Unwelcome visitors and drinks in HBP chapters 1-4 (Was: Spinner's End Clues)

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 153950

Tonks:
> <snip> 
> > I never thought of the fact before that the 2 scenes where 
happening 
> > at the same time in different places. There might be something to 
> > that fact.

Carol:
> I'm not sure about the elf-made wine and Dumbledore's mead (surely
> from Madam Rosmerta) both coming from dusty bottles has anything to 
do
> with the time element, but the toasts or the drink motif might. 
*(snip)*
> At any rate, I think that the time frame of the first four chapters
> has been carefully structured and that they all take place on the 
same
> night at roughly or exactly the same time. (The events in chapter 1 
> seem to correspond with those in chapter 4, which begins at 11:00
> rather than midnight. The drink motif occurs in all four chapters
> (it's possible that Snape's toast coincides with the drink 
reluctantly
> poured by Slughorn rather than DD's toast to Harry at the Dursleys).
> The unexpected, and not necessarily welcome, visitors motif also
> occurs in all four chapters: the Prime Minister and the "other"
> minister (Fudge/Scrimgeour); Snape and the Black sisters; the 
Dursleys
> and Dumbledore (also, briefly, Kreacher); and Slughorn and 
Dumbledore
> (accompanied by Harry). Coincidence? I don't think so.

Ceridwen:
I've thought for some time that these chapters all occur on the same 
night.  They're too similar, though I'm not as good as Carol at 
picking out motifs.  I even thought at one time (Carol, and I think 
it was Geoff, shot me down here) that maybe Slughorn was in the same 
town as Snape and that when Snape looked out the window, he saw 
Dumbledore and Harry Apparating in up the road a ways.  To me, all 
three chapters (I'm excluding chapter four here since I wasn't 
looking at it in quite this way) had an air of expectancy to them.  
At the time I was thinking this, chapter four, though also on the 
same night, was a continuation of chapter three.

But, putting it in the context of unwelcome visitors and drinks being 
served, then  I do have to include chapter four's unwelcomed visit by 
Dumbledore and Harry to Slughorn's temporary home.

I did think that the UV, and Slughorn's acceptance which is clearly 
in chapter four, took place at about the same time, sealing Snape's 
role as DADA teacher since there was now someone to take Potions, as 
well as instigating the third provision of the vow and activating the 
DADA curse.  Another thing that would include chapter four is the 
resolution of the night, Dumbledore and Harry winding up in the 
Burrow's shed, job done.

Tonks:
> > Maybe we should compare what transpired in each place. Go 
> > back over both word for word and look very carefully.

> Carol, noting that Snape is the most gracious host of the four
> (counting the Dursleys as one person) and thinking that we should
> indeed explore these chapters for more parallels than dusty bottles

Ceridwen:
I only noticed that same general air.  Others uncovered the drinks 
motif and the unwelcome visitors.  Maybe it *is* worth looking into 
it a little further, like some blended ChapDisc...

Ceridwen, noting that maybe Golpalot's Third Law would work, if we 
could find the missing reference.