DH:22 - The Deathly Hallows (Bloomsbury 2007)
Italics are impressions from my first read, when I did not yet know what was going to happen.
1) Ron is slow. Obviously Hermione's first thought was to protect him and his family. Duh.
2) Luna's captive at some unknown location. Poor Luna! I just within the last hour finished my first fic starring her (paired with Ernie Macmillan, of all people), and I'm feeling unusually affectionate towards her character.
3) Hermione thinks the Deathly Hallows are a waste of time. She is sort of right, isn't she? It seems like a complete distraction from the Horcrux quest. She admits the possibility that the Cloak and Elder Wand might be real, but she refuses to believe in the Resurrection Stone, Harry's favourite for obvious reasons.
4) "robustly sane". I love it. Some of the best word choice I've ever seen.
5) The Peverell line. The name is extinct, but given how long Ignotus must have lived, everyone in the wizarding world might be descended from him. And we have evidence of two of his descendants: Harry Potter and Voldemort. If the Cloak is one of the Hallows, and was passed down from parent to child, then Ignotus Peverell must be Harry's ancestor. Marvolo Gaunt had the Peverell ring/Resurrection Stone, which must also have come down from Ignotus, since Antioch and Cadmus apparently had no descendants. Therefore Voldemort and Harry have a common ancestor. OK, so speaking as a genealogist, it's really not surprising that two people with wizarding blood and living in the UK might be related.
6) "Was this the answer? The Hallows versus the Horcruxes?" Did Dumbledore really think so? Did he plan exactly what happens in this book? It seems like the trio get a lot of lucky breaks here that Dumbledore could not have relied upon. If the ring is the stone and Harry's cloak is the cloak in the story, then Dumbledore had at least two of the three in one place. Could he really have been counting on Harry to track down the Horcruxes *and* figure out the Hallows to defeat Voldemort?
7) Harry: "Dumbledore had my cloak, the night my parents died!" Jo always said that was the question she wondered by people never asked. Harry feels sure now that Dumbledore had the cloak because he thought it was the third Hallow. But...why would Dumbledore borrow it out of his own curiosity when the Potters were in GRAVE DANGER? They could really have used it, couldn't they? And then Dumbledore could have taken a look at it after the war.
8) Harry: "IT'S IN HERE! He left me the ring -- it's in the Snitch!" I found Harry's sudden absolute certainty about and faith in the Hallows both suspicious and alarming. Harry's got one of those dirigible plums stuck up his arse or something, doesn't he? Or maybe he's channeling Voldemort's desire for the Hallows? Harry's desire doesn't even seem subtly unnatural.
9) Voldemort wants the Elder Wand. That's why he's got Ollivander. That's what he wanted from Gregorovich. That's what Gellert Grindelwald, a man obsessed with the Hallows, stole. But then where is it now? It's nice to see Harry being the one smart enough to figure things out for once. He also works out that Voldemort doesn't know about the Hallows. He was raised Muggle like Harry and Hermione, not knowing the tales of Beedle the Bard. He turned the stone into a Horcrux. Did he not see the symbol on it, and recognise Grindelwald's sign? But he knows about the Elder Wand/Deathstick/Wand of Doom/etc.... They really have made progress on their quest by visiting the Lovegood house, haven't they? More than they know .... *grin*
10) Why didn't Dumbledore tell Harry about the Hallows? I'm still trying to work this out for myself. He left Hermione the Beedle book, but all the other clues have come from sources which Dumbledore could not have counted upon: Xeno's necklace (and Krum's reaction to it), Rita Skeeter's book, the Peverell gravestone in Godric's Hollow.... Dumbledore could have guessed that Harry might visit Godric's Hollow and that while he was there he might have seen Ignotus Peverell's gravestone with its symbol, and that Hermione might have connected it with the symbol in Beedle, but it seems like a longish shot that they would work it out from there. Or did Dumbledore not want Harry to know about the Hallows unless it became absolutely necessary? They are clearly powerful and dangerous magical objects, and it may be that he did not think it necessary for Harry to know about the Hallows so long as he was alive, and once he was dead, he couldn't leave anything in writing explicitly telling Harry about them.
11) "The idea of the Deathly Hallows had taken possession of him." Oh, that's a dangerous word .... Now I'm really worried. "He and Voldemort were united in wanting the very same thing." He's suddenly as obsessed with the Hallows as he was with Draco Malfoy last year.
12) Harry's visions are blurred. Is Voldemort employing Occlumency against him again? But he sees something that looks like a skull. It's a Founder's skull, isn't it? Oh it totally is!
13) Ron is taking charge. This is a huge change from last time, when all he did was bitch and moan and not help with the planning at all. He doesn't really have any new ideas, but at least he's trying to keep them going.
14) Potterwatch. *giggle* I love it! But I'm not sure Harry needs either the additional pressure this sort of recognition implies or the boost to his ego. Bill apparently has a knack for guessing passwords. Handy in his line of work, isn't it? Lee Jordan has taken his commentating skills to a new level. Awesome.
15) Timeline stuff. Ron doesn't get the Potterwatch password until March. Harry is staring at a patch of grape hyacinth when he gets it at last. Because I'm just that much of a geek, I decided to find out when this plant blooms. It's apparently mid-Spring, which I assume means late March. Or maybe I'm expecting to much of Jo in the way of accuracy again. On a side note, I've always loved this plant.
16) Code names. Not very subtle, are they? Lee Jordan = River, as in the river Jordan. Kingsley Shacklebolt = Royal. Remus Lupin = Romulus *rolls eyes*. They must think the DEs are idiots. Or else Jo thinks her readers/the trio are, and won't be able to figure out who these people are otherwise. Rapier and Rodent, I really don't get, though. These seem far less obvious. OK, "Rodent" could be a play on "Weasley", but "Rapier"? When I first heard "Rodent", I had a sudden wish for Peter Pettigrew to be a secret correspondent, coming over to the side of good.
17) Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell are dead. :( We didn't know much about Dirk, but we've met and presumably like Ted. Gornuk the goblin is also dead. Dean Thomas and Griphook are still on the run, thankfully. Dean's "parents and sisters are desperate for news." Parents? I guess he must have a stepfather and some younger (non-magical) sisters we've never heard about.
18) Bathilda Bagshot's remains have finally been discovered. It's been three months since Harry and Hermione were there. Ewww.... I feel slightly nauseated.
19) Remus. He's forgiven Harry's harsh words, and even thanks him over the airwaves for telling him to return to Tonks. You all know I hate this 'ship with the heat of a thousand suns, but I do think that Remus cares for Sirius's young cousin and that if he's promised to protect her, he should do so. Just so long as he doesn't sleep with her. I will maintain to my final breath that IT'S NOT HIS BABY.
20) Xeno has been arrested. Poor guy. I do feel for him.
21) Hagrid and his Support Harry Potter party. Dear, silly man! Right there on the grounds of Hogwarts, too. I wonder if anyone else showed up? And now he's on the run.
22) "the man with the lightning scar..." Does it give anyone else an odd feeling to hear Harry referred to as a man rather than a boy?
23) "Vol-" "HARRY, NO!" "-demort." Harry, you absolute numbskull! Just effing great.
1) Ron is slow. Obviously Hermione's first thought was to protect him and his family. Duh.
2) Luna's captive at some unknown location. Poor Luna! I just within the last hour finished my first fic starring her (paired with Ernie Macmillan, of all people), and I'm feeling unusually affectionate towards her character.
3) Hermione thinks the Deathly Hallows are a waste of time. She is sort of right, isn't she? It seems like a complete distraction from the Horcrux quest. She admits the possibility that the Cloak and Elder Wand might be real, but she refuses to believe in the Resurrection Stone, Harry's favourite for obvious reasons.
4) "robustly sane". I love it. Some of the best word choice I've ever seen.
5) The Peverell line. The name is extinct, but given how long Ignotus must have lived, everyone in the wizarding world might be descended from him. And we have evidence of two of his descendants: Harry Potter and Voldemort. If the Cloak is one of the Hallows, and was passed down from parent to child, then Ignotus Peverell must be Harry's ancestor. Marvolo Gaunt had the Peverell ring/Resurrection Stone, which must also have come down from Ignotus, since Antioch and Cadmus apparently had no descendants. Therefore Voldemort and Harry have a common ancestor. OK, so speaking as a genealogist, it's really not surprising that two people with wizarding blood and living in the UK might be related.
6) "Was this the answer? The Hallows versus the Horcruxes?" Did Dumbledore really think so? Did he plan exactly what happens in this book? It seems like the trio get a lot of lucky breaks here that Dumbledore could not have relied upon. If the ring is the stone and Harry's cloak is the cloak in the story, then Dumbledore had at least two of the three in one place. Could he really have been counting on Harry to track down the Horcruxes *and* figure out the Hallows to defeat Voldemort?
7) Harry: "Dumbledore had my cloak, the night my parents died!" Jo always said that was the question she wondered by people never asked. Harry feels sure now that Dumbledore had the cloak because he thought it was the third Hallow. But...why would Dumbledore borrow it out of his own curiosity when the Potters were in GRAVE DANGER? They could really have used it, couldn't they? And then Dumbledore could have taken a look at it after the war.
8) Harry: "IT'S IN HERE! He left me the ring -- it's in the Snitch!" I found Harry's sudden absolute certainty about and faith in the Hallows both suspicious and alarming. Harry's got one of those dirigible plums stuck up his arse or something, doesn't he? Or maybe he's channeling Voldemort's desire for the Hallows? Harry's desire doesn't even seem subtly unnatural.
9) Voldemort wants the Elder Wand. That's why he's got Ollivander. That's what he wanted from Gregorovich. That's what Gellert Grindelwald, a man obsessed with the Hallows, stole. But then where is it now? It's nice to see Harry being the one smart enough to figure things out for once. He also works out that Voldemort doesn't know about the Hallows. He was raised Muggle like Harry and Hermione, not knowing the tales of Beedle the Bard. He turned the stone into a Horcrux. Did he not see the symbol on it, and recognise Grindelwald's sign? But he knows about the Elder Wand/Deathstick/Wand of Doom/etc.... They really have made progress on their quest by visiting the Lovegood house, haven't they? More than they know .... *grin*
10) Why didn't Dumbledore tell Harry about the Hallows? I'm still trying to work this out for myself. He left Hermione the Beedle book, but all the other clues have come from sources which Dumbledore could not have counted upon: Xeno's necklace (and Krum's reaction to it), Rita Skeeter's book, the Peverell gravestone in Godric's Hollow.... Dumbledore could have guessed that Harry might visit Godric's Hollow and that while he was there he might have seen Ignotus Peverell's gravestone with its symbol, and that Hermione might have connected it with the symbol in Beedle, but it seems like a longish shot that they would work it out from there. Or did Dumbledore not want Harry to know about the Hallows unless it became absolutely necessary? They are clearly powerful and dangerous magical objects, and it may be that he did not think it necessary for Harry to know about the Hallows so long as he was alive, and once he was dead, he couldn't leave anything in writing explicitly telling Harry about them.
11) "The idea of the Deathly Hallows had taken possession of him." Oh, that's a dangerous word .... Now I'm really worried. "He and Voldemort were united in wanting the very same thing." He's suddenly as obsessed with the Hallows as he was with Draco Malfoy last year.
12) Harry's visions are blurred. Is Voldemort employing Occlumency against him again? But he sees something that looks like a skull. It's a Founder's skull, isn't it? Oh it totally is!
13) Ron is taking charge. This is a huge change from last time, when all he did was bitch and moan and not help with the planning at all. He doesn't really have any new ideas, but at least he's trying to keep them going.
14) Potterwatch. *giggle* I love it! But I'm not sure Harry needs either the additional pressure this sort of recognition implies or the boost to his ego. Bill apparently has a knack for guessing passwords. Handy in his line of work, isn't it? Lee Jordan has taken his commentating skills to a new level. Awesome.
15) Timeline stuff. Ron doesn't get the Potterwatch password until March. Harry is staring at a patch of grape hyacinth when he gets it at last. Because I'm just that much of a geek, I decided to find out when this plant blooms. It's apparently mid-Spring, which I assume means late March. Or maybe I'm expecting to much of Jo in the way of accuracy again. On a side note, I've always loved this plant.
16) Code names. Not very subtle, are they? Lee Jordan = River, as in the river Jordan. Kingsley Shacklebolt = Royal. Remus Lupin = Romulus *rolls eyes*. They must think the DEs are idiots. Or else Jo thinks her readers/the trio are, and won't be able to figure out who these people are otherwise. Rapier and Rodent, I really don't get, though. These seem far less obvious. OK, "Rodent" could be a play on "Weasley", but "Rapier"? When I first heard "Rodent", I had a sudden wish for Peter Pettigrew to be a secret correspondent, coming over to the side of good.
17) Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell are dead. :( We didn't know much about Dirk, but we've met and presumably like Ted. Gornuk the goblin is also dead. Dean Thomas and Griphook are still on the run, thankfully. Dean's "parents and sisters are desperate for news." Parents? I guess he must have a stepfather and some younger (non-magical) sisters we've never heard about.
18) Bathilda Bagshot's remains have finally been discovered. It's been three months since Harry and Hermione were there. Ewww.... I feel slightly nauseated.
19) Remus. He's forgiven Harry's harsh words, and even thanks him over the airwaves for telling him to return to Tonks. You all know I hate this 'ship with the heat of a thousand suns, but I do think that Remus cares for Sirius's young cousin and that if he's promised to protect her, he should do so. Just so long as he doesn't sleep with her. I will maintain to my final breath that IT'S NOT HIS BABY.
20) Xeno has been arrested. Poor guy. I do feel for him.
21) Hagrid and his Support Harry Potter party. Dear, silly man! Right there on the grounds of Hogwarts, too. I wonder if anyone else showed up? And now he's on the run.
22) "the man with the lightning scar..." Does it give anyone else an odd feeling to hear Harry referred to as a man rather than a boy?
23) "Vol-" "HARRY, NO!" "-demort." Harry, you absolute numbskull! Just effing great.