CHAPDISC: HBP9, The Half-Blood Prince

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 147722

<Snip AyanEva's summary>
[1] -It seemed to me that when McGonagall was giving out the NEWT
class schedules, the scene was written in such a way so that certain 
characters were completely glossed over (Hermione/Ron). Conversely,
very specific points regarding classes and skill sets were made about
other characters (Harry/Neville). It almost seems like JKR is, in 
essence, sticking a neon sign around certain skill areas of 
particular individuals; areas that I had not previously associated
with these people. Are these really specific skill sets that are at
least some of the exact elements with which to defeat Voldemort? <snip>

Carol:
I'm not sure that I agree with th first observation. It's no surprise
that Hermione received high marks in everything except Divination and
is again taking a very full course load, including Ancient Runes and
Arithmancy, which will surely come into play (finally) in Book 7, or
JKR would not have made sure to let readers know that these areas are
specialties of Hermione's. (Would have been nice if she'd been present
to read [translate] the runes around Dumbledore's Pensieve!) As for
Ron, what's important is simply that he's taking the same courses as
Harry (note that he, too, got an E on his Potions OWL), so both he and
Harry (assuming that they survive Book 7) will be able to train as
Aurors, though they may have to start their seventh year at Hogwarts
when they're eighteen!

Neville is another matter. We know that he was almost as abysmal at
Transfiguration as at Potions (McGonagall publicly reprimanded him in
GoF for accidentally placing his own ears on a cactus when he
attempted a "simple" Switching Spell), and clearly he doesn't respond
well to her teaching style any more than he does to Snape's. Flitwick,
in contrast, never reprimands anybody and is not even perturbed when
he's sent sailing across the room by a badly aimed Banishing Charm.
It's not surprising, then, that Neville managed an E in that class
even with his father's wand and no particular aptitude like that which
he shows in Herbology. What's interesting to me is his Gran's
reaction. On the one hand, she bought him a new wand after the events
in the MoM (rather than "killing" him as he had predicted) and bragged
about him in the Daily Prophet article, making it clear to the entire
WW that he was a friend of Harry Potter's and was part of the fight
against the DEs at the MoM. On the other hand, she's still,
apparently, a bit disappointed that he isn't his father or doesn't
follow in the footsteps of her side of the family (as opposed,
perhaps, to his mother's?). It's an interesting sidelight into her
character that she failed the Charms OWL but was presumably good at
Transfiguration (as McGonagall, who is apparently the same age and
just possibly from the same house, remembers well). She still seems to
be clinging to the hope that Neville will be like her and her son
Frank, whose wand she once gave him as, IMO, a symbol of what he
should aspire to. Gran, in her old-fashioned, stern matriarchal way
(not that different, really, from McGonagall's teaching style) is a
steadfast supporter of Dumbledore and therefore of Harry. 

And it's a bit ironic that McGonagall can see the effects of Gran's
sternness on Neville, but not of her own. At any rate, steering
Neville toward Charms and getting him to see it as one of his
strengths could well have consequences, not only for the development
of Neville's independence and self-confidence but also for the fight
against the DEs. (Could it somehow tie in with Bellatrix? It would be
funny if he used a Hover Charm or a Banishing Charm against her. I
have a mental picture of Bellatrix somehow at Neville's mercy and his
choosing *not* to Crucio her. A knowledge of interesting Charms might
enable him to do that.)

> 
> -2]-In the DADA class, of particular interest is the exact quote by
Snape on page 177 (US HB), " `The Dark Arts,' said Snape, `are many,
varied, ever-changing, and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a
many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a 
head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that
which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible.'" Could the quote tie into
the theory that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville (And Luna? And maybe
Ginny?) all have something really, really specific to use against
Voldemort? <snip>

Carol:
Yes, I'm sure that it does tie in, as we know that Harry has always
depended on others to help him and that their skills complement his.
And the addition of Neville, Luna, and Ginny to the group who fought
the DEs at the MoM surely foreshadows later roles for all three in the
battle against the Dark Arts. (And note that there's no evidence of
Snape picking on Neville in the DADA class, where he's not melting
cauldrons every other week.)

But I think what's most important here is Harry's interpretation of
Snape's words as lovingly caressing the Dark Arts. Quite possibly,
it's the subject itself, DADA, that he loves. We see something
similar, and even more poetic, in his first speech in Potions class in
SS/PS. As for the similarity between Harry's speech and Snape's,
here's Harry's speech to Ron and Hermione for comparison:

"*You don't know what it's like!" You--neither of you--you've never
had to face him, have you? You think it's just memorizing a bunch of
spells and throwing them at him, like you're in class or something!
The whole time you're sure you know there's nothing between you and
dying except your own--your own brain or guts or whatever--like you
can think straight when you're about a second from being murdered or
tortured, or watching your friends die--they've never taught us that
in their classes, what it's like to deal with things like that . . ."
(OoP Am. ed. 528).

So Hermione's paraphrase, or rather summary of the main point, is
reasonably accurate, as is her comparison of Harry's words to Snape's.
Both of them know from experience what it's like to face Voldemort in
person. The difference, IMO, is that Harry is passionately responding
to the horror of the experience and indicating that his intuitive
defenses (his fierce courage and subconscious selection of an
appropriate fight-or-flight response), whereas Snape, the
intellectual, is divorcing his words from his own experience and
emotions and trying to express to his students the magnitude of the
enemy they're fighting without actually naming Voldemort (with Draco
and Theo in the class, he has to depersonalize the enemy as "the Dark
Arts") and emphasize "flexibility" and "inventiveness" (traits that he
himself displayed as a boy in both DADA and Potions, as we see in the
notes in the margins of his Potions book).

I see Snape's rather scary teaching style in his posters, which
nevertheless serve the practical purpose of revealing to his students
exactly what they are facing (the consequences of not paying attention
in DADA class!), but nothing sinister in either the quoted speech or
the lessons he teaches. He's absolutely right in comparing the Dark
Arts to a mutant Hydra that keeps growing new heads, each different
from the next, and in the sort of response that is required--not
desperate, reckless courage but cool-headed inventiveness and
flexibility. He is also absolutely right to teach them nonverbal
spells, which he knows are especially important for Harry to master.

> [3]-Just for fun: This has nothing to do with anything, but it is 
> mentioned that the Trio are doing some really complicated DADA 
> homework. This begs the question, what exactly do you give for 
> homework in magic class if it is not practice, but theoretical? <snip>

Carol:
Just as he assigned complex and difficult essays in Potions, Snape
assigns long and complicated DADA essays. Notice that he never uses
the textbook(s) in either class, but he expects the students to have
read them (and, like Hermione, he seems to have memorized them, in
this chapter referring to a specific passage in the Charms textbook
for their year, IIRC). It seems to me that his classes, both in
Potions and DADA, are purely practical, except for the information he
imparts at the beginning of the class and the questions he deigns to
answer (as in his careful response to Parvati's question about
Inferi). The theoretical aspects, which require careful reading not
only of the texts for his own and other(!) classes but library
research as well, are taken care of in the essays. His methods, BTW,
can be profitably contrasted with Umbridge's, which involved no
practical lessons and only a minimum of theory at its most useless and
boring (in-class reading of a textbook by an author who did not really
help them to understand the spells that he, like Umbridge, didn't
think the students should be casting). That there is a useful and, to
Snape, interesting, theoretical component is shown, IMO, by his
detailed responses to the questions on his DADA OWL in the Pensieve
scene in OoP. Surely a mastery of the theory is what enabled him to
invent his own spells at such a young age, just as a mastery of
Potions theory (and a willingness to experiment) enabled him to
improve on the instructions in the Potions text.

> 
> [4]-I still am not entirely convinced that Harry got the HBP book by 
> accident. I have to wonder if someone (a professor) knew what was in 
> the book. That then leaves me with the question of:  If someone 
> wanted Harry to have the book, who was it? 

Carol:
I doubt that Slughorn had any idea that Harry was not creating those
potions on his own. Snape, in contrast, seems to suspect that
something is up, especially after Harry uses Sectumsempra on Draco,
but it's only when he uses Legilimency on Harry that he knows for sure
that Harry is using his own old textbook--and he's not at all happy
about it for a variety of reasons that I won't go into here.
Dumbledore *may* have planted the textbook to give Harry extra help
with Potions and test his resistance to the temptation of using a
spell labeled "for enemies," but I don't know how he could have got
hold of Sevvie's old textbook and I see no evidence that he's
manipulating Harry or events in that particular way. I think the most
likely explanation is that young Severus left the battered old
textbook behind when he had mastered everything in it, including his
own notations, and that Slughorn found it and tossed it into a
cupboard or took it home with him. Dumbledore could have dropped a
hint that students who received E's on the Potions OWL might need to
borrow a used textbook and Slughorn might have scrounged up any old
books that he could find just in case, but I think it's largely
coincidence--and Harry's own peculiar luck. (Note that Snape, unlike
Slughorn, has not been using antiquated textbooks, so the textbooks
date from Slughorn's tenure as Potions teacher, not only of young
Severus but of young Eileen Prince some thirty years earlier still.
*Not* a remarkable instance of flexibility or inventiveness!) 
> 
> [5]-Slughorn lists two times that he took Felix Felicis: Once when
he was twenty-four years old and once when he was fifty-seven. I
wonder if these times are significant?

Carol:
No idea on this one. I have difficulty imagining Slughorn, even at 24,
being lucky in love. Maybe both instances related to employment or
money. Or maybe he just wanted a memorable, lucky day on two occasions.
> 
> [5]-Slughorn talks about the dangers of taking too much Felix
Felicis. He says that it causes giddiness, over-confidence, and
recklessness. How long do these effects last? Is this significant? <snip>

Carol:
The overconfidence and recklessness (not so much the giddiness) remind
me of the young James Potter and Sirius Black--not suggesting that
they took Felix Felicis, but they certainly took risks for fun without
considering consequences. Possibly Harry faces a similar risk if he
takes Felix Felicis to help him find a Horcrux or fight the DEs. No
idea whether this passing reference is significant or not. Maybe it's
just a hint to young readers that, no, Harry can't depend on FF for
success in Book 7.
> 
> [6]-Slughorn talks about Amortentia and he talks about the power 
> of "obsessive love." Does this mean anything? Will it come into
play? <snip>

Carol:
I see it as emphasizing the obsessive love theme that permeates HBP,
beginning with Narcissa's obsessive devotion to her son, with its
disastrous consequences for Snape and Dumbledore. It also introduces
Amortentia, foreshadowing Merope's use of it or a similar potion to
ensnare Tom Riddle Sr., with even more disastrous consequences (the
birth of the future Voldemort). Amortentia could play a further role,
but I can't see Harry using it to fight Voldemort or his minions.
("Here, Bellatrix. Drink this!")

> 
>[7] -The Draught of Living Death pops up again. What is the
significance of this? We keep seeing this particular potion over and
over again, but we never see it used for anything!

Carol:
This one I have more hopes for, especially given DD's words to Draco
about faking death in HBP. Candidates for the faked death range from
DD or Regulus to Caradoc Dearborn (whose body was never found), but
I'd like it to be Emmeline Vance as concrete evidence that Snape is on
the Order's side despite appearances. It's also possible that he'll
work with, say, Lupin to fake Draco's and Narcissa's deaths and lure
Lucius (whose escape from Azkaban I predict he'll be ordered to
arrange, now that LV has to choose between punishing DEs for their
failings and adding relevant competent DEs to his dwindling supply) to
join the fight against LV. Anyway, that's the scenario I hope for; not
that I'm expecting anything of the sort. I do, however, expect the
Draught of Living Death to come into the books, just as bezoars and
wolfsbane (also mentioned in Snape's first Potions lesson) have done.
> 
>[8] -Slughorn mentions Lily was good at potions. Did Lily write in
the book at all? I doubt it since everything that is in the book, so
far, is in the same handwriting. But maybe something will come up
later about Lily and her connection to potions. All we hear about is 
charms. 

Carol:
The notations are all in the minuscule, cramped hand of young Severus
Snape, first shown to us on his DADA OWL in OoP. It weems unlikely
that Lily and Severus ever sat at the same table, any more than the
four Slytherins in Slughorn's NEWT Potions class sit with the three
Gryffindors in Harry's year. I've always thought that the reference in
SS/PS to Lily's first wand as being "a nice wand for Charm work" would
prove important (for example, I imagine it was she who placed the
Fidelius Charm on PP to make him the Secret Keeper), and I was
surprised to hear Slughorn referring to her proficiency at Potions. I
suspect she was good at Potions, as Hermione is, and that she received
an O (as Severus did) on her Potions OWL, but I think Slughorn's fond
memories of her, combined with Harry's apparent (but unreal) natural
aptitude for the subject, are causing to credit a clever and talented
student with a genius that really belongs to an even more gifted but
perennially underappreciated student, Severus Snape.
> 
> [9]-What is the point in calling the chapter HBP? Just to introduce
the potions book and tell us it is important? It seems kind of 
unnecessary and I keep thinking that there must be something else in 
this chapter that I am missing.

Carol:
I think the whole chapter is a hint to the identity of the HBP, and of
course the title, matching the title of the book itself, reinforces
the importance both of the identity of the "Prince" and of the book
itself. The first section of the chapter sets up Harry's ability to
take the class and the necessity of obtaining a new book. The middle
section focuses on the "Prince" himself, in adult form, unknown to
either Harry or the first-time reader. (It's interesting to read the
middle section bearing in mind teen!Snape's early aptitude for the
subject, along with his skill at Potions, and to speculate on his
reasons for wanting to teach DADA rather than Potions despite the
"jinx" (curse) on the subject.) The third section reminds us that
Harry is no Potions genius and introduces the very helpful and
sensible notations by a very bright former student and places Harry on
what Nora would probably call the slippery slope of reliance on
notations by an unknown student, leading to his willingness to
experiment with unknown spells clearly invented by that same student.
(There's also the questionable ethics of relying on someone else's
notations and *taking credit* for them as your own. I, for one, think
Hermione deserved to win the Felix Felicis since she concocted a very
good, though not excellent, potion through her own efforts. That she
didn't succeed is the fault of the book, whose directions she followed
to the letter--which may be one reason why Snape as Potions teacher
puts his own directions on the board rather than relying on any text.)
> 
> [10]-<snip> How might the third scene, Potions, be a part of some
grand scheme to fight Voldemort?

Carol:
I don't know, but I do think that *Snape* has been presenting Harry
and the others with useful Potions information all along (notably the
life-saving capability of bezoars) and that part of his exasperration
with Harry is that Harry fails to see the importance of Potions and
its links to DADA. Antidotes in general can be considered as a form of
DADA--and a necessary defense against Dark Wizards who might attenpt
to poison you. And of course there must be a good reason why Potions
is a requirement for training as an Auror, so perhaps Potions can be
used defensively. The Draught of Living Death will almost certainly
play a role. I wonder if Hermione will prepare it using the HBP's
textbook, which Harry, despite his animus against Snape, will retrieve
from the ROR?
> 
> -Penapart Elf also brought up a couple of good points (hope you do 
> not mind my mentioning these Penapart! These are direct quotes.)
>    1) "HRH (and if HRH are right, so do the rest of their year)   
>       dropped NEWT-level Care of Magical Creatures - too bad since   
>       they might have to fight The Voldemort and His Minions Dark 
>       Arts Monster." –Penapart Elf <snip question 2 since Harry
receives no "parental guidance' and Gran has already been discussed>

Carol:
As others have pointed out, Magical Creatures are not synonymous with
Dark Creatures, which they learned about in Lupin's DADA class. Also,
Hagrid's classes focus on *care of* magical creatures, not defense
against them. We may see something on dragons (which Harry has briefly
dealt with) in Book 7, with Charlie Weasley brought briefly back onto
the scene as the Order member most capable of dealing with that
particular creature, but I suspect that the Dark Creature Harry will
be most concerned with is Nagini. And maybe poor Ron will have to
"follow the spiders"!

Carol, with apologies for the length of her responses, which no doubt
take less time to read than they did to compose