Joke Shop Weapons??? The war and the childrens positions in it

[vmonte]

No: HPFGUIDX 105258

pcaehill2 wrote:

Just finished re-reading GoF, and the thought struck me: could F &
G's new joke shop at Diagon Alley be a kind of headquarters for
devising weapons to fight DE's & LV? Imagine the possibilities:
Mssrs. Crabbe & Goyle reaching for their wands and pulling out
haddocks and parrots...DD turning into a canary at the last
moment...DE's sinking into a portable swamp...fancy fireworks as a
diversionary tactic?

lol, what do you think?
Pam (who thinks the twins' last battle with Umbridge foreshadowed
greatness in future battles for the dynamic duo)

vmonte responds:

I posted back in January a theory that the quidditch postions the 
children had were symbolic for the roles they would play in the war.
Here are some of my original with some new thoughts:

The Quidditch positions are symbolic. If Ron becomes team captain, 
then he will lead an army of children (he will be their strategist). 
Also, Ron's position is Keeper, so he will act as a goalie to block 
shots (or the shot that is heading for Harry). Ron may sacrifice 
himself and take a fatal hit for Harry.  I've often heard fans say 
that Ron is not capable of leading the children during the war 
because he hasn't, as of yet, shown signs of having leadership 
qualities. I disagree. Ron's position in Quidditch is of Keeper. The 
Keeper acts as a goalie to block shots. Ron is Harry's Keeper, his 
symbolic protector.

Ron really takes charge at the end of SS/PS. He has no problem
telling Harry and Hermione that he knows what he is doing, and that
they need to listen to him.

(page 282, U.S. version)
Ron turned to the other two. "This needs thinking about..." he
said. "I suppose we've got to take the place of three of the black
pieces..." Harry and Hermione stayed quiet, watching Ron think.
Finally he said, "Now, don't be offended or anything, but neither of
you are that good at chess--" "We're not offended," said Harry
quickly, "Just tell us what to do."

Ron knows that he is the strategist, and so do his friends. When is a
strategist most needed?, during a war of course!

Ron is always watching out for Harry -- even when they were mad at 
each other during GoF, Ron still went downstairs to check on Harry 
(when Harry was talking to Sirius's floating head in the fireplace).

I also think that Ron is willing to sacrifice himself to save Harry;
we see it during the chess game:
"That's chess! snapped Ron. "You've got to make some sacrifices! I
take one step forward and she'll take me -- that leaves you free to
checkmate the king, Harry!"

Is this foreshadowing? Will Ron sacrifice himself to Belatrix?

George and Fred will be the Beaters. They will protect and accompany
the "Chasers" on the battle field. Instead of launching "Bludgers" to
attack their opponents they will launch their own very large arsenal
of homemade weapons.

I could see Hermione leading the elves in the war perhaps; although 
she is going to need all the help she can get. I don't think she is 
going about SPEW the right way at all.

Dobby mentions in chapter 10 of COS: "But mostly, sir, life has
improved for my kind since you triumphed over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-
Named. Harry Potter survived, and the Dark Lord's power was broken,
and it was a new dawn, sir, and Harry Potter shone like a beacon of
hope for those of us who thought the Dark days would never end,
sir..."

I think the kids will be able to rally the elves onto their side if 
they go about it from an elfs point-of-view. If Hogwarts is destroyed 
along with the OOTP (as well as many other wizard families), the 
elves will be out of a job. I don't think they will want to lose 
their jobs and go back to work for the nasty DE wizards.

I'm not sure about how Luna is going to help yet. She seems to be 
very insightful about things. She may be a seer or have skill in 
reading Runes (a class Hermione is now taking in school). Hermione 
and Luna may at some point work as a team. They are Polar opposites 
and it may be useful to combine their talents. 

Neville is more difficult to interpret. It seems that Neville is 
truly brave.  He is not afraid to stand up against his friends when 
he believes they are wrong.  He may turn out to be the voice of 
reason at some point in time.  I do think that his skill in Herbology 
will be pivotal. Who is uncle Algie? He seems to have trageted 
Neville much in the same way that DD targets Hermione, Harry, and Ron.
Is he training Neville for a future role?

*** In Quidditch, Harry is the seeker of truth in the wider story. He 
is the only person on the team who can go for the Golden Snitch and 
by attaining it he can win the match in itself. It's always up to 
Harry--like in the wider story. *** (This bit is from someone who was 
commenting on my post at another website.)

Harry's the "Seeker" so he will be busy chasing one thing the "golden 
snitch"--perhaps symbolic for an OOTP traitor. I wonder if the snitch 
represents the person that overheard the prophecy at the bar.  Could 
this person be the true vilian of the series? 

Ginny Weasley will be one of the Chasers (although she was also a
Seeker while Harry was banned--so she may serve two roles during the
war). I believe that Ginny may, at one point during the war, take up 
Harry's role, or come to his rescue. There is a reason why JKR 
included this character to the books.  She must play some vital role 
in the series since Tom Riddle's diary could have been easily given 
to Ron or another Weasley.  It is interesting that JKR inserted a 
female Weasley into the story.  Love interest for Harry? (Let me just 
say that if Harry does indeed get a real girlfriend in book 6/7, she 
has got to be a tough cookie.  I'm thinking Ginny is that girl.) 

Ginny it seems to me will be very important during the war. She is 
the only child, besides Harry, that has had direct contact with Ton 
Riddle/Voldemort.  Should Harry be talking to Ginny about her 
experience?  These two should probably be going over their personal 
experiences, they may have unknowingly gleaned some information that 
may turn out to be to their advantage.  Does Ginny know what Tom's 
weaknesses are?  

In the end the children will be the heroes (as usual), not the
adults! Ron will gain more confidence as the books progress.

vivian - Sorry for the long post...








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