Montag, 30. März 2015

Like losing a Knut and finding a Galleon

Cornelius Fudge proceeds to interrogate Harry and Dumbledore and finally finds prove for his suspicion in the list of participants of Dumbledore’s Army which has been discovered. Dumbledore pretends to be the one who has asked Harry to form this organisation in order to protect him from an expulsion which provides Fudge with the necessary confession to arrest Dumbledore: “‘Well, well, well – I came here tonight expecting to expel Potter and instead – ‘ ‘Instead you get to arrest me,’ said Dumbledore, smiling. ‘It’s like losing a Knut and finding a Galleon, isn’t it?’”[1]
            This proverb finds its origin in the phrase ‘losing a quid and finding a fiver’. A quid is the colloquial expression for a pound whereas a fiver refers to a five pound note. It is used when someone wants to explain that he might have lost something or not been able to achieve something but has got something more valuable in turn and has, thus been more successful than he expected.[2]
            The same applies in the wizarding world. While the Galleon is the most valuable coin and is made of gold, the Sickle is made of silver. 17 Sickles make a Galleon. The third coin is called Knut and is made of bronze. 29 Knuts make a Sickle which means that you have to exchange 493 Knuts in order to get one Galleon in return.[3] The enhancement in value between a Knut and a Galleon is, for that reason, enormous. This means, that the arrest of Albus Dumbledore has a much greater importance to Fudge than the simple expulsion of Harry Potter.


[1] Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix, p.546.
[2] https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080420015236AAWTPG7
[3] Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, p.58.

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