CHAPDISC: HBP4, Horace Slughorn

[Caius Marcius]

No: HPFGUIDX 143340

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214" 
<dumbledore11214 at y...> wrote:
>

> 
> 2. When Albus says, "Lord Voldemort has finally realized the 
> dangerous access to his thoughts and feelings you have been 
> enjoying," does he mean that in OOP Voldemort had no idea that 
Harry 
> had access to his thoughts and feelings? Wasn't it necessary for 
> Voldemort to know that Harry would receive the vision of Sirius in 
> order for his plan to lure Harry to MoM to be successful? In other 
> words, I thought that Voldemort was aware of the connection during 
> OOP. Are we supposed to think that he was not? How does Dumbledore 
> know that Voldemort is now employing Occlumency against Harry?

Snape gives us the particulars during Harry's first Occlumency lesson 
in OOP Chap. 24

'It appears that the Dark Lord has been unaware of the connection 
between you and himself until very recently. Up till now it seems 
that you have been experiencing his emotions, and sharing his 
thoughts, without his being any the wiser. However, the vision you 
had shortly before Christmas -'

The one with the snake and Mr Weasley?'

'Do not interrupt me, Potter,' said Snape in a dangerous voice. 'As I 
was saying, the vision you had shortly before Christmas represented 
such a powerful incursion upon the Dark Lord's thoughts -'

'I saw inside the snake's head, not his!......'



'You seem to have visited the snake's mind because that was where 
the Dark Lord was at that particular moment,' snarled Snape. 'He was 
possessing the snake at the time and so you dreamed you were inside 
it, too.'
'And Vol— he - realised I was there?'
'It seems so,' said Snape coolly.

'How do you know?' said Harry urgently. 'Is this just Professor 
Dumbledore guessing, or -?....'

...'It is enough that we know,' said Snape repressively. 'The 
important point is that the Dark Lord is now aware that you are 
gaining access to his thoughts and feelings. He has also deduced that 
the process is likely to work in reverse; that is to say, he has 
realised that he might be able to access your thoughts and feelings 
in return -'


> 
> 
> 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. 

I thought him a splendidly portrayed character, a great comic 
monster, the quintessence of worldly corruption, a more savvy 
Lockhart more interested in reflecting the limelight than revelling 
in it himself. I'm struck by how many people on this list will say 
things "I don't like Character X because I wouldn't like him in RL, 
or he would do A,B, & C to me in RL."  We should remember that a 
character is sometimes deliberately designed by the author to be 
somewhat disagreeable, or less than nice, or morally impure.  That 
says nothing about the quality of the portraiture, which should be 
our main concern.


> 10. We know that Harry does not ask questions about his parents 
even 
> in those rare situations when he has the chance to do so. Here 
Harry 
> meets the man who taught his mother, who seems to like his mother 
> very much and Harry is still not asking him any questions about 
> Lily. What do you think about it?

Partially that Harry distrust Slughorn from the start, but partially 
authorial perogative - I'm assuming that she's saving up the details 
on Lily for the final book.

   - CMC