CHAPDISC: HBP8, Snape Victorious

[krista7]

No: HPFGUIDX 146609

>From Sherry's great questions:

> 1.  This is the first mention of nonverbal spells in the book, though it
> becomes important later as we know.  Did it catch you at all at this point,
> or did you just pass over it as you wondered how he'd get out of this
> pickle?

I had a sense of "remember that for later" but was not surprised HP couldn't
pull it off yet. It would have been wayyyyy too easy for him to develop,
essentially, *more* super-powers just from wishing for them.

> 2.  Harry despises himself for wishing there would be the sound of panic,
> people wondering what had happened to him.  He has always hated his
> celebrity, but in this situation, it might have helped.  Later in the
> chapter, when he is at the Gryffindor table and feeling embarrassed, he
> hopes the students will just assume he was off doing something heroic.  How
> do you feel about his thoughts in this situation?  Does it seem
> inconsistent, practical, or natural to you?

I'd say natural--it's nice to see Harry wrestling with celebrity but not being too much of a 
goody-goody to enjoy/rely on people's good vision of him.
 
> 3.  Here we see Tonks jump off a moving train.  All through the last book,
> OOTP, we are shown how clumsy Tonks is.  She constantly breaks things or
> trips over things.  It becomes comic relief throughout that book.  But here
> we see her casually leaping off a moving train.  What did you think of this?

I never doubted this was Tonks. She *did* become an Auror, after all. No matter
how clumsy she is in every day activity, I think she must be fairly sure-footed 
when the time demands it.

> 4.  Some have said that we didn't see enough of Harry grieving for Sirius.
> What do you think of this scene, with Harry's thoughts about Tonks and his
> inability to talk to her about Sirius?  Does this show his grief to you?

I think this does indicate his grief, but I think it also speaks to a theme woven
through the whole chapter: Nobody's really talking to each other! Tonks doesn't
really let Harry in on her thoughts, Harry doesn't ask her about Sirius, Harry doesn't
tell Snape what happened (granted, Snape probably isn't in a mood to listen), Harry
blows off his friends' interest in him and denies everything, and then, lo, all 
the teacher news, which is all announcements, stripped of "the real story." We 
don't know what happened to Dumbledore, why Snape, why Trelawney is there, etc. 

I think this is a major hint that Harry has not sufficiently learned how to communicate,
to rely on his friends, to be ready to face Voldie and the gang.

> 5.  I just noticed this when working on this chapter and actually reading it
> in braille instead of hearing audio where I can't tell how a sentence is
> punctuated.  Snape tells Tonks that Harry is 
> 
> "quite--ah--safe in my hands."  
> 
> Is there any implication in his words here, or is it just done for emphasis,
> to add some sharpness, for Harry's benefit?  Or for Tonks?  Just curious
> about how this was written.  Any thoughts?

This is how it was printed in the US hardback, too. My thought is that this is 
both JKR and Snape jerking our chains. 

> 6.  Later in HBP, we learn that Tonks' patronus is now a wolf, and we're led
> to suspect it has changed because of her love for Remus.  But here at this
> point, we don't know any of that yet.  Why do you think Snape made these
> comments about her patronus?  

I think Snape is against "fools who wear their hearts on their sleeves" and has very angry 
feelings whenever he thinks about love. (This is a more personal version of the blast-the-
rose bushes behavior.)  *sniffle*

> 7.  We've discussed Harry's hatred of Snape over Sirius death many times in
> the past, and I want to go in a different direction with this question.
> Harry believes that the reason Sirius rushed off to the ministry was because
> of Snape's taunts.  Whatever you think of that belief, why do you think
> Harry would so easily believe that Sirius would only rush off because he was
> taunted?  Does Harry have difficulty believing that Sirius could have rushed
> to his rescue out of love for him and a desire to save him, as he could not
> save James and Lily?  Does Harry have a problem believing that people could
> love him enough to risk their lives?

I think Harry is deflecting any thoughts that *he* could be responsible for Sirius'
death, when he puts all the blame on Snape. By not considering the fact
Sirius loved him *and* chose to do what he did willingly, Harry doesn't have to blame 
the dead or think, "Gee, everybody who loves me ends up getting killed. Is it me?"

> 8.  Ok, I've been dying to ask this question for months.  It's come up once
> or twice before with no response.  Did Snape see that Harry's face was
> covered in blood? 

I answered this in another post, so I'm skipping it here.

> 9.  Hermione tells Harry that Hagrid was only a few minutes late, yet Snape
> had said that Tonks' message to Hagrid couldn't reach him, because Hagrid
> was late, and that was why, he, Snape, had taken the message instead.  Was
> this true?  

I suspect it was true because Hagrid *was* running late (if not majorly late, still
late) and Snape really gets nothing from escorting Harry back to the castle.
(Other than a reason to get whopped upside the head by Voldie: "YOU WERE OUT 
IN THE DARK WITH  HIM, ALONE, ON ROCKY SLOPES AND BY THE LAKE. WHY 
DIDN'T THE CHOSEN ONE END UP IN THE LAKE, MY SERVANT! NO COOKIES
FOR YOU!")

> 10.  Is there any significance to the fact that Trelawney is at the start of
> term feast?  Is this only the second time we've seen her at the feast?

Since Harry mentions it is weird, I have to assume there's significance.
My bet: It has something to do with the fact Trelawney is important
in this book.

> 11.  Toward the end of this chapter, we have two different situations with
> Ron, both that jumped out at me in different ways.  First in the
> conversation with nearly Headless Nick, was this meant to be comic relief,
> or showing Ron's insensitivity?  Later, as Harry tells Ron the story of what
> happened on the train, he believes Ron shows his friendship by not laughing.
> Does this show anything about Ron's character, or is this just normal for
> any kid his age?


I think it shows Ron's character--good-hearted, if sometimes not a prince
with words!
  
> 12.  Throughout the book, Harry asks about Dumbledore's hand, and he is
> repeatedly told that he'll learn what happened later.  He never does.  Will
> the exact details of what happened to the hand be important later, either in
> what Harry has to do or in understanding what happened on the tower?

Oh, heck, yeah! That hand is everything--it tells us what AD was up to 
his spare time, how he worked with Snape, and the state of AD's health
during this book (is he dying before the Tower?)
 
> 13.  Here is one of my favorite parts in the book, for surprise value,
> Dumbledore announcing Slughorn as Potions teacher.  How did you react when
> you read Dumbledore's announcement of Slughorn as potions master?  Were you
> shocked?  Did you expect it at all?  When Harry and Dumbledore were going to
> meet Slughorn, did you think it was to hire him for DADA?

I admit it, I was surprised. It was completely obvious in hindsight--why
hire a Potions teacher for DADA, if not Snape?--but still, surprising.
 
> 14.  I have racked my brains and can't remember any place in the books where
> it is stated as fact that Dumbledore did not trust Snape and that is why he
> has never given him the DADA post before.  Is this a case of rumor and
> gossip becoming fact over time?  Why indeed did Dumbledore give or not give
> Snape the job?  Has Snape really wanted it all these years?  Did you think
> about the DADA curse when you heard that Snape had the position?  Was Harry
> correct in detecting the look of triumph on Snape's face?  He hates him so
> much, that every expression must be well known to him, yet his hatred may
> not make him a very reliable judge of such things.  

I though at the time, "Oh, *&)&&!, it's going down in this book!" And I was 
looking forward to more DADA classes, since I always thought Snape 
would be a much better teacher for those classes than the previous
teachers (okay, except maybe Lupin's year, but give Snape credit for pitch-
hitting for a class he hadn't prepped!)

I believe AD gave SS the job in this book, btw, because the kids are 
old enough for his teachings to have the most amount of value. If the DA
curse would only allow him to teach one year, best to utilize him near the 
eventual conflict, right? 

> 15.  How do you feel about Harry's savage comment that at least it means
> Snape will be gone by the end of the year?  Did Harry's comment about
> keeping his fingers crossed for another death disturb you? 

I thought so, because again, it means he's not emotionally ready to finish
off Voldie. It's believable but still irritating.

> 16.  Do you think Dumbledore's specific mentioning of not wandering after
> bedtime is aimed at the trio in particular?

 I think he was hinting again that there were secrets within the castle,
dangerous secrets. Secrets=problems of communication theme again.

> 17.  When Harry tells Ron about the things he overheard Draco saying on the
> train, we see more doubt on the part of Harry's circle about his suspicions
> of Draco.  Why doesn't Ron believe that Draco is up to anything?  

Since my baby nephew just toddled off with my book, I can't look up
the text! I'll leave that to another person.

Great questions, btw!

Krista