CHAPDISC: DH29, THE LOST DIADEM

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 184362

> 
> 1) Why would Neville and Seamus look so bad?  Shouldn't they have
> been healed by the school nurse or even by themselves or another
> student?

Pippin:
I think they consider their wounds and scars a badge of honor. They
don't seem to be actually weakened by them. I'm sure Madame Pomfrey
wouldn't be allowed to heal them if they'd been hurt as a punishment.
They may not have wanted to get her in trouble by asking. 
 
> 2)  What do you think about Voldemort making his very biased version
> of Muggle Studies compulsory for the students?

Pippin:
Voldemort knows that people will accept his harsh rule only if they're
united in fear of a common enemy. Since Muggles are already excluded
from the magical world and already feared and resented by many
wizards, they're a good target.

> 
> 3)  Despite the source (Alecto Carrow, a Death Eater) could there be
> some truth about Muggles driving wizards "into hiding by being
> vicious towards them"?

Pippin:
QTA mentions that witches and wizards in America had hoped to escape
persecution, and Binns also says that Hogwarts was founded in a
secluded area for that reason. Vicious persecution of witches is a
historical fact, though of course we also might doubt whether any
actual witches were burnt <g>.  But even in Harry's world, we know
that witches and wizards can be hurt by Muggles. 

> 
> 4) Neville says "...it helps when people stand up to them, it gives
> everyone hope.  I used to notice that when you did it, Harry."  What
> does this say about how Neville and the others see Harry?

Pippin:
It shows they admire him, even the ones who aren't willing to pay the
same price.

> 
> 5) In Half-Blood Prince only Neville and Luna were still carrying
> around their fake galleons that the D.A. used in Order of the
> Phoenix.  Judging from how many people show up to answer Neville's
> message and how active the D.A. has been in fighting the Carrows,
> this is no longer the case.  What caused the change?

Pippin:
I think people responded to the change in leadership. Hermione didn't
fully trust her recruits, and I think they weren't too confident in
her after what happened to Marietta. I'd call the parchment curse Dark
Magic.

> 
> 6) In the seventh book, the trio of Neville, Ginny, and Luna were
the leaders of the D.A.  Can we compare this new trio with the trio of
> Harry, Ron, and Hermione?

Pippin:
I think they would have been prepared to fight on if Harry had failed,
with Neville stepping into the role of the Chosen One he might have been. 

> 
> 7) Neville says he couldn't ask people "to go through what Michael
> Corner went through."   Compare Neville as a leader to Harry.  (I
> realize we do not see or hear very much about Neville as a leader.
> Feel free to "fill in the blanks" using what we already know about
> Neville from books 1-6.)

Pippin:
When Harry finally learns that he must sacrifice himself, he feels
that Dumbledore chose that course because it would cost the fewest
lives. Despite knowing that seeing others stand up to the Carrows
gives everyone hope, Neville doesn't want lives risked just for that. 
I think they have both been influenced by Dumbledore's philosophy.

> 
>  8) A "Little old witch living alone" gave the Death Eaters more
> trouble than they would have thought.   Do you feel that the Death
> Eaters should have known better?

Pippin:
There are few witches in Voldemort's inner circle. I think the
capabilities of witches may be one of the things that Voldemort tended
to underestimate. But he seems to pick his servants more for their
willingness to use the Dark Arts than for their actual skill.

> 
> 9) Gran was hard on Neville; however he did turn out the way she
> always expected him to.  What were your feelings of Gran pre-DH and
> post-DH?  Were they very different from each other?

Pippin:
I never had any strong feelings about her. I think Neville did better
when he started trying to be himself instead of the person he thought
she wanted him to be. Ironically, he then turned out to be more like
his heroic parents than he ever thought. 

> 
> 10) Harry only sees banners for three houses represented.  Why
> haven't any Slytherins stood up to the Carrows and joined the D.A.?
> Was it unrealistic to hope that any of them would?

Pippin:
Despite Neville's "still recruiting" graffiti, we don't see any new
faces in the RoR. Is it fair to single out the Slytherins when no
additional Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs or even Gryffindors joined either?

 Canon tries very hard here to make the Slytherins *look* bad. But I
think that JKR expects readers who  are smart enough and interested
enough to ask whether the book actually practices what it preaches to
be smart enough and interested enough to work things out for
themselves. The Slytherins need not be as bad as they are made to
seem.  Only Crabbe and Goyle are said to get into punishing fellow
students with the Cruciatus curse, very interesting since we know for
a fact that Draco can do it.

> 
> 11) Seamus says that "Neville's the man!"  There is no doubting that
> Neville came into his own in Deathly Hallows; however, do you feel
> that this was plausible or not?  Do you feel that Rowling presented
> Neville's change well?

Pippin:
We were well-prepared to see that Neville never lacked courage, and
part of his magical ineptitude was explained when we discovered he
wasn't using his own wand. As McGonagall said, his biggest problem was
lack of confidence. 

> 
> 12) Why didn't the room of requirement give them a passage into the
> Hogwarts' kitchen instead of to the Hog's Head Bar?

Pippin:
Even the Carrows would be smart enough to stake out the kitchens. And
the House-elves could be ordered not to provide students with food
outside of normal meals. 

> 
> 13) After girls starting moving in, the Room of Requirement
> sprouts "a pretty good bathroom."  What did the boys do before then?

Pippin:
Perhaps the RoR conjured facilities for the boys as needed, but the
girls wanted a more permanent place to hang out and keep their beauty
supplies.


> 
> 14) Neville quickly latched on to Harry, saying that Dumbledore had
> left them a job to do.  Neville and the others truly consider
> themselves Dumbledore's Army.  Neville states that the D.A. had
> proven their loyalty to Dumbledore... and to Harry.  Before reading
> this did you feel that the D.A. was loyal to Harry or simply a group
> that was united against Umbridge and Voldemort?
> 
Pippin:
The DA as a group never wrote anti-Umbridge graffiti on the walls and
did little to undermine her authority, aside from existing. I think
Neville held Harry and Dumbledore up  as symbols of what could be done
against Voldemort, and that, more than anything Harry himself did with
them, won their loyalty. 

> 15) To enter the Ravenclaw common room you have to answer a
question, not simply remember a password.  What does this say about
the way Ravenclaws learn and how they apply their skills and knowledge?

Pippin:
I think it says something about the way Rowling expects her more
intelligent readers to interact with her book -- not just absorbing
the story but using its lessons to unlock the secrets of the book itself. 


> 
> 16)  Would any of you be interested in reading about what happened
at Hogwarts during Deathly Hallows?  ("Neville Longbottom and the
> Rebellion at Hogwarts" sounds like a good read to me ^_^.)

Pippin:
Anything with more Snape sounds like a good read to me <veg>

Pippin
>