That is so weird—I’ve never heard that interpretation, and I can’t seem to get it out of the text. I just see Harry reacting not-badly, and no sign that Harry was obliviated.
“I subscribe to a Muggle bulletin which keeps me informed of progress on space travel. I didn’t hear about Pioneer 10 until they reported its launch. But when I discovered that Pioneer 11 would also be leaving the Solar System forever,” Professor Quirrell said, his grin the widest that Harry had yet seen from him, “I snuck into NASA, I did, and I cast a lovely little spell on that lovely golden plaque which will make it last a lot longer than it otherwise would.”
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“Yes,” Professor Quirrell said, who now seemed to be standing around fifty feet taller, “I thought that was how you might react.”
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“Mr. Potter?”
″...I can’t think of anything to say.”
“‘You win’ seems appropriate,” said Professor Quirrell.
“You win,” Harry said immediately.
“See?” said Professor Quirrell. “We can only imagine what giant heap of trouble you would have gotten into if you had been unable to say that.”
They both laughed.
Waitaminute. That was just him staring silently, wasn’t it? And the line about “fifty feet taller” just meant he seemed so much more imposing for having … strengthened the pioneer plaque …
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Actually, on reflection, that seems both an obvious interpretation and a strange one. Although it doesn’t run into the problem of magic interacting. It honestly never occurred to me to interpret this any other way, although of course it predated the Azkaban revelation of what happened when they interacted.
Why is it formatted just like Hat & Cloak’s little memory modifications, then? Those are the only other examples of Quirrel (or anyone, really) memory-charming people and it looks exactly the same.
That is so weird—I’ve never heard that interpretation, and I can’t seem to get it out of the text. I just see Harry reacting not-badly, and no sign that Harry was obliviated.
The, ah, the ellipses?
Waitaminute. That was just him staring silently, wasn’t it? And the line about “fifty feet taller” just meant he seemed so much more imposing for having … strengthened the pioneer plaque …
...
Actually, on reflection, that seems both an obvious interpretation and a strange one. Although it doesn’t run into the problem of magic interacting. It honestly never occurred to me to interpret this any other way, although of course it predated the Azkaban revelation of what happened when they interacted.
Why is it formatted just like Hat & Cloak’s little memory modifications, then? Those are the only other examples of Quirrel (or anyone, really) memory-charming people and it looks exactly the same.