CHAPDISC: HBP28, Flight of the Prince

[julie]

No: HPFGUIDX 163607


> 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.  

I actually didn't notice the amount of blood on the first reading,
but I'm assuming now it came mostly from Greyback and his victims,
since most DEs seem to prefer use the bloodless Crucio and AK as
their weapons. Still, there was mention of several wounded so 
some of the blood could have come from them also (wounded by
Greyback or not).

> 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? 

Two reasons. One, Snape is a much more powerful wizard than the other
DEs present, and Two, Harry's emotions are controlling him when he
faces Snape in a way they aren't when he's facing the DEs or Grayback.
Against Snape Harry's uncontained rage makes him flail. 

> 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?

I think Snape is a very powerful wizard (and I think that power
is inherent in him, the way Harry's Quidditch skills are inherent
in him). I also think Harry gives a very poor showing against
Snape because he is acting off his rage rather than focusing
on his abilities and controlling them. 

> 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.

I think Snape was both releasing his frustration (taunting Harry,
as Alla says) *and* imparting a final lesson. The two aren't
mutually exclusive, and never have been when it comes to Snape's
teaching methods! 

We must consider that Snape had Harry COMPLETELY overmatched
here. Given Harry's inability to cast or deflect even a single
spell, Snape could have done anything he wanted. He could have 
crucioed Harry, cut him to shred with Sectumsempra, killed him 
a dozen times over. So how is a DDM!Snape supposed to impart a
lesson when faced with this enraged and completely impotent
Harry? Really, what would you have him say that would make
sense for the character, other than what he did say, using
his usual highly caustic approach?

And I do believe Snape intends his words to help Harry in
the long run, no matter how he couched them. No, shutting
his mouth and closing his mind won't suffice to defeat 
Voldemort, but Harry may need to use some of those skills
(at least stop broadcasting his every intent so clearly)
to get into a *position* to defeat Voldemort--i.e., to get
past the DEs and others standing between him and Voldemort.

> 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!! 

I pretty much agree with earlier replies on why the two expressions
in the two chapters weren't the same. 

> 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.

I replied to this earlier, and again I will state that I think
Snape lost it because Harry called him a coward *for* killing
Dumbledore, when in fact killing (or making it appear that he
coldly killed) Dumbledore took more courage than Snape has ever
had to produce before. The cowardly act would have been for
Snape to do what was easy--*not* kill Dumbledore, die himself,
and let the chips fall where they may. I sincerely believe that
is what he wanted to do, die trying to save Dumbledore (futilely)--
die a hero with an unsullied soul--but Dumbledore's pleading words
gave or forced on him the courage to take on the stain of murder
in order to save Draco, Harry, and in the end the WW. 

I want to note also that I wasn't too disappointed that Snape
delivered the stinging hex to Harry. Yes, he had only blocked
Harry's curses up to that point, using verbal rejoinders in
response to Harry's attacks. He hadn't physically retaliated, 
as he finally did once Harry called him a coward for killing
Dumbledore. I guess the reason I wasn't disappointed in Snape
is because, despite how much he dislikes Harry, and his own
tendency toward vengefulness, and the pain he is suffering
after killing Dumbledore (likened to Fang's agony), he *only*
delivers a mild slap when he finally gives in to his temper.
That is really quite a show of control, I think!

> 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?

I got the impression Snape initially blocked the DE's curse, 
then the DE lifted it in response to Snape's order. I could be
wrong. As for why Snape didn't perform a Petrificus Totalus, I
think it's because Snape is DDM. He's not going to leave Harry
defenseless if he's DDM, neither is he going to perform the
Pefectus Totalis and take Harry with him (something else he 
could have easily done, which certainly would have pleased 
Voldemort, I should think). His goal was to get the DEs,
Draco and himself out of there. He just wanted Harry out of
his way, and left unharmed. Which he accomplished. 

> 
> 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?

I do think Hagrid knows something about Snape. I also suspect
it may be related to those missing hours after Harry was removed
his parents' destroyed house at Godric's Hollow. Snape did 
something for Harry during that time, Hagrid witnessed it, and
that's why Hagrid never says a bad word about Snape.

Here I'd like to add a Question 8A. Even though we got a 
scene with almost every other adult at Hogwarts accepting
that Snape cold-bloodedly murdered Dumbledore, we never get
this scene with Hagrid. Hagrid thinks Harry got hit on the
head when Harry says he witnessed Snape kill Dumbledore. 
Even later, after the Order members have accepted Snape's
murderer status, even during the funeral, Hagrid never 
rails against Snape (as he's wont to rail against those
who have in any way wronged someone he cares about). He
merely cries for Dumbledore. Is this simply a meaningless
ommission, or is there a reason JKR never shows Hagrid
outright condemning Snape as everyone else does?

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

I don't think there will be any indication that Harry got
rid of clues in the sense that those clues could make or
break a case against someone, but I do wonder if those
clues were put there for *us*. I.e., will we find out in 
Book 7 that Dumbledore wasn't dead when he hit the ground,
but died right before Harry reached his body? In which 
case, Snape couldn't have killed him with the AK, but perhaps
released a stopper of death or in some other manner hastened
Dumbledore's demise rather than killing him outright (which
doesn't absolve Snape in some fans minds I know, and perhaps
not in Snape's own mind).

> 
> 10.	This is some background information for the question 10:
	  a) 
> "Samatha Scattergood for Waterstones - Which is your favourite 
member
> of the Order of the Phoenix? JK Rowling: I keep killing all my
> favourite members of the Order of the Phoenix, but there is one 
member
> of the Order of the Phoenix that you have not yet met properly and 
you
> will ­­ well, you know that they are a member, but you haven't really
> met them properly yet and you will meet them in seven, so I am 
looking
> forward to that." 		
>   b) "Peter O'Brien for Easons Ireland - Are you going introduce any
> new characters in the final book?  JK Rowling: There will be some
> characters who you don't know particularly well, and there may be a
> couple of new characters, but nobody really major. You know pretty
> much the cast list by now"
> 
> 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? 
> 


I do believe Regulus is RAB, and though I'd like to believe he is
alive and in hiding, it's probably more likely that he's dead. 
Otherwise Dumbledore would already know the locket was fake 
(though if he did know, I suppose he could have gone through
the whole cave thing as a training exercise for Harry...maybe).

As for the Order member we haven't met, since we already know
he IS an Order member per Jo, then it can't be Regulus, so it 
must surely be Abelforth. 

> 
> 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?

I didn't expect Dumbledore to die at Snape's hands. So it 
wasn't obvious at all. And while in one sense it wasn't in
keeping with Rowling's normal style of ending her books, since
she usually ties up the loose ends, the open-endedness works
here because she's already said Books 6 and 7 and like two
halves of one book (something like that). But, in another
sense there is a similarity to how JKR ended her other HP
books, and that is in the high energy and emotion of the
final confrontation in the book. HBP is no different in that
way than the previous books. 

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


Thematically, I don't know yet. As for best chapter, I think it
is certainly one of the best. Any chapter that has me barely able
to breathe until I finish it is a great chapter, IMO ;-)

Julie, applauding these thought-provoking questions