Question: What was so obvious about the story about Hermione was making up to Borgin?
Question: Why does Hermione seem annoyed when she finds out that Harry told Slughorn she is the best in the year? Or am I wrong?
Chosen answer: She isn't annoyed. She's slightly embarrassed at the attention.
Question: How come Ron and Hermione stopped speaking to each other?
Chosen answer: Hermione was angry because Ron never made an effort to pursue her romantically. She was also jealous of and disgusted by Ron's girlfriend, Lavender Brown. Ron, confused by Hermione's behavior toward him and also jealous of her previous relationship with Viktor Krum (who she was still writing to), retaliated by being angry at her.
Question: How come it was Harry who was picked over Katie to be Gryffindor Quidditch captain after Angelina even though Katie had been on the team longer? This was similar to how Angelina was picked in the last book after Wood was gone.
Question: Why did Snape put Crabbe and Goyle in detention simply for failing their defense against the dark arts OWL? I thought Snape favoured his own house (Slytherin) before all others.
Chosen answer: Because them failing their OWLs embarrasses him as their head of house.
Question: In the chapter called "Horcruxes", Dumbledore says he thinks Voldemort meant to create 6 Horcruxes. He created 5 of them before attempting to kill baby Harry. Dumbledore then tells Harry, "I am sure that he [Voldemort] was intending to make his final Horcrux with your death." However, as we all know, Voldemort's curse on Harry rebounded, and he lost his powers."After an interval of some years, " Dumbledore then tells Harry, "he used Nagini to kill an old muggle man, and it might then have occurred to him to turn her into his last Horcrux." My question is: if Voldemort was planning to use 1-year-old Harry's death to make his sixth and final Horcrux, but it hadn't yet occurred to him to use the snake as that Horcrux, what was he planning to use instead? He had already used the diary, the ring, the cup, the locket, and the diadem for the first five Horcruxes. So, if he wasn't originally going to use the snake as the sixth, what was he going to use, and what happened to this mysterious object? He must have had something to use, since he went to baby Harry's house fully intending to kill Harry and create the Horcrux. So he must have had the Horcrux object with him. What was it? (Please understand this is not a hypothetical question about what sorts of objects Voldemort might have theoretically wanted to make into Horcruxes someday - I already know the answer to that - but rather a practical question about what Voldemort intended to use that night, the night he went to kill Harry, since he didn't have Gryffindor's sword, or anything else of Gryffindor's that we're aware of).
Question: I keep hearing about the mistake where Harry says there is twenty four hour's worth of Felix Felicis in the bottle, when there is in fact twelve. But I checked for it and he says 'all twelve hours' worth'. Is this mistake only in the American edition (I have the British)?
Answer: This mistake was corrected in later printings, so you may have the corrected version of the book.
Question: How come Harry didn't want Buckbeak? I thought he liked Buckbeak?
Answer: He did. But Hagrid loved him more. He was heartbroken when Buckbeak was taken from him in Prisoner Of Azkaban so Harry thought it best for him to go back to Hagrid.
Answer: Harry didn't own Buckbeak or have any decision about what became of him, nor could he have taken care of him. After Sirius Black escaped, he kept Buckbeak hidden at his house, Black Manor. Harry saw Buckbeak when he visited his godfather. If Buckbeak had been returned to Hogwarts, he'd still be executed. Eventually, Buckbeak was secretly reintroduced into the Hogwarts hippogriff herd under the new name of Witherwings.
Question: Why did Voldemort want the Defense Against the Dark Arts job in the first place? Was it to get the students to be his followers?
Answer: Furthermore, Voldemort could easily have used his position and knowledge to teach the students about the Dark Arts in a negative way, thus further helping to create followers.
Question: Why was Percy still not talking to his family if he (and the ministry) knew Voldemort was back? The ministry also hadn't been taken over yet so nobody could stop him from leaving.
Chosen answer: It's explained a little more in "Order of the Phoenix". The row Percy had with his family (and his father in particular) was about more than Voldemort. It's mentioned in an early chapter of "Phoenix" that over that summer, Percy was promoted at the Ministry, working directly for Cornelius Fudge; as Ron says, Junior Assistant to the Minister is a remarkable position for someone only a year out of school, and their father believed Fudge hired Percy in order to spy on the Weasley family and, through them, Dumbledore. Percy, meanwhile, felt insulted that his father wasn't pleased about it and said, among other things, that Arthur's lack of ambition was the reason for the family's poor economic status. He also felt that his parents' support of Dumbledore was foolish, and as long as they continued to do so, he would not consider himself a member of the family.
Question: Chapter 24: Draco tells Moaning Myrtle that "he", meaning Voldemort, says he will kill Draco if Draco does not "do it soon" (kill Dumbledore). When could Voldemort have said this to him? He is at Hogwarts and Voldemort will not dare enter the place while Dumbledore is still there.
Answer: Voldemort assigned this task to Draco before the new Hogwart's school year started. He could then communicate with Draco using Legilimancy (speaking to him telepathically) or by way of his parents. The Dark Lord actually intended for Draco to fail so he could kill him as a means to punish Lucius Malfoy for his failure to retrieve the prophecy at the Ministry of Magic. He also intended on killing Lucius.
Question: Why did Merope use her father's name as her son's middle name, after the way he treated her?
Answer: Merope did not seem to know many people outside of her home and the nearby village. Apparently, she never went to Hogwarts. Perhaps she had no better ideas for a middle name. She may have also felt obligated to use her father's name, regardless of how she was treated. I've actually known a few parents who selected a name because they felt pressured by family expectations.
Question: Going along with another question that was submitted, why did Bellatrix teach Draco how to do Occlumency? Anyone who knows her character knows that she wouldn't want to conceal his thoughts and plans from the Dark Lord, she'd be going against the master she loves.
Answer: So nobody else, aka Dumbledore, could read his thoughts and know he was going to kill Dumbledore. She assumes Voldemort will be able to see if he is trying to hide something from him, so she's not worried in that aspect.
Question: When Professor Snape confronts Draco for avoiding him, he is able to tell that Draco is using Occlumency to block his attempts to look into his mind. Therefore, wouldn't Voldemort know if Snape has ever used Occlumency to block him out, and be suspicious of him?
Answer: Two possibilities: One: Voldemort didn't question Snape's loyalty and never bothered to look into his mind to see if he was using Occlumency. Two: Since Snape is operating as the Death Eaters' double-agent in the Order of the Phoenix, it would be practical for him to be using Occlumency at all times (which would have the hidden advantage of not being able to let Voldemort see that he is, in fact, a triple-agent loyal to Dumbledore).
Question: Can someone please explain what the difference is that they're talking about at the end of chapter twenty three?
Answer: They're talking about the difference between free will and fate - choosing for yourself vs. being forced to do something. Harry feels trapped by the prophecy, because he thinks it means he is obligated to fight Voldemort to the death, whether he chooses to or not. Dumbledore explains that this is not the case: while it's true that ultimately, one of them will end up killing the other, it doesn't have to be that way: Harry has a choice. It's just that, because Voldemort killed his parents and threatens everything he cares about, Harry will never be satisfied till he has destroyed Voldemort; and because Voldemort thinks Harry is a threat to him, he will never be satisfied till Harry is dead. The difference, then, is that Harry will be choosing this fate, rather than being dragged into it with no say in the matter: he has control of his own choices and his own life, and that makes "all the difference in the world."
Question: Why is Hermione again spending her summer with the Weasleys instead of her parents? The thing with the world cup I sorta get and I might understand Grimmauld place but why this summer?
Answer: Hermione did not stay for the entire summer. She was at the Burrow (the Weasley home) for about a week before school started. She was there for a short visit and to accompany the other Weasley children to Diagaon Alley to buy books and supplies for the upcoming school year. Mr. And Mrs. Weasley then took her, Harry, Ron, and the others to the train station to board the Hogwarts Express. Hermione's parents being Muggles had far more difficulty navigating the wizard world on their own.
But Harry arrived a fortnight into the summer holidays and hermione arrived before him.
Question: How come Charlie didn't go to the burrow for Christmas?
Answer: In the books, Charlie worked with dragons in Romania, so it may have been that he was too busy and too far away to make the trip back home for Christmas. For the purpose of the movie, there is no explanation given, but it is less confusing to have fewer characters present if they serve no real purpose to the story line. Charlie Weasley has always been a minor background character.
Question: Why did Scrimgeour think it would matter if Harry worked at the ministry? How does that help people's belief as that's what's important?
Question: Why did Ginny and Dean split up?
Answer: It was never a serious relationship. Ginny had always had a crush on Harry and only started dating Dean when she thought Harry would never be interested in her. Dean and Ginny got on well at first, but Ginny was always defensive if any other student, including Dean, was in any way critical of Harry. Dean, to keep the relationship going, worked hard to always appease Ginny and stay on her good side. Unfortunately, this tactic annoyed Ginny, and later led to her breaking up with Dean.
Answer: Aside from the fact that Hermione is obviously a terrible liar and her dialogue is suspiciously inquisitive for someone who often buys and sells dark artifacts, wizards can use Legilimency to determine if someone is lying.
Greg Dwyer
Legilimency is a rare talent among wizards- only Snape and Voldemort are known to have practiced it openly in the books. It is more likely that Hermoine has no idea how to act like a bad person, let alone a Death Eater.
Bellatrix was using it. She apparently taught Occlumency to Draco - Snape guesses this during a conversation with Draco.