Voldemort has a meeting with the Death Eaters discussing Harry Potter, of course. Snape seems to be sure of the information he's conveying about the plans of the Order though another wizard says otherwise. Voldemort trusts Snape. At that meeting, he kills a professor at Hogwarts because she sympathizes with mudbloods. Then, we get to see how Harry is doing. He reads the Daily Prophet which only fills him with more anger and frustration. Rita Skeeter has written the biography of Dumbledore, and there's an interview with her. It's full of lies, even mentioning the relationship between Harry and Dumbledore. No doubt, this upsets Harry and makes him wish he had more time with him.
Plans have been made to move the Dursleys to a safer place. As they leave, rather reluctantly, something very surprising takes place. Duddley is worried about Harry and declares that he doesn't think him 'a waste of space.' This was probably the nicest thing he's ever said to Harry, so it takes you off your guard. There's actually some sense in him.
When the Order comes to move Harry to a safer place, you feel his relief at seeing his bestfriends Ron and Heromine. He must leave because the house is no longer safe for him and as he turns 17, the protective charm bestowed on him by his mother will wear off and he'll be vulnerable to Voldemort. As he begins to understand the plan, it dawns on him how they're risking their lives for his sake. He tries to argue, but it all goes against his will. Six others will drink a polyjuice potion to look exactly like Harry so they can move him safely with the least danger to his life. Death Eaters know of their plan to move Harry that night, yet they are baffled when they see 7 of him flying. The fight kills Hedwig and Mad-Eye. As they get back to the burrow, their spirits are down knowing someone betrayed them and they have no idea who. Harry feels as guilty as he's ever felt in his life.I thought this was far darker than the other parts, understandably so, of course. There's so much going on in only 5 chapters. You feel sorry for Harry, facing what he has to face, and knowing that people are sacrificing their lives for him. J. K. Rowling is excellent with making you feel you're a part of the Harry Potter world, recognizing so many characters, keeping up with what's going on and feeling the intensity of some moments can only make you enjoy Harry Potter more. I loved how she put a somewhat proper closure for Harry's relationship with the Dursley's. I loved it when Dudley showed some gratitude to Harry, who needed something like this at the hard time he's been going through. All of the seriousness is so wonderfully lifted for a moment, when George having just lost an ear says "Saint-like.... you see, I'm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?" Don't you simply think their humor is the best?!
When Ron said "Always the tone of surprise." to Heromine, because she was surprised when Tonks told her what he did in the fight, weren't you sad for him knowing that she didn't mean it that way?! I love the relationship they have, and it's been wonderful being able to follow through with it.
1. Did you feel sorry for Draco? He's been awful to Harry, true. But did he deserve to be in the middle of the Death Eaters like this?
2. Harry thought he saw Dumbledore's eye in the mirror. Do you think he actually did? Or did he imagine it, having just read the awful interview in the Daily Prophet about the new biography about Dumbledore?
3. Aunt Petunia wanted to say something to Harry, what could it have been? What could she possibly say to him, after all the treatment he got from them? Why didn't she say anything?
4. Was Lupin justified in being rather disappointed that Harry wouldn't kill Stan, instead made it easier for the Death Eaters able to recognize him thus putting him in even more danger? Or was Harry justified with what he did?
Review and questions by Noor.
________________________
Update: (9.50 PM) Our first discussion was great, thanks to all of you who made it and contributed with us. For those who missed it, you could answer the questions or add your own comments whenever you want. This post will be up here and we'll be checking it back to answer your questions.
First off, wonderful review! Couldn't have said it any better. I'll answer the questions shortly.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I liked about these 5 chapters is that they're action-packed from the first line of chapter 1 itself. It leaves you excited throughout, did you guys notice that?
ReplyDeleteYes, exactly. That's how it's different, you feel tense throughout the 5 chapters, everything happens so quickly.
ReplyDeleteThat's Rowling's way of telling you it's the last book, even the start isn't slow-paced.
Great review, i'll answer the questions soon too, got a few errands to run
ReplyDeleteDraco definitely was out of place.. I think it's just sad what he have been through ever since The Half-Blood Prince but then again, once you're under Voldemort's threat, you just can't get away.
ReplyDeleteYes, me too. I mean, he's mean but he doesn't deserve this. His meanness is sort of understood looking at the type of family he's been born into.
ReplyDeleteHe just becomes a different person, you feel his lack of will, how he's scared most of the time, how he's been forced into something he doesn't believe in.
wow couldnt write it better :D ! will answer the q's in shortly =D
ReplyDeleteI do feel slightly bad, but it's his fault, even though he's a kid I think he was too ambitious and too silly which is why he got himself into that position to start off with. Now that reality is facing him, like his parents he's scared...
ReplyDelete@cK thank you so much =)
ReplyDelete@redirection How is it his fault? please elaborate.
Noor: My point exaclty.
ReplyDeleteTalking of the same scene here: the death of Professor Burbage and that's just goes out without saying how Voldemort hates Mudbloods and wants purebloods to be alive.
Redirection: He did get himself into this but the relationship his parents have with the Dark Side kinda explains why he's in it to begin with.
Going on onto the second question: Harry misses Dumbeldore, that's for sure, I think it was because of the article that he imagined his eyes. I loved the way Rowling said it at the end of chapter 2: "If anything was certain, it was that the bright blue eyes of Albus Dumbeldore would never pierce him again".
It was sad. But did the article about Rita Skeeter's book change the impression you had about Dumbeldore?
Kitten:
ReplyDeleteYes, I loved how she ended it too. I just felt so sad for Harry. Dumbledore was there for him, whatever happened he knew he could count on him, that Dumbledore would be the one to understand.
Of course, it didn't change what I thought of Dumbledore. The image I have of him, that's ben building up all the while that I've been reading Harry Potter couldn't be possibly shaken. I hate that Skeeter ever since the 4th book. She's a pain! I hated how bad it made Harry feel.
Noor: Skeeter's pure evil. I'm just glad that we haven't seen much of her like we did in The Goblet of Fire.
ReplyDeleteDo you think Dumbeldore ought to have told Harry all those things about his family?
I certainly did. I sort of felt what Harry did knowing that for all these years they'd been together he didn't mention anything about his family. Then again, Harry didn't ask. Nor did we, really.
Hmm, it could be possible he saw Dumbledore's eyes, they had a close relationship and it's sad too.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say the article changed the way I think about him, just made me more aware of his motives and such. Also it made Harry realise more things about Dumbleldore and makes him think more into what Harry should do in order to fulfill his goal
Answering the 3rd question: I felt that Aunt Petunia wanted to say something..but she was afraid of getting too emotional. Maybe she'd wanted to say something about Harry's mom but her hate (or fear) towards the Wizarding World stopped her from that.
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say that I've always wished if both of them would get the chance to have a heart-to-heart talk considering the fact that she was the closest relative to him than anyone else.
Ok I took my time answering, never realized it'd be hard answering these questions without giving out spoilers.
ReplyDelete1. Did you feel sorry for Draco? He's been awful to Harry, true. But did he deserve to be in the middle of the Death Eaters like this?
No, it was not his choice to be there. If he had a choice he'd have backed out. Remember how in the Half-Blood Prince, after disarming Dumbledore he did not kill him immediately, he took his time explaining what he did, lowering his wand when he had many chance in killing him. He may have been mean to Harry, but he wasn't THAT bad.
Kitten: I don't really think he should have. I mean, why did Harry need to know this? It certainly never came up with their discussions, and it's not like they discussed personal matters a lot. And what would it have changed?
ReplyDeleteThese things, for Dumbledore, happened ages ago. He probably put them behind him, so I believe it wouldn't have mattered. Plus, Dumbledore had an image, you know? What did we know about his personal life? Not much, and that added all the more to his character.
I hardly paid attention to the "evil" family of his, but as a motherly type person(related to him somehow) she showed signs of caring towards him.
ReplyDelete2. Harry thought he saw Dumbledore's eye in the mirror. Do you think he actually did? Or did he imagine it, having just read the awful interview in the Daily Prophet about the new biography about Dumbledore?
ReplyDeleteWell, he must have imagined it. Or how could he see a dead man's eye in the mirror, who happened to be Dumbledore, the man he (Harry) had seen fall from the highest tower.
3. Aunt Petunia wanted to say something to Harry, what could it have been? What could she possibly say to him, after all the treatment he got from them? Why didn't she say anything?
Apologize that she didn't raise him as if he were her own son, didn't take care of him as she should have? Or maybe admit that Harry is not 'a waste of space'?
Kitten: I would have loved that too, but honestly these people are so mean they never even thought of what Harry felt when they treated him bad. Whatever she had to say wouldn't have done anything, it wouldn't have meant anything. Words carry no meaning when all someone's done to you was treating you awfully.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely have no idea what she'd say to him actually.
@Ateka I totally agree. He couldn't even kill him at the end, but the fear of what Voldemort might do to his family or to him, would have been too much for anyone. And Draco isn't the bravest.
Random question: Did you feel fearless when you said Voldemort back then? For me, years ago when I read it and said Voldemort I felt that I was among the brave in Harry Potter. :P
Ateka: Welcome in. Thanks for bringing back Dumbeldore's death scene. It made things very clear, you knew that Draco just had to do it because he feared about his life and his parent's.
ReplyDeleteNoor: Agreed, it wouldn't have mattered. Though when I read about his past now, I wish if we'd known the true story so just like Harry, we wouldn't believe any false accusations.
@Ateka yes that could have been what she had to say to him, he needed some sort of motherly affection, and she had it. They practically idolized Dudley! Why couldn't they at least treat him as a human being?
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad Harry knew Mrs. Weasley who's an absolute sweetheart.
I always said Voldemort because back then I didn't understand why people were so afraid of him.
ReplyDeleteNoor: I think this is more near to what Aunt Petunia wanted to say, too bad its not in the book and deleted from the movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhS9Z13Gyac
ReplyDeleteKitten: That's true. It would have been so interesting even, but for some reason Rowling held back and didn't share it. We could have even understood Dumbledore better.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: What did you guys think about the 'Seven Potters' plan? Do you think it was effective?
ReplyDeleteAteka oh I haven't seen that bit before, it'd have been nice for Harry to know that Petunia actually missed her sister, and didn't think of her as a disgrace.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for sharing it :D
Kitten: It sure bought them more time, confused the Death Eaters and Voldemort as well none of them expected that there would be 7 Potters instead of one. If Harry was flying with the rest of the Order members circling around him, he may not have survived that night.
ReplyDeleteKitten: Yeah I did, I loved that part in the movie. It was just hilarious!!!
ReplyDeleteIn the book however, how Fred and George joked. "We're identical", that was really funny too! And it worked to baffle the death eaters, but I suppose every plan has a flaw, and that was the fact that they couldn't act like Harry. He casted that spell and they instantly knew him.
Noor: Thanks, too bad its always the best scenes that get deleted from the movies -.-
ReplyDeleteAs a dude I really enjoyed the "7 potters" part, I liked how it was intense although I had a feeling it would go down like that... It's just sad when characters go!
ReplyDeleteWhat would it be for instance if there are seven replicas of you! :P
ReplyDeleteLet's get down to the deaths that happened in these 5 chapters: Which is worse, Hedwing going away or good ol' Moody?
Definitely Hedwing! I felt a lump in my throat, it made me sad, also since I've been reading HP since the start I felt related to the characters. Unlike when Moody died, he died a hero really, but seriously... How does J.K. pick which characters to kill... "Oh, everyone likes this characters...DIE"! HMPH!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I'm mean but Hedwig was more sad because I didn't expect it. She was Harry's companion throughout. She was there for him when no one was there.
ReplyDeleteMad-Eye Moody was bracing himself for it, so it was of course sad that he died. I'm sure that made Harry felt awful thinking he was the reason behind it!
As kitten said , these chapters were one of the best starters in the series, action packed and a turn of events at once, you mostly see that the end
ReplyDelete1. Did you feel sorry for Draco? He's been awful to Harry, true. But did he deserve to be in the middle of the Death Eaters like this?
yup i did a bit because at the end it wasn't his choice to be there, he couldn't even kill Dumbledore adn if he refused to co-op he'd be killed
2. Harry thought he saw Dumbledore's eye in the mirror. Do you think he actually did? Or did he imagine it, having just read the awful interview in the Daily Prophet about the new biography about Dumbledore?
its mostly because he missed him, he was the one that helps him whenever he is stuck or in need, now when he is/was he realized how meaningful he meant to him
3. Aunt Petunia wanted to say something to Harry, what could it have been? What could she possibly say to him, after all the treatment he got from them? Why didn't she say anything?
I really thought she would say something xD i think it would be ( take care or , i love you ) something that shows affection, maybe pride stopped her? i never understood her
Moody's death was sadder he always wanted the best for harry and his friends and he was a v.skilled wizard
ReplyDelete@redirection hahahahaha, yeah that's true. She's making it more real I suppose, but it's about magic for crying out loud :P
ReplyDeleteCouldn't agree more with you Redirection, too many deaths to come as well. Ugh!
ReplyDeleteI didn't believe that Hedwig died the first time I read it. I had to go back to check if I've missed something.. It just doesn't feel real. He was with Harry since The Philosopher's Stone, such a shame that he died.
Same thing with Moody, he's too tough and to fall off just like that was saddening.
Kitten: I'd say Hedwig. She was Harry's only link to the magical world when he was stuck at the Dursley's.
ReplyDelete@cK I don't think Aunt Petunia would have said 'I love you' because he wouldn't have believed it, and it's just wrong coming from her. But you're right, something affectionate definitely.
ReplyDeleteDo you wish the Dursleys took more trouble knowing more about Harry's world? They'd have been not only proud of him, but at least would have been able to understand him better.
Kitten: Hedwig is a he? I always took him for a she! (Random I know)
ReplyDeleteNoor It's a she. A typo, my bad!
ReplyDeleteAt the fifth chapter "Fallen Warrior", Harry says to Lupin:
ReplyDelete"I won't blast people out of my way just because they're there," said Harry. "That's Voldemort's job".
He said it because he was angry that they're going through this in order to save his life. Do you think he should just go alone? To prevent more harm and deaths? (Keeping the fact that you already know what's going to happen next)
Being muggles i doubt they will be interested if they knew anything about him, they are selfish enough to think about themselves first then harry
ReplyDeletei liked how Rowling made it in Hagrid taking Harry away from there for the last time,as he is the same person who took him away to Hogwarts in his first year
@kitten no, i think this was the best plan, 7 copies was a great tactic, Mundungus was the only bad seed in it
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't. It's not just about him, people will be affected too once Voldemort kills Harry, it'll be the beginning of the end for many of them.
ReplyDeleteHe sees it this way because it's hard for him to think reasonably, so he believes he's the reason they're dying when in fact, all the trouble people are going through isn't just to save Harry, it's to save themselves too from Voldemort and what he might do once he regains power.
I think I'll stop for now, I really had a great time discussing with all of you so thanks!
Talk to you again once we're done with the next 5 chapters.
Rock on! =)
and as for the last question..
ReplyDelete4. Was Lupin justified in being rather disappointed that Harry wouldn't kill Stan, instead made it easier for the Death Eaters able to recognize him thus putting him in even more danger? Or was Harry justified with what he did?
I think Harry was right in what he did, Lupin was overreacting after being ambushed by the Death Eaters and almost killed.
cK: I didn't notice the link of Hagrid being the one who brought and took Harry from Number 4, Privet Drive, thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteNoor: It's been great having you here :)
Ateka: Lupin was sure overreacting. The death of his friend Moody must have been such a shock which is understandable.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is with the confusion, it's hard to stay focused, feelings tend to take over and that's probably what's happening to the pack.
ReplyDeleteHere are my points:
ReplyDelete-Darco is pathetic! He has no personality and just like his father wanting to be superior than the others. He is definitely out of place.
-Dumbledore's eye in the mirror has a secret that I expect to reveal sooner or later. I think it's strange to know about his history after many parts. But I couldn't stand the writer for some reason. I believe half of her book is lies.
-It was a cold goodbye I think. His aunt though, was reluctant for some reason. I belive it has to do with her sister (Harry's mom)
-The seven Potters was exiting. Mad-eyes death was expected to me, and the come back of the visions reveals more problems.
Well..In some ways yes I do feel bad for him, but in other ways no I don't. I mean, he has grown up around so many death eaters. He knows better then anyone else what he has to do. No action is done without a reaction. So, virtually he put himself to his own downfall. There is nothing really to feel bad about. Its simply his own fault. He made the decision to be apart of the situation and well he got what he deserved in the end.
ReplyDeleteI won't argue that he didn't see anything, because as we know from the previous book that piece of the mirror is actually one of two mirrors are used to connect with people who have that similar mirror, so he definitely saw someone but who I don't know. I don't think it was Dumbledore, how could it be he's dead! I guess we have to wait to see who it was really..
I think she wanted to reach out to him, after all she is a mother too, maybe once in the 17 years she had lived with him she finally started having some affection towards her sisters son.She thought it better not to say anything; how do explain 17 years of hatred towards your sisters son in a matter of seconds..