CHAPDISC: HBP24, Sectumsempra

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 161207

> 4. Harry undergoes a number of temptations in this chapter, among 
them
> to try out Sectumsempra on McLaggen and to use Felix Felicis 
either to
> strengthen his chances with Ginny or to help him get into the Room 
of
> Requirement so he can find out what Draco is up to. What do these
> temptations reveal about Harry and about his ability to deal with
> temptation in general? Might they foreshadow a more serious 
temptation
> in Book 7?

a_svirn:
I think it reveals that he is capable of resisting a temptation. 

 
> 7. Why did Snape and only Snape show up when Myrtle cried bloody
> murder? Could anyone else have saved Draco, or does Snape alone 
know
> the countercurse? What does the songlike or chantlike nature of the
> countercurse suggest to you about it or about Snape? 

a_svirn:
I don't think that anyone else could have saved Draco, since it's 
Snape's invention and it is probably unknown in the WW. I don't know 
what to make of the songlike incantations apart from the fact that 
it's obviously a very complicated and sophisticated piece of magic. 
What I find interesting about the curse, is that it looks much more 
gruesome (and therefore more scary) than Crucatius. Crusatius is 
supposed to be the main instrument of torture, but unlike its muggle 
counterparts it has virtually no effect on a person's body. Muggle 
torture is a messy business and the actual pain is only part of the 
problem. The worst of it is that survivals suffer from damage, both 
physical and mental, long after the event if not forever. By 
contrast it's really preposterous how in the WW people just shrug 
and go about their business as soon as the curse is lifted. Even 
when it causes lasting damage it's mental damage rather than 
physical. Sectumsempra is different in that way too. Snape had to 
repeat the counter-curse trice, and even after that he had to half-
lift Draco into a standing position. Afterwards Snape sent Draco to 
the Hospital wing so that he could take dittany which might (or 
might not) prevent scarring. All in all it looks like a more serious 
affair than Crusatius. 
> 
> 8. Why do you think JKR included the reference to dittany in the 
scene
> rather than merely having Snape take Draco up to the hospital wing 
to
> be examined by Madam Pomfrey? What does it tell us about Snape 
and/or
> Draco? 

a_svirn:
I guess it's because dittany is supposed to have a power to drive 
arrows (and other weapons) out of the wound. 

> 11. Professor McGonagall tells Harry that he could have been 
expelled.
> Why does Snape tell the staff "precisely what happened" yet punish
> Harry only for being "a liar and a cheat"? Why didn't he so much as
> threaten to expel Harry when he could have done so? Are the 
Saturday
> detentions primarily intended to punish Harry by tormenting him 
with
> his father's indiscretions or does this tactic disguise Snape's 
real
> purpose for keeping Harry in his custody every Saturday until the 
end
> of term?

a_svirn:
Can it be because of the counter charges Harry could have made 
against Draco? An Unforgivable cast against a person merits a life 
sentence in Azkaban. 

 
> 13. Why do you think Snape continues to use his old office in the
> dungeon, complete with dead creatures floating in colorful potions,
> now that he's the DADA teacher and his classroom is on another 
floor?

a_svirn:
Because he likes the place. It's certainly atmospheric. 

 
> 14. The chapter begins with Lavender breaking up with Ron, closely
> followed by Ginny breaking up with Dean, and ends with Harry
> celebrating Gryffindor's victory (achieved without him) by finally
> kissing Ginny. What do you think JKR is trying to convey by framing
> the chapter in this way? 

a_svirn:
You are right, it's curious. Horror and affairs of the heart, with 
horror being described in considerably less detail. Why, then, name 
the chapter in that way? I was pondering a similar problem 
concerning "After the Burial" – with most of the chapter taking 
place *before* the Burial rather than *after*. I think there is some 
reason for that with the "Burial", but with Sectumsempra I am not so 
sure. Probably, she just liked the word.  Or maybe, it was to 
emphasise the significance of HBP's inventions (to show that they 
are more important for the entire story than romance).  

>Does the ending feel appropriate or
> inappropriate in a chapter about Sectumsempra? (And what's up with
> that "hard, blazing look"?)

a_svirn:
I guess it would have been "passionate" in a 19th century novel, but 
since it would have sounded slightly ridiculous now she used "hard" 
and "blazing" as a euphemism. 

a_svirn, thanking Carol for excellent synopsis and interesting 
questions.