Question: Petunia tells Harry that when Lily, who was underage at the time, would come home from Hogwarts, she would use magic in front of family. Since underage witches and wizards aren't allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts because it would lead to expulsion, then why wasn't Lily expelled? The Trace was even used to make sure no student ever did.
Ssiscool
5th Aug 2024
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Answer: It says: "every holiday". Doesn't that mean since she started school? Which would make her underage.
23rd Mar 2022
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Question: Why did Professor Quirrell really have the garlic in his classroom? I know that some people thought he was afraid of a vampire who wanted revenge. Since he was serving Voldemort, however, it seems that a vampire would not be a serious concern for him.
Answer: At that point, Voldemort had little to no power and was reliant on Quirrell to protect him, not the other way around. No one knew Voldemort still existed, and Quirrell wanted to ensure his safety until he was restored to corporeal form. He may have believed garlic would be an added protection but more likely it was just for show and to create a sense of drama to enhance his phony persona.
This is purely speculation but could it also be considered that the garlic and story about having had an argument with a vampire are all a ruse to cover his quirky behaviour following his meeting with Voldemort? As in, people started the rumour, so he plays on it to make it more believable and give him a better cover story?
18th Oct 2021
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Question: What did Harry and his friends come across when they were trying to escape from Filch?
Answer: Presumably you are referring to when the trio come upon "Fluffy," the three-headed dog, that is kept in the restricted area of the castle. Inside the room there is a magical self-playing harp that keeps "Fluffy" asleep when it's playing. Hermione also noticed Fluffy was lying atop a floor hatch, which leads to where the Philosopher's Stone is hidden.
Answer: In addition to raywest I will add that at this point in the book, the Harp isn't playing and Fluffy is awake. It is also not known at this point that music puts Fluffy to sleep.
True, although the question only relates to what the trio came across while evading Filch, not about knowing what any particular object is or does. (I just added an explanation as an aside.) However, I'm not sure now the harp had been installed yet when they first found Fluffy, so it was probably about the floor hatch.
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Answer: J.K. Rowling has been asked this. Her vague explanation was that it was a case of Lily "breaking the rules." She never elaborated on whether Lily was punished, though she obviously was not expelled and probably only disciplined. It would be unlikely that a student would be dismissed for minor infractions. Personally, I'd say it was just one of many minor plot holes throughout the entire HP series that Rowling later has had to clean up with a rather weak explanation.
raywest ★