another exciting night

[cheyinka]

This is the first end-of-year since I started reading, and it's both exciting and maddening to have information dribbling in and to know I'll never know everything, since not everything will be committed to the journals.

While I wait, I'm wondering if the mysterious man might be Voldemort from the diadem - but I don't remember if the horcruxes ever had tangible manifestations of the soul fragments within.

Comments

[stinaleigh]

Based on the latest, I think the mystery man is Steven Fawcett, Sarah's brother.

[teceler]

I'm assuming Doholov's reference to Poppy having the means to help Cedric was that whatsit panacea potion? It's sounding like his situation is very dire.
(Additionally, Raz's comment on how Cedric got cursed--specifically, the "Sounds like something I would do" had me going 'oh, Raz'. Well played, players.)

It sounds like the only people who were in the room when Herminone used her wand who didn't already know about it were Umbridge (who is now a plate...) and Cedric. Which makes me suspect Cedric is either not going to survive or will end up involved with the Order in some fashion. /speculation

(Everyone being confused over the kittens and "Umbridge has been a Very Bad Hufflepuff" were nice moment of levity in the midst of everything exploding, which was nice.)

ETA: Just saw Doholov's latest comment. That's... not sounding good. Back to worrying.

[wintercreek]

Additionally, Raz's comment on how Cedric got cursed--specifically, the "Sounds like something I would do" had me going 'oh, Raz'. Well played, players.

Also something Arthur Weasley would do. This sort of parallel, as with Dolohov's fierce dedication to teaching and protecting his students, really highlights that many of these characters have fundamental similarities but very different allegiances and very different ideas about what's justifiable. Like, both the Death Eaters/Councilwizards and the Order will kill for what they consider the right reasons ... but the DEs will enjoy it more and are more likely to consider their reasons "right" under less extreme circumstances.

So very much yes, well played, players.

[adeliej]

Seconded.

I keep on thinking that I would love to sit down with Dolohov and discuss magical theory and reconciling that with science, but then I remember that he would think that me and all my friends/family (as far as I know) are pretty much worthless and meaningless. I think this is the first work I've ever read that managed to reconcile the two halves of a character like that in a believable way. It is rather a little terrifying.

Very well played.

[wintercreek]

Not related to the end of year climactic events, but I have to say: Players, you tricky, clever people. Way to put Dudley Dursley's "Who's Cedric, your boyfriend?" into Seamus Finnegan's mouth. And also the Gryffindor tower rumor mill.

I really enjoy the way in which bits of canon come out in-game, altered by the AU but still recognizable. :D

[fmsv]

I've never been quite certain where this version of Dolohov stood on the pureblood vs. non-pureblood issue. He seems to be pretty thoroughly in favor of using talent wherever it can be found (witness his intentions of championing Sally-Anne). You may be right that he would hold muggles in total disdain, but then again, he *was* an ambassador for the Protectorate for quite a few years, and so had of necessity dealt with more muggles in what we think of as normal society than pretty much anybody else in the Protectorate.

[teceler]

I... hm.

First, I have to agree with this. (And yes, it is terrifying)

Secondly, I am now trying to think of other places I've seen that kind of thing before. Of the two examples that are coming to mind, both are rather morally grey in more or less morally grey settings... but both have definitions of 'people' that are more... broad. (Actually, one of them has a definition of people that is wider than that of the traditional 'good guy' group).

...I think that just makes Doholov even more terrifying. Joy.

(I mean, fmsv has a point, but on the other hand, his ideal world is... apparently, the Protectorate?)

I think I'm just going to go with 'well played', here.

[cheyinka]

Which, while it may still have been awful for Cedric, at least wasn't a spectral Voldie, so that's something!

[cheyinka]

Cedric might not remember - either due to the trauma of the event preventing him from remembering, or someone helping that process along. But I've been expecting that if he survives he might become associated with the Order in some fashion, yeah, just from how much he and Harry have been collaborating.

[adeliej]

Hmm, good point about the ambassador bit. I don't think he holds as much against half-bloods as some (especially not after his reaction to Sarah Fawcett's "death"), but I'm not sure how he would come down on muggles. My gut feeling, though, is that he holds the line not so much on blood purity but on ability to use magic (though I'm sure he's able to be perfectly charming to anyone he wants despite it - except maybe Umbridge!) Just my perception of it, of course.

[wintercreek]

And he reads muggle literature! I don't have a link to hand, but doesn't he mention Peter Pan as a guilty pleasure because JM Barrie was a muggle?

[jenett]

He and Siz discuss it (he lends her a copy at one point: one of the references is over here.) Also the Narnia books.

[aedifica]

I wasn't clear on whether Sarah's presumed brother was still in the room when Hermione expelliarmus'd Umbridge or not.

I'm hoping very hard that Cedric will live, while thinking he probably won't--there's been so much about his plans for life after school that it kind of seems like a set up for him to die, you know? But I hope I'm wrong!

[teceler]

Hrm. I'd forgotten about that. That could potentially complicate things.

And yeah, Between his plans and canonical deaths, his chances aren't looking very good. On the other hand, he wasn't killed on the spot, and we haven't been told he's dead yet, so I guess we can keep hoping?
I doubt very much that even in the best case scenario he's going to come out of this unscathed (especially considering Doholov's comments on the curse used*), which could potentially play into a few things... I doubt even if he survives he'll get to follow up on those plans.

* Which, another thing, if I'm reading what information we have correctly, was it Sarah's brother (or the person we're assuming is him) who cast that (aiming at Umbridge)?
Which--well, assuming it was him, considering all we know about him is that he's frequently away from home on business, and that Umbridge thinks he doesn't have connections to anyone important, makes me wonder what he does, and why exactly he knows what sounds like a rather Dark spell.

[teceler]

I hadn't thought about that before. I guess I was thinking that (if he survived) he might continue working with Harry, but I hadn't considered him working directly with the Order.

But, well, if he survives and remembers, he now knows Hermione has a wand, and can probably extrapolate from there. And I honestly don't think that information is going to get to people it shouldn't through him (barring him letting something slip while semi-conscious)--I'm not sure why my instinct is that he would align with the Order fairly well, other than his collaboration with Harry. But it just seems like him.

Not that that may shortly be completely irrelevant, but.

[fmsv]

Looking at Umbridge's last long post (specifically, the comment as a PM to Edgar Gimlet complaining about the Floo repairman), I really hope that the Order (or *somebody*, but I think the Order are the likeliest people to get the information without it causing more issues) gets Matthew Fawcett's side of what happened in her office that night. (I'm wondering if her raving was a result of something he did, or if it was an effect of the tiara (which is another question - where is it now, I wonder?))