Minor spoilish thoughts

[mamadeb]

Just an observation - "Snape's Worst Memory" happened at the end of his fifth year, but he used the hexes that were clearly developed (crossouts and everything) in the margins of a sixth-year text. I wonder why he chose to use his mother's text that way - I'm guessing that, since it was a semi-magical household and he showed such great promise in Potions, she allowed him to experiment with the book. Or he snuck away to to do it. And if he were recording potions experiments, he might as well do the hexes, too.

It's also impressive that he developed those hexes at age fifteen.

On another note: Do I have a different text than everyone else? Because in all of my books - and I have several copies of them - Harry's mother's name is spelled Lily, yet I'm seeing Lilly everywhere. And in my books, British witches are called Madam, yet I'm seeing Madame everywhere.

I'm really wondering. Am I the one not seeing what is written?

Comments

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

I don't know where the "Lilly" thing comes from.

But after many years of French, it's difficult for me to remember to write "Madam" and I have to make a conscious effort to do so, just as I'd have to make a very conscious effort to spell "magick" without a K and usually don't bother.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

You have an excuse. :)

Magick bugs me less because you're one of the few who do that. It does bug me in that, to me, "magick" is part of a religious system and Potterverse magic ability appears to be genetic.

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

A lot of people think 'magick' is a religious system but it shouldn't really be taken that way, because the use of the spelling is found in adherents of a wide variety of religions.

Mind you, there are a lot of neo-Wiccans who'd like to claim it, just as they continually claim that the Law of Thelema is the Wiccan Rede with a piece missing. Traditional Wiccans--Gardnerians, Alexandrians--are much less annoying. And then there's magik, majic, majik, and every other weird spelling out there. Those are just plain affected and annoying.

Crowley restored the archaic 'k' to the word in order to make a distinction between magick and stage magic, aka prestidigitation. Therefore, typing 'magic' to refer to what wizards are doing goes against my training, because they're not pulling rabbits out of hats or doing card tricks.

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

I think of what Potterverse folks do as thaumaturgy (non-religious magick) with a lot more energy behind it due to the genetic boost. The reason I think of it this way is that real-world historical magicians appear in the Potterverse histories as magicians, so they clearly are continuing real-world traditions, it's just that the powerful ones withdrew from involvement in the Muggle world.

Of course a lot of people who haven't any occult knowledge think all real-world magick is religious, and it isn't, though it can certainly have religious consequences.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Ah.

I don't think I'm ever going to stop blinking at that spelling, but now I understand why you use it.

[eponis.livejournal.com]

The text might've been intended sixth year, but I could see a Severus who grew up reading and rereading his mother's magical textbooks - he knew countless dark curses even as a first-year, after all - and was using the "Advanced" text long before it was assigned.

And yeah, Lilly is just a common typo, I believe.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

I see it too often throughout entire posts.

She's clearly named for the flower, like so many women in these books (including her own sister). The flower is always spelled Lily. The only "Lilly" I know is the name of a drug company.

Do people think it's short for Lillian?

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

Some people do. I've seen "Lillian Evans" before, and boggled at it.

I think it's become more common since Veronica Mars came out. There's a character, Lilly Kane (Veronica's dead best friend), whose name really is Lillian.

[kid-lit-fan.livejournal.com]

Lily is one of those old-fashioned names that has had a bit of a resurgence in the past few years. But I see the Lilly spelling more often than spelled like the flower. There's a very cute kid's book called Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, I wonder if it has anything to do with it. I also wonder if the double-l spelling is an American thing (not in the books, it's Lily on both continents, but among USAnian parents.)

However, Lily ranked at #52 in 2004 and Lilly was #213. In the 1950's Lilly was #793 and Lilly...#794!

http://www.babynamewizard.com/blog/index.html

[kressel.livejournal.com]

Why wouldn't Mrs. Snape encourage her studious son? She must have been quite the brain herself. I'm very curious as to what sort of team she was captain of, but my guess is that is was academic and not athletic.

Whether she knew he was dabbling in Dark Arts is a bigger question. I guess we'll find that out in the next book, and we'll also find out if Snape's "history" as McGonagall put it, is more personal than just having been a Death Eater.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

I need to check it out, but we've not seen any other "Captains" besides the Quidditch captains. Which is interesting, as either then she was not a Slytherin *or* they've changed their policy. Notice that no girls play on the current Slytherin Quidditch team.

Which does not preclude studiousness. Also - note that Snape was the only one qualified to referee a Quidditch match in PS/SS, so he had to have more than a passing knowledge of the game. Which, if his mother played, he well might.

[kressel.livejournal.com]

But she wasn't a Quidditch captain. It was something like "G-rocks." I'll look it up later, IY"H.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

Gobstones?

That seems to be the wizarding version of jacks or kugelach.

[kressel.livejournal.com]

Tee hee! Magical kugelach! I LOVE IT!

Policy????

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

I don't think there is a policy. I think there just don't happen to be any girls on the team. Has it ever been said that Slytherin doesn't allow girls to play? I don't recall ever reading that in any of the books. Just that they don't mention any.

And I think I did see a girl player in one of the movies though I could be wrong.

I've certainly written female Slytherin Quidditch players in pastfic.

Re: Policy????

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

In six years (minus the year of the Triwizard Tournament, of course), they have not had a female player. Harry remarked on it a couple of times.

It may not be a deliberate policy, of course, and it seems as though Gryffindor is unusual for the number of female players - Ravenclaw, for example, only had Cho one year, and I'm not sure there are any female Hufflepuff players.

I honestly don't count the movies - My Remus, just for example, does not have a scarred face. Because, if he did, Harry would have said.

Re: Policy????

[ataniell93.livejournal.com]

I do and don't count the movies.

For instance, I tend to use movie canon when it comes to uniforms, because Ms Rowling is obviously not a mediaevalist and is probably not aware that a single layer of robe over skivvies is not a viable option for clothing oneself in a castle in Scotland.

And my Remus is scarred because Harry does mention scars, just not on his face. (My Moody, however, is not balding.)

But the fact that there haven't been any girls in the whole time Harry's been there could mean any of a number of things other than an explicit policy.

It could mean Snape doesn't think girls should play Quidditch; I doubt Slughorn cares, he's pals with Gwenog Jones. It could mean they haven't had any particularly talented girls for a while. I mean, the reason we have girls' sports and guys' sports is because it does take a particularly talented female to keep up with guys. I'm not surprised that Gryffindor has a lot more than the other houses because they tend to attract the athletic types. I do admit to wondering why Millicent Bulstrode hasn't gone out for Quidditch since she's apparently strong and not just fat, but maybe she's afraid of heights.

In any sport where upper body strength counts, that's co-educational, you're going to have more guys than girls.

Re: Policy????

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

When it comes to uniforms - I figure that the robes are the uniform (and I picture it more as an over-the-head sort of thing than a open academic type) worn over whatever the students want. In the summer, that may well be just undergarments; in the winter, they'd layer up. "Snape's Worst Memory" is June.

I never said Remus wasn't scarred - just not on his face. Of course he's scarred.

I don't think that Snape has much to do with setting team policy - McGonagall, once she introduced Harry to Oliver and gave him the broom, has stayed strictly away, and Harry seems to have had no interference at all in his management of the team.

However, Slytherin currently prefers size to speed. This makes sense, since both have advantages, and only the Seeker really needs speed.

[fatale.livejournal.com]

Comment, yo.