CHAPDISC: HBP30, The White Tomb

[Zara]

No: HPFGUIDX 165725

<snip a_svirn's excellent summary>
> a_svirn's Questions:
>  
> 1.	Do you find the Patil Twins' and Seamus' parents' attitude 
> reasonable or overprotective? Although the school has been 
penetrated 
> by death eaters there is no mention of extra security measures 
taken 
> or Aurors posted. Do you suppose there weren't any? 

zgirnius:
Reasonable, in that I would expect it of a certain percentage of 
parents. On the other hand, it would appear the Death Eaters had a 
specific objective which they achieved, which  might actually make 
the school, for the present, safer than some other places in the 
Potterverse.

> 2.	What do you think of Bill's part-transformation? Do you find 
> it sinister? 

zgirnius:
I thought it unfortunate for Bill along with the injury to his face. 
I don't think it is sinister though. Fleur is right, steak should be 
eaten rare.

> 4.	It has been discussed extensively, but still. Is Harry right 
> in thinking that Snape followed the same pattern as Voldemort? Does 
> proclaiming oneself a Half-Blood Prince mean renouncing one's 
muggle 
> heritage? 

zgirnius:
I find this point of view incomprehensible. Calling himself a half-
blood explicitly references his Muggle heritage. Any other grand 
sounding epithet on top of Prince, sure. But not Half-Blood, which 
was Snape's choice. 

My own guess at the meaning of the name to Snape is that his mother 
and her family were purebloods, and that her family did not approve 
of her choice to marry a Muggle. To them, he was the half-blood, and 
thus inferior, so he chose that nickname for himself in a gesture of 
teenage 'I'll show them' bravado/dark humor.

> 5.	Do you agree with Hermione that Snape held his peace about 
> the book only because by exposing Harry he would inevitably expose 
> himself? 

zgirnius:
No, I disagree. Dumbledore is clearly well aware of the extent of 
Snape's knowledge of, and interest in, the Dark Arts. It seems to me 
that the information that he already had this interest while in 
school could not possibly be disturbing or new to Dumbledore.

> 6.	Why does Hermione object to the word "evil"? Incidentally, 
> the words she actually uses can be at best described as 
> understatements – "nasty sense of humour" indeed! Why is she being 
so 
> guarded? 

zgirnius:
I found this interesting. It seems to mark a change in her attitude 
from the immediate aftermath of Dumbledore's death, in which she was 
embarrassed and guilty over trusting Snape enough to look after 
Flitwick on his orders. I am not sure what to make of it. Perhaps, 
while she did not like the Prince, she is a bit disturbed in the 180 
Harry is pulling about him.

> 7. It is as though she wants us to wonder about the status 
> of religion in the Potterverse, and is never going to enlighten us 
on the subject. Now, why is that? 

zgirnius:
While she has indicated she is a believer and a Christian of some 
variety, and further, that this informs her writing, I don't think 
she is trying to proselytize a particular religious sect in her work. 
Her goal, I believe, is to present some ideas which she has from her 
religion about love and morality and such, in a way that is 
accessible to all. Tacking a specific religious label onto her world 
would detract from the universaility for which I think she is aiming.

> 12.	From what Scrimgeour let slip, one might conclude that some 
> kind of investigation is going on. Can the captured death eater be 
> of any use in book 7? 

zgirnius:
He might provide information to the Ministry, but it looks like Harry 
and the Scrimgeour are not going to be cooperating, so I doubt it.
 
> 14.	There is something odd about the way Ginny accepts Harry's 
> decision, while Ron and Hermione refuse to do so. Even stranger, 
> Harry does not really attempt to talk them out of sharing his 
> destiny. (And still more strange seems his surprise at Ron and 
> Hermione's reaction.) Does it mean that for Harry (and even for 
> Rowling) friendship is something infinitely more important than 
love? 
> Even so, Ginny is not just a girlfriend; she is a friend as well. 

zgirnius:
Ron and Hermione have a longer history with Harry - Ginny started to 
join in their adventures only at the end of OotP. Even more 
importantly, they know exactly what Harry will be up to, and they 
know that they are the only two people Harry has told, as per 
Dumbledore's wishes. I think this is also why Harry does not try to 
talk them out of it.

I did not find Ginny's agreement odd, myself. It was not the time or 
place to have an argument. Also, since Harry has left Ginny in the 
dark about what he will be up to, she may not see clearly how her 
involvement could help. She may also not know yet that Ron and 
Hermione will be helping. 

I expect to see more of Ginny in Book 7 despite her apparent 
acquiescence. She may try to find out what Harry is up to, she may 
help in some other way, or Ron and Hermione may decide to let her in 
on it. (I'm remembering LotR, in which the protagonist must leave on 
a dangerous secret quest that only his best friend and the wise old 
mentor know about. The best friend tells a couple more of the 
protegonist's friends/relatives about it and they end up going along 
too...)