Little Questions

[Alz]

I have a couple of questions in my mind that aren't going to be huge ground breakers but still worthy of considerations from you all ...
As such - I figured a thread dedicated to small things that you read that are bugging you - but not quite big enough for full thread debate ...
I will, as always, start ... :D

1. Felix
OK - so we are told it takes around 6 months to brew felix - so how come there was a big vat of it in Sluggy's first class - and considering he wasn't sure he was going to take the job ...
We see Harry visit Sluggy around end of July/Start of August - school starts in September - so who brewed the potion ...
Where is the remainder of the potion now?

2. Polyjuice
Same kind of deal as above - although plausible to have been done in time ... still

3. Polyjuice #2
Harry remarks about the big vat of Polyjuice that had been disappearing over the year ... was it ever noted or bought up in the book before Harry passing comment?
Why the heck would you have left polyjuice potion laying around and not sealed etc - how come Draco knew where it was and was able to get his hands on it?

4. Polyjuice #3
If Draco could get to the polyjuice - was the Felix still in the same place - if so why didn't he just use Felix rather than polyjuice?
Why would someone leave polyjuice laying around but get rid of or hide the felix?

5. Sluggy's reaction
Something about Sluggy's reactions and what he says when Harry is pushing him on the events of his parents death during the Aragog post burial scene's - watch what Sluggy says as Harry is describing the events of the fateful night

6. Sluggy - again
When Ron starts convulsing after drinking the poisoned Mead - Sluggy just stares and doesn't say a word - Harry is left to react and resolve - why did Sluggy freeze, he was the adult and also potions expert ...

That will do for starters :o

[Sirius Potter Fan]

Well, the simple (and probably wrong LOL) answer to all of these questions would be insonsistancy in writting and plot line. sometimes authors write something in then forget about it, or don't consider explaining how it got there in the first place if it is something that would be out of it's normal place or time. JKR is typicaly careful about things like that though, so although possible:eek: I'm thinking that she may have some reason behind the inconsistancies.

The Felix and the Polyjuice - could have already been brewing it for a while before even asked to teach, with Voldemort/Riddle back in action he may have felt the need for some luck or disguises. As for not noticing the decreasing amount . . . it has been suggested that he traded places with DD in the cave, and I can see some evidence of that, but that discussion is somewhere else, but a possiblilty, so if he was using some of it himself on a regular basis, I can see why he may not notice it dissappearing, he would just figure he was taking it.

Why would Draco take the polyjuice and not the felix? Absolutely no idea there. Only thing would seem that the felix was either closed up with a spell, or put away. Or, possibly made temporarily invisible, but that is reaching a bit.

OK all for me now, leave the others to someone else!

[Blanche A. McFusty]

On the felix potion-I had a feeling that Slughorn is more attached to the effect of this potion than he lets on to the students. The cauldron that the students see the potion bubbling in is small. It would have been easy to hide and easy to transport, I'm guessing. I've never had to transport or hide a cauldron of bubbling good luck, though, so who's to say. What I have read of Slughorn's character indicates that he would keep it around, just in case. Slughorn "sets things up". He doesn't leave much to chance. He makes his good luck. Literally. At least that is my take on him.

Slughorn's lack of reaction to Ron, I guessed, maybe incorrectly, was related to his realization of a plot against either himself or Dumbledore. I understood it to mean that he as trying to sort it all out. Not very adult-like or responsible, though. Wasn't that scene more to show Harry's intervention and hero qualities rather than Slughorn's? Or was I just led to believe that? When Horace pours out the wine at Aragog's burial he assures Harry that he had it all tested for poison. Seems he was pretty freaked out.

Then he gets even more freaked out as Harry prods him with guilt about his parent's death. Who is Odo, anyway? Well, I did a little research on Odo the hero or "Odo the great" and here is what I found about him. Odo the great was also known as Odo of Aquataine. He was part of a battle at "Poiters" that gained him noteriety. He later abdicated his rule to his son, Hunard/Hunald, who sought refuge late in life with a man named "Lupus", the duke of the Gascons, who eventually betrayed him to his enemies. So I don't know if any of that is food for thought or worthless trivia, but I found the parallels to names in the Potter series to be interesting.

[Seeker615]

I always thought it was odd too. Slugy mentioned that he brewed these up for the class to observe. Well that can't be right because like it was said they take at least sixth months to brew. Odd statement I thought.

Also what bugged me was the Advance potion making book. That book that was given to Harry was at least 50 years old. Wouldn't you think that those books would be updated and the students would need a newer edition? I always thought it was odd that kids used hand me down books especially real old ones. You would think newer potions were created to learn and would be in the more newer books as well as the other studies.

[Sirius Potter Fan]

I think that in the wizarding world, they aren't that much on "progress". Magic is the same as it has always been. As a matter of fact, they seem to be realy set in their ways concerning at just what age they should know certain spells and so forth, so I am really not that surprised that the curriculum at Hogwarts has remained the same over the centuries. In things like potions. each potion is most likely in the curriculum because of a technique or ingredient it uses, more than the need for that potion itself. In any event, I can see it being likely that there were very little changes to the texts over the years.

[Fortescue]

Since Snape was the old potions teacher he probably had the potions ready for his NEWTs class already. There is only about 2.5 months between the time that classes get out for the summer and start again on Sept. !, so Snape would basically have to have Felix brewing in March in order to present it to his NEWTs class in Sept. Snape was probably unaware that he would be teaching DADA in March, therefore would have had the potions underway for his new class in the fall.

As for the Polyjuice potion, I wonder who else might have taken some of that throughout the school year and what we could possibly find out about that in the final book. Maybe there were more people running around in disguise in HBP besides Malfoy,s underlings.

[Alz]

See another thing to consider in the potions things - I got the feeling over the books that the professor chooses the text - we saw how each DADA teachter introduced their own text books to match their teaching methods - Hagrid and his classes are a classic example of the teacher setting the study literature ...
I think the texts are standards - but the manner of teaching is down to the professor and as long as they are using approved books - then the books they use are their own choices to reflect best on their teaching strengths ... as such if Snape was setting up for the next year - was Sluggy going to follow his teaching plan?
This is a guy that was a professor before and I am pretty sure he has his own methods ...

[Sirius Potter Fan]

Well, thing is, Sluggy would have taught Severus, and often teachers will use the same texts that they were taught with because of the level of familiarity. So, it would stand to reason that they would use the same texts. Also. Since Sluggy was a late addition, and the book lists had already gone out, Sluggy may have been forced (that is if he disagreed in the first place) to use the books that had already been bought.

[Alz]

I dont think the book lists had gone out - in fact Harry see's Sluggy before he even gets his OWL results - this means the books lists were sent later - remember Harry saw Sluggy two weeks after going back to the Dursley's and that would have been around 4 weeks before start of term ... Sluggy had accepted and would have had at least 4 weeks to plan - unless he was already going of course and just wanted a bit of ego stroking from Dumbledore to almost beg him to come back.

[Fortescue]

I doubt that a book like Advanced Potions would change too much over the decades. It's not like it was a math book that printed a new edition every two or three years just so they could sell more books, (that's why they do that, don't you know).

Potions are pretty much standard, I think. The fact that they used the same Advanced Potions book in Harry's sixth year is no more surprising then the fact that Snape could still use his mother's potions book in his sixth year.

[Alz]

The books list is still a minor diversion from the point I was making - is it standard to show pupils Felix?
I would have thought that was a potion that wasn't shown around so much - I mean the students didn't even know what it was - well apart from Hermione ... it just doesn't seem like something you would show off to everyone, every year.
I think the fact this cauldron was all ready to go demonstrates that Sluggy was more than ready to step into the gap ... either that or we have found out how Snape is able to flit between Dumbledore and Voldemort so easily - lucky potion on tap :p

[Sirius Potter Fan]

lucky potion on tap

now there's a cool idea!

I think the idea of Sluggy wanting DD to "beg" him is valid, I mean it's not like he likes to feel important or anything.

The Felix I think is standard for 6th year though. Sluggy states at the begining of the first class that by the end of the year they will be able to make all of the potions he presented to them, and you may note that he does seem to go by the book consistantly in contrast to Snape often writing the "recipie" for the potions assignments on a chalk board. HBP doesn't actualy mention them making any of them, but I think we can assume that they probably did.

[Alz]

I just feel that there is a little clue, not ground breaking or anything, in the fact that Felix takes so long to make yet it was there and ready for start of term ...
I would have thought that would be a bad potion to show anyone, I mean sure tell them about it and stuff but you know what younger people are like, heck if someone told me how to make liquid luck I am damn sure I would try and re-create it!
OK - Let's refocus back on the FF being brewed, is the general concensus Snape started it on the premise he would be using it the following year?
I still question this- afterall we saw Snape away from Hogwarts during the term, so would he have been in and around brewing during his break or started it the year before?
Heck I am sorry, as I said this thread was just for small, stupid questions that arent going to blow anything apart but still make me go ummm when I read them :p