SPOILERS BELOW!

I’ve jotted down a few notes from chapters 14-25, which I’ll refer to as I prepare subsequent posts. "First Third" was posted last week, and "Last Third" and posts on Christian themes will follow. Read my first impressions of the book.

The first part of this series, "First Third," ended with a shout-out to Nazi Germany. Harry, Ron, and Hermione learned that the Ministry of Magic was persecuting Muggle-borns and accusing them of stealing magic from “legitimate” witches and wizards. In Chapter Thirteen, the trio went into the Ministry undercover and retrieved Slytherin’s locket, one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, from power hungry "Nazi" Dolores Umbridge.

Chapters 14-19: On the Run

The second third part of the book begins at Chapter Fourteen with the enigmatic title, “The Thief.”

This chapter marks the beginning of the trio’s on-the-run forest camp-out in a magic tent (same one used at the World Quidditch Cup in Goblet of Fire), aided by Hermione’s enchanted beaded handbag, which holds the tent, clothing, supplies, and various objects of importance. The small handbag, which is small enough for Hermione to stuff in her sock, is a clever and convenient invention. Bravo, JKR.

For reasons that can only be explained as a plot device to set up the drawn-out bickering between Harry, Ron, and Hermione, they decide to take turns wearing the Horcrux locket around their necks, presumably to keep in safe. Why doesn’t Harry just carry it in his magical pouch ( seen around Harry's neck on the US cover), which no one but the owner can get into? That’s rhetorical.

Harry dreams that Voldemort has found Gregorovitch, a Bulgarian wandmaker. Harry enters Voldemort’s thoughts as he performs Legillimancy on Gregorivitch and sees a laughing blond man stealing something from the wandmaker. Later in the book, the stolen object and the thief are revealed.

Tension mounts between the trio over the next two chapters, culminating in a falling out between Harry and Ron, with Hermione caught in the middle. The irritable moods, caused by too little food and no plan to find the Horcruxes, are exacerbated by the locket's dark residue, so to speak. At one point, they overhear voices outside the tent. Two goblins, schoolmate Dean Thomas, Ted Tonks, and another wizard are on the run from Death Eaters. They set up camp near the trio’s tent (with food!), which they can’t see because it’s protected by Hermione's spells.

A fake Sword of Gryffindor, they overhear, is locked away at Gringott’s bank in Bellatrix's vault, but the Death Eaters don't know it's fake. Snape (who knew it was fake) sent it to Gringott's for safekeeping after Hogwart's Ginny Weasley and others tried to steal it for Harry after Scrimgeour refuses to give it to him, although Dumbledore left it to Harry.

Back in Chapter Twelve, Hermione took Phineas Nigellus's portrait from Grimmauld Place so he couldn't go to his portait in Snape's office and rat out the trio. After overhearing the bit about the attempted theft, Hermione removes the portrait from her pouch to find out if Phineas witnessed the attempted theft. He did.

Continue reading Deathly Hallows: Second Third