Mistakes in Logic for Deathly Hallows: Kreacher's Tale

[zanooda2]

No: HPFGUIDX 181471

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "bdclark0423" <bdclark0423 at ...>
wrote:

> Ok, I'm going back to my original logic on this. <snip>  In this
> scene, several times Harry asks DD, DD doesn't respond with a
> specific term, and basically everything leaves the reader to a
> scene of creatures with mysterious powers/intentions.


Maybe that's the point -  mystery adds to suspense, doesn't it? Harry
doesn't know at the beginning what the creatures in the lake are, he
thinks "of water monsters, of giant serpents, of demons" etc. Maybe
JKR doesn't want *us* to know either, that's why DD doesn't explain
what the things in the water are. 

Harry finds out about the dead bodies only half-way through the lake,
when he sees one under the surface, and he is terrified, even though
they are passive at that point. Harry suspects what they really are,
because he already saw one of them jump out of the water earlier.
However, once more DD doesn't call the bodies their real name.

The corpses are called "Inferi" (not by DD, by the author, but from
Harry's POV) only after they come to life and attack Harry on the
island - at this point he (and us) knows for sure  what is the horror
he is facing.

So we have this increase of suspense and fear - from fear of unknown
to the horrible suspicion and to the final terrifying realization. I
don't know if the authorial intent is enough for you as an explanation
:-), but I don't know what other reason can be for DD not to tell
Harry from the very beginning what the creatures in the water were.
Suspense, suspense, and more suspense :-)! Anyway, it's one of the
possible explanations, IMO.

As for Harry not using fire against the Inferi, it's easy to explain -
he panicked, he said it himself. It is obvious that the boy is scared
of zombies (understandably), so he just lost his head. Besides, I'm
not even sure that he knows any fire spells :-).


zanooda