Deathly Hallows, chapter 17

[anehan]

Bathilda's Secret

* "Harry thought of A History of Magic; the graveyard was supposed to be haunted.
Wot? Harry remembers something he has read? Must be the first time.

* Ooh, look! The Potters' cottage, which Harry has been so eager to see that he hasn't mentioned the place once in the first six books. Harry's obsessions seem to come and go according to what is convenient.

* Harry could think of many reasons not to follow Bathilda, like the fact that she doesn't utter a word, but decides to follow her anyway, like a good little idiot that he is. I'm just surprised Hermione isn't a little more careful.

* Harry the hero reassures Hermione when she's feeling uncertain about the visit to Bathilda's. Yes, of course they could overpower someone as small as her. It's not like she couldn't be under the Imperius Curse, with a dozen Death Eaters waiting in her kitchen. Or, you know, dead.

* You know, this would be the kind of time and place where Remus would have come handy. He'd have probably been a bit more cautious about walking into a house where he couldn't know what was waiting him.

* Bathilda doesn't say anything, and the Horcrux beats faster and faster against Harry's chest. No, Harry, of course you shouldn't get out of there as fast as possible and send the Order in there to look at what was going on. You just take care of everything with you superpowers.

* Oh my god, can Hermione be any stupider? Of Harry I can believe it, but Hermione letting Harry to follow Bathilda alone upstairs is sheer idiocy on her part.

* Not only is our Boy Wonder stupider than any hero I've ever encountered, he can't even handle one snake. And he is someone who is supposed to be able to defeat Voldemort? Excuse me if I'm slightly sceptical about his chances of success.

* Does anyone else find the image of Voldemort flying without a broom ridiculous? I have this image of Voldemort in tights, a gigantic V emblazoned on his chest and a cape billowing behind him in my mind. Verrrry scary.

* But Hermione, who got only an E in her Defence against the Dark Arts OWL and is presumably much worse than Harry in duelling, doesn't freeze and manages to divert the snake from crushing Harry. Go girl! Hermione-Harry 1-0.

* Oh, all right, so Harry manages to finally get them out of the house, so I guess the points stand 1-1.

* This whole episode of visiting Bathilda was an exercise in stupidity.

* Ah, a trip down the memory lane. Was it really necessary to make us re-live the night the Potters died? We know what happened quite well enough. It's this kind of unnecessary things that make these books so bloody long.

* It's interesting that not even Voldemort knew that the wand thief he was looking for was Grindelwald. I would have imagined that, after he fell, photograps of Grindelwald as a young man would have found their way to the papers. Once again the Wizarding World only knows what is convenient to know.

* I wonder, could Voldemort sense that one of his Horcruxes was near?

* Okay, so a wound caused by Nagini's bite can be healed by dittany. And the Healers at St Mungo's didn't try this all-purpose healing agent at once why exactly?

* Oh, sorry, only our heroes are allowed to know useful things. Adults are notoriously stupid and ignorant and therefore unworthy.

* Yes, Harry, you shouldn't have gone to Godric's Hollow. I'm happy to see that you recognize your stupidity. Now, if only I could trust that it had taught you something, I'd be happy.

* Of course Voldemort knew Harry would go back to Godric's Hollow. A simpleton could have worked that out.

* I hate it when Hermione becomes this blubbering wreck who flinches at the tiniest sign of an impending Harry!tantrum. I guess that's part of the reason why I ship Harry/Draco. I see Draco as someone who wouldn't put up with Harry's bullshit the way Harry's friends do.

* And the chapter ends with a pity-party. Bleargh.

Comments

Rant 1

[tdotm.livejournal.com]

- “Harry the hero reassures Hermione when she's feeling uncertain about the visit to Bathilda's.”

Why does she pay a blind bit of notice to what he says? She must know that she’s been holding this operation together for years now, why does Harry get the respect that Ron doesn’t, when he’s no more deserving? Yes they’re friends, but how on *earth* can she have the slightest respect for his instincts after the Ministry of Magic fiasco, where he persisted in ignoring her and led Sirius to his destiny behind the veil? After he almost killed Draco in Book 6? ‘Chosen One’ is just an overused name, she knows him well enough to know that. You’d hope that after he breaks the Taboo and gets her good and tortured, she’d finally drops this unconvincing timidity with, and strange awe and respect for him – but no.

It’s a really bad case of JKR forcing a character to behave in a manner which isn’t feasible. And I’m just talking about her following him to Bathilda’s, I’m not even talking about her own plot driven stupidity which leads her to let them be separated when they’ll both be on their own. Plus hearing what sounds like a hiss, jumping, but being too startled to work out what it could mean. I quite liked this chapter when I first read it, I thought it quite chilling, but even then I thought Hermione was a bit ooc. Looking back it’s ridiculous.

Honestly, this whole scene would be better if Hermione wasn’t there. Why would she think Dumbledore would leave the sword in such a blatantly obvious (and dangerous) place anyway? He’s so bloody devious and unnecessarily opaque about everything else. Harry, still angry three days after Ron left, (the months of pining were a waste of time) should have snuck out one night, planning to be back before Hermione’s next shift. (He left her unguarded to chase the silver doe, at least this time she’d have a wand). As it’s from his point of view, we’d still learn everything we needed to, hear all his ‘moving’ thoughts at the graveside, *then* he could walk into the trap. A frightened old woman begging him for help, or desperate to talk to him would still be chilling. A woman just beckoning to him constantly is a bit foolish. Did she even put her finger to her lips, as if to say “Be quiet?” especially when they were outside? That would have made a bit more sense.

Voldemort could tell Nagini to hold him, but not hurt him, then, when Harry escapes under his own steam, at last showing some virgin initiative, he can sustain most of his wounds by being splinched – due to the panic/lack of experience, as he doesn’t even have a licence. Hermione can then heal him with no ‘WTF’ from us, because she’s already healed Ron in similar circumstances. Her healing Harry’s wounds caused by Nagini, when all the MediWizards at St Mungo’s had such trouble with Arthur, makes her look like an uber Mary Sue. Her later standing by and not bothering to even *try* to heal Snape’s wounds caused by Nagini, makes her look like an uber bitch. This chapter really stitched her character up (more than she did for Snape. Ho.)

Re: Rant 1

[the-bitter-word.livejournal.com]

Like every other wizard, Hermione was probably just trained to follow a leader and never think for herself, unless backed into a corner without someone to follow. Being a Gryffindor, she looked to the bravest person. Harry, even though an idiot, had no scruples about rushing into danger. He all but shouted "valor" and even seemed like a rebel, way out of her comfort zone already (even though Harry later became The Man, where he no doubt continued to use Expelliarmus and Ron was stuck being his more-competent partner). Harry also had Dumbledore's stamp of approval, and when did Hermione ever question Dumbledore? No, like a good little girl, she swept up after her insipid, brave men. It wasn't really her place to assert herself, unless the target was someone non-Gryffindor.

Why was she in this chapter, where everyone involved was so diminished? Someone had to sweep up after that soft-headed galoot, Harry, once again. And he was so grateful, too, when he had to use her wand. No wonder she hates to assert herself. Hers was the thankless existence of the eternal Mom.

Re: Rant 1

[anehan]

It's a mystery why Hermione continues to defer to Harry. Like you said, she has seen all his blunders, which ought to have convinced her that no, Harry does not know best. Rowling treatment of Hermione in the later books is humiliating to her. I used to like Hermione when she was this bossy know-it-all. True, she is that even in the later books, but it's mixed with this timid little creature who is afraid of Harry throwing a temper tantrum.