PoA Chapter Nine

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

And by grim defeat we mean one of those times where Harry's unconscious and the team loses without him.

All the students are taken into the Great Hall to sleep. Dumbledore conjures sleeping bags for them, and they’re purple because he’s gay.

The Trio discusses how it’s lucky Sirius tried to break in when they weren’t there, which is really a careful clue that he wasn’t trying to get them at all.

Can’t help but wonder if Dumbledore is having a conversation somewhere even half as intelligent as the one the kids are having about how Sirius could have gotten in. I conclude that no, of course he isn’t. He’s just walking around looking amused and twinkling and everyone assumes he’s got it all under control.

Filch can restore paintings? Why doesn’t this guy have a better job?

Dumbledore’s just sure that nobody in the castle could have helped Black. Because he loves thinking that the threat of his disappointment would be enough to deter anybody.

I will always like Lupin for the way he actually is helping Black in a small way, even if he’s presumably doing it out of cowardice because that’s the kind of guy he is. Teddy’s probably lucky he’s not around to raise him. Though then again, cowardice is often in the blood.

Hannah Abbott tells everyone Sirius can maybe turn into a flowering shrub. Somehow nobody seems to hit on "maybe he’s an Animagi" even though that’s kind of an obvious possibility. As is Polyjuice. Sure, I didn’t think of it, but I’m not a wizard.

Like, the reverse equivalent would be like…if we were Wizard readers of a book set in the Muggle world. And when students’ grades got changed the Muggle student characters all came up with ideas like people breaking into the student office with axes instead of wondering if anybody hacked into the system.

Really, it’s not that there’s no way Black could have gotten in, it’s that there’s no end of ways he could have gotten in. That castle’s about as secure as…well, it's as secure as a big drafty castle when you’re a person with magical powers.

Hannah’s the one Neville marries right? Because see, she’s talking about plants. Soulmates!

Sir Cadogan becomes the password portrait, and he makes up complicated passwords that he changes twice a day. Yeah, it’s totally Neville’s fault that he needs to write them down.

Percy trails Harry everywhere to protect him. I can see why Harry hates the guy. Stop caring, Percy!

Wood announces to the team that they’ll be playing Hufflepuff instead of Slytherin. He says the reason is their Seeker’s arm’s still injured, but really it’s that Harry’s going to pass out during the game and since that’s going to result in everybody describing Harry as being "beaten" at Quidditch, it obviously can’t be Malfoy. Harry can only be fake-beaten by his moral equal.

Cedric is described as strong and silent, which Fred translates as too thick to string two words together. Our heroes, ladies and gentlemen.

Lupin’s not teaching class, which Harry assumes must be because of the Potion Snape gave him days before. Instead of the illness Lupin said he was taking the Potion for.

Can anyone explain why a class who chomps at the bit at anything the slightest bit violent is grumbling resentfully because Snape wants to skip to the werewolf chapter?

Snape is totally Team Edward.

Wow. Moment of dizziness as fictional worlds collide around strong and silent Cedric and Robert Pattinson.

It certainly is a mark of how much the class loathes Snape that they glare at him for his snapping at Hermione. Calling her a know-it-all is out of line, but it is a little embarrassing that she can’t control herself. Well, we had this whole discussion last chapter.

And Ron does pretty much go too far with that line. I don't usually see Snape as just defensively reacting to students who are out of line, but the class is being a bit ridiculous here, and since they’re doing it on behalf of Lupin it must drive Snape even more crazy.

Btw, Ron gets all mad at someone else insulting Hermione. Soulmates! Only he gets to call her a know-it-all!

Ron has to scrub the bedpans by hand. How often are kids so injured at this school they’re using bedpans?

The Twins probably think stealing peoples’ kidneys is hilarious or something.

As sad as it is that Snape never grows beyond adolescence (not that anyone else does either), I can see why he throws himself so into this Lupin/Black thing. The guy’s got all of 5 people who were important to him in his life and finally after 20 years two of them are in the building.

Quidditch matches aren’t called for trifles like thunderstorms. Wizards are now officially too dumb to come in out of the rain.

Seekers are usually light and speedy, Harry thinks, but Harry growing tall and gorgeous won’t be hurting him in the coming years.

LOL! I can just see JKR trying desperately to come up with a way to make Quidditch different this time. "I’ve got it! Rain!"

It doesn’t say much about Harry that he needs Hermione to look up the spell to make his glasses repel water. Wouldn't anyone who wore glasses have that spell memorized?

Sirius is watching Harry play and that’s kind of adorable.

So everyone’s flying in gale winds and Harry’s knocked unconscious by a crowd of Dementors who shouldn’t even be on the field. But Malfoy’s not playing because his arm’s a bit sore. Am I to understand that if one person on this team swallowed their pride enough to say they should postpone it all of this would be avoided?

You’d think the Slytherins might have an advantage in the rain, them being the water house.

Everyone’s worried about Harry’s near-death fall of 50 feet. I’m a little suspicious about it being so dangerous to fall off a broom when part of the game involves trying to knock people off their brooms. Either wizards bounce or they don’t.

Everyone says Cedric won fair and square, because we all know he didn’t. It’s physically impossible to beat Harry fair and square at any event like this, really. Ron doesn’t even beat him fair and square for Prefect.

I know I just said this but I can’t get over Harry lying there thinking how he’s lost a Quidditch match for the first time ever. Because not only has he never lost before, but he didn’t lose now.

If only Nu!Ginny had been here she would have leapt out of the stands, grapped Harry's broom and caught the Snitch herself. Soulmates!

Hermione describes how Dumbledore shooed away the Dementors. Note that even with the things swarming the school Dumbledore still doesn’t think the kids should learn to make a Patronus. That’s only for Dumbledore’s buddies. And, randomly, Umbridge.

Oh no. More tragedy as Harry’s lost his faithful broomstick. Where will he ever get another? Except by going to the store and buying a new one with his piles of gold? Or maybe another one will just fall out of the sky for him like this one did.

Things used more than once:
First mention of Apparition! Strangely, it’s mentioned as if it’s some sort of rare skill instead of something everyone would assume Sirius was doing all over the place.
Naturally this is also the first mention of how you can’t Apparate inside Hogwarts. Thanks, Hermione.
You know, we probably could have easily just met Sir Cadogan when he took over for the Fat Lady. But probably introducing him first in a neutral way is to make it seem like the world really does spill out around the actual story.
Second use of a Patronus.
Psst. You know how it looks like Snape wants Lupin dead? He’s actually protecting him!
Until DH I might have thought the conversation between Snape, Percy and Dumbledore about Black was the most egregious example of convenience in eavesdropping.

It’s a gun. No it isn’t! It’s Chekov! No it isn’t!
You can’t Apparate inside Hogwarts. (Except House Elves.)
Status: Tragically misfired on Montague. And God knows people get in every which other way.

How did Dumbledore shoo away the Dementors?
Status: We’ll find out all right.




Informed Attributes
Woe! Harry has lost a Quidditch match fair and square! Unless you don’t consider being hit with a tranquilizer dart as you’re running for a goal fair.

Misdirected Answering
Since this is one of those books where the central drama has nothing to do with Harry, the whole story is misdirected answering. In this case it’s discussions of why Snape is poisoning Lupin.

Jabootu Score: 2

Comments

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

I particularly enjoyed this recap. (Of course, I enjoy them all.)

I will always like Lupin for the way he actually is helping Black in a small way, even if he’s presumably doing it out of cowardice because that’s the kind of guy he is.

I kinda like Lupin for this, but because he's actually defying Dumbledore. How many people do we see do that without being bad guys? Lupin, Percy? Anyone else?

Sir Cadogan becomes the password portrait, and he makes up complicated passwords that he changes twice a day. Yeah, it’s totally Neville’s fault that he needs to write them down.

Yeah. This could have been used as a joke about organizations that require people to change their e-mail passwords too often, but instead, it becomes a joke about Neville.

Percy trails Harry everywhere to protect him. I can see why Harry hates the guy. Stop caring, Percy!

I'd overlooked that bit, before. Poor Percy.


Actually, there's something else odd about the defense class in this chapter that I hadn't noticed, before. Severus first tells the class to turn to a given page, presumably the beginning of the section on werewolves. Then he asks a question...

[...] And I am telling you all to turn to page 394.” He glanced around again. “All of you! Now!”

With many bitter sidelong looks and some sullen muttering, the class opened their books.

“Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?” said Snape.

Everyone sat in motionless silence; everyone except Hermione, whose hand, as it so often did, had shot straight into the air.

“Anyone?” Snape said, ignoring Hermione. His twisted smile was back. “Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn’t even taught you the basic distinction between —”

“We told you,” said Parvati suddenly, “we haven’t got as far as werewolves yet, we’re still on —”

Apparently, no one in the class thought to, you know, look in the book, for the answer. Hermione already read the book and knows the answer; the rest of the class is sitting motionlessly. They aren't flipping through the book for the information.

I don't know exactly what's going on, there. Are they just too angry with Severus to cooperate with his running the class? Are they reacting to the fact that Hermione already has the answer? Or did it honestly not occur to them that if they haven't done something yet, and the teacher knows that and tells them to turn to a page, and then asks a question, they should look at the book? I'd hate to think it was the last one.

Also...

“D’you know what that —” (he called Snape something that made Hermione say “Ron!”) “— is making me do? I’ve got to scrub out the bedpans in the hospital wing. Without magic !” He was breathing deeply, his fists clenched. “Why couldn’t Black have hidden in Snape’s office, eh? He could have finished him off for us!”

This is a little reminiscent of Draco's wishing, in CoS, that the monster would kill Hermione. (Another candidate for things that happen twice?)

[oryx_leucoryx]

This is a little reminiscent of Draco's wishing, in CoS, that the monster would kill Hermione. (Another candidate for things that happen twice?)

Thanks for the comparison! So by wishing the monster would kill Hermione Draco proved himself as evil and future DE material, but by wishing Sirius would kill Severus Ron was being - what? Oh, but Severus is a mean teacher who gives unpleasant detentions so he fully deserves it, right? (And Minerva gives insane detentions in PS and a publicly humiliating one later in POA so she deserves - er what?)

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

That's exactly what I love about Lupin's actions too. He totally defies Dumbledore! And he never truly feels like he's part of his inner circle for the rest of the series either. I always got the feeling Dumbledore didn't trust the Marauders enough--even before the true depths of Dumbledore's nature were shown. I think he was always put off by the bonds they had with each other. With Harry he didn't have to worry about Harry choosing Ron and Hermione over him. There either wasn't a conflict or he'd be with Dumbledore and they'd support him.

Now that you mention it yes, it totally does sound like the answer to Snape's question might be on that page he told them to open to--it is very weird that they're so stubborn about it instead of just looking for the answer.

It is like what Draco said--only strangely Ron never got labelled a murderer because of the remark!

[oryx_leucoryx]

I always got the feeling Dumbledore didn't trust the Marauders enough--even before the true depths of Dumbledore's nature were shown.

Well, he had good reasons not to trust them. We do not really know how he came to suspect one of them was the spy and when the spying began, but if he ever tried 'surface' Legilimency on them all 4 must have shown up as trying to hide something from him.

[eir-de-scania.livejournal.com]

I doubt he did. It was probably one of the things he was "too noble", to quote McGonagall, to use.

The Marauders probably were too independent for DD's taste. Of course he didn't trust them - he didn't trust anyone, really, preferring to keep everything to himself, giving out the odd clue and riddle when he felt like it.

[oryx_leucoryx]

After reading the entire series I don't believe there was anything Dumbledore was too 'noble' for. Minerva misinterprets his tendency to delay taking action as nobility. Also, I think people who are skilled with Legilimency can't help reading the surface emotions of their conversation partners, just like people who are aware of body language can't tune out awareness of the body language of people around them. Looking deeper into people's memories requires deliberate action but reading current emotions is something ongoing.

[eir-de-scania.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't call him "noble" either...but I suspect JKR would...

[eir-de-scania.livejournal.com]

More to the point; DD ought to have found the spy if he'd tried to. Obviouysly, he didn't. We never get the answer why as no-one in the wizworld ask the question.

Question is, does JKR have an elaborate answer, considering DD's personality, the politics of the wizworld and the Marauders eventual lack of trust in DD? Or is that just because DD using his powers to find out an important thing or two would ruin the plot?

[oryx_leucoryx]

Or how about - why did Dumbledore allow the group photo of the Order to be taken in July 1981 (the timeline is based on the proximity of the death of the McKinnons, two weeks after the photo was taken according to Moody, to Harry's birthday, as established in Lily's letter) if he suspected a spy? He is in the picture, so obviously he knew it was being taken. And we see in the photo that Remus isn't near the Potters in the back but standing at the front between Emmeline Vance and Benjy Fenwick, which means the Potters probably already suspected him. If you have a spy in your secret organization, why make things easy for hir? (Rowling could have made the photo older by having someone else die just before Harry's birthday and she could have placed Remus with the Potters.)

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

Now that you mention it yes, it totally does sound like the answer to Snape's question might be on that page he told them to open to--it is very weird that they're so stubborn about it instead of just looking for the answer.

What's really odd is that JKR *wrote* the scene, and I can't help thinking that the possibility of the answer being on that page never occurred to *her*. Not that the possibility occurred to me, before, but I didn't write the scene.

It seems odd at first that Severus followed the class's silence by taunting them about Remus' instruction, but now that I think about it, all that's necessary is for him to assume that the class is refusing to look at the book because they're angry with him. Even if that assessment is wrong, it'd be a reasonable assumption on his part. So, knowing Severus, he would taunt them about the teacher they like, particularly since he hates Remus, rather than saying pointedly, "The answer is not written on my forehead. You might, however, find it in your *textbook*."

Lest anyone say that it isn't good teaching to ask students to look up answers from a book in class: since it isn't something they've covered yet, in class or homework, it's that or lecturing. (Or having them read the book silently, a la Umbridge. :-P ) And while lecturing works well for students with some learning styles, this technique would work better than a lecture for students with a more active approach to learning, and it would force the students to pay attention rather than tuning out. (And Gryffindors do strike me as more active than contemplative learners, generally.)

It is like what Draco said--only strangely Ron never got labelled a murderer because of the remark!

Funny how that works...

There's also Ron's quip in GoF, where he says it's too bad that Draco didn't go to Durmstrang, where someone could've pushed him off a glacier. I know that people have compared that one to Draco's comment in CoS, but I found that one a little too hypothetical to be entirely comparable. But this comment about Sirius and Severus relates to the same kind of present danger as in CoS. Plus, with the glacier comment, we even have a pattern of such comments.