Philosopher's Stone Chapter Ten

[urbanman1984.livejournal.com]

It's Hallowe'en!

 

Hallowe’en

 

*The chapter opens with a view through the Malfoy filter!  How often does that happen in canon?  Half Blood Prince should have been from Malfoy’s POV...

 

*Harry and Ron are true Gryffindors.  Any near death experience is an excellent adventure and hours later they want more of the same!

 

*Nearly all the protection around the mysterious object sums up Hogwarts security in general when indeed, there is any in place at all.  It looks impressive, but really, a child could easily break through and a non magical child at that.

 

*Hmm Neville is not keen on another brush with death... should he be in Gryffindor?  I am inclined to think not.

 

*Yay!  Hermione’s not speaking to them.  This must be the pinnacle of Harry’s fortunes in the series because now he is also given the gift of the Nimbus 2000 in front of the entire student body.  But Harry is still the underdog here, just so we are clear on that.

 

*Really Malfoy, what else would be in a long cylindrical package other than a broomstick... :p

 

*Ron is basking in the reflected glory of the Nimbus 2000.  How kind of Harry to give Ron a little reflected glory from time to time.  Pity the poor twerp won’t always appreciate it.

 

*Take that Malfoy, even the head of Ravenclaw house believes Potter deserves this open display of favouritism.  You shouldn’t try and compete with him, in the Potterverse he will always win.

 

*And go and boil your head Hermione, Harry can do what he likes when the universe centres around him.

 

*It really is weird how success at Quidditch depends entirely on how expensive a player’s equipment is.  Not on their merit or hard work at all.  It would have been a lot more accomplished of JKR to have made the Hogwarts sport soccer... soccer may be a tedious game, but at least it doesn’t have that bizarre quality of one’s equipment being all that matters.

 

*So here’s the Quidditch pitch.  The need for practice three times a week could be averted if all the team had expensive brooms.

 

*And it isn’t necessary for Harry to learn all the rules of Quidditch.  He will be the only player on the team who matters.  It can be summed up by “catch the shiny object.” Great plot device JKR.

 

*Harry could be better than Charlie who could have played for England... but there is an anomaly in the timeline so it is impossible to discern whether Charlie is three years or eight years older than Percy.  If he is only three years older than Percy, Gryffindor has not won the cup since Charlie was in his second year at Hogwarts.

 

*I wonder if the basics to Harry’s lessons were like those in the ladybird junior magicians guide book – ie only learning about the colour, length and texture of your wand...

 

*The castle is now Harry’s only true home... just as Dumblesnore planned.

 

*Really Neville, you should only expect to be Harry’s bootlicker, not his partner... even though you turn out to be very much more heroic than he is.  Kind of sad really.

 

*They’re still wearing hats here, but it looks like JKR just forgot that she included hats early in the series so they disappear with no explanation.

 

*I would be more than angry at being expected to work with Hermione.  I would most likely just leave the classroom.

 

*How would Hermione have got on at Malory Towers? ;)

 

*Live bats for decoration.  Cool.  I wonder why the anniversary of the fall of Voldemort is not commemorated explicitly.  Everyone could be forced to sing Harry a song acknowledging how he really is the centre of their universe.

 

*Troll in the dungeons... that sounds more impressive than it actually turns out to be.

 

*Harry is a true Gryffindor here once again and Ron a true sidekick.  They want another dangerous adventure for no readily explicable reason.  It’s what they’ve been waiting for since seeing Fluffy.

 

*What’s Snape doing?  Well we’ll just have to wait to find out.  Oh the suspense.

 

*Great idea, lock the troll in with Hermione, they will be very happy together...

 

*No really, it’s all for the best, don’t barge into the bathroom now... argh!

 

*Actually Hermione’s not nearly so insufferable here when it’s clear she is no use at all in a crisis.  Much more tolerable than when she becomes a weird sort of ruthless superhuman in the later series.  At least here she seems easy to off.

 

*So Hermione makes it sound as though the three of them went looking for the troll together when actually none of them had.  Just as well McGonagall is a Gryffindor – hence a character who admires recklessness.

 

*Yes Harry, Hermione would not have needed saving if you had not locked the troll in with her.  Which is why you should have left them locked in the bathroom together.  Think what the rest of the series would have been like then. 

 

*When I first read this it did seem bizarre - especially given Harry’s insularity - that this character with whom he and Ron have nothing in common should not only become their friend after the troll vignette, but also stick to them like glue afterwards.  Malfoy doesn’t become Harry’s friend even though they both see Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest.  It was explained later by JKR telling us that Hermione is like a self-insert of hers.  It was authorial fiat.

Comments

[oryx_leucoryx]

It really is weird how success at Quidditch depends entirely on how expensive a player’s equipment is. Not on their merit or hard work at all. It would have been a lot more accomplished of JKR to have made the Hogwarts sport soccer... soccer may be a tedious game, but at least it doesn’t have that bizarre quality of one’s equipment being all that matters.

Or just have standardized equipment.

Harry could be better than Charlie who could have played for England... but there is an anomaly in the timeline so it is impossible to discern whether Charlie is three years or eight years older than Percy. If he is only three years older than Percy, Gryffindor has not won the cup since Charlie was in his second year at Hogwarts.

That's cause Charlie flew a broomstick Weasleys could afford. And Slytherins could afford better broomsticks, so it wasn't fair. But anyone could see Charlie could have caught all those Snitches if he only had a better broomstick, so it counts in his favor anyway.

BTW note that Olliver Wood uses golf balls for practice, but has no idea what basketball is. Must be wizarding raised.

The text completely brushes over the event in which Flitwick zoomed Trevor around the classroom. Everyone was dying to try that trick. Neville too? Wasn't he even a little bit afraid for his pet? Or are only Slytherin teachers with billowing robes scary enough that a student would believe their threat to pets?

They’re still wearing hats here, but it looks like JKR just forgot that she included hats early in the series so they disappear with no explanation.

The hats got destroyed one by one in attempts to control instances of spontaneous magical combustion.

Troll in the dungeons... that sounds more impressive than it actually turns out to be.

It may have been more impressive for the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs who were sent *into* the dungeons with no adult supervision.

Harry is a true Gryffindor here once again and Ron a true sidekick. They want another dangerous adventure for no readily explicable reason. It’s what they’ve been waiting for since seeing Fluffy.

And they are avoiding Percy instead of telling him (or a teacher) that there is a student in a bathroom.

So Hermione makes it sound as though the three of them went looking for the troll together when actually none of them had. Just as well McGonagall is a Gryffindor – hence a character who admires recklessness.

Did Minerva really believe a student who has evidently been crying had gone looking for a troll? I doubt Severus (or Quirrell for that matter) believed her version.

[galaxianomiko.livejournal.com]

BTW note that Olliver Wood uses golf balls for practice, but has no idea what basketball is. Must be wizarding raised.

Oh, wizards. Basic games that have been around for ages? Why bother knowing about that?

Did Minerva really believe a student who has evidently been crying had gone looking for a troll? I doubt Severus (or Quirrell for that matter) believed her version.

That's one of the funniest parts of the first film. Rickman!Snape makes the most incredulous expression at this story.

[mmmarcusz.livejournal.com]

It may have been more impressive for the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs who were sent *into* the dungeons with no adult supervision.

Why does Hogwarts have dungeons, given that it has apparently been a school for its entire existence? (Although the original meaning of donjon is "a keep, the main tower of a castle which formed the final defensive position to which the garrison could retreat when outer fortifications were overcome" - but Hogwarts seems to be one solid block, rather than a keep, surrounded by a courtyard, surrounded by outer walls)

Nor is it very fair that the "evil" and "stupid" students are kept underground, below even the house-elves. Slytherin's status as ancient seat of privilege doesn't really hold up.

[sharaz-jek.livejournal.com]

I think Red Hen suggested that Hogwarts was the original centre of government for Wizarding Britain.

[sharaz-jek.livejournal.com]

but Hogwarts seems to be one solid block, rather than a keep, surrounded by a courtyard, surrounded by outer walls

Oh, and I think Hogwarts is a keep (albeit a gigantic one) surrounded by a courtyard (albeit one containing an entire forest) surrounded by walls - it certainly has gates opening onto the path up to the main building, so I'd assume they're set into a wall rather than just being built to look cool (although these are wizards we're talking about). On the other hand, you can apparently get from the Hogsmeade station to the main building via the lake and a handy cave, so it would seem the lake forms part of the outer defences (and, of course, Hogwarts is, according to this book, on a mountain, which gives yet another defence).

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

Well, the original center of government for the Hibernian islands. Gradually as the magical population grew, various branches spun off into other quarters, leaving the school in full possession. Most of the outward migration took place in the past 300 years (i.e., post-Seclusion) but the DoM has been in London for a lot longer than that.

[sunnyskywalker]

I wondered why Hermione didn't just lie a little bit less and say she'd left the feast to go to the bathroom, so she didn't know about the troll, and Ron and Harry rescued her. It's much more credible. But then, we know Hermione is terrible at lying under pressure (see: Borgin & Burke's), and a true Gryffindor probably wouldn't admit to crying, and painting herself as in the wrong probably scored points with Ron and Harry. Because Hermione already has figured out that the way to get in with these guys is to constantly help them out of tight spots while putting herself down.

I would love to see a Quidditch game where they're all required to play on the same model broom.

I don't know what Flitwick needed to zoom Trever around for - surely they have pillows or whatever? - but it seems like endangering animals is a popular wizarding custom. Must make sure they learn the proper techniques early!

[for-diddled.livejournal.com]

"I wondered why Hermione didn't just lie a little bit less and say she'd left the feast to go to the bathroom, so she didn't know about the troll, and Ron and Harry rescued her."

Or even just not lie at all, and say "I was in the bathroom and so didn't know about the troll, when Harry and Ron came and rescued me". All of that statement is true, and it would make Hermione look better whilst not detracting from Harry and Ron's achievement. Even when I first read this book aged about seven, I thought that Hermione's lie was pretty silly.

[sunnyskywalker]

The only thing I can figure is that she thought getting herself in trouble would make Harry and Ron think better of her somehow. Which apparently was true.

[cured4life.livejournal.com]

I always wondered why the lie. Seemed so unnecessary and stupid really.

[oryx_leucoryx]

I don't know what Flitwick needed to zoom Trever around for - surely they have pillows or whatever?

Terri proposed that it was Hogwarts policy to use any pet that had the misfortune to be brought to class as demonstration prop in order to discourage repeat offenses.

What I wonder if when Rowling wrote the threatened toad-poisoning scene in POA she remembered she had that toad-zooming line in PS. Because Severus is supposed to be so mean and sadistic - but then here is Filius doing the same thing and nobody makes a deal out of it.