Chapter Discussion: Chamber of Secrets Chapter 10, The Rogue Bludger

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 189025

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CoS Chapter Ten: The Rogue Bludger

Whew!  Busy chapter.

Harry begins the chapter playing supporting cast to Gilderoy Lockhart's escapades.  He submits to this because he, Ron and Hermione need a teacher's signature to get the book, Moste Potente Potions, from the restricted section of the library.  Once they have the book they go to Myrtle's girls' room where no one will disturb them.  They find that they need some ingredients which are not usually in the students' stores and that Polyjuice takes a month to brew.

The Quidditch game against Slytherin is the next day.  It is ominously thundering as the teams take the field.  Harry begins looking for the Snitch but finds that a Bludger has mysteriously attached itself to him and follows him no matter which way it's been hit.  Beaters Fred and George fly with him, knocking the Bludger away every time it attacks.  Gryffindor calls for a time out to discuss matters.  Oliver Wood wants Fred and George to patrol more of the field - their absence has resulted in lost points.  Harry agrees and says he will deal with the Bludger.  

He is successful at first but when he pays too much attention to Malfoy's taunts the Bludger hits him, breaking his arm.  At the same time he sees the Snitch by Malfoy's ear.  Harry dives, using only his legs to keep himself on his broom and captures the Snitch in his good left hand but he hits the ground because he can't control the broom with only his legs.  Lockhart tries to help but only succeeds in removing the bones entirely from Harry's arm.  Harry goes to the hospital wing where Madam Pomphrey administers Skele-Gro to re-grow the bones.

Dobby appears in the middle of the night to sponge Harry's head and ends up telling him that he was the one who charmed the Bludger in order to get Harry sent home injured.  He mentions that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened "once more."  Harry questions him but Dobby only tells him about his sad life with his master.

They hear someone coming and Dobby disappears without giving any answers.  Dumbledore and McGonagall, both dressed for bed, enter with what appears to be a statue.  Madam Pomphrey is called and she suggests that the victim must have been coming to see Harry.  Harry looks at the statue - it's Colin Creevey, still holding his camera.  When McGonagall asks if he might have gotten a picture of his attacker, Dumbledore opens the back of the camera.  A jet of steam hisses out and, three beds away, Harry can smell burning plastic.  Dumbledore reiterates Dobby's words, saying that the Chamber of Secrets has been reopened.  McGonagall asks who, Dumbledore thinks the better question is, How?

1.  Harry submits to being Lockhart's supporting player but when the trio get the signature all it takes is Hermione gushing over Lockhart's book, Gadding with Ghouls.  Was it necessary for Harry to have put himself through the play-acting?

2.  Moste Potente Potions is a musty book.  Are there other copies of this book around, perhaps in Snape's office, so advanced Potions students don't request this copy very often?  Some of the illustrations are gruesome.  Would this be a book an advanced student might need to use or is it a relic from much earlier times?

3.  Harry, Fred and George all recognize that the rogue Bludger is attacking Harry.  Couldn't anyone else on the field see that?  Or is it that the game matters more than any individual thing going on?

4.  The Bludger doesn't attack during the time out but after the game an injured Harry notices Fred and George wrestling the Bludger into a box.  It is still fighting them.  Why did the Bludger not attack during the time out but apparently try to keep going after the game was finished?

5.  Could Colin Creevey have been coming to visit Harry?  How long was he petrified before Dumbledore found him, do you think?

6.  A Basilisk's gaze can kill.  When Dumbledore opens Colin's camera, a jet of steam hisses out.  Is this consistent, do you think, with the full effects of a Basilisk's stare?  Does the Basilisk's stare fry a person's insides, leaving a petrified shell?

7.  Harry thinks that McGonagall is just as puzzled as he is when Dumbledore said the more important question is how the Chamber is being opened.  Does Dumbledore know at this point that it would require the use of Parceltongue to open it?


Thanks, Alla and Gavin, for your help!

Ceridwen.


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