CHAPDISC: DH2, In Memoriam

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 176731

---  "AnitaKH" <anita_hillin at ...> wrote:
>
> 
> CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS: 
> Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 2, 
> 'In Memoriam'
> 
> Questions:
>    
> 1. Harry believes the teacup in the hall is a prank.  
> What was your reaction the first time you read this?
> 

bboyminn:

I though Harry was mistaken but not by much. I suspected
lazy Dudley didn't want to have to deal with his cup of
tea, so he set it outside Harry's door. Though no doubt
Dudley went downstairs minutes after placing the cup and
didn't both to take it with him.

Generally, when I come to little details like this I
just keep reading and assume if it is important it
will eventually be explained.

> 2. Harry ruminates on Hogwarts' inattention to 
> teaching healing charms.  Is this a flaw in the 
> curriculum?  ...
> 

bboyminn:

For many years now, I have felt it was a flaw in the
curriculum. Though we don't know for sure that there
is not a Healing Arts Club at the school. A place where
those with an interest can learn the art.

I suspect the reason Healing is not taught is because 
it would encourage kids to go to other kids when the
injured themselves, instead of going to Madam Pomphey.

Though I think Madam Pomphey does a good job of 'not
asking too many questions', so students do feel they
can go to her without getting into trouble. 

Still, I think especially after Third year some basic
healing art could be introduced. Then more intense
spells and charms could be added in upper NEWT 
classes. They seem like important spells to know for
anyone living in the rough and tumble wizard world.

I also think 'house-holdie' spell should be learned.
I suggested this when I was in school; a boy's home
economics class. They laughed. A few years later 
though, boy were allowed to take a class called
'bachelor living'. 

I think Hogwarts needs the equivalent of these classes
too. 


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

bboyminn:

Well, Hermione is likely to know everything, at least,
that's how Harry and Ron would see it, and if I remember
correctly, Hermione said she knew some healing spells 
but had never used them, so she wasn't confident enough
to use them on an injured Ron for fear of actually
making things worse.


> 4. When Harry discovers the mirror shard, it brings 
> back the old memories and feelings, but he suppresses
> them quickly.  How does this demonstrate the progress
> has Harry made in controlling his feelings?  
>

bboyminn:

I think Harry is progressing like any other kids. At
some point you discover that tantrums and yelling and
screaming are counter-productive, and so you stop.

Also, I see Harry doing what anyone would do. He has
grieved for Sirius, and now it is time to move on. So,
when the feelings come, he knows he can't wallow in 
them. The time for grieving over, what can't be changed
is gone, now it's time for the living.

I also object to this girly-girly idea that everyone
should always share and express their inner most 
thoughts and feelings. That every bit of knowledge
should be dumped on everyone around you and that 
no secret should be kept to yourself.

That's a good way to annoy the hell out of your friends
and get yourself and lot of other people killed in war
time.
 
> 
> 5. Apart from the books, JKR is quite specific about
> what Harry packs.  Why do you think she wanted to 
> name each item? 
> 

bboyminn:

Well, if she had only spoken about the mirror, we would
have know with certainty that it was important. By mixing
it in with a bunch of other stuff, we really can't be 
sure what is important and what is not. 

Also, I think it sets the mood and the tone for what
Harry is about to do. All his school books are left
behind. It makes it clear that Harry has abandon school
for a greater purpose. I think it does a nice job of
setting the mood for Harry future actions.

> 6. Already as a child, Dumbledore seems to be inclined
> to withhold information, ..   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?  ..
> 

bboyminn:

Again, this girly-girly idea that every intimate thought
and personal detail must be shared. People are allowed
to have private lives. There are some things that are
none of your business, and Dumbledore is perfectly 
within his rights to keep private family matters 
private.

I don't hold that against him in the slightest. Yes, 
Dumbledore has his secrets, back then and now. Back then,
the secrets were simply private, now, his secret are
critical and vital to success. 

So, I completely understand Dumbledore right and need
for privacy and secrecy.


> 7. We see Dumbledore writing as a Hogwarts student to
> luminaries such as Flamel, Bathilda Bagshot and 
> Waffling.  We know Bathilda has a role later in Rita
> Skeeter's expose; any speculation on how much of 
> early Dumbledore's correspondence she shared?
>

bboyminn:

I'm not convinced that Bathilda shared anything. I think
it far more likely that whatever information Rita got
she stole from or coerced out of Bathilda. I wouldn't 
trust Rita any farther than I could throw a Hypogryph
by the gonads. 


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

bboyminn:

As others have said, the relationship was short and Doge
wasn't around. Again, Dumbledore has a right to privacy,
and I'm sure this was a painful part of his life. Both
due to his sister being killed and due to how readily
he had been seduced by thoughts of power. 

> 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?
> 

bboyminn:

If I recall correctly it was said that there were 
witnesses to the Duel, and their accounts said it
was /scary fierce/. True that is second hand because
we only hear about the accounts, we don't hear them
from actual witnesses. But I see no reason to believe
a duel between these two great wizards, one with
the (allegedly) unbeatable wand, would be anything
other than incredibly intense.


> 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?
>

bboyminn:

No, I just see this as normal. Haven't you ever
known someone who has died, and consequently though
of all the things that were left unsaid. We natural
proceed through life as if there was all the time in
the world. Plenty of time to say all those things 
that now can never be said or asked. That's just human
nature. 

Also, while their relationship was genial, it was also
very formal. Regardless of their fondness for each
other, and regardless of how friendly it was, it
was not a balanced relationship. Dumbledore was 
Headmaster of the School and had great authority over
Harry. Plus, Dumbledore was infinitely older, wiser,
and more experienced that Harry. That doesn't make
for an open, 'ask me anything' type of relationship.

Guys respect boundaries, sometime to the extreme. I'm
sure there are many details of Ron's life that Harry
doesn't know simply because he didn't feel it was his
place to ask. If Ron wanted Harry to know, Ron would
tell him. But by the same token, guys don't volunteer
a lot of unnecessary information. We can go on and on
for hours about the latest Quidditch matches, but mere
seconds in more than enough to cover the personal stuff.

Now, Harry wishes he had asked, but in the moment, I
don't think Harry, and reasonably so, thought it was
his right, or valid in the context of their 
relationship, to ask Dumbledore personal questions.


> 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?
> 

bboyminn:

I'm assuming this is an extension of the question
above. I suspect Dumbledore would have answered to
a degree, but at the same time, he would have felt 
no obligation divulge things he felt were private.
He would have been polite, but he would have 
refused or avoided questions he did not feel were
appropriate to answer. Again, Dumbledore has a
right to privacy. Just because you want to know
doesn't mean he is obligated to tell. 

> 12. Rita Skeeter clearly lies in her interview, 
> calling her relationship with Harry Potter "close."
> Did this mislead you on the first read, or did you 
> suspect some of what she found was true?
> 

bboyminn:

As others have said, Rita bases her clear and outright
lies in a grain of truth. That makes them very powerful
lies. But mostly she is 'spinning'. She is saying 
whatever she has to say to sell books. She it trying
to tantalize and titillate. She is selling non-story
wrapped up in scandal which is what every tabloid does.


> 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?  
> 

bboyminn:

I think since Harry's thoughts are on Dumbledore it is
only natural that they should turn to Dumbledore's 
accomplishments. I never really thought Dragon's Blood
would ever be significant other than as a detail of
Dumbledore's life. 


> 14. Rita refers to Dumbledore's relationship with 
> Harry as "unhealthy."  While she is mining for 
> sensation, how much of this do you think has a ring 
> of truth?
> 

bboyminn:

Again tantalize, scandalize, and titillate; Rita at 
her finest. Who could not rush out to buy the book
with a burning desire to know the juicy details of
this 'unhealthy' relationship? Again, pure spin meant
to sell books. 

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

bboyminn:

Doge's tribute was colored by years of friendship 
and loyalty. Rita's report was colored by greed. 
Rita takes simple truths and twist them into scandal 
because bad news sells. Doge, as a true friend, simply
prefers to remember the good times and the good man. 


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

bboyminn:

I think for a brief fleeting second I considered 
Aberforth. But usually I don't try to resolve these
mysteries as I read. I figure either we will 
eventually know, otherwise it's not really important.
In the moment my most critical thought and desire is
to simply keep reading.

I did not think it was Dumbledore no matter how 
hard the books try to set the notion into my head.
I had long ago accepted the Dumbledore was dead.

Hope I've managed to touch on some unique aspects.

Steve/bboyminn