CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 31, O.W.L.s

[jp velasco]

No: HPFGUIDX 117901


JP here!
 
Discussion questions

1. Why was Draco Malfoy next to Harry during their Charms 
   exam? If they were called alphabetically, Draco must 
   have been called long before Harry.

Maybe Malfoy was having a hard time doing his practical exam. I think that each student has a different practical test time limit, depending on who was testing the student. So if the tester believes that your are capable enough to pass the exam, then you won't have to stay there showing every charm in the book... just like our exams when I was in college. On the other hand, if the tester is not quite convinced,(and I believe that Malfoy's tester isn't) then he will ask question after question until that tester is satisfied.  


2. If DD is about 150 years old, then how old is Professor
   Marchbanks? She examined DD maybe over 130 years ago, 
   and she should have been a grown wizard by then, right?

Prof. Marchbanks (PM), I believe is aged between 180 to 200 years old(!!!). When you think about it, DD is tested when he was seventeen or eighteen, so PM could be like 30 to 50 years old during this time. But time is different in the WW, maybe that's the reason why there's are room in the Department of Mysteries studying this. And there are many discussions and posts about time, ages, and what can really kill a wizard so it doesn't really surprise me that there are very ancient wizards running around the WW.

But here's another thought: What if PM has a Sorcerer's stone? That may explain his Life span, doesn't it?

Another thought: if PM is the Examiner since DD's time, then it follows that he also tested Tom Jr. I wonder what's his opinion about Tom Jr.'s abilities...


3. Will Harry get enough OWLS to continue his career as 
   an Auror?

Yeah... I think that Harry could get enough OWLS to be an Auror. I think that the absence of Prof. Snape during his exam in potions is an indicator that he can get an OWL in that subject. Although that reasoning is very thin... I believe in his (Harry's) capabilities as a potion-maker. It's just that he is not concentrating enough whenever he's making a potion in front of Prof. Snape. I believe that he did well in his written exam (see my answer on discussion no. 7) so I think he will pass it.


4. If Fred and George only got about 3 OWLS each, what 
   classes did they have during their 6th and 7th year?
   Only 3 classes?

Well... the books did not actually said that only the subjects that you have passed in your OWLS are the only subject that you can take in your 6th and 7th year (or am I wrong?). It did indicate though that you can now have the option to drop subjects so that you can concentrate your time on your major subjects. Reading between the lines though, I would think that Fred and George did only take 3 subjects because they will need more time to research the consumers for their jokeshop, not to mention time to make their products, now that they could do it freely and away from Molly's eyes.

The 3 subjects that I believe that Fred and George had taken are Charms, Transfiguration, and (even though they hate it...) Potions. I came to this conclusion beacuse these subjects are what FW and GW need in order to make products for their jokeshop.

5. How could the Trio teach Grawp how to speak if he's
   so violent they can't even get close to him?

There are posts and discussions about Grawp's "violent" behavior and I remember one post saying that Grawp doesn't mean to be violent... as Hagrid said he's just too big and strong and he doesn't know it. But I think the ice was broken when Grawp saved Harry and Hermione from the Centaurs. Grawp tried to talk to "Hermy", asking her where is "Hagger". I think that in teaching Grawp, Hermione is the key factor for his learning. I imagine Hermione, on top of a hill with Harry (or Ron) and teaching Grawp vocabulary, grammar and pronounciation. And in this instance, Grawp would probably remember Hermione and not be violent. And besides... Hagrid will be there now that he is not persued by the MoM and probably teach Grawp instead.  

6. Why didn't the examiners do anything to stop whoever 
   was with DU from hurting MM?

First of all, they were all at the top of the tower. Second, the examiners (most of them anyway) were so old and ancient that they would probably die of a heart attack or a seisure while running down to help MM. (HaHaHa!). Third even if, after they have ran down to Hagrid's hut to help, DU is the Headmistress and has more authority than the examiners while they were in Hogwarts. We can see that the examiners were concerned with what's happening on the grounds. Their reactions were indicators of how they feel about it. In the end, the examiners can not do anything about the incident because of the reasons I have stated above. (hope it's plausible)

7. Do practical and written exams each count as an OWLS?

No, I dont believe that the written and practical exams each count as an OWL. I think that the exams has a certain percentage to the total amount of points needed to achieve an A, EE or an O grade. I think that the percentage is 50 - 50 : 50% for written exam and 50% for practical exam. The points acquired in both exams are then averaged and the result will determine the OWL grade. That is why I think that Harry will get his Auror subject next school year. (see question no. 3)

Thanks for reading my answers and I hope all (or some) of my answers will enlighten everyone who reads it.

PEACE!