Deathly Hallows, chapter 21
Jul. 3rd, 2009 03:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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deathtocapslockThe Tale of The Three Brothers
* Finally, we come to the point of this book. Or rather, the not-point, since I don't think this book is coherent enough to have a point.
* Luna probably knows all about the Deathly Hallows. If Harry had been real friends with Luna, instead of this I-only-remember-her-when-it's-convenient-to-me friendship, he'd probably have found out about them some time during their friendship.
* I'm still a bit disappointed that Harry wasn't forced to work with Zacharias Smith, or anyone else he'd slighted, to destroy the Horcruxes. He didn't have to grow up at all to finish his quest, which surely is completely against the purpose of a quest.
* To be polite, Harry drinks from a cup provided for him by a stranger. I'm all for politeness, but hello, this is wartime. A little bit a common sense wouldn't go amiss.
* Dumbledore left The Tales of Beedle the Bard for Hermione, apparently as some sort of a clue. But of course Harry has been too busy to have taken a look at it.
* What is it with Harry and Ron that they have to interrupt Hermione when she's reading the tale? I would be very irritated if someone constantly interrupted me when I was reading aloud.
* Oh, so the name of the Elder Wand comes from the tree it was made. I always thought it had something to do with being older or something like that. Shows what I know.
* Well, that was a boring fairy tale. It had all the right elements for a fairy tale, but the execution was lacking.
* Hermione, of course, can't pass the opportunity to question Mr Lovegood's belief in the Deathly Hallows, as if it mattered what he believed. They've found out what the symbol means. Surely that's what's important.
* This is the first time we have heard about Invisibility Cloaks having a limited shelf-life. I rather think that we ought to have had a tiny little hint about the special quality of Harry's Invisibility Cloak.
* Of course Harry is so special himself that he can't have an ordinary Invisibility Cloak--which, we've been told, are extremely rare--but a one-of-a-kind cloak.
* This is also the first time we hear about the bloody trail of the Elder Wand. Once again, I think we ought to have had a hint about its existence before. Say, a chance word from Professor Binns in History of Magic.
* Ron doesn't realize that because Hermione and Harry were raised by Muggles, they learned different superstitions than Ron the wizarding-born. That just goes to show that notwithstanding Arthur's fascination with Muggles, they haven't really learned anything about them. I wonder if it's partly Molly's fault. Not that I think Arthur knows much anything about Muggles, but maybe Molly has prevented him from teaching his children the little that he does know. I wouldn't be at all surprised if that was the case. Molly strikes me as one who is very prejudiced against Muggles, even if she doesn't go as far as wanting to kill them.
* Ah, so Professor Binns has mentioned the Deathstick / the Wand of Destiny / etc. Would have been helpful is we had heard that as well.
* Harry, of course, was asleep during that lecture and thus has no idea such a wand is rumoured to exist. Typical. What happened to the boy who eagerly read his History of Magic textbook before he went to Hogwarts?
* "Wands are only as powerful as the wizards who use them. Some wizards just like to boast that theirs are bigger and better than other people's." Is it terrible that my mind immediately went to the gutter when I read that?
* Oh my god, the painting in Luna's ceiling. Does she have to be so pathetic? But of course, no one could resist the charming fellow that is Harry. Even Zacharias Smith probably had a crush on him.
* Harry feels a great rush of affection for Luna when he sees how Luna idolizes him.
* For all that I diss Hermione, she does think quick in an emergency. Her plan to conceal Ron, obliviate Mr Lovegood, and reveal herself and Harry to the Death Eaters was pure genius. And then she managed to turn and Apparate in mid-air. Truly, the girl is amazing. (All right, all right, so I couldn't resist a little dig, but really, I do admire her in moments like this when she comes across as genuinely quick-witted and not just the author's self-insertion.)
* I'll be leaving for my parents' today and don't know when I'll be back. On Monday at the earliest. I'll answer comments when I'm back.
* Finally, we come to the point of this book. Or rather, the not-point, since I don't think this book is coherent enough to have a point.
* Luna probably knows all about the Deathly Hallows. If Harry had been real friends with Luna, instead of this I-only-remember-her-when-it's-convenient-to-me friendship, he'd probably have found out about them some time during their friendship.
* I'm still a bit disappointed that Harry wasn't forced to work with Zacharias Smith, or anyone else he'd slighted, to destroy the Horcruxes. He didn't have to grow up at all to finish his quest, which surely is completely against the purpose of a quest.
* To be polite, Harry drinks from a cup provided for him by a stranger. I'm all for politeness, but hello, this is wartime. A little bit a common sense wouldn't go amiss.
* Dumbledore left The Tales of Beedle the Bard for Hermione, apparently as some sort of a clue. But of course Harry has been too busy to have taken a look at it.
* What is it with Harry and Ron that they have to interrupt Hermione when she's reading the tale? I would be very irritated if someone constantly interrupted me when I was reading aloud.
* Oh, so the name of the Elder Wand comes from the tree it was made. I always thought it had something to do with being older or something like that. Shows what I know.
* Well, that was a boring fairy tale. It had all the right elements for a fairy tale, but the execution was lacking.
* Hermione, of course, can't pass the opportunity to question Mr Lovegood's belief in the Deathly Hallows, as if it mattered what he believed. They've found out what the symbol means. Surely that's what's important.
* This is the first time we have heard about Invisibility Cloaks having a limited shelf-life. I rather think that we ought to have had a tiny little hint about the special quality of Harry's Invisibility Cloak.
* Of course Harry is so special himself that he can't have an ordinary Invisibility Cloak--which, we've been told, are extremely rare--but a one-of-a-kind cloak.
* This is also the first time we hear about the bloody trail of the Elder Wand. Once again, I think we ought to have had a hint about its existence before. Say, a chance word from Professor Binns in History of Magic.
* Ron doesn't realize that because Hermione and Harry were raised by Muggles, they learned different superstitions than Ron the wizarding-born. That just goes to show that notwithstanding Arthur's fascination with Muggles, they haven't really learned anything about them. I wonder if it's partly Molly's fault. Not that I think Arthur knows much anything about Muggles, but maybe Molly has prevented him from teaching his children the little that he does know. I wouldn't be at all surprised if that was the case. Molly strikes me as one who is very prejudiced against Muggles, even if she doesn't go as far as wanting to kill them.
* Ah, so Professor Binns has mentioned the Deathstick / the Wand of Destiny / etc. Would have been helpful is we had heard that as well.
* Harry, of course, was asleep during that lecture and thus has no idea such a wand is rumoured to exist. Typical. What happened to the boy who eagerly read his History of Magic textbook before he went to Hogwarts?
* "Wands are only as powerful as the wizards who use them. Some wizards just like to boast that theirs are bigger and better than other people's." Is it terrible that my mind immediately went to the gutter when I read that?
* Oh my god, the painting in Luna's ceiling. Does she have to be so pathetic? But of course, no one could resist the charming fellow that is Harry. Even Zacharias Smith probably had a crush on him.
* Harry feels a great rush of affection for Luna when he sees how Luna idolizes him.
* For all that I diss Hermione, she does think quick in an emergency. Her plan to conceal Ron, obliviate Mr Lovegood, and reveal herself and Harry to the Death Eaters was pure genius. And then she managed to turn and Apparate in mid-air. Truly, the girl is amazing. (All right, all right, so I couldn't resist a little dig, but really, I do admire her in moments like this when she comes across as genuinely quick-witted and not just the author's self-insertion.)
* I'll be leaving for my parents' today and don't know when I'll be back. On Monday at the earliest. I'll answer comments when I'm back.
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Date: 2009-07-29 11:57 pm (UTC)* For all that I diss Hermione, she does think quick in an emergency. Her plan to conceal Ron, obliviate Mr Lovegood, and reveal herself and Harry to the Death Eaters was pure genius. And then she managed to turn and Apparate in mid-air. Truly, the girl is amazing. (All right, all right, so I couldn't resist a little dig, but really, I do admire her in moments like this when she comes across as genuinely quick-witted and not just the author's self-insertion.)
I hope you’re really making a dig, because she didn’t show any wit in there, only her usual ability to mess things up when under pressure. Actually I’d say she always takes a stupid approach when given the chance. She was always lucky (aka Rowling can’t see underneath the underneath) nothing ever backfired on her.
She should have changed Lovegood’s memory and hope that story it sticked with the Death Eaters. She knows, from her parents, that she can later restore them easily and there will be no harm done. Obliviating is a different story. It will make him not remember anything at all and with no story, that would compel Voldemort to extract his memories like he did to Bertha Jorkins, so he can know what Harry was doing there and clues about where he’s going next. It would kill Lovegood in the process as well. Hermione knows what happened to Bertha (at the very least, she knows it’s possible to extract from Morfin), and even if she didn’t, she ought to have stumbled across the possibility of extracting memories and even dying from the brain toll when she researched Obliviate.
And if Voldemort really saw these memories then he’d know about the Deathly Hallows and that they conquer death and that Ron was there with them (putting the Weasleys in danger). This would have been interesting. Hermione would feel guilt and insecure about herself. But no, Voldemort behaves like an idiot as usual so they’re all safe. The only thing she did was to buy herself and the Weasleys time by putting someone to death. But changing his memory would also save time. She took the overcomplicated route she always does, only to fail miserably if this was real life and Voldemort had an IQ with three digits.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-05 01:27 pm (UTC)