Chapter 26 - The Second Task

[Ebony]

No: HPFGUIDX 9437

Hope this posts--AO*ell gave me the boot as I was in the process of 
sending this.  If there is a duplicate, administrators, would you 
please delete it?  Thanks!

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, heidi <heidi.h.tandy.c92 at a...> 
wrote:
> 
> In which Our Hero acts all heroic, thereby showing moral fiber, in 
the eyes of all but Karkaroff.

Oh, good!  For once, I've got my copy of GoF near the computer on 
Discussion Day...

Questions:
1. Did Harry show moral fiber or was he being a prat?

The former, of course.  However, I think that the heroism Harry 
showed in the lake provided a balance for his irresponsible behavior 
in the weeks leading up to the Second Task.  He procrastinated, and 
if it hadn't been for Dobby's help, he would have had to follow Ron's 
advice.  (BTW, the "stick your head in the lake" quote ranks as one 
of my Favorite Ron Sayings.)

2. Why didn't Harry look for any potions or plants to help with the 
task? Does he automatically veer towards charms and transfigurations 
for any particular reason, or is he genetically inclined to those 
areas, given that they were his parents' specialties?

Perhaps there is a genetic inclination towards certain areas of 
magic.  There are a lot of theories under the subject "What 
constitutes magical ability and magical talent?"  I'm still forming 
my opinions.  I'd be more inclined to lean on the "nature" side of 
the arguments rather than the "nurture" (Lori's writing has 
influenced me in this regard).  For instance, I'm with the school 
that suspects that Hermione's magical talent is aided a great deal by 
her intelligence... but there's also something else there... 
something innate.

I'm not sure about Harry's leanings at this point.  Others have 
pointed out that he seems to learn more towards McGonagall's and 
Flitwick's classes, and of course he hates Potions with Snape, but 
I'd say that the only class he works up to his potential in is 
Defense Against the Dark Arts... which didn't help him until the 
Third Task.

> 3. Does Percy's protectiveness of Ron in this chapter change how 
you think of
> him?

I'm one of the few who sympathizes with Percy.  Just added this 
incident to Percy Support checklist.

4. What about Hermione & Krum's relationship?

What about it?  (j/k)  You know, I was telling Carole today that it 
would be a scream if JKR begins Book 5 with Hermione going on about 
the wonderful summer she had with "Viktor" and *neither* of her best 
friends caring.  Where would the H/H vs. R/H debate be then?  

5. If you were an H/H Shipper, would you consider the fact that Harry 
went to rescue Hermione before Cho as evidence that he likes her? How 
would you interpret this if you were an R/H shipper?

Ignoring the second question, and moving back to the original...  ;-)

Contrary to popular belief, the H/H positions are based (well, most 
of the time) upon reason.  Just as most of us don't read anything 
significant into The Kiss on GoF p. 734, most of us interpret 
the "Hermione first" incident in the same light as the R/Hers and 
everyone else.  She's his best friend--concrete reality.  At this 
point, Cho is a fantasy.

Having stated the obvious from a text-level reading, I *would* begin 
to use my much-maligned Divination skills to read between the lines, 
but Penny's not around to be my second... and I'm too sleepy for a 
shipper duel.

Ah, well, there's always the next time around!

--Ebony