SS/PS Chapter Twelve Summary and Questions

[Joywitch M. Curmudgeon]

No: HPFGUIDX 29031

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., lamppost42 at h... wrote:
> This is my first chapter summary! I'm so excited!
> 
> T'was two weeks before Christmas and all through the school,
>  Every student impatiently longed for the Yule.
> The Halls were festooned with charmed grandiosity
> But the Three were still filled with intense curiosity;
> For Flamel eluded their careful detetction,
> And they weren't allowed in the Restricted Section.

Great summary, Libby!  And REALLY cool poem!
> 
> 2. Do you feel that the sterotypical portrayal of Madame Pince as 
the 
> ill-tempered, spinsterish librarian is problematic and/or overly 
> simplistic, or is it another misleading characterization brought to 
> you by Red Herring, Inc.?

Not wanting to open a can of worms that has, in the past, resulted in 
much screaming and yelling, I have to say that I have never liked the 
stereotypical nature of most the women in the HP books.  Pince, 
Pomfrey, McGonagal and Hooch all seem like schoolteacher-lady 
stereotypes -- the prissy librarian, the fussy nurse, the stern 
headmistress, the tough coach.  
 
> 6. If the Mirror of Erised had not been the Philosopher's Stone's 
> final protection prior to December 27th, what kind of puzzle or 
> enchantment do you think Dumbledore protected it with between July 
31 
> and December 27?

Good question...maybe it was protecting the stone for all but a few 
days around Christmas, when Dumbledore brought it upstairs 
specifically so that Harry would find it?  Another question:  How did 
D. know that Harry would find it?  Did he charm the invisibility 
cloak?  Or Harry himself?  Or place a "magnet spell" on the Mirror?

--Joywitch