CHPDISC: HBP14, Felix Felicis

[quigonginger]

No: HPFGUIDX 151876

Snip Potioncat's great summary.

> 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?
> 

Ginger:
Good catch!  I reread HBP Sunday night and didn't catch that one.  To 
be honest, I don't see anyone being "depressed" except for Ron.  But 
he got over it once he got all over Lav-Lav.

> 3.Harry makes some difficult decisions as a Quidditch captain. In 
> what ways has he grown?

Ginger:
Well, he's taller.  Oh, you mean...  He comes across to me as more 
level-headed even when he is frustrated.  If you go back to the 
tryouts, he orders all the non-Gryffs off the field in a commanding 
way, but not in a tantrum-throwing way.  Before when he is convinced 
that he is right, he gets stormy and explodes.  I'm thinking here of 
when Hermione questioned him going after the Stone, or when he and 
Ron argued in GoF, or pretty much all of OoP.  Here he simply has the 
authority and asserts it.

> 4. The Slytherin team members are Urquhart, Harper and Vaisey. Any 
> thoughts on those names and what they might mean, or what images 
they 
> conjure? How do they compare to the names of the Gryffindor beaters 
> Peakes and Coote?
> 
Ginger:  
Urquart strikes me as familiar.  I'm not familiar with the previously 
suggested "House of Cards". For some reason, Marquart came to mind, 
but I have no idea from whence this came either.  Harper made me 
think of Harpee (sp?) and Vaisey made me think of Vane (or vain).  Is 
Coote pronounced Coot or Cootie?  I read it as Cootie, which made me 
think of him as contagious, but in a juvenile way.  Peakes made me 
think he was a bit pale.
 
> 6. Do you think Malfoy had to "bribe" Harper to play? 

Ginger:
Had to? No, but I think he paid him off.  Had he just said he wasn't 
well and asked Harper to sub, Harper would probably have done so.  I 
mean, who would give up a chance to play against the Gryffs?  It also 
wouldn't have had the effect that it did on him.  Harry shocked him, 
and it showed by his failure to catch the snitch.

> 7. Zacharias Smith is pretty petty in this scene. Do you think he 
is 
> related to Hepzibah Smith?  
>
Ginger:
Two words:  Mark Evans.  On the other hand.... Nah.

> 8. What do you think of Ginny's retaliation? If McGonagall was 
there, 
> why wasn't she giving Smith what for?

Ginger:
Ok, I realize I'm in the minority here, but I loved it.  I realize 
not everyone enjoys that type of action, but I got a kick out of it.  
I don't think McG said anything because it didn't get too far out of 
hand.  Ginny may not have remembered to brake, but Zach did.

> 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?

Ginger:
Oh, heavens, I am so hoping she meant that the Quidditch scenes were 
already written for the next book, but I realize that's right up 
there with wishing to fly.  I love Quidditch.  But then I'm also one 
of those nuts who screams myself hoarse during NFL season.  So there 
you have it.  I did like the Snape/McG rivalry.  Not only was it a 
good example of how people can be on opposite sides and still keep a 
professional relationship, but it added to the poignancy of McG's 
feeling of betrayal after the death of DD.

> 10. How can Ron really be mad at Hermione for something that 
happened 
> two years ago? Is he using Lavender, or does he need/want someone 
who 
> admires him?
> 
Ginger:
I don't think Ron was really mad at Hermione for snogging Krum.  I 
just don't think he had thought of it before and now realized how 
obvious it was.  Ron is not nosy in a bad way, but he probably had a 
niave expectancy that because they were all best friends that she'd 
have mentioned it.  After all, we got an immediate reaction on 
Harry's first kiss.  Instead of seeing it as her keeping a private 
moment (or 2) private, he saw it as her hiding something from him.  
They sat and discussed the Harry/Cho situation thoroughly.  I think 
he saw it in the same way as when he thought Harry entered the TWT 
and didn't tell him.  He was wrong, of course, but I think it shows 
how much Ron expects his friends to tell him.  He was also miffed 
when Hermione didn't tell him about the TT in PoA, even though she 
had promised not to.

As far as Lav-Lav goes, I think he was really attracted to her.  As 
the Mother Superior told Maria in the Sound of Music, "there's 
nothing more attractive to a man than a woman who's in love with 
him."  (Don't ask me how the Top Nun knew that.)  I do think that at 
first he really felt attracted back, and, as many young folk do, he 
assumed that mutual attraction is the key to a perfect relationship.  
He was awfully innocent at that time.  In fact, now that I think 
about it, that's how I got my first boyfriend.  And the next one.  

> 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?
>
Ginger:
To quote song lyrics "Love stinks, yeah, yeah"  "Love is a 
battlefield" and "Oooh, Ooh, Love hurts".
There's a reason for those type of lyrics.  

I usually equate little birdies flying around one's head with what 
one sees in the cartoons when someone has been knocked loopy.  Given 
how Ron had been treating her, I can see where she'd be a bit dazed 
and confused.
 
> 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? 
> 
Ginger:  Call me a fish.  She got me hook, line and sinker.

> Potioncat, who would like to thank Penapart_Elf and Carol for 
> suggestions and encouragement.

Ginger:  Great job, and with those 2 wonderful people in your corner, 
how can you go wrong?