PS Chapter Thirteen: "Nicholas Flamel"

[for-diddled.livejournal.com]

* The trio look for mentions of Nicholas Flamel by “skimming through books”, because apparently wizarding publishers still haven't invented the index.

* I’m not sure why Harry would end up tired out after quidditch training, he spends most of the game sitting on his broom looking around.

* I do kind of miss the carefree early books where a potentially biased quidditch referee was treated as the height of evil. Although part of me suspects that JKR so stunted her characters than even in Book VII everybody would be freaking out about Snape giving unfair penalties to Hufflepuff.

* Why am I not surprised that Hermione only ever gets beaten at a board game with no wider plot or characterisation relevance?

* Gryffindor have no reserve seeker, because only wimps display common sense.

* Malfoy’s been looking for someone to practise his new curse on, just like Harry in HBP.

* Harry, Ron and Hermione are all so stupid they can’t find out who Flamel is unless somebody literally hands them the answer written on a piece of paper.

* Still, the foreshadowing with the chocolate frog card on the Hogwarts Express is quite good, so points for that.

* Less good is the way in which Hermione completely forgets about how she’s recently read about Nicholas Flamel, before suddenly remembering now that the plot requires her to deliver a bit of expository dialogue on the matter.

* Harry’s American doppelgänger has every reason to be confused here, seeing as how there’s no such thing as a Sorcerer’s Stone.

* “‘And no wonder we couldn’t find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry,’ said Ron. ‘He’s not exactly recent if he’s six hundred and sixty-five, is he?’” Well… no, but I’d still expect his name and work to come up occasionally when discussing younger wizards who’ve built upon his work on alchemy. Kind of like how I’d expect Charles Darwin to be mentioned in a textbook on modern biology.

* As the big match commences, the narrative voice gets a brief attack of vertigo and falls off Harry’s broomstick onto the stands where Ron and Hermione are sitting.

* “‘The whole school’s out there!’ said Fred Weasley, peering out of the door.” I’m not sure why they wouldn’t be; it’s not like there’s much else to do as a Hogwarts student.

* Oh, that biased meanie Snape, penalising Gryffindor just for lobbing bludgers at him!

* This quidditch game seems a little… anticlimactic. “The trio felt a prickle of anxiety every time they thought about Snape’s sudden, sinister desire to be a referee. This would put Snape in an ideal position to make an attempt on Harry’s life. Ron and Hermione learnt extra spells to defend their friend, but at their last parting all three knew that this might be the last time they ever met alive. Then the match started. Snape gave Gryffindor a couple of fouls and Harry caught the snitch. The end.”

* I’m not sure why Snape wanted to meet in the Forbidden Forest, given that he lives in a castle chock-full of abandoned classrooms, hidden passages and assorted secret hiding-places. Maybe it’s just the Slytherin love of drama shining through.

* Fred and George celebrate their victory in true Gryffindor style, with a bit of petty theft for the kitchens.

Comments

[sunnyskywalker]

apparently wizarding publishers still haven't invented the index

That, or the kids just don't know what indexes are because Dumbledore has forbidden Madame Pince from offering library research skills orientation classes. Because of, er, budget and scheduling concerns, yes, that's it. Nothing at all to do with concerns about what might happen if the wizarding world ever learned to ask questions and research properly.

I’m not sure why Snape wanted to meet in the Forbidden Forest, given that he lives in a castle chock-full of abandoned classrooms, hidden passages and assorted secret hiding-places.

Because it would be super-awkward to arrange a secret meeting only to have it interrupted by horny teenagers looking for a private room? Or the Twins, who currently have the Map and are probably responsible for a lot of "strange" goings-on. Or Peeves. I bet the staff all hold unofficial meetings in the Forbidden Forest. It's safer and quieter.

[jana-ch.livejournal.com]

Better yet, at the Hog’s Head. Unofficial meetings plus beer.

Or if he doesn’t want Aberforth eavesdropping, Snape could transfigure their robes and Apparate Quirrel to his local in Manchester. Better beer, no one reporting back to the headmaster, and a few grizzled muggle toughs (who’ve known “Toby’s boy” forever) sitting around looking threatening.

Nah, Sev wouldn’t take a possible Death Eater to his local, but I’m sure our Working-Class Hero knows plenty of other places Quirrelmort would find sufficiently revolting.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/Gryffindor have no reserve seeker, because only wimps display common sense./

Or because if they did have a reserve seeker, then it wouldn’t be a big deal that Harry wasn’t able to play.

/Malfoy’s been looking for someone to practise his new curse on, just like Harry in HBP./

Nice catch!

/Oh, that biased meanie Snape, penalising Gryffindor just for lobbing bludgers at him!/

Apparently, attacking non-players during a game isn’t and shouldn’t be a big deal. This will come up again later when Ginny attacks Zacharias Smith for his commentary.

[jana-ch.livejournal.com]

Physically attacking people is brave. It’s calling names and making snarky comments that’s eeeeevil.

[sunnyskywalker]

He probably has a whole mental rolodex of clandestine meeting places! And places that appear to be clandestine but aren't (for when he needs a third party to overhear something), and places that appear not to be clandestine but actually are/can be made so...

[hwyla.livejournal.com]

And worse - we now know that Snape had invented Muffilato back when he was 15-16 yrs old.

There's no reason (except plot) that Harry didn't hear mere buzzing when he followed Snape and Quirrel into the forest. Even if Snape had cast it just to ensure the Centaurs didn't overhear.

[sunnyskywalker]

I guess he hadn't invented it when he was 15 until HBP. Series really mess with linear time like that when the author doesn't patch the plot holes that come from thinking up things later that ought to have changed things earlier. Which I think is inevitable, because you just can't have every last detail worked out perfectly before you've finished writing, but some are better than others at patching...

So, for the Watsonian explanation, I guess that leaves us with (a) carelessness, maybe due to his being out of practice at the spying thing or maybe he's just having an off day, or (b) setup. There are enough setups and conspiracies as it is, so I'll go with (a). No one's on the ball every second!

[hwyla.livejournal.com]

I don't know about that. Supposedly bk2 was originally going to have part of HBP in it originally - until she decided it gave too much away. Now whether or not that included the potions book, who knows?

I'm afraid that I really think it was all more about Harry needed to be able to eavesdrop throughout the series - until HARRY was beginning to need an anti-eavesdropping spell. I'm just glad she gave it Snape instead of having Hermione find it in the library.

However, JKR knew from the beginning that Snape was the spy. Surely a spy would have need of a spell for speaking privately? It really should have been developed all along.

[hwyla.livejournal.com]

I suppose we can excuse all the times Harry and Ron called Snape 'greasy git' and amend the evil name calling to only be evil when the person can hear you?

However, what does that make the Marauders who called Sev 'Snivelus' to his face? Somehow, I think even name calling is 'brave' if you're a Gryffindor. And Harry's 'snark' at the Dursleys is considered brave.

[jana-ch.livejournal.com]

You’re right, the rule doesn’t hold. There is only one iron-clad moral rule in the Potterverse: IOIAGDI

[nx74defiant.livejournal.com]

library research skills orientation classes

Another thing to add to the list of things Hogwarts should teach but doesn't/