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Suggest pagesMuggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Deathly Hallows/Chapter 30
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Chapter 30 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The Sacking of Severus Snape
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[edit] Synopsis
Pain explodes in Harry's scar, and he finds himself on a rocky outcrop under a cliff. Good, he thinks, they have the boy. A loud crack brings him back to himself as Luna stuns Alecto Carrow. The noise awakens the students in Ravenclaw House, and Harry dives back under the Invisibility Cloak with Luna. Students begin milling about and become frightened at seeing the unconscious teacher lying on the floor. Outside the Common room, Amycus, unable to open the door, is frantically calling for Alecto, worried that the Dark Lord has been summoned without them actually having Harry Potter. Amycus is heard ordering Professor McGonagall to fetch Professor Flitwick, but then tells her to open the door. Inside, they find the unconscious Alecto. McGonagall is surprised when Amycus says Harry Potter may be there and that the Dark Lord had warned them that he might attempt to break into Ravenclaw Tower. Amycus, fearing Voldemort's wrath if Harry escapes, says he will pass off the alert as a school prank and punish a few students. When McGonagall objects to any student being punished for the Carrows' ineptitude, he threatens her and spits in her face. Harry steps out and slams Amycus with a Cruciatus curse, lifting his writhing body into the air and crashing it through a bookcase. Harry understands now what Bellatrix Lestrange had meant when she once said a person must actually mean it for an Unforgivable Curse to work. An astonished McGonagall thanks Harry for his gallant effort but urges him to flee the castle quickly. He refuses, saying there is something he must do. He asks if she knows where the diadem is, but according to McGonagall it has been lost for centuries. Harry is at a loss; the diadem was his most likely candidate for the Horcrux, and nobody knows where it is. Amycus comes to, and McGonagall uses the Imperius curse to relieve him of his wand, then casts a spell binding him to his still unconscious sister. Harry is again overcome by Voldemort's rage as he discovers the Locket missing from the stone basin on the island. Returning to himself, Harry updates Professor McGonagall about what is happening and that he must find something hidden in Hogwarts before Voldemort and his forces arrive. McGonagall replies that she and the staff will secure the castle against Voldemort for as long as possible while Harry searches. Harry tells McGonagall about the tunnel to the Hog's Head from which students can be evacuated. Voldemort will only be concentrating on Hogwarts, not Disapparating students in Hogsmeade village.
Harry and Luna hide under the Invisibility Cloak as McGonagall casts three cat Patronuses to summon the other Heads of House. As they head off, they run into Snape, who had sensed Alecto's communication with Voldemort. He asks McGonagall if she has seen the Carrows while continually darting his eyes about, as if suspecting Harry is there. When Snape asks what brought her out of bed, McGonagall claims she heard a disturbance. When Snape inquires if she has seen Harry, McGonagall is evasive, then slashes her wand. Snape, quicker, deflects the spell with a Shield Charm. They duel fiercely, magic so quick that Harry has never seen the like. Professors Flitwick and Sprout come running to McGonagall's aid with a huffing Slughorn lagging behind. Outnumbered, Snape dashes into a deserted classroom where a loud crash is heard. Pursuing, McGonagall screams, "Coward!" Uncloaked, Harry and Luna rush inside, startling the other professors. Snape has jumped out the window. Harry, looking out, thinks he must be dead, but McGonagall bitterly comments that, unlike Dumbledore, Snape had his wand and has learned a few tricks from You-Know-Who. Harry sees a large, bat-like figure soaring across the school grounds. When Slughorn finally enters, McGonagall informs him that Snape is taking a leave of absence. Harry slides into Voldemort's mind again and sees an Inferi-filled lake and the ghostly green boat bumping into the shore. Voldemort leaps from it in a murderous rage. Harry says Voldemort is coming.
McGonagall orders the House Heads to send their students to the Great Hall. She tells Slughorn the time has come for Slytherin to choose sides. The professors set defensive charms and spells around Hogwarts to fend off Voldemort. Harry asks Flitwick if he might know where Ravenclaw's diadem is, but Flitwick says no one in living memory has seen it. McGonagall enchants the school's statues and suits of armour to help defend the castle and orders Filch, who is ranting that students are out of bed, to summon Peeves the Poltergeist.
When Harry and Luna return to the Room of Requirement, Harry is shocked and dismayed that even more people have arrived, including Lupin, Shacklebolt, Oliver Wood, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Bill and Fleur, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Fred says they alerted Dumbledore's Army, and they in turn summoned the Order of the Phoenix. Harry says the younger students are being evacuated, and the rest will be fighting. Most head to the Great Hall, leaving behind only Lupin and the Weasleys, who are arguing with Ginny who also wants to fight. Percy suddenly arrives. Fleur, attempting to defuse the icy situation, asks Lupin about little Teddy. Percy loudly apologizes for being a deluded idiot and Ministry pawn; his family immediately forgives him. Looking around, Harry asks where Ron and Hermione are. Ginny, who has been ordered to stay inside the room during the battle, says they left to take care of something having to do with a bathroom, leaving Harry puzzled. His scar sears again, and he is gazing at Hogwarts through huge iron gates. Nagini is draped around his shoulders. Voldemort has arrived.
[edit] Analysis
As the story reaches a critical stage, time is running out; Harry is desperate to find the Ravenclaw Horcrux, and Hufflepuff's Cup must still be destroyed. Voldemort and his forces will soon arrive at the castle, and Harry has no idea where to search or if the Diadem is even the actual Horcrux. The final Horcrux being hidden at Hogwarts is fortuitous; it is a place Harry knows better than anywhere else, and at least as well as Voldemort does. Probably only Dumbledore and the Weasley twins know Hogwarts better. This homecoming also infuses Harry with a much needed boost of strength and confidence that a less familiar locale would be unable to provide. Harry has no idea where the Diadem might be hidden, but knowing many of the castle's secrets will help him narrow the search. Also, Harry's return not only puts him in a familiar and comforting setting, but it reconnects his ties and alliances with old friends, who immediately flock to Hogwarts upon hearing Harry has returned. If Harry is to succeed, he must rely on these allies for help.
Although Harry has used the Cruciatus curse before, this is the first time it has worked effectively for him. He recalls Bellatrix Lestrange once telling him that the conjurer must actually mean it in order for an Unforgivable curse to work properly, that righteous indignation is not enough. Previously, Harry only half-heartedly cast the Cruciatus curse (on Bellatrix Lestrange), unwilling to inflict pain and suffering on anyone, even a hated enemy. Now, however, Harry uses it to protect someone he cares about. And considering its effect on Amycus Carrow, this time, Harry obviously meant it.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- Why would McGonnagall engage Snape in a duel rather than merely saying she does not know where Harry is? Could she have defeated him without help from the other professors?
- Why is Voldemort in a murderous rage? Where is he when Harry "sees" him?
- Why is Harry now unsure that Ravenclaw's diadem is the Horcrux? Is there any evidence that another Ravenclaw artifact exists?
- What does McGonagall mean when she tells Slughorn it is time for Slytherin to choose sides? Do they?
[edit] Extra Study
- Why is this the first time the Cruciatus curse has worked effectively for Harry?
- What caused Percy's turnaround? Why did it take him so long?
- Which bathroom might Hermione and Ron have gone to? What task could have sent them there?
- How could so many Dumbledore's Army, Order of the Phoenix, and former Hogwarts students be able to enter Hogsmeade village without being detected by Death Eaters and the Dementors?
- How are the Hogwarts students to be evacuated by disapparating from the Hog's Head when it was stipulated two chapters earlier that disapparition from the town is impossible?
[edit] Greater Picture
The bathroom Ginny Weasley is referring to is actually Moaning Myrtle's lavatory, which readers should remember contains the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and that only someone speaking Parseltongue can open. It is unknown yet why Ron and Hermione would have gone there, or if they could open the Chamber, but this will play a significant role in the next chapter.
Professor Flitwick's comment that no one in living memory has seen Ravenclaw's Diadem will not only prove to be untrue, but it has actually been seen quite recently. However, Flitwick's words will serve to be a useful trigger for Harry; they will set a train of thought in motion that will result in Harry finding the Diadem.
A very interesting point is touched on by one editor: how can the students disapparate from Hogsmeade? For that matter, how can Dumbledore's Army members apparate in, as they have been doing? Aberforth has said that Harry, Ron, and Hermione should wait until dawn, and then apparate away and hide in the mountains. While he never explicitly says so, he strongly implies that apparating out of Hogsmeade is impossible. In this case, perhaps, Harry may simply have made a lucky assumption. Clearly it is possible to Apparate into Hogsmeade, as he has done so. Perhaps he simply assumed that it would be similarly possible to Apparate out, and missed Aberforth saying that it could not be done. As the author never tells us, we can only speculate; but it is possible that by the time the evacuation starts, Voldemort has lifted the anti-Apparation spells on Hogsmeade to allow for free movement of his troops. If so, this is a major stroke of luck for the Hogwarts forces; they would not have been able to evacuate the non-combatants otherwise.
A similar question that arises is, what about those students who have not yet passed their Apparation tests? There are wizards, we are told, who still will not Apparate, despite being fully grown, because of the risk of Splinching. So quite possibly, in order to accommodate those Death Eaters who were unwilling or unable to Apparate, Voldemort might also have released any restrictions on the Floo Network.
