PS/SS chapters 6-11 post DH look

[Mike]

No: HPFGUIDX 180989

"Not to worry," she said. " All you have to do is walk straight at 
the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be  
scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a 
bit of a run if you are nervous. Go on, go now before Ron" - p.93
 
> Alla:
> 
> When I reread that lovely directions from Molly to Harry, I was 
> wondering whether this indicates that intent is very important in 
> performing the magic after all. I mean, "do not stop and do not be 
> scared" is an indication of intent to arrive at platform, no?

Mike:
Yes! I agree, and always thought that intent is a major part of 
magic. We now know that apparition requires a like thought process. 
My personal feeling on Dark Magic is that intent counts for alot
there, too.


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"Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret 
passageway out of the school."
"Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we 
found in our first week. See you." - p.153
 
 
> Alla:
> 
> Do you think that this exchange indicates that Twins do not have 
> Marauders map at this point in time yet?

Mike:
Oh, oh, my favorite magical object, and the one clearly full of Dark 
Magic - per the greasy-headed one. First, zanooda's right about when 
they acquired it. She's also right about not knowing how long it took 
them to master it. JKR's explanation was "can't you just see them 
trying all these combinations, and maybe getting glimmers of reveal 
when they came close." (paraphrased from memory)

For myself, I like to think that the twins figured it out in their 
first year. But I wouldn't put it past them to have discovered 
several of the secret passages before that. When they say "in our 
first week", do you think they meant their first week of school? Cuz 
that's what I thought they were saying.

I'll bet the reason Filch found about the four secret passages was 
because he caught the twins using them. We know he couldn't have 
opened the witches hump, he can't do magic. I'm thinking some magic, 
or at least a wand and magical ability was needed for all of them, 
besides the Whomping Willow.


----------------------
"But Hermione had given Harry something else to think about as he 
climbed back into bed. The dog was guarding something...
What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world 
for something you wanted to hide - except perhaps Hogwarts.
It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little 
package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was." - p.162
 
 
> Alla:
> 
> I don't know about anybody else, but I am really impressed with 
> Harry's ability to think and put two and two together here. Heee, 
> Hermione would be so proud. But anyways, to me it foreshadowed
> that sometimes when he puts himself to it, he could figure out 
> stuff, not just act without thinking. :)

Mike:
I'd forgotten about this clever bit of deductive reasoning. It was a 
shame that it abandoned him in OotP when he saw the Sirius vision. At 
least he seemed to get it back by DH.

I wanted to add that in these chapters we got our first Sorting Hat 
song. I noted there was nothing about blood, only cunning mentioned 
with regard to Slytherin qualities. Still, it wasn't a very 
flattering picture painted of the Slyth's with the "use any means 
[t]o achieve their ends".