[OOP]: The Arch Room

[psychic_serpent]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "harpdreamer" <pbnesbit at m...> 
wrote:
> --- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Jim Flanagan" wrote:
> 
> > A couple of remarks about the arch room:
> (Snip) 
> > 
> > 2. Something that puzzled me about the Arch Room was why some of 
> > the "sexumvirate" seemed to hear the voices behind the black 
veil, and some didn't.  Harry, Neville, and Ginny became entranced 
and had to be dragged away, while Hermione and Ron did not.  Luna 
heard the voices, but apparently did not have to be dragged away.  
This is not the same pattern as the ability to see Thestrals, so I 
wonder why each person reacted in the way they did.  Any thoughts?
> > 
> > -Jim Flanagan
> > "All aboard for the good ship Harry/Luna!"
> 
> Perhaps Harry, Neville, and Ginny haven't yet resolved the death, 
> torture, and possession they've been through, while Luna has.  
> Hermione and Ron haven't (as far as we know) witnessed death or 
> torture.  Luna seems to have come to terms with her mother's death 
> (she seems to have no trouble talking about it, while Harry, 
> Neville, and Ginny haven't mentioned--except for Ginny--their run-
> ins with Evil). 
 
Actually, someone posted some fascinating information on my list 
concerning this.  They noted that at the beginning, when they're on 
the school train, the same four who are sprayed with the Stinksap 
are the same four who can hear the voices when they're in the Arch 
Room.  Ron and Hermione don't get sprayed with it--they were in the 
prefects' compartment and showed up later.  (I noted here before 
that it was interesting that the six who are traveling in that 
compartment end up being the six who go to the Ministry.)

In addition to this, someone else did some research on the roots of 
the words giving Neville's weird plant its name, and there seems to 
be a connection with feeling braver or something of that sort.  I 
need to find the posts about this; it was really interesting, and 
folks were speculating that the plant gave an extra bit of 
daringness to the personalities of the four who were sprayed with 
the Stinksap, which could account for a load of things in OotP, from 
Harry's recklessness with Umbridge to Neville and Ginny's dueling 
abilities to Luna, a Ravenclaw, going on a rather Gryffindor-ish 
adventure to the Ministry.

--Barb