Ch.11 Quidditch

We’ve already seen Harry get his first introduction to quidditch with Gryffindor team captain Oliver Wood, but in this chapter we see Harry’s first time playing in a game. And almost dies due to Snape (or so Hermione thinks, although it’s reallyProf. Quarrel). And of course, it’s against the Slytherin team.

We also find out that “Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry and Ron had saved her from the mountain troll, and she was much nicer for it.” (Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (p. 194). Pottermore Publishing. Kindle Edition.) So apparently Harry’s bravery does rub off on Hermione, although whether that could be considered good in this case by an outside observer is debatable. Personally, trouble isn’t necessarily a bad thing and while I wish it was phrased more favorably towards the female member of the “golden trio”, I think it’s a good thing.

I will say, very shortly, that while J.K. Rowling has defended her transphobia as being feminist (which makes no sense what-so-ever), she has very few female characters who are described favorably even when they are good characters. Minerva Mcgonagall and Hermione Granger, as the top most favorable female characters and the ones with the most “screen time” in the books, are constantly put in a disfavorable light and constrained by men and/or patriarchal limitations.

The night before the quidditch game, Harry finds out Snape got his leg mangled by Fluffy (the cerberus guarding the trap door on the third floor corridor, if you’ve forgotten). “he’s after whatever it’s guarding! And I’d bet my broomstick he let that troll in, to make a diversion!”…“Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something,”” (Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (p. 196). Pottermore Publishing. Kindle Edition.) The irony of their conversation about Snape is that it is completely true, only it applies to Quarrell instead. The children are so close and yet so far away in connecting the dots.

The quidditch game starts and the enjoyable commentary by Lee Jordan (my personal favorite aspect of the game throughout the books). Harry is able to catch the snitch – as I believe he always does (I could be wrong, if you can point out a time he lost the snitch to the other seeker, I’d love to hear about it in the comments). Hermione sets Snape’s robes on fire, coincidentally breaking Quarrell’s concentration (a tidbit we learn later on in the book), and Gryffindor wins the game!

And the chapter ends ““I’m tellin’ yeh, yer wrong!” said Hagrid hotly. “I don’ know why Harry’s broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn’ try an’ kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh — yer meddlin’ in things that don’ concern yeh. It’s dangerous. You forget that dog, an’ you forget what it’s guardin’, that’s between Professor Dumbledore an’ Nicolas Flamel —” “Aha!” said Harry, “so there’s someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?” Hagrid looked furious with himself.” (Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (pp. 206-207). Pottermore Publishing. Kindle Edition. ). In other words, never tell Hagrid something you want to keep secret, he just can’t help himself.

Thomas Benke: Looking Around In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott, in the Chapter “Looking Around,” says this: Now, if you ask me, what’s going on is that we’re all up to here in it, and probably the most important thing is that we not yell at one another. Otherwise we’d all just be barking away like Pekingese: “Ah! Stuck in the shit! And it’s your fault, you did this …” Writing involves seeing people suffer and, as Robert Stone once put it, finding some meaning therein. But you can’t do that if you’re not respectful. If you look at people and just see sloppy clothes or rich clothes, you’re going to get them wrong. She goes on to speak about empathy for other people and also, as an extension empathy for yourself. So, in a sense as you try to write believable, relatable characters, you will come to forgive people their trespasses—because no one believes they are the villain of their story, so you have to write “bad,” or “evil” characters from a point of view where they rationalize what they are doing in such a way that it is the right or only way they see is possible. By extrapolation, then, if you begin to forgive and withhold judgment from your less-than-desirable, or annoying characters, perhaps you can extend the same courtesy to yourself and forgive your own trespasses and sins. This, for me, starts to enter the realm of “writing as therapy,” and though I am a firm believer in that—I practice it to this very day—I think I would caution anyone who thinks that simply writing through things is going to lead you to a place of light and love. I am not saying it can’t by any means. What I am saying is I have wrote through my thoughts and my problems and my desperation and depression for decades and I still had enough baggage on my shoulders to supply an army platoon with rations for a year. In any case, when thinking about craft, it is very important to step into the shoes of all of your characters, especially those characters that you see as antagonists and villians. I believe there are very few universal maxims in writing but one thing is virtually certain: every character you write is your version of that human being. Confucius said “everywhere I go, there I am,” and that is never more true than when you are writing. So if you are writing a character that is distasteful to you, it might be effective for you to ask yourself why that is the case. I wrote a blog for Obscura last semester titled, “The Puppy Had It Coming.” The gist of the article was to pose a puzzle to writers. How can you write a scene where an adult human kicks a puppy across the room and the reader at least understands why. I am not saying there is any way to justify the action or for the readers to be on the human’s side unless they are sociopaths. I am saying you need let the reader know how dark the place is in the character’s mind that he is capable of doing that.

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