nipping in very, very fleetingly

Rubeus Hagrid- Hagrid Rubeus was the Greek God of jewels. Rubeus meaning rubul or jewel, Hagrid meaning giant. Hagrid was banned from Mt. Olympus, but Zeus took pity on him and let Hagrid stay as the keeper of the godly creatures.

Am I on crack, or is this utter drivel? I'm researching Harry Potter (go me) for Uni, believe it or not, and compiling information about the various character names, and I keep coming across the above assertion. My Latin is minimal and my Greek nonexistent, but Hagrid Rubeus doesn't sound like a Greek name to me, and I've certainly never heard of that particular member of the Hellenic pantheon myself. 'Course, I'm not omniscient - that's what you guys are for...still, I thought 'rubeus' was Latin for red, and 'Hagrid' was simply a form of 'Hagridden', which means ridden-by-a-hag, from the medieaval belief that witches could use sleeping people as their steeds, leaving them looking utterly haggard the morning after. No?

It wouldn't be the first time I've eaten my words, but surely this is pants?

Also:

Ron Weasley, in another language, is called "Running Weasel." Running Weasel was a warlord in the 6th Dynasty. He was a brilliant statigist, and he never lost a game of chess. Unfortunately, he died when a rat that had been dyed yellow by his soldiers for fun earlier that day, knocked over a lamp in his palace, burning it to the ground, and killing Running Weasel.

Can't believe how many places have this same quote - always "in another language", never specifying which language. This paragraph makes. no. sense.

"rubeus" is Latin for "red".

I found this article, which mentions this book:

"It becomes like literary detective work," says David Colbert, author of The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter: A Treasure of Myths, Legends, and Fascinating Facts (Lumina Press, $14.95.)

There's also this site, which might have some info.

I've never heard of any Greek myth involving a Hagrid, and I asked my friend who also has a Classics degree, and she checked her mythology dictionary, and couldn't find anything. We think it's bullshit.

The name is also not listed at Encyclopedia Mythica.

[link]

Sounds like horribly pervasive fanon, to me. But it's all over the HP sites I looked at.

Excellent links, Dana! Cheers!

Pst... Fay, send me your address, I have Firefly tape for you

Oh, dear. I was reading a Harry Potter story, and it was going along just fine, but Lupin just gave Snape a kitten. Hmph.

I was reading a Harry Potter story, and it was going along just fine, but Lupin just gave Snape a kitten.

Scary as it is, I think I know what story you're reading. Well-written, but not good enough to rec. And there is that kitten.

I can see Snape with a cat. Except it has to be an ornery, black cat full of hiss and claw.

Fay, sweetheart, if you're still here, I tried to return your message but Hotmail tells me your storage limit is up.

whimper.

It's all those perishing ads they keep sending me promising to enlarge my penis.

(Considers penis mightier than the sword quippage. Thinks better of it.)

also? The Remus-giving-Snape-a-kitten thing? Oh, again, dear. But Snape-with-cat would be plausible - what is his familiar? Or does he not have one? But yes, it would have to be a very stroppy scratchy sleek butch bad-tempered black cat...

That was the problem. The whole story was just *this side* of plausible...but then it wasn't. And I had to read the whole thing, and shrift laughed at me.