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

[nikkalmati]

No: HPFGUIDX 189054




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> 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?

Nikkalmati

I think Harry would have a hard time saying "no" to a teacher who wanted him to take part in his little demonstrations.  I don't think he did it for Hermione.

Nikkalmati
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> 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?

Nikkalmati

Probably there are other copies around and Snape's office would be one place to find it.  I think students don't use this book very much at all.  The library is not just for students.  It seems to be a major resource for the teachers and maybe even the Ministry.  The book is probably a classic, but not necessarily so old as to be a relic.  

Nikkalmati

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> 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?

Nikkalmati

The Bludger is meant to attack the players but I wonder why the referee did not see the peculair behavior.  I suspect if the Gryffindor tean did not complain, no one would stop the game.

Nikkalmati

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> 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?

Nikkalmati

I guess the Bludgers are not active during the time out.  I would point out that when Wood showed Harry the balls in PS he had to "force[ing] the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapp[ing] it down safely." U.S. Paperback at 168.   The Bludgers keep attacking, so some provision must be regularly made for time-outs.  Maybe they don't attack anyone on the ground.

Nikkalmati

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

Nikkalmati

It seems in character for CC to have been trying to visit Harry.  I doubt he was petrified  more than an hour or so.

Nikkalmati

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> 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?

Nikkalmati

I don't know. Sort of like a microwave?  

Nikkalmati

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> 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?

Nikkalmati

Yes, I think DD suspects Parseltongue is necessary to open the Chamber and that he intends to test Harry in the next chapter.  He suspects Harry has been given powers by LV and maybe even suspects he is a Horcrux.  He would be better to consentrate on who, because if he discovered it was Ginny, he would be led to the diary and the how would come out too.

Nikkalmati
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