Molly's Second Cousin

[Athena Appleton]

I didn't read it as being a taboo subject... just wondered why, if the second cousin the accountant exists, why Arthur wouldn't want to get to know them, seeing as he has a fascination with muggles and everything muggle-related. He'd get a total kick out of someone who deals with so much muggle money

i dont' know about the student with accountant parents... i'll have to reread, now that you mentioned that... cuz we all know, small talk is not just small talk in a Rowling book.

[hbic3]

Yes, every family does have atleast one memeber who is not discussed.

It's possible that he chose not to be a wizard, or was the only one who didn't have the gift. (Are they born with the gift?)


It does seem strange that Arthur wouldn't be interested in this cousin. But maybe it isn't Arthur that isn't interested.... Maybe it's the cousin who's not interested in Arthur.

Or Maybe...... Arthur and the cousin DO have contact with each other, but it's hushed up because of Arthur's work. Maybe the cousin could be some sort of "informant" for him. Maybe he's Arthur's Ace in the hole, where Arthur can turn to get information for his investigations. Being experienced myself in investigatory work, you have to keep a contact that no one knows about. Everyone knows you've got one, but no one knows who it is, not even your partner, not your superiors. And the informant has to stay as far detached from you as possible, as not to lend suspicion. To keep him untainted. Keep the information as reliable as possible. He can't tell the kids about what he's doing with this cousin, because as they have proved time and time again, they can't keep a secret.

Or maybe it WAS just an insignificant topic. Or maybe it just lended to the fact that, like Hagrid said, there isn't a witch or wizard alive who's not got muggle in them.

Or maybe we're just over analyzing it?

[Evil Wizard Petting Zoo]

Hbic 3 wrote: It does seem strange that Arthur wouldn't be interested in this cousin. But maybe it isn't Arthur that isn't interested.... Maybe it's the cousin who's not interested in Arthur.

I agree with that, Arthur can be a little overbearing when it comes to his muggles.

[Athena Appleton]

I guess I see your point... I would get pretty annoyed if I had a second-cousin's husband who got all excited everytime he was over and the telephone rings...

It's possible that he chose not to be a wizard, or was the only one who didn't have the gift. (Are they born with the gift?)

I read, I think it was in The Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter that when a wizard child is born, it is recorded, and on that child's eleventh birthday, they are accepted into Hogwarts. Ummm... gimme a sec and I'll try to find the exact quote...

Okay, here it is... that book, by Galadriel Waters, pg 20, says:

According to a J.K.R. interview with Scholastic, whenever any wizard is born, their name is recorded in a master book by a magical quill. Upon their 11th birthday, they are sent their invitation to wizarding school. It is unclear as to whether all wizards get this invitation, and whether Hogwarts is the only British school for wizards (we know that it is the most prestigious.) We'll have to wait for more from J.K.R.

But I would imagine, like any gift, you could choose not to use it, and like any invitation, you could turn it down...

[Krio]

I wonder if this sentence is a sort of clue "Mrs Weasley pursed her lips in an almost Aunt Petunia-ish way."

Second cousin = Petunia's father.

Remember that harry's mother had red hair

[Alice I]

Remember that harry's mother had red hair

Did she
Do you know where they state that? I'll look in SS for the mirror of You know That mirror thing.

[Ferrus]

She did, I couldn´t remember but here is the quote:

She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes - her eyes are just like mine Harry thought, edging a little closer to the glass.

Its in the bit when Harry find the Mirror of Erised.

Well, yet another "coincidence" that is fuel for the theory that says that Lily and Petunia´s parents where Squibs. For it, as Krio pointed out, makes it a possibility that Lily and Molly are somehow related...

[Athena Appleton]

*just stares at Krio for a few minutes*

NICE SPOT!!!!

Yeah... the second cousin of Molly would be her parent's first cousin, so even the generation-age thing is possible...

The only thing that makes me wonder is: J.K. Rowling says that there isn't anything about any of Harry's grandparents that is really important to the story... but I guess that wouldn't be a TOTALLY important thing... like, it's significant... and it's neat, because that would mean that Harry and Ron were distant relatives, but wouldn't really hold a bearing on the final outcome of the story...

[Emma'I'm a real witch']

Ha. Umm, J.K. Rowling's been working on these books for almost twenty years (says so in several interviews) and has notebooks and notebooks of tiny background information. The seven Harry Potter books were something she planned carefully before she ever published book one, it isn't like most author's series where they just write each one seperately.

I agree that JK plans all little details so that she can have the roots of theories laid down books before it has any real relevance. But don't forget when she was writing GoF (I think?) she got half way through and realised she had to go back to the beginning to include a whole other bit that she had left out, which was important to the plot. So just maybe she meant to write something about the accountant but forgot till she got to the end, then decided it wasn't pivotal to the plot so just left it out to save having to re-write stuff.

[Evil Wizard Petting Zoo]

Yeah, I think that could be it.
I guess JKR can change small plotlines so that it doesn't have such a huge impact in the end.

[Athena Appleton]

yeah, I agree with that

actually, I was reading a chat with Rowling at the Leaky Cauldron, and she actually mentions that she had always "meant" for Hermione to have a younger sister, but feels like it's too late now to introduce her, so I guess there are people, small plotlines she didn't have planned perfectly...

when I wrote that about how she had been working on Harry Potter for the last twenty years, I was more talking about what I think Aberforth (I might be wrong about who posted it) said about how she had no idea she'd be writing all these books when she wrote the first one. She had always planned to write seven books, and she has very very few details she's not using to further the storyline.

[Ferrus]

It may be the case, after all the whole Harry Potter universe is just too big to take every little detail into account. (although JKR does a MAGNIFICENT job)

[pandora315]

I'd like Harry to be related to Ron but I don't think it can happen. Dumbledore says that Harry has no other relatives and the Weasleys (if the accountant was lily and petunias father) however distant would still be relatives. Its possible that they just never found out about each other but don't you think if Ron remebered about the 2nd cousin he would remember being related to someone as famous as harry potter? I mean one of my friends is like a fourth cousin once removed or something like that of that guy that plays Joey on friends and she tells us about him at least a couple times a month.

[Athena Appleton]

About what Dumbledore says about Harry not having any relatives, I don't think I believe that... but it's just me. I don't think Dumbledore is lying, just think he is saying whatever he needs to to get Harry to stay at the Dursley's, where he's safest.

Say, Molly's father and Lily's father were first cousins, and before Lily and Molly were born, they didn't speak to or about each other. Molly might know that her father had a cousin who was an accountant, but if Molly's dad died before James and Lily became famous, then she wouldn't have ever made the connection...

[pandora315]

Anyhings possible. I just think its grasping a bit. I'm leery to believe any theory that involves two characters that have yet to even be mentioned in any of the books. I mean, we all know Lily and Molly had parents so that why I say its possible, I'm just not sold.

I don't want to believe DD, I keep coming up with all kinds of ideas to the contrary, but in the back of my head I remember that DD doesn't lie, not ven tiny white lies. I don't think he would have said Harry had no relations unless he meant it, otherwise he would ahve said nothing. Or he might not know about a relation thats the only way I could see it.