Chapter 12 Summary

[Trina]

No: HPFGUIDX 20104

Chapter 12  The Patronus

Harry and Ron are hacked off with Hermione for the confiscation of 
the "best broom in the world" and are not speaking with her at all.  
Harry, at least, realizes that Hermione meant well with her meddling, 
but agrees with Ron that having it stripped down is "nothing less 
than criminal damage."  Oliver Wood, Gryffindor's own Quidditch-mad 
captain, is horrified by the news and offers to talk to McGonagall 
for Harry. "I'll make her see sense. A *Firebolt*..." 

Harry, worried that the Dementors will attack him during the 
Ravenclaw match, sets up anti-dementor lessons with Lupin for 
Thursday at 8:00 (obviously he doesn't mind missing Friends).  As 
they are leaving DADA, Ron makes the comment that Lupin still looks 
ill and wonders what is wrong with him.  Hermione tuts and declares 
that it's "obvious" with superiority and marches off. 

Lupin and Harry meet in the History of Magic classroom.  Lupin has a 
boggart that he found in Filch's filing cabinet for Harry to practice 
on.  The Patronus charm is highly advanced magic far beyond the 
Ordinary Wizarding Level, conjuring up a guardian to act as a shield 
between the wizard and the dementor and is individualized to the 
casting wizard. The wizard must fix upon a happy memory and recites 
an incatation: Expecto Patronum.  Harry practices for a few minutes 
and is able to produce silvery stuff from the end of his wand.  Lupin 
lets the boggart out of the box and Harry has a go at it.  He hears 
his mum and passes out.  Lupin offers to stop the lesson, but Harry 
is determined to continue, on the grounds that "What if the dementors 
turn up at our match against Ravenclaw?".  Once again he tries 
against the boggart-dementor.  This time he hears his dad before he 
faints.  When he tells Lupin this, Lupin seems a bit shaken. Harry 
learns that Lupin knew Sirus Black as well "or thought he did".  

Slytherin beat Ravenclaw in the next Quidditch match--good news for 
Gryffindor, according to Wood, who ups practice to five nights a 
week.  With Patronus classes as well, this gives Harry only one night 
a week to do all his homework, but even he is handling the stress 
better than Hermione.  She is constantly studying and Ron is 
beginning to wonder how she is getting to all her classes. 

In their 4th lesson, Harry learns about the Dementor's kiss, in which 
a dementor "clamp[s] their jaws upon the mouth of the victim and -- 
suck[s] out his soul."  A fate, Lupin tells him that is much worse 
than death. "You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as 
long as your brain and heart are still working. But you'll have no 
sense of self anymore, no memory, no...anything.  You'll just--exist. 
As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever...lost."  This is 
the fate that awaits Black.  Harry thinks he deserves it.

On his way back from Lupin, Harry runs into McGonagall, who is 
returning his Firebolt.  He is delighted, as is Ron, whom he meets in 
the hall.  They find Neville at the Gryffindor entrance beggin Sir 
Cadogan to let him in. Neville has lost the page of passwords he had 
made the Knightmare give him earlier in the week.  The three boys 
enter the common room and the Firebolt causes a sensation.  Ron 
offers to take it up to the dormitory while Harry talks to Hermione 
about why Arithmancy is so wonderful.  A scream erupts from the 
boys's dormitory and Ron dashes downstairs with blood-stained sheets 
and a few gingery cat hairs.  Crookshanks has apparantly had a dinner 
of Rat Tartar.  

Questions:

1.  It is in this chapter that we first see Hermione exhibiting signs 
of burnout.  Why hasn't anyone (namely teachers) noticed before now?  
Why was she even allowed to take such a ghastly load anyway?  

2.  Were Ron and Harry right to behave so abominably to Hermione in 
the affair of the Firebolt?

3.  How did Lupin find the boggart in Filch's filing cabinet in the 
first place?

4. *Is* it obvious what is making Lupin ill?  (yeah, yeah, yeah, I 
know.  Pretend this is the first time you've read PoA)

5.  Wood has the Gyffindor team practising 5 nights a week.  Do you 
think this is allowed by school rules?  Is Wood a little *too* 
obssessed?  

6. Put on your thinking caps now.  Which is a worse fate: death, or 
the dementor's kiss? Why?  

7.  Ron is apparantly more easily angered at Hermione than is Harry, 
even in the Firebolt Fuss.  Why is this?

Chapter 13 is next.

Trina