Deathly Hallows Chapter 27
Nov. 9th, 2009 11:11 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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deathtocapslockDeathly Hallows Chapter 27
The Final Hiding Place
I wonder if this chapter name is supposed to be a pun. Because we have references to Voldemort’s final hiding place (for his Horcruxes) and the Trio does a protective spell circle after they fall off the dragon, so this is their final hiding place.
The chapter starts with them on the back of a dragon, being carried away to goodness-knows-where. Ron’s swearing as they go—although Harry can’t tell if that means he likes it or hates it. Hermione is sobbing. Harry doesn’t seem to have much of a reaction, beyond fear that they’ll fall off.
So, before they land, I’m thinking that this is all very alchemical, when you tie it in with the previous chapter. As you recall, their quest took them deep underground, where they encountered a magical-quenching waterfall and a fiery volcano of treasure. Now, they rushing through the air. So, we managed to hit on all the four elements.
Is there meaning to all this? Not really, but it does make sense of things that seemed a bit superfluous before. At least to me. For example, while it was a pretty effective counter-thief defense to have treasure magical copy itself and burn the thieves, it seemed like overkill. But, if you are determined to include the element of fire in the escapade, then check, there it is.
Harry worries about how soon Voldemort is going to realize that the golden cup is gone from Bellatrix’s vault. Can you guess how long it will take?
They are traveling north, and Harry wonders if they are going to hit the coast line soon, and if the dragon is as hungry as he is, and if it’s ever going to notice the three edible humans on its back. Then he wonders for a while where he left that spare t-shirt and whether it’s going to be Jater or Skater in the final Lost episode and…
Why is this taking so long? Oh… I get it. The sky is now turning indigo, which means that JKR wanted to wait until nightfall for the next part of the adventure. And, as we recall, the Trio set off on their heist before the sun rose at Shell Cottage. So, once again, we have to kill 12 hours on the back of a dragon.
Finally, the dragon starts circling a small lake in some vast wilderness. I’m guessing we’re in Scotland by this point. Harry tells the others to jump into the lake when he gives the signal—and they do.
They emerge, sputtering, from the lake water, to see the dragon flying off into the distance. He never even seemed to notice they were riding him, let alone that they jumped off.
One thing JKR did that I like was to make the dragons animals. They are magical beasts, but they aren’t wise or avaricious or Sean Connery in CGI drag. They are just big, huge animals that do normal animals things—except notice people riding on them.
The Trio starts swimming for the shore and eventually gets there. Hermione seems to be in the worst shape, since she collapses as soon as she’s on dry(ish) ground. Harry has enough stamina to stagger to his feet and cast protective spells. Ron does pretty much nothing.
Does anyone wonder about all those terrible burns they got from the treasure in Bellatrix’s vault? Don’t worry. Hermione has dittany! It cures everything! Of course, since they are Gryffindors, there is a lot of manly wincing as they drip the dittany onto their wounds.
Hermione is getting smarter. This time she brought pumpkin juice, figuring they would need some kind of refreshment after their heist. It’s such a funny little detail. They sit on the shore, swigging pumpkin juice as they contemplate the cup they now have and the sword that they don’t. If pumpkin juice really existed, I’d think JKR was doing product placement.
Actually, that probably says more about how cynical I am than about JKR—or even Warner Brothers. Don’t mind me….
Ron makes a joke about wearing the cup around their necks, and Hermione worries about the dragon, and Ron makes another joke about people noticing that they broke into Gringotts… and they are all so tired and giddy they just lie back on the grass and start laughing.
I like that moment. I almost even like these characters again.
Harry then gets a vision—and we know exactly how long it takes Voldemort to find out they stole the cup, because he watches Voldemort finding out. A “small, quaking” goblin kneels before Voldemort to inform him about the robbery. There is, for some reason, a circle of Death Eaters surrounding the goblin. I guess you need a lot of back-up when you’re dealing with goblins. Sneaky little cheaters that they are.
Voldemort screams with rage at the knowledge that “the boy” discovered his secret. Then, he kills the goblin, and, that not being enough, he starts killing all the Death Eaters in the room. Except that Lucius and Bellatrix manage to escape by throwing others behind them in their rush for the door.
I thought Lucius and Bellatrix were confined to Malfoy Manor? Is this taking place at Malfoy Manor? It doesn’t seem like it. But maybe it’s just another room we haven’t seen yet. The goblin reception room.
Voldemort paces through the dead corpses, raging and thinking hard. Did the boy know about the other Horcruxes? Is the first one he’s found or has he already acted on the others? How did he know? Did Dumbledore figure it out? Dumbledore, who is dead… whose wand he holds…. Reaching out through death to pwn him?
Great. Now we have Voldemort obsessing about Dumbledore. I wonder if he’s read the biography yet.
Voldemort starts worrying about his Horcuxes and wondering if they are safe. And then he starts listing them in his mind. Which gives Harry a handy way of knowing exactly what they are all are and where Voldemort put them.
So this whole secret quest has been counterproductive. If Dumbledore had made it public, then Voldemort would have started listing them two years ago. And Harry would have seen it (but for that convenient Occlumency thing that Voldemort dropped as soon as he started getting emotional), and they would have known. Two years ago.
Without having to manipulate Slughorn for his memories. Without having to risk Harry chasing them down on his own. Without camping.
So, now, two years later, Harry finds out directly from Voldemort that the final Horcrux is hidden somewhere in Hogwarts.
Harry comes out of his vision to find Ron and Hermione looking at him with concern. As he struggles to sit up, he notices the golden cup “lying innocently in the grass.” This is why I did the two DVD scenes where Snape finds the cup and Lupin destroys it. Because this Horcrux doesn’t behave like any of the other Horcruxes we’ve seen. It doesn’t have evil eyes that try to distract you when you stab it. It doesn’t talk to you. It doesn’t move. It doesn’t curse. It doesn’t do anything.
So, it makes sense to me that, just like the fake locket, they have a fake cup. The real Horcrux was discovered and destroyed by other, smarter wizards.
Although Voldemort conveniently let Harry know that the last Horcrux is at Hogwarts, he inconveniently neglected to think about what it was or where exactly it was hidden. Which means we have four chapters to go before they find out.
We have an obligatory argument from Hermione that they need to plan how to get into Hogwarts. Thankfully, Harry shuts her up and they just put on the cloak and Apparate to Hogsmeade.
Fan Service:
Thank goodness, JKR included the air element in the last alchemical quest!
Fan Slappage:
Yes, there are dragons, but where is Charlie Weasley? And, more importantly, where are his dragon-leather pants?????
DVD Extras:
INT: NIGHT – MALFOY MANOR
We are looking at an empty ballroom. MUFFLED SCREAMS OF RAGE can be heard coming from behind a closed door. After a moment, a long window curtain rustles and Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange peek their heads around it from both sides.
LUCIUS
Do you think he’s finished?
BELLATRIX
Wait for it….
There is one final, prolonged scream.
BELLATRIX (cont’d)
Now he’s done.
They come out from behind the curtain. Bellatrix makes a beeline for the closed door. She slips quietly through it.
Lucius makes a beeline for the liquor cabinet. He pours himself a large firewhiskey while STAN SHUNPIKE emerges from under a table.
SHUNPIKE
Merlin’s pants! That was close, that was! What der yer s’pose ‘Arry Potter stole, anyways?
LUCIUS
(knocking back the drink)
No idea.
SHUNPIKE
He ain’t always loike this, is ‘E?
LUCIUS
It’s about par. Didn’t they cover that in the orientation?
Bellatrix comes back in, carrying a handful of wands. Lucius glances at her, one eyebrow raised.
BELLATRIX
(shrugging)
They aren’t going to use them anymore.
She hands one to Lucius, who waves it experimentally.
BELLATRIX
He’s gone off to check on something. He said we should wait for instructions. (sighing) He’s so sexy when he’s angry.
SHUNPIKE
Are you mental? He just killed a dozen blokes! They’re dead, they are!
Bellatrix glances, puzzled at Lucius, who replies:
LUCIUS
New guy.
Bellatrix sizes up Shunpike and decides he’s not worth talking to. Instead, she selects a wand and uses it to cast a silvery light in the shape of a heart.
BELLATRIX
He’s got a new wand, you know. Do you think he’d let me use his old one? (Running her finger over the wand in her hand) Yew wood. Thirteen and a half inches. Unyielding.
Shunpike stares at her, appalled. Lucius uses his new wand to pour another drink.
LUCIUS
You know the most ironic thing? I think we just lost more Death Eaters than we did in the entire first war.
A SHRIEK comes from behind the door.
BELLATRIX
Cissy’s back.
NARCISSA (off-screen)
WHO LEFT THESE BODIES IN MY ATRIUM?!!
FADE OUT
The Final Hiding Place
I wonder if this chapter name is supposed to be a pun. Because we have references to Voldemort’s final hiding place (for his Horcruxes) and the Trio does a protective spell circle after they fall off the dragon, so this is their final hiding place.
The chapter starts with them on the back of a dragon, being carried away to goodness-knows-where. Ron’s swearing as they go—although Harry can’t tell if that means he likes it or hates it. Hermione is sobbing. Harry doesn’t seem to have much of a reaction, beyond fear that they’ll fall off.
So, before they land, I’m thinking that this is all very alchemical, when you tie it in with the previous chapter. As you recall, their quest took them deep underground, where they encountered a magical-quenching waterfall and a fiery volcano of treasure. Now, they rushing through the air. So, we managed to hit on all the four elements.
Is there meaning to all this? Not really, but it does make sense of things that seemed a bit superfluous before. At least to me. For example, while it was a pretty effective counter-thief defense to have treasure magical copy itself and burn the thieves, it seemed like overkill. But, if you are determined to include the element of fire in the escapade, then check, there it is.
Harry worries about how soon Voldemort is going to realize that the golden cup is gone from Bellatrix’s vault. Can you guess how long it will take?
They are traveling north, and Harry wonders if they are going to hit the coast line soon, and if the dragon is as hungry as he is, and if it’s ever going to notice the three edible humans on its back. Then he wonders for a while where he left that spare t-shirt and whether it’s going to be Jater or Skater in the final Lost episode and…
Why is this taking so long? Oh… I get it. The sky is now turning indigo, which means that JKR wanted to wait until nightfall for the next part of the adventure. And, as we recall, the Trio set off on their heist before the sun rose at Shell Cottage. So, once again, we have to kill 12 hours on the back of a dragon.
Finally, the dragon starts circling a small lake in some vast wilderness. I’m guessing we’re in Scotland by this point. Harry tells the others to jump into the lake when he gives the signal—and they do.
They emerge, sputtering, from the lake water, to see the dragon flying off into the distance. He never even seemed to notice they were riding him, let alone that they jumped off.
One thing JKR did that I like was to make the dragons animals. They are magical beasts, but they aren’t wise or avaricious or Sean Connery in CGI drag. They are just big, huge animals that do normal animals things—except notice people riding on them.
The Trio starts swimming for the shore and eventually gets there. Hermione seems to be in the worst shape, since she collapses as soon as she’s on dry(ish) ground. Harry has enough stamina to stagger to his feet and cast protective spells. Ron does pretty much nothing.
Does anyone wonder about all those terrible burns they got from the treasure in Bellatrix’s vault? Don’t worry. Hermione has dittany! It cures everything! Of course, since they are Gryffindors, there is a lot of manly wincing as they drip the dittany onto their wounds.
Hermione is getting smarter. This time she brought pumpkin juice, figuring they would need some kind of refreshment after their heist. It’s such a funny little detail. They sit on the shore, swigging pumpkin juice as they contemplate the cup they now have and the sword that they don’t. If pumpkin juice really existed, I’d think JKR was doing product placement.
Actually, that probably says more about how cynical I am than about JKR—or even Warner Brothers. Don’t mind me….
Ron makes a joke about wearing the cup around their necks, and Hermione worries about the dragon, and Ron makes another joke about people noticing that they broke into Gringotts… and they are all so tired and giddy they just lie back on the grass and start laughing.
I like that moment. I almost even like these characters again.
Harry then gets a vision—and we know exactly how long it takes Voldemort to find out they stole the cup, because he watches Voldemort finding out. A “small, quaking” goblin kneels before Voldemort to inform him about the robbery. There is, for some reason, a circle of Death Eaters surrounding the goblin. I guess you need a lot of back-up when you’re dealing with goblins. Sneaky little cheaters that they are.
Voldemort screams with rage at the knowledge that “the boy” discovered his secret. Then, he kills the goblin, and, that not being enough, he starts killing all the Death Eaters in the room. Except that Lucius and Bellatrix manage to escape by throwing others behind them in their rush for the door.
I thought Lucius and Bellatrix were confined to Malfoy Manor? Is this taking place at Malfoy Manor? It doesn’t seem like it. But maybe it’s just another room we haven’t seen yet. The goblin reception room.
Voldemort paces through the dead corpses, raging and thinking hard. Did the boy know about the other Horcruxes? Is the first one he’s found or has he already acted on the others? How did he know? Did Dumbledore figure it out? Dumbledore, who is dead… whose wand he holds…. Reaching out through death to pwn him?
Great. Now we have Voldemort obsessing about Dumbledore. I wonder if he’s read the biography yet.
Voldemort starts worrying about his Horcuxes and wondering if they are safe. And then he starts listing them in his mind. Which gives Harry a handy way of knowing exactly what they are all are and where Voldemort put them.
So this whole secret quest has been counterproductive. If Dumbledore had made it public, then Voldemort would have started listing them two years ago. And Harry would have seen it (but for that convenient Occlumency thing that Voldemort dropped as soon as he started getting emotional), and they would have known. Two years ago.
Without having to manipulate Slughorn for his memories. Without having to risk Harry chasing them down on his own. Without camping.
So, now, two years later, Harry finds out directly from Voldemort that the final Horcrux is hidden somewhere in Hogwarts.
Harry comes out of his vision to find Ron and Hermione looking at him with concern. As he struggles to sit up, he notices the golden cup “lying innocently in the grass.” This is why I did the two DVD scenes where Snape finds the cup and Lupin destroys it. Because this Horcrux doesn’t behave like any of the other Horcruxes we’ve seen. It doesn’t have evil eyes that try to distract you when you stab it. It doesn’t talk to you. It doesn’t move. It doesn’t curse. It doesn’t do anything.
So, it makes sense to me that, just like the fake locket, they have a fake cup. The real Horcrux was discovered and destroyed by other, smarter wizards.
Although Voldemort conveniently let Harry know that the last Horcrux is at Hogwarts, he inconveniently neglected to think about what it was or where exactly it was hidden. Which means we have four chapters to go before they find out.
We have an obligatory argument from Hermione that they need to plan how to get into Hogwarts. Thankfully, Harry shuts her up and they just put on the cloak and Apparate to Hogsmeade.
Fan Service:
Thank goodness, JKR included the air element in the last alchemical quest!
Fan Slappage:
Yes, there are dragons, but where is Charlie Weasley? And, more importantly, where are his dragon-leather pants?????
DVD Extras:
INT: NIGHT – MALFOY MANOR
We are looking at an empty ballroom. MUFFLED SCREAMS OF RAGE can be heard coming from behind a closed door. After a moment, a long window curtain rustles and Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange peek their heads around it from both sides.
LUCIUS
Do you think he’s finished?
BELLATRIX
Wait for it….
There is one final, prolonged scream.
BELLATRIX (cont’d)
Now he’s done.
They come out from behind the curtain. Bellatrix makes a beeline for the closed door. She slips quietly through it.
Lucius makes a beeline for the liquor cabinet. He pours himself a large firewhiskey while STAN SHUNPIKE emerges from under a table.
SHUNPIKE
Merlin’s pants! That was close, that was! What der yer s’pose ‘Arry Potter stole, anyways?
LUCIUS
(knocking back the drink)
No idea.
SHUNPIKE
He ain’t always loike this, is ‘E?
LUCIUS
It’s about par. Didn’t they cover that in the orientation?
Bellatrix comes back in, carrying a handful of wands. Lucius glances at her, one eyebrow raised.
BELLATRIX
(shrugging)
They aren’t going to use them anymore.
She hands one to Lucius, who waves it experimentally.
BELLATRIX
He’s gone off to check on something. He said we should wait for instructions. (sighing) He’s so sexy when he’s angry.
SHUNPIKE
Are you mental? He just killed a dozen blokes! They’re dead, they are!
Bellatrix glances, puzzled at Lucius, who replies:
LUCIUS
New guy.
Bellatrix sizes up Shunpike and decides he’s not worth talking to. Instead, she selects a wand and uses it to cast a silvery light in the shape of a heart.
BELLATRIX
He’s got a new wand, you know. Do you think he’d let me use his old one? (Running her finger over the wand in her hand) Yew wood. Thirteen and a half inches. Unyielding.
Shunpike stares at her, appalled. Lucius uses his new wand to pour another drink.
LUCIUS
You know the most ironic thing? I think we just lost more Death Eaters than we did in the entire first war.
A SHRIEK comes from behind the door.
BELLATRIX
Cissy’s back.
NARCISSA (off-screen)
WHO LEFT THESE BODIES IN MY ATRIUM?!!
FADE OUT
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no subject
Date: 2009-11-10 09:28 am (UTC)No wonder Ron decided to drive a Muggle car later in life, though.
no subject
Date: 2009-11-10 02:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-10 03:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-10 03:57 pm (UTC)But yes, it's at least 12 twelve hours. Want to know something really silly? I looked up the sunrise/sunset times for, I think, Glasgow when I was working on a Snape story and it was more like 20 hours from sunrise to sunset in that time of year.
Of course, the sunrise might be later in London.
no subject
Date: 2009-11-10 07:56 pm (UTC)What kind of kills me is that I've been mildly burned a bunch of times. I guess that's first degree? (Just looked it up--I've had mostly first degree and some second degree burns.) Anyway, I always seem to drop boiling water on myself or grab a hot pan every Christmas, so I'm familiar with the sensation. And the way it goes is that it hurts like hell until you put something cold on it. Then you take it off, and it heats up again and becomes unbearable in 5-10 minutes.
So, you spend a few hours holding cold compresses up to the burn and then the pain tapers off. By the way, if you ever drop boiling hot tea in your lap, refrigerated 2-liter soda bottles are the way to go.
But by 12-20 hours, the pain would have mainly worn off in first or second degree burns. Third degree? They'd be dead.
no subject
Date: 2009-11-10 08:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-10 08:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-10 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-10 06:31 pm (UTC)It's still not as bad as in Order of the Phoenix, when Harry's beloved Godfather is apparently being tortured to death and he takes the scenic route to London via Thestral (and I doubt they can fly as fast as a dragon). Someone else might fly the Thestrals to Hogsmeade, then sneakily use Madam Rosmerta's fireplace to get to the Ministry asap, but not Harry, oh no!