Spinner's End Clues

[kibakianakaya]

No: HPFGUIDX 153806

> zgirnius wrote:
> But it is still interesting. What do the drinks add
> to the scene?
> [ drink drank drunk ]
>
> Are we supposed to get something from all this alcohol
> consumption?
>
> Len:
> The British drink.  "A few before dinner" with a Brit
> will put the average american under the table before
> the nachos get served.  These are natural situations,
> and it is socially acceptable to offer your guests (or
> your hosts) drinks.
>
> There may or may not be something interesting in the
> phrasing or wording, but in general, I'd say:
> Nothing to see here folks, move along.

Lilygale now:
The veritable orgy of (mostly social) drinking that goes on
throughout HBP cannot be a coincidence.  We have Dumbledore
offering the Dursleys mead, blood red elf wine at Spinner's
End, Harry quaffing a bit of Felix, Hagrid and Slughorn
drinking their way through Aragog's memorial, Slughorn offering
mead to Harry and Ron, Trelawney over-imbibing prior to talking
to Harry about Snape and the prophecy.  All of which culminates
in that fateful drinking scene in the cave.

So what is going on with the drinking imagery.  I almost hate
to mention it after the looong debate over Christian imagery,
but... maybe there is some meaning to all that drinking based on
religious symbolism.  I'm not a Christian, and so not familiar
with the beliefs and symbols, so I may be way off base, but isn't
there a Christian belief about drinking wine as a symbol of
drinking Christ's blood?  Someone once told me some Christians
believe the wine actually turns into blood – but I could be
remembering wrongly.  So what is the meaning of wine, drink,
blood throughout HBP.  Is it tied to the reason Christians
drink "blood" ceremonially?  Does it have something to do with
redemption?  Does all the drinking foreshadow (blood) sacrifice
on Dumbledore's part?  More sacrifice in Book 7?