Some HBP questions

meglet2 mercia at ireland.com
Sun Feb 10 23:27:23 UTC 2008


No: HPFGUIDX 181454

Hi. I'm not trying to jump ahead in the 'post DH' look at series. I 
know we've a way to go before HBP. But I've been rereading it at 
present rather slowly and have a few questions that are not really 
influenced by knowledge of DH. (Or maybe on second thoughts some 
are.) Anyway I'd be interested in any thoughts, though these 
questions may have been mentioned before. I'm only a few chapters in 
and this is what's occuring to me so far.

I've wondered this before but how exactly did Tonks know where and 
how to pull that invisibility cloak off Harry? She says she was 
looking for him and noticed the blinds drawn in that compartment 
which roused her suspicions. She obviously knows he has an 
invisibility cloak (which is presumably common knownledge among the 
Order) but how did she know where Harry was in an apparently empty 
compartment. It doesn't mention anything about Tonks feeling around 
the seats, just that 'Wotcher Harry!' as she pulls the cloak off him. 
Is this another 'Hominem revelio' spell, said silently at that, that 
allows her to pinpoint his precise location?

Snape's snide comment about Tonks' new patronus, that it 'looked 
weak' I previously took as a reference to her own currently weakned 
state. In other words her evident depression was making her weak and 
the patronus was a sign of it. Now (and yes I suppose post DH) I saw 
another level of possible meaning, ie that it was actually a 
character reading by Snape of Lupin. In other words, Tonks' wolf 
shaped patronus was indicating to Snape her love for Lupin and he was 
insulting Lupin to her by implying that Lupin was not worthy of her 
love because of his weakness of character. That would explain more 
fully Tonks' look of shock and anger that Harry observes without 
particularly wanting to understand it. It's just a thought, but it 
highlight's maybe Snape's skill at character reading, except in 
relation to his prejudice against Harry of course. 

Finally just a fleeting thought about Hermione's reaction to Slug's 
love potion. Harrry's still unconscious attraction to Ginny is 
revealed when he smells the 'flowery scent' that he associates with 
something in the Burrow, which of course is her perfume and 
identified as such when she next appears. Hermione in answering Slug 
identifies a few of the things that attract her but stops short of 
her final one and blushes. Anyone like to speculate on just which 
smell makes Hermione think of Ron? What would be 'essence of Ron'?

Mercia. 





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