Chapter 37 Summary

[meboriqua at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 16157

I can't express how excited I am to be on vacation right at the time 
we discuss the last chapter and my beloved Harry!  :-)
> 
> QUESTIONS:
> Voldemort's return is the scoop of the century. Is Hermione naive to 
> think Rita Skeeter will keep her end of the bargain and not publish 
for  an entire year? Hermione is now a kidnapper. Isn't that worse 
than anything Rita has done?

Rita Skeeter is as annoying as her mosquito name implies.  She made me 
very angry with her sneaking around the grounds illegally, making 
friends with Malfoy (was she in Slytherin once?), and lying so 
outrageously about a group of kids...  how low can you go?  Good for 
Hermione for outwitting Rita Skeeter!  I agree that Rita's punishment 
would be far more severe had the Ministry of Magic, not to mention 
Dumbledore, found out what she was up to.  


> Draco and his group don't even have their wands out when they are 
> surrounded and attacked. Are we  to approve of Fred and George 
> attacking from behind? Was the reaction of Harry and his friends 
> justified? Will they be receiving owls from the Improper Use of 
Magic Office? Or will they be fined by the Department of Magical 
> Transportation for cursing while on a public conveyance? :)

I'd like to think that this scene has laid the foundation for future 
adventures of Harry with Fred and George - they are clearly too clever 
to simply be the clowns all the time.  As for Malfoy - he's a 
bullying, racist Mama's boy who provokes people to defend themselves 
as they see fit.  
> 
> Emphasis is laid on Dumbledore's fallibility in this chapter. He 
misses the renegade Slytherins because he has "no magical eye", 
underlining his failure to spot the false Moody. Ron speaks "darkly" 
of Dumbledore's unknown reasons for keeping Harry at the Dursleys. 
Harry wonders about Dumbledore's confidence in Snape. Is the stage
being set for a falling out between Harry and Dumbledore, or between 
Harry and  Hagrid, whose confidence in Dumbledore is unwavering?

I have spent hours wondering about just this.  I do believe that 
Hagrid will, upon making contact with the giants, question his loyalty 
to Dumbldedore.  Didn't anyone else think his faithfulness was too 
blind to be believable?  I don't think a falling out of sorts will be 
permanent, but would certainly be damaging.

As for Harry having a falling out with Dumbledore?  I can't quite 
picture that one.  We really need Dumbledore to stay good, especially 
for Harry.  But might Dumbledore have to punish Harry at some point?  
Now that I can see.  Harry does have a way of breaking major rules, 
whether by accident or deliberately, and I can see that getting him in 
some hot water.  I've heard rumors that Harry may temporarily be 
expelled from Hogwarts.  Wouldn't that be terrifyingly interesting?

I also wonder about the Slytherins.  Will Draco always stand by his 
father's side?  He's never taken any time to think things through on 
his own, let alone study more for his classes.  Dumbledore can't 
possibly be naive enough to not know who many of the Slytherins are, 
but I suppose he believes that one cannot punish the child for the 
sins of the parents.  We'll just have to see about that one.

When are we going to start talking about Harry?  I c