SS/PS question

[Carol]

zanooda wrote:
> Hi, guys! I need help with one sentence in SS/PS. Could some
English-speaking person explain to me how they understand the
following sentence: "He caught that thing in his hand after a
fifty-foot dive" (Ch. 9, "The Midnight Duel", p.151 Am.ed. or p.113
Br.ed.). It's something that McGonagall says to Wood, after witnessing
Harry's dive for the Remembrall. 
> 
> Does "in his hand" define the word "thing" here or does it define
the word "caught"? Does the first part of the sentence mean something
like "He caught the thing that he is holding now in his hand 
[Remembrall]", or does it mean "He caught that thing with his
hand/into his hand/using his hand"?
> 
> I will really appreciate your help (off-list is also OK :-)), I'm
kind of in the middle of an argument about this sentence, LOL!
>
Carol responds:
I checked to see whether Harry is still holding "that thing" when
mcGonagall speaks to Wood and apparently, he is. My reading is that
"that thing in his hand" refers to the Remembrall, which Mcgonagall is
calling to Wood's attention. 

It seems to me that if McGonagall meant to emphasize how he caught the
Remembrall, she would say "one-handed" or "with his bare hand" (if he
would normally wear a glove) or something of that sort. At any rate, a
person who can catch (someone like Harry as opposed to someone like
me) does so *with* his hand or hands, not *in* them. Moreover,
catching with hands is the normal way to catch (as opposed to "with
his feet" or "with his teeth") and seems to be an unnecessary element
of her sentence if that's what it means. If, OTOH, she's specifically
pointing out the Remembrall, which is approximately the size and shape
of a wingless Snitch, "that thing in his hand" makes perfect sense.

Carol, voting for choice number one (it modifies "thing")