CHAPDISC: DH Ch 9, A Place to Hide

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 179928

 
> Carol responds:
> 
> But she's not using it for a dark purpose. She's using her own 
spirit
> guardian (JKR's description of a Patronus) to protect herself, 
Yaxley,
> and the witch she thinks is Mafalda Hopkirk (really Hermione) from 
the
> Dementors, which *are* Dark creatures and would as soon suck a Dark
> witch's or DE's happiness as anyone else's (and their souls as well,
> given the opportunity and the slightest excuse.


Potioncat:
Good point. Between her own "Darkness" and the fact that she seemed  
magically inept at Hogwarts, I was surprised she could cast and 
maintain a Patronus. 

Not to mention that I was highly offended that her Patronus was a 
cat. ;-)

>Carol 
snip
... since Dumbledore is the one who came up with the idea and
> taught the Order members how to do it. (Evidently, he didn't give
> lessons in person, or he'd have known that Snape's Patronus was a 
doe, but maybe JKR didn't think about that.)

Potioncat:
I thought he already knew Snape's Patronus was a doe; it was Snape's 
demonstration of his continued feelings for what's her name that 
moved DD.(Although, it should have been obvious to DD anyway.)

> 
> Carol, snipping the stuff on Snape but thinking that possibly he was
> there on LV's orders to search for anything that could be used 
against
> the Order and tearing the place up in case LV used Legilimency on 
him
> so he could "prove" that he'd found nothing


Potioncat:
That would make the story arc more creditible to me. But there's no 
hint in DH that Snape was sent there by LV. I think JKR intends us to 
believe that Snape went looking for a momento.


As for Hermione's being able to cast a Messenger Patronus. Ron calls 
it a talking Patronus thing. Oh, give me a break! You'd think he'd at 
least know the name for it--or to come up with one as good as ours. 
So it appears that if Hermione was being taught by someone--and I 
suspect she was---that Ron wasn't.

But why did JKR even bring it up if Hermione is never going to cast 
the charm?