DISCUSSION - PoA Ch 15: The Quidditch Final

[Zarleycat at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 21192

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Simon" <simon at h...> wrote:
> 1) Hermione hugs Ron. Love interest or a friend apologising? 

A friend apologising.  Sometimes it takes something awful outside the 
friendship to make people realize that what they have been fighting 
or arguing about is not worth it in the grand scheme of things.  Add 
to that Hermione's obvious stress at having too many classes, and 
it's not surprising that she shows her emotions more openly.

> 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?

See above.  This was another incident that pushed her a bit over the 
edge, and I bet secretly she's been wanting to clout Draco for a long 
time.  And yes to Gryffindor.


> 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?

I think that Divination is one of those branches of magic where only 
a small percentage of the population has any true ability in it.  And
while I wouldn't quite agree with Ron when he describes Trelawney as 
a "right old fraud" in the next chapter, her powers do seem to come 
and go (mostly go - much like my ability to pick winners at the race 
track!) I think Hermione would have had more patience with a 
professor who was more down-to-earth and practical.

> 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.

I don't think this is indicative of Seeing ability.  He dreamt that 
the whole Slytherin team was mounted on dragons.  I think, rather, 
that this was one of those anxiety-ridden dreams you have before an 
important event.  

> 5) Ron predicts that he will get an owl since Scabbers is no longer 
around.
> This means he is a Seer. Discuss.
> 
Maybe it's really just wishful thinking...

Marianne, working diligently on the next two chapter summaries