04 HP Chamber of Secrets
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deathtocapslockCh4 At Flourish and Blotts
>I’m not a neat freak, but life at Burrow sounds like a nightmare.
>Why do Weasleys keep the ghoul? It’s noisy and doesn’t seem to be some kind of pet. I would understand it, if the family lacked resources/money/time to deal with the pest, but in DH this thing is still there!
>What are ghouls in Potterverse? Are they undead or djins? Perhaps something completely different?
>Weasley parenting style: suspicious explosions coming from bedroom of our mean-spirited sons? Ignore it!
>The way Weasley parents act around Harry is downright creepy.
>Yes Arthur, it’s fascinating that those poor muggles managed to come up with less convoluted ways of dealing with their problems, than people who have power to break laws of universe.
>At this point Ginny’s crush is still kind of cute and awkward. I swear, until we met sassy OotP Ginny and heard what Ginny thinks about Harry in HBP, I had nothing against this character.
>Harry not being interested in Ginny at this point feels natural, but if Jo wanted them to end up together so badly, she should start working on their relationship in either this book or the next one.
>Why I am not surprised that Albus already knows Harry is mooching off Weasleys.
>I like to think that Albus made a deal with Gilderoy: in exchange for being paid in peanuts for his work at Hogwarts, Lockhart can shamelessly extort students and promote his books.
>What is with wizards and alliteration? At first things like Godrick Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw were cute but titles of Lockhart’s books are way overboard. “Travels with Trolls”? “Break with a Banshee”?
>Damn, narrative sounds passive-aggressive about Percy being prepared for the day before he eats breakfast. What, did Jo woke up on the wrong side of bed that day?
>I hope that Percy is wearing shirt under his sweater vest.
>Poor Errol, not only he is forced to work when he is clearly in no condition to do so, but now people are trying to sit on him. Instead of trying to forcefully free House Elves, Hermione should start campaign against animal abuse. +1 to Crime Count
>Kids at Hogwarts are learning how to break laws of universe, yet here Ron is horrified that anyone could bother with schoolwork during holidays. Only Rowling could make learning magic sound tedious.
>So it has been about week from Harry’s rescue and they are getting letter from Hermione now. She probably spend last week being anxious about what was happening to her friend and about what Ron might do to get to Harry. And wizarding way of life is somehow superior?
>On additional note: after getting Hermione’s letter, boys do not bother sending reply via Hedwig. With friends like these, I see ulcers in Hermione’s future.
>Alert! Alert! Continuity failure spotted: Harry claims that he never met Charlie but knew that he is in Romania. While in PS Harry never talked with Charlie, he certainly met him.
>Why Weasleys need 5 sets of books? If kids had to take them to classroom you need only 4 sets: Percy, Ginny, Ron and twins. If not you could easily get away with one or two sets of books. +1 to Leap of Logic
>Our eternally suffering hero angsts over having pile of gold, yet he doesn’t decide to, let’s say propose sharing set of Lockhart books with Ron? Harry could buy three or four and Ron could buy the rest. It’s not like either of them plan to read them.
>During breakfast each person ate six bacon sandwiches... How the hell wizards can move in any other fashion than rolling? That has to be around 2000 calories!
>In the last chapter Molly knew that something was wrong with Harry’s home situation since he wasn’t responding to Ron’s letters and one of her sons told her that Harry’s family was starving Harry. In this chapter Molly frets about having to tell Harry’s relatives that Weasley’s lost their nephew. It’s like in between chapters somebody erased some memories from her brain.
>How Harry is supposed to walk out of the right fireplace, if he is also supposed to keep his eyes closed?
>Why Harry cannot simply specify address? Instead of “Diagon Alley” say “Leaky Caldron”? I smell authorial shenanigans… +1 to Leap of Logic
>”He fell, face forward, onto cold stone and felt the bridge of his glasses snap.” I see Jo never had even seen a pair of broken glasses.
>Soooo Harry managed to Floo into empty shop just like that, you say? Somewhere out there, there is a muggleborn who just started to plan their future career as Phantom Thief.
>Harry landed in the same shop that bankrupted directors of B horror movies shop for movie props.
>*Snickers* After fussing that he can’t be seen by his rival in such bad shape, Harry hides in closet to observe Draco. +1 FWBP
>Aww; Draco also is thinking about Harry. Heck, what he says matches almost exactly what I said during PS commentary. +1 FWBP
>For all Draco’s whining he doesn’t sound like spoiled brat. I do however recall certain kid being offended over his abusive relatives daring to not celebrate his birthday
>I must admit Lucius’ approach here is awkward. From the start he approaches Borgin from lower negotiation position by admitting that Ministry is sniffing around his mansion. That is not what a sly person would do when dealing with a salesman.
>Ouch, Draco had to really get on Lucius’ bad side. An aristocrat admonishing his son in presence of salesman? That would be embarrassing for both son AND father. Not to mention it once again lowers Lucius’ negotiation position.
>Knockturn Alley sounds like something middle class middle-aged woman would come up with when thinking about Black Market.
>I was confused as to what Jo meant by “flesh eating slug repellent” so I decided to borrow my sister’s translated version. I assume the guy who was translating this book also was confused, because he side-stepped the whole issue by using (and here is loose translation) “effective product for slugs”. Well, I suppose that it certainly is one way of dealing with problems.
>Hagrid is angry at Durslays yet not at Dobby who engineered the whole situation...
>Word “galloping” to describe Molly combined with swinging handbag and dragging Ginny is interesting choice on Rowling’s part.
>+1 to the Spell Count for Arthur
>”So you don’t think I’m a match for Lucius Malfoy?” Nope, you are not. You are relatively low ranking ministry official, who either cannot manage his finances or is paid in peanuts and who has no friends in high places. Lucius on the other hand is rich aristocrat who knows ins and outs of the Ministry. Trying to go after him without smart plan is bound to end in catastrophe and it would if it wasn’t for Plot Armour. +1 to Leap of Logic
>In ranking of sheer dread, dentist are just after tax collectors, yet here they are treated like harmless kittens. If anyone was doubting Rowlings anti-establishment attitude, here you have proof.
>Oh gods, I’m not in the room with Arthur and I’m getting “Psycho Killer” vibe from his conversation with Grangers.
>Ah, I see that Jo decided to ramp up the Weasleys-are-very-poor theme so Harry can feel worse about his fortune. Strange that he doesn’t think that he should buy some kind of gift for Ron’s parents for their hospitality. Nor he feels bad for eating his way through their food supply during his stay
>Ok, I have to ask: how Harry got to his vault? In PS goblins were making fuss over showing vault key to get to the vault. Normally I wouldn’t make issue of that, but the last time we saw the key, it was handled by Hagrid with no mention of it being given to Harry.
>I see that WW has no laws against selling fireworks to minors. +1 to Crime Count
>Bah, for all Ron’s mocking, “Prefects Who Gained Power” seems like a book he should be interested in, after all in the last book the mirror showed us that he could be quite ambitious.
>I never understood why Molly dragged her whole family for school shopping. Most of the things on the list could be bought quicker and more efficient by one organised person. Wand and clothes could be bought at later date, when there are less people in the Alley.
>That book sale reminds me of 50 Shades of Grey sale I once stumbled upon. The Horrors.
>IMHO the most interesting characters are “writer” characters. They can tell you so much about the author. As such I find it bizarre when both narrative and male characters scoff at female characters fangirling over Lockhart. It’s like Rowling never had favourite author whom she admired not because of their looks, but because of their skill as author.
>No seriously, Rowling treats all “writer” type characters in very peculiar way. We have a fraud/plagiarist (Lockhart), a slanderer (Rita), insane cryptoids fans (Lovegoods), and old lady whose corpse was turned into snake fleshlight. Are you trying to say something Jo?
>Question to you guys: What is your favourite “writer” type character?
>Either Harry is attracted to males or he has very serve case of ADHD. No normal straight male notices so many details about other males. +1 FWBP
>In alternative universe, upon being grabbed by Lockhart the more trollish Harry starts to accuse Lockhart of being paedophile.
>Damn, Lockhart knows his stuff when it comes to PR. Harry definitely should take pointers from him. Heck, with little luck he might avoid half of GoF/OotP drama if he listened.
>”’You have these’[...]’I’ll buy my own-‘” Meanwhile in mirror world where Harry is not faux charitable guy he discovers joys of handsome possibly possessed magical objects much earlier. +1 to FBWP
>I must admit, I always wondered why Arthur takes part in raids. If anything he should be called when Aurors find something suspicious.
>Once again Lucius is written to be sly character by author who wouldn’t know sly, if it snaked behind her and stabbed her. There are so many ways to plant the Diary on one of Weasley children yet Lucius picks one of the most obvious.
>Now that I think about it, Percy would be much better target for both Lucius and Tom.
>Still, Lucius in this book is way more cunning than Voldie at any point of the series.
>I hope this fight ends up in Prophet!
>”Yeh should’ve ignored him, Arthur,’” said the man who would be the first to join brawl, if Lucius was badmouthing Dumbledore.
>Also Hagrid once again talks about bad blood. Considering his heritage, he probably should stay silent.
>Poor Grangers. First they had to suffer PsychoKiller!Arthur, now this brawl over few childish insults. Although they probably should get used to this, after all in a few more years of brainwashing their own daughter will go full Men in Black on them.
Crime Count: 2
Death Count: 0
Freud Would Be Proud: 4
Leap of Logic: 3
Uncovered: 0
Spell Count: Arthur:1
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no subject
Date: 2018-09-08 03:56 am (UTC)In the interest of fairness, my dentist is really nice and my one filling didn't hurt at all. Now, if you wanted to talk about orthodontists, that might be another story. I racked up a lot of orthodontic work, and damn, it hurt.
Oddly enough, I will defend Arthur going on raids on the grounds that it really happens. I know a state employee whose actual job used to be managing an evidence locker, but he also went on raids when they needed an extra hand. They just marked it down as "working out of class." Of course, he was a highly capable employee, whereas Arthur doesn't know the first thing about the stuff he's meant to be raiding for...
I like to think that Lucius is utterly lacking in cunning when talking to Borgin because they are secretly BFF from school or something. Of course Mater and Pater Malfoy disapproved of associating too closely with those in trade, probably because the Malfoys are obviously trying too hard, but Lucius and Nofirstname Borgin just got on so well that they coudn't help being chums. For canon support, Lucius also genuinely seems to be friends with Severus, and look at his background. Teen Lucius probably hung out with all the working-class kids and imitated their slang and listened to Muggle rock 'n roll. And now his son knows about helicopters and ballet. So rebellious! (I know, Jo probably didn't think this out, but it lets us imagine the young DEs realizing exactly what they signed up for getting drunk and asking Severus to play that Bohemian Rhapsody record again, all resolutely pretending that it's just a ridiculous Muggle song and there is no deeper meaning whatsoever when they all belt out the "LET ME GO!" lines really loud.)
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Date: 2018-09-08 08:15 pm (UTC)Dentists and doctors do not phase me, but statistically wise at least few muggleborn kids at Hogwarts should be scared of dentists. If Arthur's stay at st. Mungo is anything to go off, then pureblood students should be terrified of concept of muggle dental care.
Lucius being rebellious aristocrat kid who rubs his elbows with working class kids is nice image, but after Lucius leaves Borgins says "Good day yourself, Mister Malfoy, and if the stories are true, you haven't sold me half of what's hidden in your manor..." so I don't think they are on very friendly terms.
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Date: 2018-09-09 01:55 am (UTC)Well, even friends can needle each other, and everyone in the Potterverse seems to needle their friends in pretty nasty tones every other day, so while it's canonically unlikely, we can still pretend ;-)
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Date: 2018-09-09 11:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-09 11:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-28 08:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-08 11:54 am (UTC)I totally agree about the Weasleys and food. Are they poor, Jo, or aren't they? Because I can tell her right now that six bacon sandwiches each for at least eight people does not come cheap!
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Date: 2018-09-10 06:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-10 08:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-10 09:05 pm (UTC)It might sound strange me talking about science while analysing fantasy setting, but most fantasy settings have some kind rules that limit their magic users. Potterverse wizards can copy matter without any kind of payment. This means they can create energy and matter out of nothing. This is insane.
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Date: 2018-09-11 09:36 am (UTC)I think it makes sense to compare fantasy settings like this to science, because no matter how much she has changed the world, the story is still set in this world. Science and physics and all that should probably have been taken into account.
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Date: 2018-09-11 10:33 am (UTC)I prefer to ignore completely artificial things or/and to create some limitations. For instance, food can be multiplied by factor of 2 or 3, but not more.
After all, we can pretend painted sea in theatre is real, but not that f.e. a painted city is a real forest. Every suspension of disbelief has its limits.
Also, in DH they keep paying for food they 'steal' / take without permission. So they could not take food once and then keep multiplying it to last months or even days, according to my memory.
When JKR contradicts herself, the more likely explanation is the one to choose.
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Date: 2018-09-11 12:08 pm (UTC)Even if you multiply food by 3 in one go, what stops you from redoing the spell in next ten minutes? With artefacts crafted by wizards or goblins it could be some security measure placed on the object or the spell doesn't copy any enchantments placed onto object thus making it pointless to do so. But with normal objects? You can potentially flood the market and destroy economy :P
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Date: 2018-09-11 01:53 pm (UTC)http://www.redhen-publications.com/poverty.html
Ctrl+F and then write "food" to find the relevant parts.
// With artefacts crafted by wizards or goblins it could be some security measure placed on the object or the spell doesn't copy any enchantments placed onto object thus making it pointless to do so.
I do not think it takes security enchantments, but rather see multiplication spells as simply not working on 'copying' advanced magic of original objects.
Otherwise, there is the absurd situation of every 5th year at Hogwarts potentially copying 100 times or more relics like Gryffindor's sword or the Sorting Hat.
I also do not think a wizard can 'copy' / multiply a huge non magical object like a building either.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-13 01:09 am (UTC)I wonder what the wizarding commentary on the Biblical story of the loaves and fishes is like. Their theology must have diverged from most Muggle sects in interesting ways. I can totally understand how that wouldn't fit into the story and why Jo wouldn't want to open that can of worms, but I'm still curious!
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Date: 2018-09-13 06:12 am (UTC)https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6355336/1/The-Clear-Cut
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Date: 2018-09-17 01:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-15 12:52 pm (UTC)I've been meaning to write a post about religion in HPverse, but need to do much more research and spend some time puzzling things out. Sadly I don't have time right now for this :P
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Date: 2018-09-15 07:21 pm (UTC)“Making the Potterverse completely secular was one of the smartest moves JKR made.”
Discuss.
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Date: 2018-09-23 07:48 pm (UTC)Dealing with the religious issue is something I don't think JKR could handle. She isn't interested in going beyond the surface. And when she does it is a mess.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-25 04:20 pm (UTC)But it's clear that on unconscious level Jo wrote a lot of religious motives and symbols into the series. I don't have problems with authors writing religious motives into their books per say, but messages JKR picks are very ugly and do not really fit into books for children.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-10 09:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-08 06:30 pm (UTC)Alternative theory: DD knew Gilderoy was a fraud and decided to do WW a favor by making sure something (probably murderous or at least disabling) happened to Gilderoy before the school year was over because of Tom's curse.
As an additional plus, all Hogwarts students were bound to get a lesson "not all that glitters is gold".
>What is with wizards and alliteration? At first things like Godrick Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw were cute but titles of Lockhart’s books are way overboard. “Travels with Trolls”? “Break with a Banshee”?
In another universe, the titles would be a subtle hint regarding Gilderoy's character and abilities.
In JKR's world, wizards seem to lack a developed literary culture (since literature isn't taught at Hogwarts) and view alliteration as a sign of sofistication and/or humor.
>Kids at Hogwarts are learning how to break laws of universe, yet here Ron is horrified that anyone could bother with schoolwork during holidays. Only Rowling could make learning magic sound tedious.
You know, I think here JKR is true to life. Even otherwise dedicated students may want to rest during holidays, and Ron is hardly one of them.
Just like we use around 2000 words in daily life but language is much richer, most wizards use only a few spells in everyday lives. Hogwarts teaches many things they will never use.
>I was confused as to what Jo meant by “flesh eating slug repellent” so I decided to borrow my sister’s translated version.
May I ask, in which language was that translated version?
Is English a foreign language for you too?
>”So you don’t think I’m a match for Lucius Malfoy?” Nope, you are not. You are relatively low ranking ministry official, who either cannot manage his finances or is paid in peanuts and who has no friends in high places. Lucius on the other hand is rich aristocrat who knows ins and outs of the Ministry.
To be fair, Arthur has DD who controls the Ministry, while Lucius only tries to manipulate people pretty much owned by DD. The Minister of Magic is still eating out of DD's hand, asking him for advice.
>Also Hagrid once again talks about bad blood. Considering his heritage, he probably should stay silent.
Logically, yes. However, reactions to discrimination and/or feelings of inferiority aren't always logical. If "bad blood" bothers Hagrid, he may be subconsciously trying to fight the rhetoric by turning it against the same people discriminating against him.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-08 08:00 pm (UTC)All while students fail their OWLS and NEWTS. Albus is headmaster of school so his priority should be students education not hunting down frauds. What is even worse Albus has other positions he could use to unmask Lockhart in way that is less harmful towards society.
I think that alliteration thing is children books' trope, but I think we encounter it even once the series starts to be "mature".
/You know, I think here JKR is true to life. Even otherwise dedicated students may want to rest during holidays, and Ron is hardly one of them. /
Yeah, but a good teacher or supporting parents can easily encourage their children to develop their more scholarly interests during their free time. Just look at twins; while Ron is complaining about homework they are experimenting with potions.
Not to mention Harry who grew among muggles. During chapters 5-7 PS Harry is fascinated by magic and goes as far as reading his textbooks during summer, then he is sorted into Gryffindor and looses all interest in the new world he just stepped into.
Sure Hogwarts have horrible education methods, but even that cannot explain Harry's apathy towards learning magic.
/Is English a foreign language for you too? /
Yeah, English isn't my native language. I avoid revealing too much details about myself on internet, because people tend to make assumptions about myself and my work. It's quite freeing to write anonymously :)
/To be fair, Arthur has DD who controls the Ministry, while Lucius only tries to manipulate people pretty much owned by DD. The Minister of Magic is still eating out of DD's hand, asking him for advice. /
Honestly from their interactions I've got feeling that it's Albus who uses Arthur and I doubt that pre-OotP Albus would help Arthur deal with Lucius. Too much potential political backlash.
/Logically, yes. However, reactions to discrimination and/or feelings of inferiority aren't always logical. If "bad blood" bothers Hagrid, he may be subconsciously trying to fight the rhetoric by turning it against the same people discriminating against him. /
I know how this works, but as The Bard wrote "The lady doth protest too much, methinks". The louder you protest, the more people are going to wonder. With Hagrids' looks it's even worse. :)
no subject
Date: 2018-09-09 02:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-09 11:50 am (UTC)Knowing Hagrid, we may need a coin flip and do through analyse of Flesh Eating Slugs being cute pets from his perspective.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-09 03:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-10 01:28 pm (UTC)Yes, I don't understand why, if Harry x Ginny was endgame from the beginning, JKR didn't set it up earlier. Yeah, okay, Harry's only twelve here and she wanted to write about Harry's crush on Cho in Book Four and Five, but Ginny still could've been there as a friend. It's not just that he doesn't have romantic feelings for Ginny until Book Six, it's that he doesn't notice her at all. She's barely around in Book Four and is mostly unheard of in Book Three. She's not really part of the Trio at all. This is the book where Harry finally gets to really meet Ginny, but after he rescues her from Tom, she's put on the back burner until HBP.
/Instead of trying to forcefully free House Elves, Hermione should start campaign against animal abuse/
Or abuse against Muggles, especially considering that her parents are Muggles. She sees Winky's treatment in GOF and starts SPEW, but seeing the Roberts family being attacked by Death Eaters apparently isn't enough to make her start an organization to protect Muggles.
/Kids at Hogwarts are learning how to break laws of universe, yet here Ron is horrified that anyone could bother with schoolwork during holidays. Only Rowling could make learning magic sound tedious/
I think that this is just meant to be another parody/echo of the real world. Ron doesn't like homework, because what kid wants homework?
/It’s like in between chapters somebody erased some memories from her brain/
And in between books as well, considering that we never hear of Molly or Arthur trying to get Harry removed from the Dursleys after they learn how they treat him.
/An aristocrat admonishing his son in presence of salesman?/
But Draco is so much worse than Dudley, guys. Can't you see Vernon reprimanding Dudley about his grades in public?
/I see that Jo decided to ramp up the Weasleys-are-very-poor theme so Harry can feel worse about his fortune. Strange that he doesn’t think that he should buy some kind of gift for Ron’s parents for their hospitality/
He doesn't buy gifts for Hermione in return for her gifts, either. The one time that he does give away money, it's the prize money in GOF and he gives it to the Weasley twins so that they can start a joke shop.
/Yeh should’ve ignored him, Arthur,’” said the man who would be the first to join brawl, if Lucius was badmouthing Dumbledore/
And likely hex Draco as well, given what he did to Dudley. In fact, that's one point that Arthur has over Hagrid: he attacked Lucius, but at least he didn't go after Lucius's child.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-15 01:05 pm (UTC)That might be bit too radical for wizards, but I can see using baby steps to convince them to treat animals better. Start with information campaign where you show them that well treated owl=better postal service and once that works continue with other small project. It probably would take at least decade to if no more to instil more civilised standards of treating animals, but it would be much more successful than Hermione's charge-at-castle-in-leather-armor style of political activism.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-15 07:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-15 08:30 pm (UTC)Even if purebloods are 50% of the British wizarding population, a smart campaigns and targetting the right people in right way could shorten time needed for social change.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-15 09:44 pm (UTC)If a lot of muggleborns, with their more modern ideas, suddenly become highly influential in wizarding society after the Vold Wars, changes will doubtless come faster—say, in fifty years (two generations) instead of ninety. But personally I don’t see that much muggleborn influence coming on. Hermione is the only muggleborn from Harry’s year who looks to be at all influential, and she has cut herself off from muggle society, and is entirely concerned with magical creatures, not ordinary, boring, non-magical animals.
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Date: 2018-09-15 09:56 pm (UTC)Still, I believe wizards would have easier time changing the way their treat normal animals than the way they treat muggles. After all animal like owls and cats can be very useful to them.
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Date: 2018-09-15 10:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-17 01:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-09-20 06:25 pm (UTC)Does he ever buy any birthday or christmas gifts for anyone? Even though he wouldn't be able to shop during the holidays because of the Dursley's, he'd still have the opportunity to buy things once a year at Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade while at school or even sending away for things by owl post. It never really ocurred to me before that I don't think we ever see him shopping with anyone else in mind, though we're often told of gifts that he's received from his friends.
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Date: 2018-09-23 07:55 pm (UTC)So either they have blind trust in DD or DD is tampering with them.
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Date: 2018-09-20 07:03 pm (UTC)Lucius straight up refuses to buy him what he wants, and publicly comments about his 'failed' grade where he came in second behind Hermione. This is something you would never see with Vernon and Dudley.
You make a good point about Lucius, he does seem to be hilariously bad at being sly.