CHAPTER DISCUSSION Chamber of Secrets Ch. 4, At Flourish and Blotts

[jelly92784]

No: HPFGUIDX 188778

I'm a little rusty but I'll give this a shot!


1.This chapter appears to be just a transition between Harry's time at the Dursleys and Hogwarts, but it is in fact a vital chapter in terms of characters, the wizarding world, and the overall plot. How many places, characters, practices, and things of interest are we introduced to in this chapter?

Janelle:
Way more than we're led to believe- that's for sure!  This is one of those great moments where we see things that will come back to haunt us- not only at the end of this book- but later in the series as well.  We meet Lucius Malfoy, Gilderoy Lockhart, Mr. Borgin (or is it Burke?).  We first see Nocturn Alley, Borgin & Burkes, The Floo Network.  Things are hidden from us: Riddle's Diary and the Vanishing Cabinet.  Lots of stuff going on here!

2. Do you believe Hagrid was looking for Flesh Eating Slug Repellant in Knockturn Alley?

Janelle:
Yes, I do.

3. What could have happened to Harry, if Hagrid had not happened by at that time?

Janelle: 
Who knows?  He could have fallen into the hands of some creepy witches or wizards as an amusement, or he could have had his first encounter with a Death Eater (although, technically, I guess he did!)

4. Would Harry have vanished, if he had closed the door on the cabinet?

Janelle:
Yes- I think he would have found himself at Hogwarts- what an interesting twist that would have been!  Remember that the Vanishing Cabinet at Hogwarts isn't damaged until later in this book when Nearly Headless Nick convinces Peeves to break it to save Harry from getting into trouble!

5. Why didn't the second year students have to buy more than the one spell book and the books for DADA?

Janelle:
I guess the books they'd bought the previous year covered enough material to last for a couple years.  What I always wondered is why the Weasleys have to buy 5 copies of Lockhart's books- can't they share?  Especially since they're supposedly supposed to have read them all before school starts anyway?

6. Is Harry right that his goblin gold would not be useful in the Muggle world?

Janelle:
Interesting question- I'm not sure.  He probably could've taken it to a museum or something as a rare treasure and been paid for it in Muggle money...

7. Hagrid says at the end of the chapter that the Malfoys are rotten to the core, the whole family, "bad blood, that's what it is". This is the first time we hear about blood in the WW. What does Hagrid mean? Does he think evil character can be inherited? Is this a common opinion in the WW? How does it fit in with other uses of blood in the series?

Janelle:
This one is trickier!  I don't think that Hagrid is thinking that evil is literally something in the blood- I think he's speaking more generally about similarities between father and son personality-wise.  But, looking at the bigger picture, it's possible that Hagrid's words do have some deeper meaning attached to them.  The Malfoys are pure-bloods and they consider everyone who isn't to have "bad blood", however, there aren't so many pure-bloods left and so maybe all the intermarriages and stuff that has taken place in order to keep pure-bloods "pure" has polluted their blood.  I'm not saying that this pollution manifests itself as evil, but maybe there's just something not quite right with their blood.