Summary: CoS Chapters 5 an 6

[pigwidgeon37 at yahoo.it]

No: HPFGUIDX 23685

Hi everybody,

so, this is my first summary, hope you like it. I think it was who 
did chapters 3&4 who said that finding questions for these first 
chapters was a bit difficult, as they are rather straight. So I hope 
you don't find them too artificial.

Enjoy and have a nice week everybody
Susanna

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Chapter 5- The Whomping Willow

The summer holidays have come to an end and after an opulent good bye-
dinner, on 1 September everybody gets up at dawn.  Mr. Weasley takes 
everybody to King's cross station in his magically modified ford 
Anglia, which oddly offers space for  eight persons and their trunks, 
owls etc.

   Question 1:  Mrs. Weasley certainly is neither  stupid nor dull.
   How come she doesn't notice the magical transformations the car
   has undergone? ("Muggles *do* know more than we give them credit
   for, don't they?")

Three of the Weasley children having forgotten something important, 
they have to turn back three times and, as Mrs Weasley won't allow 
her husband to use the Invisibility booster and simply fly the car, 
the party arrives at the station rather late.

   Question 2: I'd like you to express your opinions on the couple
   Molly&Arthur. They seem to get on  very well, but would you say
   the have a relationship of equals?

Their group of eight has 5 minutes to walk through the barrier that 
separates them from platform nine and three quarters, everybody 
passes through, only the last couple, Harry and Ron, are unable to 
get through, as the barrier is mysteriously sealed.

   Question 3: Did anybody at this point think it had something to do
   with Dobby or did you attribute the sealing of the gate to their
   being late (it rhymes, I'm thunderstruck with my own talent!)?

 Having crashed into the barrier, they attract a lot of Muggle 
attention and, as they have now definitely missed the train, Harry 
suggests to return to the car and wait for Ron's parents. At the 
mention of the car, Ron suddenly has the "brilliant" idea that the 
two of them might fly to Hogwarts by car. Harry's scruples about 
breaking the law are soon overcome, they put their trunks and 
Hedwig's cage back into the car, Ron starts it and off they go.

   Question 4: (As the question about starting the car/underage magic
   has already been sufficiently discussed, I just leave it out.
   BUT:) Doesn't this scene tell us something about Ron? He knows
   that Harry has already got one warning from the MoM and will face
   expulsion if he's caught doing Underage Magic another time. Is Ron
   selfishly trying to show off? Is he extremely impulsive? 

Their takeoff goes unnoticed, as the street is deserted and Ron has 
activated the Invisibility Booster, but this device is obviously 
malfunctioning, causing them to reappear every now and then. 
Fortunately, the sky is overcast, so they hurry to get above the 
clouds and just make a dive every half an hour to check whether they 
are still following the train.

   Question 5: Do you think the weather in general and the
   meteorological conditions on 1 September have a symbolical value
   in the books? Is it important that, as the books are
   getting "darker", the weather on the day of departure is getting
   worse with every book?

 Harry and Ron's initial enthusiasm wears off rather quickly, as they 
have neither food (except for some some toffees) nor drink, and after 
some hours even the thought of a spectacular entrance at Hogwarts 
fails to cheer them up.
When the boys feel that they should be near their destination, the 
engine suddenly begins to make strange sounds.

   Question 6: What do you think the car is running on?  And why does
   the engine die at this point?

Ron tries to calm the car, telling it they've nearly arrived, but 
when they are flying over the lake, the engine finally breaks down; 
Ron manages to avoid the worst, steering them past the castle walls 
to land somewhere on the grounds. A few seconds later,  Ron and Harry 
become aware that they couldn't have chosen a worse point for their 
touchdown: They've hit the Whomping Willow, a very self-defending 
tree that likes nothing less than being punched. The tree strikes 
back at the car, which, in a desperate last effort, backs off, expels 
the two boys and their luggage and vanishes into the darkness. Ron is 
desperate, as the car is gone and his wand has been damaged, it's 
nearly broken in two. Bruised, bleeding and their dream of a 
triumphant arrival gone to pieces, the two boys grab their trunks and 
Hedwig and walk towards the castle. They peer through the windows, 
see that the Sorting has started and wonder what might have become of 
Snape, whose seat is empty. In the midst of their wildest fantasies 
of Snape having been sacked, being ill etc., they hear his voice from 
behind their backs, asking them why they weren't on the school train.

   Question 7: Why does Snape wait for them?( It should be McGonagall
   who is Head of Gryffindor. She does not necessarily have to survey
   the Sorting ceremony, as we know from PoA, where she summons Harry
   and Hermione into her office, while Prof. Flitwick replaces her at
   the Sorting.)

Snape beckons Harry and Ron into his office, where he confronts them 
with the latest edition of the Daily Prophet: It reports that their 
car was seen by various Muggles, and Snape makes a rather nasty 
comment at Mr. Weasley's probable embarrassment that his own son will 
be found to have committed a Misuse of a Muggle Artefact. The boys 
recognize the full extent of what they have done; Snape, pointing out 
that they should be expelled but that the final decision is not up to 
him, leaves them to fetch McGonagall. When they both return,  Ron 
tells McGonagall all about the sealed gate and how desperate he and 
Harry were. McGonagall points out that they could have sent Hedwig to 
Hogwarts with a letter explaining eveything. Dumbledore joins them, 
and without any trace of his usual irony, requests an explanation for 
what they did. This time, it's Harry's turn to speak, he pours out 
the whole story, afraid only that Dumbledore might ask who bewitched 
the car in the first place. After he has finished, they both wait for 
Dumbledore to announce their expulsion. But neither Dumbledore nor 
McGonagall choose this drastic punishment, they will only have to do 
detentions.

   Question 8: What Ron and Harry did, would certainly have been
   worth expulsion. Much as we all like the two of them, do you think
   it OK McGonagall lets them get away just with detention? And why
   do you think she made this decision?

When they arrive at the Gryffindor Common Room, everybody greats them 
as the heroes of the day, except Hermione who is very upset about the 
danger they were in and, of course, about all the rules they have 
broken. Both Harry and Ron feel guilty, but can't resist the general 
hilarity.

   Question 9: If Hermione had been with them at King's Cross, do you
   think the two boys would have convinced her to fly to Hogwarts
   with them by car? ( Later on in the book (Polyjuice Potion) we see
   that Hermione is as capable of rule- breaking as the other two,
   which she has already demonstrated in the Norbert-  episode in
   PS/SS)




CHAPTER 6- Gilderoy Lockhart

The next day at breakfast, however, they are sobered up by a Howler 
Ron receives from Mrs. Weasley, that reminds both the boys of the 
problems they have caused Mr. Weasley, who is now facing an official 
enquiry at the MoM.

   Question 10: It has never been made really clear how Mr. Weasley
   managed to keep his job at the MoM, given that the charge against
   him was quite serious (Rita Skeeter's article in GoF only mentions
   that he was charged with the illegal possession of an enchanted
   car) . How do you think he got himself out?

The Gryffindors leave for their first lesson of the term, which is 
Herbology, together with the Hufflepuffs. Hermione, obviously 
thinking that the Howler was sufficient punishment, has returned to 
perfect friendliness with Harry and Ron.
At the greenhouses, the class is waiting for Prof. Sprout who arrives 
some minutes late, accompanied by Prof. Lockhart. She has put 
bandages on the injured branches of the Whomping Willow and Lockhart 
claims to have given her useful advice, implying that he knows a lot 
more about plants than Prof. Sprout.

   Question 11: I cannot get rid of the thought that some of the less
   important characters, and especially Lockhart, are caricatures of
   very real and unpleasant persons JKR met and couldn't resist to
   have her little revenge on. What do you think?

Lockhart asks Harry to have a word with him outside the greenhouse 
and, in what he seems to think a very fatherly way, completely 
misinterpreting the car incident, scolds Harry for wanting to attract 
everybody's attention. Harry is too bewildered to correct him, when 
Lockhart puts all the blame on himself, believing that Harry did 
everything to equal the fame of his personal hero Lockhart.

   Question 12: Do you think that Lockhart's way of presenting
   himself as The- One- Who- Always- Knows- Best is a result of
   stupidity combined with selfishness and conceit, or is it simply a
   calculated strategy, trying how far people will let him go
   (following Hitler's famous: The bigger the lie, the more people
   will believe it)? Is he a Slytherin?

When Harry finally joins the class, Prof Sprout is explaining about 
Mandrakes, magical plants whose roots look like extremely ugly 
babies. They are used for restorative draughts, as they have the 
power to unmake curses or spells and return people to their original 
state. But they are also very dangerous plants, as their cry is 
absolutely lethal.

   Question 13: Which part of the plant is used for potion- making?
   Do they chop up the leaves or the "roots" (eurgh!!)? And if it's
   the leaves, what happens to the "roots"? Sorry, but this has been
   tormenting me since I first read the book.

The lesson is spent re-potting the Mandrakes, with everybody wearing 
soundproof earmuffs. As the student's skills are not identical to 
Prof. Sprout's,  they have a lot of trouble re-potting them and at 
the end of the lesson, everybody is rather sweaty and dirty. The 
following Charms Class doesn't turn out much better for Ron, who is 
having  great difficulties with his broken and completely 
uncontrollable wand, mended with spellotape. Ron refuses to write to 
his parents and ask for a new one, as he fears that all he might get 
back is another howler.
Harry's day doesn't turn out much better than Ron's: After lunch, 
they have their first DADA lesson (much looked forward to by Hermione 
who's got a huge crush on Lockhart) and while the students are 
spending the rest of the lunch break in the courtyard, Harry is 
approached by a first- year named Colin Creevey who wants to take his 
photo. Unfortunately, the scene is overheard by Draco Malfoy who 
starts taunting Harry about giving out signed photos (Colin Creevey 
tells him he's just jealous) and Ron about the howler he got in the 
morning. 

   Question 14: The general opinion about Colin Creevey isn't too
   positive but what about his behaviour during this scene? Standing
   up to Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, on his first day at Hogwarts and
   furthermore being Muggle- born, indicates that he has a lot of
   courage. And what do you think about his surprising psychological
   insight? Is Malfoy really jealous of Harry?

Before it comes to a fight, Lockhart makes his appearance, asking 
what it's all about. He offers Colin to take a photo of him and a 
very reluctant Harry, which they will both sign for him. The bell 
rings and everybody hurries to their lessons, Lockhart keeps up the 
rear with Harry and gives him another unwanted lecture about ambition 
and its dangers.
The DADA class starts in a rather unexpected way: Lockhart announces 
that he's going to examine the students' knowledge, but the test 
consists of 54 uniquely Lockhart-related questions only Hermione has 
got the right answers to.
The rest of the lesson is not only unexpected, but full- fledged 
chaos: Announcing that they will have to fight against some of the 
foulest creatures known to wizardkind, he lets free a cageful of 
Cornish Pixies, which seem to be more trouble- makers than actually 
dangerous, and promptly begin to devastate the classroom. Lockhart's 
counter- spell fails completely, the Pixies even take away his wand 
and throw it out of the window. In the midst of this pandemonium, the 
bell rings and Lockhart goes away together with the other students,  
leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione in charge of de-Pixie-ing the 
classroom.
Ron utters serious doubts about Lockhart's having really done 
everything he claims to have done in his books. 

   Question 15: How come that Hermione who as far as we know her, is
   not a person to judge people because of their looks, is so easily
   fooled by Lockhart? If not his tactless behaviour to Prof. Sprout,
   at least the Pixie incident should have cast some light upon who
   and what he really is.