The Good Slytherin

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 84981

> > Brooke wrote:
<snip>  When Hagrid took his class to the Forbidden 
> Forest to introduce them to thestrals, Harry, Luna, and one other 
> boy who Harry thought was a Slytherin held up their hands when 
> Hagrid asked who could see them.
> 
> Carol replied: 
> 
> > I had the same thought. I thought the boy was Theodore Nott, whom I
> > mentioned before as the son of the injured Death Eater that Lucius
> > Malfoy told the others to leave behind in the DoM, but I can't find
> > the thestral reference. Anybody?
> 
> 
> Now Wendy:
> 
> Ooh! I love this subject, and I do have a theory. I think the boy 
> who could see the Thestrels is Blaise Zabini, who got sorted into 
> Slytherin in Harry's first year. <snip>
> 
> CANON: Harry does not know thestral guy's name. (OoP, The Eye of the
> Snake, page 445, US hardcover): "There were only two other people who
> seemed to be able to see them: a stringy Slytherin boy standing just 
> behind Goyle was watching the horse eating with an expression of 
> great distaste on his face . . . . "
> 
> The fact that Harry has been in CoMC class with him for three years 
> now (and presumably taken Potions with him for five) and *still* 
> doesn't know the kid's name indicates to me that Mr. Zabini (or 
> whomever thestral guy turns out to be) has never done anything to 
> attack or insult Harry, either on his own or in conjunction with 
> Draco and his "gang." <snip>. Therefore, Blaise Zabini 
> aka Thestral Guy must be good. <snip>

Carol: Thanks for the quote. I agree that any Slytherins who haven't
done anything to Harry (other than possibly laugh at Draco's jokes and
wear "Harry Potter Stinks" badges) can hardly be labeled as evil,
though it's a bit of a stretch to call them "good" on such limited
evidence. As for Blaise Zabini, I do remember him from the Sorting
Ceremony, but I'm much more interested in Theodore Nott, whose father
is a DE but who is for some reason not a close friend of Draco's. He's
also in Harry's year, though only his last name is mentioned. I'm
trying to figure out where I found the specific reference to Theodore
(whse name I know I'm not inventing) and why I think that he, rather
than Blaise, is the "stringy Slytherin boy." OTOH, I Harry knows
Theodore's name, it does seem odd that JKR wouldn't use it in the
thestral scene. Anyway, as I noted earlier, all the Slytherins except
the ghastly trio cheered for Harry when he rode Buckbeak and toasted
Cedric's memory at the end of GoF, so maybe there's more than one good
(juvenile) Slytherin. (I do like Blaise Zabini's name, so I wouldn't
mind seeing more of him, but I want to know what's up with Theo. It's
like the Mark Evans thing. JKR doesn't just drop a name. We're going
to see more of these people.)

Carol