CoS Chapter 9 - The Writing On the Wall
The plot thickens! And we get to see our babies start to plan their first heist!
Poor Filch, though. Mrs. Norris is his only friend.
Shut up, Lockhart. Okay, he’s doing it to Dumbledore, I officially withdraw ‘mansplain.’
No, he sounds like a long-winded freshman in an undergrad philosophy class. He’s never actually been around a real expert, and he’s making impressive-sounding noises with his mouth-hole, so he expects everyone to be as impressed by his pseudo-intellectual bulls*** as his know-nothing stoner buddies.
What is Snape playing at, here? This doesn’t read like his casual unpleasantness, it has the same kind of rehearsed feel as the good cop/bad cop routine back in chapter 5.
Oh. Oh! At this point, Dumbles actually does think Harry is opening the chamber! He doesn’t know about the diary--he only knows there’s something peculiar about Harry’s scar! They’re trying to get Harry to admit to having blackouts! It’s only after Harry kills the diary that Dumbledore starts looking for horcruxes... woah. He really doesn’t know what’s going on.
“Well--it’s not funny really--but as it’s Filch.” Wow. That sentence, coming as it does from Ron Weasley, SJW, tells us more than anything else in these books (I’m pretty sure) about the status of Squibs in wizard society. Normally, you ought to pity a Squib, but if they stop being Virtuous Victims, it’s okay to give in to your natural impulse to ridicule them. Ick.
Ginny Weasley seemed very disturbed by Mrs. Norris’s fate. According to Ron, she was a great cat lover.
Okay, warning sign #2 explained away.
Ron and Hermione led the way to History of Magic, bickering.
That’s just how they talk to each other, Harry, sweetie. The only reason Hermione doesn’t bicker with you is that you’re no fun, you just sulk and glare. That’s why she likes Ron more.
People complain about Professor Binns, but frankly I know so many of this dude. I do a lot of work in curriculum reform, and I meet a lot of faculty who have been dead for years and really should retire. I’ve got a friend who’s stuck in a department where the only other alive person is an Umbridge. They don’t get replaced because (1) tenure, (2) we don’t get paid enough to attract anyone better, and (3) nobody wants to be on another d*** search committee.
NGL, one of my favorite things to see in fic is well-thought-out alternate interpretations of the Chamber. (Not just, actually the Chamber is cool because xyz, but, here’s the real purpose of the chamber as revealed by this compelling narrative in which the purpose of the chamber plays a substantial role.)
In my personal interpretation of the canon universe, Salazar Slytherin really was a jerk, his house was improving with time, then Voldy came along and c***ed it up again, it has some Work to do after Harry’s time. But I love a good alternative interpretation.
Discussion question. Did the hat really see Slytherin potential in Harry” Was it detecting Voldy’s soul? Or did Harry develop his Slytherin potential because of Voldy’s soul?
I tend to favor the first option--my boy could be such a good Slytherin, and he learned that s*** from his life experiences, no supernatural influence necessary. On the other hand, my mom was all for the second interpretation back in 2007.
Steal a car? Sure! Sneak around after curfew? No problem! Smuggle an illegal dragon out of the school? No problem! But going into the girl’s toilet? That’s one rule too far for my boy Ron Weasley.
“I’ve never seen [Ginny] so upset, crying her eyes out...”
Okay, I’m calling it here. Ron is twelve, and he’s got his hands full parenting Harry. But Percy is really dropping the ball, both as a big brother and as a prefect. Especially to someone who knows her, Ginny is really starting to cross into red flag territory.
Man the leap to the conclusion that Malfoy is the Heir is a long one. “Who do we know that’s a Slytherin?” “Malfoy! And he’s a jerk!” “That’s it! He’s the Heir!”
Did anyone watch A Pub Named Scooby Doo as a kid? There was a character named Redd Herring, whose entire role was to be, well, a red herring for all Fred’s conclusion-jumping. Fred accused him every episode. It was never him. And then in one episode it was him, and Fred just looked straight at the camera and said, “Frankly, I’m as surprised as everybody else.”
I couldn’t get that out of my head during the climax of book 6. Just, Harry being as surprised as everyone else that Draco really was up to something for once.
Polyjuice potion just becomes such a go-to for these kids. Like, “Great plan, Hermione, but how can we use Polyjuice potion in it?”
Here we go, though. Here comes adorable baby heist planning!
