CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Prisoner of Azkaban Chapter 6: Talons and Tea Leaves

[dzturtleshell]

No: HPFGUIDX 189539

1. Why did you think the Dementors affected Harry so badly, compared to everyone else?

dzturtleshell: I don't think I had a theory at that point. Maybe some sort of psychic or empathic ability. I remember that I thought the screams were from the present, not from Harry's past. 

2. Did you think anything was going on with Hermione's schedule or have any idea of how she was taking so many classes?

dzturtleshell: I suspected extra lessons or some wizard version of taping the lessons so she could watch them on her own time. Once Ron started telling us in a few chapters that other students were vouching for Hermione's presence in all of the classes, I was very curious and figured her ability to be in more than one place was going to come in handy later. 

3. Did you think Sir Cadogan would become a more important character, or was he just comic relief?

dzturtleshell: At this point, comic relief. 

4. Harry shows concern for Sir Cadogan by moving closer to the picture and asking if he is ok. On the other hand, Ron is scornful of the Knight and comments at parting that they'll call him if they need someone mental. Do you think the contrast in attitudes of the two boys says anything in particular about them? Is this an indication of their overall and eventual characters/personality, or is it just young teenage boy attitudes?

dzturtleshell: Ron's grumpiness is a recurring theme through the series, remember how he leaves Harry & Hermione in DH because times are tough? I think the attitude is something his character has to work through as he grows up, a sign of his immaturity at this point. This is another way in which we see Harry's maturity. Also, Harry has had some very unique experiences, knowing both sides of the popularity coin, so he's more likely to be attentive to the needs of others

5. Did you think Trelawney was a true seer or a hoax? Did you expect any of her predictions to come true, even the simple ones? Do you think any of them did come true later? Just the predictions in this first lesson.

dzturtleshell: There's a recent trend in entertainment for "mentalists" (Like that show, The Mentalist). I kind of figured Trelawney was one of those, she pretended to not pay attention, but in actuality was very observant and was able to deduce things about people, if she had any conversation with anyone about the 3rd years, it wouldn't take much for her to figure out that Neville is clumsy, Hermione is too limited by logic to appreciate divination, and Harry has affinity for life-threatening situations

6. Did you think Harry had truly seen a Grim?

dzturtleshell: No, I  thought he'd seen a dog...

7. We meet our first animagi in this first Transfiguration class. Did you think this would be significant, or was it possibly just another fun magical ability?

dzturtleshell: I was thinking it was something we'd see the kids learn along the way

8. Do you think a person's Animagi form says anything about his or her character? Take McGonagall, does a cat fit her as you've come to know her through the series?

dzturtleshell: I'm not sure which came first, the wizard's qualities like a particular animal, or the effect of spending time as that animal on the wizard's personality. At the end of the book, human Peter acts kind of ratlike, and I believe it's suggested those ratlike tendencies are partly due to spending 12 years as a rat. I'm very curious as to what determines the form of a wizard's patronus.

9. How did you like Hagrid's first lesson? Do you think he had potential to be a good teacher? Would you have enjoyed this first class?

dzturtleshell: Hagrid's already been a great teacher to the students he got to interact with as gamekeeper. I'm glad to see it's finally been made official. I think his lesson would have been great, he just underestimated Malfoy's malice. As a lesson, he did great by introducing the students to something new and intriguing, educating them about the animal, demonstrating a proper way to interact with them and then warning them what would happen if you didn't listen. He might have taken it a little slower than unleashing the whole class on the hippogriffs at once when he didn't have any help with supervision. 

10. What did you think of Harry's interaction with Buckbeak? Did you think we would see Buckbeak again, as we did throughout the series?

dzturtleshell: Hagrid did seem pretty partial to Buckbeak at this point, I expected Buckbeak would be important throughout this book, but I didn't expect him to be a recurring character throughout the series. 

11. What are your thoughts on Draco's actions in this lesson? Should he have listened more to Hagrid's instructions? Does he have any blame in the fact that he was injured? Should 13-year-olds be taught to interact with dangerous creatures?

dzturtleshell: Draco's actions here are typical for him, expected even. I had really hoped that Hagrid would have been a little more realistic about a group of teens, he's been softened by being able to rely on the trio's usual good judgement. He is completely to blame for his injuries, a 13-year old wizard should have enough sense not to insult a gigantic magical creature with razor-sharp talons. That being said, I don't think Hagrid should have allowed a situation in which he was too far from any of the hippogriffs to intervene on an attack. He should have asked for some assistance with supervision for the lesson, or maybe have had the students individually take turns with one hippogriff, like they will with the boggart in a few chapters.

Dumbledore mentioned that the previous Care of Magical Creatures teacher had retired to "spend more time with his remaining limbs," suggesting that the nature of the class puts everyone at risk for a good amount of danger. The wizarding world is different from our world, most injuries can be healed with little hassle and a wizard might come across anything in their daily activities, I think it's important for young wizards to learn how to interact with even dangerous magical creatures so they'll know what to do later in life. Also, Hagrid is not the only one that introduces the kids to dangerous creatures. Lupin introduces them to plenty of hurtful creatures this year (hinkypunks, boggarts, grindylows, etc)

12. Did you agree that Hagrid should be disciplined for this lesson or that Buckbeak should be executed over what happened to Malfoy? Did you guess the significance Buckbeak's execution would play later in the book?

dzturtleshell: Maybe a slap on the wrist or formal warning for Hagrid, if that even. Maybe they should have just taken Buckbeak out of a school environment, execution certainly wasn't necessary. I never imagined Buckbeak's execution would take place at Hogwarts, so I really didn't see how integral it would be!

13. And one for fun. Because I laughed a lot in this chapter, did you have a favorite funny line in this chapter?

dzturtleshell: "[Sir Cadogan] gave the sword another fruitless tug, tried and failed to mount the fat pony, gave up, and cried, "On foot then, good sirs and gentle lady! On! On!"


Thanks for the questions!
~ dzturtleshell :)