Another complication

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Chapter 11

The Lupin thing was weird. Agree?

Harry, it seems, didn't want Lupin to be in any more danger. He already didn't want his BFFs along for the same reason. But they were harder to tell no. Make Lupin mad enough to leave. That was the strategy. But it was quite uncomfortable for everyone.

Too bad about Scrimgeour if the story is true about protecting Harry. I take back calling him Schemegeour if it's true.

Voldemort is connivingly brilliant with his puppet leadership and his propaganda and silent takeovers. There is fear throughout the land, and that only adds to his power to control. Wait. That's why Lupin came. Wouldn't get that news without someone showing up at 12 Grimmauld Place.

Back to Voldemort. There's this Harry Potter fella he knows is a problem and gives people hope. His failure to deal with Harry is consuming him. Usually that creates blindspots and leads to an overconfident downfall. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

What matters at the moment is that the locket with the horcrux has fallen into the hands of Umbridge, the High Instigator. Whose side is she on? With plot twists and surprises what they are, I won't attempt to guess. I'm keeping an open mind.

Right now Harry is convinced that destroying the horcruxes is the key to victory. But there are a lot of chapters left and lots of things we don't know yet. I would quit trying to figure it out, but what would I write about otherwise?

I'll keep blindly forging ahead much like Harry, Ron and Hermione are. No Lumos charm will help. Whatever class you learn that in at Hogwarts, I wasn't paying attention.

The wedding crasher

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Chapter 8

The only part of this chapter I truly care about is the final italicized line. But to write something to which you are accustomed, I must acknowledge some of what comes before the final, plot-shifting moment.

As Captain Jack Sparrow once said, "Weddings? I love weddings." And I do. I enjoyed a wedding day with my lovely bride, and I walked two daughters down the aisle.

This wedding chapter, however, seems to exist to get everyone in one place for that big thing that happens at the end. And it gives us Barny Weasley, a k a Harry Potter. Playing the part of Barny, the cousin who is oddly there with no immediate family, Harry learns many things without even trying.

Harry also meets a lot of strange people (that happens a lot at weddings) like Xenophilius Lovegood and Auntie Muriel. They are both people to avoid for different reasons before the ceremony and especially during the reception. After the tufty-haired wizard (would never want to be described as tufty-haired) performs the ceremony, dancing and talking ensues.

Viktor Krum informs Barny/Harry that XL is sporting a Grindelvald sign, apparently paying homage to the dark wizard that Dumbledore defeated. Does it mean anything? Most things do.

Then the name Gregorovitch suddenly hits Harry. He remembers it now and that Gregorovitch is a wand maker of excellent reputation because Voldemort was searching for him. Thoughts race through Harry's mind. Harry, it seems, must find Gregorovitch.

Harry mingles as all good wedding guests do and stumbles upon Elphias Doge and tells him he's not really Barny Weasley. Doge assures Harry that Dumbledore never experimented with the Dark Arts. Of course the hundred-and-seven-year-old Auntie Muriel shows up and can't shut up.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

I truly hope all of her talk about Dumbledore and his sister, etc., is pure nonsense. The rumors are there and may need to be dealt with. Still, I hope she isn't credible. It would be like Rita Skeeter being credible.

But there is a bombshell in the end for Harry: The Dumbledores live in Godric's Hollow where the Potters lived. But before this news flash can be discussed, the thing at the end of the chapter happens.

Kingsley Shacklebot's Patronus in the shape of a lynx lands on the dance floor to announce that the ministry has fallen into the hands of the Death Eaters, that Scrimgeour has been killed and that the Death Eaters are coming.

What a party-pooper Kingsley is. But his announcement does beg the question: Are the Death Eaters coming in a general sort of way like taking over the world kind of thing or are they literally coming to the wedding reception?

In either case, the honeymoon is over.

What's it all mean?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Chapter 7

Dumbledore never did anything on a lark. His actions had purpose. No doubt these odd objects he bequeathed to Harry, Ron and Hermione will come in handy some day. And it won't be until they need them that they will understand the purpose.

That's my prediction anyway.

Schemegour sure knows how to crash a party.

"May I see your invitation?" I would've said.

"Do you know who I am?" Schemegour would've said in his most offended voice possible.

"Yes," I would've gladly admitted. "That's why I'm asking."

The matter of the sword of Godric Gryffindor is interesting. Harry, I'm guessing, will get his hands on it at some point.

Quite the back and forth between Harry and Schemegour about the sword. When Harry fires back about the minister earning some respect, well, that was exciting. Then Harry tells the minister he doesn't like his methods. The gloves are off.

This guy should to go back to the ministry and hang out with Umbridge. Schemegour and the High Instigator ought to just do a puzzle or something and stay out of everyone else's business. Hope they fight over who gets to place the last piece.

I don't recall any gifts I received on my 17th birthday. That was 1981. It was a Friday, so I probably played in a basketball game that night. The next night, if there wasn't a game, we probably went out to eat.

I certainly didn't open a Deluminator, The Tales of Beedle the Bard or an old Snitch. Can't say I feel cheated. For now, they can make it dark, try to figure out what "I open at the close" means that was written on the Snitch and catch up on some missed childhood reading.

Lights out. There's a wedding tomorrow.

An uncertain future

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Chapter 30

Funerals and tombs.

Not the most pleasant of topics. But Dumbledore did deserve to be honored. I suppose we needed closure as much as the fictional characters, especially Hagrid. Glad he doesn't just cry over deaths of spiders and assorted other odd creatures.

No word on R.A.B, but I suppose that will come. Perhaps R.A.B. is on the trail of other Horcruxes, and Harry could join him or her in the quest. Every book brings us new characters so why not a reveal of the mysterious R.A.B. in "The Deathly Hallows."

Harry took the big step lots of heroes have taken by breaking up with Ginny to protect her from evil forces. Didn't expect it, but I'm not surprised. Maybe there's a future for them when this ends if Harry lives through it.

Harry sure won't have anything to do with the Ministry of Magic. He sent old Schemegour away in another huff. Takes guts to rebuff the powerful. But Harry, I think, knows the tighter the circle of trust the better. Voldemort surely has spies everywhere as we've seen.

So what happens in "The Deathly Hallows?" Don't tell me. But we know Harry will work hard to find the Horcruxes, hope for an encounter with Snape and make plans for Voldemort. And, I'm quite convinced, there will be more death. I mean, it is called "The Deathly Hallows."

The urgent question, however, was left unanswered at the conclusion on pages 651 and 652. Ron and Hermione assume they will accompany Harry on his quest. He says no. Ron says they're coming anyway. Harry didn't argue.

But the last sentence reveals his thought of one last day of peace with his friends. Is that Bill and Fluer's wedding day and then he's off on his own? Does it mean something else? This is vague.

A Harry Potter book with little to no Ron and Hermione? That's difficult to imagine. But these are the most difficult of times, and difficult times call for sacrifice.

See you soon in Book 7. I'm dying to get started.

R.I.P. Dumbledore

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Chapter 27

Dumbledore is dead.

Yes, that took a few hours to sink in. I know people die down the stretch of this story. But Dumbledore? I envisioned an epilogue of Harry and Dumbledore sipping Butterbeers on the veranda at the old folks home for wizards and reminiscing about the old days at Hogwarts and of obliterated Horcruxes.

The shock of Dumbledore's murder should reverberate throughout the magic kingdom. It should kick Scrimgeour into some real action against Voldemort and the Death Eaters. But we shall see. He might try to cover the whole thing up.

My faith in Snape as a good guy has been severed. But what I don't get is why now? Snape could have found a way to eliminate Dumbledore long ago. It doesn't add up. Add it to the list of things to be confused about. But the next time (if there is one) someone works both sides I'm assuming they are with Voldemort. Fool me once ...

If you didn't trust Snape, a tip of the Sorting Hat to you.

What will become of Draco Malfoy? He cleverly used magic to set up the showdown with Dumbledore. But he clearly didn't want to go through with killing Dumbledore, and for that he might die. Perhaps Snape will shield him somehow.

I almost forgot about Harry standing there frozen and unable to help. I guess whatever charm froze him will thaw with Dumbledore's death. Also, as I recall, Dumbledore had the Horcrux locket in his pocket. How will Harry get it and kill a piece of Voldemort's soul?

And does Voldemort feel it when a piece of his soul dies? Or will he be surprised some day to be completely dead (yes, I'm sure he dies in the end)?

How will Harry ever recover the remaining Horcruxes without Dumbledore? Were any instructions left?

What will happen to Hogwarts? Too many possibilities to speculate. One thing is for sure. Snape won't be in class tomorrow.

The closer it seems we get to answers the more questions we get. This is wearing me out, but it's time to look forward and form a battle plan.

The fight has come to your doorstep, Harry. And this ain't Quidditch.

Good for you, Harry

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Chapter 16

First, another chapter in which we learn unexpected things. Some propel the plot, some just add to our knowledge of the way of life for magical folk or a little of both.

So you die if you break an unbreakable vow. (Did I know this already. Can't remember.) That puts double-agent-man Snape in some tight spots around the Malfoys.

Everyone, it seems, trusts Snape because they trust Dumbledore who trusts Snape. This could put Harry in a tight spot. (I just watched "O, Brother, Where Art Thou," and Everett says "tight spot" like four times in one scene. It's funny.)

Celestina Warbeck punishes magical folk with awful Christmas songs like the one we're forced to hear every December: Last Christmas I gave you my heart, the very next day you gave it away. What does that even mean?

Lupin has been undercover with other werewolves. And the appropriately named Greyback is a general in Voldemort's growing army of mercenaries. Good to know for when the moon is full.

And Lupin, so he says, knows nothing about a Half-Blood Prince.

Second, 100 points to Gryffindor on behalf of Harry for standing up to the scheming Minister of Magic and knowing who to trust. With a name like Rufus Scrimgeour what else would he be but a schemer. The war has three sides: Voldemort/mercenaries, Dumbledore/the Order of the Phoenix and the Minister of Magic/minions.

The Order and the Ministry would presumably be allies. But they're not playing nice right now. The Ministry is building a political house of cards, and no one wants to be aligned with a house destined to collapse. Yes, it will be the Order that brings down Voldemort. And the Ministry of Magic will always be a step (or many steps) behind. But Schemegeour, or whoever replaces him in the meantime, will swoop in to take the credit. That's what my crystal ball says.

Oh, and I wish garden gnomes were real. But I'm not sure why.

Ministers and more Ministers

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Chapter 1

As promised, summer is here and so is my determination to finish the Harry Potter series before the end of time. I can't just wave a wand, mutter something like Readus Blogus! and be done.

I wish.

I actually have to read and write a chapter at a time. Don't get me wrong. It's been a fun journey. But compared to how most people have read this series, it's been like the difference between hiking the Appalachian Trail and apparating to anywhere in the world. And you thought Dumbledore's beard took a long time to grow.

But I press on.

My first question: Does the Prime Minister have a book of secrets like the one in the second National Treasure movie? My second: Does the Queen also get magical visits at Buckingham Palace? My Third: What did the Minister of Magic tell Churchill?

Crikey!

If nothing else, Fudge has caught us up on where things stand in the wizarding war of the worlds. Voldemort and his legions are making magical mayhem. And the poor Prime Minister now knows the cause, but he can't tell anyone. Nobody said it would be an easy job.

Now that the Prime Minister of not-so-jolly-old England is in the story I wonder what his role will be.

And what about this new no-nonsense Minister of Magic. Can we trust him? Is he up to the job? And how do you even pronounce Scrimgeour? I'm gonna call him Scrim for short.

And I'm going to stay the course of this long journey. Just gonna take it one chapter at a time.