Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Chapter 24 - The Wandmaker“I want to do it properly,” were the first words of which Harry was fully conscious of speaking. “Not by magic. Have you got a spade?” And shortly afterward he had set to work, alone, digging the grave in the place that Bill had shown him at the end of the garden, between bushes. He dug with a kind of fury, relishing the manual work, glorying in the non-magic of it, for every drop of his sweat and every blister felt like a gift to the elf who had saved their lives. Q1 - Why did Harry want to do this without magic?“No,” Harry said, and Bill looked startled. “I need both of them here. I need to talk to them. It’s important.” He heard the authority in his own voice, the conviction, the sense of purpose that had come to him as he dug Dobby’s grave. All of their faces were turned toward him, looking puzzled. Dobby would never be able to tell them who had sent him to the cellar, but Harry knew what he had seen. A piercing blue eye had looked out of the mirror fragment, and then help had come. Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.Q2 - What’s the deal with the mirror?You gave Ron the Deluminator. You understood him. . . . You gave him a way back. . . . And you understood Wormtail too. . . . You knew there was a bit of regret there, somewhere. . . . And if you knew them . . . What did you know about me, Dumbledore? Am I meant to know, but not to seek? Did you know how hard I’d find that? Is that why you made it this difficult? So I’d have time to work that out?Q3 - Do you think he’s right about Dumbledore here?Q4 - They’re going to break into Gringotts? Are they going to succeed?“I took this wand from Draco Malfoy by force,” said Harry. “Can I use it safely?” “I think so. Subtle laws govern wand ownership, but the conquered wand will usually bend its will to its new master.” Q5 - Is Harry truly the master of Draco’s wand?Yes, if you won it, it is more likely to do your bidding, and do it well, than another wand.” “And this holds true for all wands, does it?” asked Harry. “I think so,” replied Ollivander, his protuberant eyes upon Harry’s face. “You ask deep questions, Mr. Potter. Wandlore is a complex and mysterious branch of magic.” “So, it isn’t necessary to kill the previous owner to take true possession of a wand?” asked Harry. Ollivander swallowed. “Necessary? No, I should not say that it is necessary to kill.” Q6 - Do you think this is true? That wands can pass without killing?“You told him about the twin cores? You said he just had to borrow another wizard’s wand?” Ollivander looked horrified, transfixed, by the amount that Harry knew. He nodded slowly. “But it didn’t work,” Harry went on. “Mine still beat the borrowed wand. Do you know why that is?” Ollivander shook his head as slowly as he had just nodded. “I had . . . never heard of such a thing. Your wand performed something unique that night. The connection of the twin cores is incredibly rare, yet why your wand should have snapped the borrowed wand, I do not know. . . .” Q7 - Why do you think Harry’s wand acted like this?“Gregorovitch had the Elder Wand a long time ago,” he said. “I saw You-Know-Who trying to find him. When he tracked him down, he found that Gregorovitch didn’t have it anymore: It was stolen from him by Grindelwald. How Grindelwald found out that Gregorovitch had it, I don’t know — but if Gregorovitch was stupid enough to spread the rumor, it can’t have been that difficult.” Voldemort was at the gates of Hogwarts; Harry could see him standing there, and see too the lamp bobbing in the pre-dawn, coming closer and closer. “And Grindelwald used the Elder Wand to become powerful. And at the height of his power, when Dumbledore knew he was the only one who could stop him, he dueled Grindelwald and beat him, and he took the Elder Wand.” “Dumbledore had the Elder Wand?” said Ron. “But then — where is it now?” Q8 - What do you think about this?And here it was, beside the lake, reflected in the dark waters. The white marble tomb, an unnecessary blot on the familiar landscape. He felt again that rush of controlled euphoria, that heady sense of purpose in destruction. He raised the old yew wand: How fitting that this would be its last great act. The tomb split open from head to foot. The shrouded figure was as long and thin as it had been in life. He raised the wand again. The wrappings fell open. The face was translucent, pale, sunken, yet almost perfectly preserved. They had left his spectacles on the crooked nose: He felt amused derision. Dumbledore’s hands were folded upon his chest, and there it lay, clutched beneath them, buried with him. Had the old fool imagined that marble or death would protect the wand? Had he thought that the Dark Lord would be scared to violate his tomb? The spiderlike hand swooped and pulled the wand from Dumbledore’s grasp, and as he took it, a shower of sparks flew from its tip, sparkling over the corpse of its last owner, ready to serve a new master at last. Chapter 25 - Shell Cottage“Harry admits he could have imagined the eye! Don’t you, Harry?” “I could have,” said Harry without looking at her. “But you don’t think you did, do you?” asked Ron. “No, I don’t,” said Harry. “There you go!” said Ron quickly, before Hermione could carry on. “If it wasn’t Dumbledore, explain how Dobby knew we were in the cellar, Hermione?” “I can’t — but can you explain how Dumbledore sent him to us if he’s lying in a tomb at Hogwarts?”Q1 - Is Dumbledore alive?Q2 - Does the sword really belong to Goblins?Q3 - Do you think he plan will go well with Griphook?“So, au revoir, Mr. Ollivander,” said Fleur, kissing him on both cheeks. “And I wonder whezzer you could oblige me by delivering a package to Bill’s Auntie Muriel? I never returned ’er tiara.” “It will be an honor,” said Ollivander with a little bow, “the very least I can do in return for your generous hospitality.” Fleur drew out a worn velvet case, which she opened to show the wandmaker. The tiara sat glittering and twinkling in the light from the low-hanging lamp. “Moonstones and diamonds,” said Griphook, who had sidled into the room without Harry noticing. “Made by goblins, I think?” Q4 - Could Danny’s tiara theory be right all along?Lupin fell over the threshold. He was white-faced, wrapped in a traveling cloak, his graying hair windswept. He straightened up, looked around the room, making sure of who was there, then cried aloud, “It’s a boy! We’ve named him Ted, after Dora’s father!” Hermione shrieked. “Wha — ? Tonks — Tonks has had the baby?” “Yes, yes, she’s had the baby!” shouted Lupin. All around the table came cries of delight, sighs of relief: Hermione and Fleur both squealed, “Congratulations!” and Ron said, “Blimey, a baby!” as if he had never heard of such a thing before. “Yes — yes — a boy,” said Lupin again, who seemed dazed by his own happiness. He strode around the table and hugged Harry; the scene in the basement of Grimmauld Place might never have happened. “You’ll be godfather?” he said as he released Harry. “M-me?” stammered Harry “You, yes, of course — Dora quite agrees, no one better —” “I — yeah — blimey —” Q5 - What do you think about Lupin and Tonks having a baby?Harry had an ominous feeling now; he wondered whether Bill guessed more than he was letting on. “All I am saying,” said Bill, setting his hand on the door back into the sitting room, “is to be very careful what you promise goblins, Harry. It would be less dangerous to break into Gringotts than to renege on a promise to a goblin.” Q6 - Are they dumb to trust Griphook?Chapter 26 - Gringotts“I hate this thing,” she said in a low voice. “I really hate it. It feels all wrong, it doesn’t work properly for me. . . . It’s like a bit of her.” “It’ll probably help you get in character, though,” said Ron. “Think what that wand’s done!” “But that’s my point!” said Hermione. “This is the wand that tortured Neville’s mum and dad, and who knows how many other people? This is the wand that killed Sirius!” Q1 - Should they snap this wand in two?Harry looked down at the hawthorn wand that had once belonged to Draco Malfoy. He had been surprised, but pleased, to discover that it worked for him at least as well as Hermione’s had done. Remembering what Ollivander had told them of the secret workings of wands, Harry thought he knew what Hermione’s problem was: She had not won the walnut wand’s allegiance by taking it personally from Bellatrix. Q2 - Is this true?He realized now that they could hardly have laid Dobby to rest in a more beautiful place, but Harry ached with sadness to think of leaving him behind. Looking down on the grave, he wondered yet again how the elf had known where to come to rescue them. His fingers moved absentmindedly to the little pouch still strung around his neck, through which he could feel the jagged mirror fragment in which he had been sure he had seen Dumbledore’s eye. Then the sound of a door opening made him look around. Q3 - Any further theories on who sent Dobby?“They know!” whispered Griphook in Harry’s ear. “They must have been warned there might be an impostor!” “Your wand will do, madam,” said the goblin. He held out a slightly trembling hand, and in a dreadful blast of realization Harry knew that the goblins of Gringotts were aware that Bellatrix’s wand had been stolen. “Act now, act now,” whispered Griphook in Harry’s ear, “the Imperius Curse!” Harry raised the hawthorn wand beneath the cloak, pointed it at the old goblin, and whispered, for the first time in his life, “Imperio!” Q4 - What do you think about Harry using the Imperius curse?Q5 - Is Travers going to permanently be in a crack in the wall in Gringotts?Q6 - What do you think of all the enchantments at Gringotts?“Harry, could this be — ? Aargh!” Hermione screamed in pain, and Harry turned his wand on her in time to see a jeweled goblet tumbling from her grip. But as it fell, it split, became a shower of goblets, so that a second later, with a great clatter, the floor was covered in identical cups rolling in every direction, the original impossible to discern amongst them. “It burned me!” moaned Hermione, sucking her blistered fingers. “They have added Gemino and Flagrante Curses!” said Griphook. “Everything you touch will burn and multiply, but the copies are worthless — and if you continue to handle the treasure, you will eventually be crushed to death by the weight of expanding gold!” Q7 - What do you think about this?The tiny golden cup, skewered by the handle on the sword’s blade, was flung into the air. The goblin still astride him, Harry dived and caught it, and although he could feel it scalding his flesh he did not relinquish it, even while countless Hufflepuff cups burst from his fist.Q8 - Do they have the cup?Q9 - How do you like their dragon heist?Chapter 27 - The Final Hiding Place“Well, on the upside,” said Ron finally, who was sitting watching the skin on his hands regrow, “we got the Horcrux. On the downside —” “— no sword,” said Harry through gritted teeth, as he dripped dittany through the singed hole in his jeans onto the angry burn beneath. Q1 - How will they destroy this Horcrux?The sky, the smell of lake water, the sound of Ron’s voice were extinguished: Pain cleaved Harry’s head like a sword stroke. He was standing in a dimly lit room, and a semicircle of wizards faced him, and on the floor at his feet knelt a small, quaking figure. “What did you say to me?” His voice was high and cold, but fury and fear burned inside him. The one thing he had dreaded — but it could not be true, he could not see how . . . The goblin was trembling, unable to meet the red eyes high above his. “Say it again!” murmured Voldemort. “Say it again!” “M-my Lord,” stammered the goblin, its black eyes wide with terror, “m-my Lord . . . we t-tried t-to st-stop them. . . . Im-impostors, my Lord . . . broke — broke into the — into the Lestranges’ v-vault. . . .” “Impostors? What impostors? I thought Gringotts had ways of revealing impostors? Who were they?” “It was . . . it was . . . the P-Potter b-boy and t-two accomplices. . . .” “And they took?” he said, his voice rising, a terrible fear gripping him. “Tell me! What did they take?” “A . . . a s-small golden c-cup, m-my Lord . . .” The scream of rage, of denial left him as if it were a stranger’s: He was crazed, frenzied, it could not be true, it was impossible, nobody had ever known: How was it possible that the boy could have discovered his secret? Q2 - What do you think of this?But surely if the boy had destroyed any of his Horcruxes, he, Lord Voldemort, would have known, would have felt it?Q3 - So has Voldemort not felt these horcruxes being destroyed?But he must know, he must be sure. . . . He paced the room, kicking aside the goblin’s corpse as he passed, and the pictures blurred and burned in his boiling brain: the lake, the shack, and Hogwarts —Q4 - Where at Hogwarts?As for the school: He alone knew where in Hogwarts he had stowed the Horcrux, because he alone had plumbed the deepest secrets of that place. . . . And there was still Nagini, who must remain close now, no longer sent to do his bidding, under his protection. . . . Q5 - If Voldemort is checking the hiding places, how much time do the trio have?“But how are we going to get in?” “We’ll go to Hogsmeade,” said Harry, “and try to work something out once we see what the protection around the school’s like. Get under the Cloak, Hermione, I want to stick together this time.” “But we don’t really fit —” “It’ll be dark, no one’s going to notice our feet.” The flapping of enormous wings echoed across the black water: The dragon had drunk its fill and risen into the air. They paused in their preparations to watch it climb higher and higher, now black against the rapidly darkening sky, until it vanished over a nearby mountain. Then Hermione walked forward and took her place between the other two. Harry pulled the Cloak down as far as it would go, and together they turned on the spot into the crushing darkness.Chapter 28 - The Missing MirrorHe raised his wand: He could not, would not, suffer the Dementor’s Kiss, whatever happened afterward. It was of Ron and Hermione that he thought as he whispered, “Expecto Patronum!” Q1 - Should they have planned this a little better?Ron gasped. “The silver doe!” he said excitedly. “Was that you too?” “What are you talking about?” said Aberforth. “Someone sent a doe Patronus to us!” “Brains like that, you could be a Death Eater, son. Haven’t I just proved my Patronus is a goat?” “Oh,” said Ron. “Yeah . . . well, I’m hungry!” he added defensively as his stomach gave an enormous rumble“My brother Albus wanted a lot of things,” said Aberforth, “and people had a habit of getting hurt while he was carrying out his grand plans. You get away from this school, Potter, and out of the country if you can. Forget my brother and his clever schemes. He’s gone where none of this can hurt him, and you don’t owe him anything.”Q2 - Is Aberforth a reliable story teller? “It destroyed her, what they did: She was never right again. She wouldn’t use magic, but she couldn’t get rid of it; it turned inward and drove her mad, it exploded out of her when she couldn’t control it, and at times she was strange and dangerous. But mostly she was sweet and scared and harmless. Q3 - What do you think this looks like?But he did all right for a few weeks . . . till he came.” And now a positively dangerous look crept over Aberforth’s face. “Grindelwald. And at last, my brother had an equal to talk to, someone just as bright and talented as he was. And looking after Ariana took a backseat then, while they were hatching all their plans for a new Wizarding order, and looking for Hallows, and whatever else it was they were so interested in. Grand plans for the benefit of all Wizardkind, and if one young girl got neglected, what did that matter, when Albus was working for the greater good? He got angry. He told me what a stupid little boy I was, trying to stand in the way of him and my brilliant brother. . . . Didn’t I understand, my poor sister wouldn’t have to be hidden once they’d changed the world, and led the wizards out of hiding, and taught the Muggles their place? Q4 - What do you think of Grindewald now?“He was never free,” said Harry. “I beg your pardon?” said Aberforth. “Never,” said Harry. “The night that your brother died, he drank a potion that drove him out of his mind. He started screaming, pleading with someone who wasn’t there. ‘Don’t hurt them, please . . . hurt me instead.’” Q5 - Do you think Dumbledore really never forgave himself?“Because,” said Harry before Hermione could answer, “sometimes you’ve got to think about more than your own safety! Sometimes you’ve got to think about the greater good! This is war!” “You’re seventeen, boy!” “I’m of age, and I’m going to keep fighting even if you’ve given up!” “Who says I’ve given up?” “‘The Order of the Phoenix is finished,’” Harry repeated. “‘YouKnow-Who’s won, it’s over, and anyone who’s pretending different’s kidding themselves.’” “I don’t say I like it, but it’s the truth!” “No, it isn’t,” said Harry. “Your brother knew how to finish YouKnow-Who and he passed the knowledge on to me. I’m going to keep going until I succeed — or I die. Don’t think I don’t know how this might end. I’ve known it for years.” Q6 - What do you think of this whole story?Q7 - How will this end?

Chapter 21 - The Tale of the Three Brothers“ ‘There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight —’ ” “Midnight, our mum always told us,” said Ron, who had stretched out, arms behind his head, to listen. Hermione shot him a look of annoyance.We are talking about a cloak that really and truly renders the wearer completely invisible, and endures eternally, giving constant and impenetrable concealment, no matter what spells are cast at it. How many cloaks have you ever seen like that, Miss Granger?” Hermione opened her mouth to answer, then closed it again, looking more confused than ever. She, Harry, and Ron glanced at one another, and Harry knew that they were all thinking the same thing. It so happened that a cloak exactly like the one Xenophilius had just described was in the room with them at that very moment. Q1 - Do you think Harry’s cloak could be one of the Hallows?Q2 - If it exists, where do you think the Resurrection stone is?“So where do you think the Elder Wand is now?” asked Ron. “Alas, who knows?” said Xenophilius, as he gazed out of the window.Q3 - If it exists, where is the wand?“It’s just a morality tale, it’s obvious which gift is best, which one you’d choose —” The three of them spoke at the same time; Hermione said, “the Cloak,” Ron said, “the wand,” and Harry said, “the stone.” They looked at each other, half surprised, half amused. Q4 - Which is the best?Harry held out his left hand. Ron vanished beneath the Cloak. The printing press blocking the stairs was vibrating: Xenophilius was trying to shift it using a Hover Charm. Harry did not know what Hermione was waiting for. “Hold tight,” she whispered. “Hold tight . . . any second . . .” Xenophilius’s paper-white face appeared over the top of the sideboard. “Obliviate!” cried Hermione, pointing her wand first into his face, then at the floor beneath them. “Deprimo!” She had blasted a hole in the sitting room floor. They fell like boulders, Harry still holding onto her hand for dear life; there was a scream from below, and he glimpsed two men trying to get out of the way as vast quantities of rubble and broken furniture rained all around them from the shattered ceiling. Hermione twisted in midair and the thundering of the collapsing house rang in Harry’s ears as she dragged him once more into darkness. Q5 - What is Hermione doing here?Chapter 22 - The Deathly Hallows“Then she’ll be in Azkaban, I expect,” said Ron. “Whether she survives the place, though . . . Loads don’t. . . .” “She will,” said Harry. He could not bear to contemplate the alternative. “She’s tough, Luna, much tougher than you’d think. She’s probably teaching all the inmates about Wrackspurts and Nargles.” Q1 - Who could survive Azkaban the best out of everyone we’ve met?“Yes . . . and that’s all very interesting,” said Hermione cautiously, “but Harry, if you’re thinking what I think you’re think —” “Well, why not? Why not?” said Harry, abandoning caution. “It was a stone, wasn’t it?” He looked at Ron for support. “What if it was the Resurrection Stone?” Ron’s mouth fell open. “Blimey — but would it still work if Dumbledore broke — ?”Q2 - Do you think that the stone is the ring?And he saw himself, possessor of the Hallows, facing Voldemort, whose Horcruxes were no match . . . Neither can live while the other survives. . . . Was this the answer? Hallows versus Horcruxes? Was there a way, after all, to ensure that he was the one who triumphed? If he were the master of the Deathly Hallows, would he be safe? Q3 - What do you think of Harry’s questions here?He turned his back on their strained, incredulous faces. He knew it was the truth. It all made sense. Voldemort was not seeking a new wand; he was seeking an old wand, a very old wand indeed. Harry walked to the entrance of the tent, forgetting about Ron and Hermione as he looked out into the night, thinking. . . . “Harry, this isn’t a game, this isn’t practice! This is the real thing, and Dumbledore left you very clear instructions: Find and destroy the Horcruxes! That symbol doesn’t mean anything, forget the Deathly Hallows, we can’t afford to get sidetracked —” Q4 - What did Dumbledore want?“But before we hear from Royal and Romulus,” Lee went on, “let’s take a moment to report those deaths that the Wizarding Wireless Network News and Daily Prophet don’t think important enough to mention. It is with great regret that we inform our listeners of the murders of Ted Tonks and Dirk Cresswell.” “I’d tell him we’re all with him in spirit,” said Lupin, then hesitated slightly. “And I’d tell him to follow his instincts, which are good and nearly always right.” Q5 - Are Harry’s instincts always right?“And the rumors that he keeps being sighted abroad?” asked Lee. “Well, who wouldn’t want a nice little holiday after all the hard work he’s been putting in?” asked Fred. “Point is, people, don’t get lulled into a false sense of security, thinking he’s out of the country. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t, but the fact remains he can move faster than Severus Snape confronted with shampoo when he wants to, so don’t count on him being a long way away if you’re planning on taking any risks. I never thought I’d hear myself say it, but safety first!” Chapter 23 - Malfoy ManorQ1 - How unfortunate is the end of the last chapter and this one?“Like ’ell you are,” said the man called Scabior. “We know Stan Shunpike, ’e’s put a bit of work our way.”Q2 - Is Stan actually bad?The emaciated figure stirred beneath its thin blanket and rolled over toward him, eyes opening in a skull of a face. . . . The frail man sat up, great sunken eyes fixed upon him, upon Voldemort, and then he smiled. Most of his teeth were gone. . . . “So, you have come. I thought you would . . . one day. But your journey was pointless. I never had it.” “You lie!” Q3 - What does he mean that he never had it?Q4  - Why doesn’t Draco identify them here?She stopped struggling, her dark eyes fixed upon something Harry could not see. Jubilant at her capitulation, Lucius threw her hand from him and ripped up his own sleeve — “STOP!” shrieked Bellatrix. “Do not touch it, we shall all perish if the Dark Lord comes now!” Q5 - Why is Bella so freaked out?Hermione’s screams echoed off the walls upstairs, Ron was half sobbing as he pounded the walls with his fists, and Harry in utter desperation seized Hagrid’s pouch from around his neck and groped inside it: He pulled out Dumbledore’s Snitch and shook it, hoping for he did not know what — nothing happened — he waved the broken halves of the phoenix wand, but they were lifeless — the mirror fragment fell sparkling to the floor, and he saw a gleam of brightest blue — Dumbledore’s eye was gazing at him out of the mirror. “Help us!” he yelled at it in mad desperation. “We’re in the cellar of Malfoy Manor, help us!” The eye blinked and was gone. Q6 - What was going on there?“Kill me, then, Voldemort, I welcome death! But my death will not bring you what you seek. . . . There is so much you do not understand. . . .” Q7 - What does Voldemort not understand?Harry could barely breathe. “You’re going to kill me?” Harry choked, attempting to prise off the metal fingers. “After I saved your life? You owe me, Wormtail!” The silver fingers slackened. Harry had not expected it: He wrenched himself free, astonished, keeping his hand over Wormtail’s mouth. He saw the ratlike man’s small watery eyes widen with fear and surprise: He seemed just as shocked as Harry at what his hand had done, at the tiny, merciful impulse it had betrayed, and he continued to struggle more powerfully, as though to undo that moment of weakness. “And we’ll have that,” whispered Ron, tugging Wormtail’s wand from his other hand. Wandless, helpless, Pettigrew’s pupils dilated in terror. His eyes had slid from Harry’s face to something else. His own silver fingers were moving inexorably toward his own throat. “No —” Without pausing to think, Harry tried to drag back the hand, but there was no stopping it. The silver tool that Voldemort had given his most cowardly servant had turned upon its disarmed and useless owner; Pettigrew was reaping his reward for his hesitation, his moment of pity; he was being strangled before their eyes. Q8 - Poetic justice here? What do you think about Harry trying to save Pettigrew?At the last word there was a peculiar grinding noise from above. All of them looked upward in time to see the crystal chandelier tremble; then, with a creak and an ominous jingling, it began to fall. Bellatrix was directly beneath it; dropping Hermione, she threw herself aside with a scream. The chandelier crashed to the floor in an explosion of crystal and chains, falling on top of Hermione and the goblin, who still clutched the sword of Gryffindor. Glittering shards of crystal flew in all directions: Draco doubled over, his hands covering his bloody face. As Ron ran to pull Hermione out of the wreckage, Harry took his chance: He leapt over an armchair and wrested the three wands from Draco’s grip, pointed all of them at Greyback, and yelled, “Stupefy!” The werewolf was lifted off his feet by the triple spell, flew up to the ceiling, and then smashed to the ground. Q9 - Does triple wand power work greater?The tiny elf trotted into the room, his shaking finger pointing at his old mistress. “You must not hurt Harry Potter,” he squeaked. “Kill him, Cissy!” shrieked Bellatrix, but there was another loud crack, and Narcissa’s wand too flew into the air and landed on the other side of the room. “You dirty little monkey!” bawled Bellatrix. “How dare you take a witch’s wand, how dare you defy your masters?” “Dobby has no master!” squealed the elf. “Dobby is a free elf, and Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his friends!”“Dobby, no, don’t die, don’t die —” The elf’s eyes found him, and his lips trembled with the effort to form words. “Harry . . . Potter . . .” And then with a little shudder the elf became quite still, and his eyes were nothing more than great glassy orbs, sprinkled with light from the stars they could not see. Q10 - Raise a glass to Dobby

Chapter 17 - Bathilda’s SecretHarry, stop.” “What’s wrong?” They had only just reached the grave of the unknown Abbott. “There’s someone there. Someone watching us. I can tell. There, over by the bushes.”Q1 - What do you think of the monuments to the Potters?Was it possible that she had been waiting for them all these long months? That Dumbledore had told her to wait, and that Harry would come in the end? Was it not likely that it was she who had moved in the shadows in the graveyard and had followed them to this spot? Even her ability to sense them suggested some Dumbledore-ish power that he had never encountered before. Q2 - What would you have done in this situation?The dust vanished from the photographs, and he saw at once that half a dozen were missing from the largest and most ornate frames. He wondered whether Bathilda or somebody else had removed them. Then the sight of a photograph near the back of the collection caught his eye, and he snatched it up. It was the golden-haired, merry-faced thief, the young man who had perched on Gregorovitch’s windowsill, smiling lazily up at Harry out of the silver frame. And it came to Harry instantly where he had seen the boy before: in The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, arm in arm with the teenage Dumbledore, and that must be where all the missing photographs were: in Rita’s book. Q3 - Who is this?Then she closed her eyes and several things happened at once: Harry’s scar prickled painfully; the Horcrux twitched so that the front of his sweater actually moved; the dark, fetid room dissolved momentarily. He felt a leap of joy and spoke in a high, cold voice: Hold him! Q4 - How chilling is this?And his scream was Harry’s scream, his pain was Harry’s pain . . . that it could happen here, where it had happened before . . . here, within sight of that house where he had come so close to knowing what it was to die . . . to die. . . . The pain was so terrible . . . ripped from his body. . . . But if he had no body, why did his head hurt so badly; if he was dead, how could he feel so unbearably, didn’t pain cease with death, didn’t it go . . . He forced the door open, cast aside the chair and boxes hastily piled against it with one lazy wave of his wand . . . and there she stood, the child in her arms. At the sight of him, she dropped her son into the crib behind her and threw her arms wide, as if this would help, as if in shielding him from sight she hoped to be chosen instead. . . . “Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!” “Stand aside, you silly girl . . . stand aside, now.” “Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead —” “This is my last warning —” “Not Harry! Please . . . have mercy . . . have mercy. . . . Not Harry! Not Harry! Please — I’ll do anything —” “Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!” He could have forced her away from the crib, but it seemed more prudent to finish them all. . . .Q5 - Does any of this info give you hints or clues as to what is going on?And then he broke: He was nothing, nothing but pain and terror, and he must hide himself, not here in the rubble of the ruined house, where the child was trapped and screaming, but far away . . . far away. . . . “No,” he moaned. The snake rustled on the filthy, cluttered floor, and he had killed the boy, and yet he was the boy. . . . “No . . .” And now he stood at the broken window of Bathilda’s house, immersed in memories of his greatest loss, and at his feet the great snake slithered over broken china and glass. . . . He looked down and saw something . . . something incredible. . . . “No . . .” “Harry, it’s all right, you’re all right!” He stooped down and picked up the smashed photograph. There he was, the unknown thief, the thief he was seeking. . .Q6 - What is going on here? “You’re the one who needs sleep. No offense, but you look terrible. I’m fine. I’ll keep watch for a while. Where’s my wand?” She did not answer, she merely looked at him. “Where’s my wand, Hermione?” She was biting her lip, and tears swam in her eyes. “Harry . . .” “Where’s my wand?” She reached down beside the bed and held it out to him. The holly and phoenix wand was nearly severed in two. One fragile strand of phoenix feather kept both pieces hanging together. The wood had splintered apart completely. Harry took it into his hands as though it was a living thing that had suffered a terrible injury. He could not think properly: Everything was a blur of panic and fear. Then he held out the wand to Hermione. “Lumos!” The wand sparked feebly, then went out. Harry pointed it at Hermione. “Expelliarmus!” Hermione’s wand gave a little jerk, but did not leave her hand. The feeble attempt at magic was too much for Harry’s wand, which split into two again. He stared at it, aghast, unable to take in.Q7 - Do they really stand a chance now?Chapter 18 - The Life and Lies of Albus DumbledoreNever, until this moment, had he felt himself to be fatally weakened, vulnerable, and naked, as though the best part of his magical power had been torn from him.Q1 - Harry has lost the protection of the twin cores…what now?And his fury at Dumbledore broke over him now like lava, scorching him inside, wiping out every other feeling. Out of sheer desperation they had talked themselves into believing that Godric’s Hollow held answers, convinced themselves that they were supposed to go back, that it was all part of some secret path laid out for them by Dumbledore; but there was no map, no plan. Dumbledore had left them to grope in the darkness, to wrestle with unknown and undreamed-of terrors, alone and unaided: Nothing was explained, nothing was given freely, they had no sword, and now, Harry had no wand. And he had dropped the photograph of the thief, and it would surely be easy now for Voldemort to find out who he was. . . . Voldemort had all the information now. . . Q2 - Why didn’t Dumbledore give them more?Educated at Durmstrang, a school famous even then for its unfortunate tolerance of the Dark Arts, Grindelwald showed himself quite as precociously brilliant as Dumbledore. Rather than channel his abilities into the attainment of awards and prizes, however, Gellert Grindelwald devoted himself to other pursuits. At sixteen years old, even Durmstrang felt it could no longer turn a blind eye to the twisted experiments of Gellert Grindelwald, and he was expelled. Q3 - What did he do to get himself expelled from Durmstrang?Gellert — Your point about Wizard dominance being FOR THE MUGGLES’ OWN GOOD — this, I think, is the crucial point. Yes, we have been given power and yes, that power gives us the right to rule, but it also gives us responsibilities over the ruled. We must stress this point, it will be the foundation stone upon which we build. Where we are opposed, as we surely will be, this must be the basis of all our counterarguments. We seize control FOR THE GREATER GOOD. And from this it follows that where we meet resistance, we must use only the force that is necessary and no more. (This was your mistake at Durmstrang! But I do not complain, because if you had not been expelled, we would never have met.) AlbusQ4 - Is Albus really a good wizard?This dreadful coffin-side brawl, known only to those few who attended Ariana Dumbledore’s funeral, raises several questions. Why exactly did Aberforth Dumbledore blame Albus for his sister’s death? Was it, as “Batty” pretends, a mere effusion of grief? Or could there have been some more concrete reason for his fury? Grindelwald, expelled from Durmstrang for near-fatal attacks upon fellow students, fled the country hours after the girl’s death, and Albus (out of shame or fear?) never saw him again, not until forced to do so by the pleas of the Wizarding world. Q5 - Along with all these questions, what do you think Dumbledore saw in the Mirror of Erised?“Harry, I’m sorry, but I think the real reason you’re so angry is that Dumbledore never told you any of this himself.” “He loved you,” Hermione whispered. “I know he loved you.” Harry dropped his arms. “I don’t know who he loved, Hermione, but it was never me. This isn’t love, the mess he’s left me in. Q6 - What do we think of Harry and Dumbledore’s relationship after this?Chapter 19 - The Silver DoeIt was snowing by the time Hermione took over the watch at midnight. Harry’s dreams were confused and disturbing: Nagini wove in and out of them, first through a gigantic, cracked ring, then through a wreath of Christmas roses. He woke repeatedly, panicky, convinced that somebody had called out to him in the distance, imagining that the wind whipping around the tent was footsteps or voices. He had just held up a hand in front of his face to see whether he could make out his fingers when it happened. A bright silver light appeared right ahead of him, moving through the trees. Whatever the source, it was moving soundlessly. The light seemed simply to drift toward him. Q1 - Was Harry dumb to trust this?But instinct, overwhelming instinct, told him that this was not Dark Magic. He set off in pursuit. Q2 - Is Harry’s instinct good?His heart skipped into his mouth: He dropped to his knees at the pool’s edge and angled the wand so as to flood the bottom of the pool with as much light as possible. A glint of deep red . . . It was a sword with glittering rubies in its hilt. . . . The sword of Gryffindor was lying at the bottom of the forest pool. Q3 - How did the sword get there? Is the Doe and the Sword by the same person? Who?An owl hooted somewhere as he stripped off, and he thought with a pang of Hedwig.Q4 - Was this Hedwig??Every pore of his body screamed in protest: The very air in his lungs seemed to freeze solid as he was submerged to his shoulders in the frozen water. He could hardly breathe; trembling so violently the water lapped over the edges of the pool, he felt for the blade with his numb feet. He only wanted to dive once. Q5 - Ever experienced this kind of cold?“Are — you — mental?” Nothing but the shock of hearing that voice could have given Harry the strength to get up. Shivering violently, he staggered to his feet. There before him stood Ron, fully dressed but drenched to the skin, his hair plastered to his face, the sword of Gryffindor in one hand and the Horcrux dangling from its broken chain in the other….Harry could not answer. The silver doe was nothing, nothing compared with Ron’s reappearance; he could not believe it. Q6 - Were you shocked by the return?“I did think I saw something move over there, but I was running to the pool at the time, because you’d gone in and you hadn’t come up, so I wasn’t going to make a detour to — hey!” Harry was already hurrying to the place Ron had indicated. The two oaks grew close together; there was a gap of only a few inches between the trunks at eye level, an ideal place to see but not be seen.Q7 - Who was it?Ron looked toward him, and Harry thought he saw a trace of scarlet in his eyes. “Ron — ?” The sword flashed, plunged: Harry threw himself out of the way, there was a clang of metal and a long, drawn-out scream.Q8 - What was going on there?“You come back after weeks — weeks — and you think it’s all going to be all right if you just say sorry?” “Well, what else can I say?” Ron shouted, and Harry was glad that Ron was fighting back. “Oh, I don’t know!” yelled Hermione with awful sarcasm. “Rack your brains, Ron, that should only take a couple of seconds —” Q9 - Is Hermione right to be this mad at Ron?“Yeah,” said Ron. “Could’ve been worse. Remember those birds she set on me?” “I still haven’t ruled it out,” came Hermione’s muffled voice from beneath her blankets, but Harry saw Ron smiling slightly as he pulled his maroon pajamas out of his rucksack. Q10 - What do you think of Ron’s Dilumenator?Chapter 20 - Xenophilius LovegoodHermione’s sulkiness could not mar his buoyant spirits: The sudden upswing in their fortunes, the appearance of the mysterious doe, the recovery of Gryffindor’s sword, and above all, Ron’s return, made Harry so happy that it was quite difficult to maintain a straight face. “Oh, yeah. Well, it’s just a bad habit we’ve slipped into,” said Harry. “But I haven’t got a problem calling him V —” “NO!” roared Ron, causing Harry to jump into the hedge and Hermione (nose buried in a book at the tent entrance) to scowl over at them. “Q1 - What do you think of the tracking of this?Harry did not laugh at Ron, because he understood too well the longing behind the question. The idea that Dumbledore had managed to come back to them, that he was watching over them, would have been inexpressibly comforting. He shook his head. Q2 - Any chance that this Doe could have been Dumbledore?“But don’t you think if it was, Dumbledore would have told me about it before he died?” “Maybe . . . maybe it’s something you need to find out for yourself,” said Hermione with a faint air of clutching at straws. “Yeah,” said Ron sycophantically, “that makes sense.” “No, it doesn’t,” snapped Hermione, “but I still think we ought to talk to Mr. Lovegood. A symbol that links Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Godric’s Hollow? Harry, I’m sure we ought to know about this!” Q3 - Will Hermione and Ron ever reconcile?Q4 - Danny nailed the prediction on Luna not being thereQ5 - What would you have done in Xeno’s position?He turned away from the window and his gaze fell upon another peculiar object standing upon the cluttered, curved sideboard: a stone bust of a beautiful but austere-looking witch wearing a most bizarre-looking headdress. Two objects that resembled golden ear trumpets curved out from the sides. A tiny pair of glittering blue wings was stuck to a leather strap that ran over the top of her head, while one of the orange radishes had been stuck to a second strap around her forehead. “Ah, you have spotted my pet invention,” Xeno said, “Modeled, fittingly enough, upon the head of the beautiful Rowena Ravenclaw. ‘Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure!’ ” Q6 - Danny you paused at this for a bit, why?

Chapter 13 - The Muggle Born Registration CommissionBeneath the title was a picture of a red rose with a simpering face in the middle of its petals, being strangled by a green weed with fangs and a scowl. There was no author’s name upon the pamphlet, but again, the scars on the back of his right hand seemed to tingle as he examined it.Q1 - How vile is this?The witch glanced toward the shining mahogany door facing the space full of pamphlet-makers; Harry looked too, and rage reared in him like a snake. Where there might have been a peephole on a Muggle front door, a large, round eye with a bright blue iris had been set into the wood — an eye that was shockingly familiar to anybody who had known Alastor Moody.Q2 - Does this make you hate Umbridge even more?“Undesirable Number One,” Harry muttered under his breath as he replaced Mr. Weasley’s folder and shut the drawer. He had an idea he knew who that was, and sure enough, as he straightened up and glanced around the office for fresh hiding places, he saw a poster of himself on the wall, with the words undesirable no. 1 emblazoned across his chest.Q3 - What do you think of Harry’s new nickname?The lift doors opened; the old witch with the anthill hair left, and Ron darted past her out of sight. Harry made to follow him, but found his path blocked as Percy Weasley strode into the lift, his nose buried in some papers he was reading. Not until the doors had clanged shut again did Percy realize he was in a lift with his father. He glanced up, saw Mr. Weasley, turned radish red, and left the lift the moment the doors opened again. For the second time, Harry tried to get out, but this time found his way blocked by Mr. Weasley’s arm. Q4 - Do you think Percy’s still evil?And as he reached the foot of the stairs and turned to his right he saw a dreadful scene. The dark passage outside the courtrooms was packed with tall, black-hooded figures, their faces completely hidden, their ragged breathing the only sound in the place. The petrified Muggle-borns brought in for questioning sat huddled and shivering on hard wooden benches. Most of them were hiding their faces in their hands, perhaps in an instinctive attempt to shield themselves from the dementors’ greedy mouths. Some were accompanied by families, others sat alone. The dementors were gliding up and down in front of them, and the cold, and the hopelessness, and the despair of the place laid themselves upon Harry like a curse. . . . At the foot of the platform, a bright-silver, long-haired cat prowled up and down, up and down, and Harry realized that it was there to protect the prosecutors from the despair that emanated from the dementors: That was for the accused to feel, not the accusersQ5 - How is Umbridge able to cast a Patronus?She cried harder than ever. Umbridge laughed a soft girlish laugh that made Harry want to attack her. She leaned forward over the barrier, the better to observe her victim, and something gold swung forward too, and dangled over the void: the locket.Whether because the Patronus had vanished or because they sensed that their masters were no longer in control, they seemed to have abandoned restraint. Mrs. Cattermole let out a terrible scream of fear as a slimy, scabbed hand grasped her chin and forced her face back. “EXPECTO PATRONUM!” The silver stag soared from the tip of Harry’s wand and leaped toward the dementors, which fell back and melted into the dark shadows again. The stag’s light, more powerful and more warming than the cat’s protection, filled the whole dungeon as it cantered around and around the room. Q6 - What do you think Harry and Hermione thought of for their Patronus?Q7 - Ron let’s them know that the ruse was up because Harry took the eye…was he dumb to take the eye?“LET’S GO!” Harry yelled. He seized Hermione by the hand and Ron by the arm and turned on the spot. Darkness engulfed them, along with the sensation of compressing bands, but something was wrong. . . . Hermione’s hand seemed to be sliding out of his grip. . . . He wondered whether he was going to suffocate; he could not breathe or see and the only solid things in the world were Ron’s arm and Hermione’s fingers, which were slowly slipping away. . . . And then he saw the door of number twelve, Grimmauld Place, with its serpent door knocker, but before he could draw breath, there was a scream and a flash of purple light; Hermione’s hand was suddenly vicelike upon his and everything went dark again. Q8 - What happened?Chapter 14 - The Thief“As we Disapparated, Yaxley caught hold of me and I couldn’t get rid of him, he was too strong, and he was still holding on when we arrived at Grimmauld Place, and then — well, I think he must have seen the door, and thought we were stopping there, so he slackened his grip and I managed to shake him off and I brought us here instead!” “But then, where’s he? Hang on. . . . You don’t mean he’s at Grimmauld Place? He can’t get in there?” Q1 - Can they return to Grimmauld Place?Q2 - Did they leave anything of importance behind?“That’s as much as I can do. At the very least, we should know they’re coming, I can’t guarantee it will keep out Vol —” “Don’t say the name!” Ron cut across her, his voice harsh. Harry and Hermione looked at each other. “I’m sorry,” Ron said, moaning a little as he raised himself to look at them, “but it feels like a — a jinx or something. Can’t we call him You-Know-Who — please?” “Dumbledore said fear of a name —” began Harry. “In case you hadn’t noticed, mate, calling You-Know-Who by his name didn’t do Dumbledore much good in the end,” Ron snapped back. “Just — just show You-Know-Who some respect, will you?”Q3 - Has Ron gone crazy?“Can you feel it, though?” Ron asked in a hushed voice, as he held it tight in his clenched fist. “What d’you mean?” Ron passed the Horcrux to Harry. After a moment or two, Harry thought he knew what Ron meant. Was it his own blood pulsing through his veins that he could feel, or was it something beating inside the locket, like a tiny metal heart?Q4 - How are they going to open this to destroy it?The surrounding silence was broken by odd rustlings and what sounded like crackings of twigs: Harry thought that they were caused by animals rather than people, yet he kept his wand held tight at the ready. His insides, already uncomfortable due to their inadequate helping of rubbery mushrooms, tingled with unease. Q5 - Do you think someone is watching them?Nameless forebodings crept upon him as he sat there in the dark: He tried to resist them, push them away, yet they came at him relentlessly. Neither can live while the other survives. Ron and Hermione, now talking softly behind him in the tent, could walk away if they wanted to: He could not. And it seemed to Harry as he sat there trying to master his own fear and exhaustion, that the Horcrux against his chest was ticking away the time he had left. . . . Stupid idea, he told himself, don’t think that. . . .Q6 - What are each of the trios biggest fear?Harry’s voice was high, clear, and cold, his wand held in front of him by a long-fingered white hand. The man at whom he was pointing was suspended upside down in midair, though there were no ropes holding him; he swung there, invisibly and eerily bound, his limbs wrapped about him, his terrified face, on a level with Harry’s, ruddy due to the blood that had rushed to his head. He had pure-white hair and a thick, bushy beard: a trussed-up Father Christmas. “I have it not, I have it no more! It was, many years ago, stolen from me!”Q7 - What does he want?“He read Gregorovitch’s mind, and I saw this young bloke perched on a windowsill, and he fired a curse at Gregorovitch and jumped out of sight. He stole it, he stole whatever You-Know-Who’s after. And I . . . I think I’ve seen him somewhere. . . .” Q8 - Who is the thief?What was Voldemort trying to find? Why, with the Ministry of Magic and the Wizarding world at his feet, was he far away, intent on the pursuit of an object that Gregorovitch had once owned, and which had been stolen by the unknown thief? Harry could still see the blond-haired youth’s face; it was merry, wild; there was a Fred and George-ish air of triumphant trickery about him. He had soared from the windowsill like a bird, and Harry had seen him before, but he could not think where. . . . With Gregorovitch dead, it was the merry-faced thief who was in danger now, and it was on him that Harry’s thoughts dwelled, as Ron’s snores began to rumble from the lower bunk and as he himself drifted slowly into sleep once more. Chapter 15 - The Goblin’s RevengeHarry and Hermione felt that it was best not to stay anywhere too long, and Ron agreed, with the sole proviso that their next move took them within reach of a bacon sandwich. “But you can make a brilliant Patronus!” protested Ron, when Harry arrived back at the tent empty-handed, out of breath, and mouthing the single word, dementors. “I couldn’t . . . make one,” he panted, clutching the stitch in his side. “Wouldn’t . . . come.” Q1 - Why wasn’t Harry able to cast a Patronus?Q2 - What is the Horcrux actually doing to them?Q3 - Is it dumb to wear it everywhere?“You told us that You-Know-Who asked Dumbledore to give him a job after he left,” said Hermione. “That’s right,” said Harry. “And Dumbledore thought he only wanted to come back to try and find something, probably another founder’s object, to make into another Horcrux?” Q4 - Is there something in Hogwarts that’s a Horcrux?Q5 - Why did Ginny and co try to steal the sword?Phineas snorted impatiently. “I believe that the last time I saw the sword of Gryffindor leave its case was when Professor Dumbledore used it to break open a ring.” Hermione whipped around to look at Harry. Neither of them dared say more in front of Phineas Nigellus, who had at last managed to locate the exit. “And Dumbledore didn’t give it to me because he still needed it, he wanted to use it on the locket —” “— and he must have realized they wouldn’t let you have it if he put it in his will —” “— so he made a copy —” “— and put a fake in the glass case —” “— and he left the real one — where?” They gazed at each other; Harry felt that the answer was dangling invisibly in the air above them, tantalizingly close. Why hadn’t Dumbledore told him? Or had he, in fact, told Harry, but Harry had not realized it at the time? “Think!” whispered Hermione. “Think! Where would he have left it?” Q6 - Where do you think Dumbledore left the sword?“Leave the Horcrux,” Harry said. Ron wrenched the chain from over his head and cast the locket into a nearby chair. He turned to Hermione. “What are you doing?” “What do you mean?” “Are you staying, or what?” “I . . .” She looked anguished. “Yes — yes, I’m staying. Ron, we said we’d go with Harry, we said we’d help —” “I get it. You choose him.” “Ron, no — please — come back, come back!” She was impeded by her own Shield Charm; by the time she had removed it he had already stormed into the night. Harry stood quite still and silent, listening to her sobbing and calling Ron’s name amongst the trees. Q7 - How surprising is it that Ron has left? Will he come back?Chapter 16 - Godric's HollowThey did not discuss Ron at all over the next few days. Harry was determined never to mention his name again, and Hermione seemed to know that it was no use forcing the issue, although sometimes at night when she thought he was sleeping, he would hear her crying. Q1 - Is Harry being too hard here?By day, they devoted themselves to trying to determine the possible locations of Gryffindor’s sword, but the more they talked about the places in which Dumbledore might have hidden it, the more desperate and far-fetched their speculation became. Q2 - Where do you think the sword is?They were spending many evenings in near silence, and Hermione took to bringing out Phineas Nigellus’s portrait and propping it up in a chair, as though he might fill part of the gaping hole left by Ron’s departure… Indeed, Phineas Nigellus inadvertently emphasized this fact by slipping in leading questions about Harry and Hermione’s whereabouts.Q3 - Is Hermione actually crazy to do this?Apparently she had not been listening to him. She leaned forward and held out The Tales of Beedle the Bard. “Look at that symbol,” she said, pointing to the top of a page. Above what Harry assumed was the title of the story (being unable to read runes, he could not be sure), there was a picture of what looked like a triangular eye, its pupil crossed with a vertical line. “I never took Ancient Runes, Hermione.” “I know that, but it isn’t a rune and it’s not in the syllabary, either. All along I thought it was a picture of an eye, but I don’t think it is! It’s been inked in, look, somebody’s drawn it there, it isn’t really part of the book. Think, have you ever seen it before?” “No . . . No, wait a moment.” Harry looked closer. “Isn’t it the same symbol Luna’s dad was wearing round his neck?” “Well, that’s what I thought too!” “Then it’s Grindelwald’s mark.” Q4 - What does this all mean for the story?She pointed to the dark stone. Harry stooped down and saw, upon the frozen, lichen-spotted granite, the words Kendra Dumbledore and, a short way below her dates of birth and death, and Her Daughter Ariana. There was also a quotation: Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Q5 - What do you make of that quote?“Here!” cried Hermione again a few moments later from out of the darkness. “Oh no, sorry! I thought it said Potter.” She was rubbing at a crumbling, mossy stone, gazing down at it, a little frown on her face. “Harry, come back a moment.” He did not want to be sidetracked again, and only grudgingly made his way back through the snow toward her. “What?” “Look at this!” The grave was extremely old, weathered so that Harry could hardly make out the name. Hermione showed him the symbol beneath it. “Harry, that’s the mark in the book!” Q6 - Is this mark different?The headstone was only two rows behind Kendra and Ariana’s. It was made of white marble, just like Dumbledore’s tomb, and this made it easy to read, as it seemed to shine in the dark. Harry did not need to kneel or even approach very close to it to make out the words engraved upon it. James Potter Born 27 March 1960 Died October 31 1981 Lily Potter, born January 30, 1960 Died October 31, 1981. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. Q7 - Why are these words on the gravestone?But they were not living, thought Harry: They were gone. The empty words could not disguise the fact that his parents’ moldering remains lay beneath snow and stone, indifferent, unknowing. And tears came before he could stop them, boiling hot then instantly freezing on his face, and what was the point in wiping them off or pretending? He let them fall, his lips pressed hard together, looking down at the thick snow hiding from his eyes the place where the last of Lily and James lay, bones now, surely, or dust, not knowing or caring that their living son stood so near, his heart still beating, alive because of their sacrifice and close to wishing, at this moment, that he was sleeping under the snow with them.