Chapter One: The Dark Lord Ascending
In chapter one of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Voldemort taunts his most loyal followers for giggles, I shudder with the creepiness of this opener, and boy oh boy the Malfoy family is not doing too well.
(Please be advised that this is a reread and I will be discussing book and movie spoilers.)
When Deathly Hallows was first published I was visiting my elder sister in Boston. She’s a type A extrovert who planned out every second of our trip with fun things like concerts, trips to Martha’s Vineyard, and historical tours of Louisa May Alcott’s house among other things. We even went to my second Harry and the Potters concert!
I was determined to get this book and read it right away, and my sister was equally determined to take up every second of my free time so I couldn’t. Not deliberately, it’s just her way to make sure visits to see her are crammed jammed full of fun. Readers, I was tormented. I’d snatch a chapter or two at night, in the car, when she was showering, whenever I could. Everywhere we went people were reading it. The girl at the ticket counter of a movie theater. People on the T (the subway in Boston.) EVERYONE BUT ME. We went to see Order of the Phoenix in theaters together and I threatened my sister with deadly retribution if anyone dared shout Deathly Hallows spoilers in the theaters. Miraculously, I got through to the end of the book spoiler free but not tear free. But we’ll get to the tears later.
Much like in Goblet of Fire and Half-Blood Prince we open Deathly Hallows with a non Harry focused POV and just like in GoF and HBP I LOVE it. It’s tough to call which first chapter I love the best, but “The Dark Lord Ascending” is competition.
Snape and Yaxley arrive at Malfoy Manor, which is absurdly adorned with white peacocks (I think I actually cackled while rolling my eyes at this part) for a meeting of Voldemort N’ Death Eaters. This chapter is one of the creepiest in all of Harry Potter, if not the scariest. There’s something so alarming about a room full of adult, magically powerful villains who just watch (most with glee) as an innocent woman is murdered and then eaten by a giant snake. At no other point did Voldemort or the Death Eaters freak me out as much as this.
Snape is sitting by Voldy’s side as the chosen right hand man, literally, and everyone discusses an upcoming attack on Harry while Ollivander wails in guilt in the dungeon because he’s told Voldemort how to kill Harry with someone else’s wand.
I might shock you by saying this aside: the movie adaptation of Deathly Hallows Part 1 is one of the best of all the movies in my personal opinion, which is a welcome relief after the fuckery of the HBP movie. Sure some key things are left out and I’ll get to that, but this opening scene is tense and terrifying. The way Voldemort emasculates Lucius in his own home, the way we see how broken Lucius is, the way Draco is regretful is all depicted wonderfully.
Back to our book! Wormtail is still doing the thankless work (again Wormtail sucks and all but he’s the only reason LV is back in power so put some respect on that name Voldz, damn) and then Voldemort is like “lololol your niece married a poor, old, werewolf and is breeding with him haha Bella” further proving that Voldemort shits on his followers a lot for no reason. Why do these people follow him?! WHY?! Also Remus and Tonks got married when like two months ago they weren’t even dating?!
So Voldz basically says “go kill your shitty half blood niece Bella” in code then he murders Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies professor who begs Snape for help first. Lady, I don’t blame you but what exactly was Snape supposed to do here? Save you….how? In a room full of Death Eaters and freaking Voldemort and somehow escape? My only quibble with this glorious chapter is that it yet again set me up to believe that D-Malfs was going to have some sort of wonderful redemption moment and wow he does not.
But for now, stroke your white peacocks and enjoy a chapter where our main villain is finally scarier then Umbridge!
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Why does Voldemort tease Bellatrix in front of everyone?
Which opening chapter is your favorite of all seven books? Of the three that open with a non Harry chapter?
How many Death Eaters regret going back to Voldemort?
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