Chapter 36 Summary

[Scott]

No: HPFGUIDX 15173

Great summary Penny.
QUESTIONS:
1. Do we have any sense of how Snape reacted when Fudge summoned a
Dementor to accompany him to the castle?  We know McGonagall was 
furious and tried to insist that the Dementor be removed, but how do 
we think Snape reacted?  Someone pointed out last week that Snape was 
as powerless to stop the Dementor from administering the Kiss to 
Crouch Jr. as McGonagall.

--I don't think that either had the power to stop the Dementor. 
Glancing back over the text quickly didn't seem to give me any new 
insight. Dumbledore and Mcgonagall were obviously very angry. Snape 
most likely was too.

2. Now: that pesky "gleam of triumph" in Dumbledore's eyes.  We've
discussed it & hashed it to death before, but does anyone have any new
thoughts about this?

--The general consenus seems to be that by putting Harry's blood into 
him he created some type of weakness, right? That makes the most 
sense but really your guess is as good as mine, and her's, and his 
and his, and his, and his, and hers and about EVERYONE who's joined 
this list....

3. Any thoughts about what causes one of the wands in a pair of 
dueling "brother" wands to gain dominance and force the other one to 
start regurgitating spells through the Priori Incantatem effect?

--Magic seems to come from an innate ability inside each person, but 
the wand is a direction for that magical power. In a sense, since the 
wand has the same core, and therefore the same direction which magic 
is funneled. Since that force is the same it's as if it was a persons 
own wand and therefore the specific substance  that reacts with a 
persons innate magic. It's as if they are working against their own 
self. (Does that make sense?)

When Harry buys his wand Ollivander says that the Pheonix gave only 
one other feather, which leads me to believe that usually an animal 
gives more than one or two feathers, heartstrings, hair etc. If say 
there were 100 tail hairs from  the same unicorn PI mightn't be that 
uncommon. 

5. We've discussed Cornelius Fudge a fair bit in the past.  Any new
thoughts?  Is he a head-in-the-sand Neville Chamberlain type or is his
refusal to act based on more sinister intentions?

--He's the former all the way, at least in my opinon. He is so 
blinded by his own power that he refuses to believe the reality of 
what he's hearing. I've never really liked him, and can't stand him 
in this chapter. It just makes you want  to smack him and say "This 
is real you arse, and if you deny it you're gonna be dead. So 
listen!" Of course Dumbledore does say that, but not in those words. 
I don't think that Fudge is evil, but his closemindedness certainly 
makes him no better than evil.

6. Do we assume Dumbledore could have intended anything else other 
than for Hagrid and Madame Maxime to serve as envoys to the giants?

--It seems like that's what they'll do. Which means Hagrid'll have to 
meet his mother and that should be interesting. 

On a related note, it's late so if this is in canon and I forgot 
sorry, where do you guys think the giants live? Not in Britain.
 
7. JKR confirmed in one of the chats that Arabella Figg, part of the
"old gang" in Dumbledore's camp, is the same "Mrs. Figg" with the cats
who lives around the corner from the Dursleys on Privet Drive and had
baby-sat Harry for years in the past.  What has been her likely role 
in living in such close proximity to Harry all those years?

--It's funny because we've never actually met Mrs. Figg erm, Arabella 
in the canon. She's just been metioned. But didn't JKR say that cats 
are going to be important to the overall plot? Kinda funny though 
considering she doesn't even like cats.

8. What do we think about what Dumbledore has asked Snape to do?

--I don't really like the go back and be a spy in Voldy's camp idea, 
it's to simple. Then again I've not come up with much better so-


9. Was anyone else irritated at Hermione for interrupting the 
emotional moment between Harry and Molly Weasley when they first read 
this chapter?  We, of course, later understand what she was doing, 
but what was your reaction when you first read this chapter?

--I don't really remember? It is kind of annoying at the time, but of 
course we understand later....and it shows Hermione's character 
because she doesn't try to boast that she's caught Rita, it isn't 
very important in light of the recent events. She waits for the right 
time. Good for Hermione.

Discuss!!

--I don't think you have to worry about a lack of discussion on this 
list. ;-)

Scott