Re: [HPforGrownups] CHAPDISC3: HBP 3, WILL AND WON’T

[Kathryn Jones]

No: HPFGUIDX 142645


> CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter
> 3, Will and Won't.
snip

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

   KJ writes:
      I'm thinking that the whole article points out which individuals 
were at the MoM, and by calling Harry "The Chosen One", I am wondering 
if the campaign isn't about trying to lure Voldemort into attacking 
Harry. This would certainly cause a rift between S. and DD.
> 
> Q2:  How does knowing that Scrimgeour was the Head Auror change your
> interpretation of earlier events as they had unfolded in OotP?

KJ writes:
    Since we already have two aurors in the OotP, I find that if 
Scrimgeour was really involved with defeating Voldemort, he also would 
be a member of the Order. Since he is not, that would indicate to me 
that DD does not trust him.

> Q5:  Do these measures seem reasonable?

KJ:
   Dumbledore, and Molly both had something to say about how anyone 
could find out about the answers to the questions asked for security. 
Also, most of the people murdered by the DE were actually in their own 
homes at the time. It doesn't seem to do much to cause a feeling of 
security.

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

KJ:
   Dumbledore appears to be a man pressed for time. He slides over the 
social niceties. He is taking the gloves off now. He is not so much 
polite and courteous as instructing the Dursleyson how to behave. He is 
mildly threatening and I am sure means to be so.
> 
> Q9:  Do you believe that the Order will ever move back to 12
> Grimmauld Place?  Why not move someplace friendlier?  Do they
> secretly enjoy irritating Mrs. Black?  <g>  Is it because Phineas's
> portrait, or something else that is significant, is in the house?

KJ:
   I think that they might move back into it. It has every security 
spell and ward on it that the Blacks could find, invent, or copy. If 
someone else serves as secret keeper, it could well be useable and more 
private than Hogwarts. I also think that at least one of the horcruxes 
are there.
> 
> 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?

KJ:
  I think that only the horcrux will draw him. He sees the house only 
through Sirius' eyes.
> 
> Q11:  Is this just Vernon's normal reaction, or is it something more
> significant?

  KJ:
   Harry has been holding his living Godfather over Vernon's head for 
some time. I think that he was relieved that Sirius was gone. Harry had, 
of course, failed to mention it. I don't think that Vernon has clued in 
that Harry will be able to use magic freely once he gains his majority.
> 
> 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?

KJ:
   I think that Sirius no longer has a hold on Kreacher. I also think 
that Kreacher is too old and senile to be actively involved in any plot. 
The security on the house may not hold for long, but I don't think we 
will see Kreacher involved in a plot. Harry did think to tell him not to 
talk to Draco.
> 
> Q13: Why does Dumbledore say this now?  Why not 5 years ago?  At
> this point, why say it at all? 

KJ:
   He knows that he won't be around to dicuss it at a much later date. 
He is ensuring that things proceed according to plan after he is gone.
> 
> Q14:  Will there be consequences for either Harry or Dudley in
> Dumbledore's having done this? 

KJ:
   If DD has made it clear that the protections end when Harry can no 
longer call the house his home, they may make him quite welcome. They 
may want to get Dudley out of the house to protect him.
> 
> Q15:  What is significant about Harry turning 17 or "coming of age"
> that would cause the protection to end? 

KJ:
   As a man and no longer a child, his mother's protection will be 
finished. She was protecting her child. At seventeen, magically, he will 
be a child no longer.
> 
> Q16: Why was Petunia "oddly flushed"?

KJ:
    She probably has clued in that Harry will be able to practice magic 
at home when he comes of age. She would have seen it before. As 
everything revolves around Dudley, she forgot that Harry would reach his 
majority earlier. Perhaps that was another area of discord between Lily 
and Petunia.