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deathtocapslock2005-10-25 03:43 pm
jollityfarm.livejournal.com) wrote in deathtocapslock2005-10-25 03:43 pm
Entry tags:
Back with Dumbledore's plot-device bowl!
*Yet again, we are suggesting that the "official" instructions are actually wrong. Since this book has, apparently, been in circulation for many decades, surely someone would have noticed that better instructions might be made avaliable? I'm sorry, but this really bothers me.
*Also, Harry has offered to lend his bestest friends the instructions, but Ron can't read the elusive HBP's handwriting (and Harry can't write down the instructions and pass notes? Is this not the traditionally accepted method of communicating in class when you're not allowed to?) and Hermione refuses to demean herself by following any instructions other than the "official" (wrong) ones. It is noted that Hermione gets into a complete piss at having her potions not be so good as Harry's. Welcome to the world.
*The HBP's handwriting looks like a girl's (and what does that mean?). We know he's not a girl, so what exactly is the point in having Hermione say this? Oh, apart from some kind of pseudo-feminist idea of "Hey, we realise that girls can be clever too!" But really, it all amounts to very little.
*Also, Hermione is trying to stop Ron from reading her essay now? Oh yes, wait until she's finished writing it, Ron - then she'll write yours for you.
*Professor Trelawney is attempting some kind of divination via playing cards. I would think she'd have a proper Tarot pack in a little velvet bag. Maybe she lost them and has borrowed these ones off Hagrid, promising to give them back before his weekend Strip Poker game. Anyway, she divines conflict, an ill omen, violence and "a dark young man who dislikes the questioner". Since Harry is hiding behind a statue listening to this, we can assume that the forth is correct (and, knowing Harry, probably all the others too). Obviously Sybil isn't completely talentless.
*Dumbledore wants to tell Harry what prompted Voldemort to attempt Harry's life fifteen years previously. We will eventually come to the conclusion that it's because he wasn't cuddled enough as a little boy. Or possibly because his family has evil genetics. Or something.
*I hope nobody took Humphrey Belcher up on his cheese cauldron offer. Mind you, I suspect that this particular universe has a ready supply of drooling morons ready to do something obviously stupid to see what happens.
*Also, we must be made aware that Dumbledore is more SMRT than most men, and thusly even his mistakes are more speshul.
*Yet again, the mysterious sekrit manky hand injury, which Dumbledore refuses to divulge. Just get on with it!
*Question about Bob Ogden's clothes: he's wearing stuff that obviously no Muggle would wear unless they were mental. But then, how is it that he cannot understand what Muggles might wear and yet so many others (like the Weasley kids) can? What, come to think of it, is the deal with wizard clothes?
*After a bit of waffle about scenery, we come to the Gaunt's old house. Mighty Morfin suddenly drops down in front of Bob Ogden and starts speaking Parseltongue at him. Now, I thought from CoS that the reason we knew that Tomdemort was the heir to Salazar Slytherin was because Tomdemort could speak Parseltongue. If the whole family could do it, well...Maybe he was the only one to know about the Chamber of Secrets, or where it was, or whatever. Mind you, in CoS, the diary-memory reckons that Harry and he are the only Parseltongue speakers at Hogwarts since Slytherin himself. Obviously, he was wrong?
*There's a lot of description to suggest inbreeding (and thoughts present themselves - would Morfin and Merope have been expected to breed with one another?). Anyway, Merope doesn't sound evil or anything, which suggests that one might indeed work against their family. Of course, Morfin is obviously a psycho, but not the careful, considered sort of psychopath that Voldemort will be shown to be later on. No, he's more the "Rawr, I get you!!!" sort.
*I would personally be interested to read in book seven that people had got Salazar Slytherin quite wrong and that the inbreeding and pureblood-mania of the last of his descendants would actually horrify him. I think that would be cool. Sadly, it will probably not come to pass.
*Tom Riddle Sr, is hot. So is his girlfiend (Cecilia). And they both know how to ride horses, which is probably cool if you're into that kind of thing. Anyway, Merope likes him,and so does Harry.
*Apparently, there used to be money in the family, although it supposedly came via the Gaunt side rather than from the Slytherin side. Or something. Anyway, possibly no mansions for Slytherin.
*Love potions! I sort of like the idea of Merope using a love potion on Tom Riddle, as that means that his reason for leaving her is much more reasonable than the one given by Voldemort - that Voldemort has been basing his entire ethos on a misapprehension. This might lead to the idea mentioned above, that Slytherin's reason for leaving Hogwarts was actually more reasonable than has been given. After all, it was a thousand years ago - how much pure and unadulterated history is going to be retained from then?
*Anyway, Harry doesn't know what any of this has to do with anything (but he, like us, will find out next week), but does notice that the ring he saw in the memory is the same as one Dumbledore has. He asks if this is the cause of the blackened hand, but Dumbledore refuses to answer. The bitch.
*Also, Harry has offered to lend his bestest friends the instructions, but Ron can't read the elusive HBP's handwriting (and Harry can't write down the instructions and pass notes? Is this not the traditionally accepted method of communicating in class when you're not allowed to?) and Hermione refuses to demean herself by following any instructions other than the "official" (wrong) ones. It is noted that Hermione gets into a complete piss at having her potions not be so good as Harry's. Welcome to the world.
*The HBP's handwriting looks like a girl's (and what does that mean?). We know he's not a girl, so what exactly is the point in having Hermione say this? Oh, apart from some kind of pseudo-feminist idea of "Hey, we realise that girls can be clever too!" But really, it all amounts to very little.
*Also, Hermione is trying to stop Ron from reading her essay now? Oh yes, wait until she's finished writing it, Ron - then she'll write yours for you.
*Professor Trelawney is attempting some kind of divination via playing cards. I would think she'd have a proper Tarot pack in a little velvet bag. Maybe she lost them and has borrowed these ones off Hagrid, promising to give them back before his weekend Strip Poker game. Anyway, she divines conflict, an ill omen, violence and "a dark young man who dislikes the questioner". Since Harry is hiding behind a statue listening to this, we can assume that the forth is correct (and, knowing Harry, probably all the others too). Obviously Sybil isn't completely talentless.
*Dumbledore wants to tell Harry what prompted Voldemort to attempt Harry's life fifteen years previously. We will eventually come to the conclusion that it's because he wasn't cuddled enough as a little boy. Or possibly because his family has evil genetics. Or something.
*I hope nobody took Humphrey Belcher up on his cheese cauldron offer. Mind you, I suspect that this particular universe has a ready supply of drooling morons ready to do something obviously stupid to see what happens.
*Also, we must be made aware that Dumbledore is more SMRT than most men, and thusly even his mistakes are more speshul.
*Yet again, the mysterious sekrit manky hand injury, which Dumbledore refuses to divulge. Just get on with it!
*Question about Bob Ogden's clothes: he's wearing stuff that obviously no Muggle would wear unless they were mental. But then, how is it that he cannot understand what Muggles might wear and yet so many others (like the Weasley kids) can? What, come to think of it, is the deal with wizard clothes?
*After a bit of waffle about scenery, we come to the Gaunt's old house. Mighty Morfin suddenly drops down in front of Bob Ogden and starts speaking Parseltongue at him. Now, I thought from CoS that the reason we knew that Tomdemort was the heir to Salazar Slytherin was because Tomdemort could speak Parseltongue. If the whole family could do it, well...Maybe he was the only one to know about the Chamber of Secrets, or where it was, or whatever. Mind you, in CoS, the diary-memory reckons that Harry and he are the only Parseltongue speakers at Hogwarts since Slytherin himself. Obviously, he was wrong?
*There's a lot of description to suggest inbreeding (and thoughts present themselves - would Morfin and Merope have been expected to breed with one another?). Anyway, Merope doesn't sound evil or anything, which suggests that one might indeed work against their family. Of course, Morfin is obviously a psycho, but not the careful, considered sort of psychopath that Voldemort will be shown to be later on. No, he's more the "Rawr, I get you!!!" sort.
*I would personally be interested to read in book seven that people had got Salazar Slytherin quite wrong and that the inbreeding and pureblood-mania of the last of his descendants would actually horrify him. I think that would be cool. Sadly, it will probably not come to pass.
*Tom Riddle Sr, is hot. So is his girlfiend (Cecilia). And they both know how to ride horses, which is probably cool if you're into that kind of thing. Anyway, Merope likes him,
*Apparently, there used to be money in the family, although it supposedly came via the Gaunt side rather than from the Slytherin side. Or something. Anyway, possibly no mansions for Slytherin.
*Love potions! I sort of like the idea of Merope using a love potion on Tom Riddle, as that means that his reason for leaving her is much more reasonable than the one given by Voldemort - that Voldemort has been basing his entire ethos on a misapprehension. This might lead to the idea mentioned above, that Slytherin's reason for leaving Hogwarts was actually more reasonable than has been given. After all, it was a thousand years ago - how much pure and unadulterated history is going to be retained from then?
*Anyway, Harry doesn't know what any of this has to do with anything (but he, like us, will find out next week), but does notice that the ring he saw in the memory is the same as one Dumbledore has. He asks if this is the cause of the blackened hand, but Dumbledore refuses to answer. The bitch.
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I think the problem here, as always, is that JKR really doesn't know that much about how magic works in her world. What she wants is for the HBP's instructions to be tips, like Harry has a great tutor or something. Unfortunately, because of the way it's written, Harry is simply following different instructions. She just hasn't come up with the right analogy or something for what she wants. Harry's meant to be like a cook coming up with a better souffle or something, because he's adding a pinch of this or that.
Also, Harry has offered to lend his bestest friends the instructions, but Ron can't read the elusive HBP's handwriting (and Harry can't write down the instructions and pass notes? Is this not the traditionally accepted method of communicating in class when you're not allowed to?)
Hopefully this is symbolic of the fact that Harry and Snape "understand each other," otherwise it's just lame.
But really, it all amounts to very little.
Not if you're heavily invested in Lily being the one to write the instructions. /rolls eyes
What, come to think of it, is the deal with wizard clothes?
Yeah, you can see why the movies just have to throw up their hands and drop it. Kind of too bad, though. A lot of fanfic writers have loads of fun with clothing (even if it's sometimes painful to read). I like that Draco's Prada outfit from GoF might be his Muggle disguise, but it loses something when you remember everybody wears Muggle clothes all the time.
Mind you, in CoS, the diary-memory reckons that Harry and he are the only Parseltongue speakers at Hogwarts since Slytherin himself. Obviously, he was wrong?
Guess he wanted him and Harry to be speshul? Gotta hand it to those Gaunts, though. It seems like if they'd only gone to school they could have been the Heirs of Slytherin too.
Sadly, it will probably not come to pass.
Yeah. I'd also like to find out he left the school because Gryffindor just annoyed the hell out of him. Or that really Godric stuffed him in a Vanishing Cabinet and pretended he just left, and he'll pop out at the end to make everything okay again.
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LOL! Whatever JKR throws at us in Harry Potter and the Wild Goose Chase, your version is going to lodge itself in my brain as being what really happened.
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Living in a box, I haven't read this theory. What proof is there? I asume someone, somewhere, has written an essay.
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a) Lily is known to have been a prodigy in Potions.
b) The annotations look as though they were written by a woman, even if the writing itself reads like coming from a bloke (knowing that Lily is like Ginny, she might have been enough of a tomboy for it to fit).
Still, it's a pretty lame theory, and undercuts the delicious irony of Harry appreciating Snape, of all people.
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Cuz I'm catty like that.
But I'd still be interested in the theory. I like theories. *grin*
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Of course, in reality, the peppermint was supposed to counteract the nose-tweaking. It had nothing to do with smelling pretty, and there's nothing in canon that says Snape couldn't appreciate something aesthetically.
This, iirc, led to a whole discussion of how nose-tweaking was a good thing, which was neither here nor there, but kept the theory from being dropped, as if proving that nose-tweaking is a good thing would prove Lily wrote the Potions notes so there is no irony of Harry bonding with Snape.
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I thought it was a misogynistic assumption that she did... she might have, but there's no proof, and it's not like young rakes never take advantage of smitten young girls with no family to take them to task over it.
And the burning question; did the Gaunts go to Hogwarts, and if so, why is Parseltongue Morfin's default language? And if not, where would Merope have learned a love potion?
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Maybe Daddy Gaunt had to use a love potion on his wife, and that's where Merope learned it?
But yeah, the whole thing is very... ew. I was really disappointed.
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It means that they are at least upper middle class, if not flat out wealthy. Unlike America, where even a working class country girl can afford to board a horse, horse riding is the provence of the wealthy. Thereis a whole class of horse and dog loving gentry in Britain, and they are not very attractive at all.
Question about Bob Ogden's clothes: he's wearing stuff that obviously no Muggle would wear unless they were mental.
You see, I can understand robes- most British Muggles would think that wizards and witches were part of a priory or a monastery, and not give a second thought. But you know, Britain is only double the size of California. Can't these people see that wearing a bathing suit and a top hat is simply not done?
The opinion of an LJ-less reader ...
(Anonymous) 2005-12-08 02:06 pm (UTC)(link)I was actually thinking about dialogue, too. Half of it is in semi-current (if slightly idealised) British slang. I thought perhaps Muggle-borns would bring in new slang, but that would mean somehow, wizards pick up inherently Muggle phrases, yet miss out on clothing. Even if Muggle-borns adapt to wearing wizarding robes thanks to their obvious magical superiority, there would be some, somewhere, who would continue to wear the clothes they're comfortable in for a while at least.
Fashionably late to the party!
Oh yes! It really DOES get her goat to think that Harry might not need her. And clearly she will not brook competition (As we – along with Ron – will find out later!).
The HBP's handwriting looks like a girl's (and what does that mean?).
Honestly, what IS that supposed to mean? If that's supposed to be a slap at Snape's masculinity...it's by no means the first time Rowling has undercut Severus in that sense (Och your wee grey undies, Professor). But what, ultimately, is her point in repeatedly suggesting that Snape is less than "a man"? Perhaps by the dubious standards of the Wizarding World he doesn't cut the same figure as, say, James or Sirius – but HELLO, unlike them he survived. And anyone with the balls to off Dumbles...well, clearly Snape's got balls.
This could be interesting in regards to Draco, and his "questionable masculinity" as far as the Wizarding World is concerned.
Professor Trelawney is attempting some kind of divination via playing cards.
To be fair, there are folks who do divine with regular playing cards; it's nowhere near as common as the Tarot, though. Rowling likely isn't so much aware of this niche in cartomancy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartomancy) as she is trying to distance herself from the Christian fundamentalists freaking out about OMG! WITCHCRAFT! IN OUR LIBRARIES AND SCHOOLS! by not blatantly referencing the Tarot.
I'll save the Gaunts for another post, as that whole subplot is so painfully odious and ill-conceived. :( Even on second reading I'm not quite sure how to digest it.
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I thought that women's handwriting thing was about Snape's mother. In the denouement, don't we learn that Snape's mother's name was Eileen Prince, and that she owned the book before Snape, passing it, and her wisdom to him? So the improved instructrions weren't all to Snape's credit, but often his mum's.
Dug out my book, pg 637 (scholastic) bears this out.
Re: Fashionably late to the party!
salazar
(Anonymous) 2007-03-17 04:37 pm (UTC)(link)Yes! I am convinced that this is the case. Too many people portray salazar as an evil wiedo despite the fact that he was probably just quite human.
I actually wrote a story about that once. 'The Hat Experimant' I think it's still up on fanfic.net somewhere. Author Prieda Solo.
Prieda
email: double_0_sevie2