This is my Favorite Chapter in my favorite HP book and the favorite scene in HP movies. Yay!
*Harry sneaks into the Chamber with his wand out—but don’t worry, if he sees the snake he’ll shut his eyes really fast. Or he would, if he wouldn’t already be frozen by then, maybe. After closing his eyes I guess he plans to be pierced by its sword-like venomous fangs after half-a-minute chase, in which Harry will wisely keep his eyes shut. Hey, at least he won’t die after looking in the serpent’s eyes like Mourning Myrtle. Sounds like a good plan to me. May be it would be even better to purposefully look into the water on the floor, so that in the worst case Harry would be petrified like Filch’s cat. For some reason basilisk doesn’t seem to be very eager to eat its petrified victims. I suppose the snake isn’t against the idea, but imo the chance to be ignored in the petrified state is higher than when the person is running away. Then Ron would tell somebody and Harry would be rescued.
*Slytherin looks monkey-like. As in, less than human. What a shock. Salazar apparently was ancient [how old was he when he died?] and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard. I am nitpicking here, but the words “thin beard” reminded me of Dumbledore’s bushy one [this is so in my head & the movies, can’t find evidence in the books. In ch. 6 of HP & SS his Chocolate Frog’s picture is described thus “flowing, silver hair, beard and mustache”]. And also of “Beatrice: He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man:-William Shakespeare - Excerpt from 'Much Ado About Nothing' – Act 2, Scene I”
*Ginny’s lying under the statue. We know something is wrong because while her red hair is still flaming, it is not dancing. The picture of Ginny with her “flaming-red hair” and “white as marble” face, lying between the feet of the ancient Slytherin, brings an association of rape for me.
*I can see what everyone means about Harry having a super-sensitive instinct about people. He figured out Tom Riddle was evil the moment Tom finally told him in no uncertain terms that he was evil. You are too hard on the boy, sistermagpie. Riddle wasn't attacking Harry from the beginning and Tom's voice was soft. Everybody knows that bad guys don't behave like that - they are bound to be physically ugly and shout, shriek or baby-talk tauntingly. Tom Riddle here - dressed in black and with dark hair, older than Harry and more powerful, brooding and controlling, resembles more Mr Darcy than The Evil Overlord.
* I specially liked when Harry saw the diary and "for a second" wondered how it got there – "but there were more pressing matters to deal with".
* How did Tom talk and control the basilisk after finding the chamber without getting petrified? Is it his special gift, inherited from Salazar? Here people can claim that this Tom Riddle is a memory and somehow doesn't suffer from Basilisk's gaze, unlike living people or ghosts, but then he was a normal, alive boy. Also how did basilisk recognize him as Slytherin's heir? Talking with snakes isn't enough, since it attacks Harry, who too has this ability. Is the smell of his blood/body different? Can basilisk feel his aura?
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-06-01 04:08 pm (UTC)*Harry sneaks into the Chamber with his wand out—but don’t worry, if he sees the snake he’ll shut his eyes really fast. Or he would, if he wouldn’t already be frozen by then, maybe.
After closing his eyes I guess he plans to be pierced by its sword-like venomous fangs after half-a-minute chase, in which Harry will wisely keep his eyes shut. Hey, at least he won’t die after looking in the serpent’s eyes like Mourning Myrtle. Sounds like a good plan to me.
May be it would be even better to purposefully look into the water on the floor, so that in the worst case Harry would be petrified like Filch’s cat. For some reason basilisk doesn’t seem to be very eager to eat its petrified victims. I suppose the snake isn’t against the idea, but imo the chance to be ignored in the petrified state is higher than when the person is running away. Then Ron would tell somebody and Harry would be rescued.
*Slytherin looks monkey-like. As in, less than human. What a shock.
Salazar apparently was ancient [how old was he when he died?] and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard. I am nitpicking here, but the words “thin beard” reminded me of Dumbledore’s bushy one [this is so in my head & the movies, can’t find evidence in the books. In ch. 6 of HP & SS his Chocolate Frog’s picture is described thus “flowing, silver hair, beard and mustache”]. And also of “Beatrice: He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man:-William Shakespeare - Excerpt from 'Much Ado About Nothing' – Act 2, Scene I”
*Ginny’s lying under the statue. We know something is wrong because while her red hair is still flaming, it is not dancing.
The picture of Ginny with her “flaming-red hair” and “white as marble” face, lying between the feet of the ancient Slytherin, brings an association of rape for me.
*I can see what everyone means about Harry having a super-sensitive instinct about people. He figured out Tom Riddle was evil the moment Tom finally told him in no uncertain terms that he was evil.
You are too hard on the boy, sistermagpie. Riddle wasn't attacking Harry from the beginning and Tom's voice was soft. Everybody knows that bad guys don't behave like that - they are bound to be physically ugly and shout, shriek or baby-talk tauntingly.
Tom Riddle here - dressed in black and with dark hair, older than Harry and more powerful, brooding and controlling, resembles more Mr Darcy than The Evil Overlord.
* I specially liked when Harry saw the diary and "for a second" wondered how it got there – "but there were more pressing matters to deal with".
* How did Tom talk and control the basilisk after finding the chamber without getting petrified? Is it his special gift, inherited from Salazar? Here people can claim that this Tom Riddle is a memory and somehow doesn't suffer from Basilisk's gaze, unlike living people or ghosts, but then he was a normal, alive boy. Also how did basilisk recognize him as Slytherin's heir? Talking with snakes isn't enough, since it attacks Harry, who too has this ability. Is the smell of his blood/body different? Can basilisk feel his aura?