Re-reading

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 76508

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "manawydan" <manawydan at n...> wrote:
> I re-read PS/SS this weekend and picked up on a couple of points 
> which hadn't stuck in my mind before - wondered what others thought 
> about them?
> 
> 1. Snape's worst memory
> 
> Chapter 16. It's a sunny day, and the exams are over. HRH go looking
> for Dumbledore and don't find him.
>

bboy_mn:
No comment. 

But I will add, I don't think the memory in OotP was Snape's worst
memory. Remember he put several in the Pensieve. But it was the memory
that most moved the plot forward. Harry now has empathy for Snape. He
understands that his Dad, James, wasn't a saint. 

So I think the intended selection process of the particular memory
from the Pensieve was suppose to appear random, but as literary fate
would have it, it was randomly the one that worked best in the story.
I think Snape probably has close to seven years of treatment very
similar to that one memory.


> 
> 2. Dead Weasleys
> 
> Chapter 12. It snows
> 
> "The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for 
> bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, 
> bouncing off the back of his turban"
> 
> Ouch. Voldemort's reaction to being snowballed isn't recorded, but I
> suspect he wasn't unduly happy about it. 
>

bboy_mn:

If Quirrel wasn't to fussed about it, why should Volemort be? There
was nothing to stop Quirrel or to stop Voldemort from forcing Quirrel
to turn around and give the Weasley brothers a month of detentions. 

So, again, if Quirrel doesn't react, then I think it's because he sees
no need to react, and the extension of that is that Voldemort didn't
react either. I think Voldemort consistently has more important things
on his mind than a few playful snowballs.

> 
> 3. Big Hogwarts? Big Hufflepuff?
> 
> Chapter 7. The sorting process. Of the students whose house is given
> here, ...
> 3 Hufflepuff (Abbott, Bones, Finch-Fletchley), 
> 3 Ravenclaw (Boot, Brocklehurst, Turpin), 
> 3 for Slytherin (Bulstrode, Malfoy, Zabini),
> 6 for Gryffindor (Brown, Finnegan, Granger, Longbottom, Potter,
> Weasley).
> 
> It's not conclusive, but it sounds as if JKR is trying to emphasise 
> that the houses are roughly equal ...

bboy_mn:
No, I think what JKR is doing is introducing characters. We have to
make a distinction between 'students' and 'student characters'.
Students are all those nameless faceless people who are milling around
in the background. Student characters are students who have a presents
in the story, a presents in that they are named, a presents in the
form of spoken lines, or lines being spoken about them, or reaction
'shots'.

Many people use the list of Students from JKR personal note book as an
indication of how many students are in the various houses and
therefore, in the school, but again, the list doesn't define all the
students; it defines all the characters.

Also, by my analysis of the House personality types relative to size;
I say that Slytherin and Griffindor are in the minority, Ravenclaw is
in the middle, and Hufflepuff is the majority. (illustration: 15%
Gryf, 15% Slyth, 30% Rav, 40% Huff)

There are a lot of smart people in the world, and there are a lot of
ordinary people in the world, but not that many who a cunning,
ambitious, and ruthless, and not that many that are outstandingly brave. 



> 
> :Later in the same chapter
> 
> "Percy directed the girls through one dooe to their dormitory and 
> the boys through another"
> 
> The singular is used in both cases. ...edited...
> 

bboy_mn:
Just want to point out that in Europe, 'dormitory' refers to single
student living space; a room. For example, the room with Harry, Ron,
Neville, Dean, and Seamus is a dormitory, but the residence hall,
Gryffindor Tower, is not a dormitory. Frequently, in the US, dormitory
and residence hall are used interchangable. (You probably already know
that)

So, in the examply you cite, Percy is directing them to a stairway
that will take the students to the single room to which they have been
assigned. 

Certainly, that spiral stair way, in general, leads to dormitories;
the 1st year's dorm, the 2nd year's dorm, 3rd year's dorm, etc.... But
in the example you cited, it refers to one boy's room and one girl's room.


> 4. Wand Cores
> 
> Chapter 5. Ollivander talks about production techniques
> 
> "We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of
> dragons"
> 
> It doesn't sound like he has any problems with sourcing phoenix 
> feathers for wands...
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Ffred


bboy_mn:
Well, if you've been around for a while then you probably know that I
have my own long elborate draw out theories on wands, but rather than
bore you with the whole thing, I will just make two points -

1.) Phoenix are relatively rare birds. They do exist in the wild, but
I'm under the impression that these are found in Egypt, India, and
China. So, not readily available in England. We do see and it is
implied that there are a few of them like Fawkes in Britain, but I
suspect you can count them on one hand.

2.) A vast majority of wands sold by Ollivander are Unicorn and Dragon
Heart. I won't say that Phoenix wands are rare, but they are uncommon.

So, I think through available birds in UK and by ordering them from
Africa and Asia, Ollivander is able to get all the Phoenix cores he needs.
 
Of course, I can't prove a word of it, but it meets my standard which
is 'does it seem likely?'.

Just a thought.

bboy_mn