I was thinking, when you enter the Headmasters office, there are conscious portraits, and Pheanas Nigellius always says stuff like 'In my day students...' so will there be pictures of Lilly and James which Harry can talk to? Hagrid gave him that book but there is no two way chat, also if you were REALLY good at painting could you make somebody (like James) into a moving, talking picture? I was just wondering... torchwood3@hotmail.com

Ooooh, I love being the first to answer!

I think it's only with paintings that you can talk to, anything that's in the Daily Prophet (like a photo) you can't talk to but you could talk to the Fat Lady, which is a portrait.
I'm hoping that there is a portrait of Sirius somewhere that Harry will be able to talk to but it's very unlikely as he probably wouldn't have wanted to be painted.

Dumbledore's portrait confuses me. How did it appear there? Did it just magically appear?

To answer your question: I don't think Harry will talk to portraits of Lily and James, it would be a bit repeitive(sp?) after the whole Mirror of Erised thing.

Good theory, though. How, how, how do they make portraits???!!!

I think that your only able to talk to painting...
It would be like reliving the Mirror of Erised thing wouldnt it??????
Ya i think i twould be.....
I really want there to be a painting of Sirius, but i doubt there will be because i vaugky remember something about how he dousnt watn to a in a portrait.....
I dont remember from where, bu ti read it....

So to answer your question- No, i dont think that Harry will be able to talk to his parents in DH.
He wouldve already been able to find the painting if ther was one right because DD wouldve told him and it would be repeating the SS.

well in the philosephers stone, hagrid gave harry the book and when harry opened it lilly and james were moving and if you remember in OOTP (the book) Petunia said that she herd harry talkin to lilly!!!! and harry has a movin pic of them in his room the one with them dancing!!!

But if u noticed in POA percy had a pic of penelope and he used to talk to her and then she didnt show her face or talk because ron droped something on her nose.

im not really sure....maybe it was a painting of penelope wat percy had you never know....

thatz what i thought im not sure anymore....

but maybe when he goes to godrics hallow he might find his parents painting!!! its all possible in a world of magic!!!!!

xxx

hermione

Hermione, Sorry but where in the book did Aunt Petunia say that harry was talking to Lily? I don't remember it at all. Also, did it say that Lily talked back? It is perfectly acceptable to think that Harry would talk to his dead parents and ask them for advice, that doesn't mean they answer. The same applies to Percy. I remember him having the pic and it moving and all but not talking. Could you clarify this please?

As for why the portraits talk and phots don't - i have no idea. But my theory is that the portraits are done by magical painters who are presumably very good so maybe they have learnt how to give their subjects voices and stuff like normal painters learn more about expression and shaddow and stuff as they learn more. Also, a person has to sit for longer for a portrait that a photo so maybe more of their essence is captured and that's why they can talk as well as move. Thirdly, all the talking portraits that we have met (as far as I can recall anyway) are dead. Maybe you have to be dead to be able to talk in a portrait.

As for talkin portraits of Lily & James, I doubt they will turn up. Maybe in Godric's hollow but I don't think so. Hagrid gave Harry the photos, surely he would have given him a portrait had there been one. Portraits of Sirius & James might be found as they were both from pure blood families. However, any of them, especially those of Sirius are probably ones of them as children. Imagine that! a taling portrait of the young Sirius in Grimwald Place!

Yeah I don't remember Petunia saying she had heard Harry talking to Lily either...
I think it's only the portraits that talk... like the actual paintings and stuff... the other actual photographs just move around and like move there mouth as if they were talking...

Yeah I agree... that would make a lot of sence to... unlike a lot of other things in the magical world...

I just re-read the whole series, and I'm sure that's wrong. Harry may have spoken to the photo, in a longing way, wishing that he could speak to his parents, but photos don't talk back.

Photos are developed with magical solutions to make them move (JKR explained this.) They are nothing but a moment in time, caught in several "frames" that when put together can run like a film loop.

There is a theory that portraits are done with magical paint that has something (blood or hair or something personal) from the subject that gives it the memories and intelligence of the subject. They are limited in scope, can travel from one of their own portraits to another (in different buildings,) and within any portraits in the same building.

I think, hermione. that you were thinking of the part in OOTP where Petunia reveals that she knows what the dementors of azkaban do, and when everyone looks at Petunia, she explains by saying something like "i heard...that awful boy...telling her about them...years ago." But by "that awful boy" she means James, not Harry. So she is probably talking about when Lilly and James were alive and James was over at their house or something--and Petunia overheard them talking. But she's certainly not referring to Harry talking to Lilly.

Ok, as for the topic--I imagine that the appearance of dumbledore's picture has something to do with the deep magic of Hogwarts castle--there are so many other weird things that happen there that it's not that shocking that a painting of dumbledoor would just appear.

Also, there was a part i think, where ron metnioned that magical pictures got that way because they were developed in a magical way--so maybe for paintings to move, they have to be magicked. I doubt we'll find anything of lilly solo, but James potter came from a wealthy, pureblood family, so it's possible that there might be something of him around somewhere. In any case, paintings are still just an echo--they can follow orders but they can't offer any new information, they can only parrot what they knew in real life. (though for dumbledore, that would be quite significant.)

I think the portraits of the headmasters are a part of the magic embedded in Hogwarts. Like, a everlasting spell the founders did.

I dunno.

This is a good theory. I don't think that Harry will find portraits of his parents. Even though I'm sorry to say this JKR seems to stick with the idea of Harry being alone. Besides the only place that would have a portrait of the both of them would be at the house in Godric's Hollow and Hagrid told us in book 1 that the house was a pile of rubble. So I have to disagree with the idea of finding Lily and James portraits.

Hmmm... i like the idea of the founders' magic and also the knowledge of what they knew only in life. I wonder what happpened top the mirror of erised, harry asked lilly a question and she nodded, so is there one way speaking and a sign the other, so if you don't folow its kind of like the 'yes' 'no' game. So harry could say, "Yo Moma! is there a picture of you?' or somthing like that. (you get the gist)

~#~as always, Albus~#~
xXx



p.s email me too!!!

Hmmm, does anyone really know why people can talk to paintings...is it magic or skill of painting or what?

hMmmMmM.... i think only paintings talk back rite? but i dont think any one botherd to paint Lily and James, i mean, sure theres photos that move but they dont talk. DD's got the pictures in his office because their past headmasters and mistresses... at my boarding school we have those too...

Well we know from OotP that the people in photos can understand and obey commands because when Moody shows Harry the picture of the Order he tells people to budge over to let Harry see Lily and James, and they do.
I have another question about portaits too, Is it possible for people to enter them somehow? Like in hiding? Or do you have to be painted to be in it? because people in the portraits in Hogwarts can move around freely among the other paintings. Just a thought.

hm...well, at first i just thought, oh, they kind of go and 'live' in the portraits, in a way. but hwo do they get there? becuse it's clearly an option or something because if DD is in one, why isn't everyone else? is there some sort of level of importance or something? but then there's the talking portraits at hogwarts and sirius's mother. so....i dont think they will be in a portrait that he can communicate with them through. i do however, would love to know how they are made!

In an effort to clean up the forums before the release of the final Harry Potter book, this thread is going to be locked and archived. Please do not open another thread on this topic; you will have plenty of places to discuss all aspects of the books after the forums reopen.

If there are any questions, please let me know via PM! Thanks!

passerby
VTM Forums Moderator