Chapter 18: Dobby's reward

(If you haven't posted your comments on Chapter 17, go right now and do so. That's one of the best chapters in the book, and I'm sure more than two of us have something to say about it!)
Chapter 18: Dobby's reward
Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fawkes, and the wizard formerly known to himself as Lockhart arrive at McGonagall's office, to the amazement of those inside. After a near hysterical welcome from Mrs. Weasley, Harry produces the Sorting Hat, Sword and ruined Diary; then relates the whole tale of how he heard the Basilisk in the pipes, spoke to Aragog, and finally realized how Moaning Myrtle was connected to the Chamber of Secrets. McGonagall, pointing out that he's broken "a hundred school rules into pieces," asks him to explain how he emerged alive from the Chamber.
Harry tells of Fawkes and the Sword, but hesitates to mention the Diary. Ginny, ashamed, is standing with her face hidden in her mother's shoulder. Harry is afraid she will be expelled. When he looks to Dumbledore for guidance, the Headmaster gently inquires as to how Lord Voldemort, who should be lying low in Albania, could enchant Ginny. Harry's fear is relieved. If Dumbledore understands that Ginny was manipulated by Riddle, surely she will not be punished severely.
Upon hearing Harry's explanation of the Diary's function, Dumbledore pronounces Voldemort "probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen." He elaborates on the evolution of the former Head Boy, who would now not be recognized by many in his Lord Voldemort persona and his advanced state of moral decay. Ginny answers her parents incredulous queries about just how she could have been enchanted by V, tearfully confessing that she has been exchanging notes with Riddle in this book that she found among her school texts. Mr. Weasley chides his daughter for not heading his previous warnings against trusting anything that thinks for itself "if you can't see where it keeps it's brain." (Hear, hear... Sorry, I digress. ...I hate changing software...grrr)
Dumbledore intervenes, saying far more mature wizards have been "hoodwinked by Voldemort," and orders Ginny to the hospital for bed rest and hot chocolate. Upon the mention that Madam Pomfrey should be awakening the Basilisk victims even at that moment, Ron interjects his joy that Hermione will be OK. Dumbledore answers by telling Ginny that no one is permanently harmed. As the Weasley's leave, Dumbledore delegates McGonagall to raise the kitchen staff and announce a feast of celebration. This leaves him alone(*) with Ron and Harry, who are allowed for a fleeting moment of terror to believe they will be expelled for breaking more rules. Instead, however, D points out that "the best of us must sometimes eat our words." He assigns 200 points for each boy to Gryffindor, and promises them special service awards. (I wonder if Filch makes them polish these in later detentions? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) )
Then Harry gets a start when Dumbledore asks, "Why so modest, Gilderoy?" *Lockhart, smiling vaguely, has been so quiet, Harry had forgotten his presence. In a lovely bit of comedy, Ron explains the backfired memory charm. Lockhart wonders if he wasn't "hopeless" as a professor, and Dumbledore pronounces him "impaled on your own sword," (which makes me wonder if Dumbledore didn't know all along that there was something underhanded about Lockhart). Ron is sent to guide lost Lockhart to the infirmary, and Dumbledore offers Harry a chair. (Truly, after the day Harry's had, why hasn't he fallen over already?)
Thanking Harry, Dumbledore declares, "You must have shown me real loyalty... Nothing but that could have called Fawkes to you." Dumbledore then surmises that Riddle was probably most interested to meet Harry. Harry blurts out his fears about similarities between himself and Riddle. Could he, Harry, be the heir of Slytherin? (It seems that to Harry's mind, Slytherin house will be forever associated with the murderer of his parents.) Dumbledore says Harry speaks Parseltongue because Voldemort, "the last remaining descendant of Salazar Slytherin -- can... Unless I'm much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I'm sure..."
Harry: "V put a bit of himself in me?"
D: "It certainly seems so."
Seeing Harry is still afraid that he may be in some way tainted, (very believable if you consider the Dursley's conditioning), Dumbledore asks him to think of why the Sorting Hat didn't put him in Slytherin, in spite of his many qualities (both good and perhaps not so good) that would have pleased the Founder of that house. Harry, with a heavy heart, admits that the hat only put him in Gryffindor because he asked not to be in Slytherin.
D explains to him that this is exactly his point; Harry's choices were different from those Riddle would have made, and "It is our choices, Harry, that show who we really are, far more than our abilities." He tells Harry to turn over the ruby adorned sword and see -- see that it belonged to Godric Gryffindor, the founder of Harry's "true" house.
Just as Dumbledore is sending Harry away to eat and rest, beginning to pen a letter to spring Hagrid from Azkaban, and remarking on the need to advertise for a new DADA teacher, "Dear me, we do seem to run through them, don't we?", Lucius Malfoy bursts into the room. Dobby, cowering and bandaged, follows. He's in a towering rage to see Dumbledore back at Hogwarts. Dumbledore calmly accuses Lucius of threatening the governing board in order to get him removed, them confronts him with the Diary. While Dumbledore reveals Lucius "clever plan" to get Ginny Weasley blamed for the opening of the Chamber, Dobby is pantomiming to Harry something about the Diary. Harry understands, and accuses Lucius of slipping the Diary into Ginny's books during the fight in Florish and Blots. Lucius dares them to prove it, but Dumbledore cautions him about distributing Voldy's "old school things." Arthur Weasley will know who to blame next time.
Defeated, Lucius storms from the room, kicking Dobby down the hall in a cold rage. Harry has an epiphany and, running after Lucius with the Diary stuffed into his muddy, bloody sock, he forces it into the hand of it's "owner". Malfoy does keep the Diary, but tosses the sock away in disgust -- into the hands of Dobby. Now free, Dobby demonstrates that, even without a wand, he is a powerful magical creature. Malfoy is knocked down the stairs as he attempts to draw a wand on Harry while Dobby -- completely transformed from his subservient former self -- orders him off.
(I think that we have next the last truly happy ending in the HP books. Even in book three, we are sad that Lupin will not be teaching again, and that Harry will not get to stay with his new found godfather. )
The book ends with all things righting themselves at Hogwarts. Everyone's delighted -- except for Draco, who's dad is kicked off the board; and Hermione, who's dismayed that exams are canceled. On the train, they play magical games, enjoying their magic for the last precious hours allowed them. Harry gives Ron and Hermione the Dursley's phone number, and all reenter the muggle world. _________

I wanted to make this a shorter summary, but at every turn I found things we've speculated about for book seven. Some of them minor, like whether our man Gilderoy will be back; some pretty big, like where this first Horcrux is leading us.
Below is a list of things present in this chapter that we might call "clues" (or red herrings) for what's to come. Comment, or add your own.
*Harry manages to not get expelled, even though he's had a "terminal warning."
*Myrtle is not to be underestimated.
*Hindsight revelation that Dumbledore understands DADA teachers are very transient. (And so we will forgive him for hiring Quirrel and Lockhart, and perhaps understand that he knew full well that Umbridge was shooting herself in the foot eventually. Too bad she didn't wind up in St. Mungos!)
*Harry is protective of Ginny (who's true feelings for Harry have just been revealed to him by none other than pre-Voldemort! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) ).
*Lucius plays dirty politics, and for the first (I think?) instance, appears directly linked to Voldemort.
*Arthur knows something is rotten in Malfoy, but still can prove nothing.
*Molly shows her deep affection for Harry.
*Ron shows some knee jerk concern for Hermione.
*Harry looks to Dumbledore for reassurance and guidance and, in this instance, receives it in full measure.
*Dumbledore puts two and two together and gets four exactly.
*Harry is told his choices matter more than his circumstances.
*Harry is declared to be "Dumbledore's man" by D himself.
*Fawkes intervenes in a previously hopeless situation, and is identified as being summoned only by loyalty to D.
*D says Voldemort unintentionally put a bit of himself in Harry.
*Dobbie is empowered. (How can he command Malfoy without even a wand?)
*All those characters who had been harmed are restored, and Harry enjoys the company of his friends in peace. (We can hope... well, those of us who don't have twisted, dark minds ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) )

Chapter 28: The Flight of the Prince

Don't see any new posts re. chap 27 today. so I guess I'll post the next summary.

Chapter 28 "The Flight of the Prince"

This chapter, an immediate segue from Snape's "Avada Kedavra", is a jumble of activity, and presents even more evidence to stir into the "Snape" debate.

It begins with Harry's disbelieving reaction to Dumbledore's being AK'd, followed by Snape's bodily removing Draco (by the scuff, like a bad puppy) from the scene of the crime. The other Death Eaters retreat from the astronomy tower roof. Harry realizes that Dumbledore's immobilizing spell has ended and, throwing off his invisibility cloak, attacks the last DE before he exits. (As in OotP, Harry seems to see no value in removing the paralyzed Death Eater's wand. I find this infinitely annoying. But I digress...)

Acting on a desperate notion that catching Snape is the key to reviving Dumbledore, Harry runs into the battle at the bottom of the stairs. Snape and Malfoy are disappearing around the far corner, with Snape shouting, "It's over, time to go!" Charging after them, Harry narrowly escapes being mauled by Fenrir. Thereafter, he steps over two unidentified bodies in a pool of blood. After assisting Ginny with the Death Eater who's "crucios" she is dodging, tripping over a downed Neville, and landing a hex on the big blond Death Eater who is breaking up the hallway with curses, he runs after Snape. ( Ron, McGonagall, Lupin and Tonks are also listed among the defenders of Hogwarts present in this battle.) A bloody footprint shows that at least one of the Death Eaters has not been able to leave by way of the room of requirement. Taking a shortcut through the same stairs that had trapped him in GOF, and pushing aside some befuddled Hufflepuffs, Harry gains the now blasted front doors of Hogwarts. The Gryffindor hourglass that measures the house points has been shattered, and is bleeding it's rubies onto the floor of the entrance hall. ( Is this an accident, or petty retaliation from a Slytherin? Better yet, is it an omen?)

Harry sees Snape and Malfoy ahead of the Death Eaters running toward the front gates, outside of which they will be able to apparate. Hagrid emerges from his hut and tries to stop them. As Harry runs to his aid, a pair of Death Eaters come from behind and fell him with a jinx, causing at least his second bloody nose of the book. Improbably, he downs them both with a single "impedimenta" (but not an "expelliarmus" or an "accio wand" - sigh...), and continues his chase.

Passing by a battle between the big, blonde DE (hereafter known as the BDE) and Hagrid, desperate to stop Snape from gaining the gates, Harry finally gets a shot at him. His "stupefy" misses. Snape instructs Malfoy to run, and faces Harry. Two attempts by Harry to "crucio" are easily parried by Snape, who sneers and taunts him. "No Unforgivable Curses from you, Potter!... You haven't got the nerve or the ability-"
Harry tries "incarcerous", "stupefy" and "impedimenta" with no success. Snape's easy defense infuriates Harry, and he calls for him to fight back, " you cowardly..."
Snape takes this opportunity to insult Harry's father, and taunts him further for his inability to use occlumency. "Blocked again and again...until you learn to keep your mouth shut and your mind closed..." (Not to be confused with the ever popular admonition to keep the former shut and the later open! : -) )
As Snape is calling for the BDE to "be gone, before the Ministry turns up-" (is this his real concern, or just an excuse?), the BDE hits Harry with what we presume to be "crucio". Snape stops the spell angrily, saying that they are ordered to leave Potter, because he "belongs to the Dark Lord...".

In a desperate and even suicidal last attempt to stop Snape, Harry staggers after him and tries first "Sectum-" and the "Levi-". He can't even complete these HBP originals, before Snape disarms him. Now Snape has gone from despise to pure rage, his "pale face … suffused with hatred, just as it had been before he had cursed Dumbledore". He shouts that Harry will not turn his own spells against him as his "filthy father" had done.
"Kill me then ... like you killed him, you coward-" Harry throws back.

Snape's response here has been subject for much speculation, so I quote:
"DON'T-" screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them - "CALL ME COWARD!"
With this, Snape fells Harry with a sort of magical slap in the face, and then flees before an attacking Buckbeak. By the time Harry finds his wand (he has forgotten the "lumos" spell that found it in OotP, you see...) Snape has disapparated.

Harry now returns to Hagrid, who is rescuing Fang from his burning cabin. (The BDE set the fire.) After determining that neither of the two are seriously hurt, Harry wearily helps Hagrid extinguish the fire. (With water from Hagrid's umbrella, yet. How very dear.) When Hagrid remarks that the wrecked cabin is, "Nothin' Dumbledore won' be able to put righ'...", Harry's anger gives way to racking grief. As Hagrid continues to speculate about why Snape was with the Death Eaters, Harry finally forces out the information that Snape has killed Dumbledore.

Hagrid thinks Harry is delusional - perhaps rattled from some curse he has absorbed-but as he attempts to lead Harry back into the castle, they are drawn to a knot of people collecting below the tower. As he hears Hagrid moan with the shock of realization, Harry kneels numbly by Dumbledore's broken body and tries to put things right in a disconnected sort of way - straightening D's spectacles and wiping the blood from his mouth while wrestling with the incomprehensible truth of his death. (I was reminded here of the end of GOF, where Dumbledore reaches down to a prone Harry who will not let go of dead Cedric.)

After a bit, Harry becomes conscious of the locket Dumbledore had retrieved from the cave. He retrieves it from beneath his knee, and registers that it does not match the one he had seen in the pensieve. It is too small, and lacks any engraving. Whereas the pensieve showed an ornate "S", this locket is plain. Harry opens the piece of paper that is it's only contents and reads this handwritten note:

"To the Dark Lord
I know that I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B."

Harry understands that Dumbledore has died to retrieve a locket that is not a Horcrux. He begins to weep, as Fang begins to howl.

______
The most intriguing questions from/ parts of this chapter, for me, were:
*Snape's reaction to Harry's trying to attack.
Snape seems to be restraining himself from doing Harry any real damage, and he protects him from the cruciatus of the BDE. This time, he insists that they have orders from Voldemort not to attack Harry. We saw Snape saving Harry's bacon in book one (episode of Quirrel induced murderous broom). He also explained to Belatrix earlier in this book that, at that time, he wondered about the theories that Harry could be a second powerful "Dark Lord" in the making, and wanted to see how things would develop, so did not want Harry dead. And yet, he has just killed Voldemort's principal foe, and Harry's main protector. Also, we have an impressive laundry list of slights and insults that tell us he doesn't seem to appreciate Harry very much in the general. Doesn't he even indicate in CoS that he wishes Harry would be expelled? (Under the circumstances, that would have been pretty much a death sentence for him, I think.) So, when is Snape acting, and when is he expressing his real intentions? And why?

*The note in the locket.
We don't seem to be supposed to question whether this locket might really be the horcrux. I think we are to believe, as Harry does, that this is a decoy. Now we wonder two things:
How did Dumbledore miss - assuming he did? Could there be more to this cave trip than just retrieving the locket?
Did R.A.B. succeed, or is the horcrux still knocking around out there.

*Where will Snape go?

*Where will Draco go?
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The best writing in the chapter for me is the scene where Harry and Hagrid approach Dumbledore's body. Harry's actions seem quite real for a person in shock and deeply grieved. I found this bit very touching.
The weakest point for me was when Harry encountered Fenrir. I can't remember if Harry took any of the Felix Felicis for himself; but good luck or no, I think if Fenrir got that close before Harry could fire a spell at him, Harry ought to have some real damage.
__________________
Over a year has passed since most of us first read this chapter, and we have created several relevant and lively threads relating to issues raised herein. To help us all locate our favorite arguments, I have included these few links. I'm sure you will want to add a few more.

R.A.B? : Is this Regulas Black?
http://the-pensieve.org/forums/index.php?s...ic=992&st=0

Snape- a character analysis
http://the-pensieve.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=895

Who will kill Snape: discuss Snape's roll/intentions in D's death and possible consequences http://the-pensieve.org/forums/index.php?a...amp;#entry32268

Out of Town Thread

I'm sure there was once an "Out of Town" thread, but I can't find it now. So, consider this a VERY long weekend!
Just wanted to say that I will be gone to a place with little or no computer access from 7/27 to 8/27.
First, I play with a festival orchestra on in Ohio, on Lake Erie. To get to work, I walk out the door past three houses and across one street. Usually the rehearsal ends at 12:30 and, except two concert nights a week and a couple of days with double rehearsals, I have the rest of the day off.
When not at work, I walk, bike, read, nap, watch the sun set, meditate by the water, eat and drink with my fellow musicians, practice for my own improvement, and sometimes I even practice a bit for the concerts I have to play there, but never too much. It isn't a high pressure job like some of my others. I may even get a chapter or two on my fic written, but I can only write in long hand.
Anyway, I will miss my Pensieve pals, and look forward to your updates when I return. (IMG:http://the-pensieve.org/forums/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

Chapter 18: Birthday Surprises

Chapter 18: Birthday Surprises

This chapter divides neatly into three sections in which; 1) Harry succeeds in potions class but fails to retrieve Slughorn's secret, 2) Harry has his first apparition lesson and continues to tail Malfoy, and 3) Ron Weasley reaches majority and experiences a very memorable day which he would probably rather forget. :-)
In the first section, after Harry seeks advice from Ron and Hermione (separately of course!) about approaching Slughorn, the trio attends potions class. Hermione is giving both boys the cold shoulder, and seems about to finally one-up Harry in class since she appears the only student in the room to understand the "Golpalott's Third Law " about blended poisons and antidotes. (Anybody think of "gulp a lot"? :-) It doesn't improve Harry's relationship with either of his friends when, once again, the HBP's margin notes put him on top of the lesson, even though producing a bezoar rather than mixing the correct antidote could be considered cheating. Still, Slughorn is charmed by Harry's brashness, so Harry choses this moment to try and corner his potions prof. about Slughorn's altered memory that Dumbledore wants the original of. As soon as Harry says the word "horcruxes", however, Slughorn deduces what Harry is up to. He looks horrified and denies any knowledge of them. (Surely Slughorn realizes Harry will see that isn't true, so the declaration of ignorance seems more a warning or a position statement than an attempt to convince Harry that he really knows nothing.) Slughorn seems to be avoiding contact with Harry afterwards, as his parties come to an abrupt halt. We do find out that, in spite of the ill feelings about potions, Hermione can't resist the intellectual challenge of researching "Horcruxes". To her frustration however, she finds only one very unhelpful entry in the Hogwart's library. It seems they are too terrible to write about.

In the second section, (which starts in early February) Wilkie Twycross, the rather insubstantial looking Ministry instructor for apparition, gives a Saturday morning class in the great hall. No one gets very far with the lesson except Susan Bones, who almost manages it and winds up in a painful splinch. (Lack of " determination" is Twycross' diagnosis of her failure. He doesn't endear himself to his students by continually repeating the "three D's" of apparition : Destination, Determination, and Deliberation, while they fail again and again.) Harry, having experienced "side-along" apparition with Dumbledore, and finding it rather unpleasant, is more interested in why Malfoy and Crabbe are arguing before class. He hears enough to deduce that Malfoy wants Crabbe and Goyle to be his lookouts for a task the nature of which Malfoy won't reveal even to his accomplices. Harry makes up his mind to shadow Malfoy with the Maurader's Map. The Map only reveals that, on occasions when it seems Crabbe and Goyle might be standing guard in the corridors, Malfoy appears to have left the castle entirely. Since leaving undetected is nearly impossible, Harry decides that he has just failed to see Malfoy in a crowd, and that his side-kicks may have business of their own in the halls.

The third section I found fast moving, full of both laughs and nail biters as poor Ron's natal day careens from disaster to worse disaster.
It opens with Harry waking in the dorm room he shares with Ron. He is hunting in his foot locker for the Marauder's Map so he can continue his obsessive spying on Malfoy, and strewing his stuff all around the room in the process.
Meanwhile, Ron begins to open his birthday gifts, which are piled around his bed. (That day's trip to Hogsmeade has been canceled, due to the almost fatal attack on Katie Bell by the cursed necklace.) After thanking Harry sincerely for the new quiditch gloves, he tears into a box of chocolates. When Ron exhibits peculiar behavior; professing love for Romilda Vane, a girl he's never shown interest in before, and even taking a swing at Harry for not believing him, Harry becomes suspicious. Putting together the clues in a hurry, he realizes that the chocolates were not a gift to Ron, but rather some he, Harry, had received from Romilda. His original suspicions that they were laced with love potion are now confirmed. Loyal friend that he is, he wants to save Ron from public embarrassment, so he drags him straight to Professor Slughorn's for a remedy. Although Slughorn is at first a little taken aback by the unannounced company that rouses him from bed, he is a good sport in the end and provides Ron with the needed remedy. At this point, he seems to warm to his drop-in company and offers them a celebratory glass of mead to honor Ron's birthday. Slughorn explains that the mead had been procured for Dumbledore's Christmas present, but he had neglected to deliver it. Ron, who is still a bit woozy from his recent enchantment, (after all, the candy Ron ate rather too much of had been in Harry's foot locker for months, and the professor informs us that love potion strengthens with age), downs his glass without waiting for the other two to drink. Instantly, he shows signs of something much more sinister than a love charm. With Ron about to gasp his last, and Slughorn apparently immobilized with horror, Harry makes good use of the HBP's margin notes, and manages to get a bezoar down Ron's throat before it's too late.
_____________
Funniest moments:
When Hermione is trying to give Harry advice about approaching Slughorn, but gets turned off by Harry's mere mention of Ron and echoes Lavender's unfortunate pet name, "Won-Won". (sounds rather like something on a Chinese take-out menu, doesn't it?)
<"Oh, well, if Won-Won thinks that, you'd better do it," she said , flaring up at once. "After all, when has Won-Won's judgment ever been faulty?"
"Hermione, can't you-?"
"No!" she said angrily, and stormed away, leaving Harry ankle-deep in snow.> Chilly weather indeed!

And Ron gets entranced:
"Friends they might be, but if Ron started to call Lavender 'Lav-Lav', he would have to put his foot down."
Also enjoyed the descriptions of Ron hanging by his foot while professing his love for Romilda.
_____________
Points to ponder:
This chapter seems to be mostly a connecting chapter.
Dumbledore's assignment for Harry to get info from Slughorn is continued. Damage to the unity of the three friends caused mostly by Ron and Hermione's bad feelings is further developed. The questions about why Slughorn had poisoned mead begin in the next chapter. However, one might speculate on a few things. I was a little disappointed in Harry for not being more imaginative about Malfoy's disappearances. After all, how often has Harry gotten illicitly into or out of Hogwart's? Also, would Harry have benefited if Hermione had not flown into a rage as she was advising him about approaching Slughorn? Does this rift in the threesome parallel the sorting hat's warning about the different houses sticking together?
To comment on someone's (was it maryh?) remarks about side-along Ap last week: I agree it does seem curious that children from wizard homes haven't been apparated with a parent. Two possibilities occur to me. 1. It's so risky that only someone of Dumbledore's caliber dares to use it. (We do know that some adult wizards mistrust apparition even for themselves.) 2. Jo didn't think of that.
Now, I just have to interject my observations on this apparition thing- Jo must have it all wrong! Why should accomplished witches and wizards find it a difficult and even noisy process, when every pea-brain employed at the local supermarket can disapparate without sound or effort just as soon as I start in their direction to get some assistance?!

Chapter 17: A Sluggish Memory

{warning: this summary created under influence of 7 (seven) form 1099's and W-2's.}
Ch 17 : A Sluggish Memory {don'cha love the title (IMG:http://the-pensieve.org/forums/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) }

This chapter, I think, has some of the drollest moments in the book.
It opens with Harry, Ron and Ginny returning to Hogwarts via a special Floo Network connection - this being deemed more safe than the Express. Molly is teary as she sees them off - partly attributable to Percy's disastrous Christmas Day appearance. Ron, with his usual sensitivity, tells his mom not to worry about her estranged son. "He's such a prat, it's not really a loss, is it?"
After emerging from McGonagall's hearth, they all head for Gryffindor Tower, where Hermione has just returned from a visit with Hagrid. She ignores Ron's attempt at small talk, and delivers Harry a summons to his next session with Dumbledore. Lavender ambushes Ron and begins to make up for lost time, as Ginny (unenthusiastically?) keeps her appointment with Dean. Harry tries to persuade Hermione to drop her grudge against Ron, but she won't even let him finish his sentences until he changes the topic. "It was the Fat Lady who drank a vat of ... wine, Harry, not me." He tells Hermione what he overheard between Draco and Snape during the party. When Harry mentions Fenrir Grayback (approximate namesake of C. S. Lewis' captain of the White Witch's guard, 'Fenris Ulf' ?? Somewhere on Mugglenet, I think it is, there's a glossary of names that amplifies on this a bit.) Hermione reminds him that Draco threatened Borgin with a visit from the werewolf. Hermione has no good explanation, but remains, to his astonishment, skeptical of Harry's connecting Draco with Voldemort.
The first morning of the new term, the sixth years find a notice for Apparition Lessons, and the trio sign up. There is evidence of trouble in paradise when Ron acts embarrassed at Lavender's familiarities at the sign up board. Seamus gets so excited over the prospect that he drenches Prof. Flitwick and gets to write lines of, "I am a wizard, not a baboon brandishing a stick." Harry becomes the center of attention when he remarks that he has done a side along Apparition, but he doesn't reveal with whom.
Harry finally gets away to his meeting with Dumbledore, where he informs D of Minister Scrimgeour's attempt to recruit him for a bit of image whitewashing. Dumbledore is not surprised; both Fudge and Scrimgeour had tried to use D's influence to win over Harry, though D had refused them. One of my favorite moments in the book follows:
Harry: "[ Scrimgeour] accused me of being 'D's man through and through.'
"How very rude of him."
"I told him I was."
For a moment, Dumbledore is quite choked up.
Dumbledore and Harry discuss how the Ministry has set tails on D. when he leaves Hogwarts. D. does not divulge his errand to Harry. Harry then informs D. of the conversation he overheard between Snape and Draco. Dumbledore thanks him politely, but is dismissive of it's significance. Harry argues with him to the edges of D's patience, but finally lets him go ahead with the lesson.
First, they discuss Riddle's initial year at Hogwarts. The boy is on his best behavior, and Dumbledore, though not convinced of R's sincerity, is keeping what he knows of his character to himself. Harry remembers the diary reincarnation of Riddle expressing resentment that D. "never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers..." D. also mentions the band of followers Riddle acquired -- an early version of the Death Eaters. Though suspected of many sinister occurrences, (the opening of the Chamber of Secrets being the most disturbing) Riddle controlled them with such genius that they were never caught. D. claims difficulty finding anyone who could or would talk about Riddle's early years. Significant here, I think, is the remark that those who did talk "told me that Riddle was obsessed with his parentage." (Sound like anyone else we know?)At some point, Riddle accepts that his father was a muggle and, though he despised her evident weakness in dying young, he begins to search for his mother's magical heritage.
They enter the Pensieve to witness a memory from Morfin Gaunt, obtained by D. before he died in Azkaban. It clearly indicates that Riddle killed his father and framed Morfin with a manufactured memory. Harry is amazed to discover that the Ministry cannot actually tell who performs specific magic within a house (though his experience with Dobby's hover charm was a good clue). Underage magic is to be controlled by parents in a house where minor and adult wizards reside together.
The last memory is of Riddle and his cronies attending "court" to professor Slughorn. Riddle has given Slughorn some candied pineapple, and amazes the prof with his knowledge of the going's on within the school. Slughorn pretends to caution him against nosiness, but is clearly impressed. At this point the memory mists over and Slughorn's voice emerges loudly cautioning Riddle that "you'll go wrong..."
When Slughorn shoos the students off to their dorm, Riddle remains behind. He wants S to tell him about Horcruxes. Again the memory shows signs of alteration, as Slughorn warns him away. Returned from the Pensieve, Dumbledore tells Harry that the original memory is still underneath, and will not flatter S so much. He charges Harry with recovering the true memory. As Harry takes his leave, Phineas Nigellus' picture expresses skepticism about this plan.

I suppose the two most intriguing things in this chapter to me are these:
1. The parallel between Harry and Riddle as two orphans on a journey to discover their heritage. Harry's discoveries have been largely generated by talking with friends and acquaintances of his parents. Even though Snape is happy to show James at his worst, for the most part, the pictures he gets are sympathetic. For reinforcement, he has magical encounters (via the mirror of Erised, Hagrid's album, the Dementor visions and Voldemort's wand regurgitation) with his parents initial love and final heroism. Harry has faced his disappointments over his father's youthful folly, but has generally been happy (relieved even) to embrace his real family as an alternative to the Dursleys. Riddle, on the other hand, struggles against the facts until he is incensed enough to murder his one living parent.
2. The alteration of Slughorn's memory. So often, Jo takes the stuff of real life and augments it with her magical inventions. Do any of us not have a memory with a little contrived "fog" in it?
Another point to ponder, of course, is what did Dumbledore really know and when did he know it? The possible clues I see here are: 1. D's attitude toward young Riddle, not blindly naive, though giving him every chance to do well.
2. His suggestion to Harry that he may know more about what Harry is telling him than Harry does.
3. Does his dismissive attitude really mask a concern that Harry will be harmed if he is too mixed up in this? It wouldn't be the first time D has taken that road, though it seems after OotP's events he would hesitate before withholding information that had a direct bearing on Harry. But perhaps D doesn't think of this as being much of H's business.