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Sirius’s letter was almost as short as the previous one.

Be at stile at end of road out of Hogsmeade (past Dervish and Banges) at two o’clock on Saturday afternoon. Bring as much food as you can.

“He hasn’t come back to Hogsmeade?” said Ron incredulously.

“It looks like it, doesn’t it?” said Hermione.

“I can’t believe him,” said Harry tensely, “if he’s caught . . .”

“Made it so far, though, hasn’t he?” said Ron. “And it’s not like the place is swarming with dementors anymore.”

In this context above which comes from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, what does Ron mean? I know "He hasn’t come back to Hogsmeade"'s meaning but after adding a question mark, did the meaning change to the opposite?

Thank you very much!

hustnzj
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1 Answers1

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Making a statement with the tone of a question is symbolized by ending it with a question mark, and it expresses the speaker's surprise or even disbelief at what he has just said. Likely, what he said is a repetition of something that was said to him, or an implication of something that was said to him (as in this case, apparently).

A clue to this meaning is the word incredulously -

AHD incredulous

  1. Skeptical; disbelieving: incredulous of stories about flying saucers.
  2. Expressive of disbelief: an incredulous stare.
Jack O'Flaherty
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