COS - Percy - Chairs/Benches/Map of Hogwarts - Robes - Moleskin -

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 27420

FILK
Caius, I LOVED "Bring Me The Toad"!

CoS
Laura justanopinion wrote:

> Let's talk about this.  What exactly is it that causes so many 
> people not to like CoS? 

CoS is MY least favorite of the books. I don't really like it all 
that much, but I don't know WHY I'm unenthusiastic. It is not that 
Flying Ford Anglia is a deus ex machina (or machina ex dea) because I 
LIKED that rescue. Maybe it is because Hermione is absent (petrified) 
so long. Maybe it is because Dobby is incredibly annoying, but he and 
Winky don't ruin GoF for me. 

PoA is my MOST favorite of the books because it has Lupin. The person 
who was asking for characteristic quotes, was it the FIRST or the 
BEST time that we loved the character that was requested? I think the 
BEST Lupin may is either:

When Snape blackguards Neville and Lupin replies: "Professor Lupin had 
raised his eyebrows. "I was hoping that Neville would assist me with 
the first stage of the operation," he said, "and I am sure he will 
perform it admirably.""  

Or 

"Well?" said Snape again. "This parchment is plainly full of Dark 
Magic. This is supposed to be your area of expertise, Lupin. Where do 
you imagine Potter got such a thing?"

"Full of Dark Magic?" he repeated mildly. "Do you really think so,
Severus? It looks to me as though it is merely a piece of parchment 
that insults anybody who reads it. Childish, but surely not 
dangerous? I imagine Harry got it from a joke shop --"

"Indeed?" said Snape. His jaw had gone rigid with anger. "You think 
a joke shop could supply him with such a thing? You don't think it 
more likely that he got it directly from the manufacturers?"

Harry didn't understand what Snape was talking about. Nor, 
apparently,did Lupin.

"You mean, by Mr. Wormtail or one of these people?" he said. "Harry,
do you know any of these men?"

The first showing his kindness, the second his self-control, staying 
calm and cool despite being insulted and harassed. 

PERCY
Barb wrote:

> If it ever APPEARS that Percy has become a Death Eater, I believe 
> that it will only be because he is working as a spy for Dumbledore 
>(snip) I think he could convince Voldemort that he is Percy's role 
> model 

Barb just gave me the idea that Percy was reading PREFECTS WHO GAINED 
POWER as research into Tom Riddle / Voldemort instead of personal 
interest!

RON'S BROKEN WAND IN CoS
Barb also wrote:

> How did Ron make it through his second year with a malfunctioning 
> wand?  It seems unlikely that he wouldn't flunk with sub-par 
> equipment like this;

Maybe we can take this as evidence that Ron does not lack intelligence 
and talent: despite his laziness about studying, he was good enough at 
the reading and writing part of classes to make to balance out his 
wand's rottenness at the lab part to average out 
to something like a B- grade average.

MAP/Chairs/Benches
Thank you, Jonathan Dupont, for posting the map of Hogwarts.

John Walton wrote:

> The map is really rather dire, I have to say. Sure, it looks cool, 
> but the captions are WAY off -- the Marble Staircase is marked as 
> being inside the tallet steeplesque tower instead of starting at 
> ground level. Moreover, there's no lawn in front of what must 
> therefore be the main entrance. URGH.

Steve Vander Ark wrote:

> 1 - The labels are sad. The Dark Forest? Black Lake? Please. (snip)
> 3 - The Great Hall simply cannot be located where they have it, 
> (snip) there is no way that this scenario could be played out with 
> the Great Hall way out over that cliff like that. (snip)
> (5) so the Forest seems to be in the wrong place. But I should
> talk, since I put it exactly the same on my map. And I was wrong 
> too.

Joywitch wrote:

> Clearly, the staircases are not the only feature of Hogwarts that
> changes.  Based on the evidence provided by Cindy, Brandon, Steve 
> and others I think it's clear that the Great Hall has chairs on 
> Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, and benches on Tuesday, Thursday and
> Saturdays.  And, although JKR doesn't mention it, I firmly believe 
> that on Sundays the students sit on magically floating cushions.

When I read Steve's post, I was not only charmed but Inspired by it. 
As the staircases are stated in the text to move from place to place 
in the castle (as quoted by Joywitch), IIRC so also JKR said in an 
interview that the classrooms and so on move from place to place on 
the same floor in order to excuse her from having to remember exactly 
where everything is. 

IIRC she didn't say whether e.g. the Charms classroom moves from the 
e.g. second floor of one tower to the second floor of a different 
tower or a keep, or does the whole tower containing the Charms 
classroom move from one GPS co-ordinate to another. Maybe BOTH happen, 
in order to maximise the confusion. Maybe this is not merely the magic 
being whimsical, but a security feature designed by the Founders to 
hamper any enemy or spy who managed to get inside the castle. Anyway, 
it would explain how disagreeing maps can all be correct.

If the places move around on a schedule (or calendar), the students 
had better Memorize that schedule Quickly. If it happens rather 
randomly, the students AND STAFF need methods to find their way 
around. Maybe the pointy hats are not merely pointeD but pointeRs.

Joywitch, maybe the dining hall has long benches, short benches, 
uncomfortable chairs, or comfortable chairs depending on how well the 
students have been behaving lately. 

ROBES
Prefect Marcus wrote:

> > * Robes aren't the right kind.
> What are the right kind and why are these wrong? 

Like the French cover of PS: 
http://www.9cy.com/members/hol/covergallery1.htm

Lotus Moon Dragon:

> On a different note, am I the only person who hates the robes in
> the movie? 

Just because the robes in the movie are wrong doesn't mean I hate 
them. I think they look kind of charming, except for being wrong: they 
look very much like British Boarding School novels from the approx 
1850 to 1950 era.

MOLESKIN
vheggie wrote:

> Hagrid's fur jacket, apparently, is made of fake fur, cut into the 
> shape of tiny, molesized pelts, shaved, and then stiched toegther, 
> to make it look like moleskin.

The amount of effort is admirable but misguided: moleskin is a fabric, 
NOT the skin of moles. I pontificated about this in chat last Sunday:

http://www.davidmorgan.com/CATALOGS/DM/dm31?17211365327402251251008341
76
"Moleskin and corduroy are rugged cotton fabrics long used in outdoor 
wear, as trousers, jackets, vests and shirts. In Britain, with the 
development of the cotton industry in Lancashire, these two fabrics 
were used particularly in trousers for farmers and laborers, as the 
trousers were durable, washable, and gave good protection from 
chilling winds. Both fabrics were used also by the landowners who 
found them unusually comfortable when shooting or fishing."
"Moleskin and corduroy are both fustian fabrics, woven with a twilled 
weave to form a thick dense cloth, and having a cut nap on one side. 
With the moleskin, the fabric is brushed to form the nap."
"Moleskin, with a brushed nap, is softer than corduroy, and, with 
uniform thickness, is somewhat more wind resistant." 

http://www.bootsonline.com.au/pants.htm 
"Moleskins have become part of the Australian heritage. Moleskin was 
originally worn by miners in Wales. The fabric is so soft that on the 
inside it feels like a second skin against your own. Outside, it 
looks and feels like soft suede, yet its still as tough and durable 
as ever."

LOOK AT THIS
http://www.drugstore.com/templates/brand/default.asp?brand=22688 - 
> to see Harry Potter toothpaste & brushes!