PS Chapter One

[hafl.livejournal.com]

- I've been a lurker here for a long time, but this is supposed to be the last time I'm reading the books before putting them into a box in the corner and giving their shelf space to Maurice Leblanc, so I figured I'd share my thoughts on this last reread here.

- I'm reading a translated version of the first four books and the translations is a little goofy in some places. Any factual errors are probably my mistake for not checking the English text.

- From the first paragraph, the Dursleys are presented as completely mundane and unwhimsical. Still, the initial description is not really negative, we only find out that Petunia is nosy, probably to distance her from terminally uncurious Harry. Dudley is also presented as being a wonderful child only in his parents' opinion, even before we properly see him.

- The completely ordinary weather is supposedly showing that mysterious things are about to happen. Emphatic weather does not work like that.

- When vernon commutes to work, we see him rationalising the unusual things he sees, like people dressed in strange clothes. It is probably the only instance in the series where we see Muggle reaction to Wizard business, so it is worth mentioning.

- That said, it is probably intended to show Vernon as unsympathetic and thinking only in mundane manner.

- Vernon's behavior at work makes him look like a horrible boss who screams at his employees. We don't know his reasons, we're just supposed to assume he does it without any reason.

- When Vernon considers phoning Petunia to ask her about the Potters' son's name, he shows concern about her and he does not want to disturb her.

- Dudley is constantly portrayed as a spoiled child that's hard to control.

- Dumbledore finally appears and thanks to the Czech language being unspecific in this area, I'm seeing him wearing stilleto heels.

- The conversation between Dumbledore and McGonagall is mostly an infodump, but McGonagall casually remarks that Muggles may not be completely stupid. Remember kids, prejudice is wrong, unless the good guys show it.

- Dumbledore and McGonagall are actually contrasting quite well here with Dumbledore being all whimsy and McGonagall being all serious.

- Dumbledore says that he does not know why Voldemort wasn't able to kill Harry. I could say he's lying and witholding information, but he probably did not have time to do any research into the matter.

- Dumbledore's watch begins the theme of wizarding tools being more complicated than the Muggle equivalent without any sign of being better.

- Dumledore's arguments for giving Harry into the Dursleys' care are not all that convincing. Sirius is still around at the moment and he could be able to take care of Harry. Especially if we assume that Dumbledore does not yet know about the blood protection.

- Strangely, the first impression we get of Hagrid is not very pleasant.

- Don't the wizards have any charms for removing scars? Though Dumbledore not even considering removing Harry's scar and just saying it's unremovable is a minor nitpick, even if he just saw the kid for the first time since Voldermort's attack. He's Gryffindor, they probably think scars are cool, even if they are earned by complete accident.

- And Hagrid's goodbye with Harry shows that he's gruff, but with a heart of gold.

- Even Dumbledore seems a little sad when he has to give up Harry. Since the chapter probably has an omniscient narrator, it is a genuine emotion, but he's still the least emotional of the three people present.

- Hagrid makes a mistake in the declension of Sirius. Is it because the translator wanted to show that he is poorly educated or because the translator does not know that clearly Latin names are an exception to the rules of declension? Only Prisoner of Azkaban will tell.

- And Harry is left alone. It is decently written though Rowling tries a bit too hard to show how he is a special boy, given up to the ordinary world.

Comments

[oryx_leucoryx]

I don't know that visiting Godric's Hollow would necessarily make a difference, in any case. Was there anything in particular to be learned there?

What could have Dumbledore learned from his office, and what could he have learned from visiting Godric's Hollow?

He definitely knew something was up or he wouldn't have known to send Hagrid.

OK, if he was not part of the Secret he would know when the Fidelius Charm no longer held, because he would be able to remember the Potters' location. (Extra-canonically Rowling said he placed some kind of alarm charm on the house, that would work too). Since the Secret was breached he knew the Secret Keeper (presumably Sirius) was the traitor. From whatever Severus reported about his Dark Mark he knew something happened to Voldemort that weakened him very significantly. Did he know Harry survived and needed to be taken to safety or did he send Hagrid to see if this was so? Because without assuming any unmentioned charms or perhaps the report of a portrait from Harry's room the only way Dumbledore could have *known* Harry survived was the wording of the Prophecy - it implies at least 2 encounters between Harry and Voldemort, one in which Voldemort would mark Harry as his equal and one where one of them would die at the hand of the other. The only way Dumbledore could know that Lily's sacrifice was at work was if he knew she had died and I don't know how he would know that without the report of someone who had been to the house.

What could be gained from visiting Godric's Hollow, or hearing the report of someone who did?

The knowledge that James and Lily were dead. That James died at the door and Lily by Harry's crib. That their wands were nowhere near their persons but somewhere in the living room. That Lily attempted to barricade herself in Harry's room. Confirmation that Harry was indeed alive, though scarred. That there was no sign of Voldemort's body.

Knowing Lily died, and especially knowing she was at Harry's crib with no means to protect herself (and knowing Voldemort said something to Severus about her possibly being allowed to live) was necessary knowledge to construct a theory of sacrificial magic saving Harry. I do not know if it was sufficient knowledge. Maybe Dumbledore had to see the protection in action as he did at the end of the book to know it worked and how. But at the very least, he needed evidence that could only be gained from within Harry's room. Unless he had the report of a portrait or time-travel was somehow involved he could only have learned this after he had already sent Hagrid.

To construct a hypothesis about Voldemort having a Horcrux he needed to know Voldemort survived something that should have otherwise killed him. That Voldemort was still alive, though significantly weakened, he could learn from Severus' Dark Mark. But once he figured out Lily's sacrifice Dumbledore could understand what it was that hit Voldemort - the AK intended for Harry - and thus confirmation that indeed Voldemort was struck by something that should have been fatal.

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

Knowing Lily died, and especially knowing she was at Harry's crib with no means to protect herself (and knowing Voldemort said something to Severus about her possibly being allowed to live) was necessary knowledge to construct a theory of sacrificial magic saving Harry.

Right, I'd forgotten about the significance of where Lily died, and the fact that she didn't have her wand. Silly of me.

Still. To play devil's advocate...

Is there no way that Lily could have died to save Harry if Voldemort had caught her elsewhere in the house, and if she'd had a wand but had been disarmed? The fact that Lily died by Harry's crib, without a wand on her, would certainly get Dumbledore thinking about sacrificial magic, but I don't think that either of those two facts were necessary to the sacrificial magic itself.

Whether Dumbledore would've been able to guess at the magic involved if Lily's body were found elsewhere, though, I don't know, and that's what we were discussing. It's quite possible he couldn't've worked things out without that information.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Ok, but at the very least he had to know for certain that Lily died (rather than, say, was kidnapped and was being held hostage by other DEs). Could he have known that Lily was certainly dead without hearing from someone who had been to the scene?

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I admit, I was assuming that Dumbledore knew that James and Lily were dead, regardless of whether he had been to Godric's Hollow personally.

For that matter, the bodies might have been removed fairly soon after the attack, whether by wizards or by Muggles. Certainly *Harry* was removed right away, according to Hagrid. Dumbledore might have seen the bodies without having been to Godric's Hollow. And as you say, he might also have heard from someone who had either been to the scene, or who had seen the bodies later, who hadn't been to the scene him- or herself.

[oryx_leucoryx]

There is one more person to consider - Bathilda Bagshot. Albus may have exchanged some floo calls with her that night. He may have sent her scouting around.

Also, at some point Peter showed up and retrieved Voldemort's wand. (Was that wand still lying around when Bathilda arrived? That might have been the confirmation that Voldemort was gone.)

[oryx_leucoryx]

Hmm. We are never told (at least not in canon) if there was any indication from the Dark Marks that Voldemort was only gone temporarily, yet Dumbledore is convinced Voldemort will return (as he tells Severus). If that isn't based on the Dark Mark then it is entirely based on believing the prophecy.