CHAPDISC: DH27, The Final Hiding Place

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 184119

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CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Chapter 27, The Final Hiding Place
 
The Trio ride out of London atop the Gringotts' dragon, Harry feeling 
an overwhelming sense of gratitude for their escape.  He is fearful 
the dragon might turn sharply, roll, or even intentionally throw them 
off, but decides the dragon is too intent on flying away from his 
prison to consider the Trio.  As time passes, Harry's thoughts wander 
to Voldemort.  He wonders when Voldemort will find out the golden cup 
was removed from the Lestrange vault, thus finally realizing Harry is 
hunting Horcruxes.
 
The sun is sinking in the sky and Harry is aching from holding onto 
the dragon before Ron yells out that the dragon is flying lower and 
lower, apparently diverted by the fresh water supply of lakes.  Harry 
yells back for Ron & Hermione to jump on his word when he judges them 
low enough.  After a big drop directly into a lake sends the Trio 
plunging, they emerge in time to see the dragon some distance away 
scooping up water, apparently none the wiser that he had passengers 
on his flight.  
 
Harry casts the protective spells around their area, then the three 
drink pumpkin juice packed by Hermione, while dabbing essence of 
dittany on their many burns from the replicating cups.  They assess 
the situation, Ron noting they now have another Horcrux in their 
possession, with Harry finishing the sentence to say they've lost the 
sword in the process.  All three examine the glinting Hufflepuff cup 
on the ground in front of them until Hermione notices the dragon 
again.  She wonders what will happen to it until Ron makes the point 
that dragons can take care of themselves, and that the three of them 
are the ones to worry about because, "Well, I don't know how to break 
this to you," said Ron, "but I think they *might* have noticed we 
broke into Gringotts."  The Trio start laughing and can't stop, a 
release from the tension of the day.
 
Hermione turns serious, bringing up the conclusion Harry had drawn 
earlier: as soon as Voldemort learns about the missing cup, he'll 
know they are hunting Horcruxes.  Ron speculates about a DE cover-up 
scheme until, suddenly, "pain cleaved Harry's head like a sword 
stroke."  Once again he's in Voldemort's body, facing a semi-circle 
of wizards kneeling around him, talking to one small, quaking figure 
at his feet.  A goblin is the bearer of bad news, that the small 
golden cup was taken out of the Lestrange vault, that the Potter boy 
and two accomplices escaped with the cup.  Voldemort's rage is 
absolute; he doesn't understand how it's possible, but Harry Potter 
knows of his Horcruxes.  Voldemort proceeds to use the Elder Wand, 
first to AK the goblin, then every other wizard who isn't able to 
escape from the room.  Lucius and Bellatrix manage to escape by 
throwing other wizards out of their way as they all race to the door, 
while the rest are slain for bringing Voldemort the bad news and for 
hearing about the golden cup.
 
Alone among the dead, Lord Voldemort paces up and down the room, 
questioning, wondering, coming to a conclusion: Dumbledore is behind 
this, Dumbledore is reaching out from beyond the grave, working 
through the boy.  Voldemort is seized by the idea that all the other 
Horcruxes must be intact; after all, he is all-powerful, the killer 
of many men including the great Dumbledore! Surely he would know if 
the important and precious soul bits had been destroyed?  
 
Feeling calmer, Voldemort determines he will check all his 
Horcruxes.  He believes it impossible the boy could trace the ring to 
the Gaunt shack, to know they were his relations.  The same with the 
cave.  Even if the cave had been discovered, who could possibly get 
through the protections?  And the Horcrux at Hogwarts, only he knows 
of the place where it was hidden, only he had "plumbed the deepest 
secrets of that place."  Nevertheless, he will check on all his 
Horcruxes by himself.  
 
While considering which Horcrux to visit first, a sense of unease 
steals over Voldemort.  Dumbledore knew of his past at the orphanage, 
Dumbledore knew his middle name and might have traced Tom Riddle to 
the Gaunts.  And what if Dumbledore knew about his misdeeds at the 
orphanage, about the cave?  A very slight possibility.  But the 
Horcrux at Hogwarts, no, that one is safe; Potter won't be able to 
get near Hogsmeade or Hogwarts without detection.  Still, Snape must 
be alerted to the possibility.  He would share no more information 
with Snape, however, after the 'grave mistake' of trusting Bellatrix 
& Lucius.  He decides to set out at once for the Gaunt shack, Nagini 
safely with him from this point forward.  
 
Harry finds himself back in the present, back on the bank of the lake 
with Hermione and Ron watching him.  "He knows, and he's going to 
check where the others are, and the last one," he was already on his 
feet, "is at Hogwarts.  I knew it.  I *knew* it."  Harry explains 
what he just learned, that Voldemort could reach Hogwarts in mere 
hours and that they must leave at once.  Ron scrambles to his feet, 
asking questions, but Hermione attempts to stop them, expressing the 
need for a plan.  "We need to get going," said Harry firmly, for as 
soon as Voldemort discovers the Gaunt ring and Slytherin locket are 
gone, his next step would be Hogwarts.  
 
Harry decides their first stop will be Hogsmeade, where they'll 
determine the types of protection on the school.  Interrupted by the 
flapping of wings, they watch the dragon climb higher and higher into 
the sky until it vanishes over a nearby mountain.  Then Harry pulls 
the Invisibility Cloak over the three of them as far as it will fit, 
and "together they turned on the spot into the crushing darkness."
 
 
1)  What did you think would be the 'final hiding place' when reading 
the chapter title?  Were you expecting a Horcrux at Hogwarts all 
along?
 
2)  This is likely the shortest chapter in all of the HP books, yet 
descriptions of the dragon take up quite a few paragraphs at the 
beginning:  how the dragon feels, what it's doing while the Trio rest 
by the lake, where it might go next, etc.  Then right before leaving 
the lakes, they watch the dragon take flight until it vanishes, even 
though Harry insisted they must leave at once.  Do you think the 
dragon plays a symbolic role?  Is it a significant part of this 
chapter for another reason?  Or did you find the mentions of the 
dragon more filler?
 
3)  Harry's vision of Voldemort killing everyone within reach at 
Malfoy Manor is a first-hand view of Voldemort using the Elder wand.  
Do you believe Voldemort exhibits extraordinary magical power in this 
scene or were his powers about what you expected he was capable of 
regardless of the wand?   Any thoughts on Bellatrix and 
Lucius '[throwing] others behind them in their race for the door'?  
 
4)  Voldemort initially believes his Horcruxes must be safe because 
he would feel 'if he, himself, most important and precious, had been 
attacked, mutilated[.]'  Comments about either Voldemort's reasoning 
or how he describes his Horcruxes?  Did the course of Voldemort's 
thoughts about his Horcruxes and the realization that Harry is 
hunting them offer any new glimpses into his interior life?  
 
5)  If you were a Harry!Horcrux theorist, or argued against the 
theory, did you think the possibility of Harry being the final 
Horcrux was defunct when the last Horcrux was revealed as an object 
hidden at Hogwarts?  Were you keeping count at that point?  Were you 
already suspecting the possibility of a twist with the Horcruxes?
  
6)  Voldemort is fairly certain the Potter boy couldn't know of his 
connection to the Gaunts, or about the cave, until he remembers 
Dumbledore.  In a final assessment of why Dumbledore was the only 
wizard Voldemort reportedly feared, what was the basis of Voldemort's 
fear?  Did it have to do with Dumbledore's knowledge of Tom Riddle's 
past or other factors? 
 
7)  Harry is the one to determine when they jump off the dragon; he's 
the one who casts the protective spells.  When Hermione attempts to 
plan their trip to Hogwarts rather than following Harry's lead, 
Harry 'firmly' decides the course of action.  Is this a new twist in 
the Harry/Hermione relationship?  Do you think something changed 
between them over the course of the year or is it typical that Harry 
takes over in certain situations? 

8)  Any thoughts on Harry's decision to go to Hogsmeade even after 
learning Voldemort believed it would be 'impossible' for Harry to 
enter Hogsmeade undetected?  Did Harry forget this point in his haste 
to find the last Horcrux?
 
9)  Please add any additional questions or comments that aren't 
covered in this summary.  
 
Jen, with much thanks to SSSusan for her suggestions. :)

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Next Chapter Discussion, Chapter 28, The Missing Mirror, September 1.