Deathly Hallows, chapter 6

[anehan]

The Ghoul in Pyjamas

* Harry is feeling guilt and grief. Harry and Moody were so close that it'll probably take him a long time to get over his death, almost as long as it took him to get over Sirius's death. So, in two weeks he should be all right.

* Lupin and Mr Weasley drop their inquiries the moment they are told that Dumbledore didn't want them to know anything about Harry & co.'s quest. Frankly, I think less of them for it.

* Mrs Weasley, though, isn't giving up. The whole thing is portrayed as if Mrs Weasley is once again being overprotective, but IMO she's just being sensible. Wouldn't you be if three seventeen-year-olds were dropping out of school to go on a mysterious quest, refusing to tell anyone anything about it except that Dumbledore wanted them to do it? But of course, Mrs Weasley is questioning Saint Dumbledore. Can't have that, now can we?

* Why does Harry think he's got to be the one to find the Horcruxes? Mrs Weasley is right: Dumbledore had the whole Order at his command. A group of fully qualified witches and wizards, who'd probably be far more capable of finding the Horcruxes than Harry & co. All Harry has to do is die. The rest can be done by anyone.

* By the way, Mrs Weasley has a manger. So it's not possible to smooth clothes by magic.

* The manger is wringing out one of Mr Weasley's vests. I thought Mr Weasley wore robes.

* Terrible of Mrs Weasley to keep Harry, Ron and Hermione busy with wedding preparations. She should do all by herself, the bitch.

* Ah, so here we have a half-baked explanation as to why the Ministry hasn't prosecuted Harry for soing all the magic he did while escaping the Death Eaters. Scrimgeour doesn't want to admit Voldemort is as powerful as he is.

* So Scrimgeour is as bad as Fudge for trying to keep the truth from coming out. The Wizarding World just has a terrible luck in leaders. If only Mr Crouch would have been able to become Minister.

* "I must not tell lies." Harry Potter, the Tortured Hero™. *gags*

* Mrs Weasley wears reading spectacles!

* "'And are they getting married in my bedroom?' asked Ron furiously. 'No! So why in the name of Merlin's saggy left --'" testicle. JKR is fond of almost-sexual jokes. Remember the Probity Probe?

* Ha! So the wizards do you Merlin's name as a swear word.

* Mrs Weasley calls Fleur's parents Monsieur and Madame Delacour. No, no, and a thousand times no! When speaking English, they are called Mr and Mrs Delacour. I am reminded of the Hercule Poirot adaptations with David Suchet, where people keep calling Poirot Monsieur Poirot in a terrible French accent and where Poirot, in turn, litters his speech with French words and calls everyone mademoiselle or madame or monsieur. Just, no. One speaks the language one is speaking. Besides, why is it always French words one inserts into one's speech and not words in another language? In GoF, Mr Ollivander calls Fleur "Mademoiselle Delacour" but Krum "Mr Krum". (Sorry, I seem to have stumbled on a pet-peeve of mine.)

* Mr Weasley isn't telling his wife that he has Sirius's bike in the coop. It's probably supposed to be endearing how Mr Weasley has his little hobbies, but to me it sounds like a pretty miserable marriage if you can't tell your wife about your hobbies without fear of being scolded.

* What is Ron doing carrying a greasy handkerchief with him? Normal people put dirty handkerchiefs into the laundry.

* From Mad-Eye's death, Ron's learned not to trust Mundungus. Frankly, I think Mundungus did the only sensible things: get away when Death Eaters are attacking, even if Apparating from a broomstick requires advanced acrobatics.

* Hermione coolly tells that she has mind-raped her parents. But that's okay, they are mere Muggles. They have to be protected for their own good. She has truly assimilated well into the Wizarding World, down to adopting their attitudes towards Muggles.

* Hermione is crying over her parents. I guess that makes it all right.

* Ron knows what an uvula is. Is that normal knowledge among English people? The only reason I know what that piece of my anatomy is called is because I've studied phonetics.

* Harry needs Hermione to point out to him that Voldemort might be keeping watch on Godric's Hollow. And Harry is the Saviour of the Wizarding World. If I were a witch, I'd leave Britain as soon as possible, because clearly the Wizarding World has no hope.

* I don't get how Harry & co. haven't realised who R.A.B. is. If I were one of them, I'd start going through wizarding surnames to find out who he is. From that, it's a small leap to Regulus Black. All of the readers probably got it in five minutes.

* I know that as a Headmaster of Hogwarts Dumbledore has a right to remove books from the library, but I still don't like his decision to remove the books on Horcruxes. Almost all forms of magic can be used for harmful purposes, but I don't see him removing books that tell you how to enlarge Muggles' tongues from the library.

* Hermione is feeling guilty for stealing the books on Horcruxes. I say that having entrusted Harry & co. with the task of destroying the Horcruxes, Dumbledore had no right to keep the books from them. Is it only me, or do you think that Dumbledore is deliberately making it as difficult as possible to destroy the Horcruxes? Ordering Harry not to tell anyone but Ron and Hermione about them, not telling Harry how to destroy them, and hiding the books on them. One could almost think that he didn't want them to be destroyed.

* Hermione the exposition machine at work. Topic: Horcruxes.

* Splitting your soul makes it unstable, so Hermione can't believe Voldemort has made six Horcruxes. Um, Hermione, have you ever heard from Harry about what kind of person Voldemort is? Because I think "unstable" describes him quite well.

* Harry wonders why he never asked Dumbledore how to destroy a Horcrux. Just your natural stupidity, Harry.

* The Ministry has placed security enchantments upon The Burrow. So the Weasleys are so important that they deserve special protection, while the likes of Madam Bones can be cheerfully left to their deaths. Also, does this mean the Ministry know Harry's at The Burrow? Oh dear, maths plotholes.

* Oh, I love the Delacours.

* Tell me, why aren't the Death Eaters keeping a watch on The Burrow and attacking Mr Weasley and the Delacours when they are outside the protective spells?

* In my private universe, Gabrielle marries Percy. (Let's forget that Gabrielle is only eleven years old.) None of Percy's family can understand how Percy could have got such a lovely wife and they'll be very rude about it to Percy. (I love it when Percy's family behaves badly against him, because then I can hate the Weasleys in peace.) *ships Percy/Gabrielle*

* The Delacour's are helpful, pleasant guests. I'm sure that if it were the Weasleys visiting the Delacours, the Weasleys wouldn't be nearly as charming. (Like I said, I love it when the Weasleys behave badly.)

* Mrs Weasley says it complicates organising a wedding, having all the security spells in place. Well, who on Earth organises a large wedding in the middle of a terrorist war? Such a gathering is like a come-hither look for a Death Eater attack.



IITS:
Why won't the Ministry prosecute Harry for doing underaged magic? IITS!

Idiot Picture:
No one except Mrs Weasley will try to stop Harry & co. Why? Because Harry says Dumbledore told them to go on a suicide mission!

Informed Attributes:
Only Harry can find and destroy the Horcruxes.

Ken and Andrew's Rule of Plotholes:
Why has The Burrow been warded by the Ministry?

Light Bulb Moment:
Harry realises he never asked Dumbledore how to destroy Horcruxes.

Nut o' Fun:
The Delacours!

Final score: 6.

Comments

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

* Ron knows what an uvula is. Is that normal knowledge among English people? The only reason I know what that piece of my anatomy is called is because I've studied phonetics.

A lot of people research what a uvula is. Any word has got to be better than "that dangly thing at the back of your throat." I learned the word when I was around eleven because of that. (I had a lot of sore throats while growing up) I might pronounce it wrong (you-view-la), but I only read it in books. You should hear my verbal rendition of 'hors d'oveurs'!

* Hermione is feeling guilty for stealing the books on Horcruxes. /
* Hermione coolly tells that she has mind-raped her parents.

Hermione needs a priority transplant.

Besides, why is it always French words one inserts into one's speech and not words in another language?

There is also the obligatory Spanish inserts where I have lived. Senor/Senora/Senorita, Si-si (accents on the 'i's, not if-if) senor, and all that. Proves someone's ESL in cartoonland - they use the easiest words in their language to translate, but, how you say, iterate the most confounded sort of verbage in English.

* Tell me, why aren't the Death Eaters keeping a watch on The Burrow and attacking Mr Weasley and the Delacours when they are outside the protective spells?

What? And make someone else speshul enuf to be targets besides Harry?

Such a gathering is like a come-hither look for a Death Eater attack.

Those seductive Weasleys! No wonder there are so many of them!

*ships Percy/Gabrielle*

Heeee!

(Like I said, I love it when the Weasleys behave badly.)

True. The bullying, snarking, emo reigning family of the WW, esp. now that Harry and Hermione are in it.

[anehan]

Proves someone's ESL in cartoonland - they use the easiest words in their language to translate, but, how you say, iterate the most confounded sort of verbage in English.

I hadn't realised that, but it's true. Just more reason to dislike it.

Those seductive Weasleys! No wonder there are so many of them!

*giggles*

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

I think using foreign words that the target language speakers understand (M. and Mme.) is an easy shorthand to show that someone is foreign-born or unable to fully communicate in the local tongue. In real life, the easier words would be translated to the local speech (Mr. and Mrs) while the harder words would be said in the foreigner's native tongue, or a long-winded round-about way of saying the same thing would be used instead.

For instance, I visited Mexico with a friend who knew one phrase in Spanish. She used it on a local policeman, who thought it was funny. I knew a lot more Spanish, but I didn't know one word she had used. I asked the policeman what it meant and he had to explain that it was "a ball made of meat" (with appropriate hand gestures of making the ball) - a meatball (albondigas). She had told him that we were meatballs.

There are writers who use foreign phrases that not everyone in their readership will understand. If they don't translate them, that leaves some people wishing there were footnotes. Personally, I like either the exact phrase with translation (in parentheses) or suggested in the context, or just the translation with perhaps a mention in the narration that this is a translation.

But, since DHs came out, I'm not inclined to give Rowling any slack.

[mmmarcusz.livejournal.com]

Si, hombre. My wife et moi have a mechanical fault dans notre car. Could you call das police, bitte?