CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chapter 26: Seen and Unforeseen

[sunnylove0 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 112921

At Monday night's dinner, Harry worries about how his interview will go  over 
with the wizarding public, especially appearing in a magazine like The  
Quibbler, but Neville reassures him, saying that people have got to  him.  After 
dinner, Harry and Hermione discuss what went wrong with his  date with Cho Chang 
(Harry is clueless again). They are joined by Ron and Ginny,  who confess 
that the Quidditch team is nothing short of a disaster.  This  is confirmed later 
by Fred and George, who admit that without Quidditch, they're  considering 
leaving Hogwarts.
 
The following Saturday, after an awful game (Ron misses fourteen goals to  
the never ending chorus of "Weasley is our king" ) Gryffindor loses to  
Hufflepuff by a merciful ten points due to Ginny's timely catching of the  snitch.  
Harry, dejected and knowing he could have done better (Umbridge  has been 
rubbing it in with satisfied stares), is reassured by Ginny, who says  when Umbridge 
is gone and Harry is back, she'll try out for Chaser.  Ron  feels so bad he 
tries to resign, but Angelina refuses.  That night, Harry  dreams once more of 
the corridor.
 
The next morning, Harry is deluged with mail, including an issue of The  
Quibbler: his interview has been printed.  The trio open other letters  to find 
responses to the article, many surprisingly positive.  The  commotion attracts 
Umbridge who, livid, bans Harry from Hogsmeade weekends,  gives him another 
week of detention, and to Hermione's glee, completely bans  The Quibbler, 
unintentionally encouraging everyone to read  it. The response is delightful: the 
teachers reward Harry with candy and house  points, Seamus apologizes and says 
he's sent the interview to his mother, Cho  gives Harry a kiss, and Malfoy, 
Crabbe, Goyle, and a Slytherin boy Hermione  identifies as Theodore Nott, 
whispering angrily but not daring to discuss the  article out loud.
 
That night, Harry has a dream where he is interrogating DE Rookwood, about  
Bode, whom Malfoy has placed under Imperius to steal an unknown object, under  
false information from Avery. He then looks into a mirror and seeing  himself 
as Voldemort, wakes up in shock.  In the morning, the trio discuss  the dream, 
and Hermione reminds them of Sturgis Podmore's arrest---Malfoy could  have 
tried the same thing on him.  She then reminds Harry, to his anger,  that he 
shouldn't be having these dreams if he was practicing Occlumency.
 
This is rubbed in later at the Occlumency session itself---Snape catches a  
vision of the dream and interrogates Harry about it.  In the argument that  
follows, Snape reveals that it is his job, and not Harry's, to know what  
Voldemort is up to.  During the nest Legimens spell, Harry manages to  concentrate 
long enough to conjure a shield spell, breaking into some painful  memories of 
Snape's.  Snape then breaks the vision, white and  shaking.  Upset and 
frightened himself, Harry cannot block another vision  of the corridor.  Snape is 
reprimanding him angrily when a woman screams  upstairs.
 
Upstairs, Trelawney is throwing a fit:  Umbridge has fired her and  ordered 
her from the castle.  But Professor Dumbledore insists that she  stay, and 
introduces the horrified Umbridge to Trelawney's replacement...the  centaur 
Firenze.
**************
Discussion Questions:
1) Has Harry learned anything from his date with Cho and advice from  
Hermione?  Will he be better at dating in the future?
 
2)  Why is Harry's interview so convincing, when Dumbledore's speeches  are 
not?
 
3)  How does Hermione know Theodore Nott?  We know from JKR that  he is not 
part of The Usual Gang of Idiots (Malfoy's), though from a DE  family.  
 
4) Why does Harry continue to neglect Occlumency?  Would he do better  if he 
had a teacher other than Snape?  Or is his wish to see the corridor  
overriding his better judgement?
 
5) Why is Snape so upset when Harry breaks into his memories?   Does he 
expect Harry to taunt him, like James?    
 
6) Is Trelawney's incompetence the only reason Umbridge wants her thrown  out 
of the castle?  Given what we know now, what might have happened if  Umbridge 
had succeeded?
 
 
 
 
 
 


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