Deathly Hallows, chapter 11

[anehan]

The Bribe

* The Death Eaters seem to know where 12 Grimmauld Place is, even though they can't access the place. Which means that Snape must not have told Voldemort that Dumbledore was the Secret Keeper. This alone should have tipped at least Hermione off to the fact that Snape was on their side.

* Oh, come on, Hermione. It's not like Moody's curse could prevent Snape from revealing the information if he had wanted to.

* I wonder why the DEs haven't been standing outside 12 Grimmauld Place since OotP. Why now and not then?

* Hermione and Ron bickering is getting old. I don't see how their marriage can be anything but misery.

* Really, all one has to do to get past Moody's wards is say "it was not I who killed you, Albus". I've said this before, but I can't believe how pathetic this is.

* I wonder, if Snape was truly on Voldemort's side, would Voldemort have won? Because it seems to me that Snape is the only competent adult wizard there is. (Or maybe Voldemort should go to Señor Draco for advice. After all, he seems to be the only wizard whose evil plot worked.)

* Lupin looks exhausted. What, not shabby?

* Even now, when they are no longer teaching colleagues, Lupin calls Snape "Severus". Interrrrresting.

* It's impossible to track anyone who Apparates. One more reason, in addition to mmmfflmmmffflmmmph, for not to Apparate Harry out of 4 Privet Drive.

* Even Lupin doesn't know about Voldemort's name-hearing skill.

* So the Death Eaters only interrogated people who they knew were their enemies. Somehow it doesn't seem like Voldemort's style to leave his enemies alive.

* Even the Tonkses were attacked, even though they are protected by powerful enchantments that are able to stop Voldemort himself.

* Ah, so the Tonkses' house is still protected by the enchantments, but now that the DEs have taken over the Ministry, they no longer fear using illegal spells. That must make sense in some alternate universe, but certainly not in this.

* Lupin hesitates before showing the Daily Prophet to the Trio. Probably wise, considering Harry's power of CAPSLOCK.

* Harry heroically resists using his special power. I am thankful.

* I'm not surprised that the Daily Prophet article hasn't resulted in an uproar. If I were a law officer, and I had to investigate a murder where no one but the people who were present knew the murderer, I too would want to question the witnesses.

* The sudden new Ministry policy concerning the Muggle-born really should have tipped everyone with some kind of deductive power to the fact that Voldemort has taken over the Ministry. Or if not that, then at least that there's something deeply wrong with the Ministry.

* The new policy is kind of heavy handed. Yeah, yeah, we get it. The Death Eaters are powerful masters of dark and evil arts. Or Thatcherian Tories.

* Right, right, sorry. Couldn't help myself. I meant to say that the Death Eaters are like the Nazis. We get it.

* Nevertheless, I kind of like the new policy, or at least I would have liked it if it hadn't appeared out of thin air. The notion that the Muggle-born somehow steal magic could have been one of the prejudices that the Muggle-born face. It's something wizards, with their lack of logical skills, would believe. As it is now, though, it's just something pastede on.

* In an uncharacteristic moment, Ron displays a rudimentary knowledge of logical thinking. Too bad the wizards are not known for their logical skills (see PS/SS). Otherwise they'd see that stealing magic would be impossible.

* Why doesn't Lupin try to persuade Harry to tell him what the mission is?

* For that matter, why doesn't Harry ever ask himself why Dumbledore wanted only Harry, Hermione and Ron to know about Horcruxes? Because there's no earthly reason why a few trustworthy adults shouldn't know. I doubt they'd go off to make a few Horcruxes for themselves.

* How has Tonks managed to become pregnant? It's clear that Lupin didn't want it. Am I supposed to conclude that Tonks stopped taking her contraceptive potion without telling her husband? Because if that's the case, I don't wonder at all that Lupin is a bit miffed.

* How stupid is Tonks for getting pregnant in the middle of a war? Maybe she hopes that her child will be the second Boy-Who-Lived.

* Oh my god, here comes Harry's holier-than-thou act. Brace yourselves.

* Um, Lupin, lycanthropy is an acquired characteristic. Acquired characteristics aren't passed along to the next generation. Though I'm not surprised Lupin not knowing that. I'd imagine that wizards would have very little knowledge about genetics. Unlike us ignorant Muggles.

* I hate what Rowling did to Remus here. Where's the ever-calm Lupin of PoA and OotP? Somehow I don't see that person being badgered into a marriage against his will. Damn you, Rowling. Stop destroying characters I like.

* Okay, Harry, you have gone too far. If I were your mother, I'd send you to your room without dessert until you saw the error of your ways and apologised to Lupin.

* On the other hand, Lupin the Marauder really might have been feeling a little bit of a daredevil. Too bad this Lupin bears no resemblance to Marauder!Lupin.

* Hermione asks how Harry could have done what he did. The answer is: easily. Harry doesn't care about other people.

* Harry feels remorse! Colour me shocked.

* Oh lord, more about the Dumbledore story. It's getting old. And boring. Most of all boring.

* Harry wants to visit Godric's Hollow. The boy just can't keep his mind on his task. Which, by the way, he just refused to share with someone who'd probably have been a great help.

* It seems to me that defeating Voldemort isn't really Harry's priority. His priority is to do what Dumbledore told him to do and to find out the truth about Dumbledore. Hmm, he's really obsessed with Dumbledore, isn't he?

* Kreacher is all "yes, Master, sorry, Master". Nooooooo, don't ruin Kreacher! Damn you, JKR!

* Mundungus is right, Sirius never cared about all the valuable items in 12 Grimmauld Place. In fact, he did his best to rid the house of them. Why shouldn't Mundungus have taken them?

* Oh, I like avenging!Kreacher. "Perhaps just one more, Master Harry, for luck?" *dissolves in giggles*




Designated Hero:
Our hero is characterised by his great ability to rage love.

Foley Work:
Crack! Kreacher apparates.

IITS:
I wonder why the Death Eaters left their enemies alive. I declare IITS.

Idiot Picture:
People don't realise Voldemort has taken over the Ministry. (That was the second time I almost wrote "Dumbledore" instead of "Voldemort". A Freudian slip, I suppose.)

Idiot World:
Dumbledore told us not to tell anyone about our quest, so we don't. Never mind if it means the baddies will win.

McGuffin:
The Horcruxes. Which Harry forgets he should be chasing in his quest to find out the Truth about Bumblebore.

Misdirected Answering:
Dumbledore, Dumbledore, Dumbledore, Dumbledore.

Nut o' Fun:
Kreacher and the saucepan!

Spring-Loaded Cat:
Lupin and his masterful way of getting past Moody extra special wards.

Whooshing Powder:
Whoosh, Lupin is gone. The next time we see him he's an enthusiastic new father. *gags*

Final score: 10. Wow! This chapter really is something quite special. If by "special" one means "sporkable".

Comments

[kaskait.livejournal.com]

* How has Tonks managed to become pregnant? It's clear that Lupin didn't want it. Am I supposed to conclude that Tonks stopped taking her contraceptive potion without telling her husband? Because if that's the case, I don't wonder at all that Lupin is a bit miffed.

I find it interesting that Rowling managed to have her way with this sub-plot but the character Lupin fought her every step of the way. Hence the reason why he just runs in and out of the book from time to time. That was the only way she could get him to do what she needs to be done.

[baeraad.livejournal.com]

* How has Tonks managed to become pregnant? It's clear that Lupin didn't want it. Am I supposed to conclude that Tonks stopped taking her contraceptive potion without telling her husband? Because if that's the case, I don't wonder at all that Lupin is a bit miffed.

How sure are we that wizards have or use contraceptives? Because Rowling strikes me as the kind of arch-conservative asshole who considers birth control to be a source of moral decay. I can easily imagine her thinking that wanting to decide if and when to have children instead of just letting them come when they may was a kind of suburban, Dursley-like close-mindedness.

[aasaylva.livejournal.com]

Word on the absolute craptasticness of the anti-snape-jinxes - and another sign how truly fed up with her own story JKR must have been. It reads like something she came up within three minutes after cook had called to come down for lunch in order to tie up another chapter.

Lupin looks exhausted. What, not shabby?
You don't know how he had to fight to get out of tonks' clutches!

So the Death Eaters only interrogated people who they knew were their enemies.
They are the nicest terrorists ever. Or the silliest. Or they are handicapped by the author's confusion as to how much power they do have. Because, OTOH they seem to need the ministerial facade to pass any laws, OTOH, they teach Unforgivables at school.

Even the Tonkses were attacked, even though they are protected by powerful enchantments that are able to stop Voldemort himself.
The Tonkses were protected when their house served as connecting station between privet Drive and the Burrow for the Chosen One. Harry is no longer there, so why would they need protection?

Re Tonks' pregnancy:
You are totally right - there is simply no way for it to have happened unless at least one of them is a total idiot. But then, I am not sure the author doesn't think of birth control as something evil. Remember how the Malfoys were introduced by sneering at the weasleys for having more children than they can afford?

Somehow I don't see that person being badgered into a marriage against his will.
I must say I could imagine Remus to marry someone out of "politeness", i.e. his general desire to do what is expected of him without confronting anyone if possible. Which is what made me utterly miserable on his behalf in the hospital scene at the end of HBP. It was so obvious he just gave in to public pressure. But I sure as hell don't buy the whole pregnancy against his will stuff. Sirius would have been the type for that, but not Remus. I weep with you for another character casualty.

Yay on Kreacher and the Saucepan of Judgment!

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, the DE MO is completely imbecilic. They had to know where approximately the Black house was and should have staked it out in OoTP. And not killing or at the very less badly torturing their enemies and throwing them in Azkaban?! Are they really the blood-thirsty fiends they were described as? Not even Ted Tonks or the Lupins were killed and that after all the threats.

Re: not telling Lupin. Well, it would have made some sense if there really was the whole "you don't know who they are" atmosphere alluded to in PoA and another spy in the Order. Or 2. And if DD really had been a master planner and set a competent, wholly trustworthy team to work on it, in secret from the trio.

The whole resistance/civil war storyline had _such_ potential and could have made HBP and DH much better books. There would have been more than enough scope for the characters to act and to be heroic even when they weren't dealing with Voldy's annual plot directly. Instead, one was a snog-fest and the other a tent-sitting exercise. Sigh.

Re: Lupin's weakness. He was always a moral coward. He was one as a Marauder and as a teacher, so this is fully in character. A supposedly competent and dedicated Auror acting like Tonks is not, however. In fact, it is totally crazy.

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

Ron and Hermione’s bickering got old in Book 5. Lavender added a bit of a different twist, but things should have been sorted out completely by the end of Book 6, and Book 7 reserved for the main plot. Still, if their marriage fails, Hermione can just wipe Ron’s memory and move on to the next fool who wants a free will obliterating/cringer to the Boy who Lived/Umbridge Wannabe (wannabe and succeeding, let‘s face it). I’m assured by my statistically accurate survey of one bloke, that as JKR and Hollywood started to push Hermione as this gorgeous young girl, the character became more and more sexless and unattractive. Apparently wanting to be emasculated is a speciality desire, not one for the masses.

As for Moody’s wards, I have to say (again!) why does JKR add these things that add absolutely nothing to the story except make it/her look stupid? Secret Keeping in Book 7 is a steaming pile of Dragon Pucky. Why not say that it was possible to have a Secret Keeper in line, who’d automatically take over if the original one died. Instead of this ‘everyone who knew the secret becomes a Secret Keeper’ B*ll*cks. Then the new Secret Keeper would have to tell people the secret again, Snape wouldn’t be an issue, and we wouldn’t have this embarrassing nonsense which wouldn’t frighten Book One Neville. Also, for the thousandth time, why didn’t she say Bill and Arthur were each other’s Secret Keepers instead of violently kicking in the head of one of her key moments in the entire series (The Potters betrayed by Peter their SECRET KEEPER)!! Arrrrrgggghhhh!

Apparition my arse. That’s lost me too. Why didn’t Harry just call Dobby to apparate him to the Burrow, or wherever? Sorry, I just can’t let that go. When they start dully starving in a tent, (coming soon I fear) the whole issue of House Elves, the non usage of, might well come up again for discussion.

I have a strange and unusual theory regarding Secret Keeping. I suspect that the rules aren’t consistent, but change to fit the story as and when. I know, I know, sounds ridiculous, but think about it. Conspiracy theories aside, I have reason to believe it’s true. See also Fidelius Charms, Enchantments, Any sort of magical protection on a property, Apparition, Polyjuice Potions, Memory Charms, Wandlore, The Trace, Numbers of Pupils at Hogwarts, Moral attitudes towards using Unforgiveable Curses, Voldemort's aptitude as a Dark Lord, Dumbledore's character, Hermione's intelligence, Ron's knowledge of the world he was bought up in, The Enslavement of the House Elves etc . And Secret Keeping.

I know that some people here say that what’s on the page is canon, and I should accept that Lupin is now a whiny cowardly git. As a student he was too easy going, in order to keep his closest friends happy - they'd becom Animagi to care for him. However as a man he was bitter enough to be able to kill Pettigrew in cold blood. I‘m not convinced he‘d go through with a marriage he didn’t want. The good natured Order Member and mentor to the tiresome Harry, would apparently happily abandon said silly wife while she was pregnant? (Don't ask me why she decided that the desperate bundle of weirdos and ratbags that make up the Order could easily spare a fully trained Auror from their ranks, as their world plunged into war, so spent her time chasing Mr Unkeen ) But I refuse to accept it, no-one can make me. JKR doesn’t derive changes naturally from events in her characters recent past, or the natural growing up process. She just randomly and jarringly introduces them to suit her needs at the moment. If she won’t make the effort to keep her characterizations consistent, I’ll do it for her. This *isn’t* Lupin - and don’t try to tell me otherwise.

Maybe lycanthropy *is* inherited in this world, and the changes happen at genetic level - JKR can do what she wants, it‘s all magic! Sadly I fear that if you asked Book 3 Remus, he’d have agreed with you. This is probably JKR indulging herself with yet more new ‘facts’ to add pathos to the crap sub plot she was currently writing. Instead of just dumping it with the rest of the rubbish.

I still wish Kreacher had betrayed them. It’d have been worth his certain death to be able to tell Harry to go swivel.

[intotheaether.livejournal.com]

I meant to say that the Death Eaters are like the Nazis. We get it.

This will never cease to aggravate me. If JKR had put a little more effort into her WWII research (and more time into her work) she could've had a really chilling story. What she did is so superficial and, in a way, insulting. Having the DEs do the "Heil Hitler!" sign looks nice, but what's the point if there's no meaning behind it? When Hitler came to power, he didn't start to round up the Jews as his first act, he had to use subtle smear tactics to get people to agree with him! Unfortunately, JKR never delves into the larger wizarding world (or even that of Britain), so we never really know why most wizards (aside from the old purebloods like the Blacks, Malfoys, etc.) would care about Muggleborns being in their society.

And I hate what she did to Remus too. FAIL, JKR.

Where it all broke down

[cressida0201.livejournal.com]

Sob. Even snarking doesn't make it hurt any less. Lupin used to be one of my favorite characters in the series. I could even live with his HBP subplot, though I considered it far from ideal. But this is where JKR irretrievably ruined him for me. If I accept it, that is; fortunately, I'm finding that the entire seventh book just feels unreal to me, so I might eventually be able to forget about it. Still, I mourn for the much cooler and more likeable character that Lupin started out as. *mourns*

I think this is also the chapter where DH definitively lost all hope of ever redeeming itself in my eyes. I remember rushing through it last year, desperately trying to finish before somebody spoiled it for me, and not really having time to digest and react to what I was reading. But even then, I remember frowning at the general douchebagness of, well, everybody in this chapter.

[ivy-chan.livejournal.com]

Really, all one has to do to get past Moody's wards is say "it was not I who killed you, Albus". I've said this before, but I can't believe how pathetic this is.

Upon reading it, I assumed that would only work for someone who was telling the truth about being innocent. So, even if Snape did say "It was not I who killed you, Albus," he'd still trigger the curse or protective spell because he WAS the murderer, and the spell would be able to sense that.

...Of course, I could have just been attributing logic to something that didn't have it to begin with.

[go-back-chief.livejournal.com]

Ì thought that scene with Lupin begging Harry to let him join him in the mission opened for some potentionally interesting and unexpected things to happen, both plotwise and characterwise. So of course Harry had to sent him home again, right away, because we couldn't have anything interesting or unexpected happen in this book.