CHAPDISC: HBP5, An Excess of Phlegm

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 144199

Juli - Discussion Questions
>    
>   1)     We don't see many people who call Dumbledore by his first 
name. Minerva calls him Albus (PS/SS Ch 1), maybe Mad-Eye Moody calls 
him Albus, perhaps also Fudge, but Molly? That's a first. How close 
do you think the Members of the Order actually are? Molly calling him 
Albus makes me think that all of them see each other as family, not 
only as colleagues. What do you think?

Ceridwen:
I think it just shows that Dumbledore and Molly are on a par, at 
least at her house.  They're both adults, and they both have 
responsibilities.  She may also be showing more familiarity because 
it seems to be a social call.  Even if not, she's the hostess.

>   2)     Mollywobbles. Anyone knows what it means? Not being 
English myself I haven't a clue about it.

Ceridwen:
Well, *pumpkin*, I think *darlin'* Arthur is just using a made-up 
nickname for his *sweetiekins* which is more personalized than most.  
I can see why Molly is embarrassed by it.  It's probably a very 
private term of endearment.  It's certainly one they wouldn't 
broadcast, since it's used as a code to prove Arthur is who he claims 
to be.
    
>   3)     Arthur's greatest ambition is to discover how planes stay 
on the air. Don't wizards and witches learn any physics at all? Don't 
they –Arthur & Co- know that there are muggle books that can easily 
explain the basic concepts of aerodynamics? 

Ceridwen:
The best explanation I've seen about this is water running over the 
bowl of a spoon.  But, he'd have to have the knowledge of knowing 
where to look.  I think physics might be harder for witches and 
wizards, just because a lot of their magic and things they're most 
familiar with, seem to fly in the face of physical science as Muggles 
know it.

>   4)     What's with Fleur's comment of Gabrielle? (The one when 
she mentions Gabrielle has been talking non stop about Harry). Is it 
a sign of what we may see in book 7, a possible relationship between 
her and Harry? Maybe Gabrielle as a young Ginny?

Ceridwen:
I think she's just telling him, as a friend, something flattering.  
And as has been mentioned, it also foreshadows all the drooling 
females on the train and later in the book.

>   5)     Which classes did Hermione actually took? And how is it 
possible for anyone to get 12 OWLS (like Bill Weasley and Barty 
Crouch Jr.)? Did they get Time-Turners? Or did they study the classes 
on their own without any professors' assistance? Is this what 
Hermione did?

Ceridwen:
I've seen all kinds of speculation on this one.  Couldn't answer it 
myself, though.
 
>   6)     We all know Tonks is seriously depressed. Is her 
depression because she has lost a dear cousin, or because Remus won't 
marry her? Or perhaps a bit of both. What do you think?

Ceridwen:
My husband went to Saudi Arabia in the first Gulf War.  I was worried 
sick about him.  Remus is in a similar situation to my husband's, and 
Tonks is in a similar situation to my own at the time.  I ate, 
breathed and slept CNN.  When someone is in a dangerous situation as 
Remus is, you just never know when the chaplain (or Dumbledore) will 
show up with bad news.  If she's worried about marriage, it would be 
more because he might never live long enough for them to get to that 
point, at least in her reasonable fears.

>   7)     Why wasn't there a memorial, funeral, or wake for Sirius? 
I know there wasn't a body to bury, but still, those who loved him 
needed to say good-bye: they needed closure.

Ceridwen:
Doesn't look like there was any memorial (which wouldn't need a 
body).  It could be that they're waiting for him to be publicly 
exhonerated.  But I don't see why they should wait just for that.

>   8)     Do you think that Molly's clock with all its hands 
pointing towards mortal peril is a sign of what may happen in book 7? 
Will we be seeing more than one Weasley death? Who do you think it 
will be? When reading this chapter I got flash-backs to Molly's 
bogart in Grimmauld Place. Will all her worst fears come true?

Ceridwen:
Like the situation with Remus and Tonks, it's possible that one or 
more Weasleys will die.  Bill almost does at the end of HBP, in 
fact.  I'd think that Molly would rather have the clock showing less 
of a hysterical reaction, though.  If someone is actually in a life-
threatening situation, she'd never know it.  Sometimes, OTT 
screeching can breed complacency, IMO.

>   9)     Why do you think Percy still won't come back home? He 
knows that Dumbledore & Co where telling the truth all along, is it 
because "people find it far easier to forgive others for being wrong 
than being right"? Is it just a pride thing?

Ceridwen:
Could be pride, but it could also be the thought that they wouldn't 
take him back.  And as far as at least some of his sibs are 
concerned, he's right.  I don't know if he's just being a Ministry 
jerk, or if he's a plant for the Order, or if he's just ambitious and 
doesn't understand why his family's against him.  But, he does seem 
to have a reason, at least with the sibs, for being wary of coming 
back.
 
>   10)                        Didn't Bill ask for his parents' 
permission before he took Fleur to live with them? Or are the 
Weasleys so polite that they keep their feeling about Fleur bottled 
up to protect Bill?

Ceridwen:
The book doesn't say.  It's customary for the parents to meet the 
intended, and sometimes this means the intended staying over.  It 
could just be tradition.  It's too bad they don't get along right 
away!

>   Thanks to Penapart Elf for her help. I hope you all enjoy the 
discussion

Ceridwen:
And thanks, Juli, for a good discussion.

Ceridwen.