pauraque_bk | HP Survivor

I am hopelessly addicted to

hp_survivor. Even if you haven't been following the game,

killing_curse's hilarious parting speech is not to be missed.

Lesson: Ordering your tribemates around never, ever works. Even if you *are* the Dark Lord. Tsk.

*

On the canon side of things, the discussion of Chapter 7 has hit 50 comments! *analysis happiness* Check out exchanges on anti-werewolf bias, whether Snape was right to expose Remus, and the mysteries of the Snape-Neville interaction.

And the debate on how much Snape and Lupin each contribute to the animosity is still going strong in Chapter 8. Unsurprisingly, I have quite a lot of Snapeists on my flist, but

fernwithy has been admirably representing the Lupin-lovers' side, for which I thank her. *g*

Also from Chapter 8:

"Anybody who says JKR isn't capable of subtlety or complex characterizations should be smacked upside the head with a copy of PoA."
-

marinarusalka

Word.

*

PoA 9: Grim Defeat

Augh, the puns! Mercy, JKR, mercy!

'It's very lucky he picked tonight, you know,' said Hermione [...]. 'The one night we weren't in the tower.' (123)

I'm blanking on why Sirius *was* there that particular night. Anyone? Bueller?

'[...]I'll have Mr Filch restore [the Fat Lady].' (124)

atdelphi recently pointed out, Squib or no, Filch is assigned to restore a magical painting, and apparently does quite a good job.

'It seems -- almost impossible -- that Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed--'
'I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it,' said Dumbledore, and his tone made it so clear that the subject was closed that Snape didn't reply. (124-125)

Snape is in the right, though not for the reasons he thinks. Remus isn't actively helping Sirius, but he's lying to Dumbledore by omission -- not revealing that Sirius is an Animagus, which apparently means he can get past the Dementors. I feel bad for Snape here, the way Dumbledore shuts him down.

'I must go down to the Dementors,' said Dumbledore. 'I said I would inform them when our search was complete.' (125)

Apparently, one can talk to Dementors. Or at least, Dumbledore can.

'But I'm afraid no Dementor will cross the threshold of this castle while I am Headmaster.' (125)

Because they're Voldemort's "natural allies" (GoF), no doubt.

But it wasn't Professor Lupin who looked up at him from the teacher's desk; it was Snape. (127)

Whatever the reason Dumbledore refuses to let Snape teach DADA, it doesn't apply to letting him sub for a day or two. I wonder if this was arranged previously, or if it's designed to placate Snape after Halloween night.

'You are easily satisfied. Lupin is hardly over-taxing you -- I would expect first-years to be able to deal with Red Caps and Grindylows. Today we shall discuss--'
Harry watched him flick through the textbook, to the very back chapter, which he must know they hadn't covered.
'--werewolves,' said Snape. (128)

Ah, back to his usual theatrics. Snape must know the real reason they're behind, which has nothing to do with Remus. Of course, that in itself is nothing compared to the fact that he's brazenly attempting to lead the class to the conclusion that Remus is a werewolf. This is quite a dramatic escalation of the animosity, far worse than anything Remus has done to him (though not, of course, worse than anything Snape *thinks* Remus has done to him).

It's also good to remember that Snape thinks Remus is collaborating with Sirius, and that Dumbledore refuses to entertain the possibility. In addition to taking obvious pleasure in belittling and endangering Remus, Snape may think he's doing the right thing for the school: This is the only way he can think of to get Remus fired, for everyone's good.

'the werewolf differs from the true wolf in several small ways. The snout of the werewolf--' (129)

At least a hundred Dementors, their hidden faces pointing up at him, were standing below. (134)

Emphasis added. Things to keep in mind when judging the movie's canonicity.

[...]the silhouette of an enormous, shaggy black dog, clearly imprinted against the sky, motionless in the topmost, empty row of seats. (133)

So... Sirius climbed up to the top of the stands, unnoticed? Seems a little unlikely.

[Voldemort:] 'Stand aside, you silly girl ... stand aside, now...' (134)

He seems to gives Lily a chance to save herself. Hm.

'Still in the showers,' said Fred. (135)

Mm, magical plumbing.

Past re-read posts are here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I meant in the graveyard, after he AK'd Cedric, he didn't seem to do much in the scene that required magic--it was all physical stuff that night, like, say, cutting off his own hand, cutting Harry's arm, etc. And making the Potion, but that seems to be a different sort of magic than using a charm or a curse.

What makes you say that? Because it doesn't use a wand?

It's possible that there are different types of magic which can be drained at different times, but I think it's pretty evident that what Peter did required magic. Do you think that if a Muggle had assembled the right ingredients and said the incantation Peter said, they would have been able to resurrect Voldemort?

I do think that Potions are a very different class of magic--I don't see a reason except perhaps for some magic control of the fire temperature or something that a Muggle wouldn't be able to brew a working Potion, if the ingredients weren't squirreled away in the magical world. So, in theory, yes... if Voldemort had permitted a Muggle to touch him, the Muggle could have made the Potion. The actual resurrection within the Potion, I took to be Voldemort's magic. (And I am a Peter fan of sorts and agree that he's an exceptionally powerful wizard... people do tend to miss that! It just didn't seem to be what he was doing.)

Charms and Curses and so on seem to be mental power channeled through whatever causes magical power, focused with the wand. A Potion--judging by Snape's disparaging remarks about wand-waving and so on--isn't really accomplished through those means.

It's too bad we don't know anything about what magic *is*. We know it's innate -- a Muggle can't just pick up a wand and do it, nor can he see magical beings or magically shielded places. I think Potions are tied to inherent magic in the same way those things are. Otherwise, wouldn't Muggles have figured out how to make them all a long time ago? Wouldn't they be just part of science?

I'll grant you that the type of magic that casts a Charm and the type of magic that serves as catalyst for a Potion may work differently, but you're basically saying that the resurrection of Voldemort wasn't magic, and I can't agree with that.

I guess the truly telling point would be: can a Squib make potions? If they can, then it would indicate that the magic involved is in the ingredients and the spell book that defines the process, and that all that is truly required is to be enough part of the wizarding world to be admitted to Diagon Alley to buy yourself a cauldron, a book of spells, and the right ingredients. And practice, practice, practice. In other words, a learned process.

But if making a potion is beyond the capabilities of even the most determined of Squibs, then there is extra magic involved in the process of making it... and there's more to it than just learning to be a good cook.

That would be the good test of it. I took from the cabbage smell in Mrs. Figg's house that she brews Potions, but it could mean nothing.

I think that the Potions may only be usable by magical folk--that they interact not with normal physiology but with... again, whatever makes magic work.

I think that to be good Potions brewer, you would have to understand all the nuances of what makes the magical ingredients work and how they interact with the taker's magic. It's an intellectual discipline. A Muggle could theoretically master it, but the chances of a Muggle having such a complete knowledge of the magical world are pretty slim.

Potions are definitely magical, and not just because of the ingridients. If you combine asphodel and wormwood, you get a highly toxic sludge, so unless Draught of the Living Death is actually Draught of the Poisoned Coma, there is some magic from the brewer transmuting the ingredients into an effective compound.

Frankly, my thinking is that Potions is Applied Alchemy, just as pharmaceuticals is applied chemistry. The wand isn't used because it's a quick-release tool for magic. Potions work by layering power through ritual (cutting, stirring, heating) and time. Snape's "foolish wand-waving" is a teacher squelching the impulse of 11 year olds to play with their newly gained Charms and Transfiguration knowledge in a laboratory filled with toxic compounds -- horseplay in a lab being a cardinal safety no-no.

As to Peter's bringing back Voldemort, that's definite magic -- powerful ritual magic -- and rings of the Cauldron of Life from the Malbigion.

neotoma: Potions are definitely magical, and not just because of the ingridients. If you combine asphodel and wormwood, you get a highly toxic sludge, so unless Draught of the Living Death is actually Draught of the Poisoned Coma, there is some magic from the brewer transmuting the ingredients into an effective compound.

This is good evidence that there is some magic involved.

Unfortunately, it can't distinguish between the

pauraque and

neotoma's theory that the magic is imbued in the making, and

fernwithy's theory that the magic is imbued in the taking.

We need more data. Preferably all nine combinations of potions made and taken by wizard, squib, and muggle.

I said it's imbued in the making, because otherwise the Youthening Potion wouldn't have worked on Trevor, not the mandrake-based Potion on Mrs. Norris.

Good call. I think there you have it then.

HP Survivor :: PoA 9

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject