Episoder
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Chapter 5 - A Conspiracy UnmaskedSam was the only member of the party who had not been over the river before. He had a strange feeling as the slow gurgling stream slipped by: his old life lay behind in the mists, dark adventure lay in front. He scratched his head, and for a moment had a passing wish that Mr. Frodo could have gone on living quietly at Bag End.
Q1 - What do you think of the perspective changes?
âYou can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin â to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours â closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo.Q2 - What do you think of the Hobbits?
When at last he had got to bed, Frodo could not sleep for some time. His legs ached. He was glad that he was riding in the morning. Eventually he fell into a vague dream, in which he seemed to be looking out of a high window over a dark sea of tangled trees. Down below among the roots there was the sound of creatures crawling and snuffling. He felt sure they would smell him out sooner or later. Then he heard a noise in the distance. At first he thought it was a great wind coming over the leaves of the forest. Then he knew that it was not leaves, but the sound of the Sea far-off; a sound he had never heard in waking life, though it had often troubled his dreams. Suddenly he found he was out in the open. There were no trees after all. He was on a dark heath, and there was a strange salt smell in the air. Looking up he saw before him a tall white tower, standing alone on a high ridge. A great desire came over him to climb the tower and see the Sea. He started to struggle up the ridge towards the tower: but suddenly a light came in the sky, and there was a noise of thunder.Q3 - Do you think this dream has any meaning?
Chapter 6 - The Old ForestQ1 - Do you ever feel unease like the Hobbits did in the forest?
Q2 - The Forest seems to be forcing them to be in a specific placeâŠdo think so?
Q3 - What do you think of Tom Bombadil and his entrance?
Time enough for questions around the supper table. You follow after me as quick as you are able!Q4 - Do you appreciate the focus on food in the books?
Chapter 7 - In the House of Tom BombadilQ1 - Who is this lady with Tom?
âThe trees and the grasses and all things growing or living in the land belong each to themselves. Tom Bombadil is the Master. No one has ever caught old Tom walking in the forest, wading in the water, leaping on the hill-tops under light and shadow. He has no fear. Tom Bombadil is master.âQ2 - Who is this guy?
Q3 - Woud you feel at ease at Toms?
Q4 - If you didnât know about Tom, would you trust him?
Chapter 8 - Fog on the Barrow DownsOut of the east the biting wind was blowing. To his right there loomed against the westward stars a dark black shape. A great barrow stood there. âWhere are you?â he cried again, both angry and afraid. âHere!â said a voice, deep and cold, that seemed to come out of the ground. âI am waiting for you!â âNo!â said Frodo; but he did not run away. His knees gave, and he fell on the ground. Nothing happened, and there was no sound. Trembling he looked up, in time to see a tall dark figure like a shadow against the stars. It leaned over him. He thought there were two eyes, very cold though lit with a pale light that seemed to come from some remote distance. Then a grip stronger and colder than iron seized him. The icy touch froze his bones, and he remembered no more.Q1 - This is some creepy writingâŠ
At first Frodo felt as if he had indeed been turned into stone by the incantation. Then a wild thought of escape came to him. He wondered if he put on the Ring, whether the Barrow-wight would miss him, and he might find some way out. He thought of himself running free over the grass, grieving for Merry, and Sam, and Pippin, but free and alive himself. Gandalf would admit that there had been nothing else he could do.Q2 - What do you think of Frodo?
Q3 - What was the creature that took them?
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Chapter 1 - A Long Expected Party
Q1 - What do you think of a Hobbits coming of age at 33?
Q2 - What do you think of Frodoâs parents death of drowning?
Q3 - What do you think about Hobbits?
Out flew a red-golden dragon â not life-size, but terribly life-like: fire came from his jaws, his eyes glared down; there was a roar, and he whizzed three times over the heads of the crowd. They all ducked, and many fell flat on their faces. The dragon passed like an express train, turned a somersault, and burst over Bywater with a deafening explosion.I regret to announce that â though, as I said, eleventy-one years is far too short a time to spend among you â this is the END. I am going. I am leaving NOW. GOOD-BYE! He stepped down and vanished. There was a blinding flash of light, and the guests all blinked. When they opened their eyes Bilbo was nowhere to be seen.Q4 - What do you think of Bilbo?
Q5 - What do you think of the battle for the ring between Gandalf and Bilbo?
He paused, silent for a moment. Then without another word he turned away from the lights and voices in the field and tents, and followed by his three companions went round into his garden, and trotted down the long sloping path. He jumped over a low place in the hedge at the bottom, and took to the meadows, passing into the night like a rustle of wind in the grass. Gandalf remained for a while staring after him into the darkness. âGood-bye, my dear Bilbo â until our next meeting!â he said softly and went back indoors.Q6 - Do you like Bilboâs Irish exit from life?
Q7 - Thoughts on the Sackville Baggins and their gift of spoons?
Chapter 2 - The Shadow of the PastQ1 - 17 years have passedâŠFrodo is now 50 and he hasnât seen GandalfâŠhow crazy is that?
Q2 - What do you think of Sam?
You say the ring is dangerous, far more dangerous than I guess. In what way?â âIn many ways,â answered the wizard. âIt is far more powerful than I ever dared to think at first, so powerful that in the end it would utterly overcome anyone of mortal race who possessed it. It would possess him.One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.Q3 - What is this rings actual power?
âI wish it need not have happened in my time,â said Frodo. âSo do I,â said Gandalf, âand so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.Q4 - Do you like Tolkiens writing so far?
Q5 - What do you think of the Deagol and Smeagol story?
âYou ought to begin to understand, Frodo, after all you have heard,â said Gandalf. âHe hated it and loved it, as he hated and loved himself. He could not get rid of it. He had no will left in the matter.âI endured him as long as I could, but the truth was desperately important, and in the end I had to be harsh. I put the fear of fire on him, and wrung the true story out of him, bit by bit, together with much snivelling and snarling.Q6 - Did Gandalf torture him?
Through Mirkwood and back again it led them, though they never caught him. The wood was full of the rumour of him, dreadful tales even among beasts and birds. The Woodmen said that there was some new terror abroad, a ghost that drank blood. It climbed trees to find nests; it crept into holes to find the young; it slipped through windows to find cradles.And my search would have been in vain, but for the help that I had from a friend: Aragorn, the greatest traveller and huntsman of this age of the world.Q7 - I gotta say, this introduction of Aragorn is even better than the movies.
âDeserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance of it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many â yours not least.Q8 - What do you think about the idea of second chances so far in this story with Gollum?
He went to the window and drew aside the curtains and the shutters. Sunlight streamed back again into the room. Sam passed along the path outside whistling. âAnd now,â said the wizard, turning back to Frodo, âthe decision lies with you. But I will always help you.â He laid his hand on Frodoâs shoulder. âI will help you bear this burden, as long as it is yours to bear. But we must do something, soon. The Enemy is moving.âQ9 - What do you think of Frodo?
Chapter 3 - Threeâs CompanyââItâs a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,ââ he used to say. ââYou step into the Road, and if you donât keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.Q1 - Who is your favorite character so far?
Round the corner came a black horse, no hobbit-pony but a full-sized horse; and on it sat a large man, who seemed to crouch in the saddle, wrapped in a great black cloak and hood, so that only his boots in the high stirrups showed below; his face was shadowed and invisible.Q2 - Jenn who is this?
Q3 - What do you think about their meeting with the Elves?
Chapter 4 - A Shortcut to MushroomsâWell, Sam!â he said. âWhat about it? I am leaving the Shire as soon as ever I can â in fact I have made up my mind now not even to wait a day at Crickhollow, if it can be helped.â âVery good, sir!â âYou still mean to come with me?â âI do.â âIt is going to be very dangerous, Sam. It is already dangerous. Most likely neither of us will come back.â âIf you donât come back, sir, then I shanât, thatâs certain,â said Sam. âDonât you leave him! they said to me. Leave him! I said. I never mean to. I am going with him, if he climbs to the Moon; and if any of those Black Riders try to stop him, theyâll have Sam Gamgee to reckon with, I said. They laughed.âQ1 - What do you think of Sam?
Q2 - Do you think Frodo should have just gone with Sam, or was he smart to take Merry and Pippen?
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Mangler du episoder?
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Jon, Danny, Jenn, and Lizzy embark on a journey, much like young master Frodo and the Fellowship. In this episode, they talk about the things they know about Lord of the Rings and what they expect from the series as they begin to read.
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Jon, Jenn, Danny, and Kristen talk over their last thoughts of the Harry Potter series.
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Jon, Danny, Jenn, and Lizzy all went to see Cursed Child. Here are their thoughts and reviews on all things controversial and emotional.
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Chapter 33 - The Princeâs TaleAs Ginny and Hermione moved closer to the rest of the family, Harry had a clear view of the bodies lying next to Fred: Remus and Tonks, pale and still and peaceful-looking, apparently asleep beneath the dark, enchanted ceiling.
Q1 - What do you think about Tonks and Lupin?
Q2 - In the beginning of the memory what do you think of Snape, Lily, and Tuneys connection?
Q3 - Petunia wrote a letter to Dumbledore asking to be let into the schoolâŠdo you understand her character more from this?
Q4 - According to Snapeâs memory, what do you think of James and Sirius?
Harry watched again as Snape left the Great Hall after sitting his O.W.L. in Defense Against the Dark Arts, watched as he wandered away from the castle and strayed inadvertently close to the place beneath the beech tree where James, Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew sat together. But Harry kept his distance this time, because he knew what happened after James had hoisted Severus into the air and taunted him; he knew what had been done and said, and it gave him no pleasure to hear it again. . . . He watched as Lily joined the group and went to Snapeâs defense. Distantly he heard Snape shout at her in his humiliation and his fury, the unforgivable word: âMudblood.âQ5 - Why is this Snapeâs worst memory?
âHer boy survives,â said Dumbledore. With a tiny jerk of the head, Snape seemed to flick off an irksome fly. âHer son lives. He has her eyes, precisely her eyes. You remember the shape and color of Lily Evansâs eyes, I am sure?â âDONâT!â bellowed Snape. âGone . . . dead . . .â âIs this remorse, Severus?â âI wish . . . I wish I were dead. . . .â âAnd what use would that be to anyone?â said Dumbledore coldly. âIf you loved Lily Evans, if you truly loved her, then your way forward is clear.â Snape seemed to peer through a haze of pain, and Dumbledoreâs words appeared to take a long time to reach him. âWhat â what do you mean?â âYou know how and why she died. Make sure it was not in vain. Help me protect Lilyâs son.â âHe does not need protection. The Dark Lord has gone ââ âThe Dark Lord will return, and Harry Potter will be in terrible danger when he does.â There was a long pause, and slowly Snape regained control of himself, mastered his own breathing. At last he said, âVery well. Very well. But never â never tell, Dumbledore! This must be between us! Swear it! I cannot bear . . . especially Potterâs son . . . I want your word!â âMy word, Severus, that I shall never reveal the best of you?â Dumbledore sighed, looking down into Snapeâs ferocious, anguished face. âIf you insist . . .âQ6 - Do you understand why Snape hated and yet protected Harry?
âNo,â said Snape, his black eyes on Fleurâs and Rogerâs retreating figures. âI am not such a coward.â âNo,â agreed Dumbledore. âYou are a braver man by far than Igor Karkaroff. You know, I sometimes think we Sort too soon. . . .âQ7 - Do they sort too soon?
Snape raised his eyebrows and his tone was sardonic as he asked, âAre you intending to let him kill you?â âCertainly not. You must kill me.â There was a long silence, broken only by an odd clicking noise. Fawkes the phoenix was gnawing a bit of cuttlebone. âWould you like me to do it now?â asked Snape, his voice heavy with irony. âOr would you like a few moments to compose an epitaph?â âOh, not quite yet,â said Dumbledore, smiling. âI daresay the moment will present itself in due course. Given what has happened tonight,â he indicated his withered hand, âwe can be sure that it will happen within a year.â âIf you donât mind dying,â said Snape roughly, âwhy not let Draco do it?â âThat boyâs soul is not yet so damaged,â said Dumbledore. âI would not have it ripped apart on my account.â âAnd my soul, Dumbledore? Mine?â âYou alone know whether it will harm your soul to help an old man avoid pain and humiliation,â said Dumbledore.Q8 - Do you understand why Snape killed Dumbledore now?
âHarry must not know, not until the last moment, not until it is necessary, otherwise how could he have the strength to do what must be done?â âTell him what?â Dumbledore took a deep breath and closed his eyes. âTell him that on the night Lord Voldemort tried to kill him, when Lily cast her own life between them as a shield, the Killing Curse rebounded upon Lord Voldemort, and a fragment of Voldemortâs soul was blasted apart from the whole, and latched itself onto the only living soul left in that collapsing building. Part of Lord Voldemort lives inside Harry, and it is that which gives him the power of speech with snakes, and a connection with Lord Voldemortâs mind that he has never understood. And while that fragment of soul, unmissed by Voldemort, remains attached to and protected by Harry, Lord Voldemort cannot die.âQ9 - Harry is a HorcruxâŠ
âSo the boy . . . the boy must die?â asked Snape quite calmly. âAnd Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That is essential.â Another long silence. Then Snape said, âI thought . . . all these years . . . that we were protecting him for her. For Lily.â âWe have protected him because it has been essential to teach him, to raise him, to let him try his strength,â said Dumbledore, his eyes still tight shut. âMeanwhile, the connection between them grows ever stronger, a parasitic growth: Sometimes I have thought he suspects it himself. If I know him, he will have arranged matters so that when he does set out to meet his death, it will truly mean the end of Voldemort.â Dumbledore opened his eyes. Snape looked horrified. âYou have kept him alive so that he can die at the right moment?â âDonât be shocked, Severus. How many men and women have you watched die?â âLately, only those whom I could not save,â said Snape. He stood up. âYou have used me.â âMeaning?â âI have spied for you and lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you. Everything was supposed to be to keep Lily Potterâs son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter ââ âBut this is touching, Severus,â said Dumbledore seriously. âHave you grown to care for the boy, after all?â âFor him?â shouted Snape. âExpecto Patronum!â From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe: She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears. âAfter all this time?â âAlways,â said Snape.Q10 - Does Snape love Harry?
Q11 - What does always mean?
Q12 - Do you get why Snape kept the letter?
Chapter 34 - The Forest AgainHarry understood at last that he was not supposed to survive. His job was to walk calmly into Deathâs welcoming arms. Along the way, he was to dispose of Voldemortâs remaining links to life, so that when at last he flung himself across Voldemortâs path, and did not raise a wand to defend himself, the end would be clean, and the job that ought to have been done in Godricâs Hollow would be finished: Neither would live, neither could survive.Q1 - Was this really the whole purpose of Harryâs life?
Dumbledoreâs betrayal was almost nothing. Of course there had been a bigger plan; Harry had simply been too foolish to see it, he realized that now.Q2 - Was Dumbledore really just raising him like a pig for slaughter?
Harry pulled the Invisibility Cloak over himself and descended through the floors, at last walking down the marble staircase into the entrance hall. Perhaps some tiny part of him hoped to be sensed, to be seen, to be stopped, but the Cloak was, as ever, impenetrable, perfect, and he reached the front doors easily.Q3 - If you were in this situation, would you have said goodbye?
Harry glanced down and felt another dull blow to his stomach: Colin Creevey, though underage, must have sneaked back just as Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had done. He was tiny in death. He felt he would have given all the time remaining to him for just one last look at them; but then, would he ever have the strength to stop looking? It was better like this. The long game was ended, the Snitch had been caught, it was time to leave the air. . . . The Snitch. His nerveless fingers fumbled for a moment with the pouch at his neck and he pulled it out. I open at the close. Breathing fast and hard, he stared down at it. Now that he wanted time to move as slowly as possible, it seemed to have sped up, and understanding was coming so fast it seemed to have bypassed thought. This was the close. This was the moment. He pressed the golden metal to his lips and whispered, âI am about to die.â The metal shell broke open. He lowered his shaking hand, raised Dracoâs wand beneath the Cloak, and murmured, âLumos.â The black stone with its jagged crack running down the center sat in the two halves of the Snitch. The Resurrection Stone had cracked down the vertical line representing the Elder Wand. The triangle and circle representing the Cloak and the stone were still discernible.Q4 - Was this a surprise to you?
And again Harry understood without having to think. It did not matter about bringing them back, for he was about to join them. He was not really fetching them: They were fetching him. Lilyâs smile was widest of all. She pushed her long hair back as she drew close to him, and her green eyes, so like his, searched his face hungrily, as though she would never be able to look at him enough. âYouâve been so brave.â He could not speak. His eyes feasted on her, and he thought that he would like to stand and look at her forever, and that would be enough.Q5 - What did you think of Harry bringing everyone back?
âI thought he would come,â said Voldemort in his high, clear voice, his eyes on the leaping flames. âI expected him to come.â Nobody spoke. They seemed as scared as Harry, whose heart was now throwing itself against his ribs as though determined to escape the body he was about to cast aside. His hands were sweating as he pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and stuffed it beneath his robes, with his wand. He did not want to be tempted to fight. âI was, it seems . . . mistaken,â said Voldemort. âYou werenât.â Harry said it as loudly as he could, with all the force he could muster: He did not want to sound afraid. The Resurrection Stone slipped from between his numb fingers, and out of the corner of his eyes he saw his parents, Sirius, and Lupin vanish as he stepped forward into the firelight. At that moment he felt that nobody mattered but Voldemort. It was just the two of them.Q6 - What do you think of Harry here?
Voldemort had raised his wand. His head was still tilted to one side, like a curious child, wondering what would happen if he proceeded. Harry looked back into the red eyes, and wanted it to happen now, quickly, while he could still stand, before he lost control, before he betrayed fear â He saw the mouth move and a flash of green light, and everything was gone.Q7 - Is Harry dead?
Chapter 35 - Kings CrossHe recoiled. He had spotted the thing that was making the noises. It had the form of a small, naked child, curled on the ground, its skin raw and rough, flayed-looking, and it lay shuddering under a seat where it had been left, unwanted, stuffed out of sight, struggling for breath. He was afraid of it. Small and fragile and wounded though it was, he did not want to approach it. Nevertheless he drew slowly nearer, ready to jump back at any moment. Soon he stood near enough to touch it, yet he could not bring himself to do it. He felt like a coward. He ought to comfort it, but it repulsed him. âYou cannot help.â He spun around. Albus Dumbledore was walking toward him, sprightly and upright, wearing sweeping robes of midnight blue. âHarry.â He spread his arms wide, and his hands were both whole and white and undamaged. âYou wonderful boy. You brave, brave man. Let us walk.âQ1 - Were you shocked it was Dumbledore?
âBut . . .â Harry raised his hand instinctively toward the lightning scar. It did not seem to be there. âBut I should have died â I didnât defend myself! I meant to let him kill me!â âAnd that,â said Dumbledore, âwill, I think, have made all the difference.âQ2 - Why is this going to make all the difference?
âBut . . .â Harry raised his hand instinctively toward the lightning scar. It did not seem to be there. âBut I should have died â I didnât defend myself! I meant to let him kill me!â âAnd that,â said Dumbledore, âwill, I think, have made all the difference.â âHe took my blood,â said Harry. âPrecisely!â said Dumbledore. âHe took your blood and rebuilt his living body with it! Your blood in his veins, Harry, Lilyâs protection inside both of you! He tethered you to life while he lives!âQ3 - Do you get why Harry is not dead really?
âI believe that your wand imbibed some of the power and qualities of Voldemortâs wand that night, which is to say that it contained a little of Voldemort himself. So your wand recognized him when he pursued you, recognized a man who was both kin and mortal enemy, and it regurgitated some of his own magic against him, magic much more powerful than anything Luciusâs wand had ever performed. Your wand now contained the power of your enormous courage and of Voldemortâs own deadly skill: What chance did that poor stick of Lucius Malfoyâs stand?âQ4 - Did Harryâs wand temporarily become a Horcrux?
âCan you forgive me?â he said. âCan you forgive me for not trusting you? For not telling you? Harry, I only feared that you would fail as I had failed. I only dreaded that you would make my mistakes. I crave your pardon, Harry. I have known, for some time now, that you are the better man.âQ5 - Is Harry a better man than Dumbledore?
âThe argument became a fight. Grindelwald lost control. That which I had always sensed in him, though I pretended not to, now sprang into terrible being. And Ariana . . . after all my motherâs care and caution . . . lay dead upon the floor.âQ6 - What are your thoughts on the whole Dumbledore and Grindelwald situation?
âWould I?â asked Dumbledore heavily. âI am not so sure. I had proven, as a very young man, that power was my weakness and my temptation. It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well.Q7 - Had Dumbledore had power thrust upon him, would he have been a good leader?
âMaybe a man in a million could unite the Hallows, Harry. I was fit only to possess the meanest of them, the least extraordinary. I was fit to own the Elder Wand, and not to boast of it, and not to kill with it. I was permitted to tame and to use it, because I took it, not for gain, but to save others from it. âBut the Cloak, I took out of vain curiosity, and so it could never have worked for me as it works for you, its true owner. The stone I would have used in an attempt to drag back those who are at peace, rather than to enable my self-sacrifice, as you did. You are the worthy possessor of the Hallows.â âIf you planned your death with Snape, you meant him to end up with the Elder Wand, didnât you?â âI admit that was my intention,â said Dumbledore, âbut it did not work as I intended, did it?â âNo,â said Harry. âThat bit didnât work out.âQ8 - What are they talking about that it didnât work out?
âIâve got to go back, havenât I?â âThat is up to you.â âIâve got a choice?â âOh yes.â Dumbledore smiled at him. âWe are in Kingâs Cross, you say? I think that if you decided not to go back, you would be able to . . . letâs say . . . board a train.â âAnd where would it take me?â âOn,â said Dumbledore simply.âDo not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love. By returning, you may ensure that fewer souls are maimed, fewer families are torn apart. If that seems to you a worthy goal, then we say good-bye for the present.âQ9 - Harry is going back?
âTell me one last thing,â said Harry. âIs this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?â Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harryâs ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure. âOf course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?âQ10 - Is this real or is it happening inside Harryâs head?
Chapter 36 - The Flaw in the PlanHands, softer than he had been expecting, touched Harryâs face, pulled back an eyelid, crept beneath his shirt, down to his chest, and felt his heart. He could hear the womanâs fast breathing, her long hair tickled his face. He knew that she could feel the steady pounding of life against his ribs. âIs Draco alive? Is he in the castle?âQ1 - Were you surprised at Narcissa lying?
And now a chill settled over them where they stood, and Harry heard the rasping breath of the dementors that patrolled the outer trees. They would not affect him now. The fact of his own survival burned inside him, a talisman against them, as though his fatherâs stag kept guardian in his heart.Q2 - Why is Harry not affected by crucio and the dementors and stuff?
âHarry Potter is dead! Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!â âHe beat you!â yelled Ron, and the charm broke, and the defenders of Hogwarts were shouting and screaming again until a second, more powerful bang extinguished their voices once more.Q3 - What do you think of Ronâs progression as a character?
In one swift, fluid motion, Neville broke free of the Body-Bind Curse upon him; the flaming hat fell off him and he drew from its depths something silver, with a glittering, rubied handle â The slash of the silver blade could not be heard over the roar of the oncoming crowd or the sounds of the clashing giants or of the stampeding centaurs, and yet it seemed to draw every eye. With a single stroke Neville sliced off the great snakeâs head, which spun high into the air, gleaming in the light flooding from the entrance hall, and Voldemortâs mouth was open in a scream of fury that nobody could hear, and the snakeâs body thudded to the ground at his feet âQ4 - Do you get why we all love Neville so much now?
The house-elves of Hogwarts swarmed into the entrance hall, screaming and waving carving knives and cleavers, and at their head, the locket of Regulus Black bouncing on his chest, was Kreacher, his bullfrogâs voice audible even above this din: âFight! Fight! Fight for my Master, defender of house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord, in the name of brave Regulus! Fight!â Hundreds of people now lined the walls, watching the two fights, Voldemort and his three opponents, Bellatrix and Molly, and Harry stood, invisible, torn between both, wanting to attack and yet to protect, unable to be sure that he would not hit the innocent. âWhat will happen to your children when Iâve killed you?â taunted Bellatrix, as mad as her master, capering as Mollyâs curses danced around her. âWhen Mummyâs gone the same way as Freddie?â âYou â will â never â touch â our â children â again!â screamed Mrs. Weasley. Bellatrix laughed, the same exhilarated laugh her cousin Sirius had given as he toppled backward through the veil, and suddenly Harry knew what was going to happen before it did. Mollyâs curse soared beneath Bellatrixâs outstretched arm and hit her squarely in the chest, directly over her heart. Bellatrixâs gloating smile froze, her eyes seemed to bulge: For the tiniest space of time she knew what had happened, and then she toppled, and the watching crowd roared, and Voldemort screamed.Q5 - What was the most emotional moment in the whole series for you?
âYou wonât be killing anyone else tonight,â said Harry as they circled, and stared into each otherâs eyes, green into red. âYou wonât be able to kill any of them ever again. Donât you get it? I was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people ââ âBut you did not!â ââ I meant to, and thatâs what did it. Iâve done what my mother did. Theyâre protected from you. Havenât you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You canât torture them. You canât touch them. You donât learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?âQ6 - What do you think of this?
âYeah, it did,â said Harry. âYouâre right. But before you try to kill me, Iâd advise you to think about what youâve done. . . . Think, and try for some remorse, Riddle. . . .â âWhat is this?â Of all the things that Harry had said to him, beyond any revelation or taunt, nothing had shocked Voldemort like this. Harry saw his pupils contract to thin slits, saw the skin around his eyes whiten. âItâs your one last chance,â said Harry, âitâs all youâve got left. . . . Iâve seen what youâll be otherwise. . . . Be a man . . . try . . . Try for some remorse. . . .âQ7 - Thoughts on Harry telling Tom to try for some remorse?
âThe true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy.â Blank shock showed in Voldemortâs face for a moment, but then it was gone. âBut what does it matter?â he said softly. âEven if you are right, Potter, it makes no difference to you and me. You no longer have the phoenix wand: We duel on skill alone . . . and after I have killed you, I can attend to Draco Malfoy. . . .â âBut youâre too late,â said Harry. âYouâve missed your chance. I got there first. I overpowered Draco weeks ago. I took this wand from him.â Harry twitched the hawthorn wand, and he felt the eyes of everyone in the Hall upon it. âSo it all comes down to this, doesnât it?â whispered Harry. âDoes the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does . . . I am the true master of the Elder Wand.âQ8 - What do you think about the Elder Wand issues?
Q9 - How did you like the death of Voldemort?
After a while, exhausted and drained, Harry found himself sitting on a bench beside Luna. âIâd want some peace and quiet, if it were me,â she said. âIâd love some,â he replied. âIâll distract them all,â she said. âUse your Cloak.â âAnd then thereâs this.â Harry held up the Elder Wand, and Ron and Hermione looked at it with a reverence that, even in his befuddled and sleep-deprived state, Harry did not like to see. âI donât want it,â said Harry. âWhat?â said Ron loudly. âAre you mental?â âI know itâs powerful,â said Harry wearily. âBut I was happier with mine. So . . .â He rummaged in the pouch hung around his neck, and pulled out the two halves of holly still just connected by the finest thread of phoenix feather. Hermione had said that they could not be repaired, that the damage was too severe. All he knew was that if this did not work, nothing would. He laid the broken wand upon the headmasterâs desk, touched it with the very tip of the Elder Wand, and said, âReparo.âQ10 - What are your thoughts on the Hallows now?
EpilogueQ1 - What do you think about the epilogue?
Q2 - What do you think of Harry and Ginny and their kids names?
âTeddyâs back there,â he said breathlessly, pointing back over his shoulder into the billowing clouds of steam. âJust seen him! And guess what heâs doing? Snogging Victoire!ââDonât forget to give Neville our love!â Ginny told James as she hugged him. âMum! I canât give a professor love!â âBut you know Neville ââ James rolled his eyes. âOutside, yeah, but at school heâs Professor Longbottom, isnât he? I canât walk into Herbology and give him love. . . .âQ3 - What do you think about Prof Longbottom?
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Chapter 29 - The Lost DiademâAlecto, Amycusâs sister, teaches Muggle Studies, which is compulsory for everyone. Weâve all got to listen to her explain how Muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty, and how they drove wizards into hiding by being vicious toward them, and how the natural order is being reestablished. I got this one,â he indicated another slash to his face, âfor asking her how much Muggle blood she and her brother have got.â
Q1 - Obviously not entertaining Death Eater ideas, but do they have any kind of point?
Thing was,â he faced them, and Harry was astonished to see that he was grinning, âthey bit off a bit more than they could chew with Gran. Little old witch living alone, they probably thought they didnât need to send anyone particularly powerful. Anyway,â Neville laughed, âDawlish is still in St. Mungoâs and Granâs on the run. She sent me a letter,â he clapped a hand to the breast pocket of his robes, âtelling me she was proud of me, that Iâm my parentsâ son, and to keep it up.âQ2 - What do you think of all the students rebelling at Hogwarts?
Q3 - What do you think about the Room of Requirement hideout?
âThereâs something important we need to do ââ âWhat is it?â âI â I canât tell you.â There was a ripple of muttering at this: Nevilleâs brows contracted. âWhy canât you tell us? Itâs something to do with fighting YouKnow-Who, right?â âWell, yeah ââ âThen weâll help you.â The other members of Dumbledoreâs Army were nodding, some enthusiastically, others solemnly. A couple of them rose from their chairs to demonstrate their willingness for immediate action. âYou donât understand.â Harry seemed to have said that a lot in the last few hours. âWe â we canât tell you. Weâve got to do it â alone.âQ4 - Is it good theyâre being so secretive?
Harry looked from Ron to Hermione, who murmured, âI think Ronâs right. We donât even know what weâre looking for, we need them.â And when Harry looked unconvinced, âYou donât have to do everything alone, Harry.âQ5 - Should they tell?
Q6 - Where is the Diadem?
âWhich came first, the phoenix or the flame?â âHmm . . . What do you think, Harry?â said Luna, looking thoughtful. âWhat? Isnât there just a password?â âOh no, youâve got to answer a question,â said Luna. âWhat if you get it wrong?â âWell, you have to wait for somebody who gets it right,â said Luna. âThat way you learn, you see?â âYeah . . . Trouble is, we canât really afford to wait for anyone else, Luna.â âNo, I see what you mean,â said Luna seriously. âWell then, I think the answer is that a circle has no beginning.âQ7 - What do you think about the Ravenclaw towerâs entrance?
Harry stepped out from under the Cloak and climbed up onto Ravenclawâs plinth to read them. ââWit beyond measure is manâs greatest treasure.ââ âWhich makes you pretty skint, witless,â said a cackling voice. Harry whirled around, slipped off the plinth, and landed on the floor. The sloping-shouldered figure of Alecto Carrow was standing before him, and even as Harry raised his wand, she pressed a stubby forefinger to the skull and snake branded on her forearm. Chapter 30 - The Sacking of Severus SnapeâWe can push it off on the kids,â said Amycus, his piglike face suddenly crafty. âYeah, thatâs what weâll do. Weâll say Alecto was ambushed by the kids, them kids up thereâ â he looked up at the starry ceiling toward the dormitories â âand weâll say they forced her to press her Mark, and thatâs why he got a false alarm. . . . He can punish them. Couple of kids more or less, whatâs the difference?â âOnly the difference between truth and lies, courage and cowardice,â said Professor McGonagall, who had turned pale, âa difference, in short, which you and your sister seem unable to appreciate. But let me make one thing very clear. You are not going to pass off your many ineptitudes on the students of Hogwarts. I shall not permit it.âQ1 - Thoughts on McGongall and the Carrows?
âItâs not a case of what youâll permit, Minerva McGonagall. Your timeâs over. Itâs us whatâs in charge here now, and youâll back me up or youâll pay the price.â And he spat in her face. Harry pulled the Cloak off himself, raised his wand, and said, âYou shouldnât have done that.â As Amycus spun around, Harry shouted, âCrucio!âQ2 - Should Harry have used crucio?
âTimeâs running out, Voldemortâs getting nearer. Professor, Iâm acting on Dumbledoreâs orders, I must find what he wanted me to find! But weâve got to get the students out while Iâm searching the castle â itâs me Voldemort wants, but he wonât care about killing a few more or less, not now ââ not now he knows Iâm attacking Horcruxes, Harry finished the sentence in his head. âYouâre acting on Dumbledoreâs orders?â she repeated with a look of dawning wonder. Then she drew herself up to her fullest height. âWe shall secure the school against He-Who-Must-Not-BeNamed while you search for this â this object.â âIs that possible?â âI think so,â said Professor McGonagall dryly, âwe teachers are rather good at magic, you know. I am sure we will be able to hold him off for a while if we all put our best efforts into it. Of course, something will have to be done about Professor Snape ââ She marched toward the door, and as she did so she raised her wand. From the tip burst three silver cats with spectacle markings around their eyes. The Patronuses ran sleekly ahead, filling the spiral staircase with silvery light, as Professor McGonagall, Harry, and Luna hurried back down.Q3 - What was the doe Patronus?
âNo, heâs not dead,â said McGonagall bitterly. âUnlike Dumbledore, he was still carrying a wand . . . and he seems to have learned a few tricks from his master.â With a tingle of horror, Harry saw in the distance a huge, batlike shape flying through the darkness toward the perimeter wall. There were heavy footfalls behind them, and a great deal of puffing: Slughorn had just caught up.Q4 - Is Snape as dark as Voldemort?
âMy word,â he puffed, pale and sweaty, his walrus mustache aquiver. âWhat a to-do! Iâm not at all sure whether this is wise, Minerva. He is bound to find a way in, you know, and anyone who has tried to delay him will be in most grievous peril ââ âI shall expect you and the Slytherins in the Great Hall in twenty minutes, also,â said Professor McGonagall. âIf you wish to leave with your students, we shall not stop you. But if any of you attempt to sabotage our resistance or take up arms against us within this castle, then, Horace, we duel to kill.â âMinerva!â he said, aghast. âThe time has come for Slytherin House to decide upon its loyalties,â interrupted Professor McGonagall. âGo and wake your students, Horace.âQ5 - Do we trust Slughorn?
There was a scuffling and a great thump: Someone else had clambered out of the tunnel, overbalanced slightly, and fallen. He pulled himself up on the nearest chair, looked around through lopsided horn-rimmed glasses, and said, âAm I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I â I ââ Percy spluttered into silence. Evidently he had not expected to run into most of his family.Q6 - Do we trust Percy? How do you like him coming back at this moment?
âI was a fool!â Percy roared, so loudly that Lupin nearly dropped his photograph. âI was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I was a â a ââ âMinistry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron,â said Fred. Percy swallowed. âYes, I was!â âWell, you canât say fairer than that,â said Fred, holding out his hand to Percy. Mrs. Weasley burst into tears. She ran forward, pushed Fred aside, and pulled Percy into a strangling hug, while he patted her on the back, his eyes on his father. âWhereâs Ron?â asked Harry. âWhereâs Hermione?â âThey must have gone up to the Great Hall already,â Mr. Weasley called over his shoulder. âI didnât see them pass me,â said Harry. âThey said something about a bathroom,â said Ginny, ânot long after you left.â âA bathroom?âQ7 - Where did they go?
Chapter 31 - The Battle of HogwartsQ1 - What did you think of the students staying back to help and do they stand any chance against Voldemort and the Elder wand?
âWell, help me, then!â Her composure was slipping. âIt â it is not a question of ââ she stammered. âMy motherâs diadem ââ âYour motherâs?â She looked angry with herself. âWhen I lived,â she said stiffly, âI was Helena Ravenclaw.â âYouâre her daughter? But then, you must know what happened to it!âQ2 - What do you think about the Grey Lady?
âHe tracked me to the forest where I was hiding. When I refused to return with him, he became violent. The Baron was always a hot-tempered man. Furious at my refusal, jealous of my freedom, he stabbed me.â âThe Baron? You mean â ?â âThe Bloody Baron, yes,â said the Gray Lady, and she lifted aside the cloak she wore to reveal a single dark wound in her white chest. âWhen he saw what he had done, he was overcome with remorse. He took the weapon that had claimed my life, and used it to kill himself. All these centuries later, he wears his chains as an act of penitence . . . as he should,â she added bitterly.Q3 - What do you think of her story?
âHe hid the diadem in the castle, the night he asked Dumbledore to let him teach!â said Harry. Saying it out loud enabled him to make sense of it all. âHe mustâve hidden the diadem on his way up to, or down from, Dumbledoreâs office! But it was still worth trying to get the job â then he mightâve got the chance to nick Gryffindorâs sword as well â thank you, thanks!âQ4 - Do you understand why he applied for the job now?
ââ attacking because they havenât handed you over, yeah,â said Aberforth, âIâm not deaf, the whole of Hogsmeade heard him. And it never occurred to any of you to keep a few Slytherins hostage? There are kids of Death Eaters youâve just sent to safety. Wouldnât it have been a bit smarter to keep âem here?âQ5 - Would you have kept a few Slytherins captive?
âI was the last to come through,â said Mrs. Longbottom. âI sealed it, I think it unwise to leave it open now Aberforth has left his pub. Have you seen my grandson?â âHeâs fighting,â said Harry. âNaturally,â said the old lady proudly. âExcuse me, I must go and assist him.â With surprising speed she trotted off toward the stone steps.Q6 - Understand why I love Neville so much now?
Q7 - What do you think of Crabbe and Goyle and Malfoy?
And he saw them: Malfoy with his arms around the unconscious Goyle, the pair of them perched on a fragile tower of charred desks, and Harry dived. Malfoy saw him coming and raised one arm, but even as Harry grasped it he knew at once that it was no good: Goyle was too heavy and Malfoyâs hand, covered in sweat, slid instantly out of Harryâs â âIF WE DIE FOR THEM, IâLL KILL YOU, HARRY!â roared Ronâs voice, and, as a great flaming chimaera bore down upon them, he and Hermione dragged Goyle onto their broom and rose, rolling and pitching, into the air once more as Malfoy clambered up behind Harry.Q8 - What do you think about Harry saving them and Crabbe dying?
He pulled the diadem from his wrist and held it up. It was still hot, blackened with soot, but as he looked at it closely he was just able to make out the tiny words etched upon it: Wit beyond measure is manâs greatest treasure. A bloodlike substance, dark and tarry, seemed to be leaking from the diadem. Suddenly Harry felt the thing vibrate violently, then break apart in his hands, and as it did so, he thought he heard the faintest, most distant scream of pain, echoing not from the grounds or the castle, but from the thing that had just fragmented in his fingers.Q9 - Theyâre getting closeâŠNagini is only left?
Then he heard a terrible cry that pulled at his insides, that expressed agony of a kind neither flame nor curse could cause, and he stood up, swaying, more frightened than he had been that day, more frightened, perhaps, than he had been in his life. . . . And Hermione was struggling to her feet in the wreckage, and three redheaded men were grouped on the ground where the wall had blasted apart. Harry grabbed Hermioneâs hand as they staggered and stumbled over stone and wood. âNo â no â no!â someone was shouting. âNo! Fred! No!â And Percy was shaking his brother, and Ron was kneeling beside them, and Fredâs eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.Q10 - RIP FredâŠ
Chapter 32 - The Elder WandShe had pulled Ron behind a tapestry: They seemed to be wrestling together, and for one mad second Harry thought that they were embracing again; then he saw that Hermione was trying to restrain Ron, to stop him running after Percy. âListen to me â LISTEN, RON!â âI wanna help â I wanna kill Death Eaters ââ His face was contorted, smeared with dust and smoke, and he was shaking with rage and grief. âRon, weâre the only ones who can end it! Please â Ron â we need the snake, weâve got to kill the snake!â said Hermione. But Harry knew how Ron felt: Pursuing another Horcrux could not bring the satisfaction of revenge; he too wanted to fight, to punish them, the people who had killed Fred, and he wanted to find the other Weasleys, and above all make sure, make quite sure, that Ginny was not â but he could not permit that idea to form in his mind âQ1 - What do you think of Ronâs anger and grief here?
Q2 - Is Hagrid dead?
âHow â howâre we going to get in?â panted Ron. âI can â see the place â if we just had â Crookshanks again ââ âCrookshanks?â wheezed Hermione, bent double, clutching her chest. âAre you a wizard, or what?âQ3 - Do you remember where you first read this line?
â. . . my Lord, their resistance is crumbling ââ ââ and it is doing so without your help,â said Voldemort in his high, clear voice. âSkilled wizard though you are, Severus, I do not think you will make much difference now. We are almost there . . . almost.â âLet me find the boy. Let me bring you Potter. I know I can find him, my Lord. Please.â Snape did not speak. âPerhaps you already know it? You are a clever man, after all, Severus. You have been a good and faithful servant, and I regret what must happen.â âMy Lord ââ âThe Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot be truly mine.â âMy Lord!â Snape protested, raising his wand. âIt cannot be any other way,â said Voldemort. âI must master the wand, Severus. Master the wand, and I master Potter at last.â And Voldemort swiped the air with the Elder Wand. It did nothing to Snape, who for a split second seemed to think he had been reprieved: But then Voldemortâs intention became clear. The snakeâs cage was rolling through the air, and before Snape could do anything more than yell, it had encased him, head and shoulders, and Voldemort spoke in Parseltongue. âKill.âQ4 - Initially you were happy Snape diedâŠhas your tune changed?
Harry took off the Invisibility Cloak and looked down upon the man he hated, whose widening black eyes found Harry as he tried to speak. Harry bent over him, and Snape seized the front of his robes and pulled him close. A terrible rasping, gurgling noise issued from Snapeâs throat. âTake . . . it. . . . Take . . . it. . . .â Something more than blood was leaking from Snape. Silvery blue, neither gas nor liquid, it gushed from his mouth and his ears and his eyes, and Harry knew what it was, but did not know what to do â A flask, conjured from thin air, was thrust into his shaking hands by Hermione. Harry lifted the silvery substance into it with his wand. When the flask was full to the brim, and Snape looked as though there was no blood left in him, his grip on Harryâs robes slackened. âLook . . . at . . . me. . . .â he whispered. The green eyes found the black, but after a second, something in the depths of the dark pair seemed to vanish, leaving them fixed, blank, and empty. The hand holding Harry thudded to the floor, and Snape moved no more.Q6 - What do you think?
Q7 - Voldemort owns the Elder Wand now?
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Chapter 24 - The WandmakerâI want to do it properly,â were the first words of which Harry was fully conscious of speaking. âNot by magic. Have you got a spade?â And shortly afterward he had set to work, alone, digging the grave in the place that Bill had shown him at the end of the garden, between bushes. He dug with a kind of fury, relishing the manual work, glorying in the non-magic of it, for every drop of his sweat and every blister felt like a gift to the elf who had saved their lives.
Q1 - Why did Harry want to do this without magic?
âNo,â Harry said, and Bill looked startled. âI need both of them here. I need to talk to them. Itâs important.â He heard the authority in his own voice, the conviction, the sense of purpose that had come to him as he dug Dobbyâs grave. All of their faces were turned toward him, looking puzzled. Dobby would never be able to tell them who had sent him to the cellar, but Harry knew what he had seen. A piercing blue eye had looked out of the mirror fragment, and then help had come. Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.Q2 - Whatâs the deal with the mirror?
You gave Ron the Deluminator. You understood him. . . . You gave him a way back. . . . And you understood Wormtail too. . . . You knew there was a bit of regret there, somewhere. . . . And if you knew them . . . What did you know about me, Dumbledore? Am I meant to know, but not to seek? Did you know how hard Iâd find that? Is that why you made it this difficult? So Iâd have time to work that out?Q3 - Do you think heâs right about Dumbledore here?
Q4 - Theyâre going to break into Gringotts? Are they going to succeed?
âI took this wand from Draco Malfoy by force,â said Harry. âCan I use it safely?â âI think so. Subtle laws govern wand ownership, but the conquered wand will usually bend its will to its new master.âQ5 - Is Harry truly the master of Dracoâs wand?
Yes, if you won it, it is more likely to do your bidding, and do it well, than another wand.â âAnd this holds true for all wands, does it?â asked Harry. âI think so,â replied Ollivander, his protuberant eyes upon Harryâs face. âYou ask deep questions, Mr. Potter. Wandlore is a complex and mysterious branch of magic.â âSo, it isnât necessary to kill the previous owner to take true possession of a wand?â asked Harry. Ollivander swallowed. âNecessary? No, I should not say that it is necessary to kill.âQ6 - Do you think this is true? That wands can pass without killing?
âYou told him about the twin cores? You said he just had to borrow another wizardâs wand?â Ollivander looked horrified, transfixed, by the amount that Harry knew. He nodded slowly. âBut it didnât work,â Harry went on. âMine still beat the borrowed wand. Do you know why that is?â Ollivander shook his head as slowly as he had just nodded. âI had . . . never heard of such a thing. Your wand performed something unique that night. The connection of the twin cores is incredibly rare, yet why your wand should have snapped the borrowed wand, I do not know. . . .âQ7 - Why do you think Harryâs wand acted like this?
âGregorovitch had the Elder Wand a long time ago,â he said. âI saw You-Know-Who trying to find him. When he tracked him down, he found that Gregorovitch didnât have it anymore: It was stolen from him by Grindelwald. How Grindelwald found out that Gregorovitch had it, I donât know â but if Gregorovitch was stupid enough to spread the rumor, it canât have been that difficult.â Voldemort was at the gates of Hogwarts; Harry could see him standing there, and see too the lamp bobbing in the pre-dawn, coming closer and closer. âAnd Grindelwald used the Elder Wand to become powerful. And at the height of his power, when Dumbledore knew he was the only one who could stop him, he dueled Grindelwald and beat him, and he took the Elder Wand.â âDumbledore had the Elder Wand?â said Ron. âBut then â where is it now?âQ8 - What do you think about this?
And here it was, beside the lake, reflected in the dark waters. The white marble tomb, an unnecessary blot on the familiar landscape. He felt again that rush of controlled euphoria, that heady sense of purpose in destruction. He raised the old yew wand: How fitting that this would be its last great act. The tomb split open from head to foot. The shrouded figure was as long and thin as it had been in life. He raised the wand again. The wrappings fell open. The face was translucent, pale, sunken, yet almost perfectly preserved. They had left his spectacles on the crooked nose: He felt amused derision. Dumbledoreâs hands were folded upon his chest, and there it lay, clutched beneath them, buried with him. Had the old fool imagined that marble or death would protect the wand? Had he thought that the Dark Lord would be scared to violate his tomb? The spiderlike hand swooped and pulled the wand from Dumbledoreâs grasp, and as he took it, a shower of sparks flew from its tip, sparkling over the corpse of its last owner, ready to serve a new master at last. Chapter 25 - Shell CottageâHarry admits he could have imagined the eye! Donât you, Harry?â âI could have,â said Harry without looking at her. âBut you donât think you did, do you?â asked Ron. âNo, I donât,â said Harry. âThere you go!â said Ron quickly, before Hermione could carry on. âIf it wasnât Dumbledore, explain how Dobby knew we were in the cellar, Hermione?â âI canât â but can you explain how Dumbledore sent him to us if heâs lying in a tomb at Hogwarts?âQ1 - Is Dumbledore alive?
Q2 - Does the sword really belong to Goblins?
Q3 - Do you think he plan will go well with Griphook?
âSo, au revoir, Mr. Ollivander,â said Fleur, kissing him on both cheeks. âAnd I wonder whezzer you could oblige me by delivering a package to Billâs Auntie Muriel? I never returned âer tiara.â âIt will be an honor,â said Ollivander with a little bow, âthe very least I can do in return for your generous hospitality.â Fleur drew out a worn velvet case, which she opened to show the wandmaker. The tiara sat glittering and twinkling in the light from the low-hanging lamp. âMoonstones and diamonds,â said Griphook, who had sidled into the room without Harry noticing. âMade by goblins, I think?âQ4 - Could Dannyâs tiara theory be right all along?
Lupin fell over the threshold. He was white-faced, wrapped in a traveling cloak, his graying hair windswept. He straightened up, looked around the room, making sure of who was there, then cried aloud, âItâs a boy! Weâve named him Ted, after Doraâs father!â Hermione shrieked. âWha â ? Tonks â Tonks has had the baby?â âYes, yes, sheâs had the baby!â shouted Lupin. All around the table came cries of delight, sighs of relief: Hermione and Fleur both squealed, âCongratulations!â and Ron said, âBlimey, a baby!â as if he had never heard of such a thing before. âYes â yes â a boy,â said Lupin again, who seemed dazed by his own happiness. He strode around the table and hugged Harry; the scene in the basement of Grimmauld Place might never have happened. âYouâll be godfather?â he said as he released Harry. âM-me?â stammered Harry âYou, yes, of course â Dora quite agrees, no one better ââ âI â yeah â blimey ââQ5 - What do you think about Lupin and Tonks having a baby?
Harry had an ominous feeling now; he wondered whether Bill guessed more than he was letting on. âAll I am saying,â said Bill, setting his hand on the door back into the sitting room, âis to be very careful what you promise goblins, Harry. It would be less dangerous to break into Gringotts than to renege on a promise to a goblin.âQ6 - Are they dumb to trust Griphook?
Chapter 26 - GringottsâI hate this thing,â she said in a low voice. âI really hate it. It feels all wrong, it doesnât work properly for me. . . . Itâs like a bit of her.â âItâll probably help you get in character, though,â said Ron. âThink what that wandâs done!â âBut thatâs my point!â said Hermione. âThis is the wand that tortured Nevilleâs mum and dad, and who knows how many other people? This is the wand that killed Sirius!âQ1 - Should they snap this wand in two?
Harry looked down at the hawthorn wand that had once belonged to Draco Malfoy. He had been surprised, but pleased, to discover that it worked for him at least as well as Hermioneâs had done. Remembering what Ollivander had told them of the secret workings of wands, Harry thought he knew what Hermioneâs problem was: She had not won the walnut wandâs allegiance by taking it personally from Bellatrix.Q2 - Is this true?
He realized now that they could hardly have laid Dobby to rest in a more beautiful place, but Harry ached with sadness to think of leaving him behind. Looking down on the grave, he wondered yet again how the elf had known where to come to rescue them. His fingers moved absentmindedly to the little pouch still strung around his neck, through which he could feel the jagged mirror fragment in which he had been sure he had seen Dumbledoreâs eye. Then the sound of a door opening made him look around.Q3 - Any further theories on who sent Dobby?
âThey know!â whispered Griphook in Harryâs ear. âThey must have been warned there might be an impostor!â âYour wand will do, madam,â said the goblin. He held out a slightly trembling hand, and in a dreadful blast of realization Harry knew that the goblins of Gringotts were aware that Bellatrixâs wand had been stolen. âAct now, act now,â whispered Griphook in Harryâs ear, âthe Imperius Curse!â Harry raised the hawthorn wand beneath the cloak, pointed it at the old goblin, and whispered, for the first time in his life, âImperio!âQ4 - What do you think about Harry using the Imperius curse?
Q5 - Is Travers going to permanently be in a crack in the wall in Gringotts?
Q6 - What do you think of all the enchantments at Gringotts?
âHarry, could this be â ? Aargh!â Hermione screamed in pain, and Harry turned his wand on her in time to see a jeweled goblet tumbling from her grip. But as it fell, it split, became a shower of goblets, so that a second later, with a great clatter, the floor was covered in identical cups rolling in every direction, the original impossible to discern amongst them. âIt burned me!â moaned Hermione, sucking her blistered fingers. âThey have added Gemino and Flagrante Curses!â said Griphook. âEverything you touch will burn and multiply, but the copies are worthless â and if you continue to handle the treasure, you will eventually be crushed to death by the weight of expanding gold!âQ7 - What do you think about this?
The tiny golden cup, skewered by the handle on the swordâs blade, was flung into the air. The goblin still astride him, Harry dived and caught it, and although he could feel it scalding his flesh he did not relinquish it, even while countless Hufflepuff cups burst from his fist.Q8 - Do they have the cup?
Q9 - How do you like their dragon heist?
Chapter 27 - The Final Hiding PlaceâWell, on the upside,â said Ron finally, who was sitting watching the skin on his hands regrow, âwe got the Horcrux. On the downside ââ ââ no sword,â said Harry through gritted teeth, as he dripped dittany through the singed hole in his jeans onto the angry burn beneath.Q1 - How will they destroy this Horcrux?
The sky, the smell of lake water, the sound of Ronâs voice were extinguished: Pain cleaved Harryâs head like a sword stroke. He was standing in a dimly lit room, and a semicircle of wizards faced him, and on the floor at his feet knelt a small, quaking figure. âWhat did you say to me?â His voice was high and cold, but fury and fear burned inside him. The one thing he had dreaded â but it could not be true, he could not see how . . . The goblin was trembling, unable to meet the red eyes high above his. âSay it again!â murmured Voldemort. âSay it again!â âM-my Lord,â stammered the goblin, its black eyes wide with terror, âm-my Lord . . . we t-tried t-to st-stop them. . . . Im-impostors, my Lord . . . broke â broke into the â into the Lestrangesâ v-vault. . . .â âImpostors? What impostors? I thought Gringotts had ways of revealing impostors? Who were they?â âIt was . . . it was . . . the P-Potter b-boy and t-two accomplices. . . .â âAnd they took?â he said, his voice rising, a terrible fear gripping him. âTell me! What did they take?â âA . . . a s-small golden c-cup, m-my Lord . . .â The scream of rage, of denial left him as if it were a strangerâs: He was crazed, frenzied, it could not be true, it was impossible, nobody had ever known: How was it possible that the boy could have discovered his secret?Q2 - What do you think of this?
But surely if the boy had destroyed any of his Horcruxes, he, Lord Voldemort, would have known, would have felt it?Q3 - So has Voldemort not felt these horcruxes being destroyed?
But he must know, he must be sure. . . . He paced the room, kicking aside the goblinâs corpse as he passed, and the pictures blurred and burned in his boiling brain: the lake, the shack, and Hogwarts âQ4 - Where at Hogwarts?
As for the school: He alone knew where in Hogwarts he had stowed the Horcrux, because he alone had plumbed the deepest secrets of that place. . . . And there was still Nagini, who must remain close now, no longer sent to do his bidding, under his protection. . . .Q5 - If Voldemort is checking the hiding places, how much time do the trio have?
âBut how are we going to get in?â âWeâll go to Hogsmeade,â said Harry, âand try to work something out once we see what the protection around the schoolâs like. Get under the Cloak, Hermione, I want to stick together this time.â âBut we donât really fit ââ âItâll be dark, no oneâs going to notice our feet.â The flapping of enormous wings echoed across the black water: The dragon had drunk its fill and risen into the air. They paused in their preparations to watch it climb higher and higher, now black against the rapidly darkening sky, until it vanished over a nearby mountain. Then Hermione walked forward and took her place between the other two. Harry pulled the Cloak down as far as it would go, and together they turned on the spot into the crushing darkness.Chapter 28 - The Missing MirrorHe raised his wand: He could not, would not, suffer the Dementorâs Kiss, whatever happened afterward. It was of Ron and Hermione that he thought as he whispered, âExpecto Patronum!âQ1 - Should they have planned this a little better?
Ron gasped. âThe silver doe!â he said excitedly. âWas that you too?â âWhat are you talking about?â said Aberforth. âSomeone sent a doe Patronus to us!â âBrains like that, you could be a Death Eater, son. Havenât I just proved my Patronus is a goat?â âOh,â said Ron. âYeah . . . well, Iâm hungry!â he added defensively as his stomach gave an enormous rumbleâMy brother Albus wanted a lot of things,â said Aberforth, âand people had a habit of getting hurt while he was carrying out his grand plans. You get away from this school, Potter, and out of the country if you can. Forget my brother and his clever schemes. Heâs gone where none of this can hurt him, and you donât owe him anything.âQ2 - Is Aberforth a reliable story teller?
âIt destroyed her, what they did: She was never right again. She wouldnât use magic, but she couldnât get rid of it; it turned inward and drove her mad, it exploded out of her when she couldnât control it, and at times she was strange and dangerous. But mostly she was sweet and scared and harmless.Q3 - What do you think this looks like?
But he did all right for a few weeks . . . till he came.â And now a positively dangerous look crept over Aberforthâs face. âGrindelwald. And at last, my brother had an equal to talk to, someone just as bright and talented as he was. And looking after Ariana took a backseat then, while they were hatching all their plans for a new Wizarding order, and looking for Hallows, and whatever else it was they were so interested in. Grand plans for the benefit of all Wizardkind, and if one young girl got neglected, what did that matter, when Albus was working for the greater good? He got angry. He told me what a stupid little boy I was, trying to stand in the way of him and my brilliant brother. . . . Didnât I understand, my poor sister wouldnât have to be hidden once theyâd changed the world, and led the wizards out of hiding, and taught the Muggles their place?Q4 - What do you think of Grindewald now?
âHe was never free,â said Harry. âI beg your pardon?â said Aberforth. âNever,â said Harry. âThe night that your brother died, he drank a potion that drove him out of his mind. He started screaming, pleading with someone who wasnât there. âDonât hurt them, please . . . hurt me instead.ââQ5 - Do you think Dumbledore really never forgave himself?
âBecause,â said Harry before Hermione could answer, âsometimes youâve got to think about more than your own safety! Sometimes youâve got to think about the greater good! This is war!â âYouâre seventeen, boy!â âIâm of age, and Iâm going to keep fighting even if youâve given up!â âWho says Iâve given up?â ââThe Order of the Phoenix is finished,ââ Harry repeated. ââYouKnow-Whoâs won, itâs over, and anyone whoâs pretending differentâs kidding themselves.ââ âI donât say I like it, but itâs the truth!â âNo, it isnât,â said Harry. âYour brother knew how to finish YouKnow-Who and he passed the knowledge on to me. Iâm going to keep going until I succeed â or I die. Donât think I donât know how this might end. Iâve known it for years.âQ6 - What do you think of this whole story?
Q7 - How will this end?
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Chapter 21 - The Tale of the Three Brothersâ âThere were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight ââ â âMidnight, our mum always told us,â said Ron, who had stretched out, arms behind his head, to listen. Hermione shot him a look of annoyance.We are talking about a cloak that really and truly renders the wearer completely invisible, and endures eternally, giving constant and impenetrable concealment, no matter what spells are cast at it. How many cloaks have you ever seen like that, Miss Granger?â Hermione opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again, looking more confused than ever. She, Harry, and Ron glanced at one another, and Harry knew that they were all thinking the same thing. It so happened that a cloak exactly like the one Xenophilius had just described was in the room with them at that very moment.
Q1 - Do you think Harryâs cloak could be one of the Hallows?
Q2 - If it exists, where do you think the Resurrection stone is?
âSo where do you think the Elder Wand is now?â asked Ron. âAlas, who knows?â said Xenophilius, as he gazed out of the window.Q3 - If it exists, where is the wand?
âItâs just a morality tale, itâs obvious which gift is best, which one youâd choose ââ The three of them spoke at the same time; Hermione said, âthe Cloak,â Ron said, âthe wand,â and Harry said, âthe stone.â They looked at each other, half surprised, half amused.Q4 - Which is the best?
Harry held out his left hand. Ron vanished beneath the Cloak. The printing press blocking the stairs was vibrating: Xenophilius was trying to shift it using a Hover Charm. Harry did not know what Hermione was waiting for. âHold tight,â she whispered. âHold tight . . . any second . . .â Xenophiliusâs paper-white face appeared over the top of the sideboard. âObliviate!â cried Hermione, pointing her wand first into his face, then at the floor beneath them. âDeprimo!â She had blasted a hole in the sitting room floor. They fell like boulders, Harry still holding onto her hand for dear life; there was a scream from below, and he glimpsed two men trying to get out of the way as vast quantities of rubble and broken furniture rained all around them from the shattered ceiling. Hermione twisted in midair and the thundering of the collapsing house rang in Harryâs ears as she dragged him once more into darkness.Q5 - What is Hermione doing here?
Chapter 22 - The Deathly HallowsâThen sheâll be in Azkaban, I expect,â said Ron. âWhether she survives the place, though . . . Loads donât. . . .â âShe will,â said Harry. He could not bear to contemplate the alternative. âSheâs tough, Luna, much tougher than youâd think. Sheâs probably teaching all the inmates about Wrackspurts and Nargles.âQ1 - Who could survive Azkaban the best out of everyone weâve met?
âYes . . . and thatâs all very interesting,â said Hermione cautiously, âbut Harry, if youâre thinking what I think youâre think ââ âWell, why not? Why not?â said Harry, abandoning caution. âIt was a stone, wasnât it?â He looked at Ron for support. âWhat if it was the Resurrection Stone?â Ronâs mouth fell open. âBlimey â but would it still work if Dumbledore broke â ?âQ2 - Do you think that the stone is the ring?
And he saw himself, possessor of the Hallows, facing Voldemort, whose Horcruxes were no match . . . Neither can live while the other survives. . . . Was this the answer? Hallows versus Horcruxes? Was there a way, after all, to ensure that he was the one who triumphed? If he were the master of the Deathly Hallows, would he be safe?Q3 - What do you think of Harryâs questions here?
He turned his back on their strained, incredulous faces. He knew it was the truth. It all made sense. Voldemort was not seeking a new wand; he was seeking an old wand, a very old wand indeed. Harry walked to the entrance of the tent, forgetting about Ron and Hermione as he looked out into the night, thinking. . . . âHarry, this isnât a game, this isnât practice! This is the real thing, and Dumbledore left you very clear instructions: Find and destroy the Horcruxes! That symbol doesnât mean anything, forget the Deathly Hallows, we canât afford to get sidetracked ââQ4 - What did Dumbledore want?
âBut before we hear from Royal and Romulus,â Lee went on, âletâs take a moment to report those deaths that the Wizarding Wireless Network News and Daily Prophet donât think important enough to mention. It is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murders of Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell.â âIâd tell him weâre all with him in spirit,â said Lupin, then hesitated slightly. âAnd Iâd tell him to follow his instincts, which are good and nearly always right.âQ5 - Are Harryâs instincts always right?
âAnd the rumors that he keeps being sighted abroad?â asked Lee. âWell, who wouldnât want a nice little holiday after all the hard work heâs been putting in?â asked Fred. âPoint is, people, donât get lulled into a false sense of security, thinking heâs out of the country. Maybe he is, maybe he isnât, but the fact remains he can move faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo when he wants to, so donât count on him being a long way away if youâre planning on taking any risks. I never thought Iâd hear myself say it, but safety first!â Chapter 23 - Malfoy ManorQ1 - How unfortunate is the end of the last chapter and this one?
âLike âell you are,â said the man called Scabior. âWe know Stan Shunpike, âeâs put a bit of work our way.âQ2 - Is Stan actually bad?
The emaciated figure stirred beneath its thin blanket and rolled over toward him, eyes opening in a skull of a face. . . . The frail man sat up, great sunken eyes fixed upon him, upon Voldemort, and then he smiled. Most of his teeth were gone. . . . âSo, you have come. I thought you would . . . one day. But your journey was pointless. I never had it.â âYou lie!âQ3 - What does he mean that he never had it?
Q4 - Why doesnât Draco identify them here?
She stopped struggling, her dark eyes fixed upon something Harry could not see. Jubilant at her capitulation, Lucius threw her hand from him and ripped up his own sleeve â âSTOP!â shrieked Bellatrix. âDo not touch it, we shall all perish if the Dark Lord comes now!âQ5 - Why is Bella so freaked out?
Hermioneâs screams echoed off the walls upstairs, Ron was half sobbing as he pounded the walls with his fists, and Harry in utter desperation seized Hagridâs pouch from around his neck and groped inside it: He pulled out Dumbledoreâs Snitch and shook it, hoping for he did not know what â nothing happened â he waved the broken halves of the phoenix wand, but they were lifeless â the mirror fragment fell sparkling to the floor, and he saw a gleam of brightest blue â Dumbledoreâs eye was gazing at him out of the mirror. âHelp us!â he yelled at it in mad desperation. âWeâre in the cellar of Malfoy Manor, help us!â The eye blinked and was gone.Q6 - What was going on there?
âKill me, then, Voldemort, I welcome death! But my death will not bring you what you seek. . . . There is so much you do not understand. . . .âQ7 - What does Voldemort not understand?
Harry could barely breathe. âYouâre going to kill me?â Harry choked, attempting to prise off the metal fingers. âAfter I saved your life? You owe me, Wormtail!â The silver fingers slackened. Harry had not expected it: He wrenched himself free, astonished, keeping his hand over Wormtailâs mouth. He saw the ratlike manâs small watery eyes widen with fear and surprise: He seemed just as shocked as Harry at what his hand had done, at the tiny, merciful impulse it had betrayed, and he continued to struggle more powerfully, as though to undo that moment of weakness. âAnd weâll have that,â whispered Ron, tugging Wormtailâs wand from his other hand. Wandless, helpless, Pettigrewâs pupils dilated in terror. His eyes had slid from Harryâs face to something else. His own silver fingers were moving inexorably toward his own throat. âNo ââ Without pausing to think, Harry tried to drag back the hand, but there was no stopping it. The silver tool that Voldemort had given his most cowardly servant had turned upon its disarmed and useless owner; Pettigrew was reaping his reward for his hesitation, his moment of pity; he was being strangled before their eyes.Q8 - Poetic justice here? What do you think about Harry trying to save Pettigrew?
At the last word there was a peculiar grinding noise from above. All of them looked upward in time to see the crystal chandelier tremble; then, with a creak and an ominous jingling, it began to fall. Bellatrix was directly beneath it; dropping Hermione, she threw herself aside with a scream. The chandelier crashed to the floor in an explosion of crystal and chains, falling on top of Hermione and the goblin, who still clutched the sword of Gryffindor. Glittering shards of crystal flew in all directions: Draco doubled over, his hands covering his bloody face. As Ron ran to pull Hermione out of the wreckage, Harry took his chance: He leapt over an armchair and wrested the three wands from Dracoâs grip, pointed all of them at Greyback, and yelled, âStupefy!â The werewolf was lifted off his feet by the triple spell, flew up to the ceiling, and then smashed to the ground.Q9 - Does triple wand power work greater?
The tiny elf trotted into the room, his shaking finger pointing at his old mistress. âYou must not hurt Harry Potter,â he squeaked. âKill him, Cissy!â shrieked Bellatrix, but there was another loud crack, and Narcissaâs wand too flew into the air and landed on the other side of the room. âYou dirty little monkey!â bawled Bellatrix. âHow dare you take a witchâs wand, how dare you defy your masters?â âDobby has no master!â squealed the elf. âDobby is a free elf, and Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his friends!ââDobby, no, donât die, donât die ââ The elfâs eyes found him, and his lips trembled with the effort to form words. âHarry . . . Potter . . .â And then with a little shudder the elf became quite still, and his eyes were nothing more than great glassy orbs, sprinkled with light from the stars they could not see.Q10 - Raise a glass to Dobby
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Chapter 17 - Bathildaâs SecretHarry, stop.â âWhatâs wrong?â They had only just reached the grave of the unknown Abbott. âThereâs someone there. Someone watching us. I can tell. There, over by the bushes.â
Q1 - What do you think of the monuments to the Potters?
Was it possible that she had been waiting for them all these long months? That Dumbledore had told her to wait, and that Harry would come in the end? Was it not likely that it was she who had moved in the shadows in the graveyard and had followed them to this spot? Even her ability to sense them suggested some Dumbledore-ish power that he had never encountered before.Q2 - What would you have done in this situation?
The dust vanished from the photographs, and he saw at once that half a dozen were missing from the largest and most ornate frames. He wondered whether Bathilda or somebody else had removed them. Then the sight of a photograph near the back of the collection caught his eye, and he snatched it up. It was the golden-haired, merry-faced thief, the young man who had perched on Gregorovitchâs windowsill, smiling lazily up at Harry out of the silver frame. And it came to Harry instantly where he had seen the boy before: in The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, arm in arm with the teenage Dumbledore, and that must be where all the missing photographs were: in Ritaâs book.Q3 - Who is this?
Then she closed her eyes and several things happened at once: Harryâs scar prickled painfully; the Horcrux twitched so that the front of his sweater actually moved; the dark, fetid room dissolved momentarily. He felt a leap of joy and spoke in a high, cold voice: Hold him!Q4 - How chilling is this?
And his scream was Harryâs scream, his pain was Harryâs pain . . . that it could happen here, where it had happened before . . . here, within sight of that house where he had come so close to knowing what it was to die . . . to die. . . . The pain was so terrible . . . ripped from his body. . . . But if he had no body, why did his head hurt so badly; if he was dead, how could he feel so unbearably, didnât pain cease with death, didnât it go . . . He forced the door open, cast aside the chair and boxes hastily piled against it with one lazy wave of his wand . . . and there she stood, the child in her arms. At the sight of him, she dropped her son into the crib behind her and threw her arms wide, as if this would help, as if in shielding him from sight she hoped to be chosen instead. . . . âNot Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!â âStand aside, you silly girl . . . stand aside, now.â âNot Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead ââ âThis is my last warning ââ âNot Harry! Please . . . have mercy . . . have mercy. . . . Not Harry! Not Harry! Please â Iâll do anything ââ âStand aside. Stand aside, girl!â He could have forced her away from the crib, but it seemed more prudent to finish them all. . . .Q5 - Does any of this info give you hints or clues as to what is going on?
And then he broke: He was nothing, nothing but pain and terror, and he must hide himself, not here in the rubble of the ruined house, where the child was trapped and screaming, but far away . . . far away. . . . âNo,â he moaned. The snake rustled on the filthy, cluttered floor, and he had killed the boy, and yet he was the boy. . . . âNo . . .â And now he stood at the broken window of Bathildaâs house, immersed in memories of his greatest loss, and at his feet the great snake slithered over broken china and glass. . . . He looked down and saw something . . . something incredible. . . . âNo . . .â âHarry, itâs all right, youâre all right!â He stooped down and picked up the smashed photograph. There he was, the unknown thief, the thief he was seeking. . .Q6 - What is going on here?
âYouâre the one who needs sleep. No offense, but you look terrible. Iâm fine. Iâll keep watch for a while. Whereâs my wand?â She did not answer, she merely looked at him. âWhereâs my wand, Hermione?â She was biting her lip, and tears swam in her eyes. âHarry . . .â âWhereâs my wand?â She reached down beside the bed and held it out to him. The holly and phoenix wand was nearly severed in two. One fragile strand of phoenix feather kept both pieces hanging together. The wood had splintered apart completely. Harry took it into his hands as though it was a living thing that had suffered a terrible injury. He could not think properly: Everything was a blur of panic and fear. Then he held out the wand to Hermione. âLumos!â The wand sparked feebly, then went out. Harry pointed it at Hermione. âExpelliarmus!â Hermioneâs wand gave a little jerk, but did not leave her hand. The feeble attempt at magic was too much for Harryâs wand, which split into two again. He stared at it, aghast, unable to take in.Q7 - Do they really stand a chance now?
Chapter 18 - The Life and Lies of Albus DumbledoreNever, until this moment, had he felt himself to be fatally weakened, vulnerable, and naked, as though the best part of his magical power had been torn from him.Q1 - Harry has lost the protection of the twin coresâŠwhat now?
And his fury at Dumbledore broke over him now like lava, scorching him inside, wiping out every other feeling. Out of sheer desperation they had talked themselves into believing that Godricâs Hollow held answers, convinced themselves that they were supposed to go back, that it was all part of some secret path laid out for them by Dumbledore; but there was no map, no plan. Dumbledore had left them to grope in the darkness, to wrestle with unknown and undreamed-of terrors, alone and unaided: Nothing was explained, nothing was given freely, they had no sword, and now, Harry had no wand. And he had dropped the photograph of the thief, and it would surely be easy now for Voldemort to find out who he was. . . . Voldemort had all the information now. . .Q2 - Why didnât Dumbledore give them more?
Educated at Durmstrang, a school famous even then for its unfortunate tolerance of the Dark Arts, Grindelwald showed himself quite as precociously brilliant as Dumbledore. Rather than channel his abilities into the attainment of awards and prizes, however, Gellert Grindelwald devoted himself to other pursuits. At sixteen years old, even Durmstrang felt it could no longer turn a blind eye to the twisted experiments of Gellert Grindelwald, and he was expelled.Q3 - What did he do to get himself expelled from Durmstrang?
Gellert â Your point about Wizard dominance being FOR THE MUGGLESâ OWN GOOD â this, I think, is the crucial point. Yes, we have been given power and yes, that power gives us the right to rule, but it also gives us responsibilities over the ruled. We must stress this point, it will be the foundation stone upon which we build. Where we are opposed, as we surely will be, this must be the basis of all our counterarguments. We seize control FOR THE GREATER GOOD. And from this it follows that where we meet resistance, we must use only the force that is necessary and no more. (This was your mistake at Durmstrang! But I do not complain, because if you had not been expelled, we would never have met.) AlbusQ4 - Is Albus really a good wizard?
This dreadful coffin-side brawl, known only to those few who attended Ariana Dumbledoreâs funeral, raises several questions. Why exactly did Aberforth Dumbledore blame Albus for his sisterâs death? Was it, as âBattyâ pretends, a mere effusion of grief? Or could there have been some more concrete reason for his fury? Grindelwald, expelled from Durmstrang for near-fatal attacks upon fellow students, fled the country hours after the girlâs death, and Albus (out of shame or fear?) never saw him again, not until forced to do so by the pleas of the Wizarding world.Q5 - Along with all these questions, what do you think Dumbledore saw in the Mirror of Erised?
âHarry, Iâm sorry, but I think the real reason youâre so angry is that Dumbledore never told you any of this himself.â âHe loved you,â Hermione whispered. âI know he loved you.â Harry dropped his arms. âI donât know who he loved, Hermione, but it was never me. This isnât love, the mess heâs left me in.Q6 - What do we think of Harry and Dumbledoreâs relationship after this?
Chapter 19 - The Silver DoeIt was snowing by the time Hermione took over the watch at midnight. Harryâs dreams were confused and disturbing: Nagini wove in and out of them, first through a gigantic, cracked ring, then through a wreath of Christmas roses. He woke repeatedly, panicky, convinced that somebody had called out to him in the distance, imagining that the wind whipping around the tent was footsteps or voices. He had just held up a hand in front of his face to see whether he could make out his fingers when it happened. A bright silver light appeared right ahead of him, moving through the trees. Whatever the source, it was moving soundlessly. The light seemed simply to drift toward him.Q1 - Was Harry dumb to trust this?
But instinct, overwhelming instinct, told him that this was not Dark Magic. He set off in pursuit.Q2 - Is Harryâs instinct good?
His heart skipped into his mouth: He dropped to his knees at the poolâs edge and angled the wand so as to flood the bottom of the pool with as much light as possible. A glint of deep red . . . It was a sword with glittering rubies in its hilt. . . . The sword of Gryffindor was lying at the bottom of the forest pool.Q3 - How did the sword get there? Is the Doe and the Sword by the same person? Who?
An owl hooted somewhere as he stripped off, and he thought with a pang of Hedwig.Q4 - Was this Hedwig??
Every pore of his body screamed in protest: The very air in his lungs seemed to freeze solid as he was submerged to his shoulders in the frozen water. He could hardly breathe; trembling so violently the water lapped over the edges of the pool, he felt for the blade with his numb feet. He only wanted to dive once.Q5 - Ever experienced this kind of cold?
âAre â you â mental?â Nothing but the shock of hearing that voice could have given Harry the strength to get up. Shivering violently, he staggered to his feet. There before him stood Ron, fully dressed but drenched to the skin, his hair plastered to his face, the sword of Gryffindor in one hand and the Horcrux dangling from its broken chain in the otherâŠ.Harry could not answer. The silver doe was nothing, nothing compared with Ronâs reappearance; he could not believe it.Q6 - Were you shocked by the return?
âI did think I saw something move over there, but I was running to the pool at the time, because youâd gone in and you hadnât come up, so I wasnât going to make a detour to â hey!â Harry was already hurrying to the place Ron had indicated. The two oaks grew close together; there was a gap of only a few inches between the trunks at eye level, an ideal place to see but not be seen.Q7 - Who was it?
Ron looked toward him, and Harry thought he saw a trace of scarlet in his eyes. âRon â ?â The sword flashed, plunged: Harry threw himself out of the way, there was a clang of metal and a long, drawn-out scream.Q8 - What was going on there?
âYou come back after weeks â weeks â and you think itâs all going to be all right if you just say sorry?â âWell, what else can I say?â Ron shouted, and Harry was glad that Ron was fighting back. âOh, I donât know!â yelled Hermione with awful sarcasm. âRack your brains, Ron, that should only take a couple of seconds ââQ9 - Is Hermione right to be this mad at Ron?
âYeah,â said Ron. âCouldâve been worse. Remember those birds she set on me?â âI still havenât ruled it out,â came Hermioneâs muffled voice from beneath her blankets, but Harry saw Ron smiling slightly as he pulled his maroon pajamas out of his rucksack.Q10 - What do you think of Ronâs Dilumenator?
Chapter 20 - Xenophilius LovegoodHermioneâs sulkiness could not mar his buoyant spirits: The sudden upswing in their fortunes, the appearance of the mysterious doe, the recovery of Gryffindorâs sword, and above all, Ronâs return, made Harry so happy that it was quite difficult to maintain a straight face. âOh, yeah. Well, itâs just a bad habit weâve slipped into,â said Harry. âBut I havenât got a problem calling him V ââ âNO!â roared Ron, causing Harry to jump into the hedge and Hermione (nose buried in a book at the tent entrance) to scowl over at them. âQ1 - What do you think of the tracking of this?
Harry did not laugh at Ron, because he understood too well the longing behind the question. The idea that Dumbledore had managed to come back to them, that he was watching over them, would have been inexpressibly comforting. He shook his head.Q2 - Any chance that this Doe could have been Dumbledore?
âBut donât you think if it was, Dumbledore would have told me about it before he died?â âMaybe . . . maybe itâs something you need to find out for yourself,â said Hermione with a faint air of clutching at straws. âYeah,â said Ron sycophantically, âthat makes sense.â âNo, it doesnât,â snapped Hermione, âbut I still think we ought to talk to Mr. Lovegood. A symbol that links Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Godricâs Hollow? Harry, Iâm sure we ought to know about this!âQ3 - Will Hermione and Ron ever reconcile?
Q4 - Danny nailed the prediction on Luna not being there
Q5 - What would you have done in Xenoâs position?
He turned away from the window and his gaze fell upon another peculiar object standing upon the cluttered, curved sideboard: a stone bust of a beautiful but austere-looking witch wearing a most bizarre-looking headdress. Two objects that resembled golden ear trumpets curved out from the sides. A tiny pair of glittering blue wings was stuck to a leather strap that ran over the top of her head, while one of the orange radishes had been stuck to a second strap around her forehead. âAh, you have spotted my pet invention,â Xeno said, âModeled, fittingly enough, upon the head of the beautiful Rowena Ravenclaw. âWit beyond measure is manâs greatest treasure!â âQ6 - Danny you paused at this for a bit, why?
-
Chapter 13 - The Muggle Born Registration CommissionBeneath the title was a picture of a red rose with a simpering face in the middle of its petals, being strangled by a green weed with fangs and a scowl. There was no authorâs name upon the pamphlet, but again, the scars on the back of his right hand seemed to tingle as he examined it.
Q1 - How vile is this?
The witch glanced toward the shining mahogany door facing the space full of pamphlet-makers; Harry looked too, and rage reared in him like a snake. Where there might have been a peephole on a Muggle front door, a large, round eye with a bright blue iris had been set into the wood â an eye that was shockingly familiar to anybody who had known Alastor Moody.Q2 - Does this make you hate Umbridge even more?
âUndesirable Number One,â Harry muttered under his breath as he replaced Mr. Weasleyâs folder and shut the drawer. He had an idea he knew who that was, and sure enough, as he straightened up and glanced around the office for fresh hiding places, he saw a poster of himself on the wall, with the words undesirable no. 1 emblazoned across his chest.Q3 - What do you think of Harryâs new nickname?
The lift doors opened; the old witch with the anthill hair left, and Ron darted past her out of sight. Harry made to follow him, but found his path blocked as Percy Weasley strode into the lift, his nose buried in some papers he was reading. Not until the doors had clanged shut again did Percy realize he was in a lift with his father. He glanced up, saw Mr. Weasley, turned radish red, and left the lift the moment the doors opened again. For the second time, Harry tried to get out, but this time found his way blocked by Mr. Weasleyâs arm.Q4 - Do you think Percyâs still evil?
And as he reached the foot of the stairs and turned to his right he saw a dreadful scene. The dark passage outside the courtrooms was packed with tall, black-hooded figures, their faces completely hidden, their ragged breathing the only sound in the place. The petrified Muggle-borns brought in for questioning sat huddled and shivering on hard wooden benches. Most of them were hiding their faces in their hands, perhaps in an instinctive attempt to shield themselves from the dementorsâ greedy mouths. Some were accompanied by families, others sat alone. The dementors were gliding up and down in front of them, and the cold, and the hopelessness, and the despair of the place laid themselves upon Harry like a curse. . . . At the foot of the platform, a bright-silver, long-haired cat prowled up and down, up and down, and Harry realized that it was there to protect the prosecutors from the despair that emanated from the dementors: That was for the accused to feel, not the accusersQ5 - How is Umbridge able to cast a Patronus?
She cried harder than ever. Umbridge laughed a soft girlish laugh that made Harry want to attack her. She leaned forward over the barrier, the better to observe her victim, and something gold swung forward too, and dangled over the void: the locket.Whether because the Patronus had vanished or because they sensed that their masters were no longer in control, they seemed to have abandoned restraint. Mrs. Cattermole let out a terrible scream of fear as a slimy, scabbed hand grasped her chin and forced her face back. âEXPECTO PATRONUM!â The silver stag soared from the tip of Harryâs wand and leaped toward the dementors, which fell back and melted into the dark shadows again. The stagâs light, more powerful and more warming than the catâs protection, filled the whole dungeon as it cantered around and around the room.Q6 - What do you think Harry and Hermione thought of for their Patronus?
Q7 - Ron letâs them know that the ruse was up because Harry took the eyeâŠwas he dumb to take the eye?
âLETâS GO!â Harry yelled. He seized Hermione by the hand and Ron by the arm and turned on the spot. Darkness engulfed them, along with the sensation of compressing bands, but something was wrong. . . . Hermioneâs hand seemed to be sliding out of his grip. . . . He wondered whether he was going to suffocate; he could not breathe or see and the only solid things in the world were Ronâs arm and Hermioneâs fingers, which were slowly slipping away. . . . And then he saw the door of number twelve, Grimmauld Place, with its serpent door knocker, but before he could draw breath, there was a scream and a flash of purple light; Hermioneâs hand was suddenly vicelike upon his and everything went dark again.Q8 - What happened?
Chapter 14 - The ThiefâAs we Disapparated, Yaxley caught hold of me and I couldnât get rid of him, he was too strong, and he was still holding on when we arrived at Grimmauld Place, and then â well, I think he must have seen the door, and thought we were stopping there, so he slackened his grip and I managed to shake him off and I brought us here instead!â âBut then, whereâs he? Hang on. . . . You donât mean heâs at Grimmauld Place? He canât get in there?âQ1 - Can they return to Grimmauld Place?
Q2 - Did they leave anything of importance behind?
âThatâs as much as I can do. At the very least, we should know theyâre coming, I canât guarantee it will keep out Vol ââ âDonât say the name!â Ron cut across her, his voice harsh. Harry and Hermione looked at each other. âIâm sorry,â Ron said, moaning a little as he raised himself to look at them, âbut it feels like a â a jinx or something. Canât we call him You-Know-Who â please?â âDumbledore said fear of a name ââ began Harry. âIn case you hadnât noticed, mate, calling You-Know-Who by his name didnât do Dumbledore much good in the end,â Ron snapped back. âJust â just show You-Know-Who some respect, will you?âQ3 - Has Ron gone crazy?
âCan you feel it, though?â Ron asked in a hushed voice, as he held it tight in his clenched fist. âWhat dâyou mean?â Ron passed the Horcrux to Harry. After a moment or two, Harry thought he knew what Ron meant. Was it his own blood pulsing through his veins that he could feel, or was it something beating inside the locket, like a tiny metal heart?Q4 - How are they going to open this to destroy it?
The surrounding silence was broken by odd rustlings and what sounded like crackings of twigs: Harry thought that they were caused by animals rather than people, yet he kept his wand held tight at the ready. His insides, already uncomfortable due to their inadequate helping of rubbery mushrooms, tingled with unease.Q5 - Do you think someone is watching them?
Nameless forebodings crept upon him as he sat there in the dark: He tried to resist them, push them away, yet they came at him relentlessly. Neither can live while the other survives. Ron and Hermione, now talking softly behind him in the tent, could walk away if they wanted to: He could not. And it seemed to Harry as he sat there trying to master his own fear and exhaustion, that the Horcrux against his chest was ticking away the time he had left. . . . Stupid idea, he told himself, donât think that. . . .Q6 - What are each of the trios biggest fear?
Harryâs voice was high, clear, and cold, his wand held in front of him by a long-fingered white hand. The man at whom he was pointing was suspended upside down in midair, though there were no ropes holding him; he swung there, invisibly and eerily bound, his limbs wrapped about him, his terrified face, on a level with Harryâs, ruddy due to the blood that had rushed to his head. He had pure-white hair and a thick, bushy beard: a trussed-up Father Christmas. âI have it not, I have it no more! It was, many years ago, stolen from me!âQ7 - What does he want?
âHe read Gregorovitchâs mind, and I saw this young bloke perched on a windowsill, and he fired a curse at Gregorovitch and jumped out of sight. He stole it, he stole whatever You-Know-Whoâs after. And I . . . I think Iâve seen him somewhere. . . .âQ8 - Who is the thief?
What was Voldemort trying to find? Why, with the Ministry of Magic and the Wizarding world at his feet, was he far away, intent on the pursuit of an object that Gregorovitch had once owned, and which had been stolen by the unknown thief? Harry could still see the blond-haired youthâs face; it was merry, wild; there was a Fred and George-ish air of triumphant trickery about him. He had soared from the windowsill like a bird, and Harry had seen him before, but he could not think where. . . . With Gregorovitch dead, it was the merry-faced thief who was in danger now, and it was on him that Harryâs thoughts dwelled, as Ronâs snores began to rumble from the lower bunk and as he himself drifted slowly into sleep once more. Chapter 15 - The Goblinâs RevengeHarry and Hermione felt that it was best not to stay anywhere too long, and Ron agreed, with the sole proviso that their next move took them within reach of a bacon sandwich. âBut you can make a brilliant Patronus!â protested Ron, when Harry arrived back at the tent empty-handed, out of breath, and mouthing the single word, dementors. âI couldnât . . . make one,â he panted, clutching the stitch in his side. âWouldnât . . . come.âQ1 - Why wasnât Harry able to cast a Patronus?
Q2 - What is the Horcrux actually doing to them?
Q3 - Is it dumb to wear it everywhere?
âYou told us that You-Know-Who asked Dumbledore to give him a job after he left,â said Hermione. âThatâs right,â said Harry. âAnd Dumbledore thought he only wanted to come back to try and find something, probably another founderâs object, to make into another Horcrux?âQ4 - Is there something in Hogwarts thatâs a Horcrux?
Q5 - Why did Ginny and co try to steal the sword?
Phineas snorted impatiently. âI believe that the last time I saw the sword of Gryffindor leave its case was when Professor Dumbledore used it to break open a ring.â Hermione whipped around to look at Harry. Neither of them dared say more in front of Phineas Nigellus, who had at last managed to locate the exit. âAnd Dumbledore didnât give it to me because he still needed it, he wanted to use it on the locket ââ ââ and he must have realized they wouldnât let you have it if he put it in his will ââ ââ so he made a copy ââ ââ and put a fake in the glass case ââ ââ and he left the real one â where?â They gazed at each other; Harry felt that the answer was dangling invisibly in the air above them, tantalizingly close. Why hadnât Dumbledore told him? Or had he, in fact, told Harry, but Harry had not realized it at the time? âThink!â whispered Hermione. âThink! Where would he have left it?âQ6 - Where do you think Dumbledore left the sword?
âLeave the Horcrux,â Harry said. Ron wrenched the chain from over his head and cast the locket into a nearby chair. He turned to Hermione. âWhat are you doing?â âWhat do you mean?â âAre you staying, or what?â âI . . .â She looked anguished. âYes â yes, Iâm staying. Ron, we said weâd go with Harry, we said weâd help ââ âI get it. You choose him.â âRon, no â please â come back, come back!â She was impeded by her own Shield Charm; by the time she had removed it he had already stormed into the night. Harry stood quite still and silent, listening to her sobbing and calling Ronâs name amongst the trees.Q7 - How surprising is it that Ron has left? Will he come back?
Chapter 16 - Godric's HollowThey did not discuss Ron at all over the next few days. Harry was determined never to mention his name again, and Hermione seemed to know that it was no use forcing the issue, although sometimes at night when she thought he was sleeping, he would hear her crying.Q1 - Is Harry being too hard here?
By day, they devoted themselves to trying to determine the possible locations of Gryffindorâs sword, but the more they talked about the places in which Dumbledore might have hidden it, the more desperate and far-fetched their speculation became.Q2 - Where do you think the sword is?
They were spending many evenings in near silence, and Hermione took to bringing out Phineas Nigellusâs portrait and propping it up in a chair, as though he might fill part of the gaping hole left by Ronâs departure⊠Indeed, Phineas Nigellus inadvertently emphasized this fact by slipping in leading questions about Harry and Hermioneâs whereabouts.Q3 - Is Hermione actually crazy to do this?
Apparently she had not been listening to him. She leaned forward and held out The Tales of Beedle the Bard. âLook at that symbol,â she said, pointing to the top of a page. Above what Harry assumed was the title of the story (being unable to read runes, he could not be sure), there was a picture of what looked like a triangular eye, its pupil crossed with a vertical line. âI never took Ancient Runes, Hermione.â âI know that, but it isnât a rune and itâs not in the syllabary, either. All along I thought it was a picture of an eye, but I donât think it is! Itâs been inked in, look, somebodyâs drawn it there, it isnât really part of the book. Think, have you ever seen it before?â âNo . . . No, wait a moment.â Harry looked closer. âIsnât it the same symbol Lunaâs dad was wearing round his neck?â âWell, thatâs what I thought too!â âThen itâs Grindelwaldâs mark.âQ4 - What does this all mean for the story?
She pointed to the dark stone. Harry stooped down and saw, upon the frozen, lichen-spotted granite, the words Kendra Dumbledore and, a short way below her dates of birth and death, and Her Daughter Ariana. There was also a quotation: Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.Q5 - What do you make of that quote?
âHere!â cried Hermione again a few moments later from out of the darkness. âOh no, sorry! I thought it said Potter.â She was rubbing at a crumbling, mossy stone, gazing down at it, a little frown on her face. âHarry, come back a moment.â He did not want to be sidetracked again, and only grudgingly made his way back through the snow toward her. âWhat?â âLook at this!â The grave was extremely old, weathered so that Harry could hardly make out the name. Hermione showed him the symbol beneath it. âHarry, thatâs the mark in the book!âQ6 - Is this mark different?
The headstone was only two rows behind Kendra and Arianaâs. It was made of white marble, just like Dumbledoreâs tomb, and this made it easy to read, as it seemed to shine in the dark. Harry did not need to kneel or even approach very close to it to make out the words engraved upon it. James Potter Born 27 March 1960 Died October 31 1981 Lily Potter, born January 30, 1960 Died October 31, 1981. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.Q7 - Why are these words on the gravestone?
But they were not living, thought Harry: They were gone. The empty words could not disguise the fact that his parentsâ moldering remains lay beneath snow and stone, indifferent, unknowing. And tears came before he could stop them, boiling hot then instantly freezing on his face, and what was the point in wiping them off or pretending? He let them fall, his lips pressed hard together, looking down at the thick snow hiding from his eyes the place where the last of Lily and James lay, bones now, surely, or dust, not knowing or caring that their living son stood so near, his heart still beating, alive because of their sacrifice and close to wishing, at this moment, that he was sleeping under the snow with them. -
Chapter 9 - A Place to HideâWhen you say youâve got the Cloak, and clothes . . .â said Harry, frowning at Hermione, who was carrying nothing except her small beaded handbag, in which she was now rummaging. âYes, theyâre here,â said Hermione, and to Harry and Ronâs utter astonishment, she pulled out a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, some maroon socks, and finally the silvery Invisibility Cloak.
Q1 - Is Hermione the greatest or what?
Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak around his shoulders and pulled it up over his head, vanishing from sight. He was only just beginning to appreciate what had happened. âThe others â everyone at the wedding ââQ2 - You think everyone is safe?
After a minute or two, Ron said, âYou know, weâre not far from the Leaky Cauldron here, itâs only in Charing Cross ââ âRon, we canât!â said Hermione at once. âNot to stay there, but to find out whatâs going on!â âWe know whatâs going on! Voldemortâs taken over the Ministry, what else do we need to know?â âOkay, okay, it was just an idea!â They relapsed into a prickly silence. The gum-chewing waitress shuffled over and Hermione ordered two cappuccinos: As Harry was invisible, it would have looked odd to order him one. A pair of burly workmen entered the cafĂ© and squeezed into the next booth. Hermione dropped her voice to a whisper.Q3 - How did the Death Eaters find them?
âWhat are we going to do with them?â Ron whispered to Harry through the dark; then, even more quietly, âKill them? Theyâd kill us. They had a good go just now.â Hermione shuddered and took a step backward. Harry shook his head. âWe just need to wipe their memories,â said Harry. âItâs better like that, itâll throw them off the scent. If we killed them itâd be obvious we were here.âQ4 - What should they do with these people?
âItâs no wonder I canât get it out, Hermione, you packed my old jeans, theyâre tight.â âOh, Iâm so sorry,â hissed Hermione, and as she dragged the waitress out of sight of the windows, Harry heard her mutter a suggestion as to where Ron could stick his wand instead.Q5 - Would you go back to the Burrow for your good pair of jeans?
Gingerly Harry took another step forward. Something shifted in the shadows at the end of the hall, and before any of them could say another word, a figure had risen up out of the carpet, tall, dustcolored, and terrible: Hermione screamed and so did Mrs. Black, her curtains flying open; the gray figure was gliding toward them, faster and faster, its waist-length hair and beard streaming behind it, its face sunken, fleshless, with empty eye sockets: Horribly familiar, dreadfully altered, it raised a wasted arm, pointing at Harry. âNo!â Harry shouted, and though he had raised his wand no spell occurred to him. âNo! It wasnât us! We didnât kill you ââ On the word kill, the figure exploded in a great cloud of dust: Coughing, his eyes watering, Harry looked around to see Hermione crouched on the floor by the door with her arms over her head, and Ron, who was shaking from head to foot, patting her clumsily on the shoulder and saying, âItâs all r-right. . . . Itâs g-gone. . . .âQ6 - Are these good defenses?
âBut then youâve got to close your mind!â said Hermione shrilly. âHarry, Dumbledore didnât want you to use that connection, he wanted you to shut it down, thatâs why you were supposed to use Occlumency! Otherwise Voldemort can plant false images in your mind, remember ââQ7 - Would Voldemort do this again and would Harry be tricked by it again?
He turned his back on Ron and Hermione, pretending to examine the old tapestry of the Black family tree on the wall. Then Hermione shrieked: Harry drew his wand again and spun around to see a silver Patronus soar through the drawing room window and land upon the floor in front of them, where it solidified into the weasel that spoke with the voice of Ronâs father. âFamily safe, do not reply, we are being watched.âQ8 - Can you fake Patronuses?
âMore, Rowle, or shall we end it and feed you to Nagini? Lord Voldemort is not sure that he will forgive this time. . . . You called me back for this, to tell me that Harry Potter has escaped again? Draco, give Rowle another taste of our displeasure. . . . Do it, or feel my wrath yourself!âQ9 - Do you feel bad for Draco?
Chapter 10 - Kreacherâs TaleHarry wondered whether they had fallen asleep holding hands. The idea made him feel strangely lonely. The wardrobe doors stood open and the bedclothes had been ripped back. Harry remembered the overturned troll leg downstairs. Somebody had searched the house since the Order had left. Snape? Or perhaps Mundungus, who had pilfered plenty from this house both before and after Sirius died?Q1 - Has someone been looking through Grimmauld Place?
Thank you, thank you, for Harryâs birthday present! It was his favorite by far. One year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself, Iâm enclosing a picture so you can see. You know it only rises about two feet off the ground, but he nearly killed the cat and he smashed a horrible vase Petunia sent me for Christmas (no complaints there).Q2 - Was there something behind Petuniaâs gift?
Bathilda drops in most days, sheâs a fascinating old thing with the most amazing stories about Dumbledore, Iâm not sure heâd be pleased if he knew! I donât know how much to believe, actually, because it seems incredible that DumbledoreâŠQ3 - What was this going to say? And why was Dumbledore using the cloak?
He read the letter again, but could not take in any more meaning than he had done the first time, and was reduced to staring at the handwriting itself. She had made her âgâs the same way he did: He searched through the letter for every one of them, and each felt like a friendly little wave glimpsed from behind a veil. The letter was an incredible treasure, proof that Lily Potter had lived, really lived, that her warm hand had once moved across this parchment, tracing ink into these letters, these words, words about him, Harry, her son.They had had a cat . . . perhaps it had perished, like his parents, at Godricâs HollowQ4 - Is this cat Crookshanks?
His parents had known Bathilda Bagshot; had Dumbledore introduced them? Dumbledoreâs still got his Invisibility Cloak . . . There was something funny there. . . .âHarry, do you really think youâll get the truth from a malicious old woman like Muriel, or from Rita Skeeter? How can you believe them? You knew Dumbledore!â âI thought I did,â he muttered. âBut you know how much truth there was in everything Rita wrote about you! Doge is right, how can you let these people tarnish your memories of Dumbledore?â He looked away, trying not to betray the resentment he felt. There it was again: Choose what to believe. He wanted the truth. Why was everybody so determined that he should not get it?Q5 - What is the truth here?
This, then, was how Voldemort had tested the defenses surrounding the Horcrux: by borrowing a disposable creature, a house-elf . . . âThere was a b-basin full of potion on the island. The D-Dark Lord made Kreacher drink it. . . .â The elf quaked from head to foot. âKreacher drank, and as he drank, he saw terrible things. . . . Kreacherâs insides burned. . . . Kreacher cried for Master Regulus to save him, he cried for his Mistress Black, but the Dark Lord only laughed. . . . He made Kreacher drink all the potion. . . . He dropped a locket into the empty basin. . . . He filled it with more potion.Q6 - How much pity do you have for Kreacher?
Kreacher knew how to open the concealed entrance to the underground cavern, knew how to raise the tiny boat; this time it was his beloved Regulus who sailed with him to the island with its basin of poison. . . . âAnd he made you drink the potion?â said Harry, disgusted. But Kreacher shook his head and wept. Hermioneâs hands leapt to her mouth: She seemed to have understood something. âM-Master Regulus took from his pocket a locket like the one the Dark Lord had,â said Kreacher, tears pouring down either side of his snoutlike nose. âAnd he told Kreacher to take it and, when the basin was empty, to switch the lockets. . . .âQ7 - What do you think of Kreacherâs Tale?
âKreacher, I want you, please, to go and find Mundungus Fletcher. We need to find out where the locket â where Master Regulusâs locket is. Itâs really important. We want to finish the work Master Regulus started, we want to â er â ensure that he didnât die in vain.â Kreacher dropped his fists and looked up at Harry. âFind Mundungus Fletcher?â he croaked. âAnd bring him here, to Grimmauld Place,â said Harry. âDo you think you could do that for us?â As Kreacher nodded and got to his feet, Harry had a sudden inspiration. He pulled out Hagridâs purse and took out the fake Horcrux, the substitute locket in which Regulus had placed the note to Voldemort.Q8 - How will they open the locket?
Chapter 11 - The BribeâWill you stop it!â she cried on the third evening of Kreacherâs absence, as all light was sucked from the drawing room yet again. âSorry, sorry!â said Ron, clicking the Deluminator and restoring the lights. âI donât know Iâm doing it!â âWell, canât you find something useful to occupy yourself?â âWhat, like reading kidsâ stories?â âDumbledore left me this book, Ron ââ ââ and he left me the Deluminator, maybe Iâm supposed to use it!âQ1 - Any further theories on why Dumbledore left them these objects?
âI had to Apparate very precisely onto the top step outside the front door to be sure that they would not see me. They canât know youâre in here or Iâm sure theyâd have more people out there; theyâre staking out everywhere thatâs got any connection with you, Harry. Letâs go downstairs, thereâs a lot to tell you, and I want to know what happened after you left the Burrow.âQ2 - How does the Fidelius Charm actually work?
âSo, you came straight here after the wedding?â âNo,â said Harry, âonly after we ran into a couple of Death Eaters in a cafĂ© on Tottenham Court Road.â Lupin slopped most of his butterbeer down his front. âWhat?â They explained what had happened; when they had finished, Lupin looked aghast. âBut how did they find you so quickly? Itâs impossible to track anyone who Apparates, unless you grab hold of them as they disappear!âQ3 - How did the Death Eaters find him?
âThere were about a dozen of them, but they didnât know you were there, Harry. Arthur heard a rumor that they tried to torture your whereabouts out of Scrimgeour before they killed him; if itâs true, he didnât give you away.âQ4 - Does this make you think highly of Scrimgeour?
Q5 - What do you think of the Muggle Born Registration Committee?
âI know,â said Lupin. âNevertheless, unless you can prove that you have at least one close Wizarding relative, you are now deemed to have obtained your magical power illegally and must suffer the punishment.â Ron glanced at Hermione, then said, âWhat if purebloods and half-bloods swear a Muggle-bornâs part of their family? Iâll tell everyone Hermioneâs my cousin ââQ6 - How cute is Ron here?
âIâll understand if you canât confirm this, Harry, but the Order is under the impression that Dumbledore left you a mission.â âHe did,â Harry replied, âand Ron and Hermione are in on it and theyâre coming with me.â âCan you confide in me what the mission is?â Harry looked into the prematurely lined face, framed in thick but graying hair, and wished that he could return a different answer. âI canât, Remus, Iâm sorry. If Dumbledore didnât tell you I donât think I can.âQ7 - Danny during the liveread you said âDonât do it.â Why?
âRemus,â said Hermione tentatively, âis everything all right . . . you know . . . between you and ââ âEverything is fine, thank you,â said Lupin pointedly. Hermione turned pink. There was another pause, an awkward and embarrassed one, and then Lupin said, with an air of forcing himself to admit something unpleasant, âTonks is going to have a baby.â âOh, how wonderful!â squealed Hermione. âExcellent!â said Ron enthusiastically. âCongratulations,â said Harry.Q8 - Howâd ya guess that Jenn?
âYou donât understand,â said Lupin at last. âExplain, then,â said Harry. Lupin swallowed. âI â I made a grave mistake in marrying Tonks. I did it against my better judgment and I have regretted it very much ever since.â âI see,â said Harry, âso youâre just going to dump her and the kid and run off with us?â Lupin sprang to his feet: His chair toppled over backward, and he glared at them so fiercely that Harry saw, for the first time ever, the shadow of the wolf upon his human face. âDonât you understand what Iâve done to my wife and my unborn child? I should never have married her, Iâve made her an outcast!âQ9 - Should Lupin have married Tonks?
âRemus!â whispered Hermione, tears in her eyes. âDonât say that â how could any child be ashamed of you?â âOh, I donât know, Hermione,â said Harry. âIâd be pretty ashamed of him.â Harry did not know where his rage was coming from, but it had propelled him to his feet too. Lupin looked as though Harry had hit himQ10 - How did Harry handle this whole situation?
Q11 - What do you think was the truth about Ariana Dumledore?
There was the sound of pattering feet, a blaze of shining copper, an echoing clang, and a shriek of agony: Kreacher had taken a run at Mundungus and hit him over the head with a saucepan. âCall âim off, call âim off, âe should be locked up!â screamed Mundungus, cowering as Kreacher raised the heavy-bottomed pan again. âKreacher, no!â shouted Harry. Kreacherâs thin arms trembled with the weight of the pan, still held aloft. âPerhaps just one more, Master Harry, for luck?â Ron laughed. âWe need him conscious, Kreacher, but if he needs persuading you can do the honors,â said Harry. âThank you very much, Master,â said Kreacher with a bow, and he retreated a short distance, his great pale eyes still fixed upon Mundungus with loathing.Q12 - Isnât is crazy how you can go from hating a character so quick to loving him?
Chapter 12 - Magic is MightA large picture of a familiar, hook-nosed, black-haired man stared up at them all, beneath a headline that read: SEVERUS SNAPE CONFIRMED AS HOGWARTS HEADMASTERQ1 - What do you think of this?
âPhineas Nigellus,â Hermione explained as she threw the bag onto the kitchen table with the usual sonorous, clanking crash. âSorry?â said Ron, but Harry understood. The painted image of Phineas Nigellus Black was able to flit between his portrait in Grimmauld Place and the one that hung in the headmasterâs office at Hogwarts: the circular tower-top room where Snape was no doubt sitting right now, in triumphant possession of Dumbledoreâs collection of delicate, silver magical instruments, the stone Pensieve, the Sorting Hat and, unless it had been moved elsewhere, the sword of Gryffindor.Q2 - Do you think Snape had ever spied on them using that before?
Q3 - They are going to storm the ministry? Should they be doing this?
The door opened: A laughing woman stood there. Her face fell as she looked into Harryâs face: humor gone, terror replacing it. . . . âGregorovitch?â said a high, cold voice. She shook her head: She was trying to close the door. A white hand held it steady, prevented her shutting him out. . . . âI want Gregorovitch.â âI hate it, I hate the fact that he can get inside me, that I have to watch him when heâs most dangerous. But Iâm going to use it.â âDumbledore ââ âForget Dumbledore. This is my choice, nobody elseâs. I want to know why heâs after Gregorovitch.âQ4 - Is Harry foolish to try this?
Q5 - How is their plan to get into the ministry?
Harry looked more closely and realized that what he had thought were decoratively carved thrones were actually mounds of carved humans: hundreds and hundreds of naked bodies, men, women, and children, all with rather stupid, ugly faces, twisted and pressed together to support the weight of the handsomely robed wizards. The golden grilles slid apart again and Hermione gasped. Four people stood before them, two of them deep in conversation: a longhaired wizard wearing magnificent robes of black and gold, and a squat, toadlike witch wearing a velvet bow in her short hair and clutching a clipboard to her chest. -
Chapter 5 - Fallen Warrior
Q1 - How convinced were you that this was Hagrid?
No sooner had Mrs. Weasley bent over her son than Lupin grabbed Harry by the upper arm and dragged him, none too gently, back into the kitchen, where Hagrid was still attempting to ease his bulk through the back door. âOi!â said Hagrid indignantly. âLeâ go of him! Leâ go of Harry!â Lupin ignored him. âWhat creature sat in the corner the first time that Harry Potter visited my office at Hogwarts?â he said, giving Harry a small shake. âAnswer me!â âA â a grindylow in a tank, wasnât it?â Lupin released Harry and fell back against a kitchen cupboard. âWhaâ was thaâ about?â roared Hagrid. âIâm sorry, Harry, but I had to check,â said Lupin tersely. âWeâve been betrayed. Voldemort knew that you were being moved tonight and the only people who could have told him were directly involved in the plan. You might have been an impostor.âQ1 - Who was the betrayer?
âSo you think I should have killed Stan Shunpike?â said Harry angrily. âOf course not,â said Lupin, âbut the Death Eaters â frankly, most people! â would have expected you to attack back! Expelliarmus is a useful spell, Harry, but the Death Eaters seem to think it is your signature move, and I urge you not to let it become so!âQ2 - Why is Harry so defensive of Stan?
âThe last words Albus Dumbledore spoke to the pair of us?â â âHarry is the best hope we have. Trust him,â â said Lupin calmly.Q3 - What does Dumbledore mean by this?
Perhaps roused by the sound of Fred and their fatherâs arrival, George stirred. âHow do you feel, Georgie?â whispered Mrs. Weasley. Georgeâs fingers groped for the side of his head. âSaintlike,â he murmured. âWhatâs wrong with him?â croaked Fred, looking terrified. âIs his mind affected?â âSaintlike,â repeated George, opening his eyes and looking up at his brother. âYou see . . . Iâm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?â âRon was great,â said Tonks warmly, relinquishing her hold on Lupin. âWonderful. Stunned one of the Death Eaters, straight to the head, and when youâre aiming at a moving target from a flying broom ââ âYou did?â said Hermione, gazing up at Ron with her arms still around his neck. âAlways the tone of surprise,â he said a little grumpily, breaking free. âAre we the last back?âQ4 - Did Ron kill someone?
Lupin nodded. With a wave to the others, Kingsley walked away into the darkness toward the gate. Harry thought he heard the faintest pop as Kingsley Disapparated just beyond the Burrowâs boundaries.Q5 - Confirmation Kingsleyâs got a small butt?
Mrs. Weasley ran forward, but the hug Bill bestowed upon her was perfunctory. Looking directly at his father, he said, âMad-Eyeâs dead.âQ6 - What are your thoughts on Mad-Eyeâs death?
She glared around at them all, tear tracks still etched on her beautiful face, silently daring any of them to contradict her. Nobody did. The only sound to break the silence was that of Hagrid hiccuping from behind his handkerchief. Harry glanced at Hagrid, who had just risked his own life to save Harryâs â Hagrid, whom he loved, whom he trusted, who had once been tricked into giving Voldemort crucial information in exchange for a dragonâs egg. . . . âNo,â Harry said aloud, and they all looked at him, surprised: The firewhisky seemed to have amplified his voice. âI mean . . . if somebody made a mistake,â Harry went on, âand let something slip, I know they didnât mean to do it. Itâs not their fault,â he repeated, again a little louder than he would usually have spoken. âWeâve got to trust each other. I trust all of you, I donât think anyone in this room would ever sell me to Voldemort.âQ7 - Is Harry foolish to be saying this?
The rest of them now dropped into chairs, all except for Harry, who remained standing. The suddenness and completeness of death was with them like a presence. âIâve got to go too,â said Harry. Ten pairs of startled eyes looked at him. âDonât be silly, Harry,â said Mrs. Weasley. âWhat are you talking about?âQ8 - Is Harry and idiot?
âNo,â said Harry. âThe bike was falling, I couldnât have told you where Voldemort was, but my wand spun in my hand and found him and shot a spell at him, and it wasnât even a spell I recognized. Iâve never made gold flames appear before.âQ9 - What spell did Harry perform?
And then, out of nowhere, the pain in his scar peaked. As he clutched his forehead and closed his eyes, a voice screamed inside his head. âYou told me the problem would be solved by using anotherâs wand!â And into his mind burst the vision of an emaciated old man lying in rags upon a stone floor, screaming, a horrible, drawn-out scream, a scream of unendurable agony. . . . âNo! No! I beg you, I beg you. . . .â âYou lied to Lord Voldemort, Ollivander!â âI did not. . . . I swear I did not. . . .â âYou sought to help Potter, to help him escape me!â âI swear I did not. . . . I believed a different wand would work. . . .â âExplain, then, what happened. Luciusâs wand is destroyed!â âI cannot understand. . . . The connection . . . exists only . . . between your two wands. . . .â âLies!â âPlease . . . I beg you. . . .â And Harry saw the white hand raise its wand and felt Voldemortâs surge of vicious anger, saw the frail old man on the floor writhe in agony â âHarry?â It was over as quickly as it had come:Q10 - What is going on here? Is Olivander lying?
âBut it was supposed to have stopped! Your scar â it wasnât supposed to do this anymore! You mustnât let that connection open up again â Dumbledore wanted you to close your mind!â When he did not reply, she gripped his arm. âHarry, heâs taking over the Ministry and the newspapers and half the Wizarding world! Donât let him inside your head too!âQ11 - Did Voldemort want Harry to see this?
Chapter 6 - The Ghoul in PajamasâWell, you canât do anything about theâ â Ron mouthed the word Horcruxes â âtill youâre seventeen. Youâve still got the Trace on you. And we can plan here as well as anywhere, canât we? Or,â he dropped his voice to a whisper, âdâyou reckon you already know where the You-Know-Whats are?â âNo,â Harry admitted.Q1 - Where are the Horcruxes?
Harry understood âtheyâ to mean Fleur and Mrs. Weasley. âItâs one extra day,â said Ron, when Harry looked mutinous. âDonât they realize how important â ?â â âCourse they donât,â said Ron. âThey havenât got a clue. And now you mention it, I wanted to talk to you about that.ââRon and Hermione seem to think that the three of you are dropping out of Hogwarts,â she began in a light, casual tone. âOh,â said Harry. âWell, yeah. We are.âQ2 - Do you find it shocking that Mrs Weasley is still sending Ginny to Hogwarts?
âNow, Ron, have you cleaned out your room yet?â âWhy?â exclaimed Ron, slamming his spoon down and glaring at his mother. âWhy does my room have to be cleaned out? Harry and I are fine with it the way it is!â âWe are holding your brotherâs wedding here in a few daysâ time, young man ââ âAnd are they getting married in my bedroom?â asked Ron furiously. âNo! So why in the name of Merlinâs saggy left ââ âDonât talk to your mother like that,â said Mr. Weasley firmly. âAnd do as youâre told.â âWe were just talking about Mad-Eye,â Ron told Harry. âI reckon he might have survived.â âBut Bill saw him hit by the Killing Curse,â said Harry. âYeah, but Bill was under attack too,â said Ron. âHow can he be sure what he saw?â âEven if the Killing Curse missed, Mad-Eye still fell about a thousand feet,â said Hermione, now weighing Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland in her hand. âHe could have used a Shield Charm ââ âFleur said his wand was blasted out of his hand,â said Harry. âWell, all right, if you want him to be dead,â said Ron grumpily, punching his pillow into a more comfortable shape.Q3 - Do you think Ron could be right?
âWhat are you doing with all those books anyway?â Ron asked, limping back to his bed. âJust trying to decide which ones to take with us,â said Hermione. âWhen weâre looking for the Horcruxes.â âOh, of course,â said Ron, clapping a hand to his forehead. âI forgot weâll be hunting down Voldemort in a mobile library.â âHa ha,â said Hermione, looking down at Spellmanâs Syllabary. âI wonder . . . will we need to translate runes? Itâs possible. . . . I think weâd better take it, to be safe.âQ4 - If you were hunting Voldemort, what 5 items would you bring?
âListen,â said Harry. He had sat up straight. Ron and Hermione looked at him with similar mixtures of resignation and defiance. âI know you said after Dumbledoreâs funeral that you wanted to come with me,â Harry began. âHere he goes,â Ron said to Hermione, rolling his eyes. âAs we knew he would,â she sighed, turning back to the books. âYou know, I think I will take Hogwarts, A History. Even if weâre not going back there, I donât think Iâd feel right if I didnât have it with ââ âListen!â said Harry again. âNo, Harry, you listen,â said Hermione. âWeâre coming with you. That was decided months ago â years, really.â âBut ââ âShut up,â Ron advised him. âIâve also modified my parentsâ memories so that theyâre convinced theyâre really called Wendell and Monica Wilkins, and that their lifeâs ambition is to move to Australia, which they have now done. Thatâs to make it more difficult for Voldemort to track them down and interrogate them about me â or you, because unfortunately, Iâve told them quite a bit about you. âAssuming I survive our hunt for the Horcruxes, Iâll find Mum and Dad and lift the enchantment. If I donât â well, I think Iâve cast a good enough charm to keep them safe and happy. Wendell and Monica Wilkins donât know that theyâve got a daughter, you see.Q5 - Will Hermioneâs plan work?
There was silence in the room, broken only by gentle thuds as Hermione continued to throw books onto one pile or the other. Ron sat watching her, and Harry looked from one to the other, unable to say anything. The measures they had taken to protect their families made him realize, more than anything else could have done, that they really were going to come with him and that they knew exactly how dangerous that would be. He wanted to tell them what that meant to him, but he simply could not find words important enough. Harry, who did not believe that Hermione really understood his desire to return to Godricâs Hollow. His parentsâ graves were only part of the attraction: He had a strong, though inexplicable, feeling that the place held answers for him. Perhaps it was simply because it was there that he had survived Voldemortâs Killing Curse; now that he was facing the challenge of repeating the feat, Harry was drawn to the place where it had happened, wanting to understand.Q6 - What answers will Godricâs Hollow have?
âAnd the more Iâve read about them,â said Hermione, âthe more horrible they seem, and the less I can believe that he actually made six. It warns in this book how unstable you make the rest of your soul by ripping it, and thatâs just by making one Horcrux!â Harry remembered what Dumbledore had said about Voldemort moving beyond âusual evil.â âIsnât there any way of putting yourself back together?â Ron asked. âYes,â said Hermione with a hollow smile, âbut it would be excruciatingly painful.â âWhy? How do you do it?â asked Harry. âRemorse,â said Hermione. âYouâve got to really feel what youâve done. Thereâs a footnote. Apparently the pain of it can destroy you. I canât see Voldemort attempting it somehow, can you?âQ7 - Do you think heâd ever experience remorse for what heâs done?
âIt has to be something so destructive that the Horcrux canât repair itself. Basilisk venom only has one antidote, and itâs incredibly rare ââQ8 - What else do you think can kill a Horcrux?
âHang on,â said Ron, frowning. âThe bit of soul in that diary was possessing Ginny, wasnât it? How does that work, then?â âWhile the magical container is still intact, the bit of soul inside it can flit in and out of someone if they get too close to the object. I donât mean holding it for too long, itâs nothing to do with touching it,â she added before Ron could speak. âI mean close emotionally. Ginny poured her heart out into that diary, she made herself incredibly vulnerable. Youâre in trouble if you get too fond of or dependent on the Horcrux.â âI wonder how Dumbledore destroyed the ring?â said Harry. âWhy didnât I ask him? I never really . . .âQ9 - Will any of them become possessed by Voldemortâs soul?
Q10 - How did Dumbledore kill the Horcrux?
Chapter 7 - The Will of Albus DumbledoreHe was walking along a mountain road in the cool blue light of dawn. Far below, swathed in mist, was the shadow of a small town. Was the man he sought down there, the man he needed so badly he could think of little else, the man who held the answer, the answer to his problem . . . ?Q1 - What is going on?
Q2 - Whoâs Gregorovitch?
Harry seized the wand lying beside his camp bed, pointed it at the cluttered desk where he had left his glasses, and said, âAccio Glasses!â Although they were only around a foot away, there was something immensely satisfying about seeing them zoom toward him, at least until they poked him in the eye.Q3 - What was your most memorable â18â or â21â story?
âThis isnât your average book,â said Ron. âItâs pure gold: Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches. Explains everything you need to know about girls. If only Iâd had this last year Iâd have known exactly how to get rid of Lavender and I wouldâve known how to get going with . . . Well, Fred and George gave me a copy, and Iâve learned a lot. Youâd be surprised, itâs not all about wandwork, either.â Harry sat down, took the square parcel she had indicated, and unwrapped it. Inside was a watch very like the one Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had given Ron for his seventeenth; it was gold, with stars circling around the face instead of hands. âItâs traditional to give a wizard a watch when he comes of age,â said Mrs. Weasley, watching him anxiously from beside the cooker. âIâm afraid that one isnât new like Ronâs, it was actually my brother Fabianâs and he wasnât terribly careful with his possessions, itâs a bit dented on the back, but ââ The rest of her speech was lost; Harry had got up and hugged her. He tried to put a lot of unsaid things into the hug and perhaps she understood them, because she patted his cheek clumsily when he released her, then waved her wand in a slightly random way, causing half a pack of bacon to flop out of the frying pan onto the floor.Q4 - Do you remember who Fabian Pruitt is?
âThe Prewetts, Gideon and Fabian. It took five Death eaters to bring them down, they fought like heroes.â (GOBLET OF FIRE)Although Lupin smiled as he shook Harryâs hand, Harry thought he looked rather unhappy. It was all very odd; Tonks, beside him, looked simply radiant.Q5 - Whatâs going on between them?
âThe Minister â but why â ? I donât understand ââ But there was no time to discuss the matter; a second later, Mr. Weasley had appeared out of thin air at the gate, accompanied by Rufus Scrimgeour, instantly recognizable by his mane of grizzled hair.Q6 - What do you think of the Minister for Magic?
âThat law was created to stop wizards passing on Dark artifacts,â said Hermione, âand the Ministry is supposed to have powerful evidence that the deceasedâs possessions are illegal before seizing them! Are you telling me that you thought Dumbledore was trying to pass us something cursed?â âAre you planning to follow a career in Magical Law, Miss Granger?â asked Scrimgeour.Q7 - Do you think Ministry members think Dumbledore was evil?
However, Scrimgeour did not seem to be listening. He put his hand inside his cloak and drew out a drawstring pouch much larger than the one Hagrid had given Harry. From it, he removed a scroll of parchment which he unrolled and read aloud. â âThe Last Will and Testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledoreâ . . . Yes, here we are. . . . âTo Ronald Bilius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, in the hope that he will remember me when he uses it.â â Scrimgeour took from the bag an object that Harry had seen before: It looked something like a silver cigarette lighter, but it had, he knew, the power to suck all light from a place, and restore it, with a simple click. Scrimgeour leaned forward and passed the Deluminator to Ron, who took it and turned it over in his fingers, looking stunned. âThat is a valuable object,â said Scrimgeour, watching Ron. âIt may even be unique. Certainly it is of Dumbledoreâs own design. Why would he have left you an item so rare?âQ8 - Why did he leave this to Ron?
â âTo Miss Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in the hope that she will find it entertaining and instructive.â â Scrimgeour now pulled out of the bag a small book that looked as ancient as the copy of Secrets of the Darkest Art upstairs. Its binding was stained and peeling in places. Hermione took it from Scrimgeour without a word. She held the book in her lap and gazed at it. Harry saw that the title was in runes; he had never learned to read them. As he looked, a tear splashed onto the embossed symbols. âWhy do you think Dumbledore left you that book, Miss Granger?â asked Scrimgeour.Q9 - Why did he leave this to Hermione?
â âTo Harry James Potter,â â he read, and Harryâs insides contracted with a sudden excitement, â âI leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill.â â As Scrimgeour pulled out the tiny, walnut-sized golden ball, its silver wings fluttered rather feebly, and Harry could not help feeling a definite sense of anticlimax. âWhy did Dumbledore leave you this Snitch?â asked Scrimgeour.Q10 - Why did he leave this to Harry?
âDumbledore left you a second bequest, Potter.â âWhat is it?â asked Harry, excitement rekindling. Scrimgeour did not bother to read from the will this time. âThe sword of Godric Gryffindor,â he said.Q11 - Why did he leave this to Harry?
âIt â it was nothing,â he growled. âI . . . regret your attitude,â he said, looking Harry full in the face once more. âYou seem to think that the Ministry does not desire what you â what Dumbledore â desired. We ought to be working together.â He nearly dropped the Snitch in surprise and excitement. Hermione was quite right. Engraved upon the smooth golden surface, where seconds before there had been nothing, were five words written in the thin, slanting handwriting that Harry recognized as Dumbledoreâs: I open at the close.Q12 - What does this mean?
âRon, you know full well Harry and I were brought up by Muggles!â said Hermione. âWe didnât hear stories like that when we were little, we heard âSnow White and the Seven Dwarfsâ and âCinderellaâ ââ âWhatâs that, an illness?â asked Ron.Chapter 8 - The WeddingHarry had taken a large dose of Polyjuice Potion and was now the double of a redheaded Muggle boy from the local village, Ottery St. Catchpole, from whom Fred had stolen hairs using a Summoning Charm.Q1 - How do you feel about this identity theft?
âWhen I get married,â said Fred, tugging at the collar of his own robes, âI wonât be bothering with any of this nonsense. You can all wear what you like, and Iâll put a full Body-Bind Curse on Mum until itâs all over.âQ2 - Who do you think Fred and George are going to marry?
An odd symbol, rather like a triangular eye, glistened from a golden chain around his neck. âSign?â said Harry, looking over at Xenophilius too. The strange triangular eye was gleaming on his chest. âWhy? Whatâs wrong with it?â âGrindelvald. That is Grindelvaldâs sign.â âGrindelwald . . . the Dark wizard Dumbledore defeated?â âExactly.â Krumâs jaw muscles worked as if he were chewing, then he said, âGrindelvald killed many people, my grandfather, for instance. Of course, he vos never poverful in this country, they said he feared Dumbledore â and rightly, seeing how he vos finished. But thisâ â he pointed a finger at Xenophilius â âthis is his symbol, I recognized it at vunce: Grindelvald carved it into a vall at Durmstrang ven he vos a pupil there. Some idiots copied it onto their books and clothes, thinking to shock, make themselves impressive â until those of us who had lost family members to Grindelvald taught them better.â Krum cracked his knuckles menacingly and glowered at Xenophilius. Harry felt perplexed. It seemed incredibly unlikely that Lunaâs father was a supporter of the Dark Arts, and nobody else in the tent seemed to have recognized the triangular, runelike shape.Q3 - Victor nearly fights him because of this symbolâŠwhat is it?
âHello, Harry!â she said. âEr â my nameâs Barny,â said Harry, flummoxed. âOh, have you changed that too?â she asked brightly. âHow did you know â ?â âOh, just your expression,â she said. âHmm. Made an excuse, did he? Not as gormless as he looks in press photographs, then. Iâve just been instructing the bride on how best to wear my tiara,â she shouted at Harry. âGoblin-made, you know, and been in my family for centuries. Sheâs a good-looking girl, but still â French. Well, well, find me a good seat, Ronald, I am a hundred and seven and I ought not to be on my feet too long.âQ4 - Is this tiara anything special?
Harry did not answer. He pretended to watch the dancers, like Krum, but he was thinking hard. So Voldemort was looking for a celebrated wandmaker, and Harry did not have to search far for a reason: It was surely because of what Harryâs wand had done on the night that Voldemort had pursued him across the skies. The holly and phoenix feather wand had conquered the borrowed wand, something that Ollivander had not anticipated or understood. Would Gregorovitch know better? Was he truly more skilled than Ollivander, did he know secrets of wands that Ollivander did not?Q5 - Does Gregorivitch know secrets of wandlore that Olivander doesnât?
âWell, in that interview,â Harry went on, âRita Skeeter hinted that Professor Dumbledore was involved in the Dark Arts when he was young.â âDonât believe a word of it!â said Doge at once. âNot a word, Harry! Let nothing tarnish your memories of Albus Dumbledore!âQ6 - Whatâs the truth here?
âWhy did nobody ever see her, Elphias?â squawked Muriel. âWhy did half of us never even know she existed, until they carried the coffin out of the house and held a funeral for her? Where was saintly Albus while Ariana was locked in the cellar? Off being brilliant at Hogwarts, and never mind what was going on in his own house!â âWhat dâyou mean, locked in the cellar?â asked Harry. âWhat is this?â Doge looked wretched. Auntie Muriel cackled again and answered Harry. Doge looked to be on the verge of tears. Auntie Muriel, who seemed to be enjoying herself hugely, snapped her fingers for more champagne. Numbly Harry thought of how the Dursleys had once shut him up, locked him away, kept him out of sight, all for the crime of being a wizard. Had Dumbledoreâs sister suffered the same fate in reverse: imprisoned for her lack of magic? And had Dumbledore truly left her to her fate while he went off to Hogwarts, to prove himself brilliant and talented?Q7 - Could this be true?
âAnd Iâll tell you something else,â Muriel said, hiccuping slightly as she lowered her goblet. âI think Bathilda has spilled the beans to Rita Skeeter. All those hints in Skeeterâs interview about an important source close to the Dumbledores â goodness knows she was there all through the Ariana business, and it would fit!âQ8 - Is Bathilda Bagshot the source?
âBathilda Bagshot lives in Godricâs Hollow?â âOh yes, sheâs been there forever! The Dumbledores moved there after Percival was imprisoned, and she was their neighbor.â âThe Dumbledores lived in Godricâs Hollow?â âYes, Barry, thatâs what I just said,â said Auntie Muriel testily. Harry felt drained, empty. Never once, in six years, had Dumbledore told Harry that they had both lived and lost loved ones in Godricâs Hollow. Why? Were Lily and James buried close to Dumbledoreâs mother and sister? Had Dumbledore visited their graves, perhaps walked past Lilyâs and Jamesâs to do so? And he had never once told Harry . . . never bothered to say . . .Q9 - Is Dumbledore a good person?
Harry did not know where to begin, but it did not matter. At that moment, something large and silver came falling through the canopy over the dance floor. Graceful and gleaming, the lynx landed lightly in the middle of the astonished dancers. Heads turned, as those nearest it froze absurdly in mid-dance. Then the Patronusâs mouth opened wide and it spoke in the loud, deep, slow voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt. âThe Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming.â -
Chapter 1 - The Dark Lord AscendingThe dedication of this book Is split seven ways: To Neil, To Jessica, To David, To Kenzie, To Di, To Anne, And to you, If you have stuck with Harry until the very end. Oh, the torment bred in the race, the grinding scream of death and the stroke that hits the vein, the haemorrhage none can staunch, the grief, the curse no man can bear. But there is a cure in the house and not outside it, no, not from others but from them, their bloody strife. We sing to you, dark gods beneath the earth. Now hear, you blissful powers underground â answer the call, send help. Bless the children, give them triumph now. Aeschylus, The Libation BearersDeath is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still. For they must needs be present, that love and live in that which is omnipresent. In this divine glass they see face to face; and their converse is free, as well as pure. This is the comfort of friends, that though they may be said to die, yet their friendship and society are, in the best sense, ever present, because immortal. William Penn, More Fruits of Solitude
Q1 - What do you think of the forward and dedication?
The drawing room was full of silent people, sitting at a long and ornate table. The roomâs usual furniture had been pushed carelessly up against the walls. Illumination came from a roaring fire beneath a handsome marble mantelpiece surmounted by a gilded mirror. Snape and Yaxley lingered for a moment on the threshold. As their eyes grew accustomed to the lack of light, they were drawn upward to the strangest feature of the scene: an apparently unconscious human figure hanging upside down over the table, revolving slowly as if suspended by an invisible rope, and reflected in the mirror and in the bare, polished surface of the table below. None of the people seated underneath this singular sight was looking at it except for a pale young man sitting almost directly below it. He seemed unable to prevent himself from glancing upward every minute or so.Q2 - What do you think of this scene?
âSeverus, here,â said Voldemort, indicating the seat on his immediate right. âYaxley â beside Dolohov.â The two men took their allotted places. Most of the eyes around the table followed Snape, and it was to him that Voldemort spoke first. âSo?â âMy Lord, the Order of the Phoenix intends to move Harry Potter from his current place of safety on Saturday next, at nightfall.â The interest around the table sharpened palpably: Some stiffened, others fidgeted, all gazing at Snape and Voldemort. âSaturday . . . at nightfall,â repeated Voldemort. His red eyes fastened upon Snapeâs black ones with such intensity that some of the watchers looked away, apparently fearful that they themselves would be scorched by the ferocity of the gaze. Snape, however, looked calmly back into Voldemortâs face and, after a moment or two, Voldemortâs lipless mouth curved into something like a smile. âGood. Very good. And this information comes ââ ââ from the source we discussed,â said Snape.Q3 - What is going on here and who is their source?
Again, Voldemort looked up at the slowly revolving body as he went on, âI shall attend to the boy in person. There have been too many mistakes where Harry Potter is concerned. Some of them have been my own. That Potter lives is due more to my errors than to his triumphs.â âI have been careless, and so have been thwarted by luck and chance, those wreckers of all but the best-laid plans. But I know better now. I understand those things that I did not understand before. I must be the one to kill Harry Potter, and I shall be.âQ4 - Is Voldemort right here?
At these words, seemingly in response to them, a sudden wail sounded, a terrible, drawn-out cry of misery and pain. Many of those at the table looked downward, startled, for the sound had seemed to issue from below their feet. âWormtail,â said Voldemort, with no change in his quiet, thoughtful tone, and without removing his eyes from the revolving body above, âhave I not spoken to you about keeping our prisoner quiet?âQ5 - Who is their prisoner?
âAs I was saying,â continued Voldemort, looking again at the tense faces of his followers, âI understand better now. I shall need, for instance, to borrow a wand from one of you before I go to kill Potter.â The faces around him displayed nothing but shock; he might have announced that he wanted to borrow one of their arms.Q6 - Why does he need to borrow one of their wands?
âNo higher pleasure,â repeated Voldemort, his head tilted a little to one side as he considered Bellatrix. âThat means a great deal, Bellatrix, from you.â Her face flooded with color; her eyes welled with tears of delight. âMy Lord knows I speak nothing but the truth!â âNo higher pleasure . . . even compared with the happy event that, I hear, has taken place in your family this week?â She stared at him, her lips parted, evidently confused. âI donât know what you mean, my Lord.â âIâm talking about your niece, Bellatrix. And yours, Lucius and Narcissa. She has just married the werewolf, Remus Lupin. You must be so proud.âQ7 - To Jennâs point, why do they follow Voldemort?
âYou must prune yours, must you not, to keep it healthy? Cut away those parts that threaten the health of the rest.â âYes, my Lord,â whispered Bellatrix, and her eyes swam with tears of gratitude again. âAt the first chance!â âYou shall have it,â said Voldemort. âAnd in your family, so in the world . . . we shall cut away the canker that infects us until only those of the true blood remain. . . .âQ8 - Is he talking about killing Lupin and Tonks?
âFor those of you who do not know, we are joined here tonight by Charity Burbage who, until recently, taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.âQ9 - Did Snape give up his coworker here?
Nobody laughed this time: There was no mistaking the anger and contempt in Voldemortâs voice. For the third time, Charity Burbage revolved to face Snape. Tears were pouring from her eyes into her hair. Snape looked back at her, quite impassive, as she turned slowly away from him again. âAvada Kedavra.âQ10 - How evil is this scene?
Chapter 2 - In MemoriamHarry had spent the morning completely emptying his school trunk for the first time since he had packed it six years ago.Q1 - How gross is Harry?
He recognized it at once. It was a two-inch-long fragment of the enchanted mirror that his dead godfather, Sirius, had given him. Harry laid it aside and felt cautiously around the trunk for the rest, but nothing more remained of his godfatherâs last gift except powdered glass, which clung to the deepest layer of debris like glittering grit.Q2 - Will this come back in the end of the story?
For his part, Albus had arrived at Hogwarts under the burden of unwanted notoriety. Scarcely a year previously, his father, Percival, had been convicted of a savage and well-publicized attack upon three young Muggles. Albus never attempted to deny that his father (who was to die in Azkaban) had committed this crime; on the contrary, when I plucked up courage to ask him, he assured me that he knew his father to be guilty. Beyond that, Dumbledore refused to speak of the sad business, though many attempted to make him do so.Q3 - Is this true? Why didnât Harry know anything about this?
In a matter of months, however, Albusâs own fame had begun to eclipse that of his father. By the end of his first year he would never again be known as the son of a Muggle-hater, but as nothing more or less than the most brilliant student ever seen at the school.Q4 - Is this a realistic depiction of Albus? Can a first year be the best student in the school?
When Albus and I left Hogwarts we intended to take the then-traditional tour of the world together, visiting and observing foreign wizards, before pursuing our separate careers. However, tragedy intervened. On the very eve of our trip, Albusâs mother, Kendra, died, leaving Albus the head, and sole breadwinner, of the family. I postponed my departure long enough to pay my respects at Kendraâs funeral, then left for what was now to be a solitary journey. With a younger brother and sister to care for, and little gold left to them, there could no longer be any question of Albus accompanying me.Q5 - Did you know Dumbledore had a sister?
Though Ariana had been in poor health for a long time, the blow, coming so soon after the loss of their mother, had a profound effect on both of her brothers. All those closest to Albus â and I count myself one of that lucky number â agree that Arianaâs death, and Albusâs feeling of personal responsibility for it (though, of course, he was guiltless), left their mark upon him forevermore.Q6 - Why would Dumbledore feel personally responsible?
He died as he lived: working always for the greater good and, to his last hour, as willing to stretch out a hand to a small boy with dragon pox as he was on the day that I met him.Q7 - What do you think of the line âfor the greater good.â
He had never thought to ask Dumbledore about his past. No doubt it would have felt strange, impertinent even, but after all, it had been common knowledge that Dumbledore had taken part in that legendary duel with Grindelwald, and Harry had not thought to ask Dumbledore what that had been like, nor about any of his other famous achievements. No, they had always discussed Harry, Harryâs past, Harryâs future, Harryâs plans . . . and it seemed to Harry now, despite the fact that his future was so dangerous and so uncertain, that he had missed irreplaceable opportunities when he had failed to ask Dumbledore more about himself, even though the only personal question he had ever asked his headmaster was also the only one he suspected that Dumbledore had not answered honestly: âWhat do you see when you look in the mirror?â âI? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks.âQ8 - What do you think he saw in the mirror?
In person, Rita Skeeter is much warmer and softer than her famously ferocious quill-portraits might suggest. Greeting me in the hallway of her cozy home, she leads me straight into the kitchen for a cup of tea, a slice of pound cake and, it goes without saying, a steaming vat of freshest gossip.Q9 - Will any of this biography be true?
Skeeter was certainly quick off the mark. Her nine-hundred-page book was completed a mere four weeks after Dumbledoreâs mysterious death in June. But old Dodgy Doge can get off his high hippogriff, because Iâve had access to a source most journalists would swap their wands for, one who has never spoken in public before and who was close to Dumbledore during the most turbulent and disturbing phase of his youth.âQ10 - Who is this source?
No, itâs the mother and the sister that intrigued me, and a little digging uncovered a positive nest of nastiness â but, as I say, youâll have to wait for chapters nine to twelve for full details. All I can say now is, itâs no wonder Dumbledore never talked about how his nose got broken.âQ11 - Will any of this be true? What is she talking about here?
Itâs been called unhealthy, even sinister. . . .Q12 - How would you describe their relationship with each other?
Harry sat down hard on the bed. The broken bit of mirror danced away from him; he picked it up and turned it over in his fingers, thinking, thinking of Dumbledore and the lies with which Rita Skeeter was defaming him. . . . A flash of brightest blue. Harry froze, his cut finger slipping on the jagged edge of the mirror again. He had imagined it, he must have done. He glanced over his shoulder, but the wall was a sickly peach color of Aunt Petuniaâs choosing: There was nothing blue there for the mirror to reflect. He peered into the mirror fragment again, and saw nothing but his own bright green eye looking back at him. He had imagined it, there was no other explanation; imagined it, because he had been thinking of his dead headmaster. If anything was certain, it was that the bright blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore would never pierce him again.Q13 - What just happened?
Chapter 3 - The Dursleys DepartingHarry pressed on remorselessly. âOnce Iâm seventeen, the protective charm that keeps me safe will break, and that exposes you as well as me. The Order is sure Voldemort will target you, whether to torture you to try and find out where I am, or because he thinks by holding you hostage Iâd come and try to rescue you.âQ1 - What do you think of this?
Q2 - Do you think the Dursleys are ridiculous? Do you have any sympathy for them?
The prospect of parting â probably forever â from his aunt, uncle, and cousin was one that he was able to contemplate quite cheerfully, but there was nevertheless a certain awkwardness in the air. What did you say to one another at the end of sixteen yearsâ solid dislike? âWell, this is good-bye, then, boy.â He swung his right arm upward to shake Harryâs hand, but at the last moment seemed unable to face it, and merely closed his fist and began swinging it backward and forward like a metronome. âReady, Diddy?â asked Aunt Petunia, fussily checking the clasp of her handbag so as to avoid looking at Harry altogether. Dudley did not answer, but stood there with his mouth slightly ajar, reminding Harry a little of the giant, Grawp. âCome along, then,â said Uncle Vernon. He had already reached the living room door when Dudley mumbled, âI donât understand.â âWhat donât you understand, popkin?â asked Aunt Petunia, looking up at her son. Dudley raised a large, hamlike hand to point at Harry. âWhy isnât he coming with us?â Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia froze where they stood, staring at Dudley as though he had just expressed a desire to become a ballerina. âWhat?â said Uncle Vernon loudly. âWhy isnât he coming too?â asked Dudley. âWell, he â he doesnât want to,â said Uncle Vernon, turning to glare at Harry and adding, âYou donât want to, do you?â âNot in the slightest,â said Harry. âThere you are,â Uncle Vernon told Dudley. âNow come on, weâre off.â He marched out of the room. They heard the front door open, but Dudley did not move and after a few faltering steps Aunt Petunia stopped too. âWhat now?â barked Uncle Vernon, reappearing in the doorway. It seemed that Dudley was struggling with concepts too difficult to put into words. After several moments of apparently painful internal struggle he said, âBut whereâs he going to go?â Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked at each other. It was clear that Dudley was frightening them. Hestia Jones broke the silence. âBut . . . surely you know where your nephew is going?â she asked, looking bewildered. âCertainly we know,â said Vernon Dursley. âHeâs off with some of your lot, isnât he? Right, Dudley, letâs get in the car, you heard the man, weâre in a hurry.â Again, Vernon Dursley marched as far as the front door, but Dudley did not follow. âOff with some of our lot?â Hestia looked outraged. Harry had met this attitude before: Witches and wizards seemed stunned that his closest living relatives took so little interest in the famous Harry Potter. âItâs fine,â Harry assured her. âIt doesnât matter, honestly.â âDoesnât matter?â repeated Hestia, her voice rising ominously. âDonât these people realize what youâve been through? What danger you are in? The unique position you hold in the hearts of the antiVoldemort movement?â âEr â no, they donât,â said Harry. âThey think Iâm a waste of space, actually, but Iâm used to ââ âI donât think youâre a waste of space.â If Harry had not seen Dudleyâs lips move, he might not have believed it. As it was, he stared at Dudley for several seconds before accepting that it must have been his cousin who had spoken; for one thing, Dudley had turned red. Harry was embarrassed and astonished himself. âWell . . . er . . . thanks, Dudley.â Again, Dudley appeared to grapple with thoughts too unwieldy for expression before mumbling, âYou saved my life.â âNot really,â said Harry. âIt was your soul the dementor would have taken. . . .â He looked curiously at his cousin. They had had virtually no contact during this summer or last, as Harry had come back to Privet Drive so briefly and kept to his room so much. It now dawned on Harry, however, that the cup of cold tea on which he had trodden that morning might not have been a booby trap at all. Although rather touched, he was nevertheless quite relieved that Dudley appeared to have exhausted his ability to express his feelings. After opening his mouth once or twice more, Dudley subsided into scarletfaced silence.Q3 - What do you think of Dudley doing this?
Aunt Petunia, whose face had been buried in her handkerchief, looked around at the sound. She did not seem to have expected to find herself alone with Harry. Hastily stowing her wet handkerchief into her pocket, she said, âWell â good-bye,â and marched toward the door without looking at him. âGood-bye,â said Harry. She stopped and looked back. For a moment Harry had the strangest feeling that she wanted to say something to him: She gave him an odd, tremulous look and seemed to teeter on the edge of speech, but then, with a little jerk of her head, she bustled out of the room after her husband and son.Q4 - What do you think she wanted to say to him?
Chapter 4 - The Seven PottersQ1 - What did you think this chapter initially meant?
It gave him an odd, empty feeling to remember those times; it was like remembering a younger brother whom he had lost. Harry looked around at the stacked shoes and umbrellas, remembering how he used to wake every morning looking up at the underside of the staircase, which was more often than not adorned with a spider or two. Those had been the days before he had known anything about his true identity; before he had found out how his parents had died or why such strange things often happened around him. But Harry could still remember the dreams that had dogged him, even in those days: confused dreams involving flashes of green light and once â Uncle Vernon had nearly crashed the car when Harry had recounted it â a flying motorbike . . .Q2 - Is there anything else about that flash of green light you think is important?
Harryâs heart seemed to expand and glow at the sight: He felt incredibly fond of all of them, even Mundungus, whom he had tried to strangle the last time they had met. âYou got married?â Harry yelped, looking from her to Lupin. âIâm sorry you couldnât be there, Harry, it was very quiet.â âThatâs brilliant, congrat ââ âAll right, all right, weâll have time for a cozy catch-up later!âQ3 - What do you think of Lupin and Tonks getting married?
âSo this time, when you leave, thereâll be no going back, and the charm will break the moment you get outside its range. Weâre choosing to break it early, because the alternative is waiting for You-KnowWho to come and seize you the moment you turn seventeen.Q4 - What would your plan be to get Harry out safely?
From inside his cloak Moody now withdrew a flask of what looked like mud. There was no need for him to say another word; Harry understood the rest of the plan immediately. âNo!â he said loudly, his voice ringing through the kitchen. âNo way!â âI told them youâd take it like this,â said Hermione with a hint of complacency. âIf you think Iâm going to let six people risk their lives â !â ââ because itâs the first time for all of us,â said Ron. âThis is different, pretending to be me ââ âWell, none of us really fancy it, Harry,â said Fred earnestly. âImagine if something went wrong and we were stuck as specky, scrawny gits forever.â Harry did not smile.Q5 - Jenn you mentioned this is unsafe in that Harry doesnât even know who they are? Are any of them using polyjuice here to cover themselves up?
They might not be able to get at you or this house while your motherâs charm holds, but itâs about to break and they know the rough position of the place. Our only chance is to use decoys. Even You-Know-Who canât split himself into seven.â Harry caught Hermioneâs eye and looked away at once. âSo, Potter â some of your hair, if you please.âQ6 - What would the harm be in telling everyone about Voldemort's Horcruxes?
Harry dropped the hair into the mudlike liquid. The moment it made contact with its surface, the potion began to froth and smoke, then, all at once, it turned a clear, bright gold.Q7 - Any significance of it turning gold here?
When he straightened up again, there were six Harry Potters gasping and panting in front of him. Fred and George turned to each other and said together, âWow â weâre identical!â âI dunno, though, I think Iâm still better-looking,â said Fred, examining his reflection in the kettle. âBah,â said Fleur, checking herself in the microwave door, âBill, donât look at me â Iâm âideous.âQ8 - How about the slight dig that Fleur gives here?
Q9 - Who would you want guarding you if you were one of the seven potters?
The broomstick spun to earth, but he just managed to seize the strap of his rucksack and the top of the cage as the motorbike swung the right way up again. A secondâs relief, and then another burst of green light. The owl screeched and fell to the floor of the cage. âNo â NO!â The motorbike zoomed forward; Harry glimpsed hooded Death Eaters scattering as Hagrid blasted through their circle. âHedwig â Hedwig ââ But the owl lay motionless and pathetic as a toy on the floor of her cage.Q10 - How do you feel about Hedwigâs death?
Harry saw the strangely blank face of Stanley Shunpike â Stan â âExpelliarmus!â Harry yelled. âThatâs him, itâs him, itâs the real one!â The hooded Death Eaterâs shout reached Harry even above the thunder of the motorbikeâs engine: Next moment, both pursuers had fallen back and disappeared from view.Q11 - Is Stan Shunpike an actual Death Eater?
Q12 - Why has Expelliarmus become Harryâs calling card?
Harry felt the bike drop a little, though the lights down on the ground still seemed remote as stars. Then the scar on his forehead burned like fire; as a Death Eater appeared on either side of the bike, two Killing Curses missed Harry by millimeters, cast from behind â And then Harry saw him. Voldemort was flying like smoke on the wind, without broomstick or thestral to hold him, his snakelike face gleaming out of the blackness, his white fingers raising his wand again âQ13 - How terrifying is this scene?
It was over: He could not see or hear where Voldemort was; he glimpsed another Death Eater swooping out of the way and heard, âAvada ââ As the pain from Harryâs scar forced his eyes shut, his wand acted of its own accord. He felt it drag his hand around like some great magnet, saw a spurt of golden fire through his half-closed eyelids, heard a crack and a scream of fury. The remaining Death Eater yelled; Voldemort screamed, âNo!â: Somehow, Harry found his nose an inch from the dragon-fire button. He punched it with his wand-free hand and the bike shot more flames into the air, hurtling straight toward the ground.Q14 - How did this happen?
He felt Voldemort before he saw him. Looking sideways, he stared into the red eyes and was sure they would be the last thing he ever saw: Voldemort preparing to curse him once more â And then Voldemort vanished. Harry looked down and saw Hagrid spread-eagled on the ground below him. He pulled hard at the handlebars to avoid hitting him, groped for the brake, but with an earsplitting, ground-trembling crash, he smashed into a muddy pond.Q15 - How good of an ending is this chapter and the title of the nextâŠ
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Chapter 28 - The Flight of the Prince
Q1 - What are your thoughts on Dumbledoreâs death?
Q2 - Who do you think has died so far?
âCruc ââ But Snape parried the curse, knocking Harry backward off his feet before he could complete it; âCruc ââ yelled Harry for the second time, aiming for the figure ahead illuminated in the dancing firelight, but Snape blocked the spell again. Harry could see him sneering. âNo Unforgivable Curses from you, Potter!â he shouted over the rushing of the flames, Hagridâs yells, and the wild yelping of the trapped Fang. âYou havenât got the nerve or the ability ââ âIncarc ââ Harry roared, but Snape deflected the spell with an almost lazy flick of his arm.Q3 - Is Snape really an amazing wizard?
âFight back!â Harry screamed at him. âFight back, you cowardly ââ âCoward, did you call me, Potter?â shouted Snape. âYour father would never attack me unless it was four on one, what would you call him, I wonder?â âSectum â !â Snape flicked his wand and the curse was repelled yet again; but Harry was mere feet away now and he could see Snapeâs face clearly at last: He was no longer sneering or jeering; the blazing flames showed a face full of rage. Mustering all his powers of concentration, Harry thought, Levi â âNo, Potter!â screamed Snape. âYou dare use my own spells against me, Potter? It was I who invented them â I, the Half-Blood Prince! And youâd turn my inventions on me, like your filthy father, would you? I donât think so . . . no!âQ4 - Thoughts on Snape being the Half-Blood Prince?
âKill me then,â panted Harry, who felt no fear at all, but only rage and contempt. âKill me like you killed him, you coward ââ âDONâTââ screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them â âCALL ME COWARD!âQ5 - Is Snape a coward?
Harry heard Hagridâs moan of pain and shock, but he did not stop; he walked slowly forward until he reached the place where Dumbledore lay and crouched down beside him. He had known there was no hope from the moment that the full Body-Bind Curse Dumbledore had placed upon him lifted, known that it could have happened only because its caster was dead, but there was still no preparation for seeing him here, spread-eagled, broken: the greatest wizard Harry had ever, or would ever, meet. Dumbledoreâs eyes were closed; but for the strange angle of his arms and legs, he might have been sleeping. Harry reached out, straightened the half-moon spectacles upon the crooked nose, and wiped a trickle of blood from the mouth with his own sleeve. Then he gazed down at the wise old face and tried to absorb the enormous and incomprehensible truth: that never again would Dumbledore speak to him, never again could he help. . . .Q6 - Dumbledore is actually dead?
To the Dark Lord I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more. R.A.BQ7 - Theories on who RAB is?
Q8 - Did Dumbledore die for nothing?
Q9 - What is your favorite Dumbledore memory?
Chapter 29 - The Phoenix LamentFear stirred in Harryâs chest again: He had forgotten the inert figures he had left behind. âGinny, who else is dead?â âDonât worry, none of us.â âBut the Dark Mark â Malfoy said he stepped over a body ââ âHe stepped over Bill, but itâs all right, heâs alive.â There was something in her voice, however, that Harry knew boded ill. âAre you sure?â âOf course Iâm sure . . . heâs a â a bit of a mess, thatâs all. Greyback attacked him. Madam Pomfrey says he wonât â wonât look the same anymore. . . .âQ1 - Do you think Harry understands the cost of what this fight is all about?
âNo!â Lupin looked wildly from Ginny to Harry, as though hoping the latter might contradict her, but when Harry did not, Lupin collapsed into a chair beside Billâs bed, his hands over his face. Harry had never seen Lupin lose control before; he felt as though he was intruding upon something private, indecent. He turned away and caught Ronâs eye instead, exchanging in silence a look that confirmed what Ginny had said.Q2 - Have you ever experienced grief like this?
Gulping, Madam Pomfrey pressed her fingers to her mouth, her eyes wide. Somewhere out in the darkness, a phoenix was singing in a way Harry had never heard before: a stricken lament of terrible beauty. And Harry felt, as he had felt about phoenix song before, that the music was inside him, not without: It was his own grief turned magically to song that echoed across the grounds and through the castle windows. How long they all stood there, listening, he did not know, nor why it seemed to ease their pain a little to listen to the sound of their mourning, but it felt like a long time later that the hospital door opened again and Professor McGonagall entered the ward. Like all the rest, she bore marks of the recent battle: There were grazes on her face and her robes were ripped. âSnape,â repeated McGonagall faintly, falling into the chair. âWe all wondered . . . but he trusted . . . always . . . Snape . . . I canât believe it. . . .âQ3 - Do you think the professors knew better?
Q4 - Is there anything about the story that the group is giving that is strange to you or hits you differently? Are there any clues in there?
âOf course, it doesnât matter how he looks. . . . Itâs not r-really important . . . but he was a very handsome little b-boy . . . always very handsome . . . and he was g-going to be married!â âAnd what do you mean by zat?â said Fleur suddenly and loudly. âWhat do you mean, â âe was going to be married?â â Mrs. Weasley raised her tear-stained face, looking startled. âWell â only that ââ âYou theenk Bill will not wish to marry me anymore?â demanded Fleur. âYou theenk, because of these bites, he will not love me?â âNo, thatâs not what I ââ âBecause âe will!â said Fleur, drawing herself up to her full height and throwing back her long mane of silver hair. âIt would take more zan a werewolf to stop Bill loving me!â âWell, yes, Iâm sure,â said Mrs. Weasley, âbut I thought perhaps â given how â how he ââ âYou thought I would not weesh to marry him? Or perâaps, you hoped?â said Fleur, her nostrils flaring. âWhat do I care how he looks? I am good-looking enough for both of us, I theenk! All these scars show is zat my husband is brave! And I shall do zat!â she added fiercely, pushing Mrs. Weasley aside and snatching the ointment from her.Q5 - How cool is Fleur?
âYou see!â said a strained voice. Tonks was glaring at Lupin. âShe still wants to marry him, even though heâs been bitten! She doesnât care!â âItâs different,â said Lupin, barely moving his lips and looking suddenly tense. âBill will not be a full werewolf. The cases are completely ââ âBut I donât care either, I donât care!â said Tonks, seizing the front of Lupinâs robes and shaking them. âIâve told you a million times. . . .â And the meaning of Tonksâs Patronus and her mouse-colored hair, and the reason she had come running to find Dumbledore when she had heard a rumor someone had been attacked by Greyback, all suddenly became clear to Harry; it had not been Sirius that Tonks had fallen in love with after all. âAnd Iâve told you a million times,â said Lupin, refusing to meet her eyes, staring at the floor, âthat I am too old for you, too poor . . . too dangerous. . . .â âIâve said all along youâre taking a ridiculous line on this, Remus,â said Mrs. Weasley over Fleurâs shoulder as she patted her on the back. âI am not being ridiculous,â said Lupin steadily. âTonks deserves somebody young and whole.â âBut she wants you,â said Mr. Weasley, with a small smile. âAnd after all, Remus, young and whole men do not necessarily remain so.âQ6 - What do you think of Lupin and Tonks?
âHarry,â she said, âI would like to know what you and Professor Dumbledore were doing this evening when you left the school.â âI canât tell you that, Professor,â said Harry.Q7 - Why doesnât Harry tell more people about this?
âDunno,â said Harry, lying back on his bed fully clothed and staring blankly upwards. He felt no curiosity at all about R.A.B.: He doubted that he would ever feel curious again. As he lay there, he became aware suddenly that the grounds were silent. Fawkes had stopped singing. And he knew, without knowing how he knew it, that the phoenix had gone, had left Hogwarts for good, just as Dumbledore had left the school, had left the world . . . had left Harry. Chapter 30 - The White TombThere might still be as many as four Horcruxes out there somewhere, and each would need to be found and eliminated before there was even a possibility that Voldemort could be killed. He kept reciting their names to himself, as though by listing them he could bring them within reach: the locket . . . the cup . . . the snake . . . something of Gryffindorâs or Ravenclawâs . . . the locket . . . the cup . . . the snake . . . something of Gryffindorâs or Ravenclawâs . . .Q1 - Any further ideas on what the Horcruxes could be?
âI shouldâve shown the book to Dumbledore,â said Harry. âAll that time he was showing me how Voldemort was evil even when he was at school, and I had proof Snape was too ââQ2 - If Harry could have Dumbledore back for one question, what question should he ask him?
The crowd continued to swell; with a great rush of affection for both of them, Harry saw Neville being helped into a seat by Luna. Neville and Luna alone of the D.A. had responded to Hermioneâs summons the night that Dumbledore had died, and Harry knew why: They were the ones who had missed the D.A. most . . . probably the ones who had checked their coins regularly in the hope that there would be another meeting.Q3 - What do you think of Umbridge at the funeral?
And then, without warning, it swept over him, the dreadful truth, more completely and undeniably than it had until now. Dumbledore was dead, gone. . . . He clutched the cold locket in his hand so tightly that it hurt, but he could not prevent hot tears spilling from his eyes: He looked away from Ginny and the others and stared out over the lake, toward the forest, as the little man in black droned on. . . . There was movement among the trees. The centaurs had come to pay their respects too. They did not move into the open but Harry saw them standing quite still, half hidden in shadow, watching the wizards, their bows hanging at their sides. And Harry remembered his first nightmarish trip into the forest, the first time he had ever encountered the thing that was then Voldemort, and how he had faced him, and how he and Dumbledore had discussed fighting a losing battle not long thereafter. It was important, Dumbledore said, to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then could evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated. . . .Q4 - Will Harry win this fight?
And Harry saw very clearly as he sat there under the hot sun how people who cared about him had stood in front of him one by one, his mother, his father, his godfather, and finally Dumbledore, all determined to protect him; but now that was over. He could not let anybody else stand between him and Voldemort; he must abandon forever the illusion he ought to have lost at the age of one, that the shelter of a parentâs arms meant that nothing could hurt him. There was no waking from his nightmare, no comforting whisper in the dark that he was safe really, that it was all in his imagination; the last and greatest of his protectors had died, and he was more alone than he had ever been before. âGinny, listen . . .â he said very quietly, as the buzz of conversation grew louder around them and people began to get to their feet, âI canât be involved with you anymore. Weâve got to stop seeing each other. We canât be together.â She said, with an oddly twisted smile, âItâs for some stupid, noble reason, isnât it?â âItâs been like . . . like something out of someone elseâs life, these last few weeks with you,â said Harry. âBut I canât . . . we canât . . . Iâve got things to do alone now.âQ5 - You think Harry is right to break up with Ginny?
âIâm not coming back even if it does reopen,â said Harry. Ron gaped at him, but Hermione said sadly, âI knew you were going to say that. But then what will you do?â âIâm going back to the Dursleysâ once more, because Dumbledore wanted me to,â said Harry. âBut itâll be a short visit, and then Iâll be gone for good.âQ6 - What is Harry going to do?
âWeâll be there, Harry,â said Ron. âWhat?â âAt your aunt and uncleâs house,â said Ron. âAnd then weâll go with you wherever youâre going.â âNo ââ said Harry quickly; he had not counted on this, he had meant them to understand that he was undertaking this most dangerous journey alone. âYou said to us once before,â said Hermione quietly, âthat there was time to turn back if we wanted to. Weâve had time, havenât we? âWeâre with you whatever happens,â said Ron. âBut mate, youâre going to have to come round my mum and dadâs house before we do anything else, even Godricâs Hollow.â âWhy?â âBill and Fleurâs wedding, remember?â Harry looked at him, startled; the idea that anything as normal as a wedding could still exist seemed incredible and yet wonderful. âYeah, we shouldnât miss that,â he said finally. His hand closed automatically around the fake Horcrux, but in spite of everything, in spite of the dark and twisting path he saw stretching ahead for himself, in spite of the final meeting with Voldemort he knew must come, whether in a month, in a year, or in ten, he felt his heart lift at the thought that there was still one last golden day of peace left to enjoy with Ron and Hermione.Q7 - Howâd you like this book?
Q8 - What is in store for the group in the future?
Q9 - Rank the books so far?
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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 youâve been in recent memory?
âWell, why not? Harry, there arenât any real princes in the Wizarding world! Itâs either a nickname, a made-up title somebodyâs given themselves, or it could be their actual name, couldnât 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 âhalfblood Princeâ!âQ2 - Could Hermione be right here?
âThe headmaster has intimated that he would prefer fewer visits from me,â she said coldly. âI am not one to press my company upon those who do not value it. If Dumbledore chooses to ignore the warnings the cards show ââ Her bony hand closed suddenly around Harryâs wrist. âAgain and again, no matter how I lay them out ââ And she pulled a card dramatically from underneath her shawls. ââ the lightning-struck tower,â she whispered. âCalamity. Disaster. Coming nearer all the time . . .âQ3 - 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 . . .â 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. â. . . but then we were rudely interrupted by Severus Snape!â 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?
âProfessor Snape made a terrible mistake. He was still in Lord Voldemortâs employ on the night he heard the first half of Professor Trelawneyâs prophecy. Naturally, he hastened to tell his master what he had heard, for it concerned his master most deeply. But he did not know â he had no possible way of knowing â 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 ââ âYou 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 ââ âBut heâs a very good Occlumens, isnât he, sir?â said Harry, whose voice was shaking with the effort of keeping it steady. âAnd isnât Voldemort convinced that Snapeâs on his side, even now? Professor . . . how can you be sure Snapeâs on our side?â 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, âI am sure. I trust Severus Snape completely.âQ6 - Why does he trust Snape? And why does he say Snape regrets it?
âI . . . theyâre up to something!â said Harry, and his hands curled into fists as he said it. âProfessor Trelawney was just in the Room of Requirement, trying to hide her sherry bottles, and she heard Malfoy whooping, celebrating! Heâs trying to mend something dangerous in there and if you ask me, heâs fixed it at last and youâre about to just walk out of school without ââ âEnough,â said Dumbledore. He said it quite calmly, and yet Harry fell silent at once; he knew that he had finally crossed some invisible line. âDo 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.âQ7 - What did Draco just do?
âIf I tell you to hide, you will do so?â âYes.â âIf I tell you to flee, you will obey?â âYes.â âIf I tell you to leave me and save yourself, you will do as I tell you? âI ââ âHarry?â They looked at each other for a moment. âYes, sir.âQ8 - Is this stuff actually going to happen?
âNo!â said Hermione, as Ron unwrapped the tiny little bottle of golden potion, looking awestruck. âWe donât want it, you take it, who knows what youâre going to be facing?â âIâll be fine, Iâll be with Dumbledore,â said Harry. âI want to know you lot are okay. . . . Donât look like that, Hermione, Iâll see you later. . . .âHarry 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. âWhat do you think?â asked Dumbledore. He might have been asking Harryâs opinion on whether it was a good site for a picnic.Q1 - What do you think of Dumbledore and Harryâs 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, donât you?âQ2 - Shouldnât Riddle have been found out with underage magic? What happened here?
âYes, this is the place,â said Dumbledore. âHow can you tell?â Harry spoke in a whisper. âIt has known magic,â said Dumbledore simplyâŠ.âHere,â he said. âWe go on through here. The entrance is concealed.â 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?
âYou are very kind, Harry,â 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 Malfoyâs wounds. âBut your blood is worth more than mine. Ah, that seems to have done the trick, doesnât it?Harry had not expected this, but cleared his throat and said loudly, wand aloft, âAccio Horcrux!â 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. âWhat was that?â âSomething, I think, that is ready to respond should we attempt to seize the Horcrux.â Harry looked back at the water. The surface of the lake was once more shining black glass: The ripples had vanished unnaturally fast; Harryâs heart, however, was still pounding.Q5 - How chilling is this?
âI 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.â These words did nothing to raise Harryâs morale; perhaps Dumbledore knew it, for he added, âVoldemortâs mistake, Harry, Voldemortâs mistake . . . Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth. . . . Now, you first this time, and be careful not to touch the water.â And then Harry saw it, marble white, floating inches below the surface. âProfessor!â he said, and his startled voice echoed loudly over the silent water. âHarry?â âI think I saw a hand in the water â a human hand!â âYes, I am sure you did,â said Dumbledore calmly. Harry stared down into the water, looking for the vanished hand, and a sick feeling rose in his throat. âSo that thing that jumped out of the water â ?â 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 Voldemortâs protections?
Q7 - Whoâs bodies are these?
âThere 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.â âLord Voldemort would not want to kill the person who reached this island.â Harry couldnât believe it. Was this more of Dumbledoreâs insane determination to see good in everyone? âSir,â said Harry, trying to keep his voice reasonable, âsir, this is Voldemort weâre ââ âIâm sorry, Harry; I should have said, he would not want to immediately kill the person who reached this island,â Dumbledore corrected himself. âHe 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.âQ8 - Who else knows?
âUndoubtedly,â he said, finally, âthis 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?â 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 â so that he could force-feed Dumbledore a potion that might cause him unendurable pain? âYou remember,â said Dumbledore, âthe condition on which I brought you with me?â Harry hesitated, looking into the blue eyes that had turned green in the reflected light of the basin. âBut what if â ?â âYou swore, did you not, to follow any command I gave you?â âYes, but ââ âI warned you, did I not, that there might be danger?â âYes,â said Harry, âbut ââ âWell, then,â said Dumbledore, shaking back his sleeves once more and raising the empty goblet, âyou have my orders.â âWhy canât I drink the potion instead?â asked Harry desperately. âBecause I am much older, much cleverer, and much less valuable,â said Dumbledore. âOnce and for all, Harry, do I have your word that you will do all in your power to make me keep drinking?â âCouldnât â ?â âDo I have it?â âBut ââ âYour word, Harry.â âI â all right, but ââ 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. âYour good health, Harry.âQ9 - 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. âItâs all my fault, all my fault,â he sobbed. âPlease make it stop, I know I did wrong, oh please make it stop and Iâll never, never again . . .â Dumbledore began to cower as though invisible torturers surrounded him; his flailing hand almost knocked the refilled goblet from Harryâs trembling hands as he moaned, âDonât hurt them, donât hurt them, please, please, itâs my fault, hurt me instead . . .âQ10 - What is Dumbledore seeing here?
âDrink this, Professor. Drink this. . . .â Dumbledore drank, and no sooner had he finished than he yelled, âKILL ME!â âThis â this one will!â gasped Harry. âJust drink this . . . Itâll be over . . . all over!â Dumbledore gulped at the goblet, drained every last drop, and then, with a great, rattling gasp, rolled over onto his face. âNo!â 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; Dumbledoreâs glasses were askew, his mouth agape, his eyes closed. âNo,â said Harry, shaking Dumbledore, âno, youâre not dead, you said it wasnât poison, wake up, wake up â Rennervate!â he cried, his wand pointing at Dumbledoreâs chest; there was a flash of red light but nothing happened. âRennervate â sir â please ââ Dumbledoreâs eyelids flickered; Harryâs heart leapt. âSir, are you â ?â âWater,â croaked Dumbledore.The goblet filled and emptied once more. And now Dumbledoreâs 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 Dumbledoreâs uninjured arm around his shoulders, Harry guided his headmaster back around the lake, bearing most of his weight. âThe protection was . . . after all . . . well-designed,â said Dumbledore faintly. âOne alone could not have done it. . . . You did well, very well, Harry. . . .â âItâs going to be all right, sir,â Harry said over and over again, more worried by Dumbledoreâs silence than he had been by his weakened voice. âWeâre nearly there. . . . I can Apparate us both back. . . . Donât worry. . . .â âI am not worried, Harry,â said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. âI am with you.âQ13 - 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 TowerâWhat has happened?â asked Dumbledore. âRosmerta, whatâs wrong?â âThe â the Dark Mark, Albus.â 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, whatâs the tiredest youâve 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, âExpelliarmus!â Harryâs 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 â Expelliarmus was not a Freezing Charm â Then, by the light of the Mark, he saw Dumbledoreâs 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. âDraco, Draco, you are not a killer.â âHow do you know?â said Malfoy at once. âBut why? I donât 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.âQ4 - What do you think of Dumbledoreâs attitude here?
âI tried, Draco. Professor Snape has been keeping watch over you on my orders ââ âHe hasnât been doing your orders, he promised my mother ââ âOf course that is what he would tell you, Draco, but ââ âHeâs a double agent, you stupid old man, he isnât working for you, you just think he is!â âWe must agree to differ on that, Draco. It so happens that I trust Professor Snape ââ âWell, youâre losing your grip, then!â sneered Malfoy.Q5 - How much does it hurt to hear these words?
âSomeoneâs dead,â said Malfoy, and his voice seemed to go up an octave as he said it. âOne of your people . . . I donât 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. . . .âQ6 - Has someone actually died?
âCome 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. . . .â Malfoy stared at Dumbledore. âBut I got this far, didnât I?â he said slowly. âThey thought Iâd die in the attempt, but Iâm here . . . and youâre in my power. . . . Iâm the one with the wand. . . . Youâre at my mercy. . . .â âNo, Draco,â said Dumbledore quietly. âIt is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now.âQ7 - Is Malfoy redeemable?
âWeâve got a problem, Snape,â said the lumpy Amycus, whose eyes and wand were fixed alike upon Dumbledore, âthe boy doesnât seem able ââ But somebody else had spoken Snapeâs name, quite softly. âSeverus . . .â 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. âSeverus . . . please . . .â Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore. âAvada Kedavra!âQ8 - 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: Slughornâs memory was the most important thing to him now.
Q1 - How do you think Snape takes on dementors? And is it better than Harryâs?
âItâs one of Fred and Georgeâs Spell-Checking ones ⊠but I think the charm must be wearing off âŠâ âYes, it must,â said Hermione, pointing at the title of his essay, âbecause we were asked how weâd deal with Dementors, not âDugbogsâ, and I donât remember you changing your name to âRoonil Wazlibâ, either.â âAh, no!â said Ron, staring horror-struck at the parchment. âDonât say Iâll have to write the whole thing out again!â âItâs OK, we can fix it,â said Hermione, pulling the essay towards her and taking out her wand. âI love you, Hermione,â said Ron, sinking back in his chair, rubbing his eyes wearily.Q2 - Is this the first time Ron has said âI love youâ to Hermione?
Q3 - What is Malfoy doing in the Room of Requirement?
âGod, Iâve been stupid,â he said quietly. âItâs obvious, isnât it? There was a great vat of it down in the dungeon ⊠he couldâve nicked some any time during that lesson âŠâ âNicked what?â said Ron. âPolyjuice Potion. He stole some of the Polyjuice Potion Slughorn showed us in our first Potions lesson ⊠there arenât a whole variety of students standing guard for Malfoy ⊠itâs just Crabbe and Goyle as usual ⊠yeah, it all fits!âQ4 - Is Harry (therefore Danny) right?
Q5 - Do you ever remember when a teacher embarrassed you?
âWell, what Harry said is the most useful if weâre trying to tell them apart!â said Ron. âWhen we come face to face with one down a dark alley weâre going to be having a shufti to see if itâs solid, arenât we, weâre not going to be asking, âExcuse me, are you the imprint of a departed soul?ââWhen you say you had lots in common,â said Ron, sounding rather amused now, âdâyou mean he lives in an S-bend, too?â âNo,â said Myrtle defiantly, her voice echoing loudly around the old tiled bathroom. âI mean heâs sensitive, people bully him, too, and he feels lonely and hasnât got anybody to talk to, and heâs not afraid to show his feelings and cry!âQ6 - 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?
âLook, Potions will be almost empty this afternoon, with us all off doing our tests ⊠try and soften Slughorn up a bit then!â âFifty-seventh time lucky, you think?â said Harry bitterly. âLucky,â said Ron suddenly. âHarry, thatâs it â get lucky!â âWhat dâyou mean?â âUse your lucky potion!â âRon, thatâs â thatâs it!â said Hermione, sounding stunned. âOf course! Why didnât I think of it?âQ2 - Is this the best way to get the memory?
Q3 - What do you think of Harryâs Euphoria potion?
Harry took out the rolled-up socks at the bottom of his trunk and extracted the tiny, gleaming bottle. âWell, here goes,â said Harry, and he raised the little bottle and took a carefully measured gulp. âWhat does it feel like?â 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 âŠQ4 - 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. âDonât push me, please, Dean,â she said, sounding annoyed. âYouâre always doing that, I can get through perfectly well on my own âŠâQ5 - 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 â âHarry Potter!â bellowed Hagrid, slopping some of his fourteenth bucket of wine down his chin as he drained it. âYes, indeed,â cried Slughorn a little thickly, âParry Otter, the Chosen Boy Who â well â something of that sort,â he mumbled, and drained his mug, too.âBut she didnât move. Dad was already dead, but she didnât want me to go too. She tried to plead with Voldemort ⊠but he just laughed âŠâ âThatâs enough!â said Slughorn suddenly, raising a shaking hand. âReally, my dear boy, enough ⊠Iâm an old man ⊠I donât need to hear ⊠I donât want to hear âŠâ âI forgot,â lied Harry, Felix Felicis leading him on. âYou liked her, didnât you?â âLiked her?â said Slughorn, his eyes brimming with tears once more. âI donât imagine anyone who met her wouldnât have liked her ⊠very brave ⊠very funny ⊠it was the most horrible thing âŠâ âBut you wonât help her son,â said Harry. âShe gave me her life, but you wonât give me a memory.âQ6 - Is there any new info you gained from the Lily story?
âBe brave like my mother, Professor âŠââYouâre a good boy,â said Professor Slughorn, tears trickling down his fat cheeks into his walrus moustache. âAnd youâve got her eyes ⊠just donât think too badly of me once youâve seen it âŠâQ7 - What will this memory tell them?
Chapter 23 - HorcruxesâGood gracious, Harry,â said Dumbledore in surprise. âTo what do I owe this very late pleasure?â âSir â Iâve got it. Iâve got the memory from Slughorn.â 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. âHarry, this is spectacular news! Very well done indeed! I knew you could do it!ââWell,â said Slughorn, not looking at Riddle, but fiddling with the ribbon on top of his box of crystallised pineapple, âwell, it canât 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.â âI donât quite understand how that works, though, sir,â said Riddle. His voice was carefully controlled, but Harry could sense his excitement. âWell, you split your soul, you see,â said Slughorn, âand hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if oneâs 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 âŠâQ1 - What do you think of Horcruxes now?
âHow do you split your soul?â âWell,â said Slughorn uncomfortably, âyou must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature.ââYes, sir,â said Riddle. âWhat I donât understand, though â just out of curiosity â I mean, would one Horcrux be much use? Can you only split your soul once? Wouldnât it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces? I mean, for instance, isnât seven the most powerfully magical number, wouldnât seven â?â âMerlinâs beard, Tom!â yelped Slughorn. âSeven! Isnât 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 âŠâQ2 - Do you think Voldemort ripped his soul into seven pieces?
âBut 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: âWouldnât it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces ⊠isnât seven the most powerfully magical number âŠâ Isnât seven the most powerfully magical number. Yes, I think the idea of a seven-part soul would greatly appeal to Lord Voldemort.â âHe made seven Horcruxes?â said Harry, horror-struck, while several of the portraits on the walls made similar noises of shock and outrage. âBut they could be anywhere in the world â hidden â buried or invisible ââ âI am glad to see you appreciate the magnitude of the problem,â said Dumbledore calmly. âBut 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 â the piece that lives in his body.âQ3 - Is Dumbledore right?
âBut the six Horcruxes, then,â said Harry, a little desperately, âhow are we supposed to find them?â âYou are forgetting ⊠you have already destroyed one of them. And I have destroyed another.â âYou have?â said Harry eagerly. âYes indeed,â said Dumbledore, and he raised his blackened, burned-looking hand. âThe ring, Harry. Marvoloâs ring. And a terrible curse there was upon it too. Had it not been â forgive me the lack of seemly modesty â for my own prodigious skill, and for Professor Snapeâs 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 Voldemortâs soul. The ring is no longer a Horcrux.âQ4 - What AND where are the other Horcruxes?
Q5 - Does this make you trust Snape a bit more?
âHe 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?
âYes, I think so,â said Dumbledore. âWithout 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.â âBut I havenât got uncommon skill and power,â said Harry, before he could stop himself. âYes, you have,â said Dumbledore firmly. âYou have a power that Voldemort has never had. You can ââ âI know!â said Harry impatiently. âI can love!â It was only with difficulty that he stopped himself adding, âBig deal!â âYes, Harry, you can love,â said Dumbledore, who looked as though he knew perfectly well what Harry had just refrained from saying. âWhich, 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.âQ7 - 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!â âBut ââ âIt is essential that you understand this!â said Dumbledore, standing up and striding about the room, his glittering robes swooshing in his wake; Harry had never seen him so agitated. âBy 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 Voldemortâs 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 Voldemortâs 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 Voldemortâs followers!âQ8 - 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.âHarry 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. âIâd want him finished,â said Harry quietly. âAnd Iâd want to do it.â âOf course you would!â cried Dumbledore. âYou 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 ââ âThat one of us is going to end up killing the other,â said Harry. âYes.â 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 â and so do I, thought Harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents â 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 isnât Dumbledore just doing this himself? Why is he roping Harry into this whole thing?
âI think Iâm going to take another swig of Felix,â said Harry, âand have a go at the Room of Requirement again.â âThat would be a complete waste of potion,â said Hermione flatly, putting down the copy of Spellmanâs Syllabary she had just taken out of her bag. âLuck 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 isnât enough to get you through a powerful enchantment, though. Donât go wasting the rest of that potion! Youâll need all the luck you can get if Dumbledore takes you along with him âŠâ She dropped her voice to a whisper.Q2 - How do you think Harry is going to use the last of the Felix Felicis?
âNo one can help me,â said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. âI canât do it ⊠I canât ⊠it wonât work ⊠and unless I do it soon ⊠he says heâll kill me âŠâ And Harry realised, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying â actually crying â 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 Malfoyâs ear and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped over as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, âCruciââ âSECTUMSEMPRA!â 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 Harryâs curse had made, muttering an incantation that sounded almost like song. The flow of blood seemed to ease; Snape wiped the residue from Malfoyâs 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 cupboardâs 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 Princeâs 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 statueâs 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 - Whatâs the coolest thing youâve ever just found?
One by one Snape extracted Harryâs books and examined them. Finally the only book left was the Potions book, which he looked at very carefully before speaking. âThis is your copy of Advanced Potion-Making, is it, Potter?â âYes,â said Harry, still breathing hard. âYouâre quite sure of that, are you, Potter?â âYes,â said Harry, with a touch more defiance. âThis is the copy of Advanced Potion-Making that you purchased from Flourish and Blotts?â âYes,â said Harry firmly. âThen why,â asked Snape, âdoes it have the name âRoonil Wazlibâ written inside the front cover?â Harryâs heart missed a beat. âThatâs my nickname,â he said. âYour nickname,â repeated Snape. âYeah ⊠thatâs what my friends call me,â said Harry. âI understand what a nickname is,â said Snape. The cold, black eyes were boring once more into Harryâs; he tried not to look into them. Close your mind ⊠close your mind ⊠but he had never learned how to do it properly ⊠âDo you know what I think, Potter?â said Snape, very quietly. âI 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?â âI â I donât agree, sir,â said Harry, still refusing to look into Snapeâs eyes.Q8 - Hermione reprimands Harry for following the PrinceâŠbut 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 â if they had time â they might discuss the match.Q9 - Love at last?
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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 MalfoyâŠdo you have any other theories or thoughts on that?
âHe accused me of being âDumbledoreâs man through and throughâ.â âHow very rude of him.â âI told him I was.â Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Behind Harry, Fawkes the phoenix let out a low, soft, musical cry. To Harryâs intense embarrassment, he suddenly realized that Dumbledoreâs bright blue eyes looked rather watery, and stared hastily at his own knees. When Dumbledore spoke, however, his voice was quite steady. âI am very touched, Harry.ââSo they still donât know where you go?â asked Harry, hoping for more information on this intriguing subject, but Dumbledore merely smiled over the top of his half-moon spectacles. âNo, they donât, and the time is not quite right for you to know, either. Now, I suggest we press on, unless thereâs anything else â?âQ2 - Where does Dumbledore go?
Dumbledore listened to Harryâs story with an impassive face. When Harry had finished he did not speak for a few moments, then said, âThank 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.â âNot of great importance?â repeated Harry incredulously. âProfessor, did you understand â?â âYes, Harry, blessed as I am with extraordinary brainpower, I understood everything you told me,â said Dumbledore, a little sharply. âI 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.âQ3 - Why doesnât 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 motherâs family â 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.âWe 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 âthe big house over the wayâ. 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 uncleâs mind, laid Morfinâs wand beside its unconscious owner, pocketed the ancient ring he wore and departed.âThey 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 Voldermortâs 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 Slughornâs voice rang out through the mist, unnaturally loudly: ââ youâll go wrong, boy, mark my words.âQ6 - What happened here?
âLook sharp, Tom,â said Slughorn, turning round and finding him still present. âYou donât want to be caught out of bed out of hours, and you a prefect âŠâ âSir, I wanted to ask you something.â âAsk away, then, mâboy, ask away âŠâ âSir, I wondered what you know about ⊠about Horcruxes?â 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 Slughornâs voice boomed out again, just as it had done before. âI donât know anything about Horcruxes and I wouldnât tell you if I did! Now get out of here at once and donât let me catch you mentioning them again!âQ7 - What are Horcruxes?
âAnd 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.âQ8 - What is going on here? Why is this important?
Chapter 18 - Birthday SurprisesQ1 - Do you think Dumbledore doesnât 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 doesnât work, but how do you think Harry will get the memory?
âof the Horcrux, wickedest of magical inventions, we shall not speak nor give directionâQ3 - 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?
âHarry!â said Ron suddenly. âWhat?â âHarry, I canât stand it!â âYou canât stand what?â asked Harry, now starting to feel definitely alarmed. Ron was rather pale and looked as though he was about to be sick. âI canât stop thinking about her!â 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 âLav-Lavâ, 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 TalesâSo, all in all, not one of Ronâs better birthdays?â 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 Ginnyâs 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?
âI dunno, Harry, I shouldnâta heard it at all! I â well, I was cominâ outta the Forest the other eveninâ anâ I overheard âem talkinâ â well, arguinâ. Didnât like ter draw attention to meself, so I sorta skulked anâ tried not ter listen, but it was a â well, a heated discussion, anâ it wasnâ easy ter block it out.â âWell?â Harry urged him, as Hagrid shuffled his enormous feet uneasily. âWell â I jusâ heard Snape sayinâ Dumbledore took too much fer granted anâ maybe he â Snape â didnâ wanâ ter do it any more ââ âDo what?â âI dunno, Harry, it sounded like Snape was feelinâ a bit overworked, thaâs all â anyway, Dumbledore told him flat out heâd agreed ter do it anâ that was all there was to it. Pretty firm with him. Anâ then he said summat abouâ Snape makinâ investigations in his house, in Slytherin. Well, thereâs nothinâ strange abouâ that!â Hagrid added hastily, as Harry and Hermione exchanged looks full of meaning. âAll the Heads oâ House were asked ter look inter that necklace business ââQ3 - What is this conversation about?
Harry added, getting to his feet and picking up his Firebolt, âwill you stop pretending to be asleep when Lavender comes to see you? Sheâs driving me mad as well.â âOh,â said Ron, looking sheepish. âYeah. All right.â âIf you donât want to go out with her any more, just tell her,â said Harry. âYeah ⊠well ⊠itâs not that easy, is it?â said Ron. He paused. âHermione going to look in before the match?â 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 Lunaâs coverage of the match?
âDobby is a free house-elf and he can obey anyone he likes and Dobby will do whatever Harry Potter wants him to do!â 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 Voldemortâs RequestHermione even escorted them down to breakfast, bringing with her the news that Ginny had argued with Dean. The drowsing creature in Harryâs chest suddenly raised its head, sniffing the air hopefully. âWhat did they row about?â 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?
âI see,â 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?
âBut now, Harry,â said Dumbledore, ânow 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. âI wonder whether you know what it is, Tom? Pick it up, have a good look!â 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 Hepzibahâs face, except that her tiny eyes were fixed upon Voldemortâs handsome features. âA badger,â murmured Voldemort, examining the engraving upon the cup. âThen this was âŠ?â âHelga Hufflepuffâs, as you very well know, you clever boy!â said Hepzibah, leaning forwards with a loud creaking of corsets and actually pinching his hollow cheek. âDidnât I tell you I was distantly des- cended? This has been handed down in the family for years and years. Lovely, isnât it? And all sorts of powers itâs supposed to possess, too, but I havenât tested them thoroughly, I just keep it nice and safe in here âŠâQ5 - What power do magical objects possess?
âThatâs right!â said Hepzibah, delighted, apparently, at the sight of Voldemort gazing at her locket, transfixed. âI had to pay an arm and a leg for it, but I couldnât 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 ââ There was no mistaking it this time: Voldemortâs eyes flashed scarlet at her words and Harry saw his knuckles whiten on the locketâs chain.âTime to leave, Harry,â 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 Dumbledoreâs office. âHepzibah Smith died two days after that little scene,â said Dumbledore, resuming his seat and indicating that Harry should do the same. âHokey the house-elf was convicted by the Ministry of poisoning her mistressâs evening cocoa by accident.âQ6 - Why is he collecting these objects?
Q7 - Is there anything else in the Hepzibah memory that seems odd to you?
âSo, Tom ⊠to what do I owe the pleasure?â Voldemort did not answer at once, but merely sipped his wine. âThey do not call me âTomâ any more,â he said. âThese days, I am known as ââ âI know what you are known as,â said Dumbledore, smiling pleasantly. âBut to me, Iâm 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 chargesâ youthful beginnings.âQ8 - 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.â Dumbledore considered Voldemort over the top of his own goblet for a while before speaking. âYes, I certainly do know that you have seen and done much since leaving us,â he said quietly. âRumors of your doings have reached your old school, Tom. I should be sorry to believe half of them.â Voldemortâs expression remained impassive as he said, âGreatness inspires envy, envy engenders spite, spite spawns lies. You must know this, Dumbledore.â âYou call it âgreatnessâ, what you have been doing, do you?â asked Dumbledore delicately. âCertainly,â said Voldemort, and his eyes seemed to burn red. âI have experimented; I have pushed the boundaries of magic further, perhaps, than they have ever been pushed ââ âOf some kinds of magic,â Dumbledore corrected him quietly. âOf some. Of others, you remain ⊠forgive me ⊠woefully ignorant.âQ9 - What is he talking about here?
Q10 - What is the magical power of love?
âI am surprised you have remained here so long,â said Voldemort after a short pause. âI always wondered why a wizard such as yourself never wished to leave school.âQ11 - Does Tom have a pointâŠwhy 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. â⊠let us speak openly. Why have you come here tonight, surrounded by henchmen, to request a job we both know you do not want?â Voldemort looked coldly surprised. âA job I do not want? On the contrary, Dumbledore, I want it very much.â âOh, 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 youâre after, Tom? Why not try an open request for once?âQ12 - What is he coming back to the school for?
âThe 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 âŠâQ13 - What do you think of this memory?
-
Chapter 13 - The Secret RiddleâAh,â said Dumbledore, âperhaps she could. But it is my belief â I am guessing again, but I am sure I am right â 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.ââShe wouldnât even stay alive for her son?â Dumbledore raised his eyebrows. âCould you possibly be feeling sorry for Lord Voldemort?â âNo,â said Harry quickly, âbut she had a choice, didnât she, not like my mother ââ âYour mother had a choice, too,â said Dumbledore gently. âYes, 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 motherâs courage. And now, if you will stand âŠâ
Q1 - What does Dumbledore mean that Lily had a choice?
Q2 - It mentions that Dumbledoreâs hair was AuburnâŠis he a Weasley?
And then ââ Mrs Cole took another swig of gin, slopping a little over her chin this time, âon the summer outing â we take them out, you know, once a year, to the countryside or to the seaside â well, Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop were never quite right afterwards, and all we ever got out of them was that theyâd gone into a cave with Tom Riddle. He swore theyâd just gone exploring, but something happened in there, Iâm sure of it. And, well, there have been a lot of things, funny things âŠâQ3 - Should Dumbledore have denied entrance for Tom knowing these things?
âI donât believe you,â said Riddle. âShe wants me looked at, doesnât she? Tell the truth!â 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.âI 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.âQ4 - Is it alarming that he is this advanced in magic already?
âI knew I was different,â he whispered to his own quivering fingers. âI knew I was special. Always, I knew there was something.âQ5 - What do you think of Tom and Dumbledoreâs interaction?
âHe believed it much quicker than I did â I mean, when you told him he was a wizard,â said Harry. âI didnât believe Hagrid at first, when he told me.âQ6 - Whatâs the difference in Harry and Tom?
âDid you know â then?â asked Harry. âDid I know that I had just met the most dangerous Dark wizard of all time?â said Dumbledore. âNo, 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 othersâ sake as much as his.âFirstly, I hope you noticed Riddleâs reaction when I mentioned that another shared his first name, âTomâ?â Harry nodded. âThere 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 âLord Voldemortâ behind which he has been hidden for so long.âI 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 oneâAnd lastly â I hope you are not too sleepy to pay attention to this, Harry â 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 FelicisâBut I still donât get why Dumbledoreâs showing you all this. I mean, itâs really interesting and everything, but whatâs the point?â âDunno,â said Harry, inserting a gum shield. âBut he says itâs all important and itâll help me survive.âQ1 - Why is Dumbledore showing him all this?
ââSlug Clubâ,â repeated Ron with a sneer worthy of Malfoy. âItâs pathetic. Well, I hope you enjoy your party. Why donât you try getting off with McLaggen, then Slughorn can make you King and Queen Slug ââ âWeâre allowed to bring guests,â said Hermione, who for some reason had turned a bright, boiling scarlet, âand I was going to ask you to come, but if you think itâs that stupid then I wonât bother!âQ2 - 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 Harryâs 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?
âYou go!â said Ginny. âI want a word with my dear brother!â Dean left, looking as though he was not sorry to depart the scene. âRight,â said Ginny, tossing her long red hair out of her face and glaring at Ron, âletâs 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 ââ âYeah, it is!â said Ron, just as angrily. âDâyou think I want people saying my sisterâs a ââ âA what?â shouted Ginny, drawing her wand. âA what, exactly?â âHe doesnât mean anything, Ginny ââ said Harry automatically, though the monster was roaring its approval of Ronâs words.Q5 - What was Ron going to call her?
âBeen kissing Pigwidgeon, have you? Or have you got a picture of Auntie Muriel stashed under your pillow?âQ6 - Is Ginny a savage?
They hurried up the stairs and along a seventh-floor corridor. âOi, out of the way!â 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. Itâs just because sheâs Ronâs sister, he told himself. You just didnât like seeing her kissing Dean because sheâs Ronâs sister âŠQ7 - 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?
âI didnât put it in!â 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. âI wanted Ron to think Iâd done it, so I faked it when I knew you were looking.â He looked at Ron. âYou saved everything because you felt lucky. You did it all yourself.âQ9 - Is Liquid Luck a placebo?
Q10 - Whatâs 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.âShe canât complain,â he told Harry. âShe snogged Krum. So sheâs found out someone wants to snog me, too. Well, itâs a free country. I havenât done anything wrong.ââI never promised Hermione anything,â Ron mumbled. âI mean, all right, I was going to go to Slughornâs Christmas party with her, but she never said ⊠just as friends ⊠Iâm a free agent âŠâQ1 - What will the outcome of this be between the two?
âThere isnât anyone I want to invite,â 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 - Whatâs your favorite prom/dance story?
Q4 - Hermione mentions that love potions arenât darkâŠis she right?
âThe library is now closed,â she said. âMind you return anything you have borrowed to the correct â what have you been doing to that book, you depraved boy?â âIt isnât the libraryâs, itâs mine!â said Harry hastily, snatching his copy of Advanced Potion-Making off the table as she lunged at it with a clawlike hand. âDespoiled!â she hissed. âDesecrated! Befouled!â âItâs just a book thatâs been written in!â 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?
âSheâs a bit upset,â said Luna. âI thought at first it was Moaning Myrtle in there, but it turned out to be Hermione. She said something about that Ron Weasley âŠâ âYeah, theyâve had a row,â said Harry. âHe says very funny things sometimes, doesnât he?â said Luna, as they set off down the corridor together. âBut he can be a bit unkind. I noticed that last year.âQ7 - Is Ron unkind?
âHi, Harry,â said Parvati who, like him, looked faintly embarrassed and bored by the behavior of their two friends. âHi,â said Harry. âHowâre you? Youâre staying at Hogwarts, then? I heard your parents wanted you to leave.â âI managed to talk them out of it for the time being,â said Parvati. âThat Katie thing really freaked them out, but as there hasnât been anything since ⊠oh, hi, Hermione!âQ8 - Letâs rehash what has happened at HogwartsâŠ
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 Slughornâs parties good parties?
Q12 - Should Harry have a biography written about him?
âHarry Potter!â said Professor Trelawney in deep, vibrant tones, noticing him for the first time. âOh, hello,â said Harry unenthusiastically. âMy dear boy!â she said in a very carrying whisper. âThe 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!âQ13 - Should Harry have taken divination this year?
âRemind me what other subjects youâre taking, Harry?â asked Slughorn. âDefense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology âŠâ âAll the subjects required, in short, for an Auror,â said Snape, with the faintest sneer. âYeah, well, thatâs what Iâd like to be,â said Harry defiantly. âAnd a great one youâll make, too!â boomed Slughorn. âI donât think you should be an Auror, Harry,â said Luna unexpectedly. Everybody looked at her. âThe Aurors are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy, I thought everyone knew that. Theyâre working from within to bring down the Ministry of Magic using a combination of Dark magic and gum disease.âFilchâs 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?
âWho suspects me?â said Malfoy angrily. âFor the last time, I didnât do it, OK? That Bell girl mustâve had an enemy no one knows about â donât look at me like that! I know what youâre doing, Iâm not stupid, but it wonât work â I can stop you!â There was a pause and then Snape said quietly, âAh ⊠Aunt Bellatrix has been teaching you Occlumency, I see. What thoughts are you trying to conceal from your master, Draco?âQ15 - Is it shocking to know that Draco has learned Occlumency?
Q16 - Who is his master?
âLooks like youâll have to break it, then, because I donât need your protection! Itâs my job, he gave it to me and Iâm doing it. Iâve got a plan and itâs going to work, itâs just taking a bit longer than I thought it would!âQ17 - What is going on?
Chapter 16 - A Very Frosty ChristmasâAn Unbreakable Vow?â said Ron, looking stunned. âNah, he canât have ⊠are you sure?â âYes, Iâm sure,â said Harry. âWhy, what does it mean?â âWell, you canât break an Unbreakable Vow âŠâ âIâd worked that much out for myself, funnily enough. What happens if you break it, then?â âYou die,â said Ron simply. âFred 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,â said Ron, with a reminiscent gleam in his eyes. âOnly time Iâve ever seen Dad as angry as Mum. Fred reckons his left buttock has never been the same since.âQ1 - Thoughts on Fred and George wooing muggle women with magic tricks?
There was silence for a moment or two, then Ron said, âCourse, you know what theyâll all say? Dad and Dumbledore and all of them? Theyâll say Snape isnât really trying to help Malfoy, he was just trying to find out what Malfoyâs up to.â âThey didnât hear him,â said Harry flatly. âNo oneâs that good an actor, not even Snape.â âYeah ⊠Iâm just saying, though,â said Ron. Harry turned to face him, frowning. âYou think Iâm right, though?â âYeah, I do!â said Ron hastily. âSeriously, I do! But theyâre all convinced Snapeâs in the Order, arenât they?âQ2 - Do we trust Snape?
âYou are determined to hate him, Harry,â said Lupin with a faint smile. âAnd 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 Lupinâs 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 witchâs 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? âTonksâs Patronus has changed its form,â he told him. âSnape said so, anyway. I didnât know that could happen. Why would your Patronus change?â Lupin took his time chewing his turkey and swallowing before saying slowly, âSometimes ⊠a great shock ⊠an emotional upheaval âŠâ âIt looked big, and it had four legs,â said Harry, struck by a sudden thought and lowering his voice. âHey ⊠it couldnât be â?âQ6 - What was Tonkâs new patronus form?
Q7 - What do you think of Scrimgeor and his proposal?
Q8 - HOW is Umbridge still working at the ministry?
âI donât want to be used,â said Harry. âSome would say itâs your duty to be used by the Ministry!âYou donât care whether I live or die, but you do care that I help you convince everyone youâre winning the war against Voldemort. I havenât forgotten, Minister âŠâ 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?
âWell, it is clear to me that he has done a very good job on you,â said Scrimgeour, his eyes cold and hard behind his wire-rimmed glasses. âDumbledoreâs man through and through, arenât you, Potter?â âYeah, I am,â said Harry. âGlad we straightened that out.â -
Chapter 9 - The Half-Blood PrinceHermioneâs remonstration was drowned by a loud giggle; Lavender Brown had apparently found Ronâs 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?
âHumph,â snorted Professor McGonagall. âItâs high time your grandmother learned to be proud of the grandson sheâs got, rather than the one she thinks she ought to have â particularly after what happened at the Ministry.âQ2 - 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. âThe Dark Arts,â said Snape, âare 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.â 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. âDo you remember me telling you we are practicing non-verbal spells, Potter?â âYes,â said Harry stiffly. âYes sir.â âThereâs no need to call me âsirâ, Professor.âQ4 - 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 potionâs 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?
Itâs supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us, and I can smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and ââ But she turned slightly pink and did not complete the sentence.Q6 - What is the last smell Hermione smells?
âNo, I donât think so, sir. Iâm Muggle-born, you see.â 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. âOho! âOne of my best friends is Muggle-born and sheâs the best in our year!â Iâm assuming this is the very friend of whom you spoke, Harry?â âYes, sir,â said Harry. âWell, well, take twenty well-earned points for Gryffindor, Miss Granger,â said Slughorn genially.Q7 - Is Slughorn growing on you?
âAmortentia doesnât 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 â oh yes,â he said, nodding gravely at Malfoy and Nott, both of whom were smirking skeptically. âWhen you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love âŠQ8 - 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?
âThe clear winner!â he cried to the dungeon. âExcellent, excellent, Harry! Good Lord, itâs clear youâve inherited your motherâs talent, she was a dab hand at Potions, Lily was! Here you are, then, here you are â one bottle of Felix Felicis, as promised, and use it well!âNobody 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?
âWell, 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.âQ3 - Jenn, did your heart rate go up here?
âI 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.âQ4 - 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 brotherâs, 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 Riddleâs origin story?
âSir ⊠is it important to know all this about Voldemortâs past?â âVery important, I think,â said Dumbledore. âAnd it ⊠itâs got something to do with the prophecy?â âIt has everything to do with the prophecy.âQ8 - Why is this important?
Q9 - What is the ring and what happened to Dumbledoreâs hand?
Chapter 11 - Hermioneâs 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.âWeâve got to go and explain,â said Hermione, looking up at Hagridâs huge empty chair at the staff table the following Saturday at breakfast. âWeâve got Quidditch tryouts this morning!â said Ron. âAnd weâre supposed to be practicing that Aguamenti charm for Flitwick! Anyway, explain what? How are we going to tell him we hated his stupid subject?âQ1 - What is the Aguamenti charm?
Q2 - Is Hagrid childish for this?
âOh, come on, Harry,â said Hermione, suddenly impatient. âItâs not Quidditch thatâs popular, itâs you! Youâve never been more interesting and, frankly, youâve never been more fanciable.â 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 writeâŠwhy doesnât Lupin write?
Q5 - Do you think Stan Shunpike is a Death Eater?
âPeople are terrified â you know the Patil twinsâ parents want them to go home? And Eloise Midgeon has already been withdrawn. Her father picked her up last night.âQ6 - If you had kids, would you take them out of Hogwarts?
Q7 - Dumbledore is gone missing a lotâŠwhat is he doing?
Q8 - How do you think this years Gryffindor quidditch team looks?
Q9 - What do you think about Hermione confounding Cormac?
âBut how can he have done, Harry?â said Hermione, putting down the newspaper with a surprised look. âWe were all searched when we arrived, werenât we?â âWere you?â said Harry, taken aback. âI wasnât!â âOh no, of course you werenât, 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 canât have brought in anything dangerous!âQ10 - What was this Shrunken head? And did Malfoy sneak anything in?
Q11 - Whatâs the best party youâve 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 heâs 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. âHarry!â squealed Hermione. âYou took that from Siriusâs house,â said Harry, who was almost nose-to-nose with Mundungus and was breathing in an unpleasant smell of old tobacco and spirits. âThat had the Black family crest on it.âQ6 - 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 Katieâs ankles, trying to tug her back to the ground. Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed forwards to help, but even as they grabbed Katieâs 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 - Whatâs the worst amount of pain youâve 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?
- Se mer