CHAPDISC: DH1, The Dark Lord Ascending

[mz_annethrope]

No: HPFGUIDX 176025

mz_annethrope:

> 1.  Snape and Yaxley "raised their left arms in a kind of 
salute."  
> Is this a reference to World War II and the likening of the Death 
> Eaters to the Nazis, in Deathly Hallows?

I think that salute was also used in Imperial Rome. I'd guess it's a 
reference to world dominion and not just to Nazism.
 
> 2.  Saluting the gate with their left arms makes them able to pass 
> through the wrought iron gate.  Is this a tacit confirmation that 
> there was indeed a blocking spell on the tower in HBP which only 
> allowed Death Eaters to enter?

Perhaps.

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

I think the significance is that it's a white peacock. I believe 
they were originally bred in India. Peacock meanings abound but I 
keep on thinking of the mansion in the movie Gone With the Wind. 
There were white peacocks on the grounds.
 
> 4.  On the first reading of Deathly Hallows, who did you think 
might 
> be the person hanging unconscious above the table?

I thought it would be an Order member. 
 
> 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?

Draco is showing his youth and immaturity. He's drawn by curiosity 
to the unconscious figure. Looking at it is better than looking at 
the far scarier Voldemort. Everybody else has been around long 
enough to pretend uninterest in such novelties.
  
> 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"?

Well Snape's his right hand man for the moment. The scene reminds me 
of school classes where the teacher puts the best student in the 
front seat near the desk and the worst at the back. The dunce--that 
was me--was in the corner. But the front seat is a dangerous place: 
it's occupant can be replaced at any time by the new best student 
and the teacher always knows where the occupant is.

> 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?

I don't think so.

> 8.  Several things that happen later in the book are alluded to in 
> this chapter.  When discussing the Imperiusing of Pius Thicknesse, 
> Yaxley suggests that Thicknesse can subjugate the other heads of 
> departments at the Ministry to bring down Minister Rufus 
Scrimgeour.  
> Was Scrimgeour killed by the Imperiused heads of the various 
> departments under Thicknesse's direction?

I guess that a real DE would want to get information out of him 
before killing him--that allow more subtlety in the interrogation. 
But an Imperiused person whom Scrimgeour considered trustworthy 
would have been the person who first approached Scrimgeour. 
Otherwise he would have been on his guard.
 
> 9.  Who is Snape's informant?  Who does Voldemort think it is?  Is 
it 
> the same person?

I can't think of anybody else than Dung. Portrait!DD told Snape to 
try confunding Mundungus, which suggests that Snape had already been 
in conversation with Dung. I'm not so sure that Dung is the person 
whom Snape told Voldemort about. 

> 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?

Ummm, well Voldemort is taking advantage of the Malfoy's largesse, 
sleeping in the best room, torturing prisoners in the dungeon. Plus 
he's a constant threat to the Malfoy's lives, safety and peace of 
mind. Too bad for them that they are the richest of the DEs.
 
> 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?

Out of sight, out of mind.
 
> 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?

They certainly don't want him to look intensely into their eyes.
 
> 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?

He's fabulous at it. But every time he lets Voldemort look into his 
eyes he's taking a big risk. No one's perfect. This seems to be why 
DD refused to let him in on the Horcruxes. And even Harry once 
managed to break into Snape's mind. But then Voldemort is so sure of 
himself that he probably wouldn't think to try another way to get 
into Snape's mind.

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

Because he's a nasty piece of work. That's a favorite method of 
abusive spouses. You praise the partner to encourage gratitude and 
happiness and you humiliate the partner to show who has the control.
 
> 15.  Where were the Lestrange brothers?  

Dunno.
 
> 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?

Snape wasn't lying and he doesn't like watching people die. He could 
not save her. He shuts off his feelings by giving his occlumens look.
 
> 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?

On the surface this looks ridiculous. One is born magical; magic is 
part of one's nature if one is a witch or wizard. It's ontological, 
as they say in my trade. But it is possible to steal magical objects 
and it is possible to take away a person's magic. One can take away 
another's magic by applying soul sucking Dementors and by performing 
certain spells that makes a person forget him or herself. This is 
what Bellatrix does to the Longbottoms with the Cruciatus curse and 
what Gilderoy does regularly to his victims. But then the magic goes 
into nothing which is to say everything, to misquote McGonagall. 
Voldemort is using a devious rhetorical trick. He extends magic to 
categories that do not apply to magic (you cannot take another 
person's magic for yourself if you are non-magical)then discourses 
about those categories as if they existed.

> 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?

I'm not so sure that the DEs who didn't react were fully beind 
Voldemort's agenda either. They were just better at hiding 
themselves.

> 19.  Why are the Purebloods dwindling?

Intermarriage, warfare, lack of breeding.

> 20.  Voldemort has no issues with "pruning" the family tree of 
> undesirables, even though they may be pure-blood or half-bloods.  
> Yet, he is displeased with Burbage's article and her assertion 
that 
> the dwindling of Pureblood families is a good thing.   Voldemort 
> says, of Charity Burbage, "She would have us all mate with 
Muggles... 
> or, no doubt, werewolves..."  He includes himself with the 
Purebloods 
> here.  Does he think his Muggle father's family doesn't count?  Or 
is 
> he actively enforcing the idea that he, too, is a Pureblood?

Voldemort is refering to a specific tree--the Black family--and is 
saying that a branch needs pruning because otherwise it will destroy 
that specific tree. What he says to Bellatrix is not in conflict 
with what he has to say about the Burbage article.

> 21.  Why does Voldemort think that Lucius does not need his wand 
> anymore?

Symbolic castration of course. But it's interesting that Voldemort 
humiliates Lucius in front of his own wife and child. For the past 
year Narcissa has been the head of the family and continues in that 
position. I loved the comparison of wand size!
 
> 22.  Do you think Voldemort is planning on dispensing with the 
> Malfoys eventually?

Yes. And they know it.
 
> 23.  Voldemort invites Nagini to dine on the corpse of Charity 
> Burbage.  What do you imagine the reactions of the others around 
the 
> table might be?  This idea has been presented in the books 
before.  
> When do you think Nagini has disposed of the evidence before?  Is 
> this part of her value to Voldemort, or is Voldemort giving his 
pet a 
> treat?

Do you need to jiggle a corpse in front of Nagini to make it look 
alive?

mz_annethrope