Bloody Relics and Unexpected Tasks

[Talisman]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "Jen Reese" <stevejjen at e...> 
wrote:
>Jen: Another thought, Aberforth will buy the farm in Book 7 so the
>remaining heirs of the two feuding founders will be laid to rest.

Talisman: Now it's my turn to be shocked.  Really Jen, a nice girl 
like you killing folks off just to tidy things up.  A bit unnerving, 
really. 

Talisman:
> If the Slyth pendant isn't just waiting for Harry in Kreature's
> nest, available even by the master's command, then perhaps LV put
> enough of himself into Harry to allow the boy to conjure it out of
> the old chapeau.

>Jen: I'm convinced the reason Harry could easily dispense with the
>diary was because he's attached to the last heir of Slytherin by the
>power transfer. True there aren't any protections on it like the
>other horcruxes since it was meant to be a weapon, but still there's
>some doubt Ginny could have destroyed it even if she tried more than
>flushing. Since the soul of the Heir of Slytherin is in each
>horcrux, Harry will probably need to be part of each destruction
>along with each object's descendant.

Talisman:
I agree, Harry's definitely going to have to be the key player in 
the Hx abatement program.  Plus, the whole thing is going to be a 
bit tricky if he sticks to his pledge not to tell anyone (save Ron 
and Hermy) about the little buggers. "Never mind *why,* Zacharias, 
just shove your head in and holler."  

There is also the little matter of getting the hat out of 
McGonagal's clutches, especially if Harry's AWOL from school and 
continuing to refuse her any information as to what he's up to. 
Although she'd probably REALLY be obstreperous if he did 
tell. "Perhaps you misunderstood me, Potter. Dropping out of school 
does not qualify one to be an Auror." Nostrils all a-flaring.

Talisman:
> Harry *did* use a Founder's object in CoS to defeat a *version* of
> LV, and a troublesome serpent in his employ. (A nice bit of
> foreshadowing/mirror symmetry.)

>Jen: Foreshadowing for destruction of the Nagini horcrux, you're
>thinking? Or maybe you're saying everything could happen together
>like it happened in COS, with Harry's Parselmouth coming in handy to
>destroy Nagini prior to destroying Voldemort.

Talisman:
The imagery is all there, *writ small* as my pal Anne would say. It 
certainly covers *everything* to do with the known Hx task, which 
will not happen in quite so compressed a form when it is writ large.


Talisman:
> Fawkes delivers the Sorting Hat. I'm guessing this was per DD's
> instructions, as well. Harry asks for help, and the sword
> appears. Later, DD tells him that "only a true Gryffindor" could
> have pulled the sword out of the hat.
> Our silver-bearded heir of Gryffindor likely directed the sword to
> respond to Harry. Not only did he want to save Harry's buns and
> secure Harry's identification with/ownership of his place in
> Gryffindor House, but he has given a little lesson in what a *true
> heir* can do vis-a-vis the hat, with it's bits of Founders'
> brains, and a bona fide Founder's relic.

>Jen: I believe this is actually coming from Godric himself.
>Slytherin was likely not the only founder who left a little magical
>reminder of himself in the castle. If it's true Fawkes was handed
>down by Godric through his family line to Dumbledore, then I think
>the magic in the castle actually brought the sorting hat and sword
>to Harry. Perhaps even *because* he was located in Slytherin's
>chamber at the time, a counter measure left by Gryffindor should the
>chamber open again. 

Talisman:
Well, you know I keep my weather-eye on Dumbledore.  I rather like 
the idea of the castle having it's own magic, indeed I'm sure it 
does, but it would seem to be less personally involved.  Neither the 
castle proper, nor a any defensive measure left by Godric seems to 
have been opposing the Basilisk--either throughout year 2, or when 
Riddle initiated the first round of attacks fifty years before. 

We would also have to conclude that Godric just didn't consider 
Myrtle worth saving, and that doesn't sort well with his image.

More to the point about Fawkes, while I know there is a contingent 
who subscribe to the idea of Fawkes as a phoenix with a long chain 
of ownership (You may recall that this came up in a wand discussion, 
some time ago.) I'm happy to say that Rowling took my part in that 
argument.

>From the Edinburgh *cub reporter* press conference, ITV, July 16, 
2005:

"Q:  Peter Humphreys for BBC Newsround:  Who did Fawkes previously 
belong to and will he play a vital role in the next book?

A:  JK Rowling: I am not going to answer about the role in the next 
books, which probably gives you a big clue, and he has never been 
owned by anyone but Dumbledore. You will notice that when Harry goes 
back in the Pensieve in this book, Fawkes is never there, and -- no, 
I am sorry, not in this book, I take that back. When Harry has 
previously seen the study with a different headmaster he saw it with 
Dippet and Fawkes was not there then. Fawkes is Dumbledore's 
possession, not a Hogwarts possession."

So there we have confirmation that Fawkes has never been owned by 
anyone but Dumbledore (Pointing back to DD's involvement when Fawkes 
gave *two and only two* feathers for wands that just happened to end 
up with LV and HP--though Fawkes shed feathers regularly in the 
course of his messenger/alarm duties, if OoP is any example.)
and that Fawkes is not a Hogwarts possession.  This statement also 
precludes the possibility that Fawkes ever belonged to Godric.

Fawkes is DD's bird, through and through.  Rowling has methodically 
tightened the imagery and association between Fawkes and DD, 
throughout the series; I think we do violence to her intent if we 
ignore this.  I'm sticking with the position that DD arranged for 
Fawkes' appearance in the Chamber.

Jen:
>Dumbledore said 'help will be given to those who ask for it' and 
>could be referring to himself, but more likely the magical castle 
>since he won't be headmaster forever.

Talisman:
I still like the idea of * the magic of the castle,* but here again, 
I notice that the instructions in CoS were pointedly and knowingly 
given to Harry by DD, and, when the time came, didn't actually 
include a request for help. 

I'll also note that, though Fawkes brought the hat to the Chamber, 
when Harry asked for help it was the Basilisk who flipped the hat to 
him, with it's tail.  Nice to be a parseltongue. I'm wondering what 
would have happened if he had just said, "Hey, while you're at it, 
bite this Diary."  

Also, asking for help in a tight situation seems to be a good idea, 
as a general matter. A few of the other times it has worked include 
Hermione's request for entrance to the Whomping Willow in Book 3, 
aka "Help, Help," which was technically outside the castle, though 
admittedly still on the grounds, and Harry's request for help in the 
DoM when he couldn't find his way out, which occurred far from the 
castle's powers. All a bit metaphysical, eh?  Doesn't mean DD didn't 
have a point.

Talisman, who keeps getting side-tracked from the posts she is 
supposed to be finishing.