CHAPDISC: DH2, In Memoriam

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 176664


Potioncat:

Thank you Penapart-Elf for a thoughtful set of questions! 

> Questions:
>    
> 1. Harry believes the teacup in the hall is a prank.  What was your 
„« reaction the first time you read this?

Potioncat:
I don't remember my first reaction, but more recently it reminded me 
of brownies and house-elves. Dudley was leaving a gift of food for 
Harry, just like Hermione left gifts of hats for house-elves. In 
older stories, people used to leave gifts of milk for brownies.


> 
> 2. Harry ruminates on Hogwarts' inattention to teaching healing 
> charms.  Is this a flaw in the curriculum?  Do you suspect that it 
> might be taught at NEWT level?  Is this a post-Hogwarts curriculum 
as 
„« Auror training is?  

Potioncat: 
A flaw? Yes, wouldn't you think basic first aid sort of charms would 
be more useful than being able to make a teacup dance? But Harry 
knows Episkey. Tonks used it to fix his nose and he used it when 
someone was hurt in Quidditch practice. Not a major healing charm, 
but one he's used before. Harry wishes he knew some healing charms. 
Why doesn't he learn some between "now" and September while he's in 
hiding? 


> 
> 3. On a related note, why does Harry think Hermione will know 
healing 
„« charms?  Is he right?

Potioncat:
Yes, she does know some healing magic, and she has some tools. Later 
we'll see her treat Ron's injury when he splinches himself. (Although 
that injury seemed out of proportion to how we've seen it before in 
canon.)

So here's another question. Why doesn't Hermione try to help Snape 
after LV leaves the shack? HpfGU member Sigune asks this question on 
her Live Journal at this site. (Warning, Sigune is not happy with 
dear Jo.)

 http://sigune.livejournal.com/64998.html#cutid1



> 
> 5. Apart from the books, JKR is quite specific about what Harry 
> packs.  Why do you think she wanted to name each item?  Several 
„« reappear, but not all.

Potioncat:
You saw the deliberation he was putting into this. It contrasted with 
the comment that he never really unpacked and packed properly in the 
past and now he is carefully planning out his future. He has matured 
and is more man than boy. No, more man than he was--still more boy.


> 
> 6. Already as a child, Dumbledore seems to be inclined to withhold 
> information, as we find in Doge's tribute. He is referred to 
as "more 
> reserved" when Doge returns from his travels.   Do we attribute 
this 
> to personality or to "family secrets?"  In other words, is he 
trained 
> to be secretive or would he have been anyway?  (All speculation 
„« welcome!)

Potioncat:
Aberforth is pretty reserved too. And I can't remember who suggested 
that Kendra was Muggleborn. Having a family secret does make a person 
less likely to reveal even little things. We are given bits and 
pieces of information about DD that we have to interpret along side 
Harry. DD's secrets kept piling up. Was his mother Muggleborn, what 
was going on with his sister, what about his friendship with 
Grindelwald? We also had six books of DD being somewhat reserved. So 
I think it was one area where JKR did a good job of keeping us on the 
edge of our seats.


> 
> 8. Doge just happens to be gone when Dumbledore and Grindelwald 
„« become friends.  How much did/didn't Doge know about their 
friendship?

Potioncat:
I wouldn't think DD would have talked about it at all.


> 
> 9. Doge mentions the Grindelwald/Dumbledore duel, but clearly is 
> reporting from second-hand (at best) sources.  Are we looking at a 
„« duel that grew in legend?  Is Rita Skeeter right?

Potioncat:
I don't know what to make of this one. We aren't really given an 
unbiased description. And who knows what part of Skeeter's reporting 
to believe. But I don't think he just gave up.


> 
> 10. Following his perusal of Doge's tribute, Harry realizes he was 
> very bad at asking questions.  Is this a JKR sop to readers' 
> frustration with his lack of curiosity, or do you think she had 
„« always planned for Harry to have this realization?

Potioncat:
I think she was winking at us. She gave him this weakness on purpose, 
having him acknowledge it didn't change anything, but maybe showed a 
little growth. Also, it's a true fact of life. Once a loved one is 
gone, you think of all sorts of things you wished you'd asked but 
didn't.


> 
> 11. Harry suspects that Dumbledore didn't answer frankly the one 
> personal question he asked.  What's the likelihood Dumbledore would 
„« have answered any of Harry's personal questions frankly?

Potioncat:
None at all. And isn't that a kicker, when Harry does ask a questions 
of someone, he doesn¡¦t get straight answers? 

Oh, DD's answer about seeing himself holding socks has turned into 
one of the best "jokes on me" in the book. Boy, have we readers put a 
lot of symbolism into a pair of wool socks that were only comic 
relief!!!!  My mother-in-law and my stepmother always give socks at 
Christmas. So for years I've watched as socks were unwrapped time and 
again and smiled at the thought of DD's socks.


 
> 13. The uses of dragon's blood is mentioned more than once in this 
> chapter and has been known since book 1, yet it never figures into 
„« the denouement. Any speculation?  

Potioncat:
Well, I liked the idea of it being applied to Harry's scar by Snape 
and Hagrid, but that boat sunk! It is one of the many incomplete 
details that JKR packs into the whole HP tale. I'm not sure if this 
is a weakness or strength, but it's what has made this experience so 
much fun.


> 
> 15. Doge's tribute is glowing, and Rita Skeeter's report insinuates 
> sensational scandal.  Which one is more honest?  Do both withhold 
„« certain truths?  

Potioncat:
I tended to believe Doge just because of his name. I 
associated "doge" with a wise man. So I had to go look it up to see 
what it really was. It was an elected magistrate in Venice. So I 
guess how you might interpret the meaning of the name, might depend 
on what you think about elected officials. 

Doge thinks of DD much like Ron thinks of Harry---or even Sirius of 
James. So I think he tells the truth as he sees it. Aberforth of 
course, thinks Doge was blind to DD's darker side. I didn't believer 
a word of Skeeter's report when I read it in this chapter. It wasn't 
until later that questions came up my mind that she might have had 
some basis for some of it.


> 
> 16. What was your reaction to the flash of blue in the mirror the 
„« first time you read the book?

Potioncat:
I thought the current headmistress or headmaster had the mirror in 
his/her office and it was Portrait!DD's eyes being reflected. I 
thought perhaps the mirror moved and the connection was lost.

I wasn't expecting McGonagall to be Headmistress---but I thought 
perhaps an Order member would be. (Come to think of it, I was right!)