10 HP Philosopher’s Stone

[chantaldormand]

Ch10 Halloween

>This is chapter explaining how Quidditch works (not) and with the troll, right? *Groans* Alright let’s get it over.

>Wizards celebrating Halloween instead of Samhain or All Hallows Eve seems odd to me.

>Considering how wizards treat Harry I would expect them to celebrate Voldemort’s Defeat Day instead of Halloween.

>Oh boy, Hogwarts has to be the most boring boarding school in the existence, if 2 eleven year olds cannot find anything more entertaining than speculating what was in a package that may be or may not be protected by a three headed dog that tried to eat them last night.

>Neville acts reasonably thus he is pathetic. Gryffindors.

> If Minerva didn’t want whole school to know that the local Gary Stu just received an expensive broom, perhaps she should just ask Harry to stay after her class and give him the blasted broom. Also who the heck paid for the professional tier broom? School? Well that explains why Dumbledore has such big problems with finding a new Defence teacher each year; Hogwarts’ budget must be in red right now. Or perhaps Dumbledore used that handy key to Potters vault without asking the said rightful owner of it? Either way sounds fishy. +1 to Crime Count

>”As he watched Potter and Weasley laughing at his misfortune, Draco slowly started to realise that some Houses at the Hogwarts are better than others.” Excerpt from first book written from Malfoys POV. Probably.

>Question for today: If Rowling wrote a book from Draco’s perspective would she A) write him like she writes Harry or B) write Passion of the Christ tier Torture Porn?

>Harry, Hermione has a point- Minerva did you a huge disservice when instead of punishing you, she gave you broom and position on sports team. The worst part? You never learn your lesson and either act as a victim or are once again rewarded for breaking rules.

>After students in the Great Hall saw Harry getting the package and Malfoy learning what is inside, I’m honestly surprised that there is no horde of crazy fans in the stadium. 

>Wood being an athlete knows how to get in Harry’s good graces: shower them in compliments.

>Wood releases a Bludger without telling Harry what they do and the cannonball crushes the chosen one’s head. Wait, sorry wrong story. +1 to Death Count

>While Chasers’ and Keeper’s jobs seem reasonable, after including 2 cannonballs that try their best to knock you off your broom I’m starting to question sanity of anyone who wants to play this game. And my hobby is bouldering climbing.

>Bludger never killed anyone at Hogwarts.

>And then Wood introduces Harry to a cheat code for God mode. First seeker to find it wins the match.

>Not only Harry’s position is the most important on the team but also it’s a prime target for fouls and Bludgers. Woe to our protagonist!

>No seriously, I’m not big on team sports, but even to me rules of this game look like they were written with Harry in mind.

>So three evenings a week Wood managed to book the field just for training Harry? None of other teams wanted to train during week or is it continuation of Dumbledore bending rules for Gryffs?

>Heh, it might be fannon, but I seem to recall Dumbledore saying something about Lily’s protection and calling Privet Drive home, yet here Harry admits that Hogwarts feels more like home than Petunia’s house.

>Harry once again stomps over Neville’s attempts of befriending and is glad that he is paired with Seamus. Poor guy, he doesn’t deserve this.

>Ron’s bruised ego uses “Nasty Comment” on Hermione. It was super effective! +1 to Spell Count for Hermione.

>While Harry doesn’t use here any adjective to describe Parvati and Lavender talking about Hermione’s waterfall display, I like to think that there was some kind of satisfaction for them. Every time I try to imagine Hermione as my roommate I get headaches.

>There are thousands of poor scared live bats in the Great Hall.

>Either Quirrell has a “Slytherin side” or Voldie spend time to coach him just how to make such over the top performance.

>Another +1 to Spell Count for Albus.

>There is dangerous monster roaming castle. Headmaster decides that sending off students to their dormitories, instead of forcing them to stay in relative safety of Great Hall, is good idea. Logic? What logic? +1 to Crime Count for endangering students. +1 to Leap of Logic

>Shame that Hogwarts’ doesn’t keep a herd of goats. They would make short work of the troll.

>So Harry the glory hound, instead of informing prefects about missing student, decides to run away during evacuation to look for the said student. You know, if Potter was in building on fire he would be the first victim of the said fire. +1 to Crime Count

>So 3.6 metres tall troll ‘slouches’ into bathroom. Just how tall are doors in this castle?

>Harry and Ron instead of attempting to lure the troll out of the bathroom and trying to outrun it, decides that engaging troll in battle is much better solution. I swear it’s like Harry wants to get triple digits in Death Count in span of just one book. +1 to Death Count.

>I know that Harry is trying to be heroic here, but how the heck he managed to jump high enough to hang from the troll’s neck??

>Harry you should be ashamed of yourself- even your sidekick managed to successfully cast spell before you! +1 to Spell Count for Ron.

>” Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart” It seems to me that Quirrell is starting to rethink his life choices. By the end of this book he will probably wonder why the heck he was wasting so much time researching the obstacle course, if 3 first years managed to beat it without any preparations.

>Hermione realises that until now she used a wrong approach to befriending other Gryffindors and decides to lie through her teeth to authority figure in order to endear herself to our Protag.

>Minerva takes 5 points for student supposedly running away from the group during evacuation, going to hunt dangerous monster and endangering 2 other students. Fast-forward a few chapters and just for being outside dormitory during curfew she will slap 150 points penalty and a trip to forest full of hungry monsters during unicorn slaying spree. And students call her fair???

>Also Minnie once again rewards Harry’s recklessness. How anyone expected him to grow up into reasonable adult I don’t know.

>Apparently Gryffindors didn’t notice their child celebrity missing. Nor 3 first years entering common room. Would they notice troll entering the room? Who knows...

>You end up liking each other after knocking out a troll, but witnessing a Dark Lord feeding on dead unicorn has no such effects. Probably not enough of troll’s stench.

Crime Count: 3

Death Count: 2

Freud Would Be Proud: 0

Leap of Logic: 1

Uncovered: 0

Spell Count: 1 for Hermione, 1 for Albus, 1 for Ron

Comments

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/who the heck paid for the professional tier broom? School?/

But whichever one it is, naturally it's not nearly as biased as Lucius Malfoy buying brooms for his son and his entire Quidditch team in COS. Because...clearly that was the only reason why Draco got onto the Quidditch team and not because he's already been described as a good flyer in this book.

/If Rowling wrote a book from Draco’s perspective would she A) write him like she writes Harry or B) write Passion of the Christ tier Torture Porn?/

Well, here is JKR's tweet about what the titles of the books would be if that were the case (https://deathtocapslock.livejournal.com/269073.html):

Draco Malfoy and the Rejected Handshake
Draco Malfoy and the Better-than-Potter's Broomstick
Draco Malfoy and Hagrid's Bloody Chicken
Draco Malfoy and the Year His Father Would Hear About
Draco Malfoy and the Inquisitorial Squad
Draco Malfoy and the Vanishing Cabinet
Draco Malfoy and the Year He Realized He Had Been a Douchebag

/after including 2 cannonballs that try their best to knock you off your broom I’m starting to question sanity of anyone who wants to play this/

What's the reason for having the bludgers in the first place? Just to distract the players? If so, why do they need to be cannonballs?

/I seem to recall Dumbledore saying something about Lily’s protection and calling Privet Drive home, yet here Harry admits that Hogwarts feels more like home than Petunia’s house/

We've discussed this in this community and, really, when it all boils down to it: either Dumbledore was making it up or 'home' is only counted as somewhere where you live with your blood relatives. Otherwise, there's no reason why Harry couldn't have stayed with the Weasleys at the Burrow or stayed at Hogwarts, because both of those places feel more like home to him. It's emphasized throughout the series that Harry never feels at home at Privet Drive; he never feels like he's welcome there or belongs there. So, why is that the only place that counts as home for the protection?

/Harry once again stomps over Neville’s attempts of befriending and is glad that he is paired with Seamus/

For someone who was alone and friendless during his years with the Dursleys, he's sure being picky about his friends. It's like the situation with Mrs. Figg: yes, the Dursleys don't seem to think too well of her and Harry could've picked up his attitude from them, but at the same time, she was the only one who was halfway nice to him.

/Headmaster decides that sending off students to their dormitories/

Including the Slytherins. Whose dormitory is in the dungeons, isn't it? Where the troll supposedly is?

/instead of informing prefects about missing student, decides to run away during evacuation to look for the said student/

This could've been a stated flaw of his: the refusal to turn to authority figures for help. The problem is that Harry never really overcomes it. The only authority figure that he turns to is Dumbledore. After Dumbledore dies, he refuses to tell McGonagall about anything that Dumbledore told him because Dumbledore said not to. He doesn't ask Bill, Remus, or any of the other members of the Order for help in finding Horcruxes in DH. Fans have pointed to the Dursleys' treatment of Harry as the reason why Harry doesn't tell anyone about the blood quill in OOTP, but the problem with that justification is that Harry doesn't grow beyond that.

/Hermione realises that until now she used a wrong approach to befriending other Gryffindors and decides to lie through her teeth/

Except that she didn't need to lie. All she had to say was "I didn't know about the troll because I was here, and Harry and Ron saved me."

/You end up liking each other after knocking out a troll, but witnessing a Dark Lord feeding on dead unicorn has no such effects/

Because Draco is the Designated Antagonist and he had the nerve to remind Harry of Dudley. Sorry, Draco.

[jana-ch.livejournal.com]

I posted this once before when we discussed JKR's alternate book titles, but here's my version:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Ron Weasley and the Broken Wand
Hermione Granger and the Time Turner
Cedric Diggory and the Tri-Wizard Tournament
Neville Longbottom and the Prisoners of Azakaban
Draco Malfoy and the Vanishing Cabinet
Severus Snape and the Final Atonement

[chantaldormand]

/ So, why is that the only place that counts as home for the protection?/

This sounds like struggle between plot and tropes; plot wise it would be good idea if as series goes harry either found a new home or managed to improve his relationship with his relatives, but we started out this as mishmash of Cinderella and a few other backgrounds/tropes so of course Harry cannot be comfortable with his relatives or live with Weasleys; he wouldn't have motivation to go to Hogwarts!

/For someone who was alone and friendless during his years with the Dursleys, he's sure being picky about his friends./

This makes me wonder if it wasn't Dudley who chased away any friends Harry could have, but his personality and attitude.

/Including the Slytherins. Whose dormitory is in the dungeons, isn't it? Where the troll supposedly is? /

I could handwave this as Jo not planning out where dormitories of other Houses are, but just splinting students 4 groups and letting them out of the Great Hall is huge mistake on Albus' part. He is supposed to be a war leader, he should know that it's tactically unsound.

/but the problem with that justification is that Harry doesn't grow beyond that./

You are right. In the first book he tries to talk with Minerva about the Stone and in CoS for some outlandish reason he comes to Lockhart for backup against the Basilisk (although he knows that Gilderoy is fraud), but after that he does his best to avoid depending on adults. After OoTP I expected him to start acting more reasonable, but nope, no luck on this front.

/Except that she didn't need to lie. All she had to say was "I didn't know about the troll because I was here, and Harry and Ron saved me." /

I saw this as Hermione trying to show boys that she can also be rebellious and pointlessly break rules so could they be her friends pls?

[sunnyskywalker]

for some outlandish reason he comes to Lockhart for backup against the Basilisk

When earlier he'd been planning to tell McGonagall! Then the boys very suddenly decide to hide in the staff wardrobe instead and "can't think" what to do, until they decide to ask Lockhart for help hours later. Very strange indeed. But then, Lockhart came in late to the staff meeting. I've wondered whether he came up behind the boys as they were talking, Confunded them to further his plan of setting them up and running away, and then put on that clueless act when he strolled into the staff room.

[chantaldormand]

...that is actually both plausible explanation and very in character for Lockhart. Huh. Who could have guessed that Jo's bad writing in this scene could be explained so well.

[sunnyskywalker]

It's unsettling when crack conspiracy theories actually turn out to sound in character and plausible. but I don't think I've found anything that rules it out, and it fits too well.

[nx74defiant.livejournal.com]

Not only should they have stayed where in the Great Hall the first thing to do is have the prefects or heads of house do a role call and make sure no one is missing!

[chantaldormand]

You are right! It's almost like person who wrote these books never had to work with children! /s
No seriously, considering that supposedly Rowling spend some time time as teacher, her school works nothing like real schools. Or public institutions for that matter!

[sunnyskywalker]

You're right--that's quite a leap Harry makes onto the troll. Accidental magic? Could all wizards be capable of super-jumping if they practiced? I have questions now!

I think McGonagall punished them extra hard for the dragon incident because she did believe Draco (she knows Hagrid), and she was furious at getting roped into covering up dragon smuggling and letting a Class XXXXX dangerous creature into the castle (because Hagrid would doubtless have gotten a very long Azkaban sentence). Which is not remotely fair school discipline, and couldn't possibly teach the children anything since they didn't know what they were really being punished for.

[chantaldormand]

The way I figured it out either Harry regularly uses accidental magic to do ridiculous physical feats or Jo is horrible at writing action scenes. Ex. a few chapters from now our scrawny hero manages to pull himself from hanging only by hands on his broom to proper siting position without any outside help. That is hard thing to pull out if you are not athletic or know proper techniques to help yourself out.
Minerva is bad at disciplining. She might be another case of teacher better suited for working in higher education than working with middle schoolers.
I think that either you are right or McGonagall truly believed that her students used those dishonourable Slytherin tactics to trick other students into breaking rules and that is unacceptable to her.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Well, one of Harry's accidental magic incidents involved finding himself on the roof (of the school gym? somewhere else?) while escaping Dudley. (Can't remember where that was mentioned.)

[chantaldormand]

PS ch2
"On the other hand, he’d gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley’s gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry’s surprise as anyone else’s, there he was sitting on the chimney. The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry’s headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he’d tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump"

I always assumed that he apparated to the roof, but who knows what Jo meant.

[sunnyskywalker]

Possible. With all the fear and adrenaline, he might not have noticed the weird feeling of apparating.

But of course with the troll, you can't apparate at Hogwarts! Except when you can. In the bathroom. I wonder whether Montague stumbled on a loophole in Hogwarts security? And for what horrible reason would the anti-apparition enchantments being weaker/non-existent on the bathrooms? (I really hope we can blame Tom for this one.)

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

>Heh, it might be fannon, but I seem to recall Dumbledore saying something about Lily’s protection and calling Privet Drive home, yet here Harry admits that Hogwarts feels more like home than Petunia’s house.

I think the reason is blood relations. Most legal systems consider blood relatives for an orphan before any other home unless the blood relations are somehow questionable or unqualified or not available. In the Potterverse, legal magic seems to have a fairly strong traditional bent, so Potters or Evanses would be preferred, closer relations over more distant relations. As long as the Dursleys are available, since Petunia is Lily's sister, no other home would do. Just my opinion.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Interesting that wizarding law would consider non-magical relatives as valid.

[chantaldormand]

I'm not so sure that WW law consider non-magical relatives as valid, after all it was Albus who placed Harry at Privet Drive #4 and he is not know for respecting the letter of law.

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

That does sound like something the WW wouldn't consider. They don't even care much for Squibs, giving them close to non-person status. Maybe it's from the type of magic Lily (accidentally?) invoked being so old. Nearly-Headless Nick, iirc, mentioned interacting with Muggles back in his day, the impression given was that this was before the Statute of Secrecy. If the magic pre-dates the SofS, then maybe the magic itself supercedes the WW's laws.