GOF Chapter 2: The Scar

[oryx_leucoryx]

Harry wakes up with his scar hurting. We are let to understand that he experienced the events of the previous chapter as a dream. He quickly starts forgetting the details so as to keep him from noticing when relevant information pops up again. BTW from what POV did he experience the vision? Starting from the following year his visions will be from Voldemort's POV but this does not seem to be the case this instance. Consistency? What consistency?

The description of Harry's room shows he was already on his way to becoming the worst slob child hero in the history of literature. Didn't living in a closet teach him to appreciate having space?

Harry can't even see a cat in the darkness (sorry Harry, your Head of House doesn't spend her summer spying on you) so he concludes there can't be any wizard lurking outside. Despite knowing at least one way to be invisible and knowing that some wizards don't need a cloak to be invisible.

Bizarre accidents and injuries are unavoidable at Hogwarts, which is why it is such a safe place.

The Dursleys weren't of any help to Harry while awake. Except by magically protecting him from Voldemort, just the wizard he feared might be near. OK, they didn't have to be awake for the protection to work, but their being awake didn't hinder it either. (I know Harry didn't know of the protection yet, it's just that he makes judgments in ignorance.)

The story about Harry supposedly attending St Brutus' Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys is now the official line the Dusrleys tell anyone. How does that fit with their desire to project the 'perfectly normal' image? (Note the foreshadowing of Barty entering Harry to the Tournament as a student from a different school.)

Voldemort is still "the most powerful Dark wizard for a century". Maybe the ones before him were Albus and Gellert, in the summer of 1899. Just under a century ago - the timing almost works. Gellert never came back to Britain and Albus thinks he abandoned Dark magic, under some definition thereof.

Harry thinks there was a fortnight to go until his return to school. Looks like ending his math education at 11 didn't do him good.

Harry's assessment of Hermione's probable response is realistic. However why does not knowing where Albus went for the summer preclude writing to him? Not knowing where Sirius was didn't stop Harry from writing to him. Ah, he's ashamed to look stupid for saying his scar hurt. What about including that it hurt while he was having a vision of Voldemort killing someone? Why would this look stupid to Dumbledore rather than, say, informative? But a Gryffindor can't afford to appear weak in any way, even if this means hiding potentially crucial information.

Arthur is described as a 'fully qualified wizard'. Aren't almost all adult wizards? How meaningful is this description? Again, Harry's fear of appearing weak to the Weasleys trumps any common sense.

Only Dumbledore believed the trio's story about Sirius. Maybe because he was the only one who heard it in detail from Sirius. Anyone else present (Severus, Fudge, Poppy) just heard kids insisting on something. Severus also heard Sirius and Remus admitting to being serial liars. And was repeatedly injured by Sirius (after already being injured by the kids) and thus was denied a chance to receive evidence of the truth.

So Harry writes to Sirius. The part about Dudley's diet looks like Harry already mentioned the diet in a previous letter, but on the previous page I got the impression this was the first time Harry writes to Sirius. Oh well.

Dudley is ridiculous for enjoying a game called "Mega-Mutilation Part Three". That's because Harry goes to a school where kids learn how to really mutilate each other.

Again, Harry avoids mentioning any part of his dream. Nor does he date his letter. How is Sirius going to know when 'this morning' refers to? Why be helpful to adults whose advice you are seeking?

Comments

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

If you were to write a story about you and your dad you'd probably include *something* to help us bridge the gap and work things out the way you say it was ... dialogue like "come on Borg, it's easy, now how would you ..." or "okay Borg, you do it this way ..." before the shouting started.

I can relate to Borg's analogy...while my mother was very good at taking her time to explain/intruct something, and would repeat the instruction and demonstrate if necessary, my father's personality was one of "I just TOLD you how to do it, now do it!" And his attitude was if he'd told/shown you once, then that was all that was necessary.

And I agree with Borg that Snape's personality was along that line, exacerbated by his intense dislike of Harry. I don't think he deliberately sabotaged the occulmency lessons, but I do think that he was the type that after giving Harry lessons a couple of times he felt that Harry should at least display SOME hints of "getting it"; when it was obvious that Harry was NOT "getting it", and indeed didn't even practice between lessons, Snape probably figured he was wasting his time.

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

when it was obvious that Harry was NOT "getting it", and indeed didn't even practice between lessons, Snape probably figured he was wasting his time.

... which makes him a bad teacher, right?

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

... which makes him a bad teacher, right?

I don't think Snape was a good Potions teacher. I think he was fine as an Occlumency teacher, he just had a pupil whose antipathy towards the teacher made the chance of the classes succeeding almost nil.

I seem to have rattled some cages with my OPINION regarding Snape's skills as a teacher...it's my OPINION people, I'm not trying to bend anyone's arms or bash my opinion over your heads, if you disagree with me, fine, I really am in no mood to get into an argument over it.

[madderbrad.livejournal.com]

I'd lost track of this thread ... real life stopped me attending to it for the last two days, I've just come back now and responded to those who posted comments directly against mine. I haven't (yet) plumbed the depths of what everyone has been saying. :-)

But I've really enjoyed the points that various people have raised - how Rowling's superficial treatment of magic precludes our properly comparing any of the teachers, how Snape's Occlumency lessons parallel Lupin's on casting a Patronus, whether or not Snape could even try to teach Harry, given the fear that Voldemort would 'see' everything through Harry's eyes, how the first Occlumency lesson was somewhat reasonable, et cetera. Some things that I'd never thought of that I've enjoyed reading. Some which challenge my assumption on my own perusal of the book that Snape wasn't giving the lessons his utmost.

Right now, I honestly don't have a clue as to my own opinion about Snape's teaching ability, I'm so confused/torn between all the points. :-)

But I think we're all agreed that Harry was a lousy student. :-)

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry if anything was too harsh. I never felt you were 'rattling my cage,' I had the impression it was all civil (if detailed) debate over a subject of some mutual interest. Obviously this is all opinion, since we aren't debating something that can be pinpointed with scientific accuracy, and from me it wasn't meant to be anything more than a sharing of opinion from multiple people. Sorry if you got any other message.

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

Oh. >_< I'm with condwiramurs, I was just enjoying the debate. Maybe I got carried away at times (mostly with Brad, because I AM ALWAYS RIGHT AND HE NEEDS TO ACCEPT THAT ALREADY) but I hope nothing I said made you feel like I was badgering you for your opinion. Heck, the reason I like this place is because nobody's belittling anyone else for their beliefs. *squish*

[borg-princess.livejournal.com]

his attitude was if he'd told/shown you once, then that was all that was necessary

Yeah, I know how that feels. *winces* Sooo not the way to learn anything. And my mother was just like yours, so patient and understanding and really good at explaining without harping on about how dumb you are for not getting it already. *eyeroll*

I do think that he was the type that after giving Harry lessons a couple of times he felt that Harry should at least display SOME hints of "getting it"; when it was obvious that Harry was NOT "getting it",

Yep. He even says, 'And dim though you may be, I would have thought that after over two months of lessons you might have made some progress.' And then Harry lies about having more dreams and revealing that in addition to not making any progress, it's actually gotten worse. MIGHT HELP IF YOU PRACTICED SOME, YOU FRAKWIT.

Seriously, why the hell didn't Dumbles teach him himself? I mean, he didn't want Voldy getting the wrong idea about him caring for Harry, was that his excuse? How does that even make sense? This is the Boy-Who-Lived, of COURSE Voldy's going to know Dumbles will be interested in him to some degree! Teaching him Occlumency to prevent their greatest enemy possessing him is only common sense, it's not going to make him appear too interested or anything! And at least Harry would be motivated to learn from him! (although, then again, Dumbles did tell him to 'clear his mind' and Harry still wasn't doing any of that- he even thought Dumbledore leaving was an excuse to skip practice, despite Dumbles explicitly saying otherwise, from what I recall)

And besides that, if Voldy sees memories of Snape teaching Harry, it's going to look really bad that his loyal DE is warding his enemy's mind against him. No wonder he's extra fraught with tension and becomes more and more stressed as Harry displays no effort to master the skill, it's just his ass on the line, no big!

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

No wonder he's extra fraught with tension and becomes more and more stressed as Harry displays no effort to master the skill, it's just his ass on the line, no big!

Didn't Draco say something similar in HBP when Snape told him about the Unbreakable Vow? IIRC, Draco said something along the lines of, "You'll have to break it, then." Despite what Ron's already told us, that the UV will kill you if you break it.