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Robert R. Scarpin

Scarpnotes for
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Chapter Summary and Analysis - Part Two

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This is the seventh, and last, book in the 'Harry Potter and the...' series. The lines of customers at the book release were much, much longer, and their composition has changed even more so. Think about it. Nine year old's, who began the journey with Harry, are now — twenty three! Unfortunately, the publishers have continued to try and position the book as just another book in the children's series! It is, most emphatically, not! For one thing, its evil is much more: "in-your-face," "unrelenting," and "gratuitous" than the first book's. Its motif is the same; but, its thematic material is incredibly more adult oriented. Not in the "smut" sense, but the rise of tyranny, assisted suicide and euthanasia, and self-sacrifice are hardly the fare of seven to ten year olds; not to mention the murder, torture and mayhem normally associated with "war." There are some very sophisticated redeeming themes; but, for younger children, they are barely noticeable, let alone understood.

It is for this reason that I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this book for children under twelve, which seem to be within the publishers 'targeted' age. Does that mean that I don't think it is a good book? Definitely not! It’s a great ending to the saga. Nor, does it mean that I don't recommend the series to parents for their children - it’s a wonderful book for teens and young adults, who are both intellectually and emotionally capable of seeing, and understanding, its many redeeming, albeit convoluted, thematic nuances.

What I do recommend, is that children read the series, like it was originally written: one book, every year or two, beginning at about 9 or 10. That way, especially with parental read-aloud and guidance, children can have the best of both worlds — no pun intended. They can experience the intensely interesting world of magical fantasy; but, eventually be led to an exposure with: selfless love, friendship, diversity and intensely personal courage. And to the counter effect that they all have on bigotry, arrogance, terrorism and tyranny. What more can a responsible parent ask for? Than to find something that will not only captivate imaginations, but will motivate the reading of four thousand one hundred and six pages, and end up in a nearly 'back-door' understanding of such moral principles!

As Dumbledore once said: "I cannot pretend that it does not disgust me a little" that the publishers have chosen to continue targeting young children for this book; but, that does not carry over into the series as a whole. It has been a privilege to pen SCARPnotes for these books. You will note, beginning with this book, that I have caused the many annotations (from my private copy of the notes), to be revealed in the margins. Use my uncle's spell, "Specialis Revelio" [button on the right sidebar for JavaScript enabled browsers] to uncover them. The different wand motions will change them from: Literus—literary aspects, to Parentus—parents guide material, and Heroica—the "hero's journey" correlations. Eventually, all the previous book's SCARPnotes will be imbued with this ability as well.

For parents of older children, Chapters 34 and 35 are ideal for parent and child to read together. Chapter 34 deals with Harry's final decision for self-sacrifice, for the "greater good," and the support he receives from his parents and friends. Thirty-five is his "life after life" experience with Dumbledore — "oops, I shouden'a tole yer that! … "Obliviate!" ...

Ahh… yes... the wand motion for "Heroica" is a "jabbing" motion and it refers to that Muggle fellow, Joseph Campbell, who spent his career categorizing legends, myths and stories from all around the world, then wrote a book called "The Hero With a Thousand Faces." He blatantly revealed the story points which make stories memorable. His book was read by George Lucas (Star Wars), Christopher Vogler (Disney) and many others (including Rowling) who have used it to synthesize their plots so that they will "feel right" and "ring a familiar chord" with readers. You can find a more full description at: The Hero's Journey in the "helps" section.

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Review: This is a very DARK book and is probably less appropriate for younger children than "Lord of the Rings" due to its greater "identifiability." The plot is very complicated, deals with mature thematic material, and more than a few, very endearing characters die. All of which most likely make it an intensely interesting fulfillment of the quest 23 year-olds began with Harry when they were 10.
Frontispiece Quotes:
The quote from Aeschylus' "Libation Bearers" is a prayer uttered to "the Gods," who were basically dead progenitors of importance, on behalf of two children: Orestus and Electra. Their father, Agamemnon had been killed by their mother, Clytaemnestra, and their great uncle, Aegisthus, who were lovers. The children, and chorus, "prayed" to the dead for help with vengance; or, the "opportunity to do so." Orestus does receive the opportunity, and does the deed, but finds that the "furies" consider killing your mother to be worse than killing your husband or brother and begin to torment Orestus. Harry's parents are dead, but I'm unable to see any further meaning from the quote except that the wording: "bless the children, give them triumph now" is kinda cute. Difficult are the battles of your parents.
Parent's Guide: This is not a book for under teens. Thematic material including self-sacrifice, tyrany, wanton murder, assisted suicide and others of an adult or mature nature, make this book unsuitable for children under twelve. It is the last book in the series and should probably be read as the author originally wrote it. One book a year, beginning at around 8 or 9 years old. That way when the child reaches this book they will be 14 or 15 and able to understand and place in perspective these adult themes.
The Hero's Journey: With the concluding plot elements revealed in this book, it is interesting to see just how much congruence the Harry Potter series now has to the Campbellian outline. Each of the series books, individually, follow's it's own Hero's journey, of sorts; but, with book 7, the allegory is fulfilled and themes are made evident. The Hero has endured his journey and returned.

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7 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Pages: 759

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14

The Thief

They all came to rest on a forest floor in a heap. Quickly Harry realized that Ron had blood all over him and Hermione was tearing open Ron's shirt to reveal a gaping hole in his arm. The skin looked like a great chunk had been cut out. Hermione said "splinched" and asked Harry to get the bottle of Dittany from out of her bag. As she poured the three drops of the liquid into the wound, it expelled green smoke then new skin stretched over the hole. Very upset she told them "that's all I dare do… other spells would put him right… but I may get them wrong." The fear and tension of battle wasn't over yet; because Hermione had to tell them that they could never go back to Grimmauld place. Yaxley had grabbed hold of her arm as they Disapparated and ended up inside the Fidelius Charm on the step of Grimmauld place. He slackened his grip slightly and she was able to "Revulsion Jinx" him off then Disapparate them all to the forest. They were in the woods where the Quidditch cup was held, and began to wonder if the Death Eaters would find them as fast as they had done the last time they had Apparated. Hermione walked around them in a circle waving her wand and saying: "Salvio Hexia… Protego Totalum… Repello Muggletum… Muffliato…" Harry got out the tent and Hermione called: "Erecto…" then finished with "Cave Inimicum…" to the sky. She started to say: "at least it'll keep out Vol…" but Ron urgently stopped her. "The word just feels like a jinx to me," he said and asked them to please go back to "You-Know-Who." They agreed, just because Ron seemed so adamant and was injured. Hermione pulled out the locket, the size of a chicken egg, with an ornate "S" and inlaid green stones, for them to examine. It seemed to have a tiny "pulse" to it, so they believed that it was still "alive." Harry hung it around his neck for safe keeping, then decided that they should take turn keeping watch. The Sneakoscope remained quiet all day and Harry took another turn at watch about 10 pm. His thoughts couldn't help turning, yet again, to just how much Dumbledore had neglected to teach him about magic-ing stuff! He seemed to not be able to control his thoughts which went from: the Cattermole's, to Kreacher, to the prophecy that "neither can live while the other survives"; and he thought that the locket he felt, next to his bare skin on his chest, might be affecting him. In another vision Harry saw Voldemort suspending a fearful man in the air and demanding: "give it to me, Gregorovitch"! The man cried that "it had been stolen, years ago," and Voldemort just yelled "do no lie…" before he used legillimancy. Then Harry saw Gregorovitch going down a dark hallway into his workshop and finding a young, golden-haired, man, perched like a bird on the window ledge. The man, smiled with delight then laughed as he shot a stunning spell and jumped out the window. Voldemort demanded to know who the thief was; but, when Gregorovitch couldn't answer, he killed him in a flash of green.

Hermione shook Harry from his reverie and as usual began her constant nagging about Harry being so inadequate he couldn’t do Occlumency. To escape her he went inside and laid down where Ron was anxious to hear what he said. Voldemort had gone to Gregorovitch, not to have a wand made or anything; but to get something. Instead he found that it had already been stolen by an unknown youth — who Harry thought he had seen before. Neither of them had any idea any more what Voldemort really wanted now; but, with Gregorovitch dead "it was the merry-faced thief that was in danger now."

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15

The Goblin's Revenge

Harry, again, awoke before the other two and, in the early light, explored the surrounding forest for the oldest, most resilient tree he could find where he buried Mad-Eye's magical eye near its base. He marked the tree with a cross and thought that Moody would have preferred this rather than being stuck on Umbridge's door. They covered their tracks and Disapparated to a new location, near a market town, where Ron could get a sandwich. Harry went out under the cloak for food but returned without any, exhausted and trembling from the Dementors which were in the town. He had tried to produce a patronus, but had been unable to. They eventually believed it had been due to him wearing the Horcrux locket. When he removed it he felt remarkably better; so they decided to take turns wearing it. They Disapparated to another location before settling down for the night. Over the next days they argued many times over where the Horcruxes might be. Hermione blatantly refused to believe that it might be at Hogwarts, because "Dumbledore would have found it"! Harry knew better, but there was no reasoning with Hermione. Several times Ron had to prevent both of them from saying Voldemort's name and they always relented. They went to Riddle's old orphanage and found that it had been demolished. Harry knew it wouldn't have been there, because the evil boy had wanted nothing more than to escape from the place. They pitched tent every night in a different place, passing the Horcrux between them every 12 hours. Every time it was Harry's turn he felt more anxious and kept seeing the thief who had stole something from Gregorovitch in his mind. Over the weeks, Harry began to see that Ron and Hermione were holding private conversations, probably about him. One evening Ron was doing his usual complaining about the food and said that his "mother could produce food out of thin air." Hermione put him in his place saying that "food is the first of the five Principal Exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration. You can only summon it if you know where it is, or transfigure it, or increase the quantity if you've already got some," but NOT create it. She and Ron continued their bickering until Harry told them both to "shut up," because he could hear something. They used the extendable ears to eavesdrop on a band of men, who they learned were: Ted Tonks (hiding because he was Muggle-born), Dean Thomas (who couldn't prove his parentage) and two Goblins — Griphook and Gornuk. They had just been joined by Dirk Cresswell who had stunned Dawlish and escaped on his broom while being transported to Azkaban. Dawlish had looked like he had been confunded, Cresswell said, and thanked the person who had done it. The Goblins said that they were in hiding because they recognized no wizarding master and had been asked to do "Duties ill-befitting the dignity of my race." "I am not a house elf," Gornuk said. Griphook had a similar reason and said that Gringott's was now under wizard control. The goblins began telling a story that made them laugh. Ginny Weasley and some other students had stolen Gryffindor's Sword from Snape's office and were caught. A couple of days later Snape sent the sword to Gringott's for safe keeping; but, the joke was: the sword was fake and Griphook didn't tell anyone. The kids were punished but were alright. The conversation went onto Harry and both Tom and Dean told the group that he was "the chosen one," even though he didn't seem to be doing the job. Tom advised Dirk that if he wanted real information he should read the Quibbler. "Xeno Lovegood is printing all the things that the Prophet won't," he said; but, voiced that he might not be able to for long. The Quibbler has been saying that "any wizard who's against You-Know-Who ought to make helping Harry Potter their number-one priority."

Remembering something, Hermione summoned the portrait of Phineas Black from her bag. When he appeared in his portrait, she used "Obscuro" to put a blindfold over his eyes, angering him greatly. With continued questioning, he eventually told them that Snape had punished Ginny, Neville and Luna by sending them to do work in the forbidden forest with Hagrid. That greatly relieved the kids because they knew that had not really been a punishment at all. Nigellus belittled Hermione for not knowing that Goblin made items do not need to be cleaned, ever! "Goblins' silver repels mundane dirt, imbibing only that which strengthens it," he pontificated. He then got a dig in at Harry's lack of knowledge about the Hogwarts paintings. He couldn't bring Dumbledore with him to visit this, his second portrait, because "the portraits of Hogwarts may commune with each other, but they cannot travel outside the castle except to visit a painting of themselves hanging elsewhere." And he told them that, with the treatment he had received at their hands he wasn't going to return either. He finally said, as he found the exit to his portrait, that the last time he had seen the Gryffindor sword removed from its case was when the saw Dumbledore use it to "break open a ring." And, "no, he had not bothered Snape with this information." Harry and Hermione conjectured wildly that Dumbledore "must have made a fake copy" of the sword and hidden the real one. They noticed that Ron had grown stony cold, and when they attempted to talk to him, he blew up at them for leading them all on a wild-goose chase and not knowing what they were doing. Their arguments escalated until Hermione asked Ron to take off the locket. He argued with Hermione as well, claiming that she had also complained about Harry not knowing what he was doing. "Why are you still here then?" Harry asked, and they both started to raise their wands. Hermione beat them to it however, and issued a "Protego" shield between them. Harry felt a "corrosive hatred toward Ron," and told him to "leave the locket." Ron tore it off and threw it onto a chair while he asked Hermione what she was going to do. When Hermione said she was staying with Harry, Ron stormed out into the night. Hermione followed after him but returned shortly, weeping that "He's gone." Harry put the Horcrux around his own neck, threw Ron's blankets around the crying Hermione and climbed into his own bed under the pounding rain.

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16

Godric's Hollow

Harry knew that last night wasn't a dream because he could see Ron's bunk empty; and, he knew he wouldn't be coming back because their protective spells prevented him from doing so. He and Hermione didn't talk and delayed leaving as long as they could. When they arrived at their new spot, Hermione sat down on a rock and cried so Harry performed the protective magic that she usually did. Harry missed Ron, but memories of his friends anger and "we thought you knew what you were doing" kept filling his mind. He determined not to speak Ron's name again and it became the elephant in the room wherever they went. He did begin checking the Marauders Map thinking that he might see Ron's name show up at classes. It didn't but he did see Ginny's. As they met with more and more failures in trying to find either Horcruxes or the sword, Harry didn't know who he was more angry at: Ron or Dumbledore who had "left him with virtually nothing." Hermione began propping Phineas's portrait up in a chair and, despite his previous assertion, the old Headmaster consented to reappear, blindfolded, every few days. Rare hints were dropped that made Harry believe Ginny, Neville and Luna were continuing Dumbledore's Army and making Snape's life miserable. Nigellus kept trying to get information about where they were but, when he did, Hermione just stuffed his portrait back into the bag. Christmas trees began to show up wherever they transported to and it was cold. One night, Hermione noticed that a symbol had been inked in on the top of one of the pages of The Tales of Beetle the Bard, a triangular eye, its pupil crossed with a vertical line. Harry recognized it as the same symbol Mr. Lovegood was wearing at the wedding — Grindelvald's mark. When Harry brought up his desire to go to Godric's Hollow again, this time Hermione unexpectedly agreed. It was the sword. She thought that Dumbledore would have thought Harry would want to go to the Hollow so may have hid the sword there for him. She was dumbfounded that Harry still didn't realize that was where Gryffindor was from. She read from A History of Magic that it was a celebrated half-magical place in the West Country and was where Bowman Wright forged the first Golden Snitch. Harry didn't want to tell her that he wasn't even thinking of the sword and when he mentioned that Bathilda Bagshot was still alive Hermione gasped with an idea. "What if Bathilda's got the sword!"

It was a maddeningly full week before Hermione would let them go, however, because she insisted on making sure all their protections were in place. Harry would turn into a balding, middle-aged, Muggle and Hermione into his small, mousey wife. They moved forward in the snow, excited to be actually "doing something" again. The singing from the church told them that it was Christmas eve. As they passed a war memorial, it magically transformed into a statue of… of Harry's family, and him in his mother's arms… without a scar. Across from the church they entered the graveyard through the iron kissing gate. They saw many wizarding names that they recognized and finally KENDRA DUMBLEDORE and her daughter ARIANA. The sentiment: "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" was on their stone. Harry felt upset all over again thinking that both he and Dumbledore could have come here together, IF he had only told him about their common connection. Hermione spotted the symbol of Grindelvald on one of the stones. The partial name of "Ignotus" was imprinted on it. Finally Hermione found Harry's parents graves only two rows from Dumbledore's mother. James Potter 27 March 1960 - 31 October 1981 and Lily Potter 30 January 1969 - 31 October 1981. The sentiment on their stone was: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death," and Harry wondered if Dumbledore had arranged that. Then he wondered what it meant until Hermione advised that it meant "you know… living beyond death. Living after death." Harry's eyes filled with tears and he didn't even bother to wipe them. Hermione conjured a wreath of Christmas roses and placed it on their graves before taking Harry's hand and walking with him back toward the kissing gate.

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Kissing gate: Term used throughout England and Europe for a single access type gate. The movable side of a gate is entraped between the two open ends of a "U" or "V" shaped split in a fence that forms a small vestibule. The hinged, and usually weighted, portion of the gate, may be pressed a short distance inward, to allow access to the small, single person sized, enclosure. Once inside the vestibule, a person can swing the hinged portion back and forth to obtain access to either side of the fence as desired. It is usually used to limit access to vehicles and cattle. It is so-called because the movable gate touches ("kisses") both sides of enclosure when used.
Where treasure is: See: Matt 6:21; Luke 12:34 (KJV-NT)
Last enemy: See: 1 Cor 15:26 (KJV-NT)
Symbol: Triangular eye with pupil bisected

17

Bathilda's Secret

On their way out of the cemetery, they spotted movement in the bushes and knew they were being watched. Hermione pulled them down a darker street away from the way they had come in. They accidentally stumbled upon the unkempt remains of Harry's old house. Most was still standing, covered in ivy; but, the top right side had been blown apart. When Harry touched the gate a monument arose from the ground stating that, even though Muggles couldn't see it, the house had been left as a monument to their family and a reminder of the violence that tore it apart. They also noticed pieces of graffiti which had been recently place all stating "good luck," "we're behind you," and "long live Harry." They were startled by the figure of an extremely old woman hobbling up the path toward them. Even though they were under the cloak, she stopped on the sidewalk and looked directly at them. "How could she know," they thought and eventually decided to ask "Are you Bathilda?" She still didn't speak but merely turned and led them toward her house. She smelled terrible, they noticed as they passed her into her entrance, and took off the cloak. She was barely up to Harry's chest and looked old enough to be dead and just as ugly. Harry asked again, "Bathilda?" and she just nodded again. The locket, Harry was wearing, seemed to beat against his chest. Harry reassured Hermione that he thought, even if her feelings were right, they could overpower the tiny old lady. The lady, who had been lighting candles without magic, called "Come" from the next room and Harry followed her. He noticed several picture frames on a table. Cleaning one magically, he saw that although many of the photographs were missing one, of the "Golden-haired boy on Gregorovitch's windowsill, was still there. It came to him that he had seen the boy in Rita's book. The old woman didn't answer Harry's questions about the man, and seemed to ignore Hermione completely. She jerked her head at Harry and, over Hermione's objections, he followed the old lady up the stairs, first slipping the photograph into his pocket. In a few seconds of darkness, before Harry lit his wand, the lady had moved close to him, then asked: "You are Potter?" He said "Yes I am" then asked her if she had anything to give him. She close her eyes and evil things seemed to happen all at once. Harry's scar became painful; the Horcrux actually moved on his chest; the decay-smelling room seemed to dissolve; and, with a feeling of joy, he spoke in a high, cold voice: "Hold him!" Swooning and dizzy, Harry asked again if she had anything for him and she pointed to the corner and said "Over here." He kept his wand pointed at the woman, but, in the second he looked at a heap by the bed, he saw the lady move funny. Her skin fell off revealing the great snake, which bit him on the forearm, knocking his wand away. It thrashed on top of him, pinning him to the floor, and whispered snake-like: "hold you… hold you…" Harry tried, but couldn't bring the wand back to his hand. Just as the lack of air forced him into unconsciousness, the snake released him and he saw Hermione duck away from the animals strike. Quickly, he stood and crushed something under his foot — his wand. He retrieved it and leaped across the flailing snake to grab Hermione onto the bed. Her blasting spells seemed to ricochet around the walls as Harry's scar burst with pain and he became Voldemort watching from the windowsill as a bald man and little woman twisted and vanished.

Still screaming in his exploding head, Harry experienced the thoughts of the evil despot who had been in that house once before. HE glided toward the Potter house feeling triumphant. Children, in costume, were on the square and one stopped to tell him: "nice costume, mister"; before actually getting a glimpse under his hood, and running away screaming. Looking in through the open curtains, HE saw the tall black-haired man in glasses playing with the small black-haired boy in his blue pajamas. The mother, with long, dark-red hair entered and the man handed the boy to her. As HE blasted open their door the man yelled "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!" "Without (even having) a wand in his hand," HE thought; then laughed as HE cast: "Avada Kedavra!" HE heard a woman upstairs screaming, and HE thought: she has nothing to fear as long as she is "reasonable." As HE pushed open the door, HE saw that she had no wand in her hand either. She dropped Harry into a crib behind her and stood in front of him with her arms opened, begging for mercy. "Not Harry… Please not Harry… Take me… kill me instead… I'll do anything…" She didn't head any of the warnings HE gave her, and HE could have forced her out of the way; but, it seemed more prudent to finish them all…. The green light flashed and the mother fell like a stringless marrionette. The boy, at first standing and looking at him, began to cry when he realized that it wasn't his father. HE couldn't stand the small ones crying at the orphanage… cried "Avada Kedavra"… and then… "broke." He was nothing but pain and terror… and must hide, far away. At the windowsill, HE saw the snake at his feet, then bent over and picked up something… it was the thief! "

"NO…" cried Harry, then awoke to find himself on his tent-bed and Hermione dobbing him with potion. She said that he had been "dreaming" and thrashing for hours. He had been bitten on the arm by the snake, and the Horcrux had been stuck to his chest so tight that she had to use a Severing Charm to remove it. The Horcrux was in her bag and they weren't going to wear it for awhile. Harry explained that Bathilda must have been dead for a long time because she had been the snake. She didn't want to speak in front of you because it was Parseltongue and I didn't realize it. It sent a message to You-Know-Who who told it to keep me there. It didn't attack to kill. Harry got up, over Hermione's objections, and demanded that she get some rest while he kept watch. He tried to find his wand but couldn't. It had been broken! He begged Hermione to try repairing it; but she reminded him that "when Ron had broken his wand, it could never be repaired." She tried anyway, to humor him, but after it came back together it would only spark when he tried to use it. Over Hermione's own self-incrimination Harry thought of the kidnapped Ollivander, the dead Gregorovitch and wondered how he was going to find a new wand. In a very false calm, and controlled anger, he merely said: "I'll just borrow yours for now, then. To keep watch." He left her by the bed while he went out to sit watch.

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18

The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore

Harry had never felt so naked. He'd spilled blood, lost his bones, scarred his body; but, never had he felt so weakened… vulnerable… and naked, without his wand. Hermione couldn't possibly understand the connection he had with it, but would undoubtedly rag on him that "the wand was only as good as the wizard." But she wasn't the one who had lost the "protection" (if you could call it that) of the twin cores with Voldemort! Without looking at the broken pieces, Harry tucked them into the pouch Hagrid had given him, the last that it could hold. Feeling the snitch through the bag, Harry's fury at Dumbledore broke over him again. The man, claiming to be so smart, had left them to grope in the dark… nothing explained. No sword, no Horcrux, no photograph and now… no wand! Hesitantly, Hermione brought him some tea and asked if she could talk to him. She timidly, for fear of upsetting him further, showed him a book that she had taken from Bathilda's house: The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. Seeing her awkwardness to him, he told her that he wasn't angry and thanked her for saving them both. In the book they found the photograph they were looking for. The caption read: "Albus Dumbledore, after his mother's death, and his friend Gellert Grindelwald." They read on, and found that what Skeeter had to say was in her customary, caustic, half-truth, sensationalistic, innuendo style. According to her, and her "source," Dumbledore had received all the awards that Hogwarts had to offer him, then found life at home comparatively lackluster and boring. His trip around the world with Doge was stopped by his mothers death and the subsequent forced custody of his siblings. Bathilda's great-nephew, Gellert Grindelwald, came to stay with her after Durmstrang had expelled him. He had become fast friends with Albus, even though he would later become the most dangerous wizard of all time (until de-throned by Voldemort himself.) Skeeter also printed a letter from Albus to Gellert, which talked about: "wizard dominance being for the Muggle's own good… their power giving them the right to rule, and responsibilities over the ruled… we seize control for the greater good… use only the force that is necessary and no more (your mistake at Durmstrang)." Gellert was there when Ariana died, Bathilda said, then hurriedly left the next day. Albus was beside himself in grief, and tempers ran high with Aberforth blaming Albus and breaking his nose at the funeral. Skeeter suggested that Ariana's was the first person to die "for the greater good," at her brother's hand.

Hermione, seeing Harry's expression, attempted to put it into perspective; but, Dumbledore's letter to Grindelwald was hard to explain. "For the Greater Good," became Grindelwald's slogan, and justification for his atrocities. Grindelwald even had his, Dumbledore inspired, slogan carved over the entrance to Nurmengard — the prison he built to hold his opponents. It was the prison he, himself, was placed in after Dumbledore caught him. Any attempt at explanation for Dumbledore's actions was just seen by Harry as "making an excuse." They agreed that Grindelwald's "right to rule" was just Voldemort's "Magic is Might" rubbish all over again. But Harry became increasingly agitated during their conversation. Increasing her counter-arguments as well, Hermione accused Harry that he was just angry "Dumbledore never told you himself." Harry blew up. "Maybe I am!" he said then mocked Dumbledore's "Risk your life… trust me even though I don't trust you… don't expect me to explain." When Hermione simply said that Dumbledore had loved him, Harry, exhausted, observed that: "I don't know who he loved… it wasn't me… he confided in Grindelwald more than me!" "Thanks for the tea," he told her. She recognized the dismissal and brushed the top of his head with her hand as she went back inside.

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19

The Silver Doe

Hermione took over watch from him at midnight and it was snowing. Although he went to bed, he couldn't really sleep for thinking that someone was calling to him from a distance… and snakes. It was still dark when he got out of bed and found Hermione reading in the entrance to the tent. She said that she had thought she could hear people moving outside and was glad to accept his suggestion that they move early. She suggested that they move while wearing the cloak for extra precaution. "Where are we," Harry asked when his feet hit the ground at the new place and Hermione was opening her purse. "The forest of Dean," she said as she pulled out a tent pole and explained that she had been there before with her parents. It continued to snow all day and Hermione's little blue flames helped, but not much. On Harry's turn for watch, he wore all the sweaters he had but was still cold, and bored for something to do. He thought of watching Ginny's dot on the Marauder's Map for awhile then remembered that she would be back at the Burrow for the holiday's. Suddenly, deep into the dark, Harry saw a tiny glow coming toward him through the forest. It grew until a silvery Patronus Doe stood silently before him. He stood with wonder looking at it and all thoughts that it was any kind of Dark Magic were dismissed from his mind. Eventually, it turned and walked off into the trees and Harry felt compelled to follow. Harry seemed to "know" that, as soon as it stopped, it would speak and tell him what he needed to know; however, when it did, it just disappeared into the dark. "No," he shouted and lit his wand to see who else was there who might have created it. A glint of metal struck his eye and he moved forward to the edge of a forest pool. Under the frozen ice, he saw the glint of a sword… Gryffindor's sword! "Accio," didn't work, as he knew it wouldn't so the only thing he could think to do was to dive in and retrieve it. He knew the defining characteristic's of a Gryffindor: "their daring, nerve, and chivalry," and thought it was mighty chivalrous of him not to go wake up Hermione. He stripped off his many layers of clothing, to his under shorts, and put them in a pile on the bank along with his mokeskin bag. When he chose to jump in, every pore in his body chose to remind him of their presence with their screams of protest. Driving down the mind-numbing cold he pushed toward the bottom to retrieve the sword, but something closed around his neck trying to strangle him. It was the chain of the Horcrux, seeming to sense its own impending danger, and trying to suffocate him. At the point of unconsciousness two arms closed around his chest and he heard: "Are — you — completely — mental?" There was Ron, fully clothed, dripping wet, holding the sword and the locket and accusing: "Why the hell didn't you take this thing off before you dived?" In an awkward moment, Ron said that he had decided to "come back, if you want me." He had seen Harry following the patronus and followed along behind. When he dove in and didn't come up he jumped in after him, then went back in again after the sword. After re-dressing, Harry seemed to feel the moment was right to destroy the Horcrux and that Ron should do it. He at first refused, saying that he had realized it had more of an effect on him than it did on them. Harry insisted, then seemed to know that speaking Parseltongue to the locket would cause it to open. When it did Voldemort's voice spoke to Ron and played on every feeling of inadequacy that he had. He continued to hesitate with the sword even over Harry's screams to "STAB IT!" Then, images of Harry and Hermione protruded from the locket which further maligned him over "being better off without you." The images wrapped around each other in an embrace, and Harry yelled again, "Do it, Ron." In a clank of sword and screams the Horcrux was destroyed and the two remained motionless, panting. Eventually, Harry picked up the locket and Ron dropped to his knees. Harry told Ron that after he had left, Hermione cried for weeks and sometimes they didn't even talk. They loved each other "like a brother and sister", he said. "I thought you knew that."

Ron's ordeal wasn't quite over yet, he still had to face Hermione. And she wasn't happy over the grief that he had caused her. In tears, she said that she had followed and begged him to come back. She punctuated her every word with a blow to his head and chest. When that didn't seem to be enough for her, she cried "where's my wand," and Harry reacted producing a shield charm between them. Ron said that he had felt sorry about leaving the minute he had done it, and that he had tried to come back, but had walked straight into a gang of Snatchers — bounty-hunters for Muggle-borns and blood-traitors. He only escaped, he said, by telling them he was Stan Shunpike. While they were arguing about it, he got both his and another wand back, then Disapparated, splinching his fingernail off. He also told them that he had found another use for the Deluminator. Christmas morning he had heard Hermione's voice, saying his name and talking about a wand, coming from the object. He clicked it and a blue light came out then waiting for him to follow it outside. When he did, it went inside of him and seemed to prompt him to Disapparate. So he did, and came out in a forest, where he looked and waited all day. At night, he clicked it again and was able to Disapparate to this place. He looked for them until he saw Harry following the Doe and followed. They told her about the sword, Harry's dear death and Ron's destroying the Horcrux; but left out the part of Voldemort's taunts and Harry's and Hermione's kissing. Harry took Ron's extra wand and Hermione went back to bed.

363

20

Xenophilius Lovegood

Ron and Hermione's feud didn't resolve overnight. Only when they were alone together, could Ron and Harry actually exhibit their lightheartedness over the mysterious doe, the sword, the Horcrux destruction and being reunited. Ron asked Harry how they had discovered the Taboo and nearly had to tackle him to prevent him from saying Voldemort's name. "That's how they're finding people," he said, the name's jinxed now and is how they found us before. Kingsley Shacklebolt is on the run because they nearly got him, Ron said. Harry was trying out the new wand made of blackthorn. It didn't work well and seemed sluggish. Hermione in her usual superior manner said he "just needed to practice." He bit his tongue, not wanting to start anything up again. Ron made many attempts to find a "resistance" radio station, which you needed a password to receive. It had to change locations every time it broadcast, but publicized things the Ministry didn't want to get out. Unexpectedly to them all, Hermione blurted out that she wanted to go talk to Xenophilius Lovegood. She explained that, in the letter Dumbledore had written to Grindelwald, he had made the "A" in his signature look like Grindelwald's mark. But it couldn't really be his mark, because it they had found it on the much older gravestone too. The only one left to ask about it was Lovegood, she said. Harry didn't want it to turn into another trap like Godric's Hollow had been; but, was out voted, largely because Ron was trying to "make nice" with Hermione. It seemed odd being so near to the Burrow when they Disapparated. Ron had to tell them that he had NOT gone home when he left them, but had stayed with Bill and Fleur at Shell Cottage. They found the Lovegood house surrounded by odd plants and Harry removed his cloak. Mr. Lovegood looked disheveled and agitated, but agreed to their request for entrance. He threw a cover over his printing press and demanded to know why they had come. Hermione questioned him about an enormous horn on a desk, then dismissed his answer that it was from the Crumple-Horned Snorkack and a young wizard had sold it to him 2 weeks ago. It was an extremely dangerous Erumpent horn, Hermione contradicted, which could explode. It was clear that he really didn't want to either help or be seen with them, then told them that Luna was down at the stream and he would go fetch her. When he returned he said that Luna would return in a minute, then responded that the symbol he wore to the wedding was the sign of the Deathly Hallows.

388

21

The Tale of the Three Brothers

None of the three had ever heard of the Deathly Hallows. Apparently neither had "that knuckleheaded" Krum who attacked him at the wedding, he lamented. "The whole thing starts," Xenophilius said, with the "Tale of the Three Brothers" from Beetle the Bard. Only Harry hadn't heard of that one. Hermione brought out her book from Dumbledore and read the tale.

It was about three brothers who were traveling at night. Coming to a river that was too deep and to wide to do otherwise, they used their magical power to conjure a bridge. Halfway across they were stopped by a hooded figure (death) who had felt cheated out of three new victims of the river. Treacherously, he claimed to award each of them with a gift. The oldest asked for a wand that could never be beaten. Death made him one from an elder treed. The second wanted the power to recall others from death. Death gave him a river stone. The third asked for something that would make him invisible to death. Death handed over his own cloak. The combative first brother boasted of the wand and a thief stole it, and killed him while he was asleep. The arrogant second brother turned the stone three times and his fiancé came forth, sad and cold, and suffered for being in a world to which she did not belong. The brother was eventually driven mad and killed himself. The third, youngest, wisest and most humble brother used the cloak until he was of great age. Then he removed the cloak, gave it to his son, and greeted Death as equals.

Those, are the Deathly Hallows, Xenophilius said. The Elder wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Cloak of Invisibility. He drew the symbol: the straight line, the round stone, and the triangle cloak. When they are all united, he said, "it will make the possessor master of death." He said that the cloak mentioned was a TRUE cloak, not just one with a charm or hex etc. The three looked at each other in realization that Harry had just a cloak under his robe. Hermione argued with him about the stone, and he called her "not unintelligent, but severely limited." Harry asked about the wand and was told that there were many evidences of the wand. It was the Hallow that was the most easily traced; except that the trail had ended and its whereabouts were not presently known. Hermione asked about the Peverell family and Lovegood said that they were the original three brothers: Antioch, Cadmus and Ignotus. Xenophilius got up to fetch them some dinner, and Ron voiced that he thought it was just another Crumple-Horned Snorkack tale. Hermione agreed that it was just a morality tale and said that it was obvious which one was best: and they all said a different one at the same time. Hermione said the cloak, Ron said the wand, and Harry said the stone — all had revealed something about themselves. While they talked about their choices they noticed that upstairs, in her room, Luna had a huge painting of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville on her ceiling encircled with the words: "friends" written over and over. But, they noticed everything was dusty in the room and there were no clothes in the wardrobe. Lovegood was lying about Luna being fishing. They confronted him and as he went for his wand the printing press exploded under the cover. The magazine was festooned with Harry's picture labeled "undesirable number 1."

He told them that the Death Eaters had taken his Luna and he thought turning them in would get her released. Just then figures on broomsticks came past the windows. Their momentary distraction was almost their downfall as Harry had to shove the others out of the way of Lovegood's stunning spell. Unfortunately it hit the Erumpent horn, tearing the room apart. Below they heard Lovegood arguing with the Death Eaters to convince them it really was Harry Potter upstairs. One of them used "Homenum revelio" and agreed that there was someone upstairs. Afraid of the crumpled stairs, they sent Lovegood up to fetch Harry under penalty of death for Luna. Hermione quickly asked them if they trusted her, then demanded that Harry let Ron put on the cloak. He did and they held onto each other. When Xenophilius appeared over the sideboard, Hermione called "Obliviate." Then she pointed at the floor and cried "Deprimo," which blasted a hole that they fell through. Hermione twisted on the way down and they were dragged, once again, into the Disapparation squeeze.

405

22

The Deathly Hallows

Although Hermione had a much more difficult time claiming that the Deathly Hallows weren't real, none-the-less she tried. Ron said that Lovegood must have been telling what he thought was the truth in order to keep them there; because it's a lot harder to make things up under stress, as he had found out with the Snatchers. Harry claimed that Luna was still alive and, if she was in Azkaban, probably teaching others about Wrackspurts. Harry and Ron "knew" that there was a true invisibility cloak, and there were plenty of accounts about an invincible wand. Even the Chamber of Secrets was considered a myth — Until Harry found it; and his wand was part of sort of making people "return" from death. No one had heard of a Peverell. That was because, Hermione said, the name was "extinct in the male line." She said she found that fact in Kreacher's book about Wizarding Genealogy. Harry immediately thought of the monkey like creature, Marvolo Gaunt, holding up his ring. The only relatives of Slytherin were called something else. Harry had heard Gaunt claim that the ring had the Peverell coat of arms on it, so they knew the family must have been real. "I'm sure he didn't know about it," Harry said, he didn't believe in fairy tales. Despite Hermione's continued and vociferous arguments to the contrary, Harry saw himself uniting the Hallows and facing Voldemort as the "master of death." Was this path, he thought anxiously: "Hallows versus Horcruxes?" Pacing, and ignoring Hermione's interruptions, Harry knew that "to test it" was why Dumbledore had the cloak because he didn't need it. He took his mother's letter from his pouch and thrust it at Hermione as proof, and the snitch fell to the flood. Inspiration dawned, "the ring was in the snitch!" He had the third Hallow, and would have the second when the Snitch opened. Now he just had to find the first — the Elder wand; but, he would have to beat Voldemort to it. The fact that Voldemort had defaced the ring, meant that he had no clue about this "last great Wizarding secret." Hermione's only continued argument could be that "Dumbledore would have told you" if they were true. Harry didn't believe that to be true anymore. Ron looked at them both, wanting to keep peace and opinioned that if Dumbledore did know about them, he still told you to destroy the Horcruxes. That's what you have to do.

The next few weeks were filled with rain and frustration. Harry became more to himself and isolated. Ron began taking charge more and directing them around the country to possible wizarding locations. He finally was able to guess the password for "potterwatch," the resistance radio channel. They recognized the voices as Lee Jordan, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Remus Lupin, and Fred Weasley all using code names. They learned that Ted Tonks, Dirk Cresswell and a Goblin named Gornuk had been killed while Dean Thomas and another goblin has probably escaped. Bathilda Bagshot's body had been found and Muggle's were being killed for sport. Hagrid had escaped arrest but Xenophilius Lovegood hadn't. Lee asked Lupin what he would tell Harry, if he knew he was listening. "To follow his instincts, which are good and nearly always right," he said. They said that there were rumors "the chief Death Eater" was abroad, but not to let their guard down. That would explain why his "visions" had been more vague and distant lately, Harry thought. They signed off saying: "Keep each other safe: Keep faith. Good night." They were all beaming, it was so good to hear familiar voices. Harry told them the connection of Voldemort being out of the country looking for the Elder Wand and Hermione immediately started in on him. That was the final straw. He shut her off loudly saying: Why can you admit that "Vol—" "NO," Ron shouted. "—demort's after the Elder Wand!" Before they could put up their defenses the Sneakoscope on the table began to spin… and six wands were pointed at them.

424

23

Malfoy Manner

Harry looked around to see if the others were alright and instead got blasted in the face with a spell from Hermione's wand. His face swelled and he couldn't see. It was Fenrir Greyback and several other men, one named Scabior. Ron told them he was Stan Shunpike which didn't sit well with them because they new Stan. He changed his answer to "Bardy Weadley," and Harry realized that Ron must have been hit in the jaw. Harry, who was claiming to have been stung, which was why he was so swollen, said he was Vernon Dudley who's father worked at the ministry in the Department of Magical Accidents. Scabior found the sword of Gryffindor and Harry said that it was his fathers. They had borrowed it to cut wood. When Harry said he was from Slytherin house, they thought they had caught him in a lie until Harry could tell them that the common room was in the Dungeon, under the lake. Hermione told them that she was Penelope Clearwater, a Half-blood, and had used the Dark Lord's name by accident. Just as they had convinced the Snatchers of their altered identity, one of Snatchers found the copy of the Prophet that the kids had been reading that contained a photograph of Hermione who, the article said, "had been traveling with Harry Potter." Then they found Harry's glasses. There was enough doubt, however, that they decided to take them to You-Know-Who himself. Greyback couldn't summon the Dark Lord directly because he was only a "play" Death Eater who got to wear the robes, so they decided to take all their prisoners of the night, including Dean Thomas and Griphook the goblin. While all this was happening, Harry was fighting to keep visions of Voldemort from intruding his mind. The vision was razor sharp again and he was near a tall, black building. He flew to the topmost window, a mere slit, and forced himself through like a snake. A skeletal figure looked dead on a bed.

Arriving at the Malfoy's, Greyback claimed he "had potter," and the gates opened. Narcissa opened the door, recognizing Harry, and led them inside to Lucius and Bellatrix. Even Draco said he "couldn't be sure." Lucius had thoughts of returning to Voldemort's favor by the find, and Greyback reminded it was him who had caught the boy. Fearful, Narcissa stood by Draco and plead that they needed to be "completely sure" before they summoned Voldemort. They did recognize Hermione and Ron and Bellatrix was about to press her Dark Mark when Lucius stopped her, arguing over who would call. Greyback jumped in the argument and was told to take the gold that he wanted. Lucius was about to touch his Mark and Bellatrix screamed for him to stop, a look of terror on her face. She rounded on the Snatcher with the Gryffindor Sword and stunned him when he resisted. The other Snatchers responded; but Bellatrix, being who she was, had them all unconscious on the ground and Greyback on his knees, immobilized before they had gotten off even a spell. Gryffindor's sword had been taken to HER vault at Gringott's and she had to find out about it BEFORE they called Voldemort. She demanded Draco to take the Snatchers outside and finish them off, and the prisoners to be taken to the cellar, except for Hermione. She told Ron that if the Mudblood died she would come for him next. When they were thrown into the cellar, they heard Hermione scream from the room above. Their fellow prisoners were Luna and Mr. Ollivander. Luna was able to use a nail to cut them free and Ron used the Deluminator to restore light. Nothing they tried allowed them to escape and Harry looked into his Mokeskin pouch and found the mirror fragment. A clear blue eye, resembling Dumbledore's was looking back at him. He frantically told it that they were in the Malfoy's cellar and needed urgent help. They continued to hear Hermione's torture through the ceiling and heard her tell Lestrange that the sword was fake. Draco was dispatched to retrieve Griphook to examine and tell them if the sword was real. Harry frantically whispered in Griphook's ear to tell them that it was fake. When the goblin had been taken, a loud crack produced Dobby. Harry told Dobby to take Luna, Ollivander and Dean to Bill's house then come back. When Luna began to argue with him, Harry's mind burned with Voldemort's torture of the emaciated man in the tower who was saying: "kill me then… I welcome death… but you will not find what you seek…". Harry firmly demanded they go and Dobby disappeared with a crack, which was heard by those above. Wormtail was sent to investigate, and as he opened the door, the lights hit his eyes, so both Ron and Harry tackled him to the floor. Ron grabbed his wand arm and Harry gagged his mouth with his hand. Ron imitated Wormtail's voice and called up to Lucius that things were fine, while the Death Eater's silver hand was closing around Harry's throat. Harry choked, questioningly, that Wormtail was going to kill him after he had saved his life. "You owe me," Harry told him. The silver fingers momentarily slackened enough for Harry to break free; but, his momentary pity had caused the artificial hand, that Voldemort had made, to attack its owner and kill him despite Harry's efforts to stop it.

They heard Griphook tell Bellatrix that the sword was a copy. Fine, Bellatrix said, slashing another cut on the Goblin's face, then pressed the mark on her arm to summon Voldemort. The evil witch told Greyback to take Hermione outside and Ron ran screaming into the room yelling: "NO!" Harry used Expelliarmus with Wormtail's wand to take Bellatrix's then stupefy Lucius. He ducked to avoid spells then heard Bellatrix demand they give up or she would cut Hermione's throat with her knife. They gave up and Draco took Wormtail's wand from Ron, and Bellatrix's from Harry. Just as Greyback was being sent outside with Hermione again, the chandelier fell on her and Griphook. Harry grabbed the three wands from Draco and blasted Greyback against the wall. Dobby magic'd Narcissa's wand away and Harry threw Ron a wand telling him to go. Harry grabbed Griphook, took hold of Dobby and Disapparated just as Bellatrix threw her knife. When they landed, Harry found that they were at Shell Cottage; but, Bellatrix's silver knife had hit Dobby in the chest and killed him.

446

24

The Wandmaker

Everyone was alright except Dobby, who was dead, and Harry was devastated. While others scratched their heads, Harry insisted on "doing it properly" and demanded a spade to dig a grave. While he mourned Dobby, Harry found that, at last, he had learned to do what Dumbledore had asked, close his mind to Voldemort. His scar prickled, but his mind was his own. "Hallows… Horcruxes…," he repeated over and over. He knew where Voldemort had been, and who he had killed. Gregorovitch and Wormtail, because he had shown one miniscule impulse for mercy. Ron and Dean joined Harry with spades of their own, and then helped bury Harry's greatest fan, in clothes donated by them all. The others came and Luna closed Dobby's eyes, as if asleep, then said a few words. One by one all of them said "thanks," before Bill levitated earth into the grave, and left, with the others, leaving Harry alone. Harry put a stone and marker on the grave then resolutely went into the house and requested to speak to both Griphook and Ollivander. Washing his hands, Harry's mind talked to Dumbledore. He had known about Ron and the need for the Deluminator, and Wormtail's bit of regret… he wondered if Dumbledore meant him to know about the Hallows but not seek them… he knew he had to choose: Horcruxes or Hallows. He settled on talking to Griphook first. The goblin reminded Harry that it was he who had taken Harry to his vault the very first time; then commented about how odd a wizard Harry was, for burying a house elf and rescuing a goblin. Despite all this, the Goblin didn't seem to give Harry much encouragement when he told Griphook about needing to get into the Lestrange vault. Griphook said that "if there was a wizard of whom I would believe that they did not seek personal gain, it would be you"; but then belittled wizard's lack of desire to "share the magic." Hermione, came alive with anger and informed him of all the S.P.E.W. activities and Harry setting Dobby free, and that it was she who was hunted and tortured as much as any of them. The only thing the goblin would say was that he "would think about it"; so, Harry took Gryffindor's sword from him and left.

Harry knew that Voldemort would be at Hogwarts shortly, with intent on obtaining Dumbledore's wand from his grave. But Harry also knew that he had already made his choice, about where his priorities were, so talked to Ollivander next. Harry asked if the wand-maker could mend his wand. Alas, he could not. A wand this damaged cannot be repaired by any means he knew of. Ollivander identified the wands that they had stolen from the Malfoy manner as: Walnut and dragon heartstring, 12 3/4 inches, unyielding – Bellatrix Lestrange; Hawthorn and unicorn hair, ten inches, reasonably springy – Draco Malfoy; and the wand Ron had, Chestnut and dragon heartstring, 9 1/4 inches, brittle – Peter Pettigrew. He told them more about wands. The wand chooses the wizard. If someone takes or wins the wand, it's allegiance will change; but it sometimes depends upon how it was won. Most wizards can use any wand, but there is an initial attraction followed by a mutual quest for experience — both learning from each other. Harry asked if it was necessary to kill a wizard to get the wand to change loyalties. Of course not, said Ollivander, but there were legends about one wand. The old man was stunned at Harry's knowledge of Voldemort's interest in the "Elder wand," and of their conversations during his torture session; but Harry wouldn't reveal how he knew what he did. Voldemort had always been happy with his 13 1/2 inch yew and phoenix feather wand until he realized about the twin cores. Then he began seeking the Elder wand as the ultimate weapon. Gregorovitch had started the rumor that he was in possession of the wand, and was duplicating its powers, as a means of boosting his credibility and sales. As Harry was telling Ron and Hermione about Grindelwald having stolen the Elder wand from Gregorovitch, he saw Voldemort standing at the gates of Hogwarts. Then, when he told them that Dumbledore had won the wand from Grindelwald, they were upset that Harry hadn't chose to have them go to get it first, before it was too late. He advised them that Dumbledore had tasked them with "Horcruxes not Hallows." Harry then willed himself to watch Voldemort, as he met, then dismissed, Snape at Hogwarts. He then used the Disillusionment charm on himself and opened Dumbledore's crypt. It was easy to take the wand from a dead man's crossed hands.

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25

Shell Cottage

It was a good thing that Bill and Fleur's new home, Shell Cottage, was on the coast and good for "pondering"; because, that's what Harry couldn't help but do for days — that, and worry. The eye in the mirror, the silver doe, the sword, could it be that he had misread Dumbledore's intentions? Hermione's support was as confusing as Ron's doubts, so the interruption by Fleur to say that Griphook wanted to talk to him, was welcome. The Goblin had decided to help them, IF he could have Gryffindor's sword. Bill explained that goblins have a different understanding of "possession" than wizards do. To them, things they make always belong to goblins; so, a wizard "buying" something from them only means "renting," until the wizard dies. Despite Harry's reluctance to part with the only thing he knew that could destroy a Horcrux, and the fact that he owed Harry a life-debt, Griphook's demand was completely non-negotiable and Harry had no choice. He agreed to say that the goblin could have it "after" they retrieved the cup from the vault — he deliberately didn't say HOW long after. They spent many hours cloistered away making plans. Harry realized that he didn't like Griphook much when he noticed that the goblin seemed to enjoy talking about pain in others, and hurting wizards. Ollivander finally was well enough to go to Muriel's, and Lupin came to visit and announce the birth of their son, Teddy, and request Harry to be godfather. Harry agreed feeling good that their argument at Grimmauld place seemed forgotten. Bill got Harry alone and, when he wouldn't divulge their plan with Griphook, warned him again that "It would be less dangerous to break into Gringott's than to renege on a promise to a goblin." It seemed Harry was going to be a reckless godfather.

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26

Gringotts

Hermione, who had used Polyjuice potion with a hair of Bellatrix's from her robe, complained and moaned about how awful it felt and that she couldn't even use the Death Eater's wand well. Ollivander had sent a replacement wand for Luna, but both Dean and Hermione were without wands of their own. Griphook was not leaving them alone, in order to prevent any "skullduggery." Complaining that "she tasted disgusting," Hermione, as Bellatrix, strode across the lawn in the May dawn light to the place where they would Disapparate. She transfigured Ron and both Harry and Griphook would be under the cloak. Tom greeted "Madame Lestrange" when they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, and Hermione responded much too politely, which was pointed out to her. Wandless beggars accosted them as they strode to Gringott's, and Ron blasted one away from Hermione's throat. The Death Eater, Travers, happened upon them and seemed confused that Bellatrix had been "let out" from her "punishment" for letting the kids escape and her wand being stolen. She introduced Ron as Dragomir Despard from Transylvania who was here to "see our new regime." Harry confunded the goblin with the Probity Probe at the door into thinking that he had already scanned Hermione and let her through. When Hermione stepped up, the goblin seemed unnerved and asked for identification. While Hermione was protesting, Griphook whispered "they know… act now… the Imperious curse." Harry "Imperio'd" Bogrod, the goblin, and then Travers when he wanted to know which wand maker Bellatrix had used to get a new wand (with both Ollivander and Gregorovitch out of service). They left another goblin, who was explaining that there had been "special instructions" about the vault, in their wake and slammed the door shut. They "Imperio'd" Travers to hide in the caverns then had Bogrod drive them in a cart to the deepest vaults. They realized that they had been discovered but had no choice but to keep going. They splashed under a waterfall which flipped the cart, threw them out and then smashed against the wall. Hermione's quick Cushioning Charm kept them from injury but Griphook explained that it was "The Thief's Downfall" which washed away enchantment and concealment — they were now back to themselves.

They "Imperio'd" Bogrod again and proceeded, on foot, to the old vaults which was guarded by a half-blind, chained dragon, that had been conditioned to hide when it heard clanker's banging. Bogrod was able to get them into the Lestrange vault; but they found that everything in it had been protected with Gemino and Flagrante Curses which made everything touched multiply with fakes and burn. That way, thieves would be crushed under their weight and burned. On a top shelf, they found Hufflepuff's cup which Tom Riddle had stolen from Hepzibah Smith. Hermione used Levicorpus to hoist Harry into the air by his ankle, but he clumsily hit objects sending a rain of hot material down on the others. Bogrod and Griphook were sinking beneath the burgeoning number of artifacts and Harry had to pull them up and use Liberacorpus to reverse the spell. From outside, they heard the dragon roaring and clanker's getting louder, but the sword with the cup on it slipped out of Harry's hand. Holding onto Harry's hair, Griphook grabbed the sword and let the cup fall. Harry lunged for the cup and endured the replication and heat as the vault door opened and they flowed out into the passage way. The two-faced, ungrateful Griphook took the sword and yelled "thieves! Help! Thieves!" as he ran into the crowd of other goblins. Harry had to Stupefy many and "Relashio" the chains off the dragon in order to escape. The three kids clung to the beasts back as it spread it's wings and flew to escape. They all used Defodio to carve the passageway larger until they reached fresh air. Goblins and wizards threw themselves out of the way when the dragon reached the marble hallway and headed for the doors. Smelling freedom at last, it launched itself, and the kids, toward the sky.

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27

The Final Hiding Place

Harry was so grateful for such an impossible escape that he didn’t think he could complain about hanging on for dear life to a dragon who couldn't see where she was going and not having any ability to steer… but he was close. After a very long time, they took the first chance they saw to dismount… jumping, and slamming like a rock into a freezing cold lake. They had burns; were hungry, cold and wet; had a Horcrux but no sword to destroy it; and didn't know where they were; but, that wasn't the worst of their problems… Voldemort now knew they were looking for his Horcruxes! As they thought that the goblins might cover their break-in up, Harry's scar burst with pain. He saw Voldemort being told about the theft, then flying into such a rage killing people, that Bellatrix and Lucius were trampling over people to get out of the way. Harry watched as Voldemort recounted to himself the hiding places of his remaining Horcruxes: the Gaunt house, the lake, Hogwarts and the snake; then decide to go check on them all, himself. He would warn Snape at Hogwarts, but the others were less secure, so he would check on them first. "He knows," Harry told Hermione and Ron, "and the last one is at Hogwarts" like I thought. Over Hermione's objections, because they didn't have a plan in place, Harry insisted that they Disapparate immediately to Hogsmead where they could attempt to enter Hogwarts. They had almost no time left before Voldemort would be there and no other choice. As the dragon, who had been drinking on the far banks of the lake, rose into the air, the three got under the cloak and turned into the crushing experience of Disapparition.

544

28

The Missing Mirror

The cobblestone road of Hogwarts appeared beneath their feet and the air immediately filled with a "Caterwauling Charm" alarm screech which had been waiting for them. Hooded Death Eaters poured from the Three Broomsticks and one immediately attempted to "Accio" Harry's cloak. Surprising to Harry, the cloak didn't move; so, the the hooded figures flooded out into the streets to search for him. A spell was preventing them from Disapparating and the Eaters summoned dementors, which they had rationalized wouldn't actually kill Harry — Voldemort demanded to do that himself. Just as Harry gave in to the suffocating need to summon his patronus, and the Eaters had seen it, grinding noise came from behind them and they were pulled into an alleyway door. From under the cloak they heard a gruff man arguing with Death Eaters about being attacked by dementors when he put his cat out. The Eater, which claimed he had seen Harry's stag, felt foolish when the barman produced his: a goat! Harry recognized the barman's brilliant blue eyes as being those in his mirror, and exclaimed "you're Aberforth," Dumbledore's brother. He had bought the mirror "from Dung" a year ago and had been trying to "keep an eye out." He fed them and wanted them to leave, in the morning, to go stay with Hagrid in his mountain cave. When they refused, it started a heavy discussion which included a lesson in "basic Albus Dumbledore 101." "My brother wanted a lot of things, and people had a habit of getting hurt while he was carrying out his grand plans," he said. When Harry responded that "it has to be me," because his brother had explained it, Aberforth asked him if he had "told you everything, was he honest with you?" Harry couldn't say that he had been, so Aberforth voiced that "Albus learned secrecy at our mother's knee." They had grown up with "secrecy and lies." He told them the story of his sister, Ariana. When she was six, she was attacked by three Muggle boy's who had seen her accidentally do magic. It destroyed her and she was never right again. His father went after the boys and was locked up in Azkaban because he never said why he'd done it, in order to prevent Ariana from being placed in St. Mungo's for life. They moved and told people Ariana was ill. He looked after her, because Albus was too involved with himself and his plans. She would help him feed the goats. When Ariana was fourteen, she went into one of her rages and accidentally killed their mother. Albus' trip with the old berk Doge was cancelled and he wouldn't accept Aberforth's offer to quit school and care for Ariana.

"A bit of a comedown for Mr. Brilliant," Aberforth said, but he did all right until Grindelwald came. When they began talking and planning as equal minds, Ariana took a backseat to their schemes of a "new world order" and search for the "Hallows." The misty eyed barman told them that he had finally stood up to them both… Albus couldn't drag his sister around the world while they tried to "whip up your following." Grindelwald became angry and abusive demanding that they wouldn't have to hide their sister, once they'd "taught the Muggle's their place… and led wizards out of hiding." Grindelwald used the Cruciatus Curse on him and Albus tried to stop him. The bangs and flashes of the fight set off one of Ariana's spells… she tried to help… and she was dead… it could have been any one of the three of us. Aberforth said that Grindelwald scarpered like the coward he was, and Albus was "free." Harry corrected him that: "He was never free"; then, told him of the night he had drunk Voldemort's potion and had plead, "don't hurt them please… hurt me instead." The information seemed to visibly affect Aberforth; but, after a pause he asked Harry: "How can you be sure, Potter, that my brother wasn't more interested in the 'greater good' than in you? How can you be sure you aren't dispensable, just like my little sister? Why didn't he tell you to 'take care of yourself, here's how to do it?" Harry shot back that he was going to keep on fighting, "even if you've given up," because "sometimes you've got to think about more than your own safety… this is war!" Harry told him that his brother had passed the knowledge of how to finish Voldemort on to him and he was going to keep going. "Don't think I don't know how this might end," he told him, "I've known it for years." Stunned, Aberforth rose and went to the portrait of Ariana. He told the girl "you know what to do" and she retreated into a long tunnel painted beside her. She returned shortly, leading a tall, limping, long-haired, disheveled hobbledehoy: Neville Longbottom.

554

Berk:From the Cockney rhyming phrase “Berkeley Hunt which had an extremly vulgar meaning, demeaning to women.

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