COS Chapter Twelve: "The Polyjuice Potion"

[for-diddled.livejournal.com]

* Sincere apologies for the lack of postage over the past few weeks; suffice to say that, whilst I’d be happy to log on regularly, RL seems to have other ideas.

 

* Slytherin are so evil that even the thought of being there is enough to make Harry feel sick. These books are such a good argument for tolerance, don’t you think?

* “Harry was just thinking that all he needed was for Dumbledore’s pet bird to die while he was alone in the office with it” just makes him sound so self-centred. Never mind about the dead bird, or Dumbledore losing his beloved pet, I might get in trouble for it! Even though I’d have no motive in killing it and it was pretty obviously sick before I came in.

* Fawkes is usually very pretty, just in case we were worrying that Harry might end up having his life saved by something ugly.

* Given what we now know about Dumbledore’s views on personal loyalty, the emphasis on the word “faithful” looks rather sinister.

* Any guesses on why exactly Hagrid needs to carry the rooster around with him in the castle?

* That’s right, Harry, don’t tell DD about that mysterious voice you heard! Heaven forbid that you might actually help him solve the mystery before anybody is seriously hurt.

* I think it’s rather sweet that Crabbe and Goyle are staying behind with Malfoy. They really do seem to care about each other. (Well, until the abomination that is DH, that is.)

* Harry’s glad that most people are leaving, despite the fact that this’ll narrow down the potential list of suspects and make it more likely that they’ll be caught.

* “[Harry] was tired of people skirting around him in the corridors, as though he were about to sprout fangs or spit poison; tired of all the muttering, pointing and hissing as he passed.” I wonder if that’s what the Slytherins feel like all the time?

* I have to admit, F&G’s heir of Slytherin routine is pretty amusing. But since it’s so different to their usual brand of “humour”, I think I can like it without feeling too guilty.

* I wonder why Fred, George and Ginny have decided to stay? Is it because the fine Mr. Weasley had to pay means they can’t afford to take them, and they’re too proud to admit the real reason?

* I’m sure that the teachers of Hogwarts appreciate Percy staying behind to help them, even if Harry doesn’t.

*How rude of the Dursleys to send him a toothpick like that, especially when Harry gave them an expensive luxury hamper bursting to the brim with Honeyduke’s finest chocolate. Or nothing. I forget which.

* BTW, it seems odd to go to all the trouble of sending Harry such a silly little present. Unless DD sent Hedwig to keep bothering them until they sent something…

* Ron gives Harry a book about Ron’s favourite Quidditch team, rather than something Harry would be expected to be interested in.

* I hope Mrs. Weasley gave her real children presents which were at least as good as the ones she gave Harry.

* F&G have bewitched Percy’s Prefect Badge to make it say “Pinhead”. Oh, the hilarity!

* Crabbe and Goyle eat four helpings of pudding. Harry and Ron, who aren’t greedy pigs, limit themselves to three.

* Hermione’s telling the Slytherins that Millicent Bulstrode came back would backfire spectacularly once they realised that Millicent had not in fact returned, and that they had, therefore, been tricked.

* It’s a shame that nobody’s written a HP/Hercule Poirot crossover fic, in which Poirot investigates the Polyjuice incident. He’d probably solve the mystery within half an hour, and then work out who’s petrifying all those students for good measure.

* Ron and Hermione are prepared to knock out two of Draco’s friends based on extremely flimsy evidence. Remember this is HBP, when they refuse to believe that Draco’s up to something, despite having much better evidence than they do here.

* At least Harry and Ron didn’t strip Crabbe and Goyle. Be grateful for small mercies, I suppose.

* Millicent Bulstrode is “no pixie”, apparently, which seems like a polite way of saying “fat”. Outside of fandom, are there any pretty Slytherin girls, or are they all fat and ugly?

* You’d have thought it wouldn’t have been beyond the Trio to change into their new clothes before taking the Polyjuice Potion.

* Ever since reading Draco Dormiens, I’ve always imagined Harry surreptitiously checking to see whether Goyle is bigger than he is.

* And now they’ve got to find the Slytherin common room. Gee, guys, would it have been impossible to find that out before you took the Potion? Even if you don’t arouse suspicion by not knowing where it is, you’ll waste valuable time trying to find it.

* All this makes Ron’s quip about Goyle being dumb look rather silly.

* I don’t know why, but I’ve always thought that this Ravenclaw girl was Penelope Clearwater. Perhaps she’s just been meeting Percy in one of the disused dungeons.

* Whoever she is, her reply to Harry and Ron is rather rude. Is that what the Slytherins are treated like all the time? It’s a shame Harry and Ron never consider this, and maybe get a bit of sympathy for the Slytherins.

* The Slytherin password is “Pureblood”, just to remind us that they’re all racists, and, therefore, evil. Never mind that Slytherin’s most famous alumni, Tom Riddle and Severus Snape, were both halfbloods, and in Tom’s case, there was no way to know whether he was a muggleborn, pureblood or half-blood.

* The Slytherin common-room doesn’t look particularly luxurious, which seems odd for a supposed bastion of aristocratic privilege. Perhaps it’s like that to try and inculcate some humility into the children, like the fag system in old British public schools.

* I think it’s rather sweet of Mr. Malfoy to send his son newspaper clippings like that. “Here, Draco, let’s both laugh together at these guys!” I still think it odd that such an evil bully as Draco apparently is wouldn’t make greater use of it to humiliate Ron. Maybe he’s not so bad after all.

* Mrs. Weasley has threatened to set the family ghoul on reporters, apparently not realising that that sort of action is extremely bad publicity.

* Draco’s theory about DD hushing up the attacks is probably correct; at any rate, nobody seems to refer to them much in later books.

* Do racists normally go on about how much they hate [insert ethnicity here] as much as Draco’s doing in this scene? It just comes across as really false and over-the-top, at least to me. Perhaps he’s twigged that there’s something wrong with “Crabbe” and “Goyle”, and is deliberately acting oddly in order to see if they notice.

* Draco wishes that Hermione would get killed by the monster. Knowing what she’s going to become in later books, I can’t help but wonder whether that might not be for the best after all.

* For all Harry and Ron’s jokes about C&G being thick, they seem to be arousing Draco’s suspicions by being slower on the uptake.

* Harry and Ron are “hoping against hope that Malfoy hadn’t noticed anything.” I wouldn’t count on it, guys; he seems like a good Potions student, so he probably remembers what Snape said about the Polyjuice Potion; Harry and Ron were the least convincing Crabbe and Goyle imaginable; a boy who can notice Harry’s foot slipping out of the invisibility cloak for a split second would almost certainly notice his best friends changing into somebody else before his eyes; and the real Crabbe and Goyle would tell him that they weren’t there. He probably knows what happened, and feels really annoyed that DD doesn’t do anything about it.

* What’s the point of Cat!Hermione? It doesn’t advance the plot, it doesn’t contribute to characterisation, and it doesn’t add to the atmosphere of the story. Perhaps it’s to stop people questioning her plan by making them feel sorry for her.

* “Madam Pomfrey never asks too many questions…” Given what goes on in Hogwarts, maybe it’s time she started.

 

Comments

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/If they did, I'm sure they referred to it as 'the awful thing that Slytherins were responsible for and the Chosen One delivered us from' as opposed to 'the terrible thing that hunted our kids and Dumbledore, Greatest Wizard Ever, did nothing about'./

Well, it was the "Heir of Slytherin" who claimed credit for the attacks. Even though he possessed a Gryffindor to do it (a fact that, surprisingly, nobody in school finds out).

Besides, there are a lot of things that Dumbledore, Greatest Wizard Ever, did nothing about. They'd have to make such a long list to keep up with him. :)

/To show her up for being so smart. The best way to get through things unscathed is to be dumb, never try to achieve anything on your own merits and not put any real effort into getting what you want. WANTING thing is what leads to your downfall./

Ah, so that's why Voldemort is the villain. ;)

I know that the "courageous" hero against the "crafty" villain is a common theme in fantasy, but I wonder what would have happened if Tom and Harry's personalities had been switched? If Harry had been the patient, diligent, intellectually curious student that had to take down the short-tempered, athletic Voldemort who'd been an average student?

/IKR? But it wouldn't be Hogwarts if authority figures paid attention to what kids were doing and tried to protect them./

As Severus Snape no doubt knows.

[oryx_leucoryx]

I know that the "courageous" hero against the "crafty" villain is a common theme in fantasy

Not only there. It is common in folklore and mythology too. At least the Greeks had Odysseus who was a cunning hero. Asimov had an essay lamenting this trope.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, we did have our Odysseus. ^^ And we had two gods of war: Ares, who loved the raw bloodbath of battle, and Athena, who was in charge of strategic warfare (hence why Odysseus was a favorite of hers). Not to mention that a lot of our heroes needed wits and cunning to outsmart their enemies. Theseus had to think of ways to get past the bandits he met on the road to Athens, Oedipus (although he's more of a doomed anti-hero) had to correctly guess the riddle of the Sphinx, and even Heracles, often thought to be the epitome of brawn and raw strength, had to do some quick thinking in order to complete certain labors.

Ooh, now I'm interested in Asimov's essay. Could you please send me a link?

[oryx_leucoryx]

Sorry I read it in print, not online. It is titled 'Sword and Sorcery' and can be found in an anthology called 'Isaac Asimov - Magic'.

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

This probably explains why I tend to like most fantasy villains. I far prefer the crafty type. Far more interesting, IMO.

I think Severus would quite approve of the epithet applied to Odysseus in my translation of the Odyssey: "the man of twists and turns." ;)

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

LMAO, same here! I rather prefer villains to heroes, they're more interesting, dedicated to their cause, put so much time and effort in...like in Legend of the Seeker, totally prefer Rahl over Richard 'MY PURE HEART WILL CONQUER ALL' Cypher, ugh.

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

It's hard work, being a decent fantasy villain. No benevolent deities to come to your rescue when you least expect it, nobody giving you good luck charms, super-special weapons, or unexpected aid, no cavalry to ride in for you, none of that. No mystical powers except the ones you have to take the time, effort, and risk of tricking or bribing out of whatever demon you can trap, and hope it doesn't get angry enough to come after you. You've got to do it all on your own - especially since finding helpers that are both trustworthy AND intelligent enough to tie their own shoelaces is nearly impossible.

*g*

[sharaz-jek.livejournal.com]

Another aversion is the story of a hero (I think in Celtic mythology) who defeated a giant in an eating contest by secretly putting all his food into a pouch stuffed down his shirt and then boasting that he could cut his stomach open and redevour his food. The giant then attempted to match him and died.

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

Even though he possessed a Gryffindor to do it

GAAAAH, and of course, nobody knows about that! God forbid the truth should come out that it was a Gryff that was behind it- unwillingly, sure, but still. Ginny does not come off well, what with her refusal to tell people what was going on, even when kids were being hurt and faced the possibility of DYING. I mean, wtf, Tom did not control her at every moment, and there was a definite period where he did not have her in his grasp and she had a choice, but noooo!

And some fans were saying that I was insensitive and that this was similar to bullying and that I'm being a meanie for blaming her for not talking to anyone because it's like a bullied kid who feels like they can't talk to anyone about what they're going through...difference being that most bullies aren't the EPITOME OF PURE EVIL and can't actually be KILLED.

I've been bullied, and I didn't feel like I could talk to a teacher because what good would that do, tattling would just get me in more trouble- but this isn't a fellow classmate, this is a bad spirit from a cursed book that's possessing her! This is something that teachers could actually attack and destroy! Can't do that to a schoolkid, but definitely can to a revenant of the Dark Lord. Just. ARGH. I hate how people make analogies between RL issues and HP issues and it totally doesn't even make any sense.

/rant

there are a lot of things that Dumbledore, Greatest Wizard Ever, did nothing about. They'd have to make such a long list to keep up with him. :)

Yeah, I wish Rita Skeeter would write THAT book...

the "courageous" hero against the "crafty" villain is a common theme in fantasy, but I wonder what would have happened if Tom and Harry's personalities had been switched? If Harry had been the patient, diligent, intellectually curious student that had to take down the short-tempered, athletic Voldemort who'd been an average student?

IT SUCKS SO MUCH. I hate that heroes get to be stupid and blunder through and triumph based on their 'noble spirit' and 'loving heart' alone, like, wtf? Seriously? Why are brains so vilified?! Why is it a bad thing to work toward your goals? GAH.

(my fave fantasy series, btw, is the Codex Alera books by Jim Butcher, starting with Furies of Calderon- SO EPIC. The hero is actually a smart kid who gets to use common sense and his brains to overcome obstacles- the cool thing is that there's the twist in that everyone in his world has magic, and he's the freak because he DOESN'T have magic. So for him to be able to accomplish things and defend against bullies and whatnot, he has to use his head and it's just so awesome seeing a kid be smart and working out his own ways of doing things because he can't use magic like everyone else)

Btw, LOL'ING forever at JKR's description of Harry and Ginny as soulmates because of their shared intellectual curiousity...just...what?!

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

I hate that heroes get to be stupid and blunder through and triumph based on their 'noble spirit' and 'loving heart' alone, like, wtf?

One of my favorite animes is an American-made series called Samurai Jack.

What makes the hero Jack unique in this story is that he DOES start out in Episode 1 being the penultimate hero...the villian, Apu, has killed little Jack's father, who was the ruler of their area of feudal Japan. Jack's mother sends her son to train with the best warriors around the world -- starting in Japan, then China, moving on to Egypt, Greece, nordic Vikings, Aztec warriors, etc.

Jack returns home as an adult who is now the best warrior in the world. He fights Apu and wins. He is about to destroy Apu by throwing him into a volcano, but makes the mistake of pausing to listen to Apu make some sort of speech. Apu siezes the advantage, grabs Jack, and tosses Jack into the future -- a future that, since Apu was never destroyed, is now ruled by Apu.

Jack ends up in "our" time, albeit a bleak AU of our era because Apu isn't a nice person.

And even tho Jack had all this training in ancient times, he isn't prepared for the modern world. And in subsequent episodes he constantly blunders and makes mistakes, because he still operates with the mindset of a warrior from hundreds of years ago...

But yet he learns from his mistakes...and THAT is basically the moral of every episode, that even tho Jack has studied and had all this training, he is NOT perfect, he makes mistakes -- often very stupid mistakes -- but he recognizes that they ARE mistakes and learns from them. Jack's salvation from a predicament is often due to his earlier training, but just as often is due to just dumb luck, but Jack recognizes the difference and, as I said, learns from the experience.

It would have been nice if The Trio had been that way in the HP series...

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, yeah, that sounds pretty cool- I love a hero that can admit when he was wrong and learn from that, and not be too chuffed with his own awesome when he succeeded due to sheer luck. Whereas Harry thrives on success due to dumb luck or other people sacrificing themselves for him, and yet he still insists on doing things his way without considering any other viewpoints and acting like the Chosen One and oh, everyone has to listen to him, because he's the hero and he knows what's best and the others are just sidekicks...god, I HATE his attitude OotP onwards- mainly because he didn't learn from his mistakes at the MoM and just blamed other people and didn't hold himself accountable. UGH.

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

I was really expecting a moment of reflection and change of course after the Ministry debacle. And then...*throws up hands in despair*

And then, at the end of DH, it looked like Harry was *finally* going to have to deal with Snape, and have that moment of self-reflection I was sure was coming. But no. We don't get to see a moment of any of that, because Harry's only reaction to the memories that we get to see is "oh crap I have to die, here I go!* and then we skip ahead two decades and everything is a-ok. We see NOTHING. It's not enough just to be told that Harry "forgave" him, because one doesn't read fiction just to acquire a series of "facts," but to live through an emotional journey, and not having it there on the page takes all the impact out of it. Plus, nowhere in the "forgiveness" hint is it implied that Harry had to think about his *own* actions and assumptions. It's his magnanimous forgiveness of a dead enemy, not a learning process that involved taking responsibility and admitting he was ever wrong or that Snape ever had a valid point about anything.

/rant

Note to future fantasy authors: try not to make your hero behave in such a way that the villain's taunts of using others as shields and getting things through luck actually apply. It really makes your hero look bad when the murdering psychopath is correctly dressing him down.

The other thing that gets to me about Harry in this vein is that, the few times he actually is shown feeling guilty for more than 30 seconds about something, it's unfailingly for something he actually bears no moral responsibility for: case in point, Cedric's death. Nobody could seriously hold Harry morally responsible for Cedric's death, since Harry had no idea whatsoever about the trap and no reason to expect it. Harry naturally feels survivor's guilt, yes, but truly he has no reason to blame himself. However, it seems to me that the books seem to use this guilt as a replacement for any guilt that Harry *ought* to feel over other things. 'Look,' they seem to say, 'he IS responsible and contrite and all that, he's got a very well-working conscience! Look how TERRIBLE he feels about Cedric even when he isn't responsible!' But he never feels true remorse for anything he did that was actually blameworthy, not in any way that actually makes him change his behavior or opinion of himself, and it's never pointed out that he should by anyone we're supposed to take seriously. So on the one hand Harry gets to keep the label and appearance of a pure loving one, and even get reassured that it's never his fault, while on the other hand he never has to go through the actual process of repentance and demonstrate true moral character.

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

You know, the first five books would've been worth it if Harry had learned something from the Ministry debacle. But when he didn't, when he put off blame, when he remained stubbornly immature, when he was all about the chest monster and quidditch, cheating in Potions, not bothering to learn in DADA, even disbanding the DA...yeah. Some hero. Clearly he already knew it was pointless to learn anything, what with JKR's beef with education. Winging it is totally the best way to accomplish anything! Even huge things like ridding the world of the Big Bad! Why bother learning defensive/attack/healing spells? That's what Hermione's there for!

It's his magnanimous forgiveness of a dead enemy, not a learning process that involved taking responsibility and admitting he was ever wrong or that Snape ever had a valid point about anything

YES, SO ANGRY. People are like 'he named his son after him'! Middle name, first of all, coupled with the name of the bastard that GOT HIM KILLED and MADE HIS LIFE MISERABLE. Which shows even more how immature Harry was and how he just did not get it at all.

Also, as you say, he never had to interact with Snape again and hash out their diffferences and resolve their issues. It's easy to 'forgive' (ha, yeah right, like he's the wise benevolent one who never did any wrong!) in those circumstances.

the few times he actually is shown feeling guilty for more than 30 seconds about something, it's unfailingly for something he actually bears no moral responsibility for

YEEEES. You have this uncanny ability to say exactly what I'm thinking and articulate it so well! That makes me angry, it's like JKR showing how he does have a functioning conscience...except it never works when he actually has something to be sorry for! And when he had this moment of guilt over Draco- although that comes off more like he's sorry he got caught and lost Hogsmeade and quidditch and Ginny time- the beauteous girlfriend immediately speaks up to tell him not to trouble his head about it, he has nothing to feel bad about!

So on the one hand Harry gets to keep the label and appearance of a pure loving one, and even get reassured that it's never his fault, while on the other hand he never has to go through the actual process of repentance and demonstrate true moral character.

ILU! I agree so much!

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

Yeah, his feelings over the Draco incident last for about five minutes and don't actually lead to true remorse, since they don't have any impact upon his behavior at all. Soon he's whinging that being given *detention* for *nearly killing* someone is so unfair. Even when MINERVA tells him it's very lenient he still thinks its just so unfair to actually be punished. Harry really, really comes off badly there. It's almost like, as the books progress, he starts acting more and more like James. I can only wonder what Snape thought.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/Yeah, his feelings over the Draco incident last for about five minutes and don't actually lead to true remorse, since they don't have any impact upon his behavior at all. Soon he's whinging that being given *detention* for *nearly killing* someone is so unfair./

And yet in OotP, Voldemort was driven out of Harry's head by his amazing ability to love. *sarcasm*

/Harry really, really comes off badly there. It's almost like, as the books progress, he starts acting more and more like James./

And to think that James was supposed to be a dark-haired Draco in Gryffindor. Again, what makes James so much better than Draco? Why are we supposed to accept that he was a brave, noble man who was initially an arrogant bully, but grew out of it (even though we see no evidence for this assertion), while Draco is meant to be seen as a sniveling, nasty little brat who only ever does good things out of fear? Just because James was in Gryffindor and Draco was in Slytherin?

Aside from his skirmishes with the Trio and Neville, I don't remember Draco attacking anybody (unless you count putting Madam Rosmerta under the Imperius Curse or trying to kill Dumbledore). James, on the other hand, was reportedly hexing pretty much anybody he saw just for kicks. And James supposed to be the better man just because he didn't call Lily "Mudblood" and hated the Dark Arts (whatever they are)? True, Draco joined a racist, terrorist organization and James didn't, but, like Snape, as soon as Draco got in, he wanted out. When he was forced by Voldemort to cast the Cruciatus Curse, he was terrified and shaking, which is more than I can say for James when he was torturing Snape.

To say that Harry really came off badly is an understatement. I don't understand how a chapter that involves Harry nearly killing a fellow classmate ends with him kissing Ginny to enthusiastic applause. And is Draco really hated that much in Hogwarts that nobody cares that Harry almost killed him? Is he so universally despised that everyone basically ignores him in favor of learning the latest news about Harry's love life? Good grief.

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

Draco also got put under a LOT of pressure to join the organization in the first place - I doubt he thought he had much of a choice there, what with Voldemort LIVING IN HIS HOUSE. In that, Severus really is a bit more culpable than Draco even, to be perfectly fair.

Also, I don't really see James as any better than Draco just because he didn't set his prejudice and cruelty up as part of an official movement. There didn't need to be an official movement against Slytherins, etc. - that was the dominant culture of the time - but had there been I've no doubt he would have joined it. And does putting a (TM) sticker on it really make it so very much worse? I say the opposite if anything - nobody and nothing was pressuring James to act as he did, and he had no sincere political motivation behind it either (wrongheaded or not, at least the DEs had a reason for what they did beyond mere personal pleasure, even if that also factored into it). James did it purely out of sadism.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/Why bother learning defensive/attack/healing spells? That's what Hermione's there for!/

You know, do you think that that's the reason why Harry isn't intellectual and doesn't learn new spells? Because Hermione already has that role covered? Because Hermione had to fill the role of the brainy sidekick while Harry had to be the hero and JKR had to keep them distinct from each other? I wonder.

/Also, as you say, he never had to interact with Snape again and hash out their diffferences and resolve their issues. It's easy to 'forgive' (ha, yeah right, like he's the wise benevolent one who never did any wrong!) in those circumstances./

Harry never had to interact with *anyone* with whom he had issues. The last time he interacted with Peter Pettigrew, Peter ended up dead. The last time he interacted with Draco before the epilogue was when he saved Draco from the Fiendfyre (not counting the scene where Ron punched out Draco, since Harry didn't do anything there) and before anything could happen, he had to rush off with Ron and Hermione, leaving Draco and Goyle behind. As for Voldemort...well, we all know what happened between them.

/And when he had this moment of guilt over Draco- although that comes off more like he's sorry he got caught and lost Hogsmeade and quidditch and Ginny time- the beauteous girlfriend immediately speaks up to tell him not to trouble his head about it, he has nothing to feel bad about!/

Just a joke, but now I'm wondering what would have happened if Ginny had had a crush on Tom Riddle instead of Harry in second year? If her personality had been like HBP!Ginny's, would she have cheered Tom on, too? "Oh, Tom, don't trouble your head about making me set the basilisk on Muggle-borns; you have nothing to feel bad about!"

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

Well, JKR is firmly anti-education, we get that right from the first book where Hermione's brains are put down, even by herself with that nauseating line 'books and cleverness, whatever, there's more important stuff, like breaking rules and being reckles and running headlong into danger without using your brain!' *gags*

Yeah, Harry never has to do anything that makes him uncomfortable or might force him to admit he's done wrong. As we all know, Harry can only take the blame for somethng that is CLEARLY not his fault. *eyeroll* To make him appear to be conscientous, while really never holding himself accountable for the bad things he does.

LOL. I totally buy your Ginny scenario, that is shockingly in character! I can totally see that happening!

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/Well, JKR is firmly anti-education, we get that right from the first book where Hermione's brains are put down, even by herself with that nauseating line 'books and cleverness, whatever, there's more important stuff, like breaking rules and being reckles and running headlong into danger without using your brain!' *gags*/

I understand that JKR meant to say that friendship was more important than just pure intellectualism, that bravery with heart is more important than cold, self-serving intelligence. I just wish that there were more brainy heroes and heroines.

/LOL. I totally buy your Ginny scenario, that is shockingly in character! I can totally see that happening!/

I think that someone said earlier in this community that Ginny reminded her of Bellatrix, or that Ginny was Harry's Bellatrix. Now I see why. XD

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/GAAAAH, and of course, nobody knows about that! God forbid the truth should come out that it was a Gryff that was behind it- unwillingly, sure, but still./

I understand that Dumbledore and the Weasleys wanted to protect Ginny's privacy and well-being, but I think that if the student body had just learned that the culprit was in Gryffindor (and wasn't Harry), it might have caused them to start thinking a bit. But maybe that's just wishful thinking. Maybe they would have been like Hagrid, who still held onto the view that "there's not a single witch and wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin" even after he learned about Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew.

/Ginny does not come off well, what with her refusal to tell people what was going on, even when kids were being hurt and faced the possibility of DYING. I mean, wtf, Tom did not control her at every moment, and there was a definite period where he did not have her in his grasp and she had a choice, but noooo!/

And what are the reasons why she didn't tell anybody? Because she was worried that Harry might find out about her crush on him (even though everybody knows because it's obvious and she sent him a public valentine) and that Harry might tell Percy about her. Why in heaven's name would Percy finding out about Tom Riddle be any worse than Tom Riddle possessing her? Why was she so fearful of him finding out? Because she was afraid that he'd lecture her and tell their parents? Would that be so much worse than students being in danger because of the diary?

She knew that she had strangled roosters while under Tom's influence and suspected that she was the one attacking everyone, so why did she start talking to Tom again once she had stolen the diary back? Why didn't she just try to destroy the diary again once she had it? Why didn't she give it to McGonagall or to another member of the faculty?

/I hate how people make analogies between RL issues and HP issues and it totally doesn't even make any sense./

If anything, I'd say that the Tom/Ginny situation would be more analogous to an underage girl chatting with a dangerous adult on the Internet.

/Btw, LOL'ING forever at JKR's description of Harry and Ginny as soulmates because of their shared intellectual curiousity...just...what?!/

The only semblance of intellectual curiosity that I can see from them is curiosity in how to cast various hexes.

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

Not even that with Harry after a couple of books. By DH he can't even remember how to do things they've already learned, like Episkey.

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I guess it's wishful thinking. They'd fixate on the point that Tom Riddle was a Slytherin as opposed to 'oh, hey, we were wrong to assume that Slytherins are the only ones who do bad things'.

(Also, how is it that everyone knows bad wizards come from Slytherin when nobody seems to know that Tom Riddle=Voldemort? You'd think Dumbles would spread the word that the Dark Lord isn't a pureblood, strike a blow against his own pureblood propaganda, instead the only info that's been disseminated is that Slytherin=house of PURE EVIL)

did she start talking to Tom again once she had stolen the diary back?

Ugh, Ginny is so shallow! More worried about what her crush will think than saving his life, wtf? Yeah, she stole the diary back, but that come off more like she was desperate to speak to Tom to make sure he didn't spill her secrets than anything! What is WRONG with this girl? And I do not get why Percy is this massive annoyance that is on par with a dark spirit that's possessing her and making her hurt people! *shakes head* IDEK.

Why didn't she just try to destroy the diary again once she had it? Why didn't she give it to McGonagall or to another member of the faculty?

BECAUSE SHE'S A POOR BULLIED GIRL WHO CHOSE TO WRITE IN THE CURSED DIARY TO LET THE MEAN BULLY POSSESS HER AND USE HER TO ATTACK KIDS WHO NARROWLY ESCAPED DEATH INSTEAD OF GOING TO AN ADULT FOR HELP TO KILL THE BLOODY THING. *head!splodes*

I'd say that the Tom/Ginny situation would be more analogous to an underage girl chatting with a dangerous adult on the Internet

IKR? I get that Ginny's a victim and I do feel for her to a certain extent, but that doesn't extend to giving her a free pass on being so reckless and selfish.

The only semblance of intellectual curiosity that I can see from them is curiosity in how to cast various hexes

*dies laughing*

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

If people knew that Voldemort was Tom Riddle, eventually they'd also figure out that Dumbledore was the one who brought the kid into the wizarding world, knowing he was dangerous, and let him run loose without telling anyone of his suspicions, thereby allowing the kid to, in fact, grow up to become Voldemort.

And Dumbledore, with his fancy titles and desire to have the Minister looking to him for advice, couldn't have that, now could he. That would make him LOOK BAD.

Just like letting it become known that he had SECRETLY harbored a werewolf around a castle full of children with CLEARLY inadequate security for seven solid years - security that 1) a handful of teenage boys was able to get past without difficulty and that 2) he never updated even after this failing came to light. (I understand his motivation for wanting to help Remus, yes (assuming for the moment that he didn't just see an opportunity to have yet another pawn beholden to him), but he went about it in a COMPLETELY inappropriate way from the start and severely messed up the way he handled the "Prank" and its aftermath.) Silencing Snape wasn't just in the best interests of the Gryffindor Order-hopefuls, it was also in DD's own very clear best interest. - Imagine what would have happened if someone from Lucius' mold had heard of all this. Do you think DD would have retained control of Hogwarts and thus of the ability to shape the education - and thus minds - of virtually all young wizards and witches for several generations? That's power the Minister only wishes he had.

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

Oops, was it you that I went on about the whole 'Dumbles covering up because he was afraid of looking bad for harboring a werewolf' thing? My bad, if so. You def expressed that a lot better here.

Anyway, between that and Voldy's secret identity being secret and other things, it's like Dumbles' whole life was about cover-ups, hiding what he did wrong. For a man who said he didn't want power (that's why he turned down the Ministerial position, yeah right, he just knew it was a useless figurehead of a position), he works hard to hold onto it.

Power the Dark Lord knows not...

[terri-testing.livejournal.com]

Yeah?