electoral schna :: CoS 14
Oct. 28th, 2004 10:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pauraque_bk-The law requires that your employer give you adequate time off to vote. Some of my co-workers didn't know this, so I thought I'd pass it on.
-Fellow Californians, if you live in Alameda, Santa Clara, Orange, Napa, San Bernardino, Merced, Plumas, Shasta, Tehama, or Riverside Counties, please note that you can insist on a paper ballot. (Thanks,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
glitterdemon.)
-If you're not sure where your polling place is, MyPollingPlace.com will tell you. If you show up to vote at the right place and the staff say you're not registered, they are required to allow you to fill out a provisional ballot (except in Georgia, it looks like; I'm not sure what's up there.)
Yeah, I want Kerry to win. You know what I want more than that, though? I want every eligible person to vote, and every vote to be counted.
All right, all right, let's get on with it...
The theories on who actually wrote Harry's valentine proliferate apace in Chapter 13. Was it Snape? Lockhart? Dobby? Peeves? I notice that no one wanted to argue that it was actually Ginny.
CoS 14: Cornelius Fudge
Also, Divination? I guess that's just a cheap joke, because Divination as it's presented in PoA doesn't seem to be much use for anything.
It's possible Hagrid is treated this way because he isn't fully human, but I actually tend to think this is typical of the way the wizarding "justice system" works. It's about the way Sirius was treated -- he was held without trial or adequate evidence as well.
Past re-read posts are here.
-Fellow Californians, if you live in Alameda, Santa Clara, Orange, Napa, San Bernardino, Merced, Plumas, Shasta, Tehama, or Riverside Counties, please note that you can insist on a paper ballot. (Thanks,
glitterdemon.)-If you're not sure where your polling place is, MyPollingPlace.com will tell you. If you show up to vote at the right place and the staff say you're not registered, they are required to allow you to fill out a provisional ballot (except in Georgia, it looks like; I'm not sure what's up there.)
Yeah, I want Kerry to win. You know what I want more than that, though? I want every eligible person to vote, and every vote to be counted.
All right, all right, let's get on with it...
The theories on who actually wrote Harry's valentine proliferate apace in Chapter 13. Was it Snape? Lockhart? Dobby? Peeves? I notice that no one wanted to argue that it was actually Ginny.
CoS 14: Cornelius Fudge
[I]n March several of the Mandrakes threw a loud and raucous party in Greenhouse Three. This made Professor Sprout very happy.Bwah! I love the running gag about the Mandrakes, another echo of the adolescence imagery.
'The moment they start trying to move into each other's pots, we'll know they're fully mature,' she told Harry. (186)
Neville Longbottom had been sent letters from all the witches and wizards in his family, all giving him different advice on what [classes] to choose. (186)Poor Neville; that's a lot of pressure. It seems like he's the only kid in his extended family. He never talks about cousins, does he?
'Depends where you want to go, Harry,' [Percy] said. 'It's never too early to think about the future, so I'd recommend Divination. People say Muggle Studies is a soft option, but I personally think wizards should have a thorough understanding of the non-magical community[...]' (187)Interesting advice from Percy... if he does end up a Death Eater, it won't be because he's got something against Muggles. He's taking a page from Arthur's book here.
Also, Divination? I guess that's just a cheap joke, because Divination as it's presented in PoA doesn't seem to be much use for anything.
'Harry -- I don't know who did it. I just found --'Poor Neville again. He's afraid of being blamed for trashing the dorm.
Watching Harry fearfully, Neville pushed open the door.
The contents of Harry's trunk had been thrown everywhere[...] (187)
[After delivering her speech, McGonagall] climbed somewhat awkwardly out of the portrait hole[...] (191)This happened to remind me of the fact that McGonagall is almost never seen in the Gryffindor common room, unless she has to make a dire pronouncement of some sort. They're left unsupervised almost always.
Percy Weasley was sitting in a chair behind Lee, but for once he didn't seem keen to make his views heard. He was looking pale and stunned.Awww! We don't know it here, but of course Penelope is Percy's girlfriend by PoA. Percy is so very sympathetic, this early on!
'Percy's in shock,' George told Harry quietly. 'That Ravenclaw girl -- Penelope Clearwater -- she's a Prefect. I don't think he thought the monster would dare attack a Prefect.' (191)
Harry had inherited just one thing from his father: a long and silvery Invisibility Cloak. (192)Er... well, that and the big bags of money. If I had to make something of this, it'd be that Harry doesn't care about money, doesn't think about it.
Seconds after they had knocked, Hagrid flung it open. They found themselves face to face, with him aiming a crossbow at them[...] (192)These sentences are extremely awkward, but that's not why I'm pointing them out. A *crossbow*? What was he going to do, shoot Fudge when he showed up?
'For a short stretch only,' said Fudge, not meeting Hagrid's eyes. 'Not a punishment, Hagrid, more a precaution. If someone else is caught, you'll be let out with a full apology...'This is nothing short of outrageous. 1) They have nowhere to put suspects but the equivalent of a maximum-security prison with torture on the side, 2) *if* someone else is caught he'll be let out, and until then held without trial or solid evidence, 3) an APOLOGY? Yes, if I'd been wrongfully imprisoned and tortured, I'd be quite satisfied with an apology. o_O
'Not Azkaban?' croaked Hagrid. (194)
It's possible Hagrid is treated this way because he isn't fully human, but I actually tend to think this is typical of the way the wizarding "justice system" works. It's about the way Sirius was treated -- he was held without trial or adequate evidence as well.
Mr Lucius Malfoy strode into Hagrid's hut, swathed in a long black travelling cloak, smiling a cold and satisfied smile. (194)ART: Lucius's pointless cameo (G) by brianna garcia. Just click.
[Lucius:] 'But as all twelve of us have voted...' [...]Right on, Hagrid! He certainly has Lucius's number... he reacts with anger before Lucius has even done anything, yelling at him to get out of his house (194). They could have a history going back to Lucius's student days.
'An' how many did yeh have ter threaten an' blackmail before they agreed, Malfoy, eh?' [Hagrid] roared. (195)
'However,' said Dumbledore, speaking very slowly and clearly, so that none of them could miss a word, ' you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.' (195)Oy, this again. Dumbledore *really* wants Harry to pull the loyalty trick at the end, and there appears to be no doubt in his mind that it will be necessary. And what if Harry hadn't passed the test?
Past re-read posts are here.
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Date: 2004-10-28 10:58 pm (UTC)They're left unsupervised almost always.
PREFECTS!!!!! This is a very British sort of system - hierarchy, each level policing (or bullying) the one directly below; skipping a rank (like going straight to the teacher with a complaint) would be frowned upon by all.
That comic is brilliant.
Re: Azkaban. I think the WW still has a very fearful attitude when it comes to Dark Magic, a holdover from Voldemort's rise - terrorist attacks and the Ministry (with Barty Sr as spearhead) taking more and more power for itself to react to the threat. (...Sound familiar...?) And even after the war, people would still consider these measures acceptable; most still suffering from residual, irrational fear.
And what if Harry hadn't passed the test?
*ahem* The Boy Who Had To Be Stopped For the Good of Us All...?
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Date: 2004-10-29 04:00 pm (UTC)The Boy Who Had To Be Stopped For the Good of Us All
Dumbledore is the master of spin.
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Date: 2004-10-28 11:20 pm (UTC)Re: the crossbow, I always assumed Hagrid had it with him in order to shoot the monster from the Chamber, in case it somehow escaped the castle and got across the grounds to his hut. He doesn't know it's a basilisk or how it's petrifying people, so I figured he was just preparing to defend himself.
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Date: 2004-10-29 01:10 am (UTC)And I've always had that problem with the wizarding judicial system, or what we can see of it, anyway. It seems utterly ridiculous -- they speak of the infamous Azkaban as if it were the worst of the worst, when really from what we can tell, it's the only damned prison around. "Innocent until proven guilty" is an idea thrown around in this book -- yet this really does nothing to reflect this idea whatsoever.
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Date: 2004-10-29 03:57 pm (UTC)Hm, that hadn't occurred to me. Perhaps, being half-human, Hagrid thinks of himself as a likely target.
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Date: 2004-10-28 11:42 pm (UTC)This is very possibly a red herring, but . . . his dad leaves him a "silvery" Invisibility Cloak. Sirius leaves him silvery mirrors. It feels like there might be a connection there, possibly also a connection to Peter's silver hand and Remus's (possible) silver weakness. If nothing else, it's a nice parallel: his dad leaves him the means to avoid being seen; Sirius leaves him the means to see those he loves. And Rowling *did* say that the mirrors are coming back . . .
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Date: 2004-10-29 05:39 pm (UTC)I was thrilled to see all the mirror imagery in the PoA movie. Someone -- I can't remember who -- also observed that while the title lettering was gold in the first two films, in the third it was silver. Possible werewolf reference there.
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Date: 2004-10-29 04:53 am (UTC)The Wizards' Patriot Act strikes again...
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Date: 2004-10-29 03:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-29 05:54 am (UTC)Why is Lucius in such a position that he needs to threaten and blackmail the board members so that they do his bidding? I meant to say...what exactly is he threatening them with? He can't really up and start with the, "Vote with me or I'll send Dark Arts objects to you in the post!", can he? Maybe he can pull some weird aristocratic strings: "Vote with me or I'll make sure that Estella Mumkins seats you next to her alcholic old uncle at her next soiree!"
But...I can't imagine that 'the board' would be particularly hard to convince that Dumbledore is kooky and Hagrid is a threat to all wizardkind, considering the way they were about it in OotP. That and bribes would be my guess. So maybe Hagrid *is* overreacting(or at least mistaking Lucius' nefarious controlling techniques)?
Wizard justice is crazy. It just runs on fear and arbitary arresting...Fudge trooping around with Dementors all over the place. Dumbledore is always criticizing it, and he's got a point, even if his preferred method of justice is to continually sod off and leave everything in the hands of the Kid with the Heart of Gold and his magical Loyalty. Hmpf.
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Date: 2004-10-29 01:39 pm (UTC)I'm pretty sure that at the end of this book, Dumbledore says the board members told him Lucius had been threatening their families.
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Date: 2004-10-29 07:48 am (UTC)Amen!
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Date: 2004-10-29 07:50 am (UTC)I love that comic--and that's a great point about Harry's one inheritance from his father. What a silly thing to say, especially given some of the themes in GoF. That is, it's true he's not focused on money, but that in itself is a result of having it. Imagine Ron's reaction to Harry saying he only inherited one thing from his father--I doubt he'd think Harry was not caring about money so much as not appreciating his advantages. In a way, it's almost a spoiled attitude--all I got was this cloak! Well sure, there's money, but that's just necessity.
Not that I think that's Rowling's point--she's probably just saying that Harry treasures the cloak because it's the one object he has of his father's. But it's still a funny way to put it given that Harry has also inherited his Father's looks, Quidditch skills, best friends, enemies and family fortune. Perhaps she is being ironic?
The wizarding method of justice continues to amaze, though as usual what's so frustrating is that the alternative offered doesn't seem to be fairness but just it favoring the right people. It's kind of interesting this abuse of power comes right after the polyjuice scene--Crabbe and Goyle didn't even get an apology when they were let out.;-)
Interesting point about Lucius' blackmail as well. What is he blackmailing people with and did he have more power then than he has now?
Hagrid really does seem to hate him and has since day 1--he may have disliked him himself and it could have something to do with James as well. Perhaps we should really consider that when it comes to all of Hagrid's interactions with Draco--things have been tense there since the beginning. In Draco's first scene he shows he already knows exactly what to think of Hagrid--that line and the line about the Weasleys seem to come straight from Lucius. It would be worth considering that Draco might be unwittingly in the middle of a fight between Hagrid and his father that has affected his school career more than he knows.
You know, that's more interesting the more I think about it, because one of the things I love about this universe is the way the past affects the present. Harry has been openly drawn into his father's life with people responding to him as James' son, but Draco seems to potentially be the other character drawn in just as tightly but perhaps without knowing it when it comes to Snape and Hagrid (and the Weasleys). At least once this seems to have happened outright, when Fake!Moody's ferret stunt seemed to be punishment for Lucius' disloyalty to Voldemort.
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Date: 2004-10-29 05:46 pm (UTC)it's still a funny way to put it given that Harry has also inherited his Father's looks, Quidditch skills, best friends, enemies and family fortune. Perhaps she is being ironic?
That occurred to me, too. I don't think it's entirely hit home for Harry just how much he's inherited from James... it doesn't come to the forefront until PoA. Right now we're just laying groundwork.
At least once this seems to have happened outright, when Fake!Moody's ferret stunt seemed to be punishment for Lucius' disloyalty to Voldemort.
Oh, good catch. And yes, I agree, Draco's in the same boat as Harry -- neither of them fully knows how much their father's reputations are affecting their present lives.
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Date: 2004-10-29 08:29 am (UTC)How do we know that his statement and its continuation, "particularly if they're thinking of working in close contact with them", is all that benevolent? The reader of PREFECTS WHO GAINED POWER might well be mindful of the need to know his enemy. Indeed, maybe Percy has pinpointed Voldemort's refusal to acknowledge the potential of the Muggle world as his crucial mistake last time.
Just speculating...
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Date: 2004-10-29 04:37 pm (UTC)...I'll just sit in the corner quietly by myself now.
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Date: 2004-10-29 06:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-29 06:56 pm (UTC)You may enjoy some of the logs. A select few-
A touch of exposition on The Dark Lord's current physical condition (http://www.greatestjournal.com/community/at_logs/8309.html#cutid1)
Percy meets a charming, handsome young stranger (http://www.greatestjournal.com/community/at_logs/15231.html#cutid1)
Percy finds out who the charming fellow he's been seeing really is. NC-17 (http://www.greatestjournal.com/community/at_logs/21095.html#cutid1)
Voldemort frets about his love life (http://www.greatestjournal.com/users/snape_s/1922.html#cutid1)
Tormenting Lucius Malfoy. NC-17. (http://www.greatestjournal.com/community/at_logs/2004/10/05/)
Why you don't point your wand at the Dark Lord's boyfriend. R for violence (http://www.greatestjournal.com/community/at_logs/28954.html#cutid1)
Our Lucius is amazing. This log (http://www.greatestjournal.com/community/at_logs/35239.html#cutid1) completely blew me away.
Come for the cracked-out pairings, stay for the awesome. Great group of players.
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Date: 2004-10-29 12:52 pm (UTC)That last bit with Dumbledore is REALLY unsettling to see outside of its normal context. Less benevolent old man vibes, more of the creepy manipulative version that's become so prominent in fanon since OotP. I guess Harry's not going to stop being mad at Dumbledore any time soon, eh?
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Date: 2004-10-29 03:56 pm (UTC)That's possible, but my impression is that it was the Potters who had money, not the Evanses.
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Date: 2004-10-29 04:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-29 05:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-29 01:00 pm (UTC)(I'm focused on Percy at the moment because I'm writing an essay on him for the
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Date: 2004-10-29 02:26 pm (UTC)Well, as a Percy fan, I would hope she's downplaying it on purpose. Either way, I don't think people should automatically assume Percy is bad just because he's presented that way at first. People forget that the books are written from Harry's PoV. Who does Harry get his Percy!information from? From Ron, who obviously doesn't like Percy. Percy could honestly be a good guy, and Ron would still be after him, angry that he (Ron) isn't receiving the attention himself.
Also,
Then why join the Death Eaters? He may want power but at the physical harm and death of others? Yes, he split with his family in OotP, but it was more because they weren't giving him the recognition he deserved. Whether or not Fudge is using him doesn't matter here. In Percy's eyes, being picked to assist the Minister is a big deal--actually, a big deal for anyone who's picked. I certainly don't think Percy handled the argument in the best manner, and while it's possible he could be tricked into doing something for the DEs when given a choice for more power, I don't see him staying in that position. After all, as you say, he's got nothing against Muggles nor "Mudbloods" since he dated Penelope. I would hope that he wouldn't stay in whatever position the DEs put him in--despite his want of power, he does love his family and others too much to risk letting them get hurt and die.
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Date: 2004-10-29 04:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-29 04:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-30 02:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-30 09:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-30 01:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-29 05:50 pm (UTC)I think Percy will turn out to be important. He's tended to fly under the fandom radar for the most part, and I think we'll find we were wrong not to take notice of him. One of those "questions we aren't asking" about the books.
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Date: 2004-10-29 10:15 pm (UTC)All of these are equally likely at this point. I really like Percy, so I'm hoping that she doesn't decide to use him as an example of 'good guy gone wrong' and I also hope that she doesn't kill him off. The one thing that I just do not see happening is for him to become a DE. He loves power yes, but he isn't a racist and he has consistently been shown taking care of 'weaker' characters. The most likely path for him is a redemption arc of some sort because he is a Weasley, and JKR does love the Weasley family. Romantic that I am, I am pulling for the 'spy' theory just because it is such a Gryffindorish thing to do, and it is what I would have done, had I been writing these books.
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Date: 2004-10-31 02:23 am (UTC)Yes, Percy is naive and too in love with rules for the sake of rules, but he is trying to do what he thinks is right. He just seems to have emphasized different points of 'right' than everyone else in the books.
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Date: 2004-10-31 02:44 am (UTC)Muggles Studies *should* be required reading but since to work in the Arthur's department -- which would seem to be the one that needs a lot of in-depth knowledge of Muggles -- a person only need an Acceptable on their Muggle Studies O.W.L. I don't think that the Ministry actually requires that much.
As for Percy suggesting stuff to Harry for a Ministry job, it does seem like at least half the adults we seen or heard mentioned work for the Ministry in some fashion. The Wizarding society is quite bizarrely distributed, and I can't for the life of me how the economics works out, especially when a such large percentage of the adult population is employed by the government. Where do they get their funding from, for one?
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Date: 2004-10-31 03:11 pm (UTC)I hope that they do not get the majority of their funding from the Goblins (who control the only bank that we know of. Given the constant reminders about vicious goblin uprisings and rebellions that have been scattered throughout the "boring" history classes, I expect that we may see a goblin uprising in the next couple of books.
Of course, seeing the wizard economy disrupted might be interesting. Suddenly everyone would be without funds. We already know that the Weasleys and Harry can get by with very little money. They would be able to make do if the goblins closed Gringotts. How would others fare?
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Date: 2004-10-31 06:45 am (UTC)I'm not sure I'd put it this way. I see it more as Percy not really fitting in with the rest of his family, and his family (with whom Harry is close) interpreting almost everything he does in the the most negative manner possible.
I agree that JKR is writing Percy in such a way as to make the reader dislike him, but I think that's because Harry and most of the Weasleys dislike him. One of the books (I forget which) flat out states that Harry considers Percy his least-favorite of Ron's brothers. As for whether JKR herself dislikes him--I'm just not sure. She plays everything so close to the vest it's hard to know.
If you read Percy's parts of the book (excerpted at at this site ) it's very plain to see that his character is incredibly consistent. And that he really is not all bad. I think, though, that he really is an outcast in the family, and the more they tease and poke at him, the more buttoned up and righteous he becomes--it's a sad, vicious circle. Looking at these excerpt also (at least IMO) makes plain the way JKR uses certain words to paint a picture around Percy, that may or may not accurately reflect the way she sees the character. It's the way *Harry* sees the character, but I just don't know about JKR.
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Date: 2004-10-31 08:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-31 03:33 pm (UTC)The words that JKR uses to describe Percy are almost completely negative, even when there is no cause for it. For example, in SS instead of saying that Percy discovered the silver sickle in his Christmas pudding (a sign of luck) she refers to him as 'nearly breaking his teeth' on it. At this point in the series, there is absolutely no indication that Harry doesn't like Percy. You are correct that much of this is intended to reflect the views of the others, but I don't think that all of it does.
Even when you consider that Percy is not one of Harry's close associates and therefore we (via) Harry, aren't privy to everything he does, JKR still has gone out of her way to withhold all of the kinder aspects of Percy from us. We don't see his relationship with Penelope (which started the summer before CoS and lasted at least through PoA). We don't see him taking care of Ginny in CoS. We don't see his reaction to Ginny's supposed death in CoS because he is so upset that he withdraws from the rest of the family to be alone. Why withhold his nicer aspects from the readers but then leave these little clues sprinkled through the books like bread crumbs?
Percy is an important character. He is present, in a position of increasingly responsibility, at key points in the series. I personally suspect that JKR is setting him up to make a significant moral choice in the next book(s), and I am hoping that he chooses wisely.
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Date: 2004-10-29 01:52 pm (UTC)Heh, she's not exactly showing cat-like grace there, is she?
Poor Neville again. He's afraid of being blamed for trashing the dorm.
Poor Neville indeed. "Watching Harry fearfully" It's sad how quickly he jumps to the conclusion that people will blame things on him. Probably the reaction he's used to getting.
And what if Harry hadn't passed the test?
I wonder if maybe there's more to the Prophecy (or another prohpecy)...maybe something that says there's a specific time when the final Voldemort vs. Harry confrontation will take place, and that until that time, Harry is safe from death.
Or something.
Still rather scary of Dumbledore.
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Date: 2004-10-29 05:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-29 09:27 pm (UTC)Officer Barbrady? Ned? The 1991 Denver Broncos?
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Date: 2004-10-30 09:15 am (UTC)