CHAPTER DISCUSSION PS/SS 16, Through the trapdoor

[Caryl Brown]

No: HPFGUIDX 188634

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CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone/Philosopher's Stone
Chapter Sixteen, Through the Trapdoor



As the chapter begins, Harry has much more to worry about than the exams he
should be focusing on; he is distracted by recurring pain in his scar and
nightmares that make him half expect Voldemort to come bursting through the door
at any moment. Ron and Hermione's concern has faded since their trip into the
forest, but Harry can't get rid of the feeling that danger is coming and that
he'd forgotten something important. As the three friends relax by the lake after
their last exam, Harry finally realizes that his unsettled feeling has something
to do with how and from whom Hagrid acquired his dragon egg.





Once they arrive at Hagrid's hut, they're surprised when Hagrid casually brushes
off any concern about the identity and motives of the stranger who'd plied him
with drink and questioned him about other creatures he'd worked with. Harry
probes further and they learn that Hagrid, in a drunken moment, revealed to the
stranger that the secret for calming Fluffy was to play him a bit of music.
Horrified that he'd now told the trio that secret as well, Hagrid tries to stop
them when they rush out the door to find Dumbledore, certain that the stranger
was actually Snape.





Realizing that they don't know where Dumbledore's office is, they ask for
directions from Professor McGonagall. When she tells them the Headmaster has
been called to London, they explain their suspicions about the Sorcerer's Stone,
careful not to mention Snape's name. She dismisses their concerns, telling them
that the Stone is can't be stolen because it's too well protected and suggesting
that they go back outside to enjoy the sunshine. Once McGonagall is out of
earshot, Harry expresses his conviction that Snape had sent the letter to get
Dumbledore out of the way and is planning to go after the Stone that night.
Snape "happens" by at that moment and warns Harry against any future nighttime
wanderings. The trio concocts a plan to watch both Snape and the third-floor
corridor, but the plan falls through when McGonagall catches them and threatens
to take more points from Gryffindor.





Back in the common room, Harry decides that he is going to go after the Stone
himself. Hermione is horrified, warning Harry that he'll surely be expelled, but
relents after Harry passionately explains that expulsion is minor compared to
his impending death at Voldemort's hand if he does nothing. Harry is shocked
when Ron and Hermione include themselves in his plans as if it were a foregone
conclusion that they would go with him, and Hermione rushes off to do some
research in preparation. They wait nervously in the common room throughout the
evening, waiting for their housemates to go to bed, before Harry grabs his
Invisibility Cloak and the flute Hagrid gave him for Christmas from his trunk.
As they prepare to leave, Neville appears from behind a chair in the corner and
confronts them about doing something that will lose more House points. They try
to talk Neville out of trying to stop them, but when he continues to delay their
departure, Hermione casts a body-binding spell at him and they reluctantly leave
him lying frozen on the common room floor.





The trip to the third floor corridor makes them skittish, especially when they
meet Mrs. Norris and Peeves along the way, Finding the door to Fluffy's room
ajar underscores the danger of their mission and Harry encourages Ron and
Hermione to turn back. They tell him "Don't be stupid," and move into the room
to find a harp abandoned at the dog's feet. Harry plays the flute Hagrid gave
him and the dog goes back to sleep, while Ron and Hermione open the trapdoor.
Once they determine that climbing down into the hole isn't an option, Harry
passes the flute to Hermione and tells his friends to go after Dumbledore if
anything happens once he jumps into the darkness below.





Relieved to make a soft landing, Harry encourages the others to follow him, only
to find that he and Ron have become imprisoned by Devil's Snare, a plant that
would eventually squeeze them to death with its tendrils. Hermione manages to
get away before it captures her. As it continues to strangle the boys, she
struggles to remember from her Herbology studies how to kill it. When she
remembers that it likes the dark and damp, Harry desperately tells her to light
a fire and Ron has to remind her that she's a witch when she starts to panic
that she can't find any wood. Using her trademark "bluebell" flame, Hermione
frees the boys. Harry praises Hermione's recall of Herbology facts, but Ron
can't resist taking the mickey about her losing her head in a crisis.




They continue down a damp corridor that leads to a brightly lit chamber with a
soaring ceiling filled with "small, jewel-bright birds" and a heavy wooden door
at the opposite side of the room. Harry runs to the door, expecting the birds to
attack him, but nothing happens and the door won't open. He finally realizes
that the birds are actually keys, one of which probably fits the door, and that
they'll need to use the (conveniently) nearby broomsticks to catch the right
one. Using his Seeker skills, he spots the one with a crumpled wing and, with
Ron and Hermione helping to "herd" it toward him, eventually traps it against
the wall. The key works and flies off again as they go through the door.




As they step into the next room, the chamber lights up to reveal a massive chess
set. Realizing at once that they'll have to play their way across the room, Ron,
the resident chess expert, takes the lead and directs Harry and Hermione to
stand in for a bishop and rook, respectively. He takes over for a knight and
they quickly understand the danger they're in when the captured pieces are
violently removed from the board, just like in Ron's miniature wizard's chess
set. When they finally reach the point in the game that Ron decides the only way
to win is to sacrifice himself, Harry and Hermione object. Ron reminds them
what's at stake and determinedly tells them not to hang around to tend to him
once the game is over.




Harry and Hermione reluctantly leave Ron lying unconscious and hurry toward the
next chamber, calculating that they've already gotten through Hagrid's, Sprout's
Flitwick's and McGonagall's enchantments, leaving only Quirrell's, Snape's and
Dumbledore's ahead. Climbing over a knocked-out noxious-smelling troll (and
relieved that they didn't have to fight it), Harry and Hermione stumble into the
next room to find a harmless-looking table holding seven different-shaped
bottles and a roll of parchment. They quickly surmise that this is Snape's
protection, but Hermione is pleased that it turns out to be a logic problem
instead of magic—"A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic,
they'd be stuck in here forever," she tells Harry. She makes quick work of the
puzzle, but the solution allows only one of them to move forward. They both know
that Harry must continue on, but their fear is palpable and Harry asks Hermione
to take care of Ron and find Dumbledore as quickly as possible because he knows
he's really no match for Snape or, worst-case-scenario, Voldemort. Their
farewell is emotional as they consider that they might not see each other again,
but Harry finally tells Hermione to drink her potion and watches her go back
through purple flame before downing his own drink and stepping forward through
the black flames. The person he finds on the other side of the final door is
completely unexpected.





Questions:



1. Why do you think it took from October to June for "Snape" to go after the
Stone?



2. Do you find it surprising/objectionable that JKR makes such casual
references to drinking alcohol and people getting drunk in a book written
primarily for children?



3. Do you think Snape's warning to Harry about nighttime wanderings came from
overhearing the trio's conversation with McGonagall and Harry's speculation
about Snape going after the Stone that night?



4. Knowing what we do now about Snape's efforts to protect Harry, why do you
think he acted in such a suspicious manner if he really wanted to keep Harry
from acting? Why not just tell him outright?



5. This is the first time we see Harry, Ron, and Hermione work as a team to
fight Voldemort. What skills do you attribute to each and why do you think they
work so well together?



6. The key was still flying around, the chess pieces were in the proper
position and enough potions were available to permit Harry to make his way
through to the end. Did you find it surprising that the first intruder hadn't
taken steps to keep from being followed?



7. Were you surprised that Snape's protection was more logic than pure
potions? Did you try or were you able to solve the puzzle before reading
Hermione's solution?



8. What other questions came to your mind as you read this chapter?

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Caryl Brown