Deathly Hallows, Chapter 12: Magic Is Might

[oneandthetruth.livejournal.com]

Mighty boring, at least in this book.

Whew. I survived that last chapter. It was touch-and-go there for a while.

This chapter opens with more than a page of description of “mysterious, strangely-dressed people” loitering in GP and watching where number 12 should be. Harry arrives with a stolen Daily Prophet and enters the house. He is confronted by Dustledore, which shows Kreacher is still falling down on the job. So much for his new devotion to Harry.

Hermione starts reading the lead article about Snape becoming Hogwarts Headmaster. It quotes Snape as saying, “I welcome the opportunity to uphold our finest Wizarding traditions and values--” She shrieks, “Like committing murder and cutting off people’s ears, I suppose!”  Yes, along with raping their minds and sending them to the other side of the world, keeping them ignorant and then ridiculing their ignorance, stealing their superior technology and then calling them stupid and inferior, permanently disfiguring people who piss you off, covering up sexual assaults, attempted murder, and other violent felonies...Hmmm. Seems to me Snape fits right in with his culture. No wonder people like to ship SS/HG! :D

Hermione charges off to grab the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black and stuff it into her hold all, hide all bag. That way it can’t be used to spy on the Trio at GP, then report to Snape in the Headmaster’s office. Ron acts like this is really smart, but conveniently, nobody bothers to consider that Black’s been able to spy on them for the month they’ve already been in the house.

HRH discuss the spying they’ve been doing outside the Ministry for the last month, and Harry opines that they should make their foray into enemy territory the next day. Ron and Hermione object, but Harry says they’ll probably never be more ready than they are, and if they delay too long, Umbridge might get rid of the locket. She might have already, since it doesn’t open.

“Unless,” said Ron, “she’s found a way of opening it and she’s now possessed.”

“Wouldn’t make any difference to her, she was so evil in the first place,” Harry shrugged.

The characters don’t treat that as a funny line, but I found it one of the few genuinely amusing lines in this boring book.

They spend the next few pages discussing the security arrangements at the Ministry and arguing about who should go on the expedition. Suddenly Harry feels a pain in his scar and bolts for the bathroom. Apparently this large house has only one.

As he collapses on the floor, he has another Voldie-vision. This one involves “gliding” along a foreign street. He knocks on a door looking for Gregorovitch, and a woman answers in German, insisting he’s not there, and she doesn’t know where he is. Voldy decides to kill her, and two children conveniently run into the hall just before he does it, so he gets the group discount.

It’s at this point that Harry is pulled out of the vision by Hermione banging on the door and yelling his name. He lets her and Ron in and tries to deny anything is wrong. Hermione tells him not to insult their intelligence. Hey, why should you be treated any differently than we readers, girlie?

Harry expresses dismay that Voldy killed the woman and children gratuitously. See, this is what he gets for completely embracing the magical world and turning his back on the non-magical one. If he had bothered to go to a public library while studying the Dull Lord, he would have found out the man is a sadistic psychopath. They like torturing and killing others. It’s entertainment for them. Sure, it’s disgusting and appalling to normal people, but once you know what you’re dealing with, it’s not dismaying any more because you know what to expect. If Hermoninny were half as smart as she’s cracked up to be, she would have done this research even if Harry had not. Know your enemy is a wise injunction.

Instead, she berates Harry for allowing Voldemort inside his head, suggesting he likes it. I guess it’s not surprising that a girl who mind-raped her parents would think Harry must enjoy being mind-raped, too. At least she doesn’t tell him to relax and enjoy it.

That doesn’t mean I don’t agree with her. Even violent felons speak the truth occasionally. Harry gets defensive and hostile at Hermione’s suggestion, but I think it does make him feel special: “Ooh, look at me. I’ve been singled out for attention by the most evil wizard since Dumbledore for a hundred years. Nobody else can say that, not even his most devoted slave, Bellatrix. But don’t think I like it! No, no, no. Look how much I suffer in the battle against evil.” Remember, even bad attention is better than no attention at all, and with Dumbledore dead, Harry has to get special notice from some older, evil wizard.

Furthermore, he’s never really suffered because of the Voldy mind-meld. Unlike Ginny, who was possessed by Voldemort, forced to do things against her will, and almost killed, Harry’s connection is more of a pain-in-the-head annoyance than a serious problem. It’s kind of like pop-up ads on the Internet, or those commercials you have to sit through before you’re allowed to see certain YouTube videos or Yahoo news videos: You don’t like them, but they’re just an inconvenience. And unlike those ads, Harry gets useful information from his unwanted head-movies. In fact, it wouldn’t be possible for him to even find the Horcruces, let alone destroy them, without the Voldie-visions. So he’s really just being a drama king (no doubt another side effect of his Voldie-soul piece--you know how those Slytherins are!) when he complains about them.

The bathroom is described as having a “cracked, dusty mirror.” Why hasn’t anybody done a Reparo charm on it? And why hasn’t Kreacher, or one of the Trio, cleaned it? I mean, how hard is it to dust a mirror? Besides, these are teenagers. They’re always looking at themselves in the mirror. Or maybe--Eeeewwwwww. Maybe they never take baths, brush their teeth, or wash their hands after using the toilet. Yuck! Harry’s slovenliness is catching.

HRH do some more arguing, about who Gregorovitch is and what really happened with Harry’s self-spurting wand, then go down to eat the fine dinner Kreacher has cooked (apparently he bought food some time between the last chapter and this one) and to plan the next day’s invasion.

When they leave the next morning, Hermione Disapparates with Ron and then Harry. They use the invisibility cloak, which is supposed to hide them from the DEs watching across the street, but surely the sound of Apparating would defeat that purpose.

When they arrive outside the Ministry, the Trio take turns attacking passing employees until they get enough hairs for all three to Polyjuice themselves. The first one is Stunned and has her body hidden. The next has Puking Pastilles forced on him, and the third is fed Nosebleed Nougats. Then Rowling indulges her bathroom humor fetish again by having them use what appear to be public toilets to “flush themselves” into the building. Yes, you read that correctly: They step into toilets and flush to enter the Ministry.

When HRH get inside, they see the smarmy gold statue that used to deface the lobby has been replaced by one far cooler more discomfiting. It’s black stone and shows a witch and wizard sitting on thrones and looking down at the arriving Ministry employees. The thrones are carved as grotesque, naked caricatures of stupid-looking “muggles,” and engraved at the statue’s base are the words Magic Is Might. I had three thoughts on reading this description: (1) Yeah, I’ll pit my modern weapons against your magic any day. (2) Whoa! Seriously cool! The thrones sound a lot like the Catacombs of Paris and Rome that are decorated with thousands of human bones. (3) I know I’ve read a description of some statue or sculpture similar to that somewhere, but I can’t remember where. Darn! That’s really annoying.

As they head for the elevators, Ron is stopped by Yaxley the DE, who is complaining about it raining in his office. It seems the man Ron is impersonating is (1) supposed to fix this problem and (2) married to a woman suspected of being a Dreaded Muggleborn. Yaxley tells Ron his wife will be in even bigger trouble than she is already if Ron can’t stop the rain. Poor Ron has to be dumbed down again, so Hermione can look smart by giving him detailed instructions on what to do.

If HP were rewritten as Gone with the Wind, Ron would be Scarlett because of the way he’s been diminished throughout this series. As she said, “‘...I’m tired of saying, “How wonderful you are!” to fool men who haven’t got one-half the sense I’ve got, and I’m tired of pretending I don’t know anything, so men can tell me things and feel important while they’re doing it....’” (Chapter 5)

Hermione and Harry continue riding in the elevator, and when it opens, they are confronted with Dolores Umbridge.

Dum dum yawn...Yeah, I don’t care, either.

Comments

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

Instead, she berates Harry for allowing Voldemort inside his head, suggesting he likes it. I guess it’s not surprising that a girl who mind-raped her parents would think Harry must enjoy being mind-raped, too. At least she doesn’t tell him to relax and enjoy it.

Ooh, ouch! Burn.

Harry gets defensive and hostile at Hermione’s suggestion, but I think it does make him feel special: “Ooh, look at me. I’ve been singled out for attention by the most evil wizard since Dumbledore for a hundred years.

LOL!

And I quite agree RE Harry feeling special about it. He also gets attention for it, including from well-known public figures, and a built-in woe-is-me excuse. (Yes, I imagine it would be a horrible thing to deal with emotionally. I feel for him. But, as with his Dead Parents about whom as people he's quite incurious, it's not something he makes an effort to deal with, it's just a means of gaining attention. If he only hated it, why on earth did he never once practice for his occlumency lessons rather than hoping for another vision?)

with Dumbledore dead, Harry has to get special notice from some older, evil wizard.

Now that Voldie is dead, think he'll go after Palpatine? XD

I never got the utility of the toilet-entrance. I mean, at this point slapstick gags like that just don't work as gags. They just seem stupid.

The description of the Magic Is Might statue reminds me of some illustrations of Hell/Dante's Inferno. I'm pretty sure someone in fandom has written about this but I can't remember who. (Also it might be a Greek or Egyptian reference, in which case maybe it was swythyv.)

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm almost positive it was Swythyv. If I remember correctly, she was writing about the importance of underground rivers and the Albania connection. She said the statue resembled one of Hades and Persephone Kore. I'll try to find the essay and link to it here.

And those flushing toilets were just stupid and childish. I'm sure it was meant to be heavily symbolic - oh, look how Voldemort makes the ministry workers debase themselves! How evil he is! But it doesn't come across that way at all. It's just pointless, unfunny, bathroom humor.

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

See, I didn't get the sense that the toilets were Voldie's idea. It read like more 'comedic' wizarding weirdness of the usual sort to me.

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's Swythyv, in her essay called "The Necromanteon". I tried to paste the link, but couldn't - got an error message.

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[mksolomon.livejournal.com]

I can't find any of Swythyv's essays. The account looks to be deleted. Has she archived them elsewhere?

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Alas, I don't know! Wish I did, because she had some truly brilliant ideas. But she seems to have simply shut down her blog. I may try to contact the Hogwarts professor and/or message her privately, and I'll let you know what, if anything, results.

[hwyla.livejournal.com]

I guess the toilet entrance makes some sense of the way Montague ended up trapped in one from trying to escape the Vanishing Cupboard and re-enter Hogwarts? But why bother, since it isn't really the same and she's left so many other loose connections.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Note that neither the kids nor Remus in the previous chapter Apparated into the house, they perform this ballet of Apparating onto the small target of the porch. I suppose this means there are anti-Apparition wards on the house. (Or everyone is too stupid and prefer risking discovery by the DEs.) Also, the DEs first arrived after the kids used Voldemort's name in the house. I wonder how long after the kids went hiking the DEs lingered about.

Hermione putting the portrait in her bag is so contrived. Wouldn't sticking it in a drawer be more natural? And would have actually prevented Severus from finding out their whereabouts once out of the house. But of course Rowling needed him to find them at some point, so into the bag the portrait went.

The kids had been spying on the Ministry for a month, but only that late Ron reveals the significance of the blue uniforms.

Obviously the mirror is cracked because ugly people look in it.

Yaxley was arrested on the tower the night Albus died. Now he is at the Ministry. I think we can assume the part about people not being aware that the DEs are in power is over right?

[sunnyskywalker]

If only they'd stuffed Phineas into the bag with a vague plan to use him to spy on Snape. How long did it take them to think of asking him a question, again?

[600ants.livejournal.com]

I know I’ve read a description of some statue or sculpture similar to that somewhere, but I can’t remember where.

It's a common design element, you can see tiny people (animals, vines) carved on lots of old furniture, especially chairs. Exactly as described above it's also often found on corny pictures of seated devils, assorted demons and dark lords. :-) (Some of Botticelli's illustrations of Dante's Inferno also come to mind. :-))

By the way, have you ever seen "Vigeland sculpture arrangement" in Oslo, Norway)? Note the tallest column. :)

(And I'm sure there are lots of other examples.)

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

As I said above, it was Swythyv, in her essay "The Necromaneon". This - Swythyv's essay - raises all sorts of interesting questions as to exactly how much Voldemort was something the Wizarding World actually wanted.

But the Boticelli is interesting, too! As you say, it's a common design element, especially for Dark Lords. :) Going to look at the Vigeland sculpture now.

[600ants.livejournal.com]

I'll read it when I have the time, thank you. :)

IMO it's hard to say if they wanted Voldemort, because they never actually saw him, heard him voice his goals or anything, but did the majority of wizards probably agree he had the right idea? Hell yeah! History and present show us over and over how keen people are on totality and dictators, and that they have no moral compas of their own whatsoever - the president says so, Quran says so, it's the tradition, and therefore it's right. Not to mention how much people love it when their world is divided between US and THEM and US are allowed to beat the living shit out of THEM just because. After all, it's also the rigid house policy at Hogwarts and black-and-white everything what made HP so popular.

Obviously it's hard to say exactly what did it for Ms. Rowling, but inspirations sure abound. :) I wasn't impressed by the statue in the least, since from my pov the motive is very unoriginal and exactly what I would expect from a society of stupid.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/Voldy decides to kill her, and two children conveniently run into the hall just before he does it, so he gets the group discount./

Wait a minute…he kills the woman *and* her kids? And it’s noted in the text that the woman spreads her arms to try to save her children. So…how come Voldemort isn’t a ghost now? Just because the German woman’s a Muggle? Well, Lily didn’t chant an incantation or use her wand; she just jumped in front of Harry. Just like the German woman did.

/Rowling indulges her bathroom humor fetish again by having them use what appear to be public toilets to “flush themselves” into the building./

Yeah…my dad thought that this scene was dumb in the movie version.

[condwiramurs.livejournal.com]

Doyalist Me: See, that woman wasn't Saint Lily! She wasn't Authorially Divinely Anointed with special Love-Power(TM). So of course it didn't work.

Watsonian Me: Nobody asked Voldemort to spare the German woman and then risked their life to protect her.

[dracasadiablo.livejournal.com]

Ron and Hermione object, but Harry says they’ll probably never be more ready than they are, and if they delay too long, Umbridge might get rid of the locket. She might have already, since it doesn’t open.

“Unless,” said Ron, “she’s found a way of opening it and she’s now possessed.”

“Wouldn’t make any difference to her, she was so evil in the first place,” Harry shrugged.


Shouldn't they be more worried about possessed!Umbridge?
If Voldy's soul fragment was possessing her in the same way Ginny was possessed (at that time they had no idea that locket isn't the same as the diary) then there was a possibility of Voldemort finding out about it.
And if he knew that one of his Horcruxes was unguarded he might have done something to move and protect the rest.

Then Rowling indulges her bathroom humor fetish again by having them use what appear to be public toilets to “flush themselves” into the building. Yes, you read that correctly: They step into toilets and flush to enter the Ministry.

Ugh, yes.
I was unhappy and dismayed by Myrtle spending time in the toilet and hoped that JKR won't inflict more of the same on us.

Maybe this was supposed to be something "funny" to brighten the doom and gloom of the situation?

Hermione and Harry continue riding in the elevator, and when it opens, they are confronted with Dolores Umbridge.

Rowling really had no idea what to do with Ron in the last book.

[sunnyskywalker]

Totally minor, but why does Harry think of them as strangely dressed? Shouldn't he just think of them as normal by now? Or at least "dressed like wizards"? Unless he's still a bit haunted by what Vernon and Petunia would say, but that would be interesting.

[lynn-waterfall.livejournal.com]

Maybe they were trying to dress as Muggles, and failing as wizards always seem to in these books.

[maidofkent.livejournal.com]

I may be being a bit dim here, but why did the Trio need to go to the Ministry at all? Previously, Harry has used Kreacher to spy on Draco. Two chapters ago, he used Kreacher to kidnap Fletcher and bring him to Grimmauld. Why not get Kreacher to find and track Umbridge, then kidnap her and bring her to Grimmauld? Once there, she could be hit with Stupefy, and the locket removed. She could then be Obliviated and returned by Kreacher. It's not as if the Trio would have any moral objections to any of those actions.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Because Rowling needed a reason to send the trio away from 12GP (as in away for months of boring camping). Also because she wanted Harry to see the photo of Albus and Gellert (though somehow immediately forget what he saw).

[maidofkent.livejournal.com]

Well quite. But any reason within the story?

[sunnyskywalker]

Other people in the past have suggested breaking into her house while she was sleeping and raiding the jewelry box, but sending Kreacher seems even more obvious. They just did that. Why wouldn't it work again? Was Umbridge impervious to any house-elf tracking magic?

Maybe JKR should have combined the locket-stealing trip with some other reason to break into the Ministry, like... I don't know, rescuing Arthur? Raiding the filing cabinets for information? Maybe there's records pertaining to Tom Riddle in there somewhere that might give clues to Horcrux locations. (Did he have a Gringotts vault? Where did he live after graduation? Etc. We don't know what records the Ministry might keep, so there's lots of room for possibilities.) It's a long shot, but if they could nab one and get clues to another, why not? And the Ministry probably is warded against house-elves not accompanying their masters.