Chapters 161–170
The Absurdity of Street Corners
What Severus is misquoting is the quote “At any street corner the feeling of absurdity can strike any man in the face.” ascribed to Albert Camus.
Foxes and Swans at Spinner’s End
Some great stuff on “Swan Lake” may be found at here
The Aga stove was probably a wedding gift from the Prince family. For me, as a non-British, European citizen, and cooking freak, Aga stoves simply sound and look like magic.
Under the Mistletoe
Canon doesn’t really say how house-elf servitude works. I read an interesting comparison to medieval serfdom somewhere that really stuck with me – allegiance to the house as well as to the master. And of course a bit of magic mixed in.
Happy Christmas!
Severus gave Hermione the legal documents concerning the ownership of Spinner’s End, ready for signature, complete with an appointment with the notary. Hermione gave Severus several calendars – one with beautiful pictures of potions ingredients and wisdoms of lore and alchemy that appear and fade again, one for his job with all kinds of nifty magical details to help him keep track of classes, students, their essays and grades, and a personal diary. All made out for the year 2001.
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream … (Part 1 of the chapter, an extra-chapter)
… Alone
The title of these chapters refers to the famous quote from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”.
Debris of Forgotten Years
The title of this chapter refers to the poem “Nothing is Lost” by Noel Coward, from the Writer’s Almanac of January 15, 2008.
Canon says that Eileen Prince was a witch and Tobias Snape was a Muggle. Harry and the others assume in HBP that Eileen was a pureblood, but as far as I can see there is no proof for that in the books.
Defying Fortune’s Spite
The title of this chapter is taken from a quote by Miguel de Cervantes: “The phoenix hope, can wing her way through the desert skies, and still defying fortune’s spite; revive from ashes and rise.”
The information on phoenixes used in this chapter is based on JKR’s “Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them”, Jorge Luis Borge’s “The Books of Imaginary Beings” and the website “The Medieval Bestiary”.
The question that Dumbledore post-humously answered with sending Severus the egg of a phoenix is from chapter thirty-three of “The Deathly Hallows”:
“And my soul, Dumbledore? Mine?”
“You alone know whether it will harm your soul to help an old man avoid pain and humiliation,” said Dumbledore. (…)
The Phoenix Hope
The title of this chapter refers again to the quote by Miguel de Cervantes: “The phoenix hope, can wing her way through the desert skies, and still defying fortune’s spite; revive from ashes and rise.”