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Chapter Twenty-One:
The Unknowable Room
Notes by Steve Vander Ark and Michele L. Worley
Synopsis and links by John Kearns
U.S. hardcover edition: pages 447 - 468
U.K. hardcover edition: pages 419 - 438
Timeframe: 16-22 March,
1997
[Y17]
In which Harry talks with Ron and Hermione about Apparition, Slughorn's
memory, and Lavender, and Kreacher and Dobby show up to report on
Malfoy, making Harry realize Draco's been using the Room of Requirement
with Polyjuiced Crabbe and Goyle as lookouts. Harry spends some time
trying to get into the Room of Requirement (unsuccessfully), Snape
picks on him in class again, Moaning Myrtle reveals she's been talking
with a boy, and Harry runs into a disheveled Tonks and wonders if she
loved Sirius.
No comments on chapter title as yet.
Interesting facts and notes about the text of this chapter:
Instead, he surreptitiously folded down the corner of the page
Hmpf. Harry dog-ears pages.
Ron was now struggling to finish a viciously difficult essay for Snape
From the subsequent remarks about Harry's disagreement with Snape and the
Spell-Checking Quill, the essay is about handling dementors. Lupin once
remarked during Harry's third year that the Patronus Charm was well
above Ordinary Wizarding Level (PA12),
so it makes sense that it would be a N.E.W.T.-level D.A.D.A. topic.
he had disagreed with Snape on the best way to tackle dementors
Huh. How many ways are there, other than casting a Patronus Charm?
His features recall the fine bones of my mistress
If Kreacher isn't just saying this because he'd rather have a "proper"
pure-blood wizarding master or mistress, it may tell us a little more
about what the late Mrs. Black looked like than is currently apparent
from her portrait. Draco's mother is Sirius' cousin on the Black side,
but given the inbreeding in pure-blood families, there may be a blood
relationship between Draco and Mrs. Black as well.
"And I bet that's why he's been disappearing off the map - come to think of it,
I've never seen the Room of Requirement on there!"
Hmm. Even a flake like Trelawney is aware of the room, but she was
hired not long before Harry was born, after MWPP would've left school
(HBP25). More to the point, the house-elves
on staff are aware of it and use it in the course of their work -
Dobby knew about it by his second year on staff
(OP18), and MWPP
were notorious for raiding the kitchens while they were at school.
They'd have had to be on reasonably good terms with the house-elves for
that. And MWPP never found out about the Room of Requirement?
"Maybe the Marauders never knew the room was there"
Well, now somebody in canon has referred to MWPP as the Marauders.
May we now use this name for them in peace?
Wish I could Disapparate like a house-elf.
All right, now it sounds like we can officially classify
house-elf reappearing/disappearing as Apparition.
his dreams, when he finally fell asleep, were broken and disturbed by
images of Malfoy, who turned into Slughorn, who turned into Snape
Another one for the Harry's Dreams page. Nice one; ambiguous.
twenty-five scrolls of parchment
So, there are 25 sixth-year students in DADA this term. Those
in attendance include:
Finnigan, Seamus
Granger, Hermione
Parkinson, Pansy
Potter, Harry
Weasley, Ron
resisting the Imperius Curse
A little more information on the 6th-year DADA syllabus.
Ron joined Hermione and the rest of the sixth years who would turn seventeen in time to take the test in a fortnight
OK, OK, we know now that Hermione is actually older than Harry, not
younger. We had deduced otherwise at first, but canon is canon and the
Lexicon is being updated accordingly. (Harry, as readers can see from
this passage, is actually the youngest of the trio.)
"His office isn't here," said Harry, "it's round the
other side of the castle, behind the gargoyle - "
In fact, in previous years Dumbledore's office hasn't been on the
seventh floor at all.
Characters introduced in this chapter:
Characters returning in this chapter:
Characters mentioned in this chapter:
Barnabas the Barmy
Black, (Mrs.) Walburga
Black, Sirius
(as one of the Marauders)
Brown, Lavender
Chang, Cho
Crabbe, Vincent
Dumbledore, Albus
Edgecombe, Marietta
Filch, Argus
Fletcher, Mundungus
Lupin, Remus
(as one of the Marauders)
Malfoy, Draco
Pepper, Octavius
Pettigrew, Peter
(as one of the Marauders)
Potter, James
(as one of the Marauders)
Rosmerta, Madam
Slughorn, Horace
Twycross, Wilkie
Weasley, Fred
Weasley, George
(unnamed) fellow sixth years awake in the common room
(unnamed) nine-year-old arrested, and his grandparents
(unnamed) first years who Harry scares off when he swears while invisible
Settings and locations introduced or returning in this chapter:
- Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Settings and locations mentioned in this chapter:
Exceptional character moments:
Spells and Potions:
Links and Resources:
Memorable lines:
"It's one of Fred and George's Spell-Check ones... but I think
the charm must be wearing off..."
"Yes, it must," said Hermione, pointing at the title of his essay,
"because we were asked how we'd deal with dementors, not 'Dugbogs,' and
I don't remember you changing your name to 'Roonil Wazlib' either."
"But the more I hint I want to finish it, the tighter she holds on.
It's like going out with the giant squid."
"And yet," said Hermione, coming out of her reverie, "I
doubt you'd find a woman who sulked for half an hour because
Madam Rosmerta didn't laugh at their joke about the hag, the Healer,
and the Mimbulus mimbletonia".
Strictly British:
Timelines/Calendar:
The chapter begins by referring to "the next week," then to
"late Sunday evening," meaning almost certainly 16 March.
The chapter then moves to Monday the 17th, and finally concludes the
following weekend, presumably on a Saturday since all Hogsmeade dates are
Saturdays; this must, then, be 22 March.
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