COS Chapter 4 - At Flourish and Blotts

[Zarleycat at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 23374

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Amber ?" <inviziblegirl at h...> wrote:
> 1) How do you think Dumbledore already knew that Harry was at the 
Weasleys?

I think that whatever charms, wards, magic has been placed on the 
Dursleys' house will alert the proper authorities if Harry goes 
missing.  How this system will let Dumbledore, the MoM or whoever, 
where Harry might be is still a mystery to me.  

> 2) Why are all the letters from Hogwarts addressed in green ink? 
Any 
> significance or just coincidence? Maybe it's Dumbledore's favorite 
color?

The color green does seem to pop up a lot - ink, Avada Kedavra, the 
Dark Mark over the campsite in GoF...Sorry, but I have no theories.


> 3) How do you think the Weasley's were able to afford all the 
Lockhart books? Perhaps Flourish and Blotts runs a tab?

Maybe a benefit of working for the MoM is that family members get 
discounts for school supplies.  

> 4) When floo powder is thrown into the fire, the flames turn green. 
Another 
> coincidence or something deeper there?

Ack - more green...An indication of magic at work???

> 5) Do you think it was wise of the Weasleys to let Harry travel by 
floo 
> powder by himself when he had never done so before? Why can't two 
people 
> travel by floo powder at the same time?

It was probably not a good idea, but to the Weasleys floo powder is a 
common method of transportation. It's straight-forward for them - 
throw in the powder, step into the flames and state your destination 
very distinctly.  They probably never even considered that it might 
be a problem for Harry.  As for 2 people travelling together - since 
it seems fairly easy to fall out of the wrong fireplace, and also 
does not seem to be the physically smoothest way to transport 
oneself, if two people start off at the same place at the same time, 
maybe one might inadvertenly jostle the other into popping out at the 
wrong destination.
 
> 6) Were you surprised to hear that Malfoy's grades needed 
improvement? Do 
> you think it's because Mr. Malfoy has unreasonable expectations of 
his son 
> or that Malfoy's grades just aren't up to par?
> 
I think it's a combination of the two.  Draco has probably been 
imbued with a sense of entitlement since he was a baby because he's 
the heir of the wonderful, pureblood, rich, influential, better than 
everyone on earth Malfoy family.  He may have coasted too much 
scholastically, thinking that his very Malfoy-ness is enough to pull 
him through.  And, at the same time, old Lucius has probably set up 
completely unattainably high standards for Draco to meet.  The fact 
that he's been beaten out by Hermione has probably cause no end of 
intestinal distress for Daddy Malfoy.  

7) Percy is found reading a book called "Prefects Who Gained Power: A 
study 
> of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers". Do you think this is 
an 
> indication that Percy could be seduced to Voldemort's side?

No, I think that Percy is a rigid, uptight, "play by the rules" guy, 
and is looking for any angle that will help him succeed.


> 8) What did you first think of Lockhart when you read his 
description? What 
> was your opinion of him at the end of the chapter?

I wanted to take a shower after meeting him.  Smarmy to the max.
 
> 9) Did you make the connection that Lockhart was to be the new DADA 
> professor before he made his announcement?

No, but it made me shudder.  What was Dumbledore thinking?  Or, who 
place the gun (or the Avada Kedavra) to his head to make him hire 
this twit???
 
> 10) Obligatory Silly Question: Woohoo! It's Harry's birthday! (Or 
was 
> Harry's birthday, depending where you are in the world) How did you 
> celebrate it?

Well, I've let people at work know. I work at a Big 5 accounting 
firm, so people tend to be just a tad formal and serious (no, not 
Sirius, unfortunately) in their work mode.  I've had several people 
mutter darkly about the need for some sort of "full-blown 
intervention" to snap me out of this obsession.  I, OTOH, think they 
need to follow the true path to enlightenment, which means they have 
to take a trip to Hogwarts.


Marianne, who doesn't care what those accounting Muggles think