The first few pages of chapter 17 of Half-Blood Prince belong to after-break catching-up. Hermione gets filled in on the Snape/Draco conversation, and Ron begins to show more signs of discontent in his relationship with Lavender.
Fawkes and Loyalty to Dumbledore
The action begins once again in Dumbledore’s office, where one of my favorite Dumbledore/Harry moments takes place: when Harry tells Dumbledore the story of affirming to Scrimgeour that he was “Dumbledore’s man, through and through.” Dumbledore goes speechless and teary, and Fawkes lets out “a low, soft, musical cry.” Fawkes’s song symbolizes loyalty to Dumbledore, which is loyalty to the good.
It’s an interesting moment to observe after our discussion about Lupin’s loyalty to Dumbledore in the last chapter. Whatever else you think about Dumbledore’s actions, this moment does not strike me as manipulative. Dumbledore isn’t working up a tear to take advantage of Harry’s declaration of loyalty. And Fawkes, quite obviously a symbol of goodness in the series, affirms Harry’s loyalty.
Morphin’s Memory
After a tense discussion about Snape and Dumbledore’s recounting of Riddle’s history until the age of 16, being sure to note the key themes of his life – isolation, talent, charm, deception – Harry and the headmaster dive into the Pensieve for the tale of Riddle’s visit to the House of Gaunt. It’s quite fascinating to get the other side of the story that Harry picked up in a dream at the beginning of Goblet of Fire.
Interesting – and right – that Dumbledore tried to secure Morphin’s release when he discovered the truth.
We’ve talked about this before, but the application of the Restriction on underage wizardry is an awful law that cannot possibly be enforced well. It will most often result in disadvantage to Muggle-borns (how many Wizarding parents really do keep their kids from practicing magic over the summer?), and in a Wizarding household, it was used by Riddle to cover up a murder.
Slughorn’s Memory
Next, we dive into the “Sluggish” memory. Note Dumbledore’s words about Slughorn’s tampering: “It is … very crudely done … it shows that the true memory is still there beneath the alterations.” When I posited earlier that memories can be better altered than Slughorn’s fog-and-shouting, it appears I was correct. However, I’m not sure it can be done magically. It seems to me it has to be done psychologically. “Crudely done” is connected with the fact that the real memory is still there. I think a much more flawless memory could be created if someone actually convinces him- or herself of the lie. Like I said, psychological, not magical.
Fawkes and Loyalty to Harry
An interesting item I had not picked up before. Dumbledore gives Harry his assignment: get the memory. After Harry leaves the room, Phineas Nigellus protests, “I can’t see why the boy should be able to do it better than you, Dumbledore.”
Dumbledore’s reply, “I wouldn’t expect you to, Phineas,” is met with another low, musical cry from Fawkes. If I’m correct in my position that this is a sign of approval from Fawkes, and it’s about loyalty, then Fawkes here has sung about Dumbledore’s loyalty to – or faith in – Harry. As such, these two notes by Fawkes are something of a foreshadowing of the “You are with me” / “I am with you” reversal of roles between Dumbledore and Harry.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Just a quick thought brought up by your mention of the Restriction on underage wizardry. Voldemort was not the cause of prejudice & injustice & oppression in the wizarding world; he was just able to tap into something that was already there, notably the emphasis on blood status. He was also able to use certain groups to his advantage, most notably the werewolves & giants, by promising them more freedoms & better treatment than they had received in the past.
Rather similar to how Hitler tapped into the anti-Semitism which was prevalent in European society at the time & also into the bitterness & resentment many Germans felt about the treatment of Germany after WWI.
Travis, very interesting thoughts about Fawkes’ notes. I had thought the second instance was just Fawkes responding to Phineas Nigellus’ appreciation for Dumbledore, but I hadn’t thought about the fact that Fawkes doesn’t make his sound until after Dumbledore’s comment. I’m too sleepy tonight to work any further through the logic for myself, but your thought is definitely cooler than mine.
This chapter gives us both sides of Dumbledore, I think–a very honest and good-hearted reaction to Harry’s loyalty, and an admission that he “coerced” the faulty memory from Slughorn. I can’t read a chapter like this and deny either his imperfections or his human goodness.
The one part of Slughorn’s memory that has always struck me as gross is his drinking wine and eating crystalized pineapple together. That combination sounds revolting and it’s a very clever way to emphasize his fondness to overindulge. He’s over the top, that guy!
All very interesting points, Travis, revgeorge, and jensenly. I’ll just note that Harry feels a grudging admiration for Voldemort’s absence of fear as he enters the Gaunt home; Voldemort merely looks disgusted and disappointed. In the Flight of the Prince later in HBP, “Harry felt no fear at all, only rage and contempt” as he faces Snape and dares Snape to kill him. Harry shows courage in chasing and facing Snape, but some of the Voldemort is showing through, too, perhaps.
To add to my comment – in the next chapter, Harry reminds “himself irresistibly of Voldemort” when he calls Slughorn “sir” and tries to ask him about horcruxes. Of course he doesn’t do it nearly so well as Voldemort.
Wrote a comment about this a couple of days ago, but it disappeared into the electronic void. Took me two days to summon the energy to rewrite it, but without the quote from the book which originally accompanied it.
I don’t interpret Dumbledore’s cryptic comment to Nigellus quite the same as you do, Travis. I look at the dynamic of what takes place: Dumbledore gives Harry a task which he – Harry – has no idea how to go about doing. Dumbledore knows what’s needed of course, because he knows which buttons Harry needs to push to get Slughorn to up the goods. But he doesn’t tell Harry because, frankly, it would sound too crass: “Remind him that it’s partially his fault that Voldemort murdered your parents, and btw, bat your green eyes at him just to remind him of your mother.” He doesn’t tell him this, but he has faith that Harry will figure it for himself because Harry will do anything not to disappoint Dumbledore.
Because Harry is Dumbledore’s man, through and through.
It is another instance of Dumbledore’s manipulativeness, but this time what he’s counting on is Harry’s feelings towards him.
You have to ask yourself, how that would feel, in real life: to have everything depend on the actions of one person, and to find out at the end of the day that that person will do anything you want him to from simple love. I wonder if he wept from gratitude or shame.