[HPforGrownups] Things that will come into play later.

[The Journalist]

No: HPFGUIDX 79372

Joj:
1.  Hermione's otter patronus and/or Cho's swan patronus.  Were they the only ones to succeed with that spell?  If not, why show us only theirs?  Was it to show us that Cho is a powerful witch or was it just a personality match? (Swans are beautiful from afar, but not very friendly and even a little dangerous up close)  Was Hermione's otter a clue like Sirius's code name "snuffles" (snuffed out)?  Add a P to otter, and what do you get?  Can we assume Ron didn't make a patronus?

Dan:
Though the otter is what JKR said she'd most like to turn into (or was it just her favorite animal?), I like your observation about the Swan/Cho parallel. An otter, by the way, is identified with playfulness, dexterity, openess, freedom, and parenting ("Oh, for goodness' sake, Ron!")

Joj:
2.  The way the stairs to the girls dorm turned into a slide.  I think it's a little late in the books to mention something like this unless it will come into play later.  Harry and Ron never tried to visit Hermione before, not in 5 years?  They never heard about it from anybody else?  You'd think someone would have mentioned it before!  If that same scene had been in SS or CoS I wouldn't think anything of it.  Book 5 though?  

Dan:
Certainly--perhaps we'll see Gryffindor Tower attacked/visited by unwelcome people... I get this funny vision of Voldemort with a curly mustache trying to get up to the girls' dorms and then sliding down... it did seem suspicious to have so late in the series, so it must come back later on.

Joj:
3.  Harry throwing the unforgivable curse. Was it simply a way for JKR to show us how horrible Harry was feeling inside, that he would resort to that?  Was it to teach Harry ,or us, how it's used and why Harry wasn't successful with it?  Is it going to eat at Harry that he lost control like that?  The fact that Harry did it was a very big deal, but I'm not sure if the important part was that he tried it or that he failed at it. 

Dan:
I think that was it--not only did it show his feelings, but that he doesn't have the heart for pain like Bellatrix does. I'm surprised Harry didn't think about the seriousness of it afterwards--he did something unforgivable, he created pain. 

-Dan

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