Who are the Professors' spouses...

[Athena Appleton]

nah, I don't think so... I absolutely love this line from the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, taken from the last chapter, when Harry's in the hospital wing and Dumbledore is explaining some things to him:

"To one as young as you, I'm sure it [being ready to die] seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the wel-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

He goes on to to say that the stone isn't really a good thing, to have all the money and life you want.

"The two things most human beings would choose above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisly those things that are worst for them."

I think, if Dumbledore really did have a spare stone lying around, it would contradict a lot of what he says in this passage, along with what he told Voldemort in OotP about there being things worse than death.

I do think there's something going on that's keeping him alive (150 is just not a normal life span!), but I'm starting to wonder if wizards, on the whole, have a longer life span. I mean, all the "medical cures" we have aren't as efficient as their magical ones. Instead of taking 2 months to heal broken bones, it takes 15 minutes. Hagrid, to our way of thinking, might be in his early 40's, but in the HP books, he's somewhere around 65. McGonagall gets around pretty good for someone at least 70.

But, no, I really don't feel like Dumbledore has another stone hidden away in case of emergency. And I really think people should let Sirius die a respectable death and stop trying to think up random ways he could come back to life.

[Aberforth]

Well yes Sirius is dead and we should leave him alone. Its just that it left so many questions unanswered at the end of OotP that we feel the need to bring him back.

I personally don't think Harry spent enough time with him to get too attached anyway. The only "quality time" they got together (rather than through correspondence) was in Grimauld Place, and Sirius was dead grumpy there.

[Nobby]

i think that the secret to why wizards live longer will be revealed! probably due to better treatments etc. whos knows?

[Athena Appleton]

I am a weirdo who really gets into psychology, and I think it's funny (and a little sad) how, when things happen that we feel sad about, we try to come up with every inconceivable way to take it back. As children we're taught that good things happen to good people, and when that is proven wrong (as it so often is), we try to rationalize it. A good guy dies, and our first response is to think of ways to make the situation fit into our little perfect box. Sirius, being a good guy, couldn't possibly be dead and gone forever, because he's a good guy!

Veddy interesting...

[Paulina Meader]

Well, somewhere in one(or more) of the books , Mcgonagall is referred to as Mrs. Mcgonagall. Where as Trelawney is Ms. Trelawney.
Just thought I'd point that out.
Also Harry was born 1981, Lily and James were married after they graduated, less than a year, about 1980, they graduated in 1979, at about 17. The fifth book takes place when Harry is 15 <- that means in 1995, if Lily and James had lived, that would make them , Snape, Sirius(RIP), Lupin etc. somewhere between early and mid thirtys (33-36-ish, maybe)
Just thought I'd share that.
I think too hard.

^ I said 1995 there, I meant 1996 oops.
Well after that, its still in the same age group early - mid thirties

edited by violet to make into one post

[Athena Appleton]

welcome to broomsticks and owls, Paulina...

Okay, I can figure out myself how you know when Harry was born, but where'd you get the dates of when James and Lily graduated? Is it in an interview somewhere, or is there something in the books I've overlooked. Also, where'd you get your info on them marrying right out of Hogwarts?

Just curious, I have to see everything for myself.

[Jotomicron]

Well, somewhere in one(or more) of the books , Mcgonagall is referred to as Mrs. Mcgonagall. Where as Trelawney is Ms. Trelawney.
Just thought I'd point that out.
Also Harry was born 1981, Lily and James were married after they graduated, less than a year, about 1980, they graduated in 1979, at about 17. The fifth book takes place when Harry is 15 <- that means in 1995, if Lily and James had lived, that would make them , Snape, Sirius(RIP), Lupin etc. somewhere between early and mid thirtys (33-36-ish, maybe)
Just thought I'd share that.
I think too hard.

^ I said 1995 there, I meant 1996 oops.
Well after that, its still in the same age group early - mid thirties

Hi Paulina! I just wanted to say that I think the dates are not quite correct: Harry was 1 years old in the second book, and we know (through Nearly Headless Nick) that was the year 1992. Since Harry was 12 years old that year, we discover he was born in 1980: So the fifth book takes place in 1995...

Anyway: Where do you see McGonagall as Mrs. McGonagall and Tralawney as Ms Tralawney?
And have you ever thought that Figg is Mrs Figg??? (Not very on topic, so, I think that another thread could be opened to talk about Mrs. Figg!)

[Athena Appleton]

I've always thought that there could be something between Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey. He always refers to her by her first name, Poppy.

I was reading the Sorcerer's Stone again (y'all will come to realize that I have 12 books that I read about one every three days, so about every month I cycle through the same books ) and came across a passage that reminded me of you...

I still hold by my theory that since Dumbledore always refers to all the teachers/staff by first name, there's not enough to make a Dumbledore/Pomfrey love connection, but this made me chuckle when I read it:

"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."*

heeheehee!

*Philosophers/Sorcerers Stone, Chapter 1

[Jotomicron]

Funny: I as reading the same passage here. However, I'm not reading the whole book, I just wanted to read the conversation between McGonagall and DD!! And you know what: in the end of that chapter, DD says: "I hope to see you soon, professour McGonagall" (or something like this, I don't know cause I only have the portuguese version).

You see, he says professour McGonagall, not Minerva... But then he also says Madam Pomfrey, and in school, he refers to them with the first name!!! Strange!

[Phinea Rogue]

I think that when Dumbledore talks to someone in person, he uses their first names like Minerva, Poppy, but also Severus, and when he talks about them with someone else, he uses their surnames, like Professor McGonagall.

[Aberforth]

I think in book 1 DD uses "professor" to introduce the characters to us - so we know they are Hogwarts teachers, then first names are brought into it later once the characters are already established (saving some confusion)

[Athena Appleton]

I think in book 1 DD uses "professor" to introduce the characters to us - so we know they are Hogwarts teachers, then first names are brought into it later once the characters are already established (saving some confusion)

EXACTLY!!!

In all the times I've read the books, though, I've never seen them called "Mrs. McGonagall" or "Mrs. Trelawny"... closest thing I've seen is "Madam Pomfrey" but she would be called that because she's not a professor, and "madam" doesn't imply married... Still curious to see if Paulina's coming back to answer some of the questions about the dates and where she's seen the "Mrs." references....

[Aberforth]

Madam Pomfrey isn't a teacher so therefore isn't a Professor (even Hagrid becomes a Professor, which is cool since he isn't even a qualified wizard but got the post based purely on experience in the field).

Perhaps madam is a title for female healers.

I too don't recall seeing McG referred to as mrs.

[Athena Appleton]

Perhaps madam is a title for female healers.

I feel fairly certain that "madam" means the same thing in the wizarding world as it does in the muggle world: just a feminine title. After all, there are non-healer madams: Madam Pince (the librarian), Madam Rosmerta (the barmaid), Madam Malkin (owns the dress shop in Diagon Alley), Madam Hooch (flying instructor/Quidditch referee)...

[Aberforth]

good point.

Anyway, Filch and Umbridge would have been a well-suited marriage.