Chapter Discussion Chamber of Secrets Ch. 8 The Deathday Party

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 188992

> > 6.	Ginny is pale at the beginning of the chapter and Percy bullies her into taking the medicine. We find out later about the diary and Tom, but at this point, we don't know. Did Percy seem out of character in "bullying" her?
> 
> Pippin responded:
> He's always bossy. But the practice of medicine is outside his authority and that qualifies it as bullying.  
> 

Carol responds:
I disagree completely. In order to take the Pepper-Up Potion, Ginny would have to go see Madam Pomfrey, who would determine whether it was necessary. It's not as if he brewed it on his own and forced her to take it. It seems to me that he's taking on the role of his mother, who no doubt kept Pepper-Up Potion on hand for just such an occasion.

But I think that everyone is missing the point here. Harry's attention (and consequently the narrator's) is on the "bullying" big brother, not on the pale little sister. JKR is planting a clue that something is up with Ginny, but she distracts the reader by focusing on Percy. Harry is always missing important details, such as the broken Vanishing Cabinet that he notices but doesn't think about as he goes to hide his Potions book in HBP or the "little girl" holding the scales in front of what he ought to realize is the RoR. It's another variation on the "Harry filter." Percy is only a "bully" from Harry's perspective. He's trying to help his sister, not hurt her. I think we should appreciate him for watching over his little sister. He's the only one who notices that something is wrong with her, even if he does take the wrong approach. (Too bad she doesn't have an older sister to confide in!)

But Percy is also something very like a red herring, taking attention away from the clue that JKR is dropping. No one wonders what's up with Ginny. All they notice is that Percy is "bullying" Ginny. 

Carol, who may answer the other questions later but particularly wanted to respond to this one