GoF 15

[pauraque_bk]

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.

Comments

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

In the normal world, of course, Hagrid would at the least be put on probation for what happens to Draco in his first class. It always amazes me when people even suggest Draco lies about what happens in the class to get Hagrid in trouble, as if the truth somehow makes Hagrid look good. (Or as if Draco's not hearing one throwaway line is a shockingly bad thing to do, even though Harry doesn't pay attention plenty of times in class, as do all kids.)

I think the text makes this very clear. Hagrid does not just have a problem with Malfoy; Malfoy is just the kid that speaks up. We're often told the other students agree with him, that they don't like Hagrid as a teacher--it's hard to believe Hagrid doesn't have plenty of more Malfoys in all his other classes. In sixth year it definitely seems implied that the whole school gets out of Hagrid's classes as soon as they can. Even the Trio prefers Grubbly-Plank for the very reasons they deny when not wanting to agree with Malfoy. Snape, by contrast, is mean but the students seem to respond to him as a teacher. His treatment of Harry is unbelievably out of line and inappropriate, but apart from him he just seems to be a very hard teacher who is mean to you if you mess up.

[jamoche]

Another thing that's often missed is that Draco did do the first step properly - Buckbeak bowed to him - and he's out of classes from the first day (whenever that is - Sept 1 is always Monday to JKR) til Thursday's Potions class. He may have exaggerated his condition to get sympathy (what kid wouldn't?) but I think it really was serious.

There's just no way to read any of the series that makes Hagrid a good teacher, and I don't think he'd have been one even if he hadn't been expelled. If I didn't have other reasons for believing in Snape in HBP, Dumbledore's faith in Hagrid would cause me to seriously doubt his judgement regarding other people.

[conuly]

He didn't do the first step properly. Buckbeak bowed, sure, but then Draco proceeded to insult him. Ennnh! Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

[pauraque]

Hagrid does not just have a problem with Malfoy; Malfoy is just the kid that speaks up.

Absolutely. The Trio actually agree with what Draco is saying, they're just too polite to say it to Hagrid's face.

[undeadgoat.livejournal.com]

I remember in Chem class when the teacher was basically "No matter how intentionally stupid you are, if anything happens to you in this class I'm out on my ass, signing the contract thing isn't liability in any way, etc." and I would say that (1) you are very right and (2) Draco was stupid enough that it probably didn't deserve an actual firing.

[conuly]

Well, Draco *does* lie, or at least, exaggerate, about what happened in the class, and he wouldn't've had the problem if he'd just followed the instructions given at the beginning of the class.

Regardess, I agree, the class was too advanced for the first day, and Hagrid never seems to learn from that mistake.