CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 15 (The Hogwarts High Inquisitor)

[elfundeb2]

No: HPFGUIDX 94334

Chapter 15 begins at breakfast in the Great Hall on Monday morning.  
The Trio grimly read the headline story in the Daily Prophet 
(promised in Percy's letter, which arrived the night before), which 
announces surprise legislation passed by the Ministry creating the 
post of Hogwarts High Inquisitor, Dolores Umbridge's appointment to 
the post, and her outlines her power to inspect her fellow teachers.

The students proceed to classes.  Snape passes back homework graded, 
he says, to OWL standards, and describes the students' performance 
as abysmal.  Harry receives a "D" for "Dreadful" but manages to make 
a creditable Strengthening Solution.  After class, Hermione chatters 
on about OWLs and at lunch she gets a tutorial about the OWL grading 
system from Fred and George, who also describe Umbridge's inspection 
of Flitwick as "no big deal."

That afternoon, Umbridge arrives in Divination class for an 
inspection.  Trelawney is quite unnerved by Umbridge's presence, but 
tries to proceed as usual.  Once the class is busy, Umbridge asks 
Trelawney about her appointment to the Hogwarts staff and her family 
background, then commands her to make a prediction.  Trelawney 
predicts dire things for Umbridge.

In DADA class, Umbridge again assigns silent reading.  Hermione 
reveals that she has read the entire book and questions the author's 
dismissive views of counter-jinxes.  Umbridge responds that 
her "Ministry-approved" teaching method does not permit students to 
give opinions.  After Umbridge speaks approvingly of Quirrell, Harry 
makes a snide remark about Voldemort and earns another week of 
detention.  McGonagall learns of the detentions and docks points 
from Gryffindor.  Hermione backs up McGonagall.

On Tuesday morning, Umbridge inspects Transfiguration and Care of 
Magical Creatures classes.  McGonagall ignores Umbridge until 
Umbridge interrupts her, then furiously upbraids her for 
interrupting.  This silences Umbridge until the end of class, when 
she questions McGonagall, who reveals that she began teaching 39 
years ago in December.  In Care of Magical Creatures, Umbridge then 
probes Grubbly-Plank about Hagrid and asks for an "outsider's 
assessment" of Dumbledore.  Umbridge is incredulous to hear that 
Grubbly-Plank finds Dumbledore to be an excellent headmaster.  The 
Slytherins describe the Buckbeak incident.

Hermione and Ron are waiting up for Harry when he returns from 
detention that night.  Hermione has a bowl of murtlap essence ready 
to soothe the wound in Harry's hand.  After lamenting that they 
won't learn any DADA at all from Umbridge, Hermione nervously 
suggests that they just do it themselves, and when Ron protests that 
they can't learn DADA without a teacher, Hermione suggests that 
Harry teach them.  Harry protests that everything he's accomplished 
against Voldemort was a lucky fluke and that he had no clue what he 
was doing, but Hermione responds that they need Harry to show them 
what it's really like to face "Voldemort" – using his name for the 
first time.  This gets Harry's attention and he agrees to think 
about it.  The chapter ends with Harry dreaming once again of long 
corridors.

Questions

1.  According to the Daily Prophet, the High Inquisitor position was 
the result of "surprise legislation" passed by the Ministry on a 
Sunday night.  Who passed that legislation?  A legislative body?  If 
so, who is it composed of?  How is it chosen?  Why wasn't it 
mentioned by name?

2. The Daily Prophet quotes Percy Wesley extensively.  How 
enthusiastic do you think his support really is?  Does he honestly 
believe what he says, is he doing it to get ahead of the Ministry, 
or does he really think he owes unquestioning obedience to his 
superiors?  How does the Percy we see here square with the Percy we 
saw in PS/SS who admired Dumbledore's brilliance?

3. What, if anything, do the respective grades that Snape awarded to 
the Trio and to Draco (whose behavior seems to imply a passing 
grade) tell us about Snape's teaching methods?  His motivational 
skills?   Does he have a hidden motive?  If so, what?
  
4. Does it seem out of character for the grade-obsessed Hermione to 
be quizzing Fred and George (of all people) about OWL grades?  Why 
didn't she research this like she researches everything else?  Do 
you think JKR did this purposefully?  If so, why?

5. What did Umbridge hoped to achieve through the inspections?  Has 
she targeted certain professors (we learn that Flitwick's was "no 
big deal")?  Does she have a hidden agenda beyond discrediting 
Dumbledore, and if so, what is it?  Is JKR using Umbridge to lampoon 
government interference in education?

6. How can Umbridge possibly have enough time to inspect so many 
classes *and* teach all the DADA classes as well?

7. Did you guess after reading Trelawney's inspection that 
Trelawney's hiring had to do with her first correct predicion?  And 
did anyone mark the fact that Trelawney's dire prediction for 
Umbridge came true in the Forbidden Forest?

8. What, if anything, does the revelation of McGonagall's December 
starting date at Hogwarts signify?  Is this a clue to a significant 
backstory, or a red herring?

9. Compare Harry's reaction to the suggestion that he teach DADA to 
the others, to Harry's thoughts upon learning that Ron had been 
selected prefect.  What do the differences tell us, if anything, 
about Harry's development or his state of mind?  Has anything 
changed?

10. What do you think motivated Hermione to ask Harry to teach 
DADA?  Did you find this to be a logical progression of her 
character development?  Were you surprised?  What about her attempt 
to gain courage by saying Voldemort's name aloud?  

Debbie


NOTE: For more information on HPfGU's chapter discussions, please see

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/67817 and

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/85829 as well as

"OotP Chapter Discussions" at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/database