Deathly Hallows, chapter 3

[anehan]

The Dursleys Departing

* This is probably the most boring chapter to date in any of the Harry Potter books. Eleven pages of faffing around. Did I say that nothing happened in the previous chapter? I was wrong. It was positively action-packed compared to this one.

* In the previous chapter Harry wondered what his uncle and aunt would do with the things he left behind. In this chapter, we learn that the Dursleys are leaving before Harry. It seems to me that Vernon and Petunia are in no position to do anything to Harry's things. Quite the contrary. From their experiences of wizards, the Dursleys have every reason to believe that their house has been ransacked when they eventually come back to it.

* In addition to the photograph album and the stack of letters, Harry now adds a piece of broken glass to the pile of things he'll take with him.

* Uncle Vernon doesn't trust wizards to tell him the truth. I wonder why?

* On the other hand, perhaps he should believe them when they tell him his family is in danger from some of "their lot". It would go with his previous experiences of contact with the Wizarding World. Dudley especially has been twice in very serious danger from wizards and their ilk.

* Harry admits that considering Mr Weasley's previous action in the Dursleys' living room, his reappearance couldn't have been expected to delight Uncle Vernon. There's hope for you yet, Harry.

* BTW, why does the protective charm in the house fail when Harry turns seventeen? I always thought that seventeen was an arbitrary age picked merely for administrative purposes, much like eighteen is in the Muggle world. Does this mean that the age seventeen is magically significant?

* Harry tells the Dursleys that they are being offered the best protection there is. Considering that it's the Order, with its not-so-stellar record of protecting those in danger, I wouldn't be reassured if I were in the Dursleys' position.

* The Order thinks the Ministry has been infiltrated. O RLY? It's good that the Order and Voldemort are using the same calendar for the timing of Nefarious Acts. Otherwise Voldemort might have infiltrated the Ministry earlier and the Order wouldn't have had a clue.

* Kingsley is competent! He knows how to dress like a Muggle. Yay for Kingsley!

* Harry gets all impassioned at Vernon. Torture! Murder! Fleeeeeee!

* Harry tells Hedwig they are leaving real soon and that then she'll be able to fly again. I wonder why he doesn't let Hedwig out at the Dursleys and tell her to fly to the Weasleys on her own. I doubt very much that the Death Eaters are on the look-out for owls, hoping to kill Harry's pet to cause him Pain.

* Another person from the Harry Potter Fan Club arrives.

* Why on earth would the Order send someone as clearly inept at Muggle things and Diggle is to protect the Dursleys? Oh, sorry, I forgot. Even the acknowledged experts on Muggles like Arthur Weasley can't do anything as simple as spell "electricity" correctly.

* They can't do magic in the Dursleys' house because Harry is still underage. I've never understood how the Ministry couldn't differentiate between magic done by Harry and magic done by someone else in Harry's vicinity. After all, a surveillance method that can't do that wouldn't be much use in magical households where fully-grown wizards and witches lived with underaged ones. I've explained it away by presuming that the Ministry kept an eye on the residences of Muggle-born students only (thus adding another way in which Muggle-borns are discriminated against). But now we learn of this mysterious Trace, which is supposed to be personal. Then how, exactly, does the Ministry pick up on magic done by someone else than Harry in the Dursleys' house? (Moreover, in the next chapter Harry will use magic willy-nilly without having the Ministry to descend on him. Logic, what logic?)

* Harry wonders why Mad-Eye can't take him by Side-Along-Apparition. For once, the readers are with him.

* I thought the protective charm on the house would break when Harry turned seventeen. Now we learn that it's going to break when Harry leaves the house and the Dursleys Disapparate away, I don't know which one is the decisive action.

* Suddenly, Dudley is all concerned with Harry. This personality transplant is almost as bad as Ginny's was.

* Oh, come on, Rowling. I don't believe Dudley is as stupid as you make him to be here. Surely it's not too difficult to form the words "where is Harry going to go". Concepts too difficult to put into words, indeed.

* Oh, by the way, Dudley's hand is ham-like and he stands with his mouth slightly ajar, reminding Harry of Grawp. I mention this so that you won't forget how ugly and stupid Dudley looks.

* Hestia is outraged with how little the Dursleys care about Harry. We must get a little Harry-praising here. "The unique position" Harry holds "in the hearts of the anti-Voldemort movement". *gags*

* Dudley doesn't think Harry is a waste of space. Oh. My. God. Kill me now.

* Dudley is thankful for Harry saving his life. Bravo, Dudley, that happened only two years ago. What marvelously quick thought processes you have.

* Finally, finally the Dursleys Depart.



IITS:
Why does Dudley worry about Harry? IITS!

Ken and Andrew's Rule of Plotholes:
Diggle and Jones can't do magic in the Dursleys' house. Don't ask me how that works.

Misdirected Answering:
This whole chapter is Misdirected Answering embodied. We don't care about the Dursleys. For fuck's sake, let them leave already!

Final score: 3

Comments

[go-back-chief.livejournal.com]

That means he had to have been more friendly all this time and our Hero only just noticed it.

Yeah, I can beleive this. For all we know, maybe Dudley's been leaving teacups outside Harry's room every day for two summers, and Harry never even noticed because he never fell on one before? Or maybe Dudley just figured out that this was the last book, so he'd better take this opportunity to thank him with tea, because it's not like he would get another.

He’s practically bovine in DH. She tries to damage the characters around him (successfully) to make him appear more dynamic (very unsuccessfully). I like Ron, so that's wound me up over the later books, but am just grateful I’m not a Remus fan!

So much WORD.