Chapter Discussion: Ch 24 - Rita Skeeter's Scoop

[heidi]

No: HPFGUIDX 8466

It's only appropriate that I'm summarizing this chapter & doing this
Character Sketch for 2 reasons: (a) I've spent part of today writing a
Rita Skeeter scene for the fanfic I'm doing (where the Malfoys actually
own the daily prophet...), and (b) I spent yesterday in LA, having lunch
with Cassandra Claire and talking, as we are wont to do, about Draco
Malfoy. So I've got newspapers and sarcasticly nasty blond wizard-teens
on the brain anyway...

This chapter is seasonally appropriate - the chapter begins on Boxing
Day which was a week ago, and covers the aftermath of the Yule Ball and
the start of the Winter Term.
Term begins with Care of Magical Creatures, but with a substitute,
Professor Grubbly-Plank, filling in for the surprisingly absent Hagrid
(well, surprising for the Gryffs, the Slyths seemed to expect that he
wouldn't show...) with the help of a lovely white unicorn, who impresses
the girls a lot, and gives Harry a chance to read the article that Draco
gave him from the Prophet.
The article is about Hagrid, and casts every thing about him in a
negative light, from his giant parentage to the Hippogriff incident of
the year before, and makes him hide in his cabin until simultaneous
visits from Harry&Ron&Hermione and Dumbledore convince him that
universal popularity is not a reasonable expectation for anyone, and a
lot of the parents who remember him well want him teaching thier
children.

The rest of the chapter is peppered with small details, many of which
will be important later in the book (and possibly in later books)
We learn about Aberforth Dumbledore and The Goat Which Was
Inapropriately Charmed.
And we see Viktor Krum swimming, which we later realize is his practice
for the Second Task
And Ludo Bagman, who bumps into Harry&Ron&Hermione in Hogsmeade, offers
to "help" harry with the second task - and leaves his conversation with
the goblins to make the offer. This becomes important later on.
And Rita threatens Hermione.

The chapter ends with Harry resolving to work on the Egg Clue...

QUESTIONS:
1. Is JKR, by making Hagrid blameless for whatever his mother, the
Giantess, may have done, and very different from what witches & wizards
believe about giants, setting up a parallel where the children of the
death eaters cannot be blamed for their parents' actions and act very
differently than their parents do/did?
2. Would you rather take a class from Hagrid or Professor Grubbly-Plank?
Discuss.
3. Why doesn't Harry pull out the Marauder's Map to see if Rita is on
Hogwarts grounds & then track her down in her bug form well before the
end of the book?
4. Did anyone realize that the trip to Hogsmeade in this book is the
first time Harry&Ron&Hermione all leave Hogwarts together to go into
town? Every previous time, one of them is left behind when they leave
the castle.