Half-Blood Prince: Chapter Fourteen: Felix Felicis

[handhfan]

I don’t know where Chapter 13 is, but here’s Chapter 14….

Chapter Fourteen: Felix Felicis

Since the Half-Blood Prince’s potions book, Hermione has been extremely annoyed. She continues to snap back at Harry and Ron, especially when something regarding the Half-Blood Prince is brought up.

The Slug Club is having another party, a Christmas one, and

Comments

[house_elf_44]

This chapter includes things that create the twists and misunderstandings in Emma, specifically partial or interrupted conversations and sentences, and things that can be interpreted more than one way.

Ron has his 3rd bad reaction to being left out of the Slug Club, and now missed "really nice food" and meeting a famous Quidditch player, too. If Hermione liked Ron, she could have invited him right after this so he'd feel better. Sprout interrupts instead. After they get back on the subject, Hermione answers Ron, "Just for the Slug Club, yes". Again, why not invite him at this point?

Hermione mentioned Slughorn fawns on about Cormic McLaggen because he's so well connected. I think that's why Ron suggests Hermione hook up with him so they can be King and Queen Slug. It's only after that outburst that Hermione says she was going to invite Ron. As one who saw the anvil optical illusions the less common way, I thought she was inviting Ron so he wouldn't be left out again. Harry was timing practices for that reason. Ron's "completely different voice" is left to our interpretation. There's room to think he's changed his tune because he wants to go to the party. Hermione looking flustered and Ron looking sheepish and pleased with himself can also be interpreted more than one way. One is she was asking him out, and he's "pleased with himself" as when Lavender smiled at him in the corridor previously. Using the same wording makes the connection. Or it could be Hermione is upset from Ron's reaction, and Ron changed tack and has hope of going to the party. Further, there's the possibility Ron thinks he just learned that Hermione likes him. If that's the case, the fact that he is only more polite the next few days tells me he doesn't like her back. He didn't apologize for the bad reaction, never mind trying to ensure the invite.

Then Harry has a sinking feeling that had "little to do with Quidditch" over asking Dean to take Katie's place. You can think it's because he's Ginny's boyfriend. Harry never makes that connection, in fact he's pleased Dean works so well with Ginny and Demelza. Seamus being angry, and accusations he's choosing classmates were the reasons he had a sinking feeling that had "little" to do with Quidditch. Jealousy would have "nothing" to do with Quidditch.

Harry landing beside Demelza and Ginny would put Harry near Ginny shortly before the "newborn monster" erupts. This fits the idea that she's wearing love potion as perfume, and would explain why Harry's reaction to seeing Ginny kissing Dean is clawing, extinguishing all thought, and called sudden madness. A normal reaction would be more like "she's grown up now, pretty, and funny, too. I wish I were Dean." Afterward he feels disoriented and dizzy, and tries to make sense of it, telling me Ginny was not his favorite flowery scent on the first day of classes - being at the Burrow was. He's only had brotherly feelings for Ginny before this, and awoke the next morning dazed and confused. He didn't have symptoms like this when he liked Cho, even seeing her with Cedric.

Did Hermione tell Ginny Harry kissed Cho, and she kissed Viktor, or did Ginny assume. There's no proof. What if Hermione didn't kiss Viktor, and she's blubbering over Ron and Lavender because she's the only one not to be kissed yet? There's room for this in the way it's written. I don't think it's bad writing, I think it's aiming for the trickery in Emma. It's been carefully done, and looked at from all angles, which Jo said she did. Further, Harry only assumed the Hr/V kiss, and Ron assumed confirmation from the look on his face.

Ron treats Hermione with icy sneering and indifference. Jo said in The Interview: "Basically it dawns on Ron that Hermione's had some action, Harry's had some action and he's never got close!" Harry drew the wrong conclusion of jealousy. This is one of the tricks from 'Emma".

[chasezgranger]

Wow this was a great explaination of how JKR has left things up in terms to the romances in the book. :)

I had thought it was incredibly odd of Harry to feel dizzy and disoriented after his interaction with Ginny.