CHAPDISC: DH24, The Wandmaker

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 183634

Potioncat, now answering the second half of SSSusan's questions:
 
> 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"?  

Potioncat:
I haven't had time to read the chapter myself, so I'm taking 
Zanooda's word that Harry didn't know whose wand he was using and 
that it wasn't significant to him. From a literary standpoint, it's 
ironic that the wand belonged to Dobby's former master.
> 
> 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?

Potioncat:
I hate to admit it, but I was completely lost by this point in the 
book, and I'm not sure I know where I am now. I think I would be just 
as tempted as DD to use the stone, at least for a few moments.
> 
 
> 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?

Potioncat:
Perhaps it's part of his maturation. He's had to learn this year to 
think before he acts.
> 
> 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?  

Potioncat:
I hate to admit it, but I was completely lost by this point--still am.
> 
> 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)?

Potioncat:
Yes, he is. There may be more unusual wizards than Griphook realizes, 
but Harry is one of them. I think he really does respect Griphook---
I'm not sure if respect is the right word--that is, I don't think 
Harry sees Goblins as less than wizards. Harry still puts his own 
needs first in this situation, but he isn't dismissing Griphook as 
something beneath him. That's how Harry has approached all the new 
types of people: House-elves, Centaurs, Giants(well, one), etc.
> 
> 12.  Is Griphook correct that this is "precisely about" wizards vs. 
„« goblins?  Why did he drop the subject so abruptly?

Potioncat:
Because Goblins are creepy.

OK, I think he didn't want to get into 'why' he thought it was about 
wizards vrs goblins. Even if he thinks Harry is unusual, Griphook 
isn't ready to trust him.
> 
> 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?

Potioncat:
Because, it is about wizards vrs goblins. Because Harry believes the 
Sword of Gryffindor is his sword, not Griphook's. Or rather that it 
belongs to Hogwarts's, not to the goblins.
> 
> 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?

Potioncat:
Harry is trying to follow DD's lead, but DD left him very little to 
go on. He has DD's example of studying Tom Riddle to understand and 
to anticipate what LV was up to. I'm sure he wishes he could study DD 
to find out his own mission.
> 
> 15.  How do you react to those remarks of Ollivander's concerning 
> wand ownership and control?  Since they're really JKR's words ¡V and 
> rules ¡V are they reasonable? Fair?  Do they tell us enough?  
> "Subtle," "complex," "usually," "in general" ¡V 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?

Potioncat:
Yes.

Oh, you wanted a longer answer.

The only thing I would have liked to have seen, is some sign in 
earlier books about wand loyalty. We were all expecting to see a 
difference when Ron got a new wand and when Neville got a new wand. 
Yet nothing at all was said, nor was anything shown that a new wand 
made any difference. Just that little bit would have provided some 
foreshadowing.

I think subtle, complex, etc. etc, are reasonable. The whole point 
was that LV didn't fully understand exactly what was going on, or how 
the Elder Wand worked. So I think it was a fair presentation. 

It makes sense to me that how a wand transfers loyalty can be 
influenced by many factors and that even wandmakers don't understand 
it. Especially since wizards aren't logical and may not have the 
mental tools to work it out.

But yes, it did give the author some wiggle room. 

> 
> 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?

Potioncat:
Well, I didn't know then, but having read the book I know. 

<spoiler coming>
It was the fact that LV had used some of Harry's blood.


> 
> 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?

Potioncat:
What 'I' think is that Ollivander is a Ravenclaw and has some of the 
Ravenclaw weaknesses. I think he is so focused on wand magic, that he 
doesn't connect it to the horror of the situation. Knowledge for 
knowledge's sake isn't  the best thing. But I do not think he is a 
bad person, nor would he have used a wand, or his knowledge of wands 
for Dark purposes. 
> 

> 
> 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?

Potioncat:
It seemed that things just kept getting worse for Harry.