Chapter 9 Summary, eye-rollers, Gilding of Gilderoy, Magical Petunia, Hermione vs. Harry

[Herald Talia]

No: HPFGUIDX 24618

Zarleycat asked
>7.  Why wouldn't an heir to Slytherin have appeared sometime in the last
>1000 years?  Or can the heir only open the Chamber when there is a
>particular need to do so?

Maybe no other Heir to Slytherin could figure out how to open the
Chamber? 
`	Tom Riddle was one of the most clever students Hogwarts ever had. Mr.
Ollivander speaks about "He Who Must Not Be Named did great things -
terrible, yes, but great" and Dumbledore says he was exceptionally
clever. Maybe Parsletongue is a recessive gene? We discussed this a bit
in reference to the genetic profile of Squibs. Maybe not all Slytherin's
heirs either had Parsletongue, or even if they had it, maybe they did not
know how to use it. 

 cynthiaanncoe wrote
>I'm talking about whole concepts that just don't do it for me.  For 
>me, most (but not all) of these are in book 2.
>The "Here Comes The Calvary" rescue of the flying car in the 
>forbidden forest. (CoS)

I loved all the books. Part of JKR's magic is her ability to use obvious
plot devices and then give them a unique twist that is all her own. 

I did not like the car coming to the rescue, though. It was too pat, and
it made me think of the old Herbie movies. 
I'm also not thrilled with the Marauder's map. 
Actually, in general, CoS was my least favorite book of the whole series.
I have a rank order list of the rest, and CoS is #4 to me. 
This is for 2 reasons: 
A lot of the plot devices in the story are a little more contrived and
kind of clunkier than PS/SS. In general, PS/SS was a smoother, more
seamless read. I was totally absorbed in it and didn't once stop to
analyze the author (a first for me.) I was also in labor at the time, and
the nurse said she's going to hire JKR as an anesthesiologist. 
CoS had me critiquing, the story was less absorbing. Maybe that's because
by the time it was out, I was well into the habit of critiquing HP. Maybe
it really is a less absorbing read. 
2) The premise is terrifying for a confirmed bibliophile like me. A book
that takes your mind over? Do  you know how many times that's happened to
me? A new book will come out, and I KNOW I've got a paper due the next
day, yet 2 A.M. finds me still reading for pleasure. I just know the
Fates will decree that HP #7 will come out the day before I defend my
dissertation, or the night before my Comps - HELP!
More to the point though (since I love being terrified) was my ethical
dilemma in reading CoS to my students. I teach a small, gifted group of
students and some of them are pretty young. I didn't want to terrify
them, and I thought the scene with the basilisk, diary, and Tom Riddle
pretty scary) Most of these kids are intellectuals in small bodies - they
would think beyond the adrenaline rush of scariness to the implications
... snakes moving in pipes, books that take you over, souls leached from
your body. 
For me, that's all old hat. But I thought that for my students, it was a
bit young to be introduced to these kinds of concepts. I still taught it,
though. They were anticipating CoS way too much to disappoint them. 
	That having been said, I have absolutely no problem with any of the
other "eye rollers" you mentioned. I particularly LOVED Ireland vs.
Bulgaria. 

Tabouli wrote
>Now what would Lockhart see in the Mirror of Erised?  Himself being
awarded an >Order of Merlin first class and Witch Weekly's Most Charming
Smile of the Century?  >Better still, what would his Boggart turn into??
He'd probably see himself, looking into the mirror, since that seems to
be his heart's desire - perpetual narcissism. 
His Boggart -  A pimple? broken curlers? Maybe, like Neville's, it would
just be Snape?

Keith wrote
About Petunia's repressed magic-
>No, that was over 50 years ago, she's too young. I personally like 
>the idea of Petunia having suppressed abilities, but I doubt she 
>actually went to Hogwarts.
 I know we all hate Dudley, and he's the world's worst brat, but maybe
he's got a scrap of magic?He does have Petunia's , and possibly Lily's
genes.  I just don't know what his motivation would be to have Petunia's
glass shatter, other than to torment Harry.
On second thought, I'm taking this back. A magical Dudley would be awful,
we already HAVE Crabbe and Goyle. 
On the other hand, if we're being "too Freudian" Dudley would have the
strongest need to repress his magic, in view of his mother's pathological
hatred of it. 

Rita wrote about Harry and Hermione's supposed duel
>Backed up,
> of course, by JKR, who said that post 3rd year, 
> Harry would beat her in a duel.

>But we're considering more than two (as counted by MY culture) factors
>here. Hermione is a diligent student and she ALSO has IMHO very high
>academic intelligence, but does she have very high, high, or merely
>average magical power/talent? The raw innate ability to do magic (once
>trained) is a third factor, like having exceptionally good eyesight. 

>(Relevant digression on intelligence and eyesight: Lee's old
>optometrist, who has retired <sigh>, when giving the eye chart test,
>would adjust the score of correct answers according to the patient's
>'intelligence', because the 'intelligent' patient automatically makes
>the mental compensation that a blurry letter with horizontal stripes is
>probably an E or an F, where a less 'intelligent' person just says "No,
>I can't read it". And the diligent, intelligent student can do more
>magic with an average amount of 'talent' than a lazy and stupid student
>can do with an above average amount of 'talent'.) 

>I think both Hermione and Ron have well above average 'talent'. Harry
>has the most 'talent' (that's a given) but another advantage he would
>have over Hermione in a duel (at least after GoF) is a lot of PRACTISE
>at using his magic in life-threatening situations. 

I think Harry's advantage over Hermione is his quick thinking and daring.
Hermione, when faced with a spell or situation totally out of the realm
of memorized answers might freeze. Harry's been trained, like Rita said,
he'd react, not act, and his instincts are quick - that's what makes him
a good Seeker. I also think Harry would be a little more ruthless than
Hermione, to his advantage. In a duel, he'd give it his all. Hermione,
who is more intelligent IMO, would waste that split second thinking about
consequences. We saw in a lot of duel sequences, the first to cast
Expelliarmus usually wins the day. That probably holds true for most duel
spells - quick reflexes are the most important.

(relevant digression here as to the nature of intelligence. When
intelligence testing first came out, one of the things they used to test
was reaction time, in the theory that the more "intelligence" you have,
the more tightly packed the structures of your brain are, so impulses can
travel more quickly - it's like having a lot of highways in your mind, as
opposed to country lanes. We don't do that anymore, not that what we DO
is any better. For a great discussion of intelligence theory debates for
the layman, read Daniel Seligman's "A Question of Intelligence" (it's a
long work, but I'm putting it in quotes because underline doesn't e-mail
well.)
Robyn , who is really feeling stifled by the one post a day rule. 

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Donald heard a mermaid sing, Suzy spied an elf.
But all the magic I have known,
I've had to make myself- Shel Silverstein
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