The Blocked Passage Revisited
In part one (the revamped version) of my predictions posts I talked about (many things) Snape and his possible relation to Irma Pince. Well, I stand by the basic idea, however I got a fact wrong, and I want to clear it up. Here's the excerpt from the previous post:
A secret passageway on the fourth floor of Hogwarts was blocked off sometime after Severus and the Mauraders left Hogwarts but before Harry started attending the school. This blocked passageway will turn out to be connected to Severus Snape. As an extention to the above part (Snape's relatives in hiding idea) I believe the blocked passage's location, relative to the library, means it's a particularly good place for Dumbledore and Snape to hide Snape's relatives. It would also be a good place for Snape to hide. This also leads to my next prediction....
I had said the passage was blocked before Harry attended Hogwarts. This is not true. When Gred and Forge (heehee) give Harry the map they tell him about 7 passages. Four of them Filch knows about, but the twins don't explain to us where these passages are or where they lead. Another passage is under the Whomping Willow and goes somewhere into Hogsmeade (turns out to go to the Shrieking Shack). Another passage starts at a statue and leads into the stockroom of Honeydukes. The last passage is on the fourth floor. The twins don't say where it leads, but they seem to think this unnecesary info, since they haven't been able to go through it since "last winter". Last winter would be during Harry's second year at Hogwarts. This would be around the time Harry and Ron impersonate Crabbe and Goyle to interrogate Draco.
By this time there had already been basilisk attacks. Though the first time the chamber had been opened had already taken on the characteristics of a tall tale, even a myth, Dumbledore knows it happened (he was teaching Transfiguration at Hogwarts at the time). Many of the teachers are too young to have been there at the time (as either professor or student), but I think Snape knew something about it. Lucius sure knew, since he planted the diary on Ginny for this exact purpose. Lucius and Severus having such a long, apparently chummy, history together, perhaps Lucius had told Severus about it -- not about planting the diary, not even about the diary's existance -- but how Voldemort boasted about having opened the chamber while he attended Hogwarts... and how he was the last of the Slytherin line, he -- and only he -- could open it again some day. If this is the case then Snape might have suspected Voldemort's direct involvement this time around, too, making Snape think Voldemort had already returned in some form (even though the mark on his arm would still be quite faint). If he's truely hiding his family from Voldemort and the Death Eaters he might have chosen winter holiday as an opportune time to block the passageway. And why? Well, if this passage was chosen as a hiding place for himself and any family members he might have at Hogwarts, then he might have been making some final preparations to this chosen hiding place.
There's only one thing that's really bugging me. Ok, it's a person, really. Percy Weasley. When Harry and Ron (Polyjuiced) head towards Slytherin's common room they run into Percy. Ron and Harry assume Percy is trying to catch Slytherin's heir himself. The readers start to suspect Percy has just come back from a rendez-vous with his girlfriend. However, she's not in Slytherin house, so why is he snooping around down there? I know that this scene takes place down in the dungeons, but we don't know where that passage leads from the fourth floor. I can't completely rule out the idea that Percy came through that very passage and blocked it himself.... And though I don't know why he would do such a thing, we can all agree Percy's been acting more and more strangely, and it's not just teenage hormones kicking in. The potions book plotline was removed from Chamber of Secrets, but we still have two possible book-related plots going on here: Tom Riddle's diary... and the prefect book Percy was reading at Flourish and Blotts. Ok, so maybe Voldemort isn't hiding behind some F&B's bookcase, but something horrible might be on the shelves....
I must think some more... and re-read some more.
Correction 1: Though Penelope is in Ravenclaw Harry and Ron ran into her near Slytherin house's common room before they ran into Percy.
Correction 2: Percy found the prefect book at a second-hand store, not Flourish & Blotts.
Addition 1: Another possibility (like we needed any more) is that Ginny blocked the fourth floor passageway while being possessed by the Voldemort from the diary (Diarymort or Voldymem).
Addition 2: Is the blocked fourth floor related to the rubble Harry, Ron and Lockhart find in the tunnel leading to the chamber?
Labels: blocked passage, Percy, Snape and Pince
posted by Arran Walker @ 8:44 AM
17 Comments:
Aby! :-)
I'd like to make a few comments about Percy. I know I have never delved into his persona, and I haven't really seen a lot about him, but I think he bears a little more scrutiny.
Going to Cos, Chapter 3, we'll start where Ron wanted to borrow Percy's owl:
"Who's Errol?"
"Our owl. He's ancient. It wouldn't be the first time he collapsed on a delivery. So then I tried to borrow Hermes --"
"Who?"
The owl Mum and Dad bought Percy when he was made prefect," said Fred from the front.
"But Percy wouldn't lend him to me," said Ron. "Said he needed him."
"Percy's been acting very oddly this summer," said George, frowning. "and he has been spending a lot of time shut up in his room.... I mean, there's only so many times you can polish a prefect badge.... You're driving too far west, Fred," he added, pointing at a compass on the dashboard. Fred, twiddled the steering wheel.
First, notice Hermes.. remember that Rowling graffitied on a bust of Hermes when she finished DH on 11th January.
Second... just what has Percy been up to? Ginny throws all suspicion off Percy (for the most part) when she says that he was sneaking around to visit his girlfriend.
What if it is far more nefarious than that?
OH.. and if you read it out of context, it could sound like Mum and Dad bribed someone to get Percy another O.W.L..
Skip a couple pages ahead in CoS, and we see:
"Perfect Percy," muttered Fred.
"YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" yelled Mrs. Weasley, prodding a finger in Fred's chest. "You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job --"
Hmm... is she talking about taking a page out of the prefect book Percy buys? Weird connotation.. especially to draw such strong attention to the book he'll buy in that dodgy little shop. Also, Percy could gain some of his ambition from his mother's priorities: death, exposure and job.
Skip a few more pages in this chapter, and we see:
Ron's school books were stacked untidily in a corner, next to a pile of comics that all seemed to feature The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle. Ron's magic wand was on top of a fish tank full of frog spawn on the windowsill, next to his fat gray rat, Scabbers, who was soozing in a patch of sun.
We see that frog spawn again.. or perhaps for the first time.... but what I see more, is Scabbers sitting there by Ron's wand. And yes, I find it odd that Rowling depicts it as a MAGIC wand. *duh*
Moving along, in the next chapter, at breakfast the day the kids get their booklists for school, Percy comes down already dressed, wearing his prefect badge on his sweater vest, and sits in the 'last' chair. He sat on Errol, which he picked up, and Ron took the owl from Percy.
Will Ron gain the favor indicated when 'Mum and Dad' had bought the owl for Percy?
Then the kids go off to play quidditch. Percy is invited:
Five minutes later they were marching up the hill, broomsticks over their shoulders. They had asked Percy if he wanted to join them, but he had said he was busy. Harry had only seen Percy at mealtimes so far; he stayed shut in his room the rest of the time.
Again, what was he up to? What had Wormtail been doing with that wand? Was Percy being tampered with in some fashion? Everyone thinks Wormtail is this cowardly weak thing, but I think he is more powerful than people would like to admit.
A while later, the gang is in Diagon Alley to purchase their school supplies. After the trip to Gringotts, the group seperated. Percy muttered vaguely about needing a new quill.
Harry's money was burning a hole in his pocket, and the Trio went all over Diagon Alley. In a tiny junk shop full of broken wands, lopsided brass scales, and old cloaks covered in potion stains, they found Percy, deeply immersed in a small and deeply boring book called Prefects Who Gained Power.
"A study of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers," Ron read aloud off the back cover. "That sounds fascinating...."
"Go away," Percy snapped.
"'Course, he's very ambitious, Percy, he's got it all planned out.... He wants to be Minister of Magic..." Ron told Harry and Hermione in an undertone as they left Percy to it.
The last thing I'll include here directly from CoS, is at the train station. Mrs. Weasley is giving them direction on going through the barrier:
"Percy first," said Mrs. Weasley, looking nervously at the clock overhead, which showed they had only five minutes to disappear casually through the barrier.
Percy strode briskly forward and vanished. Mr. Weasley went next; Fred and George followed.
There is some foreshadowing here, but I am not sure what of, in its entirety.
The stories go on, and we see Percy acting on his own, frequently. He doesn't have any friends that we see, or hear of. The only other person we hear in direct relation to him is Penelope.
Now... when I think of HBP and frog spawn together, I think of Crabbe and Goyle using Polyjuice. And sneaking around. There were brass scales that were dropped as well. So, frog spawn looks like an indicator that someone in that sentence is being sneaky and underhanded.
I think there is more to Percy running around in those dungeons than Ginny wants us to know. Maybe he obliviated Ginny? Percy is pompous enough to have toadied up to Lockhart... or to 'take a page out of Lockhart's book'. Percy's mum did drive that point home, that Lockhart was the final authority on a lot of things. Truly, Gilderoy was only the authority on underhanded sneakiness, plagerism, and obliviating.... If Percy emulated him, or indeed took a page from GL's book.. he could have altered Ginny's memory of what he was doing in the dungeon.
He did warn her off of trying to tell Harry, et al, about what she was upset with. I have talked about DD being manipulative, but Percy could have known Ginny was involved with the Chamber, which makes Percy culpable as well.
Now, what has this got to do with Wormtail? Had he meddled with Percy at all? Let's see... by the time Ron acquired Scabbers, Percy had had him for ten years. That's a long time, and there is a lot that Wormtail could have done, subliminally, to bring Percy to where he is today. Whispering in his ear while he slept... that sort of thing.
There is more about Percy and Wormtail, and their relationship and actions should be more closely examined for little clues.
Thanks, Aby, for letting me expound a bit! That's just too much CoS for 'New Clues'... :-)
Penelope was down there in that general area as well. She was the girl Harry & Ron asked where the entrance to "our" (Slytherin's) common room was. I remember Penelope said, I think somewhat haughtily, that she was a Ravenclaw. Later on Harry and Ron encountered Percy.
Percy and Penelope could just have been sneaking off to places away from Ravenclaw and Griffindor areas. But that Hermes connection is hard to ignore about Percy.
Karlii, wow, that is a lot of research on Percy in CoS. Thanks for reminding me that Percy found that prefects book at a second-hand store, not Flourish & Blotts, which apparently only sells first-hand (brand new) items, though we don't know this for sure. F&B might have a second-hand section, but I sort of doubt it.
This dodgy "thrift" store makes me think of Mundungus, how he might use this store to off-load some of his "hot" items. It also makes me wonder if this is where most of the poorer witches and wizards get much of their second-hand goods. Where else would they go for second-hand goods? Where does Molly buy Ron's second-hand dress robes, for that matter?
It's intersting to think on what Wormtail might have done to Percy (or even Ron) while he lived all those years with the Weasleys....
Behind the Name (http://www.behindthename.com/php/search.php?terms=penelope&nmd=n&gender=both&operator=or) says this about Penelope: "From Greek πηνελοψ (penelops), a type of duck. In Homer's epic 'Odyssey' this is the name of the wife of Odysseus, forced to fend off suitors while her husband is away fighting at Troy." Penelope did this by unraveling the work she had done on her tapestry every night. In this way the tapestry would never be completed, and she would never have to choose a suitor. Her name apparently means "needle and thread" or "needle and spool", which makes sense considering all the tapestry work she did.
Odysseus was intelligent and cunning, but Hermes was send (more than once) by Zeus to help Odysseus make his way back home to Penelope. It seems to me that the owl Hermes was a messenger, as any owl would be, but was Percy communicating with Penelope... or someone who would represent Zeus... or someone who would represent the obstacles, like Circe and Calypso?
Oddly enough, another Penelope is the mother of Pan, by Hermes. From http://www.theoi.com/Nymphe/NymphePenelopeia.html: "PENELOPEIA (or Penelope) was a Dryad Nymph of Mount Kyllene in Arkadia, southern Greece. She was the mother of the god Pan by Hermes.
Her name probably means either needle and thread, pênê and lopas, or peel-away-all (as in to skin an animal), from pan and lopos.
She is closely related to the Nymphai Sose and Thymbris, who were also called mothers of Pan. Her story also appears to have become confused with that of Dryope of Mount Oita, who was said to have been seduced by a tortoise-shaped god."
Penelope's last name is Clearwater, and this name is merely topographical, meaning her ancestors came from a location near a source of pure, clean... clear water.
So which Penelope are we dealing with -- the one who bore Pan to Hermes, or the one who was married to Odysseus? Is the owl hermes anythign more than an owl, anyway?
For that matter, which Percy are we dealing with? I know his real first name is Percival, but maybe we should also consider a connection to Persius, or Perseus, who, like Odysseus, is aided by Hermes. Perseus was aided by Athena and Hermes on his quest to bring back Medusa's head. Athena is the Greek version of Minerva (think McGonagall), so perhaps his owl and Prof. McGonagall have helped him with something?
Percy's middle name is Ignatius, probably named after St. Ignatius, who was obsessed with the court, and with a lady of the court. It wasn't until he was injured in battle that he started to reassess his life and take up Christianity.
I suppose I should say Penelope Clearwater is waiting (and will continue to wait) for Percy to return to her. Looks like Percy will need to go through some personal strife before he'll regain his "senses". He might be injured during the wizarding war, and this really comes as no surprise. He will battle with his own desires for fame, fortune, etc. through his work at the Ministry, then he should see that he has chosen the wrong path in life. As Snape once told Harry (PS/SS) "Clearly, fame isn't everything." (Am I quoting that right?) Interesting we have the use of "clearly" used to describe the idea that fame isn't the end-all-be-all. It might take Miss Clearwater to make this fact "clear" to Percy.
Interesting what you say about Molly and Arthur looking like they bought Percy an O.W.L. Let us remember that Percy has an amazing amount of O.W.L.'s. Doesn't he have 12? Isn't that many subjects a bit high? Of course Hermione had lots of O.W.L.'s, too. Somehow I think Molly and Arthur wouldn't bribe anyone. Either Percy also got to use a time-turner to take more subjects than would usually be allowed... or Percy bribed someone for an extra O.W.L. Where would he get the money (or other good/service) to bribe someone, and who would he be able to bribe? I'm not too sure about this whole idea, but it is still quite interesting, taken out of context.
Caseyanndigger, I just thought of someting. I was trying to think why Percy would block off the fourth-floor passageway. What if this is where Percy and Penelope met to get away from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw... a place to snog? :)
Aby, Voldemort had to buy his stuff second-hand as well, so I'm sure he is familiar with second-hand shops around Diagon Alley. It is very possible that he had visited that shop where Percy got his prefect book.
Somehow I just can't imagine Percy as the one who had blocked the passageway. (He is too "by the rules".) Can't remember when Penelope got involved with Percy -- when Harry was in his first or his 2nd year? The timeline might be wrong. I like your theory that it has something to do with Snape better.
Karlii's got a really good point about Percy and Wormtail. Those 10 years they had together, barely mentioned in the books, could hold clues for us.
Yes, I think Percy deserves to have something happen that prompts him to evaluate his life choices. Frankly, I would prefer that his injury will happen as a result of saving his family from harm!
Looking forward to your next blog entry. Mugglenet is so boring right now!
I believe Scabbers had belonged to Ron for about three years when he was exposed as Wormtail/Pettigrew.
If Scabbers had been a family pet for 12 years then he must have belonged to Percy for nine years, not ten. However, I agree completely that their time together leaves a lot of wiggle room for Wormtail to either control Percy or influence him (and other Weasleys) in some way. We still don't know how Percy came across Scabbers and took him in, or under what conditions.
More on this later....
Isn't it Percy that Ron says he and the twins tried to trap in a pyramid during their trip to Egypt in PoA?
I wonder if something like that might happen -- Percy trapped somewhere....
It's true that Voldemort had to buy lots of items second-hand, and he might have frequented that dodgy thrift store.
If Percy is too much of a goody-two-shoes to block a passageway for use as a snogging hideaway, then wouldn't he be so "by the rules" that he never would have taken Scabbers to Hogwarts, since you are only allowed to bring a toad, a cat, or an owl? Pet rats wouldn't be acceptable. Even though we know Ron had no trouble bringing Scabbers, Percy might not have even tried....
I agree that Mugglenet is boring right now! *sigh* But oh well, we'll just have to discuss things where we can! :-)
I think Hermes is important, only because Rowling turned around and scribbled on one in that hotel.
The context of it, is where we'd need to look next. Hermes is some sort of messanger, in the old times, as well as an owl. We should keep that thought, and work from that angle, imo.
Now, who is he the 'avenue of communication' for? Percy, for sure, in the 'current' time. He would have used Hermes to communicate with Penelope.
"Perseus was aided by Athena and Hermes on his quest to bring back Medusa's head."
How is it then, that Hermes and Minoiva can aid Percy in his quest.. to bring back..... hmmm...
http://www.loggia.com/myth/medusa.html
Medusa was a terrible monster who had laid waste to the country. She was once a beautiful maiden whose hair was her chief glory, but as she dared to vie in beauty with Athena, the goddess deprived her of her charms and changed her beautiful ringlets into hissing serpents. She became a cruel monster of so frightening an aspect that no living thing could behold her without being turned into stone. All around the cavern where she dwelt might be seen the stony figures of men and animals which had chanced to catch a glimpse of her and had been petrified with the sight. Perseus, favored by Athena and Hermes, the former of whom lent him her shield and the latter his winged shoes, approached Medusa while she slept, and taking care not to look directly at her, but guided by her image reflected in the bright shield which he bore, he cut off her head and gave it to Athena, who fixed it in the middle of her Aegis.
from Bulfinch's Mythology
hmm... ok, so someone who is a rival of Minerva's. The only one, in my opinion, is Hermione. And that is because there is a scene, where people stumbled, and McG grabbed Hermione by the neck, which left Hermione rubbing her throat. (GoF pg 172).
The hair described in the myth.. ok, so Hermione doesn't have beautiful hair, but it certainly is something that she is known for.
Wonder how Medusa got along with Chiron? Hermione cetainly doesn't like Centaurs very much...
Anyhow.. So Hermes is the go-between with Penelope and Percy. Maybe adding Minerva into that mix.
There are a LOT of similarities between Hermione and Percy:
Gryffindor
Prefects
12 O.W.L.'s
looks up to authority
different pets though..
Hermione was petrified at the same time as Penelope.. that's sort of odd..
Who might we say is Odysseus? There might be some bearing to look at from that point as well.
As far as that blocked passage.. I dunno.. that still stumps me. It was distintly mentioned as being blocked since the CoS year.. what else might have blocked it? Besides Percy? The basilisk was certainly running all over the place..
I don't think Percy would have done that, just to make a 'snogging' place. But he could have been up to something different!
Don't forget Ginny! She was the physical culprit for most of that book.. so we shouldn't rule her out for having done something to block it either.
Ha... I probably just added to the confusion.. this was all done on the fly.. so to speak. But it is a more interesting topic than anything over at New Clues! :-)
LOL... the secret word below this is "yigpaxh" I love it! hahaha..
Well, imo, a good candidate for the medusa (now that the basilisk is gone) is Bellatrix. More than once the narrator/Harry notices or makes mention of how Bellatrix used to be beautiful, and that the hard time in Azkaban has not only made her a bit mad but also taken away her former beauty. We can now only see slight vestiges of her former beauty.
Also remember that Minerva/Athena's tree is the olive (think: Oliver Wood and Ollivander) and her animal is usually the owl, a symbol of wisdom. Pair that with her partnership with Hermes (the messenger of the gods) and with Hermes the owl belonging to Percy. Though I'd like to see Neville defeat Bellatrix, perhaps McGonagall and Percy will be important in her defeat....
Ah, yes. Then there is Ginny. Too many possibilities with this passageway! If Ginny blocked the passageway while being possessed, then why? What would "Diarymort" want with it? A hiding place once he'd killed Ginny and regained a body? A place for the basilisk to hide? It seems to me that the Chamber of Secrets would be a good place for both Diarymort and the basilisk to stay. Hmmm... When Harry, Ron and Lockhart go down into the tunnel approaching the chamber, don't they come across a pile of rubble... one that Harry has to squeeze through? Any chance that the old passageway was a short-cut to the chamber, and that someone blocked the path in an attempt to block the chamber from view? What floor is Myrtle's bathroom on?
Aby, you wrote: "When Harry, Ron and Lockhart go down into the tunnel approaching the chamber, don't they come across a pile of rubble" -- The rubble was a result of Lockhart trying to do an Obliviate using Ron's faulty wand. The spell hit Lockhart himself and for some reason the ceiling got blasted, too, and caved in.
I found in Wikipedia that Hermes is the "Olympian God of boundaries and the travelers who cross them." It is also written there that "In many Greek myths, Hermes was depicted as the only god besides Hades and Persephone who could enter and leave the Underworld without hindrance." Also, that "Hermes was the god of thieves."
Karlii, "rival of Minerva" -- Umbridge?? Out of all the teachers there, McGonagall was the only one who really stood up to her. And I remember Umbridge saying that McGonagall must be wanting to be just like her, "Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic and Headmistress to boot".
Oooo! You might be on to something with that tunnel!
On the way to the chamber, Lockhart swiped Ron's wand, and tried to Obliviate them, but the wand backfired, hitting him instead.. but it was that backlash that caused the cave-in in THAT tunnel. It trapped Harry on one side, and Ron & Lockhart on the other. Ron was going to 'shift some rock' to make a way for Harry to get out with Ginny.
Could this cave in be related to the one on the fourth floor?
Could the ceiling collapsing down there, have made everything above it fall? What happens to the whole castle, if that's the case.
Maybe the passages are connected magically or something. Dunno.. but in some way???
Thank you, caseyanndigger, for reminding me that Lockhart CAUSED the rubble... they didn't come across it.
karlii, as caseyanndigger said, Lockhart caused the rubble. This would have happened sometime AFTER winter, so they are apparently unconnected things.
However, now I wonder if Lockhart blocked the other passage during the winter. But was it by accident or on purpose? Like we needed another suspect.... :}
I found out some interesting info about the name Penelope, in regards to ducks. I think I'll make a separate post about it....
Casey..!! ;-)
I knew I had forgotten someone... but I had been thinking of someone differently rivaled.. I know, that doesn't make sense.. LOL
Wonder when Umbridge went to school? Did SHE attend Hogwarts? That'd be interesting... if they were rivals at more than we had seen in OotP?
I was thinking about Bellatrix... after Aby's post.. but after working all day, I can't remember what I was thinking...
Oh well.. :-)
Karlii, during Umbridge's speech at the Welcoming Feast, she mentioned that it was nice to be back at Hogwarts. I understood that comment to mean that she was once a student of the school. The HP Lexicon says it is not known what Hogwarts House she was in, but that all the members of her Inquisitorial Squad were from Slytherin.
If she is from Slytherin, then we have in our hands another version of the classic Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry.
In one of the interviews, JKR said of Umbridge: "It's too much fun to torture her not to have another little bit more before I finish."
You know what, right after I typed "Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry" a name just came to mind: Snape. McGonagall & Snape had an ongoing rivalry with regards to which of their houses got the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup. I remember a couple of occasions when Snape had even taunted (or teased) Minerva about this.
Aby, don't know if you've read the HP Lexicon's compilation of what's where in Hogwarts: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/hogwarts/castle/hogwarts_inside.html
caseyanndigger, Snape is a rival of McGonagall's, definitely. If he had stayed at Hogwarts to teach he might have been next in line for the Headmaster post... he might have been McGonagall's Deputy Headmaster.
It's quite true that Snape and McGonagall really get into the Quidditch and House Cup competitions. She seems as serious about the competiotion as he is. And when Slytherin wins he gloats about it. Apparently his facial expression is enough to make McGonagall avoid contact with him, as she says she couldn't look Snape in the face... for either days or weeks....
I've looked at the HP Lexicon Hogwarts plan somewhat in the past, but I think it would be wise to give it another look. :)
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