pauraque_bk | GoF 15

In Chapter 14 we had further talk of why Snape is so wary of Moody, which I enjoyed.

GoF 15: Beauxbatons and Durmstrang

[Harry] wished he still had Quidditch to distract him; nothing worked so well on a troubled mind as a good, hard training session. (203)

I'll say! *whipcrack*

'Look at that, you lot ... Potter fought! He fought it, and he damn near beat it! We'll try that again, Potter, and the rest of you, pay attention -- watch his eyes, that's where you see it -- very good, Potter, very good indeed! They'll have trouble controlling you!' (204)

I was already beginning to wonder if Harry's amazing ability to throw off the Imperius curse (he learns it within an hour) was related to his ability to deflect another Unforgivable -- the Killing Curse -- and when I got to watch his eyes, that's where you see it, I felt pretty certain. We're always seeing Lily's influence in Harry's eyes, and I have a feeling this is the same deal. Then again, he doesn't seem to have any special ability to deflect the Cruciatus Curse... but he can't cast it.

I also wonder a bit if when he says "they'll have trouble controlling you", he doesn't (only) mean the DEs, but also Dumbledore &co., which is true too.

Crouch!Moody says that Dumbledore wanted him to place the Imperius curse on the students. Do you guys think that's true?

Harry and Ron were deeply amused when Professor Trelawney told them that they had received top marks for their homework in their next Divination class. She read out large portions of their predictions, commending them for their unflinching acceptance of the horrors in store for them -- but they were less amused when she asked them to do the same thing for the month after next; both of them were running out of ideas for catastrophes. (206)

But as we were saying last time, there really may be truth to their made-up predictions. Can we credit Trelawney with realizing this on some level?

'Yeh'll do wha' yer told,' [Hagrid] growled, 'or I'll be takin' a leaf outta Professor Moody's book ... I hear yeh made a good ferret, Malfoy.'

The Gryffindors roared with laughter. (206)

Despite the fact that I doubt Hagrid really could transfigure Draco into a ferret (maybe he could give him a wee ferret tail), this is a bit disturbing when you know Moody's actually one crazy and evil dude. But his antics are hilaaaaarious to our heroic Gryffs.

[McGonagall:] 'Longbottom, kindly do not reveal that you can't even perform a simple Switching Spell in front of anyone from Durmstrang!' (208)

Interesting that she says Durmstrang, not Durmstrang or Beauxbatons. Perhaps a hint of not wanting to show weakness in front of Dark or at least potentially Dark wizards. Or maybe Durmstrang is considered more academically rigorous.

Some people, like Neville, had paid [for a SPEW badge] just to stop Hermione glowering at them. A few seemed mildly interested in what she had to say, but were reluctant to take a more active role in campaigning. Many regarded the whole thing as a joke. (210)

We aren't told whether the few who are interested are Muggleborns or not, but I'd expect they would be.

'Weasley, straighten your hat,' Professor McGonagall snapped at Ron. (212)

Fandom tends to forget that the kids are supposed to be wearing pointy wizard hats, I think, since they aren't shown in the movies and JKR rarely refers to them. Maybe she sometimes forgets too.

Harry, whose attention had been focused completley upon Madame Maxime, now noticed that around a dozen boys and girls -- all, by the look of them, in their late teens -- had emerged from the carriage and were now standing behind Madame Maxime. (215)

I hear the movie is planning to depict Beauxbatons as a girls' school, which it isn't.

Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it was a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes. (217)

More cinematic imagery here, ditto for the giant horses. There are a lot of impressive spectacles in this book, which could make for a very pretty film.

Karkaroff had a fruity, unctuous voice; when he stepped into the light pouring from the front doors of the castle, they saw that he was tall and thin like Dumbledore, but his white hair was short, and his goatee (finishing in a small curl) did not entirely hide his rather weak chin. (217)

Fruity? *rolls about laughing*

Aaaha. Yes, anyway. Karkaroff has a weak chin, which should tell us right off that he's a shady character. Lockhart is also weak-chinned.

Previous GoF posts are saved in memories here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

No, but Harry is *extraordinarily* disrespectful to Snape, at one point apparently screaming obscenities at him and frequently glaring and being rude. Additionally, the majority of Snape's accusations about Harry are, in fact, entirely *true*. I think if Harry could have come up with some excuse to get Snape fired (which Draco more or less had on Hagrid), he would have used it without the slightest hesitation.

Yes, Draco is very antagonistic to Hagrid. If not for that, I'd have almost compared Hagrid's treatment of him to Snape's treatment of *Neville* rather than Harry. Hagrid's rudeness to Draco starts all the way back in PS, at the detention scene. Draco's pretty clearly terrified, and Hagrid all but mocks him for it. At this point, the only thing Draco's done to Hagrid -- besides being Lucius Malfoy's son -- was see that Hagrid had a dragon. Which was a situation where Hagrid was entirely in the wrong and would eventually have had to give up Norbert anyway.

No, but Harry is *extraordinarily* disrespectful to Snape, at one point apparently screaming obscenities at him and frequently glaring and being rude.

Harry begins with the glaring and other rudeness in third year, after two years of dealing with Snape's hatred in which he never responded, and for the most part tried to keep his head down, while Draco starts with Hagrid from the very first class.

At this point, the only thing Draco's done to Hagrid -- besides being Lucius Malfoy's son -- was see that Hagrid had a dragon. Which was a situation where Hagrid was entirely in the wrong and would eventually have had to give up Norbert anyway.

But this, I think, would only make the parallels stronger to Snape vs. Harry, especially the bit about Hagrid hating him for being Lucius Malfoy's son (as far as I know, Snape has nothing personal against either of the elder Longbottoms).

Yes, hating Draco b/c of Lucius does parallel Harry (though I really wouldn't be surprised if Snape *did* have something against the elder Longbottoms -- there were Aurors, after all). I was just referring to Hagrid apparently picking up on a student's genuine fears and using them against him. At least that's how it reads to me.

So if Draco starts up in the first class, that would be third year as well. As I said, Hagrid seems to have started in on Draco in first year, although they certainly would have had far less interaction through those first two years than Harry and Snape did. (Also, Draco had damned good reason to go after Hagrid after that first class.) I'm not saying the interactions are *exactly* the same, mind you, just that there are strong parallels. In both cases, the teachers act seriously out-of-line in regards to the students they don't like, and in both cases the students are far from blameless.

But I'm seriously not remembering this "out of line"-ness of Hagrid's; where did he use Draco's fear against him? The closest I can think of is when he says "Fang is a coward." Draco insisted he wasn't going into the forest, and Hagrid (most likely being entirely truthful) told him that if he didn't carry out his detention he'd be expelled. It's Filch who uses fear against Draco.

Perhaps it's just my reading, but I've always read that scene as Hagrid being quite sneering and rude. Sort of a "shut up and do it, you little coward" attitude (though those definitely aren't the words he uses). I think part of the reason that I read him as being so rude to Draco is that he's simultaneously being so *nice* to Harry and Hermione, even though all four of the kids are there to receive the same punishment for the same rule infraction. (And while they were out of bed for different reasons, all four of them were out because of Hagrid's irresponsibility in owning Norbert.)

Oh, I definitely agree that Hagrid's personal bias shines through in this scene; I mean, he doesn't even greet Neville either, although Neville too is a Gryffindor. I just don't know whether it's actually a case of Hagrid deliberately picking on Draco for being a coward. After all, a bit later in the scene there is a prime opportunity for him to do just that, when Draco fearfully asks what would happen if whatever killed the unicorn finds them first, yet Hagrid's response is reassurance ("There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang").

Wasn't Care of Magical Creatures a first year class? I distinctly remember a textbook for it on Harry's book list for first year, but it's never mentioned.

They need Fantastic Beasts in first year, but they never say why. Maybe for Defense Against the Dark Arts? They definitely start CMC in third year, and their book is the Monster Book of Monsters.

GoF 15

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