HBP Chapter 22 Re-read
“After the Burial”
Ron comes up with the idea for Harry to “get lucky!” Ron pulls his weight for once!
Interesting that Harry was saving his Felix Felicis for Ginny …
Hermione has a moment of real moral authority when she says “It’s all about stopping Voldemort isn’t it? These dreadful things that are happening are all down to him.”
When Harry takes the Felix Felicis, interesting to see that he has at least 2/3 of it left. That’s two giant plot holes that JKR can write herself out of in book seven! Again I’m wondering if it was really plausible for Slughorn to give this stuff away as part of a class, if there was not perhaps some unseen force acting on him … perhaps Felix Felicis itself? Interesting that “Felix” is personified.
Interesting that the first thing that happens after Harry takes Felix is that his exit under the invisibility cloak leaving Ron & Hermione apparently alone together starts a fight between Lavender and Ron. Apparently Felix construes Harry’s “luck” rather broadly to include the welfare and amity of his two best friends!
“Filch had forgotten to lock the front door…” – did he forget before or after Harry took Felix?
Slughorn’s good character comes through in several ways in this chapter. I liked it when he said “I know Dd trusts Hagrid to the hilt, so he can’t be up to anything dreadful.” So many others have failed to trust Hagrid!
Down at Hagrid’s hut, I loved the image of Areagog lying on its back, “its legs curled and tangled …”, and then when Hagrid threw him into the grave and he “hit bottom with a horrible, rather crunchy thud!”
Slughorn gives Aragog a great send-off. “Farewell, Aragorn, King of Middle-Earth …” er, I mean, “Farewll, Aragog, king of arachnids.” S really does the occasion justice! That’s one good thing about status-focused people like Slughorn, they do have a sense of the positive value of ceremony.
Felix tells H to stay sober and get Slughorn drunk. Then Felix tells H to say he “forgot” that S liked Lily. Felix tells Harry S will remember none of this in the morning. Felix gives very specific advice! Who the devil invented this incredibly powerful potion?
Slughorn says Lily was “Very brave … very funny…” I sure hope we get to meet Lily in some real detail in book seven!
H asks “are you scared Voldemort will find out you helped me?”
I think it’s to Slughorn’s credit that it seems the real reason for his reluctance is not fear but shame. “I think I may have done great damage that day … Just don’t think too badly of me once you’ve seen it!”
A great and pivotal chapter, highly enjoyable.
I
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