Listener Rebuttal - Harry's Eyes

Andrew: Oh! Oh, yeah, I paid a little extra for that box because I wanted to make sure it lasted for you. And now some more eye rebuttals. Nicole, 22, Michigan says:

"I have a theory about Harry's eyes that also fits in with the fact that Jo Rowling said that there was foreshadowing in the Prisoner of Azkaban movie. In the movie when Remus Lupin is talking to Harry about his mother he says that 'she could see the beauty in others, perhaps especially when they couldn't see it themselves.' I think that Harry might have inherited this ability to 'see' beauty along with his mother's eyes. This could have many consequences in Book Seven depending on who has this inner beauty. Perhaps Snape, Pettigrew, or possibly even Voldemort."

Jamie: Hmmm. So wait, what's she saying? She's saying that Harry can see good in people, is it? Or...

Andrew: Yeah.

Jamie: But Micah came up with one point about this - about the whole eye thing. Because I mean, I find it really, really difficult to find theories about why Harry, you know, has Lily's eyes and how important they are. Apart from that theory which everyone loved about Harry going to her grave and plucking out her eyes, and then really having Lily's eyes.

[Ben laughs]

Jamie: But no he says, Micah says that he thinks that at some point in the final battle that Harry will be in a compromising situation, extremely similar to Lily was. Snape will be there, for all you Snape/Lily fans, and his attention will be caught by Harry's eyes and he will remember what happened to Lily and sacrifice himself in some way to save Harry, maybe. Write in if you think that that's, you know, a viable theory or any comments about it. Thank you, Micah.

Andrew: Very interesting.

Ben: [impersonating Micah] That's okay.

Andrew: We also got a few other e-mails saying black and gray eyes do exist. They're all pretty much redundant of each other. But also this one comes from Elizabeth, 14, of Tulsa... Toosa... Tusa:

"In Episode 51, you were talking about how the fact that Harry has Lily's eyes could be significant in Book Seven. Here's the theory I have: in Book Five, Dumbledore said he thought he saw a shadow of Voldemort stir behind Harry's eyes. So, in Book Seven, if Voldemort finds a way to get in Harry's mind without killing himself, others could be able to tell."

Ummm...

Jamie: I think Dumbledore was speaking figuratively when he - when he meant that. Though, you know?

Andrew: You think so?

Jamie: Well, yeah, like - like when Voldemort possessed Harry, Dumbledore could see the Voldemortness inside Harry, you know? So...

Andrew: Ah, yeah...

Ben: The Voldemortness.

Jamie: Yeah, the Voldemortness. That is a proper word. Check the dictionary, everyone. So, yeah.

Claire: Voldemortness. Very nice.

Jamie: Yeah. So but, I don't know. Yeah, it could be that, you know, his eyes can show what kind of power Voldemort has on him at any one time, perhaps. It's good.

Andrew: All right. Well, that does it for rebuttals.

Main Discussion: Defense Against The Dark Arts

Andrew: Now, moving on to our main discussion this week, which is the Defense Against the Dark Arts class at Hogwarts. There's so many questions about it because just...

Jamie: There are.

Andrew: About the curse and who might step up in Book Seven to take the role, but we're going to start off with a voicemail about the curse.

Cursed Position

[Audio]: Hi, this is Jessie from New Hampshire and I was just wondering about the Defense Against the Dark Arts people - teachers. Because Dumbledore had said that no teacher had lasted for longer than a year since he had been asked for the post. So, what happened to all those other teachers that had been there before Quirrell? Do you think that they all died? Do you think they just resigned or do you think that Voldemort had involvement with all of them? Because he wasn't strong at that point, so - but I don't know. I just wanted to hear your thoughts. I love the show! Thanks! Bye!

Andrew: It's purely speculation, but, I mean we haven't really ever heard what happened to the other Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers...

Jamie: No, we haven't.

Andrew: ...prior to Book One.

Jamie: You'd think though - you'd think though if you went for a job interview for a teacher and you said, "So, why is the job open?" and the headmaster said, "Well, it's, you know, the last 50 teachers have either died, resigned, or gone mad," you wouldn't take the job. But, no.

Andrew: Right.

Jamie: Everyone still takes the job. It's weird.

Claire: Well, maybe that's because...

Andrew: Yeah. Yeah.

Claire: Maybe that's because it's such a coveted position at Hogwarts. That's nothing to do with...

Jamie: Yeah, that's true, that's true.

Claire: You know?

Jamie: Yeah, that is very true.

Andrew: And Dumbledore could very well be convincing them somehow.

Claire: Everyone's vying for it. So...

Jamie: Yeah, yeah.

Andrew: Offering some sort of incentive.

Claire: Definitely.

Andrew: Anything else to say about that?

Ben: None here. My feet - my feet are so numb right now.

[Jamie laughs]

Ben: I don't know what's happening.

Jamie: My back hurts more.

Andrew: Are you still in your car?

Ben: Yeah, I'm still in the car in Nebraska.

Jamie: Yeah.

Ben: Sleeping here for a week now.

Jamie: He slept there for an entire week.

[Claire laughs]

Ben: Yeah. [laughs]

Jamie: That - that really is commitment. I'm still hanging on to my raft. I've been here a week as well.

[Andrew laughs]

Jamie: I'm getting a bit wet now I must admit.

[Andrew still laughing]

Professor R. J. Lupin

Andrew: Well, with Lupin, in the third book, he had left to keep the students at Hogwarts safe because he turns into a werewolf and all that. But, if he had stayed, what could have happened the following year? Because it just seems like he didn't really have to leave; because did Dumbledore ask him to leave or was it on his own? Was it his own decision?

Jamie: I think... I think he took the incentive though, you know, like he knew that people would, especially parents, would call in and say you know... They'd leave voicemails on the Hogwarts voicemail Skype name and say, and say, you know...

[Andrew, Ben and Jamie laugh]

Jamie: "We don't want a werewolf teaching our children." And he thought that the war is going to start soon and he was playing a big role by leaving Hogwarts and uniting Hogwarts, more than staying there and causing trouble. I think it was a sacrifice.

Claire: Do you not think he could have been a target by Death Eaters had he of stayed? That's just me thinking, but...

Jamie: He turns into a shop that sells all manner of electrical items.

[Jamie, Andrew, and Claire laugh]

Claire: Shut up, Jamie. [laughs]

Andrew: It just seems like he would have been the most likely candidate to stay around for a second year.

Jamie: He would, yeah.

Andrew: And he didn't. I don't know. It just doesn't seem like the curse really applies to him because he left on his own decision.

Jamie: He is the only one who left when he hadn't done anything consciously wrong, if that makes sense.

Andrew: Right, right.

Jamie: Whereas you know, Lockhart obviously in the Chamber of Secrets, Quirrell did have Voldemort on the back of his head as Harry points out, so that was quite a big thing. You know, so... And Moody obviously wasn't Moody. So, yeah. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

Gilderoy Lockhart

Andrew: Chamber of Secrets [clears throat]: Dumbledore hires Lockhart. Why would he hire Lockhart knowing full well - well, maybe not knowing full well - that this guy is out of his mind? Because Lockhart had played people for a while saying that he did all these things.

Jamie: Yeah.

Ben: Well, isn't it just because it's so hard to find someone to take that position? Isn't that why?

Jamie: That... I think that could be it. But..

Ben: Because you have - you have to hire whoever you can get.

Jamie: He couldn't have played Dumbledore, though. Dumbledore obviously knew.

Claire: No, no, no. I think the point with Lockhart was that he brought a kind of - he brought the exposure to Hogwarts that no other person at that point in time could have brought, you know, because he was so popular.

Jamie: Yeah, yeah.

Claire: Surely.

Jamie: Yeah. But, no. Yeah.

Andrew: So you're saying - you're saying Dumbledore hired him because of how popular he was?

Claire: Yes, in a way. It could be.

Jamie: Yeah. Wait. It could be..

Ben: It's the only reason we keep Jamie on the show.

[Everyone laughs]

Jamie: It's like - no, no, it's like hiring Jon O'Stewart to be your new English teacher, you know?

[Andrew laughs]

Claire: Jon O'Stewart? How fitting.

Andrew: [laughs] It doesn't start with O'Stewart.

Jamie: So, yeah. It's just like - that would bring loads of publicity and stuff, so perhaps it is that. That is a very good point.

Professor Snape

Andrew: Who, now, what if Snape had received the position that he originally asked for? Didn't we already talk about this recently? I'm trying to remember.

Jamie: I think we did. We asked why Dumbledore finally gave the position to him, didn't we?

Andrew: Well, no, like prior to that. Why didn't he receive the position earlier than Book Six?

Jamie: Ummm... Maybe Dumbledore didn't completely trust- no, no! I know why! I know why! Because Dumbledore realized that every single Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher - yeah - they either left within a year, they died within a year, or something happened; and he needed to keep Snape close to him because he was working for him to spy on Voldemort.

Andrew: Oh, right.

Claire: Not even, Jamie.

Jamie: If he placed him in... Assuming that the job is actually cursed, you know, if he placed him into that job, then within a year he'd be gone or something. And then in the sixth book - oh my god, yeah! And then - I'm so excited now, I'm so excited! And then in the sixth book...

[Andrew laughs]

Jamie: No, no, no, no, wait.

[Claire laughs]

Jamie: And then in the sixth book, because they had planned that Snape was going to kill Dumbledore, he put him into the job because it didn't matter; because he was going to leave him and go over to Voldemort. Well, not go over to Voldemort, as it were, because they'd been planning it. So, that shows that Snape is a good person. Perhaps it's that.

Claire: Hang on, hang on.

Ben: You are so good, Jamie. So good.

Jamie: It just hit me, it just hit me.

Who Will Be The DADA Professor in Book Seven?

Andrew: Shall we make some predictions? Book Seven: who will be the DADA teacher? Because I don't - I don't think we've even talked about this yet.

Claire: Moody. Mad-Eye Moody.

Andrew: The DADA. [pronounces it "dah-dah"]

Claire: Definitely, Mad-Eye Moody.

Andrew: Why, Claire?

Claire: Definitely. Because...

Andrew: Why?

Claire: ...his role, I feel his role was - it wasn't explored to the fullest. I mean, I think that...

Jamie: That is true.

Claire: ...I don't know, that JK has... She has - she has a motive for him. Yes, definitely.

Jamie: Mad-Eye O'Moody is coming for the role.

Claire: Mad-Eye O'Moody. [laughs]

Andrew: Some people think that an Order member will step up, but it might be someone other than Moody, such as Lupin or Tonks.

Jamie: What, you mean like putting somebody from the Order inside Hogwarts to know what's going on?

Andrew: Right, yeah. Right, exactly.

Jamie: Right, yeah.

Andrew: For someone like Lupin or is McGonagall an Order member? Or is she just...

Jamie: She's got to be.

Andrew: Wasn't she just in and out, in Order of the Phoenix?

Jamie: Yeah, she was.

Claire: Guys, assess where we left Lupin in the last book. Where was Lupin at the end of the last book? Where was he? Was he not in the hospital?

Jamie: Yes, he was. He was in with Bill and then Tonks said..

Claire: With Charlie...

Jamie: No, no, Bill, Bill. Yes. And then - and then, Tonks says, "I love you, I don't care if you're a werewolf once a month. We just won't do it then."

[Andrew laughs]

Claire: If you actually think logically about who's going to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in Book Seven, then we need to think that it's not going to be Hagrid. Of existing members, it's not going to be Hagrid.

Jamie: No.

Claire: It's not going to be Professor McGonagall because she's going to be the head teacher of Hogwarts - most likely, most likely. It's not going to be Kingsley Shackleboot - Shacklebolt, even, because he's working with the Muggle Prime Minister. It's not going to be Arthur Weasley because he's been promoted to something I can't remember right now. And, the....the...for me, the most likely candidate is definitely Mad-Eye Moody. And I think that Tonks will go to Transfiguration because of obvious reasons.

Jamie: Yeah, that sounds fair enough. That sounds fair enough.

Andrew: I like that. That's an interesting way to put it. Who else, I'm looking at the list of...

Professor Potter

Jamie: Can I say, the question of - it's been discussed for quite a long time - that whether Harry is going to become the Defense Against Dark Arts teacher, but I just can't see it, because...

Claire: Oh, no way! Oh, come on. Get a grip!

Jamie: You can't, it's...

Ben: That is the dumbest thing...

Jamie: Respect, please, Ben. Respect please.

Ben: ...I have ever heard in my entire life.

Jamie: But, Ben...

Ben: [laughs] Sorry, sorry.

[Claire laughs]

Claire: Ben...

Jamie: We've only got one more book, so he can't qualify out of school and then become the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, unless she writes it in an epilogue.

Andrew: Well, right.

Claire: If you think about it, Harry has so much to learn, himself, in the last book...

Jamie: Exactly, exactly. He can't teach people.

Claire: ...to be able to destroy all the Horcruxes and then get to Voldemort. And then, not even that, but he has actually to do this. So, how is he going to find the time to be Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and...

Jamie: Precisely.

Claire: ...and then do this final quest kind of thing, you know? It's just not possible.

Jamie: Exactly, exactly. He'll be like, "Class dismissed, I've got to go and find a Horcrux."

[Ben and Claire laugh]

Andrew: Right, but I think most people think he's going to become Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher after.

Jamie: Well, maybe, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Claire: Possibly. Possibly.

Andrew: After all this mayhem is over. Because, of course he can't do it during school. That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

[Jamie laughs]

Andrew: How about Dumbledore's Army? Could he maintain Dumbledore's Army and bring it back?

Jamie: Yeah. Perhaps.

Claire: I think so.

Jamie: But, it would be TLDA: The Late Dumbledore's Army.

Andrew: Oooh...

[Andrew laughs]

Jamie: Tear, tear, tear.

Claire: [laughs] That's below the belt, Jamie. That is below the belt.

Andrew: Maybe he wouldn't even run it. Maybe, like, Hermione or maybe not-so-much Ron would take it over.

Other Positions at Hogwarts

Andrew: Now, what about other roles? Claire already - Tonks seems like a good person for Transfiguration. How about Potions? Will Slughorn stay on? I think he's good enough to be... I think he's...

Claire: Definitely. Absolutely. Definitely. Yes.

Andrew: ...loyal enough to Dumbledore to come back for another year. That wraps up our Defense Against the Dark Arts discussion, but, Jamie, I understand you have a theory for us now.

Theory: Foreshadowing The Lightening-Struck Tower

Jamie: I'm going to come up with a theory that was proposed by Micah. He's on a role this week and this was...

Ben: You're going to come up with a theory that was proposed by Micah?

Jamie: I was... Yeah, it's going to take all my powers and concentration to read this straight out of a text file, so let me concentrate, Ben.

[Andrew laughs]

Jamie: He proposes that we knew in the first book, from very early on, that Snape was going to kill Dumbledore. Also in fact, not only that, but that Malfoy was going to try and kill him, he couldn't, and then Snape was going to kill him. So, to find out how this is, turn to pg. 130 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, or page - one sec, let me find it - or pg, 97 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, both paperbacks. It's right at the end of the chapter, "The Sorting Hat". I'll read from it, and then explain it afterwards.

"Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him that he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully," and now, concentrate especially, "and there was Malfoy, laughing at his as he struggled with it - then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold - there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking.

He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke the next day, he didn't remember the dream at all."

Now, we couldn't find a link between the turban, but if you go back to "The Lightning Struck Tower" in Book Six, "there was Malfoy, laughing at him," Dumbledore, "as he struggled with it" - the prospect of being killed, maybe - and, then Malfoy couldn't do it, so he "turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold - there was a burst of green light," Avada Kedavra, "and Harry woke," as in got unfrozen, "sweating and shaking." So, I thought that was really, really good, Micah. So, well done.

Andrew: That is a very good theory. He has a tendency to think up...

Jamie: Well, I...

Andrew: ...brilliant things like this. Unless he just stole it.

Jamie: It's the kind of thing that is linked, and obviously is right.

Andrew: Yeah.

Jamie: But, it would've been impossible to predict from it that Dumbledore will, you know - this was the scene where Dumbledore died, if that makes sense. I think it's very good, though.

Claire: This is a perfect example of the...

Ben: [inaudible]

Claire: This is a perfect example of the - sorry, honey - of the red herrings that JK gives us early on, and, that as readers, we kind of assess everything that we can, but sometimes the simplest of things that we read and we don't pick up on are the things that give us the most insight into the future occurrences of the books.

Jamie: Yeah, definitely, yeah.

Claire: You know?

Jamie: Exactly. So, can I say to everyone, go and analyze Harry's dreams. Every...

[Claire laughs]

Jamie: Go through the books and see what you can...

Claire: Every single one. Every single one.

Jamie: See if you can link them to other things in Book Six. Yeah, every single dream. If there's one stone left unturned, we are - we are not going to be happy.

[Everyone laughs]

Jamie: I want theories, I want discussion, I want book proposals, I want - I want the world.

Claire: [laughs] You want the world.

Jamie: [sings] I want it all, I want it all.

Andrew: [laughs] This is our new segment on MuggleCast called "Word by Word."

Jamie: [laughs] Yeah.

Voicemails - Year 7?

Andrew: Voicemails this week - let's listen to the first one.

[Audio]: Hey, MuggleCast guys, it's Amanda from Des Moines, Iowa. I was just listening to my iPod, listening to MuggleCast, while walking my dogs and I just thought all the books of US versions say either "Book 1, Year 1 at Hogwarts," or "Book 2, Year 2 at Hogwarts." I was wondering maybe if you guys thought that the seventh book would be somewhere else other than Hogwarts and that's why they had to mention it on the other ones. Just love to hear what you guys thought. Love your show! Thanks!

Andrew: It's interesting, but I think they only do it because – well, they wouldn't know so far ahead of time. Jo wouldn't be like...

Claire: She might.

Andrew: ..."Oh, I'll put 'at Hogwarts' so that in Book Seven we can put 'at the cave'," or something.

Ben: [laughs] Yeah.

Claire: Andrew, I definitely – I disagree with that. I think she might. Seriously. Somebody like Jo, I think she definitely might. Maybe that's just me? Yeah, definitely.

Andrew: I don't even know where it says this. What am I missing? I don't see where it says this [laughs] in the books. Ummm... yeah, I don't know where it says that on the books, but if you want to clarify that, feel free to e-mail us.

Ben: Yeah, I don't think – even if it did say that somewhere, I don't think that Jo would change it for the last book.

Andrew: Interesting perspective, though, for walking your dogs.

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