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ABERFORTH DUMBLEDORE Updated August 15, 2005

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE Updated August 15, 2005

ALICE LONGBOTTOM

ALIISTOR "MAD EYE" MOODY Updated August 15, 2005

AMELIA BONES Updated August 15, 2005

ANDROMEDA BLACK TONKS AND TED TONKS

ANGELINA JOHNSON

ARABELLA FIGG Updated August 15, 2005

ARGUS FILCH

ARMANDO DIPPET (PREVIOUS HEADMASTER)

ARTHUR WEASLEY Updated August 15, 2005

ABERFORTH DUMBLEDORE

Aberforth Dumbledore is Professor Albus Dumbledore's rather odd brother and apparently the bartender at the Hog's Head Pub in Hogsmeade.  Is he also the owner?     I would guess so.  I imagine he's a spy for the Order as well. This brings up an interesting thought too... when Mundungus was there wearing the shroud. Remember in OOTP when Moody told Harry that the bartender didn't care for Mundungus and that is why the latter wore a disguise?  Hmmm. Maybe Aberforth really did know who was under the shroud but because they both are members of the Order it's just part of the undercover work.  Or not.  Also, in HBP, Harry sees the Hog’s Head barman talking to Mundungus.  What are the two discussing?  Order business?  Or maybe it has something to do with what Mundungus stole from the Black house.  Perhaps he was trying to sell the silver mugs with the Black family crest to the bartender?  If not the mugs, a silver locket?

It may not matter but I'm curious if Aberforth and Albus are twins like Fred and George.  (Just a side note, Fred and George are not the only set up twins at Hogwarts -- remember Parvati or Padma Patil too.  I don't think the two A's are similar to the two P's, though.) But if Albus and Aberforth aren't two peas in a pod then who's the elder and who's the younger?  At any rate, Aberforth is definitely his own wizard.  How much of a whiz of a wiz is up for grabs.  Professor Dumbledore tells Hagrid in GoF that he's not sure his brother knows how to read and so is unaffected by public scrutiny and notoriety; while Mad Eye Moody tells Harry in OOTP that Aberforth is a “strange bloke.”  We never see the two Dumbledore brothers side by side… too bad; although Aberforth does visit Hogwarts at the end of HBP.

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

"Great man, Dumbledore." He is and always will be a great man and wizard.  He even has his picture featured on Honeyduke's Chocolate Frogs trading cards of Famous Witches and Wizards.  It's been discussed by my fellow fans that his name means white and bumblebee, and he certainly is as industrious and busy as a bee. 

Dumbledore seems to be able to move in and around time, although this may be just my imagination.  In the tales of King Arthur, Merlin lived time backwards so he knew the future because he had already been there.  (Remember when Harry knew he could produce the Patronus in PoA because he knew he'd already done it?)  Dumbledore also seems to know or see what's happening most all the time.  Could this also mean that he knows Harry's destiny?  If he knows it but cannot stop it then maybe he is doing everything he can to help Harry prepare for it.  But is Harry's destiny set in stone or just smoky mist?  As Dumbledore tells Harry in CoS, "it's our choices that make us who we are."  Dumbledore is helping Harry along the path but the final choice that Harry makes will determine his destiny.

 Dumbledore is up in years and perhaps the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone has added a few more years to his life, but could he be immortal?  Frown.  I’m afraid not.   Not even Flammel was immortal without the Elixir of Life.  I worry about our white wizard.  Maybe I shouldn't be comparing Dumbledore to Obi Wan Kenobi but the mentor/student relationship between Dumbledore and Harry is strikingly similar.  Obi Wan finally fell to Darth Vader, the other Dark Lord, in the original Star Wars movie.  Fortunately, he came back even stronger in spirit form to continue to help Luke Skywalker.  Well if the light saber/wand fits?

Jo Rowling confirmed that Dumbledore’s Patronus is a phoenix and we have seen Dumbledore conjure his Patronus in GOF when he sends it to summon Hagrid.  And, as Dumbledore’s soul rises, Harry believes it is in the form of a Phoenix.  Like Gandalf in Tolkien’s "Lord of the Rings" who was the keeper of the flame, so too is Dumbledore the keeper of the flame in that he is Fawkes’ keeper and Fawkes is the eternal flame.

What is the little silver instrument on the spindly little table in Dumbledore’s office and in OOTP what did Dumbledore learn from the green serpents heads that formed from the smoke it issued?  In OOTP the Headmaster consulted it when he learned that a snake had attacked Arthur Weasley but he didn’t offer Harry any clues as to what it all meant.  Dumbledore knows Harry shares Voldemort’s essence so he purposely split the symbolic misty snake in two to make a separation between Harry and Voldemort, and to put up a wall of protection around Harry.  At the end of the book Dumbledore has an opportunity to kill Voldemort when the latter is inside Harry.  Voldemort taunts Dumbledore, hoping he will kill Harry in his attempt to kill Voldemort but our great and good wizard doesn’t try.  I think this is because he knows that to kill Voldemort, even if he is not inside or possessing Harry, could be fatal to Harry.  Only Harry can vanquish that dark part of himself… the Voldemort part.  It’s in essence an internal battle between the light and dark sides of Harry Potter.

Alice Longbottom

Neville's mum was an auror like her husband, Frank.  She was cruelly tortured with the Cruciatus Curse to the point of insanity along with her husband by the Bellatrix Lestranges, her husband, his brother, and possibly Barty Crouch Jr.  Interesting that her name is Alice and that she has been as mad as a March Hare for years.  She and her husband are now wards at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies; neither one can remember who they are or that Neville is their son, although he and his gran visit them on holidays.  During Christmas holiday in OotP Alice Longbottom gives her son an empty gum wrapper.  Neville pockets it even though his grandmother tells him to throw it away.  We learn that Neville's bedroom wall at home is papered in gum wrappers given to him by his mother. (And have you noticed J.K.R's website desk?)  Curiouser and curiouser!  I'm ready to burst trying to blow up this clue big enough so that it will pop out of its wrapper!

ALASTOR "MAD EYE" MOODY

Mad Eye is a paranoid, twitchy man it’s true but he’s a highly skilled auror as well.  He came out of apparent retirement in GoF at Dumbledore’s behest to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.  However Barty Crouch Jr over- powered him and then drank Polyjuice Potion to transform into Mad Eye and infiltrate Hogwarts to spy for Voldemort.  Poor Mad Eye was prisoner in his own trunk for nine months before Dumbledore found him.  Since then he seems even twitchier but that is to be expected I think. 

Mad Eye’s magical glass eye enables him to see through wood, stone, water, and flesh.  I wonder if he can still see out of it when it’s not in his eye socket?  If he can then it would be a great spy tool.  The down side to this would be if someone else got hold of it.  Would they then be able to see what Mad Eye sees?  When Barty Jr was in the guise of Mad Eye he used the eye and only he could see with it… but we never saw what would happen if someone else just held it. Let’s hope one of the Death Eaters or Voldemort never have that chance.

What can we expect from Mad Eye after OOTP.  He’s barely visible in HBP.  More body bits and parts gone missing I suspect.  He will be busy dueling Death Eaters.  Will he survive?  Boy I just am not sure.  I feel he will but am not placing any bets.  And yet try dissecting his first name thus:  A-last-o-r (A Last Auror).  Hmmmm.

He's being very secretive at present but I'm keeping my eyes pealed to catch up with him.  Check back later.  I'm sure there'll be more to see here.

Amelia Bones

Susan Bones' aunt works for the Ministry of Magic and is definitely one should want to keep on his good side, especially if you're an under-aged witch or wizard who has used magic outside of Hogwarts.  However, retirement is not in Amelia Bones’ future, I regret to say.

ANDROMEDA BLACK TONKS AND TED TONKS

Tonks' mother is a witch and the sister of Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange.  Andromeda is the only nice one of the three.  She married Ted Tonks, a muggle, and so was forever zapped from the noble Black family tapestry.  She is apparently very good at tidying up charms.

In Greek mythology, Andromeda is the beautiful daughter of Cassiopeia, a boastful and braggart Queen (sounds like Mrs. Black).  Cassiopeia claimed she was more beautiful than Juno, Queen of the Gods and of the nymphs.  Neptune vowed to avenge the nymphs by setting a sea monster against the kingdom and the only way to appease the Sea God would be to offer Cassiopeia's daughter, Andromeda, to the monster.  So the princess was chained to a rock in the water.  In the nick of time Perseus arrived, fell in love with the chained maiden, and rescued her from the jaws of the sea monster.  They were married and lived happily ever after.  Interesting that Mrs. Tonks named her daughter after the Nereids.  I don't know that either Andromeda or Ted will make an appearance in the last to HP books but it's also interesting that Ted Tonks mythological counterpart, Perseus, slew Medusa...  the femme fatale with the serpentine coiffure and stop-whatever-you-are-doing petrifying eyes.  It all just ties together, don't you agree?

Angelina Johnson

This girl is a great Quidditch player as well as a Gryffindor.  She's two years older than Harry and became captain of the Gryffindor team in her 7th year.  She's also a member of the D. A. aka Dumbledore's Army. 

Arabella Figg

Her name, to me, is an oxymoron that describes  a beautiful, shriveled up prune.  Harry always figured she was just a batty old lady with too many cats who lived down the way from the Dursley's and who, much to his dismay, looked after him when all of the Dursley's went out.  Not that Harry wanted to go with them either, mind. 

Harry gets a double dose of unexpected shocks in OOTP.  The first  is when he and Dudley are  attacked by Dementors in Magnolia Crescent.  Second is when Mrs. Figg reveals herself to be a Squib. Unlike Mr. Argus Filch (note both have initials of A. F.), she's really a very nice old prune, except towards Mundungus Fletcher and that's not without warrant.  (And there's probably a warrant or two out there waiting for Mundungus too but that belongs neither here nor there, until they catch up to him in HBP.) Back to Mrs. Figg -- she's not exactly a convincing public speaker as demonstrated when she gave testimony at Harry's hearing... good enough, though, with Dumbledore's assistance. 

I wonder how many of her cats are really kneazels?  Mr. Tibbles?

Argus Filch

Ahhh. Hmm.  How best to describe Mr. Filch?  Definitely not a winner of "Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award" but most certainly Dolores Umbridge's biggest fan, only rivaling Cornelius Fudge in her esteem. Mr. Filch filches anything and everything he can from the students at Hogwarts in the guise of what he determines allowable as versus non-allowable items.  His office is filled with stuff taken from students over the years.  Of course, Fred and George have nicked a few things from him too. He has it out for students in particular, and Harry most particularly.  Filch must have at least one redeeming value; can't think what that might be but if he does then only Mrs. Norris knows what and where it is.  Is she his secret keeper?  I'm not sure what Dumbledore sees in him.  He must know Mrs. Norris' secret keeper secret.  I'm waiting to see if Mr. Filch will have a turn around by book 7 or if I'm just grasping at dungbombs.

ARMANDO DIPPET (PREVIOUS HEADMASTER)

Professor Dippet was Headmaster before Dumbledore.  His portrait hangs in the Headmaster's office and I'm sure he and the other past Headmasters and Mistresses will be doing a lot more of portrait hopping in HBP and book 7.  Other than spying, I wonder what else they can do besides just hanging around?

ARTHUR WEASLEY

Ron's dad is a pretty cool guy.  A bit quirky, but cool.  Lucius Malfoy certainly likes to taunt him about his bottom-of-the-cauldron job at the Ministry as well as his muggle-hugging ways.  It's true that poor Mr. Weasley has been slaving away at the Ministry of Magic for years (without complaint)  and seems to never be rewarded for his hard work.  But things are looking up job-wise for Mr. Weasley in HBP.  Could things get even better in Book 7?  Could Arthur ever move into the Minister of Magic’s job?  It’s possible. Did you hear that Fudge?  But I think Arthur will have to wait until Lucius Malfoy, or Dolorus Umbridge has had his/her tour of duty as Minister first.  And that could mean that Mr. Weasley could be out of a job before he is promoted.  Still, in OOTP Ron compares Gryffindor's chances of winning the Quidditch Cup as unlikely as his dad becoming Minister of Magic.  Er, Ron? Gryffindor does win the Quidditch Cup!!!  I rest my case.

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Checking the stars in my astrology chart for any more apparent allusions.  Please check back later to see if my stars were lucky.