口を聞いた / 決まっとろう / 食い止められる / 立ちゃええ / になった

Hi,

1. ダンブルドアが再び口を聞いたのは、それから数分たってからだった。

Is 聞いた a typo for 開いた?

2. 「誰と？」ロンが興味津々で聞いた。
「マダム・マクシームに決まっとろうが！」

a) I guess that 決まっとろう = 決まっておろう, but why the おろう form?

b) What is the purpose of が?

3. 「あいつが大きな力を持つ前に食い止められるかもしれん」

Perennial question I'm afraid. Does 食い止められる mean "(he) will be stopped" or "(we) can stop (him)"?

4. 「来たときに受けて立ちゃええ」

What is 立ちゃええ? I thought 立ってはいい, but then I don't understand why it wouldn't be 立っちゃええ.

5. 「僕と一緒に、最後の一匹になったスクリュートを見にいきたい者はおるか？」

(スクリュート is a type of magical animal)

What does になった signify here? "Becoming" or just existence?

1)
口を聞く is an idiom, meaning "to speak to" or "to talk to/with", but 聞 would be a typo of 開 in that case, as you presumed.

2) a)
おろう is the volitional/presumptive form of おる, i.e., おるだろう in modern standard Japanese.

b)
が is a sentence final particle for blame.

−が
((終助詞))
3 〔非難の気持ちを表す〕
このばかが
You idiot!

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がの英語・英訳 - 和英辞書 - 英語辞書 - goo辞書

3)
That's potential. The speaker wants to stop him if they can, right? If the speaker is talking about that he might be stopped by someone else or spontaneously, "passive" is possible, but が works as a contrastive marker in that case.

4)
立ちゃ is a colloquial form of 立てば.
e.g.
行けばいい --> 行きゃいい
言えばいい --> 言やいい/言やあいい
cf
行ってはダメ --> 行っちゃダメ
言ってはダメ --> 言っちゃダメ

5)
I think it's "becoming".

Thank you.

Toritoribe said:

おろう is the volitional/presumptive form of おる,

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Sorry, I understand that it is the volitional form of おる, but I don't understand why that form is appropriate in the context. Isn't 決まって expressing certainty?

Toritoribe said:

That's potential. The speaker wants to stop him if they can, right? If the speaker is talking about that he might be stopped by someone else or spontaneously, "passive" is possible, but が works as a contrastive marker in that case.

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Both interpretations -- that the speaker might be able to stop him (= あいつ), or that he (あいつ) might be stopped by someone else -- make sense. However, I am puzzled by your comment about contrastive が.

あいつが大きな力を持つ前に食い止められるかもしれん

As I understand it, が marks あいつ as the subject of 持つ, no?

2)
Yes, ～に決まっている means "It's certain that~ / It must be that~". だろう gives a nuance of something like "don't you think so?".

3)
When 食い止められる is potential, your interpretation is correct, since it means あいつが大きな力を持つ前に、（あいつを）食い止められるかもしれん. However, when 食い止められる is passive, は is more common because あいつ is the subject of the two clauses and は covers the entire sentence, as in あいつは、大きな力を持つ前に、食い止められるかもしれん (＝大きな力を持つ前に、あいつは食い止められるかもしれん). が unusually emphasizes あいつ in this case, therefore it works as a contrastive marker "He, not someone else but he, might be stopped".
The theme of the sentence is their opportunity/ability in potential, but his(あいつ's) future in passive. Also, passive has a nuance of someone else's problem, not our problem, so potential is more appropriate also in this sense, I suppose.

Toritoribe said:

が unusually emphasizes あいつ in this case, therefore it works as a contrastive marker

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So does it still mark あいつ as the subject, but in a contrastive way? I mean, it's different from the usual contrastive が, e.g. 私は千葉県市民ですが、東京で勤めています, right? (This is what I originally thought you were referring to, which is why I couldn't figure out what you meant.)

が is more likely adversative conjunction, not a contrastive marker, in your example. I'm talking about "は vs が" explained in the following post.

は, が and を what's the difference between the following sentences? | Japan Forum

OK, thanks, I understand what you mean ... I think it is only a terminology mixup on my part.