Jul 30, 2007
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Chapter 23
Chapter 23: Malfoy Manor
Oh.
My.
God.
Seriously, Rowling, are you kidding me? This chapter was horrific. I do not at all approve of torturing Hermione, not at all. And... Dobby? How can you kill Dobby?!
Oh, man. See, now I feel even worse for loathing Dobby in book 2. If only we knew he'd sacrifice himself to save Harry and his friends. Oh, man.
OK. Gotta pull myself together. What else happened in this chapter... Ollivander, Luna, and Dean are also rescued, and I think it's a good thing that the gang is getting some allies. Just how Harry managed to call to Dobby after seeing Dumbledore's eye in Sirius's mirror is a pretty significant mystery. And Wormtail's debt to Harry from book 3 finally comes paid, and that's finally the end of Peter Pettigrew.
I assume that Voldemort was confronting the aged Grindelwald in prison, and I assume he was looking for the Elder Wand. Looks like Harry's on the right track after all. And Bellatrix's panic over seeing Gryffindor's sword is very interesting, no? We know the fake sword is in a Gringotts vault, presumably hers, but her "what else did you take?" leads me to suspect that there's probably a Horcrux in there, too. Next stop, Gringotts?
Wow. OK. Some questions tentatively answered, many more raised, and I'm left with a serious case of the squicks after the torture of Hermione, and a bit of a lump in my throat after the death of Dobby.
I'd like a nice comic relief chapter now, yes?
No spoilers for later chapters in the comments!
I wonder if Lupin is destined to kick it, since he’s now the last remaining of Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs?
Also, it’s worth noting that Draco is not-wholly-evil to the point of actually declining to give Harry, Ron, and Hermione away, yes? I wonder what his final role will be in all this?
Both excellent points. If I were Moony, I’d watch my back.
And yes, I’m starting to feel some sympathy for Draco. Not identifying his classmates was a halfway-decent thing to do.
The way that Lupin has acted throughout this book has been downright odd. I except that Rowling is going to kill him off, but in some kind of redemptive manner.
The Malfoys seem to have been setup to potentially undermine Voldemort and the other Death Eaters. The sisters – Narcissa and Belatrix – may have a throwdown. Plus, Draco avoided becoming a full-fledged badguy when Snape killed Dumbledore for him.
Agreed. Lupin has been acting very strangely throughout. Maybe he’s just depressed.