“Anyone we know dead?” asked Ron in a determinedly casual voice; he posed the same question every time Hermione opened her paper.
Commentary
Pensieve (Comments)
View 0 thoughts swirling around the pensieve. Add your own.
Tags: anxiety casual casualties characterization concerns coping deaths habits journalism mornings news newspaper questions routines tension war wartime
The quote is a bit reminiscent of when Hermione spots in the Daily Prophet (OP25) that Broderick Bode was killed by Devil's Snare in St. Mungo's--which they saw delivered to him in the guise of a Christmas present (OP22), but which they did not identify as Devil's Snare, despite their familiarity with it. Bode was an Unspeakable for the Department of Mysteries, and his name was a familiar one in the Weasley household (OP7).
The quote also has a similar energy to when the trio overhear Ted Tonks talking with Griphook, Dean Thomas, and Dirk Cresswell along the riverbank, and Ron jumps to conclusions about his family's well-being.
This argument, exacerbated by Ron's contact with the locket Horcrux and generally low morale, led Ron to leave Harry and Hermione for a time.
--AK