CHAPDISC: HBP28, Flight of the Prince

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 163602

 
> DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
> 
> 1.	Why so much blood? The blood in the corridor by the tower, bloody
> footprints, blood on the flagstones. Who was wounded? Malfoy? Snape?
> The blond DE? The brother & sister act was behind Harry, so it could
> not have been them

Pippin:
I think the blood is for thematic purposes -- this is the most
Slytherin-oriented book and it's positively awash in liquids of various
kinds. 

It may be there for color, but also in  Purloined Letter style to
distract us from the really important (IMO) clue of the blood on
Dumbledore's face. But as to where it came from I have two
theories.

 Harry hit Enormous Blond Death Eater in the face with an
unspecified curse which caused a howl of pain. It might have 
broken his nose. Or it could have even been a sectum
sempra. Also the blood on the flagstones seems to be
near the broken Gryffindor Hourglass. Someone might have been
cut by shards of flying glass. 

> 2.	Harry's state of mind is understandably chaotic and confused Yet,
> Harry seems to be holding his own with the Death Eaters and he is able
> to jinx them successfully. However, against Snape, he was unable to
> get one jinx or curse off fully. Why is that? 

Pippin:
I don't think the others are capable of legilimency. 

> 
> 3.	Since Snape is able to deflect every one of Harry's spells, do you
> think that Snape is an extremely powerful wizard or do you think it is
> due to Harry's lack of experience in comparison with Snape? If the
> latter, explain why Harry didn't have this problem in the battle from
> Order of the Phoenix? If the former, who trained Snape to be so powerful?

Pippin:
I think Snape must have trained himself in legilimency, since it
seems he was already using it against James at school. (See
answer to 4, below.)

> 
> 4.	Much discussion has already been had on whether Snape was imparting
> his last lesson to Harry with his advice of no Unforgivable Curses,
> his reference to Harry's lack of nerve and ability, and his
> instruction to shut his mouth and close his mind. Explain why you
> think Snape did this if it was not in order to help Harry in the long run.

Pippin:
I do think it was to help Harry in the long run. Not against Voldemort,
because *nobody* knows what it will take to defeat Voldemort. IMO,
even Dumbledore did not know, though he must have had a hunch
concerning Harry's blood. All DD knew, IMO, was that love could
find a way. I think Snape believes that --why else would he be
DDM -- but he has no more idea of how it's going to work than
Harry does. 

I agree with others that the advice Snape is giving has to do
with how to fight wizards like Snape. He is telling Harry
exactly why his attack is failing. 

And Snape does give Harry one piece of useful advice that no
one seems to have picked up on: "Your father would never attack
me unless it was four on one." We have seen Snape overcome
when he had more than one enemy to face at a time: Fluffy's
three heads, the Trio in the Shrieking Shack, and the Pensieve.

Harry calls Snape a coward for not fighting him, as if this
were a schoolyard contest and he was calling Snape out. 
But it's not. It's war, and while Harry has to avoid atrocities 
like the Unforgivables, there's no need to give the enemy an 
even break. Harry needs backup.



> 
> 5.	Snape has the same expression of hatred on his face as he did right
> before he killed Dumbledore. This is right before he tells Harry that
> he is the Half-Blood Prince. A lot of discussion has been generated
> around this expression when we've talked about Dumbledore's death and
> the parallel of Harry's feelings in the cave. We've never talked about
> this particular chapter and this same expression on Snape's face. Do
> you think it really is the same expression? The same feelings behind
> it? Those who believe that Harry's feelings of hatred and revulsion
> are the same as Snape's look of hatred and revulsion (self-loathing,
> perhaps?), explain this same expression that it is this chapter. I
> hope question made sense!! 

Pippin:
Snape could never function if he wore his heart on his sleeve. There's
no telling what he really feels from his face except when it's showing
involuntary reactions like glittering eyes, paleness or pulsing veins.

Without these indicators, all we can tell is what Snape *wants* 
people to think he's feeling. It seems like the hatred and revulsion
is a mask, but whether it's being used to hide the same feelings
each time or different ones would be difficult to say.


> 
> 6.	Snape loses his sardonic cool when Harry calls him a coward and
> refers to Dumbledore's death. This is the only time during the battle
> that Snape actually hits Harry with a curse. Why did Snape show his
> weakness to Harry? What was it about that statement that pushed Snape
> over the edge?  Harry called Snape a coward earlier, yet Snape just
> jeered at him then. Was it really about being called a coward or that
> Harry accuses Snape of killing Dumbledore?  This is my favorite
> question, BTW.  I can't wait to read the responses.

Pippin:
The list seems to be  familiar with my theory that Snape was actually
talking about James. After all, it's James that Snape is supposed
to be overcome with remorse about, and James that Snape and
Harry were discussing. Also in my view, Snape didn't kill Dumbledore
at all, so while he might be anguished over his inability to rescue him,
I don't think he'd be anguished at the accusation of murder. Incensed
is more like it. Filled with hate and revulsion, perhaps.

> 
> 7.	When a DE curses Harry, Snape states that "Potter belongs to the
> Dark Lord" and the curse is lifted.  However, that doesn't explain why
> Snape only deflects Harry's spells during the battle. Snape could have
> issued a "Petrificus Totalus" curse on Harry, which would not have
> harmed him. Why didn't Snape do such a spell?  And who lifted the
> curse from Harry?
> 
Pippin:
Petrificus Totalus would have left Harry helpless until someone 
discovered him. Snape can't be sure that the other DE's are all
accounted for and the grounds have never been entirely
safe at night in any case.


> 8.	Hagrid has always defended Snape's trustworthiness. Why is that? Is
> it just because of Dumbledore's steadfastness or something else? After
> all, Hagrid was around at Hogwart's when Snape was a student - does he
> know something more about Snape than the rest of the Order?

Pippin:
I think so. Hagrid has never been one to trust someone just
because they had Dumbledore's countenance-- look at the
way he treated Karkaroff.

> 
> 9.	Do you think Harry got rid of important clues when he rearranged
> Dumbledore's glasses and wiped the blood away?

Pippin:
Definitely.  Dumbledore's blood could *not* be liquid half a canonical
hour after he supposedly died. Impacts can do funny things, but
the fact that the glasses aren't even broken while the locket was 
supposed to have bounced out of Dumbledore's pocket and fallen
open also seems  fishy to me, especially since we have a line in
PoA about Harry's glasses not having been broken during his
fall and we find out that's probably because Dumbledore stopped
it.

> 
> 10.	
> 
> So, the question is about R.A.B.- if RAB is not Regulus Black, who is
> it?  If you believe it is Regulus, do you think he is really dead or
> in hiding (RE: Dumbledore's conversation with Draco). If in hiding,
> why didn't Dumbledore already know that this locket was not the real
> Horcrux? Why would he put himself through the whole experience in the
> cave? Was it a setup? 
> 

Pippin:
I think he's Regulus and really dead. I think Dumbledore had discovered
the fake horcrux by the time he'd got back to Hogsmeade and that's why
he groans when Harry says that at least they got it.  I have had the
disturbing thought that there might be other decoys out there.

I don't think Dumbledore set himself up. Unless he was lying he
could not have known Death Eaters would enter the castle that night.


> 
> 11.	Did you feel that Dumbledore's death at Snape's hands was subtle?
> Or too obvious and expected? Was this in keeping with Rowling's normal
> style of ending her books?
> 

Pippin:
What death ? ;) DD died of the poison, that's obvious to me. 

It's definitely not a normal ending. We don't get much of a resolution
about anything. We've learned definitively that Harry's power is love
but we haven't yet seen what it can do against Voldemort. We've
been set a puzzle regarding Snape and a murder mystery involving
Dumbledore. And we've learned that Harry's final confrontation
with Voldie must be postponed until the horcruxes are dealt with.


> 12.	Finally, what do you think of this chapter thematically?  Do you
> feel this is the best chapter Rowling has written?

Pippin:
Interesting question.  I've never tried to rate the chapters. But I think
the one's I've reread most obsessively are  The Servant of Lord Voldemort, 
in PoA, followed by Spinner's End.

Thematically, it's hard to judge because we aren't going to know
what really happened until we have finished Book Seven.

Pippin