CHAPDISC: HBP 18, Birthday Surprises

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 153486

 CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 18,
Birthday Surprises

The chapter opens with Harry confiding to Ron and Hermione that Dumbledore
has assigned him to persuade Slughorn to divulge the true horcrux memory.
Ron takes the view that Slughorn is not likely to refuse Harry anything,
while Hermione believes it will be very difficult and he must work out a
strategy first. When Harry mentions Ron's views, Hermione reacts angrily and
storms off.

In Potions class, Hermione avoids both Harry and Ron. Slughorn begins with
Golpalott's Third Law, which (as Hermione recites) states that the antidote
for a blended poison will be equal to more than the sum of the antidotes for
each of the separate components. Slughorn explains that the task is to find
"that added component" that will transform the disparate components, then
sets the students to create an antidote for a phial of unidentified poison.

Hermione, after brightly reminding Harry that the Prince will not be able to
help Harry with this assignment, gets to work. Neither Harry nor Ron has any
idea of what to do, so they begin imitating Hermione. Realizing his Potions
reputation is about to disappear, Harry consults his copy of Advanced
Potion-Making and finds that the Prince has scribbled the words, "Just shove
a bezoar down their throats" in the margin. Harry rummages in the supply
cupboard until he locates a bezoar. When Slughorn examines everyone's
results, Harry shows him the bezoar. Roaring with laughter, and impressed
with Harry's nerve, Slughorn applauds Harry's response and applauds Harry's
intuitive grasp of potion-making "just like his mother." Meanwhile, Hermione
(whose antidote contains 52 ingredients including her own hair) is livid.

After class, Harry dawdles and after everyone else has left, casually asks
Slughorn what he knows about horcruxes. Slughorn stiffens and begins to
sweat, asserting vehemently that he knows nothing about horcruxes, as the
memory attests, then rushes out and slams the door.

Neither Hermione nor Ron has much sympathy for Harry's failure, as both are
unhappy about Harry's triumph in Potions class. Harry decides to let
Slughorn think he has forgotten his inquiry and Slughorn soon reverts to his
affectionate treatment of Harry. Harry is determined to attend the next Slug
Club party, but Slughorn doesn't seem to be having any. Meanwhile, Hermione
reports that she has been unable to learn anything about horcruxes in the
library.

February arrives and the snow melts. It is replaced by "cold, dreary
wetness" and the beginning of Apparition lessons for the sixth-years. The
instructor, Wilkie Twycross, informs the students that the enchantment
prohibiting apparating inside the Hogwarts grounds has been lifted in the
Great Hall for the duration of the lesson. Harry spots Draco Malfoy having a
whispered argument with Crabbe, and when Twycross asks the students to space
themselves out for their first attempt, Harry positions himself directly
behind Draco so he can eavesdrop.

Draco tells Crabbe that it's none of his business what he's doing and that
Draco doesn't know how much longer it will take, but that Crabbe and Goyle
should just "do as you're told and keep a lookout." Harry snidely comments
that he tells his friends what he's up to when he asks them to be lookouts.
At that moment Twycross begins his lesson. None of the sixth-years is
successful in the first lesson, although Susan Bones manages to splinch
herself.

Upon returning to the dormitory, Harry pulls out the Marauder's Map and
begins looking for Draco who, as it turns out, is in the Slytherin common
room. Harry states his determination to keep an eye on Malfoy so he can find
out what he's up to. Over the next couple of weeks, Harry notices Crabbe and
Goyle moving around the castle on their own more often than usual, or
stationary in deserted corridors, but at those times Harry can't find Malfoy
anywhere on the map.
Ron's birthday arrives and he wakes up to a pile of presents. Harry tosses
another on the pile. Ron digs in, finding, among other things, a gold watch
with odd symbols around the edges and moving stars instead of hands. Harry
barely glances at it, as he is rummaging through his trunk for the
Marauder's Map, tossing out half its contents before finding the map. Harry
searches the map in vain for Malfoy while Ron offers Harry a Chocolate
Cauldron. Harry declines; Ron eats several.

Harry is ready to go down to breakfast, but Ron, motionless and pale,
declares his undying love for Romilda Vane. Harry laughs it off as a joke,
but Ron responds by punching Harry in the ear. Harry retaliates with
Levicorpus, but then realizes that the box of Chocolate Cauldrons was the
one Romilda had given Harry for Christmas, spiked with Love Potion. Harry
decides to take Ron to Slughorn's office for an antidote on the pretext that
Romilda is there taking extra Potions lessons.

Slughorn is in his office, and first suggests that Harry could have whipped
up the antidote himself, but relents and agrees to prepare the antidote. The
antidote is effective, though Ron is horrified. Slughorn decides Ron needs a
pick-me-up and discovers a bottle of oak-matured mead he had meant to give
Dumbledore for Christmas. He decides to open it anyway and offers a toast to
'Ralph'. Harry thinks this might be a good opportunity to bring up horcruxes
again, but then notices – before Slughorn does -- that there is something
terribly wrong with Ron, who has already swallowed his glass. He crumples,
extremities jerking, foaming at the mouth, with bulging eyes. Harry urges
Slughorn to do something, but Slughorn is paralysed with shock. Harry tears
through Slughorn's bag until he finds the bezoar and shoves it in Ron's
mouth. With a great shudder, Ron becomes limp and still.

QUESTIONS

1.  What do you think of Golpalott's Third Law?  Was it included as an
example of magical principles?  Do you think it will be applied in Book 7,
either actually or metaphorically?  And is there any significance to the
name Golpalott, other than its resemblance to gulp-a-lot?

2.  Harry and Ron appear incapable of anything in Potions class without
Hermione's assistance.  They can't even manage to consult Advanced Potion
Making to figure out what to do (although Harry does look in the margins for
advice from the Prince).  How did they do so well on their Potions OWLs?
And is this joke getting old now that the Trio are 16?

3.  How do you think Lily acquired her reputation as having an "intuitive
grasp of potion-making"?

4.  Why is it so important to Hermione to outshine Harry in Potions?  Is it
a need for recognition?  Fear of failure?  Concern about Harry's reliance on
an unknown author?  Annoyance that Harry is taking credit for the Prince's
work?  Something else?  And why do you think she put her own hair into her
potion?

5.  JKR frequently makes a point of describing the weather when she shifts
to a new scene or section of narrative; for example, February brought "cold
dreary wetness."  Do you think JKR is using the weather to set a mood here
or is it just transition?

6.  Wilkie Twycross tells the students that the restrictions on Apparition
have been lifted in the Great Hall for the duration of the lesson.  If it's
that simple, couldn't anyone undo the restriction?  Why, then, is Draco
spending an entire term trying to create an entrance through the Vanishing
Cabinets?  Shouldn't the DEs have tried to undo the restriction long before
now?

7.  Is the watch Ron received for his coming of age birthday significant in
any way?

8.  JKR uses Ron to portray the effects of Love Potions in a very humorous
way (I thought Ron's deadpan comments about Romilda Vane were the most
laugh-out-loud funny in the entire book).  Does this scene help to envision
the effect of Merope's love potion on Tom Riddle Sr.?  How do you
think Riddle's family and friends reacted to lovelorn Tom?  Is JKR
lampooning the effect of crushes on us Muggles?
9.  Why is Ron horrified when Slughorn administers the antidote? Is he
feeling the disappointment of the crush wearing off, or is he just
embarrassed at having acted the way he did?  And why does JKR always select
Ron as a victim of forms of magic with sophomorically humorous effects?

10.  There is so much Slughorn in this chapter it could have been named for
him.  Slughorn's actions include (i) invoking Lily, (ii) reacting badly to
Harry's inquiry about horcruxes, (iii) calling Ron "Ralph", (iv)opening a
bottle of mead intended for Dumbledore, and (v) failing to recognize Ron's
symptoms or take responsive action, even though the bezoar was in his bag.
How do these actions affect our prior perception of his character?  Is
Slughorn a sympathetic character despite his faults?  What do you think of
his ethics?  His potion-making skills?

Bonus Question.  Despite the fact that ch. 18 is infused with
potions, former potions master Snape is barely mentioned.  If Snape had
still been potions master, how do you think he would he have handled Ron's
predicament?

Debbie
with many thanks to Petra Pan and SSSusan for their comments on the summary
(and especially for pointing out all my mistakes)

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