Excellent stuff, perhaps a mention could be made in the Owls page about how they sometimes are a snack for Thestrals, if the thestrals are not othewise trained.
— November 10, 2006 @ 11:47 am
Kathalian wrote:
Good work. I think you forgot the “Letters of Nowhere”, thought. They’re sent by owls, right ?
Kathalian, I don’t have PS with me but I’m pretty sure we don’t ever find out how the letters we were delivered. They were certainly delivered by owl in the movie, but the book never specifically mentions this.
If anybody has a book handy and wants to verify/contradict this, feel free.
— November 10, 2006 @ 6:42 pm
Jayni D. wrote:
John, I checked the chapter The Letters from No One in PS and you are correct…owls are not mentioned as delivering the letters. I think it’s been assumed by most readers that the letters are delivered by owls, but it isn’t actually stated.
Cool, thanks for looking that up Jayni D.! I checked it out when I got home and found the same thing. I like the movies, but they drive me nuts sometimes. I keep thinking things happenned in the books that never actually did, and sometimes picturing things as I re-read the books that aren’t actually what the book’s describing. It’s tricky.
— November 11, 2006 @ 1:27 am
Graymayne wrote:
I would like to see a prominent reminder to younger fans that owls do not, in fact, make good pets. In Britain, many owls have been found being kept in very unsuitable conditions.
— November 11, 2006 @ 10:05 am
*Olivia* wrote:
I’ve always assumed that the first few letters were delivered by the Muggle postman. I haven’t got my books on me right now, but I’m fairly sure Uncle Vernon orders Harry to go and collect the post from the front doormat one morning and the first letter is in with the Dursleys’ Muggle post.
Of course, a few days later about half a dozen are delivered folded-up tightly inside eggs - no owl, but no postman either!
In fact, I really can’t remember any mention of owls being used to send post at all before Hagrid’s Daily Prophet is delivered in the shack on the island…
— November 11, 2006 @ 11:05 am
Pat Pat wrote:
Olivia is correct that the first message from Hogwarts was with the Muggle Post. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it wasn’t delivered by an owl. The owl could have simply dropped Harry’s letter in with the rest of the Dursley’s mail. However, it seems clear that the other letters were delivered by some other magical method. I don’t think an owl could have placed the letters inside the two dozen eggs that were delivered by the milkman.
— November 11, 2006 @ 4:01 pm
Moony wrote:
Hagrid sent a note to invite Harry by Hedwig (ps8), he didn’t use a school owl. Harry sent a letter to Sirius in Gf by Hedwig (I mean, the letter he wrote during gf2, he added the fact he was allowed to go to the quidditch-cup) in gf3.
— November 13, 2006 @ 2:06 pm
Moony wrote:
Another remark, I’m afraid. Pigwidgeon was able to carry a book (hbp11) probably twice as heavy as Pig himself. Oké, the owls in the Harry-Potter-universe can carry heavy things and the weight they can handle isn’t unlimited. But scops owls mostly eat little preys (insects, spiders, bats, …). So, a school book is probably not so easy for scops owls. Strange Pig had more difficulties with Harry’s letter to Snuffles after the first task in Gf. So, it was a kind of miracle (magic) Pig could handle the advanced potions-book.
That’s interesting Moony, especially considering that Scops owls at the post office are for local deliveries only. Carrying a heavy book across the country doesn’t exactly qualify.
Thanks for those updates, by the way. I’m out of town for the week, but when I’m back to my computer I’ll make the additions.
— November 16, 2006 @ 12:19 am
Molly wrote:
Olivia is right about Hagrid being the first one to use the owl post in the HP books, but not as she says to get his morning paper but to send a note to Dumbledore before that, to let the headmaster know that he’d delivered Harry’s letter at last.
del wrote:
Excellent stuff, perhaps a mention could be made in the Owls page about how they sometimes are a snack for Thestrals, if the thestrals are not othewise trained.
— November 10, 2006 @ 11:47 am
Kathalian wrote:
Good work. I think you forgot the “Letters of Nowhere”, thought. They’re sent by owls, right ?
— November 10, 2006 @ 5:42 pm
John wrote:
Kathalian, I don’t have PS with me but I’m pretty sure we don’t ever find out how the letters we were delivered. They were certainly delivered by owl in the movie, but the book never specifically mentions this.
If anybody has a book handy and wants to verify/contradict this, feel free.
— November 10, 2006 @ 6:42 pm
Jayni D. wrote:
John, I checked the chapter The Letters from No One in PS and you are correct…owls are not mentioned as delivering the letters. I think it’s been assumed by most readers that the letters are delivered by owls, but it isn’t actually stated.
— November 10, 2006 @ 11:06 pm
John wrote:
Cool, thanks for looking that up Jayni D.! I checked it out when I got home and found the same thing. I like the movies, but they drive me nuts sometimes. I keep thinking things happenned in the books that never actually did, and sometimes picturing things as I re-read the books that aren’t actually what the book’s describing. It’s tricky.
— November 11, 2006 @ 1:27 am
Graymayne wrote:
I would like to see a prominent reminder to younger fans that owls do not, in fact, make good pets. In Britain, many owls have been found being kept in very unsuitable conditions.
— November 11, 2006 @ 10:05 am
*Olivia* wrote:
I’ve always assumed that the first few letters were delivered by the Muggle postman. I haven’t got my books on me right now, but I’m fairly sure Uncle Vernon orders Harry to go and collect the post from the front doormat one morning and the first letter is in with the Dursleys’ Muggle post.
Of course, a few days later about half a dozen are delivered folded-up tightly inside eggs - no owl, but no postman either!
In fact, I really can’t remember any mention of owls being used to send post at all before Hagrid’s Daily Prophet is delivered in the shack on the island…
— November 11, 2006 @ 11:05 am
Pat Pat wrote:
Olivia is correct that the first message from Hogwarts was with the Muggle Post. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it wasn’t delivered by an owl. The owl could have simply dropped Harry’s letter in with the rest of the Dursley’s mail. However, it seems clear that the other letters were delivered by some other magical method. I don’t think an owl could have placed the letters inside the two dozen eggs that were delivered by the milkman.
— November 11, 2006 @ 4:01 pm
Moony wrote:
Hagrid sent a note to invite Harry by Hedwig (ps8), he didn’t use a school owl. Harry sent a letter to Sirius in Gf by Hedwig (I mean, the letter he wrote during gf2, he added the fact he was allowed to go to the quidditch-cup) in gf3.
— November 13, 2006 @ 2:06 pm
Moony wrote:
Another remark, I’m afraid. Pigwidgeon was able to carry a book (hbp11) probably twice as heavy as Pig himself. Oké, the owls in the Harry-Potter-universe can carry heavy things and the weight they can handle isn’t unlimited. But scops owls mostly eat little preys (insects, spiders, bats, …). So, a school book is probably not so easy for scops owls. Strange Pig had more difficulties with Harry’s letter to Snuffles after the first task in Gf. So, it was a kind of miracle (magic) Pig could handle the advanced potions-book.
— November 14, 2006 @ 2:10 pm
John wrote:
That’s interesting Moony, especially considering that Scops owls at the post office are for local deliveries only. Carrying a heavy book across the country doesn’t exactly qualify.
Thanks for those updates, by the way. I’m out of town for the week, but when I’m back to my computer I’ll make the additions.
— November 16, 2006 @ 12:19 am
Molly wrote:
Olivia is right about Hagrid being the first one to use the owl post in the HP books, but not as she says to get his morning paper but to send a note to Dumbledore before that, to let the headmaster know that he’d delivered Harry’s letter at last.
— November 23, 2006 @ 2:43 pm