New Pottermore Stuff

[Shepherd]

ECSNorway wrote:

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It also might explain why D'dore didn't want to be the Secret Keeper, if you're assuming non-malicious motives on his part.

He might -know- that SK status can be used to attack someone, and might assume Moldyshorts knows as well... and doesn't want to take the risk. Peter and Sirius, on the other hand, are expendable...

The problem is that Dumbledore went on to become secret-keeper for Grimmauld Place. It wouldn't make sense for him to refuse to become the Potter secret-keeper due to the danger and then become the Black secret-keeper; especially since the Black family's known loyalties make it a virtual certainty that Voldemort knew Grimmauld Place's location before the Fidelius charm was cast.
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"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

[Hazard]

Shepherd wrote:

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ECSNorway wrote:

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It also might explain why D'dore didn't want to be the Secret Keeper, if you're assuming non-malicious motives on his part.

He might -know- that SK status can be used to attack someone, and might assume Moldyshorts knows as well... and doesn't want to take the risk. Peter and Sirius, on the other hand, are expendable...

The problem is that Dumbledore went on to become secret-keeper for Grimmauld Place. It wouldn't make sense for him to refuse to become the Potter secret-keeper due to the danger and then become the Black secret-keeper; especially since the Black family's known loyalties make it a virtual certainty that Voldemort knew Grimmauld Place's location before the Fidelius charm was cast.

Except Dumbledore didn't become the Secret Keeper for Grimmauld Place, he became Secret Keeper for the Order Headquarters. That this was a Black family residence is unimportant, as it's unclear how the Fidelius works and it's quite possible that even if you previously knew the secret in some way that you are unable to recall it or otherwise able to use it in some manner. It's quite possible that the idea won't come up in anyone who even could come up with it simply because they can't connect 'Secret' with 'what's being kept secret' even through inference, so they would be unable to even try to connect the dots.
It's also a disservice to both a competent leader of the Light Dumbledore and to Sirius and Pettigrew to describe the latter two as 'disposable.' To put it quite simply, the Potters were major targets (along with the Longbottoms) and quite likely important members of the Order of Phoenix, because if nothing else the Order seems to be pretty damn small. However, while losing the Potters would be a terrible blow for the Light, losing Dumbledore would be a disaster, as both the covert and overt groups fighting Voldemort would have lost their rallying point and leader. He's already a target, that's certainly true, but Voldemort is scared of him. Yet, if you keep increasing his importance to the Light he becomes more and more interesting as a target for a decapicitation strike, to the extent that Voldemort might well decide it would be worth making the strike and just take the risks, which would leave the Potters dead and the Light without a leader to coordinate and keep the Death Eaters from either escape or summary execution.
That they got trials at all, even if the results were pretty much predetermined as a result of extensive Ministry corruption and public engineering, is an outright victory right there, and the fact that a lot of Death Eaters got arrested and tried would have at minimum made their political efforts difficult for a while and forced them to spend money and favours just to stay out of jail, while without Dumbledore they'd probably not have been tried at all and either have been executed to slake the public's thirst for blood and scape goats, show trial optional, or got away without any consequences, official or otherwise.

[Bluemage]

Shepherd wrote:

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ECSNorway wrote:

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It also might explain why D'dore didn't want to be the Secret Keeper, if you're assuming non-malicious motives on his part.

He might -know- that SK status can be used to attack someone, and might assume Moldyshorts knows as well... and doesn't want to take the risk. Peter and Sirius, on the other hand, are expendable...

The problem is that Dumbledore went on to become secret-keeper for Grimmauld Place. It wouldn't make sense for him to refuse to become the Potter secret-keeper due to the danger and then become the Black secret-keeper; especially since the Black family's known loyalties make it a virtual certainty that Voldemort knew Grimmauld Place's location before the Fidelius charm was cast.

Right, so if SK status is dangerous because of contagion between the SK and people who once knew the Secret, that would actually explain why such a useful spell fell out of fashion.  You couldn't safely hide most old family manors that way.
As an example, consider Malfoy Manor.  How many social events, friendly visits, business meetings, and the like have happened there?  Put up a Fidelius over it, and half the social elite (and probably a quarter of the Ministry) become weapons.  Imagine what would happen if your attacker grabbed, say, thirty of them to hit you through.  Not safe at all, so nobody would do it, so why remember it?
That'd put D's use of the charm in the 'who would use something like *that*?' category.  Security through who-the-heck-would-think-to-do-that, just like the Dursleys.  Very fitting.
On the other hand, if you use the list concept of the Fidelius, you end up with an even scarier possibility- contagion attacks based on which 'permission list' they're on.  Get one person who *knows* the Secret, and you could hit *all the others*.  Assuming logic, the power of the curse you could use would scale up as the number of people on the list decreased- it'd literally be safer to let more people know than less, which would leave Nara-O tearing his hair out at the concept.  The SK would either be as vulnerable as the rest of the Allowed, or immune- it'd depend both on the precise terms of the curse, and whether the charm itself counts the SK's knowledge of the Secret as a function of their role, or as a way of putting him/her on the Allowed list.  Cursing 'people who know the location of X' would hit the SK, but cursing 'people who have been told where X is' wouldn't.
Now, here's the real $64,000 question.  How do the mechanics of the Fidelius react when the SK's knowledge of the Secret is obliviated?  Is it possible to cast the charm, get told the Secret, than make the SK unaware that they know it?  Can wiping the mind of the SK destroy any 'pointers'?

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My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[Bob Schroeck]

Bluemage wrote:

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Now, here's the real $64,000 question.  How do the mechanics of the Fidelius react when the SK's knowledge of the Secret is obliviated?  Is it possible to cast the charm, get told the Secret, than make the SK unaware that they know it?  Can wiping the mind of the SK destroy any 'pointers'?

I think it's in Harry Potter and the Power of Paranoia that Harry does exactly that -- he picks a random Muggle as his secret keeper, does the whole ritual, and then obliviates him.  The secret holds until the keeper gets himself hit by a car years later.  
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Bluemage]

Bob Schroeck wrote:

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I think it's in Harry Potter and the Power of Paranoia that Harry does exactly that -- he picks a random Muggle as his secret keeper, does the whole ritual, and then obliviates him.  The secret holds until the keeper gets himself hit by a car years later.

That is exactly where it's done, but I don't think the writer of it was necessarily working off our interpretations of the charm.
I was trying to get people to consider the implications on a 'how do these charms work' level.  If I hide your house, tell you the Secret, and Obliviate the knowledge of where it is, can you find it again- that sort of thing.

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My Unitarian Jihad Name is: Brother Atom Bomb of Courteous Debate. Get yours.

I've been writing a bit.

[Jorlem]

When the SK tells someone the Secret, it has to change something on a fairly deep level, as if the SK dies, all the people that were told the Secret become Secret-Keepers themselves. So, I'd think that, even if the person who was told was Obliviated, the act of that person being told has still occurred, so they'd interact with whatever was made Secret as if it wasn't a Secret.
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Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Dakota]

Maybe it's a form of 'looping-redirect' on all the pointers except the SK's in the records. It loops everyone not in on the secret back to their starting points or loops them around to something else. It doesn't actually alter the pointers themselves, just sits on top of 'em with a whitelist provided by the SK.
_______________________________________________________________
Characters
Sabre Fang
Dakota

[Jorlem]

For those interested, the first few chapters of Goblet of Fire are up on Pottermore. There isn't much new information, but there is a bit of new stuff on Wizarding transport, and on the magical interpretations/associations of colors. There's also the Chudley Cannons team motto, which isn't specifically marked as new, but was new to me:

‘Let’s all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best’.

That is the team motto. Says a lot, doesn't it.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Jorlem]

Another new thing was added onto an existing 'page' at some point, which might be of interest, as it talks a bit about squibs in wizarding society, and sports.

The wizarding world’s affection for the Scottish rugby team is all
the more bizarre because a substantial part of wizarding society knows
nothing about Muggle sports, which they regard as inherently dull and
even silly. Yet the Scottish rugby team has become a wizarding meme –
part in-joke, part genuine interest – which has its roots in the
nineteenth century and is a tale both sad and uplifting.

The
wizarding family of Buchanan lived in a village in the Scottish Borders
for many generations. A reputation for aggression and drunkenness,
coupled with their prodigious size (the daughters alone had won the
village tug-of-war every year in living memory), kept their neighbors at
a respectful distance and ignorant of their magical abilities. One by
one, as they reached the age of eleven, the Buchanan sons and daughters
would disappear to Hogwarts. The village whispered that the enormous,
wild children were being removed to a corrective facility or even a
mental institution.

By the mid-nineteenth century the
Buchanan family comprised an overworked mother, a fierce father and
eleven children. The household was loud and chaotic, but even so, it is
surprising that neither of the Buchanan parents realized that their
third son, Angus, was a Squib – a wizard-born child with no magical
powers. It had always been the proud boast of Mr Buchanan senior that
such an anomaly had never occurred in their family. The proud old
warlock went further: a Squib in any family was a sign that they were in
decline and deserved to be winnowed out.

His brothers
and sisters were all very fond of Angus, who was the largest and kindest
of them all, so they covered up for him in front of his parents. The
deception was innocently begun, but as the time approached for him to
leave for Hogwarts, Angus and his siblings became uneasily aware that
they could not maintain the pretense much longer. No letter from school
arrived for Angus, but his panicking sister Flora forged one, which kept
the parents in ignorance for several weeks more. Shy, good-natured and
frightened of his father, Angus could not think of any alternative but
to play along with his older siblings. They took him to Diagon Alley,
where they bought a wand and pretended that it had chosen him. On the
appointed day, his big brother Hamish took him to Hogwarts on the back
of his broomstick, hoping against desperate hope that Angus would be
allowed to stay once they got there, or that the school might be able to
tease some magic out of him.

It had never happened
before and it has never happened since, but Angus got as far as the
Sorting Hat before he was exposed. In sheer desperation he threw himself
ahead of a girl whose name had been called and placed the Hat upon his
head. The horror of the moment when the Hat announced kindly that the
boy beneath it was a good-hearted chap, but no wizard, would never be
forgotten by those who witnessed it. Angus took off the hat and left the
hall with tears streaming down his face.

News of
Angus’s humiliation reached his parents in a flurry of owls before their
son arrived home on foot. He was met by his humiliated father, who
barred his entrance, bade him never darken their door again, and fired
curses after Angus as he fled.

Without any idea of what
he would do next, without family or money, the eleven-year-old Angus
walked to the capital, occasionally hitching rides on carts. In
Edinburgh he lied about his age and managed to find work as a laborer.

To
Angus’s surprise, Muggles were not nearly as bad as his father and
mother had always told him. He had the good fortune to be taken in by a
kind foreman and his wife who had no children of their own, and by the
time he was eighteen, Angus had grown into a big strong man who was
loved for his kind nature and admired for his physical prowess, but who
never shared the strange secrets of his past.

Angus’s
early childhood had been spent dodging curses on an almost daily basis,
which meant that he was surprisingly fast for a man of his size. He
found his greatest pleasure and pride in athleticism, and soon became
adept at the relatively new Muggle sport of rugby. Years of helping his
siblings catch Golden Snitches in the back garden also made him a
natural at cricket.

In 1871 Angus found himself
representing his country in the first ever international rugby match,
which took place in Edinburgh between England and Scotland. Angus’s
emotion can perhaps be imagined as he walked out onto the pitch and saw
all ten of his brothers and sisters among the spectators. Defying their
father’s contempt for all Muggle pursuits and his injunction against
ever seeing Angus again, they had set out to track him down. Elated,
Angus scored the first try. Scotland won the match.

Reunion
with his family caused Angus to reevaluate his relationship with his
magical roots and in 1900 he published the groundbreaking worldwide
bestseller My Life As A Squib.
Until this point, Squibs had lived in the shadows. Some clung to the
fringes of the wizarding world, always feeling second-class and trying
to fit in; others cut all ties and lived entirely as Muggles, often
repudiating their beginnings. My Life As A Squib brought the plight of these individuals to the wizarding world’s attention.

Thus
Angus Buchanan became world-famous among wizards whilst also being
celebrated among Muggles, a hitherto unknown achievement. Wizards of
many nationalities began turning up to watch him play sport.
Unfortunately, cricket found little favour with wizardkind. As the chief
sports writer in the Daily Prophet
wrote in 1902: ‘a Beater who is unable to fly defends three sticks
instead of a hoop, while a Snitch without wings is thrown at the sticks.
That’s it. Sometimes for several days’. Rugby held more appeal. Wizards
could not help but admire the strength and courage of Muggles prepared
to engage in a sport so brutal, without recourse to Disapparating out of
the way, or access to Skele-Gro to repair broken bones. It must be
admitted that there was an edge of sadism to some wizards’ enjoyment.

When
Angus Buchanan died, he was honoured by both wizarding and Muggle
worlds, an almost unique achievement in the annals of history. A shining
example of a person who had made the most of the hand that life had
dealt them and emerged triumphant, Angus was too modest to realize the
impact that he had had. The Angus Buchanan Cup for Outstanding Effort is
awarded at Hogwarts each year and My Life as A Squib is on its 110th printing.

When
it comes to wizarding sports and games (Quidditch, Quodpot,
Creaothceann – officially banned but still played illegally –
broom-racing, Gobstones and so forth) wizards are naturally fiercely
partisan and support their own country, but it is considered infra dig
for wizards to support any rugby team other than Scotland. Over the
nearly 150 years since Angus Buchanan helped win the first international
rugby match, discussing Scottish rugby has become one of several covert
identifiers for wizards meeting in front of Muggles and seeking to
establish each other’s credentials. Eavesdropping Muggles might be
puzzled as to why two Peruvians are so interested in a Scottish team,
but it is generally agreed that this is preferable to arguing about
Quidditch or comparing wand lengths in public.

Shortly
after Angus’s death, the Wizarding Supporters of Scottish Rugby Union
was set up in his memory by his devoted fans. The WSSRU, which exists to
this day, has both Scottish and foreign wizarding members. They meet on
the eve of every Scottish international match to toast Angus’s memory
and anticipate a happy eighty minutes of watching Muggles trample each
other into the mud.
The International Statute of Secrecy expressly
forbids wizards to participate in Muggle sport, but there is nothing
illegal in supporting a Muggle side. However, the WSSRU has often had to
deny the persistent rumour that its secret mission is to smuggle a
talented Squib on to every Scottish team. Current suspects include Kelly
Brown (possible cousin of Lavender’s), Jim Hamilton (strong resemblance
to Hagrid) and Stuart Hogg (enough said).

-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Bob Schroeck]

Hah! I should find a place to throw a reference to the WSSRU into DW8.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Jorlem]

There's been another addition to Pottermore, this time involving the Quidditch World Cup:

According to The Official Guide to the Quidditch World Cup – produced by the International Confederation of Wizards Quidditch Committee (ICWQC) and available through all reputable wizarding bookstores for what many feel is the ridiculously overpriced sum of thirty nine Galleons – the tournament has been held every four years since 1473. As with so much else about the wizarding world’s most important sporting competition, many query the accuracy of this statement.

As only European teams competed during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, purists prefer to date the Quidditch World Cup’s inception from the seventeenth century when it became open to all continents. There is also heated debate about the accuracy of some historical accounts of tournaments. A substantial amount of all post-game analysis centers on whether magical interference took place and whether it made, or ought to have made, the final result moot.

The ICWQC has the unlucky job of regulating this contentious and anarchic competition. The rulebook concerning both on- and off-pitch magic is alleged to stretch to nineteen volumes and to include such rules as ‘no dragon is to be introduced into the stadium for any purpose including, but not limited to, team mascot, coach or cup warmer’ and ‘modification of any part of the referee’s body, whether or not he or she has requested such modification, will lead to a lifetime ban from the tournament and possibly imprisonment.’

A source of vehement disagreements, a security risk for all who attend it and a frequent focus for unrest and protest, the Quidditch World Cup is simultaneously the most exhilarating sporting event on earth and a logistical nightmare for the host nation.

Statute of Secrecy

A watershed moment for the Quidditch World Cup was the implementation of the International Statute of Secrecy in 1692, which was intended to conceal the existence of magic and wizards. The International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) saw the Quidditch World Cup as a security risk of the highest magnitude because of the mass movement and congregation of so many members of the international wizarding community. However, following mass protests and threats to the ICW, it was agreed that the tournament could continue and a regulatory body – the ICWQC – was set up to locate suitable venues – usually remote moors, deserts and deserted islands – arrange transportation for spectators (as many as a hundred thousand routinely attend finals) and police the games themselves, a task generally agreed to be among the most thankless and difficult in the wizarding world.

How the Tournament Works

The number of countries that enter a Quidditch team for each World Cup fluctuates from tournament to tournament. Where the wizarding population of a country is small it can be difficult to raise a team of the required standard, but other factors such as international conflict or disaster may affect the entry numbers. However, any country may enter a team within the twelve months following the last final.

Teams are then divided into sixteen groups within which every team plays all the others over a two-year period until sixteen winning teams remain. During the group phase, game length is capped at four hours to prevent player exhaustion. Inevitably this means that some group games have no Snitch catches, but are decided on goals alone. Any win in the group phase counts for two points. A win by more than 150 points earns an additional five points, by 100 an additional 3 points and 50, 1 point. In the case of a tie on points, the winner is the team who caught the Snitch most often – or most quickly - during its matches.

The final sixteen are ranked according to the points they won during the group phase. The team with most points plays the team with least, the team with the second most points plays the team with the second least and so on. In theory, the two best teams will remain to play each other in the final.

Referees are chosen by the ICWQC.

Infamous Tournaments

No Quidditch World Cup is without its controversies, but some stand out. A few of the most infamous are listed below.

Attack of the Killer Forest

The ghastly climax of the 1809 final between Romania and New Spain (what is now known as Mexico) has gone down in wizarding history as the worst exhibition of temper ever given by an individual player. Niko Nenad’s teammates had become so concerned by his ferocious outbursts during the quarter- and semi-finals that they tried to persuade their manager to substitute him for the final, advice that was sadly ignored by the ambitious old wizard. After the game, Nenad’s teammate Ivan Popa (winner of an International Wizarding Order of Merit for his life-saving actions during the catastrophe) told an international inquiry: ‘over the preceding weeks we’d seen Niko beat himself over the head with his broom and set fire to his own feet in frustration. I’d personally stopped him strangling two referees. However, I had no suspicion about what he was planning to do if the final didn’t go our way. I mean, who’d suspect that? You’d have to be as mental as he was.’ Precisely when and how Nenad managed to jinx an entire forest on the edge of the West Siberian Plain is open to speculation, although he is thought to have had accomplices among unprincipled fans and was later proven to have paid local Dark wizards substantial sums. After two hours of play, Romania were behind on points and looking tired. It was then that Nenad deliberately hit a Bludger out of the stadium into the forest beyond the pitch. The effect was instantaneous and murderous. The trees sprang to life, wrenched their roots out of the ground and marched upon the stadium, flattening everything in their path, causing numerous injuries and several fatalities. What had been a Quidditch match turned swiftly into a human versus tree battle, which the wizards won only after seven hours’ hard fighting. Nenad was not prosecuted as he had been killed early on by a particularly violent spruce.

The Tournament that Nobody Remembers

The ICWQC insists that a tournament has been held every four years since 1473. This is a source of pride, proving as it does that nothing – wars, adverse weather conditions or Muggle interference – can stop wizards playing Quidditch. There is, however, a mystery surrounding the tournament of 1877. The competition was undoubtedly planned: a venue chosen (the Ryn Desert in Kazakhstan), publicity materials produced, tickets sold. In August, however, the wizarding world woke up to the fact that they had no memory whatsoever of the tournament taking place. Neither those in possession of tickets nor any of the players could remember a single game. However, for reasons none of them understood, English Beater Lucas Bargeworthy was missing most of his teeth, Canadian Seeker Angelus Peel’s knees were on backwards and half the Argentinian team were found tied up in the basement of a pub in Cardiff. Precisely what had – or had not – taken place during the tournament has never been satisfactorily proven. Theories range from a Mass Memory Charm perpetuated by the Goblin Liberation Front (at that time very active and attracting a number of disaffected anarchist wizards) or the breakout of Cerebrumous Spattergroit, a virulent sub-strain of the more common Spattergroit, which causes severe confusion and memory impairment. In any case, it was deemed appropriate to re-stage the tournament in 1878 and it has been held every four years since, which accounts for the slight anomaly in the ‘every four years since 1473’ sequence.

Royston Idlewind and the Dissimulators

In 1971 the ICWQC appointed a new International Director, Australian wizard Royston Idlewind. An ex-player who had been part of his country’s World Cup-winning team of 1966, he was nevertheless a contentious choice for International Director due to his hard-line views on crowd control – a stance undoubtedly influenced by the many jinxes he had endured as Australia’s star Chaser. Idlewind’s statement that he considered the crowd ‘the only thing I don’t like about Quidditch’ did not endear him to fans. Their feelings turned to outright hostility when he proceeded to bring in a number of draconian regulations, the worst being a total ban on all wands from the stadium except those carried by ICWQC officials. Many fans threatened to boycott the 1974 World Cup in protest but as empty stands were Idlewind’s secret ambition, their strategy never stood a chance. The tournament duly commenced and while crowd turnout was reduced, the appearance of ‘Dissimulators’, an innovative new style of musical instrument, enlivened every match. These multi-colored tube-like objects emitted loud cries of support and puffs of smoke in national colors. As the tournament progressed, the Dissimulator craze grew, as did the crowds. By the time the Syria-Madagascar final arrived, the stands were packed with a record crowd of wizards, each carrying his or her own Dissimulator. Upon the appearance of Royston Idlewind in the box for dignitaries and high-ranking officials, a hundred thousand Dissimulators emitted loud raspberries and were transformed instantly into the wands they had been disguising all along. Humiliated by the mass flouting of his pet law, Royston Idlewind resigned instantly. Even the supporters of the losers, Madagascar, had something to celebrate during the rest of the long, raucous night.

Reappearance of the Dark Mark

Possibly the most infamous World Cup Final of the last few centuries was the Ireland-Bulgaria match of 1994, which took place on Dartmoor, England. During the post-match celebrations of Ireland’s triumph there was an outbreak of unprecedented violence as supporters of Lord Voldemort attacked fellow wizards and captured and tortured local Muggles. For the first time in fourteen years, the Dark Mark appeared in the sky, which caused widespread alarm and resulted in many injuries among the crowd. The ICWQC censured the Ministry of Magic heavily after the event, judging that security arrangements had been inadequate given the known existence of a violent Pure-blood tendency in the United Kingdom. Royston Idlewind emerged briefly from retirement to give the following statement to the Daily Prophet: ‘a wand ban doesn’t look so stupid now, does it?’

-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Jorlem]

I started digging around in Pottermore, to see if there was anything else I missed.  As it so happens, I did turn up something, a bunch of info about Lockhart:

Early lifeBorn to a witch mother and a Muggle father, with two older sisters, Gilderoy Lockhart was the only one of his parents’ three children to show magical ability. A clever, good-looking boy, he was his mother’s unashamed favourite, and the realisation that he was also a wizard caused his vanity to blossom like a particularly pernicious weed
SchoolThe young Lockhart’s arrival at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was not the triumph that he and his mother had expected. Somehow, Lockhart had not appreciated that he would be in a whole school full of witches and wizards, many of them more accomplished than himself. (In fact, he had visualised for himself an entrance into Hogwarts not unlike the one that Harry Potter experienced, decades later. He had imagined walking down the corridors to excited whispers of his magical prowess, it never having occurred to him that every student at Hogwarts had had similar experiences to him before starting school.) In Lockhart’s own mind he was already a fully-fledged hero and genius, and it was a most unwelcome shock to discover that his name was unknown, his talents were unexceptional and that nobody was particularly impressed by his naturally wavy hair.
This is not to say that Lockhart had no talent. Indeed, his teachers felt that he was of above-average intelligence and ability, and that, with hard work, he might make something of himself, even if he fell short of the ambitions he shared freely with classmates (Lockhart told anyone who would listen that he would succeed in making a Philosopher’s Stone before leaving school and that he intended to captain England’s Quidditch team to World Cup glory, before knuckling down to becoming Britain’s youngest Minister for Magic).
Sorted into Ravenclaw house, Lockhart was soon achieving good marks in his schoolwork, but there was always a kink in his nature that made him increasingly unsatisfied. If he was not first and best, he would rather not participate at all. Increasingly, he directed his talents towards short cuts and dodges. He valued learning not for its own sake, but for the attention it brought him. He craved prizes and awards. He lobbied the Headmaster to start a school newsletter, because he liked nothing better than to see his name and photograph in print. Never very popular, he nevertheless achieved his primary goal of school-wide recognition through repeated, attention-getting exploits. He received a week’s worth of detentions for magically carving his signature in twenty-foot-long letters into the Quidditch pitch. He managed to create a massive, illuminated projection of his own face, which he would send skywards in imitation of the Dark Mark. He sent himself eight hundred Valentine’s cards one year, which caused such a pile-up of owls in the Great Hall that breakfast had to be abandoned (far too many feathers and droppings in the porridge).
Post-Hogwarts CareerWhen Lockhart finally left Hogwarts, it was to a faint sigh of relief from the staff. He was soon heard of in foreign parts, where his exploits began garnering increasing publicity. Many of his ex-teachers began to feel that they might have misjudged him because he was demonstrating both bravery and resilience in ridding various far-flung places of dangerous, Dark creatures.
The truth was that Lockhart had found his true calling at last. He had never been a bad wizard, only a lazy one, and he had decided to hone his talents in one direction: Memory Charms. By perfecting these tricky spells, he had succeeded in modifying the recollections of a dozen highly accomplished and courageous witches and wizards, allowing him to take credit for their daring exploits, returning to Britain at the end of each ‘adventure’ with a new book ready for publication which retold ‘his’ feats of bravery with a wealth of invented detail.
Within a decade of leaving school, Lockhart had achieved bestseller status with his series of autobiographical books and a reputation as a world-class defender against the Dark Arts. He even received the Order of Merlin, Third Class, became an Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League and – his good looks untarnished by the many life-and-death, tooth-and-claw battles he claimed to have had with werewolves, banshees and the like – won Witch Weekly’s Most-Charming-Smile Award no less than five times in a row.
Return to HogwartsMany staff were baffled as to the reason that Albus Dumbledore chose to invite Gilderoy Lockhart back to Hogwarts as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. While it was true that it had become almost impossible to persuade anybody else to take the job (the rumour that it was cursed was gathering strength both inside and outside Hogwarts), many teachers remembered Lockhart Gilderoy as thoroughly obnoxious, whatever his later achievements.
Albus Dumbledore’s plans, however, ran deep. He happened to have known two of the wizards for whose life’s work Gilderoy Lockhart had taken credit, and was one of the only people in the world who thought he knew what Lockhart was up to. Dumbledore was convinced that Lockhart needed only to be put back into an ordinary school setting to be revealed as a charlatan and a fraud. Professor McGonagall, who had never liked Lockhart, asked Dumbledore what he thought students would learn from such a vain, celebrity-hungry man. Dumbledore replied that ‘there is plenty to be learned even from a bad teacher: what not to do, how not to be’.
Lockhart might not have been keen to return to Hogwarts, given how well his career of stolen glory was progressing, had Dumbledore not dangled the promise of Harry Potter over his fame-hungry head (a ruse that Dumbledore was to repeat four years later, when another teacher needed to be persuaded to come back to school). By subtly suggesting that teaching Harry Potter would set the seal on Lockhart’s fame, Dumbledore had set a lure that Lockhart could not resist.
By the time that he arrived at school, Lockhart’s magical skills (once rather good) had become rusty almost beyond repair. The only spells for which he had real ability were Memory Charms, which he had been using repeatedly for years. His classes quickly became a charade, as he was revealed to be completely inept at everything in which he claimed, in his books, to be expert.
The accident that cost Lockhart his sanity occurred at the end of his year at Hogwarts, when he was hit by a backfiring Memory Charm that forever erased his past. He has since resided in the Janus Thickey Ward of St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[nemonowan]

Jorlem wrote:
Albus Dumbledore’s plans, however, ran deep. He happened to have known two of the wizards for whose life’s work Gilderoy Lockhart had taken credit, and was one of the only people in the world who thought he knew what Lockhart was up to. Dumbledore was convinced that Lockhart needed only to be put back into an ordinary school setting to be revealed as a charlatan and a fraud. Professor McGonagall, who had never liked Lockhart, asked Dumbledore what he thought students would learn from such a vain, celebrity-hungry man. Dumbledore replied that ‘there is plenty to be learned even from a bad teacher: what not to do, how not to be’.

Which proves, by canon, that Dumbledore shouldn't have ever been allowed within ten miles of any educational establishment.

[Bob Schroeck]

High intelligence, low wisdom...
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Shepherd]

nemonowan wrote:

---

Jorlem wrote:
Albus Dumbledore’s plans, however, ran deep. He happened to have known two of the wizards for whose life’s work Gilderoy Lockhart had taken credit, and was one of the only people in the world who thought he knew what Lockhart was up to. Dumbledore was convinced that Lockhart needed only to be put back into an ordinary school setting to be revealed as a charlatan and a fraud. Professor McGonagall, who had never liked Lockhart, asked Dumbledore what he thought students would learn from such a vain, celebrity-hungry man. Dumbledore replied that ‘there is plenty to be learned even from a bad teacher: what not to do, how not to be’.

Which proves, by canon, that Dumbledore shouldn't have ever been allowed within ten miles of any educational establishment.

Well, what else are you supposed to do with a cursed job that destroys the lives of everyone who takes it? Especially since most competent potential applicants presumably know of the curse and therefore refuse to take the job? If the position has to be filled and is guaranteed to ruin the life/reputation of the teacher, you may as well give the job to an enemy.
----------------------------------------------------

"Anyone can be a winner if their definition of victory is flexible enough." - The DM of the Rings XXXV

[nemonowan]

Well, what else are you supposed to do with a cursed job that destroys
the lives of everyone who takes it? Especially since most competent
potential applicants presumably know of the curse and therefore refuse
to take the job? If the position has to be filled and is guaranteed
to ruin the life/reputation of the teacher, you may as well give the job
to an enemy.

You at least run remedial classes with a different name, clubs or extracurricular activities where your students can actually LEARN one of your core subjects.That is, if there actually is a curse that you tried and failed to remove.

[Jorlem]

nemonowan wrote:

---

Well, what else are you supposed to do with a cursed job that destroys
the lives of everyone who takes it? Especially since most competent
potential applicants presumably know of the curse and therefore refuse
to take the job? If the position has to be filled and is guaranteed
to ruin the life/reputation of the teacher, you may as well give the job
to an enemy.

You at least run remedial classes with a different name, clubs or extracurricular activities where your students can actually LEARN one of your core subjects.That is, if there actually is a curse that you tried and failed to remove.

Well, we don't know that that wasn't done for those in higher years.  Or if it had been planned, but was disrupted by the whole Chamber of Secrets thing.  All we know for sure is what Harry saw, and as a second year he wouldn't have likely seen or paid attention to the secondary study options provided to the upper years.
Heck, we don't know how long Dumbledore intended to keep Lockhart there.  For all we know, Dumbledore might have planned to publicly fire Lockhart before the winter holidays, so that the children would be talking about it during the vacation.  But the the Chamber was opened, Lucius and the Minister started putting pressure on him, and he wasn't able to follow through.
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Jorlem]

More new stuff was added on Pottermore today, listing the results of the Quidditch World Cups from 1990 through 2010 (with some info on the 'upcoming' 2014 cup.)

1990Canada 270, Scotland 240

A bitter disappointment for Scotland, whose Seeker Hector Lamont missed catching the Snitch by millimeters. In a post-match interview, Hector famously lambasted his father (‘Stubby’ Lamont) for not giving him longer fingers.

1994

Ireland 170, Bulgaria 160

The on-pitch action was very much overshadowed by the events that followed this match. A spectacular Snitch capture by young Seeker Viktor Krum was enough to salvage Bulgarian dignity, but not to secure a win.

1998

Malawi 260, Senegal 180

Only the second ever all-African final. Following the 1994 riots, security at this match was tighter than ever before. Senegal almost refused to play when their team mascots (Yumboes) were arrested outside the stadium. Yumboes are a kind of African house-elf and they took their arrest in reasonably good part, merely stealing every bit of food within a ten-mile radius in revenge and vanishing into the night.

2002

Egypt 450, Bulgaria 300

Another crushing disappointment for Bulgaria. Viktor Krum was narrowly beaten to the Snitch by the outstanding Egyptian Seeker, Rawya Zaghloul. After the match, a tearful Krum announced his retirement.

2006

Burkina Faso 300, France 220

A popular win for the small African nation, whose Seeker Joshua Sankara was promptly named Burkinabé Minister for Magic. Two days later he resigned, pointing out that he’d much rather play Quidditch.

2010

Moldova 750, China 640

A furiously contested match that lasted 3 days and was widely held to have produced some of the finest Quidditch seen this century. The tiny country of Moldova has consistently produced excellent Quidditch teams and supporters were heartbroken that they failed to qualify this year due to an outbreak of Dragon Pox at their training camp.

The Quidditch World Cup 2014

This year’s Quidditch World Cup promises to be as exciting as ever. The sixteen competing countries are:

Brazil, Bulgaria, Chad, Fiji, Germany, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, USA and Wales.
Nigeria and Norway enter the tournament as the two highest ranked teams. This is the first year that the USA is thought to have a reasonable chance of reaching the final. Much interest has been generated by the return to the Bulgarian side of the previously retired Viktor Krum, who at 38 is old for a Seeker but whose stated aim is ‘to win the World Cup before I die.’ For this reason, Bulgaria is attracting support from those whose own countries have not qualified. Liechtenstein caused a serious upset in the qualifying stages by winning the group over China, the runners-up in 2010. Liechtenstein’s team mascot is a gloomy, oversized Augurey called Hans who has his own fan club.

Other than this, nothing out of the ordinary has been reported. Rumors that Haiti have used Inferi to intimidate opposing teams have been dismissed by the ICWQC as ‘malicious and baseless.’ Accusations that Polish Seeker Bonawentura Wójcik is actually the famous Italian Seeker Luciano Volpi, Transfigured, were only disproven when Luciano Volpi agreed to a press conference by Wójcik’s side. Welsh manager Gwenog Jones, formerly of the Holyhead Harpies, threatened to ‘curse the face off’ rival Brazilian manager José Barboza when he called her Chasers ‘talentless hags’, a comment he later insisted had been taken out of context.

Opening games will take place next month in the Patagonian desert.

-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.

[Labster]

This is the first year that the USA is thought to have a reasonable chance of reaching the final.

I don't care what the rest of the world thinks, American Quidditch is much better.  What the rest of the world calls Quidditch (I'm going to go with "snitcher") is just boring.
-- ∇×V

[Foxboy]

*snrk*
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''

-- James Nicoll

[Mamorien]

This is the first year that the USA is thought to have a reasonable chance of reaching the final.

I don't care what the rest of the world thinks, Quodpot is much better. [...] Quidditch (a game about chasing after a tiny ball that doesn't even explode) is just boring.

Fixed that for you. You're welcome.

[robkelk]

This is the first year that the USA is thought to have a reasonable chance of reaching the final.

I don't care what the rest of the world thinks, American Quidditch is much better. What the rest of the world calls Quidditch (I'm going to go with "snitcher") is just boring.

I suppose if you really like watching bludgers hit each other repeatedly, you might have a point - but where's the athletic grace in the US version?
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[DHBirr]

In the not-too-distant future, there will be no Quidditch -- but there will be ... Rollerball.
"Jon-a-than!  Jon-a-than!  Jon-a-than!"
-----
Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[ECSNorway]

You QuidQuaeQuod people annoy me. I'm going to go watch football. Manchester United is taking on the Denver Colts tonight.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[Jorlem]

There's some more new stuff on Pottermore:
Sport

12 April 2014


DISASTROUS OPENING CEREMONY LEADS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP SECURITY








From the Daily Prophet’s Quidditch correspondent in the Patagonian desert, Ginny Potter.



Not a single Quaffle thrown, not a single Snitch caught, but the 427th Quidditch World Cup is already mired in controversy. Magizoologists have congregated in the desert to contain the mayhem and Healers have attended more than 300 crowd members suffering from shock, broken bones and bites. The Argentinian Council of Magic is reeling from accusations that their decision to stage a mascot-themed opening ceremony was foolish and reckless.

In the weeks leading up to the opening, an impressive ornamental lake was created in the middle of the desert to accommodate the Fijian team’s Dukuwaqa (a shark/man shape-shifter). Organizers announced that mascots representing the other teams participating in the first week’s matches would take part in a choreographed display, advertized as ‘a magnificent exhibition of the diversity of the magizoological world’.

The ceremony started in gentle style, with river Genies from the Ivory Coast dancing in formation over the surface of the lake. It was only when the Fijian and Norwegian mascots were released that disaster struck.

President of the Argentinian Council of Magic, Valentina Vázquez, has issued the following statement:

‘While prepared for the arrival of the Fijian Dukuwaqa, we were surprised when the Norwegian delegation announced that they would also require lake-space for a gigantic lake serpent, the Selma. We had assumed that the Norwegians would be accompanied by their usual troop of performing trolls.

‘We are not aware that any study has ever been undertaken into the compatibility of Dukuwaqas and Selmas, so the Council of Magic cannot accept liability for the unfortunate consequences of placing the two in close proximity.’

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Prophet, Chief Consulting Magizoologist Rolf Scamander disagreed:

‘The Dukuwaqa lives in a warm ocean, the Selma in an icy freshwater lake. The former is a shape-shifter that can transform from fish to man, the latter is a serpent that devours human flesh and fish. You would need the brains of a Billywig not to foresee an immediate bloodbath if both were crammed tightly together in tepid, brackish water.’

A bloodbath is precisely what occurred when the two monsters were released into the magical lake through gigantic crystal chutes. Fijian and Norwegian handlers plunged into the seething waters to contain their respective mascots, but their efforts were greatly hampered by the Brazilian Curupiras (red-haired, forest-dwelling dwarves whose feet point backwards and who protect fellow creatures whom they feel are under threat from humans). Evidently believing that the handlers meant the Dukuwaqa and the Selma harm, the Curupiras attacked.

With panic in the stadium and blood now flowing freely from both humans and creatures, it was perhaps understandable that the Nigerian Sasabonsams (vampiric, spindle-legged creatures) became crazed. As they wreaked havoc upon crowd and organizers, the rumor that the Haitian team had brought Inferi as their mascots was proven true. The crowd stampeded as Inferi moved freely through the stadium, attempting to capture and devour anyone who tripped.

Regulations on the size and nature of mascots have long been a source of debate at the highest levels of the ICWQC. A motion to restrict mascots ‘to herbivores, creatures smaller than a cow and nothing that breathes fire’ was defeated by an overwhelming majority in 1995. Quidditch supporters worldwide have been opposed to any meddling with what they see as a traditional, colorful part of the World Cup.

However, many believe that competition among teams to bring the most intimidating mascot has got out of hand. Norwegian manager Arnulf Moe defended his decision to bring the Selma, which he said represented the ‘steely determination and ferocity of the Norwegian players’, and claimed that the Dukuwaqa bit first.

A record crowd has been transported by 10,000 Portkeys to the heart of the Patagonian desert for the opening weekend of the tournament, and while the Argentinian Council has been widely praised for the flawless transportation arrangements, the record number of injuries sustained before the first whistle has been blown is sure to be an embarrassment to the organizers.

The first game of the tournament will take place tomorrow: Norway versus Ivory Coast.








 
-----
Stand between the Silver Crystal and the Golden Sea.
"Youngsters these days just have no appreciation for the magnificence of the legendary cucumber."  --Krityan Elder, Tales of Vesperia.