[HPforGrownups] CHAPDISC: HBP30, The White Tomb

[SnapesSlytherin at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 166218

    
 1. Do you find the Patil Twins' and Seamus' parents' attitude 
 reasonable or overprotective? Although the school has been penetrated 
 by death eaters there is no mention of extra security measures taken 
 or Aurors posted. Do you suppose there weren't any? 
 Oryomai:
 I suppose they're being reasonable. Magical parents know what happened last time, and they are going to be even more protective this time around. There probably weren't any extra security measures taken -- I think JKR would've mentioned to us if there were. 
   2. What do you think of Bill's part-transformation? Do you find 
 it sinister? 
  
 
  Oryomai:
  I think it's fabulously sinister. We've heard about the prejudice against the half-bloods before, but we have never even run into someone like this! Bill does not belong with the werewolves, yet he doesn't belong with the humans either! Add that to the fact that he's marrying a quarter Veela, and we have no idea where this is going...
  
  4. It has been discussed extensively, but still. Is Harry right 
 in thinking that Snape followed the same pattern as Voldemort? Does 
 proclaiming oneself a Half-Blood Prince mean renouncing one's muggle 
 heritage? 
  
 Oryomai:
  I don't think that Harry's making sense at this point. If Severus were trying to follow LV's path, he would *totally* forsake his muggle heritage. If you call yourself the Half-Blood Prince, it implies that the other half of your blood is something else. I don't see the name HBP as being as sinister as some of my fellow listees do. I think it's more about Severus' fantasy world, and this is the name that he made up for himself in it. Who of us hasn't been guilty of this? I know I have -- Oryomai isn't my real name!
 
  6. Why does Hermione object to the word "evil"? Incidentally, 
 the words she actually uses can be at best described as 
 understatements – "nasty sense of humour" indeed! Why is she being so 
 guarded? 
  
  Oryomai: I think Hermione realizes that the world isn't just black and white. Harry is so quick to judge people as either good or evil without realizing there are many, many shades of gray for people to be. IMO, Hermione also realizes the brilliance behind creating new spells -- we haven't heard about anyone at Hogwarts doing anything like this yet. She is trying to credit the work while at the same time attempting to not just see the world in black and white anymore. Harry's been seeing the world in black and white since he first got to the WW ("There's not a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin"), and it's about damn time he stopped!
  
   7. Here is another thing that has been much discussed but should 
 to be addressed again. The chapter is about a funeral, but what kind 
 of funeral is this? A Christian funeral? A secular one? Something 
 else? The "little man in black robes" may or may not be a minister or 
 a priest – Rowling's description of him seems deliberately 
 ambivalent. It is as though she wants us to wonder about the status 
 of religion in the Potterverse, and is never going to enlighten us on 
 the subject. Now, why is that? 
  
  Oryomai: I don't think it was about what religion is was. This was about Dumbledore. Harry and the rest of the WW lost someone very important to them personally and to the fight against evil. At this point, who cares if they're Christian or not? It wasn't about that.
  
 9. Did the funeral go as planned? Some, at least, of the 
 onlookers were genuinely shocked when Dumbledore's body combusted. 
 And another thing, did it ignite all by itself, or did somebody set 
 fire to it? 
  
  Oryomai: I'd like to think that this was Dumbledore's last trick. If you believe, as I do, that the AK did not kill him, then you believe that DD has had his funeral planned. IMO, DD had this set up himself. I'm sure he didn't tell anyone else what was going on (if anyone, he told Hagrid). 
   10. This has been discussed a lot, but must be asked again here. 
 What about that white smoke taking the shape of a phoenix? Was it 
 Fawkes? Was it the essence of Dumbledore, for want of a better word? 
 Or something (-one) else? 
  
  Oryomai: Was it his soul? Alot of civilizations have believed that our souls have some personification...maybe this phoenix was Dumbledore's. 
   11. In a way the White Tomb is the true "magic brethren" 
 monument. Virtually everyone came to pay their respects to 
 Dumbledore, the entire Ministry, the denizen of Hogsmead and Diagon 
 Alley, the representatives from the WW abroad, the centaurs, the 
 merpeople, even the Castle ghosts. Yet there were few conspicuous 
 absences. Goblins did not come, and no mention has been made about 
 house-elves. Do you think that is significant? 
  
  Oryomai: I think the goblins did not come because they've decided to side with Voldemort. He's apparently offered them a better deal. The house elves are a trickier subject. They are bound to serve the headmaster of Hogwarts IIRC. Does this mean that they are going to follow McGonagall now? More importantly, does their loyalty depend on the school remaining open? If Hogwarts does not re-open, what will happen to them?
 
   12. From what Scrimgeour let slip, one might conclude that some 
 kind of investigation is going on. Can the captured death eater be of 
 any use in book 7? 
  
  Oryomai: It depends on who it is. If it's just some low-level Death Eater, then they probably won't know too much about LV and his organization. If it's someone higher up, they will. I have a sneaking suspicion that Harry and Company are going to get this Death Eater. I don't think Harry will just sit around and let the Ministry have whoever it is.
 
   13. Why is Scrimgeour so adamant about Stan Shunpike's fate? 
 Surely his release is a small price to pay for Harry's cooperation? 
  
  Oryomai: It's about admitting they were wrong. If Scrimgeour lets Stan go, then they have to admit that they were wrong. Governments generally do not like to do that. Maybe the government is using Stan for something else -- maybe he's doing undercover work for them, and they do not want anyone to know about it.
  
 Oryomai
 Who apologizes if the formatting is messed up...AOL hates me and keeps throwing in and taking out spaces.
       
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