GOF Chapter 22: The Unexpected Task

[oryx_leucoryx]

Today's Transfiguration lesson is about turning an animal from one species to an animal from a different one. What's the point? Does the animal retain the neurology of its original species or acquire that of the new one? Even in the latter case, surely its memories are those of the original species? How do the poor creatures know how to do things?

Ron and Harry are having a sword-fight with fake wands. At least Minerva criticizes them. She announces the Yule Ball, where 4th years and up (as well as any younger guests some of them might invite) have a chance to socialize with the 24 guests. Because the guests are living on their respective vehicles and hardly have a chance to socialize with anyone. Unless you count Viktor ducking his fans in the library.

The champions and their dance partners traditionally open the ball. Now Harry has a task to distract him from preparing for the second task (something he hasn't thought about yet, despite his experience with the danger of the first one). Well, now he thinks of the dragon as a fun diversion, so maybe there is no contradiction.

Molly was right - at least among the 4th years and higher everybody is staying for Christmas, regardless of how they rank their prospects of getting a date to the ball. (Did Ginny think of going home before she got an invitation or was she counting on someone inviting her?) Harry suddenly notices the girls at Hogwarts, now that he needs one as a date. Until now he only noticed boys like Ron, Cedric, Viktor and Draco. Maybe he really is gay.

Well, at least Harry knows whom he'd like to ask, if given a chance. Now that he needs a date, he refuses 4 girls who ask him. Yes, they only care about him because he's famous, but so does almost everyone else, so what's the difference? Even Ron (and Draco!) originally got interested in him because he was TBWL.

The Hufflepuffs are letting Harry be. Which does not mean any of them believe he wasn't a cheat. Aw, Draco's audience has shrunk!

Rita's interview with Hagrid was mostly about Hagrid's opinion of Harry, of course. At least Hagrid acknowledges Severus' criticism about Harry's constant line-crossing wasn't entirely off. Oh, Hagrid will attend the ball. Guess with whom?

Why would Dumbles need to buy 800 barrels of mead for the ball? Buy one bottle and multiply however many times. Unless he wasn't that great at Transfiguration? But he did book the Weird Sisters, the only wizarding band in Britain (as far as we know). Wizarding cultural life is so exciting.

Filius let the students play games in class so he could chat with Harry and praise him. Is he the new Hagrid? Binns still insists on making goblin rebellions boring. That's because goblins are no longer rebellious. Now 'Moody' has them working seriously, he doesn't just impress them with Dark Arts demos. And he's teaching the entire class now, not just Harry. Severus would no sooner let them play games in class than adopt Harry. Little does Harry know. Right, how evil of a teacher to give students until the end of term to prepare for a test. (Which happens to be on a topic that is supposed to be crucial for Ron and Harry's preferred career path, BTW.)

Wizarding cards are cooler than Muggle ones because they explode occasionally, but skrewts are beasts from hell. I follow the logic, almost.

There are only 2 kinds of books Harry ever enjoys reading - Quidditch books and Dark Arts books. Now he is with the former. Despite having a potentially dangerous task to face in some 2.5 months. Hermione is such a spoil-sport to remind him of that.

The twins want Ron's owl to send a letter, but they won't tell him to whom. Fred knows he'll attend the ball with Angelina before he even asked her. Of course for all we know they have been dating since 1st year - Harry wouldn't be able to tell.

Ron wants to attend the ball with the best-looking girl he can manage, and that does *not* mean Hermione. This is his second major personal insult to her (in addition to many minor ones), which is why she made it a life mission to force him to acknowledge his mistake and marry her. Soulmates indeed.

Neither Harry nor Ron have a date, but Harry's fate is worse, because he is a champion. Harry can't get Cho alone. After all these years he finally discovered girls' preference to have company on the way to the bathroom.

A bezoar is a key ingredient of an antidote. Harry will remember this better coming from a younger version of Severus.

Harry manages finally to ask Cho, but he is too late. Oh, Cho would so have agreed if only he had asked before Cedric did! Even when he loses Harry gets affirmation that he really is the best. See, Cedric is pretty and brainless. As opposed to Harry who is not (yet) pretty and, er, well... (let's not discuss his brains here).

Harry's one consolation is that Ron failed even worse than he did, by asking someone who more obviously outclassed him. Ron's consolation is that Neville was refused by Hermione - ie Neville ranks even lower than Ron because the girl who turned Neville down ranks much lower than the one who completely ignored Ron. Of course Ron can't imagine anyone (but Neville) asking Hermione of his own will. Not happening, right? (Notice how Neville is better socialized and braver than both trio boys - he dares to ask a girl before they do, and his choice is based on the girl's behavior rather than purely her looks. Also, he didn't give up when he was turned down. Also, Ginny is so popular that the only one who asked her to the ball was Neville, and only because Hermione refused him.)

Suddenly Ron has the realization of the century - Hermione has 2 X chromosomes! (Do wizards know about chromosomes? Never mind.) But despite her repeated insistence, he can't get that she already had a date. Ron even tries setting Ginny up with Harry - again, too late. Not that Ginny likes Neville, in any way. Not that he was her preference. He was just her ticket to the ball. As she leaves for dinner we part for ever with Ginny V1.0, the one who, among other things, keeps Hermione's confidence.

Finally Harry asks Parvati, who for plot-contrived reasons is still available. Lavender was already asked by Seamus, but Padma might go with Ron. We can all sigh with relief that this messy business was completed in a single chapter.

Comments

Re: Really he [Ron], Hermione and Harry deserve one another?

[for-diddled.livejournal.com]

"I know that fans will argue that James only bullied Snape because he hated the Dark Arts,"

Out of interest, how do these fans explain the fact that James started bullying Snape the first time they met on the Hogwarts Express, before he could have found out about any interest Snape had in the Dark Arts?

Re: Really he [Ron], Hermione and Harry deserve one another?

[sharaz-jek.livejournal.com]

Ah, but he wanted to be in Slytherin! What possible other reason could there be to join that house?

Re: Really he [Ron], Hermione and Harry deserve one another?

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

You won't believe it - but I just read an analysis from a Marauders fan (who claims to be a Snape fan, I think?) who claims that Sev bullies James on the train! I have to say, I don't remember the scene that way at all, but this person did not provide any quotes. I remember James insulting Slytherin house (as Draco insulted Hufflepuff) before Sev ever opened his mouth.

You see, unless you believe that all of Sev's troubles are entirely his fault, and due to his bad character, you are a Snapewife.

But haven't we gotten a bit off track here?

Who's the real bully? (was: Really he [Ron], Hermione and Harry deserve one another?)

[majorjune.livejournal.com]

You won't believe it - but I just read an analysis from a Marauders fan (who claims to be a Snape fan, I think?) who claims that Sev bullies James on the train! I have to say, I don't remember the scene that way at all, but this person did not provide any quotes.

Here's the passage from the American edition:

Snape slid open the compartment door and sat down opposite Lily. She glanced at him and then looked back out of the window. She had been crying.

"I don't want to talk to you," she said in a constricted voice.

"Why not?"

"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."

"So what?"

She threw him a look of deep dislike.

"So she's my sister!"

"She's only a --" He caught himself quickly; Lily, too busy trying to wipe her eyes without being noticed, did not hear him.

"But we're going!" he said, unable to suppress the exhilaration in his voice. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"

She nodded, mopping her eyes, but in spite of herself, she half smiled.

"You'd better be in Slytherin," said Snape, encouraged that she had brightened a little.

"Slytherin?"

One of the boys sharing the compartment, who had shown no interest at all in Lily or Snape until this point, looked around at the word, and Harry, whose attention had been focused entirely on the two beside the window, saw his father: slight, black-haired like Snape, but with that indefinable air of having been well-cared-for, even adored, that Snape so conspicuously lacked.

"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James asked the boy lounging on the seats opposite him, and with a jolt, Harry realized that it was Sirius. Sirius did not smile.

"My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said.

"Blimey," said James, "and I thought you seemed all right!"

Sirius grinned.

"Maybe I'll break with tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

James lifted an invisible sword.

"'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad."

Snape made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him.

"Got a problem with that?"

"No," said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy --"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected Sirius.

James roared with laughter. Lily sat up, rather flushed, and looked from James to Sirius in dislike.

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."

"Oooooo..."

James and Sirius imitated her lofty voice; James tried to trip Snape as he passed.

"See ya, Snivellus!" a voice called, as the compartment door slammed....

So, some thoughts/observations:

As was pointed out in another post, Lily is quick to, if not blame Snape for the Petunia fiasco, at least make sure he feels equally responsible, when clearly it had to be Lily who stole Petunia's letter in the first place.

Next, it's made clear that Lily was crying before Severus entered the compartment, and yet neither James or Sirius noticed, or if they did, cared.

It is James who first insults Slytherin House. And when he finds out that everyone in Sirus' family was a Slytherin, he still treats Sirius nicely. But when he hears that Severus wants to be in Slytherin, he is quick to turn his dislike of Slytherin House into a personal insult, coming up with the name 'Snivellus'...and the fact that he actually tries to trip Severus as he leaves the compartment shows that it was more than just "friendly banter" like between James and Sirius.

Severus' statement regarding Gryffindor is mild in comparison, and is no more than usual house/class rivalry one finds in schools. James tells Sirius "...and I thought you were all right...", but both take it as a joke, and Sirius laughs it off. Severus makes the comment about brawn vs. brain, and James takes high umbrage, and Sirius makes sure to insult Severus to boot.

Re: Who's the real bully? (was: Really he [Ron], Hermione and Harry deserve one another?)

[oryx_leucoryx]

Of course in this book series there is only one kind of prejudice that is wrong. All other forms of prejudice are OK, and actually shown to be justified. James was right to harass and bully Severus because he turned out bad and this justifies James in retrospect. Or something.

Re: Who's the real bully? (was: Really he [Ron], Hermione and Harry deserve one another?)

[charlottehywd.livejournal.com]

Especially since she is apparently unaware of the real prejudice she has created against muggles, goblins, house elves, squibs... well, pretty much everyone who isn't part of her uber-special elite group. And then she has the gall to say that she is writing stories especially dealing with prejudice. She sure is, but not in a good or constructive way. She is clearly on the side of the oppressors.

Re: Really he [Ron], Hermione and Harry deserve one another?

[stephanie-draws.livejournal.com]

Oops, didn't see your post before making mine about exactly the same inconsistency of James supposedly only going after Severus for being and practicing "dark" magic.