CHAP DISC: HBP 13, The Secret Riddle

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 150239

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

<snip most of Jen's very concise and objective summary> 
> The memory is from Caractacus Burke, who appears as a revolving
figure <snip>

Carol:
I think this is DD's own memory. He talked to Burke at some point
after Tom Riddle's birth (time frame is unclear). A minor point, sorry!
  
> 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?

Carol:
I can't remember my original reaction to Ron and Hermione (maybe
satisfaction that they were agreeing with each other for once), but
now, thinking about it, I don't think it's surprising that they
underestimate Draco's mission and doubt that he's a DE. After all, to
this point, he's been more a nuisance than a danger, making "Potter
Stinks" badges, writing and conducting "Weasley Is Our King," trying
to get Hagrid fired, and, in OoP, leading the Inquisitorial Squad--not
their friend, obviously, fond of insulting and annoying all of them,
but still in some respects an ordinary spoiled rich kid who gets
decent marks and plays Quidditch. It's too early for them to notice
that Draco looks tired and ill or for Hermione to grasp the
significance of his receiving detention for not doing homework (when
has that happened before? Surely it hasn't). They should realize,
perhaps, that he no longer has his chief weapon ("Wait till my father
hears about this!") and that he's humiliated by his father's arrest
and public exposure (by Harry) as a DE, but they don't know him well
enough to understand that he's suffered a real blow that would lead
him to desperate measures like trying to kill somebody. (If they knew
about the plan to repair the Vanishing Cabinet, they might understand
and accept that and try to thwart it, but they don't.) And there's
Harry as well--Ron and Hermione have only months before gone on a
rescue mission to save Sirius Black from an imaginary kidnapping, only
to have him die at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange, as he would not
have done if Harry had not believed him to be kidnapped. It's no
wonder that they hesitate to believe what seems to be another wild
story. (Yes, Draco is up to something, but a Death Eater? Give it a
rest, Harry!)

As for Dumbledore, I thought and still think that he knows all about
Draco and LV from Snape: murder plot, UV, and all (everything except
the Vanishing Cabinet, which Snape doesn't know about, either). But DD
can't tell Harry without endangering both Draco and Snape, and
possibly Harry if he tries to stop Draco himself. He believes, I
think, that he and Snape can handle it, and that it's best for Harry
to focus on learning about LV and the Horcruxes.

> 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?

Carol:

Since he seems to have gathered all of his memories (except
Slughorn's) long before, part of a longterm plan, evidently, he must
be finding the location of the cave, where he suspects that a Horcrux
is hidden. As for Draco, he couldn't have known that DD, his intended
victim, would be gone, but he's chosen the first Hogsmeade weekend to
get the necklace into the school. Possibly, he expects the Imperio'd
person to give the wrapped necklace to Filch to be delivered to
Dumbledore without being unwrapped, but it seems likely to backfire
and kill Filch. (Maybe Draco subconsciously hoped that would happen?)
But the whole sequence of events involving the necklace is so obscure
that I don't know what to think. How do the coins work? How did he get
either the coin or the necklace to Rosmerta? What, if anything, did
Blaise have to do with it? If the coins were merely enchanted with a
Protean Charm, why does Rosmerta act as if she, too, is under an
Imperius Curse? I don't get it, JKR! It doesn't make any more sense to
me than it does to Hermione.
> 
> 3. How do you think Dumbledore plans to stop Mundungus from 
pilfering the Black family heirlooms?

Carol:
Appealing to his nonexistent conscience? I really don't know. Maybe
it's all part of DD's plan, assomeone suggested, yet DD can't possibly
know at this point that the real locket Horcrux is possibly among the
items that Mundungus stole, so that seems unlikely. But I do strongly
suspect a link between Dung and Aberforth as members of the Order,
both apparently disreputable and both part of DD's spy network, but
again, I don't know what's going on. Besides, Dung has probably
already taken everything of value that hasn't been hoarded by
Kreacher, so there may be nothing left to pilfer.
>  
> 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?

Carol:
I like Phineas and the fact that he provides a link between 12 GP and
Hogwarts has to be important. Certainly he knows about the Horcruxes
since he overhears most of Harry's lessons with DD (I don't know
whether it's significant that he misses their return from the Pensieve
this time or not). More important, IMO, he shares DD's trust in Snape,
and he must have overheard most of their conversations as well
(except, unfortunately, the argument in the forest). He could prove
important, possibly as a source of information for Lupin and the other
Order members if Harry won't listen. Or that's what I hope will
happen. He's more than a wall decoration, that much I'm sure of.
>  
> 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?

Carol:
Given what happens to Tonks, I think she was incapable of it. But what
bothers me is that DD doesn't correct Harry when he suggests that she
could have kept herself alive through magic. We're led to believe in
the interviews and in canon that you can't conjure real money or
substantial food--it will disappear. Maybe she could magically clean
or repair her robes if she knew how, but how was she supposed to eat?
She had no education that we're aware of, no means of earning a
living. She managed to find Knockturn Alley to sell the necklace to
the heartless skinflint Burke, but apparently it never occurred to her
 to ask for a job earlier in her pregnancy. How *did* she stay alive
till that point? Anyway, I find her a thoroughly pitiable figure
whether the loss of magic was a conscious choice, reflecting her
repentance for tricking the man she loved into marrying her, or the
result of her despair. No one ever loved her; all she ever had was the
brief illusion of love resulting from the so-called love potion, and
her confession of the truth was followed by rejection. No one ever
taught her right from wrong; she was neglected and psychologically and
physically abused; she was dismissed as ugly and incompetent probably
from early childhood onward. Maybe her mother loved her, but her
mother died and left her with her monster of a father and a brother
who wasn't much better. Yes, she was weak, but I agree with Dumbledore
that she deserves pity, not condemnation.
>  
> 6. Just out of curiosity, we never learned what happened to 
> Caractacus Burke. Any speculation?

Carol:
It's possible that, as hounyhymm (sp!) suggested, he was murdered by
Voldemort at some point after Dumbledore's memory of him, which I'm
guessing was obtained soon after the memory from the house-elf.
However, Dumbledore doesn't imply that he was murdered, so I'm
guessing that it was a natural death. Interestingly, there are Burkes
on the Black Family Tree, so he may be one of the two sons of Phineas
Nigellus' daughter Belvira Black (1886-1962) and Herbert Burke.
Caractacus is the Latinized form of Carthach (Welsh "Caradawc"), the
last British (Brythonic Celt) leader to resist Rome. So Caractacus
Burke and Caradoc Dearborn (Order member murdered in VW1) share a
variation of the same name. I'm guessing that Caractacus shared the
pureblood ideology of the Blacks, but he strikes me as a heartless
miser as well. He reminds me of an unredeemed Ebenezer Scrooge,
placing a high value on money and shrewd business deals, with no
concern for pitiable figures like Merope Gaunt. Ten galleons for a
priceless locket! I can't picture him as a family man, so I'm guessing
that he died childless, helping to reduce the number of pureblood
families. Whether his wealth went to his brother's or sister's
descendants or to his business partner, Borgin, I can't guess. I'm
surprised, though, that we haven't yet encountered any DEs named Burke.
>  
> 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?

Carol:
I was expecting something very different: Marvolo Gaunt as a famous
Dark wizard and known descendant of Salazar Slytherin; his daughter as
a Juliet figure who fell in love with the handsome Muggle Tom Riddle,
who deserted her after finding out that she was a witch--not because
she was ugly and had tricked him with a love potion, only because of
prejudice against magic. I certainly never anticipated Morfin or
inbreeding or any of it. I can almost empathize with Tom Jr.'s
disappointment--but not, of course, with his decision to murder his
father and frame poor Morfin, who, as DD says, did not deserve *that*
whatever else he was and had done. As for the birth and the orphanage,
they were pretty much what I expected. Mrs. Cole was a bit of a
surprise, a colorful minor character expertly drawn, and
eleven-year-old Tom Jr. made my blood run cold--the kind of child who
in RL would pull the wings off butterflies at age three and be an
incorrigible delinquent, perhaps an arsonist, by twelve--a true
sociopath with the potential to become a mass murderer, but with
powerseven he doesn't understand. I don't know what I expected, but if
I'd thought about it based on the glimpse of TR at sixteen provided by
CoS, I suppose it would have been something like this, minus the
hanged rabbit and stolen trophies.
>  
> 8. Why do you think Dumbledore drew attention to the fact that Harry 
> was 'possibly [ ] feeling sorry for Lord Voldemort?' 

Carol:
Because compassion is essential if Harry is to fulfill his role as
LV's nemesis and antithesis. LV doesn't know his enemy or understand
him; Harry must do both if he is to defeat LV through Love. But first,
IMO, he must feel compassion for Snape. . . .
> 
> 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'?

Carol:
I don't think Harry saw "Stand aside" as a choice. It was
incomprehensible to him that she might do so. Even Petunia Dursley
would have stood in front of her child (but not in front of Harry!) to
defend him. It's hard for Harry to understand that LV actually sees
standing aside as a viable option, perhaps based on his own experience
of having been "deserted" by his mother. (Again, I've read JKR's
interview on the subject, and I think the choice is just that, to get
out of the way and save her own life at the expense of her child's or
to die with him, with no motive on LV's part except to get to Harry
and kill him to thwart the Prophecy. Lily in herself is unimportant to
him. Lily turns that choice into something more when she offers her
life in exchange for Harry's; that, IMO, is the point at which her
situation becomes one that has not happened before and invokes the
ancient magic that saves Harry.)
> 
> 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?

Carol:
I definitely saw the parallel, and I'm glad that Snape is not the only
one who insists on being treated with respect. It also, of course,
reflects DD's insistence on manners and courtesy even when dealing
with Death Eaters, as well as his complete trust in Severus Snape
throughout the series. Not a good sign that Harry is behaving like
Riddle, though. Maybe he'll learn in Book 7 that Snape, like DD,
really deserves to be called "Sir"? I'd like to see DD proven right on
this point, but we'll see.
>  
> 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? 

Carol:
As others have said, the demonstration had to be both spectacular and
scary to impress Tom and convince him that this strange bearded man in
a velvet suit had powers at least as great as his own over which he
had far more control and that he was not someone to fool around with.
"The only one he ever feared" originated at this point, I think. But
Tom also saw that DD could undo his destructive magic. To set the
wardrobe on fire and let it burn to ashes would have been scary but
would have alienated Tom; to destroy it and then restore it was more
impressive and yet less dark, showing courtesy to Tom by restoring his
possessions (an example that he wants Tom to follow) and demonstrating
that magic can be used for good as well as evil. Whether the point
fully registered is hard to say.
> 
> 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? :)

Carol:
I think DD is glad that Harry is taking note of seemingly minor
details and of Tom's hoarding tendencies, hinting that they might be
important later but not wanting to reveal the Horcrux concept quite
yet. And any message to Harry from DD is a message to readers as well.
But, yes, I think there's a sly wink to us from JKR. Sometimes a
ten-year-old Muggle boy named Mark Evans is just a ten-year-old Muggle
boy named Mark Evans and not a surprise Muggleborn Gryffindor relative
of Harry's. (Sigh!) Not every reference to an object or person is a
clue or even a red herring. Still, though, the Vanishing Cabinet
incident was a clue; the Hand of Glory reference in CoS was a clue;
the unopenable locket in OoP was a clue; "young Sirius Black" in SS/PS
was a clue (or at least a foreshadowing). So the mouth organ
(harmonica?) was only ever a mouth organ. One down, several hundred to go.

Carol, thanking Jen for not asking yes-or-no questions!