Plot and Expectations (was: Some questions

[Talisman]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Barry Arrowsmith" 
<arrowsmithbt at b...> wrote:

Kneasy:
>The first intimation of what we were in for was the final showdown 
>in PS/SS when Quirrell grabs young Potter instead of doing the 
>wizardly thing, which is "Accio Stone!"

Talisman:
Now this has always interested me.  But Book 4 has an even worse 
example.  Harry does lots of extra work on summoning charms in order 
to summon his broom--all the way from the castle to the dragon arena-
-for the first task.  Yet by the time he is preparing for the second 
task he canft seem to recall this handy skill.  He canft manage to 
Accio the MM, which has fluttered out of reach, as he sits trapped 
in the trick stair.  

Even if you want to believe JKR overlooked Accios in SS, she surely 
is aware of them in Book 4.  It's the Accio Book. Indeed, in the 
very scene where Harry, the accomplished summoner, can't seem to 
think of doing one, the bad guy, Fake!Moody, is all over it.

Rowling didnft have to build Accios into the first task if she 
wanted Harry to be sans skill in the stairway scene.  If the 
champions were allowed to bring assistance to the second task (e.g. 
gillyweed) there is no reason to say *wands only* for the first task-
-except that you want to force the summoning charm.  

Or, she could have made sure Harry didn't have his wand during this 
scene.  He could have dropped that, too.  It could have rolled 
behind the folds of the pulled tapestry and caused no other changes 
in the scene--except that Harry wouldn't fail to use an Accio out of 
sheer stupidity.

Instead she has him waggle his wand right at the thing (you should 
see what I have written in the margin), tryin to erase it, but a 
simple  *Accio* can't trip ever-so-lightly from his lips.  

She certainly didn't have to remind us of Harry's failure, within 
the scene, by having F!M do the Accio.  She could have arranged 
things so that Moody was closest to the MM.  Snape could express an 
interest, but Moody could just reach over and pick it up.  He'd 
still ask Harry about it after chasing  Snape and Filch back to bed, 
etc. etc.  

But no, she has to get us screaming: *Accio the damn thing, Harry!
*   Then, after refusing to allow the bulb to go on in his bubble-
soaked little brain, she gets Snape crawling all over the map so 
that the only way Moody can beat him to it is...by Accio.  

She is rubbing our noses in it. It's intentional, not a plot hole.  
This works with Q's failure to Accio and fits quite nicely into one 
of my maniacal little theories.  But since I don't want to explain 
it, I'll just say: It's not an oversight.

Kneasy:
>Then in CoS Tom never dreams of zapping Harry, even though he's
>got his (Harry's) wand in his hand. 

Talisman:
Oh, give him a break.  Poor little psychopath has been locked up 
with no victims for 50 years.  He just wants a smidge of sadistic 
playtime.  You would, too.


Kneasy:
Follow that up with the graveyard scene. A small multiude of DEs are 
unable to nail an impervious Potter who, in contrast, can throw them 
all into confusion with an unaimed
>Impedimentia! Erm.. excuse me, is this right?

Talisman:
Now, now. The DEfs were confused before Harry ever started 
zapping.  The reunion with the Dark Lord was enough to twitter pate 
anyone.  Then there was all that golden web / floating through the 
air business, not to mention the sight of the DL losing the wand 
wrestling-match to a punk kid.  

Plus, phoenix song is known to have a deleterious effect on the less-
than-pure, and there had been a lot of that going on.  They also had 
to wait till they were given the order to attack, and who knows what 
the shadowy shades were up to after Harry took off.

Yeah, okay. Harry got off a lucky shot.  If there is a mob of people 
chasing right behind you, shoot backwards and you're bound to hit 
someone. 

Luck and special helpers, that's the ticket.

Kneasy:
 Plus the Ministry battle,
>where a bunch of half-trained kids, ambushed by the ne plus ultra of
>Voldy's forces escape with just a couple of walking wounded 
casualties.

Talisman:

Here, we'll just have to believe that, all the trash talk aside, the 
orders were to refrain from lethal force.   Lucius does say *Hand 
over the prophecy and no one need get hurt* (782). 

Much is made, in Book 5, of LVfs desire to keep a low profile.  He 
is still putting his army together and it's a good deal easier to 
get things done when the WW isn't up in arms against you.  

Let's say the plan was to get the orb from Harry, and then merely 
Obliviate the kiddies and send them back to school.  Dumped, a bit 
shy on memory, perhaps with a few well placed bottles of Fire 
Whiskey, clothes all mussed up, just inside Hogwarts grounds, 
shortly before dawn.  Let `em explain that.  

Harry was probably reserved for special treatment.  LVfs got that 
whole I-need-to-prove-I'm-stronger issue. How would it look if 
Lucius could cream the brat when LV couldn't?  Might start people 
whispering.  

Moreover, Nagini was a last ditch Hx. It would be so satisfying to 
make one out of the Potter brat.  Maybe we could recycle the orb and 
put it back on the shelf.  Let the Ministry guard it.  Gotta love 
the irony.

So, maybe the plan included taking Harry prisoner.  Or not.  Maybe 
the DL preferred to hear the Prophecy before messing with HP any 
more, at all.

In any event, the death / disappearance, en masse, of six school 
children: including the famous Harry Potter, a couple of Arthur 
Weasley's kids,  Grandma Longbottom's remnant, and the Quibbler 
editor's only child, would not likely pass without comment.  Sure 
would sound like old times.  People might start listening to DD.

Of course you always have the over-eager ones, like Dolohov, who 
can't help going for the kill.  Too bad he wasn't any good at 
unspoken curses.  At least he tried.