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[Sofrina Hinton]

No: HPFGUIDX 172450

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Sarah <blackcat93 at ...> wrote:
>
> Sandra:
> 
> > Hello Libby! That jumped out at me when I read it, and I found the 
> > whole section a surprisingly abrupt episode. I mean, Ron 
> > 'copied' Harry? Parseltongue is a strange collection of 
> > throat-gargly sounds which mean nothing to most wizards, so 
> > how on earth could he have managed all the right hacking 
> > noises after hearing Harry just once? He could have said 
> > something rude or meaningless, or ended up making himself 
> > cough a lot! And he and Hermione just disappeared for a few 
> > pages in all the tension and prelude to chaos, and then 
> > reappeared with a basilisk fang or two.
> 
> 
> I thought that Ron temporarily gained the ability to speak
Parseltongue from being possessed by the locket Horcrux when he
destroyed it.
> On another topic, I think Ron and Hermione had to be away somewhere
so Harry could face Evil all by himself. Making Harry confront danger
alone with no backup was a climactic and important part of his growth
as a character.
> 
> Sarah, whose first ever HPFGU post ironically is about the last book
>

Ron only had to say one word: Open. That's all Harry said to the
locket. And the text says he had to try it a bunch of times to get
right. That isn't hard to pick up. I was in Paris and caught "desole"
(I'm sorry) from a shop clerk, which I was mispronouncing as
'day-so-lay.' 

On your other topic: facing the final task alone is archetypal to hero
stories. In almost every book Harry has done so. It was only when he
was truly in over his head, and the story grew to encompass the onset
of war that Harry battles with a squad (to equal the enemy's numbers)
and/or Dumbledore rescues him. 

SS - Only Harry can go forward past the final test to face Quirrell/
Voldemort

COS - The cavern collapses blocking Ron out, so only Harry can go
forward to save Ginny and face Tom Riddle/Basilisk

POA - Here's where things become bigger than Harry, he needs Hermione
to go back in time and Buckbeak to save Sirius, but only Harry can
face down the Dementors

GOF - Diggory is killed leaving Harry to face the Voldemort/DE's
alone, the wand ghosts aid him in escaping

OOTP - Harry brings his posse which is lucky because there are too
many Death Eaters, overmatched the Order rescues them, but Harry goes
on to challenge Bellatrix alone, Dumbledore arrives to save Harry from
LV against whom he has no chance. Here, Harry faces the truth of his
destiny alone.

HBP - Dumbledore neutralizes Harry so he can face his own final test
alone, Harry attempts to take down Snape, but is again outmatched. He
resolves to quit school and take up the quest to destroy Voldemort alone. 

DH - Harry is aided in all things, since the situation involves all of
Britain, except the final act of dying. There's nothing anyone can do
for him on that journey. 

There is a line in "The Epic Hero" by Dean A. Miller: "Often enough
the plot's calculus demands that a quest companion...fall or fail,
leaving the central hero to take a final test alone..."