THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

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?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

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.

raywest

But Harry arrived a fortnight into the summer holidays and hermione arrived before him.

Question: Can someone please explain what the difference is that they're talking about at the end of chapter twenty three?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

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."

Aerinah

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.

raywest

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?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Answer: He wanted Harry to work there to make it look like he supported Scimgeour and the ministry. He wanted to dispel the image that Harry was completely loyal to Dumbledore.

raywest

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.

raywest

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.

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.

THGhost

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.

raywest

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?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Chosen answer: He would be able to more easily recruit new followers, but he would also have access to an immense amount of Dark magic information stored in the library. He also suspected that one or more of the Deathly Hallows was hidden at Hogwarts.

raywest

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.

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.

raywest

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.

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Chosen answer: The team captain would be chosen based on who has the best playing skills and leadership abilities. Just because someone is on the team longer does not mean they'd make the best captain. Harry was a better all-around choice. Katie may also not have wanted to be the captain.

raywest

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?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Chosen answer: She isn't annoyed. She's slightly embarrassed at the attention.

Greg Dwyer

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.

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

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: 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.

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Chosen answer: Because them failing their OWLs embarrasses him as their head of house.

Greg Dwyer

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