CHAPDISC: HBP 2, Spinner's End

[kiricat4001]

No: HPFGUIDX 142036

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "potioncat" <willsonkmom at m...> 
wrote:
>
> CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 
Chapter 
> 2, Spinner's End> 
> 
> 1. Bellatrix kills a fox, thinking it could be an Auror. Does she 
> suspect Snape's home is being watched, or is she always looking 
over 
> her shoulder for an Auror? Do you think all DEs would be this 
trigger 
> happy, or is it just Bella?

Marianne: 
I think Bella is jumpier than most people because she's the only 
escaped-from-Azkaban-DE still out and about.  Plus, her nature 
strikes me as somewhat volatile, so I'd think she would easily fit 
into the "shoot first, ask questions later" camp.

OTOH, maybe she's fixated on canine Animagi <g>.
 
 
> 3. Bella knows Narcissa is going to visit Snape, but she is caught 
by 
> surprise (equaling that of many from this list) at the location. 
She 
> calls it a Muggle dunghill and doubts that any of "our kind" has 
ever 
> set foot there. In fact, Snape, Pettigrew and Narcissa all seem 
> familiar with the area. Yet it was Bella who was supposed to be 
part 
> of young Severus's gang. What do you think is going on here? How 
long 
> do you think Snape has been using this location?

Marianne:
Perhpas Snape got this place after he started teaching, which would 
be when Bella was in prison.  I wonder if Bella's derogatory remarks 
are driven in part by her vain attempt to stop her sister from going 
ahead with this meeting, sort of an underhanded way to say, "He's 
not one of us!"
 
> 4. Snape's tiny sitting room is lined with leather bound books and 
> contains a threadbare sofa, an old armchair and a rickety table. 
It 
> had the "feeling of a dark, padded cell." A padded cell is used 
for 
> someone who needs protection from himself. What does this room, or 
> the house and neighborhood, tell us about Snape? Do you think this 
is 
> his usual home away from Hogwarts?

Marianne:
Yes, I think it's Snape's usual home - it's dark and forbidding, 
just like him!


> 6. Snape, Narcissa and Bella drank a toast with blood-red wine.   
Elf-made wine 
> doesn't sound too safe either. How many stories involve some 
danger 
> at drinking something made by elves or fairies? These are magical 
> folk, so perhaps it's not so dangerous. Do you think this was just 
> setting the magical mood, or was JKR waving a flag?

Marianne:
I think it was magical mood setting. But, if I was a guest, 
especially if I was unsure of my welcome, I don't know that I'd 
trust wine that a Potions Master selected for me!  I would have 
brought my own bottle.

> 7. This is a serious chapter, with lots of dark images. It's 
> informative too, but it's difficult to decide which information is 
> truth and which is deception. What images or feelings made an 
> impression on you? How do they affect your interpretation of the 
> story? 

Marianne:

Things that struck me:

-The contrasts of light and dark as the sisters moved through the 
streets, which mirrored their contrasting physical attributes.
  
-Snape's explanations regarding how he has avoided what Bella 
considers "dangers" made me think of Phineas Nigellus' description 
of Slytherins in OoP : "We Slytherins are brave, but not stupid...we 
will always choose to save our own necks." 
- Snape referring to himself in the third person (p. 31 US ed.) This 
is after he's spoken at lenght about Harry's ordinary skills and 
Dumbledore's falling for Snape's tale of remorse.  "He has never 
stopped trusting Severus Snape..."
When I read this now, it reminded me of other instances when Snape 
doesn't refer to himself as "me" or "I" but at "Master of this 
School," "Potions Master," "the Half-Blood Prince." It just strikes 
ms as odd.

> 8. Narcissa asks Snape to make an Unbreakable Vow and Bella 
> is "astonished" that he agrees. It looks like a wedding ceremony, 
and 
> is obviously very serious. We've seen that magical contracts have 
> serious consequences--the Goblet of Fire in GoF, and the SNEAK hex 
in 
> OoP. None of us can really understand why Snape agreed, but is 
this 
> just Business as Usual in the Wizarding World? How does this vow 
> compare to magical deals in fairy tales and myths?

Marianne:

The UV seems to be a high-level of magical contract, especially as 
death haunts the one making the vow. I think it is the only time the 
actions/speech of the makers of a vow call forth magic from a third 
person's wand. 

On a discussion of Snape on "The Sugar Quill" someone commented on a 
potential parallel. Snape swears to protect Draco in a ceremony 
sealed with fire.  Years ago, Sirius swore to protect Harry as 
godparent in a ceremony which, I'm assuming, was sealed with water.  
Is there some significance to those two elements? 

Marianne