"'Saint-like,' ... 'You see...I'm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?'"
-- George Weasley
After crashing the motorbike, Harry and Hagrid are attended to by Andromeda and Ted Tonks. They tell them about the Death Eaters’ attack and then take a Portkey to the Burrow. Harry and Hagrid are the first of the pairs to arrive. Lupin arrives with George who is severely injured. The others slowly make their way to the Burrow. The last to arrive are Bill and Fleur who break the news that Moody was murdered by Voldemort, while Mundungus fled. Harry then has a vision of Voldemort torturing Ollivander, seeking to know why using Lucius Malfoy’s wand did not work against Harry.
Calendar and Dates
Evening, July 27, 1997, late on the same day as the previous chapter. The sun set at 8:56 in the London area on that date, which was just when the Dursleys were driving away ("The car turned right at the end of Privet Drive, its windows burned scarlet for a moment in the now setting sun, and then it was gone"). A short time after this, Mad-Eye and the rest of the rescue party turned up. After maybe twenty minutes of preparation, the group took off into the sky and were attacked. The descriptions of the battle suggest that darkness has fallen ("Harry hurried to gather his rucksack, Firebolt, and Hedwig’s cage and followed ... to the dark back garden"), which would be about 9:30 pm. The battle itself, then, took place between 9:30 and 10:30 in the evening and the events of this chapter would have happened between 10:30 and 11 pm.
Interesting facts and notes
Anything else broken? I've fixed your ribs, your tooth and your arm.
Ted Tonks displays he is gifted at healing charms. This also shows how badly the crash of the motorbike was, if Harry sustained all of these injuries.
As she moved forwards into the room, Mrs. Tonks's resemblance to her sister Bellatrix became much less pronounced: her hair was a light, soft brown and her eyes were wider and kinder.
This is the readers' first and only real glimpse of Andromeda Tonks, Bellatrix's and Narcissa's sister.
We learn that she looks so much like Bellatrix that, at first glance, Harry mistakes her for her sister. It is interesting that all three sisters have different hair colours.
The last words Albus Dumbledore spoke to the pair of us? Harry is the best hope we have. Trust him.
"Yeah, said Harry. Thank God" "Bill! Thank God, thank God"
One of the few times religion is referred to in the novels. God is mentioned by Harry and Mrs. Weasley in this chapter when expressing their thanks.
Tonks was crying silently into a handkerchief: she had been close to Mad-Eye, Harry knew, his favourite and his protégée at the Ministry of Magic.
Unfortunately, readers' do not see too much of the relationship between Tonks and Mad-Eye. He is always shown to be this strong, unwavering, brave character, but it would have been nice to learn more about him personally and to see how acted when he was not fighting the enemy. Though, having constant vigilance, perhaps he always was fighting or preparing to fight. Personally, I would like to have seen Tonks and Moody alone together and see how he trained his protégée and what they discussed.
Exceptional character moments
George's first reaction on waking up with a missing ear is to crack a bad joke.
Fred, for a few rare moments, was "lost for words" when he saw George injured. Fred was also "terrified" when George said he was "saint-like" worrying that George's injuries affected his mind. Fred is so rarely serious, but when he is you can observe how much he cares for his family and especially his twin.
Molly Weasley was worried for the safe return of all of her sons, but she showed great strength of character in the face of danger. She tended to the others and made sure they were alright while she waited. She also took action as soon as George arrived and cares for his injuries.
Memorable lines
"Pathetic," he told George. "Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humour before you, you go for holey?"
"'Well said, Harry,' said Fred unexpectedly. 'Yeah, 'ear, 'ear,' said George."
"Harry, he's taking over the Ministry and the newspapers and half the wizarding world! Don't let him inside your head too!"
Words and phrases
Commentary
Pensieve (Comments)
Tags: attacks blood dark death defensive magic duelling ears family fear flying guilt injuries loss memorials news professors protection red religion sadness safety scar scarlet security transportation
Readers hear about Andromeda Black Tonks long before we finally meet her. Sirius says in OP6 that Andromeda is his favourite cousin, but she was burned off the Black Family Tree by his mother after she married Ted Tonks, a Muggle-Born. She is Nymphadora's mother and middle sister to Bellatrix and Narcissa. We only get a slight glimpse of her in the novels. She has kind eyes and light brown hair. Despite appearance, she is obviously very different than her sisters. She chose not to marry a pureblood. She, like her cousin Sirius, was brave enough to choose a different path than the rest of her family. She is one of the characters in the novels that loses the most. Almost her entire family are killed by the conclusion of this novel. She must have immeasurable strength to survive all of her losses and to still be able to love and raise her grandson. - C.M.
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