The chess game in SS/PS, quidditch, and Snape's potion puzzle...

[M.Clifford]

No: HPFGUIDX 109534

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "vmonte" <vmonte at y...> wrote:

> The chess game represents the second war against Voldemort. 
> "I think," said Ron, "we're going to have to be chessmen." Page 
281, SS, U.S. version 
>Ron walks over to a black knight and asks if they have to join him 
to get across the board--the knight nods his head. 

Valky:
I LOVE this subject!
Personally I believe that when JKR comments that she *almost* gave 
it all away in PS/SS she alludes to this very part of the book where 
I think she gives *almost everything* away.

Now to start, I note that you missed something. 
**Ron approaches the Knight and asks if they have to join him to get 
across the board - the knight nods his head.**
You noted subliminal meaning to everyline *but* this one. I don't 
know about others but, to me, the asking seems crucial. Maybe not so 
much the fact that Ron did the asking, although I am sure thats 
valuable to the understanding, but moreso the question. 
'Do we..er.. have to join you to get across.' 
Ok so if I combine forms of your breakdown of the sequence with my 
own breakdown of this line. RON asks a very important question of 
somebody before book six. It is the Black Knight that he approaches, 
so therefore we might assume that it could be Sirus or It could also 
be himself that he is asking. Both make some sense.
What do you think?


> Vmonte:
> "Well, Harry, you take the place of that bishop, and Hermione, you 
> go next to him instead of that castle."
> "What about you?"
> "I'm going to be a knight," said Ron. 
<snipped cut and paste etc>
>> "Their first real shock came when their other knight was taken. 
The white queen smashed him to the floor and dragged him off the 
board, where he lay quite still, facedown."
> 
> This knight represents Sirius Black........

Valky:
Yes, I like this analogy, and the statement that follows from Ron 
'Had to let that happen......' lends a lot of creedence to it in the 
way it echoes JKR's own voice regarding Sirius.
It also follows, in your next statement about the three pieces 
leaving to make way for the trio, that they represent people from 
the first war. 
(I would probably have to rearrange and copy, paste, repeat your 
post all day to have perfect continuity here.)
So saying that, if the Black Knight fallen in the game *is* Sirius 
(this is almost a given!) then the three other pieces are also 
people from the first War.

  
Vmonte:
> Three chess pieces listen to Ron and walk off the board. Do these 
> pieces represent characters from the first war? (Who were the 
> knight, castle, and bishop then? We can probably guess.)
> 

Valky:
Yes I would say that they probably do. And I am pretty sure that the 
Longbottoms are in that three somewhere, which could be a strong 
indicator of who exactly they are. In my own musing I like to draw a 
parrallel between Alice and Hermione. I base this mostly on the way 
apparently meek and simple Alice could defy LV. I assume that Alice 
has a "wild streak" contradicting her everyday persona much like 
Hermione does. Anyway, it could very well be Lily and James also 
which is probably where you were heading with that and I would like 
to hear thoughts from everyone about this topic. 



Vmonte:
> <snip undeniable points relating to Bishop!Harry and Castle!
Hermione.>
> A white pawn had moved forward two squares. (Wormtail?)
> "Harry—move diagonally four squares to the right." 
> Sirius Black was killed by the queen Bellatrix.
> 
> Who is the queen on the Order's side? Ginny? (I believe that Ginny 
> is being set-up for something. 
> Ginny also played Harry's position in Quidditch and may eventually 
> take over Harry's position against Voldemort at some crucial 
> moment. Will she step in to save Harry like he saved her? Is she a 
> metamorphmagus or an animagus? 
> 

Valky:
I was very PRO -super!Ginny at one stage not long ago, so I agree 
that her character has been set a stage for an important role in the 
end battle. I think that the points you make here are the best ones. 
ie 1 Ginny has seeker potential (though she would prefer to be a 
chaser) and 2 she has shared minds with Voldemort.
Almost as though Ginny is the unwitting apprentice!Harry of the 
books. I agree that for a brief and glittering Moment Ginny will 
have to *be* Harry but I can not offer much more in terms of a 
context there. Maybe next week something will come to mind. In the 
meantime this is a good discussion that's been missing from the 
boards recently, hope that it takes off again.

Vmonte:
> "Had to let that happen," said Ron, looking shaken. "Leaves you 
free to take that bishop, Hermione, go on."
>  Who does Hermione take down? Malfoy?


Valky:
First I snipped Ron=DD but not for any personal objection, it's all 
good. The thing that stands out for me here is the question who does 
Hermione take down. I suspect you mean Lucius here considering the 
reference to Bishop. That would be quite a poetic Justice as Lucius 
represents the antithesis of Hermione's causes, Lucius is a bigot of 
extreme proportions. I doubt you are wrong in matching Hermy against 
Lucius, what I'd like to note is what that means.

I don't think this would or could be just a wand war here. Ron 
allows the Knight to die to leaving Hermione a clear run to the 
bishop.
Translate: JKR-Ron Allows Sirius to slip through the veil, allows 
Kreacher to be the bad guy, allows Harry to lose his Paternal figure 
et al.... The effect this has is to remove a danger in the path of 
Hermione taking down Lucius Malfoy. 
What was the danger in the path of Hermione's tirade against 
bigotry, her own bigotry perhaps? 
Either/Or what I am saying is that a battle between Hermione and 
Lucius is going to be a battle of wit and cunning, politics and of 
course the power of influence. 

Gosh your post is so long and diverse I will have to respond to the 
rest later, I really must be going.

Best to All 
Valky