GoF 26

[pauraque_bk]

GoF 26: The Second Task

Ladies and gentlemen, let me just remind you that the first three rows are in the Splaaaash Zooooone, and when that giant squid comes around, you WILL GET WET!

Erm. Okay. Here we go, then.

[Charms] class was ideal cover for a private conversation, as everyone was having far too much fun to pay them any attention. (416)

Here they're practicing Banishing Charms, sending cushions flying across the room. Again, Flitwick is the fun teacher.

[The cushion] soared into the air and knocked Parvati's hat off[...] (417)

Again with the hats!

'Harry ... maybe Moody thinks Snape put your name in the Goblet of Fire!'

'Oh, Ron,' said Hermione, shaking her head sceptically, 'we thought Snape was trying to kill Harry before, and it turned out he was saving Harry's life, remember?' (417)

Harry doesn't answer; privately, he doesn't know what to think. This is more symbolism than characterization, Ron speaking as Harry's emotions, and Hermione as his logic.

'I just want to know what Snape did with his first chance, if he's on his second one,' said Harry grimly, and his cushion, to his very great surprise, flew straight across the room, and landed neatly on top of Hermione's. (418)

His sudden success at the charm represents that he's put his finger on the heart of the Snape issue, IMO. We still want to know exactly what Snape did with his first chance, don't we?

It turned out that Hagrid knew quite as much about unicorns as he did about monsters, though it was clear that he found their lack of poisonous fangs disappointing. (420)

Maybe JKR thought she'd been making Hagrid appear a bit too incompetent lately. His lesson about unicorn foals goes quite smoothly -- though he repeats his prediction that Harry's going to win the tournament, which is still off-base.

'What?' Harry gasped. 'They've got -- they've got Ron?'

'The thing Harry Potter will miss most, sir!' squeaked Dobby. (426)

Well, of course there's the obvious interpretation here -- Harry ♥s Ron -- but let's take another look.

In the wand-weighing scene, we noticed how Cedric and Krum's masculine maturity, and Fleur's femininity, were contrasted against Harry's sexual immaturity. We've got the same thing here: Cedric and Krum would most miss Cho and Hermione -- their respective love interests -- whereas Harry would most miss Ron, his best mate.

I don't know about Fleur. She would most miss her younger sister -- perhaps another symbol of femininity. This may also be calculated to make us more sympathetic towards Fleur; watch her reaction when she thinks Gabrielle is hurt.

'[...]Dobby heard Professor McGonagall and Professor Moody in the staff room, talking about the next task ... Dobby cannot let Harry Potter lose his Wheezy!' (426-427)

Junior intentionally let Dobby overhear, of course.

Do we have any evil!McGonagall fans in the house? This is a nice juicy bit of evidence.

'You want to try over there!' [Myrtle] said, pointing. 'I won't come with you ... I don't like them much, they always chase me when I get too close...' (431)

I'd forgotten that Myrtle helps him again with this task. He really can't do anything on his own, can he?

The ropes of weed tying the hostages to the statue were thick, slimy and very strong. For a fleeting second he thought of the knife Sirius had brought him for Christmas -- locked in his trunk in the castle a quarter of a mile away, no use to him whatsoever. (432-433)

!!!

This is another one like the mirror in OotP; no matter what Sirius does, he can't help Harry.

'You take your own hostage,' one of them said to him. 'Leave the others...'

'No way!' said Harry furiously[...] (433)'Harry, you prat,' said Ron, 'you didn't take that song thing seriously, did you? Dumbledore wouldn't have let any of us drown!' (436)

'Most of the judges' -- and here, Bagman gave Karkaroff a very nasty look -- 'feel that this shows moral fibre and merits full marks. However ... Mr Potter's score is forty-five points.'

[...]

'There you go, Harry!' Ron shouted over the noise. 'You weren't being thick after all -- you were showing moral fibre!' (440)

This is perhaps the only point where Harry actually behaves in a manner befitting a champion. You go, boy.

Dumbledore and Ludo Bagman stood beaming at Harry and Ron from the bank as they swam nearer, but Percy, who looked very white and somehow much younger than usual, came splashing out to meet them. Meanwhile Madame Maxime was trying to restrain Fleur Delacour, who was quite hysterical, fighting tooth and nail to return to the water.

'Gabrielle! Gabrielle! Is she alive? Is she 'urt?'

[...]

Percy seized Ron and was dragging him back to the bank ('Gerroff, Percy, I'm all right!')[...] (437)

In light of OotP and HBP, I think we're being shown the same thing here about Fleur and Percy -- they both care deeply about their families. I think the idea is that this proves Fleur is worthy of Bill... and hopefully that Percy is also worthy of the Weasley name.

Dumbledore was crouching at the water's edge, deep in conversation with what seemed to be the chief merperson [...] clearly, Dumbledore could speak Mermish. (438)

Well, he didn't learn it at Hogwarts, that's for sure...


Previous GoF posts are saved in memories here.

Comments

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

and hopefully that Percy is also worthy of the Weasley name.

Wasn't Percy also frantic about Ginny in CoS?

Hey, if my family had treated me like we see the Weasleys treat Percy (*coughbeginningofPoAcough*), I'd cut ties with them too.

Oh wait, they did, and I did.

[conuly]

He was the only one in CoS to show any sort of consistent concern for her. The Twins, notably, kept teasing her - they claimed for good reasons, but it was clear to anybody that it wasn't working, wasn't it?

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

No need to try and convert me to the "Fred and George are Bullying Asshats" club, I'm a charter member ;)

[conuly]

I remember :) But I know other people are likely to read the comment, so I put in extraneous information that may be of interest regardless.

I don't usually talk like that. I wonder what's up....

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

Have you been reading excessively verbose literature of late, perhaps? Language is viral, as anyone who's read Snow Crash knows...

[conuly]

Nope. I think it's my diet or the change in seasons or something.

[des06.livejournal.com]

What do the twins tease her about? I'm not disagreeing, I just full-on don't remember. I'd go back and look but the idea of rereading CoS (or PS for that matter) makes the baby Jesus cry.

[conuly]

Just in general they tease her. They jump out from behind corners wearing scary masks, that sort of thing. Which turns her into even more of a nervous wreck.

[des06.livejournal.com]

Ah, I remember now. Thanks. Definitely not a Good Thing to do on the Twins' part.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

I'd forgotten that Myrtle helps him again with this task. He really can't do anything on his own, can he?

No, he can't. He's fourteen, barely half-trained, and the Tri-Wizard was designed for students over the age of seventeen - six and seventh year students. Other than *possibly* Hermione, I can't see any of Harry's yearmates being able to do any of the tasks without help. (And the other Champions get help, as well.)

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Again with the hats!

I'll bet JKR reads this book years from now and says the same thing: hey look, in this one they've got hats.

His sudden success at the charm represents that he's put his finger on the heart of the Snape issue, IMO. We still want to know exactly what Snape did with his first chance, don't we?

Hee! That is a great little meta ding for Harry getting it right.

We've got the same thing here: Cedric and Krum would most miss Cho and Hermione -- their respective love interests -- whereas Harry would most miss Ron, his best mate.

Yup. Though also I have to say that Fleur and Harry just come out looking more normal. Compared to a sister and your best friend, the girl you've been dating since the Yule Ball doesn't really stack up.

This is another one like the mirror in OotP; no matter what Sirius does, he can't help Harry.

The guy's whole life was about impotence and wasted potential, wasn't it?:-( I hope we get more Black family stuff in Book VII. It somehow seems especially poignant if Regulus was RAP and potentially did more to stop Voldemort than Sirius, after Sirius the arrogant teenager and adult always dismissed him. On the one hand it's a tragic turnaround: everyone thought Sirius was the star, but he was thwarted at every turn. Otoh, it bears out what his family always said, that Regulus was the good one.

In light of OotP and HBP, I think we're being shown the same thing here about Fleur and Percy -- they both care deeply about their families. I think the idea is that this proves Fleur is worthy of Bill... and hopefully that Percy is also worthy of the Weasley name.

Go Percy!!

[amythis.livejournal.com]

I'll bet JKR reads this book years from now....

"Everyone else in the world has read these things. Might as well see what all the fuss is about."

Though also I have to say that Fleur and Harry just come out looking more normal. Compared to a sister and your best friend, the girl you've been dating since the Yule Ball doesn't really stack up.

I agree. While Cedric and Cho may get close enough in the six months of dating before his death to warrant her tremendous grief, at this point it's two months in. And C/C might've at least known each other for years. Hermione and Viktor have had how many conversations since he arrived?

In contrast, Fleur and Gabrielle are sisters who apparently get along, might even be close. And Harry and Ron, subtext or not, are very close friends. (Seamus might've saved Dean, but OTOH they haven't risked death together multiple times, AFAIK.)

[funwithrage.livejournal.com]

Hermione and Viktor have had how many conversations since he arrived?


I actually read this as Viktor being *really* isolated, which isn't surprising now that I think about it. Most people, both at Durmstrang and Hogwarts, treat him either like Giant Celebrity Guy or like The Enemy: a girl he's known for a couple months may *well* be the person he's closest to who can reasonably be grabbed for the test. Poor guy.

[des06.livejournal.com]

Gabrielle was taken from France so if Krum was close to someone back at Drumstang/home she/he could have been taken from whereever she/he was just as easily as Gabrielle was.

[amythis.livejournal.com]

Poor Viktor. No wonder he falls so quickly for Hermione-- she treats him like a person. Sad.

[wootsauce.livejournal.com]

I don't know about Fleur. She would most miss her younger sister — perhaps another symbol of femininity. This may also be calculated to make us more sympathetic towards Fleur; watch her reaction when she thinks Gabrielle is hurt.

I think the key reason that she doesn't have a love interest here is because people react so superficially to her,. Actually , that the others have their love interests as the thing they would miss the most suggest a depth of emotion and commitment that is a little frightening at this stage considering their youth.

[ook.livejournal.com]

I think worrying about Gabrielle is supposed to bring out Fleur's maternal instincts. Bill certainly does.

[amythis.livejournal.com]

Again, Flitwick is the fun teacher.

And remarkably patient, considering they also send him across the room.

[The cushion] soared into the air and knocked Parvati's hat off[...] (417)
Again with the hats!

I was picturing a stylish hat actually, since she's wearing flowers in her hair earlier.

This is more symbolism than characterization, Ron speaking as Harry's emotions, and Hermione as his logic.

Good insight.

This may also be calculated to make us more sympathetic towards Fleur; watch her reaction when she thinks Gabrielle is hurt.

I think I was too busy watching Harry and Ron's reaction to her snogging them. (Harry's face burns, while Ron is "extremely hopeful" at the possibility.) If Harry had saved, say, Roger Davies, I don't think Fleur would be kissing other boys in gratitude. Also a little girl (and thin like all French females :-J) must've been comparatively light to carry.

Whether or not we're more sympathetic towards Fleur, Harry and the narrator are. (While Hermione is "simply furious" and still resents Fleur two books later.)

Do we have any evil!McGonagall fans in the house?

I'm more partial to evil!Dumbledore, but the evil!McG evidence is amusing/intriguing.

I'd forgotten that Myrtle helps him again with this task.

She's devoted to him.

This is another one like the mirror in OotP; no matter what Sirius does, he can't help Harry.

Maybe I just never had a high opinion of Sirius, but I never expected him to be any help to Harry, even indirectly.

'Harry, you prat,' said Ron, 'you didn't take that song thing seriously, did you? Dumbledore wouldn't have let any of us drown!' (436)

"So it was just the Headmaster manipulating me again? Damn!"

This is perhaps the only point where Harry actually behaves in a manner befitting a champion. You go, boy.

I thought he redeemed himself in the Maze, but we'll get to that later.

In light of OotP and HBP, I think we're being shown the same thing here about Fleur and Percy -- they both care deeply about their families. I think the idea is that this proves Fleur is worthy of Bill... and hopefully that Percy is also worthy of the Weasley name.

But of course Ron and the other Weasleys don't believe Fleur and Percy are worthy.

Dumbledore could speak Mermish. (438)
Well, he didn't learn it at Hogwarts, that's for sure...

Perhaps there were more languages in the curriculum back in his day, to match the Latin and Greek offered at good Muggle schools of the time.

?

[spellwinder666.livejournal.com]

Hi pauraque.
Sorry if this has nothing to do with the second task.
I wondered if you could help me enter pornish pixies?
I'd be most grateful.

Re: ?

[(Anonymous)]

Well, first you must enter the giant underground lair of the Bugbeast, where rabid centaurs are guarding your favorite snacks...

;)

Re: ?

[pauraque]

And then, young mage, you must pass over the Troll Bridge and pick up the turquoise key. You will find yourself in a maze of twisty passages, all alike...

Re: ?

[pauraque]

As you can read on the community info, pornish_pixies posting access is by invitation only. Sorry! You're free to add the community to your friends list and comment on the entries, though.

Re: ?

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

*simple curiousity... well, mostly*

How do you decide who to invite? Or have you decided not to invite anyone else at the present time?

(feel free to tell me to mind my own business, of course)

Re: ?

[pauraque]

I haven't personally decided to invite anyone yet, except people I know Switch was thinking about inviting anyway.

I do intend to keep inviting people -- Switchknife asked me to -- but given the unusual circumstances of me taking over the comm, I'm cautious about it. Switch always invited writers and artists who were to his taste, and although we've run in the same circles, we don't have exactly the same preferences. So, you know, it's an awkward position.

That... didn't answer your question at all, but it was the best I could do. :D

Re: ?

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

It's just one of those things I always turn over in my head about elite comms... excellent idea in theory, tends to get cliquish in practice. But it would take a huge amount of "scouts" to spot all the best writers.

Not sbout to press about the unusual circumstances, that really is none of my business.

Re: ?

[pauraque]

Well, as far as I know, the way Switchknife did it was simply to invite people whose work he noticed and enjoyed, without sweating the fact that he could never notice every good writer/artist. With any venture where not everyone is invited, there inevitably will be some resentment, but I think he avoided a lot of that by never saying that it was an "elite" comm for "the best" writers and artists -- which it isn't -- just the ones he noticed and subjectively decided to invite. (It also helps that Switch is a really nice person and has never had an unkind word for anyone as far as I've seen.)

So, since a lot of the way the comm has been run is dependent on Switch's own personality and whims, it would be hard for anyone to just take the reins and go. I haven't found it particularly easy, at least. :)

Re: ?

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine it would be. FWIW, the impression I've always gotten is that p_p is percieved as being "elite", and that's how it's always come across to me.

Which I'm sure doesn't make it any easier for you to take control of a popular and widely-read community! I don't think it's a task I'd have been willing to take on.

Re: ?

[pauraque]

Yeah, I know a lot of people do have that perception, I just don't think it was the intention.

There are invite-only comms out there that explicitly state "this comm is only for the best, so if we haven't invited you, you must not be the best". Which is silly, IMO, since quality in literature and art is so subjective -- and even if it weren't, in a fandom this size no group could reasonably pretend to have cornered the market on good stuff.

I think both public groups and invite-only groups have disadvantages. I appreciate having both types around, though.

Re: ?

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

I just get aggravated at groups that do specifically bill themselves as elite, but are invite-only with no applications accepted, because then it really does get to be a popularity contest.

Re: ?

[spellwinder666.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for your gentle reply to my request!
I will impatiently wait for a possible invitation, then.

Yours sincerely, Spellwinder666

[csi-tokyo3.livejournal.com]

One question: What was the point of having the stands set up again, if all the people could see was the contestants entering the water and emerging an hour later? This question applies to the Third Task as well, when we get to it.

Must have been interesting, staring over the empty lake for an hour. Highly engaging competition.