CHPDISC: HBP14, Felix Felicis

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 151850

> >>Potioncat:
> CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince,      
> Chapter 14, Felix Felicis
> <snip of summary>
> Felix Felicis Questions:
> 1.The strange mist, which we know is due to Dementors breeding, is 
> so thick the Trio has trouble finding the Greenhouse. It's         
> mentioned very casually. Do you think it's important? Could it    
> contribute to any of the emotions we see in the next few chapters?

Betsy Hp:
I never noticed the mist before!  It must mean something since it's 
described as odd, but I'm not sure if it does add to emotions or 
not.  A lot of the stuff in this chapter has been building for a 
while, IMO.  (Though I did find Ginny's anger a bit over the top.)
 
> 2. The Snargaluff scene is very well described for something that 
> is unimportant. It seems a mixture of the Devil's Snare episode    
> from SS/PS, having dental work done, and a character from "Winnie 
> the Pooh." Is this just more scenery?

Betsy Hp:
I'm no good at picking out objects that will be important later on.  
I did love the atmosphere the Snargaluff gave the trio's 
conversation.  And I loved super-competent!Neville. <g>
 
> 3.Harry makes some difficult decisions as a Quidditch captain. In 
> what ways has he grown?

Betsy Hp:
We get more of Harry's leadership abilities (so well demonstrated in 
the DA club in OotP) in the way he handles his people and his 
willingness to make a hard decision (Dean vs. Seamus).  Though we do 
get a hint that he's not fully grown up with his "Must. Beat. DRACO" 
moment, that I found entirely too cute. <g>

[Skipping 4, because I've no idea.]

> 5. Many Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had taken sides. Does this give 
> the impression that Slytherin House is not universally disliked?   
> It sounds as if the individuals within the two houses had taken   
> sides, not that one house was pulling for one team. What does this 
> mean?

Betsy Hp:
I guess it means that Slytherins aren't all evil, rotten, no-good 
cheaters. <g>  And I think it shows that the real division is 
between Gryffindor and Slytherin, with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw 
singing back up for the which ever flavor they prefer on that 
particular day.  (Which makes sense, I think, since Slytherin and 
Gryffindor were such fast friends, per the Sorting Hat. Plus, you 
know, fire/water.) 

> 6. Do you think Malfoy had to "bribe" Harper to play? Does Harper 
> know Malfoy is up to something?

Betsy Hp:
Various members of Slytherin may know something is up with Draco 
(Pansy and Blaise, especially), but Ginny tells us that Harper is an 
idiot.  So I don't know if he'd be one to put things together.  His 
double-take with Harry suggests to me that Draco *did* bribe him.  
Though I'm not sure why it would have been neccessary.  Maybe to try 
and avoid questions?  After all, Draco is trying to keep his 
activities quiet.

> 7. Zacharias Smith is pretty petty in this scene. Do you think he 
> is related to Hepzibah Smith? How are they alike?  

Betsy Hp:
They're blond Hufflepuffs with Old Testament names and the last name 
of Smith.  It seems like a pretty close match, IMO.  And Zacharias 
made me laugh.  His commentary wasn't any worse than Jordan's on any 
team not Gryffindor, with the added bonus of being just polite 
enough to avoid being called on it. (Clever boy. <g>)
 
> 8. What do you think of Ginny's retaliation?

Betsy Hp:
My goodness but she's an angry young lady.  I'm not sure what set 
her off so badly.  I don't recall Flint ramming Jordan after a 
match.  Nothing Zacharius said seemed to need a physical 
retaliation, IMO.

> If McGonagall was there, why wasn't she giving Smith what for?

Betsy Hp:
Because Zacharius was careful.  He spoke of "interesting" choices 
based on past games and the usual athletic build of various 
positions.  Yes, it was snide towards Gryffindor, but it wasn't name 
calling.  (Should I mention that it was Zacharius's commentary that 
clued Harry into Harper spotting the snitch?  Oh heck, why not. <g>)

> 9. We don't hear anything about the Snape-McGonagall Quidditch 
> rivalry anymore. JKR has said she's glad to have written the last 
> Quidditch game. Did JKR tire of the rivalry too? Do the two 
> professors have more important things on their minds? Do you miss 
> the rivalry?

Betsy Hp:
I do miss it a bit.  I think it was fun for the two of them, and I 
liked seeing Snape and McGonagall having fun.  I agree with others 
that the times have become too serious for the usual goodhearted 
rivalries, and I think it's a bit sad.  (Especially if Snape dies!  
Here's hoping they're placing bets and making snide remarks a couple 
of years from now.)

> 10. How can Ron really be mad at Hermione for something that       
> happened two years ago?

Betsy Hp:
Part of it might have been an honesty thing.  Ron questioned 
Hermione a lot about her relationship with Krum, and she obviously 
kept some things from him.  (I'll admit that I was surprised to find 
out Hermione and Krum had gotten physical. An eighteen year old boy 
with a fourteen year old girl creeps me out a bit.)  Part of it was 
good old fashioned jealousy.  And embarrassment that he's such an 
innocent (relatively speaking).

> Is he using Lavender, or does he need/want someone who admires him?

Betsy Hp:
I think it's all about the admiration.  Lavender actually believed 
in Ron, and I think he needed/wanted that.


> 11. We see Hermione with a flock of yellow birds around her head. 
> That image is often used to represent innocence or love. Next     
> thing we see, those birds are attacking Ron, and apparently do     
> some damage. 
> What does this tell us about Hermione? Or does it tell us more 
> about love?

Betsy Hp:
I don't think it tells us a thing about love.  It does tell us that 
Hermione is a bit violent.  (Ron never physically attacked Hermione 
for dating Krum.)  Maybe that was the mist?  Maybe the mist is 
taking perfectly nice young girls and turning them mean? <g>  Though 
to be fair to Hermione, she didn't realize Ginny had spilled the 
beans (why didn't Ginny warn her?) so she didn't realize what was 
going on with Ron.

> 12. JKR set us up. The title of the chapter, the description at 
> breakfast and the description of the game all made it look as if 
> Harry had spiked Ron's drink. Did you think Harry put Felix       
> Felicis in Ron's juice? What did you expect the outcome to be?

Betsy Hp:
I *totally* believed Harry has spiked Ron's drink.  I knew they'd 
win the game (of course), and I knew Harry had Hermione on shaky 
moral ground (her throwing the try-outs), but I didn't know where 
the friendship would end up.

> 13. "Felix Felicis" is the title of the chapter. What part did the 
> potion really play? Does this tell us anything about the potion or 
> was it just part of the set up? 
> 14. Felix Felicis wasn't really in the chapter "Felix Felicis."    
> Was Snape's worst memory really in the chapter with that name? Can 
> you think of other chapters that may have been written like this?

Betsy Hp:
It was a masterful setup on JKR's part (tips hat to JKR).  I'm not 
sure it means that Snape's memory wasn't his worst though.  Because 
the payoff in this chapter comes in this chapter.  Whereas there's 
no "payoff" in the "Worst Memory" chapter.

Nice discussion, Potioncat, thanks!

Betsy Hp