So the Harry Potter series has ended, we know that Voldemort dies, Harry and Ginny get together, Ron and Hermione get together, Neville marries Hannah and works at Hogwarts, so there isn't anything else that we need to know...right??? We all know that is wrong...we don't know everything, and we may never know, but what is your biggest question from the HP series?? Please make sure to explain your reasoning.

Excellent question ! Goodness Iheartprofessorsnape, I have many questions. I will concentrate on one (very, very difficult to do) but here goes.

It has been brought up in other threads by several posters; but I myself had always wondered how exactly Dumbledore knew that the death of Lily had generated a magical sacrificial protection for Harry. We are told that it is a powerful counter-charm, old magic, from Voldemort himself. And yet, no one had ever survived an AK before.

It appears Dumbledore knows about this sacrificial protection before he placed Harry with the Dursleys; and it is because of this that Dumbledore chose Petunia, as Lily's blood relative, to be Harry's guardian. Lily's death generated protection for Harry from Voldemort himself; Dumbledore sealed this protection by placing a charm over the Dursleys so that Harry would be safe from Voldemort. So, how did both Dumbledore and Voldemort know that Lily generated a magical sacrificial protection?

For me, I thought we would find out a lot more about Lily and James' past, because I thought that the way they "thrice defied" LV was going to be very important. I thought this would have explained why LV assumed that the prophecy referred to the Potters rather than the Longbottoms, who were very popular in their day. Neither of these concepts are particularily clear to me.

However, to answer Lirene's question: there's no question that this protection is extremely complex in nature. Even the "requirements" to generate the protection have numerous subtleties to them. This indicates to me that precious few wizards - who have explored the limits of magic to an extent far beyond the norm - even know if its existence. DD and LV certainly fall into this category; I get the impression that no two wizards have ever delved that deeply into magical understanding before.

LV obviously didn't see it coming the first time around, and I think this is because he doesn't understand the subtlties behind the generation of this magic. As we saw in GoF, he is under the impression that it was just Lily's actions that did the trick; he has no idea that it was Lily's loving desperation to save her son that made the magic work. He doesn't know what it means to love someone, whether it's the love between friends or the love between a married couple, and this is evidenced by his views of good and evil: "There is no good and evil. There is only power, and those too weak to seek it". He thinks Lily's protection is just another form of magic; as a power. He doesn't realize that it's really an emotion-induced force.

This begs the question: how can such a blind point of view exist in a human being? Isn't the ability to understand love like this the very thing that sets us humans apart mechanical life forms, or even from the rest of the animal kingdom for that matter?

You have brought up a wonderful question IheartProfessorSnape.

But before I answer your question I would like to try and answer the question in the last post.

Lirene. From what I have read, all I can gather is that they didn't know of it until Harry said something so they could make the connection.
Dumbledore is very good at assumptions, but turning assumptions into facts is another matter, which Dumbledore is also very good at.
Dumbledore knew the Avada Kedavra curse didn't work, he knew the curse rebounded, and he knew the curse left a scar. Therefore he knew something ELSE was at work that evening.
Voldemort never realised that Lily's Love was what kept Harry alive, primarily because Voldemort has never tried to understand Love. He certainly got pieces of the puzzle, but never the entire puzzle.
Voldemort only realised what had happened once Harry had told him what happened, but he never saw it for what it truly was.

Love like this is not strictly a human emotion, it is what helps a mother nurture her children in the wild until they are old enough to fend for themselves. Mating is generally for the continuence of the species. It is certainly what sets Flesh & Blood apart from Mechanical objects.
Remember, the needs and wants of non-human creatures are not the same as ours, therefore their needs and wants may be something we don't fully understand.

But getting back to the question at hand. There are many questions I would like to see answered. Such as who died at the Battle Of Hogwarts, and where is everyone now and what are they doing.

I suppose the main thing I want so I can close the book is to know what happened to all the secondary characters (Dean, Seamus, Lavender, Parvati, Padma, Cho, Katie, Alicia, Ernie, Justin, Dennis Creevey...)

I tend to assume a lot (which I know I shouldn't) so when it comes to the thrice defied Voldemort. I merely tend to think they did battle with him and escaped.

The only other thing that's really been bugging me is Harry's ancestry, and just who is he related to?

I think that the Potter's are probably related to the Gryffondors, distantly. We know that at least 3 generations of Potter men have been Gryffondors, and James and Harry are very brave. Also, I don't think it was coincidence that made the Potter's chose Godrics Hollow to hide. They probably knew that they might be related to Godric, and where headed back to their ancestry. It could also be that Ignosious (sp) Peverell's (sp) female descendant married a Gryffondor, making Godric a descendant of the Peverells. Sorry for all the rambling.

My question is: How was Hogwarts built? We know that it was founded by the four founders started it, but how, and when was it built.

We know that Snape imparted the fact that Voldemort would go after the Potters to Dumbledore. However, I this part of the story is a bit murky. And I also would have like more insight to the events leading not only to the Potter murders, but the activities of the other Order members as well. I believe it might have lended more to the story if we had a more in depth look into how the Longbottoms were targeted. The only time we see the "thrice defied" LV as being important, is it's role in the prophecy.


What you say is true. These were extremely poweful and knowledgeable wizards. How did they know so much; meaning, how is it these two wizards delved so deeply in magic. Because at least to me, one has to want to read or learn about magical sacrificial protection. Could this information be found in "Secrets of the Darkest Arts"? Or is it they knew so much that they could put two and two together? That the "old magic" Voldemort was referring to in the graveyard in GOF meant that he understood "blood" as in related to; the old magic of families?



I will attempt to answer your question harrypottergeek2. I believe that with the creation of each and every one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, he became less and less of a man; less human. He could no longer have the same feelings as humans do simply because he didn't want those feelings; each time he murdered someone, he tore his soul. It has been argued that every time Voldemort tore his soul he did so in equal parts. I tend to disagree with this. I think it would be impossible to choose which part of your soul you don't want. So, with each and every bit that is torn off, he loses whatever emotional capacity that soul bit had to begin with. This is also the reason why I don't think Voldemort could have repented. Even if he wanted to, I believe he did not have that part of his soul anymore; the will to repent was torn away from him. Does anyone believe that Voldemort truly had the capacity to repent? Because even Hermione has doubts in DH:

Voldemort's physical transformation is startling; he becomes very snakelike. His outward appearance made no mistake that he was a Slytherin; a snake; the true heir of Salazar became the animal symbolic of the House of Salazar Slytherin. If one thinks about it, snakes have a rudimentary central nervous system; and I think that is what became of Voldemort as well; the soul bit left in him was a gruesome, rudimentary infant-like creature.

Here's another question (am I allowed more than one??). In the forest, when Voldemort hits Harry with the AK, both fall unconscious. Does anyone think that Voldemort got a glimpse of what his soul eventually became? Was he able to see his mutilated soul and comprehend what it was? Or was he too blind by his own power to even notice?


I remember Dumbledore's conversation with Harry in OOTP. Dumbledore seems to know very early on, that a sacrifical magical protection was generated. It's because of this knowledge that he sealed Lily's protection with a charm of his own. As for Voldemort, he didn't get any information from Harry either. Voldemort knew of the sacrificial magical protection, and it's because of his knowledge of this that he used Harry's own blood to resurrect himself; he wanted Harry's blood and the protection it imparted. I agree that Voldemort doesn't understand love, but he is intelligent enough to know that Lily's actions somehow gave Harry protection. He never mentioned love, he said "your mother died to protect you"; and that the old magic that was invoked was unforseen; but he understood what happened. (quote from memory).

I still want to know what that potion in the basin that DD drank was.

I have always had the theory that it was the Draught of Living Death (all, or in part). We never really had an answer for what it was. We only know what it did. If there is any question I would ask Rowling - given the chance - it would be that. I'm sure she knows - that she worked out exactly what it was. But to my knowledge, no one has ever asked.

I think you're on the right track with the part I bolded. Jo once said in an interview that she thinks DD was somewhat self-taught (which makes sense, because he invents new magic). He is able to take the foundations of magic that have already been established and expands on them (like with the Patronus messages - the Patronus already existed, but he expanded the ways in which it can be used). LV was the same way - he took the concept of a Horcrux and expanded on that. These are just a couple of instances, of course, but it just goes to show that both DD and LV are creative when it comes to magic. They see and understand the fundamentals of magic so well that they have the capacity to do more with it.



I really like this explanation. It falls in line with what I said in the Sorting Hat poll thread about the Hat looking into your soul to determine what you really are.



I think not, because LV's soul was too weak to allow himself to be connected to it that strongly. Even if LV did see that part of himself, the thing itself was so weak it woudn't be aware of its surroundings.



My apologies. My original explanation was a bit misleading. No, LV didn't understand Lily's love for her child, but he didn't understand Harry's love for the WW either, or Snap's love for Lily. It is love in its many forms that I was referring to, and that LV does not understand.

Well, we all know that LV wanted to split his soul into seven pieces. As far as most are concerned he did this. 6 material Horcruxes and the final being the soul left in his body. Of course he didn't know that Harry was a horcrux. What if there had been a 7th material horcrux he made? What if he didn't consider the soul in his body to be the 7th? There could have been 7 material Horcruxes, not counting the accidental Harry Horcrux and the soul left in his body. If there was one left that no one knew of or ever found he could still be out there somewhere. Perhaps, 19 years later he is still in a weakened state somewhere trying to regain his strength. Maybe, the next generation of Hogwart's students and a new order will still have to deal with Voldemort. It is possible that he could be somewhere trying to recruit one that will bring him back to power. MorseMordre!

Actually, we know that he only made six horcruxes intentionally. Harry was in his head as he ran through the locations of all of his horcruxes. Harry would have known then if he had made more.

darksoul07, I also think LV's physical body (such as it was) is evidence of his complete destruction. I know the soul is separate from the body, but if we look back at the first time LV was defeated, his body was not left behind as far as we know. So, the way I figure it, since Harry did not see another horcrux through his mind-connection to LV (as harrydavid said) and since LV's body was left behind, we are safe in the knowledge that he has been thoroughly, utterly and completely destroyed.

Hurrah!

I personally would love to know more about Professor McGonagall. She fascinates me. I would enjoy learning about her school days. Was there ever romance in her life? Or was teaching the love of her life? What work did she specialize in for the Order?

Also, it would be very interesting to get a glimpse into family gatherings in the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black when Sirius, Regulus, Bellatrix and Narcissa were children. Could you imagine?

I agree that there is potential for some interesting backstory there, but if there was one character in the series who's point of view I could see the story from, it'd be DD's. It would be fascinating to see his train of thought in many circumstances, particularily his battles with GW and LV (both the duels and the strategical ones). Afterall, we never did figure out what spell DD attacked LV with in the MoM (the one that made the loud sound like a gong when it hit LV's sheild: "You do not aim to kill me, DD?", or something like that), nor did we get the blow-by-blow account of his adventure at the Gaunt shack, even though he promised Harry he would.

Question : how do people invent there own spells??

Interesting question. I wonder if spells are invented or if they are discovered. Maybe the magic is there waiting to be discovered. You just have to work out the proper wand movement and incantation to discover the potential magic that was already there. The reason I think this is the way we saw so many crossings out in the Prince's potions book for the levicorpus spell. It seems like he was trying to find the right incantation.

Here is, maybe, a partial answer to the question of how the Potters and Longbottoms thrice defied Voldemort:

I'm still thinking about my own most pressing question. There are so many, and all those listed so far are good. Mine will, of course, have to be something about Lupin.

I'd say that spells are probably a raw magic, everywhere, until they are refined. The power of the spell is already there, but the incantation and the wand movement sort of focus it. So I would say they are discoverd.

Discoveries and inventions are (in this case) the same thing. An invention is really a discovery (although not all discoveries are inventions): one is taking materials and/or concepts that already exist and putting them together in a creative way to make something new. In the case of spells, you are really just harnessing the power of magic in a different, more creative way. Every spell, potion, plant, creature etc has always existed (or rather, could have existed) at any point in time; it's just that some aren't discovered until much later. Spells and potions, when discovered, also count as inventions because the said spell or potion has been "created" so to speak. Basically, all discoveries that involve some sort of creation on the discoverer's part qualify as inventions. That's how I look at it, anyway.

As for theotherhermit's response to my "thrice defied" question, I appreciate the input, but I already knew about that interview. What Jo doesn't give us in that interview are the specific details of the ways in which James and Lily (or Alice and Frank for that matter) did the defying. I always thought that these specific events were important because obviously the Longbottoms did more or less the same thing, yet James and Lily's actions stood out more vividly in LV's mind. I am just curious about what exactly James and Lily did to get LV's attention so effectively.

How come Harry and Ron never visited Hermione's house on a holiday? Obviously they couldnt go to Harry's but why not hers? I wanted them to go there in seven cause I think It'd be cool to see what her life at home is like, where she lives, friends and stuff. I also wonder what she was like before Hogwarts

I'm not sure that James and Lily were the deciding factor in why he went after Harry. Dumbledore tells Harry that he went after the half-blood, like himself, rather than the pure-blood. Others have also thought that perhaps since the prophecy said the child would be born as the 7th month died, then he went after Harry because he was born later, on the last day of the month, in fact.

An interesting point, but if your reasoning for this is because of the "and the Dark Lord will mark him as him equal" line of the prophecy, you have to remember that LV did not know that portion of it. That being said, I would think that, because the prophecy is talking about the "Chosen One", LV - with his pure-blood mania - would be more likely to view the pure-blood as the greater threat. True, this mania is extremely hypocritical, as he knows he is a half-blood, and arrogantly considers himself to be the most powerful wizard of them all. However, LV also thinks he is special, and is therefore likely to think that half-bloods in general (other than himself) are less powerful than pure-bloods. Again, this is just my opinion, and I am open to other takes on this.

Are there any more hidden places or secret passages in Hogwarts yet to be discovered? If so, what are they?

I like to think there might be a secret passage way down to the merpeople's village in the Black Lake. That way the headmasters of Hogwarts can pop down to have a word with the merpeople without getting wet or when the lake is frozen over in winter.

I think that Ron and Harry never visited Hermione because her parents were muggles. I've always been under the impression that Hermione's parents never really knew what went on at Hogwarts. They knew that they learned magic, and that aspect, but not all the stuff like the Philosophers Stone, and the rest.

As to other secret passages, I'd say definitely. The marauders knew seven, then there was the one in the room of requirment(sp), but there are probably others. The castle is hundreds of years old, and some renovations must have taken place. There might be some that were like the wall into Diagon Alley, it looks like a wall but isn't. They may have been covered with a tapestry. There might also be some in parts of the school that are off limits to students (Headmasters Tower).

Firstly, as both Hermione's parents are dentists, they probably both work, so most likely wouldn't be available for much of the holidays. It also makes sense for magical children to be in a magical environment, and there is the issue of protecting Harry to consider, which again favours the Burrow.

Good point, roonwit. Also, Ron doesn't know much about muggles, so it might cause problems with Hermione's muggle friends.

Good points. I also think there is something to be said about the people at the Burrow vs. people at Hermione's house. I get the impression that Hermione's an only child, so there aren't any extra people to hang around with in Hermione's family whereas there are several at the Burrow, all of whom (except for Percy, perhaps) are close friends with the trio.

I would imagine that there is importance in not only protecting Harry, but those close to him as well. As has been said, it wouldn't have been prudent to let Harry spend the holidays with Hermione's parents: for their own protection as well.

True. It would also be a bit awkward if Hermione's old friends came by, and found her hanging out with two guys. They would question her. but if she told them that she was at a friend from school's house, they would just think she was visiting one of her new friends. Also she could tell her parents she was visiting Ginny if they didn't want her to go.

This might add some insight into your question above. The following is an exerpt from Rowling in BBC Newsround, 2002

So, my interpretation of this is that Voldemort purposely chose to target Harry not necessarily because he was a bigger threat to Voldemort, but because he had the same defect if you will that Harry does; each one possesses a Muggle born parent. So being the pure-blooded supremacist, he singles Harry out and destroys him because of this; there is no way a half-bood like himself will ever be able to destroy him. I hope this helps; and I welcome more interpretations as my own is probably not sufficient .

I think Voldemort fears Harry, unconsciously, deep down. He probably thought that Harry would expose the heritage that he worked so hard to conceal.

Did Lupin dump Tonks in the after-life? She didn't show up at the reunion scene and he didn't mention her. He was young, healthy and happy...maybe he found the single life more enticing up there. Tonks wouldn't have a problem finding someone else either. JKR said Lily and James were soulmates so you figure they stayed together, but that wasn't said of Lupin and Tonks. Made me wonder...

I think she wasn't there because it wasn't part of the plot. Lupin had more important things on his mind, ad he wouldn't think to mention it. I think they are leading a very happy after life. I don't think you can be poor, or be a werewolf in the after life. So I think they are happy together. This is why he was so happy. They could finally be together without any complications.

I agree. I believe the people who appeared to Harry were the ones he most wanted to have with him, and Tonks wasn't mentioned, nor anything else about what goes on in the afterlife, because the focus was on Harry's immediate needs.

Going back to the question of how the Potters defied Voldemort, I, too, had the idea that they (and the Longbottoms as well) must have done three very specific and heroic things. After hearing what the author had to say about it, however, I'm now wondering if she really did have anything specific in mind. I hope so, and I hope we'll hear more about it some day!

I think the Potters and Longbottoms probably captured large groups of Death Eaters, or very important Death Eaters. So many that it was a set back to Voldemort in his attempt at world domination. Maybe he had a secind in charge, who was captured and kissed. We now that Voldemort was very independent, but he probably had someone who helped him. Who gave orders in battles if he was busy. They would still be under his control, but they were more than an average Death Eater.

Jo defined "defying" pretty widely in the Pottercast interview pretty widely (basically any thwarting or opposing Voldemort and his minions) but she did say that one defiance was that Voldemort tried to get them to join him and they refused.

I think it's interesting that Voldemort thinks not joining him is defying him. I'm surprised he didn't kill them. I would think that he is the sort of guy who would rather see someone dead then on the enemies side. Maybe he did try and have them killed, but they survived, and that was defying him again.

Does anyone know if there is a way for us to ask Jo to include our unanswered questions in the Encyclopedia? There have been some great questions asked and I would love for there to be a way to ask Jo to answer them. She seems like the kind of author that would accommodate the fans if she could.

I agree: wonderful questions are arising in this thead! Harrydavid, when I joined leaky, one of the posters was trying to answer a question I had and they gave me the following information:


Maybe there are more addresses that I am not aware of.

okay, i know this may seem stupid, but i really want to know what Hermione does for a job... does she work in the Auror office? does she get involved in House Elves and push SPEW through to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures... oh god there are so many possibilities for her...

invisibilitybooster, Hermione went on to work for the Ministry in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. She did keep working for House-elf rights. And she later worked for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

(that's according to the lexicon...can we still use the lexicon? I feel a little like I'm cheating on JKR. )

This is from an interview with JKR in case you feel guilty about using the Lexicon:
JKR: "Hermione began her post-Hogwarts career at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures where she was instrumental in greatly improving life for house-elves and their ilk. She then moved (despite her jibe to Scrimgeour) to the Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement"

Thanks Alysaw. I remembered I had read that at the lexicon a long time ago and didn't know another source for it.

[/quote]Actually, we know that he only made six horcruxes intentionally. Harry was in his head as he ran through the locations of all of his horcruxes. Harry would have known then if he had made more.
[/quote]


It could be possible that he lost one and didn't know where to look for it.

What if, in an attempt to conceal the location of his horcrux from everyone, he hid it, then obliviated himself?

It didn't matter whether or not Voldemort obliviated himself as far as the location of the Horcruxes are concerned. Remember, that Dumbledore didn't find out what the Horcruxes were from Voldemort himself. Dumbledore had to do quite a bit of extensive investigating; and he went back into Voldemort's past to gain a lot of those anwers; a past that included a very telling interview with the young Tom Riddle. As far as the diadem, Dumbledore and Harry had in fact postultated that there was a very big chance that Voldemort probably hid a Horcrux at Hogwarts; it was a bit of luck on Harry's part that he remembered the bust with a very old "diadem" in the Room of Requirement, which was used to hide his potions book.

Yes, but i meant when Harry is in Voldemorts head, seeing all the horcruxes are. He thinks that he sees them all, but what if he didn't see one because Voldemort couldn't remember it. I like this theory, but find it somewhat unrealistic.

Well, I don't think Voldemort would have wanted to forget what his Horcruxes were or where they are .

Voldemort does a tally on his Horcruxes in his mind; however, Voldemort only thought of Hogwarts itself: he didn't actually think of the Room of Requirement; Harry had to figure that one out.

Why would he though? Voldemort would never admit to himself the possibility of Harry finding out the locations of the horcruxes by reading his mind, so he had no reason to do so. In fact Voldemort seems convinced that no-one would ever find his horcruxes, even after it is obvious that Harry knew about the cup.

True, which is why i said it was unrealistic. It's just a sort of thing that I think would be really cool. Just goes to show that I read way to much fanfic.

Does anyone think that Voldemort got a glimpse of what his soul eventually became? Was he able to see his mutilated soul and comprehend what it was? Or was he too blind by his own power to even notice?

I think that if he did he would pay no attention, it was to weak to be of intrest to him. But if he was there he would be that thing, not be looking at it right? Perhaphs he was hanging in the life and death phase like Harry.. Anyone know if that's official?

I read that again last night, and was wondering the same thing. I don't believe that his ego would be able to comprehend that the mutilated soul piece was anything to do with him. He probably thought that he had fainted from killing Harry and was having a bit of a nightmare.