A Doll's Head and a Secret

[queenbookwench.livejournal.com]

So, now I'm really curious about how exactly Pansy came upon Marie the doll's head. It could be that it was simply an accident, and that the charm/curse operated in exactly the way Professor Acton described it. However, it's more interesting for plot purposes to assume that it was somehow deliberately placed in Pansy's way. The question is, who would want to do such a thing, who would be able to, and what goal would they be hoping to achieve?

As far as who, it seems to me that it would have be someone who knows Pansy quite well--because not every girl would pick up a doll's head that was lying around, much less take it to bed with her. But Pansy is just the sort of curious, somewhat lonely, eccentric, slightly morbid girl who would.

As to how--it seems like it would have to be someone with ready access to the castle, which implies a student or faculty member. Unless an invisibility cloak, the Marauder's Map (although I think it's been hinted that the twins have it here, as in canon), and/or the passage from the Shrieking Shack were involved. Hmmm...

What do they want to gain from it? It seems to be related to her father in some way, and to things that suggest his view of the world didn't exactly toe the standard LP line. I still wonder if her father's ghost could be involved somehow.

Also, I'm very curious about the nature of Pansy's secret. She says in her sleepwalking that it's a Black secret, which to me suggests something to do with either Sirius or Regulus. It would be especially interesting if it was Regulus. This could be a totally crackpot theory, but...what if he is an Occlumens and his return to the LP's fold isn't what it appears to be? I could see that fitting somehow with what we know of canon!Reg and the horcruxes.

I'm also curious as to how much of Pansy's abject apology is sincere, and how much is put on. The girl is in Slytherin, after all! My guess is that she is sincerely upset by Lucius' disapproval, and believes a good portion of what he told her about deserving to be hit and all, but I also think that another part of her is even more determined to go on observing and questioning, just much more secretly. I think it's very interesting that not too long after the fracas, she left a comment on boot's journal--not an overtly friendly one, but not a hostile one either. On the other hand her (at least expressed) attitude toward Dennis seems to be all one expect of a pureblood in this universe.

Comments

[lapin-agile.livejournal.com]

Marie goes missing the evening of the 28th (at the end of Pansy's 1:05 am post on the morning of the 29th, she says she can't find Marie (http://alt-pansy.livejournal.com/2990.html)). Pansy finds her broken mid-day on the 29th (http://alt-pansy.livejournal.com/3088.html).

[black-dog.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. OK that's why I didn't find it -- didn't realize it was so late. So we have to attribute Pansy's "extreme" remarks to Lucius, and not just the more innocuous ones, to the original doll. The broken doll then gives her a near-breakdown, with her bad dreams and sleepwalking. So if you buy the idea that the "original" doll was intended to reinforce her critical spirit, it seems like it was willing to push her pretty far, even at the risk of her own reputation/safety. Which maybe makes it a bit more sinister than I thought.

[lapin-agile.livejournal.com]

Go, BD, go!

Keep working this thought. It seems promising. (And I've got to slip back to grading essays, but hope you've got it figured out when I stop back in later.)

;)

[alt-player.livejournal.com]

http://alt-lucius.livejournal.com/6918.html

[black-dog.livejournal.com]

In that post, Lucius' use of the word "certifying" kind of stands out for me, as though it were very important to publicly validate Acton's official version of the doll's dream-spell effect. Lucius has seemed unusually on the defensive, personally, throughout the whole doll business. Is he really worried that Pansy's insolence makes Bella & Co. think badly of him? (That's a rhetorical question -- I don't expect a player to answer!) But he also seems truly fond of Pansy, and I also give him credit for protectiveness on Pansy's behalf when she began to say dangerous things.

I found it interesting, and tried to work it into the previous comment, that Lucius is familiar enough with "Marie" to casually mention her here (http://alt-lucius.livejournal.com/6204.html?thread=39740#t39740), in a friendly chat with Pansy, even though Pansy hadn't explicitly brought the doll up in that conversation. I wondered for a while if Lucius were behind planting the doll, in an originally well-intentioned way, but I couldn't quite make it feel like it fit.