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Musings #3:
Spinners, Detours, and Good Fortune
by Matthew Vines
October 31, 2004
If you accidentally woke up an hour early this morning (yes, today's the day to set back your clocks!), you were probably agitated. Until you got on your computer, logged onto JKRowling.com, and realized that you had an extra hour to solve the riddle that awaited you. It makes perfect sense for Jo's mysterious door to open for the third time on Halloween - if October 31 was omitted from the Harry Potter books, Harry's parents would still be alive, Harry and Ron wouldn't be friends with Hermione, the Chamber of Secrets wouldn't have been opened, Sirius Black wouldn't have broken into Hogwarts, and no champions would have been chosen to compete in the Triwizard Tournament in Goblet of Fire. There's really no denying that it's a major day in the books.
The puzzle this time around included a trial and error flying key game and a riddle, reminiscent of puzzles in Sorcerer's Stone and Goblet of Fire. Once you solve the riddle, you can view the titles of three chapters from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This is arguably the best book six clue yet, as chapter titles are extremely revealing. For example, "The Man With Two Faces" from Sorcerer's Stone, "The Very Secret Diary" from Chamber of Secrets, "Hermione's Secret" from Prisoner of Azkaban, "Padfoot Returns" from Goblet of Fire, "Veritaserum" from Goblet of Fire (okay, okay, so this chapter title doesn't give away too much, but it's my favorite chapter), and "The Lost Prophecy" from Order of the Phoenix. If any of the aforementioned chapter titles were analyzed prior to reading the books, you could concoct some pretty good theories about the book. So, it's only right to take a good look at the three chapter titles from book six revealed to us today.
Chapter Two - Spinners End:
When I first saw the phrase "Spinners End," several theories started brewing in my head. The first thing I thought of (since it's election time in the U.S.) was a spin doctor. A spin doctor is, according to Webster, a public relations person who tries to forestall negative publicity by publicizing a favorable interpretation of the words or actions of a company or political party or famous person - basically, someone who tries to make something bad look good. Over the course of the last two books, the Ministry of Magic has definitely acted as a spin doctor, attempting to convince the wizarding public that Voldemort has not returned and that everything is under control. This had been working for them up until Voldemort decided to show up at the Ministry of Magic - at that point they could no longer deny that he was back. At the close of Order of the Phoenix, the Ministry admits they are wrong and alerts the wizarding public of Voldemort's return. This could be considered the "spinners end," but perhaps there's a few things that still need to be resolved along those lines.
While the above theory is an optimistic one, suggesting that the wizarding world will forget their petty differences and unite in the fight against Voldemort, this one is not so pretty. Pull out one of your copies of Goblet of Fire (kids: get help from your parents if you can't lift it - broken backs make for unhappy trick-or-treaters) and turn to chapter twenty ("The First Task"). Flip through a few pages...aha, here we are: "On his desk stood what looked hike a large, cracked, glass spinning top; Harry recognized it at once as a Sneakoscope, because he owned one himself, though it was much smaller than Moody's." Yes, the Sneakoscope. Although both Harry and the fake Moody dismiss its powers and label it as rubbish, the reader knows that the Sneakoscope is right more often than not. The Sneakoscope is a dark magic detector - it spins when it detects dark magic. Could "Spinners End" mean that Voldemort has discovered something that causes certain anti-Dark Magic tools that the Order uses to be useless?
Two down, two to go. What came to most fans' minds first when they read this chapter title was a street. It's plausible that Spinners End is a street, and although it's likely, it's boring. "Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place" is a chapter title in the fifth book, but let's face it - that chapter was boring in comparison to the others. Lots of descriptions and lots of yelling. Along the same "street lines," it's possible that Spinners End is the new headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, now that Sirius has left us (or so we think...).
This theory is the most unlikely out of the four, as it lacks a strong foundation. It's possible that Rowling left out an apostrophe from the chapter title (after all, she forgot the hyphen when she first announced the title of book six). This could make Spinner a new character, but really, what kind of a name is Spinner? Somehow, I think this theory is one that Rowling would respond to with a comment like "c'mon people, get a grip."
Chapter Six - Draco's Detour:
So many possibilities for this chapter! This chapter title is formatted like several others, but with a twist. Here's a list of other chapter titles phrased like "Somebody's Something" (when that somebody isn't Harry):
- Dobby's Warning (COS): The whole second book revolves around Dobby's warning, which states that Harry shouldn't return to Hogwarts because the Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Without the Chamber of Secrets being opened, the second book would just be patches of fluff with no real direction.
- Dobby's Reward (COS): Not only was this a heartwarming ending to Chamber of Secrets, but Dobby's newfound freedom led to him helping Harry quite a bit in books four and five (gillyweed and the Room of Requirement). Also, it's very likely that Dobby still has a role to play in the books.
- Aunt Marge's Big Mistake (POA): This chapter allows Harry to escape from the Dursley's for the last two weeks of summer. True, it's not terribly important, but don't disregard the fact that Harry sees Padfoot for the first time due to Aunt Marge's Big Mistake. Also, this chapter shows the reader that Harry loves his mother and father, even though he never knew them. This sets up a bigger crisis for Harry in the fifth book when he discovers that his dad was actually a jerk.
- Snape's Grudge (POA): In this chapter, Harry sneaks off to Hogsmeade, terrorizes Draco and company, trips over his Invisibility Cloak, and is discovered. Panicked, he races back to Hogwarts, but Snape finds and interrogates him. Lupin saves the day and makes us all love him more than we already did.
- Hermione's Secret (POA): If this isn't an integral chapter, what is? Not only do we discover how Hermione has been able to attend all of her classes, but without the Time Turner, Sirius and Buckbeak would have died.
- Weasley's Wizard Wheezes (GOF): Fred and George Weasley tell Harry what they've been up to all summer (making magic toys), and Harry learns about Portkeys. Near the end of the fifth book, the twins leave Hogwarts and set up their business at Diagon Alley. Although this hasn't affected the plotline yet, it could in the sixth book. The knowledge of Portkeys allows Harry to escape from Voldemort at the end of the fourth book - if he didn't know how they worked, the series may only have been four books long.
- Hagrid's Tale (OOTP): Hagrid tells Harry, Ron, and Hermione what he's been doing all year long - attempting to gain giant allies. Although his attempts were unsuccessful, he managed to bring home the giant Grawp, who is now somewhat tamed. JKR said that Grawp will play an important role in the sixth book.
- Snape's Worst Memory (OOTP): In this chapter, Harry and the reader learn that James Potter wasn't the nicest guy, which leads to Harry freaking out and dangerously contacting Sirius through the Gryffindor fireplace (instead of the MIRROR that Sirius gave him earlier in the book).
In essence, chapters formatted like the above chapters are important and play a major role in the plot. The twist with this chapter is that, unlike every chapter previously listed, Draco is a bad boy. Although Aunt Marge and Snape aren't particularly liked by fans, they aren't evil at heart. Draco is evil.
And what is this detour? Since the stories revolve around Harry, Harry has to be somewhat involved in this chapter. Personally, I'm expecting Draco to stoop to an all-time low and become a Death Eater in book six or seven, so it's possible that Draco's "detour" has something to do with Voldie and company.
Chapter Fourteen - Felix Felicis
Within seconds after reading this, I turned to a Latin dictionary and found that the phrase "felix felicis" means "lucky, fortunate, happy." That sure doesn't sound like the plot of the sixth Harry Potter book, but a positive turn of events would be lovely. Then again, it's possible that this is a password to a common room or better yet, a hidden room in the Chamber of Secrets! A few people have suggested that this is a name of a new character, and although it's true that J.K. is fond of alliteration (Filius Flitwick, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, etc.), "felix felicis" is a Latin phrase, leading me to believe that it is not a person's name.
Hopefully Jo will give us some more information about these titles, but that's not likely. In the meantime, eat lots of candy while theorizing by the fireplace!
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