PS/SS Chapter Thirteen Chapter Summary and Questions

[lamppost42 at hotmail.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 28904

This is my second Chapter Summary! I'm almost as excited as I was 
about my first, although slightly loopier thanks to late night 
celebration of my first Chapter Summary... hoo boy.

  PS/SS Chapter Thirteen: Nicolas Flamel
  ...which has some lovely acting in it...

  After the Mirror of Erised fiasco, Harry is troubled by nightmares 
about his parents disappearing in a flash of green light (sound of 
hearts breaking around the world (mine included)).  Hermione is back 
and upset that Ron and Harry were unable to find any information on 
Nicolas Flamel. Since school has started again, Hermione, Harry and 
Ron only have time to look for Flamel in the brief intervals between 
classes. Harry is overwhelmed by the intensity of quidditch training 
and is informed that Snape (who may or may not have jinxed Harry's 
broom in the Gryffindor-Slytherin match) has insisted on refereeing 
the upcoming Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match. Displaced by concern about 
the upcoming quidditch match, Harry's nightmares become less frequent.

 While Harry, Hermione, and Ron discuss Snape's ulterior motives for 
refereeing, Neville stumbles into the common room, still suffering 
from a leg-locker curse courtesy of Draco Malfoy. Harry gives Neville 
a pep talk and the last of his Chocolate Frogs. Neville gives Harry 
the trading card (Dumbledore) from his Frog before going to bed. Harry 
discovers
 Flamel's alchemical connection to Dumbledore. Hermione fleshes out 
the boys' knowledge of the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone, and the 
three collectively realize that the Stone must be the you-know-what 
from vault 713 and that Snape is trying to steal it.

 The next day, Harry and Ron fantasize about having the 
Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone until Harry remembers the upcoming 
quidditch match against Hufflepuff: the match that Snape insists on 
refereeing. While Harry grows more and more nervous, Ron and Hermione 
practice the leg-locker curse, should they need to incapacitate Snape 
during the game.

 Game Day: Wood advises Harry to catch the snitch early to keep Snape 
from awarding too many gratuitous penalties. Before the game begins, 
Harry notices Dumbledore in the stands and is no longer afraid of 
Snape doing anything obviously evil to him. After the start of the 
match, Malfoy & Cronies insult Neville and Ron until Ron snaps and 
attacks Malfoy. After a moment, Neville attacks Crabbe and Goyle. 
During the boys' scuffle, Harry catches the snitch barely five minutes 
after the starting whistle and wins the game for Gryffindor. In the 
onslaught of well wishers, Dumbledore quietly congratulates Harry on 
recovering from his experiences with the Mirror of Erised.

 After the glorious Gryffindor victory, Harry is the last one out of 
the Gryffindor locker room and notices Snape skulking off into the 
Forbidden Forest. Harry gives chase on his broom and manages to hide 
in a tree above a tete-a-tete between Snape and Quirrell.  The bits of 
the conversation that Harry overhears seem to indicate that Snape is 
bullying Quirrell for information about the enchantments protecting 
the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone. Between Harry's mistrust of Snape 
and Quirrell's inability to complete a coherent sentence, Harry is in 
no doubt of Snape's plans to steal the Stone.

Harry tells Hermione and Ron about the clandestine meeting, and Ron 
wryly predicts the Stone will be stolen by the following week (You can 
tell he hasn't stared Divination yet...)

Questions (these are kind of general, but isn't that the point of 
"discussion" questions?):

1. Hermione is described as being "torn between horror at the idea of 
Harry being out of bed, roaming the school three nights in a row... 
and disappointment that he hadn't at least found out who Nicolas 
Flamel was." (PS/SS Am. Ed. 215) How do you think Hermione would have 
gone about looking for Flamel if she had stayed for the holidays?

2. Why does Snape feel he will be able to best protect Harry while 
refereeing the quidditch match, rather than watching Quirrell from the 
stands as before?

3. The Chocolate Frog card proclaims that Dumbledore is also famous 
for "his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel." (PS/SS Am. 
Ed. 219) Flamel's dates are 1330-1417 
(http://www.scs.uiuc.edu/~mainzv/exhibit/flamel.htm). Dumbledore is 
approximatley 150 years old in PS/SS. If Flamel is the only known 
maker of the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone (and has been since the 
early 15th century), then for what kinds of alchemical discoveries are 
Flamel and Dumbledore so intimately mixed as to end up on a Chocolate 
Frog card together?

4. In Quirrell's DADA class the students are required to copy down 
different ways of treating werewolf bites.  If treatments exists for 
werewolf bites (and they're simple enough to be understood by 
eleven-year-olds) and some lycanthropic symptoms (Wolfsbane potion), 
why has such a violent fear and hatred of werewolves been retained so 
strongly in the wizarding community?

5. After such a spectacular nab and an important victory, why would 
Harry (the hero of the hour) be by himself after the game and on his 
trip to the broom shed? I imagine Fred and George would have pinned 
his arms to his sides with his scarlet cloak and frog marched Harry 
into the common room....

6.The conversation between Quirrell and Snape: ARGH! I have so many 
problems with this scene! 
6A. How much does Snape know about Quirrell's reasons for          
wanting the Stone?
6B. Why doesn't Quirrell/Voldemort reveal himself to Snape, a (former) 
Death Eater and one of the Stone's protectors?
6C. Why does Snape suspect Quirrell in the first place? Did they know 
each other before?

7. (silly question) What traditions do exuberant quidditch fans have 
regarding storming the field after a spectacular win? Do they try to 
tear down the scoring hoops?  (American univeristy football joke...)

Thanks for your patience with my first (and hopefully second) chapter 
summaries. I learn more every day!

Walzing with Bears,

Libby
Mundungus42