Practice, Practice, Practice, & Play

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 71004

I'm wondering if the DA club will continue. Certainly, the people who
have participated are not going to be satisfied with another year of
mediocre DADA classes. So, I suspect people (DA members) will keep
bugging Harry to teach them more.

There are three areas I think they need to seriously practice.

1.) Target practice - doesn't matter how strong your curse is, if it
doesn't hit the target. I think this is one of Neville's weak areas.
He's already proven that he is willing to work hard, and that under a
proper teacher, he learns quickly. So he is in no more need of Spell
work than anyone else.

Here's what I envision; Hermione enchants some dinner plates to
randomly float on edge around one end of the room while the DA's take
turns shooting sparks or ink pellets or whatever at the plates. Great
practice hitting a moving target.

If the DA Club becomes open to the whole school, I could see them
having an Inter-House target practice competition, which I'm very sure
Neville would win if he had some support and a chance to practice.
Draco Malfoy beaten by Neville; I love it.

2.) Lots and lots and lots more work on counter-curses, and undoing
spells. What good is an army of living soldiers, if they are disabled
laughing and giggling, or dancing around. If Harry or any of the DA's
at the Ministry of Magic that fateful night had remembered their
counter-spell, they could have undone the curse on Neville's legs, and
could have probably undone Ron's problem.

I was really frustrated when Ron returned from the 'Planets' room all
laughing and giggling. I'm really frustrated with Ron having to play
the role of the dolt and the clown. I want to see some serious Ron
Weasley heroics. The movies have already turned him into a buffoon, we
don't need the books giving them any more ammunition.

3.) Basic First Aid-
I have always thought that 'First Aid' was a course that was sadly
lacking at Hogwarts. I assume the justification is that it would
discourage student from coming to the school infirmary for help, and
trying to deal with it on their own. But the wizard world in general
is a dangerous world, and I would think that general magical first aid
would be extremely useful. 

Remember how badly Ron's leg was hurt in PoA, and how well Sirius (or
was it Lupin) patched it up so they could walk back to the castle.
Something like that would have sure help Ginny in OoP, and given her a
second chance to get back into the fight.

Confrontations with Voldemort and the Death Eater are going to become
more extreme with much greater risk, being able to offset the risk is
a tremendous advantage.

Also, good Slytherins-
After reading OoP, a very very strong case could be made for Sirius
being a Slytherin; his great-great-great grandfather Phineas was a
Slytherin, there are snake images all over his house, .... I have to
believe that there really are good Slytherins, and finding and allying
with them will be an important part of uniting the wizard world
against Voldemort. Maybe that's what Blaise Zambini's role will be.
JKR has him waiting in the wings until such time as the story calls
for a good Slytherin and Ally to appear. Hey, it could happen.


Now it's Party Time-

Not really, just forcing a shift in the mood and moving on to another
subject.

Why does Harry have to stay at the Dursley's all the time? OK, I know
about the 'ancient magic', but I'm not talking about that. Why does he
have to stay there 6 weeks before he can spend 2 weeks at the Weasley's?

Would it be so hard for Harry to meet Ron and Hermione at Diagon Alley
for lunch and hanging around on a Saturday afternoon every now and then? 

Would it really be that disastrous for Ron to spend the weekend at
Harry's or Harry to spend the weekend at Ron's? 

Would it really be that difficult for a bunch of wizards to meet Harry
for tea at Mrs. Figgs? 

Would it really be that hard for Harry and Hermione to take Ron to a
muggle shopping center, if for no other reason than to laugh at how
little he knows about the muggle world?

Why can't the Dursley fireplace be permanently hooked to the Floo
Network or hooked to it on an 'as needed' basis or hooked to it with
some anti-muggle and anti-Death Eater protections? Why? Why? Why, I say? 

True they, the Dursleys,  are muggles, but a wizard does live in that
house and he lives there openly. The Dursley are well aware of the
wizard world and that Harry is a wizard, so there is no violation of
the Statue of Secrecy. 

Harry certainly has enough money in his Gringott's account to take
some out and convert it to Muggle pocket money. A cheese burger and a
trip to the mall are certainly not going to break him financially.
(Especially, now that we have the Black inheritance and the G10,000
Death Eater capture reward in the picture.)

Now that the benevolent members of the Order have put a tight rein on
the Dursely's, certainly these things are much more possible. 

Just a thought.

bboy_mn