handwriting (was Re: too many topics to fit in this subject line, sorry

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 148870

 Catlady wrote:
>snip> 
>I think the HBP's book has a slightly less dangerous enchantment -- it
> attracts the person it belongs to and repels all others. It attracted
> Harry and made him trust the Prince for no logical reason. It repelled
> Ron by being illegible to him and repelled Hermione emotionally. Let
> me change 'it belongs to' to 'who belongs to it' -- it somehow chose
> Harry and may its way to him, perhaps even teleporting itself from
> Snape's office or wherever to the cupboard in Slughorn's classroom.
> Perhaps if Harry already had an Advanced Potions textbook, it would
> have come up with some way to get that one out of the way long enough
> to ensnare Harry.
>snip<

Potioncat:
Oh, I really like this idea. I'm not sure if canon gives any hints for 
it, but I'll be looking for them now. I never gave it a second thought 
when I first read it, that one person could read the writing and the 
other two couldn't. I assumed Ron was too impatient to bother and 
Hermione was determined not to. 

But an enchantment, possible done by Snape himself, makes a great deal 
of sense. He would have wanted his spells protected from maraudering 
eyes. It explains why he wouldn't have looked for it when it first went 
missing. (this year or when he was a teen?) It sort of explains Snape's 
reaction in the bathroom...of course he wasn't ready to admit knowing 
about the book.

Yep, I like this.

Someone else had suggestd that Harry subconsciously recognised the 
writing and on that level already had something of an understanding of 
the teenager who wrote the notes,  having experienced bullying himself. 
Whether or not he did, he and Snape do have a lot in common. Teen Snape 
had more anger it seems and less compunction about revenge. But we've 
seen Harry come very close. Might it then fit that somehow the 
enchantment's wording recognised Harry as a kindred soul? Didn't the 
signature read something like, "property of the half-blood prince"? 
Isn't Harry a sort of half-blood prince himself?

Potioncat