While watching the Prisoner of Azkaban, my Mum decided to be annoying and watch it on frame advance (like she often does – she was looking for the clue that J.K. had mentioned). To her surprise and horror she noticed something that I thought at the time was really stupid.

She pointed out that Seamus was wearing two rings (one on each hand) and nobody else was. I thought it was really weird for her to notice something so small, but little did I know then how much it would grow into a possible big clue to the next book. We kept watching the film and my Mum noticed that, in fact, the Slytherins were wearing the exact same ring as Seamus. Now this got us thinking. Was this the ominous clue that J.K. had mentioned?

Time went on and we kept looking for clues: Ron and Hermione; Lupin’s past with Lily. It could all be the clue. But we thought the rings were more likely as they were so small and unlikely to be noticed (or so J.K. thought). We forgot about the rings for quite some time. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, the HBP book covers were released and we found a very similar looking ring on the spine of the UK children's edition.

As I said earlier, Seamus was the only Gryffindor student wearing rings in the PoA movie. In the past, the pictures on the book spines have sometimes pointed out an important clue, like the black dog on the spine of PoA, the phoenix feather on the spine of OotP and Dumbledore on the spine of PS.

Now, we have a few theories (just theories, mind you!) on why only Seamus and the Slytherins may have been wearing rings and what it could mean for HBP.

A Traitor Among Us

Seamus could be a traitor to Gryffindor, his loyalties being with Slytherin (I know this sounds stupid, but remember, it’s just a thought). Seamus' and the Slytherins' rings could be the sign of a fraternity of sorts. This would explain, at least partly, why Seamus is so horrible to Harry in book 5. It’s not because he doesn’t believe him about Voldemort's return, because if he was "in" with the Slytherins he’d know that Voldemort was back and he’d be happy about it. We think that if this story is the case, the reason Seamus got so angry towards Harry was because he let his guard down. Then suddenly he must have realized that he was being so outspoken against Harry, therefore making friends with him again to gain access to DA lessons and other non-Slytherin activities.

Seamus' mother, the root of his anger toward Harry in book 5, may also shed light on this particular theory. On page 76 of the UK version of GoF, Mrs. Finnigan says:

"Why shouldn’t we show our colours?’ said Mrs. Finnigan. "You should see what those Bulgarians have got dangling all over their tents. You’ll be supporting Ireland then," she added, eyeing Harry, Ron, and Hermione beadily.

Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but with others it took a little while to decide.
"Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for nearly a minute before it declared him a Gryffindor.

Also, on page 96 of the UK version of PoA, Seamus says:

"Hey Harry, have you heard? Daily Prophet this morning, they reckon Sirius Black's been sighted.
"Where?" said Harry and Ron quickly. on the other side of the table, Malfoy looked up, listening closely. "Not too far from here," said Seamus, who looked excited.

Or...it could be the following, which is my favourite theory, as it is the most likely...

The Royal Family

As Seamus said in the Philosopher's/Sorcerer’s Stone film, "Me dad’s a Muggle, me mum’s a witch. It was a nasty shock for him when he found out."

This could open a whole load of doors. The theory we expect to be most accurate is that Seamus’ dad could be some sort of Muggle royalty. Nobody ever said that the HBP had to involve magical royalty. Then with Seamus being the HBP through this reason would mean that he would try to bring the Muggle world and the wizarding world together, like his mum and dad did by marrying.

Or...

Protecting the Not-So-Innocent

The rings are there for protection. If you think about it, people apart from Seamus who wear the rings in Slytherin are Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, and the other boy from POA, who I expect is Nott. All of these people have Death Eater parents, apart from Pansy, who nobody’s sure about. The rings could be used to ensure another generation of Death Eaters to protect Voldemort. I think it would work quite well this way. Nobody said that Seamus’ mum wasn’t a Death Eater, even though she hasn’t been named as one. If not a Death Eater, she could at least be a big Voldemort supporter.

While we can never be sure until July 16, it's possible that Seamus' ring in the PoA movie is what made J.K. mention the unintentional clue that may foreshadow what's to come in HBP.

6/22/05

Posted by: Sara

---

MuggleNet is an unofficial Harry Potter fan site. Please email us if you have any questions or concerns. MuggleNet's original layouts were designed and created by Navy. All subsequent layouts by Dylan Spartz.

© 1999-2009 MuggleNet.com. All rights reserved.

Privacy Policy | COPPA Policy | Feedback | Credits
Random Addresses

1,028 muggles currently online