Ron's delay (was: PoA comment), C&G

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 17438

Simon wrote:

> Why did it take Ron so long to get back? By the time Harry had got 
back
> through the tunnel Draco had got back, found Snape and there was 
enough
> time for Snape to make it from his dungeon or staff room (I favour 
the
> former else one of the other teachers would have heard about it) to 
the
> appropriate corridor. Snape then takes Harry down to his office and
> proceeds to lecture him for a few minutes, and then Lupin is called. 
Only
> after this does Ron turn up. Where had he been?
> 
> He should have been able to follow just behind Draco the whole way 
back to
> work out where he went. Or does Draco know of some other shortcut 
between
> Hogwarts and Hogsmeade? It seems unlikely that Ron should have taken 
so
> long. He should have been able to be waiting for Harry by the end of 
the
> tunnel.

I've wondered about that a lot.  We can resolve two questions at once: 
 How did Ron get there so fast? and How did Ron know where to find 
Harry?  He got back to Hogwarts not long after Draco did, but had to 
ask around to find out where Harry was.  He'd probably have gone to 
the tunnel entrance first--no Harry.  Then to the common room, where 
he might find Neville or someone who'd say they hadn't seen him in a 
couple of hours.  Finally he ran into someone who'd seen Harry getting 
marched off to Snape's office--or better, he found Draco himself, who 
was sneering about how he'd reported the whole thing to Snape and 
Potter was in for it now.

The weak spot is still the question of why Ron got there any later 
than Draco at all.  I could see a delay of a couple of minutes--Draco 
takes off running, Ron follows a bit more slowly so as not to catch 
them up and risk getting beaten up--but there has to be a delay of 
several minutes to give Draco time to talk to Snape and Snape time to 
get up to the one-eyed witch.  (That man seems to know something about 
that statue...)

This reminds me of something else.  Has anyone ever heard Crabbe or 
Goyle say anything?  Off the top of my head, I don't think they do 
anything but snigger and grunt.  And yell if bitten by a rat, of 
course.

Amy Z

------------------------------------------------
  "Cool, sir!" said Dean Thomas in amazement.
  "Thank you, Dean," said Professor Lupin.
                -HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban
------------------------------------------------