Jost comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, February 2015, chapter 110 - Less Wrong

3 Post author: Gondolinian 24 February 2015 08:01PM

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Comment author: fezziwig 27 February 2015 01:19:02AM 2 points [-]

Here's the passage from chapter 1:

Verärgert schnaubte Professor McGonagall durch die Nase. »O Ja, alle Welt feiert, sehr schön«, sagte sie ungeduldig. »Man sollte meinen, sie könnten ein bisschen vorsichtiger sein, aber nein - selbst die Muggel haben bemerkt, dass etwas los ist. Sie haben es in ihren Nachrichten gebracht.« Mit einem Kopfrucken deutete sie auf das dunkle Wohnzimmerfenster der Dursleys. »Ich habe es gehört. Ganze Schwärme von Eulen ... Sternschnuppen ... Nun, ganz dumm sind sie auch wieder nicht. Sie mussten einfach irgendetwas bemerken. Sternschnuppen unten in Kent - ich wette, das war Dädalus Diggel. Der war noch nie besonders vernünftig.«

My rough, not-a-native-German-speaker translation:

Professor McGonagall snorted angrily through her nose. "Oh yes, the whole world is celebrating, very nice" she said impatiently. "One might think they could be more careful, but no -- even the Muggles have noticed that something is going on. It was in their newspapers." With a jerk of her head, she indicated Dursley's dark living room window. "I heard about it. Swarms of owls, meteorites...they aren't all idiots. They must have noticed. Shooting stars over Kent -- I bet that was Daedalus Diggle. He never was very sensible."

I take from that that McGonagall doesn't expect the Muggles to know what it means that there are suddenly a bunch of owls everywhere, but that wizards everywhere nevertheless have a duty to make sure that Muggles don't see those sorts of things.

Comment author: Jost 28 February 2015 08:32:29PM 2 points [-]

Thanks! (The translation is fine, btw.)

A few lines later, McGonagall states it even more explicitly:

»Das wäre eine schöne Bescherung, wenn ausgerechnet an dem Tag, da Du-weißt-schon-wer endlich verschwindet, die Muggel alles über uns herausfinden würden.«

(rough back-translation):

“That would be a big mess, if the muggles found out all about us, right on the same day when You-Know-Who finally disappeared.”