The Eagle Owl/Re: Harry's dreams in GoF

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 166230

"K" wrote:
> 
> Here are the two dreams, which I also believe will be of importance.

<snip>
> 
> Harry's mind worked feverishly and his dreams, when he finally fell
asleep, were broken and disturbed by images of Malfoy, who turned into
Slughorn, who turned into Snape... HBP 450-456 us
> 
> ----------
<snip>
> 
> Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got
heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened
painfully -- and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled
with it -- then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape,
whose laugh became high and cold -- there was a burst of green light
and Harry woke, sweating and shaking.
> 
> He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he
didn't remember the dream at all.
> pg 130
>
Carol responds:
I think these dreams are simply indicative of Harry's state of mind at
the time of the dreams. In SS/PS, he's concerned that the Sorting Hat
considered putting him in Slytherin, he's just felt his scar hurt for
the first time and associates it with Snape's look (a red herring, of
course), and he associates Slytherin and therefore both Snape and
Draco Malfoy, with Dark wizards and Voldemort ("There wasn't a witch
or wizard who went bad who wasn't from Slytherin," as Hagrid says,
quoted from memory).

In HBP, he's worried about getting the memory (associated with
Voldemort) from Slughorn and thinks that Draco (whom he rightly
suspects of being up to something dangerous) is plotting with Snape
(who is actually, as we know, trying to find out what Draco is up to
and to protect and watch over him).

I can't see either of these dreams having further importance since the
mysteries involved (not, however, the Great Snape Mystery in general)
have been solved. Moreover, the first dream is immediately forgotten,
and Harry knows much more now regarding the green light. Slytherin,
Snape, Draco, and Voldemort are still tied together in Harry's mind
(not sure about Slughorn), but I can't see the dreams themselves
playing a part again.

Harry has similar dreams relating to other people who are on his mind.
for example, in OoP, right before the vision of the snake biting Mr.
Weasley, Harry is dreaming of Cho and Dobby and the DA room, with
Umbridge and Cedric mixed in and Christmas baubles mixed in. Cho turns
into Hermione, who suggests that Harry give Cho his Firebolt, which he
can't do because Umbridge has it (462). IOW, his subconscious mind is
mixing everything he's thinking about together. Snape has given way to
Umbridge as Harry's bete noire for this book, and consequently doesn't
appear.

Or that's how I read it. There may be more to the non-Voldemort dreams
(readers have attributed alchemical symbolism to the crowns that Ron
and Hermione wear in the dream Harry has at 12 GP after they've been
made prefects), but with all the loose ends to tie up relating to
Snape and Horcruxes and Godric's Hollow and everything else, I can't
see squeezing the dreams into the plot.

Carol, whose dreams resemble Harry's in being a distortion of everyday
life mixed with memories (and bits and pieces of HBP)