deathtocapslock | GoF Chapter Thirty-Six

*Dumbledore stares down at Barty with disgust, because he’s just such a good person he’s, like, repulsed by evil. ETA: Just like he looked at Snape! And no, I don't think he's consciously projecting his disgust at himself at these guys.

*The pain in Harry’s leg is back. It wandered off to get a corndog at some point during Voldemort’s laser show and just returned.

*Everyone is shaking! That’s how bad all this is!

*Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it, says Dumbledore. Apparently Dumbledore has been listening to those post-9/11 crackpots who thought it was absolutely essential for everyone to relive their experiences within 48 hours for healing. In fact what this does is cement them in your memory and keep your body from healing itself, making you far more likely to suffer PTSD. Iow, shut up, Dumbledore.

*And since Dumbledore speaks for Rowling, she, too, ascribes to the Fanfic method of dealing with trauma. Telling it to somebody the author likes is like draining poison from the wound!

*There’s that gleam of triumph. I guess because Dumbledore’s hurt/comfort scenario is doing Harry so much good. ETA: That gleam seems maniacal now because I know it's foreshadowing the ending of DH I couldn't care less about.

*Not that he explains it. It’s important for Harry to make a full disclosure, but why actually explain anything that’s happened to him? What would that help?

*Hmm...Sirius asks what happens when a wand meets its brother. I have no idea how to connect this to Regulus but damn, it seems like it should, shouldn’t it? They do not work properly against each other! ETA: False alarm. Regulus took a locket because he didn't like the way Voldemort treated his House Elf so that we could stretch out the search for the Horcruxes another intermindable few chapters.

*If Harry and Voldemort’s wands are brothers, I’ll bet Voldemort’s is the Percy! ETA: Was there ever any explanation for Harry's wand fighting Voldemort on its own that time in DH? Did it just get sick of being under Harry's control, proving officially that Harry is dumber than a stick of wood?

*No, no spell can bring back the dead. Because there’d be no story if magic didn’t have that arbitrary limit so that Voldemort could be obsessed with immortality! ETA: No spell to bring back the dead, but there is a magic rock that does it. Only it's a really bad thing to want the rock. And a good thing to spend your entire life invisible until you're so bored you want to die and no one will miss you because you spent your life hiding under your coat.

*The people Harry saw were in fact "reverse echoes," even though Cedric was talking about his own dead body. Sort of like how the portraits are only echoes even though they’re clearly interacting with the living in the present. Those wacky echoes!

*Dumbledore makes a big speech about Harry’s great bravery and how he’s equal to adult wizards. Why does he start treating him like a child next year again? Oh, IITS.

*Dumbledore's lying of course. Harry is far better than any adult wizard we've ever seen or ever will.

*I’m sure Harry’s asking if Moody is okay is a sign of his incredible compassion, greater than that of mortal man.

*Oh no, now that Barty’s been kissed he can’t give testimony. And you know how important testimony is in the Wizarding World.

*We heard Barty confess under Veritaserum...which we’re going to say is useful in this instance, although somehow it wouldn’t have been for Sirius.

*Once again Dumbledore’s a badass, as he only is when someone interferes with *his* plans.

*Wait, Fudge says he’s heard of a curse scar acting as an alarm bell before...is that significant? Or a typo and he meant to say he’d never heard of it?

*Snape makes a sudden movement. You know, I think GoF is a favorite mostly for two things, the gleam in Dumbledore’s eye and Snape’s sudden movement. Such potential. ETA: Such non-potential. What on earth is the sudden movement about? And why does Snape look like he's trying not to laugh at Filch's cat in CoS? Just general I KNOW LUCIUS MALFOY and I LIKE DEAD CAT JOKES?

*Fudge refuses to accept disorder to his comfortable and ordered world. Um, since when has the WW ever been comfortable or ordered, even for Fudge?

*What’s this nonsense about the giants? I swear JKR is just determined to do "Hagrid’s Tale" no matter how hard it is to cram it in. Dumbledore says Voldemort is the one who will offer them their rights and freedom, but the giants don’t seem to be suffering from a lack of rights or freedom at all. They have their own society of which Dumbledore doesn’t approve. ETA: And they don't matter at all anyway!

*Wow. A reference to the idea that Purity of Blood is something many people care about. A rare occurrence. And not much following from a speech about the giants that I can see, but whatever.

*Heh. I’m sorry, but Harry getting all the gold is just kind of hilarious here, especially since Cedric appears to have been disqualified by dying too soon after his victory.

*Oh Molly, shut up. This isn’t the time to start spewing the Weasley motto about how the only reason my sleazy, mediocre middle-class dominant group husband isn’t running the world is because everyone else is racist and don't like his stash of Kindly wizard/innocent Muggle porn.

*This scene is so ominous to re-read. The warning signs for Hagrid’s Tale were all there, and we just didn’t see them.

*Snape and Sirius shake hands. Yes, I am hoping for something like that with two other enemies in Book VII. ETA: I didn't mean Dudley, JKR.

*Sirius turns the door handle with his paw. Many dogs would kill for that ability.

*I can’t imagine how Lucius spotted Sirius at that train station. (Now I’m picturing Draco: "Dad, look at that dog standing on two legs and talking to Harry Potter. Perfect Potter. His dog WOULD stand on two legs and talk.")

*Course, it might have been easier to turn the door handle and then transform. There’s something funny about Sirius rushing off for his all important mission and then being delayed for several minutes while he struggles to open a door with no thumbs.

*The money should have been Cedric’s! But, you know, I’ll give it to the damn Weasleys. I hope they buy loads of Peruvian Darkness Powder with it.

*The hug from Mrs. Weasley is touching.

*I lied. It should be touching but I’m just impatient with the whole Little Orphan Harry thing at the moment. Perhaps it will hit me later and I’ll well up on the subway or something. ETA: Nope, didn't happen.

Box Picture
The Parting of the Ways features a Wizard of Oz scene with everyone around Harry’s bed, including cameos from Fudge and Bill, whom we need to be reminded of so it means something when his face gets scarred. ETA: And by "something" I mean "nothing."

Hero’s Death Battle Exemption
Yes, Harry really did just escape from an open field where he was surrounded by a dozen murderers. On a bad leg, carrying a corpse bigger than he is.

IITS
Reading this scene now it’s like one big set up for OotP. The giants! Are important! Fudge! Thinks Harry’s crazy! Dumbledore! Suddenly a threat to Fudge! Fudge! Thinks the Ministry should control Hogwarts!

Idiot World
Let’s give Voldemort a running start, shall we? After all Lucius Malfoy’s doing such a good job hiding his DE sympathies at this school. It’s not like his son’s ever said anything about it.

Ken and Andrew’s Rule of Plot Holes
I think the real reason Fudge had Barty’s soul sucked was to keep anyone from demanding answers to the plot holes in his story.

Misdirected Answering
I know my first thought on what to do about this turn events is: let’s go see the giants!

ETA: Idiot Picture
No, there actually is no reason that Dumbledore should be pulling strings to make sure Harry destroys Voldemort and the Horcruxes with only Ron and Hermione for help at all.

Final score:7