CHAPDISC: HBP4, Horace Slughorn

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 143323

 Potioncat:
Very good, thought provoking questions, Alla.

> 
> 1. Consider the following quote from this chapter:
> Dumbledore: "However, I do not think you need worry about being 
> attacked tonight."
> Harry: "Why not, sir?"
> "You are with me," said Dumbledore simply.   
>  Now look at this quote in chapter 26,"The Cave:"
>  "I am not worried Harry," said Dumbledore, his voice a little 
> stronger despite the freezing water. "I am with you." 

> Do you see any symbolic connection between these two quotes?

Potioncat:
I see Carol and Betsy have already been here. And I'm going to 
disagree..sort of.

Yes, there is a parallel. Good point, Alla, and it's a very moving 
one. But I remember how that sentence sounded the first time. It was 
DD sounding confident and almost boastful...who would dare attack DD?

Then, farther into the book, it takes a different slant. We aren't 
certain of the timeline. Is this the same night as chapters 1 and 2, 
or perhaps a week later? Consider this possibility: if Snape and DD 
really did know that LV had tasked Draco with DD's death, then 
tonight, DD knows he won't be attacked. He knows it will be Draco, at 
the castle making an attempt, not DEs on the streets.
>
 
> 9. What was your very first impression of Horace Slughorn?  I mean, 
> particularly, if it's possible for you to recall before you read 
> anything about him on the HPFGU.

Potioncat:
OK, for what it's worth, I knew he was going to be the Potions 
Master. And when DD says something about not counting owls, I was 
dead certain. It was something in the way that DADA was never, ever 
mentioned.

Interesting that Slughorn seems very, very good at transfiguration. I 
almost think he's better at that than at potion making... or at least 
at practical use of potions. I just read the chapter where Ron is 
poisoned and Slughorn freezes. It's Harry who grabs the bezoar. 

It was nice to meet a different sort of Slytherin. We had DD's bit of 
a warning, yet DD seems to genuinely like him...I think...and they 
seem to work well together...standing back to back. But it was clear 
that Slughorn was out for himself. 
 
I'll take on the other questions later...but I did want a chance at 
these.