DISCUSSION - PoA Ch 15: The Quidditch Final

[blpurdom at yahoo.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 21164

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Ebony Elizabeth Thomas" <ebonyink at h...> 
wrote:
> >Questions and discussion points:
> >1) Hermione hugs Ron. Love interest or a friend apologising?  
 
> Foreshadowing of a future passionate love affair, of course. 

You jest, but I think it's true...

> >2) Hermione stands up to Malfoy over his comments about Hagrid. A
> >foreshadowing of the SPEW events in GoF? An indicator of why she 
> is in Gryffindor and not Ravenclaw?
 
> Yes.  Hermione's social activism is one of her key 
> characteristics.  It'd be very interesting to see if there are the 
> equivalent of British political parties affiliated with the MoM--
> Hermione's the classic bleeding-heart liberal, I think.

Yes but.  Her standing up to him at this point seems to stem more 
from her lack of sleep and being on edge emotionally from it.  She 
normally has more restraint (she's always trying to keep Ron and 
Harry from fighting with Malfoy to avoid Gryffindor losing house 
points).  In that scene, JKR is depicting a typical sleep-deprived 
person.

> >3) Has Hermione got the right idea about Divination? Or is it 
> actually useful for something? If so what and who will be the one 
> to show its uses?
> 
> Well, we had that great fate vs. free will discussion a month or so 
> ago (waves at Amy Z).  Personally, I don't think that the 
> Divination courses are just there for laughs...

If it weren't for Divination, we wouldn't be privy to Trelawney's 
prediction about Wormtail returning to Voldemort...and in either 5, 
6, or 7 we have to find out what the FIRST prediction was that she 
got right.  Plus, it's good comic relief when they're fooling around 
making up horrible fates for themselves.
> 
> >4) Harry has a dream about being chased by a dragon. In GoF Harry 
> flies a broom around a dragon. This means he is a Seer. Discuss.
> 
> If Harry is a Seer, you'll have mass book burnings by fans who 
> think Harry Gets Enough Attention And Has Enough Talent As It Is.  
> Even I had a fleeting second like this ("WHY is this kid a 
> Champion?") upon first reading of GoF, but now I think that the Bad 
> Guys are so intent on killing him that he needs all the help he can 
> get.  If he wants to survive canon, his bag of tricks had better be 
> full, I'm thinking.
> 
I'm saying NOT a seer; JKR could be foreshadowing either the GoF 
first task, or the dragon could stand for Draco, who is definitely an 
enemy...

> >5) Ron predicts that he will get an owl since Scabbers is no 
> longer around. This means he is a Seer. Discuss.
> 
> We've had some interesting discussions in the past re:  Ron's 
> prescience.  Many people like the idea of Ron Being a Seer, for 
> obvious balancing-the-Trio reasons... count me among the Committee 
> for the Granting of Special Psychic Powers to the Guy Sidekick.  I 
> know I think that getting clairvoyance would be a much 
> better "consolation prize" for him than just getting Hermione by 
> default.  It would also serve several purposes:  a very 
> obvious one is that Ron will be less likely to be tricked by the 
> Dark Side if he sees them coming.  The more I think about this, the 
> more I like it.

Ron was speculating that his parents might get him an owl, now that 
he no longer had Scabbers.  Not an unreasonable expectation.  It 
hardly makes him clairvoyant.  And Ron already has shown that he is 
brave, he can strategize and he is self-sacrificing (the transfigured 
chess game that was McGonagall's obstacle to the Sorcerer's/ 
Philosopher's Stone; going into the Chamber of Secrets; telling 
Sirius Black that he'd have to kill him and Hermione too, if he 
killed Harry).  He has also leaped in to defend Hermione from Malfoy 
on repeated occasions...He has faults too, of course, and after PoA 
they pretty much overshadow his good points.  I think we'll see more 
of his cons and fewer of his pros before JKR "rehabilitates" him near 
the end of the series...

--Barb