CoS chapter 4

[ellecain.livejournal.com]

*Life at The Burrow was as different as possible from life at Privet Drive.. Because wizard houses are just inherently more interesting.

*Ingenious really, how many ways Muggles have found of getting along without magic.
You think they'd have died out by now without it. What's that? Survival of the fittest? No clue what you're talking about, Harry.

*Ginny seemed very prone to knocking things about whenever Harry entered a room. Well, that explains Tonks being so clumsy in OOtP.

*Ginny's blushing with her face "glowing like the setting sun". In future books the only time that will happen is when she furiously unleashes her Supercool Powers against anybody who dares contradict Harry.

*Dumbledore already knows Harry's at the Burrow. Doesn't miss a trick, that man. Yep, Fake!Moody's gonna have a hard time putting one past him!

*Because the new DADA teacher assigned all of Lockhart's books it's clear she must be a witch. And a fan of Lockhart. The books couldn't be assigned because they, y'know, actually have some value related to DADA.

*Molly expects they'll have to get Ginny's things second-hand. Funny how, despite the kids leaving home regularly, earning for themselves, and the nest becoming smaller, the Weasleys' financial situation never seems to improve.

*Percy wearing a knitted tank top? OMG Muggle clothes? In the house, in front of Molly? No wonder the family hates him.

*Hermione sends a prim reply to Ron's letter, asking him how Harry is, and not to do anything illegal so as not to get Harry into trouble. It's things like this that convince me of the argument that Ron and Hermione really have nothing in common except their devotion to Harry.

*Percy stays shut up in his room all the time. This is because he's writing letters to Penny btw, not because he already disassociated himself from the rest of family.

*Fred wonders what Percy does in there, no doubt imagining Percy practicing his signature over and over. And he also comments on how Percy didn't gloat about his 12 OWLs at all: a wise move, seeing as how he'd have to face the twins' wrath if he had done so.

*Harry says the Dursleys would think it an excellent joke if he got lost in a chimney. OMG they're so evil. Not like Fred and George who thought Montague getting lost the Cabinet was hilarious.

*Mwahaha! Harry sitting in a closet in Borgin and Burkes! Textual evidence that Harry hasn't come to terms with his attraction to the Dark Arts.

*How did Lucius Malfoy know that Hermione beat Draco in every exam? I doubt he keeps track over which students are smarter than Draco. Has Snape been giving reports (as someone suggested) to drive a wedge between father and son?

*Draco Fans: Aww, poor widdle Draco, he gets no lovin from his Daddy....
Lucius Fans: He's training the future Malfoy heir! And he's lookin mighty fine while he does it!
I still don't get why Lucius is selling all his Dark Arts stuff, what with his great influence in the Ministry. And haggling? Pureblood aristocrats haggle (over illicit potions, no less)?

* So I've heard arguments that the emphasis on "mister" and "manor" in Borgin's sneering speech suggests that the Malfoy's are really not that rich, and the manor is just a done-up version of Grimmauld Place. Lucius just got up in the ranks through friendship with the likes of Fudge, and his money wasn't enough to get him out of Azkaban was it?

*Hermione's parents come to Diagon Alley in the hope of sharing their daughter's magical life. Don't waste your time Mr. and Mrs. Granger.
You won't be seeing much of her, now she's rejecting the Muggle world and trying to carve a place for herself among the Weasley household.

*'Course he's very ambitious Percy. Not like the rest of the family. Ron seeing glory in the Mirror of Erised, the twins putting in hard effort into the joke shop, is different. Percy's ambition is not like the rest of family at all.

*Lockhart shows off his media management skills pulling Harry into the limelight. That's probably why Dumbledore hired him. That, and he wanted to induce Snape to wash his hair....

*Ginny tells Malfoy to leave Harry alone. OMG, how sassy. How brave of her to stand up for her man! Of course anytime Pansy pipes up in defense of Malfoy, she's just being sycophantic and vapid and brainless.

*Both Lucius and Draco make snarky comments about the Weasleys' poverty. Arthur and Lucius exchange stiff insults about what exactly disgraces a wizard. Then they proceed to disgrace themselves utterly by getting into a "display of Muggle dueling".
Ironically, the Grangers are the only adults with any dignity in this chapter.

*Lucius gets hit with an Encyclopedia of Toadstools. Remind me to put up my essay proving this all foreshadowing to Lucius' escape from Azkaban using poisonous mushrooms.

*Hagrid gives his speech about the Malfoys having Bad Blood. You know, because he has no skeletons in his ancestral closet.

*How come all the information about blood prejudice we get is from Hagrid? Somebody suggested that Hagrid is very conscious about his own Giant blood, and therefore sensitive to all blood prejudice in general. So to downplay the fact that he's ashamed of his own bloodline, he's always hitting out at others.

*Funnily enough, this brings to mind many slash-versus-het arguments. I love how fandom has its own ways of discrimination. Life imitates Art?

*The Grangers are shaking with fright. It's a wonder that they let their child go to the WW for half the year; they must have noticed the hostility from Lucius Malfoy. But remember, they're very supportive parents. Not negligent at all.