CHAPTER DISCUSSION: PS/SS 2, The Vanishing Glass

[zgirnius]

No: HPFGUIDX 187738

Zara:
Thank you, Potioncat, for your nice summary and excellent questions!

> Potioncat: 
> 2.	The only thing Harry likes about his appearance is the thin scar shaped like a bolt of lightning on his forehead. Why do you think he likes it? How do you feel about that piece of information? Do you think the soul bit communicated with Baby Harry at one time, or does the soul bit have its own emotions that Harry sometimes feels?

Zara:
I took this very literally, to mean nothing about how the scar may or may not have made Harry feel (I think it was probaby dormant throught Harry's life up to this point), but to be merely about Harry liking how it looked. It's distinctive, "cool", and perhaps also a reminder that he does not "belong" with the Dursleys, as it dates to before he started living with them.

> 4.	Why does Petunia treat Harry so badly--jealousy or resentment or something else? Does Harry's accidental magic remind Petunia of her childhood with Lily and Sev? Now that you know about the childhood of this trio, how do you feel about the way the Dursleys and Snape treat Harry?

Zara:
Vernon's just a jerk, as far as I am concerned. But I think there is an element of fear in Petunia's feelings that I find understandable, and I do give her some credit for her choice to take Harry in rather than leave him to his fate.

> 5.	Piers Polkiss, a rat-faced boy, attends Dudley's birthday outing. He usually holds victims while the other gang members hit them. Who does he remind you of? Any comparisons between Dudley's gang and other gangs we'll see in the series?

Zara:
I see this as a parallel to the school-age Marauders. Piers is a form of the name Peter, his full name is alliterative in the same way that "Peter Pettigrew" is, and Piers is described as rat-like, whereas Peter's "true nature" (his Animagus form) is that of a rat. Piers' role in his gang also mirrors that of Peter's, he's the weak one who does not fully participate in the gang's activities but enjoys them. I also think it is no coincidence that the other book in which I can recall Piers is mentioned is OotP.

> 6.	The narrator describes the boa constrictor as "the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can
." How does this snake compare to the basilisk or to Nagini? In Deathly Hallows (ch 13), Tom Riddle says that snakes find him and whisper to him. How does this affect your reaction to Harry's conversation with the boa constrictor?

Zara:
For me personally, this scene established the non-sinister nature of Parseltongue. Individual Parselmouths of our later acquanitance may have been sinister, but this scene irrevocably marked the gift itself as "not dark" in my mind. It was such a friendly, normal conversation for two creatures to have. 

> 7.	Vernon sends Harry to the cupboard after they return home. There he thinks about strangers who have spoken to him on the street-- a tiny man in a violet top hat; a wild-looking old woman dressed all in green; a bald man in a very long purple coat. How did these witches and wizards recognize Harry? Is it just coincidence that they're there? Can we identify any of them?

Zara:
We see later (Chapter 6, PS/SS) that Harry's possession of a lighting-shaped scar is common knowledge, it is how the Weasleys recogninze him. Perhaps Harry has Hagrid to thank for this?