Chapter Twenty-Three -- Malfoy Manor

[gehayi]

In which Harry suffers a frontal lobe migraine for most of the chapter, the Random Death Eaters show common sense, Rowling completely ignores her own set-up for a character arc, all the wizards forget that they're wizards and Dobby is a deus ex machina.

Chapter Twenty-Three -- Malfoy Manor

Comments

[shyfoxling]

It's nice to see evil being competent for a change. Now, if only good would try it.

I think Spaceballs has already been quoted once during this sporkfest. XD

In the interests of scientific accuracy, I tried punching myself several times.

...I LOLed.

Is anyone else now picturing Project Runway, with Lucius strutting before the buyers and fashion designers?

I read "with Lucius as one of the fashion designers." Sounds like a wonderful idea for a crack fic.

Farewell, Canon! Hermione, who looked nice when fixed up but ordinary and bushy-haired every other day of the week.

Well, in her defence, I think I looked prettier when I was 18 than I did when I was 14, too. Not only did I have fixed teeth (braces, thank you, though, not a trip to Madam Pomfrey), but hair texture and stuff can also change with age. (Mine has gotten worse again after getting better :P)

And why a set of iron gates?

Because they look cool? Why white peacocks?

The last time we saw a wizard with a knife, it was Peter in the cemetery scene in GoF.People cutting

[gehayi]

I love the idea of an HP version of Clue. That would be funny.

I thought that the white peacocks were a) a sign of wealth and b) a symbol of the Malfoy vanity.

[shyfoxling]

Right, that's my point. Why not the gate for the same reasons? It's also just a descriptive detail that says "big expensive house" to most people.

[gehayi]

I don't get the "It's all right to do X to Y" theme of the books. As you say, Confounding all the Muggles and keeping them permanently confused is considered perfectly moral, and something any wizard would do as a matter of course. Implanting false memories and removing true ones, even at the risk of damaging a Muggle's mind, isn't even thought of vaguely immoral. Killing Muggles is bad, but not as bad as killing wizards; the deaths of Muggles are forever an afterthought, anonymous deaths that exist merely to be concealed from the Muggle authorities and to accentuate how evil a supposed Dark wizard may be, in that it raises the body count. Nothing for a wizard to be concerned about

[gehayi]

Secondly, Peter's death was the most disappointing thing I'd read in a long timeOh, me too. I didn't expect Peter to survive; I was quite prepared for his demise. I did, however, hope that his death would be be the result of a conscious choice--that he would end up saving Harry from being turned by Fenrir, or sparing Remus's life at Fenrir's hands. (You can see that I expected the silver hand to be pivotal.) I expected Peter to die in the process, but I expected his death to be an admission that he had done wrong. I hoped it might even be redemptive, and that we might see some glimpse of the young man Peter had been before Voldemort, the friend that James and Lily had every reason to like and trust

[nixitall]

I am not that into Werewolf lore, but I thought the silver hand was going to have something to do with it. Especially since the last of his former best friends was a werewolf.

Also, I did not think of it again after I read it because I was too distracted by the second stupidest death ever (Regulus wins), but Harry's "You OWE me" line really pissed me off. I think the only thing that keeps Harry from being the next Dark Lord is his inability to master basic spells.

[solar_type_star]

For all she knows Griphook could use that Sword and go kamikaze on everyone in the room.

Haha, this made me picture Griphook jumping and twirling about with the sword in his hands à la Yoda in Attack of the Clones.

[xerox78]

THEORY: I really think she didn't do a series re-read before she began writing B7.

Not theory, fact. JKR has come right out and said that she has never re-read her books after she's written them. She seems pretty proud of it too.

[gehayi]

I remember that. I can't find the quote, darn it.

This is my all-time favorite of her quotes, though:

"I loathe books that have inconsistencies and leave questions unanswered. Loopholes bug the hell out of me. I hate getting to the end of a book and thinking, but if so and so had told Mr Y back in chapter three, it need never have happened. And so I try to be meticulous and make sure that everything operates according to laws, however odd, so that everyone understands exactly how and why." Sydney Morning Herald, October 28, 2001

[sigune]

*headdesk*

*headdesk*

*headdesk*

*headdesk*

...Seriously... O_o

[sistermagpie]

I think Peter, for all his lame death scene, is far more consistent than Draco, who can't act like Peter. He'd be a lot happier if he could. Peter kills people out of fear to protect himself. Draco wants to protect himself but can't take the step to committing a more aggressive evil for it. I mean, it's not just that he doesn't want to identify people to their face but will do it from a distance, he's lost his taste for doing it from a distance either. Unfortunately Rowling also won't let him take the step in the opposite of Peter--Peter is on the good side, but can't commit to that, so winds up doing acts for the bad. Draco, otoh, can't take a step to the good. So bizarrely, after a long story reminding us that his heart isn't in this, still needs to show up in the end making a last stand for something you'd think he'd be over. ::sigh:: (I doubt she considers it an act of courage when he tries to drag Goyle out of the RoR