[HPforGrownups] Chapter 36 Summary

[Doreen]

No: HPFGUIDX 15177

1. Do we have any sense of how Snape reacted when Fudge summoned a
Dementor to accompany him to the castle?  We know McGonagall was furious
and tried to insist that the Dementor be removed, but how do we think
Snape reacted?  Someone pointed out last week that Snape was as
powerless to stop the Dementor from administering the Kiss to Crouch Jr.
as McGonagall.
***
I think that now, more than ever, Snape has to walk a fine line. He knows
that Dumbledore trusts him. So, I think he either did not react at all,
outwardly, at the risk of tipping his hand to the Dementors, who are
followers of Voldemort, just waiting for his rise.
I guess what I don't understand is ... if the Dementors are Voldemort's
great allies, why would they be so anxious to deliver the Kiss to Crouch
Jr., knowing that he is one of Voldemort's strongest supporters, even to the
end?

What kind of rank does Fudge have over the Dementors that is greater than
that of Voldemort, especially now that they know he is back?

2. Now: that pesky "gleam of triumph" in Dumbledore's eyes.  We've
discussed it & hashed it to death before, but does anyone have any new
thoughts about this?
***
I still think that Voldemort has been set up by Dumbledore into a false
sense of security by thinking that being able to touch Harry, now, is a big
deal. His cocky attitude will be his downfall.

3. Any thoughts about what causes one of the wands in a pair of dueling
"brother" wands to gain dominance and force the other one to start
regurgitating spells through the Priori Incantatem effect?
***
I think since they both have feathers from a Phoenix, and the Phoenix's song
was in Harry's head, it was helping him and not Voldemort. And an aside ...
I wonder what Dumbledore, Sirius, Snape, and Lupin's wands are made of? And
if this has anything to do with the OoP?

4. Do your perceptions of Sirius Black change after reading this
chapter?  Some have commented that his explosive temper and desire for
vengeance in PoA put them off his character a bit.  Did GoF (and this
chapter in particular) do anything to change your feelings about or
perceptions of Sirius?
***
I could hardly blame Sirius for being either short-fused or vengeful.
Imagine all that time in Azkaban because of Pettigrew. Of course, I could be
a bit prejudiced. I could not stand Peter Pettigrew from the git go. I do
not like sneaky people. I would rather have someone who is openly hostile
than one who is a sneaky, whiney git. (I love that word ... I don't know
that we have one that works as well that I can use here:)

5. We've discussed Cornelius Fudge a fair bit in the past.  Any new
thoughts?  Is he a head-in-the-sand Neville Chamberlain type or is his
refusal to act based on more sinister intentions?
***
I think Fudge is hiding something ... from everyone ... playing both ends to
the middle. He has things to hide from both Dumbledore and Voldemort.
Another sneaky critter that I do not trust.

6. Do we assume Dumbledore could have intended anything else other than
for Hagrid and Madame Maxime to serve as envoys to the giants?
***
No. I think that is exactly what he is intending. Voldemort thinks he will
just snap his fingers and all of his followers will return to him. He says
so in ch 33. "When Azkaban is broken open, the Lestranges will be honored
beyond their dreams. The Dementors will join us.... they are our natural
allies... we will recall the banished giants... I shall have all my devoted
servants returned to me, and an army of creatures whom all fear....

7. JKR confirmed in one of the chats that Arabella Figg, part of the
"old gang" in Dumbledore's camp, is the same "Mrs. Figg" with the cats
who lives around the corner from the Dursleys on Privet Drive and had
baby-sat Harry for years in the past.  What has been her likely role in
living in such close proximity to Harry all those years?
***
I think she watched over him and the area when Harry was home from Hogwarts.
I still think she is an animagi in the form of Crookshanks. Steve Vander Ark
suggested she might use a cat for a spy ... why not Crookshanks?
***
8. What do we think about what Dumbledore has asked Snape to do?
***
I think it scares the hell out of Snape and that he must have complete
confidence in both himself and Dumbledore to rejoin Voldemort and convince
him that he has not strayed from his side to that of AD's.
***
9. Was anyone else irritated at Hermione for interrupting the emotional
moment between Harry and Molly Weasley when they first read this
chapter?  We, of course, later understand what she was doing, but what
was your reaction when you first read this chapter?
***
I think I might have been disappointed that there was not more to that train
of thought ... but I figured it was just a too emotional scene that the
author figured needed a distraction to break it up before we were all in
tears. She is saving it up for the future. *sniff*

(I missed that part .. it is where she caught Rita Skeeter...)

Doreen, the Corn Patch Witch
***