CHAPDISC: DH24, The Wandmaker

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No: HPFGUIDX 183599

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With apologies in advance for the length of this (I should be named 
Siriusly Overwordy Snapey Susan), here we go....

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter 24:  The Wandmaker

Dobby has died, lying on the grass beside Harry.  Harry repeats 
Dobby's name again and again... and recalls a time not so long before 
when he knelt beside Dumbledore's silent body on the grounds of 
Hogwarts.

It takes a moment for Harry to realize that they have arrived at the 
place they'd hoped to get to – Bill & Fleur's cottage.  The others, 
who had arrived earlier, come over to them, and after he learns that 
Hermione is okay, Harry turns back to Dobby.  He removes Bella's 
dagger from Dobby's body and wraps him in his own jacket.

Harry feels acutely both his own grief and Voldemort's rage at those 
who failed to prevent the escape from Malfoy Manor.  The grief wins 
out, and Harry speaks to Bill, saying he wants to do Dobby's 
burial "properly... not by magic.  Have you got a spade?" [UK 
hardback children's edition, pp. 386-387].

Harry begins the task, alone, "relishing the manual work, glorying in 
the non-magic of it." His scar does burn, but Harry is "master of the 
pain" [p. 387].  He feels it, yet is apart from it; he has learned to 
control it, learned to shut his mind to Voldemort.  Grief and 
mourning have driven Voldemort out, Harry believes, though he knows 
DD would have said it was love....

Harry digs and digs, long into the night. He spends the time 
reflecting while he digs ("Hallows... Horcruxes ... Hallows... 
Horcruxes...."), and a new understanding comes to him; he feels as 
though he's been "slapped awake again" [p. 387].   Harry now knows 
with certainty where Voldemort has been, whom he has killed in 
Nurmengard.  He also thinks of Wormtail and what one thought of mercy 
had done to him.  He considers how much Dumbledore had forseen 
there... and wonders how much more DD had known.  (Don't we all, 
Harry!)

Before dawn, Ron & Dean return with spades of their own.  Once the 
grave is complete, Harry wraps Dobby up more tightly, Ron places his 
own socks & shoes upon Dobby's feet, Dean adds his wooly hat, and the 
others also arrive at their sides.  Luna closes Dobby's eyes, and 
Harry places him into the grave, thinking to himself that he wishes 
Dobby could have had as grand a funeral as DD's had been.  

Luna says a farewell to Dobby, but the others are not really 
interested in final remarks, beyond "Thanks" or Harry's own "Goodbye, 
Dobby."

Harry stays while the others head back to the cottage.  Choosing a 
large, smooth, white stone and placing it upon the grave, he then 
uses one of the wands in his pocket to magically etch upon it:  "Here 
lies Dobby, a Free Elf."

When Harry finally arrives at the cottage, Bill is in the midst of 
telling the others that he has, for their safety, moved the Weasley 
family members to Aunt Muriel's, where they're protected by the 
Fidelius Charm. Bill announces he will move Ollivander and Griphook 
there as well, but Harry says no, that he needs to speak with them 
both first.  

Harry moves on to the kitchen to wash up, and while doing so, he 
stares out the window, thinking.  He contemplates how it was that 
Dobby had come to Malfoy Manor – it was after Harry had seen the blue 
eye in Sirius' mirror and called to it for help.  He "knows" it was 
Albus Dumbledore who'd been behind it.  He also feels "closer, this 
dawn, than ever before, closer to the heart of it all." And he asks 
the Dumbledore in his mind, "Am I meant to know, but not to seek?" 
[p. 391]

Upon returning to the others, Harry insists upon seeing Ollivander & 
Griphook, separately, and immediately.  Bill erupts with a "What the 
hell's going on?" but Harry reminds him that he *can't* answer that, 
as they're on a mission.  Bill relents and asks Harry whom he wants 
to see first.  Harry, fully realizing "what hung on his decision... 
Horcruxes or Hallows?," selects Griphook.

Harry has Hermione & Ron join him in the bedroom.  When Bill brings 
him in, Griphook is still clutching the Sword of Gryffindor.  Harry & 
Griphook gaze at one another, "sizing each other up."  Griphook 
speaks first, remarking upon Harry's burial of Dobby, and 
saying, "You are an unusual wizard, Harry Potter."  When asked why, 
Griphook points out that Harry also saved a goblin, which makes 
Harry "a very odd wizard" [p. 393].  

Harry cuts to the chase and bluntly tells Griphook what he wants from 
him:  his help breaking into a Gringotts vault.  Harry knows he's 
stated this badly, but he is battling pain in his scar and images 
from Voldemort which keep trying to force their way in.  Griphook 
states the impossibility of the task and then reinterates it when 
Harry says which vault he's after:  the Lestranges'. 

Harry stresses that he's not after treasure, not after personal 
gain.  Griphook tells him that if there was any wizard of whom he 
would believe this, it would be Harry Potter.  

But then Griphook begins to speak about "wand-carriers," saying that 
the right to carry a wand has long been a source of contention 
between wizards & goblins.  Griphook says wizards won't share any of 
their wandlore secrets with goblins, but Ron quickly points out that 
goblins don't tell wizards about their special magic either.  Harry 
is impatient with all of this, saying this is not about wizards vs. 
goblins.  Griphook, however, diagrees:  "It is precisely about that!" 
[p. 395]

It is Hermione who points out that there are wizards, too, who suffer 
for being mudbloods, as well as wizards who do fight on behalf of 
goblins and elves.  (Ron squirms a little at this.)  Griphook lets go 
of the argument and instead inquires as to what they seek in the 
Lestrange vault.  Harry doesn't answer directly but tells Griphook 
that he provides their only chance.  Griphook promises to think about 
it, and Harry thanks him.

Harry silently removes Gryffindor's sword from the room as he departs.

Away from Griphook, Harry confides to Ron & Hermione that he suspects 
a Horcrux will be found in the Lestrange vault.  Hermione & Ron are 
dubious, but Harry explains how a Gringotts vault would impress 
Voldemort... and how much Voldemort trusted Bella & her husband... 
and how he doubts Voldemort would have confided to Bella that it was 
a Horcrux but would have just told her it was something treasured.  
Ron remarks, "You really understand him."  

"Bits of him," says Harry.  "Bits.  I just wish I'd understood 
Dumbledore as much" [p. 397].

Next, H/R/H go in to see Ollivander.  Approaching him, Harry is 
cognizant of Ollivander's having been imprisoned for over a year and 
of his weakened state.  Harry is also painfully aware (literally) 
that he has little time if he is to thwart Voldemort's plans.

Harry presents Ollivander with the two halves of his broken wand and 
asks whether they can be mended.  Ollivander says that a wand so 
damaged cannot be repaired by any means he knows of.

Harry next shows Ollivander the two wands which have ended up in his 
possession and asks if Ollivander can identify them.  He can:  the 
first was Bellatrix's and the second was Draco Malfoy's.  Harry 
questions the use of past tense with Draco's wand, and Ollivander 
explains that it *might* actually be Harry's now.  "The manner of 
taking matters.  Much also depends upon the wand itself.  In general, 
however, where a wand has been won, its allegiance will change," and 
points out that the best results come when there is "the strongest 
affinity" between wizard and wand [p. 399].  Harry explains how he 
took Draco's wand by force and asks if it is safe to use.  "I think 
so," is the response.  "Subtle laws govern wand ownership, but the 
conquered wand will usually bend its will to its new master" [p. 399].

Ron, too, shows Ollivander the wand he has won from Peter Pettigrew.  
Ollivander tells him he may use it – "if you won it, it is more 
likely to do your bidding, and do it well" [p. 400].

Harry asks whether *killing* a wand's former owner is necessary for 
the new owner to take true possession of a wand.  Ollivander says 
that it is not.  Heart racing, Harry next inquires about certain 
wands of legend – wands which pass through murder.  Ollivander 
whispers his reply:  "Only one wand, I think" [p. 400].

Sensing he is honing in, Harry asks, "And You-Know-Who is interested 
in it, isn't he?" [p. 401]  Ollivander is stunned that Harry knows 
this and that he has figured out that he (Ollivander) had told 
Voldemort to borrow another's wand in order to get around the twin-
core connection.  When Harry pushes further, asking if Ollivander 
knows why this did not work -- why Harry's wand beat the borrowed 
one -- Ollivander says that he truly does not know.  It was 
just "something unique" [p. 400].

Harry turns the discussion back to "that other wand," and Ollivander 
acknowledges that Voldemort had wanted to know everything about the 
Deathstick, aka the Wand of Destiny, aka the Elder Wand, and that, 
beyond wanting to know about it, Voldemort has been seeking it.

Harry thinks (hopes?) that Voldemort might stop seeking the Elder 
Wand if he realizes that Harry's wand is broken.  However, Ollivander 
tells him that Voldemort wants the Elder Wand in its own right, in 
hopes that it will make him invincible.

Hermione is dubious about the truth of the Elder Wand, but Ollivander 
says it is quite possible to trace the wand's history.  He is 
uncertain whether it *must* pass by murder, but the history is indeed 
bloody.

Harry asks Ollivander whether he told Voldemort that Gregorovitch had 
had the Elder Wand.  Ollivander says it was a rumour only but, yes, 
he told Voldemort.

Finally, Harry asks Ollivander about the Deathly Hallows.  Ollivander 
appears to truly have no idea what the Deathly Hallows are.  Harry 
reassures an upset Ollivander that he understands Voldemort was 
torturing him for information, and encourages him to get rest.

As H/R/H walk outside, Harry is nearly overcome by the visions which 
are trying to push into his mind, but he resists, knowing that soon 
he will give in, in order to confirm his theory.  For now, though, he 
wants to bring Ron & Hermione up to speed.  He summarizes how 
Gregorivitch had had the wand but Grindelwald took it, how 
Grindelwald used it in his rise to power, how DD finally dueled 
Grindelwald and took the Elder Wand.  

"Where is it now?" asks Ron.

"At Hogwarts."  

Ron wants to go there immediately, but Harry can feel that Voldemort 
is already there and tells them so.  Ron is incredulous about the 
time "wasted" talking to Griphook, but Harry says no, that Hermione 
had been right – DD didn't want Harry to have the Elder Wand; he 
wanted Harry to get the Horcruxes.  

Finally, Harry allows the visions to fill him up, and he sees 
Voldemort at Hogwarts with Snape... then walking alone on the 
grounds... then alongside the white marble tomb, using his wand to 
split open the tomb... DD's body revealed, the Elder Wand resting on 
his chest... and finally, Voldemort claiming the wand as its new 
owner.


QUESTIONS

1. "It was like sinking into an old nightmare; for an instant he 
knelt again beside Dumbledore's body..." [p. 386].  Is there any 
character in this series who has as much experience with old 
nightmares?  If you think there is another (or other) candidate(s), 
present the case, or the case that it *is* Harry.

2. Many readers feel that the death & burial of Dobby is a turning 
point in Harry's journey.  What significance do you think there is, 
if any, in the fact that Harry prepared Dobby's grave without the use 
of magic?  Why does it lead to "understanding blossom[ing] in the 
darkness" [p. 387]?

3.  What do you think of the description that "every drop of 
[Harry's] sweat and every blister felt like a gift to the elf who had 
saved their lives" [p. 387]?  What do you imagine Dobby would have 
thought of that?

4.  Why, after all this time and all the various efforts, has Harry 
*now* managed to "learn control at last... the very thing Dumbledore 
had wanted him to learn from Snape" [p. 387]?  Why does the death 
trigger this in Harry?

5.  Is there significance to JKR's choice of "Nurmengard" as a name 
for the prison?

6.  Is there significance to the fact that Harry used the wand which 
was Draco's, rather than the wand which was Bellatrix's, to etch the 
words "Here lies Dobby, a Free Elf"?  

7.  As you read this the first time, did you feel confident that 
Harry could know and not seek?  Could YOU have known & not sought?

8.  When Harry is talking in his mind as if to DD and asks if he is 
meant to know but not to seek, he also asks, "Did you know how hard 
I'd find that?  Is that why you made it this difficult?  So I'd have 
time to work that out?" [p. 391]  What do you think is the answer to 
that?  How about what you thought on your first read?  Did you feel a 
new understanding along with Harry, or had you see his mission 
differently than he had before this dawning?

9.  Harry Potter has been derided by many for not being much of a 
thinker.  He becomes a thinker in this chapter, and quite decisive.  
What do you make of this?  Is it a change?  Did it surprise you?  Has 
it always been there?

10.  What did you think was going on when you first read that Harry 
was laboring over seeing Griphook or Ollivander first... and chose 
Griphook?  

11.  What, in your opinion, was carried in Griphook's comment, "You 
are an unusual wizard, Harry Potter"?  Do you think Harry is an 
unusual wizard?  If so, in what way(s)?

12.  Is Griphook correct that this is "precisely about" wizards vs. 
goblins?  Why did he drop the subject so abruptly?

13.  Why did Harry remove the Sword of Gryffindor when he left 
Griphook's room, and why did he not say anything as he did so?

14.  When Harry said he understood bits of Voldemort and then went on 
to say he wished he'd understood DD as much, were you surprised?  Why 
do you think he made this remark instead of sticking with Voldemort 
as the topic of his understanding?

15.  How do you react to those remarks of Ollivander's concerning 
wand ownership and control?  Since they're really JKR's words – and 
rules – are they reasonable? Fair?  Do they tell us enough?  
"Subtle," "complex," "usually," "in general" – is this just the 
nature of wand lore, and it *is* nebulous and imprecise?  Or is this 
simply a way to leave open more possibilities for the author?

16.  Ollivander says he has no idea why the wand Voldemort borrowed 
failed against Harry's wand.  He says "something unique" happened.  
What was that something unique, do you think?

17.  It has long been an interest of many just what Ollivander is all 
about.  Something about the way he described Voldemort as "great"... 
something about how he made the hair stand up on Harry's neck....  In 
this chapter, we have Harry suddenly thinking about having been 
unsure how much he liked Ollivander back when they first met, and 
even now, "the idea of the Dark Lord in possession of this wand 
seemed to enthral him as much as it repulsed him" [p. 402].  And yet 
Luna seems genuinely fond of him.  What do you make of this man?

18.  How is it that, compared to the end of OOTP, Harry can be so 
certain the visions he's having are real?  We know now that they are, 
but how could he be so confident after what happened in OOTP?

19.  What did you think was coming next, as you read the end of the 
chapter and knew that Voldemort had taken possession of the Elder 
Wand?

Please feel free to add your own questions to the discussion!

Siriusly Snapey Susan

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Next chapdisc, chapter 25, Shell Cottage – July 21, 2008.