CoS 4

[pauraque_bk]

Continuing the fabulous house-elf discussion from Chapter 2, sedesdraconis has an excellent post on house-elf sociobiology, discussing what we see in canon with an eye to the real-life biological factors involved in domestication. ♥

Oh, and I wanted to mention, if it wasn't clear, that the posts and discussions may contain spoilers for all five books. I've seen people friending me who claim not to have read them all yet (what're ya waiting for?), so I thought I'd be on the safe side.


CoS 4: At Flourish and Blotts

'That lot won't come cheap,' said George, with a quick look at his parents. 'Lockhart's books are really expensive...'
'Well, we'll manage,' said Mrs Weasley, but she looked worried. (38)

No possibility of financial aid, of course. I wonder what the tuition fees are like?

[Percy] was already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his knitted tank top. (38)

I have nothing to say here except BWAH.

They couldn't use real Quidditch balls, which would have been hard to explain if they had escaped and flown away over the village[...] (39)

It's hard to believe that Arthur, whose fascination with Muggles is mentioned about five times in this chapter, would live so close to a Muggle village yet not go down there often enough to have a solid grasp on the basic elements of their culture. You wouldn't think he'd be quite so excited to meet the Grangers, either. Do they just Floo to wizarding London every time they want to go shopping, or do anything else for that matter?

'Harry Potter got a Nimbus Two Thousand last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so he could play for Gryffindor. He's not even that good, it's just because he's famous ... famous for having a stupid scar on his forehead...'
Malfoy bent down to examine a shelf full of skulls.
'...everyone thinks he's so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar and his broomstick--'
'You have told me this at least a dozen times already,' said Mr Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son[...] (42-43)

'I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer [...] Though if his school marks don't pick up,' said Mr Malfoy, more coldly still, 'that may indeed be all he is fit for.'
'It's not my fault,' retorted Draco. 'The teachers all have favourites, that Hermione Granger--' (44)

Draco's got a point about the special permission, and the fact that the teachers play favorites, which of course they do. Even so -- the kid never gives it a rest, does he? He carries on this way some more at the bookstore (50).

I also wonder how bad Draco's marks actually are. Hermione beat him in every exam (44), but that doesn't tell us much. I always think of him as being pretty clever, though maybe not in a way that translates well to schoolwork.

This scene plays rather differently in the movie -- it's worth remembering that while movie!Lucius gets angry and gives Draco a shove here with very little provocation, book!Lucius is only annoyed by his constant whining (and understandably so).

'[...]There are rumours about a new Muggle Protection Act -- no doubt that flea-bitten, Muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it--'
Harry felt a hot surge of anger.
'--and as you see, certain of these poisons might make it appear--' (43)

Poisons that harm Muggles, but not wizards, it would seem.

The moment the door had closed, Mr Borgin dropped his oily manner.
'Good day yourself, Mister Malfoy, and if the stories are true, you haven't sold me half of what's hidden in your manor...' (44)

I like this suggestion that even other Dark wizards resent Lucius, as well they might -- he's done pretty well for himself by pretending innocence, as explained last chapter, and that wouldn't play well with those who had true loyalty to Voldemort. (He also passes this strategy on to Draco, advising him that "it is not -- prudent -- to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear" (43).)

There may be some class-resentment here too... as was discussed on hp_britglish not too long ago, the Malfoys come off as obnoxiously nouveau-riche.

Harry explained all about Dobby and the Dursleys.
'Ruddy Muggles,' growled Hagrid. 'If I'd've known--' (46)

This came up in discussion on an earlier chapter; sometimes a character says something like this, referring to Harry's damn Muggle relatives or what have you, and it's "corrected" by someone saying it's got nothing to do with them being Muggles. This is a counter-example, where the remark passes without comment.

A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash. (49)

This is where we really start to get into the thematic material of fame as a burden (for Harry) and as a smokescreen concealing the truth about a person (for Lockhart).

Also, JKR recently posted some things about wizarding photography on her site, entertainingly protested by snitchnip_chill here.

'We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy,' [Arthur] said.
'Clearly,' said Mr Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Mr and Mrs Granger, who were watching apprehensively. 'The company you keep, Weasley... and I thought your family could sink no lower--'
There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr Weasley had thrown himself at Mr Malfoy, knocking him backwards into a bookshelf.
[fight! fight! and Hagrid breaks them up...]
[Lucius] was still holding Ginny's old transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.
'Here, girl -- take your book -- it's the best your father can give you--' (51)

Plot point! I was going to bring this up later, but... I'm really puzzled by Lucius's motives in trying to resurrect Tom Riddle. What does he have to gain? And why doesn't he mention it when Voldie accuses him of disloyalty in GoF? I almost wonder if he really just wanted to get to Arthur by putting his daughter in harm's way.

Also, can I have one of those "out of context canon line" icons that says 'Mr Weasley had thrown himself at Mr Malfoy...'? Plzkthx.


Past re-read posts are here.

Comments

[weekend.livejournal.com]

[Percy] was already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his knitted tank top

So if he's wearing a jumper, can we assume he's comfortable with Muggle clothing? He's most likely wearing it over a shirt and trousers, after all, as it seems weird to wear it over robes. Is it normal for wizard kids to dress like Muggles? (movie-canon has completely confused me on this matter.) Either way, what a contrast to Arthur, who didn't know it was weird for the other wizard at the QWC to wear a kilt and poncho together.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

Well, it's fairly typical for the Weasley kids to dress in Muggle-style clothes during the summer and school holidays, but I'm sure they're not *quite* perfect, if only because Mrs. Weasley's taste in colors (maroon on a *redhead*?!) is not normal for Muggles.

Muggle clothes might be a lot cheaper than Wizarding, for one. They are mass produced, while it seems like Madame Malkin alters all the robes she sells, even to schoolchildren, based on the first book.

[arclevel.livejournal.com]

Madame Malkin alters all the robes she sells, even to schoolchildren, based on the first book.

Which is why is confuses me that Harry, who's nearly 16, hasn't bought robes for himself in three years, since the start of PoA. Mrs. Weasley buys him dress robes, but he hasn't been to Diagon Alley. Unless he's been to Gladrags in Hogsmeade while we weren't looking, he's wearing clothes that are way too short for him now.

[fennie-snake.livejournal.com]

On Mrs W's taste in colours: Molly owns a pair of *magic!* knitting needles, which can be seen in the movie knitting a continuous stream of 70's-style homemade rainbow knitwear...which her offspring seem to be obliged to wear until they leave home, like the Twins, when they suddenly splash out on sophisticated dragon-skin jackets, and dragon-fang earrings, so on.

I thought the contrast was brought out really well in Cuaron's movie, where Ron's wearing his tasselled stripey home-knit hat while confronting Draco, who sports a fur cap. The sort of clothes your parents can provide for you is such a huge marker of social status for most children, and I love the way JKR plays around with it in the books. Its strange that you don't see adult wizards wearing jumpers and trousers like the children, though...

[dancing-moon.livejournal.com]

I sometimes wonder if he didn't think a younger Tom Riddle would be easier to control. Or, even, that he considers the current incarnation of his Lord a bit nutty (if you look at the DE's list of plans, failures and sucesses, I have hard to see how they could terrorize a whole community) and wants the saner but still powerful and prejudiced Voldemort. Not that Tommy-boy appears to have all his marbles either, but maybe Lucius only knew him from fancy tales Voldemort has told?

[gmth.livejournal.com]

I don't know that he even knew Riddle could actually be resurrected through use of the diary. I do believe he knew the diary would corrupt Ginny so she would do things that would eventually discredit Arthur, but I doubt he would have gone through with it had he known it might actually bring Voldemort back,. Not with the way he reacted in the graveyard scene at the end of GoF.

[ellen-fremedon.livejournal.com]

*nodnodnod*

I always assumed that discrediting Arthur through Ginny was pretty much his entire motive in giving Ginny the diary.

[pauraque]

Yeah, it seems really unlikely that he was hoping to bring Voldie back at full strength. I think Lucius is pretty pleased with his situation at this point -- he's got power and influence of his own, he doesn't have to cater to V's whims... his only trouble is the Ministry. Arthur, specifically.

[pauraque]

Ooh, good thought. Yes, I can see Lucius hoping he could play puppet-master through a younger Tom.

[strangemuses.livejournal.com]

[Percy] was already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his knitted tank top. (38)

I have nothing to say here except BWAH.

Aw. The poor [literally] boy is so proud and eager to have something to show off. I often wondered what it was like for those Weasley kids to venture out into public areas like shops. The Weasley family is considered to be one of the most prominent old Wizard families and yet they are as poor as mice. Imagine being prominent and desperately poor at the same time. The Malfoys certainly go well out of their way to point out their poverty to them at any occasion. I can see Percy pinning on that badge and thinking, 'I may be poor, but I am a prefect! I rock!' Poor thing. I quite like Percy.

[pauraque]

Nice icon. *g*

I doubt the Weasleys are treated quite so badly by anyone but the Malfoys, who behave in a very vulgar fashion compared to the other "respectable" wizards we meet. But you're right, there would always be that awareness of their financial situation.

I wonder how much money Bill makes. He's a treasure-hunter, you'd think that would bring in something.

[marinarusalka.livejournal.com]

Draco's got a point about the special permission, and the fact that the teachers play favorites, which of course they do

I dunno, is there any indication in the books that, say, Flitwick or Sprout or Sinistra or Hooch play favorites? Snape favors (or pretends to favor) Draco; McGonagall favors Harry in matters related to Quidditch but not in anything else; Hagrid, when he becomes a teacher, seems to favor the Trio, and Trelawney takes a liking to Lavender and Parvati, but that doesn't happen till the next book. And despite Draco's whining to the contrary, the teachers don't "favor" Hermione -- she gets top grades because she earns them, not because anyone's favoring her.

Personally, I think Draco slacked off his first year in school, expecting the Malfoy name to somehow magically get him good grades, and now that it's been proven untrue he's whining and making excuses. It's not as if Draco is bad at magic -- there's a reason why Snape pits him against Harry in the Dueling Club, and every time we see him actually cast a spell, it works as intended. He pulls off the Serpensortia, which appears to be an advanced spell beyond the normal second-year curriculum, and his enchantment of the "Potter stinks" badges in GoF is pretty skillful. But I suspect he thinks it's beneath his pureblood dignity to actually sit down and write an essay.

[pauraque]

I think you're right about Draco's state of mind. He's a pretty spoiled kid, used to having things handed to him.

[arclevel.livejournal.com]

Well, in OotP, we see both Flitwick and Sprout blatantly favoring Harry, but that was a special circumstance (Quibbler interview) and rebellion against Umbridge, too. In SS, though, we do see that Flitwick is thrilled to meet Harry. Hermione's certainly favored by McGonagall later; she's hardly going to give any student a Time Turner, even with great grades. Also, some people suggest (and I agree) that a lot of Hermione's behavior would cause most teachers to mark her down occasionally (as with essays that are way too long) or at the least not feel the appreciation that all Hogwarts teachers except Snape seem to. A great deal of the trio's misbehavior gets brushed off by various teachers (especially but not solely Dumbledore), and Flitwick is cheerful about the Quidditch exception made for Harry. There's no evidence any of this affects their *grades* at all, as a highly defensive Draco is suggesting, but yes, there's favoritism.

In response to both you and pauraque, I think that Draco's grades aren't bad. After all, there wouldn't be much point in pointing out that Hermione specifically beat him in every exam if he was ranked 25th or so (of 40) in their class. This implies that on at least some exams, he did pretty well. I don't think he's second-best in every subject and pushing Hermione (will leave that to D/H shippers), or that he got the equivalent of straight-A's when straight-A+'s were what Lucius demanded, but I think his grades were at least on the high side of mediocre.

[lycoris.livejournal.com]

I think that Lucius was just doing it to dishonour Aruthur Weasley and stop the Muggle protection act going through. I bet he didn't know that Tom would actually become solid from it all.

And I love the idea of the smoke from the camera being a smokescreen about Lockhart. Very interesting!

[eponis.livejournal.com]

I love your observation about the nearby Muggle village, and why they haven't visited it. It started me thinking, and as far as I can tell, the only times that the books show wizards venturing into the Muggle world is a) students going home for the summer (which, for both Harry and Hermione, appears to be something they try to avoid), or b) using it as a conduit between wizarding places, e.g. travelling through London to King's Cross. This contrasts with much fan fiction, in which many wizards go on school trips to Muggle London and live "Muggle-style" after they leave Hogwarts. I wonder whether it's a not-so-subtle bias: Muggles are primitive, dirty, boring, something to be patronizingly coddled (e.g. Mr. Weasley) or pushed away from everyday life (Grimmauld Place). The only "wizard" we see who voluntarily lives in a real Muggle house, after all, is Arabella Figg.

Re: why Lucius Malfoy would give Ginny the diary . . . I agree that he might have underestimated its power and simply wanted to cause trouble for Ginny (and the Weasleys in general). Alternately, I don't think it's impossible that he was manipulated by the diary just as Ginny was. It would take longer, of course, but we don't know how long that book was in his possession, or how much he'd been using it himself.

[ellen-fremedon.livejournal.com]

Alternately, I don't think it's impossible that he was manipulated by the diary just as Ginny was.

I would love to read a fic with this premise.

[pauraque]

Alternately, I don't think it's impossible that he was manipulated by the diary just as Ginny was. It would take longer, of course, but we don't know how long that book was in his possession, or how much he'd been using it himself.

Oh, I never thought of that -- what a cool idea. I agree with Ellen, there's definitely a fic in that.

[fennie-snake.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's impossible that he was manipulated by the diary just as Ginny was

I like to think that the first student at Hogwarts to find the Diary was Bellatrix Black - the cup on the shelf on JKR's 'favourite fansite' page with her name on it gives a clue that she must have been a top student, and also a plausible candidate for the 'Heir of Slytherin' title, especially with the Black family's history of 'pure-blood mania'...

Then after Bellatrix' obsession with the original Tom Riddle dragged her into madness and landed her in Azkaban, Narcissa stole or found (or was given) the Diary, and it eventually ended up in the Malfoy family stash of Evil Toys under the Drawing Room floor...

Perhaps Lucius knew of its effects from personal experience, or only from observation. Perhaps the Diary had an unhealthy influence over his wife, and he just wanted it out of the house...

:)

[wolfie-thu.livejournal.com]

I also wonder how bad Draco's marks actually are.

It seems as though he might be good in Potions; in the very first class, Snape points out Draco's potion as an example of how it should be made. And while some of Snape's praise probably comes from his favouring of Slytherins in general (not to mention his ties with Lucius), I still think Draco does have some sort of talents at Potions, at least.

I wonder where Lucius got the diary from. It would seem sort of...dangerous of Voldemort to give it to him, as Lucius might be able to learn from it that Voldie was a half-blood. Even if Lucius was still willing to follow V. after learning that, it would still be great blackmail material. Maybe that's why Lucius doesn't bring it up in GoF; Voldie gave him the diary in the first place, and Lucius knows that V. won't (can't) really punish him for any disloyalty, because he knows Voldie's little secret.
But then why would he give him the diary in the first place! Damn. Maybe...maybe Lord V. needed someone he could trust the diary too (just in case he got himself killed), or maybe Lucius had found out on his own, or...

I think I'm getting a bit muddled here. :/

[pauraque]

I don't have answers to these questions, but they're good ones. I'm hoping we can glean a bit more about how Lucius came to have the diary from later chapters.

[nakedcelt.livejournal.com]

It would seem sort of...dangerous of Voldemort to give it to him, as Lucius might be able to learn from it that Voldie was a half-blood.

I doubt it. Diary!Tom shows Harry that side of himself to gain his trust. I think he's quite capable of choosing which memories to display and which to hide, and also of lying outright.

[caesia390.livejournal.com]

I'm going back and rereading these. Don't have much to comment; mostly I'm just glad to see them here.

I also wanted to point out that YOUR ICON IS BURNING MY EYES. Please tell me it doesn't mean what I think it means. :}

[pauraque]

What icon? This one? What do you think it means? *confused*

[chresimos.livejournal.com]

random comment!

It never really registered with me that Lucius and Arthur actually had a full-out brawl. A brawl! Whoah.

Also, perhaps Lucius wrongly assumed that young Tom was more interested in the ethnic cleansing, and didn't expect him to go on a crazy find-Harry-Potter rampage? That wasn't diary!Tom's original intention, after all...otherwise would have made more sense to give the thing to Harry. (Also would have made more sense for diary!Tom to use hypnotized!Ginny to finish Harry off with a steak knife in the middle of the night one time, but, alas, we have discussed his planning skills before.)