CHAP DISC: HBP 13, The Secret Riddle

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 150131

CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter
13, The Secret Riddle

The chapter opens with Katie on her way to St. Mungo's and Harry 
confidently expressing his belief that Draco was behind the attack. 
Hermione and Ron ignore his theories about Draco the Death Eater, 
and when Harry tries to speak with Dumbledore during their next 
lesson, he too declines to discuss the matter.
 
Dumbledore and Harry do talk about other important concerns before 
beginning the next lesson. Harry latches onto the fact that Snape 
was the one who stopped the spread of the curse in Katie rather than 
Madam Pomfrey and questions Dumbledore about it, causing the 
portrait of Phineas Nigellus to deem Harry 'impertinent'.  
Dumbledore stifles the interruption by Phineas and simply gives 
Harry the information that Snape knows more about the dark arts than 
Madam Pomfrey. 

Harry also questions Dumbledore about his whereabouts when the 
attack took place, and although Dumbledore doesn't answer him, he 
surprises Harry by saying he will tell him later. Dumbledore ends 
their talk by stating he's aware that Mundungus is stealing objects 
from the Grimmauld Place and promises it won't happen again. Harry 
doesn't respond to this particular statement but Phineas does, angry 
that the Black heirlooms are being pilfered.
 
Dumbledore then proceeds to pour a new memory into the Pensieve, 
continuing with the tale of Merope Gaunt at the point when Tom 
Riddle, Sr. returned to Little Hangleton and Merope remained in 
London, pregnant with 'the baby who would one day become Lord 
Voldemort'. The memory is from Caractacus Burke, who appears as a 
revolving figure telling the story of how a young & very pregnant 
witch arrived at Borgin and Burkes, desperate for gold, and wishing 
to sell a locket she claimed belonged to Salazar Slytherin himself. 
Burke, skeptical after many similar stories over the years, was 
surprised to discover the locket was indeed authentic. Burke related 
with pleasure the bargain he made, acquiring the necklace from the 
girl for 10 galleons.
 
Harry is indignant about the 'bargain' and stunned that Merope chose 
to sell family treasures rather than use magic to get everything she 
needed. Dumbledore explains his theory that Merope was either 
unwilling or unable to perform magic after the departure of Riddle, 
Sr., even if it would have saved her life. Harry expresses disbelief 
that a mom would not want to stay alive for her son and compares 
Merope unfavorably with Lily. Dumbledore reminds Harry of Merope's 
many years of suffering and comments that she did not have the 
courage Lily did.
 
Dumbledore pours another memory into the Pensieve, this time his own 
memory from some 60 years previous. Harry and Dumbledore enter the 
Pensieve and follow a younger Dumbledore, with auburn hair and 
wearing a plum velvet suit, through the busy streets of London to a 
rather grim building where Dumbledore has an appointment with a Mrs. 
Cole. Harry discovers they are entering the orphanage where young 
Riddle was born, and the appointment is for Dumbledore to make 
arrangements for Tom Riddle's future education at Hogwarts. 

Mrs. Cole, taken aback by Dumbledore's appearance, requires some 
convincing in the form of magic and gin to agree that Riddle may 
attend Hogwarts. Once the matter is settled though, she becomes more 
talkative, relating the story of Tom's birth at the orphanage one 
bitter cold New Year's Eve, when a young girl gave birth to a baby 
boy and died within the hour. The only information she gave the 
staff about herself or the baby was a request to name him Tom 
Marvolo Riddle after the baby's father and grandfather. Alas, 
neither man nor anyone else ever came looking for the baby, so Tom 
was raised in the orphanage.
 
Mrs. Cole says that Tom was a very unusual baby and 'odd' child. 
After assurances from Dumbledore that Tom would be accepted at 
Hogwarts no matter what, she relates several incidents of odd 
behavior, including finding a dead rabbit hanging by a rope from the 
ceiling one day after Tom and the rabbit's owner argued, and another 
incident during a day trip to the seashore when two children went 
exploring with Tom in a cave and were 'never quite right' after the 
experience.  Although neither incident could be definitively linked 
to Tom, Mrs. Cole sums up Riddle's time in the orphanage by 
stating "I don't think many people will be sorry to see the back of 
him." 
 
Mrs. Cole offers to take Dumbledore to meet Riddle, who is found 
reading in bed in a rather bare room with scant furnishings. Harry 
immediately notices Merope got her wish: Tom is a miniature of his 
father and looks like none of the Gaunt family. At first wary and 
suspicious of Dumbledore, certain he's a doctor planning to take him 
away to an asylum, Tom is transformed to learn he is a wizard. His 
face and tone become feverish, and Harry notes an almost beast-like 
look upon his face as he quickly realizes his 'special' abilities 
are actually magical abilities. The smile leaves Dumbledore's face 
when Riddle relates his skill at hurting people with magic when they 
annoy him. Almost as quickly as Riddle was transformed by the news, 
he turns wary again and orders Dumbledore to show him magic right 
then and there. 

After ascertaining Tom would indeed be coming to Hogwarts and a 
reminder to refer to him as 'Professor' or 'Sir', Dumbledore 
casually flicks his wand and sets the wardrobe on fire, an act that 
surprises both Riddle and Harry almost equally. When the fire goes 
out and the wardrobe returns to its normal state, Riddle 'greedily' 
asks for a wand. Before Dumbledore launches into the mechanics of 
buying school supplies and finding Hogwarts, he tells Tom there is 
something trying to get out of his wardrobe and Harry hears a faint 
rattle. Rather reluctantly, Tom removes a plain cardboard box from 
the wardrobe and dumps the contents on the bed, revealing several 
everyday objects including toys and a thimble. 
 
Dumbledore lets Tom know that not only will he return all the items 
in that box to their rightful owners, but goes on to relate the 
expectations for him while at Hogwarts, including not stealing from 
others and learning to use magic in a proper way instead of as a 
means to hurt and control others. Tom's face is blank during the 
talk, impossible to read. As Dumbledore is about to leave, a 
question bursts out of Tom that he can't seem to suppress: he asks 
Dumbledore if his father was magical since he knows his mum could 
not have been because she died. And then, in what Harry believes was 
an attempt to impress Dumbledore, Riddle casually mentions his 
ability to talk to snakes. Dumbledore pauses, searching Tom's face 
and telling him only that the ability is 'unusual but not unheard 
of'. The two shake hands and part.
 
Dumbledore and Harry return from the long trip down memory lane to 
review what they had witnessed. Dumbledore sums up Riddle's 
abilities, advanced for such a young wizard and including the 
ability to speak Parseltongue. Dumbledore relates that learning Tom 
was a Parselmouth concerned him less than Riddle's instincts for 
cruelty, secrecy and domination. To Harry's question whether he knew 
then who Tom Riddle would become, Dumbledore says only that he 
planned to keep watch over him at Hogwarts, that he did not know 
then Riddle would grow into the 'most dangerous Dark wizard of all 
time'. 

Before the end of the lesson, Dumbledore points out several 
important features to Harry of the memory: 1) Tom's contempt for 
having a common name and for anything that made him 'ordinary'; 2) 
Riddle's preference to operate alone and friendless, a 
characteristic he cultivated for the rest of his life; and 3) Riddle 
already had a habit of collecting 'trophies' from those he bullied 
to symbolize the unpleasant magic he was capable of.  
 
 
Questions:
 
1. What reaction did you have to Hermione, Ron and Dumbledore 
refusing to talk to Harry about his theory that Draco was behind the 
incident with Katie?
 
2. Where do you think Dumbledore was over the weekend of Katie's 
attack and why did Draco plan the attack when Dumbledore was away?

3. How do you think Dumbledore plans to stop Mundungus from 
pilfering the Black family heirlooms?
 
4. Phineas continues to play a role in HBP which is more active than 
the other portraits in Dumbledore's office. Presumably he overhears 
all the vital information Dumbledore shares with Harry during the 
course of their lessons and he is also able to visit the Black 
house. Do you see JKR giving Phineas a more important role in Book 7?
 
5. Dumbledore offers Harry his interpretation of why Merope did not 
use magic to get the things she needed to survive. Do you think 
Merope chose not to perform magic after Riddle, Sr. left her, or 
that she was incapable of doing so?
 
6. Just out of curiosity, we never learned what happened to 
Caractacus Burke. Any speculation?
 
7. JKR made a statement prior to HBP that we would know more about 
the 'circumstances of Riddle's birth'. Was there anything about his 
birth or life in the orphanage that surprised you or was it pretty 
much the story you were expecting?
 
8. Why do you think Dumbledore drew attention to the fact that Harry 
was 'possibly [ ] feeling sorry for Lord Voldemort?' 

9. After learning Merope died rather than live for her son, Harry 
expressed anger that she made a poor choice compared to Lily, 
who 'didn't have a choice'. Dumbledore corrected him gently, saying 
Lily *did* have a choice. Why do you think Harry didn't believe Lily 
had a choice when he heard the memory in POA of Voldemort telling 
her to 'step aside'?

10. Dumbledore seems to have an ongoing battle with young boys not 
using the proper etiquette of referring to teachers as 'Professor' 
or 'Sir'.  What did you think about the way Riddle talks to 
Dumbledore compared to how Harry talks to Snape, erm, Professor 
Snape?
 
11. Harry is surprised to see Dumbledore set the wardrobe on fire. 
Why did Dumbledore choose to show a boy whose 'magic had run away 
with him' such a spectacular and destructive-looking demonstration? 

12. As Harry leaves the office he notices the ring is gone and 
wonders whether the mouth organ Riddle had stowed in the cardboard 
box might be of importance. Dumbledore beams at him and says, "very 
astute Harry, but the mouth organ was only ever a mouth organ." Was 
there any reason Dumbledore answered Harry's question so 
cryptically? And why was he pleased to hear Harry say that? On a 
side note, do you think that was a JKR message to fans? :)


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Jen R., thanking Petra for her editing help and the other chapter 
discussion leaders for posts she could review before before writing 
her own!