Thanks for the feedback! It’s 9am on a workday and I am again at my desk *pretending* to work. Had a reread of my own post with a shot of caffeine under my belt and must concede that all my ol’ Uni Professors had a point in drilling me about proof reading my essays. Of course, in true graduate fashion, I have learned nothing. LOL

Looking very forward to your next episode… and not just because of what you said, but because the discussions are just so superior to the tech talk I am surrounded with all day in the office! In fact, just opening my latest bookmarked page to find a response was the best early birthday present (I start the downhill run to 30 tomorrow… oh woe). Well that and discovering that I got approved to take a week’s leave from Monday… and I got to pick no less than three cakes for tomorrow’s morning tea…

Hope to explore your My Space at lunch… just tried to sneak a look now but got busted. Where’s a good ‘Boss’ key when you need one, eh?

- Danielle

Thanks for listening, I hope to comment on your comment on the next show!

Anyway, I have *just* discovered podcasting (well, rather I just discovered you didn’t need an iPod to listen/subscribe to one… cue ‘D’oh moment) and spent last night downloading a good portion of your back catalogue (which I must say is much easier on the bandwith than other, shamelessly commercialised, plagiarising ‘casts that shall-not-be-named-but-heavily-hyphenated-in-true-Harry-Potter-fashion). Been listening to them all morning at work (lovin’ those lil’ Extendable Ears that creep out from my desk drawer and tuck discreetly into the ear) and whilst I have much I would like to extrapolate upon, I have to say that this one episode was one that resonated the most.

Now I have fielded the possibility of Snape being at Godric’s Holllow many times, but something in the way in which you presented it drove me to draw a correlation that may or may not be ‘old news’ (in which case this is just a case of my subconscious playing with my mind). Assuming Snape had ‘turned’ BEFORE Voldemort’s downfall, and, in much the same way Dumbledore could share the location of Grimmauld Place without physically being present, certain members of ‘the old crowd’ were privy to the location of the Potter’s hiding place, in the aim to provide additional protection (but of course they all thought the hand-written notes revealing the secret to them were provided by Secret Keeper Sirius Black, as per one of Padfoot’s grand schemes to try and mislead Tom and, perhaps, flush out an Order spy… which of course backfired when said spy turned out to be Secret Keeper Pettigrew).

*takes breath and apologises profusely to my high school English teacher for never quite ridding myself of the perilous run-on sentence*

What then, if, much like the Order’s involvement in shadowing Harry’s movements at Privet Drive, James had given Dumbledore his Invisibility Cloak for the purposes of having trusted Order members watch over them and Snape, (as either an Order member or some plot on Dumbledore’s part to give the recently-redeemed Snape an opportunity to prove himself) had been present that night, under the cloak? Whilst it is a widely-established fact that Snape owed James a ‘Life Debt’ for the Shrieking Shack incident, back in their fifth year, very little is known about the consequences a witch or wizard might face for failing to fulfil said debt. Dumbledore might have placed Snape in a position to repay that debt, underestimating the depth of their mutual hatred towards each other, and when the crucial moment came, the darker side of Snape won out… thus prompting him to continuously strive to repay the life debt by saving Harry all those times years later. (The question then, of whether or not Harry owes Snape a Life Debt in turn is something left for later discussion, but worth munching on…)

Now Maya, in her very informative ‘wet blanket’ post on February 10 pointed out that Snape was at Hogwarts that Halloween, on the basis of what he told Bellatrix at the beginning of ‘Half-Blood Prince’. However, to re-examine Snape’s words to Bellatrix, he only infers that he was at Hogwarts, and there is – in my humble opinion – no solid evidence to suggest that he was. The character of Severus Snape does not strike me as one students will seek to recall the whereabouts of on a particular night, sixteen years after the fact, and I think Snape was banking on this when assuring Bellatrix with such a backhanded comment.

The stories we read are, first and foremost, from Harry’s point of view, and given the notoriety between the two it is expected for Harry to feel Snape’s eyes boring into the back of his head (or, conversely, the man’s absence) more than a regular student. Snape doesn’t strike me as one to frequent meals in the Great Hall with such regularity that his absence would be cause for noting (and remembering) years later. Likewise, given the timeline, Snape’s appointment at the school would have been relatively new in Halloween 1981, and so his movements would not have figured very prominently in his student’s later recollections. If we were talking about the celebrations AFTER news of Voldemort’s downfall broke, and Snape’s reaction thereafter (i.e. had he shunned the celebrations) it might have raised a few eyebrows, but at the time of the Halloween Feast (assuming the Potters weren’t murdered after curfew – in which case there is no accounting for Severus’ location by student observers) it was just a ‘normal’ Halloween (well as normal as it could get in the ‘height’ of a wizarding war).

But I digress. Back to the theory of Snape being at Godric’s Hollow under the Invisibility Cloak. Whether then paralysed by his fear of the Dark Lord (i.e. getting caught out) or his dark hatred of James Potter, if Severus Snape was present at Godric’s Hollow it is clear he did nothing. Now I am not even going to speculate on which side this inaction then throws Snape towards (I am slightly bias in my opinions thereof and do not wish to compromise the integrity of my assumptions), but I will say this: assuming Snape was at Godric’s Hollow under the Invisibility Cloak, and Dumbledore not only condoned his presence, but understood the man’s hesitation at the crucial moment, it sheds a whole new light on to why Dumbledore insisted Harry remain under that same cloak – and physically powerless to act – up there on the Astronomy Tower. Why not simply pack the boy off on his broom (which we all know is very fast and could likely out run any pursuit) or thrust a Portkey in his hand (been done in Hogwarts grounds before, after all) or allow him to keep his faculties? No, I think Dumbledore wanted Harry to feel that helplessness and witness Snape killing him for a reason… what if that reason was (an attempt) to have the two understand each other? What if certain aspects of Snape’s past – i.e. his presence at Godric Hollow – were bound to come to light and Dumbledore’s dying wish was to ensure Harry had firsthand experience of what it was like to be a silent witness… teach him, perhaps, that sometimes acting in the interests of self-preservation (unwilling though it was in Harry’s case) acted in the greater good (as opposed to leaping in like a half-cocked Gryffindor).

Whilst I stated earlier that Severus’ inaction that night (had he indeed been present that night) could have been fuelled by either fear (of the Dark Lord) or hatred (towards James), here is another thought to consider: what if, in seeing Voldemort arrive at Godric’s Hollow, Severus saw no hope of victory and scrambled to – in true Slytherin fashion – look out for number one (by staying hidden). It could be a human infallibility that Dumbledore may have been able to overlook (i.e. forgive) upon the man’s eventual return to the school, or maybe Snape had been under specific orders (from Dumbledore) to do whatever it took to maintain his cover in the (then unlikely) event of Voldemort and/or Death Eaters turning up to attack Godric’s Hollow on Snape’s watch. Or… maybe… in acknowledging his own infallibility, Dumbledore welcomed Snape back into the fold because no wizard in their right mind would put a Slytherin as a bodyguard (let alone to a person said Slytherin hated) and expect them to act like a heroic Gryffindor when the time came – Life Debt to fulfil or no.

Well those are my five cents, folks… will boldly step down from my soap box and shamelessly admit that I just took an extra long lunch…

Looking forward to listening to more of your discussions… hope all of my prattling above made some sense to you!

- Danielle

:S

I think the biggest thing we can get from that quote is that these Jo clues aren’t always 100% accurate and we shouldn’t (necessarily) take them as the gospel. My proof is that she didn’t mention the mirror in the 6th book. Right? Then again, it is 4:54 AM and I am awake so maybe she did and I can’t remember. Hmm looking back at that quote- maybe I am wrong. I don’t know. I am rambling…

I just saw this on Jo site and I wanted to discuss it with you all:

F.A.Q. about the books section

Why did Harry have to forget the mirror he had been given by Sirius in “Order of the Phoenix”?

Jo responds:

“I can’t give a full answer to this because it is relevant to books six and seven. However, the short answer is that Harry was determined never to use the mirror as is clearly stated in chapter 24 of OOTP:”he knew he would never use whatever it was”. For once in Harry’s life, he does not succumb to curiosity, he hides the mirror and the temptation away from himself, and then, when it might have been useful, he has forgotten it.

The mirror might not have helped as much as you think, but on other hand, will help more than you think. You’ll have to read the final books to understand that!!!”

What do u think?????

If all else fails, there’s always Time Turners. They’re like magical theory Band-Aids!

LMAO That’s hilarious!

Excellent work Maya, I’m very glad you presented us those quotes, because something from the book itself cannot be deemed not 100% true! So thanks for taking the time and organizing that

I don’t think it really completely messes up the whole theory, but I believe that even though one aspect of the theory may now not be true, all of the other parts of it could be still, you know? By using bits and pieces, we then can combine them all, and I truly do believe that by the end of our waiting period (ah, July can’t come any faster!), we can have this all pre-determined, and be satisfied with all of the prognosticating… this makes me happy!

But seriously, Maya- thanks for all those well thought out and well researched quotes. Yeah, it very well may quash the whole theory we presented, but I am not convinced that they 100% make it completely unbelievable. I guess time will tell. This is why this is so much fun. It is great to present these well thought out theories (as VM did) but then it is also great to discuss them, think about them, refute them (as Maya did) and the like. I guess the good news is that we will find out sooner rather than later.

I think I am going to go cry.

NAQ

… which means, ‘never asked question’.

Why did Dumbledore have James’ invisibility cloak at the time of James’ death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?

Prior to posting this I had a quick look on-line, and realised that some fans have been speculating about this question. However, nobody has ever asked me about it, and they really should have done. Just to allay the fears of the justifiably suspicious, this isn’t what we in the know call ‘a Mark Evans situation.’* There IS a significant – even crucial – answer.

“There IS a significant even crucial answer”….that could lead to new interesting theories!!!!:D

—–

PS/SS, ch 12:

Harry pulled off the cloak and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were the following words:

Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.

A Very Merry Christmas to you.

—–

PS/SS, ch 17:

When he found his voice again, Harry said, “And the invisibility cloak– do you know who sent it to me?”

“Ah– your father happened to leave it in my posession, and I thought you might like it.” Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled. “Useful things… your father used it mainly for sneaking off to the kitchens to steal food when he was here.”

—–

JKR’s website (http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/extrastuff_view.cfm?id=23):

NAQ

… which means, ‘never asked question’.

Why did Dumbledore have James’ invisibility cloak at the time of James’ death, given that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak?

Prior to posting this I had a quick look on-line, and realised that some fans have been speculating about this question. However, nobody has ever asked me about it, and they really should have done. Just to allay the fears of the justifiably suspicious, this isn’t what we in the know call ‘a Mark Evans situation.’* There IS a significant – even crucial – answer.

—–

GoF, chapter 30:

“No!” shouted Karkaroff, straining at the chains that bound him to the chair. “I assure you! Severus Snape is a Death Eater!”

Dumbledore had gotten to his feet.

“I have given evidence already on this matter,” he said calmly. “Severus Snape was indeed a Death Eater. However, he rejoined our side before Lord Voldemort’s downfall and turned spy for us, at great personal risk. He is now no more a Death Eater than I am.”

—–

HBP, chapter 2:

Bellatrix said nothing, but looked, for the first time, a little discomfited. Snape did not press the point. He picked up his drink again, sipped it, and continued, “You ask where I was when the Dark Lord fell. I was where he had ordered me to be, at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, because he wished me to spy upon Albus Dumbledore. You know, I presume, that it was on the Dark Lord’s orders that I took up the post?”

—–

HBP, chapter 25:

Dumbledore waited until Harry had nodded curtly, then went on. “Professor Snape made a terrible mistake. He was still in Lord Voldemort’s employ on the night he heard the first half of Professor Trelawney’s prophecy. Naturally, he hastened to tell his master what he had heard, for it concerned his master most deeply. But he did not know– he had no possible way of knowing– which boy Voldemort would hunt from then onward, or that the parents he would destroy in his murderous quest were people that Professor Snape knew, that they were your mother and father–”

Harry let out a yell of mirthless laughter.

“He hated my dad like he hated Sirius! Haven’t you noticed, Professor, how the people Snape hates tend to end up dead?”

“You have no idea of the remorse Professor Snape felt when he realized how Lord Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy, Harry. I believe it to be the greatest regret of his life and the reason that he returned–”

—–

I know that some people work under the assumption that almost everything in the books and every word out of Rowling’s mouth is likely to be part of a giant web of lies… but I’m not really one of those people.

So what I get from these quotes is that:

1. The cloak passed directly from James to Dumbledore. There is room to wonder if James left it with Dumbledore accidentally, but not much of a case to say Dumbledore got it from anyone other than James. (Especially when you consider that Dumbledore began the PS/SS chapter 17 conversation by saying, “I shall not, of course, lie.”)

2. The cloak was left with Dumbledore before James died, and he still had it at the time of James and Lily’s deaths.

3. Snape switched sides (or pretended to, if you think he fooled Dumbledore) before the Potters were killed.

4. The story Snape gave when he went to Dumbledore involved him regretting telling Voldemort of the prophecy once he found out that it meant the Dark Lord would be targeting the Potter family.

5. Snape claims he was at Hogwarts the night Voldemort fell. He could be lying– no matter what side you think Snape’s on, there’s a case to be made that he was less than honest with Bellatrix during their conversation. However, this would be a riskier lie to tell than some others. Bellatrix could actually go and investigate this one herself instead of taking the claim to Voldemort as she would’ve had to with most of the others. After all, the Potters were killed on a school night during term (recall that the story specifically begins on a Tuesday morning). Not only a school night, but Halloween. Surely someone would’ve noticed if a teacher skipped the traditional feast and celebrations? And even if you’d like to argue that Snape snuck away to Godric’s Hollow later that night, there’s still the questions of when he managed to learn that Voldemort would be striking that night and why he didn’t tell Dumbledore what he knew before the attack took place. There’s wiggle room, to be sure, but not enough that I’ll be shocked if it turns out that Snape was exactly where he claimed to be that night.

Not trying to bash anyone’s ideas to bits here, just thought these things were worth bringing up.

Penny and Greg – You mentioned on your podcast that J.K. Rowling said that Book 7 was her favorite book of the series. Which reminded me of something that I had read in a J.K. Rowling interview once. I think, that it was just after J.K. Rowling finished Book 6 that she was asked what her most favorite book of the series was. Her reply? Usually, it’s the book that I’m currently writing or just finished. So my favorite book, now, is Book 6.

I looked for the J.K. Rowling ‘exact quote’ but couldn’t find it. You know in some ways it makes perfect sense that she would be excited about and enjoying the one that she’s writing or just written as opposed to the others. Let a few years go by and ask her again and she could, probably, give you a more objective answer to that question.

=s

For a better explanation, see either the blog post on Deathly Hallows explained or listen to that episode.

Speaking of the Lily’s eyes thing- the funniest thing I heard on Mugglecast about that was the theory one listener sent in that Harry must have gone to Godric’s Hollow, exhumed Lily’s body and literally took her eyeballs (Gross) out of her head and “that is why Harry has Lily’s eyes.”

I am sorry that we at Harry Potter Prognostications are just so darn popular that our phone rings off the hook the ENTIRE time we are recording an episode. Good?!?

Love the podcast. Keep it up.

So how about I love Potter Puppet Pals. That’s where my signature and avatar are from on the HP Progs forum (which everyone should join so we can really get talking!)

Happy Birthday Greg!

But anyway, that makes sense, Penny, on her not being enlisted as a public official. I do kinda agree with you in saying that she probably didn’t work for that. But, JKR said that Lily is very important in Deathly Hallows, so I’m wondering exactly what hasn’t been unearthed yet– it’s obviously big, so it might be connected to the Dept of Mysteries, so it doesn’t necessarily mean she had to work there to know it…. but then again as I’m typing this I’m contradicting myself already. 0.o

Here’s what mugglenet had on their site in a bulleted list of what we know is to be true:
* The fact that Harry “has his mother’s eyes” will prove to be an important plot point
*We will find out something “incredibly important” about Lily Potter

So, I think that this is what we can base our things on for sure. Seeing that JKR said something incredibly important about her, do you think that it’s a secret? Or do you think that it’s just something Harry doesn’t know (and wasn’t meant to be a secret, per se)?

As far as Lily being an unspeakable- that makes sense. I am seriously looking forward to the whole ministry/death room/love room/department of mysteries/veil being explained. It should be interesting to see whether Lily (or James) had an active part in any of that. As far as the money being indicative of Lily having a ministry job, that I will have to disagree with you. I don’t think any public servant really ever gets THAT much money. Just my thought.

Welcome, Amanda. I had heard about the Potter Puppet Pals but hadn’t seen any of them. That was hysterical! I especially liked the part with Gilderoy Lockhart! Classic. Good find (especially for this episode!!)

By the way, Spenser (and JB when she posts)- love the whole Kentucky/southern thing YALL got going on there. It warms my East Coast/MD heart up!