CHAPDISC: HBP16, A Very Frosty Christmas

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 152662

CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS:  Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 
16:  A Very Frosty Christmas

When we pick up again, it is Christmas break, and Harry is at the 
Burrow with the Weasleys.  Ron asks, apparently for the umpteenth 
time, whether Snape was *definitely*  offering to help Draco in that 
classroom.  Apparently annoyed by the umpteenth asking, Harry 
threatens "to stick this sprout--."  Harry does, however, reiterate 
that Snape was indeed offering to help Draco.  

While they've gone over this before, apparently this is the first 
time Harry thinks to mention that Snape had taken "an Unbreakable 
Oath or something."  This certainly gets a rise out of Ron, who both 
knows what an Unbreakable Vow is and has serious doubts that Snape 
would have taken one.  Ron explains that if one breaks a UV, one 
dies.  He also explains that Fred & George tried to get Ron to make 
one when he was about 5, until his dad stopped them.  "Only time I've 
ever seen Dad as angry as Mum," says Ron.

At this point the twins enter the kitchen and so the conversation 
turns, of course, to teasing.  First they give Ron a hard time 
because he can't yet use magic to peel sprouts.  (Neither do they 
offer to assist, natch.)  Then they give Ron what-for over what 
they've heard from Ginny about him & Lavender Brown.  Fred & George 
do not want to congratulate Ron on achieving A Relationship; they, 
rather, elect to ask him how the heck he has managed one at all – did 
the girl suffer brain damage or something?

Mrs. Weasley comes in and we learn Remus Lupin is coming for 
Christmas.  Fred inquires about Percy, and Molly says she expects 
he's too busy to come.  "Or he's the world's biggest prat," says 
Fred, after Molly leaves.

After the twins leave, the conversation returns to the overheard 
Snape-Draco conversation.  Ron asks Harry if he's going to report it 
to DD.  Yes, he says, and not only to DD, but "to anyone who can put 
a stop to it."  Ron – hmmmm, is Ron actually being subtle here? – 
remarks that it's a pity Harry didn't hear exactly what Draco is up 
to.  He also anticipates that his dad & DD will say Snape was 
*really* just out for information from Draco.  Ron assures Harry that 
he believes him but that he's simply pointing out that "they" are all 
convinced Snape's in the Order. Harry knows Ron is right and even 
suspects Hermione will protest the same thing.

Christmas Eve arrives and we're treated to a description of the 
Weasleys' festive living room.  Seems Ginny's decorated "lavishly," 
and the Christmas tree sports a real live gnome, one who had pissed 
off Fred by biting him and had, in return, been stupefied, painted 
gold, and stuffed into a costume of tutu and angel wings.  

The family and guests are listening to Celestina Warbeck, Mrs. 
Weasley's favorite singer, on the wireless.  Fleur begins talking so 
loudly that Molly scowls and keeps turning up the volume.  While 
Remus stares into the fire, Celestina sings:

Oh, come and stir my cauldron,
And if you do it right,
I'll boil you up some hot strong love
To keep you warm tonight.

[My, oh my.  Good thing this is Harry Potter for *Grownups*! ;-)]

As Celestina's warbling continues, Arthur mentions that the Ministry 
is getting nowhere despite much effort and is now resorting to some 
dubious arrests in order to keep up the appearance of making 
progress.  Harry decides to tell Mr. Weasley about the Draco-Snape 
conversation.  He becomes aware that Lupin is listening as well.  
Arthur, of course, says exactly what Ron figured he would:  perhaps 
Snape was simply pretending, to fish for information from Draco.  

"But how do we know?" asks Harry.  

"It isn't our business to know," interjects Lupin.  "It's 
Dumbledore's business.  Dumbledore trusts Severus, and that ought to 
be enough for all of us."  

Harry protests that DD could be wrong.  Lupin counters that "it comes 
down to whether or not you trust Dumbledore's judgment.  I do; 
therefore, I trust Severus."  

Harry asks Lupin if he honestly likes Snape.  Lupin says he neither 
likes nor dislikes Snape -- truly.  There *is* bitterness in their 
past, but there has also been assistance, as with the Wolfsbane 
Potion.  Harry continues to protest, prompting Lupin to say, "You are 
determined to hate him, Harry."  Lupin *understands* this tendency in 
Harry, and even tells him to tell the whole story to DD if he likes, 
but not to expect DD to be surprised by any of it.

Lupin tells Harry what he's been doing, which is lying low amongst 
the werewolves, as a spy.  When Harry asks why werewolves tend to 
like Voldemort, Lupin says it's because they believe they'll have a 
better life under him.  He tells Harry about vicious Fenrir Greyback, 
a werewolf who "specializes" in biting children, and the werewolf who 
bit Lupin as a child.  With Greyback, this is intentional.

Lupin mentions that it's hard to make headway against Greyback's push 
for revenge against "normal people," and Harry says, "But you are 
normal!  You've just got a-- a problem--."  This causes Lupin to 
burst out laughing.  He recalls that James used to call it his "furry 
little problem."  

Hearing his father's name prompts Harry to ask Lupin if he's ever 
heard of someone called the "Half-Blood Prince."  "There are no 
Wizarding princes," Lupin says.  Harry explains about the textbook, 
with its detailed notes, its hand-written spells invented by the 
owner, including Levicorpus.  Lupin says "reminiscently" that that 
spell had been quite popular in his 5th year.  After Harry mentions 
that he saw James use Levicorpus on Snape in the Pensieve, Lupin 
reiterates that James was not the only person to have used it.  He 
tells Harry it's also possible the note-writer didn't actually invent 
Levicorpus and then, catching on to what Harry was thinking, adds, "I 
promise you, [James] never asked us to call him `Prince.'"  Upon 
direct questioning, he also says it was definitely not himself or 
Sirius either.  Lupin suggests checking how old the textbook is.  
Harry does and finds it's 50 years old, which disappoints him.

On Christmas morning Harry awakens to the sound of Ron saying, "She's 
got to be joking...."  Lav-Lav has given him a gold necklace bearing 
the words "My Sweetheart."  Ron emphatically does not want Fred & 
George to see it.  He admits to Harry that it's mostly just snogging 
and then asks if Hermione is really going out with McLaggen.  

Harry's gifts include a Mrs. Weasley sweater, which everyone else, 
except Fleur, has also received.  Harry's has a Golden Snitch on the 
front.  He also receives goodies from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and, 
surprisingly, a packet from Kreacher.  Before opening this, Harry 
wonders aloud whether he should have given Kreacher a gift, whether 
it's typical for owners to give their house-elves Christmas 
presents.  Ron says Hermione would but Harry should wait and see what 
Kreacher has sent "before feeling guilty."  Smart Ron.  Harry opens 
the parcel to find Kreacher has sent him maggots!  (Ginny, btw,  
notices a maggot in Harry's hair at breakfast and reaches to pick it 
out, eliciting goose bumps from Harry "having nothing to do with the 
maggot.")  

Mrs. Weasley pointedly mentions that she'd invited Tonks, but she 
wouldn't come, and then asks whether Lupin has spoken with her 
lately.  He says no but that he thinks she has a family to go to.  
Molly says she believes Tonks planned to be alone at Christmas
 and 
shoots Lupin an annoyed look, "as though it was all his fault she was 
getting Fleur for a daughter-in-law instead of Tonks."

Ever so briefly, the subject turns to Patronuses.  Harry asks Lupin 
about Tonks's changed Patronus, and why that could happen.  Lupin's 
response is that a great shock or emotional upheaval can cause it.  
Before Harry can ask anything else, Mrs. Weasley rises from her seat 
and exclaims, "Arthur – it's Percy!"  (Speaking of great shocks and 
emotional unheaval.)

Indeed, Percy has come to the Burrow, accompanied by Rufus 
Scrimgeour.  The reunion is stiff and awkward.  Mrs. Weasley hugs 
him, but Percy remains uncomfortable-looking.  Scrimgeour claims that 
they've only stopped by because they were nearby and Percy "wanted to 
see you all so badly."  This elicits tears and a kiss from Molly.  
Scrimgeour then asks whether "that young man" [Harry] might accompany 
him on a walk in the garden, but the pretense is apparently 
transparent to all.  Still, Harry agrees.

Once outside, Scrimgeour confesses he's wanted to meet and speak to 
Harry for a long time, but as DD has been quite protective, it's not 
been possible.  No response from Harry.  "The rumors that have flown 
around! ...whispers of a prophecy... of you being the `Chosen 
One'...."  No response from Harry.  Scrimgeour asks what DD has told 
Harry about all this.  Harry does finally answer, but he simply 
says, "Sorry, but that's between us."  Scrimgeour makes a show of 
understanding, but he's not finished yet.  He mentions that it 
doesn't *really* matter if Harry's the Chosen One – to the Wizarding 
World, anyway – as it's "all perception... it's what people believe 
that's important."  Harry realizes where Scrimgeour is going but says 
nothing ("he was not going to help Scrimgeour get there").  

Scrimgeour arrives at the crux of it all when he says that people 
*believe* Harry's the Chosen One, a hero, and that surely once Harry 
realizes this, he'll consider it his duty "to stand alongside the 
Ministry."  Harry asks for clarification of "standing alongside" and 
is told it's nothing "onerous" – just things which will give "the 
right impression."  Offering the opportunity to speak with the Head 
of the Auror Office as incentive for Harry to pop in and out of the 
MoM, Scrimgeour makes the mistake of mentioning that it was Dolores 
Umbridge who had informed him of Harry's ambition to become an Auror.

Unsurprisingly, at the mention of Umbridge's name, Harry begins to 
feel angry.  He re-states Scrimgeour's request for what it truly is:  
a request for Harry to give the impression he's working for the 
Ministry.  Scrimgeour is relieved that Harry seems to get it.  But 
then Harry asks if that won't also imply that he *approves* of what 
the Ministry is doing.  Well, yes, agrees Scrimgeour.  Well, 
then, "no, I don't think that'll work," says Harry.  "You see, I 
don't like some of the things the Ministry's doing."  He mentions 
Stan Shunpike specifically.  When told he's too young to understand 
such things, Harry notes that DD's not young but he agrees Stan 
shouldn't be in Azkaban.

Catching on to Harry's position, Scrimgeour says, "You prefer – like 
your hero, Dumbledore – to disassociate yourself from the Ministry?"  
Harry replies that he does not want to be *used.*  Scrimgeour 
attempts to trump this by saying it might be Harry's duty to be used, 
to which Harry responds that it might be Scrimgeour's duty to make 
sure people are really Death Eaters before locking them away.  
(Touche.)  

On a roll, Harry moves on to say, "You never get it right, you 
people, do you?"  He raises his right fist, where the scarred 
phrase "I must not tell lies" can still be seen.  "I haven't 
forgotten, Minister.  ...I don't remember you rushing to my defense 
when I was trying to tell everyone Voldemort was back."  
Unsurprisingly, this brings silence.

Changing tack a bit, Scrimgeour comes right out and asks what DD's up 
to, where he's been going when he leaves Hogwarts.  Harry says he has 
no idea but also admits he wouldn't tell if he did know.  

"Dumbledore's man through and through, aren't you, Potter?" asks 
Scrimgeour.

"Yeah, I am," says Harry, and he turns his back on Scrimgeour and 
walks away.



QUESTIONS
1.  Why the heck does Harry never look anything up?  Clearly, he's 
curious about the Unbreakable Vow.  Why not grab a book?  Why not ask 
the librarian?  

2.  So what's your best guess of what the twins' attempted 
Unbreakable Vow was all about?  What do you think they tried to get 
Ron to do?  Do you think they understood exactly what they were 
doing?  How do you image these youngsters (they'd have been about 7) 
would've learned about UVs?

3.  Is it significant that Ginny has told Fred & George about Ron & 
Lav-Lav, given the "encounter" with Ron when he happened upon her & 
Dean snogging?  Do you think she's always talked about Ron to F&G? Do 
you think she was hoping they'd transfer their "nosing in" to Ron's 
love life from hers?

4. Fred waits to call Percy a prat until after Molly has left the 
kitchen.  Does this show there is a side to him which cares about 
others' feelings?  Or does he simply fear the Wrath of Molly?

5.  What do you think of Harry's pronouncement that he's going to 
tell DD and anyone who can help about Snape's offer to help Draco?  
Does this signal a change in Harry re: turning to others, relying 
upon others more?

6.  When Ron says that DD & his dad are likely to protest that Snape 
is not really intending to help Draco but is only trying to get 
information from him, Harry says, "They didn't hear him.  No one's 
that good an actor, not even Snape."  Contrast this with Snape's 
statement to Draco:  "Where do you think I would have been all these 
years, if I had not known how to act?"  It seems to me that this is 
the crux of the Harry-Snape "problem" and the "problem" for the 
fandom in trying to figure out Severus Snape.  *Is* he acting?  When 
is he acting and when is he not?  How good an actor is he?  Is Harry 
correct that "even Snape" is not that good an actor?

7.  Who do you think, in the past, has issued invitations to Hermione 
for Christmas at the Burrow?  Do you imagine Hermione invited 
herself? Ron invited her? Mrs. Weasley? Ginny?  Or that it was simply 
assumed she'd go?  What do you think happened this year?  Was an 
invitation given and declined? Was it all so awkward between Ron & 
Hermione that she was not invited at all?

8.  Comments on the "gnome angel"?  Yet another hilarious stunt by 
the twins, or yet another sign that the twins lack a conscience 
and/or are cruel?

9.  Many people fault Molly (or Molly & Ginny) for not being warm and 
welcoming with Fleur.  Is there anyone who, to the contrary, finds 
Fleur's behavior in the Christmas Eve scene to be rude ["Eez eet 
over?  Thank goodness, what an `orrible--"]?  Or should Molly not 
have subjected everyone to Celestina Warbeck in the first place?

10.  The scene with Harry, Arthur & Lupin is one which, when we look 
back upon it, is clearly setting us up for the tower scene.  It is 
filled with the kinds of remarks and statements which feel 
like "great pronouncements" or "truths" or "key insights,"  such 
as "It comes down to whether you trust DD's judgment" and "But 
Dumbledore can make mistakes" and "You are determined to hate him, 
Harry" and "Has it occurred to you, Harry, that Snape was simply 
pretending—?"  Play those lines off one another, and you pretty much 
have the DDM!Snape and ESE!Snape camps after the tower scene, no?  
(As well as the "DD could NEVER have been that wrong about Snape" 
vs. "DD can make BIG mistakes" camps.)  Comments?  Additionally, 
Lupin makes some remarks here about Snape which surprised some fans. 
Was he speaking what he truly believed?  Did you believe him?

11.  It is clear, to Lupin anyway, that Harry is *hoping* that the 
HBP is his father.  This is reinforced by the fact that Harry is 
disappointed when he checks the book's date and sees it's too old to 
have been his dad's era.  Harry has also previously stated that the 
HBP is a better potions teacher than Snape.  Why does Harry like the 
HBP so much, and why does he *want* him to be his father?  And what 
does all this say about Harry and Snape?  Has something changed in 
Snape, to have made him truly a lesser teacher now than then?  Or is 
it simply the removal, for Harry, of Snape the person and their 
unpleasant history from the mix, so that he's seeing "pure teaching" 
in the book and not the personality of the teacher?

12. Why would werewolves have a better life under Voldemort?

13.  Are you surprised Molly falls for the story that Percy couldn't 
stand to not see his family since they were in the neighborhood?  Why 
or why not?

14.  Percy could be so many things.  What do you think?  Is he good 
but misguided?  Is he ESE?  Is he just a prat?  What explains his 
behavior?  Is he embarrassed? proud? ambitious? hurt?

15.  In the final scene of the chapter, Harry first senses and then 
knows that Scrimgeour is after something, and he is determined not to 
give it to him.  We see a Harry who I would argue is self-possessed, 
confident, forceful, and quite "adult" in sticking up for what he 
believes is right.  Were you surprised at the growth he displayed, or 
was this just exactly what you would have expected from him?  What 
did you think of Harry in this scene?

16.  What do you think of Scrimgeour now? Compare him to Fudge, if 
you like.


Siriusly Snapey Susan,
who would like to thank Penapart Elf, Potioncat, Jen R., Alla & Carol 
for their comments, suggestions and/or encouragement.


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