CHAPDISC: HBP26, The Cave

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 162477

zgirnius:
*(snip)*
> 7)	Is the potion a poison? Why or why not?

Ceridwen:
Yes.  It is meant for to keep people away from a valued item.

> 8)	What do Dumbledore's experiences drinking the potion tell us 
about him? What is the meaning of his words and actions?

Ceridwen:
Everyone seems to think that the potion is a memory.  I think it is a 
hallucingenic that will make the drinker live his or her worst fear.  
In this case, Dumbledore is living the nightmare of his charges, 
students perhaps, being under attack, tortured, killed.  Since it is 
followed up by the invasion of Hogwarts by Death Eaters, Dumbledore 
must have had one of those "Oh, rats!" moments when Rosmerta told him 
that the Dark Mark was above the castle.

> 14)	Does the chapter title "The Cave" have any special 
significance? Is its setting in a cave important? (Important events at 
the ends of PS/SS, CoS, and PoA involve subterranean settings, as well).

Ceridwen:
Underground is the place of death.  Crypts, catacombs, watery graves, 
the Underworld in many mythologies, all lie underground.  Burial mounds 
are man-made caves, many of which hide the bodies of the dead.  So, I 
would say that every book has its Underground moment toward the end:  
The seven tasks in SS/PS; the Chamber of Secrets in CoS; the tunnel, 
and the night setting, in PoA; the graveyard in GoF; the Ministry of 
Magic, which is mostly underground, in OotP.  Come to think of it, 
weren't all of these places visited at night?

Thanks for a good discussion!

Ceridwen.