That hypothesis is one that I considered. However, Harry can see every other magical effect just fine; he has no problem with the Avada Kedavra or any of Voldemort’s special effects. Of course, if the memory is real, it must have been stored magically, and “enough magic to record magical memories but not enough to see the special effects” sounds like a very specific level of magic. The AK rebound, if it actually happened, may also indicate that Harry had enough magic for his resonance with Quirrell.
Intrism
I might accept that if it weren’t for the fact that I have plenty of other good reasons to suspect that particular memory. This piece of evidence, like any other, isn’t conclusive. But it certainly helps. (Also, all of your qualifiers incur some complexity penalty, particularly “types of wizards.”)
The “soulsplosion,” in Hermione’s death, was extremely hard to miss. But it was notably absent in a previous wizarding death we supposedly witnessed: Harry’s mother’s death. This has provided some unexpected confirmatory evidence for an old pet theory of mine: that Harry’s memory of his parents’ death was faked. I can only assume someone else brought a similar theory up around here before, so I won’t go into too much detail.
If it were a false memory, though, why would the soulsplosion be missing? Well, we get an answer for that in Chapter 86: some things can’t be adequately faked in false memories. If whoever created the false memory had included a false wizard’s death, Harry might have wondered what exactly the strange light show was; if he had researched it, he might have realized that what he remembered was faked. But Harry had never seen a wizard die before; an omitted soulsplosion would therefore arouse no suspicions, whereas a faked one might. Hence there was none.
- Jul 10, 2013, 2:49 PM; 6 points) 's comment on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 23, chapter 94 by (
Quirrell can’t prove it, but as it happens, the Headmaster has recently heard a true prophecy with (likely) very, very similar wording. Since Quirrell didn’t hear more than a few words of the other one, the fact that the two are so like each other would be strong evidence that Quirrell’s prophecy is also genuine.
“Lifetimes” could also be literal (though this is a bit dubious considering that it’s from McGonagall’s POV) - perhaps Harry managed to reanimate Hermione for multiple brief periods? Or, perhaps Harry experimented with animating, killing, or reanimating other, smaller creatures?
Actually, she did both of those things. And, incidentally, it’s the false memories bit that would be impossible in Methods—Hermione, of course, did not spend years to give her parents what are apparently years worth of memories.
It means that it’s confirmed that Quirrell wants people to think he’s secretly David Monroe. I’d be wary of drawing any other conclusions, though it does seem more likely that Quirrell pretended to be Monroe during the war.
James Potter was not a David Cameron-level celebrity before his death; even if he were a celebrity, I strongly doubt that one could understand his reasoning processes from only what was reported in the Daily Prophet.
It’s possible that he would reject it, yes, but I don’t think it’s that easy to compare it to Fawkes’ song. If memory serves, phoenix songs actually change one’s mood; the stars wouldn’t do that, just comfort him. And, even if Harry does reject it, it’s unlikely to cost Quirrell anything to make the offer.
Harry didn’t freeze her. He cooled her to 5° Celsius, equivalent to 41° Fahrenheit and well above the freezing point.
That’s fair enough, but I just thought of one more thing that Quirrell could do that he’s choosing not to… Why isn’t Quirrell doing the star thing again, or at least offering to do so?
Or, perhaps, Madam Pomfrey is taking them to see the body, since it is in her medical ward.
These chapters caused me to update more in favor of Quirrell being genuinely scared. However, there are still some things that confuse me. First, Quirrell’s not citing the prophecy in his favor, even though McGonagall was the one who paired him with Trelawney in the first place, and there’s absolutely nothing incriminating in hearing a prophecy under those circumstances. Second, well, this is a problem with a murder-based solution, and I would expect Quirrell to take it unless (for some magical, personal, or prophetic reason) he finds death preferable to a world in which Harry is dead.
As far as Harry destroying the world goes, I’m most worried about Fred and George. In canon, they become quite skilled at spell creation in later books, and it’s suggested that they experiment in earlier books; they’re probably not especially good yet, but they might know enough information (or have enough books) to be dangerous already.
Probably because Quirrell is insanely good at being a Defense Professor. After a long string of incompetents, I might be willing to overlook a little “obviously evil” if it meant getting the best Defense Professor in a century.
Hmm, speaking of shrapnel… If one were to be hit by shrapnel from an object that had been Transfigured into a smaller one, would the shrapnel explode troll-style when the Transfiguration is Finite-d? If so, this seems like an useful effect...
This isn’t so. Quirrell was off campus when Dumbledore used the map. The only suggestion that it eliminates, assuming that Quirrell wasn’t using his Potterdar at the time, is the idea that Harry is persistently labeled Tom Riddle.
I really wish that were so, but it just doesn’t make much sense to me. Draco left because of both politics and security concerns; while Hermione’s death may make the politics a little bit easier, the first death at Hogwarts in fifty years isn’t going to soothe Lucius’ nerves any.
I suppose that sending Draco back to Hogwarts might be a way for Lucius to signal that he was behind the attack on Hermione, but I think Lucius cares about Draco’s safety rather more than signaling. He also has many other, less dangerous ways to signal that; I wouldn’t be surprised if he forgave Harry’s debt, for instance.
I don’t think Harry wears the cloak often enough for the Weasleys to notice it. Even then, a missing Harry could be caused by many things other than the Cloak—perhaps the Weasleys just missed him, for instance, or he could be out to lunch with Quirrell. They’d have to watch him as he put the Cloak on for it to be notable.
… Although, hmm… If memory serves, the interaction of Cloak and Map is discussed in canon. Does anyone remember how that worked?
I decided to enumerate all the map errors I could think of.
Name errors: any error in which someone’s name is persistently not what you’d expect.
Quirrell being named Defense Professor.
Anyone (probably Quirrell, maybe Harry) being named Tom Riddle.
Quirrell or Harry being named Heir of Slytherin.
Map errors: any error in which the map itself is drawn incorrectly, or in a way you wouldn’t expect.
The Chamber of Secrets entrance being drawn on the map if/when Quirrell accesses it.
Quirrell being drawn inside a wall if/when Quirrell accesses the Chamber of Secrets.
If Quirrell can become a spirit, Quirrell being drawn inside a wall when he is in fact inside a wall.
Harry being drawn in strange and incorrect places when he’s inside of his trunk.
Name persistence errors: any error in which someone changes names.
Harry changing names while using his “dark side.”
Quirrell switching between Quirinus Quirrell and “Defense Professor,” possibly when Quirrell “rests.”
Quirrell being labeled Salazar Slytherin, particularly when he accesses wards.
Harry being labeled something more commonly associated with Professor Quirrell when he uses his Potterdar.
Multiple dot errors: any error in which one person is in multiple places.
If the Dark Lord can become disembodied (perhaps while Quirrell is “resting”), separate “Quirinus Quirrell” and “Defense Professor” dots in different locations.
Any student with a Time-Turner showing up twice on the map.
Well, looks like that objection is dealt with.