegood merely serves as a plot device to explain the significance and lore of the Hallows that were tied to Harry's ancestors, the Peverells. Dumbledore placed the Deathly Hallows symbol in the book as a clue to Hermione about the Elder Wand's importance. In the book, when Harry became the Elder Wand's master, he chose to return it to Dumbledore's tomb; in the movie, he destroys the wand. He deliberately dropped the Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden Forest so that no-one, including himself, would be tempted to summon a spirit from the Netherworld. He kept the cloak, that he had inherited from his father. Harry understood that truly "mastering" death was not fearing it.
Question: I can't remember if this is covered in the books, but at the start of this movie, the Dursleys are seen packing up and leaving (because Harry has turned or is about to turn 17 so they can't protect him anymore), but since they've always not wanted to get involved with the magical world side of things (Petunia hating Lily for being a witch, Vernon not wanting Harry to be happy or going to Hogwarts etc), why would they just pack up and leave on Harry's word that they can't protect him anymore by living with him because of what will happen when he turns 17? Was it all explained to them in the letter Dumbledore left with baby Harry in the "Philosopher's Stone" about how Harry had to live with them until he was 17, and that Lily and James had been killed by this powerful person who they needed to protect Harry from or was it another way?
Answer: This is better explained in the books. The Durselys did not wish to leave their home, but the Ministry of Magic convinced them it was imperative that they vacate the house or else risk being killed by Voldemort. He would target them simply because they were Harry's relatives. The Ministry arranged to move and hide them until Voldemort could be defeated. Aunt Petunia hated the wizarding world, but she knew what Voldemort could do to her family once Harry's magical protection lapsed on his 17th birthday.
Question: Is it known what Mundungus was selling that man in diagon alley?
Answer: Umbridge was an opportunistic collaborator, and once Voldemort took power, she became complicit in order to advance her own career. She never opposed Voldemort, she, like many others, simply believed he had been killed years before.
raywest ★
She never opposed Voldemort because she was allied with him.