pauraque_bk | PS 12

There was a good amount of talk in Chapter 11. A lot of it was about ketchup and underpants.

PS 12: The Mirror of Erised

[T]he Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. (143)

Bwah. The Dark Lord is reduced to being smacked in the face by snowballs.

Worst of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons. (143)

Brrr. Poor Slytherins, if their rooms are in the dungeon...

Ron and his brothers were staying [over Christmas] too, because Mr and Mrs Weasley were going to Romania to visit Charlie. (144)

Ginny went with them, I guess!

'Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is.'

'You what?' Hagrid looked shocked. 'Listen here -- I've told yeh -- drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'.' (145)

I skipped over this in the last chapter, but it can be read that Hagrid subconsciously wants Harry to have the information he "lets slip".

iibnf had a section about this in her defense of Hagrid, here.

'And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is,' said Ron. 'It'd be safe to ask them.'

'Very safe, as they're both dentists,' said Hermione. (146)

On first reading, I read this as simply "They're trustworthy because they're dentists", but for some reason this time it struck me as "Of course it'd be safe because they're *dentists*, not wizards, so obviously they know nothing about it", with maybe an implied eyeroll.

Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess. [...] Ron knew [his chessmen] so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.

Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had lent him and they didn't trust him at all. He wasn't a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which was confusing: 'Don't send me there, can't you see his knight? Send him, we can afford to lose him.' (146-147)

It's hard for me to read any chess references in the books now without thinking of Knight2King. I'm not an adherent of the theory by any means, but it is fun to play with.

Naturally Ron should be an expert at chess, with old pieces that follow his every command -- that's Dumbledore, practiced manipulator with the same followers he's had for twenty years. But Harry's not sure of himself like Dumbledore is, he's not comfortable in the leadership role people expect him to play. He doesn't know who to trust, who to listen to.

Harry plays another chess game after he gets some chess men of his own, and "suspected he wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much" (150). Dumbledore's Army? Percy's letter in OotP?

Your father left this in my possession before he died.
It is time it was returned to you.
Use it well.
A Very Merry Christmas to you. (148)

What's Dumbledore's expectation here? He must realize Harry will use the cloak to sneak around -- what child wouldn't?

Harry watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to Harry's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lop-sided. (150)

iibnf has pointed out, Hagrid is the only adult character we see actively behaving romantically and pursuing romantic relationships.

'You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library -- Restricted Section.'

Harry felt the blood drain out of his face. Wherever he was, Filch must know a short cut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to his horror, it was Snape who replied.

'The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them.' (152)

I'd forgotten that Filch has a "soft, greasy" voice. I like it.

I don't think Snape thinks it's Harry who's out and about. "We'll catch them", he says, not "We'll catch him". I think he's using "they" as an indeterminate singular, but that's just the way it struck me... he could also be using it as a plural, and thinking Harry's friends are with him.

So, why has Snape asked Filch to come directly to him?

It looked like a disused classroom. (152)

I can't recall who mentioned this in an earlier chapter, but there seem to be a lot of unused classrooms at Hogwarts. Perhaps a hint that the wizarding population is diminishing.

She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes -- her eyes are just like mine, Harry thought, edging a little closer to the glass. Bright green -- exactly the same shape, but then he noticed that she was crying; smiling, but crying at the same time. (153)

Okay, hit me with your theories: How does the Mirror work? A reflection of Harry's imagination/subconscious memories? Something else?

nopejr had a ficlet about this: Looking Glass (G).

The Potters smiled and waved at Harry and he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them. He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible sadness. (153)

I spend a lot of time criticizing JKR, so I have to say, this absolutely works for me. Fit to make a grown man cry. When I read it, I always picture JKR's own illustration:

[Ron:] 'No -- I'm alone -- but I'm different -- I look older -- and I'm Head Boy! [...] and I'm holding the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup -- I'm Quidditch captain, too! [...] Do you think this mirror shows the future?' (155)

It isn't meant to, but others have pointed out that this _is_ the way Ron's future is going. He's already a Prefect and a Quidditch hero by OotP, and assuming he does great things in the war, he will certainly become more famed than any of his brothers.

[Dumbledore:] '[...] You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone[...]' (157)

I like this line a lot.

[Dumbledore:] '[...]However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible.' (157)

This is interesting. Harry has already been given so much of what he wants, even the seemingly impossible -- being magically whisked away from his miserable childhood. Yet Dumbledore warns him not to want too much, not to want the impossible.

[Dumbledore:] 'I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woollen socks.'

[...]

It was only when he was back in bed that it struck Harry that Dumbledore might not have been quite truthful. But then, he thought, as he shoved Scabbers off his pillow, it had been quite a personal question. (157)

We've already talked about the symbolism of socks (at the bottom of the main entry).

Also: Peter wanted to get in bed with Harry. *ded*

Past re-read posts are down by the bay.