Deathly Hallows, chapter 14

[anehan]

The Thief

* So Ron splinched. But Ron didn't actually Apparate. First, it was Harry who Side-Along Apparated Hermione and Ron, then Hermione Side-Along Apparated Harry and Ron. So, it was either Harry or Hermione who screw up, and my money is on Harry.

* Hermione has time to cast the Revulsion Jinx at Yaxley to force him to let go, but she doesn't have time to Stun him. In some parallel universe this makes sense.

* Hermione talks about "protective enchantments"; fandom insists they are wards. I wonder if the term "ward" has ever been used in canon, or is it completely a fandom invention.

* And the camping begins. I've never been an outdoorsy person.

* Salvion hexia, protego totalum, repello Muggletum, etc. You know, the names of these "protective enchantments" are kind of obvious. Maybe Rowling has run out of imagination.

* "Dumbledore said fear of a name..." Whatever Dumbledore said must be true. Never mind that Snape was right and saying Voldemort is actually dangerous. You know, it seems to me Dumbledore didn't really care about the safety of others (or do you expect me to believe that he didn't know that saying someone's name can enable them to find you).

* Hahahaa, I like snarky Ron! "Calling You-Know-Who by his name didn't do Dumbledore much good in the end." *giggles*

* Ron is worried that the Cattermoles could end up in Azkaban because of the Trio. I'm not surprised it's Ron, and not Hermione or Harry, who displays the existence of a conscience.

* Hermione looks at Ron tenderly. Helkamaria silently vomits.

* Emo!Harry. Yuck. Am I supposed to believe it's the Horcrux making Harry think all these dark thoughts? Because really, that boy doesn't need any help to become a martyr.

* Any sensible person would assume that the Trio would summon Kreacher or Dobby to get some food. Instead, we get some pretty lame justifications for them not doing it.

* "Why hadn't Dumbledore explained more?" Why indeed, Harry. I would very much like to have the answer to that mystery, since his conduct makes Dumbledore look rather bad.

* They really should have taken Remus with them. Maybe then there'd have been sensible plans instead of this stumbling aimlessly around.

* Hermione is right that Harry should have learned to apply Occlumency, but her insistence at berating Harry for it, when Dumbledore himself had decided it was not that important for Harry to learn, annoys me. She'd much better learn to make the best of it as a way of getting information rather than nagging about it, since it's not like her nagging is of any use. I like Hermione, but sometimes she's a really annoying know-it-all.

* Harry wishes to avoid a fight. Please contain your astonishment.

* JKR's description of Grindelwald reminds me of a Trickster god.

* I'd really like to know more about Grindelwald. He is a supremacist who apparently repented while he was in prison. Are there any good Grindelwald fics around?

* Another short chapter where nothing happens.

Comments

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

- Hermione uses the wrong spells on Yaxley. Hmm. I think the last re-cap/set of comments made our opinions clear on this mangling of what's left of Hermione's character to get them out of Grimmauld Place. All the better to start the edgy and exciting camping session. What will happen to them next! Oh, that's right, nothing.

- If the Taboo is an established, if rare thing, then maybe Pure Bloods have been right to protect their small children by preventing them saying a word that might one day put them in danger. After all, if anyone was going to invoke it in their lifetime, it would be Voldemort. The children might end up a little scared of it, but that's better than being slowly tortured to death by a raving lunatic in Malfoy Manor. You're right, all the magical parents have been sensible, and Dumbles has been arrogantly uncaring. Colour me suprised!

- Snape, as so often, had it right. I always appreciated his no-nonsense, realistic approach. But then, I hadn't read The Prince's Tale yet.

- Hermione looks at Ron tenderly while he's half dead on the floor. No chance of being upfront face to face in Book 5 and saving us a lot of tiresome 'romantic tension'. Though rather 20 pages of Ron/Hermione going around in circles than 1 paragraph of a blazing Ginny.

- I love snarky Ron too! I also like horcrux-infested Ron who disses Harry big time! The only light in the darkness about to engulf us.

- Hermione underlines the 'duh', by saying Harry should have learnt occlumency. I mean, even Dumbles wanted him to, and he never told him anything.

- Don't get me started on the House Elf thing. DON'T GET ME STARTED.I whine on about this too much, but I can't let it go. JKR spent *books* developing Dobby's character. Why? If they'd taken advantage of the fact that he works in the Hogwarts KITCHEN, no-one would have blinked an eyelid. He needn't stay with them, but he could visit once a week with supplies. Hermione could warn him of the dangers (as opposed to not giving a toss about House Elves anymore) and he could proudly CHOOSE to take part in the struggle, the only House Elf with that priviledge, making his death more meaningful and poignant.

- Kreacher's turnaround was totally unconvincing, but meh, it happened, now he's another Harry Groupie. They could have used him too. Harry could have FREED him, and he refused and insisted on serving him. (Did Harry free Kreacher? If not, what's the point of having a slave and not making full use of him?)

- How could Ron splinch, if he wasn't apparating himself? Wouldn't the Apparator have to be splinched as well? My mind's putting up some serious memory blocks now, to protect me from the nadir of the Harry Potter series, but from what you're saying, it doesn't make sense. Not an error from JKR, surely?

[anehan]

Snape, as so often, had it right. I always appreciated his no-nonsense, realistic approach. But then, I hadn't read The Prince's Tale yet.

And then Rowling destroyed all. She has a rare talent for fucking characters over: Snape, Draco, Percy...

Did Harry free Kreacher?

Harry? Free Kreacher? Fat chance. He enjoys having his own little sandwich-making slave a little too much for that.

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

- The thing is Harry should have TRIED. Even better, Hermione should have prompted him to. Unlike Dobby with the Malfoys, it's highly likely that Kreacher would have stayed on as an employee. I vaguely remember something about it not being safe in Book 6 because he'd run straight to Bellatrix which was fair enough (is that canon, or fanon?)

- However when Kreacher became his greatest fan, Harry could have set the cringing little wimp free with his locket. After all, we never saw him again until the end, so might as well show some integrity Harry. Or consistency Hermione. Don't worry, he'd still make your sandwich as an employee rather than a slave.

- Best of all, Kreacher could have faked his conversion, got his freedom, run to Bellatrix and DEs could have raided Grimamuld Place. That'd have been better than the nonsense with Yaxley as the reason why they had to flee, and I'd rather see a fight in Grimmauld Place, then that uber-nonsense at the Ministry.

[anehan]

Best of all, Kreacher could have faked his conversion, got his freedom, run to Bellatrix and DEs could have raided Grimamuld Place.

I like that.

[eir-de-scania.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. Kreacher's turnaround. Silly Sirius, who didn't realise that if he'd only given Kreacher a trinket he'd forgive Sirius for hurting his beloved mistress and been his devoted slave instead. All those years of purebloods enslaving elfs without noticing them being so fickle?