Episodios
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Chapter 25 - The Seer OverheardHarry found himself newly and happily impervious to gossip over the next few weeks. After all, it made a very nice change to be talked about because of something that was making him happier than he could remember being for a very long time, rather than because he had been involved in horrific scenes of Dark Magic.
Q1 - What is the happiest you’ve been in recent memory?
“Well, why not? Harry, there aren’t any real princes in the Wizarding world! It’s either a nickname, a made-up title somebody’s given themselves, or it could be their actual name, couldn’t it? No, listen! If, say, her father was a wizard whose surname was Prince, and her mother was a Muggle, then that would make her a ‘halfblood Prince’!”Q2 - Could Hermione be right here?
“The headmaster has intimated that he would prefer fewer visits from me,” she said coldly. “I am not one to press my company upon those who do not value it. If Dumbledore chooses to ignore the warnings the cards show —” Her bony hand closed suddenly around Harry’s wrist. “Again and again, no matter how I lay them out —” And she pulled a card dramatically from underneath her shawls. “— the lightning-struck tower,” she whispered. “Calamity. Disaster. Coming nearer all the time . . .”Q3 - What is she talking about here?
I must confess that, at first, I thought he seemed ill-disposed toward Divination . . . and I remember I was starting to feel a little odd, I had not eaten much that day . . . but then . . .” And now Harry was paying attention properly for the first time, for he knew what had happened then: Professor Trelawney had made the prophecy that had altered the course of his whole life, the prophecy about him and Voldemort. “. . . but then we were rudely interrupted by Severus Snape!” It was Snape who had overheard the prophecy. It was Snape who had carried the news of the prophecy to Voldemort. Snape and Peter Pettigrew together had sent Voldemort hunting after Lily and James and their son. . . .Q4 - What do you think about Snape interrupting?
Q5 - Why did Dumbledore hire Snape?
“Professor Snape made a terrible mistake. He was still in Lord Voldemort’s employ on the night he heard the first half of Professor Trelawney’s prophecy. Naturally, he hastened to tell his master what he had heard, for it concerned his master most deeply. But he did not know — he had no possible way of knowing — which boy Voldemort would hunt from then onward, or that the parents he would destroy in his murderous quest were people that Professor Snape knew, that they were your mother and father —” “You have no idea of the remorse Professor Snape felt when he realized how Lord Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy, Harry. I believe it to be the greatest regret of his life and the reason that he returned —” “But he’s a very good Occlumens, isn’t he, sir?” said Harry, whose voice was shaking with the effort of keeping it steady. “And isn’t Voldemort convinced that Snape’s on his side, even now? Professor . . . how can you be sure Snape’s on our side?” Dumbledore did not speak for a moment; he looked as though he was trying to make up his mind about something. At last he said, “I am sure. I trust Severus Snape completely.”Q6 - Why does he trust Snape? And why does he say Snape regrets it?
“I . . . they’re up to something!” said Harry, and his hands curled into fists as he said it. “Professor Trelawney was just in the Room of Requirement, trying to hide her sherry bottles, and she heard Malfoy whooping, celebrating! He’s trying to mend something dangerous in there and if you ask me, he’s fixed it at last and you’re about to just walk out of school without —” “Enough,” said Dumbledore. He said it quite calmly, and yet Harry fell silent at once; he knew that he had finally crossed some invisible line. “Do you think that I have once left the school unprotected during my absences this year? I have not. Tonight, when I leave, there will again be additional protection in place. Please do not suggest that I do not take the safety of my students seriously, Harry.”Q7 - What did Draco just do?
“If I tell you to hide, you will do so?” “Yes.” “If I tell you to flee, you will obey?” “Yes.” “If I tell you to leave me and save yourself, you will do as I tell you? “I —” “Harry?” They looked at each other for a moment. “Yes, sir.”Q8 - Is this stuff actually going to happen?
“No!” said Hermione, as Ron unwrapped the tiny little bottle of golden potion, looking awestruck. “We don’t want it, you take it, who knows what you’re going to be facing?” “I’ll be fine, I’ll be with Dumbledore,” said Harry. “I want to know you lot are okay. . . . Don’t look like that, Hermione, I’ll see you later. . . .”Harry turned. At once, there was that horrible sensation that he was being squeezed through a thick rubber tube; he could not draw breath, every part of him was being compressed almost past endurance and then, just when he thought he must suffocate, the invisible bands seemed to burst open, and he was standing in cool darkness, breathing in lungfuls of fresh, salty air.Q9 - What is going to happen in the cave?
Chapter 26 - The CaveHe was standing upon a high outcrop of dark rock, water foaming and churning below him. He glanced over his shoulder. A towering cliff stood behind them, a sheer drop, black and faceless. A few large chunks of rock, such as the one upon which Harry and Dumbledore were standing, looked as though they had broken away from the cliff face at some point in the past. It was a bleak, harsh view, the sea and the rock unrelieved by any tree or sweep of grass or sand. “What do you think?” asked Dumbledore. He might have been asking Harry’s opinion on whether it was a good site for a picnic.Q1 - What do you think of Dumbledore and Harry’s interactions?
I imagine that Riddle climbed down; magic would have served better than ropes. And he brought two small children with him, probably for the pleasure of terrorizing them. I think the journey alone would have done it, don’t you?”Q2 - Shouldn’t Riddle have been found out with underage magic? What happened here?
“Yes, this is the place,” said Dumbledore. “How can you tell?” Harry spoke in a whisper. “It has known magic,” said Dumbledore simply….“Here,” he said. “We go on through here. The entrance is concealed.” Harry did not ask how Dumbledore knew. He had never seen a wizard work things out like this, simply by looking and touching; but Harry had long since learned that bangs and smoke were more often the marks of ineptitude than expertise.Q3 - How do you sense magic?
Q4 - How good of a wizard is Dumbledore?
“You are very kind, Harry,” said Dumbledore, now passing the tip of his wand over the deep cut he had made in his own arm, so that it healed instantly, just as Snape had healed Malfoy’s wounds. “But your blood is worth more than mine. Ah, that seems to have done the trick, doesn’t it?Harry had not expected this, but cleared his throat and said loudly, wand aloft, “Accio Horcrux!” With a noise like an explosion, something very large and pale erupted out of the dark water some twenty feet away; before Harry could see what it was, it had vanished again with a crashing splash that made great, deep ripples on the mirrored surface. Harry leapt backward in shock and hit the wall; his heart was still thundering as he turned to Dumbledore. “What was that?” “Something, I think, that is ready to respond should we attempt to seize the Horcrux.” Harry looked back at the water. The surface of the lake was once more shining black glass: The ripples had vanished unnaturally fast; Harry’s heart, however, was still pounding.Q5 - How chilling is this?
“I do not think you will count, Harry: You are underage and unqualified. Voldemort would never have expected a sixteen-year-old to reach this place: I think it unlikely that your powers will register compared to mine.” These words did nothing to raise Harry’s morale; perhaps Dumbledore knew it, for he added, “Voldemort’s mistake, Harry, Voldemort’s mistake . . . Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth. . . . Now, you first this time, and be careful not to touch the water.” And then Harry saw it, marble white, floating inches below the surface. “Professor!” he said, and his startled voice echoed loudly over the silent water. “Harry?” “I think I saw a hand in the water — a human hand!” “Yes, I am sure you did,” said Dumbledore calmly. Harry stared down into the water, looking for the vanished hand, and a sick feeling rose in his throat. “So that thing that jumped out of the water — ?” But Harry had his answer before Dumbledore could reply; the wandlight had slid over a fresh patch of water and showed him, this time, a dead man lying faceup inches beneath the surface, his open eyes misted as though with cobwebs, his hair and his robes swirling around him like smoke.Q6 - What do you think about Voldemort’s protections?
Q7 - Who’s bodies are these?
“There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.” “Lord Voldemort would not want to kill the person who reached this island.” Harry couldn’t believe it. Was this more of Dumbledore’s insane determination to see good in everyone? “Sir,” said Harry, trying to keep his voice reasonable, “sir, this is Voldemort we’re —” “I’m sorry, Harry; I should have said, he would not want to immediately kill the person who reached this island,” Dumbledore corrected himself. “He would want to keep them alive long enough to find out how they managed to penetrate so far through his defenses and, most importantly of all, why they were so intent upon emptying the basin. Do not forget that Lord Voldemort believes that he alone knows about his Horcruxes.”Q8 - Who else knows?
“Undoubtedly,” he said, finally, “this potion must act in a way that will prevent me taking the Horcrux. It might paralyze me, cause me to forget what I am here for, create so much pain I am distracted, or render me incapable in some other way. This being the case, Harry, it will be your job to make sure I keep drinking, even if you have to tip the potion into my protesting mouth. You understand?” Their eyes met over the basin, each pale face lit with that strange, green light. Harry did not speak. Was this why he had been invited along — so that he could force-feed Dumbledore a potion that might cause him unendurable pain? “You remember,” said Dumbledore, “the condition on which I brought you with me?” Harry hesitated, looking into the blue eyes that had turned green in the reflected light of the basin. “But what if — ?” “You swore, did you not, to follow any command I gave you?” “Yes, but —” “I warned you, did I not, that there might be danger?” “Yes,” said Harry, “but —” “Well, then,” said Dumbledore, shaking back his sleeves once more and raising the empty goblet, “you have my orders.” “Why can’t I drink the potion instead?” asked Harry desperately. “Because I am much older, much cleverer, and much less valuable,” said Dumbledore. “Once and for all, Harry, do I have your word that you will do all in your power to make me keep drinking?” “Couldn’t — ?” “Do I have it?” “But —” “Your word, Harry.” “I — all right, but —” Before Harry could make any further protest, Dumbledore lowered the crystal goblet into the potion. For a split second, Harry hoped that he would not be able to touch the potion with the goblet, but the crystal sank into the surface as nothing else had; when the glass was full to the brim, Dumbledore lifted it to his mouth. “Your good health, Harry.”Q9 - Should Harry have drunk this?
And obediently, Dumbledore drank, as though it was an antidote Harry offered him, but upon draining the goblet, he sank to his knees, shaking uncontrollably. “It’s all my fault, all my fault,” he sobbed. “Please make it stop, I know I did wrong, oh please make it stop and I’ll never, never again . . .” Dumbledore began to cower as though invisible torturers surrounded him; his flailing hand almost knocked the refilled goblet from Harry’s trembling hands as he moaned, “Don’t hurt them, don’t hurt them, please, please, it’s my fault, hurt me instead . . .”Q10 - What is Dumbledore seeing here?
“Drink this, Professor. Drink this. . . .” Dumbledore drank, and no sooner had he finished than he yelled, “KILL ME!” “This — this one will!” gasped Harry. “Just drink this . . . It’ll be over . . . all over!” Dumbledore gulped at the goblet, drained every last drop, and then, with a great, rattling gasp, rolled over onto his face. “No!” shouted Harry, who had stood to refill the goblet again; instead he dropped the cup into the basin, flung himself down beside Dumbledore, and heaved him over onto his back; Dumbledore’s glasses were askew, his mouth agape, his eyes closed. “No,” said Harry, shaking Dumbledore, “no, you’re not dead, you said it wasn’t poison, wake up, wake up — Rennervate!” he cried, his wand pointing at Dumbledore’s chest; there was a flash of red light but nothing happened. “Rennervate — sir — please —” Dumbledore’s eyelids flickered; Harry’s heart leapt. “Sir, are you — ?” “Water,” croaked Dumbledore.The goblet filled and emptied once more. And now Dumbledore’s breathing was fading. His brain whirling in panic, Harry knew, instinctively, the only way left to get water, because Voldemort had planned it so . . .Q11 - How sick is Voldemort?
Q12 - Could you have done what Harry is doing?
And pulling Dumbledore’s uninjured arm around his shoulders, Harry guided his headmaster back around the lake, bearing most of his weight. “The protection was . . . after all . . . well-designed,” said Dumbledore faintly. “One alone could not have done it. . . . You did well, very well, Harry. . . .” “It’s going to be all right, sir,” Harry said over and over again, more worried by Dumbledore’s silence than he had been by his weakened voice. “We’re nearly there. . . . I can Apparate us both back. . . . Don’t worry. . . .” “I am not worried, Harry,” said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. “I am with you.”Q13 - How intense was this chapter?
Q14 - If the cave was protected like this, was it the same for the Gaunt shack and all the other horcruxes?
Chapter 27 - The Lightning Struck Tower“What has happened?” asked Dumbledore. “Rosmerta, what’s wrong?” “The — the Dark Mark, Albus.” And she pointed into the sky, in the direction of Hogwarts. Dread flooded Harry at the sound of the words. . . . He turned and looked. There it was, hanging in the sky above the school: the blazing green skull with a serpent tongue, the mark Death Eaters left behind whenever they had entered a building . . . wherever they had murdered. . . .Q1 - Dumbledore is exhausted here, what’s the tiredest you’ve ever been?
Harry hurried over to the door leading to the spiral staircase, but his hand had only just closed upon the iron ring of the door when he heard running footsteps on the other side. He looked around at Dumbledore, who gestured him to retreat. Harry backed away, drawing his wand as he did so. The door burst open and somebody erupted through it and shouted, “Expelliarmus!” Harry’s body became instantly rigid and immobile, and he felt himself fall back against the tower wall, propped like an unsteady statue, unable to move or speak. He could not understand how it had happened — Expelliarmus was not a Freezing Charm — Then, by the light of the Mark, he saw Dumbledore’s wand flying in an arc over the edge of the ramparts and understood. . . . Dumbledore had wordlessly immobilized Harry, and the second he had taken to perform the spell had cost him the chance of defending himself.Q2 - Why did Dumbledore do this to Harry?
Q3 - What do you think of Draco disarming Dumbledore?
Draco Malfoy did nothing but stare at Albus Dumbledore, who, incredibly, smiled. “Draco, Draco, you are not a killer.” “How do you know?” said Malfoy at once. “But why? I don’t think you will kill me, Draco. Killing is not nearly as easy as the innocent believe. . . . So tell me, while we wait for your friends . . . how did you smuggle them in here? It seems to have taken you a long time to work out how to do it.”Q4 - What do you think of Dumbledore’s attitude here?
“I tried, Draco. Professor Snape has been keeping watch over you on my orders —” “He hasn’t been doing your orders, he promised my mother —” “Of course that is what he would tell you, Draco, but —” “He’s a double agent, you stupid old man, he isn’t working for you, you just think he is!” “We must agree to differ on that, Draco. It so happens that I trust Professor Snape —” “Well, you’re losing your grip, then!” sneered Malfoy.Q5 - How much does it hurt to hear these words?
“Someone’s dead,” said Malfoy, and his voice seemed to go up an octave as he said it. “One of your people . . . I don’t know who, it was dark. . . . I stepped over the body. . . . I was supposed to be waiting up here when you got back, only your Phoenix lot got in the way. . . .”Q6 - Has someone actually died?
“Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban. . . . When the time comes, we can protect him too. Come over to the right side, Draco . . . you are not a killer. . . .” Malfoy stared at Dumbledore. “But I got this far, didn’t I?” he said slowly. “They thought I’d die in the attempt, but I’m here . . . and you’re in my power. . . . I’m the one with the wand. . . . You’re at my mercy. . . .” “No, Draco,” said Dumbledore quietly. “It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now.”Q7 - Is Malfoy redeemable?
“We’ve got a problem, Snape,” said the lumpy Amycus, whose eyes and wand were fixed alike upon Dumbledore, “the boy doesn’t seem able —” But somebody else had spoken Snape’s name, quite softly. “Severus . . .” The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading. Snape said nothing, but walked forward and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word. Even the werewolf seemed cowed. Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. “Severus . . . please . . .” Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore. “Avada Kedavra!”Q8 - How evil is Snape?
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Chapter 21 - The Unknowable RoomHarry fully expected to receive low marks on his, because he had disagreed with Snape on the best way to tackle Dementors, but he did not care: Slughorn’s memory was the most important thing to him now.
Q1 - How do you think Snape takes on dementors? And is it better than Harry’s?
‘It’s one of Fred and George’s Spell-Checking ones … but I think the charm must be wearing off …’ ‘Yes, it must,’ said Hermione, pointing at the title of his essay, ‘because we were asked how we’d deal with Dementors, not “Dugbogs”, and I don’t remember you changing your name to “Roonil Wazlib”, either.’ ‘Ah, no!’ said Ron, staring horror-struck at the parchment. ‘Don’t say I’ll have to write the whole thing out again!’ ‘It’s OK, we can fix it,’ said Hermione, pulling the essay towards her and taking out her wand. ‘I love you, Hermione,’ said Ron, sinking back in his chair, rubbing his eyes wearily.Q2 - Is this the first time Ron has said “I love you” to Hermione?
Q3 - What is Malfoy doing in the Room of Requirement?
‘God, I’ve been stupid,’ he said quietly. ‘It’s obvious, isn’t it? There was a great vat of it down in the dungeon … he could’ve nicked some any time during that lesson …’ ‘Nicked what?’ said Ron. ‘Polyjuice Potion. He stole some of the Polyjuice Potion Slughorn showed us in our first Potions lesson … there aren’t a whole variety of students standing guard for Malfoy … it’s just Crabbe and Goyle as usual … yeah, it all fits!’Q4 - Is Harry (therefore Danny) right?
Q5 - Do you ever remember when a teacher embarrassed you?
‘Well, what Harry said is the most useful if we’re trying to tell them apart!’ said Ron. ‘When we come face to face with one down a dark alley we’re going to be having a shufti to see if it’s solid, aren’t we, we’re not going to be asking, “Excuse me, are you the imprint of a departed soul?”‘When you say you had lots in common,’ said Ron, sounding rather amused now, ‘d’you mean he lives in an S-bend, too?’ ‘No,’ said Myrtle defiantly, her voice echoing loudly around the old tiled bathroom. ‘I mean he’s sensitive, people bully him, too, and he feels lonely and hasn’t got anybody to talk to, and he’s not afraid to show his feelings and cry!’Q6 - Who is Myrtle talking about here?
Q7 - Why was Tonks going to see Dumbledore?
Q8 - Was she in love with Sirius?
Chapter 22 - After the BurialQ1 - What do you think of Hagrid asking the trio to come out after dusk to the burial?
‘Look, Potions will be almost empty this afternoon, with us all off doing our tests … try and soften Slughorn up a bit then!’ ‘Fifty-seventh time lucky, you think?’ said Harry bitterly. ‘Lucky,’ said Ron suddenly. ‘Harry, that’s it – get lucky!’ ‘What d’you mean?’ ‘Use your lucky potion!’ ‘Ron, that’s – that’s it!’ said Hermione, sounding stunned. ‘Of course! Why didn’t I think of it?’Q2 - Is this the best way to get the memory?
Q3 - What do you think of Harry’s Euphoria potion?
Harry took out the rolled-up socks at the bottom of his trunk and extracted the tiny, gleaming bottle. ‘Well, here goes,’ said Harry, and he raised the little bottle and took a carefully measured gulp. ‘What does it feel like?’ whispered Hermione. Harry did not answer for a moment. Then, slowly but surely, an exhilarating sense of infinite opportunity stole through him; he felt as though he could have done anything, anything at all … and getting the memory from Slughorn seemed suddenly not only possible, but positively easy …Q4 - What would you use Liquid Luck on?
Getting through the portrait hole was simple; as he approached it, Ginny and Dean came through it and Harry was able to slip between them. As he did so, he brushed accidentally against Ginny. ‘Don’t push me, please, Dean,’ she said, sounding annoyed. ‘You’re always doing that, I can get through perfectly well on my own …’Q5 - Was Dean being chivalrous or annoying?
After an hour or so, Hagrid and Slughorn began making extravagant toasts: to Hogwarts, to Dumbledore, to elf-made wine and to – ‘Harry Potter!’ bellowed Hagrid, slopping some of his fourteenth bucket of wine down his chin as he drained it. ‘Yes, indeed,’ cried Slughorn a little thickly, ‘Parry Otter, the Chosen Boy Who – well – something of that sort,’ he mumbled, and drained his mug, too.‘But she didn’t move. Dad was already dead, but she didn’t want me to go too. She tried to plead with Voldemort … but he just laughed …’ ‘That’s enough!’ said Slughorn suddenly, raising a shaking hand. ‘Really, my dear boy, enough … I’m an old man … I don’t need to hear … I don’t want to hear …’ ‘I forgot,’ lied Harry, Felix Felicis leading him on. ‘You liked her, didn’t you?’ ‘Liked her?’ said Slughorn, his eyes brimming with tears once more. ‘I don’t imagine anyone who met her wouldn’t have liked her … very brave … very funny … it was the most horrible thing …’ ‘But you won’t help her son,’ said Harry. ‘She gave me her life, but you won’t give me a memory.’Q6 - Is there any new info you gained from the Lily story?
‘Be brave like my mother, Professor …’‘You’re a good boy,’ said Professor Slughorn, tears trickling down his fat cheeks into his walrus moustache. ‘And you’ve got her eyes … just don’t think too badly of me once you’ve seen it …’Q7 - What will this memory tell them?
Chapter 23 - Horcruxes‘Good gracious, Harry,’ said Dumbledore in surprise. ‘To what do I owe this very late pleasure?’ ‘Sir – I’ve got it. I’ve got the memory from Slughorn.’ Harry pulled out the tiny glass bottle and showed it to Dumbledore. For a moment or two, the Headmaster looked stunned. Then his face split in a wide smile. ‘Harry, this is spectacular news! Very well done indeed! I knew you could do it!’‘Well,’ said Slughorn, not looking at Riddle, but fiddling with the ribbon on top of his box of crystallised pineapple, ‘well, it can’t hurt to give you an overview, of course. Just so that you understand the term. A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul.’ ‘I don’t quite understand how that works, though, sir,’ said Riddle. His voice was carefully controlled, but Harry could sense his excitement. ‘Well, you split your soul, you see,’ said Slughorn, ‘and hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if one’s body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But, of course, existence in such a form …’Q1 - What do you think of Horcruxes now?
‘How do you split your soul?’ ‘Well,’ said Slughorn uncomfortably, ‘you must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature.’‘Yes, sir,’ said Riddle. ‘What I don’t understand, though – just out of curiosity – I mean, would one Horcrux be much use? Can you only split your soul once? Wouldn’t it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces? I mean, for instance, isn’t seven the most powerfully magical number, wouldn’t seven –?’ ‘Merlin’s beard, Tom!’ yelped Slughorn. ‘Seven! Isn’t it bad enough to think of killing one person? And in any case … bad enough to divide the soul … but to rip it into seven pieces …’Q2 - Do you think Voldemort ripped his soul into seven pieces?
‘But now, Harry, armed with this information, the crucial memory you have succeeded in procuring for us, we are closer to the secret of finishing Lord Voldemort than anyone has ever been before. You heard him, Harry: “Wouldn’t it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces … isn’t seven the most powerfully magical number …” Isn’t seven the most powerfully magical number. Yes, I think the idea of a seven-part soul would greatly appeal to Lord Voldemort.’ ‘He made seven Horcruxes?’ said Harry, horror-struck, while several of the portraits on the walls made similar noises of shock and outrage. ‘But they could be anywhere in the world – hidden – buried or invisible –’ ‘I am glad to see you appreciate the magnitude of the problem,’ said Dumbledore calmly. ‘But firstly, no, Harry, not seven Horcruxes: six. The seventh part of his soul, however maimed, resides inside his regenerated body. That was the part of him that lived a spectral existence for so many years during his exile; without that, he has no self at all. That seventh piece of soul will be the last that anybody wishing to kill Voldemort must attack – the piece that lives in his body.’Q3 - Is Dumbledore right?
‘But the six Horcruxes, then,’ said Harry, a little desperately, ‘how are we supposed to find them?’ ‘You are forgetting … you have already destroyed one of them. And I have destroyed another.’ ‘You have?’ said Harry eagerly. ‘Yes indeed,’ said Dumbledore, and he raised his blackened, burned-looking hand. ‘The ring, Harry. Marvolo’s ring. And a terrible curse there was upon it too. Had it not been – forgive me the lack of seemly modesty – for my own prodigious skill, and for Professor Snape’s timely action when I returned to Hogwarts, desperately injured, I might not have lived to tell the tale. However, a withered hand does not seem an unreasonable exchange for a seventh of Voldemort’s soul. The ring is no longer a Horcrux.’Q4 - What AND where are the other Horcruxes?
Q5 - Does this make you trust Snape a bit more?
‘He seems to have reserved the process of making Horcruxes for particularly significant deaths. You would certainly have been that. He believed that in killing you, he was destroying the danger the prophecy had outlined. He believed he was making himself invincible. I am sure that he was intending to make his final Horcrux with your death.Q6 - Did he have an object with him then and what would he have used for a Horcrux after killing Harry?
‘Yes, I think so,’ said Dumbledore. ‘Without his Horcruxes, Voldemort will be a mortal man with a maimed and diminished soul. Never forget, though, that while his soul may be damaged beyond repair, his brain and his magical power remain intact. It will take uncommon skill and power to kill a wizard like Voldemort, even without his Horcruxes.’ ‘But I haven’t got uncommon skill and power,’ said Harry, before he could stop himself. ‘Yes, you have,’ said Dumbledore firmly. ‘You have a power that Voldemort has never had. You can –’ ‘I know!’ said Harry impatiently. ‘I can love!’ It was only with difficulty that he stopped himself adding, ‘Big deal!’ ‘Yes, Harry, you can love,’ said Dumbledore, who looked as though he knew perfectly well what Harry had just refrained from saying. ‘Which, given everything that has happened to you, is a great and remarkable thing. You are still too young to understand how unusual you are, Harry.’Q7 - What is the deeper thing here? Why is Harry too young to understand this?
He heard the prophecy and he leapt into action, with the result that he not only handpicked the man most likely to finish him, he handed him uniquely deadly weapons!’ ‘But –’ ‘It is essential that you understand this!’ said Dumbledore, standing up and striding about the room, his glittering robes swooshing in his wake; Harry had never seen him so agitated. ‘By attempting to kill you, Voldemort himself singled out the remarkable person who sits here in front of me, and gave him the tools for the job! It is Voldemort’s fault that you were able to see into his thoughts, his ambitions, that you even understand the snakelike language in which he gives orders, and yet, Harry, despite your privileged insight into Voldemort’s world (which, incidentally, is a gift any Death Eater would kill to have), you have never been seduced by the Dark Arts, never, even for a second, shown the slightest desire to become one of Voldemort’s followers!’Q8 - How did Voldemort actually give him these powers and this connection?
I do not think he understands why, Harry, but he was in such a hurry to mutilate his own soul, he never paused to understand the incomparable power of a soul that is untarnished and whole.’Harry watched Dumbledore striding up and down in front of him, and thought. He thought of his mother, his father and Sirius. He thought of Cedric Diggory. He thought of all the terrible deeds he knew Lord Voldemort had done. A flame seemed to leap inside his chest, searing his throat. ‘I’d want him finished,’ said Harry quietly. ‘And I’d want to do it.’ ‘Of course you would!’ cried Dumbledore. ‘You see, the prophecy does not mean you have to do anything! But the prophecy caused Lord Voldemort to mark you as his equal … in other words, you are free to choose your way, quite free to turn your back on the prophecy! But Voldemort continues to set store by the prophecy. He will continue to hunt you … which makes it certain, really, that –’ ‘That one of us is going to end up killing the other,’ said Harry. ‘Yes.’ But he understood at last what Dumbledore had been trying to tell him. It was, he thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but Dumbledore knew – and so do I, thought Harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents – that there was all the difference in the world.Q9 - How do you destroy a Horcrux?
Q10 - What do you think of this and everything in this chapter?
Chapter 24 - SectumsempraQ1 - Why isn’t Dumbledore just doing this himself? Why is he roping Harry into this whole thing?
‘I think I’m going to take another swig of Felix,’ said Harry, ‘and have a go at the Room of Requirement again.’ ‘That would be a complete waste of potion,’ said Hermione flatly, putting down the copy of Spellman’s Syllabary she had just taken out of her bag. ‘Luck can only get you so far, Harry. The situation with Slughorn was different; you always had the ability to persuade him, you just needed to tweak the circumstances a bit. Luck isn’t enough to get you through a powerful enchantment, though. Don’t go wasting the rest of that potion! You’ll need all the luck you can get if Dumbledore takes you along with him …’ She dropped her voice to a whisper.Q2 - How do you think Harry is going to use the last of the Felix Felicis?
‘No one can help me,’ said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. ‘I can’t do it … I can’t … it won’t work … and unless I do it soon … he says he’ll kill me …’ And Harry realised, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying – actually crying – tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin. Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror and saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder.Q3 - Is it shocking to see Draco in this state?
Q4 - What is he talking about here?
There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wall behind Malfoy’s ear and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped over as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, ‘Cruci—’ ‘SECTUMSEMPRA!’ bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly.Q5 - Thoughts on Draco using Crucio?
The door banged open behind Harry and he looked up, terrified: Snape had burst into the room, his face livid. Pushing Harry roughly aside, he knelt over Malfoy, drew his wand and traced it over the deep wounds Harry’s curse had made, muttering an incantation that sounded almost like song. The flow of blood seemed to ease; Snape wiped the residue from Malfoy’s face and repeated his spell. Now the wounds seemed to be knitting.He gasped. Despite his haste, his panic, his fear of what awaited him back in the bathroom, he could not help but be overawed by what he was looking at. He was standing in a room the size of a large cathedral, whose high windows were sending shafts of light down upon what looked like a city with towering walls, built of what Harry knew must be objects hidden by generations of Hogwarts inhab- itants. There were alleyways and roads bordered by teetering piles of broken and damaged furniture, stowed away, perhaps, to hide the evidence of mishandled magic, or else hidden by castle-proud houseelves. There were thousands and thousands of books, no doubt banned or graffitied or stolen. There were winged catapults and Fanged Frisbees, some still with enough life in them to hover half-heartedly over the mountains of other forbidden items; there were chipped bottles of congealed potions, hats, jewels, cloaks; there were what looked like dragon-egg shells, corked bottles whose contents still shimmered evilly, several rusting swords and a heavy, blood-stained axe.Q6 - What do you think of this room?
Harry hurried forwards into one of the many alleyways between all this hidden treasure. He turned right past an enormous stuffed troll, ran on a short way, took a left at the broken Vanishing Cabinet in which Montague had got lost the previous year, finally pausing beside a large cupboard which seemed to have had acid thrown at its blistered surface. He opened one of the cupboard’s creaking doors: it had already been used as a hiding place for something in a cage that had long-since died; its skeleton had five legs. He stuffed the Half-Blood Prince’s book behind the cage and slammed the door. He paused for a moment, his heart thumping horribly, gazing around at the clutter … would he be able to find this spot again, amidst all this junk? Seizing the chipped bust of an ugly old warlock from on top of a nearby crate, he stood it on the cupboard where the book was now hidden, perched a dusty old wig and a tarnished tiara on the statue’s head to make it more distinctive, then sprinted back through the alleyways of hidden junk as fast as he could go, back to the door, back out on to the corridor, where he slammed the door behind him and it turned at once back into stone.Q7 - What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever just found?
One by one Snape extracted Harry’s books and examined them. Finally the only book left was the Potions book, which he looked at very carefully before speaking. ‘This is your copy of Advanced Potion-Making, is it, Potter?’ ‘Yes,’ said Harry, still breathing hard. ‘You’re quite sure of that, are you, Potter?’ ‘Yes,’ said Harry, with a touch more defiance. ‘This is the copy of Advanced Potion-Making that you purchased from Flourish and Blotts?’ ‘Yes,’ said Harry firmly. ‘Then why,’ asked Snape, ‘does it have the name “Roonil Wazlib” written inside the front cover?’ Harry’s heart missed a beat. ‘That’s my nickname,’ he said. ‘Your nickname,’ repeated Snape. ‘Yeah … that’s what my friends call me,’ said Harry. ‘I understand what a nickname is,’ said Snape. The cold, black eyes were boring once more into Harry’s; he tried not to look into them. Close your mind … close your mind … but he had never learned how to do it properly … ‘Do you know what I think, Potter?’ said Snape, very quietly. ‘I think that you are a liar and a cheat and that you deserve detention with me every Saturday until the end of term. What do you think, Potter?’ ‘I – I don’t agree, sir,’ said Harry, still refusing to look into Snape’s eyes.Q8 - Hermione reprimands Harry for following the Prince…but who is the Prince?
Harry looked around; there was Ginny running towards him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her. The creature in his chest roaring in triumph, Harry grinned down at Ginny and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole. A long walk in the grounds seemed indicated, during which – if they had time – they might discuss the match.Q9 - Love at last?
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¿Faltan episodios?
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Chapter 17 - A Sluggish Memory
Q1 - At the beginning of this chapter, Harry gives Hermione the details about what happened with Malfoy…do you have any other theories or thoughts on that?
‘He accused me of being “Dumbledore’s man through and through”.’ ‘How very rude of him.’ ‘I told him I was.’ Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Behind Harry, Fawkes the phoenix let out a low, soft, musical cry. To Harry’s intense embarrassment, he suddenly realized that Dumbledore’s bright blue eyes looked rather watery, and stared hastily at his own knees. When Dumbledore spoke, however, his voice was quite steady. ‘I am very touched, Harry.’‘So they still don’t know where you go?’ asked Harry, hoping for more information on this intriguing subject, but Dumbledore merely smiled over the top of his half-moon spectacles. ‘No, they don’t, and the time is not quite right for you to know, either. Now, I suggest we press on, unless there’s anything else –?’Q2 - Where does Dumbledore go?
Dumbledore listened to Harry’s story with an impassive face. When Harry had finished he did not speak for a few moments, then said, ‘Thank you for telling me this, Harry, but I suggest that you put it out of your mind. I do not think that it is of great importance.’ ‘Not of great importance?’ repeated Harry incredulously. ‘Professor, did you understand –?’ ‘Yes, Harry, blessed as I am with extraordinary brainpower, I understood everything you told me,’ said Dumbledore, a little sharply. ‘I think you might even consider the possibility that I understood more than you did. Again, I am glad that you have confided in me, but let me reassure you that you have not told me anything that causes me disquiet.’Q3 - Why doesn’t this bother Dumbledore?
I believe that it was then that he dropped the name for ever, assumed the identity of Lord Voldemort, and began his investigations into his previously despised mother’s family – the woman whom, you will remember, he had thought could not be a witch if she had succumbed to the shameful human weakness of death.‘We have no memories to show us this, but I think we can be fairly sure what happened. Voldemort Stupefied his uncle, took his wand, and proceeded across the valley to “the big house over the way”. There he murdered the Muggle man who had abandoned his witch mother, and, for good measure, his Muggle grandparents, thus obliterating the last of the unworthy Riddle line and revenging himself upon the father who never wanted him. Then he returned to the Gaunt hovel, performed the complex bit of magic that would implant a false memory in his uncle’s mind, laid Morfin’s wand beside its unconscious owner, pocketed the ancient ring he wore and departed.’They were a motley collection; a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish, gravitating towards a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty. In other words, they were the forerunners of the Death Eaters, and indeed some of them became the first Death Eaters after leaving Hogwarts.Q4 - What do you think about this memory and Voldermort’s power?
Dumbledore took from an inside pocket another crystal phial and Harry fell silent at once, remembering that Dumbledore had said it was the most important one he had collected. Harry noticed that the contents proved difficult to empty into the Pensieve, as though they had congealed slightly; did memories go off?Q5 - Do memories go bad?
As several of the boys tittered, something very odd happened. The whole room was suddenly filled with a thick white fog, so that Harry could see nothing but the face of Dumbledore, who was standing beside him. Then Slughorn’s voice rang out through the mist, unnaturally loudly: ‘– you’ll go wrong, boy, mark my words.’Q6 - What happened here?
‘Look sharp, Tom,’ said Slughorn, turning round and finding him still present. ‘You don’t want to be caught out of bed out of hours, and you a prefect …’ ‘Sir, I wanted to ask you something.’ ‘Ask away, then, m’boy, ask away …’ ‘Sir, I wondered what you know about … about Horcruxes?’ And it happened all over again: the dense fog filled the room so that Harry could not see Slughorn or Riddle at all; only Dumbledore, smiling serenely beside him. Then Slughorn’s voice boomed out again, just as it had done before. ‘I don’t know anything about Horcruxes and I wouldn’t tell you if I did! Now get out of here at once and don’t let me catch you mentioning them again!’Q7 - What are Horcruxes?
‘And so, for the first time, I am giving you homework, Harry. It will be your job to persuade Professor Slughorn to divulge the real memory, which will undoubtedly be our most crucial piece of information of all.’Q8 - What is going on here? Why is this important?
Chapter 18 - Birthday SurprisesQ1 - Do you think Dumbledore doesn’t know what Horcruxes are?
Harry dawdled behind, taking an inordinate amount of time to do up his bag. Neither Ron nor Hermione wished him luck as they left; both looked rather annoyed. At last Harry and Slughorn were the only two left in the room.Q2 - This obviously doesn’t work, but how do you think Harry will get the memory?
“of the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give direction”Q3 - What is this dark magic?
The second attempt was no better than the first. The third was just as bad. Not until the fourth did anything exciting happen. There was a horrible screech of pain and everybody looked around, terrified, to see Susan Bones of Hufflepuff wobbling in her hoop with her left leg still standing five feet away where she had started.Q4 - What would your preferred mode of wizard transportation be?
Q5 - Where is Malfoy going? Is he really going off campus?
‘Harry!’ said Ron suddenly. ‘What?’ ‘Harry, I can’t stand it!’ ‘You can’t stand what?’ asked Harry, now starting to feel definitely alarmed. Ron was rather pale and looked as though he was about to be sick. ‘I can’t stop thinking about her!’ said Ron hoarsely. Harry gaped at him. He had not expected this and was not sure he wanted to hear it. Friends they might be, but if Ron started calling Lavender ‘Lav-Lav’, he would have to put his foot down.Q6 - What do you think of the whole love potion thing?
Q7 - Can you imagine if Ron died here?
Chapter 19 - Elf Tales‘So, all in all, not one of Ron’s better birthdays?’ said Fred.Hermione gave an almost inaudible sniff. She had been exceptionally quiet all day. Having hurtled, white-faced, up to Harry outside the hospital wing and demanded to know what had happened, she had taken almost no part in Harry and Ginny’s obsessive discussion about how Ron had been poisoned, but merely stood beside them, clench-jawed and frightened-looking, until at last they had been allowed in to see him.Q1 - What is Hermione feeling?
Q2 - What is the deal with these two failed attempts at danger?
‘I dunno, Harry, I shouldn’ta heard it at all! I – well, I was comin’ outta the Forest the other evenin’ an’ I overheard ’em talkin’ – well, arguin’. Didn’t like ter draw attention to meself, so I sorta skulked an’ tried not ter listen, but it was a – well, a heated discussion, an’ it wasn’ easy ter block it out.’ ‘Well?’ Harry urged him, as Hagrid shuffled his enormous feet uneasily. ‘Well – I jus’ heard Snape sayin’ Dumbledore took too much fer granted an’ maybe he – Snape – didn’ wan’ ter do it any more –’ ‘Do what?’ ‘I dunno, Harry, it sounded like Snape was feelin’ a bit overworked, tha’s all – anyway, Dumbledore told him flat out he’d agreed ter do it an’ that was all there was to it. Pretty firm with him. An’ then he said summat abou’ Snape makin’ investigations in his house, in Slytherin. Well, there’s nothin’ strange abou’ that!’ Hagrid added hastily, as Harry and Hermione exchanged looks full of meaning. ‘All the Heads o’ House were asked ter look inter that necklace business –’Q3 - What is this conversation about?
Harry added, getting to his feet and picking up his Firebolt, ‘will you stop pretending to be asleep when Lavender comes to see you? She’s driving me mad as well.’ ‘Oh,’ said Ron, looking sheepish. ‘Yeah. All right.’ ‘If you don’t want to go out with her any more, just tell her,’ said Harry. ‘Yeah … well … it’s not that easy, is it?’ said Ron. He paused. ‘Hermione going to look in before the match?’ he added casually.He hurried down through the deserted corridors; the whole school was outside, either already seated in the stadium or heading down towards it. He was looking out of the windows he passed, trying to gauge how much wind they were facing, when a noise ahead made him glance up and he saw Malfoy walking towards him, accompanied by two girls, both of whom looked sulky and resentful.Q4 - What is Draco up to?
Q5 - How do you like Luna’s coverage of the match?
‘Dobby is a free house-elf and he can obey anyone he likes and Dobby will do whatever Harry Potter wants him to do!’ said Dobby, tears now streaming down his shriveled little face on to his jumper.Q6 - What do you think of Dobby now?
Chapter 20 - Lord Voldemort’s RequestHermione even escorted them down to breakfast, bringing with her the news that Ginny had argued with Dean. The drowsing creature in Harry’s chest suddenly raised its head, sniffing the air hopefully. ‘What did they row about?’ he asked, trying to sound casual as they turned into a seventh-floor corridor which was deserted but for a very small girl who had been examining a tapestry of trolls in tutus. She looked terrified at the sight of the approaching sixth-years and dropped the heavy brass scales she was carrying.Q1 - What does Secumsempra do?
Q2 - Why do people stay together if they are miserable?
‘I see,’ said Dumbledore eventually, peering at Harry over the top of his half-moon spectacles and giving Harry the usual sensation that he was being X-rayed.Q3 - Do you think Dumbledore is ever using Legilimency on Harry?
Q4 - Do you think that the pensieve itself holds ancient magic? Like does it sift through thoughts and give you a better analysis of them?
‘But now, Harry,’ said Dumbledore, ‘now things become murkier and stranger. If it was difficult to find evidence about the boy Riddle, it has been almost impossible to find anyone prepared to reminisce about the man Voldemort. In fact, I doubt whether there is a soul alive, apart from himself, who could give us a full account of his life since he left Hogwarts. ‘I wonder whether you know what it is, Tom? Pick it up, have a good look!’ whispered Hepzibah, and Voldemort stretched out a long-fingered hand and lifted the cup by one handle out of its snug silken wrappings. Harry thought he saw a red gleam in his dark eyes. His greedy expression was curiously mirrored on Hepzibah’s face, except that her tiny eyes were fixed upon Voldemort’s handsome features. ‘A badger,’ murmured Voldemort, examining the engraving upon the cup. ‘Then this was …?’ ‘Helga Hufflepuff’s, as you very well know, you clever boy!’ said Hepzibah, leaning forwards with a loud creaking of corsets and actually pinching his hollow cheek. ‘Didn’t I tell you I was distantly des- cended? This has been handed down in the family for years and years. Lovely, isn’t it? And all sorts of powers it’s supposed to possess, too, but I haven’t tested them thoroughly, I just keep it nice and safe in here …’Q5 - What power do magical objects possess?
‘That’s right!’ said Hepzibah, delighted, apparently, at the sight of Voldemort gazing at her locket, transfixed. ‘I had to pay an arm and a leg for it, but I couldn’t let it pass, not a real treasure like that, had to have it for my collection. Burke bought it, apparently, from a ragged-looking woman who seemed to have stolen it, but had no idea of its true value –’ There was no mistaking it this time: Voldemort’s eyes flashed scarlet at her words and Harry saw his knuckles whiten on the locket’s chain.‘Time to leave, Harry,’ said Dumbledore quietly, and as the little elf bobbed away bearing the boxes, Dumbledore grasped Harry once again above the elbow and together they rose up through oblivion and back to Dumbledore’s office. ‘Hepzibah Smith died two days after that little scene,’ said Dumbledore, resuming his seat and indicating that Harry should do the same. ‘Hokey the house-elf was convicted by the Ministry of poisoning her mistress’s evening cocoa by accident.’Q6 - Why is he collecting these objects?
Q7 - Is there anything else in the Hepzibah memory that seems odd to you?
‘So, Tom … to what do I owe the pleasure?’ Voldemort did not answer at once, but merely sipped his wine. ‘They do not call me “Tom” any more,’ he said. ‘These days, I am known as –’ ‘I know what you are known as,’ said Dumbledore, smiling pleasantly. ‘But to me, I’m afraid, you will always be Tom Riddle. It is one of the irritating things about old teachers, I am afraid, that they never quite forget their charges’ youthful beginnings.’Q8 - Why is calling him Tom such a flex?
I have come to you to ask that you permit me to return to this castle, to teach. I think you must know that I have seen and done much since I left this place. I could show and tell your students things they can gain from no other wizard.’ Dumbledore considered Voldemort over the top of his own goblet for a while before speaking. ‘Yes, I certainly do know that you have seen and done much since leaving us,’ he said quietly. ‘Rumors of your doings have reached your old school, Tom. I should be sorry to believe half of them.’ Voldemort’s expression remained impassive as he said, ‘Greatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. You must know this, Dumbledore.’ ‘You call it “greatness”, what you have been doing, do you?’ asked Dumbledore delicately. ‘Certainly,’ said Voldemort, and his eyes seemed to burn red. ‘I have experimented; I have pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, than they have ever been pushed –’ ‘Of some kinds of magic,’ Dumbledore corrected him quietly. ‘Of some. Of others, you remain … forgive me … woefully ignorant.’Q9 - What is he talking about here?
Q10 - What is the magical power of love?
‘I am surprised you have remained here so long,’ said Voldemort after a short pause. ‘I always wondered why a wizard such as yourself never wished to leave school.’Q11 - Does Tom have a point…why would Dumbledore stay on as headmaster and not anything greater?
Dumbledore set down his empty glass and drew himself up in his seat, the tips of his fingers together in a very characteristic gesture. ‘… let us speak openly. Why have you come here tonight, surrounded by henchmen, to request a job we both know you do not want?’ Voldemort looked coldly surprised. ‘A job I do not want? On the contrary, Dumbledore, I want it very much.’ ‘Oh, you want to come back to Hogwarts, but you do not want to teach any more than you wanted to when you were eighteen. What is it you’re after, Tom? Why not try an open request for once?’Q12 - What is he coming back to the school for?
‘The time is long gone when I could frighten you with a burning wardrobe and force you to make repayment for your crimes. But I wish I could, Tom … I wish I could …’Q13 - What do you think of this memory?
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Chapter 13 - The Secret Riddle‘Ah,’ said Dumbledore, ‘perhaps she could. But it is my belief – I am guessing again, but I am sure I am right – that when her husband abandoned her, Merope stopped using magic. I do not think that she wanted to be a witch any longer. Of course, it is also possible that her unrequited love and the attendant despair sapped her of her powers; that can happen. In any case, as you are about to see, Merope refused to raise her wand even to save her own life.’‘She wouldn’t even stay alive for her son?’ Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. ‘Could you possibly be feeling sorry for Lord Voldemort?’ ‘No,’ said Harry quickly, ‘but she had a choice, didn’t she, not like my mother –’ ‘Your mother had a choice, too,’ said Dumbledore gently. ‘Yes, Merope Riddle chose death in spite of a son who needed her, but do not judge her too harshly, Harry. She was greatly weakened by long suffering and she never had your mother’s courage. And now, if you will stand …’
Q1 - What does Dumbledore mean that Lily had a choice?
Q2 - It mentions that Dumbledore’s hair was Auburn…is he a Weasley?
And then –’ Mrs Cole took another swig of gin, slopping a little over her chin this time, ‘on the summer outing – we take them out, you know, once a year, to the countryside or to the seaside – well, Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop were never quite right afterwards, and all we ever got out of them was that they’d gone into a cave with Tom Riddle. He swore they’d just gone exploring, but something happened in there, I’m sure of it. And, well, there have been a lot of things, funny things …’Q3 - Should Dumbledore have denied entrance for Tom knowing these things?
‘I don’t believe you,’ said Riddle. ‘She wants me looked at, doesn’t she? Tell the truth!’ He spoke the last three words with a ringing force that was almost shocking. It was a command, and it sounded as though he had given it many times before. His eyes had widened and he was glaring at Dumbledore, who made no response except to continue smiling pleasantly. After a few seconds Riddle stopped glaring, though he looked, if anything, warier still.‘I can make things move without touching them. I can make animals do what I want them to do, without training them. I can make bad things happen to people who annoy me. I can make them hurt if I want to.’Q4 - Is it alarming that he is this advanced in magic already?
‘I knew I was different,’ he whispered to his own quivering fingers. ‘I knew I was special. Always, I knew there was something.’Q5 - What do you think of Tom and Dumbledore’s interaction?
‘He believed it much quicker than I did – I mean, when you told him he was a wizard,’ said Harry. ‘I didn’t believe Hagrid at first, when he told me.’Q6 - What’s the difference in Harry and Tom?
‘Did you know – then?’ asked Harry. ‘Did I know that I had just met the most dangerous Dark wizard of all time?’ said Dumbledore. ‘No, I had no idea that he was to grow up to be what he is. However, I was certainly intrigued by him. I returned to Hogwarts intending to keep an eye upon him, something I should have done in any case, given that he was alone and friendless, but which, already, I felt I ought to do for others’ sake as much as his.‘Firstly, I hope you noticed Riddle’s reaction when I mentioned that another shared his first name, “Tom”?’ Harry nodded. ‘There he showed his contempt for anything that tied him to other people, anything that made him ordinary. Even then, he wished to be different, separate, notorious. He shed his name, as you know, within a few short years of that conversation and created the mask of “Lord Voldemort” behind which he has been hidden for so long.‘I trust that you also noticed that Tom Riddle was already highly self-sufficient, secretive and, apparently, friendless? He did not want help or companionship on his trip to Diagon Alley. He preferred to operate alone. The adult Voldemort is the same. You will hear many of his Death Eaters claiming that they are in his confidence, that they alone are close to him, even understand him. They are deluded. Lord Voldemort has never had a friend, nor do I believe that he has ever wanted one‘And lastly – I hope you are not too sleepy to pay attention to this, Harry – the young Tom Riddle liked to collect trophies. You saw the box of stolen articles he had hidden in his room. These were taken from victims of his bullying behavior, souvenirs, if you will, of particularly unpleasant bits of magic. Bear in mind this magpie-like tendency, for this, particularly, will be important later.Q7 - Why is this important?
Q8 - What happened to the ring?
Chapter 14 - Felix Felicis‘But I still don’t get why Dumbledore’s showing you all this. I mean, it’s really interesting and everything, but what’s the point?’ ‘Dunno,’ said Harry, inserting a gum shield. ‘But he says it’s all important and it’ll help me survive.’Q1 - Why is Dumbledore showing him all this?
‘“Slug Club”,’ repeated Ron with a sneer worthy of Malfoy. ‘It’s pathetic. Well, I hope you enjoy your party. Why don’t you try getting off with McLaggen, then Slughorn can make you King and Queen Slug –’ ‘We’re allowed to bring guests,’ said Hermione, who for some reason had turned a bright, boiling scarlet, ‘and I was going to ask you to come, but if you think it’s that stupid then I won’t bother!’Q2 - Is Ron being stupid?
Q3 - Is Harry an idiot for interrupting their communication session?
When Harry pushed open the tapestry to take their usual short cut up to Gryffindor Tower, however, they found themselves looking at Dean and Ginny, who were locked in a close embrace and kissing fiercely as if glued together. It was as though something large and scaly erupted into life in Harry’s stomach, clawing at his insides: hot blood seemed to flood his brain, so that all thought was extinguished, replaced by a savage urge to jinx Dean into a jelly.Q4 - Have you experienced the large scaly thing in your stomach?
‘You go!’ said Ginny. ‘I want a word with my dear brother!’ Dean left, looking as though he was not sorry to depart the scene. ‘Right,’ said Ginny, tossing her long red hair out of her face and glaring at Ron, ‘let’s get this straight once and for all. It is none of your business who I go out with or what I do with them, Ron –’ ‘Yeah, it is!’ said Ron, just as angrily. ‘D’you think I want people saying my sister’s a –’ ‘A what?’ shouted Ginny, drawing her wand. ‘A what, exactly?’ ‘He doesn’t mean anything, Ginny –’ said Harry automatically, though the monster was roaring its approval of Ron’s words.Q5 - What was Ron going to call her?
‘Been kissing Pigwidgeon, have you? Or have you got a picture of Auntie Muriel stashed under your pillow?’Q6 - Is Ginny a savage?
They hurried up the stairs and along a seventh-floor corridor. ‘Oi, out of the way!’ Ron barked at a small girl who jumped in fright and dropped a bottle of toad-spawn. Harry hardly noticed the sound of shattering glass; he felt disorientated, dizzy; being struck by a lightning bolt must be something like this. It’s just because she’s Ron’s sister, he told himself. You just didn’t like seeing her kissing Dean because she’s Ron’s sister …Q7 - Harry loves Ginny, right?
It seemed as though Gryffindor could do no wrong. Again and again they scored, and again and again, at the other end of the pitch, Ron saved goals with apparent ease. He was actually smiling now, and when the crowd greeted a particularly good save with a rousing chorus of the old favorite Weasley is our King, he pretended to conduct them from on high.Q8 - What was your favorite sports moment that made you feel like Ron?
‘I didn’t put it in!’ said Harry, now grinning broadly. He slipped his hand inside his jacket pocket and drew out the tiny bottle that Hermione had seen in his hand that morning. It was full of golden potion and the cork was still tightly sealed with wax. ‘I wanted Ron to think I’d done it, so I faked it when I knew you were looking.’ He looked at Ron. ‘You saved everything because you felt lucky. You did it all yourself.’Q9 - Is Liquid Luck a placebo?
Q10 - What’s the deal with Ron and Hermione?
Chapter 15 - The Unbreakable VowHarry had to put up with the frequent presence of Lavender Brown, who seemed to regard any moment that she was not kissing Ron as a moment wasted.‘She can’t complain,’ he told Harry. ‘She snogged Krum. So she’s found out someone wants to snog me, too. Well, it’s a free country. I haven’t done anything wrong.’‘I never promised Hermione anything,’ Ron mumbled. ‘I mean, all right, I was going to go to Slughorn’s Christmas party with her, but she never said … just as friends … I’m a free agent …’Q1 - What will the outcome of this be between the two?
‘There isn’t anyone I want to invite,’ mumbled Harry, who was still trying not to think about Ginny any more than he could help, despite the fact that she kept cropping up in his dreams in ways that made him devoutly thankful that Ron could not perform Legilimency.Q2 - What is Harry dreaming about?
Q3 - What’s your favorite prom/dance story?
Q4 - Hermione mentions that love potions aren’t dark…is she right?
‘The library is now closed,’ she said. ‘Mind you return anything you have borrowed to the correct – what have you been doing to that book, you depraved boy?’ ‘It isn’t the library’s, it’s mine!’ said Harry hastily, snatching his copy of Advanced Potion-Making off the table as she lunged at it with a clawlike hand. ‘Despoiled!’ she hissed. ‘Desecrated! Befouled!’ ‘It’s just a book that’s been written in!’ said Harry, tugging it out of her grip. She looked as though she might have a seizure; Hermione, who had hastily packed her things, grabbed Harry by the arm and frogmarched him away.Q5 - Do you write in books?
Q6 - Harry mentions there might be something going on between Pince and Filch. Is that possible?
‘She’s a bit upset,’ said Luna. ‘I thought at first it was Moaning Myrtle in there, but it turned out to be Hermione. She said something about that Ron Weasley …’ ‘Yeah, they’ve had a row,’ said Harry. ‘He says very funny things sometimes, doesn’t he?’ said Luna, as they set off down the corridor together. ‘But he can be a bit unkind. I noticed that last year.’Q7 - Is Ron unkind?
‘Hi, Harry,’ said Parvati who, like him, looked faintly embarrassed and bored by the behavior of their two friends. ‘Hi,’ said Harry. ‘How’re you? You’re staying at Hogwarts, then? I heard your parents wanted you to leave.’ ‘I managed to talk them out of it for the time being,’ said Parvati. ‘That Katie thing really freaked them out, but as there hasn’t been anything since … oh, hi, Hermione!’Q8 - Let’s rehash what has happened at Hogwarts…
There was a noise like a plunger being withdrawn from a blocked sink and Ron surfaced.Q9 - Is Hermione kinda a low-key it girl?
Ron looked strangely blank and said nothing. Harry was left to ponder in silence the depths to which girls would sink to get revenge.Q10 - Is Rufus Scrimgeor a vampire?
Q11 - Are Slughorn’s parties good parties?
Q12 - Should Harry have a biography written about him?
‘Harry Potter!’ said Professor Trelawney in deep, vibrant tones, noticing him for the first time. ‘Oh, hello,’ said Harry unenthusiastically. ‘My dear boy!’ she said in a very carrying whisper. ‘The rumors! The stories! The Chosen One! Of course, I have known for a very long time … the omens were never good, Harry … but why have you not returned to Divination? For you, of all people, the subject is of the utmost importance!’Q13 - Should Harry have taken divination this year?
‘Remind me what other subjects you’re taking, Harry?’ asked Slughorn. ‘Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology …’ ‘All the subjects required, in short, for an Auror,’ said Snape, with the faintest sneer. ‘Yeah, well, that’s what I’d like to be,’ said Harry defiantly. ‘And a great one you’ll make, too!’ boomed Slughorn. ‘I don’t think you should be an Auror, Harry,’ said Luna unexpectedly. Everybody looked at her. ‘The Aurors are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy, I thought everyone knew that. They’re working from within to bring down the Ministry of Magic using a combination of Dark magic and gum disease.’Filch’s expression of outraged disappointment was perfectly predictable; but why, Harry wondered, watching him, did Malfoy look almost equally unhappy? And why was Snape looking at Malfoy as though both angry and … was it possible? … a little afraid?Q14 - Why is Snape afraid?
‘Who suspects me?’ said Malfoy angrily. ‘For the last time, I didn’t do it, OK? That Bell girl must’ve had an enemy no one knows about – don’t look at me like that! I know what you’re doing, I’m not stupid, but it won’t work – I can stop you!’ There was a pause and then Snape said quietly, ‘Ah … Aunt Bellatrix has been teaching you Occlumency, I see. What thoughts are you trying to conceal from your master, Draco?’Q15 - Is it shocking to know that Draco has learned Occlumency?
Q16 - Who is his master?
‘Looks like you’ll have to break it, then, because I don’t need your protection! It’s my job, he gave it to me and I’m doing it. I’ve got a plan and it’s going to work, it’s just taking a bit longer than I thought it would!’Q17 - What is going on?
Chapter 16 - A Very Frosty Christmas‘An Unbreakable Vow?’ said Ron, looking stunned. ‘Nah, he can’t have … are you sure?’ ‘Yes, I’m sure,’ said Harry. ‘Why, what does it mean?’ ‘Well, you can’t break an Unbreakable Vow …’ ‘I’d worked that much out for myself, funnily enough. What happens if you break it, then?’ ‘You die,’ said Ron simply. ‘Fred and George tried to get me to make one when I was about five. I nearly did, too, I was holding hands with Fred and everything when Dad found us. He went mental,’ said Ron, with a reminiscent gleam in his eyes. ‘Only time I’ve ever seen Dad as angry as Mum. Fred reckons his left buttock has never been the same since.’Q1 - Thoughts on Fred and George wooing muggle women with magic tricks?
There was silence for a moment or two, then Ron said, ‘Course, you know what they’ll all say? Dad and Dumbledore and all of them? They’ll say Snape isn’t really trying to help Malfoy, he was just trying to find out what Malfoy’s up to.’ ‘They didn’t hear him,’ said Harry flatly. ‘No one’s that good an actor, not even Snape.’ ‘Yeah … I’m just saying, though,’ said Ron. Harry turned to face him, frowning. ‘You think I’m right, though?’ ‘Yeah, I do!’ said Ron hastily. ‘Seriously, I do! But they’re all convinced Snape’s in the Order, aren’t they?’Q2 - Do we trust Snape?
‘You are determined to hate him, Harry,’ said Lupin with a faint smile. ‘And I understand; with James as your father, with Sirius as your godfather, you have inherited an old prejudice.Q3 - Do you think this is true?
Q4 - What do you think of Lupin’s background and being bitten by Greyback?
Everybody was wearing new sweaters when they all sat down for Christmas lunch, everyone except Fleur (on whom, it appeared, Mrs Weasley had not wanted to waste one) and Mrs Weasley herself, who was sporting a brand new midnight-blue witch’s hat glittering with what looked like tiny starlike diamonds, and a spectacular golden necklace.Q5 - Is Fleur that unbearable?
She gave Lupin an annoyed look, as though it was all his fault she was getting Fleur for a daughter-in-law instead of Tonks, but Harry, glancing across at Fleur, who was now feeding Bill bits of turkey off her own fork, thought that Mrs Weasley was fighting a long-lost battle. He was, however, reminded of a question he had with regard to Tonks, and who better to ask than Lupin, the man who knew all about Patronuses? ‘Tonks’s Patronus has changed its form,’ he told him. ‘Snape said so, anyway. I didn’t know that could happen. Why would your Patronus change?’ Lupin took his time chewing his turkey and swallowing before saying slowly, ‘Sometimes … a great shock … an emotional upheaval …’ ‘It looked big, and it had four legs,’ said Harry, struck by a sudden thought and lowering his voice. ‘Hey … it couldn’t be –?’Q6 - What was Tonk’s new patronus form?
Q7 - What do you think of Scrimgeor and his proposal?
Q8 - HOW is Umbridge still working at the ministry?
‘I don’t want to be used,’ said Harry. ‘Some would say it’s your duty to be used by the Ministry!’You don’t care whether I live or die, but you do care that I help you convince everyone you’re winning the war against Voldemort. I haven’t forgotten, Minister …’ He raised his right fist. There, shining white on the back of his cold hand, were the scars which Dolores Umbridge had forced him to carve into his own flesh: I must not tell lies.Q9 - Is Harry right or wrong?
‘Well, it is clear to me that he has done a very good job on you,’ said Scrimgeour, his eyes cold and hard behind his wire-rimmed glasses. ‘Dumbledore’s man through and through, aren’t you, Potter?’ ‘Yeah, I am,’ said Harry. ‘Glad we straightened that out.’ -
Chapter 9 - The Half-Blood PrinceHermione’s remonstration was drowned by a loud giggle; Lavender Brown had apparently found Ron’s remark highly amusing. She continued to laugh as she passed them, glancing back at Ron over her shoulder. Ron looked rather pleased with himself.
Q1 - Does Lavender like Ron?
‘Humph,’ snorted Professor McGonagall. ‘It’s high time your grandmother learned to be proud of the grandson she’s got, rather than the one she thinks she ought to have – particularly after what happened at the Ministry.’Q2 - Do you ever think McGonagall could go bad?
Q3 - Do you think Gryffindor will win the Quidditch Cup this year?
Snape set off around the edge of the room, speaking now in a lower voice; the class craned their necks to keep him in view. ‘The Dark Arts,’ said Snape, ‘are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible.’ Harry stared at Snape. It was surely one thing to respect the Dark Arts as a dangerous enemy, another to speak of them, as Snape was doing, with a loving caress in his voice?His Shield Charm was so strong Snape was knocked off-balance and hit a desk. The whole class had looked round and now watched as Snape righted himself, scowling. ‘Do you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?’ ‘Yes,’ said Harry stiffly. ‘Yes sir.’ ‘There’s no need to call me “sir”, Professor.’Q4 - Do you view Harry as a better wizard than Snape?
This left Harry, Ron and Hermione to share a table with Ernie. They chose the one nearest a gold-coloured cauldron that was emitting one of the most seductive scents Harry had ever inhaled: somehow it reminded him simultaneously of treacle tart, the woody smell of a broomstick handle and something flowery he thought he might have smelled at The Burrow. He found that he was breathing very slowly and deeply and that the potion’s fumes seemed to be filling him up like drink. A great contentment stole over him; he grinned across at Ron, who grinned lazily back.Q5 - What do you think of the Amortentia?
It’s supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us, and I can smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and –’ But she turned slightly pink and did not complete the sentence.Q6 - What is the last smell Hermione smells?
‘No, I don’t think so, sir. I’m Muggle-born, you see.’ Harry saw Malfoy lean close to Nott and whisper something; both of them sniggered, but Slughorn showed no dismay; on the contrary, he beamed and looked from Hermione to Harry, who was sitting next to her. ‘Oho! “One of my best friends is Muggle-born and she’s the best in our year!” I’m assuming this is the very friend of whom you spoke, Harry?’ ‘Yes, sir,’ said Harry. ‘Well, well, take twenty well-earned points for Gryffindor, Miss Granger,’ said Slughorn genially.Q7 - Is Slughorn growing on you?
‘Amortentia doesn’t really create love, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. It is probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this room – oh yes,’ he said, nodding gravely at Malfoy and Nott, both of whom were smirking skeptically. ‘When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love …Q8 - What do you think of this line?
Q9 - What do you think of Liquid Luck?
Q10 - What is a time when you beat everyone in class at something?
‘The clear winner!’ he cried to the dungeon. ‘Excellent, excellent, Harry! Good Lord, it’s clear you’ve inherited your mother’s talent, she was a dab hand at Potions, Lily was! Here you are, then, here you are – one bottle of Felix Felicis, as promised, and use it well!’Nobody else was looking. Harry bent low to retrieve the book and, as he did so, he saw something scribbled along the bottom of the back cover in the same small, cramped handwriting as the instructions that had won him his bottle of Felix Felicis, now safely hidden inside a pair of socks in his trunk upstairs. This Book is the Property of the Half-Blood PrinceQ11 - Who is the Half-Blood Prince?
Chapter 10 - The House of GauntQ1 - Should Harry be following the book's advice?
Q2 - What do you think of Snape and Slughorn in their roles?
‘Well, I have decided that it is time, now that you know what prompted Lord Voldemort to try and kill you fifteen years ago, for you to be given certain information.’Q3 - Jenn, did your heart rate go up here?
‘I told you everything I know. From this point forth, we shall be leaving the firm foundation of fact and journeying together through the murky marshes of memory into thickets of wildest guesswork. From hereon in, Harry, I may be as woefully wrong as Humphrey Belcher, who believed the time was ripe for a cheese cauldron.’Q4 - Where have you seen Little Hangleton before?
There was a scuffling noise in the corner beside the open window and Harry realized that there was somebody else in the room, a girl whose ragged gray dress was the exact color of the dirty stone wall behind her. She was standing beside a steaming pot on a grimy black stove, and was fiddling around with the shelf of squalid-looking pots and pans above it. Her hair was lank and dull and she had a plain, pale, rather heavy face. Her eyes, like her brother’s, stared in opposite directions. She looked a little cleaner than the two men, but Harry thought he had never seen a more defeated-looking person.Q5 - What do you think of Merope and Morfin?
Q6 - Is a Squib made from abuse?
Q7 - What do you think of Tom Riddle’s origin story?
‘Sir … is it important to know all this about Voldemort’s past?’ ‘Very important, I think,’ said Dumbledore. ‘And it … it’s got something to do with the prophecy?’ ‘It has everything to do with the prophecy.’Q8 - Why is this important?
Q9 - What is the ring and what happened to Dumbledore’s hand?
Chapter 11 - Hermione’s Helping HandNon-verbal spells were now expected, not only in Defence Against the Dark Arts, but in Charms and Transfiguration too. Harry frequently looked over at his classmates in the common room or at mealtimes to see them purple in the face and straining as though they had overdosed on U-No-Poo.‘We’ve got to go and explain,’ said Hermione, looking up at Hagrid’s huge empty chair at the staff table the following Saturday at breakfast. ‘We’ve got Quidditch tryouts this morning!’ said Ron. ‘And we’re supposed to be practicing that Aguamenti charm for Flitwick! Anyway, explain what? How are we going to tell him we hated his stupid subject?’Q1 - What is the Aguamenti charm?
Q2 - Is Hagrid childish for this?
‘Oh, come on, Harry,’ said Hermione, suddenly impatient. ‘It’s not Quidditch that’s popular, it’s you! You’ve never been more interesting and, frankly, you’ve never been more fanciable.’ Ron gagged on a large piece of kipper. Hermione spared him one look of disdain before turning back to Harry.Q3 - Why is Ron gagging?
Q4 - Harry mentioned he hoped Lupin would write…why doesn’t Lupin write?
Q5 - Do you think Stan Shunpike is a Death Eater?
‘People are terrified – you know the Patil twins’ parents want them to go home? And Eloise Midgeon has already been withdrawn. Her father picked her up last night.’Q6 - If you had kids, would you take them out of Hogwarts?
Q7 - Dumbledore is gone missing a lot…what is he doing?
Q8 - How do you think this years Gryffindor quidditch team looks?
Q9 - What do you think about Hermione confounding Cormac?
‘But how can he have done, Harry?’ said Hermione, putting down the newspaper with a surprised look. ‘We were all searched when we arrived, weren’t we?’ ‘Were you?’ said Harry, taken aback. ‘I wasn’t!’ ‘Oh no, of course you weren’t, I forgot you were late … well, Filch ran over all of us with Secrecy Sensors when we got into the Entrance Hall. Any Dark object would have been found, I know for a fact Crabbe had a shrunken head confiscated. So you see, Malfoy can’t have brought in anything dangerous!’Q10 - What was this Shrunken head? And did Malfoy sneak anything in?
Q11 - What’s the best party you’ve ever been to?
Chapter 12 - Silver and OpalsWhere was Dumbledore and what was he doing?Q1 - Where was Dumbledore and what was he doing?
Q2 - Is the Half-Blood Prince a dark person?
Harry rather doubted he would be able to bring off this particular spell; he was still having difficulty with non-verbal spells, something Snape had been quick to comment on in every DADA class. On the other hand, the Prince had proved a much more effective teacher than Snape so far.Q3 - Do you think Snape really is a good teacher and Harry is just blinded?
Q4 - Is Harry dumb to be practicing these spells on his friends?
Q5 - Harry thinks that the Prince could be his dad, do you think he’s right?
Harry had pinned Mundungus against the wall of the pub by the throat. Holding him fast with one hand, he pulled out his wand. ‘Harry!’ squealed Hermione. ‘You took that from Sirius’s house,’ said Harry, who was almost nose-to-nose with Mundungus and was breathing in an unpleasant smell of old tobacco and spirits. ‘That had the Black family crest on it.’Q6 - What is Mundungus stealing from the Black house?
At once, Katie rose into the air, not as Ron had done, suspended comically by the ankle, but gracefully, her arms outstretched, as though she were about to fly. Yet there was something wrong, something eerie … her hair was whipped around her by the fierce wind, but her eyes were closed and her face was quite empty of expression. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Leanne had all halted in their tracks, watching. Then, six feet above the ground, Katie let out a terrible scream. Her eyes flew open but whatever she could see, or whatever she was feeling, was clearly causing her terrible anguish. She screamed and screamed; Leanne started to scream too, and seized Katie’s ankles, trying to tug her back to the ground. Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed forwards to help, but even as they grabbed Katie’s legs, she fell on top of them; Harry and Ron managed to catch her but she was writhing so much they could hardly hold her. Instead they lowered her to the ground where she thrashed and screamed, apparently unable to recognise any of them.Q7 - What kind of magic is this?
Q8 - What’s the worst amount of pain you’ve ever been in?
Q9 - Why would someone want to curse an object? What else do you think you could do with objects in the wizarding world?
Q10 - Who gave Katie the necklace and where was Katie delivering it?
-
Chapter 5 - An Excess of Phlegm
Q1 - Tonks seems really sad and out of it at the beginning of this chapter…why?
‘What do you like me to call you when we’re alone together?’ Even by the dim light of the lantern Harry could tell that Mrs Weasley had turned bright red; he himself felt suddenly warm around the ears and neck, and hastily gulped soup, clattering his spoon as loudly as he could against the bowl. ‘Mollywobbles,’ whispered a mortified Mrs Weasley into the crack at the edge of the door. ‘Correct,’ said Mr Weasley. ‘Now you can let me in.’Q2 - What do you think of Mollywobbles?
Mrs Weasley made a noise that sounded like ‘tchah!’ ‘Mum hates her,’ said Ginny quietly. ‘I do not hate her!’ said Mrs Weasley in a cross whisper. ‘I just think they’ve hurried into this engagement, that’s all!’ ‘They’ve known each other a year,’ said Ron, who looked oddly groggy and was staring at the closed door. ‘Well, that’s not very long! I know why it’s happened, of course.Q3 - What do you think of Fleur coming back into the story?
‘Nobody knows what it said, though,’ said Hermione quickly. ‘It got smashed.’ ‘Although the Prophet says –’ began Ron, but Hermione said, ‘Shh!’ ‘The Prophet’s got it right,’ said Harry, looking up at them both with a great effort: Hermione seemed frightened and Ron amazed. ‘That glass ball that smashed wasn’t the only record of the prophecy. I heard the whole thing in Dumbledore’s office, he was the one the prophecy was made to, so he could tell me. From what it said,’ Harry took a deep breath, ‘it looks like I’m the one who’s got to finish off Voldemort … at least, it said neither of us could live while the other survives.’ The three of them gazed at each other in silence for a moment.Q4 - What do you think of Harry telling Ron and Hermione the prophecy?
Harry did not really listen. A warmth was spreading through him that had nothing to do with the sunlight; a tight obstruction in his chest seemed to be dissolving. He knew that Ron and Hermione were more shocked than they were letting on, but the mere fact that they were still there on either side of him, speaking bracing words of comfort, not shrinking from him as though he were contaminated or dangerous, was worth more than he could ever tell them.Q5 - Why do you think Harry is feeling this?
Q6 - What do you think of Harry’s OWL results?
Q7 - Do you remember what you got on your SATs?
Harry looked back down at his results. They were as good as he could have hoped for. He felt just one tiny twinge of regret … this was the end of his ambition to become an Auror. He had not secured the required Potions grade. He had known all along that he wouldn’t, but he still felt a sinking in his stomach as he looked again at that small black ‘E’.Q8 - So Harry can’t become an Auror, what career path will he go down now?
Chapter 6 - Draco’s DetourHe spent most of his days playing two-a-side Quidditch in the Weasleys’ orchard (he and Hermione against Ron and Ginny; Hermione was dreadful and Ginny good, so they were reasonably well-matched).Q1 - How much does Ron suck at Quidditch?
‘And they’ve found Igor Karkaroff’s body in a shack up north. The Dark Mark had been set over it – well, frankly, I’m surprised he stayed alive for even a year after deserting the Death Eaters; Sirius’s brother Regulus only managed a few days as far as I can remember.’Q2 - What do you think about Igor Karkaroff being dead?
Q3 - What do you think of Ollivander being gone?
Q4 - How is Bill able to take money out of Harry’s vault?
‘I see that being Dumbledore’s favorite has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter. But Dumbledore won’t always be there to protect you.’ Harry looked mockingly all around the shop. ‘Wow … look at that … he’s not here now! So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!’Q5 - Is Harry smart to instigate this?
Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who? You SHOULD Be Worrying About U-NO-POO – the Constipation Sensation That’s Gripping the Nation!‘“Patented Daydream Charms …”’ Hermione had managed to squeeze through to a large display near the counter and was reading the information on the back of a box bearing a highly coloured picture of a handsome youth and a swooning girl who were standing on the deck of a pirate ship. ‘“One simple incantation and you will enter a top-quality, highly realistic thirty-minute daydream, easy to fit into the average school lesson and virtually undetectable (side-effects include vacant expression and minor drooling). Not for sale to under-sixteens.” You know,’ said Hermione, looking up at Harry, ‘that really is extraordinary magic!’ ‘For that, Hermione,’ said a voice behind them, ‘you can have one for free.’Q6 - How brilliant is the joke shop?
Q7 - What is their best invention: Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, Decoy Detonators, or Shield Hats?
They had drawn level with the only shop in Knockturn Alley that Harry had ever visited: Borgin and Burkes, which sold a wide variety of sinister objects. There in the midst of the cases full of skulls and old bottles stood Draco Malfoy with his back to them, just visible beyond the very same large black cabinet in which Harry had once hidden to avoid Malfoy and his father. Judging by the movements of Malfoy’s hands he was talking animatedly. The proprietor of the shop, Mr Borgin, an oily-haired, stooping man, stood facing Malfoy. He was wearing a curious expression of mingled resentment and fear…‘… you know how to fix it?’ ‘Possibly,’ said Borgin, in a tone that suggested he was unwilling to commit himself. ‘I’ll need to see it, though. Why don’t you bring it into the shop?’ ‘I can’t,’ said Malfoy. ‘It’s got to stay put. I just need you to tell me how to do it.’Q8 - What is Draco trying to mend?
‘No?’ said Malfoy and Harry knew, just by his tone, that Malfoy was sneering. ‘Perhaps this will make you more confident.’ He moved towards Borgin and was blocked from view by the cabinet. Harry, Ron and Hermione shuffled sideways to try and keep him in sight, but all they could see was Borgin, looking very frightened.Q9 - What did Draco show him?
Chapter 7 - The Slug Club‘Malfoy, revenge? What can he do about it?’ ‘That’s my point, I don’t know!’ said Harry, frustrated. ‘But he’s up to something and I think we should take it seriously. His father’s a Death Eater and –’ Harry broke off, his eyes fixed on the window behind Hermione, his mouth open. A startling thought had just occurred to him. ‘Harry?’ said Hermione in an anxious voice. ‘What’s wrong?’ ‘Your scar’s not hurting again, is it?’ asked Ron nervously. ‘He’s a Death Eater,’ said Harry slowly. ‘He’s replaced his father as a Death Eater!’Q1 - You think Harry is right about Draco being a Death Eater?
‘Au revoir, ’Arry,’ said Fleur throatily, kissing him goodbye. Ron hurried forwards, looking hopeful, but Ginny stuck out her foot and Ron fell, sprawling in the dust at Fleur’s feet. Furious, red-faced and dirt-spattered, he hurried into the car without saying goodbye.Q2 - Is Ginny becoming a mean girl?
‘They’re staring at you because you were at the Ministry, too,’ said Harry, as he hoisted his trunk into the luggage rack. ‘Our little adventure there was all over the Daily Prophet, you must’ve seen it.’ ‘Yes, I thought Gran would be angry about all the publicity,’ said Neville, ‘but she was really pleased. Says I’m starting to live up to my dad at long last. She bought me a new wand, look!’ He pulled it out and showed it to Harry. ‘Cherry and unicorn hair,’ he said proudly. ‘We think it was one of the last Ollivander ever sold, he vanished next day – oi, come back here, Trevor!’Q3 - Is Neville going to be better or worse now that he has a new wand?
Q4 - Why did Draco forgo his role as Prefect?
Every now and then students would hurtle out of their compartments to get a better look at him. The exception was Cho Chang, who darted into her compartment when she saw Harry coming. As Harry passed the window he saw her deep in determined conversation with her friend Marietta, who was wearing a very thick layer of makeup that did not entirely obscure the odd formation of pimples still etched across her face. Smirking slightly, Harry pushed on.Q5 - Does Marietta deserve this?
Q6 - What do you think about Slughorn’s little club?
Q7 - Is Draco dating Pansy Parkinson?
Malfoy yawned ostentatiously. ‘I mean, I might not even be at Hogwarts next year, what’s it matter to me if some fat old has-been likes me or not?’ ‘What do you mean, you might not be at Hogwarts next year?’ said Pansy indignantly, ceasing grooming Malfoy at once. ‘Well, you never know,’ said Malfoy with the ghost of a smirk. ‘I might have – er – moved on to bigger and better things.’Q8 - What do you think he means by this?
‘I thought so,’ he said jubilantly. ‘I heard Goyle’s trunk hit you. And I thought I saw something white flash through the air after Zabini came back …’ His eyes lingered for a moment upon Harry’s trainers. ‘That was you blocking the door when Zabini came back in, I suppose?’ He considered Harry for a moment. ‘You didn’t hear anything I care about, Potter. But while I’ve got you here …’ And he stamped, hard, on Harry’s face. Harry felt his nose break; blood spurted everywhere.Q9 - What do you think of Draco besting Harry?
Chapter 8 - Snape VictoriousQ1 - How do you think Tonks found Harry?
‘Hagrid was late for the start-of-term feast, just like Potter here, so I took it instead. And incidentally,’ said Snape, standing back to allow Harry to pass him, ‘I was interested to see your new Patronus.’ He shut the gates in her face with a loud clang and tapped the chains with his wand again, so that they slithered, clinking, back into place. ‘I think you were better off with the old one,’ said Snape, the malice in his voice unmistakeable. ‘The new one looks weak.’Q2 - What do you think of Patronus’ changing form? How would it change form?
Q3 - Why do you think Snape is mean to her?
‘Fifty points from Gryffindor for lateness, I think,’ said Snape. ‘And, let me see, another twenty for your Muggle attire. You know, I don’t believe any house has ever been in negative figures this early in the term – we haven’t even started pudding. You might have set a record, Potter.’Q4 - The points are stupid.
‘Professor Snape, meanwhile,’ said Dumbledore, raising his voice so that it carried over all the muttering, ‘will be taking over the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.’ ‘No!’ said Harry, so loudly that many heads turned in his direction. He did not care; he was staring up at the staff table, incensed. How could Snape be given the Defence Against the Dark Arts job after all this time? Hadn’t it been widely known for years that Dumbledore did not trust him to do it?Q5 - What do you think of Snape getting the Defense against the Dark Arts job? And knowing the curse on the position, do you think he’ll be there after a year?
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Chapter 1 - The Other MinisterIt was nearing midnight and the Prime Minister was sitting alone in his office, reading a long memo that was slipping through his brain without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind.
Q1 - What do you think of the book opening like this?
He turned over the second page of the memo, saw how much longer it went on, and gave it up as a bad job. Stretching his arms above his head he looked around his office mournfully. It was a handsome room, with a fine marble fireplace facing the long sash windows, firmly closed against the unseasonable chill. With a slight shiver, the Prime Minister got up and moved over to the windows, looking out at the thin mist that was pressing itself against the glass. It was then, as he stood with his back to the room, that he heard a soft cough behind him.Q2 - Did you think Umbridge was back?
It was coming – as the Prime Minister had known at the first cough – from the froglike little man wearing a long silver wig who was depicted in a small and dirty oil-painting in the far corner of the room. ‘To the Prime Minister of Muggles. Urgent we meet. Kindly respond immediately. Sincerely, Fudge.’ The man in the painting looked enquiringly at the Prime Minister.He was not remotely pleased to see Fudge, whose occasional appearances, apart from being downright alarming in themselves, generally meant that he was about to hear some very bad news. Furthermore, Fudge was looking distinctly careworn. He was thinner, balder and greyer, and his face had a crumpled look. The Prime Minister had seen that kind of look in politicians before, and it never boded well.At this, the Prime Minister had found his voice at last. ‘You’re – you’re not a hoax, then?’ It had been his last, desperate hope. ‘No,’ said Fudge gently. ‘No, I’m afraid I’m not. Look.’ And he had turned the Prime Minister’s teacup into a gerbil. ‘But,’ said the Prime Minister breathlessly, watching his teacup chewing on the corner of his next speech, ‘but why – why has nobody told me –?’ ‘The Minister for Magic only reveals him or herself to the Muggle Prime Minister of the day,’ said Fudge, poking his wand back inside his jacket. ‘We find it the best way to maintain secrecy.’ ‘But then,’ bleated the Prime Minister, ‘why hasn’t a former Prime Minister warned me –?’ At this, Fudge had actually laughed. ‘My dear Prime Minister, are you ever going to tell anybody?’Q3 - Do you think the President gets a familiar visit from the US magical authorities?
‘So you think that …’ he had squinted down at the name in his left hand, ‘Lord Vol—’ ‘He Who Must Not Be Named!’ snarled Fudge. ‘I’m sorry … you think that He Who Must Not Be Named is still alive, then?’ ‘Well, Dumbledore says he is,’ said Fudge, as he had fastened his pinstriped cloak under his chin, ‘but we’ve never found him. If you ask me, he’s not dangerous unless he’s got support, so it’s Black we ought to be worrying about. You’ll put out that warning, then? Excellent. Well, I hope we don’t see each other again, Prime Minister! Goodnight.’Q4 - Do you think Fudge here believes Dumbledore?
Whatever the press and the opposition might say, the Prime Minister was not a foolish man. It had not escaped his notice that, despite Fudge’s assurances at their first meeting, they were now seeing rather a lot of each other, nor that Fudge was becoming more flustered with each visit. Little though he liked to think about the Minister for Magic (or, as he always called Fudge in his head, the Other Minister), the Prime Minister could not help but fear that the next time Fudge appeared it would be with graver news still.Q5 - Cool point about who the other minister is…
Fudge took a great, deep breath and said, ‘Prime Minister, I am very sorry to have to tell you that he’s back. He Who Must Not Be Named is back.’ ‘Yes, alive,’ said Fudge. ‘That is – I don’t know – is a man alive if he can’t be killed? I don’t really understand it, and Dumbledore won’t explain properly – but anyway, he’s certainly got a body and is walking and talking and killing, so I suppose, for the purposes of our discussion, yes, he’s alive.’Q6 - Why won’t Dumbledore explain it, and what is he explaining?
‘I thought Dementors guard the prisoners in Azkaban?’ he said cautiously. ‘They did,’ said Fudge wearily. ‘But not any more. They’ve deserted the prison and joined He Who Must Not Be Named. I won’t pretend that wasn’t a blow.’ ‘But,’ said the Prime Minister, with a sense of dawning horror, ‘didn’t you tell me they’re the creatures that drain hope and happiness out of people?’ ‘That’s right. And they’re breeding. That’s what’s causing all this mist.’Q7 - Will you ever look at mist the same way again?
‘Now see here, Fudge – you’ve got to do something! It’s your responsibility as Minister for Magic!’ ‘My dear Prime Minister, you can’t honestly think I’m still Minister for Magic after all this? I was sacked three days ago! The whole wizarding community has been screaming for my resignation for a fortnight. I’ve never known them so united in my whole term of office!’ said Fudge, with a brave attempt at a smile.Q8 - What do you think of Fudges sacking? Do you have pity for him at all?
‘I wish him luck,’ said Fudge, sounding bitter for the first time. ‘I’ve been writing to Dumbledore twice a day for the past fortnight, but he won’t budge. If he’d just been prepared to persuade the boy, I might still be … well, maybe Scrimgeour will have more success.’Q9 - What does Fudge mean, “persuade the boy?”
The Prime Minister’s first, foolish thought was that Rufus Scrimgeour looked rather like an old lion. There were streaks of grey in his mane of tawny hair and his bushy eyebrows; he had keen yellowish eyes behind a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles and a certain rangy, loping grace even though he walked with a slight limp. There was an immediate impression of shrewdness and toughness; the Prime Minister thought he understood why the wizarding community preferred Scrimgeour to Fudge as a leader in these dangerous times.Q10 - What are your impressions of Scrimgeour?
The Prime Minister gazed hopelessly at the pair of them for a moment, then the words he had fought to suppress all evening burst from him at last. ‘But for heaven’s sake – you’re wizards! You can do magic! Surely you can sort out – well – anything!’ Scrimgeour turned slowly on the spot and exchanged an incredulous look with Fudge, who really did manage a smile this time as he said kindly, ‘The trouble is, the other side can do magic too, Prime Minister.’ And with that, the two wizards stepped one after the other into the bright green fire and vanished.Q11 - What do you think of the first chapter?
Chapter 2 - Spinner’s EndThe harsh cry startles the fox, now crouching almost flat in the undergrowth. It leapt from its hiding place and up the bank. There was a flash of green light, a yelp, and the fox fell back to the ground, dead.Q1 - Why did they kill the fox?
“He lives here?” asked Bella in a voice of contempt. “Here? In this muggle dunghill? We must be the first of our kind ever to set foot —”Q2 - Why does Snape live here?
Some of the streetlamps were broken; the two women were running between patches of light and deep darkness. The pursuer caught up with her prey just as she turned another corner, this time succeeding in catching hold of her arm and swinging her round so that they faced each other. ‘Cissy, you must not do this, you can’t trust him –’ ‘The Dark Lord trusts him, doesn’t he?’ ‘The Dark Lord is … I believe … mistaken,’ Bella panted, and her eyes gleamed momentarily under her hood as she looked around to check that they were indeed alone. ‘In any case, we were told not to speak of the plan to anyone. This is a betrayal of the Dark Lord’s –’ ‘Let go, Bella!’ snarled Narcissa and she drew a wand from beneath her cloak, holding it threateningly in the other’s face. Bella merely laughed. ‘Cissy, your own sister? You wouldn’t –’ ‘There is nothing I wouldn’t do any more!’ Narcissa breathed, a note of hysteria in her voice.Q3 - What is the difference between Narcissa and Lily here?
‘So, what can I do for you?’ Snape asked, settling himself in the armchair opposite the two sisters. ‘We … we are alone, aren’t we?’ Narcissa asked quietly. ‘Yes, of course. Well, Wormtail’s here, but we’re not counting vermin, are we?’ He pointed his wand at the wall of books behind him and, with a bang, a hidden door flew open, revealing a narrow staircase upon which a small man stood frozen…‘Wormtail will get us drinks, if you’d like them,’ said Snape. ‘And then he will return to his bedroom.’ Wormtail winced as though Snape had thrown something at him. ‘I am not your servant!’ he squeaked, avoiding Snape’s eye. ‘Really? I was under the impression that the Dark Lord placed you here to assist me.’Q4 - What is Wormtail helping Snape with?
‘Narcissa, I think we ought to hear what Bellatrix is bursting to say; it will save tedious interruptions. Well, continue, Bellatrix,’ said Snape. ‘Why is it that you do not trust me?’ ‘A hundred reasons!’ she said loudly, striding out from behind the sofa to slam her glass upon the table. ‘Where to start! Where were you when the Dark Lord fell? Why did you never make any attempt to find him when he vanished? What have you been doing all these years that you’ve lived in Dumbledore’s pocket? Why did you stop the Dark Lord procuring the Philosopher’s Stone? Why did you not return at once when the Dark Lord was reborn? Where were you a few weeks ago, when we battled to retrieve the prophecy for the Dark Lord? And why, Snape, is Harry Potter still alive, when you have had him at your mercy for five years?’ She paused, her chest rising and falling rapidly, the color high in her cheeks. Behind her Narcissa sat motionless, her face still hidden in her hands. Snape smiled. ‘Before I answer you – oh, yes, Bellatrix, I am going to answer! You can carry my words back to the others who whisper behind my back, and carry false tales of my treachery to the Dark Lord! Before I answer you, I say, let me ask a question in turn. Do you really think that the Dark Lord has not asked me each and every one of those questions? And do you really think that, had I not been able to give satisfactory answers, I would be sitting here talking to you?’ She hesitated. ‘I know he believes you, but –’ ‘You think he is mistaken? Or that I have somehow hoodwinked him? Fooled the Dark Lord, the greatest wizard, the most accomplished Legilimens the world has ever seen?’Q5 - Is Snape fooling Dumbledore or Voldemort?
Q6 - Why didn’t Snape attempt to find the Dark Lord?
Why did Snape stand between the Dark Lord and the Sorcerer’s stone?
Why didn’t he return when the dark mark burned?
Why didn’t he fight at the ministry?
Why has Snape not killed Harry Potter?
Q7 - Are Snape’s answer’s satisfying to you?
‘You are avoiding my last question, Snape. Harry Potter. You could have killed him at any point in the past five years. You have not done it. Why?’ ‘Have you discussed this matter with the Dark Lord?’ asked Snape. ‘He … lately, we … I am asking you, Snape!’ ‘If I had murdered Harry Potter, the Dark Lord could not have used his blood to regenerate, making him invincible –’Q8 - Is the Dark Lord invincible with Harry’s blood?
‘And through all this we are supposed to believe Dumbledore has never suspected you?’ asked Bellatrix. ‘He has no idea of your true allegiance, he trusts you implicitly still?’ ‘I have played my part well,’ said Snape. ‘And you overlook Dumbledore’s greatest weakness: he has to believe the best of people. I spun him a tale of deepest remorse when I joined his staff, fresh from my Death Eater days, and he embraced me with open arms – though, as I say, never allowing me nearer the Dark Arts than he could help. Dumbledore has been a great wizard – oh yes, he has’ (for Bellatrix had made a scathing noise) ‘the Dark Lord acknowledges it. I am pleased to say, however, that Dumbledore is growing old. The duel with the Dark Lord last month shook him. He has since sustained a serious injury because his reactions are slower than they once were. But through all these years, he has never stopped trusting Severus Snape, and therein lies my great value to the Dark Lord.’Q9 - Is Dumbledore weak?
Narcissa looked up at him, her face eloquent with despair. ‘Yes, Severus. I – I think you are the only one who can help me, I have nowhere else to turn. Lucius is in jail and …’ She closed her eyes and two large tears seeped from beneath her eyelids. ‘The Dark Lord has forbidden me to speak of it,’ Narcissa continued, her eyes still closed. ‘He wishes none to know of the plan. It is … very secret. But –’ ‘If he has forbidden it, you ought not to speak,’ said Snape at once. ‘The Dark Lord’s word is law.’Q10 - What is this plan?
‘Severus,’ she whispered, tears sliding down her pale cheeks. ‘My son … my only son …’ ‘Draco should be proud,’ said Bellatrix indifferently. ‘The Dark Lord is granting him a great honor. And I will say this for Draco: he isn’t shrinking away from his duty, he seems glad of a chance to prove himself, excited at the prospect –’Q11 - What is Draco doing? Why is he part of this?
‘Severus – oh, Severus – you would help him? Would you look after him, see he comes to no harm?’ ‘I can try.’ She flung away her glass; it skidded across the table as she slid off the sofa into a kneeling position at Snape’s feet, seized his hand in both of hers and pressed her lips to it. ‘If you are there to protect him … Severus, will you swear it? Will you make the Unbreakable Vow?’ ‘The Unbreakable Vow?’ Snape’s expression was blank, unreadable: Bellatrix, however, let out a cackle of triumphant laughter.Q12 - What is the unbreakable vow?
Q13 - Can you break it, or what would happen if you do break it?
Chapter 3 - Will and WontQ1 - Is it good to get back into Harry’s head?
Though Ministry spokeswizards have hitherto refused even to confirm the existence of such a place, a growing number of the wizarding community believe that the Death Eaters now serving sentences in Azkaban for trespass and attempted theft were attempting to steal a prophecy. The nature of that prophecy is unknown, although speculation is rife that it concerns Harry Potter, the only person ever known to have survived the Killing Curse, and who is also known to have been at the Ministry on the night in question. Some are going so far as to call Potter the ‘Chosen One’, believing that the prophecy names him as the only one who will be able to rid us of He Who Must Not Be Named.Q2 - Is Harry the Chosen one?
Q3 - What do you think about the ministry trying to cover up all this? Should this information be in the public domain?
Rufus Scrimgeour, previously Head of the Auror Office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, has succeeded Cornelius Fudge as Minister for Magic. The appointment has largely been greeted with enthusiasm by the wizarding community, though rumors of a rift between the new Minister and Albus Dumbledore, newly reinstated Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, surfaced within hours of Scrimgeour taking office.Q4 - What is the rift between the two?
Q5 - The ministry leaflet talks about Inferi, what do you think these are?
Dear Harry, If it is convenient to you, I shall call at number four, Privet Drive this coming Friday at eleven p.m. to escort you to The Burrow, where you have been invited to spend the remainder of your school holidays. If you are agreeable, I should also be glad of your assistance in a matter to which I hope to attend on the way to The Burrow. I shall explain this more fully when I see you. Kindly send your answer by return of this owl. Hoping to see you this Friday, I am, yours most sincerely Albus DumbledoreQ6 - What do you think of this letter, and what is the matter he wants to attend to with Harry?
‘I don’t mean to be rude –’ he began, in a tone that threatened rudeness in every syllable. ‘– yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often,’ Dumbledore finished the sentence gravely. ‘Best to say nothing at all, my dear man. Ah, and this must be Petunia.’ The kitchen door had opened, and there stood Harry’s aunt, wearing rubber gloves and a housecoat over her nightdress, clearly halfway through her usual pre-bedtime wipe-down of all the kitchen surfaces. Her rather horsy face registered nothing but shock. ‘Albus Dumbledore,’ said Dumbledore, when Uncle Vernon failed to effect an introduction. ‘We have corresponded, of course.’ Harry thought this an odd way of reminding Aunt Petunia that he had once sent her an exploding letter, but Aunt Petunia did not challenge the term. ‘And this must be your son Dudley?’Q7 - What do you think of this intro?
As he replaced his wand in his pocket, Harry saw that his hand was blackened and shrivelled; it looked as though his flesh had been burned away. ‘Sir – what happened to your –?’Q8 - What happened to Dumbledore’s hand?
‘This is, in the main, fairly straightforward,’ Dumbledore went on. ‘You add a reasonable amount of gold to your account at Gringotts and you inherit all of Sirius’s personal possessions. The slightly problematic part of the legacy –’ ‘His godfather’s dead?’ said Uncle Vernon loudly from the sofa. Dumbledore and Harry both turned to look at him. The glass of mead was now knocking quite insistently on the side of Vernon’s head; he attempted to beat it away. ‘He’s dead? His godfather?’ ‘Yes,’ said Dumbledore. He did not ask Harry why he had not confided in the Dursleys. ‘Our problem,’ he continued to Harry, as if there had been no interruption, ‘is that Sirius also left you number twelve, Grimmauld Place.’‘But how are you going to find out if I’m allowed to own it?’ ‘Fortunately,’ said Dumbledore, ‘there is a simple test.’ He placed his empty glass on a small table beside his chair, but before he could do anything else, Uncle Vernon shouted, ‘Will you get these ruddy things off us?’ Harry looked round; all three of the Dursleys were cowering with their arms over their heads as their glasses bounced up and down on their skulls, the contents flying everywhere.‘You see,’ Dumbledore said, turning back to Harry and again speaking as though Uncle Vernon had not uttered, ‘if you have indeed inherited the house, you have also inherited –’ He flicked his wand for a fifth time. There was a loud crack and a house-elf appeared, with a snout for a nose, giant bat’s ears and enormous bloodshot eyes, crouching on the Dursleys’ shag carpet and covered in grimy rags.Q9 - How is Dumbledore able to summon Kreacher like this?
‘Now, as you already know, the wizard called Lord Voldemort has returned to this country. The wizarding community is currently in a state of open warfare. Harry, whom Lord Voldemort has already attempted to kill on a number of occasions, is in even greater danger now than the day when I left him upon your doorstep fifteen years ago, with a letter explaining about his parents’ murder and expressing the hope that you would care for him as though he were your own.’ Dumbledore paused, and although his voice remained light and calm, and he gave no obvious sign of anger, Harry felt a kind of chill emanating from him and noticed that the Dursleys drew very slightly closer together. ‘You did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a son. He has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. The best that can be said is that he has at least escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you.’Q10 - What do you think of this?
None of the Dursleys said anything. Dudley was frowning slightly, as though he was still trying to work out when he had ever been mistreated. Uncle Vernon looked as though he had something stuck in his throat; Aunt Petunia, however, was oddly flushed.Q11 - Why was Petunia flushed?
‘And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.’Q12 - Where are they going?
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Join Jon, Jen, Kaylie, and Danny as they discuss the good and the bad of Deathly Hallows Part 2. A lot of bad, a little bit of good, and a little bit of controversy.
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Chapter 34 - The Department of MysteriesThis is mad,ʹ Ron murmured, moving his free hand gingerly up and down his horseʹs neck. ʹMad… if I could just see it ‐ʹ ʹYouʹd better hope it stays invisible,ʹ said Harry darkly. ʹWe all ready, then?ʹ
Q1 - Is Harry being a dick here?
Q2 - Thoughts on riding on an invisible horse?
Q3 - What animal would you want to ride from the magical world?
Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business.ʹ ʹHarry Potter, Ron Weasley Hermione Granger,ʹ Harry said very quickly, ʹGinny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood… weʹre here to save someone, unless your Ministry can do it first!ʹ Thank you,ʹ said the cool female voice. ʹVisitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes.ʹ Half a dozen badges slid out of the metal chute where returned coins normally appeared. Hermione scooped them up and handed them mutely to Harry over Ginnyʹs head; he glanced at the topmost one, Harry Potter, Rescue Mission.Q4 - Is Harry dumb to say this stuff?
ʹWhatʹre those things?ʹ whispered Ron. ʹDunno,ʹ said Harry. ʹAre they fish?ʹ breathed Ginny. ʹAquavirius Maggots!ʹ said Luna excitedly. ʹDad said the Ministry were breeding —ʹ ʹNo,ʹ said Hermione. She sounded odd. She moved forward to look through the side of the tank. Theyʹre brains.ʹ ʹBrains?ʹ ʹYes… I wonder what theyʹre doing with them?ʹQ5 - What is the ministry doing with these brains?
Instead of a chained chair, however, there was a raised stone dais in the centre of the pit, on which stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked and crumbling that Harry was amazed the thing was still standing. Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched. ʹWhoʹs there?ʹ said Harry, jumping down on to the bench below. There was no answering voice, but the veil continued to flutter and sway.Q6 - Is there someone behind this veil?
ʹI can hear them too,ʹ breathed Luna, joining them around the side of the archway and gazing at the swaying veil. There are people in there!ʹ ʹWhat do you mean, ʺin thereʺ?ʹ demanded Hermione, jumping down from the bottom step and sounding much angrier than the occasion warranted, ʹthere isnʹt any ʺin thereʺ, itʹs just an archway, thereʹs no room for anybody to be there. Harry, stop it, come away ‐ʹQ7 - What’s going on with this veil?
Q8 - Why is Hermione so angry?
Q9 - Why didn’t Harry make a quick stop to Grimmauld Place?
S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D. Dark Lord and (?)Harry PotterQ10 - What does this all mean?
Nothing whatsoever happened. The others moved in closer around Harry, gazing at the orb as he brushed it free of the clogging dust. And then, from right behind them, a drawling voice spoke. ʹVery good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me.ʹQ11 - Who’s voice is this?
Chapter 35 - Beyond the VeilʹItʹs time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter,ʹ said Malfoy. ʹNow give me the prophecy, or we start using wands.ʹQ1 - Thoughts on this being a prophecy?
ʹSo,ʹ said Harry, ʹwhat kind of prophecy are we talking about, anyway?ʹ He could not think what to do but to keep talking. Nevilleʹs arm was pressed against his, and he could feel him shaking; he could feel one of the othersʹ quickened breath on the back of his head. He was hoping they were all thinking hard about ways to get out of this, because his mind was blank. ʹWhat kind of prophecy?ʹ repeated Bellatrix, the grin fading from her face. ʹYou jest, Harry Potter.ʹ ʹNope, not jesting,ʹ said Harry, his eyes flicking from Death Eater to Death Eater,.looking for a weak link, a space through which they could escape. ʹHow come Voldemort wants it?ʹ Several of the Death Eaters let out low hisses. ʹYou dare speak his name?ʹ whispered Bellatrix. ʹYeah,ʹ said Harry, maintaining his tight grip on the glass ball, expecting another attempt to bewitch it from him. ʹYeah, Iʹve got no problem with saying Vol—ʹ ʹShut your mouth!ʹ Bellatrix shrieked. ʹYou dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half‐bloodʹs tongue, you dare ‐ʹ ʹDid you know heʹs a half‐blood too?ʹ said Harry recklessly. Hermione gave a little moan in his ear. ʹVoldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle ‐ or has he been telling you lot heʹs pure‐blood?ʹQ2 - Is Harry right to instigate here?
ʹDumbledore never told you the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?ʹ Malfoy sneered.Q3 - Why didn’t Dumbledore tell Harry?
Harry stared into the slitted eye‐holes through which Malfoyʹs grey eyes were gleaming. Was this prophecy the reason Harryʹs parents had died, the reason he carried his lightning‐bolt scar? Was the answer to all of this clutched in his hand?The jet of red light flew right over the Death Eaterʹs shoulder and hit a glass‐ fronted cabinet on the wall full of variously shaped hour‐glasses; the cabinet fell to the floor and burst apart, glass flying everywhere, sprang back up on to the wall, fully mended, then fell down again, and shattered ‐Q4 - What happened here?
The Death Eater had pulled his head out of the bell jar. His appearance was utterly bizarre, his tiny babyʹs head bawling loudly while his thick arms flailed dangerously in all directions, narrowly missing Harry, who had ducked. Harry raised his wand but to his amazement Hermione seized his arm. ʹYou canʹt hurt a baby!ʹQ5 - Thoughts on Hermione saying this?
But the Death Eater Hermione had just struck dumb made a sudden slashing movement with his wand; a streak of what looked like purple flame passed right across Hermioneʹs chest. She gave a tiny ʹOh!ʹ as though of surprise and crumpled on to the floor, where she lay motionless.Q6 - What is this magic and is Hermione dead?
Neville kicked aside the broken fragments of his own wand as they walked slowly towards the door. ʹMy granʹs going do kill be,ʹ said Neville thickly, blood spattering from his nose as he spoke, ʹdat was by dadʹs old wand.ʹQ7 - Thoughts on this?
ʹPotter, your race is run,ʹ drawled Lucius Malfoy, pulling off his mask, ʹnow hand me the prophecy like a good boy.ʹ ʹLet ‐ let the others go, and Iʹll give it to you!ʹ said Harry desperately. A few of the Death Eaters laughed. ʹYou are not in a position to bargain, Potter,ʹ said Lucius Malfoy, his pale face flushed with pleasure. ʹYou see, there are ten of us and only one of you… or hasnʹt Dumbledore ever taught you how to count?ʹ ʹHeʹs dot alone!ʹ shouted a voice from above them. ʹHeʹs still god be!ʹQ8 - Do you see why I love Neville so much now?
Harry did not have to think; there was no choice. The prophecy was hot with the heat of his clutching hand as he held it out. Malfoy jumped forwards to take it. Then, high above them, two more doors burst open and five more people sprinted into the room: Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks and Kingsley.ʹHarry, take the prophecy, grab Neville and run!ʹ Sirius yelled, dashing to meet Bellatrix. Harry did not see what happened next: Kingsley swayed across his field of vision, battling with the pockmarked and no longer masked Rookwood; another jet of green light flew over Harryʹs head as he launched himself towards Neville ‐Q9 - thoughts on everything happening here?
He gave another stupendous heave and Nevilles robes tore all along the left seam ‐ the small spun‐glass ball dropped from his pocket and, before either of them could catch it, one of Nevilleʹs floundering feet kicked it: it flew some ten feet to their right and smashed on the step beneath them. As both of them stared at the place where it had broken, appalled at what had happened, a pearly‐white figure with hugely magnified eyes rose into the air, unnoticed by any but them..Harry could see its mouth moving, but in all the crashes and screams and yells surrounding them, not one word of the prophecy could he hear. The figure stopped speaking and dissolved into nothingness.Harry turned to look where Neville was staring. Directly above them, framed in the doorway from the Brain Room, stood Albus Dumbledore, his wand aloft, his face white and furious. Harry felt a kind of electric charge surge through every particle of his body ‐ they were saved.Q10 - How good do you feel that Dumbledore is here?
Only one pair was still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrixʹs jet of red light: he was laughing at her. ʹCome on, you can do better than that!ʹ he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room. The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest. The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock. Harry released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore, too, turned towards the dais. It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arch. Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfatherʹs wasted, once‐ handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind, then fell back into place. Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrangeʹs triumphant scream, but knew it meant nothing ‐ Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second… But Sirius did not reappear. ʹSIRIUS!ʹ Harry yelled. ʹSIRIUS!ʹ He had reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps. Sirius must be just behind the curtain, he, Harry, would pull him back out… But as he reached the ground and sprinted towards the dais, Lupin grabbed Harry around the chest, holding him back. Thereʹs nothing you can do, Harry ‐ʹ ʹGet him, save him, heʹs only just gone through!ʹ ʹ‐ itʹs too late, Harry.ʹ ʹWe can still reach him ‐ʹ Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin would not let go… Thereʹs nothing you can do, Harry… nothing… heʹs gone.ʹQ11 - Thoughts on Sirius death here?
Chapter 36 - The Only One He Ever FearedLupin dragged Harry away from the dais. Harry, still staring at the archway, was angry at Sirius now for keeping him waiting But some part of him realised, even as he fought to break free from Lupin, that Sirius had never kept him waiting before… Sirius had risked everything, always, to see Harry, to help him… if Sirius was not reappearing out of that archway when Harry was yelling for him as though his life depended on it, the only possible explanation was that he could not come back… that he really wasQ1 - How will Sirius’s death affect Harry?
`Aaaaaah … did you love him, little baby Potter?ʹ Hatred rose in Harry such as he had never known before; he flung himself out from behind the fountain and bellowed, `Crucio!ʹ Bellatrix screamed: the spell had knocked her off her feet, but she did not writhe and shriek with pain as Neville had ‐ she was already back on her feet, breathless, no longer laughing. Harry dodged behind the golden fountain again. Her counter‐spell hit the head of the handsome wizard, which was blown off and landed twenty feet away, gouging long scratches into the wooden floor. `Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you, boy?ʹ she yelled. She had abandoned her baby voice now. `You need to mean them, Potter! You need to really want to cause pain ‐ to enjoy it ‐ righteous anger wonʹt hurt me for long ‐ Iʹll show you how it is done, shall I? Iʹll give you a lesson ‐ʹQ2 - Harry just used an unforgivable curse…thoughts?
`Potter, Iʹm going to give you one chance!ʹ shouted Bellatrix. `Give me the prophecy ‐ roll it out towards me now ‐ and I may spare your life!ʹ `Well, youʹre going to have to kill me, because itʹs gone!ʹ Harry roared and, as he shouted it, pain seared across his forehead; his scar was on fire again, and he felt a surge of fury that was quite unconnected with his own rage. `And he knows!ʹ said Harry, with a mad laugh to match Bellatrixʹs own. `Your dear old mate Voldemort knows itʹs gone! Heʹs not going to be happy with you, is he?ʹ ʹWhat? What do you mean?ʹ she cried, and for the first time there was fear in her voice.`Donʹt waste your breath!ʹ yelled Harry, his eyes screwed up against the pain in his scar, now more terrible than ever. `He canʹt hear you from here!ʹ `Canʹt I, Potter?ʹ said a high, cold voice.Q3 - How intense is this? Did you expect Voldemort to be there?
`It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom,ʹ said Dumbledore calmly. `The Aurors are on their way’ `By which time I shall be gone, and you will be dead!ʹ spat Voldemort.Q4 - How good is this comeback?
Dumbledore flicked his own wand: the force of the spell that emanated from it was such that Harry, though shielded by his golden guard, felt his hair stand on end as it passed and this time Voldemort was forced to conjure a shining silver shield out of thin air to deflect it. The spell, whatever it was, caused no visible damage to the shield, though a deep, gong‐like note reverberated from it ‐ an oddly chilling sound. `You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore?ʹ called Voldemort, his scarlet eyes narrowed over the top of the shield. `Above such brutality, are you?ʹ ʹWe both know that there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom,ʹ Dumbledore said calmly, continuing to walk towards Voldemort as though he had not a fear in the world, as though nothing had happened to interrupt his stroll up the hall. `Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit’ ‘`There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!ʹ snarled Voldemort. `You are quite wrong,ʹ said Dumbledore, still closing in upon Voldemort and speaking as lightly as though they were discussing the matter over drinks. Harry felt scared to see him walking along, undefended, shieldless; he wanted to cry out a warning, but his headless guard kept shunting him backwards towards the wall, blocking his every attempt to get out from behind it. `Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness’Q5 - Why would Dumbledore not be satisfied to take Voldy’s life?
Q6 - What is this magic Dumbledore is using?
He was gone from the hall, he was locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes, so tightly bound that Harry did not know where his body ended and the creatureʹs began: they were fused together, bound by pain, and there was no escape.Q7 - What is happening here?
Let the pain stop, thought Harry… let him kill us… end it, Dumbledore… death is nothing compared to this… And Iʹll see Sirius again…Q8 - How much do you hate Fudge?
Q9 - What is the plan of action next?
Chapter 37 - The Lost ProphecyIt was unbearable, he would not think about it, he could not stand it… there was a terrible hollow inside him he did not want to feel or examine, a dark hole where Sirius had been, where Sirius had vanished; he did not want to have to be alone with that great, silent space, he could not stand it ‐ `Let me out,ʹ Harry said yet again, in a voice that was cold and almost as calm as Dumbledoreʹs. `Not until I have had my say,ʹ said Dumbledore. `Do you ‐ do you think I want to ‐ do you think I give a ‐ I DONʹT CARE WHAT YOUʹVE GOT TO SAY!ʹ Harry roared. `I donʹt want to hear anything youʹve got to say!ʹ `You will,ʹ said Dumbledore steadily. `Because you are not nearly as angry with me as you ought to be. If you are to attack me, as I know you are close to doing, I would like to have thoroughly earned it.ʹQ1 - Is Dumbledore to blame for everything that happened?
Q2 - What are your thoughts on Harry’s response?
Harry, I believe I was right to think that Voldemort would have made use of you in such a way. On those rare occasions when we had close contact, I thought I saw a shadow of him stir behind your eyes …`Kreacher lied,ʹ said Dumbledore calmly. `You are not his master, he could lie to you without even needing to punish himself. Kreacher intended you to go to the Ministry of Magic.ʹ `He ‐ he sent me on purpose?T ʹOh yes. Kreacher, I am afraid, has been serving more than one master for months.ʹ `How?ʹ said Harry blankly. `He hasnʹt been out of Grimmauld Place for years.ʹ `Kreacher seized his opportunity shortly before Christmas,ʹ said Dumbledore, `when Sirius, apparently, shouted at him to ʺget outʺ. He took Sirius at his word, and interpreted this as an order to leave the house. He went to the only Black family member for whom he had any respect left … Blackʹs cousin Narcissa, sister of Bellatrix and wife of Lucius MalfoyʹQ3 - Thoughts about your confirmed suspicions of Kreacher?
`Kreacher is what he has been made by wizards, Harryʹ said Dumbledore. `Yes, he is to be pitied. His existence has been as miserable as your friend Dobbyʹs. He was forced to do Siriusʹs bidding, because Sirius was the last of the family to which he was enslaved, but he felt no true loyalty to him. And whatever Kreacherʹs faults, it must be admitted that Sirius did nothing to make Kreacherʹs lot easier —Q4 - Do you hate or pity Kreacher?
`Snape made it worse, my scar always hurt worse after lessons with him - Harry remembered Ronʹs thoughts on the subject and plunged on `‐ how do you know he wasnʹt trying to soften me up for Voldemort, make it easier for him to get inside my - `I trust Severus Snape,ʹ said Dumbledore simply `But I forgot ‐ another old manʹs mistake ‐ that some wounds run too deep for the healing. I thought Professor Snape could overcome his feelings about your father ‐ I was wrong.ʹQ5 - Do you trust Snape?
ʹIt is time,ʹ he said, `for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry. Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything. I ask only a little patience. You will have your chance to rage at me ‐ to do whatever you like ‐ when I have finished. I will not stop you.ʹQ6 - Did you get excited after reading this line?
`While you can still call home the place where your motherʹs blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, whilst you are there he cannot hurt you. Your aunt knows this. I explained what I had done in the letter I left, with you, on her doorstep. She knows that allowing you houseroom may well have kept you alive for the past fifteen years.ʹQ7 - Thoughts on Remember my Last?
`The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies … and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives … the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies …ʹQ8 - What does this all mean?
`The odd thing, Harry,ʹ he said softly, `is that it may not have meant you at all. Sybillʹs prophecy could have applied to two wizard boys, both born at the end of July that year, both of whom had parents in the Order of the Phoenix, both sets of parents having narrowly escaped Voldemort three times. One, of course, was you. The other was Neville Longbottom.ʹ `There is a room in the Department of Mysteries,ʹ interrupted Dumbledore, `that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than the forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. That power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you.ʹQ9 - Is Love the only power Harry has over Voldemort?
Chapter 38 - The Second War BeginsThey were in the hospital wing. Harry was sitting on the end of Ronʹs bed and they were both listening to Hermione read the front page of the Sunday Prophet. Ginny, whose ankle had been mended in a trice by Madam Pomfrey, was curled up at the foot of Hermioneʹs bed; Neville, whose nose had likewise been returned to its normal size and shape, was in a chair between the two beds; and Luna, who had dropped in to visit, clutching the latest edition of The Quibbler, was reading the magazine upside‐down and apparently not taking in a word Hermione was saying.Q1 - How do you guys deal with grief?
Malfoy looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him; he felt a kind of detached satisfaction at the sight of his pale, pointed face contorted with rage. ʹYouʹre going to pay,ʹ said Malloy in a voice barely louder than a whisper. `Iʹm going to make you pay for what youʹve done to my father…ʹ `Well, Iʹm terrified now,ʹ said Harry sarcastically. `Iʹsʹpose Lord Voldemortʹs just a warm‐up act compared to you three ‐ whatʹs the matter?ʹ he added, for Malfoy Crabbe and Goyle had all looked stricken at the sound of the name. `Heʹs a mate of your dad, isnʹt he? Not scared of him, are you? ʹYou think youʹre such a big man, Potter,ʹ said Malfoy, advancing now, Crabbe and Goyle flanking him. `You wait. Iʹll have you. You canʹt land my father in prison - `I thought i just had,ʹ said Harry.Perhaps the reason he wanted to be alone was because he had felt isolated from everybody since his talk with Dumbledore. An invisible barrier separated him from the rest of the world. He was ‐ he had always been ‐ a marked man. It was just that he had never really understood what that meant…Q2 - What do you think of Harry’s grief?
Q3 - How do you think knowing that he is a marked man will effect Harry?
Professor Umbridge left Hogwarts the day before the end of term. It seemed she had crept out of the hospital wing during dinnertime, evidently hoping to depart undetected, but unfortunately for her, she met Peeves on the way, who seized his last chance to do as Fred had instructed, and chased her gleefully from the premises whacking her alternately with a walking stick and a sock full of chalk. Many students ran out into the Entrance Hall to watch her running away down the path and the Heads of Houses tried only half‐heartedly to restrain them. Indeed, Professor McGonagall sank back into her chair at the staff table after a few feeble remonstrances and was clearly heard to express a regret that she could not run cheering after Umbridge herself, because Peeves had borrowed her walking stick.Harryʹs heart began to race. He remembered seeing his dead parents in the Mirror of Erised four years ago. He was going to be able to talk to Sirius again, right now, he knew it ‐ He looked around to make sure there was nobody else there; the dormitory was quite empty. He looked back at the mirror, raised it in front of his face with trembling hands and said, loudly and clearly, ʹSirius.ʹ His breath misted the surface of the glass. He held the mirror even closer, excitement flooding through him, but the eyes blinking back at him through the fog were definitely his own. He wiped the mirror clear again and said, so that every syllable rang clearly through the room: ʹSirius Black!ʹ Nothing happened.Q4 - How devastating is this part?
Nick turned away from the window and looked mournfully at Harry. `He wonʹt come back.ʹ `Who?ʹ `Sirius Black,ʹ said Nick. And so strong was his belief, Harry actually turned his head to check the door, sure, for a split second, that he was going to see Sirius, pearly‐white and transparent but beaming, walking through it towards him. `He will not come back,ʹ repeated Nick. `He will have… gone on.ʹQ5 - Do you understand how ghosts work now?
Harry nodded curtly, but found that for some reason he did not mind Luna talking about Sirius. He had just remembered that she, too, could see Thestrals. `Have you…ʹ he began. `I mean, who… has anyone you known ever died?ʹ `Yes,ʹ said Luna simply, `my mother. She was a quite extraordinary witch, you know, but she did like to experiment and one of her spells went rather badly wrong one day. I was nine.ʹ `Iʹm sorryʹ Harry mumbled. ʹYes, it was rather horrible,ʹ said Luna conversationally. `I still feel very sad about it sometimes. But Iʹve still got Dad. And anyway, itʹs not as though Iʹll never see Mum again, is it?ʹ `Er ‐ isnʹt it?ʹ said Harry uncertainly. She shook her head in disbelief. `Oh, come on. You heard them, just behind the veil, didnʹt you?ʹ `You mean…ʹ `In that room with the archway. They were just lurking out of sight, thatʹs all. You heard them.ʹ Harry was surprised to find that this information did not hurt at all. Wanting to impress Cho seemed to belong to a past that was no longer quite connected with him; so much of what he had wanted before Sinusʹ,ʹ death felt that «°av these days… the week that had elapsed since he had last seen Sirius seemed to have lasted much, much longer; it stretched across two universes, the one with Sirius in it, and the one without.Q6 - Would Harry and Cho be a good couple now? Do you think they’ll get back together?
When the ticket inspector signaled to Harry, Ron and Hermione that it was safe to walk through the magical barrier between platforms nine and ten, however, he found a surprise awaiting him on the other side: a group of people standing there to greet him who he had not expected at all…Harry nodded. He somehow could not find words to tell them what it meant to him, to see them all ranged there, on his side. Instead, he smiled, raised a hand in farewell, turned around and led the way out of the station towards the sunlit street, with Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley hurrying along in his wake.Q7 - How will Harry go from this point on?
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Chapter 30 - GrawpEventually the area was roped off and Filch, gnashing his teeth furiously, was given the task of punting students across it to their classrooms. Harry was certain that teachers like McGonagall or Flitwick could have removed the swamp in an instant but, just as in the case of Fred and Georges Wildfire Whiz‐bangs, they seemed to prefer to watch Umbridge struggle.
Q1 - What prank would you play on Umbridge now?
None of the staff but Filch seemed to be stirring themselves to help her. Indeed, a week after Fred and Georgeʹs departure Harry witnessed Professor McGonagall walking right past Peeves, who was determinedly loosening a crystal chandelier, and could have sworn he heard her tell the poltergeist out of the corner of her mouth, ʹIt unscrews the other way.ʹQ2 - Should Harry be that serious about occlumency and going back to Snape?
Q3 - Hagrid mentions he’s going to help Dumbledore when he gets sacked…what is he going to do?
ʹWhat are those ropes for, then?ʹ Harry asked. He had just noticed ropes thick as saplings stretching from around the trunks of the largest nearby trees towards the place where Grawp lay curled on the ground with his back to them. ʹYou have to keep him tied up?ʹ said Hermione faintly. ʹWell… yeah…ʹ said Hagrid, looking anxious. ʹSee ‐ itʹs like I say ‐ he doesnʹ really know ʹis own strength.ʹQ4 - Is Hagrid right to have his brother like this?
Q5 - What do you think about Centaurs?
ʹOh, come off it, Harry!ʹ said Hermione angrily, stopping dead in her tracks so that the people behind had to swerve to avoid her. ʹOf course heʹs going to be chucked out and, to be perfectly honest, after what weʹve just seen, who can blame Umbridge?ʹ There was a pause in which Harry glared at her, and her eyes filled slowly with tears. ʹYou didnʹt mean that,ʹ said Harry quietly. ʹNo… well… all right… I didnʹt,ʹ she said, wiping her eyes angrily. ʹBut why does he have to make life so difficult for himself ‐ for us?ʹQ6 - Why is Hermione so mad here?
Q7 - What do you think about Ron having a good match?
Chapter 31 - O.W.L.sQ1 - Have you ever had that moment of euphoria like Ron is at the moment?
Q2 - Were you guys studyers?
ʹBut I daresay the Ministry of Magic will track him down soon enough.ʹ ʹI doubt it,ʹ shouted tiny Professor Marchbanks, ʹnot if Dumbledore doesnʹt want to be found! I should know… examined him personally in Transfiguration and Charms when he did NEWTs… did things with a wand Iʹd never seen before.ʹQ3 - Who after Dumbledore is the best witch or wizard?
The first question: a) Give the incantation and b) describe the wand movement required to make objects fly. Harry had a fleeting memory of a club soaring high into the air and landing loudly on the thick skull of a troll… smiling slightly, he bent over the paper and began to write.Q4 - Is Harry going to get high marks?
ʹWell, we were always going to fail that one,ʹ said Ron gloomily as they ascended the marble staircase. He had just made Harry feel rather better by telling him how he had told the examiner in detail about the ugly man with a wart on his nose in his crystal ball, only to look up and realize he had been describing his examinerʹs reflection.Q5 - Why are they sacking Hagrid so late?
Q6 - What do you think of the whole sacking of Hagrid?
Q7 - In your opinion, did wand legislation contribute to, or lead to better control of, goblin riots of the eighteenth century?
Q8 - Harry mentions Legilimency for this exam, would that work?
But there was a shape on the floor at the very end, a black shape moving on the floor like a wounded animal… Harryʹs stomach contracted with fear… with excitement… A voice issued from his own mouth, a high, cold voice empty of any human kindness… Take it for me… lift it down, now… I cannot touch it… but you can The black shape on the floor shifted a little. Harry saw a long‐fingered white hand clutching a wand rise at the end of his own arm… heard the high, cold voice say ʹCrucio!ʹ The man on the floor let out a scream of pain, attempted to stand but fell back, writhing. Harry was laughing. He raised his wand, the curse lifted and the figure groaned and became motionless. ʹLord Voldemort is waiting Very slowly, his arms trembling, the man on the ground raised his shoulders a few inches and lifted his head. His face was bloodstained and gaunt, twisted in pain yet rigid with defiance… ʹYouʹll have to kill me,ʹ whispered Sirius. ʹUndoubtedly I shall in the end,ʹ said the cold voice. ʹBut you will fetch it for me first, Black… you think you have felt pain thus far? Think again… we have hours ahead of us and nobody to hear you scream…ʹ But somebody screamed as Voldemort lowered his wand again; somebody yelled and fell sideways off a hot desk on to the cold stone floor; Harry awoke as he hit the ground, still yelling, his scar on fire, as the Great Hall erupted all around him.Q9 - What do you think is happening?
Chapter 32 - Out of the FireʹI donʹt wonder youʹre shocked, Potter,ʹ said Madam Pomfrey, with a kind of fierce approval in her face. ʹAs if one of them could have Stunned Minerva McGonagall face‐on by daylight! Cowardice, . thatʹs what it was… despicable cowardice… if I wasnʹt worried what would happen to you students without me, Iʹd resign in protest.ʹQ1 - What should the teachers do here?
Q2 - Are Ron and Hermione wrong to be questioning Harry here? Has Harry proved himself untrustworthy?
ʹOK,ʹ she said, looking frightened yet determined, ʹIʹve just got to say this ‐ʹ ʹWhat?ʹ ʹYou… this isnʹt a criticism, Harry! But you do… sort of… I mean ‐ donʹt you think youʹve got a bit of a ‐ a ‐ saving‐people thing!ʹ she said.Q3 - Is she right here?
ʹIʹm trying to say ‐ Voldemort knows you, Harry! He took Ginny down into the Chamber of Secrets to lure you there, itʹs the kind of thing he does, he knows youʹre the ‐ the sort of person whoʹd go to Siriusʹs aid! What if heʹs just trying to get you into the Department of Myst—?ʹQ4 - Is she right here?
ʹWeʹll have to use Umbridgeʹs fire and see if we can contact him,ʹ said Hermione, who looked positively terrified at the thought. ʹWeʹll draw Umbridge away again, but weʹll need lookouts, and thatʹs where we can use Ginny and Luna.ʹ Though clearly struggling to understand what was going on, Ginny said immediately, ʹYeah, weʹll do it,ʹ and Luna said, ʹWhen you say ʺSiriusʺ, are you talking about Stubby Boardman?ʹQ5 - Is this a good plan?
ʹWhereʹs Sirius, Kreacher?ʹ Harry demanded. The house‐elf gave a wheezy chuckle. ʹMaster has gone out, Harry Potter.ʹ ʹWhereʹs he gone? Whereʹs he gone, Kreacher?ʹ Kreacher merely cackled. ʹIʹm warning you!ʹ said Harry, fully aware that his scope for inflicting punishment upon Kreacher was almost non‐existent in this position. ʹWhat about Lupin? Mad‐Eye? Any of them, are any of them there?ʹ ʹNobody here but Kreacher!ʹ said the elf gleefully and turning away from Harry he began to walk slowly towards the door at the end of the kitchen. ʹKreacher thinks he will have a little chat with his mistress now, yes, he hasnʹt had a chance in a long time, Kreacherʹs master has been keeping him away from her ‐ʹ ʹWhere has Sirius gone?ʹ Harry yelled after the elf. ʹKreacher, has he gone to the Department of Mysteries?ʹ Kreacher stopped in his tracks. Harry could just make out the back of his bald head through the forest of chair legs before him. ʹMaster does not tell poor Kreacher where he is going,ʹ said the elf quietly. ʹBut you know!ʹ shouted Harry. ʹDonʹt you? You know where he is!ʹ There was a momentʹs silence, then the elf let out his loudest cackle yet. ʹMaster will not come back from the Department of Mysteries!ʹ he said gleefully. ʹKreacher and his mistress are alone again!ʹQ6 - Will Sirius not come back from the Department of Mysteries?
Snape gave her an ironic bow and turned to leave. Harry knew his last chance of letting the Order know what was going on was walking out of the door. ʹHeʹs got Padfoot!ʹ he shouted. ʹHeʹs got Padfoot at the place where itʹs hidden!ʹ Snape had stopped with his hand on Umbridges door handle. ʹPadfoot?ʹ cried Professor Umbridge, looking eagerly from Harry to Snape. ʹWhat is Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What does he mean, Snape?ʹ Snape looked round at Harry. His face was inscrutable. Harry could not tell whether he had understood or not, but he did not dare speak more plainly in front of Umbridge. ʹI have no idea,ʹ said Snape coldly.Q7 - Is Snape good or bad?
Q8 - What do you think about the reveal that she was the one who sent Dementors to little whinging?
Q9 - She was going to use the Cruciatus curse?!
Q10 - What is Hermine leading them to?
Chapter 33 - Fight and FlightʹCan we have your wand, then, if weʹre going first?ʹ Harry asked her. ʹNo, I donʹt think so, Mr Potter,ʹ said Umbridge sweetly, poking him in the back with it. The Ministry places a rather higher value on my life than yours, Iʹm afraid.ʹQ1 - If you were leading Umbridge into the woods, where would you take her?
But as he stretched out a hand towards it, a centaurʹs hoof descended upon the wand and it broke cleanly in half. ʹNow!ʹ roared a voice in Harryʹs ear and a thick hairy arm descended from thin air and dragged him upright. Hermione, too, had been pulled to her feet. Over the plunging, many‐coloured backs and heads of the centaurs, Harry saw Umbridge being borne away through the trees by Bane. Screaming non‐stop, her voice grew fainter and fainter until they could no longer hear it over the trampling of hooves surrounding them.Q2 - Is this the end of Umbridge magical journey?
Q3 - Will she be back in this book?
He opened his mouth even wider. ʹHagger.ʹ Harry did not know what ʹhaggerʹ meant, or what language it was from.Q4 - Is Harry the dumbest person in this book?
ʹExcuse me, but I care what happens to Sirius as much as you do!ʹ said Ginny, her jaw set so that her resemblance to Fred and George was suddenly striking. ʹYouʹre too ‐ʹ Harry began, but Ginny said fiercely, ʹIʹm three years older than you were when you fought You‐Know‐Who over the Philosopherʹs Stone, and itʹs because of me that Malfoyʹs stuck back in Umbridgeʹs office with giant flying bogies attacking him ‐ʹ ʹYeah, but ‐ʹ ʹWe were all in the DA together,ʹ said Neville quietly. ʹIt was all supposed to be about fighting You‐Know‐Who, wasnʹt it? And this is the first chance weʹve had to do something real ‐ or was that all just a game or something?ʹ ʹNo — of course it wasnʹt ‐ʹ said Harry impatiently. Then we should come too,ʹ said Neville simply. ʹWe want to help.ʹ Thatʹs right,ʹ said Luna, smiling happily. Harryʹs eyes met Ronʹs. He knew Ron was thinking exactly what he was: if he could have chosen any members of the DA, in addition to himself, Ron and Hermione, to join him in the attempt to rescue Sirius, he would not have picked Ginny, Neville or Luna.Q5 - Who is your starting three from the DA?
Q6 - Have your thoughts on Thestrals changed?
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Chapter 25 - The Beetle at Bay
Q1 - What do you think of this mass breakout at Azkaban?
Q2 - Why was Bode assassinated? And who killed him?
This latest Decree had been the subject of a great number of jokes among the students. Lee Jordan had pointed out to Umbridge that by the terms of the new rule she was not allowed to tell Fred and George off for playing Exploding Snap in the back of the class. ʹExploding Snapʹs got nothing to do with Defence Against the Dark Arts, Professor! Thatʹs not information relating to your subject!ʹ When Harry next saw Lee, the back of his hand was bleeding rather badly. Harry recommended essence of Murtlap.Q3 - Do you think Umbridge should be in prison for this?
ʹWell, maybe Snape isnʹt really trying to help Harry…ʹ Harry and Hermione stared at him. Ron looked darkly and meaningfully from one to the other. ʹMaybe,ʹ he said again, in a lower voice, ʹheʹs actually trying to open Harryʹs mind a bit wider… make it easier for You‐Know—ʹ ʹShut up, Ron,ʹ said Hermione angrily. ʹHow many times have you suspected Snape, and when have you ever been right? Dumbledore trusts him, he works for the Order, that ought to be enough.ʹ ʹHe used to be a Death Eater,ʹ said Ron stubbornly. ʹAnd weʹve never seen proof that he really swapped sides.ʹ ʹDumbledore trusts him,ʹ Hermione repeated. ʹAnd if we canʹt trust Dumbledore, we canʹt trust anyone.ʹQ4 - Whose side are you taking here?
Q5 - Life advice: After Pancy says, “At least Cedric was good-looking” and the conversation between Harry and Cho stops, what should Harry’s response be?
Q6 - Do you think the date is going well?
In the time it took for their coffees to arrive, Roger Davies and his girlfriend had started kissing over their sugar bowl. Harry wished they wouldnʹt; he felt that Davies was setting a standard with which Cho would soon expect him to compete. He felt his face growing hot and tried staring out of the window, but it was so steamed up he couldnʹt see the street outside. To postpone the moment when he would have to look at Cho, he stared up at the ceiling as though examining the paintwork and received a handful of confetti in the face from their hovering cherub.Q7 - Does Harry actually like Cho…because why wouldn’t he wanna makeout with her?
Q8 - Is Cho right to be angry at Harry here?
Q9 - Can guys and girls be actual friends?
Q10 - What is going on with Hagrid?
Q11 - Is Hermione slightly abusive to be controlling Rita like this?
Q12 - Is Harry smart to be telling his story?
Chapter 26 - Seen and Unforeseen’You should have told her differently,ʹ said Hermione, still with that maddeningly patient air. ʹYou should have said it was really annoying, but Iʹd made you promise to come along to the Three Broomsticks, and you really didnʹt want to go, youʹd much rather spend the whole day with her, but unfortunately you thought you really ought to meet me and would she please, please come along with you and hopefully youʹd be able to get away more quickly. And it might have been a good idea to mention how ugly you think I am, too,ʹ Hermione added as an afterthought. ʹBut I donʹt think youʹre ugly,ʹ said Harry, bemused. Hermione laughed. ʹHarry youʹre worse than Ron… well, no, youʹre not,ʹ she sighed, as Ron himself came stumping into the Hall splattered with mud and looking grumpy.Q1 - How do you know if a person likes you or not?
Q2 - Is it good that Harry’s story is published? Do we feel like Harry finally beat Umbridge?
The teachers were of course forbidden from mentioning the interview by Educational Decree Number Twenty‐six, but they found ways to express their feelings about it all the same. Professor Sprout awarded Gryffindor twenty points when Harry passed her a watering can; a beaming Professor Flitwick pressed a box of squeaking sugar mice on him at the end of Charms, said, ʹShh!ʹ and hurried away; and Professor Trelawney broke into hysterical sobs during Divination and announced to the startled class, and a very disapproving Umbridge, that Harry was not going to suffer an early death after all, but would live to a ripe old age, become Minister for Magic and have twelve children.Q3 - What’s your favorite time a teacher praised you?
Q4 - What’s the deal with Avery and Rookwood? What information are they giving to Voldy?
ʹI was You-Know-Who,ʹ said Harry, and he stretched out his hands in the darkness and held them up to his face, to check that they were no longer deathly white and long‐fingered.Q5 - Why is Harry now becoming Voldemort?
ʹSturgis Podmore—’ said Hermione breathlessly, ʹarrested for trying to get through a door! Lucius Malfoy must have got him too! I bet he did it the day you saw him there, Harry. Sturgis had Moodyʹs Invisibility Cloak, right? So, what if he was standing guard by the door, invisible, and Malfoy heard him move ‐ or guessed someone was there ‐ or just did the Imperius Curse on the off‐chance thereʹd be a guard there? So, when Sturgis next had an opportunity ‐ probably when it was his turn on guard duty again—he tried to get into the Department to steal the weapon for Voldemort—Ron, be quiet—but he got caught and sent to Azkaban…ʺQ6 - Is Hermione right here?
Snape staggered ‐ his wand flew upwards, away from Harry ‐and suddenly Harryʹs mind was teeming with memories that were not his: a hook‐nosed man was shouting at a cowering woman, while a small dark‐haired boy cried in a corner… a greasy‐haired teenager sat alone in a dark bedroom, pointing his wand at the ceiling, shooting down flies… a girl was laughing as a scrawny boy tried to mount a bucking broomstick.Q7 - Do any of these memories mean anything?
ʹCan you tell me something, sir?ʹ said Harry, firing up again. ʹWhy do you call Voldemort the Dark Lord? Iʹve only ever heard Death Eaters call him that.ʹ Snape opened his mouth in a snarl ‐ and a woman screamed from somewhere outside the room. Snapes head jerked upwards; he was gazing at the ceiling.There, there, Sybill… calm down… blow your nose on this… itʹs not as bad as you think, now… you are not going to have to leave Hogwarts…ʺ ʹOh really, Professor McGonagall?ʹ said Umbridge in a deadly voice, taking a few steps forward. ʹAnd your authority for that statement is… ?ʹ That would be mine,ʹ said a deep voice. The oaken front doors had swung open. Students beside them scuttled out of the way as Dumbledore appeared in the entrance. What he had been doing out in the grounds Harry could not imagine, but there was something impressive about the sight of him framed in the doorway against an oddly misty night.Q8 - What was Dumbledore doing outside the castle at this hour?
Q9 - Thoughts on Trelawney sack, Dumbledore’s attitude, and Firenze hire?
Chapter 27 - The Centaur and the SneakʹNot reallyʹ said Hermione indifferently, who was reading the Daily Prophet. ʹIʹve never really liked horses.ʹ She turned a page of the newspaper and scanned its columns. ʹHeʹs not a horse, heʹs a centaur!ʹ said Lavender, sounding shocked. ʹA gorgeous centaur…ʹ sighed Parvati.Q1 - Is it weird to be attracted to a centaur? (or the horse from Spirit?)
ʹDid Hagrid breed you, like the Thestrals?ʹ asked Dean eagerly.Q2 - Did Dean just unseat Ron as the dumbest student in Hogwarts?
ʹIn the past decade, the indications have been that wizardkind is living through nothing more than a brief calm between two wars. Mars, bringer of battle, shines brightly above us, suggesting that the fight must soon break out again.Q3 - Is he right here?
Q4 - What is Hagrid attempting?
Q5 - Did you think they were going to ever get caught?
Potter was the leader, was he not, Potter organized it, Potter ‐ why are you shaking your head, girl?ʹ ʹWell, usually when a person shakes their head,ʹ said McGonagall coldly, ʹthey mean ʺnoʺ. So unless Miss Edgecombe is using a form of sign‐language as yet unknown to humans ‐ʹ Professor Umbridge seized Marietta, pulled her round to face her and began shaking her very hard. A split second later Dumbledore was on his feet, his wand raised; Kingsley started forwards and Umbridge leapt back from Marietta, waving her hands in the air as though they had been burned. ʹI cannot allow you to manhandle my students, Dolores,ʹ said Dumbledore and, for the first time, he looked angry.ʹYou will now be escorted back to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged, then sent to Azkaban to await trial!ʹ ʹAh,ʹ said Dumbledore gently, ʹyes. Yes, I thought we might hit that little snag.ʹ ʹSnag?ʹ said Fudge, his voice still vibrating with joy. ʹI see no snag, Dumbledore!ʹ ʹWell,ʹ said Dumbledore apologetically, ʹIʹm afraid I do.ʹ ʹOh, really?ʹ ʹWell ‐ itʹs just that you seem to be laboring under the delusion that I am going to ‐ what is the phrase? ‐ come quietly. I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course ‐ but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing.ʹQ6 - What are your thoughts on Dumbledore here?
ʹI am not leaving to go into hiding. Fudge will soon wish heʹd never dislodged me from Hogwarts, I promise you.ʹQ7 - What is Dumbledore going to do now?
Professor McGonagall said nothing, but marched Harry and Marietta to the door. As it swung closed behind them, Harry heard Phineas Nigellusʹs voice. ʹYou know, Minister, I disagree with Dumbledore on many counts… but you cannot deny heʹs got style…ʹQ8 - What do you think about everything that just happened?
Chapter 28 - Snape’s Worst Memory“Umbridge tried to get back into his office last night after theyʹd searched the castle and grounds for him. Couldnʹt get past the gargoyle. The Headʹs office has sealed itself against her.ʹ Ernie smirked. ʹApparently, she had a right little tantrum.”Q1 - Do you think Dumbledore did this or is this just the magic of the castle?
ʹMalfoy just docked us all about fifty points,ʹ said Harry furiously, as they watched several more stones fly upwards from the Gryffindor hour‐glass. ʹYeah, Montague tried to do us during break,ʹ said George. ʹWhat do you mean, ʺtriedʺ?ʹ said Ron quickly. ʹHe never managed to get all the words out,ʹ said Fred, ʹdue to the fact that we forced him head‐first into that Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor.ʹQ2 - Where do you think Montague vanished to?
Q3 - What do you think about the new point system?
The upshot of it all was that Professor Umbridge spent her first afternoon as Headmistress running all over the school answering the summonses of the other teachers, none of whom seemed able to rid their rooms of the fireworks without her. When the final bell rang and they were heading back to Gryffindor Tower with their bags, Harry saw, with immense satisfaction, a dishevelled and soot-blackened Umbridge tottering sweaty‐faced from Professor Flitwickʹs classroom.And now he was in a dimly lit room as high and wide as a church, full of nothing but rows and rows of towering shelves, each laden with small, dusty, spun‐glass spheres… now Harrys heart was beating fast with excitement… he knew where to go… he ran forwards, but his footsteps made no noise in the enormous, deserted room… There was something in this room he wanted very, very much…Q4 - What is Harry looking at here?
Sheʹs a lovely person really,ʹ said Cho. ʹShe just made a mistake ‐ʹ Harry looked at her incredulously. ʹA lovely person who made a mistake? She sold us all out, including you!ʹ ʹWell… we all got away, didnʹt we?ʹ said Cho pleadingly. ʹYou know, her mum works for the Ministry, itʹs really difficult for her ‐ʹ ʹRonʹs dad works for the Ministry too!ʹ Harry said furiously. ʹAnd in case you hadnʹt noticed, he hasnʹt got sneak written across his face ‐ʹ That was a really horrible trick of Hermione Grangerʹs,ʹ said Cho fiercely. ʹShe should have told us sheʹd jinxed that list ‐ʹ ʹI think it was a brilliant idea,ʹ said Harry coldly. Cho flushed and her eyes grew brighter. ʹOh yes, I forgot ‐ of course, if it was darling Hermioneʹs idea ‐ʹ ʹDonʹt start crying again,ʹ said Harry warningly. ʹI wasnʹt going to!ʹ she shouted. ʹYeah… well… good,ʹ he said. Iʹve got enough to cope with at the moment.ʹ ʹGo and cope with it then!ʹ Cho said furiously, turning on her heel and stalking off.Q5 - Who is right in this debate?
Q6 - Should Harry have looked into Snape’s memories?
ʹLeave him ALONE!ʹ James and Sirius looked round. Jamesʹs free hand immediately jumped to his hair. It was one of the girls from the lake edge. She had thick, dark red hair that fell to her shoulders, and startlingly green almond-shaped eyes—Harryʹs eyes. Harryʹs mother.Q7 - Jenn and Danny, what do you think about the color and shape of the eyes?
Q8 - What do you think of the young marauders and of Lily and Snape?
ʹYou think youʹre funny,ʹ she said coldly. ʹBut youʹre just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone.ʹ ʹI will if you go out with me, Evans,ʹ said James quickly. ʹGo on… go out with me and Iʹll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again.ʹQ9 - Were James and Lily married because of this bet?
Q10 - Is James Potter a jerk?
Chapter 29 - Careers AdviceQ1 - What is going on with Harry at the start of this chapter? (Is he only depressed because of the memory he saw?)
Q2 - Is Harry an idiot to be breaking into Umbridge’s office to talk with Sirius?
Q3 - What would the trio be good at for their jobs?
Q4 - What would you want to do in the wizarding world?
Professor Umbridge gave her most pronounced cough yet. ʹMay I offer you a cough drop, Dolores?ʹ Professor McGonagall asked curtly, without looking at Professor Umbridge.ʹI should have made my meaning plainer,ʹ said Professor McGonagall, turning at last to look Umbridge directly in the eyes. ʹHe has achieved high marks in all Defence Against the Dark Arts tests set by a competent teacher.ʹ Professor Umbridgeʹs smile vanished as suddenly as a light bulb blowing.ʹPotter,ʹ she said in ringing tones, ʹI will assist you to become an Auror if it is the last thing I do! If I have to coach you nightly, I will make sure you achieve the required results!ʹQ5 - Thoughts on the showdown with McG and Umbridge?
ʹHe kept messing up his hair,ʹ said Harry in a pained voice. Sirius and Lupin laughed. ʹIʹd forgotten he used to do that,ʹ said Sirius affectionately. ʹWas he playing with the Snitch?ʹ said Lupin eagerly. ʹYeah,ʹ said Harry, watching uncomprehendingly as Sirius and Lupin beamed reminiscently. ʹWell… I thought he was a bit of an idiot.ʹQ6 - How do you look at your past self?
Q7 - Are Sirius and Lupin right to laugh it off like this?
ʹSTOP THEM!ʹ shrieked Umbridge, but it was too late. As the Inquisitorial Squad closed in, Fred and George kicked off from the floor, shooting fifteen feet into the air, the iron peg swinging dangerously below. Fred looked across the hall at the poltergeist bobbing on his level above the crowd. ʹGive her hell from us, Peeves.ʹ And Peeves, who Harry had never seen take an order from a student before, swept his belled hat from his head and sprang to a salute as Fred and George wheeled about to tumultuous applause from the students below and sped out of the open front doors into the glorious sunset.Q8 - What do you think about this?
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Chapter 21 - The Eye of the SnakeʹOi!ʹ bellowed Ron, finally losing patience and sticking his head out of the window, ʹI am a prefect and if one more snowball hits this window—OUCH!ʹ He withdrew his head sharply, his face covered in snow. ʹItʹs Fred and George,ʹ he said bitterly, slamming the window behind him. ʹGits…ʹ ʹDonʹ worry, it wonʹ hurt yen,ʹ said Hagrid patiently. ʹRighʹ, now, who can tell me why some oʹ yeh can see ʹem anʹ some canʹt?ʹ Hermione raised her hand. ʹGo on then,ʹ said Hagrid, beaming at her. The only people who can see Thestrals,ʹ she said, ʹare people who have seen death.ʹ Thaʹs exactly right,ʹ said Hagrid solemnly, ʹten points ter Gryffindor. Now, Thestrals— ʹHem, hem.ʹ Professor Umbridge had arrived.
Q1 - What do you think of Thestrals
Q2 - Is Umbridge still okay after this?
ʹYou can see the Thestrals, Longbottom, can you?ʹ she said. Neville nodded. ʹWho did you see die?ʹ she asked, her tone indifferent. ʹMy… my grandad,ʹ said Neville.Q3 - Harry is going to the Burrow for Christmas…what’s the most memorable Christmas you’ve had?
ʹWell,ʹ said Angelina dully, pulling off her cloak and throwing it into a corner, ʹweʹve finally replaced you.ʹ ʹReplaced me?ʹ said Harry blankly. ʹYou and Fred and George,ʹ she said impatiently. ʹWeʹve got another Seeker!ʹ ʹWho?ʹ said Harry quickly. ʹGinny Weasley,ʹ said Katie.Q4 - You think Ginny will be good at Quidditch?
Q5 - When Cho was hanging back during the DA meeting, did you know everything that was going to happen, like Hermione did, or were you oblivious like Ron.
ʹWell?ʹ Ron said finally, looking up at Harry. ʹHow was it?ʹ Harry considered for a moment. ʹWet,ʹ he said truthfully. Ron made a noise that might have indicated jubilation or disgust, it was hard to tell. ʹBecause she was crying,ʹ Harry continued heavily. ʹOh,ʹ said Ron, his smile fading slightly. ʹAre you that bad at kissing?ʹʹWell, obviously, sheʹs feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect sheʹs feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she canʹt work out who she likes best. Then sheʹll be feeling guilty, thinking itʹs an insult to Cedricʹs memory to be kissing Harry at all, and sheʹll be worrying about what everyone else might say about her if she starts going out with Harry. And she probably canʹt work out what her feelings towards Harry are, anyway, because he was the one who was with Cedric when Cedric died, so thatʹs all very mixed up and painful. Oh, and sheʹs afraid sheʹs going to be thrown off the Ravenclaw Quidditch team because sheʹs been flying so badly.ʹ A slightly stunned silence greeted the end of this speech, then Ron said, ʹOne person canʹt feel all that at once, theyʹd explode.ʹ ʹJust because youʹve got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesnʹt mean we all have,ʹ said Hermione nastily picking up her quill again.Q6 - Is Hermione the best?
He had to tell Ron, it was very important that he tell him… taking great gulps of air, Harry pushed himself up in bed, willing himself not to throw up again, the pain half‐blinding him. ʹYour dad,ʹ he panted, his chest heaving. ʹYour dadʹs… been attacked…ʹ ʹWhat?ʹ said Ron uncomprehendingly. ʹYour dad! Heʹs been bitten, itʹs serious, there was blood everywhere…ʺQ7 - Was this dream real?
ʹNo!ʹ said Harry angrily; would none of them understand? ʹI was having a dream at first about something completely different, something stupid… and then this interrupted it. It was real, I didnʹt imagine it. Mr Weasley was asleep on the floor and he was attacked by a gigantic snake, there was a load of blood, he collapsed, someoneʹs got to find out where he is…ʹ Professor McGonagall was gazing at him through her lopsided spectacles as though horrified at what she was seeing. ʹIʹm not lying and Iʹm not mad!ʹ Harry told her, his voice rising to a shout. ʹI tell you, I saw it happen!ʹ ʹI believe you, Potter,ʹ said Professor McGonagall curtly. ʹPut on your dressing gown—weʹre going to see the Headmaster.ʹQ8 - Was Harry the snake or was he watching the whole thing happen?
Chapter 22 - St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and InjuriesProfessor McGonagall rapped three times with the griffin knocker and the voices ceased abruptly as though someone had switched them all off. The door opened of its own accord and Professor McGonagall led Harry and Ron inside.Q1 - What are those voices? And what are they talking about?
ʹHow did you see this?ʹ Dumbledore asked quietly, still not looking at Harry. ʹWell… I donʹt know,ʹ said Harry, rather angrily ‐ what did it matter? ʹInside my head, I suppose—” ʹYou misunderstand me,ʹ said Dumbledore, still in the same calm tone. ʹI mean… can you remember —er— where you were positioned as you watched this attack happen? Were you perhaps standing beside the victim, or else looking down on the scene from above?ʹ This was such a curious question that Harry gaped at Dumbledore; it was almost as though he knew…Q2 - What does Dumbledore know?
Q3 - Dumbledore tells Fawkes that they will need a warning…what is he talking about?
The instrument tinkled into life at once with rhythmic clinking noises. Tiny puffs of pale green smoke issued from the minuscule silver tube at the top. Dumbledore watched the smoke closely, his brow furrowed. After a few seconds, the tiny puffs became a steady stream of smoke that thickened and coiled in the air… a serpentʹs head grew out of the end of it, opening its mouth wide. Harry wondered whether the instrument was confirming his story: he looked eagerly at Dumbledore for a sign that he was right, but Dumbledore did not look up. ʹNaturally, naturally,ʹ murmured Dumbledore apparently to himself, still observing the stream of smoke without the slightest sign of surprise. ʹBut in essence divided?ʹ Harry could make neither head nor tail of this question. The smoke serpent, however, split itself instantly into two snakes, both coiling and undulating in the dark air. With a look of grim satisfaction, Dumbledore gave the instrument another gentle tap with his wand: the clinking noise slowed and died and the smoke serpents grew faint, became a formless haze and vanished.Q4 - What does Dumbledore mean, in essence divided? What is happening here?
ʹYour father has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix,ʹ said Dumbledore, before Harry could speak. ʹHe has been taken to St Mungoʹs Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I am sending you back to Siriusʹs house, which is much more convenient for the hospital than The Burrow. You will meet your mother there.ʹ ʹHowʹre we going?ʹ asked Fred, looking shaken. Floo powder?ʹ ʹNo,ʹ said Dumbledore, Floo powder is not safe at the moment, the Network is being watched. You will be taking a Portkey.ʹ He indicated the old kettle lying innocently on his desk. ʹWe are just waiting for Phineas Nigellus to report back… I want to be sure that the coast is clear before sending you—” There was a flash of flame in the very middle of the office, leaving behind a single golden feather that floated gently to the floor. ʹIt is Fawkesʹs warning,ʹ said Dumbledore, catching the feather as it fell. ʹProfessor Umbridge must know youʹre out of your beds… Minerva, go and head her off—tell her any story.”ʹQ5 - Does it scare you that Dumbledore is being this intense?
It happened in a fraction of a second: in the infinitesimal pause before Dumbledore said ʹthreeʹ, Harry looked up at him—they were very close together—and Dumbledoreʹs clear blue gaze moved from the Portkey to Harryʹs face. At once, Harryʹs scar burned white-hot, as though the old wound had burst open again ‐ and unbidden, unwanted, but terrifyingly strong, there rose within Harry a hatred so powerful he felt, for that instant, he would like nothing better than to strike—to bite—to sink his fangs into the man before him — ʹ… three.ʹQ6 - What is going on here?
Q7 - Do you side with Sirius or the Weasleys wanting to go see their dad?
If Harry had ever sat through a longer night than this one, he could not remember it. Sirius suggested once, without any real conviction, that they all go to bed, but the Weasleysʹ looks of disgust were answer enough. They mostly sat in silence around the table, watching the candle wick sinking lower and lower into liquid wax, occasionally raising a bottle to their lips, speaking only to check the time, to wonder aloud what was happening, and to reassure each other that if there was bad news, they would know straightaway, for Mrs Weasley must long since have arrived at St Mungoʹs.Q8 - Maybe this is too personal but have you ever had a moment of waiting for bad news like this?
Fred fell back into his chair with his hands over his face. George and Ginny got up, walked swiftly over to their mother and hugged her. Ron gave a very shaky laugh and downed the rest of his Butterbeer in one. ʹBreakfast!ʹ said Sirius loudly and joyfully, jumping to his feet. ʹWhereʹs that accursed house‐elf? Kreacher! KREACHER!ʹ But Kreacher did not answer the summons. ʹOh, forget it, then,ʹ muttered Sirius, counting the people in front of him. ʹSo, itʹs breakfast for— letʹs see— seven… bacon and eggs, I think, and some tea, and toast—”ʹBut thatʹs not all,ʹ said Harry, in a voice only a little above a whisper. ʹSirius, I… I think Iʹm going mad. Back in Dumbledoreʹs office, just before we took the Portkey… for a couple of seconds there I thought I was a snake, I felt like one ‐ my scar really hurt when I was looking at Dumbledore ‐ Sirius, I wanted to attack him!ʹ He could only see a sliver of Siriuss face; the rest was in darkness. ʹIt must have been the aftermath of the vision, thatʹs all,ʹ said Sirius. ʹYou were still thinking of the dream or whatever it was and—” ʹIt wasnʹt that,ʹ said Harry, shaking his head, ʹit was like something rose up inside me, like thereʹs a snake inside me.ʹQ9 - What do you think is happening here?
ARTEFACT ACCIDENTS… Ground floor Cauldron explosion, wand backfiring, broom crashes, etc. CREATURE‐INDUCED INJURIES… First floor Bites, stings, burns, embedded spines, etc. MAGICAL BUGS… Second floor Contagious maladies, e.g. dragon pox, vanishing sickness, scrojungulus, etc. POTION AND PLANT POISONING… Third floor Rashes, regurgitation, uncontrollable 2, etc. SPELL DAMAGE… Fourth floor Unliftable jinxes, hexes, incorrectly applied charms, etc. VISITORSʹ TEAROOM / HOSPITAL SHOP… Fifth floorQ10 - What floor would you want to work on?
Q11 - What was Mr Weasley guarding?
ʹCourse heʹs worried,ʹ growled Moody. ʹThe boyʹs seeing things from inside You- Know-Who’s snake. Obviously, Potter doesnʹt realize what that means, but if You-Know-Who’s possessing him —ʹQ12 - What does this mean?
Chapter 23 - Christmas on the Closed WardQ1 - What is Voldemort after? Is Harry really the weapon?
ʹYou know,ʹ said Phineas Nigellus, even more loudly than Harry ʹthis is precisely why I loathed being a teacher! Young people are so infernally convinced that they are absolutely right about everything. Has it not occurred to you, my poor puffed‐up popinjay, that there might be an excellent reason why the Headmaster of Hogwarts is not confiding every tiny detail of his plans to you? Have you never paused, while feeling hard‐done‐by, to note that following Dumbledore's orders has never yet led you into harm? No. No, like all young people, you are quite sure that you alone feel and think, you alone recognise danger, you alone are the only one clever enough to realize what the Dark Lord may be planning—”Q2 - Is Dumbledore right to keep his secrets?
The feeling of being unclean intensified. He half-wished he had not obeyed Dumbledore… if this was how life was going to be for him in Grimmauld Place from now on, maybe he would be better off in Privet Drive after all.Q3 - Is it crazy to you that Harry would rather be back with the Dursleys now?
Q4 - It’s great that Hermione comes, but is she being a bad kid to her parents?
ʹWell, that was a bit stupid of you,ʹ said Ginny angrily, ʹseeing as you donʹt know anyone but me whoʹs been possessed by You‐Know‐Who, and I can tell you how it feels.ʹ Harry remained quite still as the impact of these words hit him. Then he wheeled round. ʹI forgot,ʹ he said. ʹLucky you,ʹ said Ginny coolly.Q5 - What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?
Thanks for the book, Harryʹ she said happily. ʹIʹve been wanting that New Theory on Numerology for ages! And that perfumeʹs really unusual, Ron.ʹQ6 - Thoughts on Ron giving Hermione perfume?
Q7 - One of the healers thought Ron had Spattergroit…do you think he does?
Q8 - What do you think about them seeing Lockhart again?
ʹWhat?ʹ said Ron, looking amazed. (Harry wanted to stamp on Ronʹs foot, but that sort of thing is much harder to bring off unnoticed when youʹre wearing jeans rather than robes.) ʹIs that your dad down the end, Neville?ʹ ʹWhatʹs this?ʹ said Mrs Longbottom sharply. ʹHavenʹt you told your friends about your parents, Neville?ʹ Neville took a deep breath, looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. Harry could not remember ever feeling sorrier for anyone, but he could not think of any way of helping Neville out of the situation. ʹWell, itʹs nothing to be ashamed of!ʹ said Mrs Longbottom angrily. ʹYou should be proud, Neville, proud. They didnʹt give their health and their sanity so their only son would be ashamed of them, you know!ʹ ʹIʹm not ashamed,ʹ said Neville, very faintly, still looking anywhere but at Harry and the others. Ron was now standing on tiptoe to look over at the inhabitants of the two beds.Q9 - What do you think of the group meeting Neville here?
Nevilleʹs mother had come edging down the ward in her nightdress. She no longer had the plump, happy‐looking face Harry had seen in Moodyʹs old photograph of the original Order of the Phoenix. Her face was thin and worn now, her eyes seemed overlarge and her hair, which had turned white, was wispy and dead‐looking. She did not seem to want to speak, or perhaps she was not able to, but she made timid motions towards Neville, holding something in her outstretched hand. ʹAgain?ʹ said Mrs Longbottom, sounding slightly weary. ʹVery well, Alice dear, very well ‐ Neville, take it, whatever it is.ʹ But Neville had already stretched out his hand, into which his mother dropped an empty Droobleʹs Best Blowing Gum wrapper. ʹVery nice, dear,ʹ said Nevilleʹs grandmother in a falsely cheery voice, patting his mother on the shoulder. But Neville said quietly, Thanks, Mum.ʹ His mother tottered away, back up the ward, humming to herself. Neville looked around at the others, his expression defiant, as though daring them to laugh, but Harry did not think heʹd ever found anything less funny in his life. ʹWell, weʹd better get back,ʹ sighed Mrs Longbottom, drawing on long green gloves. ʹVery nice to have met you all. Neville, put that wrapper in the bin, she must have given you enough of them to paper your bedroom by now.ʹ But as they left, Harry was sure he saw Neville slip the sweet wrapper into his pocket.Q10 - What do you think of Neville after this?
Chapter 24 - OcclumencyQ1 - What is Kreacher up to?
“Occlumency, Potter. The magical defense of the mind against external penetration. An obscure branch of magic, but a highly useful one.”Q2 - Thoughts on Occlumency?
Q3 - What’s in the package that Sirius gave Harry?
Q4 - What’s the best story you have of asking someone on a date?
“Only muggles talk of ‘mind reading.’ The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure, Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by any invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing, Potter — or at least most minds are.” He smirked. “It is true, however, that those who have mastered Legilimency are able, under certain conditions, to delve into the minds of their victims and to interpret their findings correctly. The Dark Lord, for instance, almost always knows when somebody is lying to him. Only those skilled at Occlumency are able to shut down those feelings and memories that contradict the lie, and so can utter falsehoods in his presence without detection.”Q5 - Would you want to be good at Occlumency or Legilimency?
“Then you will find yourself easy prey for the Dark Lord!" said Snape savagely. "Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves, who cannot control their emotions, who wallow in sad memories and allow themselves to be provoked so easily - weak people, in other words - they stand no chance against his powers! He will penetrate your mind with absurd ease, Potter!”Q6 - Would you be good at controlling your emotions like this?
Q7 - What’s in the department of mysteries?
Q8 - Why is Snape hiding his memories?
Q9 - Why is Voldemort so happy at the end of this chapter?
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Chapter 17 - Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four
Q1 - What is the nicest thing anyone has ever told you?
ʹNo, they canʹt have done, because I put a jinx on that piece of parchment we all signed,ʹ said Hermione grimly. ʹBelieve me, if anyoneʹs run off and told Umbridge, weʹll know exactly who they are and they will really regret it.ʹQ2 - Was Hermione right to do this?
ʹLooks like somethingʹs attacked her. Canʹt think what would have done it, though. Thestrals will sometimes go for birds, of course, but Hagridʹs got the Hogwarts Thestrals well-trained not to touch owls.ʹQ3 - What do you think Thestrals are?
Q4 - What happened to Hedwig?
“My father says itʹs a matter of time before the Ministry has him carted off to St Mungoʹs… apparently theyʹve got a special ward for people whose brains have been addled by magic.ʹ Malfoy made a grotesque face, his mouth sagging open and his eyes rolling. Crabbe and Goyle gave their usual grunts of laughter; Pansy Parkinson shrieked with glee. Something collided hard with Harryʹs shoulder, knocking him sideways. A split second later he realized that Neville had just charged past him, heading straight for Malfoy.Q5 - Do you think Neville would have won this fight?
Q6 - Danny, what's the significance of Snape being a teacher for 14 years!?
Q7 - What is Molly Weasley on duty for?
A hand had appeared amongst the flames, groping as though to catch hold of something; a stubby, short-fingered hand covered in ugly old-fashioned rings. The three of them ran for it. At the door of the boysʹ dormitory Harry looked back. Umbridgeʹs hand was still making snatching movements amongst the flames, as though she knew exactly where Sirius’s hair had been moments before and was determined to seize it.Chapter 18 - Dumbledore’s ArmyQ1 - Harry’s scar hurts during quidditch and he guesses Voldermort is angry…what is he angry about?
Q2 - Any further thoughts about what the weapon might be?
ʹDobby knows the perfect place, sir!ʹ he said happily. ʹDobby heard tell of it from the other house‐elves when he came to Hogwarts, sir. It is known by us as the Come and Go Room, sir, or else as the Room of Requirement!ʹ ʹWhy?ʹ said Harry curiously. ʹBecause it is a room that a person can only enter,ʹ said Dobby seriously, ʹwhen they have real need of it. Sometimes it is there, and sometimes it is not, but when it appears, it is always equipped for the seekerʹs needs. Dobby has used it, sir,ʹ said the elf, dropping his voice and looking guilty, ʹwhen Winky has been very drunk; he has hidden her in the Room of Requirement and he has found antidotes to Butterbeer there, and a nice elf‐sized bed to settle her on while she sleeps it off, sir… and Dobby knows Mr Filch has found extra cleaning materials there when he has run short, sir, and ʹAnd if you really needed a bathroom,ʹ said Harry, suddenly remembering something Dumbledore had said at the Yule Ball the previous Christmas, ʹwould it fill itself with chamber pots?ʹ ʹDobby expects so, sir,ʹ said Dobby, nodding earnestly. ʹIt is a most amazing room, sir.ʹQ3 - What do you think about the Room of Requirement?
Q4 - What would you have the room change into for you?
Q5 - How did Dumbledore tell Harry about the room at the Yule Ball?
Q6 - Do you agree that Harry should be the leader of the group? Who else would be a good leader?
Harry moved off into the middle of the room. Something very odd was happening to Zacharias Smith. Every time he opened his mouth to disarm Anthony Goldstein, his own wand would fly out of his hand, yet Anthony did not seem to be making a sound. Harry did not have to look far to solve the mystery: Fred and George were several feet from Smith and taking it in turns to point their wands at his back.Q7 - How was the first meeting of the DA?
Q8 - What would you call the group?
Chapter 19 - The Lion and the SerpentʹWell, the Sorting Hat did seriously consider putting me in Ravenclaw during my Sorting,ʹ said Hermione brightly, ʹbut it decided on Gryffindor in the end. So, does that mean weʹre using the Galleons?ʹQ1 - Should Hermione be in Ravenclaw?
ʹGood luck, Ron,ʹ said Hermione, standing on tiptoe and kissing him on the cheek. ʹAnd you, Harry—” Ron seemed to come to himself slightly as they walked back across the Great Hall. He touched the spot on his face where Hermione had kissed him, looking puzzled, as though he was not quite sure what had just happened. He seemed too distracted to notice much around him, but Harry cast a curious glance at the crown‐shaped badges as they passed the Slytherin table, and this time he made out the words etched on to them: Weasley is our King.Q2 - What’s the best bit of trash talk you’ve ever heard? (Weasley is our King)
Q3 - Was Hermione’s kiss tactic a good one?
ʹAnd itʹs Johnson—Johnson with the Quaffle, what a player that girl is, Iʹve been saying it for years but she still wonʹt go out with me—” ʹJORDAN!ʹ yelled Professor McGonagall. ʹ‐ just a fun fact, Professor, adds a bit of interest.Q4 - What’s the most exciting sporting event you’ve ever seen?
Harry was not aware of releasing George, all he knew was that a second later both of them were sprinting towards Malfoy. He had completely forgotten that all the teachers were watching: all he wanted to do was cause Malfoy as much pain as possible; with no time to draw out his wand, he merely drew back the fist clutching the Snitch and sank it as hard as he could into Malfoys stomach.Q5 - Was Harry and George right to do this?
ʹBut instead of leaving it to Madam Hooch to sort out, you two decided to give an exhibition of Muggle duelling, did you?ʹ bellowed Professor McGonagall. ʹHave you any idea what youʹve—?ʹ ʹHem, hem.ʹQ6 - What were your thoughts when you initially read this?
Q7 - Is Umbridge the worst?
Chapter 20 - Hagrid’s TaleQ1 - How do you like Hagrid being back?
Q2 - What do you think about Hagrid’s story?
Q3 - Do you think the giants will be on Voldemort’s side?
ʹI—Iʹve been away for me health,ʹ he said. ʹFor your health,ʹ repeated Professor Umbridge. Her eyes traveled over Hagridʹs discolored and swollen face; dragon blood dripped gently and silently on to his waistcoat. ʹI see.ʹ ʹYeah,ʹ said Hagrid, ʹbit oʹ oʹ fresh air, yeh know—ʹYes, as gamekeeper fresh air must be so difficult to come by,ʹ said Umbridge sweetly. The small patch of Hagridʹs face that was not black or purple, flushed.Q4 - How do you think the Hagrid Umbridge dynamic will work out?
Q5 - Will Hagrid get sacked?
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Chapter 13 - Detention with Dolores
Q1 - Why do you think Dumbledore hired Dolores Jane Umbridge?
Q2 - They are writing an essay on moonstones…do you think this will play into the future somehow?
ʹBowtruckles,ʹ said Hermione. Theyʹre tree guardians, usually live in wand-trees. ʹFive points for Gryffindor,ʹ said Professor Grubbly-Plank. ʹQ3 - How rigged is the point system?
Q4 - What direction do you hope the books go in? What has interested you the most at this point?
The door of the nearest greenhouse opened and some fourth years spilled out of it, including Ginny. ʹHi,ʹ she said brightly as she passed. A few seconds later, Luna Lovegood emerged, trailing behind the rest of the class, a smudge of earth on her nose, and her hair tied in a knot on the top of her head. When she saw Harry, her prominent eyes seemed to bulge excitedly and she made a beeline straight for him. Many of his classmates turned curiously to watch. Luna took a great breath and then said, without so much as a preliminary hello, ʹI believe He Who Must Not Be Named is back and I believe you fought him and escaped from him.ʹQ5 - Harry’s story is becoming a conspiracy theory…do you believe any conspiracy theories?
Q6 - What do you think of Umbridge and her detention with Harry?
Q7 - If you had a detention with a student, what would you have them do?
ʹAt least itʹs only lines,ʹ said Hermione consolingly, as Harry sank back on to his bench and looked down at his steak and kidney pie, which he no longer fancied very much. ʹItʹs not as if itʹs a dreadful punishment, really…ʺ Harry opened his mouth, closed it again and nodded. He was not really sure why he was not telling Ron and Hermione exactly what was happening in Umbridgeʹs room: he only knew that he did not want to see their looks of horror; that would make the whole thing seem worse and therefore more difficult to face. He also felt dimly that this was between himself and Umbridge, a private battle of wills, and he was not going to give her the satisfaction of hearing that he had complained about it.Q8 - Would you stand true like Harry, or fake that she made her point?
She moved towards him, stretching out her short ringed fingers for his arm. And then, as she took hold of him to examine the words now cut into his skin, pain seared, not across the back of his hand, but across the scar on his forehead. At the same time, he had a most peculiar sensation somewhere around his midriff.Q9 - Why did his scar hurt here?
Chapter 14 - Percy and PadfootQ1 - How do Hogwarts students do their laundry?
Q2 - How many house elves do you think Hermione has freed?
Harryʹs insides reinflated so rapidly he felt as though he might actually float a few inches off the dropping-strewn floor. Who cared about a stupid flying horse; Cho thought he had been really brave. For a moment, he considered accidentally- on-purpose showing her his cut hand as he helped her tie her parcel on to her owl… but the very instant this thrilling thought occurred, the Owlery door opened again.Q3 - What’s the most you’ve tried to show off to someone you had a crush on?
Q4 - What is the deal with Sturgis Podmore?
Q5 - Who do you think will win the Quidditch cup this year?
From something the Minister let slip when telling me you are now a prefect, I gather that you are still seeing a lot of Harry Potter. I must tell you, Ron, that nothing could put you in danger of losing your badge more than continued fraternization with that boy. Yes, I am sure you are surprised to hear this no doubt you will say that Potter has always been Dumbledoreʹs favorite — but I feel bound to tell you that Dumbledore may not be in charge at Hogwarts much longer and the people who count have a very different and probably more accurate view of Potterʹs behavior. I shall say no more here, but if you look at the Daily Prophet.Q6 - What does Percy mean here?
Q7 - Do you think Dumbldore will be sacked by the end of this?
And I do hope, Ron, that you will not allow family ties to blind you to the misguided nature of our parentsʹ beliefs and actions, either. I sincerely hope that, in time, they will realize how mistaken they were and I shall, of course, be ready to accept a full apology when that day comes.ʹHermione, you are honestly the most wonderful person Iʹve ever met,ʹ said Ron weakly, ʹand if Iʹm ever rude to you againʹ‐ Iʹll know youʹre back to normal,ʹ said Hermione. ʹHarry, yours is OK except for this bit at the end, I think you must have misheard Professor Sinistra, Europaʹs covered in ice, not mice Harry?ʹQ8 - Harry thought a moon was covered in mice…
ʹYes, but the world isnʹt split into good people and Death Eaters,ʹ said Sirius with a wry smile. ʹI know sheʹs a nasty piece of work, though — you should hear Remus talk about her.ʹ ʹFudge thinks Dumbledore will stop at nothing to seize power. Heʹs getting more paranoid about Dumbledore by the day. Itʹs a matter of time before he has Dumbledore arrested on some trumped up charge.ʹ There was a pause in which Sirius looked out of the fire at Harry, a crease between his sunken eyes. ʹYouʹre less like your father than I thought,ʹ he said finally, a definite coolness in his voice. The risk wouldʹve been what made it fun for James.ʹQ9 - What do you think of what Sirius said?
Chapter 15 - The Hogwarts High InquisitorQ1 - What do you think of Umbridge’s appointment as High Inquisitor?
Q2 - What do you think of the article in the Prophet?
O - OutstandingE - Exceed ExpectationsA - AcceptableP - PoorD - Dreadful T - TrollQ3 - What do you think about the OWL grading system?
Q4 - Do you feel bad for Trelawney here?
Q5 - Do you think any teacher will get fired?
ʹYes?ʹ said Professor McGonagall, turning round, her eyebrows so close together they seemed to form one long, severe line. ʹI was just wondering, Professor, whether you received my note telling you of the date and time of your inspec—ʹ ʹObviously I received it, or I would have asked you what you are doing in my classroom,ʹ said Professor McGonagall, turning her back firmly on Professor Umbridge. Many of the students exchanged looks of glee. ʹAs I was saying: today, we shall be practicing the altogether more difficult Vanishment of mice. Now, the Vanishing Spell.ʹSheʹs an awful woman,ʹ said Hermione in a small voice. ʹAwful. You know, 1 was just saying to Ron when you came in… weʹve got to do something about her.ʹ ʹI suggested poison,ʹ said Ron grimly.Hermione heaved a very deep sigh. ʹIsnʹt it obvious?ʹ she said. ʹIʹm talking about you, Harry.ʹQ6 - Do you think Harry would be a good teacher?
ʹYou donʹt know what itʹs like! You neither of you youʹve never had to face him, have you? You think itʹs just memorizing a bunch of spells and throwing them at him, like youʹre in class or something? The whole time youʹre sure you know thereʹs nothing between you and dying except your own your own brain or guts or whatever like you can think straight when you know youʹre about a nanosecond from being murdered, or tortured, or watching your friends die theyʹve never taught us that in their classes, what itʹs like to deal with things like that and you two sit there acting like Iʹm a clever little boy to be standing here, alive, like Diggory was stupid, like he messed up — you just donʹt get it, that could just as easily have been me, it would have been if Voldemort hadnʹt needed me. ʹReparo,ʹ Harry muttered, pointing his wand at the broken pieces of china. They flew back together, good as new, but there was no returning the Murtlap essence to the bowl. He was suddenly so tired he was tempted to sink back into his armchair and sleep there, but instead he forced himself to his feet and followed Ron upstairs. His restless night was punctuated once more by dreams of long corridors and locked doors and he awoke next day with his scar prickling again.Q7 - Unpack line above.
Chapter 16 - In the Hog’s HeadQ1 - What was the deal with Filch and the dungbombs and Hermione thinking through that story?
A battered wooden sign hung from a rusty bracket over the door, with a picture on it of a wild boarʹs severed head, leaking blood on to the white cloth around it. The sign creaked in the wind as they approached. All three of them hesitated outside the door…The Hogʹs Head bar comprised one small, dingy and very dirty room that smelled strongly of something that might have been goats.Q2 - If you owned a Wizard Brewery, what would you call it?
The barman sidled towards them out of a back room. He was a grumpy-looking old man with a great deal of long grey hair and beard. He was tall and thin and looked vaguely familiar to Harry.Q3 - Have we met this barman before?
ʹWhereʹs the proof You-Know-Whoʹs back?ʹ said the blond Hufflepuff player in a rather aggressive voice. ʹWell, Dumbledore believes it,” Hermione began. ʹYou mean, Dumbledore believes him,ʹ said the blond boy, nodding at Harry. ʹWho are you?ʹ said Ron, rather rudely. ʹZacharias Smith,ʹ said the boy, ʹand I think weʹve got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Whoʹs back.ʹQ4 - Is this an unreasonable request from Smith?
ʹAre you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?ʹ said Zacharias Smith. ʹHereʹs an idea,ʹ said Ron loudly, before Harry could speak, ʹwhy donʹt you shut your mouth?ʹQ5 - Who is the better friend to Harry?
ʹWhat are Heliopaths?ʹ asked Neville, looking blank. Theyʹre spirits of fire,ʹ said Luna, her protuberant eyes widening so that she looked madder than ever, ʹgreat tall flaming creatures that gallop across the ground burning everything in front of—”They donʹt exist, Neville,ʹ said Hermione tartly. ʹOh, yes, they do!ʹ said Luna angrily. ʹIʹm sorry, but whereʹs the proof of that?ʹ snapped Hermione. There are plenty of eye-witness accounts. Just because youʹre so narrow‐minded you need to have everything shoved under your nose before you.”Q6 - Do Heliopaths exist?
ʹWell,ʹ said Hermione, smiling slightly, ʹshe just couldnʹt keep her eyes off you, could she?ʹ Harry had never before appreciated just how beautiful the village of Hogsmeade was.Q7 - What do you think about all these people wanting to joining this group?
Q8 - What is a moment you were on cloud 9 from a crush?
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Chapter 9 - The Woes of Mrs WeasleyʹWell, well, well… Patronus Potter,ʹ said Lucius Malfoy coolly.
Q1 - What's the best nickname you ever got?
Harry turned his moneybag upsidedown and emptied not just ten Galleons, but the whole contents into the pool.Q2 - How do you think Mr Weasley feels at this moment.
Q3 - Do you think Sirius has a right to be upset?
ʹWe were just wondering who set the Slinkhard book,ʹ said Fred conversationally. ʹBecause it means Dumbledoreʹs found a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,ʹ said George.Q4 - Who do you think is going to be their Defense against the Dark Arts teacher?
ʹWhatʹs up with you, Ron?ʹ asked Fred. Ron did not answer. Harry looked round. Ron was standing very still with his mouth slightly open, gaping at his letter from Hogwarts. ʹWhatʹs the matter?ʹ said Fred impatiently, moving around Ron to look over his shoulder at the parchment. Fredʹs mouth fell open, too. ʹPrefect?ʹ he said, staring incredulously at the letter. ʹPrefect?'Q5 - Should Ron have been made a Prefect?
Ron held up his badge. Mrs Weasley let out a shriek just like Hermioneʹs. ʹI donʹt believe it! I donʹt believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! Thatʹs everyone in the family!ʹ ʹWhat are Fred and I, nextdoor neighbors?ʹ said George.Q6 - Ron wants a broom as a reward…do you think he’d be any good at quidditch?
Q7 - Why is Harry so bummed he didn’t get Prefect?
Harry noticed that Ron kept moving his prefects badge around, first placing it on his bedside table, then putting it into his jeans pocket, then taking it out and lying it on his folded robes, as though to see the effect of the red on the black. Only when Fred and George dropped in and offered to attach it to his forehead with a Permanent Sticking Charm did he wrap it tenderly in his maroon socks and lock it in his trunk.Q8 - Have you ever not been chosen for something and been really bummed out?
ʹOh, Alastor, I am glad youʹre here,ʹ said Mrs Weasley brightly, as Mad-Eye shrugged off his traveling cloak. ʹWeʹve been wanting to ask you for ages ‐ could you have a look in the writing desk in the drawing room and tell us whatʹs inside it? We havenʹt wanted to open it just in case itʹs something really nasty.ʹ ʹNo problem, Molly…ʹ Moodyʹs electric‐blue eye swiveled upwards and stared fixedly through the ceiling of the kitchen. ʹDrawing room…ʹ he growled, as the pupil contracted. ʹDesk in the corner? Yeah, I see it… yeah, itʹs a Boggart… want me to go up and get rid of it, Molly?ʹQ9 - What do you think Moody sees?
Q10 - Should Harry have been made a prefect?
Q11 - Moody gives him a picture of the original order…who would you want a TV series about?
ʹIʹm justʹ s ʹs so worried,ʹ she said, tears spilling out of her eyes again. ʹHalf the f‐ f ‐ familyʹs in the Order, itʹll b ‐ b ‐ be a miracle if we all come through this…and P ‐ P ‐ Percys not talking to us… what if something d‐d ‐ dreadful happens and weʹve never in ‐ in ‐ made it up with him? And whatʹs going to happen if Arthur and I get killed, whoʹs g ‐ g ‐ going to look after Ron and Ginny?ʹQ12 - Who do you think will die in the end of this book?
Chapter 10 - Luna LovegoodQ1 - Was Sirius irresponsible for going with the group to the train station?
The girl beside the window looked up. She had straggly, waist length, dirty blonde hair, very pale eyebrows and protuberant eyes that gave her a permanently surprised look. Harry knew at once why Neville had chosen to pass this compartment by. The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness. Perhaps it was the fact that she had stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of Butterbeer corks, or that she was reading a magazine upside down. Her eyes ranged over Neville and came to rest on Harry. She nodded.Q2 - What are your first impressions of Luna?
Harry knew that Nevilleʹs favorite subject was Herbology but for the life of him he could not see what he would want with this stunted little plant.Q3 - Is Harry lame for not liking plants?
Rather pink in the face, she closed the door and departed. Harry slumped back in his seat and groaned. He would have liked Cho to discover him sitting with a group of very cool people laughing their heads off at a joke he had just told; he would not have chosen to be sitting with Neville and Loony Lovegood, clutching a toad and dripping in Stinksap.Q4 - Who do you think all of the characters will marry?
Q5 - Out of all of the articles in the Quibbler, which are you flipping to first? (How Far Will Fudge Go To Gain Gringotts, Corruption in the Quidditch League: How the Tornados are Taking Control, Secrets of the Ancient Runes Revealed, Sirius Black, Villain or Victim)
Q6 - Do you think Fudge has ever had a goblin cooked in a pie?
ʹAnything good in there?ʹ asked Ron as Harry closed the magazine. ʹOf course not,ʹ said Hermione scathingly, before Harry could answer. The Quibblerʹs rubbish, everyone knows that.ʹ ʹExcuse me,ʹ said Luna; her voice had suddenly lost its dreamy quality. ʹMy fatherʹs the editor.ʹQ7 - Ever been embarrassed like this?
Q8 - Where’s Hagrid?
Harry felt utterly bewildered. The horse was there in front of him, gleaming solidly in the dim light issuing from the station windows behind them, vapour rising from its nostrils in the chilly night air. Yet, unless Ron was faking—and it was a very feeble joke if he was—Ron could not see it at all.Q9 - What are these creatures and why can only Harry and Luna see them?
Chapter 11 - The Sorting Hat’s New SongQ1 - Do we agree with Luna that Hagrid is a bad teacher?
Thus the houses and their foundersRetained friendships firm and true.
So Hogwarts worked in harmony
For several happy years,
But then discord crept among us
Feeding on our faults and fears.
The houses that, like pillars four,
Had once held up our school,
Now turned upon each other and,
Divided, sought to rule.
Q2 - Do you think it was just a parting of ways because of ideas that the founders disliked each other?
And now the Sorting Hat is hereAnd you all know the score:
I sort you into houses
Because that is what Iʹm for,
But this year Iʹll go further,
Listen closely to my song:
Though condemned I am to split you
Still I worry that itʹs wrong,
Though / must fulfil my duty
And must quarter everv year
Still I wonder whether Sorting
May not bring the end I fear.
Oh, know the perils, read the signs,
The warning history shows,
For our Hogwarts is in danger
From external, deadly foes
And we must unite inside her
Or weʹll crumble from within
I have told you, I have warned you…
Let the Sorting now begin
Q3 - What do you think of the song?
Q4 - How can the hat know the school is in danger if it’s a hat?
Q5 - What’s a moment in your life where food had never tasted so good?
ʹWe have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly‐Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.ʹQ6 - What did you think of Umbridge’s speech?
ʹOut of order, am I?ʹ shouted Seamus, who in contrast with Ron was going pale. ʹYou believe all the rubbish heʹs come out with about You‐Know‐Who, do you, you reckon heʹs telling the truth?ʹ ʹYeah, I do!ʹ said Ron angrily.Q7 - What do you think of Seamus not coming back and Harry’s response?
Chapter 12 - Professor UmbridgeQ1 - Have you ever been a test subject?
ʹBeen having a nice little chat with her about whether or not Iʹm a lying, attention seeking prat, have you?ʹ Harry said loudly. ʹNo,ʹ said Hermione calmly. ʹI told her to keep her big fat mouth shut about you, actually. And it would be quite nice if you stopped jumping down our throats, Harry, because in case you havenʹt noticed, Ron and I are on your side.ʹ There was a short pause. ʹSorry,ʹ said Harry in a low voice.Q2 - Is Hermione the best?
"Anyway, it's a nightmare of a year, the fifth," said George. "If you care about exam results anyway. Fred and I managed to keep our peckers up somehow."Q3 - What career do you think Hermione will take?
ʹHow would it be,ʹ she asked them coldly, as they left the classroom for break (Binns drifting away through the blackboard), ʹif I refused to lend you my notes this year?ʹ ʹWeʹd fail our OWL,ʹ said Ron. ʹIf you want that on your conscience, Hermione…ʹ Is that a Tornados badge?ʹ Ron demanded suddenly, pointing to the front of Choʹs robes, where a sky blue badge emblazoned with a double gold Tʹ was pinned. ʹYou donʹt support them, do you?ʹ ʹYeah, I do,ʹ said Cho. ʹHave you always supported them, or just since they started winning the league?ʹ said Ron, in what Harry considered an unnecessarily accusatory tone of voice.Q4 - Is Ron a moron?
Q5 - Do you think Harry and Cho will get together?
Q6 - Which class would you want to attend during Harry’s first day?
Q7 - What’s your first impression of Umbridge?
Q8 - Was Harry smart to talk back to Umbridge?
Q9 - What do you think the detention will be?
ʹWell?ʹ said Professor McGonagall, rounding on him. ʹIs this true?ʹ ʹIs what true?ʹ Harry asked, rather more aggressively than he had intended. ʹProfessor?ʹ he added, in an attempt to sound more polite. ʹIs it true that you shouted at Professor Umbridge?ʹ ʹYes,ʹ said Harry. ʹYou called her a liar?ʹ ʹYes.ʹ ʹYou told her He Who Must Not Be Named is back?ʹ ʹYes.ʹ Professor McGonagall sat down behind her desk, watching Harry closely. Then she said, ʹHave a biscuit, Potter.ʹQ10 - Thoughts on McGonagall and her warning?
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Chapter 5 - The Order of the PhoenixIn the flash of light caused by Mrs Weasleyʹs charm Harry caught a glimpse of what looked like the plan of a Building. Mrs Weasley had seen him looking. She snatched the plan off the table and stuffed it into Billʹs already overladen arms.
Q1 - What are they looking at?
Q2 - What is the most annoying thing that people kept a secret from you?
There was something about the slightly flattened tone of voice in which Sirius uttered Dumbledoreʹs name that told Harry that Sirius, too, was not very happy with the Headmaster. Harry felt a sudden upsurge of affection for his godfather.Q3 - Whats the deal with Dumbledore?
Q4 - Who would you want to be sitting next to at this meal?
ʹHeʹs not your son,ʹ said Sirius quietly. ʹHeʹs as good as,ʹ said Mrs Weasley fiercely. ʹWho else has he got?ʹQ5 - Team Molly, or Team Sirius?
Q6 - What do you think of Voldemort and the Order of the Phoenix and their plans?
The Order is comprised only of overage wizards,ʹ he said. ʹWizards who have left school,ʹ he added, as Fred and George opened their mouths. There are dangers involved of which you can have no idea, any of you… I think Mollyʹs right, Sirius. Weʹve said enough.ʹ Chapter 6 - The Noble and Most Ancient House of BlackQ1 - There's a portrait in Harry's room that's mentioned a lot, do you think it has any significance?
Q2 - What is this weapon that Sirius mentioned?
ʹRight‐o,ʹ Fred said brightly, spraying the Doxy quickly in the face so that it fainted, but the moment Mrs Weasleyʹs back was turned he pocketed it with a wink. ʹWe want to experiment with Doxy venom for our Skiving Snackboxes,ʹ George told Harry under his breath.Q3 - Thoughts on Fred and George experimenting on magical creatures?
Q4 - Do you think Mundungus is really just trying to make money, or does he have some other intent?
ʹLeave?ʹ Sirius smiled bitterly and ran his fingers through his long, unkempt hair. ʹBecause I hated the whole lot of them: my parents, with their pure‐blood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal… my idiot brother, soft enough to believe them… thatʹs him.ʹ Sirius jabbed a finger at the very bottom of the tree, at the name ʹRegulus Blackʹ. A date of death (some fifteen years previously) followed the date of birth. ʹHe was younger than me,ʹ said Sirius, ʹand a much better son, as I was constantly reminded.ʹ ʹBut he died,ʹ said Harry. ʹYeah,ʹ said Sirius. ʹStupid idiot… he joined the Death Eaters.ʹ ʹYouʹre kidding!ʹ ʹCome on, Harry, havenʹt you seen enough of this house to tell what kind of wizards my family were?ʹ said Sirius testily.Q5 - What do you think of Sirius brother being a Death Eater?
Q6 - Are you all related to anyone famous?
They found an unpleasant‐looking silver instrument, something like a many legged pair of tweezers, which scuttled up Harrys arm like a spider when he picked it up, and attempted to puncture his skin. Sirius seized it and smashed it with a heavy book entitled Natureʹs Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy. There was a musical box that emitted a faintly sinister, tinkling tune when wound, and they all found themselves becoming curiously weak and sleepy, until Ginny had the sense to slam the lid shut; a heavy locket that none of them could open; a number of ancient seals; and, in a dusty box, an Order of Merlin, First Class, that had been awarded to Siriusʹs grandfather for ʹservices to the MinistryʹQ7 - What do you think of all these weird little nicknacks?
Chapter 7 - The Ministry of MagicHarry awoke at half past five the next morning as abruptly and completely as if somebody had yelled in his ear. For a few moments he lay immobile as the prospect of the disciplinary hearing filled every tiny particle of his brain, then, unable to bear it, he leapt out of bed and put on his glasses.Q1 - Have you ever woke up in dread of something like this?
Q2 - Ever been to court?
Q3 - What do you think of the look and location of the Ministry of Magic?
"Mr Weasley" said Harry, as they passed a window through which sunlight was streaming, "aren't we still underground?" "Yes, we are," said Mr Weasley. "Those are enchanted windows. Magical Maintenance decide what weather we'll get every day. We had two months of hurricanes last time they were angling for a pay rise ... Just round here, Harry."Q4 - What kind of weather would you have?
Q5 - Do you find it odd that magical beings have small offices?
Q6 - What do you think of JK's world building here?
Chapter 8 - The HearingQ1 - What do you think of this trial so far?
ʹInterrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley ʹWitness for the defence, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, said a quiet voice from behind Harry, who turned his head so fast he cricked his neck.Q2 - How many times have you cricked your neck?
Q3 - What do you think of Dumbledore's many middle names?
ʹAh,ʹ said Fudge, who looked thoroughly disconcerted. ʹDumbledore. Yes. You ‐ —er—got our— er—message that the time and—er—place of the hearing had been changed, then?ʹ ʹI must have missed it,ʹ said Dumbledore cheerfully. ʹHowever, due to a lucky mistake I arrived at the Ministry three hours early, so no harm done.ʹThe witch with the monocle cut across him in a booming voice. ʹYou produced a fully‐fledged Patronus?ʹ ʹYes,ʹ said Harry, ʹbecause—' ʹA corporeal Patronus?ʹ ʹA—what?ʹ said Harry. ʹYour Patronus had a clearly defined form? I mean to say, it was more than vapour or smoke?ʹ ʹYes,ʹ said Harry, feeling both impatient and slightly desperate, ʹitʹs a stag, itʹs always a stag.ʹ ʹAlways?ʹ boomed Madam Bones. ʹYou have produced a Patronus before now?ʹ ʹYes,ʹ said Harry, ʹIʹve been doing it for over a year.ʹ ʹAnd you are fifteen years old?ʹ ʹYes, and—' ʹYou learned this at school?ʹ ʹYes, Professor Lupin taught me in my third year, because of the—' ʹImpressive,ʹ said Madam Bones, staring down at him, ʹa true Patronus at his age…very impressive indeed.Q4 - What do you think of the people present during this hearing? Bones, Umbridge, Fudge, Dumbledore, Percy?
I reminded you on the night of the second of August. In your admirable haste to ensure that the law is upheld, you appear, inadvertently I am sure, to have overlooked a few laws yourself.ʹ ʹLaws can be changed,ʹ said Fudge savagely.Q5 - What do you think of the trial?
Q6 - Why doesn't Dumbledore look at him?
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Chapter 1 - Dudley DementedThe hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive . . . The only person left outside was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four.
Q1 - What do you think of Mrs Figg?
Every day this summer had been the same: the tension, the expectation, the temporary relief, and then mounting tension again … and always, growing more insistent all the time, the question of why nothing had happened yet.Q2 - Why hasn't anything happened yet?
He had moved about two inches when several things happened in very quick succession. A loud, echoing crack broke the sleepy silence like a gunshot; a cat streaked out from under a parked car and flew out of sight; a shriek, a bellowed oath and the sound of breaking china came from the Dursleys' living room, and as though this was the signal Harry had been waiting for he jumped to his feet, at the same time pulling from the waistband of his jeans a thin wooden wand as if he were unsheathing a sword – but before he could draw himself up to full height, the top of his head collided with the Dursleys' open window. The resultant crash made Aunt Petunia scream even louder.Q3 - What is everything that's happening here?
Q4 - What do you think of Harry here? What about Ron and Hermione?
Q5 - What are Ron and Hermione busy doing?
In the meantime, he had nothing to look forward to but another restless, disturbed night, because even when he escaped the nightmares about Cedric he had unsettling dreams about long dark corridors, all finishing in dead ends and locked doors, which he supposed had something to do with the trapped feeling he had when he was awake.Q6 - What is Harry dreaming about here?
Harry watched the dark figures crossing the grass and wondered who they had been beating up tonight. Look round, Harry found himself thinking as he watched them. Come on … look round … I'm sitting here all alone … come and have a go …Q7 - Why is Harry thinking this? And what's with his goading of Dudley?
Q8 - How did the Dementors get to Harry?
Q9 - Why wasn't Harry able to cast the Patronus?
Chapter 2 - A Peck of OwlsQ1 - Did you expect Mrs Figg was involved in the wizarding world?
Q2 - What are your thoughts on Mundungus Fletcher?
'I'll take you to the door,' said Mrs Figg, as they turned into Privet Drive. 'Just in case there are more of them around… oh my word, what a catastrophe… and you had to fight them off yourself… and Dumbledore said we were to keep you from doing magic at all costs… well, it's no good crying over spilt potion, I suppose… but the cat's among the pixies now.'Q3 - Why does Dumbledore want to keep Harry from doing magic at all costs?
Q4 - What's a time in your life when your stomach just dropped out of your body?
'How many times do I have to tell you?' said Harry, temper and voice both rising. 'It wasn't me! It was a couple of Dementors!' 'A couple of - what's this codswallop?' 'De - men - tors,' said Harry slowly and clearly. 'Two of them.' 'And what the ruddy hell are Dementors?' 'They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban,' said Aunt Petunia. Two seconds of ringing silence followed these words before Aunt Petunia clapped her hand over her mouth as though she had let slip a disgusting swear word. Uncle Vernon was goggling at her. Harrys brain reeled. Mrs Figg was one thing - but Aunt Petunia'?Q5 - How does Petunia know this?
Q6 - Why were there Dementors in Little Whinging?
Q7 - Does Harry have a right to be this angry?
'Back?' whispered Aunt Petunia. She was looking at Harry as she had never looked at him before. And all of a sudden, for the very first time in his life, Harry fully appreciated that Aunt Petunia was his mother's sister. He could not have said why this hit him so very powerfully at this moment. All he knew was that he was not the only person in the room who had an inkling of what Lord Voldemort being back might mean. Aunt Petunia had never in her life looked at him like that before. Her large, pale eyes (so unlike her sister's) were not narrowed in dislike or anger, they were wide and fearful. The furious pretence that Aunt Petunia had maintained all Harry's life - that there was no magic and no world other than the world she inhabited with Uncle Vernon - seemed to have fallen away. 'Yes,' Harry said, talking directly to Aunt Petunia now. 'He came back a month ago. I saw him.'Q8 - What do you think of Aunt Petunia this chapter?
Q9 - What do the words “Remember my last, Petunia” mean? Who sent it?
Chapter 3 - The Advance GuardQ1 - Is Harry justified to be this angry?
So it went on for three whole days. Harry was alternately filled with restless energy that made him unable to settle to anything, during which time he paced his bedroom, furious at the whole lot of them for leaving him to stew in this mess; and with a lethargy so complete that he could lie on his bed for an hour at a time, staring dazedly into space, aching with dread at the thought of the Ministry hearing.Q2 - Do you have more or less sympathy for the Dursleys?
Q3 - What do you think of Tonks?
Q4 - Do you think Moody is serious about dying trying to fly Harry to safety?
Q5 - Why is Harry in such dire danger?
Harry looked down at the piece of paper. The narrow handwriting was vaguely familiar. It said: The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, LondonQ6 - So what is the Order of the Phoenix?
Chapter 4 - Number Twelve, Grimmauld PlaceThe othersʹ hushed voices were giving Harry an odd feeling of foreboding; it was as though they had just entered the house of a dying person.Q1 - What do you think of this house?
The warm glow that had flared inside him at the sight of his two best friends was extinguished as something icy flooded the pit of his stomach. All of a sudden — after yearning to see them for a solid month — he felt he would rather Ron and Hermione left him alone.Q2 - Is Harry and extravert or an introvert?
Q3 - Should Ron and Hermione have informed Harry anyway?
ʹSome of them are working on recruiting more people to the Order said Hermione. ʹAnd some of them are standing guard over something,ʹ said Ron. Theyʹre always talking about guard duty.ʹ ʹCouldnʹt have been me, could it?ʹ said Harry sarcastically. ʹOh, yeah,ʹ said Ron, with a look of dawning comprehension.Q4 - Is Harry what they were guarding?
ʹYou donʹt want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out,ʹ said Fred, also beaming. There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didnʹt hear you.ʹQ5 - Is joking the best way to stop anger?
Q6 - What do you think of Percy abandoning the family?
ʹWell, theyʹre writing about you as though youʹre this deluded, attention seeking person who thinks heʹs a great tragic hero or something,ʹ said Hermione, very fast, as though it would be less unpleasant for Harry to hear these facts quickly. ʹThey keep slipping in snide comments about you. If some far fetched story appears, they say something like, ʺA tale worthy of Harry Potterʺ, and if anyone has a funny accident or anything itʹs, ʺLetʹs hope he hasnʹt got a scar on his forehead or weʹll be asked to worship him nextʺ ‐ʹQ7 - What do you think about the Ministry doing this?
Q8 - Have you ever been in the paper?
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Chapter 32 - Flesh, Blood, and BoneSquinting tensely through the darkness, they watched the figure drawing nearer, walking steadily toward them between the graves. Harry couldn't make out a face, but from the way it was walking and holding its arms, he could tell that it was carrying something. Whoever it was, he was short, and wearing a hooded cloak pulled up over his head to obscure his face. And - several paces nearer, the gap between them closing all the time - Harry saw that the thing in the person's arms looked like a baby...or was it merely a bundle of robes?From far away, above his head, he heard a high, cold voice say, "Kill the spare." A swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the words to the night: "Avada Kedavra!" A blast of green light blazed through Harry's eyelids, and he heard something heavy fall to the ground beside him; the pain in his scar reached such a pitch that he retched, and then it diminished; terrified of what he was about to see, he opened his stinging eyes. Cedric was lying spread-eagled on the ground beside him. He was dead.
Q1 - What is your favorite Cedric moment?
Q2 - Did you expect Cedric was going to die.
Q3 - When Wormtail is doing this potion, have you ever seen magic like this?
But then, through the mist in front of him, he saw, with an icy surge of terror, the dark outline of a man, tall and skeletally thin, rising slowly from inside the cauldron. "Robe me," said the high, cold voice from behind the steam, and Wormtail, sobbing and moaning, still cradling his mutilated arm, scrambled to pick up the black robes from the ground, got to his feet, reached up, and pulled them one-handed over his master's head. The thin man stepped out of the cauldron, staring at Harry...and Harry stared back into the face that had haunted his nightmares for three years. Whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was flat as a snake with slits for nostrils... Lord Voldemort had risen again.Q4 - Did you think Voldemort was going to come back this early on?
Chapter 33 - The Death EatersWormtail's robes were shining with blood now; he had wrapped the stump of his arm in them. "My Lord..." he choked, "my Lord...you promised...you did promise..." "Hold out your arm," said Voldemort lazily. "Oh Master...thank you, Master..." He extended the bleeding stump, but Voldemort laughed again. "The other arm, Wormtail." "Master, please...please..." Voldemort bent down and pulled out Wormtail's left arm; he forced the sleeve of Wormtail's robes up past his elbow, and Harry saw something upon the skin there, something like a vivid red tattoo - a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth - the image that had appeared in the sky at the Quidditch World Cup: the Dark Mark. Voldemort examined it carefully, ignoring Wormtail's uncontrollable weeping.Q1 - Jenn, how did you know about the tattoo?
"You stand, Harry Potter, upon the remains of my late father," he hissed softly. "A Muggle and a fool...very like your dear mother. But they both had their uses, did they not? Your mother died to defend you as a child...and I killed my father, and see how useful he has proved himself, in death...."Q2 - Why does Voldemort call Lily a Muggle?
Q3 - At this point, what is your initial impression of Voldemort?
"And then I ask myself, but how could they have believed I would not rise again? They, who knew the steps I took, long ago, to guard myself against mortal death? They, who had seen proofs of the immensity of my power in the times when I was mightier than any wizard living?Q4 - Is this why Voldemort didn't die? What is he really talking about here?
“You ask for forgiveness? I do not forgive. I do not forget. Thirteen long years...I want thirteen years' repayment before I forgive you. Wormtail here has paid some of his debt already, have you not, Wormtail?"Q5 - Wormtail gets a hand…have you ever seen this kind of magic?
Q6 - Lucious was the originator of the Quidditch World Cup fiasco…did you expect him to be a Death Eater?
The Dementors will join us…they are our natural allies…we will recall the banished giants…I shall have my devoted servant returned to me, and an army of creatures whom all fear.Q7 - What other creatures is he talking about?
"And here we have six missing Death Eaters...three dead in my service. One, too cowardly to return...he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever...he will be killed, of course...and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already reentered my service."Q8 - Who is he referring to?
"He is at Hogwarts, that faithful servant, and it was through his efforts that our young friend arrived here tonight....Q9 - Who is this?!
"I miscalculated, my friends, I admit it. My curse was deflected by the woman's foolish sacrifice, and it rebounded upon myself. Aaah...pain beyond pain, my friends; nothing could have prepared me for it. I was ripped from my body, I was less than spirit, less than the meanest ghost...but still, I was alive. What I was, even I do not know...I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality. You know my goal - to conquer death. And now, I was tested, and it appeared that one or more of my experiments had worked...for I had not been killed, though the curse should have done it. Nevertheless, I was as powerless as the weakest creature alive, and without the means to help myself...for I had no body, and every spell that might have helped me required the use of a wand.... "I remember only forcing myself, sleeplessly, endlessly, second by second, to exist....I settled in a faraway place, in a forest, and I waited....Surely, one of my faithful Death Eaters would try and find me...one of them would come and perform the magic I could not, to restore me to a body..., but I waited in vain...."Q10 - What questions is this answering and leaving?
Wormtail would have had me use any wizard, would you not, Wormtail? Any wizard who had hated me...as so many of them still do. But I knew the one I must use, if I was to rise again, more powerful than I had been when I had fallen. I wanted Harry Potters blood. I wanted the blood of the one who had stripped me of power thirteen years ago...for the lingering protection his mother once gave him would then reside in my veins too....Q11 - Does Voldy have the protection of Lily now?
Dumbledore invoked an ancient magic, to ensure the boy's protection as long as he is in his relations' care. Not even I can touch him there.Q12 - What is he talking about here? Did Dumbly actually prepare?
Chapter 34 - Priori Incantatem"We bow to each other. Harry," said Voldemort, bending a little, but keeping his snakelike face upturned to Harry. "Come, the niceties must be observed....Dumbledore would like you to show manners....Bow to death, Harry...."Q1 - What do you think of Voldemort and Harry’s character here?
"We are not playing hide-and-seek, Harry," said Voldemort's soft, cold voice, drawing nearer, as the Death Eaters laughed. "You cannot hide from me. Does this mean you are tired of our duel? Does this mean that you would prefer me to finish it now, Harry? Come out, Harry...come out and play, then...it will be quick...it might even be painless...I would not know...I have never died...." Harry crouched behind the headstone and knew the end had come. There was no hope...no help to be had. And as he heard Voldemort draw nearer still, he knew one thing only, and it was beyond fear or reason: He was not going to die crouching here like a child playing hide-and-seek; he was not going to die kneeling at Voldemort's feet...he was going to die upright like his father, and he was going to die trying to defend himself, even if no defense was possible....Q2 - What is happening to Harry and Voldemort as they duel?
He concentrated every last particle of his mind upon forcing the bead back toward Voldemort, his ears full of phoenix song, his eyes furious, fixed...and slowly, very slowly, the beads quivered to a halt, and then, just as slowly, they began to move the other way...and it was Voldemort's wand that was vibrating extra-hard now...Voldemort who looked astonished, and almost fearful....Q3 - Is this how Ghosts are made?
And now another head was emerging from the tip of Voldemort's wand...and Harry knew when he saw it who it would be...he knew, as though he had expected it from the moment when Cedric had appeared from the wand...knew, because the woman appearing was the one he'd thought of more than any other tonight....Q4 - Did you expect his mother and father to show up?
Q5 - Did you expect Harry to escape?
Q6 - What happened in this chapter?
Chapter 35 - VeritaserumHarry let go of the cup, but he clutched Cedric to him even more tightly. He raised his free hand and seized Dumbledore's wrist, while Dumbledore's face swam in and out of focus. "He's back," Harry whispered. "He's back. Voldemort."Q1 - Why did Fudge want to tell Amos his son died before he got to his son? Meta Question…
"Karkaroff's gone? He ran away? But then - he didn't put my name in the goblet?" "No," said Moody slowly. "No, he didn't. It was I who did that." Harry heard, but didn't believe. "No, you didn't," he said. "You didn't do that...you can't have done..."Q2 - What were you thinking when he was saying all this?
Decent people are so easy to manipulate, Potter. I was sure Cedric would want to repay you for telling him about the dragons, and so he did.Q3 - Do you still suspect Krum?
At that moment, Harry fully understood for the first time why people said Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared. The look upon Dumbledore's face as he stared down at the unconscious form of Mad-Eye Moody was more terrible than Harry could have ever imagined. There was no benign smile upon Dumbledore's face, no twinkle in the eyes behind the spectacles. There was cold fury in every line of the ancient face; a sense of power radiated from Dumbledore as though he were giving off burning heat.Q4 - Is this cool, or terrifying?
Q5 - If Crouch had to take it every hour, did he become crouch when he slept?
Q6 - What do you think of Crouch Jr’s whole story?
Q7 - Are there any unanswered questions?
Chapter 36 - The Parting of the Ways"If I thought I could help you," Dumbledore said gently, "by putting you into an enchanted sleep and allowing you to postpone the moment when you would have to think about what has happened tonight, I would do it. But I know better. Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it. You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you. I ask you to demonstrate your courage one more time. I ask you to tell us what happened."Q1 - Is Sirius right, to want to let Harry sleep, or Dumbledore?
"He said my blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's," Harry told Dumbledore. "He said the protection my - my mother left in me - he'd have it too. And he was right - he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face." For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes. But next second. Harry was sure he had imagined it, for when Dumbledore had returned to his seat behind the desk, he looked as old and weary as Harry had ever seen him.Q2 - What is this gleam of triumph?
"No spell can reawaken the dead," said Dumbledore heavily. "All that would have happened is a kind of reverse echo. A shadow of the living Cedric would have emerged from the wand...am I correct, Harry?"Q3 - Do you understand what happened here?
Q4 - Is Fudge a coward?
"You are blinded," said Dumbledore, his voice rising now, the aura of power around him palpable, his eyes blazing once more, "by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius! You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be! Your dementor has just destroyed the last remaining member of a pure-blood family as old as any - and see what that man chose to make of his life! I tell you now- take the steps I have suggested, and you will be remembered, in office or out, as one of the bravest and greatest Ministers of Magic we have ever known. Fail to act - and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild!"Q5 - Why doesn’t Fudge believe this?
Q6 - What do you think of Dumbledore here?
Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth do not stand united, there is no hope for any us."Severus," said Dumbledore, turning to Snape, "you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready...if you are prepared..." "I am," said Snape. He looked slightly paler than usual, and his cold, black eyes glittered strangely. "Then good luck," said Dumbledore, and he watched, with a trace of apprehension on his face, as Snape swept wordlessly after Sirius.Q7 - What is happening here?
Q8 - How do you think Harry is going to deal with his survivors' guilt?
There was a loud slamming noise, and Mrs. Weasley and Harry broke apart. Hermione was standing by the window. She was holding something tight in her hand.Q9 - What is she holding?
Q10 - Does all this make sense?
Chapter 37 - The BeginningThey did not blame him for what had happened; on the contrary, both thanked him for returning Cedric's body to them. Mr. Diggory sobbed through most of the interview. Mrs. Diggory's grief seemed to be beyond tears.Q1 - What are your thoughts on the Diggory’s?
"She went to ask him if you could come straight to us this summer," he said. "But he wants you to go back to the Dursleys, at least at first."Q2 - Why does Dumbledore want Harry to go back?
"No good sittin' worryin' abou' it," he said. "What's comin' will come, an we'll meet it when it does. Dumbledore told me wha' you did. Harry."Harry caught a glimpse of Cho through the crowd. There were tears pouring silently down her face. He looked down at the table as they all sat down again.Q3 - What kind of crier are you guys?
"Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory."Q4 - Do you think people will believe Dumbledore, or not?
Q5 - What do you think about Hermione keep Rita in a jar with a few twigs?
Q6 - What questions do you still have?
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Chapter 28 - The Madness of Mr Crouch"Master is - hic - trusting Winky with - hic - the most important - hic - the most secret..."
Q1 - What is this secret?
Q2 - What do you think of Nifflers?
"Oh..." he said, the memory coming back to him at last. "I dunno...I never noticed it had gone. I was more worried about my wand, wasn't I?" They climbed the steps into the entrance hall and went into the Great Hall for lunch. "Must be nice," Ron said abruptly, when they had sat down and started serving themselves roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. "To have so much money you don't notice if a pocketful of Galleons goes missing."Hermione hung back in their next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson to ask Professor Moody something. The rest of the class was very eager to leave; Moody had given them such a rigorous test of hex-deflection that many of them were nursing small injuries.Q3 - Is this Moody or Crouch?
Q4 - If Rita isn’t using an invisibility cloak and she can’t use bugging equipment, how is she learning all this stuff?
Suddenly a man staggered out from behind a tall oak. For a moment, Harry didn't recognize him...then he realized it was Mr. Crouch.Q5 - What is Crouch doing out there and in that state?
Q6 - How does this line up with your theory, Jenn?
Crouch's eyes were rolling in his head. Harry looked around at Krum, who had followed him into the trees, and was looking down at Crouch in alarm. "Vot is wrong with him?" "No idea," Harry muttered. "Listen, you'd better go and get someone -" "Dumbledore!" gasped Mr. Crouch. He reached out and seized a handful of Harry's robes, dragging him closer, though his eyes were staring over Harry's head. "I need...see...Dumbledore...." "Okay," said Harry, "if you get up, Mr. Crouch, we can go up to the-" "I've done...stupid...thing..." Mr. Crouch breathed. He looked utterly mad. His eyes were rolling and bulging, and a trickle of spittle was sliding down his chin. Every word he spoke seemed to cost him a terrible effort. "Must...tell...Dumbledore..." "Get up, Mr. Crouch," said Harry loudly and clearly. "Get up, I'll take you to Dumbledore!" Mr., Crouch's eyes rolled forward onto Harry. "Who...you?" he whispered. "I'm a student at the school," said Harry, looking around at Krum for some help, but Krum was hanging back, looking extremely nervous. "You're not...his?" whispered Crouch, his mouth sagging. "No," said Harry, without the faintest idea what Crouch was talking about. "Dumbledore's?" "That's right," said Harry. Crouch was pulling him closer; Harry tried to loosen Crouch's grip on his robes, but it was too powerful. "Warn...Dumbledore..." "I'll get Dumbledore if you let go of me," said Harry. "Just let go, Mr. Crouch, and I'll get him...." "Thank you, Weatherby, and when you have done that, I would like a cup of tea. My wife and son will be arriving shortly, we are attending a concert tonight with Mr. and Mrs. Fudge." Crouch was now talking fluently to a tree again, and seemed completely unaware that Harry was there, which surprised Harry so much he didn't notice that Crouch had released him. "Yes, my son has recently gained twelve O.W.L.s, most satisfactory, yes, thank you, yes, very proud indeed. Now, if you could bring me that memo from the Andorran Minister of Magic, I think I will have time to draft a response...."Q7 - What is this conversation about?
He raised his wand into the air and pointed it in the direction of Hagrid's cabin. Harry saw something silvery dart out of it and streak away through the trees like a ghostly bird.Q8 - What kind of magic is this?
Chapter 29 - The Dream“You can’t disapparate in the Hogwarts grounds, haven’t I told you enough times?” said Hermione.Q1 - Who attacked Krum?
"Maybe he didn't want you to get there!" said Ron quickly. "Maybe - hang on - how fast d'you reckon he could've gotten down to the forest? D'you reckon he could've beaten you and Dumbledore there?" "Not unless he can turn himself into a bat or something," said Harry.Q2 - Is Snape a vampire?
Q3 - What do you think Snape would turn into if he were an animagus, and what do you think his Patronus would be? Or any characters for that matter…
Somebody was climbing the steps up to the Owlery. Harry could hear two voices arguing, coming closer and closer. "- that's blackmail, that is, we could get into a lot of trouble for that-" "- we've tried being polite; it's time to play dirty, like him. He wouldn't like the Ministry of Magic knowing what he did -" "I'm telling you, if you put that in writing, it's blackmail!” "Yeah, and you won't be complaining if we get a nice fat payoff, will you?" The Owlery door banged open. Fred and George came over the threshold, then froze at the sight of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Q4 - What are Fred and George doing?
Q5 - Is Harry’s dream real?
Q6 - Who was killed in Harry’s dream?
"Or else - well..." Fudge sounded embarrassed. "Well, I'll reserve judgment until after I've seen the place where he was found, but you say it was just past the Beauxbatons carriage? Dumbledore, you know what that woman is?" "I consider her to be a very able headmistress - and an excellent dancer," said Dumbledore quietly.Chapter 30 - The PensieveA shallow stone basin lay there, with odd carvings around the edge: runes and symbols that Harry did not recognize. The silvery light was coming from the basin's contents, which were like nothing Harry had ever seen before. He could not tell whether the substance was liquid or gas. It was a bright, whitish silver, and it was moving ceaselessly; the surface of it became ruffled like water beneath wind, and then, like clouds, separated and swirled smoothly. It looked like light made liquid - or like wind made solid - Harry couldn't make up his mind.Q1 - Before Dumbeldore explained this, what did you think this basin was?
"Crouch is going to let him out," Moody breathed quietly to Dumbledore. "He's done a deal with him. Took me six months to track him down, and Crouch is going to let him go if he's got enough new names. Let's hear his information, I say, and throw him straight back to the dementors." Dumbledore made a small noise of dissent through his long, crooked nose. "Ah, I was forgetting...you don't like the dementors, do you, Albus?" said Moody with a sardonic smile. "No," said Dumbledore calmly, "I'm afraid I don't. I have long felt the Ministry is wrong to ally itself with such creatures."Q2 - Is Dumbledore right to not want to ally themselves with dementors?
"Not yet!" cried Karkaroff, looking quite desperate. "Wait, I have more!" Harry could see him sweating in the torchlight, his white skin contrasting strongly with the black of his hair and beard. "Snape!" he shouted. "Severus Snape!" "Snape has been cleared by this council," said Crouch disdainfully. "He has been vouched for by Albus Dumbledore." "No!" shouted Karkaroff, straining at the chains that bound him to the chair. "I assure you! Severus Snape is a Death Eater!" Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. "I have given evidence already on this matter," he said calmly. "Severus Snape was indeed a Death Eater. However, he rejoined our side before Lord Voldemort's downfall and turned spy for us, at great personal risk. He is now no more a Death Eater than I am."Q3 - Do you think Snape is still a Death Eater?
Q4 - What kind of person do you think Karkaroff is?
Q5 - Do you think Bagman is more seriously a Death Eater than portrayed in this memory?
The dementors placed each of the four people in the four chairs with chained arms that now stood on the dungeon floor. There was a thickset man who stared blankly up at Crouch; a thinner and more nervous-looking man, whose eyes were darting around the crowd; a woman with thick, shining dark hair and heavily hooded eyes, who was sitting in the chained chair as though it were a throne; and a boy in his late teens, who looked nothing short of petrified. He was shivering, his straw-colored hair all over his face, his freckled skin milk-white. The wispy little witch beside Crouch began to rock backward and forward in her seat, whimpering into her handkerchief."We have heard the evidence against you. The four of you stand accused of capturing an Auror - Frank Longbottom - and subjecting him to the Cruciatus Curse, believing him to have knowledge of the present whereabouts of your exiled master, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named -" "Father, I didn't!" shrieked the boy in chains below. "I didn't, I swear it. Father, don't send me back to the dementors -" "You are further accused," bellowed Mr. Crouch, "of using the Cruciatus Curse on Frank Longbottom's wife, when he would not give you information. You planned to restore He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to power, and to resume the lives of violence you presumably led while he was strong. I now ask the jury -"Q6 - What do you think of Crouch and his son?
Q7 - Are any of the other people recognizable to you?
Q8 - What do you think about the person they were cursing?
The dementors were gliding back into the room. The boys' three companions rose quietly from their seats; the woman with the heavy-lidded eyes looked up at Crouch and called, "The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!" But the boy was trying to fight off the dementors, even though Harry could see their cold, draining power starting to affect him. The crowd was jeering, some of them on their feet, as the woman swept out of the dungeon, and the boy continued to struggle. "I'm your son!" he screamed up at Crouch. "I'm your son!" "You are no son of mine!" bellowed Mr. Crouch, his eyes bulging suddenly. "I have no son!""What is it?" Harry asked shakily. "This? It is called a Pensieve," said Dumbledore. "I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind." "Er," said Harry, who couldn't truthfully say that he had ever felt anything of the sort. "At these times," said Dumbledore, indicating the stone basin, "I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one's leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form."Q9 - Do you like the idea of the Pensieve?
"Yes," said Harry. "Professor - I was in Divination just now, and - er - I fell asleep." He hesitated here, wondering if a reprimand was coming, but Dumbledore merely said, "Quite understandable. Continue.""D'you - d'you know why my scar's hurting me?" Dumbledore looked very intently at Harry for a moment, and then said, "I have a theory, no more than that....It is my belief that your scar hurts both when Lord Voldemort is near you, and when he is feeling a particularly strong surge of hatred." "But...why?" "Because you and he are connected by the curse that failed," said Dumbledore. "That is no ordinary scar."Q10 - Do you understand why his scar hurts?
"You know - you know the trial you found me in? The one with Crouch's son? Well....were they talking about Neville's parents?" Dumbledore gave Harry a very sharp look. " Has Neville never told you why he has been brought up by his grandmother?" he said. Harry shook his head, wondering, as he did so, how he could have failed to ask Neville this, in almost four years of knowing him. "Yes, they were talking about Neville's parents," said Dumbledore. "His father, Frank, was an Auror just like Professor Moody. He and his wife were tortured for information about Voldemort's whereabouts after he lost his powers, as you heard." "So they're dead?" said Harry quietly. "No," said Dumbledore, his voice full of a bitterness Harry had never heard there before. "They are insane. They are both in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I believe Neville visits them, with his grandmother, during the holidays. They do not recognize him." Harry sat there, horror-struck. He had never known...never, in four years, bothered to find out…Q11 - What are your thoughts on this?
Harry looked into Dumbledore's light blue eyes, and the thing he really wanted to know spilled out of his mouth before he could stop it. "What made you think he'd really stopped supporting Voldemort, Professor?" Dumbledore held Harry's gaze for a few seconds, and then said, "That, Harry, is a matter between Professor Snape and myself."Q12 - What do you think this is, and is Dumbeldore right?
Chapter 31 - The Third TaskHarry and Hermione went to see. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing in the shadow of a tree below. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be keeping a lookout; both were smirking. Malfoy was holding his hand up to his mouth and speaking into it. "He looks like he's using a walkie-talkie," said Harry curiously.Q1 - What are these three doing?
"Yes," said Hermione breathlessly. She ran her fingers through her hair again, and then held her hand up to her mouth, as though speaking into an invisible walkie-talkie. Harry and Ron stared at each other. "I've had an idea," Hermione said, gazing into space. "I think I know...because then no one would be able to see...even Moody...and she'd have been able to get onto the window ledge...but she's not allowed...she's definitely not allowed...I think we've got her! Just give me two seconds in the library - just to make sure!" With that, Hermione seized her school bag and dashed out of the Great Hall.Q2 - How does Rita Skeeter know these things?
Harry finished his breakfast in the emptying Great Hall. He saw Fleur Delacour get up from the Ravenclaw table and join Cedric as he crossed to the side chamber and entered. Krum slouched off to join them shortly afterward. Harry stayed where he was. He really didn't want to go into the chamber. He had no family - no family who would turn up to see him risk his life, anyway. But just as he was getting up, thinking that he might as well go up to the library and do a spot more hex research, the door of the side chamber opened, and Cedric stuck his head out.Q3 - Who did you think was going to show up for Harry?
Q4 - Do you really believe Mr and Mrs Weasley were going for a nighttime stroll at four in the morning?
He had been hurrying along the new path for a few minutes, when he heard something in the path running parallel to his own that made him stop dead. "What are you doing?" yelled Cedric's voice. "What the hell d'you think you're doing?” And then Harry heard Krum's voice. "Crucio!"Q5 - Is this the first bit of bad language in the books?
Q6 - Why was Krum torturing Cedric?
Q7 - Did you take time to guess what the Riddle was? Did you get it right?
"I was the only one who was thick enough to take that song seriously!" said Harry bitterly. "Just take the cup!” "No," said Cedric. He stepped over the spider's tangled legs to join Harry, who stared at him. Cedric was serious. He was walking away from the sort of glory Hufflepuff House hadn't had in centuries.Q8 - What do you think of Cedric?
Q9 - Which of the tasks would have tripped you up?
-
Chapter 23 - The Yule BallHarry and Ron both whipped around, but Hermione said loudly, waving to somebody over Malfoy’s shoulder, “Hello, Professor Moody!” Malfoy went pale and jumped backwards, looking wildly around for Moody, but he was still up at the staff table finishing his stew. “Twitchy little ferret, aren’t you, Malfoy?” Hermione said scathingly.
Q1 - What do you think of Hermione shrinking her teeth?
“Dobby knew sir must be a great wizard, for he is Harry Potter’s greatest friend, but Dobby did not know that he was also generous of spirit, as noble, as selfless—”Q2 - Is Ron these things?
The left sock was bright red, and he had a pattern of broomsticks upon it; the right sock was green with a pattern of snitches. “They’re…they’re really…well, thanks, Dobby,” said Harry, and he pulled them on, causing Dobby’s eyes to leak with happiness again.Krum was accompanied by a pretty girl in blue robes Harry didn’t know…His eyes fell instead on the girl next to Krum. His jaw dropped. It was Hermione.Q3 - What do you think about Krum and Hermione?!
“Are we not right to be proud that we alone know our school’s secrets, and right to protect them?” “Oh I would never dream of assuming I know all Howart’s secrets, Igor,” said Dumbledore amicably. “Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamberpots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished.Q4 - How do you like Dumbledore after all this?
Hermione was now teaching Krum to say her name properly; he kept calling her Hermy-Own. “Her — my — own — knee.”"How's it going?" Harry asked Ron, sitting down and opening a bottle of butterbeer. Ron didn't answer. He was glaring at Hermione and Krum, who were dancing nearby. Padma was sitting with her arms and legs crossed, one foot jiggling in time to the music. Every now and then she threw a disgruntled look at Ron, who was completely ignoring her. Parvati sat down on Harry's other side, crossed her arms and legs too, and within minutes was asked to dance by a boy from Beauxbatons.Q5 - Trelawney’s Prediction!
Q6 - What is Ron so angry about?
“...Don’t see what there is to fuss about, Igor.” “Severus, you cannot pretend this isn’t happening!” Karkaroff’s voice sounded anxious and hushed, as though keen not to be overheard. “It’s been getting clearer and clearer for months. I am becoming seriously concerned. I can’t deny it.” “Then flee,” said Snape’s voice curtly. “Flee, I will make your excuses. I, however, am remaining at Hogwarts.”Q7 - What is Karkaroff worried about?
Q8 - What is Snape’s background?
Q9 - Did you think that Hagrid was a half-giant?
Q10 - What is Cedric talking about?
Ron and Hermione were having a blazing row. Standing ten feet apart, they were bellowing at each other, each scarlet in the face. “Well, if you don’t like it, you now know what the solution is, don’t you?” yelled Hermione; her hair was coming down out of its elegant bun now, and her face was screwed up in anger. “Oh yeah?” Ron yelled back. “What’s that?” “Next time there’s a ball, ask me before someone else does, and not as a last resort!” Ron mouthed soundlessly like a goldfish out of water as Hermione turned on her heel and stormed up the girls staircase to bed.Chapter 24 - Rita Skeeter’s ScoopQ1 - Is Harry stupid or smart for not just taking Cedric’s advice?
Q2 - Why do you think Dumbledore secured a job for Hagrid when he was expelled?
Q3 - Why are the Goblins looking for Barty Crouch
Q4 - Where do you think Barty Crouch is?
“How about giving me an interview about the Hagrid you know, Harry? The man behind the muscles? Your unlikely friendship and the reasons behind it. Would you call him a father substitute?”Q5 - Is Hagrid the closest thing to a father that Harry has had?
Hermione went slightly pink, but Dumbledore smiled at her, and continued, “Hermione, Harry, and Ron still seem to want to know you, judging by the way they were attempting to break down the door.” “Of course we still want to know you!” Harry said, staring at Hagrid.“My own brother, Aberforth, was prosecuted for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat.”Q6 - What was Aberforth Dumbledore doing?
Chapter 25 - The Egg and the EyeQ1 - What is the nicest bathroom you’ve ever been in?
“What d’you do, sneak up here in the evenings to watch the Prefects take baths?
“Sometimes,” said Myrtle, rather slyly, “but I’ve never come out to speak to anyone before.”Q2 - How creepy is Myrtle?
Peeves was not the only thing that was moving. A single dot was flitting around a room in the bottom left-hand corner — Snape's office. But the dot wasn't labeled "Severus Snape"...it was Bartemius Crouch.Q3 - What was Barty Crouch doing in Snapes office?
Q4 - Before Moody came into the picture, how did you think Harry would escape this?
“Reckon they were after potion ingredients, eh?” said Moody, “Not hiding anything else in your office, are you?”Q5 - Do you think Snape is hiding something in his office?
Snape suddenly did something very strange. He seized his left forearm convulsively with his right hand, as though something on it had hurt him.Q6 - What is this description?
“Oh if there’s one thing I hate,” he muttered, more to himself than Harry, his magical eye was fixed on the bottom left hand corner of the map, “It’s a Death Eater who walked free…”Q7 - Who is at the bottom left-hand corner of the map?
Q8 - Do you think Moody will catch this person now he has the map?
Moody winked at him…Q9 - Was Moody just blinking?
Q10 - Do you think Harry would be a good Auror? Isn’t Moody great for encouraging that in Harry?
Chapter 26 - The Second TaskOwing to the potential for nasty accidents when objects kept flying across the room. Professor Flitwick had given each student a stack of cushions on which to practice, the theory being that these wouldn't hurt anyone if they went off target. It was a good theory, but it wasn't working very well. Neville's aim was so poor that he kept accidentally sending much heavier things flying across the room - Professor Flitwick, for instance.Q1 - Is Neville secretively really good at magic?
“Moody said Dumbledore only lets Snape stay here because he’s giving him a second chance or something…”"I just want to know what Snape did with his first chance, if he's on his second one," said Harry grimly.Q2 - What did Snape do that he needs a second chance?
Q3 - What is Snape’s deal?
Q4 - Grubbly-Plank or Hagrid?
“I should’ve learned to be an Animagus like Sirius.”Q5 - What would you be if you could be an animagus?
Q6 - How amazing is Dobby for helping Harry? The unsung hero of this book so far.
Q7 - How is the crowd watching the second task?
Harry looked around. There was no sign of any of the other champions. What were they playing at? Why didn't they hurry up? He turned back to Hermione, raised the jagged rock, and began to hack at her bindings too.Q8 - Is Harry an idiot for doing this?
Q9 - Would you rather face a dragon or face an hour in icy water looking for your loved one?
Dumbledore and Ludo Bagman stood beaming at Harry and Ron from the bank as they swam nearer, but Percy, who looked very white and somehow much younger than usual, came splashing out to meet them…Percy seized Ron and was dragging him back to the bank ("Gerroff, Percy, I'm all right!")Q10 - Does this change your thoughts on Percy?
Q11 - Hermione is angry that Fleur kissed Ron on the cheek…does Hermione love Ron?
Q12 - Danny, Do you like Fleur more after this chapter?
Chapter 27 - Padfoot ReturnsOne of the best things about the aftermath of the second task was that everybody was very keen to hear details of what had happened down in the lake, which meant that Ron was getting to share Harry's limelight for once. Harry noticed that Ron's version of events changed subtly with every retelling. At first, he gave what seemed to be the truth; it tallied with Hermione's story, anyway - Dumbledore had put all the hostages into a bewitched sleep in Professor McGonagall's office, first assuring them that they would be quite safe, and would awake when they were back above the water. One week later, however, Ron was telling a thrilling tale of kidnap in which he struggled single-handedly against fifty heavily armed merpeople who had to beat him into submission before tying him up.Q1 - They make something called a wit-sharpening potion, would you take this all the time, and would it be healthy to take a potion daily?
Q2 - How does Rita Skeeter keep finding this stuff out? Does she have an invisibility cloak?
“I don't care how many times your picture appears in the papers. To me. Potter, you are nothing but a nasty little boy who considers rules to be beneath him."Q3 - What is Snape’s issue?
"It is Veritaserum - a Truth Potion so powerful that three drops would have you spilling your innermost secrets for this entire class to hear," said Snape viciously. "Now, the use of this potion is controlled by very strict Ministry guidelines. But unless you watch your step, you might just find that my hand slips" - he shook the crystal bottle slightly - "right over your evening pumpkin juice. And then. Potter...then we'll find out whether you've been in my office or not."Q4 - What do you think of Veritaserum?
"What's so urgent?" he heard Snape hiss at Karkaroff. "This," said Karkaroff, and Harry, peering around the edge of his cauldron, saw Karkaroff pull up the left-hand sleeve of his robe and show Snape something on his inner forearm. "Well?" said Karkaroff, still making every effort not to move his lips. "Do you see? It's never been this clear, never since -" "Put it away!" snarled Snape, his black eyes sweeping the classroom.Q5 - What is happening here?
"Thanks," said Sirius, opening it, grabbing a drumstick, sitting down on the cave floor, and tearing off a large chunk with his teeth. "I've been living off rats mostly. Can't steal too much food from Hogsmeade; I'd draw attention to myself."Q6 - Do you think Sirius is trying to eat Peter Pettigrew?
Q7 - What is the deal with Crouch?
Sirius shook his head and said, "She's got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a mans like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."Q8 - What do you think of everything Sirius is saying about Crouch?
"Well, times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. Crouch's principles might've been good in the beginning - I wouldn't know. He rose quickly through the Ministry, and he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort's supporters. The Aurors were given new powers - powers to kill rather than capture, for instance. And I wasn't the only one who was handed straight to the dementors without trial. Crouch fought violence with violence, and authorized the use of the Unforgivable Curses against suspects. I would say he became as ruthless and cruel as many on the Dark Side. He had his supporters, mind you - plenty of people thought he was going about things the right way, and there were a lot of witches and wizards clamoring for him to take over as Minister of Magic. When Voldemort disappeared, it looked like only a matter of time until Crouch got the top job. But then something rather unfortunate happened...." Sirius smiled grimly. "Crouch's own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters who'd managed to talk their way out of Azkaban. Apparently they were trying to find Voldemort and return him to power."Q9 - What do you think about Barty Crouch’s son dying?
He wasn't the only one," said Sirius bitterly. "Most go mad in there, and plenty stop eating in the end. They lose the will to live. You could always tell when a death was coming, because the dementors could sense it, they got excited. That boy looked pretty sickly when he arrived. Crouch being an important Ministry member, he and his wife were allowed a deathbed visit. That was the last time I saw Barty Crouch, half carrying his wife past my cell. She died herself, apparently, shortly afterward. Grief. Wasted away just like the boy. Crouch never came for his son's body. The dementors buried him outside the fortress; I watched them do it.""Rosier and Wilkes - they were both killed by Aurors the year before Voldemort fell. The Lestranges - they're a married couple - they're in Azkaban. Avery - from what I've heard he wormed his way out of trouble by saying he'd been acting under the Imperius Curse - he's still at large. But as far as I know, Snape was never even accused of being a Death Eater - not that that means much. Plenty of them were never caught. And Snape's certainly clever and cunning enough to keep himself out of trouble."Q10 - What are your thoughts about everything Sirius mentioned?
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