CHAPDISC: DH27, The Final Hiding Place

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 184120

Jen:
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?

Alla:

Heee, I thought that final hiding place would showcast somebody's 
death, would have nothing to do with Horcrux.

Jen:
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?


Alla:

Oh heck, I am kicking myself all over again, but as you know I had 
been missing simple symbolism lately and not just here. Yes, I think 
Dragon plays symbolic role and I think it is a very simple symbolism. 
Hogwarts motto is Don't wake up a sleeping dragon, yes? 
I think escape of the Dragon foreshadows Hogwarts fighting and 
escaping Voldemort's tyranny.



Jen:

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?

Alla:

I was about to answer that it is Dumbledore's raw magical power, but 
thinking about it, I think the answer that it is Dumbledore's 
knowledge of Tom's Riddle misdeeds makes more sense to me.

I mean Voldemort talks. " An old unease flickered inside him. 
Dumbledore had known his middle name
 Dumbledore might have made the 
connection with the Gaunt
 their abandoned home was, perhaps, the 
least secure of his hiding places, it was there that he would go 
first

The lake, surely impossible
 though was there a slight possibility 
that Dumbledore might have known some of his past misdeeds, through 
the orphanage"  - p.444

I think Voldemort is afraid because of the knowledge is power thing, 
I do not even think it is the Love thing, that Voldemort cannot 
understand. I think he is afraid that Dumbledore knew him when he was 
a little boy, who was already set up on hurting others, but who was 
probably also hurt that his parents "abandoned' him or something like 
that. I think that he is afraid that Dumbledore knew his 
vulnerabilities and despite his death managed to do something about 
it.


Jen:
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?

Alla:

Me? I was cheering and saying – it is about time, Harry, but no I do 
not think it is something very new, we did see that Harry tends to 
take over in the moments of ultimate danger and responsibility, no?

Jen:
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?

Alla:

I just did not think that Harry would let this stop him. Thanks for 
excellent questions Jen.