SS/PS comments (BEWARE RON=DD POST)

[vmonte]

No: HPFGUIDX 102438

SS, page 286

Harry tells Hermione:

"No, listen, get back and get Ron.  Grab brooms from the flying-key 
room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy—go straight 
to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we need him.  I might be 
able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm no match for him, really."

Later on, page 296-297

Harry to Dumbledore:

"You got Hermione's owl? "  We must have crossed in midair.  No 
sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place 
I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to 
pull Quirrell off you—"

Page 302 Hermione explains what she did after she left Harry to get 
Ron

"I brought Ron round—that took a while—and we were dashing up to the 
owlery to contact Dumbledore when we met him in the entrance hall—he 
already knew—he just said, `Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?' and 
hurtled off to the third floor."

vmonte:

So, how did Dumbledore know to come back?  If it wasn't Hermione's 
letter, then what was it?  Did you also notice that DD doesn't say to 
Harry:  "What letter? Or, Hermione sent me a letter?  The letter is 
not what tipped Dumbledore to come back.

I think it was Ron's experiences that tipped him off.  I'll explain 
later.


Page 299

"Your mother died to save you.  If there is one thing Voldemort 
cannot understand, it is love.  He didn't realize that love as 
powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark
"

"Dumbledore now became very interested in a bird out on the 
windowsill, which gave Harry time to dry his eyes on the sheet."

vmonte:

So DD talks about something incredibly serious with Harry and is then 
distracted by a bird at the window--of course not.  He knew, somehow, 
that at that moment Harry was going to cry.  He looked away so that 
Harry would not be embarrassed.

 Page 300, About Snape

"Yes, him—Quirrell said he hates me because he hated my father.  Is 
that true?"

"Well, they did rather detest each other.  Not unlike yourself and 
Mr. Malfoy.  And then, your father did something Snape could never 
forgive."
"What?"
"He saved his life."
"What?"
"Yes
said Dumbledore dreamily."

vmonte:

I wonder if Harry is going to save Malfoy at some point in time?

Page 301-302

"So the Stone's gone?" said Ron finally.  "Flamel's just going to 
die?"

"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that—what was it?—`to the 
well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.'"

vmonte:

Dumbledore has a well-organized mind too.  He keeps his memories in a 
penseive looking for links/clues etc.


Page 302

"D'you think he meant you to do it?" said Ron.  "Sending you your 
father's cloak and everything?"
"Well," Hermione exploded, "if he did—I mean to say—that's terrible—
you could have been killed."

"No, it isn't," said Harry thoughtfully.  "He's a funny man, 
Dumbledore.  I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance.  I think 
he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know.  I 
reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of 
stopping us, he just taught us enough to help.  I don't think it was 
an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked.  It's almost 
like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could
"

vmonte:

Interesting isn't it.  This is exactly what Dumbledore has been doing 
throughout all the books.  
I think that the obstacles that were set up were specifically geared 
for Harry, Hermione, and Ron to go through.

MM chess game -- Why did MM put this as an obstacle?   I think it was 
because she knew that Ron excels in chess.  This obstacle was 
definitely geared for Ron.

They flying-key room --  This is obviously for Harry.

DD's Mirror-of-Erised --  Harry even states that DD got him 
acquainted with it so that he would know how it works.  

Professor Sprout's Devil's Snare – Hermione figures this out.

Page 285,  Snape's obstacle 

"Hermione let out a great sigh and Harry, amazed, saw that she was 
smiling, the very last thing he felt like doing."

"Brilliant," said Hermione.  "This isn't magic—it's logic—a puzzle.  
A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd 
be stuck in here forever."

vmonte:
 
It is unusual that Snape's obstacle has to do with logic, not 
potions.  I think that out of all of these obstacles, Snape's really 
seems geared for Voldemort.  Perhaps he believed that Voldemort would 
know every kind of potion there was--so comes up with a puzzle.  And 
since Hermione is a super brain, she figures it out anyway.
(Or, maybe he did mean it for Hermione to solve.)  

So finally, what I'm trying to say is that Dumbledore intended for 
the children to go through the obstacle course.  He also intended for 
Harry to confront Voldemort at its end.  He prepares Harry for this 
confrontation.   I think that what does take DD at a surprise was at 
which point in time the kids would attempt this.  I think that DD is 
changing history (I do not believe in alternate realities, or fixed 
time-lines).  

DD created this obstacle course for the children.  If he is training 
them for an as yet mentioned future role, he has/is changing 
history.  He is helping Harry and gang along.  The funny thing though 
is that when you change something you then create a NEW experience--
something that never happened before.  It also means that you are 
taking a chance that what you create is better than what was.         

 DD was not aware that the children had begun the obstacle course 
because the idea of the course was in itself new.  Or the course was 
changed so that it would now be geared for the children to pass 
through.  It was not until Ron entered the "new" obstacle course that 
DD becomes aware of when they enter.  As soon as Ron has this 
experience it also now becomes part of DD's past experience.  Yes, it 
all comes down to Ron=DD.

I'm not an eloquent writer like Kneasy, just doing the best I can.    

I'm ready to be ignored or trashed!  BRING-IT-ON!

vivian