Use this thread to post any questions you might have that come to mind during your reread of the first book! I know the staff has discussed a couple of them. I'll post one here for you! Feel free to post your own! If you feel a question has enough merit for its own thread, please feel free to post it. It might be a good idea to contact a staff member first, though.



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You know I use to wonder that same thing. I think it may have been designed specifically for Harry, I mean why else would they keep sending it. I do enjoy that scene in the movie and book. You know I somehow think that they wouldn't for every wizard. Harry was very special and he needed to receieve that letter as we already know.

Yeah i agree with that as well. Although i haven't really thought about the question before, i think that it makes the most sense if the letter was specifically designed for Harry and they would continue to send them until he had read it. However, i'm not really sure how they would know whether or not Harry had read his letter. That's a really good question...hmm

I was wondering how Dumbledore got the scar above his left knee shaped like the London Underground.
Its probably completely irrelevant to the story but seeing as it was mentioned id like to know how he got it.
I havent read the series in a while, so if it is mentioned again in the last few books i have forgotten *shame*
Just an interesting side question...any ideas? :-)

I think they had to send a reply. In the thrid chapter, Letters From No One, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon have a conversation in the kitchen. Petunia says, 'But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want -', and Uncle Vernon replies, 'No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer ... yes, that's best ... we won't say anything...'.

Obviously, that wasn't the best thing to do. We even read in the fourth chapter that Hagrid hastily sends a letter back to Hogwarts confirming that Harry got his letter.

I think, given Harry's family history on Lily's side, Dumbledore may have had an idea that there could be problems regarding his , er, "talent", especially from Petunia. He knew that if Harry were placed at the Dursley's that he'd have no clue whatsoever about who he was (Remember when McGonagall said every child in our world will know who he is and Dumbledore said that was exactly why he wasn't placing Harry with a wizarding family).

Dumbledore was a very wise wizard and, as we learned, had the ultimate plan in place for Harry. I have no doubt that he kept tabs on Harry and thus knew the Hogwarts letter had not been received by him.

I have a new question:

Why, if Voldemort killed Harry's parents at night, and the entire wizarding world was celebrating the following morning, did it take Dumbledore and Hagrid so long to arrive at No. 4 Privet Drive? Hagrid made it sound as if he'd gotten Harry and come straight there:
"... house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol." Does that mean Harry had been lying in the rubble all that time? Or had it really taken that long to fly by motorcycle from Godric's Hollow to Surrey?

I think the letter was specifically for Harry- Hagrid says something about ' knew you might not be getting your letters but I thought you would at least know about hogwarts'
and the letter says 'we await your owl by no later than...'

I wondered how Dumbledore got that scar too???

And I really don't know about why Hagrid was so late- some theories though
- it is a long distance from Godric's Hollow to Surrey
-itdoesn't say how late it was that Voldemort did it, he may have fled the early hours of November 1st :S
-Hagrid could only fly the bike in the dark
-Dumbledore had to find out that it happened before he could get someone to get Harry
-there was so much rumble that it toke ages to find Harry
-Hagrid had no means of getting Harry to surrey straight away so didn't leave until Sirius black offered him the bike- very plausible as I don't think Hagrid can apparate because he was expelled, so hasn't passed the test and there may be something in his giant blood that stops him apparating
-also, a bit more randomly... It's the end of October, so although it says Dumbledore comes in the dark, it gets dark quite early in England that time of year... but if he watched the news before they went to bed it was either the 6 O'clock or 10 O'clock news... if it's the 10 news then this theory isn't all too plausible.

He could have got the scar from anything really. He could have been young or when he was dueling Grindleweld (I think that's how you spell it) and some curse was fired and it caused that. I think it's pretty amazing that he knows it's a perfect map. I mean did he show the goblins and they were like, 'Oh my gosh, that's a perfect map!' Or maybe being the powerful wizard Dumbledore is, he just knew that.

Actually Rach2603 if I'm not mistaken, didn't Hagrid apparate after giving Harry his ticket for Platform 9 & 3 Quarters? I think I remember the book saying something about Harry blinking and Hagrid was gone.

Just a few that I can remember. . .

What would possess people to leave baby Harry outside on the doorstep for four hours by himself??! You'd think Dumbledore could have at least knocked on the door! I was kind of appalled this time around reading that!

I still have to wonder about Hagrid. I mean, once it was proven that he didn't open the Chamber of Secrets. . .why couldn't he have gone back to Hogwarts and graduated? I don't get why they didn't let him.

The wands still bother me. A lot. I mean, wouldn't it be advantageous to make sure each wizard has the best possible start that can be had so that he can perform the best magic possible? Why start these poor kids off with hand-me-down wands if the magic will never be as good as with a wand that "chooses" them? I mean, I guess there's really nothing to be argued when finances are at stake, but still. It just strikes me as odd. This one wasn't really a question. ..just more of a pondering.


I had some more, but I've forgotten them. Drat. Must write these down as I'm reading.

"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there" - Malfoy

"I think I can tell who the wrong sorts are for myself thanks." - Harry

Imagine if Harry had shaken hands with Malfoy that day and somehow had be-friended him? This would change everything.. He wouldn't have known about any of the houses at Hogwarts, and once Malfoy had been chosen for Slytherin, and the Sorting Hat was placed on Harry's head contemplating Slytherin, he probably would have let himself be sorted to them.

I still think that Voldemort, after gaining power and hearing the prophecy, would still seek out and kill Harry even if he was in Slytherin.. Just a thought.

I never thought about this as i was reading SS, but now that you mention it, it does seem really odd.
Why didn't they let Hagrid go back and graduate when he was proven innocent?
I don't really have an answer to this...apart from the fact that maybe Hagrid had felt that his image was already ruined and seeing as he was enjoying being a gamekeeper he decided to continue...apart from that i have no clue!
It doesnt make sense.
Anyone have any theories? This is really interesting.

OK!!! I've finally come up with a question since I only started reading yesterday, but I'm on page 131 so it's all good. I'll address everyone else's questions first though.

Unless I'm mistaken, I don't think they ever really proved Hagrid didn't do it until Harry came along. That's why they had to take Hagrid back to Azkaban when the Chamber opened again, cause they couldn't trust him. By now he's too old to go back, and I think he's got enough knowledge to make it through the day. He can obviously do a lot more than we thought he could cause he disappears and he can do nonverbal spells.

All the others I would just like to know more about. Like the scar. Don't know why you'd leave a baby on the front porch. I'd also like to know what Dumbledore wrote to the Dursley's in the letter he left with Harry. How do you explain something like that?

Ok, here's what I've got.
Just kidding on that first one. Deleted! Flamel has a wife...

Oh I had another...hang on...OH I REMEMBER.

What the heck is going on here? This seems pretty advanced considering that he relocated himself, and I don't think someone at his age should be able to accidentally Apparate. Any ideas?

And another thing, how did Mrs. Figg manage to never slip up an say anything about the magical world?

Passerby perhaps you need a remembrall but then again it didn't really help Neville a whole lot because he didn't remember what he'd forgotten.

EDIT: And perhaps you need to be more respectful, but then again, it didn't really help Malfoy.

I think the only reasoning I can come up with as to why Dumbledore would have left a baby on the front porch at night is because the books state Harry was born in 1981, so you figure it's 1982 in a very quiet suburb...maybe at that time it was safe to do so? I really couldn't tell you...I wasn't born yet!

I really enjoy reading all of these questions and possibilities for answers, they are definitely giving me new insight into the books!!

I had no idea that he was born in 1981, I don't even remember reading that. It's so strange that she would do that you know, but then again she did actually start writing the series around 1990 but it's still weird don't you think? I really don't have an idea as to why Dumbledore didn't knock on the door or anything.Maybe the town was safe enough to leave him there..hmm.

And yea I don't think Hagrid was ever proven innocent they never really found out unitl the 2nd book. You have to remember that Tom Riddle turned Hagrid in and then the CoS was never opened again because Tom stop going in there after Murtle died I believe, so everyone just thought that it was Hagrid.I don't know how they all decided to bring him back to the skool though as gamekeeper,I'm sure it took a lot of persuasion from Dumbledore so others would allow him back.



You know I was actually thinking about that same thing when I had read that part, but I agree with you I think Voldermort would have either wanted him as a partner or still killed him since he wants to be the only powerful one.

Voldemort would have still killed Harry if he was a slytherin because it was what he believed the prophecy to be- and by trying to kill him he had forged that link between them.
Also if harry was in slytherin Voldemort would have seen him as more of a threat- "there wasn't a wizard who turned bad that wasn't in slytherin"- he would think Harry was definately a dark wizard, and this would lessen Voldemort's chances of returning even more!

I thought that maybe the scar on Dumbledores knee was from the battle with Grindlewald, but then I don't think he would be so cheerful about it.

And I have also always wondered why they left Harry on the doorstep- I thought that a Deatheater could easily go kill him- but then think about it this way- most of the Deatheaters had gone back to the good side and they would also be petrified of Harry because everyone was convinced there was some darkpowers he had.


Anoter question-
What did Dumbledore realy see in the mirror of Erised?

He says he sees himself witht hick woolen socks, instead of books. Harry realises that it was a very personal question, and so we know it wasn't the trueful answer.
Now its not the socks he sees, and it wont be the him as the master of death either, as he says he regrets chasing such a foolish thing.
perhaps it is him with his family in tact-father and sane Ariana
or him and Grindlewald together, accepted, and not obsessed by the hallows or the greater good?



What did Dumbledore realy see in the Mirror of Erised?

I'm pretty sure he saw his sister still alive. I don't remember if it was stated in the last book, but it was strongly inferred by JKR. Have to hunt down the interview, but I think it's a safe bet.

And yes, I had forgotten that Hagrid had never been proven innocent . . .but that brings me to question why they let him out of Azkaban at all after Myrtle was killed. And no matter how persuasive Dumbledore is, why would the school board ever agree to letting Hagrid be in charge of anything at Hogwarts if they so firmly believed it was he who opened it? How long had Hagrid been out of Azkaban before he was hired at Hogwarts, does it ever say?

It actually says it somewhere in the Godric's Hollow chapter of Deathly Hallows that Lily and James died in 1981 (so I made a mistake, it should have been he was born in 1980), but I remember way back before DH came out, every year when it was Harry's birthday, it would say how old he would be assuming he lived on past the last book. I honestly wouldn't have known it unless I read it explicitly!

That's one question that has always bothered me. I could have never left a baby alone on the porch like that. I wonder if Dumbledore put some sort of a protection charm around him. I was born in 1944, and way back then it was safe, but I'm not so sure I would be confident about the 80's, by then my son was a teen and things were getting a bit dicey..also it gets cool and night, we don't know how long it's been since this baby has eaten, etc. Not that he'll get much to eat at the Dursleys. That is another thing I wonder was he ever taken to a doctor for anything? WOuldn't the doctor question how thin he was??
I also was wondering about the wands... Ron is using someone else's wand which means it must be far less effective, since "the wand chooses the wizard"

Yes- it i the wand that choses the wizard- Ron is pretty hopeless with charms and tranfiguration
and in DH harry has trouble using the spare wand that Hermione gives him when his breaks

I actually just read something about this recently. When Dumbledore told Harry he saw a pair of socks, it could have been metaphorical. Usually, we wear socks to protect our feet from getting blisters from the shoes we wear, and during the winter, we wear socks as a source of warmth. Maybe Dumbledore saw his family, but not just them standing there. Maybe he saw the warmth of his family, where he could protect them?

According to the book, Harry was not delivered right away to his Aunt's house. In fact, Hagrid was "late" by Dumbledore's accounting. McGonagall had been watching the Dursleys all that day, because she had heard the rumors.



Apparently, he was not delivered right after the killings. Hagrid found him, and kept him until Dumbledore decided where he would go. I don't believe it was right after the murders, I believe it was the next evening/early morning.



It was dark in the movie when he was delivered to the doorstep, but it could have been right before dawn and the Dursley's would find him in an hour when they went to retrieve their paper.



Dumbledore snuffed out the street lights so no one would see which makes me think it was closer to the break of day than we may have thought. jmo

Another rather simplistic question occured to me while rereading DH. When a wizard is disarmed or for some other reason hasn't got a wand, cannot perform spells. If so, how can little children who haven't been to Hogwards and haven't got a wand do magic? It is even more strange for muggleborn little wizards who have no contact with the wizarding world. When Harry found himself sitting on the school kithcen roof in the Philosofer's Stone, did he apparate without a wand? We know that this is impossible.
I would appreciate your thoughts on the subject.

, It seems to me, and I haven't read this part in a long time, that when Snape told Harry at one point that it is possible for a wizard to learn to use his/her mind to do magic without a wand..I should imagine that it may be with children they are so open and free things happen and they don't even think about it. Maybe when you get older you have to work a little harder to let your mind go?

Children who have never been to Hogwarts yet can perform magic, but it's not really controlled. They can't do whatever they want like a trained wizard can, it's more just random bursts of magic, sometimes when the don't even mean to. As Hagrid said when he came to pick up Harry in...whatever that chapter was called in the first book, Harry did things when he was feeling emotional. He didn't mean to jump onto the roof (he didn't apparate), or release the snake at the zoo, and he didn't mean to make his hair grow back when Aunt Petunia cut it. Not all magic is performed with a wand, and when you don't have the proper education, the magic inside of you can come out at any time. A young wizard, just like a trained one who has lost their wand, can't channel their magic into doing something that they intend. So the disarmed wizard who has learned how to control these magical outbursts are helpless because they have relied on a wand for many years, so even if it was possible to do something productive with the "emotional magic", they can no longer do that because they have trained themselves to stop.
I hope that made sense.