CHAPDISC: DH24, The Wandmaker

[Grace Donaldson]

No: HPFGUIDX 183655

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "cubfanbudwoman" 
<susiequsie23 at ...> wrote:
> 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]?

yraiym:
As Jack-A-Roe said, physical labor helps clear the brain.  Also, in 
this Harry is showing deep love and respect for Dobby – not a mushy 
emotional love, but love-in-serving, as Dobby had shown Harry all 
along.  Dumbledore has been saying all along that Love is the most 
powerful "magic" of all, and that wizards need to show more respect 
for house elves.  In this act of love and respect, in grieving for 
Dobby as he would for a good friend, Harry embraces what Dumbledore 
believed and taught, and perhaps opened his ability to grasp many of 
the other things Dumbledore had tried to teach or hint at.

> 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?

Yraiym:
To tell the truth, I think this is one of the most beautiful parts 
of all the books: Harry shows another admirable aspect of Christ 
figures.  The Christ has been quoted as saying, "I came not to be 
served, but to serve, and to give my life for many."  I do not 
believe that these books have a hidden Christian agenda of 
proselytizing or are Christian allegory, but I do enjoy the 
traditional literary and mythic themes woven into this story. 

I think Dobby would have turned himself inside out with 
embarrassment at being served in such a way by the great Harry 
Potter.  But for him to be a free elf, I would think Dobby would 
need to not only be able to speak negatively of his former masters 
without having to punish himself, but he would need to be able to be 
served by humans/wizards.
 
> 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?

yraiym:
I see three components involved: 1) realization of the danger, 2) 
love for others, and 3) an exercise of the will.

In OOTP, Chap 21, Harry saved Mr. Weasley's life; until the 
discovery in Chap 34 of OOTP that Voldy could manipulate what Harry 
saw, could deceive him, Harry thought this was only an asset: the 
Order of the Phoenix had direct access into Voldy's mind!  The chap 
34 discovery shook him, however.

Now, Harry is choosing to act on his love for Dobby.  Dobby died for 
Harry's sake; Harry is choosing to return some of that love in the 
actions he is undertaking.  After this third profound loss for Harry 
(Sirius, Dumbledore, Dobby), he sees the path more clearly and 
becomes increasingly determined to stop Voldy from killing others – 
first those dearest to him, but also the entire wizarding world, 
other magical beings, Squibs, "Mudbloods", and Muggles.

My understanding of Occlumency is that it is an exercise of the 
will, as is overcoming the Imperius curse.  Recall in OOTP (p. 682 
Am ed), "The truth was that he was so intensely curious about what 
was hidden in that room full of dusty orbs that he was quite keen 
for the dreams to continue" – driven by curiosity, Harry didn't want 
to stop seeing these dreams in OOTP.  But realizing the danger and 
motivated by love, he is now concentrating on the tasks ahead of him 
and therefore exercises his will to shut out Voldy's thoughts and 
feelings.

> 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?

Yraiym:
Because I admire the Faramir of the book LotR (as opposed to the 
alterations made in his character on screen), I believed it 
possible, and hoped Harry would prove to be such a hero, too.  Could 
I?  I hope, but don't know that I have good enough a character.

> 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?

Yraiym:
The first time I read it, I hadn't put it all together yet.  But on 
a second/third reading, I think the answer is, "Yes, he knew how 
hard it would be for Harry because of his own struggle, and as he 
will tell Harry at King's Cross, that IS why he made it so 
difficult, hoping that slowing Harry down would help him see clearly 
that the real task was destroying the horcruxes, not going for the 
hallows."

On my first reading, I was worried that Harry was getting 
sidetracked (or that JKR was getting sloppy in her writing!) from 
the task Dumbledore gave him before he died.  Dumbledore, for all 
his mistakes, still had shown great wisdom, and we are never given a 
full picture of just how much Dumbledore guessed or knew; my bets 
were with whatever he suggested (including trusting the slippery 
Snape).

> 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)?

Yraiym:
I thought we were being beaten over the head with something we could 
already see for ourselves: Harry claimed a house-elf among his 
friends, pitied even Tom Riddle, remained Dumbledore's man even when 
Dumbledore was dead and being "disgraced" by the papers, had been 
the youngest seeker on the Gryffindor team in 100 years, and had a 
bad-ass broomstick until the beginning of this final book.

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

Yraiym: Cause everybody knows Hermione is always right.  Nope, no 
idea really.

> 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?

Yraiym:
Yup, I think it's a way to bring in the "god of the machine."  While 
I am understand what was happening as, "Since I disarmed Draco, all 
wands that belonged to Draco now accept me as their master," the 
part about "all wands" was a bit of a surprise at the end and didn't 
taste right, nor why the AK curse would rebound on Voldy.

> 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?

Yraiym:
Um, I assumed it was the way the wand followed Voldy and shot that 
powerful spell at him apart from Harry's control.  And I was happier 
not having any attempt to explain it; let it be something nobody 
understands.

> 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?

Yraiym:
IMO, these are visions of Voldy weak and vulnerable; his plans are 
failing – these are not the sort of visions he would try to plant on 
Harry.  He's out of control and can't contain his emotions and 
thoughts enough to block Harry as he could in HBP.  

> 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?

Yraiym:
Oh Crap!  Well, okay, don't desecrate a tomb, and keep the horcruxes 
as the focus of your quest, but couldn't you at least have kept that 
wand out of Voldy's clutches?  Oh, but he's broken a taboo, breaking 
into Dumbledore's tomb.  Nothing good can come of that for Voldy; 
it's part of the rules of faerie.

Thanks for a great summary and discussion questions that got me 
thinking on things!

And thanks for reading my first post to this group. :-)