HBP Chapter Twelve: "Silver and Opals"

[for-diddled.livejournal.com]

* Harry feels “slightly abandoned” now Dumbledore’s not talking to him. I wonder if this is how every other Hogwarts pupil and member of staff feels all the time?

* Harry’s trying out his hexes on unsuspecting victims in the corridors. Obviously he doesn’t give them an opportunity to fight back or defend themselves in any way; clearly, Gryffindors are only expected to show their famous courage and chivalry towards the right sort of people.

* Incidentally, remember when those notorious pureblood supremacists in Slytherin tried out experimental new hexes on the helpless squib janitor? No, me neither.

* So Levicorpus is specifically written as non-verbal. Any ideas as to why this is? Maybe there are two different kinds of spells, non-verbal and verbal, and the reason why non-verbal spells are usually so difficult is that you have to try and cast them using the “wrong” type of magic for that spell. Oh, for a thought-through and consistent system of magic!

* “On the other hand, the Prince had proved a much more effective teacher than Snape so far.” Ooh, I see what you did there, JKR, you master of irony you.

* “‘…and then there was another flash of light and I landed on the bed again!’ grinned Ron, helping himself to sausages.” Did Ron really “grin” that, Rowling? Does he have some hitherto unsuspected power as a ventriloquist? Or did you actually mean to write “said Ron, grinning”?

* I assume that when Hermione disapproves of the spell because it’s “not Ministry-approved”, there was meant to be an implicit “…and therefore potentially dangerous”? If so, she’s quite right, and Harry’s rather reckless for trying it out. If not, and her objection is just that it’s not been approved by the Ministry, then that’s a rather bizarre attitude for a supposedly curious and questioning person to take.

* We’re told that “[b]oth Harry and Ron shouted her down at once”, but only Ron gets quoted as saying anything. What Harry just making a loud incoherent noise then?

* Err, Ron, “Fred and George do it, therefore it must be OK” is not a good argument. You of all people should know that.

* Harry objects to the idea that the Prince wasn’t very nice, because “if he’d been a budding Death Eater he wouldn’t have been boasting about being ‘Half-Blood’.” Apparently he’s forgotten about all the people he’s met who were neither Death Eaters nor particularly nice people.

* “I’m going [to Hogsmeade] with Dean,” says Ginny, “might see you there.” Hey, look, everybody, she’s got a boyfriend! How cool and awesomely popular she is. Can you see how perfect she is for the Chosen One?

* “[W]hen they finally reached Hogsmeade and saw that Zonko’s Joke Shop had been boarded up, Harry took it as confirmation that this trip was not destined to be fun.” I, meanwhile, take it as confirmation that’s Harry’s been stuck in a state of arrested development since age eleven or so, which is when most people grow out of finding whoopee cushions and fake dog poos remotely fun.

* Incidentally, I wonder if Zonko’s has gone bust because it was out-competed by the Weasley Twins.

* Ron’s strange methods of speech are once again on display: he’s “shiver[ing]” his words now.

* Harry, Ron and Ginny like to laugh about Hermione being cooped up with McLaggen and Zabini. Meanwhile, I bet most other students are laughing about Harry, Ron and Ginny being stuck with… well, with each other, probably.

* Harry “had momentarily forgotten that he owned number twelve, Grimmauld Place.” Wow, it must be nice to be rich enough to forget about owning a new house and fortune.

* Incidentally, don’t think that this makes Harry any less of an underdog. Quite the reverse, in fact: since he keeps forgetting about his new house and wads of cash, it’s as if they don’t exist to him, and hence they make no difference to his levels of privilege.

* Hermione keeps belittling Ron and doing him down, and reacts quite strongly when he even so much hints at losing interest in her and showing attention to another woman. Can we say “abusive relationship”, anybody?

* Katie rises to the air, “not as Ron had done, suspended comically by the ankle, but gracefully.” Sorry Ron, even people who are half-way through being murdered look better than you.

* Harry recognises the opal necklace from four years ago, but next book he won’t be able to recognise Grindelwald from the previous chapter. Once again people’s abilities vary wildly according to the demands of the plot.

* I like how Ron doesn’t think that Draco could be behind it, because Katie got the necklace in the girls’ bathroom. Yeah, sure Draco could cast an Unforgiveable Curse and plot to murder somebody, but sneaking into a girls’ bathroom? Don’t be ridiculous. Even evil has standards, after all.

* So how exactly did Malfoy get the necklace to the school in the first place? Did he conceal it somewhere outside the grounds and give it to Madam Rosmerta later?

* “‘Away?’ Harry repeated angrily.” Yeah, how dare the Headmaster go away without telling Harry. He ought to have realised that his primary duty is to attend on the Chosen One whenever the Chosen One wishes him to be present.

* Harry tells McGonagall about Draco’s trip to Borgin and Burke’s… and for some reason neglects to tell her how he overheard him boasting that he’d been given a task by the Dark Lord. Oh well, can’t have Harry presenting his case too strongly, can we, or else Malfoy might get found out and apprehended before he can advance the plot sufficiently.

* Incidentally, does Harry ever tell anybody other than Ron and Hermione what he heard on the Hogwarts Express? If it was me I’d go to Dumbledore/a responsible teacher first thing off the train and report what I heard.

* Whilst McGonagall pooh-poohs Harry’s Malfoy theory, neither she nor any other members of staff ever try to find out who the actual culprit is.

* I’m not sure why the idea of using accomplices seems so ridiculous to Hermione. Maybe it’s too cunning for the average wizard to think of.

* Ron “casually [turfs] a first-year out of one of the good armchairs by the fire”. Good to know that Gryffindor prefects all have such a fair, friendly manner. Not like that evil Malfoy kid, who went around bullying the younger students.

* Incidentally, how come Harry always knows what year people are in? Do they have little numbers on their uniforms or something?

* Malfoy’s never been one of the world’s great thinkers, says Harry, who clearly recognises a fellow simpleton when he sees one.

Comments

[sunnyskywalker]

That sounds plausible, sadly... Either way, I wonder if the teachers suspected Snape of doing that after he killed Dumbledore? Maybe in retrospect, they realized it was strange how little attention they'd paid to an obvious threat to the school, when in previous years they'd been much more concerned (and had patrols, considered closing the school, etc. as they thought appropriate for the emergency at hand). And decided that Snape must have been responsible, given how things turned out. That would make them feel even more deeply betrayed, and much less likely to consider any explanation other than Snape Was Evil All Along. Less likely to notice that hey, isn't it interesting how Headmaster Snape's actions all seem to protect the students insofar as possible, because they're just too furious over how he meddled with their minds for a whole year (and maybe longer, for all they know) and see everything he does in the worst possible light. (Must be part of another dastardly scheme...)

[dracasadiablo.livejournal.com]

I wonder if Severus and Albus were Confounding the other teachers to keep them from noticing hints to Draco's misdeeds.

I actually hope that they were confounded or magically influenced in some other way.
Because if they weren't, then only possible explanations for their behavior are:
1. They just didn't care or
2. DD told them that he's aware of the situation and that he have everything under control. And they blindly believed him.

[hwyla.livejournal.com]

Having Albus or Severus confound the teachers makes sense. After all, the Unbreakable Vow would kick in if Draco SEEMS to fail - therefore none of the failed attempts can appear to be made by Draco, otherwise Snape dies long before he can kill Albus.