Boggarts, Trelawney, Hippogriffs, Teaching Advice, what did Draco know, etc

[Catlady (Rita Prince]

No: HPFGUIDX 189632

Megan PoohMeg discussed PoA Chapter 7 in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/189554>:

<< 1. What does Hermione's punishment for helping Neville say about Snape? >>

Coupled with Harry's Book One punishment for NOT having preventing Neville from putting in the porcupine quills at the wrong time, it proves that Snape is not very consistent about rules, and especially he does not have a rule against helping other students because getting help prevents a student from learning. I thought he was just taking out his anger at being prevented from killing Trevor, but maybe he has an educational theory that randomly punishing a student makes the whole class remember the content of that lesson.

<< 2. What did you think Lupin's boggart was the first time you read the chapter? >>

I didn't know and went along with Lavender Brown's idea that it was a crystal ball. After the Christmas dinner, I assumed that the crystal ball Boggart represented his fear of Professor Trelawney's relentless romantic pursuit of him (another thing I have in common with her).

Happy Joey Smiley wondered in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/189569>:

<< why Trelawney never gave Hermione a detention :-) >>

Trelawney had no desire to spend one minute more than necessary in Hermione's company.

Luirhys asked in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/189577>:

<< Hmm.. do you think that LV even had those kind of emotions? We know he wasn't capable of love, but of lust? >>

I suppose he must have been capable of sexual lust when he was human, but I believe that he lost all sexual desire (and sexual organs) by becoming a snake-man. Also, the flashbacks of when he was human suggest that he managed to conceal from his followers any sign that he had such human weaknesses as sexual lust. I had to specify, because he was real big on demonstrating lust for power and lust to torture.

Amanita Muscaria discussed PoA Chapter 8 in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/189609>:

<< 2) Do you think Hagrid could have sought or accepted advice about teaching, and who from? >>

I think it never occurred to Hagrid that seeking advice about teaching was a possibility.

He would have accepted advice about teaching from Dumbledore, whom he revered, but Dumbledore is stand-off-ish.

I suspect that anyone else who offered him advice about teaching would have had to do it so subtly that it didn't seem like advice, because I think his insecurity would have caused him to take offense at anyone he didn't revere giving him unsolicited advice, like 'that git thinks he knows more than me just because I'm half-giant'.

<< 3)How do you imagine Hermione survived all those years in the girls' dorms? >>

Drew the bed curtains closed around her and read a book.

Alla replied in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/189610>:

<< I am not sure I quite understand this question. Could you clarify whether you mean that girls were giving her a hard time or you mean something else? >>

I assumed that the question meant that Hermione would go crazy listening to Lavender and Parvati (and the two unnamed Gryffindor girls) endlessly discussing which musician in The Weird Sisters is the cutest, how to do the new spell for curling eyelashes from Teen Witch, whether this comfy jumper is so old-fashioned that everyone would laugh at someone who wore it...

Maybe the girls gave her a hard time early in first year (before she went to cry in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom). It would have been unrewarding for them, as she had the ability to conceal her hurt feelings, look like she didn't care, as long as she had an audience. But I figure that once she had participated in killing a troll and was best friends with the star Seeker, they decided to stop picking on her so they could share her glory. If not, they would stop when she developed that sharp tongue and could give as good as she got.

Potioncat wrote in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/189616>:

<< what I get this time is that Draco knows the story about Black betraying the Potters. It's not supposed to be a widely circulated story. So do the Malfoys also think Black was working for LV? (Cissy, your cousin turned out to be a stand up guy afterall.) And what do the other DEs believe? I don't get the feeling that the Askaban-DEs think Black is one of them.

The other thing is that Draco isn't acting like Black is a cousin. Perhaps he's smart enough not to mention it to Potter--or perhaps he doesn't know? >>

Draco must know that Black is his cousin. All those purebloods are mad for genealogy. Remember Ernie Macmillan in CoS saying he could trace his ancestors for nine generations? I recall some listie suggesting that the way that Ernie traced his ancestors is that all the rich pureblood families had a magic tapestry like the Blacks had.

I've never been able to figure out what Draco thought Sirius's position in the war had been. Of course the first time I read him taunting Harry to seek revenge, I had no more idea than Harry, revenge for what? But after that, I read it as Draco believed what Albus and Arthur believed, and was trying to send Harry to be killed by Sirius just because Draco hates Harry. But if Draco believes that Sirius was a valuable servant of the Dark Lord and a dangerous killer, why did Draco consistently disrepect Sirius?

Pippin wrote in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/189625>:

<< under normal circumstances a requisition for six hippogriffs would have raised some eyebrows if not actual alarm. >>

Potioncat replied in <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/189626>:

<< I think Lupin ordered the wee dark beasties that he used in class, but I don't think Hagrid did. He seems to have raised (or found) the hippogriffs in the Dark Forest. DD probably had no idea what Hagrid planned. >>

I completely agree with Potioncat. I never got the idea that Hagrid requisitioned the hippogriffs. I always thought they lived in the Forbidden Forest and he called them and they came. And he had trained them to come when called by feeding them and maybe by grooming them. Do hippogriffs enjoy being groomed? Clearly, Buckbeak was already some kind of his pet.