CHAPDISC: HBP 29, The Phoenix Lament

[dungrollin]

No: HPFGUIDX 164069

CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 
29, The Phoenix Lament



Chapter Summary:
 
Ginny pulls Harry away from Dumbledore's body, and he follows her 
past the main staircase where Gryffindor rubies glisten on the floor 
like drops of blood. Harry remembers the bodies he stepped over in 
chapter 28 and asks her who else is dead. Ginny says no one, but 
Bill has been attacked by Greyback, and is a bit of a mess; Ginny 
suspects that if they hadn't had Harry's Felix Felicis they'd all be 
dead. 
 
In the hospital wing, Bill's face is unrecognisably grotesque; Madam 
Pomfrey dabs at his wounds. Harry recalls how easily Snape fixed 
Malfoy after the sectumsempra and asks Madam Pomfrey if she can cure 
Bill with a charm. She says there is no cure for werewolf bites. 
Lupin doesn't think Bill will be a full werewolf because it isn't 
full moon, but the wounds are nonetheless cursed, and may never 
fully heal.
 
Ron asks where Dumbledore is, Ginny tells them he's dead. Lupin 
collapses into a chair with his hands over his face; Tonks asks in a 
whisper how it happened. Harry explains how Dumbledore immobilised 
him on the Astronomy tower before Malfoy arrived, then more Death 
Eaters arrived, and Snape killed Dumbledore.
 
Madam Pomfrey bursts into tears, but Ginny shushes her, and tells 
them to listen. They hear a phoenix singing a stricken lament of 
terrible beauty somewhere outside. They listen in silence, lost in 
their grief until McGonagall enters, breaking the spell, saying that 
Mr and Mrs Weasley are on their way.
 
Harry tells McGonagall that Snape killed Dumbledore, McGonagall 
sways alarmingly; she can't believe it: Dumbledore *always* trusted 
Snape. Lupin reminds her that Snape was an accomplished Occlumens, 
Tonks says Dumbledore *swore* Snape was on their side, McGonagall 
says Dumbledore hinted that he had an iron-clad reason to trust 
Snape. Tonks wants to know what Snape told Dumbledore to gain his 
trust.
 
Harry says he knows, that it was Snape who passed the information to 
Voldemort which made him hunt down the Potters, that Snape told 
Dumbledore he hadn't known what he was doing, but he was really 
sorry they were dead. Lupin is astonished that Dumbledore believed 
that because Snape *hated* James. Harry adds that Snape hated Lily 
too, because he called her `mudblood', but nobody seems to be 
listening.
 
McGonagall decides it was her fault for sending Flitwick to fetch 
Snape. Lupin insists it's not her fault, they *all* wanted Snape 
there. McGonagall says that Dumbledore told them to patrol the 
castle; the secret passages were covered, nobody could fly in, and 
there were enchantments on every entrance. Harry explains about the 
Vanishing Cabinets, how the Death Eaters got in through the Room of 
Requirement. Ron says he, Ginny and Neville kept watch for about an 
hour before Malfoy came out, but as soon as he saw them he used 
Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. Malfoy guided the Death Eaters out 
with his Hand of Glory, while Ron, Ginny and Neville didn't dare use 
any curses in case they hit each other.
 
Once out of the darkness, they ran into Lupin and the others, and 
minutes later found the Death Eaters heading for the Astronomy 
tower. A fight broke out, the Death Eaters scattered and they gave 
chase. Lupin tells how Gibbon came down from the tower, presumably 
after setting off the Dark Mark, and was hit by a Killing Curse that 
just missed Lupin.
 
Hermione explains that she and Luna waited outside Snape's office 
until Flitwick arrived just before midnight; Snape came hurtling 
out, saying that Flitwick had collapsed and they should look after 
him. Hermione covers her face in shame, admitting that it's now 
obvious that Snape Stupefied Flitwick, but they didn't realise, and 
let him go. Lupin insists it's not their fault, that Snape would 
probably have killed them if they hadn't obeyed him. Tonks explains 
how Malfoy vanished, presumably up the tower, then more Death Eaters 
ran after him, one of them blocking the stairs behind them with a 
curse that none of them could break through. 
 
Lupin saw Snape run through the cursed barrier, McGonagall supposes 
he knew a spell they didn't – after all, he was the Defence Against 
the Dark Arts teacher. Harry reckons you had to have a Dark Mark to 
get through. Then the Big Death Eater broke the ceiling and the 
curse, and Snape and Malfoy emerged from the dust. Tonks says they 
let them pass, then the Death Eaters returned and they were fighting 
again.
 
They all fall silent. Then Mr and Mrs Weasley burst into the ward 
with Fleur close behind them. Molly takes over from Madam Pomfrey, 
tending Bill's wounds. McGonagall confirms that Dumbledore is dead. 
Ginny is looking shrewdly at Fleur, who is gazing at Bill. 
 
"Dumbledore gone," whispers Arthur, but Molly sobs over Bill that it 
doesn't matter how he looks, but he was very handsome and he was 
going to be married. Fleur erupts, demanding whether Molly thinks 
Bill won't want to marry her now; it would take more than a werewolf 
to stop him loving her. She doesn't care how he looks, she is good-
looking enough for both of them, and all these scars show is that 
her husband is brave. She snatches the ointment from Molly and tends 
his wounds herself.
 
Harry is expecting an explosion from Molly, but instead she says 
that she's sure she could persuade Great Auntie Muriel to lend Fleur 
a very beautiful goblin-made tiara for the wedding. Fleur thanks her 
stiffly, and then they both burst into tears and hug each other. 
Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione exchange startled looks.
 
Tonks glares at Lupin and bursts out that Fleur still wants to marry 
Bill, even though he's been bitten. Lupin looks tense and says it's 
different, because Bill will not be a full werewolf. Tonks seizes 
the front of his robes and shakes them, saying she doesn't care 
either. Harry suddenly understands that the changes he's seen in 
Tonks are because she's in love with Lupin. Lupin insists that he's 
too old, too poor and too dangerous for her. Molly says he's being 
ridiculous; Lupin insists that Tonks deserves someone young and 
whole. Arthur points out that young, whole men do not necessarily 
remain so. Lupin says that this is hardly the time
 but McGonagall 
says that it would have made Dumbledore happy.
 
Hagrid enters, shaking with tears. He has moved Dumbledore's body, 
the students are back in bed, Flitwick will be all right, and the 
Ministry's been informed. McGonagall asks him to come with the heads 
of house (Slughorn representing Slytherin) to her office, but she'd 
like a quick word with Harry first. They head for Dumbledore's 
office, which is now McGonagall's.
 
Harry is surprised to see that the room looks much as it did when he 
had left with Dumbledore a few hours previously, except that 
Fawkes's perch is empty. Harry notices Dumbledore's portrait has 
joined the others, slumbering, looking peaceful and untroubled. 
McGonagall asks Harry where he went with Dumbledore, Harry says he 
can't tell her. She presses him, he still refuses, she glares at 
him. She says that since Dumbledore is dead, the situation has 
changed, but Harry doesn't see it that way: Dumbledore never told 
him to stop following orders if he died. He does tell her that it 
was Rosmerta under the Imperius Curse who was helping Malfoy.
 
Sprout, Flitwick, Slughorn and a still-weeping Hagrid traipse in. 
Slughorn looks the most shaken - pale and sweating. McGonagall is 
not convinced that the school should reopen next year. Sprout says 
that it should if a single pupil wants to come. Slughorn says he 
wouldn't blame parents for wanting to keep their children at home, 
though personally he doesn't think they're in any more danger at 
Hogwarts than elsewhere.
 
Hagrid says he's staying whatever happens. McGonagall says she'll 
ask the governors to make the final decision. She suggests the 
students be sent home the next day, but Harry insists that they'll 
want to say goodbye at Dumbledore's funeral, and should be allowed 
to stay. Flitwick, Sprout and Hagrid agree; Slughorn seems agitated 
and less enthusiastic, though he agrees too.
 
Harry asks to leave before the Minister arrives, and he doesn't 
bother to retrieve his Invisibility Cloak from the tower. The 
Gryffindor common room is packed, but Harry ignores everybody and 
goes up to the dormitory where Ron is waiting. Harry tells him that 
someone had already taken the Horcrux, and shows Ron the locket. Ron 
reads the note and wonders aloud who R.A.B. could be. Harry feels no 
curiosity at all and doubts that he will ever feel curious again. He 
suddenly becomes aware that the grounds are silent, that Fawkes has 
stopped singing, and he realises that Fawkes has left Hogwarts for 
good, just like Dumbledore.
 
 


Discussion questions:

1. This chapter is a nice opportunity for JKR to show us a variety 
of characters' reactions to the same emotional upheaval - 
Dumbledore's death. Did any of their reactions particularly inspire 
sympathy in you? Which character reacted most similarly to you? Is 
that character one you normally sympathise or identify with? 
 
2. (Take off your DDM!Snape hats for this one, please.) In this 
chapter, McGonagall and Tonks ask the same questions that fans have 
been asking for years, namely: what did Snape tell Dumbledore to 
make him trust him? Do you think, given Lupin, McGonagall and 
Tonks's astonishment at Harry's story, that *even if Snape really 
has* betrayed the Order and rejoined Voldemort, there still must 
have been more than a `tale of remorse' to how he hoodwinked 
Dumbledore? How do you think ESE!Snape (or similar variants) could 
have convinced him? What themes that the books have already visited 
would Snape's tale (and the fact that it was fake) resonate with, 
and how could his ability to fool Dumbledore reflect upon Harry's 
story?
 
3. Assuming Hermione's account of events in Snape's office is 
accurate, what do you make of her and Luna's gullibility? Are you 
annoyed that they didn't realise immediately that Snape had 
stupefied Flitwick and try to stop him? Since Ron, Neville and Ginny 
weren't much more use when confronted by the Peruvian Darkness 
Powder, and only made it through the fight because of the Felix 
Felicis, have your views on how useful the DA really was changed?
 
4. What do you make of McGonagall saying (of Snape) "He must have 
known a spell we didn't [
] After all, he was the Defence against 
the Dark Arts teacher?" We all know Snape had been teaching potions 
for fifteen years before that, so what do you make of this sudden 
respect for his knowledge of DADA? Do you think the teaching posts 
confer something special on their holders? Does this give us any 
clues as to why Voldemort particularly wanted to have the DADA job? 
Or do you think McGonagall could be alluding in some way to the 
curse?
 
5. Molly doesn't give one single sign that she cares at all that 
Dumbledore's dead, she doesn't react when McGonagall assures Arthur 
that it's true, nor does she ask Harry or the others if they're all 
right; she only has eyes for Bill. Do you find that surprising? How 
do you interpret her different reactions to the dramas at the ends 
of CoS, GoF and HBP, and how do they reflect upon her assertion in 
OotP that Harry is as good as her son? 
 
6. In ch5 p92 (UK ed.) Molly says (of Bill and Fleur) "It was the 
same last time he was powerful, people eloping right left and 
centre –" yet Lupin seems here to be an exception, holding out 
against this all-too-human reaction in times of war. Do you find 
this consistent with his character? Given the close friends he has 
lost, do you understand him wanting to keep Tonks at arm's length, 
or do you agree with Molly that he's being ridiculous? How does his 
behaviour regarding Tonks compare with Harry's later break-up with 
Ginny?
 
7. Do you think that the fact that Dumbledore's portrait is sleeping 
peacefully and looking untroubled is significant? If so, what do you 
think it signifies, and if JKR had wanted to signify the opposite, 
how do you think she would have done it? 
 
8. What do you make of McGonagall's statement about closing the 
school: "
 I must say that Professor Dumbledore's murder is more 
disturbing to me than the idea of Slytherin's monster living 
undetected in the bowels of the castle
" Do you find this statement 
surprising? Do you agree with it? Do you think it might reflect the 
fact that she was a student at Hogwarts the first time the Chamber 
opened? Do you think it reflects JKR's opinion?
 
9. What do you make of Slughorn's reaction to Dumbledore's death, 
his shock at Snape's culpability, his ambivalence about the school 
reopening, and his seeming reluctance that the students should stay 
for the funeral? How does this compare with his manner with 
Dumbledore in chapter four? If the school reopens, do you think he 
will stay on as potions master and head of Slytherin, and do you 
think Dumbledore's death will affect his decision?
 
10. Do you think Harry was right not to tell McGonagall where he 
went with Dumbledore? Would you have had the courage (or 
stubbornness) to do the same at his age? Do you think that he did 
what Dumbledore would have wanted? McGonagall will almost certainly 
ask Dumbledore's portrait where he took Harry when it wakes up; what 
do you think it will tell her? Since all the portraits are sworn to 
help the current head, do you think they will tell her about the 
horcruxes? If they refused, do you think she has the potential to 
turn into an Umbridge, or worse?
 
11. Do you find it surprising that McGonagall didn't ask how Harry & 
co. knew that Malfoy was in the room of requirement? Harry didn't 
tell her what he knows about the Unbreakable Vow either (despite the 
fact that it didn't have anything to do with the Horcruxes). Do you 
think she will find out, and if she did how do you think she would 
react? What story about Malfoy and Snape should Harry be able to 
piece together from the information he has?
 
12. Hagrid is inconsolable; did you find his reaction to 
Dumbledore's death moving? We don't get to see what he thinks of 
Snape's apparent treachery, do you think this omission is 
conspicuous? Hagrid insists that he's staying whether the school 
opens or not, because Hogwarts is his home, even though his hut has 
just been burned down. Do you think he only wants to stay because of 
Grawp, or do you think he might have another reason that we don't 
know about? 
 
13. McGonagall will refer the decision to close the school to the 
governors; do you think that we have any canon to go on in guessing 
whether Hogwarts will reopen or not? Do you think that JKR ought to 
tell us one way or another before book 7?
 
14. Do you find any of the characters' reactions to Dumbledore's 
death suspicious? Do you think that we may find out something in 
book 7 which will make us view this hospital-wing scene in a 
different light (even if you can't imagine what it is yet)?
 
15. Did it surprise you that there was no mention of the 
Headmasters' and Headmistresses' portraits' reactions to McGonagall 
asking where Harry went with Dumbledore? They've often been vocal in 
the past when Harry and Dumbledore were alone together; is their 
silence in this scene conspicuous? How do you think Phineas 
Nigellus, for example, reacted to news of Dumbledore's death, and 
when did he hear? 
 
16. "And he knew, without knowing how he knew it, that the phoenix 
had gone, had left Hogwarts for good, just as Dumbledore had left 
the school, had left the world 
 had left Harry." Did you find this 
ending to the chapter poignant? Does it wear off after the sixth re-
read? If we see Fawkes again in book 7, do you think we will get to 
know him as a character in his own right, or will he always be 
associated with and symbolise Dumbledore?

 
NOTE: For more information on HPfGU's chapter discussions, please 
see "HPfGU HBP Chapter Discussions" at 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/database
 
Punctuation kindly supplied by Susan (the Siriusly Snapey one).