Skip to main content

Why are there "dilapidated" buildings in Harry Potter?


Given that a 10 year-old or so Hermione could mend broken glasses, wouldn't it be very easy for an adult wizard to mend/fix walls/doors/etc... in a building? The principle is the same (restoring things to their unbroken form). For another example, see Dumbledore and Slughorn fixing up a room where Slughorn was pretending to be a chair.


Yet, several times, we see wizarding buildings in poor repair, including those where the owners (e.g. the Weasleys) could not be excused with "they are slobs who don't care" like Gaunts or people in Knockturn Alley would.



Answer



Just because it is easy to cast a spell and clean up or make repairs doesn't mean every witch or wizard will have the time, or be motivated to.


Just like Muggles, wizarding families produce the lazy and slovenly. Mundungus Fletcher, for example, is not someone I could see diligently checking his roof to repair broken shingles.


Others, such as Xenophilius Lovegood fall into the category of "eccentric", even by wizarding standards. While that's not to say his house was in disrepair, wouldn't it seem plausible that something as mundane as peeling paint might go unnoticed by him for weeks, if not months?



Still others may have simply chosen "run down" as a stylistic choice. The Blacks, for example, seem to enjoy the "old and dark" aesthetic.


As for the Weasleys, well, they're just busy. With 6 kids (or is it 7?), and Mr. Weasley working hard at the Ministry of Magic, there is only so much time to take care of odds and ends. Even magically assisted chores take time, and chores for a large, active household add up (let's not forget that they don't have a family house elf; that seems reserved for the wealthy wizarding families). Foods that cut themselves up and jump into the pot still take time to cook. Clothes still need to be sorted for washing and mending. Given their focus on "functional and practical" (remember Ron's hand-me-down formal robes), is it any surprise that "intact and working, if a bit banged up" is an acceptable standard for their family home?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF
Post a Comment
Read more