Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Deathly Hallows/Chapter 17
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Chapter 17 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Bathilda's Secret
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[edit] Synopsis
As they depart the cemetery, Hermione is positive something moved in the distance. Harry thinks it may be a ghost, but Hermione draws her wand. When Harry sees dislodged snow by the bushes where Hermione was pointing, he surmises that if it was Death Eaters, they would be dead now; he suggests putting on the Invisibility Cloak, and they glance around repeatedly as they leave. Heading down a street, they have no idea where Bathilda Bagshot’s house might be. An overgrown hedge surrounds a ruined cottage, most of which is still standing, but one side has been blown apart. On the gate, a sign appears:
On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981, Lily and James Potter lost their lives. Their son, Harry, remains the only wizard ever to have survived the Killing Curse. This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters and as a reminder of the violence that tore apart their family.
Messages from visitors are scribbled on the sign. Hermione thinks it is disrespectful, but it cheers Harry, who feels only gratitude. A mysterious, elderly woman approaches. Although she is obviously a magical person, Harry is surprised and suspicious that she can see them under the Invisibility Cloak. When she beckons them to follow, Harry asks if she is Bathilda Bagshot; she nods and beckons again. They are led to a house with a garden as overgrown as the Potter residence. Inside, Harry whiffs a foul odor like putrid meat clinging to her, although it may be the house, in which everything is covered by thick dust. Bathilda goes into another room, and Harry hears her calling, "Come!" causing Hermione to jump. Inside, Harry spots photographs atop a chest of drawers and removes the dust. A half dozen photos are missing from their ornate frames, but Harry recognizes a picture of a young blond man as the one in Rita Skeeter’s book, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. Harry repeatedly asks Bathilda who it is, but she stares vaguely at him, causing Harry to wonder how she was able to tell Rita Skeeter about the Dumbledore clan. Harry tells Hermione that the man in the photo is the thief he saw in Voldemort's mind who stole the item from Gregorovitch.
Bathilda motions for only Harry to go upstairs with her, and Hermione remains behind; Harry pockets the thief's photo on his way out. In the bedroom, Bathilda inquires if he is Harry Potter. He answers affirmatively and wants to know if she has something for him. Bathilda closes her eyes, and Harry feels his scar prickle and the Locket Horcrux twitch against him as the room momentarily darkens. Joy surges through his body, and he hears his own voice saying, "Hold him!" Bathilda points to a dressing table in the corner. Harry inspects it, but as he turns, he witnesses a revolting sight: a huge snake pours out from what was Bathilda's neck, her lifeless body collapsing to the floor. Nagini attacks, biting Harry's arm and sending his wand flying. The resulting noise brings Hermione frantically running upstairs. Nagini releases Harry and lunges at Hermione, barely missing her. Harry, grabbing his dropped wand, yells that Voldemort is coming. Nagini lunges again as Harry drags Hermione across the bed. Hermione casts Confringo, and the spell ricochets around the room, burning Harry's hand, as they leap out the window. Voldemort, reaching out to grasp Harry, screams in fury as he and Hermione Disapparate; his anger causes unbearable pain in Harry's scar.
Pain mingles with Voldemort's memories of a fateful night sixteen years before: Hallowe'en costumes, a father's smile, a toddler playing on the floor inside a cozy house. Outside, a gate creaks open as a dark figure strides through. A man yells, "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him. Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" More screams, then green flashes, and a woman's crumpled body lies upon the nursery floor. One last flash, and pain-shot darkness. Then, through Voldemort's eyes, Harry sees Bathilda's bedroom again, and Voldemort is picking up the dropped picture of the thief. Hermione's voice pierces the void, pleading for him to wake. Opening his eyes, Harry sees that he is inside the tent. Hermione says they escaped, but it is hours later and he has been sick; she used the Hover charm to get him into his bunk and a Severing charm to pry the stuck Locket off his chest. Dittany healed Nagini's bite wounds. While Harry relived Voldemort's memories, he was delirious, moaning and screaming. Harry relates what happened upstairs and that Nagini was hidden inside Bathilda's corpse, although he spares Hermione the most gruesome details. Nagini only spoke when she and Harry were alone because it was in Parseltongue. Nagini immediately summoned Voldemort when Harry identified himself. Harry asks for his wand, but Hermione tearfully confesses that it is broken, probably by her ricocheting spell. Stunned, Harry wants her to try and repair it with her wand, but she hesitantly reminds him that Ron's broken wand never worked the same. He pleads with her to try anyway, but, too badly damaged, it snaps in half again when he tries it. With Ollivander held captive by Voldemort, Harry is unsure how he will obtain another wand. Although clearly upset, he tells Hermione it was not her fault, then borrows her wand to take the watch, wanting to get away from her. Hermione sits next to the bunk in tears.
[edit] Analysis
Harry is confronted with death in Godric's Hollow, but unlike witnessing it hot and fresh as when Dumbledore, Cedric Diggory, and Sirius Black were killed, he now sees only its cold, decayed aftermath, dimming his hope to one day be reunited with his parents. Harry's own recollections about their murders are faint, remembering only a green flash and his mother's screams. While inside Voldemort's memories, he was able to see the entire horrendous event as it unfolded through Voldemort's eyes. Not only does this reopen old wounds, it also creates new ones that only intensify his grief and despair. But as painful as those memories are, they also provide him a clearer picture of what actually happened that tragic night, tying him closer to his parents, and clarifying his role in vanquishing the Dark Lord.
Seeing James and Lily's graves, and the destroyed cottage that he once lived in, is deeply disturbing and drives home the reality that the tragic events sixteen years before actually occured. Until now, these were merely sad stories told to Harry by others, but seeing the house in person is emotionally wrenching, and it serves to fully integrate him into past events. And while Harry always harbored a slim hope that magic would somehow reunite him with his long-dead parents, seeing their forlorn, final resting places forces him to confront death's finality. He is comforted and uplifted, however, by the kind messages visitors have left at the Potter's residence over the years.
Harry's difficult childhood has resulted in him never fully trusting or relying on others and he usually prefers to handle most situations alone. He has made great strides in overcoming this trait, however, learning to accept friends' and mentors' support and guidance, although some, like Ron and Dumbledore, have also failed him. He takes a great leap of faith here when he willingly follows the mysterious elderly woman, believing she is Bathilda Bagshot and trusting that she can help. However, this time, Harry's reasoning proves faulty. Even the decision to go to Godric's Hollow was driven more by a desire to see his birthplace, visit James and Lily's graves, and resolve his conflicted feelings about Dumbledore, rather than to uncover clues relating to their mission; the error nearly costs Harry and Hermione their lives. It is also a little surprising that Hermione, who is usually far more cautious and suspicious than either Ron or Harry, not only suggested going to Godric's Hollow, but also so willingly followed the old woman, despite her odd behavior. It is uncertain if Harry can ever show that much faith in the unknown again.
Readers can again see to what extremes the despicable Rita Skeeter will go to obtain information. She likely used some magical means, probably a memory charm or Veritaserum, to extract the vulnerable Bathilda's faulty memories, then stole the photographs for her book. Skeeter may also be indirectly responsible for poor Bathilda's death, as Voldemort apparently surmised that Skeeter's book might lure Harry to Godric's Hollow and Bathilda to seek information, prompting Voldemort to murder her and set the trap that nearly ensnared Harry and probably would have killed Hermione.
Although Harry assures Hermione she is blameless for breaking his wand, he is clearly upset and angry with her, leaving Hermione in tears and driving an invisible wedge between them. Like with Lupin, Harry's reaction is undeservedly harsh, especially considering Hermione risked own her life to save his. However, Harry is devastated by his wand's loss, and his logical thinking (and gratitude) has been temporarily overruled by misplaced anger and grief, although he quickly realizes Hermione was not at fault here.
It is perhaps worth noting here that the conversation about Harry's broken wand is the first time either Harry or Hermione has spoken Ron's name since his departure, and it will prove to be important.
It should also be mentioned that when Harry hears or speaks Parseltongue, he is unable to distinguish it from English – we saw this as far back as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, where he had to imagine he was seeing a living snake before the words he spoke to the Chamber's entrance would emerge in Parseltongue. That is why he was unaware anything was amiss when Nagini spoke to him disguised as Bathilda, and it also explains why Hermione jumped when Bathilda was calling from the other room. Harry heard her saying, "Come", while all Hermione detected was a strange hissing noise.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- How and why do Harry and Hermione react differently to the written messages left outside the Potters' house?
- What happened to the missing photographs in Bathilda's house? What were they likely pictures of?
- Why was Hermione startled when Bathilda called from the other room?
[edit] Extra Study
- Why did Harry and Hermione decide to follow the old woman, not knowing who she was, and despite her not speaking to them?
- Harry has been confronted by death before, but how is he affected differently by it after seeing his parents' and the Dumbledores' graves?
- Does Harry really blame Hermione for breaking his wand? If so, why? Could she have avoided it?
- Harry's wand had become very powerful and easily destroyed Lucius Malfoy's wand without Harry casting a curse. Why, then, was Hermione's spell able to break it?
- Why did no one ever check on the elderly and senile Bathilda, a well-known witch, despite her living alone and the garden being overgrown?
- When Voldemort arrived at the Potters' cottage, why did James confront him rather than try to Disapparate to safety with Lily and baby Harry? Why didn't Lily escape with Harry as soon as James shouted out that Voldemort was outside?
[edit] Greater Picture
Although Harry seriously erred in trusting the "old woman" he believed was Bathilda Bagshot, he will again put his trust in a stranger when one night soon a silvery doe Patronus appears, and he follows it in the hope an ally sent it to help. This time his assumption will be correct, and he will also be reunited with a valued friend.
In a later chapter, Dumbledore's shade will explain that even though Harry's wand had grown very powerful, because it imbibed additional power from Voldemort's yew wand (brother to Harry's wand), that power can only be directed against Voldemort, regardless of what wand the Dark Lord may be wielding at the time. Against other wizards, Harry's wand had no additional advantage than before. That is why Hermione was accidentally able to destroy Harry's wand with her own.
