deathtocapslock | Deathly Hallows, chapter 18

Deathly Hallows, chapter 18

The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore

* And this short excursion into Dumbledore's past is relevant to the plot how, exactly?

* The sky is indifferent to Harry and his suffering. I only wish the author was as well.

* As a side note, how can silence be "glittering"?

* Oh yeah, Harry's wand is different, just like Harry is different. It can shoot golden flames on its own. Our hero just can't have a normal wand. I'd be happy at the destruction of such a super wand if there weren't another even more speshul extra-super wand just waiting for our hero.

* The pouch Harry is carrying around his neck is now too full of broken and useless objects to take any more. I'm sure this is meant to produce an awwwww reaction, but really, I'm just repulsed.

* "Out of sheer desperation they had talked themselves into believing that Godric's Hollow held answers." Ahahahahaaa! *wheezes* I don't remember Harry needing any desperation for his brainless decision to go to Godric's Hollow.

* Though he is perfectly justified of being angry at Dumbledore. If I were in his position, I'd be angry as well. It's just that he manages to make great melodrama out of being angry as well. Truly JKR cannot write strong emotions. *cough*ChestMonster*cough*

* And here comes Hermione, once again frightened of Harry. This is getting oooooold. Is this the Hermione who was ruthless enough to attack his best friend with birds? Whatever happened to that Hermione?

* Finally, there will be the answers about Dumbledore's life that Harry so desperately wants. Too bad they aren't of the kind that he likes. Beware further temper tantrums.

* Harry feels "savage pleasure" at getting to know everything about Dumbledore. Too melodramatic. Not only should JKR be banned from using adverbs, she should be forbidden to use adjectives as well until she knows how to use them respectfully.

* You wanted to know everything about Dumbledore, Harry. Now you'll have to grin and bear it, even if Dumbledore's past turns out to have a homosexual affair with Grindelwald.

* Dumbledore was a Youth Representative to the Wizengamot. How come we haven't heard about these Youth Representatives before? Or have they discontinued the custom? Maybe the post was created specifically for Dumbledore.

* 'Dogbreath' Doge. Is this supposed to be funny, or what?

* Grindelwald would miss out the top spot in a list of Most Dangerous Dark Wizards of All Time only because of the arrival of You-Know-Who? Excuse me if I'm slightly sceptical of Rita's assessment. Grindelwald seems to have been connected in some way with WWII, which puts his achievement quite high. What has Voldemort, in contrast, achieved? Well, he managed to have Dumbledore killed, a feat that owed more to Dumbledore's stupidity than his own skills. He has repeatedly failed to kill Harry Potter (maybe he ought to have enlisted Draco's help for that as well). It took him several years to put a top Ministry official under the Imperius Curse. Et cetera ad nauseam.

* I seems to me that, whatever Rowling tries to make us believe, Dumbledore still subscribed to the wizard dominance over Muggles for their own good even after he and Grindelwald parted. Just look at his treatment of the Dursleys. Besides, a person doesn't get over their deep-seated sense of superiority just because their friend turns out to be an ass, and a superiority complex is certainly what Dumbledore had until his death.

* Melodrama warning!

* This is the first hint that Grindelwald is alive. Until this bit, I thought Dumbledore had killed Grindelwald, because surely he was far too dangerous to be left alive. But I guess Dumbledore couldn't damage his precious soul.

* I happen to like the name Nurmengard. Has anyone any idea if the name means anything?

* Harry points out that the defence "they were young" doesn't really fly when it comes to Dumbledore and Grindelwald, because they were the same age as Harry and Hermione are and they are out there fighting the Dark Arts. Well, fair enough. But at least Dumbledore and Grindelwald thought for themselves, misguided though their thoughts were. Harry and Hermione, on the other hand, are fighting "the Dark Arts" (whatever they are) just because Dumbledore told them to.

* Really, Harry's smug insistence that they are risking their lives to fight the Dark Arts sounds really self-congratulatory. As if the poor idiot knows what the Dark Arts are any more than the readers do. They are just something that the Slytherins probably do during their midnight orgies.

* I think this time Hermione the psychologist actually nails it: Harry is so angry because Dumbledore never told any of this to Harry himself. As if Harry was somehow entitled to know everything about Dumbledore. I really don't like the man, but even I've got to say that he had a right to personal life and that it wasn't at all necessary to tell Harry anything about it.

* In fact, the whole Dumbledore subplot was completely unnecessary. It was interesting only as far as it concerned Grindelwald, and the space devoted to it could have been used to resolve any of the number of unresolved subplots from the previous books.

* Harry is right that Dumbledore never explained anything, merely demanding blind trust, but somehow I've got trouble of understanding how Harry thinks Dumbledore's telling him all about personal history would have helped any. If I were Harry, I'd rather Dumbledore had explained something useful, like how to destroy Horcruxes.

* Now Harry dismisses Hermione from his presence. Oh. My. God. Can the boy get any more conceited?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Is this the Hermione who was ruthless enough to attack his best friend with birds? Whatever happened to that Hermione?

More importantly, why don't we ever see Hermione attacking Harry with birds? Seriously, something like that would have made the last book about ten times more enjoyable.

God knows the twit would have deserved that.

* The pouch Harry is carrying around his neck is now too full of broken and useless objects to take any more.

So get out, Ron!

* "Out of sheer desperation they had talked themselves into believing that Godric's Hollow held answers."

More like, "Out of sheer desperation the author had talked herself into believing that Godric's Hollow might be worth a shot." Well, it was another letdown.

For six books, Harry has shown no interest in Godric's Hollow, but now he just has to go there. Another pointless subplot in a book full of pointless subplots. *sigh*

- “And this short excursion into Dumbledore's past is relevant to the plot how, exactly?”

Plot? That could (and should) have been over and done with in 200 pages. DH is filled with pointless, story extending, must be the length of a school year, yapping. I wouldn’t usually mind, because OotP and HBP weren’t exactly heavy on the editing either. The difference being that DH was so very boring. I can put up with meandering if I’m enjoying the book - but I enjoyed about 100 pages tops in this book. None of them were in this chapter.

“As a side note, how can silence be "glittering"? “

JKR likes her adjectives! Plus I’m sure there’s a ‘death was with them, like a presence’ joke in there somewhere

- “And here comes Hermione, once again frightened of Harry. This is getting oooooold.”

Harry was a nasty, whiny, incompetent git, but at least you could depend on that. Hermione was totally inconsistent, constantly unable to deal with situations which she could have easily handled in previous chapters (and would go on to easily handle in future chapters), according to the plot. She changed from one of the best characters, to one of the least likeable. She was also one of the worst written – and there’s some mighty big competition in this series. Dumbledore became more obviously manipulative over the years, but these revelations made him pass that vital barrier from complicated to tiresome. This chapter features three people I despise, with no giant snake bursting out of an old woman, or other action to distract me.

- “Until this bit, I thought Dumbledore had killed Grindelwald, because surely he was far too dangerous to be left alive. But I guess Dumbledore couldn't damage his precious soul.”

I really wish JKR had said that if you kill *in cold blood*, then that’s what damaged your soul. Certainly not someone killing in self-defence, or in the army - surely intent should be vital in something so serious? Why should Snape have to damage his soul, when Dumbledore and that w*nker Harry didn’t? Even Moody and Shacklebolt, who were in the Wizarding police/army didn’t (if I remember rightly). It was really unbelievable, especially because it was only the ‘goodies' that never killed, while the baddies’ frequently did. If JKR’s rules and attitude had been more realistic we might have had a better story and final confrontation.

- "Now Harry dismisses Hermione from his presence. Oh. My. God. Can the boy get any more conceited?"

Do you think believing he had the right to torture someone because they displeased him, to teach them a lesson, is conceit or arrogance? The answer to your question is looking suspiciously like yes. At least he didn't 'crucio' Hermione, friendship counts for something! That said, he'd soon ignore Ron's advice leading to her brutal torture by someone far more capable - but I don't think that was conceit, just total stupidity. You've got to love that Harry Potter!

Kingsley said he might have killed one, technically...

As I recently realized, Harry should have had his soul split by killing the Diary Horcrux. No dancing around with rebounds or "Well, Quirrel died when Voldemort fled the body" there. He stabbed the thing and watched it die. And, logically, by now, Voldemort should have a smaller sliver of soul in him than did the diary. In other words, if actually killing Voldemort himself was enough of a concern for JKR that she had him rebound the SAME BLOODY SPELL AGAIN... Harry's soul got split at twelve by dint of killing the Diary. Hooray for JKR logic!

I really wish JKR had said that if you kill *in cold blood*, then that’s what damaged your soul.

One day, someone will ask her if Molly's soul is split, and then she'll clarify this, because you know she won't be able to tolerate the idea there are equal consequences for goodies and baddies who kill.

Oh yeah, I forgot. This book has no plot. (Though somehow I don't think JKR would relish being thrown together with PWP writers, especially as what the PWP writers produce usually have more plot than this book. And also character development. Not to mention the sex.)

This chapter features three people I despise, with no giant snake bursting out of an old woman, or other action to distract me.

Amen. In fact, Grindelwald is the only interesting thing in this chapter, and his part is lamentably small.

Even Moody and Shacklebolt, who were in the Wizarding police/army didn’t (if I remember rightly).

Didn't Moody kill Evan Rosier?

May have. Sirius's statement was that Moody never killed *when he didn't have to*. So he may have done so in an actual fight.

(deleted comment)

I'm starting to believe that the whole book was unnecessary. Let's just read fanfic.

'Snake and Loopin were in da middle of da empty hall, doin it, and Dobby was watching!'

-- now THAT would have made DH worthy of the cover price!

Word. There were some splendid fanfics that came out after HBP. Many of which thoroughly kicked DHs all around the block.

Some damned fine ones earlier too, although most of them had bought into the Pureblood Snape theory. Halfblood Snape really does offer more possibilities to the fanfic writer, I think.

One problem I have is that HBP stood everything on its head, disrupted a lot of assumptions, and contradicted al kinds of things. But, in the main, what it gave us in return potentially gave us a whole different angle to approach things from. And even though some of the contradictions are stupid, and lazy, and make a mess of things, the overall picture now suddenly made sense where what we'd been being handed for 5 books didn't.

But then came DHs, which all but openly declared that nothing in HBP had ever happened, apart from Dumbledore's death, retrieving the blooming Locket, and the Ginny/Harry breakup. And nothing made sense at all. Not even what had appeared to be what she had claimed was the story through OotP.

Maybe HBP and DHs were two halves of the same story. The story of "How I demolished a world in 1400 pages or less."

Maybe HBP and DHs were two halves of the same story.

Oh yeah, I forgot she'd said that. Somehow I can't see how they could possibly be two halves of the same story. Unless, you know, the first part is "how to set up interesting questions, like Draco's and Snape's loyalties" and the second part is "how to ignore them all and instead give us Deathly Hallows and the Dumbledore backstory". Bleargh.

Maybe the problem with the last two books is that they ought to have been from the Slytherins' perspective, because that was where all the action was happening. Our Gryffindor heroes just first had an attack of teenage hormones and then went on to sit in a tent.

But then came DHs, which all but openly declared that nothing in HBP had ever happened, apart from Dumbledore's death, retrieving the blooming Locket, and the Ginny/Harry breakup. And nothing made sense at all. Not even what had appeared to be what she had claimed was the story through OotP.

This is why I have decided for my own sanity that the series ended with HBP. DH was so irrelevant I look at it the same way as I look at the "school books" and "Beedle". It's only vaguely related to the rest of the series.

Really, the failure to build *anything* on what she had spent a whole book coyly revealing to us makes a pretty sound argument that by that time in the series she was just "playing" at being a writer. And was completely unconsious of what the information in the book told people about the story.

Having the 6th book in a series of seven demolish the assumptions that the first 5 had built up is a perfectly valid storytelling device. IF you take that as your starting point for the final segment and build from the information you've given us in it. Instead she effectively said; "Ha ha, never happened!" and ran a cartoon instead.

How she could fail to realize that the "Official Riddle Backstory" which she wrapped book 6 around, was totally *incompatible* with everything that she had spent the first 5 books hinting to us about his first rise still totally flumoxes me. I am flumoxed.

And what possible purpose could she have had in deliberately having Sluggy tell us (and Tom) that the subject of Horcruxes was *banned*, and that he would *not* find any further info in the Hogwarts library, and then as soon as the subject comes up in the next book have Harry contradict it and claim that Tom already knew about Horcruxes and was just asking about multiple ones? Where is he supposed to have found out, if the subject was already banned? Where did Harry get *his* information. Does she believe that the reader won't *notice* this?

Yeah. Two halves of the same story. Book 6 demolished Books 1-5. Book 7 demolished Book 6.

the subject of Horcruxes was *banned*, and that he would *not* find any further info in the Hogwarts library

Or that getting the information was as easy as Accio-ing it. And besides, are we supposed to believe that Dumbledore removed all the information about Horcruxes from the Hogwarts library before he became a headmaster?

* This is the first hint that Grindelwald is alive. Until this bit, I thought Dumbledore had killed Grindelwald, because surely he was far too dangerous to be left alive. But I guess Dumbledore couldn't damage his precious soul.

That's because JKR intended for DD to have killed GG, but suddenly changed her mind while writing DH. Heck, she flat out said that Gindelwald is dead in an interview after HBP was released:

ES: Our other “Ask Jo” question (the one about James and Lily’s sacrifices), was from Maria Vlasiou, who is 25, of the Netherlands. And then the third is from Helen Poole, 18, from Thirsk, Yorkshire – also one of the “Plot Thickens” fan book authors. It’s the one about Grindelwald, which I’m sure you’ve been gearing up for us to ask.

JKR: Uh huh.

ES: Clearly -

JKR: Come on then, remind me. Is he dead?

ES: Yeah, is he dead?

JKR: Yeah, he is.

ES: Is he important?

JKR: [regretful] Ohhh...

ES: You don’t have to answer but can you give us some backstory on him?

JKR: I'm going to tell you as much as I told someone earlier who asked me. You know Owen who won the [UK television] competition to interview me? He asked about Grindelwald [pronounced "Grindelvald" HMM…]. He said, “Is it coincidence that he died in 1945,” and I said no. It amuses me to make allusions to things that were happening in the Muggle world, so my feeling would be that while there's a global Muggle war going on, there's also a global wizarding war going on.

Doesn't get anymore direct than this. I don't see why he had to remain alive all of a sudden, unless you're right and JKR couldn't stand the thought of Dumbledore killing someone. I guess Molly Weasley can split her soul, but not her so-called "epitome of goodness" and the little wanker that she calls her hero.

Ooh, I didn't know that. Thanks for quoting that interview!

In a way, I'm happy that Grindelwald was alive, if only because that way he and Voldemort could have a confrontation. I still maintain that Grindelwald was a far more impressive Dark Wizard than Voldemort, and his basically acting all condescending towards Voldemort was great!

Don't get swept up in the interview info. Rowling lies in her teeth in interviews.

By the time she was interviewed, HBP was out and she was already doing some preliminary planning for what would eventually become DHs. Yes, by the time we got the book she was planning he *would* be dead. For that matter, given thatthe whole story supposedly ended in 1998, anyone asking that question in 2005 could expect to be told he was dead.

It's as truthful as her claim that Albus didn't want to give Snape the DADA position because it might be too much of a temptation. Say what? There's no collolation between the two.

And in face, we have seen on stage that Albus found Snape's knowledge of the Dark Arts highly useful, and gave him the DADA post as soon as a situation came up which made it convenient.

Don't get swept up in the interview info. Rowling lies in her teeth in interviews.

Oh she does. I've never understood the faction of fandom that considers everything she ever said in an interview to be canon. I remember an interview in Time magazine before the first movie came out in which she said, "that's a nice idea, but it never happened" in response to a question about Snape/Lily. Records of that interview has vanished off the face of the earth (well it's not archived on any fansites) and I wish I hadn't recycled that magazine all those years ago!

If challenged, she'd probably claim that "Well, nothing *did* happen. They were just *friends*. It was all in Snape's head."

I can see it now: "The Sorrows of Young Snape".

I guess Molly Weasley can split her soul, but not her so-called "epitome of goodness" and the little wanker that she calls her hero.

Hmmm... unless the exception to the golden rule is a mother killing for their child. Because mothers are Teh Holey. :D

Actually, I think the fact that GG is alive was one of those little surprises she's had stashed to throw at us for a long time. Only she didn't fill us in on who he was, or why we should care, early enough for the bomb to go off properly.

The wording has *always* been that AD *defeated* Grindelwald. Never that he killed him. And I began to suspect that Albus had merely captured him by the time that PoA came out.

Only I expected, y'know, that it would *matter* somehow.

Ah, the pouch of idiocy! Containing everything useless but not the locket - we don't know if the pouch might have lessened the evil influence on its bearer but it would have been worth a try and even if not, it'd be an additional precaution.

Is this the Hermione who was ruthless enough to attack his best friend with birds?
Well, those canaries were directed at Ron-the-useless-side-kick, not Harry-the-dashing-hero. Those two cannot be compared. Also it's a subtle hint at who Hermione is in love with.

Dogbreath' Doge. Is this supposed to be funny, or what?<7i>
That was one of the instances where I wondered if different cultures/ countries have a different sense of humour.

Grindelwald seems to have been connected in some way with WWII, which puts his achievement quite high. What has Voldemort, in contrast, achieved?
But he killed Lily!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I happen to like the name Nurmengard. Has anyone any idea if the name means anything?
Given Rowling's pet idea of linking the DE and Grindelwald with the Nazis, I'm fairly sure it's based on Nuremberg - the city most connected with Nazi ideology (whereas Berlin would be more the political side of it). At Nuremberg were held the Reichsparteitage and also were proclaimed the laws forbidding marriage between "Aryans" and jews. Additional indications for that parallel is the description of the city where Voldmort wanders around in search of Grindelwald - it's described rather medival with cobbled streets which fits well with Nuremberg. The "gard" end I suppose is just meant to convey an ancient germanic ("Aryan") type of feeling.

In fact, the whole Dumbledore subplot was completely unnecessary.
Oh don't say that. It was a distraction from sitting in a tent!

Harry is right that Dumbledore never explained anything, merely demanding blind trust
What really gets my goat here is the fact this great realization never goes anywhere. Harry does NOT get over it, nor does anyone else. Right until the end, Dumbledore manages everything even from beyond the grave. It's as if you are just meant to be a bit miffed about it but still bow your head and take it. Like sassy redheaded girls are meant to talk a little spunky but still defend everything their man does no matter what. Just facade.

Oh yeah, the pouch is one of those things that would have been better left off. Too powerful, yet not used to its full potential.

But he killed Lily!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Against Snape's disapproval! What a brave man Voldemort must be.

Oh don't say that. It was a distraction from sitting in a tent!

Oh yeah, I forgot what the alternative would have been.

I suspect the 'gard' may mean fortress. But I can't say for sure. Tolkein was working from Nordic/Germanic themes and Isengard was something on the order of a walled City.

"I really don't like the man, but even I've got to say he had a right to a personal life and that it wasn't at all necessary to tell Harry anything about it."
- I totally agree. Of all the things I would have asked Dumbledore before he died, this rubbish wouldn't make the top ten. So he made a mistake in his youth. Who hasn't? (apart from saint Harry of course) Dumbledore's backstory was filler and not much else; it would be better confined to that wretched encyclopedia idea as it did nothing for the plot. It reminds me of when Harry got all indignant about the pensieve memory in OotP, saying that he was the same age as his dad and Sirius and didn't do things like that, then started hexing Filch, Crabbe and Goyle when he discovered the Prince's book in HBP.

On a side note, the "dogbreath Doge" thing is not funny. I think its written solely for the little'uns but is a very poor humour example. That would never go into a biography.

It reminds me of when Harry got all indignant about the pensieve memory in OotP, saying that he was the same age as his dad and Sirius and didn't do things like that, then started hexing Filch, Crabbe and Goyle when he discovered the Prince's book in HBP.

*nods* Not to mention throwing the Cruciatus Curse left and right. Whatever James Potter did, he apparently never did that.

* And this short excursion into Dumbledore's past is relevant to the plot how, exactly?

But it's totally relevent to the time we heard this story before. And the time we'll hear it again.

* The sky is indifferent to Harry and his suffering. I only wish the author was as well.

I'm sure people are eating somewhere too. Eating indifferently to Harry. Bastards.

* Oh yeah, Harry's wand is different, just like Harry is different.

This was never ever explained, was it? It was literally something made up in one scene to get rid of Voldemort. It made him search all over for a new wand, but there was never any reason for it.

* "Out of sheer desperation they had talked themselves into believing that Godric's Hollow held answers."

LOL! This goes along with the defenses that the camping is *supposed* to be boring and frustrating to read because the characters are bored and frustrated. You're supposed to think it's on purpose that the only reason they think Godric's Hollow will help is because the author can't come up with any actual way to hunt for Horcruxes.

You wanted to know everything about Dumbledore, Harry. Now you'll have to grin and bear it, even if Dumbledore's past turns out to have a homosexual affair with Grindelwald.

But don't worry, it had nothing to do with sex!

Dumbledore was a Youth Representative to the Wizengamot. How come we haven't heard about these Youth Representatives before?

Nope. It's one of those issues with the world-building. As Harry gets older he ought to be part of this more complicated, sophisticated world that Dumbeldore inhabited, but by the time Harry got there it didn't exist.

* Grindelwald would miss out the top spot in a list of Most Dangerous Dark Wizards of All Time only because of the arrival of You-Know-Who?

Well, Rita's got to work overtime on Voldemort's publicity, I guess. Everybody has to act really scared of the guy so Harry can come of age. The whole country's in on it.

I seems to me that, whatever Rowling tries to make us believe, Dumbledore still subscribed to the wizard dominance over Muggles for their own good even after he and Grindelwald parted.

Since the whole series reeks of it he almost has to have.

Harry points out that the defence "they were young" doesn't really fly when it comes to Dumbledore and Grindelwald, because they were the same age as Harry and Hermione are and they are out there fighting the Dark Arts.

Yes, nice little reminder of how special it is that Harry and his friends, who've been tormented by Voldemort their whole magical lives and are friends exclusively with people who hate Voldemort, have taken to fighting "Dark Arts" at such a young age.

Harry is so angry because Dumbledore never told any of this to Harry himself. As if Harry was somehow entitled to know everything about Dumbledore.

And as if Harry even cared to want to know before now. I like Dan Hemmings' description of how this works: Suddenly Harry realized that JKR was a great writer whose characters were all very complex!

In fact, the whole Dumbledore subplot was completely unnecessary. It was interesting only as far as it concerned Grindelwald, and the space devoted to it could have been used to resolve any of the number of unresolved subplots from the previous books.

It was a really blatant clue about how important backstory is to the books--sometimes it's there to cover up the lack of story.

If I were Harry, I'd rather Dumbledore had explained something useful, like how to destroy Horcruxes.

Yeah, you'd think. But then, Harry will continue to blindly trust Dumbledore even after he's dead. This somehow makes him mature.

Sporfle!!!! So much yes to all of this.

But don't worry, it had nothing to do with sex!
And if it had, it wouldn't have been Dumbledore but his trouser monster - so there!

It was a really blatant clue about how important backstory is to the books--sometimes it's there to cover up the lack of story.
Fact is, the back story made for much more interesting story than the supposed main story did, so I'm not sure we should complain about it. There might have been MORE Hermione cringing and Harry self-pitying and rampant idiocy in all quarters otherwise.

This was never ever explained, was it? It was literally something made up in one scene to get rid of Voldemort. It made him search all over for a new wand, but there was never any reason for it.

Yeah, not even Dumbledore knows the reason the wand acted like a Deus Ex Machina. Voldemort's searching for a new wand is just another completely unnecessary subplot. (It seems to me the whole books is filled with unimportant subplots, probably to cover up the lack of real story, like you said.)

But don't worry, it had nothing to do with sex!

In fact, Dumbledore will never have any sex, because he does not trust himself. Boy, he must be frustrated! All those closeted sessions with Harry in HBP acquire a completely new meaning.

Well, Rita's got to work overtime on Voldemort's publicity, I guess. Everybody has to act really scared of the guy so Harry can come of age. The whole country's in on it.

Yeah. Grindelwald cause a whole World War; Voldemort managed a minor kerfuffle in Britain.

Since the whole series reeks of it he almost has to have.

I really don't like to contemplate what exactly this says about Rowling's mental health that she would prefer to be lorded over for her own good.

Yes, nice little reminder of how special it is that Harry and his friends, who've been tormented by Voldemort their whole magical lives and are friends exclusively with people who hate Voldemort, have taken to fighting "Dark Arts" at such a young age.

Which is completely different from Draco being a follower of Voldemort. He chose it!

I really don't like to contemplate what exactly this says about Rowling's mental health that she would prefer to be lorded over for her own good.
I don't think she realizes she'd be a muggle as well. Maybe she's a witch honoris causa - I mean, she's the creator so she'd be something along the line of Merlin I suppose.

Nope. It's one of those issues with the world-building. As Harry gets older he ought to be part of this more complicated, sophisticated world that Dumbeldore inhabited, but by the time Harry got there it didn't exist.
***Lack of world building, that is. But at the end of book 7 the wizworld seemed less thought-out than in book 1. With all those notes, I expected Harry and us to learn more and more about the "adult" wizworld over the years, but no. Nothing.

* Though he is perfectly justified of being angry at Dumbledore. If I were in his position, I'd be angry as well.
***So would I. I would be bloody furious and not trust a thing the old codger has said or done.

Truly JKR cannot write strong emotions. *cough*ChestMonster*cough*
***Her job not being made easier by the Bloomsbury/Scholastic censors. No sex, think of the kiddies!

* Finally, there will be the answers about Dumbledore's life that Harry so desperately wants. Too bad they aren't of the kind that he likes. Beware further temper tantrums.
***Harry and the readers both.

* Dumbledore was a Youth Representative to the Wizengamot. How come we haven't heard about these Youth Representatives before?
***Because we don't know anything about the Wizengamot, that's why. (And our JO is fond of make-things-up-when-needed. What *did* she put in those shoe-box-filling notes?)

* 'Dogbreath' Doge. Is this supposed to be funny, or what?
***In my experience you get your school nickname quite early, at Hoigwarts probably in first year. "Dogbreath" is funny when you're an eleven-year-old boy, and once you get a name, you're stuck with it.

* I seems to me that, whatever Rowling tries to make us believe, Dumbledore still subscribed to the wizard dominance over Muggles for their own good even after he and Grindelwald parted.
***Oh dear, our Jo must be one of the very few NOT realising this.

a superiority complex is certainly what Dumbledore had until his death.
***It didn't stop there...

Her job not being made easier by the Bloomsbury/Scholastic censors. No sex, think of the kiddies!

Also no gay characters! And if you persist in having gay characters, they'd better never have sex during the 150 years they live.

It didn't stop there...

One certainly assumes that when someone is dead, they stay dead. Guess Dumbledore's superiority complex was so strong as to overcome death.

Grindelwald seems to have been connected in some way with WWII, which puts his achievement quite high. What has Voldemort, in contrast, achieved?

Well, Voldemort was English, of course, working in the British Isles. That makes him automatically more important than Grindelwald, a base foreigner wreaking havoc in far-off Europe in a no-doubt uncivilized fashion. Why, Grindelwald might as well have been Bulgarian or French for all his exoticism (and unhealthy eroticism, tempting that bright flower of English manhood, Dumbledore, with his gay manner and blond curls). Tom Riddle, by contrast, was a stalwart son of England, the very center of the world that matters... although he did take an awfully French-sounding name. That can happen with anagrams, though.

/sarcasm.

ETA: I put my username through the Internet Anagram Server (http://wordsmith.org/anagram/) and the most noble name I could come up with was "To Brew The Dirt."

Edited 2009-06-02 05:55 (UTC)

(deleted comment)

Iconlove!

And you just know JKR fed names through an anagram generator before selecting Grindlewald.

Icon , too!

You've nailed it. *giggles*

* Oh yeah, Harry's wand is different, just like Harry is different. It can shoot golden flames on its own. Our hero just can't have a normal wand.

Harry is a perfectly ordinary boy (NOT A SUE!) who happens to own a lot of unique, powerful magical objects because he's Just That Special.

* Harry is right that Dumbledore never explained anything, merely demanding blind trust, but somehow I've got trouble of understanding how Harry thinks Dumbledore's telling him all about personal history would have helped any.

The only reason I can think of for Dumbledore's dodgy past to be remotely relevant is as a clue to his moral character. Given that he used to be a wizarding supremacist in his youth, should Harry (opposing the current run of wizarding supremacists) go on being his obedient puppet? Did Dumbledore change enough to deserve the exceptional amount of trust he asks from Harry? However, as you point out, the very fact that he never stopped believing he was entitled to play puppet master with human lives shows that he didn't change.

Did Dumbledore change enough to deserve the exceptional amount of trust he asks from Harry?
Exactly. I would have loved the books to tackle this issue - Harry going from blindly trusting to shock to reevaluating to come to some sort of conclusion. But all she did was sort of raise the issue, then leave it dangling in the air for a few hundred pages and then reverting to status quo as if nothing had happened. As if Harry was saying "Darn, that old codger wasn't half as saintly as we all thought! So - um - well. Never mind. We'll trust him all the same, although there is no reason for it."

Harry is a perfectly ordinary boy (NOT A SUE!) who happens to own a lot of unique, powerful magical objects because he's Just That Special.

Like a perfectly normal Invisibility Cloak which suddenly turns out to be OMG SPESHUL!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Deathly Hallows, chapter 18

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