Re: CHAPDISC3: HBP 3, WILL AND WON’T

[Collin M]

No: HPFGUIDX 142593

rbookworm46:

*snip chapter summary*

> Q1:  Does this signal a change in attitude toward Harry?  Is this a 
> grassroots change or a campaign started by the Ministry?

I'd say it was a grassroots thing.  Since the ministry didn't until
very recently even acknowledge the existence of the hall of prophecy
and nobody in the ministry is allowed to talk about what happened
there, it wouldn't make much sense if they were spreading the word
that Harry was "the chosen one."  I suppose it is possible that they
were secretly spreading the rumors while officially denying them, as
part of Scrimgeour's later bid to use Harry to make the ministry look
good, but it seems foolish to try to do something like that before he
has gotten Harry to sign off on it.  I think Scrimgeour would get
Harry on board first and then spread the rumor's in order to avoid
exactly the situation he ends up in, where Harry, popularly considered
the one can defeat Voldemort, won't condone the actions of the
ministry.  Since Scrimgeour doesn't convince Harry and that situation
does occur, it suggests that Scrimgeour was just trying to jump on the
"chosen one" bandwagon, and that it was not orchestrated by the ministry.

> Q2:  How does knowing that Scrimgeour was the Head Auror change your 
> interpretation of earlier events as they had unfolded in OotP?

Someone in one of the previous chapter discussions pointed out that we
already knew who Scrimgeour was based on some dialog in OP7.  I had
completely forgotten this by the time I first read the chapter though.
 However, I don't know how much you can assess from this information,
because we've seen both good and bad come out of the ministry. 
Clearly he has to know his magic to be an Auror, based on what we've
learned from Harry's own ambitions to be one. But his proficiency at
magic still doesn't tell us anything about his character, so in the
end it didn't affect my assessment of that.

> Q3:  Events later in the book show us that Scrimgeour tries to use 
> Harry to get some positive publicity for the Ministry.  Do you think 
> this is what caused the rift between Scrimgeour and Dumbledore – 
> that Scrimgeour wanted to set up a meeting with Harry and Dumbledore 
> refused?  Or do you think there are some long-standing issues 
> between them?

Fudge only mentions the Harry issue in HBP1.  Another possible rift
could be Scrimgeour's exclusion from the Order's activities.  Since we
 know from OP7 that Scrimgeour was questioning Kingsley Shacklebolt
and Tonks (presumably about their search for Sirius) and that
Shacklebolt had been feeding ministry information about Sirius  being
in Tibet, but that in HBP1 Fudge knows that Sirius was killed at the
MoM, it seems, depending on exactly what the ministry knows about what
happened at the end of OotP, that Scrimgeour would have at least some
strong suspicions that Shacklebolt was lying to him.  If he knows that
Shacklebolt and others were working with the Order, does he resent
Dumbledore's subversion of his employees?  He appoints Shacklebolt to
guard the Prime Minister.  Does this mean everything is OK between
them or is this appointment a way to keep Shacklebolt away from
Dumbledore?  Or are the ministry wizards who were working for the
Order part of the inquiry that we never hear of again? 

> Q7:  Is Harry's pessimism justified?  Do you think he has reason to 
> believe that Dumbledore will not do as he says he will? 

I don't think that Dumbledore has ever said he would do something and
not do it, but I think it's indicative of Harry's feelings about his
own behavior at the end of OotP that he's worried that Dumbledore
won't come.

> Q8:  What do you think of Dumbledore's behavior here? 

I think it's hilarious and they've got a lot more coming to them where
that came from.  :)

> Q10:  Do you think *anything* will bring Harry back to the house?  
> Do you think pleasant memories could ever change the atmosphere of 
> the house?

If RAB is Regulus and the locket or anything important is there, I
think he will go back.  It could be a pretty poignant moment in book 7
for Harry to have to go dig through 12 Grimmauld Place.
 
> Q11:  Is this just Vernon's normal reaction, or is it something more 
> significant?
>
> Q16: Why was Petunia "oddly flushed"?
> 
> Q17: Do you think Harry will be allowed to return to Privet Drive?4

Dumbledore makes a point of ensuring that Harry can return one last
time, and there's this mysterious thing between him and Petunia that
hasn't been explained yet (the odd flushing), so I think he needs to
return one more time.  The Dursley's role in the books has been
decreasing in the last books, but in book 7 Harry will be in an odd
situation with them.  To the WW, he will be a legal adult, but to the
muggles he will still be a minor and Vernon Dursley could cause him
some problems if he decided he wanted to.  (I don't know about laws of
inheritance and minors and guardians etc. so I can't speculate too
much.)  I think this is the first the Dursley's have ever heard about
Harry's wealth.  Harry says back in one of the early books that Vernon
Dursley's distaste for the WW wouldn't extend to money, and his
reaction to the news of Harry's inheritance seems like a motive for
wanting to give Harry trouble (not to mention general
mean-spiritedness and resentment toward Harry).

> Q12:  Harry does not give Kreacher any orders about discussing the 
> Order.  Was this an error by Harry and Dumbledore?  Or do Sirius's 
> orders to Kreacher still apply?

My impression was that the purpose in sending him to Hogwarts to help
in the kitchens was to keep him away from anyone who could benefit
from information Kreacher might have in the first place, but House
elves certainly seem to be able to stretch the rules quite a bit
(Kreachers passing out info in OotP and Dobby's warning in CoS) except
when given very direct orders (Harry's order to shut up which Kreacher
wanted and tried to break but couldn't) so it seems like the safest
thing to do would be to order him not to speak or write anything at
all.  (They could have just offed him OotP, but no...  :)  )
 

Collin