CENTAURS AND DRAGONS AND OWLS, OH MY!: SET-UPS AND PAYOFFS

I'd like to finish up discussing the set-ups and payoffs regarding Magical Creatures in Harry Potter today. As we wrap up each topic, of course, there are fewer and fewer issues to discuss... but we still have a few juicy thoughts today (I hope).

Okay, let's get started.

Centaurs

Centaurs are smarter than humans [OP-33]. That's made quite clear to us... by the centaurs. Which raises the question: Are they really smarter than humans? Or are we seeing a reverse prejudice? Aided by perhaps a bit of touchiness on the centaurs' parts? (After all, they were certainly fooled by an underage witch pretty easily.)

In any event, centaurs definitely don't acknowledge wizard superiority (whether it exists or not), nor do they acknowledge wizard laws [OP-33]. They certainly don't want to be manipulated by wizards [OP-33]. In fact, as far as they're concerned, even the Forbidden Forest belongs to them [OP-33], and not the wizards at all.

This helps us understand (if not condone) the centaur reaction to Firenze. Firenze has been able to look beyond his kind's prejudice from the beginning, when he allied with humans against "what is lurking in this forest" (i.e., Voldemort), in contrast to, say, Bane, who keeps his prejudice against humans intact [SS-15]. In fact, Firenze is banished from the forest precisely because he steps past this prejudice to work for Dumbledore [OP-27].

And Firenze pays a steep price for his open-mindedness. The centaurs refuse to forgive him for his betrayal, so much so that Hagrid has to stop them from killing Firenze [OP-30].

Will we see a payoff for all this prejudice? I doubt that we'll actually see much more about the centaurs, given that it's unlikely that we'll be at Hogwarts all that much in Book 7. But I could be wrong: We have a lot of wizards-prejudiced-against-other-creatures storylines going on (House-Elves, Giants, etc.) -- but this is really the only place we see other creatures prejudiced against wizards, making it a particularly interesting way to explore the theme. (However -- how much time will we have in Book 7 to just focus on theme, given all the plot to be covered?)

One last thing about the centaurs: What about their ability to foretell the future? Wouldn't it be nice to get a little payoff there?

Well, given their extreme vagueness, I don't think they'll do us that much good, unfortunately. Let's face it, it's not even clear whether the "calm between two great wars" [OP-27] refers to the calm between Voldemort's first attempt to take power and his second, or between the WWII era battle against Grindelwald and the rise of Voldemort.

Werewolves

Other than the understanding we develop for Remus Lupin, we really don't know or hear that much about werewolves until Half-Blood Prince.

But boy, do those werewolves come out of the woodwork then! We learn for the first time that there are a lot of them around, and that Lupin is living with them, trying to win them to the good side of the battle against Voldemort [HBP-16]. We also learn that the werewolves are tending to side with Voldemort, however, because they know he will give them a better life [HBP-16] -- something Voldemort seems to promise to a lot of creatures, but given werewolves' predilections, it seems likely to be quite true in this case, seeing that he's promised them prey.

Most of our expanded knowledge of werewolves, however, focuses on one werewolf in particular: Fenrir Greyback.

Fenrir, we learn, revels in being a werewolf. He considers it his mission to contaminate as many wizards as possible [HBP-16], specializing in children, whom he hopes to train to hate wizards. To that end, he positions himself near his victims as the full moon approaches, the better to attack once he has transformed [HBP-16]. And as we see when he attacks Bill, he will even attack (with less than complete results) when it's not a full moon [HBP-29].

Voldemort is deploying Fenrir well, it seems. He uses Fenrir as a threat against people's children [HBP-16]. And he follows through on that threat at least once in HBP, with the Montgomery son being attacked when his mother refused to help Voldemort [HBP-22]. Fenrir is treated as a trusted lieutenant, apparently, given that he hangs with esteemed purebred families such as the Malfoys [HBP-17].

But Fenrir is unpredictable. Although it's repeated often during the final battle at Hogwarts in HBP that Harry must be saved for Voldemort, Fenrir attacks him -- apparently against Voldemort's express orders [HBP-28].

So as we head for Book 7, we have a dangerous, uncontrollable werewolf on the loose, one whom we just met, and whom we spent a lot of time hearing about in Book 6. I definitely think Fenrir's story is not over. I don't think such a powerful character would be introduced just to savage Bill Weasley and disappear. Will he play a major role in Book 7, or just be a distraction from the bigger battle, an obstacle to overcome, as it were? I would guess the latter, but I do think we'll see him again.

There is one more werewolf-related discussion to have... but we'll hold off on the question of whether Draco Malfoy has been "contaminated" until we discuss Draco on his own.

Dragons

It sure would be nice to see some dragons again. But given that, outside of the Triwizard Tournament, all we've been told about them is that there are two types native to Britain [SS-14], and given that we've been given no set-up to see more specifically of Charlie Weasley, I sort of doubt it.

Sigh. Wouldn't a dragon battle be fun, though?

Owls

We've seen so much of owls throughout HP that we sort of take them for granted. But there's one big, gigantic set-up that we've been handed as almost a throwaway.

We see it clearly when Sirius Black is in hiding, and Harry uses a school owl (rather than Hedwig) to find him [GF-18]. This indicates something important: Any owl can find any wizard.

Think about that. If any owl can find any wizard, then could an owl find Voldemort? My guess is yes.

But what good would that do, you ask, if the owl can't communicate Voldemort's location back to Harry? Well, we've heard Harry say quite a few times that he prefers flying to Apparating. What if Harry followed, say, Hedwig on her voyage toward Voldemort?

If Voldemort hides from Harry and Harry has to find him, we've been given a beautiful, clean, elegant way for Harry to do just that.

Vampires

We finally see a vampire in HBP, when Sanguini (what a great name!) makes his appearance at Slughorn's Christmas party [HBP-15]. Sanguini is almost a comic character here, and certainly not a scary one, so I do think he's here mainly for color and a bit of comic relief. I don't think we'll see him, or any other vampires, again.

But I think Sanguini's presence accomplishes what we might think of as a "meta-purpose": He makes it clear that Snape is not, as many have opined, a vampire or a half-vampire (something J.K. Rowling has weighed in on in interviews as well). Now that we see what vampires are like in JKR's universe, they are as far from Snape in personality as possible -- hopefully putting the question to rest.

Veela

We will certainly see Veela again, given that Fleur's relatives are likely to attend her wedding. But so far the powers of the Veela [GF-8] have been used pretty humorously, and I don't expect to see a lot of Veela floating around Book 7 during the real action of the story.

One question hovers out there, though: What powers does Fleur have (other than making Ron do foolish things)? Could we perhaps see her turn into one of those birdlike monsters to defend Bill (or others of the Weasley family, once she's Fleur Weasley)? Not necessary... but it could be cool!

Other Magical Creatures

Plenty of other magical creatures are mentioned -- Chameleon Ghouls [CS-11], Blood-sucking Bugbears [CS-11] and the like. And once we add in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, we've got lots to draw from. But JKR has said she won't be introducing new characters for the most part in Book 7 -- and I have to feel that includes new monsters. I think we've seen pretty much all the Fantastic Beasts we're going to see...

From Magical Creatures, we'll next move on to Magical Objects. Stay tuned!

CRAZINESS ACROSS THE POND

Following up on the story about the city of Las Cruces (Spanish for "The Crosses") being sued to remove the three crosses from their city seal, I find similar wackiness going on in England.

In the town of Dudley, city workers were told to get rid of their Piglet figurines and any other "pig" related tchotchkes, because the mere presence of Winnie-the-Pooh's best friend might offend someone... in this case, the one person who posted the complaint.

Is this insanity or what?

And it follows an earlier instance where a British school banned books such as "Winnie the Pooh" and "The Three Little Pigs," again because someone might be offended by the mere presence or mention of a pig.

And isn't it strange how political correctness in the U.S. tends to involve invoking the god of "tolerance".... while, at least in this instance, political correctness in the U.K. seems to involve a lack of tolerance.

I don't get it. In the immortal words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?" I mean, please.

Who knew the Hundred Acre Wood would turn into a battleground?

A GIANT PROBLEM: SET-UPS AND PAYOFFS

We have sure spent a lot of time with the giants in the recent Harry Potter books.

We've spent chapter after chapter on them, what with Hagrid's unsuccessful trip with Madame Maxine as Dumbledore's messengers, their near fruitless attempt to recruit the giants, and Hagrid's return with his half-brother Grawp [OP-20].

Our knowledge of giants, however, is pretty basic. We know they're vicious by nature and hide primarily in mountains abroad [GF-23]. We know they almost killed each to extinction, with Aurors doing their part in killing more of them [GF-23] during Voldemort's first reign of terror. We know that the giants who remained joined Voldemort, and that upon his return he immediately planned to call them back [GF-33].

And that's about all we know. Not much for having spent so much time on them. We don't know how they attack wizards or humans in general, except that their recent attacks on Muggles were interpreted by the Muggles as a hurricane [HBP-1]. We don't know how Voldemort manages to wrangle creatures who seem as intent on fighting each other as fighting any enemy. We don't know how many are left or where they are (other than the small band Hagrid found -- and we don't know where they are, either). We do know there's at least one giant in England -- but are there more? We simply don't know. (And by the way, why is it so hard for the Ministry of Magic to find this one giant? I mean, shouldn't he be pretty easy to find?)

Even the time we've spent with Hagrid and Grawp doesn't tell us much. Grawp can clearly be somewhat domesticated, as we see at Dumbledore's funeral, where he's wearing normal clothes and (quite sweetly) trying to comfort his "big" brother [HBP-30]. But from what we can see, he doesn't seem to have come that far along from when he was grunting "Hermy?" and pulling down trees for fun. (Clearly in giant-wizard matches, the wizard strain of DNA is extremely dominant, if we compare Madame Maxime and Hagrid to Grawp and the other giants we've met.)

So why have we spent so much time on them? Was it all so Grawp could scare off the centaurs and save Harry and Hermione in the Forbidden Forest [OP-33]? That's an awful lot of set-up for really not much payoff at all.

Or was it just to give us another expression of the theme of prejudice? Dumbledore says as much when he tells Fudge to send envoys to the giants:

"The second step you must take-- and at once," Dumbledore pressed on, "is to send envoys to the giants."

"Envoys to the giants?" Fudge shrieked, finding his tongue again. "What madness is this?"

"Extend them the hand of friendship, now, before it is too late," said Dumbledore, "or Voldemort will persuade them, as he did before, that he alone among wizards will give them their rights and their freedom!"

"You -- you cannot be serious!" Fudge gasped, shaking his head and retreating further from Dumbledore. "If the magical community got wind that I had approached the giants -- people hate them, Dumbledore -- end of my career--"

"You are blinded," said Dumbledore, his voice rising now, the aura of power around him palpable, his eyes blazing once more, "by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius! You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!" [GF-36]

So what are we to make of all this set-up?

I see three possibilities: (1) We will come back to the giants as part of the wrap-up of Hagrid's story; or (2) Voldemort will incorporate the giants (plural, not just the one seemingly roaming around Britain at the present) as part of his army of dementors, inferi, Death Eaters and other unsavory types, and we will see (or hear about) some major destruction; or (3) the giant storyline is in part what J.K. Rowling was referring to when she said that she had overwritten Book 5 and should have cut down some parts of the story.

My bet is choice no. 3. We sure have had a lot of set-up about those giants, but for my money, they're not that interesting, they haven't been that illuminating even to our understanding of Hagrid's part of the story, and I think they're really a plot and thematic device that got a little out of hand.

But I sure could be wrong -- because the set-ups are there.

Next post, I'll try to wrap up the topic of Magical Creatures -- but we still have a few to go: Centaurs, Dragons, Vampires and more!

A LITTLE BIT OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION

Residuals are a wonderful thing. "Green envelope days" (our residual checks come in a distinctive green envelope) are among our favorites every quarter. There are some months when the residual check has been what kept the bills paid and food on the table.

So do your part to make a couple of lonely writers happy, and keep those residuals running in... by rushing straight over to amazon and buying your very own copy of the 9-disc DVD set of the first four Batman movies, including, of course, Batman Forever.

We did an interview for this, which I assume is smushed somewhere in all the DVD extras. (Or maybe they cut us, I have no idea, actually -- somehow no one ever seems to list the interview with the writers as a crucial extra... I just don't understand that!) A friend who worked on the DVD says we came out okay in the interview, so we'll just trust her on that.

So go buy your boxed set for Christmas! Or Thanksgiving! Or Halloween!

...Keep those green envelopes rollin' in!

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

THE MAGIC OF THE PHOENIX: SET-UPS AND PAYOFFS

As we look at the set-ups and payoffs surrounding magical creatures in Harry Potter, we next come to my favorite magical creature of all: Fawkes.

Phoenixes, of course, have a long, established lore surrounding them, and J.K. Rowling uses much of it in HP, adding to it as well.

We know that phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die, and are reborn from the ashes. This apparently happens often enough to Fawkes that Dumbledore refers to one of his "burning days" [CS-12].

Dumbledore also tells Harry at the same time that phoenixes can carry heavy loads, and that their tears have healing powers. These are both set-ups paid off in the same book, the first when Fawkes carries Harry, Ron, Lockhart and Ginny (easily at least 400 to 450 pounds) out of the Chamber of Secrets [CS-17], the second when Fawkes's tears heal Harry's fatal wound from the basilisk, saving Harry's life [CS-17]. And of course, we also see the power of Fawkes's healing tears when he heals the wound Harry got from the spider in the third task of the Triwizard Tournament [GF-38]. We also see that Fawkes (like the House-Elves) somehow bypasses the apparent proscription on Apparating within Hogwarts, and can appear and disappear with ease [OP-22].

Fawkes, we learn, has the power to heal more than external wounds. His very song provides a deep spiritual comfort and hope. In the graveyard in Goblet of Fire, it is phoenix song that brings Harry hope and that somehow conveys to him "Don't break the connection" between his wand and Voldemort's [GF-34]. One note of Fawkes's song empowers Harry to be able to tell the story of what happened in the graveyard:

The phoenix let out one soft, quavering note. It shivered in the air, and Harry felt as though a drop of hot liquid had slipped down his throat into his stomach, warming him, and strenghthening him. [GF-36].

And it is phoenix song that magically expresses everyone's grief when Dumbledore dies, and which also empowers them to go forward:

Somewhere out in the darkness, a phoenix was singing in a way Harry had never heard before: a stricken lament of terrible beauty. And Harry felt, as he had felt about phoenix song before, that the music was inside him, not without: It was his own grief turned magically to song that echoed across the grounds and through the castle windows.

How long they all stood there, listening, he did not know, nor why it seemed to ease their pain a little to listen to the sound of their mourning... [HBP-29]

Fawkes is also extraordinarily intelligent. He clearly understands English, delivering messages accurately and responding when Dumbledore tells him "We will need a warning" [OP-22]. And note that it is Fawkes who brings Tom Riddle's diary to Harry when Harry is succumbing to the attack of the basilisk at the end of Chamber of Secrets [CS-17]. Harry destroys the diary, which we later learn is a Horcrux containing 1/7 of Voldemort's soul, far more valuable than we could ever have believed -- but he couldn't have done so had Fawkes not brought it to him. Think: How extremely intelligent must Fawkes be to have known to do that!

But these powers are not the most remarkable thing about Fawkes. No, his most outstanding characteristic is his faithfulness.

In Chamber of Secrets, Fawkes brings the Sorting Hat (magically concealing Godric Gryffindor's sword) to Harry, thus enabling him to kill the basilisk, only when Harry express extreme loyalty to Dumbledore [CS-17]. As Dumbledore later tells Harry:

"You must have shown me real loyalty down in the Chamber. Nothing but that could have called Fawkes to you." [CS-18]

Fawkes's loyalty extends to throwing himself into harm's way for his "owner" (not quite the right word for his relationship to Dumbledore...), or for those loyal to him. He saves Harry when he attacks the basilisk in the eyes [CS-17]. He swallows the Avada Kedavra curse that Voldemort shoots at Dumbledore in the battle at the Ministry of Magic [OP-36]. His doing so saves Dumbledore's life and kills Fawkes -- but of course, Fawkes immediately is reborn as an ugly baby phoenix.

Fawkes's loyalty to Dumbledore (and vice versa) is understandable. But one little moment shows us that Fawkes has the ability, the free will, as it were, to choose whom he aligns himself with: When Harry has to tell the horrible story of Cedric's death and Lord Voldemort's return, Fawkes comes to rest with Harry -- not with Dumbledore, as one would normally expect -- and gives him the strength to tell the tale.

So if Fawkes has the power to choose whom he "belongs" to, where will he land next? One would expect he would align himself with Harry, "Dumbledore's man through and through." Harry could sure use him, and after all, he does have a feather from Fawkes in his wand (although of course, Voldemort does too).

But what if Fawkes goes elsewhere? Who else in our story might also be "Dumbledore's man through and through"?

I do expect the highest probability is that Fawkes will end up with Harry. But what if... what if he chose to go to Severus Snape?

If Harry is to recognize that Snape did not kill Dumbledore, that Snape is still on the side of the order of the Phoenix, that Snape is in fact his unexpected ally in the war against Voldemort... could there be a simpler, yet more dramatic way of making that clear than by having Fawkes go to Snape? How could Harry refuse to get that message?

(I am not convinced that Harry will get that message, as I've said earlier. Snape might have to die for Harry for Harry to realize where his true loyalties lay. But if Harry does realize it in time, I think Fawkes will be the messenger.)

Fawkes therefore becomes even more the representative of one of the primary themes of all of Harry Potter: the theme of Loyalty. Ron and Hermione's loyalty to Harry (as shown by their insistence that they will be with him through Book 7). Harry's astonishing loyalty to Dumbledore, even after death [HBP-30]. And Snape's loyalty to... whom?

Dumbledore may be dead. But I would stake anything that Fawkes did not disappear with him. Fawkes will be back in Book 7, as an aide, as a comforter... and very possibly as a messenger of loyalty.

AND THE WORLD GOES CRAZY....

Two little pieces of news that had me gaping today. One from each side of the Atlantic.

The Dutch Language Union, the official organization which sets the rules for Dutch language usage in The Netherlands, Suriname, and Belgium, has decreed that hencefore, the word "Christ" will be written with a lower-case "c." Really. Check it out.

Yeah, yeah, they've got some convoluted reasoning for it that seems to work for them. And sure, people can be skeptical and say, oh, they're just trying to boost the sale of textbooks, which will all have to be reprinted. But come on.

Here's my question: Are they changing the spelling of "Allah"?

Okay. Closer to home now.

The city of Las Cruces, New Mexico is facing a lawsuit regarding their city seal... reminiscent of a similar situation here in L.A. which I blogged about here. (By the way, it was hard to find a link for the Las Cruces story, which seems to be all over conservative blogs but hardly anywhere else -- it took a while to find a hard news source for it, so I could be sure I wasn't passing on an urban legend...)

The Las Cruces lawsuit asks that the city remove three small crosses from their city seal. It also charges violations of the Civil Rights Act in making people fill out job applications for the city that have this "discriminatory" symbol on them.

Let's all check our grade school Spanish. Doesn't "Las Cruces" mean... um... "the crosses"?

....Isn't gross distortion of language one of the signs of the Apocalypse?

SET-UPS AND PAYOFFS: GOBLINS

Boy, those goblins are revolting.

We're heard about goblin rebellions in just about every Harry Potter book, beginning in year 1 [SS-13]. The goblins rebelled in 1612 (a rebellion that included particularly "vicious" riots), using the Hogsmead Inn as their headquarters [PA-5]. But that was just the beginning, because there were multiple goblin rebellions in the 17th century [GF-15], followed by goblin riots in the 18th century [OP-31]. We also know that the goblins wanted to attended the first International Confederation of Wizards somewhere in that time, but they were ousted [OP-7]

So what's the status of the goblins now? Well, they may not have been accepted as equals by the wizards, but they sure could control the entire Wizarding World if they wanted to, given that they seem to pretty much run the wizarding economy. They run Gringotts [SS-5], and as Ludo Bagman knows all too well, they also run what appears to be a variety of loan-sharking and betting operations [GF-26,37]. Let's face it, if the goblins wanted to, they could tie the wizarding world up in one big knot.

But would they want to? So far, they seem to be working just fine with the lawful wizards, the Ministry of Magic and whatnot, having even tightened security at Gringotts after Lord Voldemort returned to his body [HBP-6]. The Ministry of Magic has a Goblin Liaison Office [GF-7] (headed, we learn, by one of Slughorn's former students [HBP-4] -- what a surprise). And things seem okay.

It's unclear, however. Maybe they would align with Voldemort:

"They're not giving anything away yet," said Bill. "I still can't work out whether they believe he's back or not. 'Course, they might prefer not to take sides at all. Keep out of it."

"I'm sure they'd never go over to You-Know-Who," said Mr. Weasley, shaking his head. "They've suffered losses too. Remember that goblin family he murdered last time, somewhere near Nottingham?"

"I think it depends what they're offered," said Lupin. "And I'm not talking about gold; if they're offered freedoms we've been denying them for centuries they're going to be tempted. Have you still not had any luck with Ragnok, Bill?"

"He's feeling pretty anti-wizard at the moment," said Bill. "He hasn't stopped raging about the Bagman business..." [OP-5]

So... the goblins could rebel. Or maybe not. We've got clues both ways. Love that ambiguity!

In a sense -- oh please please don't take me wrong for referring back to historic racism in this way -- the goblins of HP stand in the place of 19th century (and previous) views of the Jews: They can keep in the ghettoes, and they can handle the money. But nothing else. (And a less strong way, the House-Elves hold the same position as black slaves in the 19th century in America: They do the housework happily and despite their natural talents, have grossly inequal status in the wizarding world. The parallel is here is much less strong, and probably forced on my part, because, of course, J.K. Rowling is not writing out of an American tradition in any way, shape, or form.)

So, despite the set-ups, I doubt the goblins will rebel in book 7. Let's face it, we haven't even met a goblin that we could say we "know." No, I think the goblins are here primarily here as a thematic arrow pointing to the ever-running theme of prejudice. If they do play any greater part, I think it will only be in a way that reflects that theme.

Okay, so goblins aren't the most enlightening topic. But for the sake of completeness, we had to cover them. Next post we'll move on to someone much more fascinating: Fawkes.

THE NOT-SO-AMAZING RACE

What has happened to The Amazing Race this season?

The "Family Edition" seemed like a good idea. Heck, it seemed like such a good idea to us that we applied. (We didn't get on. Obviously.)

But it's not working out so hot. I think the teams of four are just not working out. Because there are so many people to interact with within each team, the teams don't seem to be interacting much.

And maybe it's because they have to tone the Detours and Roadblocks down because of the underage kids on the race, but boy, are they boring. When we went to a racetrack on Tuesday night, the teams ripped their clues which said "Take a lap around the track" or something to that effect, and they all thought right away that they'd be driving a real race car. Now that could have been interesting. Instead, they rode (slowly... separately... no "race" element involved) around the track on a weird bicycle-built-for-four. They were all disappointed. And lemme tell you, so were we.

And what's with still being in the U.S. after all these weeks? The first episode I thought, okay, sure, let's go cross the Delaware like Washington did. That's sort of cool. But it's getting boring. I don't watch The Amazing Race to "see America first." I watch it to go to cool, exotic, faraway places that I will most likely never get to in real life.

This week, teams had to find clues in empty mobile homes and at a gas station. Excuse me? Why should I watch a TV show to get to see a gas station food mart? That's not "appointment viewing"! I want the Taj Mahal! I want Victoria Falls! I want the Eiffel Tower! I want the Hermitage! I want the Great Wall of China! ....A gas station? Pathetic.

Are they just being cheap? Is that the reason for all the camping (they had to camp out in those empty mobile homes)? Or is it an insurance thing? At any rate, they're taking this long-term big-time fan of the show... and they're boring me. (And not just me. Lee won't even watch. He wanders through once or twice an episode now, saying, "They're still in the U.S.?")

One other thing. I'm not one to point fingers and say Christians are being persecuted or even made to look bad by the media. (I think enough Christians make themselves look bad all by themselves often enough, thank you very much.) But....

The Weaver family has been taking a lot of heat from the other teams. This is a family from Florida that consists of a recent widow and her three kids. They are very competitive, play hard, but as far as we've seen, they haven't been mean, they haven't cut people off, they haven't played unfair in any way.

Yet on this last episode, we heard repeatedly from other teams about how much they hate "the Florida team" (incredibly small of those teams, by the way -- you know that racetrack Roadblock that was so boring? Well, the dad of the Weaver family worked on a pit crew and was killed on a racetrack -- so that was a Roadblock that was easy for everyone else, painful for them).

Why so much hatred for this team? What could possibly justify it?

Well, when the Weavers started the episode, as they drove out, one of the kids said a prayer for protection and whatnot. The editors chose to include that, out of all the hundreds of hours of footage available. And then they contrasted it with all this "we hate them" verbiage from the other teams. Are we supposed to think that, because the Weavers are Christians, that makes it acceptable to hate them?

Maybe I'm being paranoid. But, again, given the amount of footage involved, why? (Or is it just that the show has become sooooo boring, the editors have to create some kind of drama even where none exists?)

I'll hang in there. I'm too big a fan not to. And besides, in the "next week on" at the end of the show on Tuesday, they hinted that they're finally leaving the U.S.

We can hope.

SET-UPS AND PAYOFFS: MAGICAL CREATURES

Let's talk first about House-Elves.

House-Elves, humorous as they may appear to us, having met Dobby as their first exemplar, nevertheless have an astonishing amount of magical power for servants.

First, as we are all very aware, House-Elves are able to do the seeming impossible: They can Apparate and Disapparate around Hogwarts. This is explained as being necessary for them to do their duties. Okay, fine. But they also (probably) can Apparate into Hogwarts (as Kreacher does when Harry sends him there in Half-Blood Prince [HBP-3]) and out of Hogwarts (as Dobby does after Harry frees him [CS-18]).

House-Elves' magic is not limited to Apparition, however. Dobby is able to bewitch a Bludger to chase Harry in Chamber of Secrets [CS-10]. House-Elves even have power over wizards: Winky is able to "bind" Barty Crouch at the Quidditch World Cup [GF-35]. Dobby is able to knock Lucius Malfoy down the stairs as soon as he is no longer in Malfoy's service. [CS-38] And all this without a wand.

We learn, in fact, that House-Elves aren't permitted to use wands [GF-9]. Which raises the question: What if they could? How magnified could their powers be? Let's put a pin in that intriguing thought and move on to how House-Elves are treated by wizards.

And the answer to that is: In general, not very well. In fact, the very first thing we learn about House-Elves is that they not treated as equals to wizards [CS-2]. While they were admittedly treated worse when Voldemort was in power [CS-10], and while at least those 100 or more House-Elves who work at Hogwarts appear to receive decent treatment and be happy [GF-21], their very identity (and even their name!) is tied up in the fact of their servitude. And even though they have virtually no independence, they can still be convicted of crimes, with the Ministry of Magic predisposed, as in Hokey's case, to suspect them [HBP-20].

That servitude (Hermione would call it slavery) has some pretty severe limitations on it. A House-Elf is bound to serve one family forever, unless freed by that family. They are bound to keep that family's secrets so strongly that, even when freed, they find it hard to break that bind [GF-21]. (Although, as we see when Kreacher leaves 12, Grimmauld Place, they can find ways to work around this if they really try [OP-37]). Which raises the question... what could Dobby say about Lucius Malfoy? Does he have information Harry might need? Or what could Kreacher say about Sirius... or about Regulus? Or about that locket we found when cleaning 12, Grimmauld Place? Will Harry ask?

With this treatment, it's perhaps not surprising that Hermione, who doesn't share the taught-from-birth prejudices of the wizarding world, comes up with S.P.E.W.(the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare) in response to what she views as gross injustices heaped upon the House-Elves. S.P.E.W., despite Hermione's buttons, despite her knitting hats galore, never catches on.

But boy, we sure spent a lot of time on it, didn't we? Why, I have to ask? Was it just a tangent? Was it just comic relief (perhaps not all that comic)? Was just a thematic detour, to point us to the continuing issue of prejudice, reflected in the main plotlines as pureblood vs. half-blood vs. "mudblood"?

I'd like to hope (though I wouldn't make a firm prediction on this) that we'd see a further payoff to S.P.E.W., and to the situation of the House-Elves in general. Putting together their absolute obedience to their masters with the power that can (but are not necessarily allowed to) wield, I have to ask: What if the House-Elves fought for the Order of the Phoenix? Voldemort is raising various armies. It would seem that the Order might have one practically ready-made.

But will anyone think of it....?

Next post, let's go underground with the Goblins...

MOVIE THOUGHTS: WALLACE AND GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT

What was the last perfect movie you saw?

The last movie where all you could do was appreciate... nay, marvel. Where you started smiling within the first 30 seconds, and kept smiling for, oh, four hours or so. And the movie only took up two hours of that smiling.

Can't remember?

Then rush out and see Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

In perfectly and wackily rendered Claymation, W&G tells a simple tale, really. The tale of a pair of inventors, one of whom happens to be a dog, running a pest control business ("Anti-Pesto") which traps rabbits humanely before they can chow down on gargantuan vegetables being grown for a giant-veggie-growing contest... Until something goes wrong and a giant "were-rabbit" is created -- and must be stopped! Really just your normal movie.

If you have never seen W&G in any of their Oscar-winning shorts (The Wrong Trousers being the best of the bunch), you have missed out on a treat. All the stories center on the odd pair of Wallace, a Rube-Goldbergian inventor with rather an extreme liking for cheese, and his partner, the silent Gromit, who can say more with a roll or squinch of his eyes than most actors can with their best emoting. Oh, and Gromit is a dog.

Were-Rabbit has it all: The bizarrely hilarious inventions. The innocence. The sweetness. The puns and inside-culture references that are actually so funny you'll burst out laughing right in public. The twisty-turny plotting that delights and surprises every step of the way. The visual jokes ("Angry mob supplies," anyone?) The daring action sequences (yes, really). Not to mention the deft comic timing of Ralph Fiennes (who knew?) as the dastardly villain (Having quite the busy fall, isn't he, that Mr. Fiennes?)

Usually sweetness in the movies tends toward the cloying. Not here. We all walked out of the theatre still laughing -- and kept laughing at silly things like a trash can liner being blown out of its can. And we kept laughing. It was as if the movie had cast a joyous spell over us, and it lingered for quite a while.

Need a break from everyday life? Go see Wallace and Gromit. Just make sure your laughing muscles are ready first.

SET-UPS AND PAYOFFS: WHAT DOES HARRY NEED TO DO NEXT?

Yes, yes, yes, we all know Harry needs to find the four remaining Horcruxes, destroy them, then kill Lord Voldemort. Ho-hum. Is that all?

...Actually, I will get to the issue of Horcruxes later in this series. And I've already talked a bit about the destruction of Voldemort when I was writing about the You-Know-Who himself.

But here I want to look specifically at the set-ups and payoffs around the edges of Harry's Big Task. I want to look, first, at the people Harry needs to contact to be equipped to take on the task. And I want to look at Harry's inner task: The need to forgive.

First, let's look at the people Harry might want to track down and make some inquiries of: His Parents' Friends.

I'm not the only one to comment how very incurious Harry is about the past. There are plenty of people around who knew his parents, yet somehow Sirius and Lupin are the only ones he ever talks to about them. In Sorcerer's Stone, Hagrid very kindly sent away to lots of Harry's friends for pictures of James and Lily and made a little scrapbook for him [SS-16]. Well, not only have we never seen that scrapbook again, but Harry has never talked either to Hagrid or to any of the folks in that picture about James and Lily.

We get another photograph into the past when Moody shows Harry a picture of the original Order of the Phoenix. And this time we get names. Sure, most of them are dead, but there are still plenty of people alive who knew the Potters, and several who knew them well. Not only is Lupin still alive, but so are Dedalus Diggle, Hagrid, Elphias Doge, Aberforth Dumbledore, and of course, Mad-Eye Moody himself. (Not to mention other members of the order not in the photo, such as the Weasleys, Professor McGonagall and (gulp) Severus Snape.)

Since so much in Book 7 would seem to hinge on what happened at Godric's Hollow, and since we have so many people alive who were around at the time and involved with James and Lily, wouldn't it be a good idea for Harry to chat with one or two? Just a thought. Hmmm. Wonder who he should start with...

Wait. Let's look back at that list again. How about Aberforth Dumbledore?

Aberforth, as we know, is Albus Dumbledore's rather strange brother. Apparently quite the animal-lover, we learn from Dumbledore that Aberforth was once prosecuted for practicing inappropriate charms on a goat [GF-24]. Goats come up again when Harry first visits the Hog's Head pub in Hogsmeade:

The Hog's Head bar comprised one small, dingy, and very dirty room that smelled strongly of something thatmight have been goats. [OP-16]

Harry also pays special attention to the barman:

The barman sidled toward them out of a back room. He was a grumpy-looking old man with a great deal of long gray hair and beard. He was tall and thin and looked vaguely familiar to Harry. [OP-16]

That combination of set-ups has led some fans to surmise that that Aberforth is, in fact, the barman at the Hog's Head -- and J.K. Rowling confirmed this in a 2004 interview.

"Why is the barman of the Hog's Head vaguely familiar to Harry? Is he Dumbledore's brother?"

"Ooh-- you are getting good. Why do you think that it is Aberforth? [Audience member: Various clues. He smells of goats and he looks a bit like Dumbledore]. I was quite proud of that clue. That is all that I am going to say. [Laughter]. Well, yes, obviously. I like the goat clue -- I sniggered to myself about that one."

What else do we know about Aberforth? Well, we know he had some sort of dealings with Mundungus (for good or not, we don't know) while Mundungus was purloining and selling off Sirius's stuff [HBP-12], We know he and Dumbledore were friends [HBP-20] and that he attended Dumbledore's funeral [HBP-30]. And his most important role (that we know of) in the story so far: He is the person who stopped Snape from overhearing the entire prophecy about Voldemort and Harry [HBP-25].

But he may have more of a role to play. While I do really want to look just at set-ups and payoffs within the books, not relying on what JKR may have said, her interviews are pretty much the main source of information on this topic. In her publication day interview this summer she said:

"Dumbledore's family would be a profitable line of inquiry..."

Well, the only family we know of is Aberforth. If there's other family Harry should know about, Aberforth is clearly the link to get to them. So let's see Harry make the out-and-out connection about the goats, and head for the Hog's Head to ask some questions about Professor Dumbledore.

There's one other person whom Harry much track down in Book 7 (other than you-know-who -- oh, sorry, I meant You-Know-Who), though it may be a bit tougher because he's dead: R.A.B.

JKR has come so close to confirming that "R.A.B." is Regulus Black (in fact, the confirmation was temporarily posted on the Harry Potter Lexicon) that I think we can pretty much assume that they are one and the same, thus shutting down the wilder speculations flying about here and there. At least, I am going to work off that assumption.

We know that Regulus was a Slytherin, one of Slughorn's students [HBP-4]. We know that he became a Death Eater, but backed out. Sirius believed Regulus was never important enough to have been killed by Voldemort personally [OP-6]. But what if Sirius was wrong?

We learn from Lupin that Regulus only stayed alive a few days after deserting Voldemort [HBP-6]. And that jibes nicely with Dumbledore's statements in The Cave that Voldemort would not want the green potion to kill anyone who drank it immediately, because he would want to keep anyone clever enough to get to the potion alive for questioning [HBP-26].

So what if Regulus defied Voldemort, located the locket Horcrux, took it, and left a note:

To the Dark Lord
I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B. [HBP-28]

...and then either was killed by Voldemort, or died from drinking the potion...? I think this the most likely scenario -- and a huge clue that will lead Harry to the location of the real locket Horcrux. Harry, Ron and Hermione haven't figured it out yet, of course, but they're trying [HBP-29, 30]. And I doubt it will be long before Hermione puts "R" and "B" together and comes up with the right answer.

But finding the folks that can set him on the right track -- even finding the Horcruxes themselves -- is not all Harry has to accomplish in Book 7. We saw in the discussions about Voldemort (October 6 on this blog) that Harry can't defeat him using his wand. We know anyway that Voldemort is a far more powerful wizard than Harry -- Dumbledore even acknowledges, as we've seen, that Voldemort was more powerful than he was in some ways.

So Harry must defeat Voldemort -- somehow -- by the most powerful force in the universe: Love.

What does this look like? I haven't got a clue, frankly. And I'm glad. I'd really like to be surprised in this particular battle.

But we do have some set-ups to partially illumine the way for us. And they come in the areas of Pity and Forgiveness.... Yes, forgiveness from the young man who keeps trying (but not succeeding) in casting one of the Unforgivable Curses. (Clearly the concept of forgiveness is rooted deep in the wizarding world's consciousness...)

Harry has a lot of people to forgive. There's Draco, for treating him so badly. Snape, for his role in killing James and Lily (not to mention six years of horrible treatment). And -- the biggie -- Voldemort, for killing his parents.

Can Harry forgive them, then, is the question? And it's a good question.

We know that Harry can feel pity, and feel it for those for whom others have nothing but contempt. He feels pity for the unlovable Filch when Mrs. Norris is petrified [CS-9]. He feels pity for the odd Luna Lovegood when all her stuff is stolen [OP-38].

And he takes a huge step toward what I think will be part of his hardest task in Book 7 when he feels pity for Draco Malfoy after Dumbledore's death:

Harry did not believe that Malfoy would have killed Dumbledore. He despised Malfoy still for his infatuation with the Dark Arts, but now the tiniest drop of pity mingled with his dislike. Where, Harry wondered, was Malfoy now, and what was Voldemort making him do under threat of killing him and his parents? [HBP-30]

Note that Harry is, for the first time, relating to Draco in terms he, Harry, understands most intimately: The loss of a family at Voldemort's hands. I think Harry is well on the way to bridging the formerly insurmountable gap between himself and Draco. (More on Draco as his own topic later.)

As for forgiving Voldemort, which would seem the most difficult task of all -- Well, Harry has already made some steps in that direction, too. He feels pity (which Dumbledore notices most pointedly) for Tom Riddle when Tom's mother dies [HBP-13]. He understands how Tom felt about Hogwarts [HBP-21], and felt pity for him possibly having to go back to the orphanage if Hogwarts had to close [CS-15].

I think this is the secret to Harry's eventual forgiveness (or however close he can get to it) of Voldemort: He must relate to him as Tom Riddle... relate to him, in fact, as Dumbledore has done throughout the books, even refusing to use Voldemort's assumed name. Much has been made of the likeness between Tom Riddle and Harry. Well, if to understand all truly is to forgive all, Harry is well on his way to understanding much of Tom's background... and that may lead (somehow) to Tom's eventual downfall.

But, as of the end of Half-Blood Prince, Harry now has a harder task even than forgiving Voldemort: Forgiving Snape.

For a while, it looked as if there might be some connection between Harry and Snape, albeit thin. Harry certainly feels understanding for the young Snape after trespassing on "Snape's Worst Memory" [OP-28, 29]. In discussing the incident with Sirius and Lupin, he almost takes Snape's side [OP-29]. And his appreciation of the Half-Blood Prince [HBP-12, 15, 16] could have led to a real appreciation of Snape in person -- had not Snape killed (or appeared to kill?) Dumbledore, putting him seemingly forever beyond the reach of Harry's forgiveness [HBP-30].

We were set-up for Harry's refusal to forgive Snape when Harry refused to feel pity for Kreacher after Sirius's death [OP-37]. And, true to form, Harry consciously and deliberately decides he will not forgive Snape after Sirius's death:

...at the sight of [Snape] Harry felt a great rush of hatred beyond anything he felt toward Malfoy.... Whatever Dumbledore said, he would never forgive Snape... never... [OP-38]

He had loathed Snape from their first encounter, but Snape had placed himself forever and irrevocably beyond the possibility of Harry's forgiveness by his attitude toward Sirius. [HBP-8]

"Forever and irrevocably." That sounds pretty firm to me. And yet, if Harry is going to defeat Voldemort by love, how can he do so with all this hatred of Snape in his heart?

I've participated in some discussions about "How can Harry learn to forgive Snape?" Most of these have centered around ideas of how Harry could learn that Snape really is "Dumbledore's man through and through."

And then one day it struck me: What if Harry doesn't forgive Snape?

What if, just to spin a scenario, Snape were to die for Harry? What might that do to spin Harry's head (and heart) around?

I believe Harry when he thinks to himself that he will never forgive Snape. Which makes me think such a scenario might just be inevitable...

....

... Okay, let's lighten up a bit from here. Next post, we'll talk a bit about Magical Creatures.

SET-UPS AND PAYOFFS: HARRY'S FAMILY

Although James and Lily Potter's continuing role in Harry's story is by far the most interesting aspect of Harry's family in terms of looking at the set-ups and payoffs in Harry Potter, I think it's of value to also look at the other ways in which Harry's need for a family plays out in the books.

While Harry's greatest need may be "love" in his task of defeating Voldemort, his greatest need as a character -- and certainly his greatest desire -- is the need for a family. This is spelled out for us in Sorcerer's Stone when he looks in the Mirror of Erised and sees not only his parents, but his ancestors [SS-12] -- truly his "heart's desire."

But Harry is not self-pitying about the loss of his family. We see that he actually thinks Neville, with his parents alive but tortured to insanity and unable to recognize or speak to their son, has it much worse than he does [GF-31]. This lack of self-pity on Harry's part is, I believe, one of the prime factors involved in our caring for him so much.

And let's face it, if he wanted to feel sorry for himself, he sure would have good cause to, given the family he's stuck with: The Dursleys.

Harry doesn't want to live with the Dursleys once he learns he has other options. He certainly doesn't want to return to Privet Drive every summer [PA-3], feeling cut off from the magical world.

But, as we know, despite the Dursleys' denial of the wizarding world, Petunia knows more about it than we would have initially believed. When Dudley is attacked by dementors, Petunia knows what this means [OP-2]. More than that, she knows enough to be deathly afraid of Lord Voldemort:

...And all of a sudden, for the very first time in his life, Harry fully appreciated that Aunt Petunia was his mother's sister. He could not have said why this hit him so very powerfully at this moment. All he knew was that he was not the only person in the room who had an inkling of what Lord Voldemort being back might mean. Aunt Petunia had never in her life looked at him like that before. Her large, pale eyes (so unlike her sister's) were not narrowed in dislike or anger: They were wide and fearful. [OP-2]

(By the way, note yet another reference to Lily's eyes.)

This raises the question: Why has Harry never asked Petunia about his mother? Sure, as a young boy, mistreated as he was, he may never have felt the need to. But I would think that, as he knowingly returns to Privet Drive for the last time, he should be quizzing Petunia up one side and down the other. What does she know about Lily? What does she know about James? And what was in that letter from Dumbledore [SS-1]?

Harry does know about the letter: He heard Hagrid tell the Dursleys about it [SS-4]. And though he doesn't make the connection to it when Dumbledore sends the Howler in Order of the Phoenix [OP-2], eventually Dumbledore tells him about it [OP-37]. We sort of know what was in it: We know that it describes the protection for Harry that exists at Privet Drive:

"While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, there he cannot hurt you. Your aunt knows this. I explained what I had done in the letter I left, with you, on her doorstep. She knows that allowing you houseroom may well have kept you alive for the past fifteen years." [OP-37]

But does the letter say anything else about James's and Lily's death? Does Petunia still have it? If she does (and, compulsive as she is, I wouldn't be surprised if she kept it), it sure would seem to be time for Harry to start asking questions!

Another important question to be paid off in Book 7 about the Dursleys: We learn in Half-Blood Prince that the protection afforded to Harry at Privet Drive will cease the moment Harry turns 17 [HBP-3]. Harry in fact will return to Privet Drive one more time just to take advantage of that protection, per Dumbledore's request of him [HBP-30].

But what happens then? Voldemort certainly knows a good deal about the "ancient magic" protecting Harry. Does he know about this provision? Will he be waiting for Harry's birthday (the date of which he also knows)? What happens to the Dursleys if Voldemort shows up at Privet Drive as the protection is removed? Will Harry have to fight to save the Dursleys? (Or will he celebrate his birthday at, say, the Weasleys, as he heads off for Bill and Fleur's wedding, thus avoiding the whole possibility of an attack on the Dursleys?)

The Dursleys aren't the only "family" Harry has, of course. He oh so briefly enjoyed a real live parent figure (of sorts!) in his godfather Sirius.

Sirius indeed served as family emotionally for Harry. Not only is Harry ecstatic about even the possibility of living with Sirius [GF-2], but when he truly needs a parent, Sirius is the one he turns to:

What he really wanted (and it felt almost shameful to admit it to himself) was someone like -- someone like a parent: an adult wizard whose advice he could ask without feeling stupid, someone who cared about him, who had had experience with Dark Magic....

And then the solution came to him. It was so simple, and so obvious, that he couldn't believe it had taken so long -- Sirius. [GF-2]

Dumbledore acknowledges the importance of Sirius to Harry as family, when he compares Sirius's death to the loss of Harry's family -- a comparison Dumbledore, I feel sure, would not have made lightly [OP-37].

But Sirius is dead. So who does Harry have left?

Well, they may not be family by blood or by religious ceremony and commitment... but he has The Weasleys.

We see that Harry likes being treated as family by the Weasleys early on, when he's pleased at getting a hug and kiss from Molly [PA-5]. And Molly especially treats him as her own son in many ways. She and Bill come to see Harry in the third task in the Triwizard Tournament [GF-31]. And after the tournament, Molly comforts him as a mother would comfort a son:

He could feel a burning, prickling feeling in the inner corners of his eyes. He blinked and stared up at the ceiling.

"It wasn't your fault, Harry," Mrs. Weasley whispered.

"I told him to take the cup with me," said Harry.

Now the burning feeling was in his throat too. He wished Ron would look away.

Mrs. Weasley set the potion down on the bedside cabinet, bent down, and put her arms around Harry. He had no memory of ever being hugged like this, as though by a mother. The full weight of everything he had seen that night seemed to fall in upon him as Mrs. Weasley held him to her... [GF-36]

We see over and over again how Mrs. Weasley cares for Harry as a son -- and not just in the jumpers she knits for him every Christmas! When she sees her family dead while trying to get rid of the Boggart at 12, Grimmauld Place, she sees Harry dead right along with her own children [OP-9]. When Harry starts to back off at St. Mungo's so just the Weasley family can go in and see the injured Mr. Weasley, Molly pulls him in as one of the family [OP-22]. And Molly even verbalizes her acceptance of Harry as a son, even while Sirius is still alive:

"...speaking as someone who has got Harry's best interests at heart--"

"He's not your son," said Sirius quietly.

"He's as good as," said Mrs. Weasley fiercely. "Who else has he got?" [OP-5]

Frankly, it's these deep emotional links to the Weasleys that have made me feel as far back as Chamber of Secrets that Harry and Ginny were destined to be together. It's nice for Harry to have a girlfriend, of course, but he doesn't need a girlfriend -- not like he needs a family. And in hooking up with Ginny (assuming things continue on to marriage), Harry gets the family that he needs.

This is not to say, of course, that Harry would ever forget his own family. Much as he appreciates Mrs. Weasley, she can never fully take the place of Lily:

Would Neville's mother have died to save him, as Lily had died for Harry? Surely she would.... But what if she had been unable to stand between her son and Voldemort? Would there then have been no "Chosen One" at all? An empty seat where Neville now sat and a scarless Harry who would have been kissed good-bye by his own mother, not Ron's?

As we wrap up this category, it's important to note that Harry is not the only one feeling the lack of a family. We learn in HBP that Voldemort was obsessed with learning about his parentage while at Hogwarts [HBP-17] -- and the journeys through the Pensieves take us through his search and disappointment. We also learn that Hogwarts served to fill the emotional gap, at least to a certain extent, for Tom Riddle, who (like Harry, it is important to note), never felt truly at home anywhere but at Hogwarts [HBP-20].

And we see that Voldemort, even in his emotional sterility and evilness, felt the need to , in essence, manufacture a "family" -- and to think of them in those terms -- in the Death Eaters:

"... But look, Harry! My true family returns...."

The air was suddenly full of the swishing of cloaks. Between graves, behind the yew tree, in every shadowy space, wizards were Apparating... [GF-33]

Somehow I think Book 7 will hold a happier ending for Harry's search for his family than for Voldemort's pitiful attempts to manufacture one.

And Book 7 is where we'll go in the next post, as we look at Harry's Tasks.

SET-UPS AND PAYOFFS: LILY AND JAMES'S DEATH

What happened at Godric's Hollow?

The events of the first chapter of all of Harry Potter are proving to be the key events of the entire plot. So let's look at what we know, and what we might have in front of us in terms of set-ups yet to be paid off.

We actually know very little about what happened that night. Harry initially only recalls the green flash that we later learn is associated with the Avada Kedavra, and a pain in his forehead [SS-2, SS-6, GR-14]. Later he also hears Voldemort's laugh [SS-4, SS-14]. And through his contact with the dementors, Harry begins to hear Lily and James's voices, and get a fuller (though still sketchy) picture of what happened [PA-9, PA-10, PA-12]:

Harry had been picturing his parents' deaths over and over again for three years now, ever si8nce he'd found out they had been murdered, ever since he'd found out what had happened that night: Wormtail had betrayed his parents' whereabouts to Voldemort, who had come to find them at their cottage. How Voldemort had killed Harry's father first. How James Potter had tried to hold him off, while he shouted at his wife to take Harry and run... Voldemort had advanced on Lily Potter, told her to move aside so that he could kill Harry... how she had begged him to kill her instead, refused to stop shielding her son... and so Voldemort had murdered her too, before turning his wand on Harry....[GF-14]

It all seems pretty straightforward, except for one thing. Lily didn't have to die. And we learn this from a pretty authoritative source, Voldemort himself:

"I killed your father first, and he put up a courageous fight... but your mother needn't have died...she was trying to protect you."[SS-17]

Why? Why didn't Lily die? We learn from Dumbledore that Lily had a choice, presumably to let Voldemort kill Harry and live herself [HB-13]. But Voldemort is not a fountain of mercy. Why would he spare Lily at all?

I think this is perhaps the key question to be answered, and I suspect it will end up wrapped up around the enigmatic Severus Snape. Which raises another question:

Who else was present at Godric's Hollow when Harry was killed? Did Voldemort go alone? Or was someone else there?

Let's face it, someone had to be there. Voldemort was trashed by the rebounding of the curse. He lost his body. Who carried him away? And who carried his wand away, so that Wormtail could return it to him in Goblet of Fire? Was Wormtail there? Or perhaps... Snape?

We do know that Snape learned about the prophecy by listening at the keyhole when Trelawney unwittingly pronounced it to Dumbledore [HBP-25], but that he didn't realize, at first at least, that Voldemort would go after the Potters. Could Voldemort have been willing to grant Lily's life at the behest of loyal Death Eater Snape?
(More on Snape's reaction to the Potters' death when we discuss Snape in a little while.) If so, and if Snape really didn't know ahead of time what Voldemort was about to do, that might mean Snape was on the scene. a potential avenue by which he might learn what really happened that night (albeit an unlikely one for him to choose at the moment!).

It's not his only avenue however: What is going to happen to Dumbledore's Pensieve? Does it, presumably along with all those little silver instruments, automatically devolve to the next headmaster/mistress of Hogwarts? Or has Dumbledore left a will (Sirius did, after all)? Could Dumbledore have left the Pensieve to Harry? Or could all Dumbledore's belongings automatically go to his next of kin, presumably Aberforth (whom J.K. Rowling has hinted is a profitable line of inquiry to pursue)?

If Harry gets hold of the Pensive in Book 7, will it give him a full account of what happened? Can an infant's memory "work" in a Pensieve? If it does, we know it will be accurate, as JKR has assured us in interviews that the Pensieve shows what really happened, not the rememberer's theory of what happened. And I suspect Harry's memory would be complete, even though he was an infant, because we have the set-up of his memories prompted by the dementors, which include specific dialogue between Lily and James and Voldemort, even though the infant Harry would not yet have been able to understand the language being spoken.

So, given these set-ups, I wouldn't be surprised to see Harry seek out the Pensieve and get the full picture -- perhaps finding Snape on the scene (begging for Lily's life?).

Other people were on the scene as well very shortly afterward. Both Hagrid and Sirius showed up apparently immediately after the murder [PA-10]. How did they know to go there? Harry can't ask Sirius about his parents' death anymore -- but he can ask Hagrid. I think it's time for Harry to start asking questions.

And those questions are going to have to center on Lily, a character we really first get to hear about in Half-Blood Prince. James died, yes. But because Lily died protecting Harry, because she didn't have to die, her death is the important one.

Somehow the importance of this death is, in an authorial choice wrapped up in profound Christian symbolism, linked to Lily's blood. We know that Dumbledore laid a charm on 4, Privet Drive that involved Lily's blood, and its continuation in Petunia [OP-37]. This blood continues to provide protection for Harry even 16 years later, as both Voldemort and Dumbledore acknowledge:

"For he has been better protected than I think even he knows, protected in ways devised by Dumbledore long ago, when it fell to him to arrange the boy's future. Dumbledore invoked an ancient magic, to ensure the boy's protection as long as he is in his relations' care. Not even I can touch him there..." [GF-33]

"While you can still call home the place where your mother's blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, there he cannot harm you. Your aunt knows this..." [OP-37]

It's interesting, by the way, that Voldemort refers to this use of blood as an "ancient magic," one that he admits he had forgotten [GF-33]. It brings to mind the "Deep Magic" and "Deeper Magic" from C.S. Lewis's The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe -- a magic which, in direct allegory to the death of Christ on the cross, also relied on the shedding of blood.

We see the importance of blood again when Voldemort returns to his body. He originally couldn't touch Harry in Sorcerer's Stone, but after taking in Harry's blood [GF-33], Voldemort is able to touch him without any consequences.

This would seem like a triumph for Voldemort and a step toward defeat for Harry. But apparently there is still something we don't understand about it:

"He said my blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's," Harry told Dumbledore. "He said the protection my -- my mother left in me -- he'd have it too. And he was right -- he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face."

For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a glem of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes. But next second, Harry was sure he had imagined it...[GF-36]

What the heck is the Gleam of Triumph, anyway? I think this is one of the questions that JKR must answer (or give us the payoffs so we can figure it out) in Book 7. I think she will have cheated us if she doesn't answer this one!

So clearly blood -- Lily's blood, Harry's blood -- will continue to be important in Book 7. And note that we didn't drop the subject in Half-Blood Prince. Even though we learned nothing new about Lily's sacrifice, Harry's blood comes up when he and Dumbledore attempt to enter the Cave. When blood is required to enter the cave, Dumbledore volunteers his own, saying that Harry's is "more valuable [HBP-26]." Why is Harry's more valuable? Clearly, if we put together all the set-ups we've been handed already, because it holds a key to the downfall to Voldemort.

While we're on the subject of Lily's blood, let's detour a second to talk about Lily's eyes.

Harry has Lily's eyes. We learned this immediately -- it's the first thing Hagrid says when he meets Harry:

"An' here's Harry!" said the giant.... "Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes." [SS-4]

And Hagrid's not the only one. Ollivander says it when he first meets Harry [SS-5], Doge says it [PA-3], even Dumbledore mentions it [PA-27]. And Harry himself notices how he has his mother's eyes when he sees Lily in the mirror of Erised [SS-12].

We get a payoff for Harry having his mother's eyes, of course, in Half-Blood Prince, when Harry's resemblance to Lily (in the eyes only) is part of what persuades Slughorn first to come to Hogwarts in the first place [HBP-4] and then to give Harry the accurate memory about his Horcrux conversation with Tom Riddle [HBP-22].

This is a pretty good payoff. But given how Harry having his mother's eyes has been drummed home to us, and given the clever way JKR seems to pay off a set-up, only to lull us into not expecting a bigger payoff later on, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see this come up again in Book 7. The question is: Who will be affected by seeing Lily's eyes this time? Perhaps.... Snape?

We do know one thing about all this backstory: Harry is finally(!) going to start looking into it. He is heading for Godric's Hollow near the beginning of Book 7 [HBP-30]. Will being on the scene cause him to remember something? Or will it set him on a journey of trying to find out (via Pensieve? via talking to his parents' friends? via talking to Hagrid? Or Snape?) what really happened?

We have a lot of set-ups here, and very little in the way of payoff to any of it. So it's all gotta be coming in Book 7.

...We're not done with Harry yet. Next post: Harry's and his remaining "family."

MOVIE THOUGHTS: THE CONSTANT GARDENER

I finally get out to see a grown-up movie, and this is what I end up seeing?

Okay, I know The Constant Gardener is getting rave reviews in various places. I know it is positioned to be an "important" movie. And I do have to say, any two hours spent watching Ralph Fiennes at work is never a waste.

But I just didn't like the movie.

For my $9.50, it was just trying to hard to do too many things. It's a spy movie! (Except that the spy story doesn't get rolling that well till at least halfway through.) It's a romance! (Except that we can't fully commit to the romance because we're never sure if Rachel Weisz's character loves Ralph Fiennes' character, or if it's marriage of convenience -- read "exploitation" -- on her part.) It's a story of romantic betrayal! (Except it isn't because eventually we come to believe -- or at least Ralph Fiennes does -- that Rachel Weisz did love Ralph Fiennes -- though he does so because one character shows him a picture of Rachel's purported lover, says the guy is gay, and we're just intended to buy it, though we've seen no other evidence of it -- and this in a story where nothing else is what it seems. Okay. Whatever.)

And the movie can't get its issues straight either. It's a movie about AIDS in Africa! No, wait, it's a movie about the corruption of giant pharmaceutical companies. No, wait, let's throw in child slavery in the Sudan for good measure!

And the cinematography which many are lauding... Well, for me, there has to be a reason to go handheld. Running down an alley, fine. Off-roading, fine. A creepy scene where we don't know who's going to jump out from behind a corner, fine. But in general, "Shaky the Cameraman" is just not my favorite guy to watch. And when we cut from handheld to dolly-driven (i.e., nice and smooth) in the same scene, well, it's just pretentious in my book. And by the way, I do sort of like my movies to be fully in focus! Just a picky little thing of mine.

Okay, so why was it not a total waste of time? Number one: Ralph Fiennes. An amazing actor. Some ten years ago, we went to New York specifically to see him do "Hamlet" on Broadway, and it was one of the great theatrical performances I've ever seen -- the first time I ever truly felt and understand that Hamlet is a prince. Fiennes does more standing rock still doing nothing than most actors do emoting all over the place -- everything hidden behind the eyes, nothing getting out -- but we feel it all. And he is definitely on his game here. (And won't he make a fine Voldemort?!)

Many guys drool over Rachel Weisz. Moi, she seems like a good but not outstanding actress. She is fine here. But I sure would have liked more from her -- like a sense of whether she really was exploiting Fiennes' character -- I think different people will interpret her work different ways.

No, for me, the other terrific performance here was Bill Nighy, almost unrecognizable when you think of the dissipated scamp he plays in Love Actually. He has very little time onscreen (for plot purposes alone, I think he deserves at least one or two more scenes), but is riveting in every one of them.

Okay. Fine. But two good performances do not a great afternoon of movie-going make. And even though I know many people will shake their fingers at me and say, "Important movie!" "Important filmmaker!" "Oscar Oscar Oscar!" ... All I can say is, I was bored. If you want to think less of me because of that, go for it. But I was quite bored.

After all, it's never a good sign when you leave a movie saying, "Gosh, I could have seen The 40-Year-Old Virgin!"

SET-UPS AND PAYOFFS: VOLDEMORT'S FOLLOWERS

This will be a comparatively short(!) post, but I wanted to make sure we didn't leave the Death Eaters (and others) out of the big picture as we discuss set-ups and payoffs.

We actually don't know that much about the Death Eaters -- which isn't all that surprising, since they don't know who all each other are either [GF-30]. The Death Eaters we do know about who are still alive include: Peter Pettigrew (aka Wormtail), Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, Macnair (would-be executioner of Buckbeak), Crabbe, Goyle (jointly the fathers of... oh you know), Nott, Lucius and Narcissa (Black) Malfoy (Draco's parents), Antonin Dolohov, Travers, Mulciber, Rookwood (of the Department of Mysteries), Avery, Yaxley, the Carrows, Fenrir Greyback (a werewolf), Amycus, Alecto, and the unidentified Big Blond Death Eater of the Lightning-Struck Tower in Half-Blood Prince. Death Eaters who have died during the books include Karkaroff and Barty Crouch.

Oh, and two other potential Death Eaters: Draco Malfoy. And Severus Snape. (We'll come back to both much later. Each deserves his own post.)

We know that Voldemort's followers were named Death Eaters by the time he returned to Hogwarts to seek employment from Dumbledore, but that the name "Death Eaters" was still mostly secret at that time [HBP-20]. And we know that the very earliest of Tom Riddle's followers joined him while still at Hogwarts:

"As he moved up the school, he gathered about him a group of dedicated friends; I call them that, for want of a better term, although as I have already indicated, Riddle undoubtedly felt no affection for any of them. This group had a kind of dark glamour within the castle. They were a motley collection; a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glory, and the thuggish gravitating toward a leader who could show them more refined forms of cruelty. In other words, they were the forerunners of the Death Eaters, and indeed some of them became the first Death Eaters after leaving Hogwarts." [HBP-17]

We certainly see through the books that the Death Eaters maintain the characteristics of their forerunners: The weak (Pettigrew). The ambitious (Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange). The thuggish (Macnair).

And Dumbledore is, I think, mostly right that Voldemort feels no affection for them -- but I think this is because he doesn't have the ability any longer to feelaffection. After all, he does call the Death Eaters his "true family" in Goblet of Fire [GF-33].

So, if he can't feel affection for them, how does he treat them? Not that well, as we might guess. He is angry with those who are weak. He exploits them, with his usage of Quirrell in Sorcerer's Stone probably the most blatant example. He pursues and kills those who leave him (Karkaroff being a prime example, "R.A.B." probably being another). His treatment of them is such that Death Eaters who denied him and thereby stayed out of Azkaban after his first downfall are frightened to see him return [GF-9].

It's interesting, given the discussion we'll be having soon regarding Harry's need to dredge up pity and forgiveness for those who have wronged him, that Voldemort brings up the subject himself almost as soon as he returns to his body, when he confronts Avery about his disappointment in the Death Eaters who abandoned him:

"You ask for forgiveness? I do not forgive. I do not forget. Thirteen long years... I want thirteen years' repayment before I forgive you." [GF-33]

And Voldemort marks his Death Eaters as his own with the Dark Mark. Each Death Eater has the Dark Mark on his left forearm, and the Mark is also raised supposedly when murder has been committed -- though it's interesting that the only times we've seen the Dark Mark set in the sky, there has been no murder: At the Quidditch World Cup in GF, and over the Astronomy Tower in HBP. Supposedly only the Death Eaters can conjure the Dark Mark [GF-9] -- but this can't be true, because Dumbledore seems to assume Slughorn could have conjured it over the house he was hiding in [HBP-4].

The way Voldemort uses Wormtail's Dark Mark to summon the other Death Eaters raises one small question: Why did Voldemort need to use someone else's Dark Mark? Does Voldemort have a Dark Mark? If not, this is one potential area of vulnerability: Without a Dark Mark himself, he might not be able to summon his followers without another Death Eater at hand. (Of course, he could have other ways to summon them. We just don't know what they are.)

Voldemort is not too dependent on his followers, however. They do know his ultimate goal: To be immortal:

"And then I ask myself, but how could they have believed I would not rise again? They, who knew the steps I took, long ago, to guard myself against mortal death." [GF-33]

But he doesn't trust them that much, as shown by the fact that, while he apparently left the Diary Horcrux with Lucius Malfoy, he didn't tell him the true value of the object (otherwise, Malfoy wouldn't have been so cavalier about palming it off on Ginny).

So what of all this gives us any set-up to be paid off in Book 7? Not that much, I have to say. I think the Death Eaters are, for the most part, what Linda Seger (Making A Good Script Great) calls "characters of mass and weight." They're there to add to Voldemort's threat, to give him an army (but if we have an army of Inferi coming, there's even less need to keep the Death Eaters in the forefront). We'll see them again, filling out the edges of the screen, as it were, but I don't think many will be of great importance in Book 7. With a couple of exceptions, of course: Greyback. Bellatrix. And definitely Wormtail.

Oh, but we mustn't forget those other followers of Voldemort: The Dementors, the Dark Lord's "natural allies" [GF-33].

We've known for some time that the dementors were out of Ministry control. They entered the grounds of Hogwarts when Dumbledore forbade it in Prisoner of Azkaban. They allowed the big escape from Azkaban [OP-25]. And, of course, they revolted completely by the end of Order of the Phoenix [OP-38].

And they're breeding [HBP-1]. (Yuck. Some mental images are just too gross to imagine.) I would say this means we will see dementors again in Book 7 -- lots and lots of dementors. Who knows, maybe a combined army of dementors and Inferi? (Double yuck.) And maybe we'll learn what Snape's alternate method of fighting them is (implied when Harry has to write an essay in HBP defending his own method).

Okay, on that exceedingly happy note, we will wrap up the subject of Voldemort. Next, on to talk about Harry and his set-ups and payoffs.

SET-UPS AND PAYOFFS: VOLDEMORT AND HARRY

We've looked at the set-ups and payoffs concerning Voldemort, his powers, his methods and his goals. So now let's take a look at what's been set up concerning Voldemort and Harry.

Most of this comes in the "obvious" category, because it's been hammered in to our consciousness so repeatedly. However, the Voldemort/Harry relationship is in many ways the key to the entire story, so a review of what we know might not be such a bad idea.

Let's start where it all started: Harry's scar

We know that the scar hurts when Voldemort is angry [OP-18]. According to Dumbledore, it hurts when Voldemort is near Harry, or feeling a powerful emotion such as hatred [GF-30, OP-37]. We particularly see this played out when Voldemort is angry at the loss of the prophecy [OP-31].

Harry's scar also hurts (no surprise here!) when Voldemort attempts to possess Harry [OP-31]. It hurts when Voldemort, newly returned to his body, presses Wormtail's Dark Mark [GF-33], possibly acting, in a sense, as Harry's own version of the Dark Mark and raising the somewhat peripheral question: Does the Dark Mark hurt the Death Eaters? (My guess would be yes. Why wouldn't Voldemort cause pain if he had the opportunity to do so?)

And perhaps most interestingly, because it raises the Legilimency/Occlumency question, it hurts when Harry looks Dumbledore in the eyes and feels Voldemort's hatred for him [OP-22]:

But as Dumbledore's fingers closed over Harry's skin, a pain shot through the scar on his forehead, and he felt again that terrible, snake-like longing to strike Dumbledore, to bite him, to hurt him-- [OP-27]

Harry's scar, as we know, is the result of the failed Avada Kedavra curse Voldemort shot at Harry [OP-24]. But the real question is: Why did the Avada Kedavra fail? Although Dumbledore says initially that they don't know why the AK failed [SS-1], and although Voldemort certainly doesn't know why--

"Well," said Riddle, smiling pleasantly, "how is it that you -- a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent -- managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"

--Still, later Dumbledore is fairly clear (while being somewhat vague at the same time!) that the AK curse failed because of Lily's blood sacrifice in dying to save Harry, and that her death provided him with protection [SS-17, CS-17]. (We'll talk more about Lily's sacrifice when we discuss Harry and his parents.)

The AK curse gave Harry more than a scar, however. It somehow gave him the powers to escape Voldemort four times (and counting), and it gave him a "destiny" [OP-37].

It also gave him, according to Dumbledore, the tools Harry will need to defeat Voldemort [HBP-23]. Now there's an tantalizing set-up! What tools could Harry have that we don't yet know about, that he might draw on in Book 7?

One of them, perhaps, is the gift of Parseltongue, which of course doesn't seem to Harry like much of a gift at first. We see (but don't realize what we're seeing) Parseltongue when Harry sets the boa constrictor free [SS-2], and in the dueling club scene [CS-11]. And it seems like the Parseltongue set-up is paid off when Harry uses it to reach the Chamber of Secrets [CS-16].

But J.K. Rowling has a delicious way of seeming to pay off a set-up in a small way (as when the twins stuff Montague in the Vanishing Cabinet, and we think the cabinet's existence has been paid off and won't matter anymore), but holding on to it for an even bigger payoff down the line. Is that what is happening with Parseltongue?

We learned in Half-Blood Prince that Salazar Slytherin's descendants can speak not just to snakes, but to each other in Parseltongue [HBP-10]. Could it be that Harry will use Parseltongue to speak directly to Voldemort in Book 7? Perhaps to speak to him in private, though surrounded by, say, Death Eaters -- or members of the Order of the Phoenix -- none of whom would be able to understand them? Or could it be that Harry will use Parseltongue to speak to (and control?) Nagini, one of the Horcruxes he must destroy?... I don't think we've seen the end of Parseltongue.

And the link between Harry and Voldemort grows, after Voldemort regains his body, into something far more than a prickling scar. Harry begins to share Voldemort's feelings. He feels Voldemort's jubilation when the Death Eaters break out of Azkaban [OP-24]. He feels Voldemort's anger at Avery while punishing him [OP-26]. He feels like a snake and wants to attack Dumbledore, echoing Voldemort's hatred of Dumbledore [OP-22]. And he feels Voldemort's burning desire to get the prophecy in a dream (a dream certainly planted by Voldemort -- more on that in a few paragraphs) [OP-23].

More than just feeling, Harry is suddenly able to see Voldemort across time and space: He sees the murder of Frank Bryce [GF-1]. He sees Voldemort torture Wormtail [GF-29]. He sees Voldemort speaking to Rookwood [OP-26].

And in the most notorious moment of this mind-to-mind link, Harry sees through Voldemort's -- and Nagini's -- eyes when Nagini attacks Mr. Weasley in the Ministry of Magic [OP-21]. According to Dumbledore, this moment is the crucial one, the one in which Voldemort detects Harry's presence in his mind [OP-37]. And that's a bad thing, because Voldemort can now manipulate Harry's mind by planting visions (as in the growing "dreams" where Harry enters the Department of Mysteries).

Voldemort's mental attacks on Harry come to their full fruition, of course, when he plants the vision of Sirius being tortured [OP-31]. Harry may believe it's true in the face of rightful suspicions from Hermione, but apparently it's fairly widely known what Voldemort has been doing:

"The little baby woke up fwightened and fort what it dweamed was twoo," said the woman in a horrible, mock-baby voice.

Harry, of course, is tortured by his failure to learn Occlumency and keep Voldemort out, by the ease with which Voldemort manipulated him [OP-37].

So what about Occlumency and Legilimency, and their use in the Voldemort/Harry relationship?

Well, other than Harry's spectacular (and perhaps predictable) failure to learn Occlumency under Snape's tutelage, we are told way too little here. We know a lot of fairly obvious facts: We know that Harry's ability to detect Voldemort's presence and emotions has become stronger since Voldemort returned to his body [OP-37]. We know that Dumbledore, anticipating this, correctly expected Voldemort would try to manipulate Harry's mind in an effort to reach Dumbledore (and, perhaps foolishly, didn't tell Harry about this) [OP-37]. As Harry tries (?) to learn Occlumency, we learn from Snape that Harry's sharing of Voldemort's thoughts and emotions is especially strong while Harry is asleep [OP-24] and that it grows stronger while Harry is learning Occlumency [OP-25].

And that's it! This powerful mind-to-mind connection exists, we're told -- a connection so unique that any Death Eater would kill to have it, we're told [HBP-23]. And then it's simply cut off. All of a sudden, Voldemort slams the mental door shut against Harry at the beginning of HBP, and starts employing Occlumency against him [HBP-4]. Supposedly this is because Harry showed in Order of the Phoenix that he could enter Voldemort's mind without damage, while Voldemort was unable to possess Harry because of the love in Harry's heart [HBP-23].

But I have to say, this all seems a bit easy, a bit pat. Did Harry post that great a danger to Voldemort? (Or is this just an easy way to get Voldemort out of the picture during HBP?) If he does pose such a danger, then we really should see Harry trying to employ Legilimency against Voldemort in Book 7.

And by the way, why hasn't Voldemort tried to employ Legilimency against Harry, other than planting images into his brain? We have no clues laid in whatsoever that Voldemort has tried to learn the Order of the Phoenix's secrets through his link into Harry's mind (other than Dumbledore saying he suspected Voldemort would try to do so). The only instance of Voldemort-to-Harry Legilimency that we have is when Voldemort can tell that Harry is being truthful about the prophecy being smashed [OP-36].

We have an awful lot of set-up about Legilimency and Occlumency here, and really very little payoff. If JKR is not just shutting down the Legilimency/Occlumency connection between Harry and Voldemort because, really, it would make it all too easy, then I expect (hope) to see some mind-to-mind action in Book 7.

Voldemort and Harry have one more important connection: Their wands.

We know Voldemort's and Harry's wands share a core: a feather from Fawkes. And we learn from Ollivander from the beginning that this will be significant:

"...It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother -- why, its brother gave you that scar.... Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember.... I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter.... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things -- terrible, yes, but great." [SS-5]

We see the importance of the relationships between the wands in Goblet of Fire when we are introduced to the Priori Incantatem effect:

"So what happens when a wand meets its brother?" said Sirius.

"They will not work properly against each other," said Dumbledore. "If, however, the owners of the wands force the wands to do battle... a very rare effect will take place. One of the wands will force the other to regurgitate spells it has performed -- in reverse."[GF-36]

I haven't seen anyone mention the obvious corollary to this payoff: This means Harry and Voldemort cannot fight each other conventionally. Harry cannot defeat Voldemort by use of his wand -- in other words, by use of magic.

Now, we sort of knew this. We know from Dumbledore that Harry must defeat Voldemort through love (however vague that pronouncement may seem at this moment). And we know that Voldemort is a greater wizard (at this point) than Harry, so taking him on wand-to-wand would seem foolhardy.

But we've had it set up for us: Any attempt to take on Voldemort magically will not work. We'd better see Harry figure this out and follow through with it in Book 7.

So how can Harry destroy Voldemort? We know, from the prophecy, that only Harry can kill Voldemort -- presumably this is why Dumbledore declares in HBP that Harry's blood is "more valuable" [HBP-26].

I think we've been given a subtle hint when we seen Dumbledore's reaction to the newly-minted Lord Voldemort. Dumbledore insists on continuing to call him "Tom" [HBP-20]. I think this may be a key to Harry's ability to destroy Voldemort: Will he have to approach the Dark Lord not as Lord Voldemort, but as Tom Riddle? We've seen that Harry is indeed capable of feeling a little bit of pity for Tom Riddle (to be discussed when we discuss Pity and Forgiveness a few posts from now). Is this the secret to the final denouement?

To wrap it up: Voldemort wants to kill Harry, because of his interpretation of the prophecy and because of what happened when his original AK failed (and isn't it interesting to now, by the way, that everything Voldemort has done against Harry is based on a lie -- at least on a half-truth -- because he only heard half the prophecy [OP-37]). Harry wants to kill Voldemort. Harry can't kill Voldemort by using his wand -- but he was given the tools he needs to destroy Voldemort by You-Know-Whom himself, as a consequence of the failed AK. And Dumbledore tells us that Harry can only defeat Voldemort through the power of love, as exemplified by Lily's blood sacrifice.

There are some seriously missing pieces here. Perhaps we'll learn more when we go back to Godric's Hollow with Harry and start to learn more about what really happened the night James and Lily were killed.

Next set-up/payoff post: The Death Eaters.

SET-UPS AND PAYOFFS: VOLDEMORT

I'm starting here to post the thoughts I've had based on my notetaking on set-ups and payoffs in Harry Potter, as I discussed last week. Basically, I'm trying to track the clues J.K. Rowling has laid in for us. Some of what I post will have a heavy "duh" factor to it due its obviousness; some may be purely speculative. Hopefully at least some of it will be provocative and interesting. Let me know what you think.

I'm going to start with the character who drives the action in Harry Potter (as all good villains must): Tom Marvolo Riddle, the Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Lord Voldemort himself.

I'm going to discuss three areas involving Voldemort (probably not all in one post): His powers, methods and goals; his interaction with Harry; and his followers. (And though it's probably quite clear, quotes are marked by initials designating each of the books, and chapter numbers -- since different versions will have different page numbers. But if you really want a quote and can't find it, I do have page numbers I can send you.)

Okay, let's get started:

Voldemort's Powers, Methods and Goals

A lot of people have commented that in Half-Blood Prince, we really didn't see what Voldemort was up to. In fact, he never even made an appearance. But I think we have enough clues to have a pretty good idea of what he's been up to. After all, Voldemort himself has made his overarching goal very clear:

"I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality. You know my goal -- to conquer death." [GF-33]

We've known since Chamber of Secrets that part of that goal involved killing Harry, and we've learned more in each book (especially Order of the Phoenix) that Voldemort's need to kill Harry involves the half-heard prophecy. We also learned in HBP about Voldemort's use of Horcruxes to ensure his immortality -- and I will come back to a discussion of Horcruxes later in this series.

But let's start out by looking at the powers Voldemort has at his disposal in his pursuit of his goal. That, combined with a look at what he's done in the past, will, I think, give us a very good sense of what he's been up to in HBP.

We know that Voldemort has dark powers that even Dumbledore will never have [SS-1, CS-2]. We know he has "weapons you can't imagine" [PA-19]. We know, in Dumbledore's words:

"I knew that Voldemort's knowledge of magic is perhaps more extensive than any wizard alive. I knew that even my most complex and powerful protective spells were unlikely to be invincible if he ever returned to full power." [OP-37]

We also know that the Dark Lord is extremely skilled at Legilimency and Occlumency. Even as an untrained boy who didn't know he was a wizard, Tom Riddle apparently had the ability to make people tell the truth (and to know if they were lying) [HBP-13]. While at Hogwarts, Slughorn points out that Tom Riddle always seemed to know what he shouldn't know [HBP-17] -- Was this from skulking around listening at keyholes? Or from Legilimency?

We know that the Dark Lord can always tell when someone is lying. In Voldemort's own words:

"Do not lie to me!" hissed the second voice. "I can always tell, Wormtail!".... "Do not lie to Lord Voldemort, Muggle, for he knows... he always knows!"[GF-1]

(Of course, we know that Lord Voldemort does not always know when someone is lying to him -- because Snape has certainly managed to keep secrets from him. We'll come back to this when we discuss Snape.)

We know that Voldemort can leave magical protection behind [HBP-26]. And we also know that Voldemort has a psychological power that he uses to great effect: The power of fear, with wizards good and evil alike afraid to even say his name. A fear that is still in effect even when the wizarding world has thought him dead for 11 years! And we are told right off the bat how we are to respond to the fear that everyone feels:

"All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense -- for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort." Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."[SS-1]

Now, outside of what we have seen him do, that's all we know about Voldemort's powers. Not much, really. But the sheer fear with which everyone treats him (and the caution with which Dumbledore treats him) tells us he is powerful indeed. (Think of the scene in the first Star Wars movie where Darth Vader appears. We might be tempted to laugh at the get-up, were it not for two things: the music, and the fact that we see Stormtroopers break out of formation and run merely at his appearance on the scene. People's reactions can tell us a lot about how we are meant to react to a character.)

So, what do we know about what he has been up to? Well, let's take a look at what he has done, both when he was in power at the time of Harry's birth, and in the last year.

Sirius gives us a good picture of what it's like with Voldemort in control:

"Imagine that Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends. Every week, news comes of mroe deaths, more disappearances, more torturing... the Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the Muggles, but meanwhile, Muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere... panic... confusion... that's how it used to be." [GF-27]

And I would say the set-ups are all in place to say that how it "used to be" is how it is in the world outside Hogwarts during HBP. Muggles are being killed, sometimes just for fun [GF-9], sometimes as "collateral damage" when they're in the way of wizard battles [HBP-1]. Wizards are being controlled by the Imperius Curse (as we see with Madam Rosmerta in HBP), with the Ministry of Magic unable to tell what's going on [GF-13]. Families are being torn apart (as the Longbottoms were, as the Boneses are in HBP), lives are being ruined [GF-31].

And we learn that, in Voldemort's former reign, Aurors were given the power to kill [GF-27]. Is that a set-up that tells us that Harry may have to fight better-trained wizards than himself, wizards who should be on the good side, in book 7?

But Voldemort has a new weapon in HBP: The Inferi.

What do we know about the Inferi? Let's start with Dumbledore's description:

"They are corpses," said Dumbledore calmly. "Dead bodies that have been bewitched to do a Dark wizard's bidding. Inferi have not been seen for a long time, however, not since Voldemort was last powerful.... He killed enough people to make an army of them, of course." [HBP-4]

We also know Inferi are aggressive [HBP-9]. We know they can be "programmed" to act when the Dark wizard who bewitched them isn't around. We know they can "survive" underwater. We know they can be petrified, we know they can be stopped by Impedimenta, we know they can be stopped by fire (not coincidentally, the elemental symbol of Gryffindor House, per J.K. Rowling's recent interviews) [HBP-26]. And we know that even the wussy Ministry of Magic has had to admit that Inferi may be on the loose once more [HBP-3].

But let's look back at that quote from Dumbledore: He refers to an "army" of Inferi. Now that's a scary thought.

It'd be easy to think that all the talk of Inferi in HBP was just a set-up for Harry and Dumbledore's escape from The Cave at the end of the story. But I don't think so. I think we have been nicely set up for a Book 7 battle against an army of Inferi. Much worse than a handful of Death Eaters, in my opinion!

What else will we see in Book 7 from Voldemort? Well, we know from Hagrid that Voldemort didn't dare try to attack or "take over" Hogwarts while Dumbledore was there [SS-4]. But Dumbledore's not there anymore. And if Voldemort (or one of his lieutenants) tried a stealth attack on Hogwarts in HBP while Dumbledore was there, what might he try in Book 7 with Dumbledore gone? And did Voldemort ever get the object from one of the Founders that he wanted [HBP-23]? If not, would he have reason to go back?

And what was that curse about that Harry thought he glimpsed [HBP-20]? Did Voldemort only curse the Defense Against the Dark Arts job? I think we need that question answered in Book 7. And I think the set-ups are there to tell us Voldemort may indeed go back to Hogwarts in Book 7.

One last question about Voldemort that we have some interesting set-ups for. We learn some interesting things about the importance of the soul when Lupin discussed the Dementor's Kiss:

"You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you'll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no... anything. There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just -- exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever... lost."[PA-12]

We'll come back to a discussion of Horcruxes soon. But let's think about the state of Voldemort's soul. 2/7 of it are already gone with the destruction of the Diary and Ring Horcruxes (and did R.A.B. get another 1/7 of his soul by destroying the Locket Horcrux?). What will this mean for Voldemort? Will he start to lose his memory? His powers? Will he become weaker as the Horcruxes are destroyed?

... Next post, we'll talk about Voldemort's relationship with Harry, and what might be set up for us in Book 7 along those lines.

Let me know your thoughts!