Firenze and the Centaurs

[Lizzy Bennet]

Firenze certainly made an interesting Diviniation teacher, didn't he? Certainly, I liked him loads better than Trelawney (though I did not like how Umbridge treated her, even if Trelawney is, with rare exception, a fraud ). It's sad, though, that his choice has now made him an outcast in the forest, and that had it not been for Hagrid, he'd (Firenze) would have been killed by his own kind.

Considering Grawp is still in the forest, and Firenze can never go back to the forest (though, I'd much rather see him continue as Diviniation teacher as opposed to Trelawney!!), we've not likely heard or seen the last from the centaurs. The centaurs certainly weren't too keen on Hagrid, Grawp, Firenze, or any humans! Maybe the second war actually refers to what's going to happen in that forest! tee-hee

What do you think of the centaurs? What will become of Firenze? How will the centaurs and Grawp all handle being in the same forest together? I really enjoyed Firenze's classes, though it obvious to see that Lavender and Parvati didn't!


ETA: Surely, I can't be the only one interested in the centaurs and how Firenze taught Diviniation compared to Trelawney! hehe Remember, at the end of book 5, we left Grawp and the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest and a determined Hagrid who was not at all welcome in the Forest and determined to re-enter it . . . his life was spared only because he had Harry and Hermione with him . . .

[gecko]

I might be wrong, but didn't Dumledore speak with the other centaurs at the end of the book? But maybe I'm imagining having read that. Firenze's way of teaching makes divination a lot more interesting, but I wonder how much the students actually learn from someone who only says, look at the stars, and not what exactly they should see in it. Well, maybe it works the same as learning a language (if babies hear words, eventually they understand what those words mean), so if they stare and stare, then one day they'll understand what is written in the sky?

I'm curious about their OWL's. Because Firenze thought all the 'normal' divination things to be nonsense (tealeaves etc.), but the ministry officials that make the OWL's, might not. Would the exams have been changed to comply with the new lessons?

[Sacred Guardian]

i do not think that the second war will be in the forest, nor do i think that the centaurs will join DD or V, i think that they will stay in the forest, but will play a bigger role in later books

[Meg Boyd]

In PS in the forest Bane and Hagrid are talking about the dead unicorns. Bane is distracted and is talking about the brightness of mars, and then says "Innocent are the first victims"...

In OotP, Firenze says that mars has been getting brighter over the last few years and that this is predicting a war in wizarding kind.

Back PS on that nigh Voldie was making his first step to regain power...the first step towards war...

And as for the innocent victims, well Bertha, Frank, and Cedric were all innocent victims...

Obviously the Centaurs know something...they obviously have the real art of divination down pat...

[Colin]

Meg, In the next week, Mars will be closer to the earth than it has been in a Very long time. That means it will also be the Brightest.

I heard this on my local news channel last night.

Do you think that JKR checked the alignment of the planets while she wrote book 5? If so, she is into these stories Very Deeply.

[Meg Boyd]

Meg, In the next week, Mars will be closer to the earth than it has been in a Very long time. That means it will also be the Brightest.

I heard this on my local news channel last night.

Do you think that JKR checked the alignment of the planets while she wrote book 5? If so, she is into these stories Very Deeply.

Weird....

[June]

Here's an article about it... pretty interesting... I wonder if Rowling knew anything about it...?

The Red Planet is about to be spectacular!

This month and next, Earth is catching up with Mars in an encounter that
will culminate in the closest approach between the two planets in recorded
history. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287. Due to the way
Jupiter's gravity tugs on Mars and perturbs its orbit, astronomers can only
be certain that Mars has not come this close to Earth in the Last 5,000
years, but it may be as long as 60,000 years before it happens again.

The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within
34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest
object in the night sky. It will attain a magnitude of -2.9 and will appear
25.11 arc seconds wide. At a modest 75-power magnification Mars will look
as large as the full moon to the naked eye. Mars will be easy to spot. At
the beginning of August it will rise in the east at 10p.m. and reach its
azimuth at about 3 a.m.

By the end of August when the two planets are closest, Mars will rise at
nightfall and reach its highest point in the sky at 12:30a.m. That's pretty
convenient to see something that no human being has seen in recorded history.

So, mark your calendar at the beginning of August to see Mars grow
progressively brighter and brighter throughout the month. Share this with
your children and grandchildren.

NO ONE ALIVE TODAY WILL EVER SEE THIS AGAIN.

[Dink Meeker]

Thanks for the info June. I will mark my calendar.

[Meg Boyd]

The encounter will culminate on August 27th when Mars comes to within
34,649,589 miles of Earth and will be (next to the moon) the brightest
object in the night sky.

Well, at least there is something out there to make August 27th a better day...that's my last first day of public K-12 school...I'm gonna be a senior...i'm SOOOO old....

But yeah, I wonder if she is using this as a base...weird...

[Colin]

More Astronomy things:

Sirus, The Dog Star is the brightest star in our sky. It has a magnitute of -1.44.

The only stars I watch are Nicole Kidman and Teri Hatcher. Perhaps I should pay closer attention to Firenze?

[gecko]

And even more astronomy, there's also a star called 'Draco' !

[Colin]

Yes there is! I am waiting for some boffin to name a star "Harry Potter" 8)

This brings up YA question. Are there any other names used in these book that refer to a star???

Meg: You are going to be a senior in HS??? This makes me feel SO old. I can't even REMEMBER being a senior. I'm sure I was, but the entire experience has been wiped from my mind.

[Meg Boyd]

Meg: You are going to be a senior in HS??? This makes me feel SO old. I can't even REMEMBER being a senior. I'm sure I was, but the entire experience has been wiped from my mind.

I'm sorry Colin for making you feel old....but oh well...as long as you are young at heart I suppose...I mean you must be pretty cool if you are grown up and you like Harry Potter...props to you...

Yeah...I Knew Sirius being the Dog Star...hmmm...and the whole characters after stars is pretty cool...but I do know that the name "Harry" comes from the Indian "Hari" which means "Lion" in Sanskrit...I wonder if this was a motive for the name of a really brave hero...brave like a lion...muhahahaha...

[Albus]

Ah, Astronomy !!!
There are so many things related to Astronomy in Harry Potter !!!

Sirius: as Colin said, the brightest star in the sky (in opposite, his surname is "Black"; if you notice that, he is called Black when they think he is evil, then Sirius when they know his innocence )
Draco: it's not a star Gecko, but a constellation, it's the Latin for "Dragon"
Bellatrix: a star of Orion constellation, which is in the star very near to Sirius
Luna: this is very interesting, Luna is the Italian for Moon. Will this connect her to "Loony" Lupin ?

More to come... ???

Just about names, Lupin, the word "Lupo" in Italian means "wolf"...
Was it a clue for understanding our Remus is a Werewolf ?

[Meg Boyd]

Just about names, Lupin, the word "Lupo" in Italian means "wolf"...
Was it a clue for understanding our Remus is a Werewolf

"Remus" in Roman Mythology was a twin (the other was Romulus) who was raised by a she-wolf....that prolly is a clue too then...