CHAPDISC: DH1, The Dark Lord Ascending

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 176047

Carol:

Thanks, Ceridwen, for a great summary and interesting questions!

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?

Carol:
I thought of the ancient Romans and "Ave, Caesar. Morituri te
salutant," actually, also the fact that it was the "sinister" left
hand (apologies to any lefties on the list) that was being raised. (I
associate the Nazis more with Grindelwald than with Voldemort, and
"ethnic cleansing" is by no means restricted a thing of the past. The
Muslims of Iraq are doing it among themselves as I type.) I also
thought of Snape's toast to the Dark Lord in HBP and the trappings of
loyalty that he has to put on (assuming DDM!Snape, and I confess that
my doubts were raised in spite of my inclinations by the chapter), the
lies he has to tell to pass as Voldemort's man among the DEs.
> 
> 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?

Carol:
I didn't think of it that way since I never doubted that a similar
(not identical) spell had been placed in HBP. That spell, placed by a
DE who was already on the stairs, put up an invisible barrier that
allowed no one without a Dark Mark to pass through it. Draco was
already on the tower, and though I believe he does have a Dark Mark,
the spell doesn't provide evidence one way or another. Fenrir
Greyback, whom we learn later can't pass through the Malfoys' gate
without permission as Snape and Yaxley can because he doesn't have a
Dark Mark that can turn the gate to smoke, was already on the stairs.
At any rate, I'm not sure that JKR was trying to confirm that a
blocking spell had been placed on the tower. That was pretty much a
given to me. This seems to be a slightly different spell, a hint,
possibly, that the Malfoy Manor is now DE headquarters. I doubt it was
there before LV started harassing and intimidating the Malfoys.

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

Carol:
That's a good question. Clearly, it has symbolic significance. Yaxley
gives us part of the answer--peacocks symbolizing wealth. Yaxley's
jealousy is obvious, and I liked Snape's silence, refusing to join in
the gibes against his former protector (Prefect!Lucius). Peacocks
could serve as, erm, watchbirds, with their loud, raucous cry, and the
peacock is notably silent here. The eyes in the tail (the Argus myth)
also symbolize watchfulness. But white? Purity and innocence and/or a
Christian symbol? Very out of place at the Malfoys'. I like the idea
someone suggested of the peacock as somehow suggesting the "pure"
blood of the Malfoys, all of whom are pale and blond (in contrast to
the black hair of most members of the Black family). It's obviously
symbolic, but symbols, unlike allegory, are subject to interpretation.
As for what JKR *intended*, I have no clue.

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

Carol:
I don't think I thought about it consciously. I was just dreading what
was going to happen. If I'd thought about it, I'd probably have
assumed that it was one of the people we knew to be missing,
Ollivander or Florean Fortescue. I don't mind that it was someone
whose existence we were aware of but whose name we didn't know. It's
probably less of a shock to have the first on-page death be that of a
minor character. It lets us know what we're in for. This is no longer
a children's book and Voldie is no longer a cartoon villain.
> 
> 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?

Carol:
I think he reacts exactly as a very young, novice DE who isn't evil
and had expected something very different when he joined the DEs would
react. He's simultaneously mesmerized and terrified by the revolving
body. It's not clear whether he recognizes her while she's
unconscious. The older DEs know not to look at her, to shut down their
curiosity and compassion and fear. He hasn't reached that point. He's
not a hardened criminal (or a brilliant Occlumens like Snape). Once
she becomes conscious and he recognizes her, or fears that she'll
recognize him, he's too ashamed of being there, having her hanging
helplessly above his family's table, and too afraid of what will
happen to look at her. He doesn't want to be there but he can't do
anything about it, so he figuratively closes his eyes to her plight.

> 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"?

Carol:
Voldie has no friends, and he believes that Snape is loyal, as we see
later in the book. Snape is also far and away the most intelligent and
gifted of the DEs. Clearly, he's being honored by being offered the
symbolic position of "right-hand man." And, clearly, Yaxley is
jealous, coveting that honor for himself. I wonder, BTW, whether Snape
had received that honor previously since Draco thinks he's taking his
father's place ("Prince's Tale") and the DEs on the tower are afraid
of him. At any rate, Voldemort may not fully trust anyone, but he
comes close to trusting Snape. (The Elder Wand has not yet come into
the story, nor does he even make the mistaken connection between it
and Snape until much later.) So, yes. Snape is his right-hand man, and
he's making a point of saying so with this symbolic gesture. And note
that Snape is not subjected to ridicule or criticism like the Malfoys
and Bellatrix or snubbed like Yaxley. 

> 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?

Carol:
Yaxley's information is incorrect, the result of a rumor planted by
whoever Confunded Dawlish. Mad-eye tells Harry, "We've leaked a fake
trail to the Ministry. They think you're not leaving until the
thirtieth" (DH Am. ed. 48). Snape, unlike Yaxley, is aware of the fake
trail: "My source told me that there are plans to lay a false trail.
This must be it. No doubt a Confundus Charm has been placed upon
Dawlish" (4). Unless we count Snape as being outside the Order, no one
who is not a member of the Order knows about the plan to move Harry
early. Snape's source has to be an Order member. See question 9, below.
> 
> 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?

Carol:
Considering that when we next see Yaxley (the "brutal-faced" DE who
witnessed DD's death on the tower), he's wearing the embroidered robes
of a high Ministry official (243). On the next page, we learn that
he's now Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (244)--Pius
Thicknesse's job (5) before he becomes the puppet Minister of Magic. I
suspect that Yaxley, craving Voldemort's approval, tortured and killed
Scrimgeour and asked for Thicknesse's old job as his reward.
> 
> 9.  Who is Snape's informant?  Who does Voldemort think it is?  Is
it the same person?

Carol:
It has to be Mundungus Fletcher, the only Order member still on
speaking terms with Snape. (See my post 175988 for details of my theory.)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/175988

As Zgirnius pointed out

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/175965

Mundungus is among the prisoners released from Azkaban, along with the
DEs and Stan Shunpike. It seems likely that Snape suggested that he
might be useful as an informant. As to why he would still speak to
Snape, perhaps no one bothered to tell him that Snape "murdered"
Dumbledore. He certainly didn't hear it from Harry. 

Snape has to have a source, and as far as I can see, it has to be
Mundungus. And on this point, it would be easy for Snape to tell the
truth to LV. Not only is Mundungus a plausible source, but Snape could
actually allow LV to see those meetings via Legilimency (concealing
the key point through Occlumency, of course).
 
> 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?

Carol:
Yes and no. They've been further disgraced by Draco's failure to
murder Dumbledore (likely, he's still alive only because of Snape's
pointing out that Draco's actions made the "murder" possible). LV is
also quite genuinely furious about the "happy event" in the Black
family, the "canker" infesting their family tree through Tonks'
marriage to Lupin. The Malfoys' discomfort reflects various fears and
feelings and perhaps foreshadows but does not guarantee their
nonparticipation in the Battle of Hogwarts. Lucius is certainly afraid
for his and his family's lives, humbled and disgraced, but his views
on pure-blood supremacy and power have not changed one iota, as we see
when he's ready to turn Harry and his friends over to LV to get back
into LV's good graces. LV has, in my view, made a serious mistake by
robbing him of his wand and alienating the Malfoys, further compounded
later when he confines them to their house and then kills everyone in
sight, with the Malfoys barely escaping with their lives. Narcissa,
too, still holds the old views, and coldly considers turning Harry
over to LV, but her concern for her husband and her love of Draco take
precedence over the pure-blood agenda or loyalty to LV (who, as usual,
discounts the power of a mother's love). Draco is another matter. The
"glory" he anticipated as LV's loyal servant has not materialized.
Instead, he sees the DEs for what they are: a gang of terrorists
controlled by a megalomaniac. Like Prefect!Lupin on a larger scale, he
disapproves of what he sees but is afraid to act. He is in over his
head, sickened by the cruelty but afraid for himself and his family.
Whether he now questions the pure-blood supremacy ethic is unclear,
but, IMO, he's not on his way to becoming a second Lucius.
 
> 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?

Carol:
Wormtail has been treated with contempt since he ceased to be LV's
sole means of support, sent to be a servant to the "loyal" Snape at
Spinner's End (HBP Am. ed. 23) and now an errand boy to LV and, in his
absence, the Malfoys. He performs the lowliest tasks, those that a
house-elf would be assigned if the Malfoys still had one. Whether he's
more hunchbacked than he was in HBP (probably a cringing posture but
possibly also the result of LV's cruelty before sending him to Snape)
is not clear, but certainly, "Voldemort's most cowardly servant" is
sitting as low as possible in his chair, trying to be invisible. The
smallness and the crouching are symbolic of his insignificance. LV
doesn't kill him because he can still be useful in small ways. The
cursed silver hand will take care of him if his loyalty ever wavers.
> 
> 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?

Carol:
IMO, they avoid eye contact because they've felt what it's like to be
examined by LV's Legilimency. Probably they also want to appear
respectful rather than meeting his eyes as they would an equal's. As
being happy to be there, the Malfoys are in their own house but are
unhappy with the treatment they're receiving. Bellatrix is delighted
and honored to be in her adored hero's presence. Yaxley is striving
for the Dark Lord's favor and a high place in the new regime. The
Carrows, whom we hear cackling and making little wisecracks in the
background are happy to see the Dark Lord ascending (they end up with
"teaching" positions at Hogwarts. Dolohov, who clasps Yaxley on the
back when he hears that Yaxley has Imperiused thicknesse, is no doubt
thrilled to be out of Azkaban and to have the opportunity to murder
and torture with impunity. No other DEs are named (or identifiable
through speech and behavior patterns), but it seems likely that the
freed Azkaban prisoners other than the scapegoated Lucius (e.g.,
Mulciber and Travers) are quite happy to be there and on their way to
power. Like Yaxley, they're probably looking forward to high positions
in the infiltrated Ministry. What we're seeing in this chapter is the
seeds of Voldemort's regime, his priorities before Harry's wand
attacking him of its own accord changes everything. We also see what
he would have been like if Harry had been killed. (I don't think he'd
have murdered his own minions if his Horcruxes hadn't been destroyed.)
LV's priorities are, IMO, 1) his own immortality, 2) power for
himself, dispensed at will to his deserving servants and as easily
taken away, 3) the pure-blood agenda. Harry Potter interferes with all
of them, particularly the first, and once his wand attacks LV, nothing
matters except his death. And when he learns about the Elder Wand, he
thinks he has the means not only to destroy Harry but to become
invincible. The pure-blood agenda can wait till he has the wand. And
we see that it's become important again when he makes his speech about
the new regime, with everyone Sorted into Slytherin and so forth. (At
that point, of course, he still has minions.)
> 
> 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?

Carol:
Considering that LV can, in Snape's words, "delve into the minds of
[his] victims" as if the victim's mind were a Pensieve (as we see LV
do to Gregorovitch later in DH), Snape's ability to "shut down those
feelings and memories that contradict the lie, and so utter falsehoods
in his presence without detection" (OoP Am. ed. 531) is nothing short
of phenomenal. His ability to remain calm, to shut down the fear of
detection, is as much a part of his more-than-superb Occlumency as
giving LV "what appears to be valuable information while withholding
the essentials," as DD puts it (DH 684). Snape modifies the memory to
conceal the part that contradicts the lie *and* shuts down his
emotions, a feat that enables him to "hoodwink . . . the greatest
Legilimens the world has ever seen" (HBP Am. ed. 36). The only
possible conclusion is that Severus Snape is the greatest Occlumens
the world has ever seen.
> 
> 14.  Why does Voldemort praise Bellatrix, then humiliate her?

He's manipulating her, knowing that she craves his approval. At this
point, before the failed attempt to kill Harry Potter, LV is taking
his pure-blood agenda seriously, as his treatment of Charity Burbage
and his reasons for torturing and killing her demonstrate. He wants
the werewolf and his wife dead, and he knows that Bellatrix, his most
fanatical supporter, will take his order to trim her family tree as a
sacred obligation. She has already tried to kill Tonks at the DoM. She
has an even stronger motive now. And we see when Tonks and Ron return
from the Polyjuiced Potter excursion that she's taking her mission
seriously.
> 
> 15.  Where were the Lestrange brothers? 

Carol:
I assume that they were at the table, silently following Bellatrix's
lead as usual. Rodolphus, we know, took part in the chase of the
Poly-juiced Potters and was injured, how badly is unclear but there's
no further mention of him so it must have been very badly. Rabastan,
the forgotten DE, is not mentioned at all but is probably one of the
masked DEs seen elsewhere in the book. He doesn't seem to be a talker
or a thinker. It's interesting that Bellatrix pays no attention to her
newly freed husband and doesn't even seem to be living with him. (They
were estranged for some thirteen years in Azkaban and then Rodolphus
was arrested again a few months later; not much of a marriage,
especially given Bellatrix's adoration of LV.) Although the Lestranges
(Rodolphus and Bellatrix, at least--I'm not sure about Rabby) share a
vault at Gringotts, Bellatrix seems to consider the Malfoy Manor her
family home. "It is an honor to have you here in our family's house"
(9). Lucius has to remind her that it's his house in "Malfoy Manor"
(460). Strange. I can only assume that she's been staying with the
Malfoys since her husband's arrest, hiding there from the authorities
after the DoM disaster, and has forgotten that the Malfoys (Lucius and
Narcissa), not the Black sisters (*Bella* and Narcissa, Andromeda the
"Blood Traitor" not being included) or the Lestranges (Bella and
Rodolphus, Rabastan not being included), own the house.
> 
> 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?

Carol:
Snape was not lying. We see him attempt to save DD in "the Prince's
Tale" and we know that he saves both Katie Bell and Draco in HBP.
since his words to DD--"Lately, only those whom I could not
save"--occur before the Katie and Draco incidents, I can only assume
that Healer!Snape has saved other lives off-page. But in this
instance, there's nothing he can do. Any emotion he shows will blow
his cover; an attempt to save Charity will only get him killed and
make it impossible to do what DD has asked him to do, protect the
students at Hogwarts and get the message to Harry when the snake is
magically protected. He would save her if he could but he can't. He
can only use Occlumency to shut down his emotions and keep his cover.
In any case, he could not have saved her from an Avada Kedavra. His
specialty is healing (or slowing) Dark Curses like the ones on the
ring and locket and the one he invented himself, Sectumsempra.
Clearly, she's not the first person he could not save. He must have
watched many people die, but as of HBP and before, perhaps SS/PS and
before, he will not watch a person die if he can save them. And so he
thwarts Quirrell, conjures stretchers in PoA, saves Katie off-page and
Draco on-page in HBP, tries to save DD from the ring curse, objects to
DD's "pig-to-the-slaughter" treatment of Harry, and saves Lupin at the
risk of exposure after having been told by DD to play his part
convincingly. 

Re va32's suggestion that Snape may have played some part in her
capture, not only is there no canon to support that speculation, her
begging Severus to help her indicates that he did not. "Severus,
please" must have pained him terribly in the part of his mind that he
was suppressing. Maybe the gesture of saving Lupin somehow made up for
his inability to save Charity in his own mind.
> 
> 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?

Carol:
On the one hand, it's an obvious lie concocted to give a
pseudo-legitimacy to the persecution of Muggle-borns. On the other,
it's possible for one wizard to reduce another to helplessness simply
by depriving the witch or wizard of his wand. The Muggle-borns in the
Ministry are as helpless as Muggles; they can't even Apparate without
a wand. Harry's reaction to his broken wand illustrates the same
thing. Without a wand, particularly a wand that empathizes with him
(as the blackthorn wand doesn't, later in the story), he has only luck
and perhaps a bit of accidental magic. He might as well be a
Muggle--except tha, of course, a Muggle could not use a wand even if
he or she read every book on magical theory in the Hogwarts library.
(The stealing knowledge lie seems to be echoed by the Goblins' idea
that Wizards who pay for goblin-made objects are "stealing" them if
they pass them on to the next generation. In this respect, IMO, the
goblins are in the wrong, whatever other wrongs Wizards may have
committed against them.)
> 
> 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?

Carol:
I think it's shock and horror on Draco's part; surprise on the part of
the others (perhaps the less hardened and dedicated, perhape not).
However, the DEs who speak, other than the Malfoys, seem to be
perfectly supportive of Voldemort's agenda. Yaxley and the Carrows
benefit from it. Later, we see Travers and Selwyn (Umbridge's
relative) in "The Tale of the Three Brothers" and Travers again in
"Gringotts" perfectly contented to be DEs with some influence at the
Ministry. So, aside from DDM!Snape and the humiliated Malfoys, I don't
see anyone whose support for LV has wavered. Even Wormtail
(aadmitteldyl not present when the body falls) is still alive,
indicating that he's not feeling any mercy or compassion for LV's
victims, only pity for his pathetic little self.
> 
> 19.  Why are the Purebloods dwindling?

In addition to the points already made repeatedly on this list, the
pure-bloods (other than the Weasleys) seem to have a deplorable habit
of producing only one or two children per marriage. And, judging from
the Slytherins JKR describes, perhaps there aren't many attractive
Slytherin marriage partners left. (Draco and Pansy seem to be the only
boyfriend and girlfriend in the House, and the affection appears to be
all on Pansy's side.) Some of them (Regulus) don't live long enough to
marry; others (Sirius) seem to have no interest in marriage. (I know.
Azkaban interrupted his life.) A few (Andromeda Black; Eileen Prince)
marry Muggle-borns or Muggles. The DE lifestyle doesn't seem to
promote a desire for marriage. Yaxley isn't married, as he informs the
reader in "Magic Is Might," IIRC); we don't see anything of Crabbe
Sr.'s and Goyle Sr.'s wives (or of them, for that matter). Nott's wife
died while Theo was a child. The Carrows, a brother and sister,
clearly aren't interested in marriage. I'd say that unless they go
abroad to, say, Bulgaria, looking for pure-blood wives, they're well
on their way to dying out. (Maybe that's why Half-bloods like Snape
are tolerated and the presence of presumably dead Muggles in their
bloodline ignored. If no pure-blood is available and you have to
reproduce to keep from dying out, the next best thing to their way of
thinking is a Half-Blood, who at least can prove that he didn't
"steal" his magic from a witch or wizard.)
> 
> 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?

Carol:
I'm not sure whether the DEs know that he's a Half-Blood. Bellatrix,
at least, is in denial. Most of the DEs appear to support the
Pure-blood agenda in any case. LV himself has set the example by
"pruning" his family tree. It's clear that he's not just using this
agenda; he really believes in it and he wants Lupin and Tonks dead.
Charity Burbage's "crime" is worthy of capital punishment. Snape
should find himself a pure-blood wife "worthy" of him (his status as
Half-blood, matching LV's own, is apparently acceptable as long as the
Muggle parent is dead). LV's hatred of Muggles is very real, and it
seems to extend to Muggle-borns, whom he views as Muggles (cf. his
reference to Lily as "your Muggle mother"). We can't expect logic from
LV. He's long since lost his humanity and I don't know if he ever had
a capacity for rational thought. Planning crimes, yes. Putting two and
two together or anticipating the consequences of his actions?
Apparently not.
> 
> 21.  Why does Voldemort think that Lucius does not need his wand 
anymore?

Carol:
Of course, Lucius *needs* his wand. He can't be a wizard without it. I
suppose LV means that he won't be sending Lucius on any more important
missions, not even the expedition to capture Harry Potter and murder
his protectors. Also, of course, it's a symbolic castration, as others
have pointed out (there's a lot of phallic imagery in these books,
considering that they're ostensibly intended for children, notably the
Trolls comparing the size of their clubs in OoP). On a non-Freudian
level, he's reduced to the status of a Muggle, and, as Bella says in
"Malfoy Manor," he loses his authority when he loses his wand (460).
Byt the time we get to "the Elder Wand," the rich and proud Lucius
Malfoy is reduced to the errand-boy status of Wormtail. (If LV hadn't
abused and punished him, Lucius would probably have remained loyal,
or, rather, as loyal as a slippery, OFH wizard who likes to run things
his own way through power and influence could be expected to be. He
certainly wants to get back in LV's good graces later. As it is, LV
slit his own throat, particularly with regard to Narcissa.)
> 
> 22.  Do you think Voldemort is planning on dispensing with the 
Malfoys eventually?

Carol:
Probably. He seems to dispose of people who are no longer useful to
him, even if they remain loyal. Judging by his willingness to murder
the seemingly loyal and undoubtedly brilliant Snape over a wand, and
from his murdering everyone in sight over a stolen Horcrux, I'd say
that the Malfoys are very lucky to be alive and together at the end of
the book (minus Bella, fortunately for everyone).
> 
> 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?

Carol:
Even a DE can be shocked and horrified by seeing a gigantic snake
swallowing a corpse, but I have a feeling that some of them were
slightly less shocked when Nagini disposed of Mad-Eye a few days
later. (My unprovable theory: Umbridge's DE relative Selwyn, who
appears at least twice in the book, provided her with the undigestible
magical eye.) LV's "dear Nagini" was promised Wormtail in Gof, and
when Wormtail was reprieved, was promised Harry Potter. We see her
circling the graveyard in anticipation. Almost certainly, she disposed
of the inconvenient evidence of Bertha Jorkins's and Frank Bryce's
bodies (both disappeared without a trace, as Charity Burbage does).
Probably, she accounts for Florean Fortescue's disappearance, as well.

LV is simultaneously performing a service and being rewarded as LV's
pet and familiar and Horcrux, who shares a bit of his mangled soul.
And, of course, feeding a corpse to a huge snake who obeys Voldemort
almost as an extension of himself is an effective way of keeping his
DEs in line. Wormtail, for example, has already been threatened with
being Nagini's dinner. Better to abjectedly obey the Dark Lord's every
wish than to share the fate of Bertha and Frank and Charity--at least
in Wormtail's view.

Carol, sad that Nagini killed Snape but glad for his sake and Harry's
that she didn't get to eat him