Deathly Hallows, chapter 8

[anehan]

The Wedding

* I must take a moment off from my readthrough to draw you attention to the cover art of the British children's edition. To me, Harry looks like a determined hero, Ron like an idiotish sidekick (see his expression--doesn't he look like a blundering idiot), and Hermione like a damsel in distress. I shouldn't be surprised at that, especially not Ron's depiction, seeing how it's been firmly established that he is as stupid as they get. Yet I can't help but be slightly offended by the art. Now, tell me, do you agree with my interpretation or am I only seeing what I expect to see?

* We are on page 115 (British edition), and so far next to nothing has happened in the book. Over a hundred pages of faffing around.

* The good thing about this wedding business is that Harry is probably forced to take a shower.

* At first, I read Harry's new name to be "Cousin Barmy". Alas, it was not to be.

* The wedding seems like quite a grand do. I wonder, who is paying for it? The Weasleys? If so, does this mean that the Weasleys' credentials as a Poor Family are now officially a thing of the past?

* Wizards wear cravats. I wonder, are they like modern neckties or lacy cloths à la 17th century?

* I wouldn't have thought one could wear a cravat with a robe. Or maybe Rowling has been a bit too much influenced by the films.

* Lupin is miserable, again. I would have thought that he would have had the decency to pretend to be happy when he's a guest at a wedding.

* Hagrid's being a blundering idiot. Why couldn't he have died when he had the chance? It would have made the hundred pages of nothing more palatable.

* Yes, Rowling, we get that the Lovegoods are excentric. Now please stop bludgeoning us with the anvils.

* That said, I rather like Xenophilius's belief that one ought to wear sun colours to a wedding for luck. It sounds... authentic.

* *giggles* Auntie Muriel, I can safely say that Harry is just as, if not more, gormless as he looks in press photographs.

* I have to ask, why are there seating plans for the seats under the marquee? What does it matter where people sit during the ceremony? Or is Molly just being a control freak?

* Ron's jealousy over Krum is getting old.

* Mrs Weasley is wearing amethyst-coloured robes with a matching hat. Does anyone know what Mrs Weasley's hair colour is? Because if it's red, I don't want to imagine the effect that creates.

* Bill and Charlie wear roses in the buttonholes of their dress robes. Tell me, where exactly does a robe have a buttonhole?

* Oh my god, Harry is waxing poetic over the "afternoons spent alone with Ginny in lonely parts of the school grounds. They seemed so long ago; they had always seemed too good to be true, as though he had been stealing shining hours from a normal person's life, a person without a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead ..." *gags*

* I'm rather disappointed that Bill's real name isn't Bilius.

* Oh dear, bonding is now canon. Why couldn't they have had a nice, traditional Christian ceremony? Or am I supposed to believe wizards are anti-religious? Then what does the Fat Friar do at Hogwarts?

* The waiters serve Firewhisky. You know, I've never been to a wedding where the first thing people are offered is hard liquor.

* Krum is getting violent over the sign Xenophilius is wearing. A sign that Grindelwald carved into a Durmstrang wall when he was a student there. So Krum is getting shirty over a schoolboy graffiti, so much so that he has beaten his schoolfellows over it, or at least that's what's being implied.

* The verbal match between Doge and Muriel is the first interesting thing that happens in the book. I'm not overly fond of the Dumbledore storyline (there were other, worthier storylines (*cough*Draco*cough*) to develop), but beggars can't be choosers and it definitely beats wedding preparations and sitting in a tent for three hundred pages.

* So Dumbledore's mother is a Muggle-born. One would have thought that Dumbledore's attitude towards Muggles would have been less condescending given his ancestry. Then again, the book's token Muggle-born, our beloved Hermione, mind-rapes her parents for their own good, so Muggle ancestry clearly guarantees nothing.

* Still, the Dumbledore storyline contributes to the scattered feeling this book has. There are so many things that are conmpletely disconnected from the previous books, plus almost no storyline, except the Horcruxes, have survived from the previous books. The effect is a collection of random things happening without any overarching theme.

* That was a nice little infodump about Dumbledore, the treatment of Squibs in late 19th century, etc.

* I just noticed that Harry hasn't been drinking Polyjuice during the reception. I thought Polyjuice only lasted an hour.

* I don't see how the Ministry having fallen must mean that the DE are about to attack the Burrow. The Ministry's protections aren't the only ones the Burrow has, and if the DE were going to attack it, they could have done it whether the Ministry had fallen or not.

* Still, at least something is finally happening.



Atomic Grenade:
Doge vs. Muriel

Idiot Picture:
The Weasleys have organized a grand do. Didn't I tell you in an earlier post that it was like a come hither look for the Death Eaters? Well, I was right.

Selling Wood:
Harry is emoting.

Final score: 3.

Comments

Recap Proper

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

I don’t mind the plot not being advanced if the writing's good, and I’m being amused. The way JKR writes, she *really* needs to keep the plot galloping along. I still think Dumledore's story could have been told more concisely and taken far fewer pages. Anyway,the first 115 pages weren't a total write off - the owl exploded! That has to tide me over until the snake rips violently out of the old, suddenly rotting woman's neck.....

Did Bill insist that Fleur was entitled to a proper wedding, and they weren’t going to run away and elope? It might have calmed my questions as to why this was happening at all. And if it had to happen, why not just close family, and a handful of even closer friends so that they could put a Fidelius Charm on the Burrow.? Also, if this war is in Britain, then why not hold the wedding in France? Maybe the muggle tradition of the Bride’s parents hosting the wedding and footing the bill doesn’t hold sway in the Wizarding World, but isn’t being on the brink of a major conflict a good decider?

I like Aunt Muriel - I can’t wait to be 100, so that I can be as blunt in real life as I am on this site! I bet she’d not crawl up the mighty Harry Potter’s unwashed behind. (Shower? You think? I don’t blame Ron for leaving that tent).

Word to the Hagrid hate.

Ron’s jealousy over Krum got old by the end of Book 5. It started to smell early in Book 6. After Lavender’s daily ravishing of him, he should certainly have gained a lot of confidence. JKR could still have her ‘moving’ locket scene just with the Molly prefers Ginny/Harry and Hermione think you’re an idiot points, and dropped this ancient and yawnsome ‘Hermione loves everyone but me‘ nonsense.

In fact, even the Horcrux didn’t bother with the Viktor Krum crap. He was bought back to please the fans - there was no need for him plot wise - Diggle or Aunt Muriel or any Wizard over 30 could have told Harry the info. If Krum came back, he should have killed one or other of Hermione’s parents then escaped. It’s an obsession of mine, but if Hermione was grief struck and guilty, then Harry would have had to do some thinking for himself and GROW UP. (And no doubt died horribly within 20 pages.)

Plus if Krum *and* Ginny died in the Battle, we could have saved Tonks or Remus for Teddy‘s sake. Though probably not both, since I wouldn’t give that relationship 2 years. Then Tonks could marry Mr Granger or Remus - Mrs Granger (or Mr Granger if certain shippers are to be believed)

I also wish Bill’s name was Bilius - and Ron’s was Orion or something. So Hermione’s sniping of ‘Ronald’ for the past 5 years has been completely wrong. But he didn’t tell her because he thought it was funny.

A lot of what we assumed made the Wizarding World different disappeared during the later books. JKR read too much fan fic. and we started getting ‘By Merlin’, button holes in robes, and Bonding ceremonies. I’d have preferred a Christian ceremony, perhaps with Wizarding extras on top. But JKR never defined the nature of magic, so what do we know? Good point about the Fat Friar, but he belongs to the time when JKR took care with her work and remembered what she‘d written before, eg that Polyjuice only lasted 1 hour. That‘s all over the place in this book. And I repeat, surely a glamour makes more sense? They don’t have time limits, do they? Why go to the trouble of the potion? Why drag the image of some unsuspecting muggle (especially if they live close by) into trouble here (Or at Godric's Hollow)? It was only needed for the 7 Potters, The Ministry and Gringotts.

Still, remembering the early (good) books became more difficult for her as she got further into the series. And God, I mean, Merlin forbid she re-read her own work.

Re: Recap Proper

[anehan]

I still think Dumledore's story could have been told more concisely and taken far fewer pages.

Almost everything in this book could have been told more concisely. I'm pretty sure that the "true" length of this book is no more than that of Philosopher's Stone.

Anyway,the first 115 pages weren't a total write off - the owl exploded!

Much can be forgiven for the exploding owl. Now, if only Hagrid had bitten the dust as well.

Also, if this war is in Britain, then why not hold the wedding in France?

That's a major Idiot Picture moment here. There was at least a 90 per cent chance of a DE attack during the wedding, but they still went ahead with it. *headdesk*

(And no doubt died horribly within 20 pages.)

And that would be a bad thing how exactly. ;-D

Re: Recap Proper

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

Did Bill insist that Fleur was entitled to a proper wedding, and they weren’t going to run away and elope? It might have calmed my questions as to why this was happening at all.

Since they stupidly had a huge wedding with even marginally known people attending (btw, where were some goblins from Bill's work?), why didn't the DEs just kidnap someone and use the Polyjuice and subvert from the inside? They do know about Polyjuice - Barty Jr. used it four years before. It would have served them right if, on the signal that the Ministry had fallen, instead of DEs beginning to Apparate in, DEs disguised as guests had started shooting the place up before the Ministry contingent arrived. A few Order members (and innocent bystanders - do they realize how many people they endangered by having this wedding?) would have been killed or captured at that point, which would have been more realistic no matter when the DEs showed up.

Re: Recap Proper

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

Oh but the DEs were so considerate! They didn't finish their Ministry coup ahead of time and interupt the ceremony. They even waited until after the fireworks!

Re: Recap Proper

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

Lovely people. Well-versed in etiquette, unlike some Good Guys we could name.

Re: Recap Proper

[jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com]

You can tell who comes from a Good Family. Blood will always tell...

Re: Recap Proper

[(Anonymous)]

Oh yes! Polyjuiced DEs revealing themselves would have been awesome! And it would have also meant that they have taken hostages - something that I expected to happen since the end of GoF, but apparently I was giving them too much credit.
I also like how it didn't occur to them to surround the area with anti-Disapparition jinx. They were only supposedly trying to capture somebody, after all.
And how the Delacours managed to immediately Disapparate to France, whilst later British Muggleborns were unable to come up with the same notion and aimlessly wandered through the woods, whilst Voldy opted to flatter around like a demented bat. Honestly, was it so difficult to come up with consistent Apparition limitations that would have allowed for dangerous situations, chases and fights, yet still allowed the characters to move around quickly, when required?

Re: Recap Proper

[seductivedark.livejournal.com]

An anti-disapparation jinx or hex would have made a lot of sense, and been in place since the beginning of the ceremony, placed by the Polyjuiced DEs. Imagine if everyone actually had to run for it instead of Apparating.

Hostages. Luna could have been captured then, but the trio not told (to protect them from the bad news, a real-life adult concern for kids they don't see as being as grown-up as they are) until during or after their disastrous visit to Xenophilius. Imagine how different his chapter might have been if he'd broken down sobbing and told them instead of going on and on about that diadem.

With all the stuff Harry never seemed to learn in the books, I'm not too surprised that the Beaux Batons alumni thought of Apparating across the channel (weren't we told that people didn't Apparate across bodies of water at one interview point?) while the Hogwarts alumni didn't.