[identity profile] montavilla.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] deathtocapslock
Deathly 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

Date: 2009-11-11 12:12 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] the-bitter-word.livejournal.com
I felt sorry for the dragon, but I did not sympathize with the Trio's fear of it. They merely used the dragon, and then left it in a potentially worse situation than they found it -- like the Muggleborns they "saved" at the Ministry. Not that they could have done much for it, but the whole episode left me feeling icky.

Aside: I guess I'm feeling sorry for the right thing, for once? Usually it's more like, pathetic Muggleborns in Diagon Alley? Meh. Nigellus' portrait, trapped forever, forced to do Dumbledore's or whoever's will, stuffed in bags, blindfolded, carried on heists, having to listen to whiny kids for months? No! The whole portrait thing really disturbs me. It's like they've been sent to Hell instead of enjoying a dignified retirement.

I read these books so differently than others. I just ran across a Hog's Head's summary of Chapter 13. It's... so different.

I missed Voldemort's mass slaughter of minions the first and only time I read DH. Shows how much it added to his character development for me, and how much I was skipping over the story at this point.

Video-Voldemort: Worst Plot Device Ever.

I love your jaded Lucius and swoony Bellatrix, but I think she rather enjoyed her brother-in-law's emasculation. Did he actually fight with a wand in the final battle, or just mope around, delivering messages like a House-Elf?

Date: 2009-12-04 08:23 pm (UTC)
From: [personal profile] oryx_leucoryx
But I doubt it, since Narcissa gave her own wand to Draco. Would she have done that if he could have simply taken one of the ones from the Snatchers?
Possibly her wand worked best for him. In PS she is the one who buys him a wand while he is at Madam Malkin's. (Does this mean Draco had already practiced with his mother's wand beforehand so they had reason to expect she could buy him a suitable one? Is Draco the ultimate mama's boy?)
(deleted comment)

Date: 2009-11-11 06:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] the-bitter-word.livejournal.com
And you know the thing that endears Nigellus to me? He has dignity. More dignity than those pathetic muggleborn in Diagon Alley.

I'm a Nigellus fan because he's so difficult, disdainful, and unbowed. It's a large part of my I'm a Snape fan, too. Don't let the bastards get you down, don't go gentle into that good night, etc.

Nigellus' portrait was more than just another nattering former-Headmaster gossip. It's not like he/it was ELIZA, although that would have been fun. (There used to be an "Ask Snape" site based on ELIZA, but it no longer seems to exist.)

In DH, almost all the characters were objectified by the needs of the plot.

(deleted comment)

Date: 2009-11-11 07:33 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] the-bitter-word.livejournal.com
ELIZA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA) was a very early (1960s) attempt to simulate human communication with computers. It was often mistakenly marketed as artificial intelligence. ELIZA was the inspiration for HAL in 2001.

People are still trying to get similar programs to do more than regurgitate pre-stored answers. The museum I work at recently tested a talking heads system that was supposed to learn from patron questions. It never worked. Lots of museums and public spaces try these kinds of patron interaction systems. So do educational developers, trying to replace teachers with computerized "smart" tutors.

If you type ELIZA into a search engine, you'll find some working examples. The program is incredibly irritating... which is why I think it would be hilarious for the portraits.

Date: 2009-11-11 03:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tdotm.livejournal.com
Are you British - have you seen Red Dwarf? It's a British sit-com in which one of the characters is a hologram of a dead crew member. I always saw the portraits like that - not alive, just a simulation, or snap shot of the sitter. Their soul had passed on at the time of their death and they were at peace. The portrait was just a memory. I think I'll stick to that, otherwise it's too uncomfortable!

I know what you mean about the Muggleborns. Exactly what could they accomplish by hanging around Diagon Alley wandless? And exactly what was it about the Death Eaters that made them think they'd show any mercy, as opposed to just killing them for a laugh? Why not return to their muggle roots to regain their strenth, or to get together and form a plan of action? Also, they could break that Secrecy Rule - what would they have to lose if they wanted to get their children back? On an individual basis, wizards are stronger than muggles, but the difference in numbers is vast - as it's written it would make perfect sense to get Muggles involved.

I can understand that JKR didn't want that complication, so why not close it down properly? If Wizards can control muggle minds, how far would a Wizard/Muggle battle go? What's the point of guns/tanks etc if you're being made too use them on each other? Also, if Ron has a Put-Outter, I refuse to believe that Wizards can't shut down all electricity plants. They could bring the Western World to its knees effortessly. Don't tell me Leaders wouldn't just keep quiet and let the desperate Muggle-Borns go to Hell. If she had to write them as pathetic, she should have removed what seem like obvious alternatives.

I assumed all this automatically as I read it - I'm a fan w*nker - it's only when reading re-caps that I realized that it was all in my mind and JKR never said any of it. It would have made Scrimgeour seem very sinister if he'd pointed it out to the Prime Minister in HBP. Sigh.

I hear you on Video-Voldemort.

Date: 2009-11-11 05:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] the-bitter-word.livejournal.com
Are you British - have you seen Red Dwarf? It's a British sit-com in which one of the characters is a hologram of a dead crew member. I always saw the portraits like that - not alive, just a simulation, or snap shot of the sitter. Their soul had passed on at the time of their death and they were at peace. The portrait was just a memory. I think I'll stick to that, otherwise it's too uncomfortable!

That's what Rowling said in an interview about the portraits, that portraits were faint imprints of people who can only speak catchphrases. (Hmm, wonder where she got the idea?) The problem is that portraits can choose to move to new places, can pretend to be asleep, can argue, and can fool people like Hermione about how trapped they really are. They can also learn new information and add that to their memories. It seems they have self-awareness and limited agency. Maybe, like Dumbledore, previous Headmasters were so full of their own self-importance they felt nobody could make a move without their advice, not that the advice was followed or even respected. Yes, a thankless existence.

I've watched a few episodes of Red Dwarf on public television in U.S., but without starting at the beginning, I never understood it. Various Star Trek series, especially Next Generation with its nanites, holograms, and Data, did a good job of asking how a living thing is defined and what the consequences are of making that definition. Rowling wasn't going there; she just needed Nigellus to relay information and be a "good" Slytherin (is usually a dead Slytherin and/or an enslaved one).

As for the Muggleborns, Harry was raised as a Muggle. When his wand was broken, did he feel sorry for himself and depend on others to do everything for him (I mean, more than usual)? Did he crave magic so much he'd follow any shimmering phantasm just to be close to it? He'd never end up in that alley.

I've long thought that magic is a drug that hooks wizards and makes them feel they do incredible things, but also makes them stupid -- like alcohol, or for some, marijuana. Heroin and cocaine would be dark magic.

Date: 2009-11-12 04:04 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jodel-from-aol.livejournal.com
My take on the Hogwarts portraits is that effectively they are pensieve memories. Offloaded from the castle, which is sentient on some level. Sentient enough to know who belongs in the Headmaster's office and who doesn't, anyway. At least not if the current incumbent *tells* the office not to let anyone else in.

Actually, the castle would be aware of *all* the legitimate residents of the castle, although if a former student never returns, the castle may not retain those memories over decades of absence.

But it doesn't have *unlimited* memory storage. So once it understands that the former Head is no longer alive, and it isn't going to be able to deal with them any more, it offloads its memories into a portrait, and starts assembling its memories of the replacement. I would imagine that the longer the tenure as Head, or the longer residence of the person who becomes Head in the castle, the more exact the likeness and the more well realized the personality.

Albus lived in the castle for most of a century, depending on how early he returned as a teacher, and was Head for about 30 years. Snape may have been Head for less than a year, but he lived in that castle for most of his life.

Date: 2009-11-11 10:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mary-j-59.livejournal.com
Well, do you really think Travis Prinzi comes closer to the average reader than we?

Actually, considering some of the (very sweet) wizrock kids I know, you might be right. But still, there are a lot of us who read differently! In any case, I felt as you do - except that, by the end of the previous chapter, I was so bored and frustrated that I'd pretty much stopped reading. So that, when my sister wrote a song about the bank heist, I was staring at her saying, "Wait - that's in the book?"

Just to give you a taste of the flavor, here's the first verse, copyrighted to Grrl 2 of the Gringotts Grrls and all original names and materials copyrighted to JK Rowling and not used for profit:
The Beautiful Bellatrix Lestrange
Has undergone an awful change!
She's shrunk ten inches; her hair has gone frizzy
And everyone's in a terrible tizzy! And
That inarticulate friend of hers
(he's Transylvanian, she avers)-
His massive muscles have disappeared
And he's got red hair now. Isn't that weird?

(chorus)
Oh oh Harry Potter,
Harry Potter,
He's a very crafty plotter.
But we think it
Really stank when
Harry Potter
Broke the Bank!

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