Chapter Discussion 22/ talking portraits / Did Snape murder?

[Beatrice23]

No: HPFGUIDX 183368

Beatrice: Okay so I am really late on this response, but these are 
great questions and I finally have the time to sit down and respond...

Discussion Questions:
1) Why does Hermione do her best to protect Xenophilius from the
Death Eaters? Is it only because of her feelings of friendship for
Luna? Or did she, like Harry, recognize his desperation to save his
child?

Beatrice: Hermione pities him and I think recognizes that not 
everyone is capable of the same kind of bravery and loyalty that HRH 
display.  Also, I think that she is incredibly compassionate as 
displayed by her anguish over the treatment of house elves, etc. The 
trio all seem to struggle with the enormity of their task, the 
brutality of the world around them and their own reluctance to commit 
murder or cause irrevocable harm to others.

2) Why does Hermione consider the trips to Godric's Hollow and the
Lovegood household "a waste of time"?

Beatrice: As other posters also indicated: Hermione has an incredible 
tunnel vision.  Finding Horcruxes is almost like a school assignment, 
Hermione is bent on completing the required work and won't / can't 
deviate.  Oddly, Trelawney is one of the first people to point this 
out (although it is also remarked upon by Xeno, Dumbledore and even 
Snape), Hermione is a by the book girl it serves the trio well, but 
it also proves to be a stumbling block at times. (More on this later)

3) Harry realizes that his "talk of living with dead people" had
scared of Hermione. Why is living with dead people comforting to
Harry and yet frightening to Hermione?

Beatrice: Harry has lived his whole life with ghosts in one way or 
another.  He isn't afraid of death (one of the ways he is the 
antithesis of LV).  Harry has faced it and he knows that a death is 
the only end to his journey.  Hermione on the other hand hasn't lived 
this way and has never really confronted her own mortality her focus 
is on keeping the trio alive (one of the reasons she is probably 
focused on things like protective spells around the campsite, etc.

4) Why is Harry able to put the story together so quickly? It says
his "imagination was racing ahead, far beyond Ron and Hermione's." Is
it imagination, experience, or something else that allows Harry to
make the intuitive leaps that other cannot?

Carol responds:
Good question! Intuitive leaps aren't common for Harry, to say the
least. Probably, his mind has dwelt on the upcoming conflict with
Voldemort and the question of what the objects that the Trio inherited
from DD could mean for so long that he's finally able to put the
pieces together (rather like DD connecting the memories in the
Pensieve and finally, belatedly, realizing that "Moody" is Barty
Crouch Jr.). (Snip)

Beatrice: I don't have too much to say on this, but I did want to 
disagree slightly with what Carol is saying here.  I agree that Harry 
is dwelling on these issues more than the other two are and that 
makes him more likely to make this connection, but I think that Harry 
of the three is prone to intuitive leaps.  This is precisely what 
makes Harry so uniquely suited to defeat LV, because he doesn't over-
think things like Hermione. He acts impulsively and makes a lot of 
intuitive leaps through out the novels which helps him to survive, 
save others and generally figure out what the heck is going on when 
others can't.  Here is a list of a few examples (although please note 
that I am not including page numbers as I don't have my books with 
me):

SS/PS: Harry surmises that the Gringott's vault Hagrid emptied was 
the breached vault, Harry realizes the connection between the 
dragon's egg Hagrid wins and getting past Fluffy, Harry knows how to 
get the stone out of the mirror and how to defeat Quirrell.

CoS: Harry realizes that Moaning Myrtle was the one fatality of the 
Basilisk; Harry finds the chamber and figures out how to open it.  He 
also knows instinctively how to destroy the diary.

PoA: Harry knows that the sender of his Firebolt is a friend, He 
figures out that he and Hermione need to save Buckbeak, before they 
save Sirius; He knows that he has to cast the Patronus to save 
himself, Sirius, et al from the Dementors and he realizes that his 
father was a stag, just like his patronus.

GoF: He trusts Krum, even though he is in Durmstrang and recognizes 
that Krum is bewitched in the maze; Although he relies heavily on the 
knowledge of other people in this particular book, this novel is 
distinctly different from earlier texts 


DH: Harry figures out that the Deathly Hallows are real; he also 
decides ultimately NOT to pursue them; He knows instinctively that 
one of the Horcruxes is at Hogwarts – which Hermione refuses to 
believe until the end; Harry figures out the RAB mystery; He knows 
that he can't fight LV in the forest, that he simply has to give 
himself over to death; 

IMO – Harry's intuition lets him down rarely – although usually it is 
when he is dealing with Snape.  He is blinded by Snape's 
vindictiveness and his own bias.


5) When Harry realizes that Voldemort must also want the Elder Wand,
it "extinguishes" all of his hope and happiness. Why?

Beatrice: Well, if LV gains the `unbeatable' wand how will Harry 
defeat him?

6) If Harry is right, Dumbledore did not tell him the secret to being
the master of Death because he needed Harry to discover it for
himself. Does this agree with Dumbledore's previous treatment of
Harry? How would Harry be different if Dumbledore did tell him what
he needed rather than letting Harry work it out for himself? What
role do Ron and Hermione play in his discoveries?

Beatrice: I think so, yes.  Dumbledore is quite please in SS/PS that 
Harry worked things out for himself.  Dumbledore never puts up any 
roadblocks or at least never any really big ones to prevent Harry 
from solving the mystery and putting things together.  I don't think 
that Dumbledore could tell him about this, because Dumbledore is 
hoping that Harry will find out, but will either find out too late or 
will realize that like the mirror the Deathly Hallows is more of an 
illusion than reality.  Like the Mirror, Harry needs to understand 
their power and importance, but he has to reject the temptation of 
the object, resist the urge to become master of them, in order to 
understand how they work and how they are ultimately flawed.

7) Harry wishes his scar would burn again because "for the first time
ever, he and Voldemort were united in wanting the very same thing."
When his visions do return, they are blurred. Why are the visions
different now than they have been in the past?

Beatrice: Perhaps they are blurred because Harry unconsciously has 
already rejected this quest and Harry and LV are now pursuing 
different goals so there is a greater distance between them? Or: 
Harry seems to gain access to LV's thoughts when LV allows his 
emotions (anger, hatred, etc.) to get the better of him.  Perhaps it 
is just and indication that LV for this brief period is attempting to 
get a hold of himself.

8) Harry feels that Ron and Hermione are obsessed with the horcuxes.
She accuses him of being obsessed with the Hallows and tells him that
they are "the ones trying to do what Dumbledore wanted us to do!" Why
are they at an impasse over the way to proceed? Why does Harry "give
up on her"?
Beatrice: See my comments on Hermione above.

9) As Harry retreats into his own imagination, Ron starts to take
charge. Is Ron only capable of leadership because Harry is distracted
or is it something else?

Beatrice: Ron is capable of leadership, but he is also kind of lazy 
about it (IMO).  It is easy for him to let others blaze the trail.  
Perhaps this is a feature of having so many strong personalities in 
his family and being one of the youngest.

10)If Harry is so determined that finding the Elder Wand is the way
to proceed, why do they waste months without making any real
progress? What, if anything, is achieved in these long months of
camping?

Beatrice: I don't think that he is determined to find the Wand.  I 
think he simply realizes that it is out there and is tempted by it 
(although he seems more tempted by the ring).  The DH are convenient 
for Harry to temporarily focus on while he isn't making progress 
looking for Horcruxes.   Frankly, they would have made quicker 
progress if Hermione hadn't dismissed his theory that one Horcrux was 
at Hogwarts. 

I wasn't as frustrated with the whole camping thing.  I thought that 
the isolation was pretty interesting and really underscored the 
danger that they were in.  I think it also brings home the idea 
that "neither can live
"  Harry really can't have any kind of a life 
under these circumstances.  I think also that it is one of the only 
choices for the trio.  They really can't stay with other people, 
because it will put them in danger and many of those who die seem to 
be the ones who try to crawl in a hole and stay there.  HRH move 
around and try to be as unpredictable as possible which helps them 
survive.  It also serves to toughen Harry and help him to grow up – 
but more on this during the chapter discussion on Shell Cottage.