Percy / Kreachur / Snape / Poison / Harry

[Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)]

No: HPFGUIDX 180127

Eggplant wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/180038>:

<< If [Percy] had never existed how would the series be poorer? >>

Percy may have been invented to be the red herring in CoS. Where they
find him in a Diagon Alley junk shop reading a book called PREFECTS
WHO GAINED POWER, then keeping secrets about why he went to the
dungeons while the basilisk was attacking. 

Colebiancardi summarized chapter 10 in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/180052>

<<  Narcissa and Bellatrix were probably lovely to Kreacher and he did
them a favor. >>

This has never quite worked for me. Why would Narcissa be kinder to
Kreachur than she was to Dobby? Why would Bellatrix, who is Narcissa's
sister who was raised with her, be any kinder to House Elves than
Narcissa is? If Narcissa was being kind to Kreachur because she
figured she could use him in the Dark Lord's service, how could she
make crazy Bella also be kind to Kreachur? Bella doesn't seen able to
dissemble. 

Dobby said, back in CoS, that when the Dark Lord was in power, all
House Elves were treated like vermin. When the Dark Lord was in power,
Kreachur was not treated by vermin by at least one of his owners,
Regulus, who joined the Death Eaters.

Dobyy said Dobby was still treated like vermin, but the other House
Elves were better off now. I've always thought it unlikely that the
Dark Lord's reign would make wizards opposed to the Dark Lord any
crueler to House Elves than usual, but wizards siding with the Dark
Lord may have felt that they had been freed from any law against
abusing House Elves. Hermione said in this chapter that it was
perfectly normal for wizards, not just Dark wizards, to test a poison
on a House Elf, which suggests there was no law against abusing House
Elves, so why would they stop doing it?   

And why would the Black Family, which mounted House Elf heads on the
wall, and lobbied to decriminalize Muggle-hunting, produce a loyal son
with proper family pride, who was not only so kind to his House Elf as
to give his own life to avenge a wrong done to the House Elf, but was
also so naive as to be surprised that the Dark Lord had wronged a
House Elf? He expected the Dark Lord to be kinder than the average wizard?

And why wasn't Kreachur named Kreachy?

Brady wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/180055>:

<< I still do feel, personally, that Snape should have been give the
honour of destroying one of them too, for all he has done. It would
have been a fitting act for one who was so brave. IMO, Neville could
have destroyed the diadem (need not necerraily with FiendFyre) and
Snape could have destroyed the Snake (before he died or better still
survived). Just my two pence for whatever its worth. >>

Alas, Rowling still disliked Snape even while she proclaimed his
courage, and wasn't about to give him any more glory. But as you
listed Crabbe as destroying one Horcrux (yes, I agree it was his
FiendFyre, but it wasn't his intention), it seems she didn't c0nsider
destroying a Horcrux to be a reward for heroic behavior.

Allie wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/180073>:

<< Here's a creepy thought - I can see Voldemort checking and double
checking his protections. Maybe Regulus wasn't the only one asked,
and Kreacher wasn't the only house elf that had to drink the poison.>>

Maybe he used humans under the Imperius Curse to drink the poison the
other times.

Steve bboyminn wrote in
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/180091>:

<< I suspect that Dumbledore and any of the other staff would have
forbid Harry to go after the [CoS] Monster. They would have taken his
information and gone themselves. But, again, Harry is not going to
waste precious hours trying to convince the adults. He is not going to
risk being told to 'go to bed' again when Ginny's life is at stake.
Above and beyond the call of duty, he is determined to take actions
NOW. >>

Well, actually, his original intention to do what an obedient kid
would do -- he had information, so he tried to give his information to
the staff member assigned to go after the monster. It was when
Lockhart followed his little speech bragging of his evilness by trying
to Obliviate Harry and Ron that they disarmed him in self-defense. I'm
not sure that at that point it was particularly logical to force
Lockhart to accompany them on the rescue mission.