[HPforGrownups] Application of lessons

[GulPlum]

No: HPFGUIDX 45043

Barb P wrote:

>While the students may not have used Transfiguration to conquer any of the 
>large threats experienced during the first four books, Transfiguration WAS 
>responsible for one of the most daunting challenges on the way to the 
>Philosopher's Stone (McGonagall's enchanted chess board), the Animagus 
>Transfiguration was important to the plot of the third book, and 
>specifically, McGonagall transfiguring herself into a cat and back to 
>human was introduced near the beginning of the first book,

LOONy point. She doesn't transform herself in front of the class until PoA, 
during a lesson on Animagi. (OT: This is a piece of continuity the movie 
series is going to have to sort out, because obviously the topic is vital 
to the third book/film, and they've already lost their opportunity to 
introduce it at the right point.)

>telling us very quickly that this is something possible for witches and 
>wizards to do (although we don't learn of its rarity until much 
>later).  This is also an important plot point in GoF (Rita Skeeter) and it 
>is Hermione's knowledge of Transfiguration, I believe, that leads her to 
>conclude that Rita is an insect Animagus.  Rita was not the extreme threat 
>in GoF that Voldemort and Crouch/Moody represented, but she was a minor 
>adversary who was conquered by Hermione's Transfiguration knowledge.

I'm not sure whether to start with "all of that is irrelevant to the point 
I'm making", or "that's *exactly* my point", as there are elements of both 
in my reasoning. :-)

Yes, it is indisputable that Transfiguration is important in the Wizarding 
World, and apart from the chess game in the first book (which I don't 
really see as a pure Transfiguration exercise anyway; the chess pieces are 
"intelligent" apart from being big), the only real appearance of 
Transfiguration in the plotline are the recurring Animagi. But this is a 
derived discipline and requires considerable skill well beyond 
Transformation itself.

My point is that considering the "screen time" devoted to Transfiguration 
lessons throughout the books (even before the introduction of the Animagus 
concept), the kids themselves appear to have little practical use for it 
themselves.

I agree that lessons in other subjects have barely a mention, but there 
appears to be a direct relationship between the "screen time" they get and 
their usefulness to the Trio. The kids have made little use of what they 
learn in Potions lessons, but what happens during the lessons themselves 
takes on importance. Charms lessons, apart from being eventful themselves, 
also teach the Trio useful spells, whether levitation, summoning or 
banishing (though admittedly they've not found a specific use for tap 
dancing pineapples or Cheering charms yet!). :-)

You mentioned Astronomy. Whilst I agree that there seems to be a lack of 
"joined up thinking" (whether on the boys' part or JKR's is a matter of 
conjecture!) in applying what they learn there to the Astrology part of 
Divination, we have yet to witness an Astronomy lesson. We witness them on 
their way to or from the Astronomy tower a few times, but never the lesson 
itself. Personally, I take this as an indication that this is not 
necessarily going to remain to be the case. Apart from anything else, JKR 
has said that planets-obsessed Firenze will make a re-appearance and I 
suspect that there's a connection between him and Astronomy lessons. But 
that remains to be seen.

Furthermore, I do not believe that it is in the slightest bit accidental 
that we know next to nothing about Prof. Sinistra. After all (and here I 
jump on to one of my HP hobby horses - etymology), her name, which 
literally translates as "the left hand side" is a female Latin word; its 
parent "sinister" ("left") is the source of the modern meaning of that 
word. I am prepared to buy a hat and eat it if by the end of Book Seven she 
is not proved to be VERY important. In the meantime, her current shadowy 
state fits her name very nicely. :-)

>Oh, and I've yet to see Hermione apply Arithmancy to anything practical, 
>despite her near hero-worship of Professor Vector.

Considering Harry doesn't attend those classes, we have reason to know very 
little about the subject. We don't even know what it entails or what it 
does, apart from relying on copious notes. We have no reason to assume that 
Hermione hasn't applied it in some way or another; she simply hasn't told 
us/Harry. Again, however, the fact that we know so little about it makes me 
smell great things to come.

And so back to my original point: if Transfiguration gets so much "screen 
time" and we even know what the teacher's night clothes look like (yes, I'm 
being disingenuous) :-) why do the Trio not *use* what they've learned?

>And really, the only practical use Hagrid's classes have provided are the 
>bond between Harry and Buckbeak.  Otherwise COMC classes have been fairly 
>useless as well.

Grey Wolf (welcome back, G.W.!) :-) has already suggested that Harry's 
knowledge of the Skrewts and other creatures has been of assistance; the 
situation with Buckbeak is more (or less, depending on your POV) than 
"bonding": Harry knows how to behave with a Hippogriff, which he wouldn't 
otherwise.

In any case, as I see it, Hagrid's lessons have three other functions: they 
give Harry an opportunity to see more of Hagrid than he otherwise would, 
"things" happen during Hagrid's lessons (such as the Draco incident, which 
has its own sub-plot), and much as Snape is an example of a 
not-particularly-good teacher one hates, Hagrid is a perfect of a 
not-particularly-good teacher one loves.

And, on a lighter note, Richelle wrote:
 > Yes, that's it.  The second one.  JKR is saving McGonagall and 
transfiguration
 > for a climactic scene.  Harry will transfigure Voldemort into a slug and 
step on
 > him. :)

I therefore take it that you don't subscribe to the theory recently 
espoused (inter alia by myself) that Harry's ultimate defeat of Voldemort 
won't be by magical means? ;-)

And on that last topic, I have several posts in my inbox in reply to my 
post about Harry's talent on which I wish to comment, but that'll have to 
wait until tomorrow/later today. It's now 3.45am, and time I retired to my 
own four-poster. :-)

--
GulPlum AKA Richard, surprised how long he's spent on HPFGU replies tonight!