Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Half-Blood Prince/Chapter 17
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Chapter 17 of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: A Sluggish Memory
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[edit] Synopsis
Harry, Ron, and Ginny return to Hogwarts via the Floo Network after Christmas. Hermione tells them the new password for Gryffindor Tower: Abstinence. Evidently, the Fat Lady enjoyed too much wine over Christmas. Hermione hands Harry a note from Dumbledore; the next lesson is scheduled for the following night.
In the Common room, Ron is immediately enfolded by Lavender, while Ginny says she promised to meet Dean, though Harry senses she is rather unenthusiastic. Harry and Hermione, who is ignoring Ron, find a quiet corner, and he shares what happened during Christmas break, including the conversation with Rufus Scrimgeour. As expected, Hermione concurs with Mr. Weasley and Lupin, that Snape was attempting to discover what Malfoy's mission is. She reminds Harry that it was Fenrir Greyback's name that Malfoy threatened Borgin with.
The following morning, a notice on the bulletin board announces Apparation training for students turning 17 before 31st August, which includes everyone in the Sixth Year class. Students are excited, and when Harry admits that he has traveled by side-along Apparation, they ask about it. Harry says the sensation is unpleasant, but none seem put off by this.
Harry arrives for his lesson with Dumbledore and relates what happened over Christmas, including Rufus Scrimgeour's visit. Dumbledore says he has argued with both Rufus and Fudge over involving Harry in the Ministry's public relations efforts. Dumbledore displays a rare emotional flicker when Harry reveals his strong agreement to Scrimegeour dubbing him, "Dumbledore's man through and through". When Harry recounts Snape and Draco's conversation, Dumbledore thanks Harry for bringing this to his attention, but Harry should not concern himself further. In response to Harry's angry outburst, Dumbledore says he does understand and reaffirms that he trusts Snape, and nothing Harry has said changes that.
But now, they must go into the memories. Dumbledore recaps: Riddle was admitted to Hogwarts and sorted into Slytherin where he learned about Salazar Slytherin's ability to converse with snakes. The staff expected little from Riddle. He was a polite, good-looking, and ambitious orphan, so many took pity on him. Dumbledore tells Harry that he never revealed his opinions about Tom to the staff. If Tom was turning over a new leaf, Dumbledore was going to allow him to do so. Dumbledore describes how Death Eater forerunners gravitated around Riddle but admits difficulty in obtaining memories of him during his time at Hogwarts. Riddle also became obsessed with his parentage.
The first new memory belongs to Riddle's Uncle Morfin. In it, Riddle arrives at the Gaunts' and converses with Morfin in Parseltongue. Morfin tells Tom about his father, Tom Riddle, Sr., and his mother, Merope, and shows him the Peverell ring, saying that Merope had taken Slytherin's locket. The memory abruptly ends. Morfin remembered nothing until after he awoke the next day and the ring was gone. Dumbledore says when Riddle Sr. and his parents were found murdered, the Ministry fingered Morfin, who readily confessed. Dumbledore speculates that Riddle Stunned his uncle, performed the murders, and then implanted false memories into Morfin's mind.
The second memory is Slughorn's. He and the Slug Club during Riddle's era are chatting. Twice the memory inexplicably turns foggy and only Slughorn's voice is heard, notably when Riddle asks him about Horcruxes. Slughorn responds that he knows nothing about them. Dumbledore explains that Slughorn's memory has been tampered with and tasks Harry with obtaining the true memory from Slughorn.
[edit] Analysis
Although Dumbledore had hoped Tom Riddle would turn over a new leaf, his underlying suspicions were well founded. It appears Tom began building the foundation for his evil plan while still at Hogwarts, recruiting followers who were to become the first Death Eaters. Riddle also sought retaliation against his father for abandoning him and his mother, even though Riddle Sr. had actually been deceptively seduced by Merope with a love potion. That does not completely absolve Riddle, Sr., however, who rejected his child that bore no fault for his mother's duplicity, leaving him stranded in an orphanage. However, this all matters little to Tom, who is so consumed by hate and revenge that it extended beyond his doomed father to his innocent paternal grandparents, murdering them to obliterate any ties to his despised Muggle bloodline. Nor did Tom feel any loyalty to his Slytherin family, falsely incriminating his Uncle Morfin for the Riddles' murders.
Although the new Gryffindor password, "abstinence" supposedly refers to the Fat Lady having imbibed too much wine, it could also reflect the students' burgeoning sexual maturity. With all the confused emotions and chaotic relationships that many characters are experiencing, this may be the author's way of humorously warning them to, "slow down."
[edit] Questions
- Why doesn't Snape's conversation with Malfoy worry Dumbledore?
- Why would Slughorn alter his memory?
- Why did Tom Riddle murder his Muggle grandparents, in addition to his father?
- Did Dumbledore truly believe Tom Riddle was turning over a new leaf when he started Hogwarts? Give evidence both for and against this.
- Why would Tom Riddle frame his Uncle Morfin for the Riddles' murders?
- Why does Dumbledore react the way he does when Harry says he told Scrimgeour that he is, "Dumbledore's man?"
[edit] Greater Picture
Harry points out that Tom Riddle was underage when he murdered Morfin, but the Ministry failed to detect it. Dumbledore says that when an underaged wizard is in a Wizarding residence, the Ministry is unable to tell who performs magic and must rely on adult wizards to monitor any underage magical activity. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ron calls this monitoring a Trace and says it automatically breaks on a wizard's 17th birthday. The Trace apparently detects underage magic and the location, which is why Dobby's Hover charm at the Dursley house was detected just before Harry's second year. This generally would be ignored if it occurred in a Wizarding residence. One does rather wonder why the Trace failed to detect Tom Riddle Sr.'s murder and the creation of the resultant Horcrux.
It will be learned that before Dumbledore collected Harry from the Dursley's, he was already aware of Draco Malfoy's mission and quite possibly knew about Snape's Unbreakable Vow almost as soon as Snape made it.
