Chapter Discussion: Prisoner of Azkaban Ch 15: The Quidditch Final

[poohmeg20]

No: HPFGUIDX 190174




> Snip of lovely summary<
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> 1.  Hermione misses Charms and is found asleep over her Arithmancy book.  Later, she is described as having bags under her eyes like Lupin.  Did you think she was just overdoing it, as Harry suggests, or did you think magic was involved?
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Megan: 
When I initially read the book, I was having all sorts of sinister thoughts about her being cursed by someone to have to do their work for them in addition to her own, or being forced to do some horrible tasks that were keeping her awake. In retrospect, I kind of wonder why she didn't use the time turner to sneak off and get some extra sleep. 

> 2.  Which house has been winning the Quidditch cup?  Do you think it was one house more than any other or that the other three houses each had their share of winning seasons?
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Megan:
I don't remember if it was explicitly stated, but it seemed to be at least implied that Gryffindor hadn't done well for at least the past few years. Since the story is from Harry's perspective, that was really the relevant part. 

> 3.  Why were Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff rooting for Gryffindor?
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Megan:
On many fronts it seems to be the case throughout the books that nice people of any background or house don't like Slytherin. 

> 4.  Lee Jordan's commentary earns him a warning for bias.  Other than the most blatant examples, do you think Lee Jordan's commentary was fair, or was it biased all through the game?
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Megan:
It seemed pretty biased, but I thought it was one of the funnier parts of the book, particularly because JKR has said she's not a sports fan, but it seemed to me to be a pretty good takeoff on some of the "unbiased" commentary you hear from announcers who are calling games of the school they went to or the team they played for. 

> 5.  In our world, imitation or correspondence can be considered "sympathetic magic."  During the Gryffindor/Slytherin match, three-quarters of the houses wear Gryffindor scarlet while one quarter of the houses wear Slytherin green.  Do you think there is a similar folk belief in sympathetic magic in the Potterverse?  If so, could the wearing of the team colors have helped Gryffindor win?
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Megan:
Wow, that's a little above my pay grade, but I think there's definitely an energy that athletes get from playing in front of a "home crowd" - team colors are definitely a part of that, since they're easy to see during the action from the field. It can also be a way to intimidate opponents - it's quite daunting to go out in front of a sea of the other team's color. I'm sure all of that is true in the Potterverse just as much as here. 


Thanks for the great questions!