Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Deathly Hallows/Chapter 15
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Chapter 15 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The Goblin's Revenge
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[edit] Synopsis
Before Ron and Hermione wake, Harry buries Moody's magical eye under a tree. They then shift camp to a small market town, but Harry is unable to enter because Dementors are there. Ron is amazed; normally, Harry produces an excellent Patronus, but he now seems incapable. It occurs to Hermione that he may be affected by the Horcrux. He immediately feels better when she takes it from him, but believes he was not possessed by it because he remembers everything he did; he overrules Hermione's suggestion that they not wear the Locket: if it is stored in the tent and the tent is lost, then what? Hermione reluctantly agrees, but suggests taking turns wearing it and puts it around her own neck.
They wander the countryside, camping in a new location each night. Harry, Ron, and Hermione endlessly debate where the other Horcruxes could be. Harry is adamant that one is at Hogwarts, that being the only place Tom Riddle ever considered home. Ron thinks Dumbledore would have found it by now, but Harry reminds him that Dumbledore never claimed to know every Hogwarts secret. They find the orphanage in London where Tom Riddle lived, but it has been demolished and replaced by offices. Hermione wants to root around in the foundations, but the others veto her suggestion.
They continue traveling throughout the country. Ron, used to three hot meals a day, is steadily becoming annoyed with Hermione's cooking attempts. One night, as he complains about the fish Hermione has served, Harry hushes them both—he hears someone. Hermione silently deals out Extendable Ears, and a group Summoning and preparing salmon can be heard. The party is Ted Tonks, the goblin Griphook, and his compatriot, Gornuk. Also nearby is Dean Thomas and someone named Dirk, who was being transported to Azkaban but overpowered the Auror guard, Dawlish. Dirk relates a tale from Griphook, who heard it from Bill Weasley. Apparently, several Hogwarts students, including Ginny, sneaked into Snape's office and broke into the glass case containing the Sword of Gryffindor. They were caught and given detention. About a week later, Snape transferred the sword to the Lestranges' Gringotts vault. But Griphook immediately recognized the sword was a fake—an excellent copy, but Wizard-made, and lacking certain Goblin properties. As an afterthought, it is mentioned that the students had been "cruelly punished." We also learn that the group believes Harry was telling the truth about Snape killing Dumbledore, and if anyone wants to know what is really happening, they should read The Quibbler. Lately, Xeno Lovegood has been publishing truthful stories, without mentioning Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.
Shortly after, the party moves off, and Hermione pulls Phineas Nigellus' portrait from the bag to summon him. When he appears, Hermione blindfolds him so he is unable to report their location. Phineas updates them about Ginny, Neville, and Luna, whose punishment was their being sent to work in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid. Hermione asks if the sword had previously been removed from its case, perhaps for cleaning. Phineas retorts that Goblin armor rejects ordinary dirt, accepting only that which will make it stronger. Harry wants Dumbledore to be brought from his office portrait, but former Headmasters can only travel to their own portraits outside Hogwarts and to other portraits within the castle, but nowhere else. Phineas, however, tells Hermione that Dumbledore had used the sword to break open a ring.
Excited, Harry and Hermione realize that the sword absorbed Basilisk venom when Harry killed the Basilisk with it. Now it can destroy Horcruxes, but they have reached a "dead end" determining where the real sword is located. After some guessing and discussion, Harry asks Ron for his opinion, but Ron appears unenthusiastic and agitated, and accuses Harry of not knowing what he is doing. After a heated argument, Ron nearly attacks Harry, but Hermione casts a shield charm to block him. Ron removes the locket, tosses it down, and threatens to leave; when Hermione says she is staying, Ron accuses her of siding with Harry and storms off into the night, Disapparating before Hermione can stop him.
[edit] Analysis
This chapter is critical in that it not only reveals that Dumbledore destroyed the ring Horcrux, but that there is an additional way to use Basilisk venom to eliminate Horcruxes. Until this point, the only known venom source is the Basilisk fangs in the Chamber of Secrets underneath Hogwarts. Now, the Sword of Gryffindor, which absorbed the Basilisk venom, can be used to destroy Horcruxes. While a Basilisk fang or Gryffindor's Sword is needed to dispatch Horcruxes, the sword that was in Snape's office and is now secured in a vault at Gringotts Bank is only a replica and will not do the job. The question becomes, where is the real Sword of Gryffindor?
Meanwhile, the mission suffers a severe blow by Ron's abrupt departure, which was motivated by several factors. Of the Trio, he is the last to reach adulthood, and, still clinging to his rather childish behavior, is unable to make the commitment and sacrifices needed to pursue such a difficult quest. Less independent and self-sufficient than the other two, Ron is used to creature comforts, regular meals, and being mollycoddled by his mother, and is usually content to tag along after his older brothers and allow Harry and Hermione to take the lead. Ron has also deluded himself somewhat as to what Harry's mission actually entailed and seems to have forgotten that Harry strongly discouraged him from accompanying him. Injury, frustration, and Harry's seeming indecisiveness are also affecting him, although Harry is nearly as frustrated and angry as Ron by what little and confusing information Dumbledore left him. Ron mistakenly assumed that Dumbledore provided Harry all the necessary information. His anger, fears, and immaturity may also have been exacerbated by his close proximity to the Locket Horcrux that has affected each Trio member in turn by preying on them mentally, emotionally, and physically while they are wearing it. Even though Ron's ability to detect the Locket's "heartbeat" may have indicated that he was more vulnerable to its Dark nature, allowing it to exert a greater force on him than it did the others, it does not fully excuse his deplorable behavior.
Although his full name is not mentioned here, the Dirk who is traveling with Ted Tonks may be Dirk Cresswell, one-time head of the Goblin Liaison Office in the Ministry of Magic. This would explain why he was traveling with Griphook, as well as suggest why he had to leave the Ministry—in an earlier chapter, we saw that Dirk had been investigated and "found" to be of Muggle ancestry.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- Why did Hermione want to search the building foundation where Voldemort's orphanage used to be? What might she have found? Why are Harry and Ron against this?
- Why does Ron abruptly leave the Trio? What might be affecting his decision?
- Why does Hermione distrust Phineas Nigellus enough that she blindfolds him whenever she summons him to his portrait? Why didn't she worry about this while at Grimmauld Place?
- Could Phineas have revealed their presence to anyone while they were there, and who might that be?
[edit] Extra Study
- Why does Hermione take on the cooking task? Is the author assigning her a traditional female role for a reason?
- Why does Harry bury Moody's magical eye, rather than keep it? Could it have been used to aid their mission? If so, how?
- Why doesn't the Trio make contact with the other parties they hear in the woods, especially knowing that friends like Dean Thomas and Ted Tonks are among them?
- Why would The Quibbler, a paper known for its outlandish stories, now publish the "truth" about Harry Potter? How can it be trusted to be the truth?
- The Trio overhear that Ginny, Neville, and Luna were "severely" punished for attempting to steal Gryffindor's sword, yet Phineas Nigellus' portrait tells them that Snape only assigned the students detention in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid. Why would Snape give them such a light punishment for such a serious offense?
- Knowing that Basilisk venom destroys Horcruxes, why doesn't the Trio sneak into Hogwarts to collect its fangs from the Chamber of Secrets to use as weapons?
- Each Trio member was affected emotionally and physically by wearing the Locket Horcrux. Did Dolores Umbridge suffer any ill-effects while she wore it? If not, why?
[edit] Greater Picture
When Harry killed the Basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor, its venom empowered the sword to destroy Horcruxes. The reader may wonder why the Trio simply does not go to Hogwarts to gather the dead monster's fangs that are still lying in the Chamber of Secrets and use them to destroy the Horcruxes rather than searching for the sword. While that may seem logical, it is probably a safe assumption that Harry will only be able to enter Hogwarts one time; he is unable to flit in, nab a fang, and nip back out again because once there, his presence will likely be quickly detected, forcing him to stand and fight. Nor can they get an ally there to retrieve a fang and smuggle it to them because the Chamber of Secrets can only be opened by someone speaking Parseltongue, although Ron will later overcome this obstacle. With Snape as Headmaster and the Carrows teaching Muggle Studies and Dark Arts, there is now a permanent Death Eater presence at the school. However, hearing that the Sword has been moved to Gringotts Bank, and that it is a fake anyway, it becomes unnecessary for Harry to have to go to Hogwarts to be able to destroy the Locket Horcrux, although he will eventually need to eliminate another soul shard that is hidden there. For now, it is a great relief to him, and the reader, to know how Horcruxes can be destroyed, even if the Trio must still locate Gryffindor's real sword. It does become clearer, however, as to why Dumbledore attempted to bequeath the sword to Harry. It is also logical to assume that it was Dumbledore who switched the real sword for the fake, with the intention that Harry would then find the genuine blade to destroy the Horcruxes. It will be revealed that Dumbledore knew he only had short time left to live, which is probably when he included the sword in his will as a clue to Harry that he would need it. Dumbledore apparently also arranged for an, as yet, unknown ally to dispatch the real sword to Harry in an upcoming chapter.
To Ron's credit, he does attempt to rejoin the group immediately after his angry departure, but he runs into some unexpected trouble. Also, Dumbledore had anticipated that Ron, being the most immature and least prepared for the quest, might fail the others at some point during the mission. Dumbledore's bequest (the Deluminator) to Ron is actually a means for him to find his way back, should he ever become separated from the Trio, although Ron unexpectedly learns this later.
