CoS 9

[pauraque_bk]

CoS 9: The Writing on the Wall

Snape loomed behind them [as Dumbledore examined Mrs Norris], half in shadow, wearing a most peculiar expression: it was as though he was trying hard not to smile. (108)

What's this about? I'm surprised Harry didn't immediately jump to suspecting Snape was somehow involved in the attack.

'He did it, he did it!' Filch spat, his pouchy face purpling. 'You saw what he wrote on the wall! He found -- in my office -- he knows I'm a -- I'm a --' Filch's face worked horribly. 'He knows I'm a Squib!' he finished. (108-109)

So, Squibs are indeed considered "enemies of the heir". I'd wondered. Filch is accusing Harry of a hate crime... and the petrification of Mrs Norris really was one.

I'm not clear on how Squibs get lumped in with Muggleborns; by the logic that Binns attributes to Salazar, they're not a threat. Unless there was some sense that intermarriage between Squibs and normal wizards would dilute the blood, so they should be ostracized?

[Snape:] 'It might be a good idea if he were deprived of certain privileges until he is ready to tell us the whole story. I personally feel he should be taken off the Gryffindor Quidditch team until he is ready to be honest.'
'Really, Severus,' said Professor McGonagall sharply. 'I see no reason to stop the boy playing Quidditch. This cat wasn't hit over the head with a broomstick[...]' (109)

Heh.

Snape is a bit Quidditch-mad, isn't he? But maybe not so much an enthusiasm for sport as an enthusiasm to see his House win at something -- and Harry lose.

Dumbledore was giving Harry a seaching look. His twinkling light-blue gaze made Harry feel as though he was being X-rayed. (110)

Legilimency foreshadowing again.

'And what on earth's a Squib?' said Harry.
To his surprise, Ron stifled a snigger.
'Well -- it's not funny really -- but as it's Filch...' he said. 'A Squib is someone who was born into a wizarding family but hasn't got any magic powers. Kind of the opposite of Muggle-born wizards, but Squibs are quite unusual. If Filch's trying to learn magic from a Kwikspell course, I reckon he must be a Squib[...]' (110-111)

This seems to go against some of arclevel's ideas about Squibs. The implication appears to be that Kwikspell is a scam.

Ginny Weasley seemed very disturbed by Mrs Norris's fate. According to Ron, she was a great cat-lover. (111)

I'm going back and forth on how I feel about the handling of Ginny's character. We see very little of her, and are only told of her reactions. On the other hand, if she'd been more prominent, maybe the answer to the mystery would have seemed too obvious?

[Ron:] 'I only need another two inches, go on...' (112)

Out-of-context, ahoy!

[Binns:] '[The Founders] built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution.'
[...]
'[Slytherin] disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy[...]' (114)

It's not an unreasonable idea, really. In the present day, magic is still feared by some, but merely doubted by most. A thousand years ago, the danger posed by Muggleborns may have been much greater -- we don't know how well the castle was hidden; a child's careless slip could have brought attack. Salazar may even have argued that it was for the children's benefit: even if the Muggles couldn't find the castle, they could still burn a suspected witch among them.

'If you're talking about Malfoy--'
'Of course I am!' said Ron. 'You heard him: "You'll be next, Mudbloods!" Come on, you've only got to look at his foul rat face to know it's him--'
'Malfoy, the heir of Slytherin?' said Hermione sceptically.
'Look at his family,' said Harry, closing his books, too. 'The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin, he's always boasting about it. They could easily be Slytherin's descendants. His father's definitely evil enough.' (120)

And once again the boys jump to conclusions based on outward appearances, just as they did in PS/SS. Not to say that Lucius isn't evil, but Harry doesn't have much solid evidence that he is. It's hard to tell whether Ron is saying Draco is ugly, or something more like "just look into his eyes and you'll see he's a bad sort". Either way, it's not very good evidence, though admittedly Draco did react suspiciously.


Past re-read posts are here.

Comments

[sideofzen.livejournal.com]

Well, there might be a fear that a Squib parent would increase the chance of more Squibs. Plus, just the sheer distain for someone who was born to a magic family, then doesn't come into any power.

Also, I think Filch is sensitive to the fact that he is a Squib being constantly surrounded by magic.

blah blah Up Slytherin

[caesia390.livejournal.com]

I doubt present-day Wizarding prejudice has much to do with the ideals of the Founders. I think if was nicolthewhore who suggested that the basilisk, the forest, the squid, the maze-like quality of the castle were all originally protections. And as we're talking (lord, when was Hogwarts founded? *consults HPL*) c. 1000 CE... Well, witch hunts were centuries away, Wizards freely intermingled with muggles, lived with them, married them, etc (meaning that you actually had far fewer pureblood families, the vast majority halfbloods) - the Norman Conquest might not have even happened yet - everyone and their brother was at war... Hogwarts was in all likelihood a fortress, and Slytherin might have feared enemy invasion not just in the form of Muggleborns but in the instance of anyone of dubious political affiliation.

*insert more poor paraphrasing from Red Hen*

bah. i am tired. everyone just read everything Red Hen has to say, then pretend i did a better job of copping some of their arguments, whatever's relevant to this discussion.

[scarah2.livejournal.com]

What's this about? I'm surprised Harry didn't immediately jump to suspecting Snape was somehow involved in the attack.

I thought it was because he's pleased Harry is implicated. This is related to the whole Duelling Club scene, where Snape whispers in Draco's ear right before he conjures the serpent and Harry is exposed as a Parselmouth in front of the whole school. I think Snape suspects some of what Dumbledore also suspects, but Dumbledore realizes Harry isn't behind the attacks for the whole story, whereas Snape doesn't.

I'm not clear on how Squibs get lumped in with Muggleborns; by the logic that Binns attributes to Salazar, they're not a threat. Unless there was some sense that intermarriage between Squibs and normal wizards would dilute the blood, so they should be ostracized?

I've always thought one concern with bringing Muggleborns to Hogwarts was the security risk of exposing things like Diagon Alley to their families. Possibly the same reasoning is at work, nonmagic people (even Squibs) have no place at Hogwarts or anywhere in the magical world, because their presence is a risk.

Out-of-context, ahoy!

*SNORT*

[threeoranges.livejournal.com]

Snape loomed behind them [as Dumbledore examined Mrs Norris], half in shadow, wearing a most peculiar expression: it was as though he was trying hard not to smile.

Could you have just discovered the fandom's next "triumphant gleam"? The "proof" that Snape really is working for Voldemort? I'm only being half-facetious here. The average 'good' wizard would be pretty disturbed about the evidence of Petrification and an ominous prophecy written in blood, but Snape - Snape's trying hard not to smile. (And we all know that look of trying-not-to-smile, it's quite unmistakable. The only thing it could be confused with is outright malice.)

Basically, I can think of only two reasons to explain his trying-not-to-smile:

1) He's pleased at the thought of the Heir of Slytherin returning
2) He's such a spiteful child that the blood, ominous prophecy and Petrified cat don't actually register on his consciousness at all: his sole reaction is pleasure at the thought of Harry Potter and friends in trouble

Furthermore, since Snape can read minds, he has either done so and found they weren't guilty, or chosen not to do so (and thus unconsciously admitted that it's more pleasant to pretend they are responsible than to discover the truth). I really can't see an interpretation where Snape comes out well.

Also, I agree about that too-pat explanation for Ginny's distress. Cat-lover? The Weasleys don't have a cat, do they? Why should Ron be so eager to provide a motive for Ginny's distress beyond the easily-accepted "it's a ghastly, horrific and evil scene that would naturally distress some people"? If we'd found out later that Ron had suspected Ginny and had supplied the "cat-lover" explanation just to throw Harry off the trail, that would have been good mystery-writing - but, as it stands, Ron's explanation makes him appear a bit dense, like a woman married to a serial-killer who dismisses all the suspicious evidence rather too easily. ("Oh, Crippen my love? There's blood all over the kitchen floor. Did you defrost the Christmas turkey early this year?")

If Rowling does rewrite the books later on she could easily take out the "cat-lover" bit, it really isn't necessary.

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

Snape is a bit Quidditch-mad, isn't he? But maybe not so much an enthusiasm for sport as an enthusiasm to see his House win at something -- and Harry lose.

Well, McGonagall did say in SS/PS that she couldn't look him in the face for weeks after Gryffindor's last loss to Slytherin--but that might say more about her Quidditch-madness than his.

[couchemal.livejournal.com]

Everyone else has something really intelligent to say. Not me. I'm just going to snicker at the out of context line.

*snicker*

OK, done.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

I'm not clear on how Squibs get lumped in with Muggleborns

Perhaps because most Squibs move into the Muggle world and risk alerting the population to the existence of Wizards?

Snape is a bit Quidditch-mad, isn't he? But maybe not so much an enthusiasm for sport as an enthusiasm to see his House win at something -- and Harry lose.


The Slytherins used to win all the time, so maybe Snape really does like the sport. Or maybe it's just his competitive streak...

'Well -- it's not funny really -- but as it's Filch...' he said

It's also another instance of Ron's Pureblood prejudices coming through. His gut reaction to Squibs, werewolves, Giants and all are very telling about what the average wizard or witch thinks about anyone different.

A thousand years ago, the danger posed by Muggleborns may have been much greater

A thousand year ago, as of 1992, is 1092, less than 30 years after the Norman Conquest. Things were quite unsettled, but the witch hunts are still centuries off. There would have been occasional attacks on witches by Muggles who thought they were being bewitched, but organized burnings didn't happen -- and in England they would have been hanged, not burned.

My own theory is that Salazar saw Muggleborns as of uncertain loyalty in that they could very well chose their Muggle relatives over their Magical compatriots, and that he didn't want to draw the attention of Muggle rulers, who would probably have liked to use Wizards as tools.

And once again the boys jump to conclusions based on outward appearances

Harry and Ron are very lazy intellectually. They don't think because they don't *have* to with Hermione around, and because they've never been taught *how* to. Frankly, the Hogwarts education isn't helping them there.

[cschick.livejournal.com]

What's this about? I'm surprised Harry didn't immediately jump to suspecting Snape was somehow involved in the attack.

I'm not really a major HP fan (I've read all the books at this point, but I'm not really into the whole deal) but when I read that, I thought that Snape was simply amused that Mrs. Norris had been attacked. There's some ongoing conflict between Snape and Filch, isn't there?

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

These Filch-heavy chapters have been particularly interesting for me, as I've been writing about a Squib lately, and all the speculation is doing great things for the creative part of my brain.

Nothing of any relevance to say. Just wanted to poke my nose in and say thanks.