CHAPTER DISCUSSION: Chamber of Secrets Chapter 18: Dobby's reward

[Joey Smiley]

No: HPFGUIDX 189262

> 1. Harry is asking Dumbledore whether Voldemort put a bit of himself in Harry. After DH do you see it as foreshadowing of Horcrux ? Why or why not?

Joey:

Yes. Not only in DH; even in GoF or OoTP, only this information enabled me to understand [to a certain extent] why Harry was having specific dreams / visions.

> 
> 2. I know that Hagrid tells Harry that Lockhart was the only applicant for the job, but still why do you think Dumbledore hired him? Does it mean that Snape applying every year was after all a lie? If it was a lie, why Dumbledore did not teach DADA himself, instead of hiring incompetent imbecile whom I consider Gilderoy to be?

Joey:

I presume DD's schedule and chores as a headmaster forced him to delegate the job to a teacher while he retained his accountability (for we learn that he had discussions with Fake!Moody about the curriculum). I think his fear of Snape going back to his old ways outweighed his disappointment in Lockhart due to which he chose Lockhart.

> 3. Among many other things I hold Albus Dumbledore responsible for is him not shouting to Wizarding World about Tom Riddle being Lord Voldemort, while IMO telling useless nonsense to Harry about calling him one imaginary name instead of another imaginary name. But in this chapter Dumbledore easily shares such information and while he does it within limited circle of people, he does not ask them to keep it a secret or anything like that. Should I cross off this offense (my opinion of course) off the list and maybe realize that he may have shared such information more than once and people were not interested in sharing such information with each other?

Joey:

I think DD did not want Voldemort to know that DD still remembers Voldemort's past and that he cares to share it with people. I think he wanted it to be a secret that he was doing some background work regarding Voldemort's horcruxes (the results of which we learn in HBP). As for sharing it with Harry, I think whatever he explained in OoTP is the answer.

> 4 Ginny insists her brothers would not tease Percy about Penelope, is there a chance that Fred and George will keep their promise?

Joey:

No. :-)

> 5. Dumbledore tells Harry " It is our choices, Harry, that show what
> we truly are, far more than our abilities ". Which choice of Harry's is Albus talking about here? Do you agree this is a difference from Tom Riddle?

Joey:

The choice to say no to Dark Arts despite the similar drive to prove his worth to himself and the world.

> 6. What did you think happened to big and scary Basilisk before DH?

Joey:

Didn't even care to think about it as it was thankfully dead. I only wondered how many more such Basilisks were lurking around.

> 7. Harry is asking Dobby "Just promise never to try and save my life again." Did you expect a repeat performance from Dobby and did it live up to your expectations if any?

Joey:

I assumed that Dobby would learn his lesson.

> In light of DH do you believe that JKR planned Dobby's character arc already when she wrote CoS? Why or why not?

Joey:

I think she did plan it at the time of CoS. The entry of Dobby into Hogwarts during GoF, I think, is a significant move towards the DH plot (where Aberforth sends Dobby to Malfoy Manor).

Cheers,
~Joey, thanking Alla for the nice summary and questions :-)