Distaff DEs - JKR priorities - IDO Ron - graveyard glitches - doomed fan

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 32231

Heidi wrote, many digests back:

>It's implied that all the
Death Eaters are men (although surely, it's possible that one or two
of the surnamed individuals are women - as they are masked, there's
no way Harry can truly tell completely) and that their wives may get
involved in some of the terrorizing but are not included in the
meetings.

I'm not following you.  Voldemort speaks of the Lestranges and we know from 
Sirius that they're a married couple (i.e., they're not a pair of brothers). 
  Doesn't that make Ms. Lestrange a Death Eater, Q.E.D.?

David wrote:

>Do you think I am right about who is to be developed as a character in 
>future books and who not? Personally I find this question a bit more 
>interesting than the 'who will die?' one.

So do I.  I would add Dumbledore to your list.  The answer to the question 
currently haunting Harry and us--how did Dumbledore know that Snape was 
trustworthy?--will probably be almost as illuminating of Dumbledore's 
character as Snape's.  I also thought he got much more complex in GoF, so I 
have hopes that that trend will continue.

Penny wrote:

>Is it in fact even necessary that it be *Krum* in terms of pure plot 
>development; could she not have had Harry lured to the edge of the forest 
>in conversation with someone else?  I confess that after ruminating on this 
>for some time, I can't think of any reason why it was necessary that it be 
>Krum who had a conversation with Harry at that point.  Remind me if I'm 
>missing something.

It could be others, but when I read it it kept various red herrings going, 
e.g. is Karkaroff a baddie?  Krum?  Also, the suspicion between Karkaroff 
and Dumbledore, and the tensions in trying to forge better international 
understanding, are a thin but interesting thematic thread that's helped 
along by Krum seemingly being attacked by a high-ranking British official.

Anyway, in the basic question of what JKR puts the highest priority on, I'd 
be hard-pressed to say whether it's plot or character.  One thing's sure:  
she does an amazing job of not sacrificing either to the other.

David promised:

>I will try to get back to characterisation another time, particularly the 
>very deep comment that Ron is becoming more himself.

I liked the comment too, and as a loyal C.R.A.B. member, I must respond.  I 
don't want to start a round of "I was so ____ at age ___ and then became 
more _____," but I am sure I'm not the only person who reflects on her life 
to this point and sees many past entrenchments, conversions, and slow 
evolutions.  Ron is not terribly likeable in GoF (though to me he is 
extremely empathize-with-able); he is jealous, overly eager to impress, 
quick to judge, and hot-tempered <Amy bites tongue hard to avoid confessing 
all the attributes of her 14-year-old self>.  Why see this as an 
entrenchment and not, say, a crisis preceding a conversion?  Up until now, 
i.e. through childhood, Ron has lived fairly patiently with his low social 
status, poverty, and the various frustrations of being the youngest of six 
brothers.  His best friend, being famous, rich, and an only child, seems 
tailor-made to exacerbate those frustrations, or, as Ron matures, to ease 
them by demonstrating to Ron that fame/wealth/solitude aren't all that he 
might wish for.

Adolescence is a time when one begins to make conscious choices about what 
kind of person one wants to be, what kind of life one wants to have, etc., 
and at the same time becomes more aware of how difficult it is to make those 
choices for oneself (as Elizabeth eloquently wrote, at this age children 
begin to learn that adults have very big problems indeed--I would add that 
they learn it just as they are also really beginning to understand that they 
are soon to enter the adult world themselves.  Scary).  One can look at any 
14-year-old and say, "yep, he was just like that when he was 4," and look at 
that 14-year-old another 10 years hence and say "yep, he hasn't changed," 
but IMO, we all become more ourselves *and* change.  If Draco can still 
change (yes) and Ginny can still change (yes), then Ron, who is much more 
complex and developed a character, undoubtedly has a lot of changes still to 
undergo.

Cindy wrote:

>Now that we've had an entire major plot twist rest on the use of a potion 
>(polyjuice potion in GoF), I started wondering why it isn't regulated by 
>MoM.

Maybe it is?  The kids brew it secretly, using a book from the Restricted 
section, and since they never get caught, we don't know what their 
punishment would have been.  And when Dumbledore talks about Barty's use of 
it, the latter has rather more important things on his rap sheet than 
identity theft, so it's realistic that Dumbledore wouldn't add "this is 
illegal, by the way" as he pours out the Polyjuice.

Cindy wrote:

>And (since we're really on a speculative roll now), maybe the shadows also 
>prevented the DEs from stunning Harry, as it has always bothered me that 30 
>DEs shoot at Harry and they all miss.

I never thought of this before, but now that I see the problem written out, 
I think they *didn't* all shoot at Harry.  The last person who tried to 
curse him didn't do too well, did he?  To all appearances, AK doesn't work 
on him, and they're thinking, "I was right to desert ol' V--his days are 
numbered."  Most of them are probably just shouting and running and 
generally covering their butts while being very careful not to actually take 
on this terrifyingly powerful kid.

Cindy again:

>Perhaps the shadows developed their plan because, once they are out of the 
>wand, they become both omnicient and powerfully magical.

I had a similar impression--not omniscient, perhaps, but able to grasp the 
situation instantly (even from "inside" the wand, so to speak, once the PI 
began).

Ohtoresonate wrote:

>Harry has no bigger fan than Dobby, whose death could resonate on so
>many levels.

>To cite just one possibility - since Dobby names Harry as THE hope for
>the downtrodden like himself, it would be most ironic if Dobby is to
>save the savior...and if he should do so in noble self-sacrifice, all
>the more poignant.

Dobby's high on my list of the doomed also.  Only trouble is, if JKR thinks 
this death will be wrenching for fans, she's only half-right.  Half will 
weep, half will cheer.  Of course, some will cheer even if our beloved 
Hagrid dies a grisly death <glares meaningfully at Jennygeist and Cindy>.

Amy Z
grimly noting that Lupin could well be described as a "special fan" of 
Harry's

---------------------------------------
If only the hat had mentioned a house
for people who felt a bit queasy,
that would have been the one for him.
     --HP and the Philosopher's Stone
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