CHAPDISC: DH5, Fallen Warrior

[Mike]

No: HPFGUIDX 177972

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CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Chapter 5, Fallen Warrior

This chapter seems to come in three parts, so that's how I'll review 
it.
Part I – The Tonks

We start out in the mud, Harry and Hagrid are literally in the mud of 
the Tonks' back garden. After trying to revive Hagrid, Harry passes 
out and awakens on a sofa in the Tonks' house. Ted Tonks is with 
Harry while Andromeda Tonks has been fixing up Hagrid in the other 
room. Imagine the force needed to "mobilicorpus" Hargid inside! Harry 
finds out from Ted that they had protective charms on his house and 
that's why Voldemort was forced to break off his attack. 

Hagrid comes into the room and they both thank their stars to have 
escaped. Harry breaks off when Andromeda enters the room and Harry 
mistakes her for Bellatrix - he reaches for his wand which Ted has 
wisely relieved him of. As Andromeda comes closer Harry sees she's 
got softer features than Bella, but she's none too happy to have been 
greeted in this manner. The Tonks worry over their daughter, Dora 
(teehee), and Harry, suddenly remembering the portkey, promises them 
he'll have Tonks – er, Dora (teehee) – send word. 

Just as Harry and Hagrid are about to take the portkey, Hagrid 
remembers and asks after Hedwig. The realization hits Harry hard, 
tears sting his eyes. Hagrid almost misses the portkey trying to 
comfort Harry with "She had a great old life". The next thing they 
know, the portkey has landed them in the Weasley's yard.

Part I Questions:

1. What did you think of Harry's greeting of Andromeda when she came 
in?

2. The big question: This is the only time we meet Andromeda Black 
Tonks. Was it enough along, with the other background we know of her, 
to label her a "good Slytherin"?

3. In your eyes, was this enough grieving for Hedwig?

4. Whimsy Question: What did you think of Ted Tonks' description?

Part II – The Seven Potters Regroup

Harry and Hagrid are greeted by Molly and Ginny. They sort out who 
else is back (nobody yet), who should have been back (Ron, Tonks, 
Fred, and Arthur) and who's suppose to arrive next (Lupin and 
George). Hagrid downs a bottle of brandy in one gulp, just as a 
bloody George and Lupin portkey in. They carry George inside, setting 
him on a sofa and Mrs. Weasley goes to work on his cursed-off ear. 
Strangely, Lupin drags Harry off to determine it's really him. 
Lupin's reasoning for this is that they've been betrayed and he was 
checking for a Polyjuiced Harry. 

Harry tells his story to Lupin, including his Expelliarmus of Stan. 
Lupin tells Harry to at least Stun if he isn't prepared to kill! He 
adds that Expelliarmus has sort of become Harry's signature spell, 
that's how the DEs knew he was the real Harry.

Kingsley and Hermione arrive and Lupin and Kingsley go through their 
security check again. We learn Kingsley's story ("might've killed 
one") and that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban that's 
been hushed up by the MoM. Lupin tells Kingsley and Hermione about 
George's lost ear and tells us that Sectumsempra is a specialty of 
Snape's. After seeing no new arrivals they all head in to check on 
George.

We learn there's nothing to be done for George's ear. Harry has his 
first urge to hug Ginny. A crashing noise in the kitchen announces 
the arrival of Mr. Weasley and Fred, Arthur madder than a hornet that 
Kingsley would delay him with a security check. Fred is at a loss for 
words for the first time in Harry's memory. George revives and 
pronounces himself saintlike
 because he's *holy*. Seeing his twin 
back to his own self, Fred is back too. 

Ginny takes Harry's hand and they both head back outside to wait with 
Kingsley and the rest. Finally, Tonks and Ron come streaking in on 
one broom. Tonks staggers into Lupin's arms. No security check for 
these two, it seems. Lupin is described with a "set and white face", 
and unable to speak. Hmmm. Of course, Ron is mobbed by Hermione. When 
it's determined that they're both okay, and Ron is praised for some 
nifty spellcraft, Ginny runs off to tell her folks. Tonks tells Lupin 
that Bellatrix was really gunning for her; Bella's determination to 
prune her family tree has been noted.

Kingsley tells the rest he has to get back to Downing Street, though 
he wants to be kept informed. He leaves the yard to disapparate. Mr. 
and Mrs. Weasley come back out to greet Ron and suddenly Bill and 
Fleur arrive on a Thestral. As Molly is hugging her eldest, Bill 
tells everyone "Mad-Eye's dead". Bill tells the story, how Dung 
disapparated and Voldemort's spell hit Mad-Eye full in the face. The 
crowd is stunned; Harry couldn't believe tough, old Mad-Eye is gone.

The crowd heads back inside to tell Fred and George, who were in high 
spirits until then. Bill grabs the firewhisky and they all toast Mad-
Eye.

Part II Questions:

5.  What do you think of the security checks, especially Lupin's 
check for the real Harry? Did it raise any red flags when Lupin 
failed to check Tonks and Ron?

6.  Do you buy Lupin's pronouncement that Expelliarmus has become 
Harry's signature spell? Or is that just foreshadowing? What about 
Sectumsempra as Snape's signature spell? 

7.  How did you like this waiting and wondering what's happened to 
everyone? Did you feel the suspense of the situation or were you 
annoyed it was taking so long? When George showed up all bloody, did 
that make you more fearful for the missing remainder of the group?

8.  What did you think of the way Lupin greeted Tonks? Did you find 
something odd about their whole interaction?

9.  Mad-Eye, the Fallen Warrior. Did you see this coming? Did you 
think it would be Mad-Eye? What did this portend for the Order when 
their toughest, most skilled member gets killed in their first action 
without Dumbledore? (Little did they know that, in a twisted way, it 
did include Dumbledore)

10. Whimsy Question: Have you got a better joke than George's?

Part III – The Spectre of Voldemort

Lupin brings up Dung's escape that seemed to have cost Moody his 
life. The mood changes immediately from somber to tense. But Bill 
jumps in and defends Dung. Well, at least he doesn't believe Dung is 
the traitor. Then Fleur speaks up and says that still leaves someone 
as the traitor. Harry looks at Hagrid and remembers how he screwed up 
with Fluffy over a dragon egg. Without mentioning Hagrid's name,  
Harry now speaks up and announces that he trusts everyone in the room 
and if someone let slip their departure then it was a mistake and not 
acting as a traitor to the group or him.

This prompts a little father-son parallel from Lupin as he reflects 
on how James wouldn't "dishonor" his friends by mistrusting them. 
Harry thinks about Pettigrew's betrayal and gets irrationally angry. 
But before he can argue Lupin and Bill decide that they have to leave 
immediately to recover Moody's body before the DEs get there. They 
depart.

All of a sudden, Harry decides he has to leave too. Of course, nobody 
gets where this is coming from. Harry's scar begins to hurt as he 
tells them they are all in danger with him there. Molly makes the 
logical point that the whole reason for the night's escapades was to 
get Harry safely to the Burrow. Even as Harry continues to protest, 
Mr. Weasley adds that the whole night's efforts would become 
pointless if Harry takes off. And still Harry protests as his scar 
continues to throb.

Molly changes the subject to Hedwig and for the second time Harry 
feels the pangs of guilt over the loss.

Hagrid jumps in to brag on Harry beating Voldemort, again. Now Harry 
tells everyone how his wand acted on its own. How it found Voldemort 
and shot a spell on its own; a spell that Harry didn't know. 
Naturally, nobody believes this and Hermione tries to correct him. 
Then Mr. Weasley tries one of his explanations. Harry is getting more 
frustrated that nobody believes his explanation and that they are 
giving him credit that he doesn't deserve.

As his scar's pain increases he makes an excuse to get outside. Here 
he sees the Thestral grazing! Uh
 yeah. Staring out into the 
Weasley's yard he reflects on Dumbledore. Dumbledore would've 
understood. But Dumbledore is dead, as are all his other protectors. 
Once again, Harry comes close to tears.

In this weak moment, Harry gets pulled into the Voldemort connection. 
For the first time since OotP, Harry is seeing things again from 
Voldemort's perspective. Voldemort is questioning Ollivander, more 
like torturing than questioning, I'd say. Voldemort wants an 
explanation for what Harry couldn't just now get his people to 
believe had happened with Harry's wand. (If only Harry could forward 
these visions to his friends like they were email <g>). 

Hermione and Ron come out to coax Harry back inside. Harry tells them 
of his vision of LV and Ollie. Hermione gets all emotional, starts 
recalling that Dumbledore wanted him to Occlude these visions, and 
finishes with the lament that Voldemort is taking over everywhere 
else, "don't let him inside your [Harry's] head, too!"

Part III Questions:

11.  Though Bill seems to exonerate Mundungus from being the 
betrayer, the group still seems to blame him for Moody's death. Does 
this sound reasonable?

12.  In OotP, Molly accuses Sirius of thinking of Harry as the second 
coming of James. What about Lupin and his bringing up how Harry is 
being like James, again? (Remember in HBP, the "furry little problem" 
quip). Is Lupin guilty of seeing too much of James in Harry, or is it 
just natural to see something of the father in the son?

13.  What did you think of Harry's pronouncement that he needed to 
leave? Was this just another irrational Harry saving-people thing? 
What was the purpose of having Harry come up with these musings? (No, 
really, I want to know!)

14.  Did you think the self-spelling wand was going to go somewhere? 
Did you get that it *was* the wand, or did you think it really was 
coming from Harry?

15.  The VoldeVision is Back! Is Hermione's fear rational? For that 
matter, was Dumbledore's advice/plan in OotP rational, or was he 
making excuses for his well established penchant for secrecy? That 
is, should Harry ever have been trying to shut out theses visions, or 
had just been told that they are usually real visions but that they 
*could* be fake visions projected by LV for Harry's consumption?

16.  Whimsy Question: What was the Thestral *grazing* on?

What did I miss? What question did you have from this chapter that 
wasn't asked?

WOW, this chapter was packed. Injuries, death, H/G reconnecting, 
traitors in our midst, and the Voldie connection is back.

Back to you in the studio,
Mike

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Next chapdisc, chapter 6, The Ghoul in Pajamas – Oct 29