CHAPDISC: DH1, The Dark Lord Ascending

Tue Aug 21 14:10:10 UTC 2007

No: HPFGUIDX 175961

Thank you, Ceridwen, for a great discussion! I'm so glad the chapter 
discussions have started.

I copied to word, then replied, and just realized that the >> marks 
don't appear. (Slow on the tech uptake, aren't I?)

I'm skipping questions that would have a short answer that others 
have already made. I've also left the last few questions off and will 
reply to them later.

Questions:
3. The peacock at Malfoy Manor is mentioned at least twice in the
book. What is its significance?

Potioncat:
I have two very fond memories of peacocks. A pair roamed the campus 
at Navy Post Graduate School in Monterey, CA. A peacock was featured 
throughout Jan Brett's "Bearty and the Beast." So to me, having the 
beautiful peacocks at the Malfoy Estate was a strong contrast, 
between the beauty of the place, and the ugliness of the people 
there. So, perhaps the contrast was JKR's intention? At the same 
time, I wondered at their being white. It seemed to mirror the 
coloring of the family. 

4. On the first reading of Deathly Hallows, who did you think might
be the person hanging unconscious above the table?

Potioncat:
It was frightening, not knowing, and wondering if it would be someone 
we knew.

5. Only one person already in the room looks up at the unconscious
revolving body above the table: Draco Malfoy. Once the body is
resuscitated, he no longer looks at her. Why?

Potioncat:
He denies knowing who she is, and at the time, I thought he was 
telling the truth. But later he'll deny knowing Harry and friends. 
I'm not sure why he denies knowing who she is, unless he thinks he 
less he seems to know, the less will expected of him. But I'm sure he 
knows who she is. Even though he wouldn't have taken the class, he 
would have seen her at the Staff Table. On the other hand, maybe he's 
afraid that if he admits knowing her, he might have to share her 
treatment.

 I think he doesn't look at her once she's alert because he doesn't 
want to face her. 

6. Voldemort gives Snape the seat of honor at his right hand. Is
this because Snape is his "right-hand man"? Or is Voldemort "keeping
his friends close, and his enemies closer"?

Potioncat:
Snape is his right hand man---at the moment. I wouldn't be surprised 
if there isn't something of a ceremony around who will sit there each 
time.

7. Yaxley's information is different from Snape's. Is anyone in the
Ministry who is not a member of the Order of the Phoenix aware that
the Order will move Harry earlier than expected?

Potioncat:
No. The Ministry has one plan, and the Order has another. Luckily the 
Order has an idea what the Ministry's plan is.

9. Who is Snape's informant? Who does Voldemort think it is? Is it
the same person?

Potioncat:
Oh, good. I see no one else knows either! During the first read, 
there was still the question of whether Snape was friend or foe. I 
thought it was telling that LV asks if it's the usual source and 
Snape says yes. I thought that Snape was actually telling a half-lie 
here. As if it was the usual source, but that source wasn't who LV 
thought it was. It's likely that LV thought the informant was 
Mundungus. 

At the same time, I think LV placed Snape back at Hogwarts to have 
access to Portrait!DD, thinking that Portrait!DD would be bound to 
serve Snape. But I wouldn't expect LV to think that Snape had contact 
with Portrait!DD at that time.

I had thought that if Snape was "friend" he would still have a 
contact with the Order, even if many of the members thought he had 
gone over. (It turns out he didn't.) But at the end of this chapter, 
it was very, very likely that Snape was "foe" and this made me 
suspect Order members in later chapters. 

I wonder if the reader's expectation affected how the scene played 
out? What does anyone else think? Did having a preference or 
expectation for friend or foe affect how you interpreted this chapter?

10. Lucius and his family are clearly not happy with Voldemort's
presence. Is this because Lucius is still disgraced from his botched
mission at the Ministry and his use of the diary Horcrux? Does their
apparent discomfort at the situation foreshadow their lack of
involvement in the Battle of Hogwarts?

Potioncat:
Lucius and Draco have both failed to deliver. The agony that LV had 
put them through last year is still going on. Foreshadow
. hmmm. 
Maybe. It certainly sets it up. Except, it makes some of Draco's 
actions more confusing. 

11. Wormtail is described as sitting so low that his chair looks
unoccupied. Is this further sign of his physical deterioration as
seen in HBP? Is this because he would rather not be there? Is it
just that he is a small man? Or is it symbolic in some way?

Potioncat:
I think it's important to how low he is. JKR loathes a traitor.

12. The Malfoys do not make much eye contact with Voldemort. When
Voldemort looks at Snape, other Death Eaters look away. Are all of
the Death Eaters at the manor happy with Voldemort's return?

Potioncat:
No one seems happy. I'd say, feeling anything less than pure terror 
would be considered a good day.

13. Snape looks comfortably into Voldemort's eyes when the other
Death Eaters turn away. We see an example of Voldemort's Legillimency
later in the book. How strong is Snape's Occlumency?

Potioncat:
He's a superb Occlumens. Only, how did Lupin know that? And whatever 
came of the theory that Lupin was a Legilimens?

14. Why does Voldemort praise Bellatrix, then humiliate her?

Potioncat:
He's a cat, playing with a mouse (No! Wait! I like cats.)  If LV has 
always behaved like this, then young Snape had good reason to doubt 
whether LV would spare Lily.

16. When Harry reviews Snape's memories later in the book, Snape
tells Dumbledore he has only watched people die whom he could not
save. Yet he looks dispassionately at Charity Burbage as she pleads
and cries. Was Snape lying to Dumbledore? Was this the first time
he could not save someone? Was Charity Burbage someone Snape could
not save?

Potioncat:
This was an incredibly blood chilling scene for me to read , but I 
don't see how he could have helped her.. In HBP Snape takes credit 
for other deaths, but I think he couldn't prevent those either. But 
the "lately" in Snape's comment, makes it sound as if he may have 
been more involved in deaths the first time around.

17. Voldemort refers to "Mudbloods" as "thieves" of the Wizarding
World's "knowledge and magic." This charge is repeated later in the
book. Is it possible for a witch or wizard to have her or his magic
stolen? Is it possible to steal knowledge without leaving that
knowledge for others as well?

Potioncat:
This is the sort of argument one group makes against another. It 
doesn't sound reasonable to someone else, but can be believed by 
those who already distrust a different group. I grew up hearing that 
evil people in Hollywood were conspiring to corrupt children. Evil 
people were making shows like "Bewitched" to make us think witchcraft 
was all right. Look what it's come to. Now we've progressed to Harry 
Potter---which actually teaches us spells. OK, I'm using a silly 
example. But you don't have to go far to hear similar RL examples. 
(The Bewitched one is true. I remember a conversation about it when I 
was a kid.)

It wouldn't take much to convince Purebloods that some how Muggles 
are stealing magic. Look at the evidence! There are fewer and fewer 
Purebloods and more and more Muggleborns. 

18. When Charity Burbage's body falls to the table, several Death
Eaters jump back in their chairs. Draco falls off his chair to the
floor. Is this symbolic of some Death Eaters not being fully behind
Voldemort's agenda? Or was it simply surprise?

Potioncat:
I don't care how bad you are, having a body fall on the table in 
front of you would have to be unpleasant.

19. Why are the Purebloods dwindling?

Potioncat:
I think those who don't care about being Pureblood, are marrying 
outside of blood by choice. So right then you have one less Pureblood 
marriage. JKR has stated that the inbreeding is becoming an issue. So 
that's part of it. 

It's a good thing, though. If the families weren't getting smaller, 
think of how many more characters there would have been!