This message is a Special Notice for all members of http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups In addition to being published onlist (available in webview), this post is also being delivered offlist (to email in boxes) to those whose "Message Delivery" is set to "Special Notices." If this is problematic or if you have any questions, contact the List Elves at (minus that extra space) HPforGrownups-owner @yahoogroups.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Chapter 27, The Final Hiding Place The Trio ride out of London atop the Gringotts' dragon, Harry feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude for their escape. He is fearful the dragon might turn sharply, roll, or even intentionally throw them off, but decides the dragon is too intent on flying away from his prison to consider the Trio. As time passes, Harry's thoughts wander to Voldemort. He wonders when Voldemort will find out the golden cup was removed from the Lestrange vault, thus finally realizing Harry is hunting Horcruxes. The sun is sinking in the sky and Harry is aching from holding onto the dragon before Ron yells out that the dragon is flying lower and lower, apparently diverted by the fresh water supply of lakes. Harry yells back for Ron & Hermione to jump on his word when he judges them low enough. After a big drop directly into a lake sends the Trio plunging, they emerge in time to see the dragon some distance away scooping up water, apparently none the wiser that he had passengers on his flight. Harry casts the protective spells around their area, then the three drink pumpkin juice packed by Hermione, while dabbing essence of dittany on their many burns from the replicating cups. They assess the situation, Ron noting they now have another Horcrux in their possession, with Harry finishing the sentence to say they've lost the sword in the process. All three examine the glinting Hufflepuff cup on the ground in front of them until Hermione notices the dragon again. She wonders what will happen to it until Ron makes the point that dragons can take care of themselves, and that the three of them are the ones to worry about because, "Well, I don't know how to break this to you," said Ron, "but I think they *might* have noticed we broke into Gringotts." The Trio start laughing and can't stop, a release from the tension of the day. Hermione turns serious, bringing up the conclusion Harry had drawn earlier: as soon as Voldemort learns about the missing cup, he'll know they are hunting Horcruxes. Ron speculates about a DE cover-up scheme until, suddenly, "pain cleaved Harry's head like a sword stroke." Once again he's in Voldemort's body, facing a semi-circle of wizards kneeling around him, talking to one small, quaking figure at his feet. A goblin is the bearer of bad news, that the small golden cup was taken out of the Lestrange vault, that the Potter boy and two accomplices escaped with the cup. Voldemort's rage is absolute; he doesn't understand how it's possible, but Harry Potter knows of his Horcruxes. Voldemort proceeds to use the Elder Wand, first to AK the goblin, then every other wizard who isn't able to escape from the room. Lucius and Bellatrix manage to escape by throwing other wizards out of their way as they all race to the door, while the rest are slain for bringing Voldemort the bad news and for hearing about the golden cup. Alone among the dead, Lord Voldemort paces up and down the room, questioning, wondering, coming to a conclusion: Dumbledore is behind this, Dumbledore is reaching out from beyond the grave, working through the boy. Voldemort is seized by the idea that all the other Horcruxes must be intact; after all, he is all-powerful, the killer of many men including the great Dumbledore! Surely he would know if the important and precious soul bits had been destroyed? Feeling calmer, Voldemort determines he will check all his Horcruxes. He believes it impossible the boy could trace the ring to the Gaunt shack, to know they were his relations. The same with the cave. Even if the cave had been discovered, who could possibly get through the protections? And the Horcrux at Hogwarts, only he knows of the place where it was hidden, only he had "plumbed the deepest secrets of that place." Nevertheless, he will check on all his Horcruxes by himself. While considering which Horcrux to visit first, a sense of unease steals over Voldemort. Dumbledore knew of his past at the orphanage, Dumbledore knew his middle name and might have traced Tom Riddle to the Gaunts. And what if Dumbledore knew about his misdeeds at the orphanage, about the cave? A very slight possibility. But the Horcrux at Hogwarts, no, that one is safe; Potter won't be able to get near Hogsmeade or Hogwarts without detection. Still, Snape must be alerted to the possibility. He would share no more information with Snape, however, after the 'grave mistake' of trusting Bellatrix & Lucius. He decides to set out at once for the Gaunt shack, Nagini safely with him from this point forward. Harry finds himself back in the present, back on the bank of the lake with Hermione and Ron watching him. "He knows, and he's going to check where the others are, and the last one," he was already on his feet, "is at Hogwarts. I knew it. I *knew* it." Harry explains what he just learned, that Voldemort could reach Hogwarts in mere hours and that they must leave at once. Ron scrambles to his feet, asking questions, but Hermione attempts to stop them, expressing the need for a plan. "We need to get going," said Harry firmly, for as soon as Voldemort discovers the Gaunt ring and Slytherin locket are gone, his next step would be Hogwarts. Harry decides their first stop will be Hogsmeade, where they'll determine the types of protection on the school. Interrupted by the flapping of wings, they watch the dragon climb higher and higher into the sky until it vanishes over a nearby mountain. Then Harry pulls the Invisibility Cloak over the three of them as far as it will fit, and "together they turned on the spot into the crushing darkness." 1) What did you think would be the 'final hiding place' when reading the chapter title? Were you expecting a Horcrux at Hogwarts all along? 2) This is likely the shortest chapter in all of the HP books, yet descriptions of the dragon take up quite a few paragraphs at the beginning: how the dragon feels, what it's doing while the Trio rest by the lake, where it might go next, etc. Then right before leaving the lakes, they watch the dragon take flight until it vanishes, even though Harry insisted they must leave at once. Do you think the dragon plays a symbolic role? Is it a significant part of this chapter for another reason? Or did you find the mentions of the dragon more filler? 3) Harry's vision of Voldemort killing everyone within reach at Malfoy Manor is a first-hand view of Voldemort using the Elder wand. Do you believe Voldemort exhibits extraordinary magical power in this scene or were his powers about what you expected he was capable of regardless of the wand? Any thoughts on Bellatrix and Lucius '[throwing] others behind them in their race for the door'? 4) Voldemort initially believes his Horcruxes must be safe because he would feel 'if he, himself, most important and precious, had been attacked, mutilated[.]' Comments about either Voldemort's reasoning or how he describes his Horcruxes? Did the course of Voldemort's thoughts about his Horcruxes and the realization that Harry is hunting them offer any new glimpses into his interior life? 5) If you were a Harry!Horcrux theorist, or argued against the theory, did you think the possibility of Harry being the final Horcrux was defunct when the last Horcrux was revealed as an object hidden at Hogwarts? Were you keeping count at that point? Were you already suspecting the possibility of a twist with the Horcruxes? 6) Voldemort is fairly certain the Potter boy couldn't know of his connection to the Gaunts, or about the cave, until he remembers Dumbledore. In a final assessment of why Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort reportedly feared, what was the basis of Voldemort's fear? Did it have to do with Dumbledore's knowledge of Tom Riddle's past or other factors? 7) Harry is the one to determine when they jump off the dragon; he's the one who casts the protective spells. When Hermione attempts to plan their trip to Hogwarts rather than following Harry's lead, Harry 'firmly' decides the course of action. Is this a new twist in the Harry/Hermione relationship? Do you think something changed between them over the course of the year or is it typical that Harry takes over in certain situations? 8) Any thoughts on Harry's decision to go to Hogsmeade even after learning Voldemort believed it would be 'impossible' for Harry to enter Hogsmeade undetected? Did Harry forget this point in his haste to find the last Horcrux? 9) Please add any additional questions or comments that aren't covered in this summary. Jen, with much thanks to SSSusan for her suggestions. :) --------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: For more information on HPfGU's chapter discussions, please see "HPfGU DH Chapter Discussions" at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/database Next Chapter Discussion, Chapter 28, The Missing Mirror, September 1.