Chapter 30: The Sacking of Severus Snape, as told from a NaNo Character's point of view Options

[huebbe]

I quite agree that it is interesting that you allude to 9/11. However, with regards to Rowling, perhaps not being so intentional with her reference, I find it that most literature is a direct result to history. In fact without a historical perspective most literature is lost in interpretation. For example without truly knowing and understand the culture of the Puritans, N. Hawthornes's Scarlet Letter is not as poignant, nor is any Dicken's novel, or even Mary Shelley's Frankenstien. It has been my observation that most authors do use a historical perspective and that "history", ends up in their novels.

With that being said, did Rowling intend to allude to 9/11? Perhaps, perhaps not. But I can tell you that I too as I read it was reminded of that extrodanary moment in time. In the weeks after the autrocity I had 6 students from one class inlist in the military for the simple reason of "you don't do that to my country". They did not inlist, and they made it quite clear, that they were fighting a war against Hussain, to them they wanted to fight for the innocent people who died.

In that moment when all groups came rushing forth to defend Hogworts against Voldemort's tyrrany, I saw that as not so much wanting to fight Voldemort, as they were bent on defending a way of life (freedom from the oppresion of Death Eaters), and the right to not live in fear.

cloudpic, agreed...I too find that I have attached myself to one or more characters and was dissapointed by the lack of either development or fortitude. Truly it is difficult not to, for we as fans own this literature; we have discussed it, fought over it, been mezmerized by it, and absorbed it. Therefore, I think when we find flaw or discrepency we, I think, become personally insulted.

*please excuse all spelling errors as spelling in not one of my strong suits, and the spell check does not exsist on this computer!

[misssyblantsybil]

Take the Dursleys. Their characters and set-up were never even faintly believable, if you tried to believe in the details of the story. A couple take in a baby they find on their doorstep? It doesn't happen - we have laws about that kind of thing and the police and all manner of government agencies would be drawn in to inspect and approve.

You forget, DD and Petunia had corresponded before. I am sure Petiunia would have found his note on the doorstep very compelling, particularly since she understood about the war. And, I think DD was a clever enough wizard to eliminate any of the "practical" concerns about muggle laws, particularly since Harry had to be at that particular house to survive.

Sorry this is formatted badly, I'm still learning what all the little buttons do . . .



This post has been edited by anguinea: Feb 17 2009, 10:21 PM

Reason for edit: No problem! I straightened the tags for you. :D

[addreamy]

You forget, DD and Petunia had corresponded before. I am sure Petiunia would have found his note on the doorstep very compelling, particularly since she understood about the war. And, I think DD was a clever enough wizard to eliminate any of the "practical" concerns about muggle laws, particularly since Harry had to be at that particular house to survive.

On reflection, I agree, misssyblantsybil. (and welcome! ) And we had the hint of the prior correspondence books ago with DD's howler of "Remember my last".

Makes me wonder, though, what sort of spell DD might have used to cloak baby Harry so that neighbors wouldn't have noticed him before the Dursleys did. Wouldn't have been one of those 'don't notice me' types, or the Dursleys wouldn't have seen him, either!

So what might it have been?

Anyone have a guess???

[misssyblantsybil]

And, when DD enters the Dursley's house in DH, he greets Petunia with, "Yes, we have corresponded." And, Harry thinks that's an odd way to refer to one howler.

Let's see, spells to cloak a baby from neighbor's eyes. . . . Maybe some variation on the cloaking spells used to hide the stadium from Muggle eyes at the Triwizard Tournament? The spell might only go halfway 'round the boy since he was on the step against the door. And, maybe spells all over the neighborhood that would make muggles forget to call social services when they start to wonder about Harry as he grows older? Also, Mrs. Figg would be informing him if people started to get suspicious.

The trio also uses cloaking spells around the tent all through DH, so you know DD knew spells like those, and probably stronger ones, too.

[cloudpic]

I think the sort of thing which discourages Muggle interest might just have been what kept the baby hidden, missyblantsybil. We've been told it doesn't take much, really, for a Muggle to ignore the evidence of his/her own eyes when magic comes into play.

My inner Ravenclaw had to find the spell... Repello Muggletum was the one you referred to in GoF to hide that huge stadium and what Hermione used in DH. (checked the Lexicon). I think it'd be fun if Rowling would write a book by Albus Dumbledore... maybe a sort of journal? with some of his more interesting personal "inventions."

Your comments lead me down another intriguing speculation, missyblantsybil. bemused had mentioned that governmental agencies would likely have swarmed all over any such fostering of Petunia's nephew...wishing to know just where his parents were, etc. Likely, the story they told Harry about the car accident was what they used for the neighbors and maybe even school authorities. That particular Muggle neighborhood might simply have accepted the Dursleys' explanations — if one contacts the authorities one must be prepared to give one's name and be "involved." That sort of neighborhood may be nosy (as Petunia is) and may often want to outdo one another's spending habits, but they don't strike me as the sort who'd care to be involved. Do you think?

All this being said, I have to mention how much I love the wonderful character of Mrs. Figg... you're quite right, missyblantsybil, she'd have alerted Dumbledore I'm sure of it. She seems a quieter, gentler version of Mad Eye's "Constant Vigilance!" type. I think the depths hinted at with minor characters is one of the many reasons the HP series is so re-readable!

She's such a contrast to fellow squib, Argus Filch. (did you notice they have the same initials?? ) I wonder why someone like Arabella is involved, helpful, and evidently not bitter about her lack of magical prowess. Interesting that Albus Dumbledore provides both of these squibs with employment. Perhaps he's providing another example of tolerence for those who're different.

Wouldn't squibs be fine diplomats in some future effort at re-integrating Wizarding and Muggle worlds?

[misssyblantsybil]

You may be right, cloudpic. Harry is scruffy, his clothes don't fit, and his hair's a mess, all of which might draw stares, but no one's going to call the authorities over any of that.

Here's a question that's been bugging me. When the trio are camping, and food is scarce, why not summon Kreatcher and ask him to fetch some food? They've gained his loyalty, made him happy, and could forbid him telling anyone where they are or that he has seen them. Do you think elfin majic would make it possible for Kreatcher to help them out undetected?

[cloudpic]

That's a danged good question, missyblantsybil. I can't remember if they ever mentioned a reason for not calling on his aid? Perhaps they feared there's a way to trace such a strong summons? I agree, they'd certainly won Kreacher's loyalty by this point. The elfin magic certainly seemed to be underestimated by both people like Lucius and the Ministry too. Would the Death Eaters or the Ministry have tried to trace Harry through his house elf?

You know, though, they seemed to need to go through this stressful time... it seems to have been a part of the process necessary for Harry to move on to the next stage of his role as the Chosen One. Sort of like Jesus, knights, and others who fasted and simplified their lives before facing a great challenge?

[addreamy]

Hmmmm. It is a good question. I think it may go back also to the history that the Trio has with Kreacher. Sure, it is clear that Kreacher had a change of heart - but in a time of crisis, would the kids trust that? Would they even think of it?

I think, too, that even if Kreacher was trustworthy, Harry may not be so ready to forgive and forget. He despised having a house-elf, and particularly that one. After all, to his way of thinking Kreacher caused Sirius' death.

That might put him off the notion of turning to Kreacher to keep their secret safe - and the consequences were dire if it wasn't kept so.

However, I do think you are right, misssyblantsybil. IF Harry could have brought himself to trust Kreacher, I highly doubt that any of the groups after them would have been able to track Kreacher.

Oh.

Unless they sicced another house-elf on him?

[bemused]

They didn't call Kreacher because they were afraid that someone from the Ministry would latch onto him - as Yaxley did to Hermione when they escaped from the Ministry. It says in the book that Harry was worried about what was happening to Kreacher, whose loyalty he wanted to trust though he wasn't absolutely sure. He was also afraid the DEs might torture the elf...

'.... there was nothing he could do for Kreacher: he and Hermione had already decided against trying to summon him; what if someone from the Ministry came too? They could not count on elfish Apparition being free from the same flaws that had taken Yaxley to Grimmauld Place on the hem of Hermione's sleeve.

It would be fun to know what happened to Kreacher and what he did after the Trio failed to appear. Hear the Ministry people coming and apparate straight back to Hogwarts? Or maybe stick around for a while and then escape... Presumably his magic didn't give him a way of finding Harry unless he was actually summoned...

On your other point, misssyblantsybil,

You may be right, cloudpic. Harry is scruffy, his clothes don't fit, and his hair's a mess, all of which might draw stares, but no one's going to call the authorities over any of that.

... I don't agree, unless there was some over-arching 'don't notice that Harry Potter is being mistreated' magic - I admit I hadn't thought of that. It wasn't just that Harry was scruffy and his clothes didn't fit. The telling thing, which I reckon would have alerted people that something was badly wrong in the real world, was that here was a relatively prosperous household sending two boys to the same Primary School, one grossly overweight and obviously indulged in every possible way, the other skinny, dressed in ill-fitting hand-me-downs and the victim of bullying. Would the school not have noticed that Vernon and Petunia had vastly different attitudes to the two boys? I'm not knocking the books for this but I can't believe that the Dursley sections of the stories are meant to be taken entirely seriously. They're caricature, and J K Rowling puts a lot of her humour into them...

Unless there was a 'don't notice that Harry is different' spell, but even that idea poses problems.....

[Pleshette]

Interesting question, missyblantsybil!

I tend to agree with cloudpic, that the Trio couldn't take a chance that the DE or the Ministry might track Kreacher, especially since they were watching Grimmauld Place. And forgive me because it's been over a year since I read DH so my memory is foggy, but Snape knew about GP (though I can't remember when/if Harry found this information out) so it's possible that he was aware of Kreacher's comings and goings - information which would prove very valuable to the DE.

Also, there is also the possibility that once Kreacher was summoned and returned to GP, he could be captured and tortured into revealing Harry's whereabouts. Even though elfin magic is strong and binding, house elves do have the ability to fight against this vow, if you will. I'm thinking of Dobby's warnings to Harry in COS. I don't think that the Trio consciously thought this out, but it does explain why he (or even Dobby) couldn't be summoned to help them. As addreamy pointed out, the consequences were dire.

Please feel free to correct my fuzzy memory!

ETA: Apparently we were posting at the same time, bemused. Thanks for looking up that DH quote!

[merrythought]

You know, though, they seemed to need to go through this stressful time... it seems to have been a part of the process necessary for Harry to move on to the next stage of his role as the Chosen One. Sort of like Jesus, knights, and others who fasted and simplified their lives before facing a great challenge?

It also seems to fit the pattern of the hero who has to go through a dark, confusing, even stagnant time in order to come out stronger and ready for the ultimate challenge. Perhaps the Trio's friendship needed to be tested before they could go on. Although it's been tested many times before, it was never in such a personal, raw way. But before I lose sight of Kreacher - might he have been able to provide them with better food and more comfort generally? It seems important that they had such little comfort and were so totally reliant upon themselves.

I too would love to read a scene in which Kreacher realizes the Trio aren't returning. Do you think we love him all the more because of his transformation?

[bemused]

I think we do, merrythought - at least, I do. Kreacher became positively cuddly once he had adopted the Trio as his own, which was a very clever piece of writing, I reckon, to pull off a complete change like that, completely believably...

That moment when Kreacher rushes out of the door of Hogwarts leading the house elves into battle is one of the great catch-at-the-throat moments. I just love the way he is still cheering for Regulus as well as for Harry (tho' presumably no one but the Trio would have known what he meant, unless he had told the elves?) - but anyway, if you think about it, which I hadn't before now, at that point Kreacher is bringing together the best of Slytherin and the best of Gryffindor, which doesn't often happen....