Skip to main content

harry potter - Why didn't anyone else hear the Basilisk hiss?


I understand that as Harry can speak and understand Parseltongue, he could hear the Basilisk's voice from through the walls.


(So, people who can't understand Parseltongue would hear it speak, as a hiss.)


But, when a basilisk is speaking, it means that people who aren't Parseltongue should hear a hissing sound?


Then, why didn't Ron and Hermione hear the hissing sound, even though when they are straining their ears to hear one?



Some points to keep in mind:



  1. The basilisk spoke only to Harry, as it's on a mission. So, it might not have even hissed apart from the two occasions when it spoke(or inform?) to Harry through the walls/pipes.

  2. [Connected question, but not similar]




Answer



Hissing might be hard to distinguish unless it's very clear, in a very quiet environment. A snake that is visible and hissing in a quiet area is much more obvious than a hissing or shushing sound with no visible source.


In a busy castle, the hissing would be muted by the thickness and layering of the walls and pipes, and might also be covered by the noise of people moving about, voices, footsteps, and the occasional bit of drama, like a spell, or shouting, or thumps and bangs. The hissing itself, since it had no visible source, might have been taken for the kind of shushing sound from the movement of water in the pipes, the swishing of fabric (from robes or tapestries), or the distant sweep of the wind.


And people aren't used to listening for hissing - it might not stand out. @Lily K Tudor is right that in that scene they were actively looking for voices, and discounting any other sounds as distractions. As for other places and other times, people might be distracted with their thoughts or each other, they might have clearly heard the hissing but not connected it to a snake or what was going on with the petrificaitons, nor mentioned it so that someone might have a chance of realizing this was happening quite frequently.


Honestly, the basilisk might have been talking to itself daily, and it's likely people wouldn't connect the sound with anything unusual. Maybe Filch had a list of requests "to have someone look at the plumbing, it was sounding kind of loud", that he merely didn't get a chance to before the basilisk was revealed.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why didn't The Doctor or Clara recognize Missy right away?

So after it was established that Missy is actually both the Master, and the "woman in the shop" who gave Clara the TARDIS number... ...why didn't The Doctor or Clara recognize her right away? I remember the Tenth Doctor in The Sound of Drums stating that Timelords had a way of recognizing other Timelords no matter if they had regenerated. And Clara should have recognized her as well... I'm hoping for a better explanation than "Moffat screwed up", and that I actually missed something after two watchthroughs of the episode. Answer There seems to be a lot of in-canon uncertainty as to the extent to which Time Lords can recognise one another which far pre-dates Moffat's tenure. From the Time Lords page on Wikipedia : Whether or not Time Lords can recognise each other across regenerations is not made entirely clear: In The War Games, the War Chief recognises the Second Doctor despite his regeneration and it is implied that the Doctor knows him when they fir
Post a Comment
Read more

the lord of the rings - Why is Gimli allowed to travel to Valinor?

Gimli was allowed to go to Valinor despite not being a ring bearer. Is this explained in detail or just with the one line "for his love for Galadriel"? Answer There's not much detail about this aside from what's said in Appendix A to Return of the King: We have heard tell that Legolas took Gimli Glóin's son with him because of their great friendship, greater than any that has been between Elf and Dwarf. If this is true, then it is strange indeed: that a Dwarf should be willing to leave Middle-earth for any love, or that the Eldar should receive him, or that the Lords of the West should permit it. But it is said that Gimli went also out of desire to see again the beauty of Galadriel; and it may be that she, being mighty among the Eldar, obtained this grace for him. More cannot be said of this matter. And Appendix B: Then Legolas built a grey ship in Ithilien, and sailed down Anduin and so over Sea; and with him, it is said, went Gimli the Dwarf . And when that sh
Post a Comment
Read more

What is the etymology of Doctor Who?

I recently decided to watch Doctor Who, and started viewing the 2005 version. I have the first two episodes from the first season, and I can't help but wonder what is the etymology of the name "Doctor Who"? And why does the protagonist call himself "the Doctor" (or is it "the doctor")? Answer In the very first episode of Doctor Who (way back in 1963), the Doctor has a granddaughter going by the name "Susan Foreman", and the junkyard where the TARDIS is has the sign "I.M. Foreman". Barbara, who becomes one of the Doctor's companions, calls him "Doctor Foreman" (probably assuming that is his name given his relationship to Susan), and Ian (another early companion) does the same in the second episode, to which the Doctor says: Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about? "Foreman" is most likely selected as a convenient surname for Susan to use because it happened to be on display near where the TARDIS landed.
Post a Comment
Read more