CHAPTER DISCUSSION Chamber of Secrets Ch. 5. The Whomping Willow

[Geoff]

No: HPFGUIDX 188793

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214" <dumbledore11214 at ...> wrote:

> CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
> Chapter 5: The Whomping Willow.

> 1.  Not only Ron knows that underage wizards can use magic in case of emergency, he quotes the chapter of the law to that effect. Was Molly's home schooling that effective or does Ron really like to study more than we were lead to believe?

Geoff:
His quoting is rather vague - "section nineteen or something of the 
Restriction of Thingy" suggests that he has heard it somewhere but 
not really taken it all in. Maybe Arthur in conversation with another 
member of the family?
 
> 2.  Is Arthur just placating Molly when he agrees not to make car invisible or is he truly afraid of her?

I think that he is afraid to an extent; his earlier reaction when the 
twins are talking bout the journey from Little Whining suggests this.

I fear that I am not a great Molly fan. I believe her to be always 
wanting to be the final arbiter in matters. Looking forward into 
OOTP, I disliked her attempts to prevent Harry from finding out 
more about the Order because he was too young and needed to 
be protected when he, of all people. had a right to know. I see her 
as wanting to guard her family from "the slings and arrows of 
outrageous fortune" but that does not excuse her being a control 
freak.

> 3. What was your first impression of Whomping Willow? Did you expect for it to make another appearance in the series?

Not really. Just another quirky part of JKR's universe.

> 4. Snape implies that he would like to expel Harry. How can this be reconciled with the commitment to help Dumbledore protect Harry we saw him make in "The Prince's Tale"?

I think, in hindsight, that he was merely trying to frighten the boys 
and make them realise that, in his view, what had happened was not 
a great lark, but something quite serious.

> 5. "This was not the first time Snape had given Harry the impression of being able to read minds". We know now that this impression was absolutely correct. If Snape used Legilimency and knew that they indeed could not get through 9 3/4 by regular means, why does he say what he says?

I think other folk have commented that he had a copy of the 
"Evening Prophet" in his possession.

> 6. What do you think was that "large, slimy something suspended in green liquid on a shelf behind Snape's desk?

I have never stopped to consider what it was.