CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 33 - Fight and Flight

[Kirsty Lowson]

No: HPFGUIDX 119386


AKH asks the questions, here are my responses to
some of them...plus an intro to me at the end.

>>2. Umbridges months of arrogance and abuse of 
power finally meet their match with the Centaurs.
 
How satisfied are we with this outcome?<<

Kirsty:
I think she got what was coming to her, but that
no student could have done it; she needed to be
brought down by beings greater than her, but whom
she saw as inferiors. It's not fully satisfying,
because I would prefer the punishment to fit the
crime, but the fact that justice is meted out by
those she despises goes a long way to that! I'd
like to see proper justice for use of the blood
quill - surely such items are illegal in the
wizarding world??

>>3. Hermiones remarks to the centaurs nearly 
spell doom for her and Harry.  What does this say

about her understanding of them?<<

Kirsty:
It's been said, but honestly, there's only so
much you can learn in books. Hermione seems to
have very few people-skills, and this is
increased fivefold when it comes to the behaviour
needed not to irk the centaurs. I'm surprised
they've not been covered in their Care of Magical
Creatures class, though (obviously only
theoretically; can't see a centaur submitting to
being examined by curious young foals!!)

>>4.  Grawp appears to remember Hermione, and he 
reaches for her.  How dangerous is he at this 
point?<<

I dunno, is he trying to lift her out of harm's
way? He doesn't seem to be intending to eat
her...

>>5. Harry and Ron try to discourage Ginny, Luna 
and Neville from joining them to help Sirius in 
London.  Harry thinks, ...if he could have
chosen 
any member of the DA to join him in the attempt 
to rescue Sirius, he would not have picked Ginny,

Neville or Luna. (p. 671)  Why are they so 
opposed to these specific people?<<

Kristy:
Harry seems to still see Neville as a bumbling
idiot - maybe with reason. Within the limits of
the Room of Requirement, Neville's fine, but put
him in front of Snape and he falls to pieces,
despite his new-found confidence in duelling etc.

Luna's always presented to us as being completely
off the planet, but we see things from Harry's
PoV in the books - she's not in Ravenclaw for
nothing!!

And Ginny - well, there's the little-sister
element, which (as a firm H/G shipper) I think is
becoming something more here...after all, Harry
must know Ginny can hold her own in battle -- the
bat-bogey hex being one "off-screen" example.
Even Fred and George are impressed at that, and
they're usually the first to be disdainful about
any prowess.

>>6.  In the forest, Harry appears to vent his
fury at Hermione as an outlet for his fear and
anger at himself.  Is this a pattern?<<

Kirsty:
Oh, it's a pattern all right - we see the
discussions all over HP-fandom! Harry needs to do
some serious growing up, or he will end up
pushing Ron and Hermione completely away. He
seriously needs to get back on track with
Occlumency, or meditation, or something to
channel that teenage angst out of him,
particularly in the aftermath of Sirius' death.


And now about me. My name is Kirsty, I'm a 20
year old law student (finalist) at Queen Mary,
University of London (that's in the East End of
London).

I only came to Harry Potter this last summer. I
was pointedly avoiding the books because of all
the hype. I'd seen the films, and it was only
when I went to Leicester Sq on the opening day of
the PoA movie that I thought, 'I really need to
read the books!' So off I went to Amazon...four
weeks later, all five books have been read (and
re-read)...and I realised why there was the hype
-- because they really are that good! (Although
in my opinion JKR could do with some ruthless
editing, I haven't read HBP or Bk7 any more than
the rest of you (shame that...) and I don't know
how much the back story or sub-plots will be
important to the way things work out).

I am also musical -- I play the trumpet and sing
soprano -- which reminds me that I need to go, as
I've got a dress rehearsal across campus --
whoops!

Kirsty

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"If men are always wrong, what does that mean when he tells a woman she looks beautiful?"