Deathly Hallows Book Discussion **LoTs Of Spoilers**

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by Eliza Hodgkins 1812

I assumed that the creepy Voldemort baby was a piece of Voldemort's soul, and that it was appropriately a creepy baby thing since Voldemort was reduced to being a creepy baby thing before Harry's blood and bone (in a way infected by that piece of Voldemort himself, since Harry was a Horcrux) restored him to his, uh, more manly status.

"It's your one last chance," said Harry, "it's all you've got left....I've seen what you'll be otherwise....Be a man...try...Try for some remorse...."

I figured during that scene that it was Voldemort's soul, and this, to me, confirms it conclusively. "I've seen what you'll be". "Be a man" (as opposed to an infantile soul).

Snape's still an ass. His motivations were always selfish, his participation begrudging. It's not that he wanted to help Dumbledore defeat Voldemort, he just wanted to molify his own guilt and convince himself he was doing something for the love he screwed up. No pity or redemption from me.

The epilogue was cute but unnecessary.

I skimmed the thread, so sorry if this has been addressed, but one thing kinda bugged m. With the amount of stuff that was in the Room of Requirement/hiding room (enough to crush Crabbe), how could Riddle/Voldemort thought no one else could get there? I mean, I understand that the idea was that he was arrogant and all, but that just seemed like a bit too much of a stretch.

Overall, I enjoyed the journey. I'm amongst the ones that had rather lost interest by the end of book 6, and definitely went into this with a, "At least if I get through this it'll be over and I don't have to think about it anymore." But this one grabbed me from the start.

[innerSpaceman]

Yep, stupid thing No. 832 by J.K. Rowling.

The Room of Hidden Things version of the Room of Requirment is described as a cathedral-sized space with towering piles of junk forming a labyrinth. Clearly, people had been hiding stuff there for a looooong time before Riddle hid the diadem.

It's not even clear why Ron says, "And he never realized anyone could get in?" ... when the only way Tom Riddle could have missed that is if he were blind.

So perhaps it's not a matter of Riddle thinking he had the hiding place all to himself, but rather that it was a fine hiding place regardless.



Hmmmm, yeah, doesn't make much sense? Welcome to the Wonderful Wizarding World of J.K. Rowling.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Hmmmm, yeah, doesn't make much sense? Welcome to the Wonderful Wizarding World of J.K. Rowling.

Meh, I long ago conceded to accept most of the inconsistencies. It is, after all, magic. Cop out? Perhaps, but as long as it remained fun, it didn't really bother me.

It's only the inconsistencies of character and motivation, which have nothing to do with magic, that really stand out to me anymore, and this was the most glaring one.

[innerSpaceman]

My personal bugs-me-to-death one:

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman in the OotheP thread aka Harry Potter Thread #6

Worse still, it’s never satisfactorily explained in the book why Voldemort needed Harry to get the prophesy for him.

The prophesy is about The Dark Lord and Harry Potter. Says so on the label. Either one can retrieve the record of it from the warehouse. But J.K. posits that Voldemort was afraid to venture into the Ministry of Magic ... even though he decides to go there once Harry Potter is on the scene. He goes through Machiavellian machinations to get Harry Potter there to retrieve the prophesy only to show up there himself because he’s succeeded in getting Harry Potter there to retrieve the prophesy. Once there, Voldemoret could retrieve the prophesy for his own self, without taking hostages or taking chances that its container will break. This is one of Rowling absolutely stupidest constructions ... and the movie was wise to drop it.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Okay, I know I just said I overlook the magical inconsistencies....but why is the wizarding world not plagued with house elves stealing things from otherwise magically protected places?

[Mousey Girl]

The Hiding Room didn't bother me at all. When you are looking for someplace to hide something the room appeared, just for your item. When they were looking for the room they were looking for the room that held all of the hidden items, so it showed them everything.

[innerSpaceman]

You mean all those 50,000 students and staffers really thought they were the only ones using the Hiding Room? All of them were maroons, not just Tom Riddle?


It's one think to posit that proto-Voldemort was a blithering idiot, but to ascribe that same stupidity to tons of people is a bit of a stretch.



Because as soon as one person thinks 'hmmm, I wonder if someone else has ever hidden something in the RofR?' ... the jig's up.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

You mean all those 50,000 students and staffers really thought they were the only ones using the Hiding Room? All of them were maroons, not just Tom Riddle?

I'm now on the fence whether I buy it or not. I had forgotten, the first time Harry found the room, thinking, "I need somewhere to hide something", the Room of Requirement showed him an empty room. And when he thought, "I need the room where I hid that," it showed him a room with just that item. So if that's all he (or Riddle) ever did, they might think not realize that there's a third option, the, "Show me everything" option. I guess the question is, how much of a logical leap is that? Did all of them perhaps think, "I asked for a place to hide stuff, therefore the room it gave me can't be found by anyone else," never really prompting them to think of another way to ask for the room? Perhaps....perhaps.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I think it's a room of requirement, meaning Harry could only find the room with all the stuff in it because he actually needed to find it. As with everything wizarding, it's a subjective, vague concept, but it works well enough.

[Mousey Girl]

Thank you CP, that was what I was trying to say.