Join hosts Aureo, Sierra, and Sophia as they discuss the titular and action-packed chapter in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
In this episode:
- Hogwarts pretends to be a school
- Lockhart judges a book by its cover
- We love us a motherly McGonagall
- Spoilt by the book cover
- How much did people know about basilisks?
- TARDIS walls all over Hogwarts
- Basilisk in hibernation solves everything
- Snape has a little bit of a soul
- Lockhart’s hard slog is a mildly stressful day for everyone else
On the topic of Ron’s broken wand, I agree with the discussion on the episode that Hogwarts should have a few spares for scenarios like it. That being said, are we forgetting that the Dumbledore can literally repair wands with the Elder wand? I need to know, is Ron just too low on Dumbledore’s radar to care to help him out? Or is it something else?
I know its never stated that Dumbledore knows the elder wand can fix other wands, but it is heavily implied. Hagrid does fairly competent magic (Dudley’s pig tail, making the row boat speed up, engorging the pumpkins, using Augumenti in HBP, etc.), and his wand was “snapped” in two. Ollivander even asks him about the “pieces”, so we know its a similar type of break to what happened to Ron. The only explanation is that Dumbledore repaired it, so I would think as Headmaster, you would let the other teachers know that you can fix wands if anyone has a broken one.
To the ending point – Dumbledore does not want to trumpet his ownership of the Elder Wand, and other wands are unable to fix wands, so I can see why he’d keep it on the downlow.
I’m also under the impression that anyone who broke a wand would just get a new one. This isn’t a luxury or a nice-to-have object, it’s the most basic core tool one needs to learn. And wands are not that expensive – Harry’s is 7 Galleons, aka 35 GBP. Adjusting for inflation 1991 to 2024, that’s 77 GBP, or about $100. Sure, every $100 is hard for a family like the Weasleys, but it’s a reasonable cost that every wizard family is expected to incur.
So since wands are both essential and affordable, I think it would never occur to The Powers That Be at Hogwarts that a kid would just use a totally broken wand for a year rather than getting a new one. And I’m certain that if Ron let Molly know his wand was broken, she would’ve gotten him a new one. I always chalk it up to 12-year-old stupidity that Ron just muddles through with the broken one for a year.
I disagree that Dumbledore doesn’t want to give away that he has the elder wand. Everyone already considers Dumbledore to be a step (or multiple steps) above the average wizard in terms of skill, power, etc., so if he fixed wands it would probably just be attributed to his power rather than an attribute of the wand.
I do agree that if Ron had told his parents his wand was broken, they would have found a way to get him a functional one, even if its another second hand one. But, i think this is more a failure in the education system at Hogwarts yet again. The teachers are aware Ron’s wand is broken, but no one seems to think its appropriate to write home to tell his parents.
This conversation makes me think about another related topic though. What happens to a wizard’s wand when they die? Is it customary to be buried with your wand (like Dumbledore), or was that a special case. I lean towards that being the case, otherwise we would likely see more second hand wands in circulation.
I think that’s heavily implied, based on the Odo the Hero song from HBP – they buries Odo with his wand snapped in two. And as you say, if that weren’t the case many more wands would be passed down in families.
I can imagine a system where the school would have a stock of generic/basic/cheap “training” wands that kids use, and students don’t get their own until they graduate.
Besides the allegiance issues, though, it seems like wands are a very personal thing, as well as a mark of acceptance in the wizarding world (e.g. having your wand snapped as a sign of expulsion, non-humans not permitted to use wands, etc.). It’s probably considered the height of rudeness to offer to replace someone’s wand, or even to suggest it needs replacing (unless it’s a parent to their child).
That actually makes so much sense! Because yeah, even if the professors saw Ron struggling, it just wouldn’t be done to question his wand! I really like this explanation.
I totally agree with Sophia – Dumbledore is focused on things that petrify, which is not a normal basilisk trait.
(I had a spiel all set up, and then she said everything I was going to!)
Irvin suggested that Dumbledore uses legilimency on Harry (in the “is there anything you want to tell me?” scene), but if so it’s with a very light touch – just getting the vibes. If Harry had guilty thoughts Dumbledore might have pressed further. But this means he doesn’t get the crucial detail of Harry hearing a voice no-one else is which would imply snek.
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Are you suggesting that Active Basilisk Drills are not conducive to good learning outcomes?
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Draco would definitely be upset if Narcissa got petrified, whereas if Lucius was I suspect Draco would be more angry (“how dare…!”). Most anyone else it would depend on how it affected him (“but they were supposed to do my Charms essay!”), though I agree that someone from the pureblood-snob set would disrupt his sense of safety.
I actually disagree with the hosts of the episode that Dumbledore didn’t know it was a basilisk. It’s virtually certain that Dumbledore did, in fact, know it was a basilisk! Let’s see, giant-ass monster connected to history’s most infamous Parselmouth, lives for a thousand years, one that kills without leaving any trace (bite marks etc)… surely Dumbledore perused his copy of Fantastic Beasts enough to figure it out! Even if the Petrification is an unprecedented incident, there’s enough evidence there.
The problem is, what can Dumbledore do with the knowledge it’s a basilisk? Fill the place with roosters? He’s more concerned with how Tom Riddle is unleashing said monster while in the forests of Albania; he wants to treat the disease and not the symptom. “The question is not who. The question is how?” (CS181)
I respectfully disagree – Dumbledore knows too much about different forms of magic and different fantastical beasts. We can’t think of any alternatives, but he can probably think of six before breakfast.
But that’s beside the point: if Dumbledore knows it’s a basilisk, he can do a better job of student safety. He may not know where the chamber is, but surely he can do better than having students escorted. Between him and McGonagall I’m sure they can transfigure a bunch of roosters to patrol at least part of the castle. And maybe, I don’t know, tell at least the other teachers what they’re protecting the students from!
What can he do better than having students escorted? Giant-ass snake that kills by looking at you, and no one knows how it’s getting around – how do you protect from that? Flood the school so there’s puddles everywhere? Look around every corner with a mirror, Hermione-style? And we know Dumbledore operates on a very need-to-know basis; since the teachers can’t do much protecting, what’s to be gained by telling them it’s a basilisk?
The escorting students thing serves two purposes, neither of which is protecting them. First, it’s security theater, much like what happens at airports. It’s to make them feel better, and it works: “Most of their fellow students seemed glad that they were being shepherded from class to class by teachers.” (CS266)
Second, they’re trying to keep an eye on all the students to try smoking out the Heir of Slytherin (or his accomplice). If the students are being watched between classes, there’s much less opportunity for one of them to slip to the Chamber of Secrets and sic a monster on the school.
I already made two suggestions for improvement.
What’s to be gained telling the teachers? That they’ll better know what to watch out for. Maybe the teachers have some good suggestions. Maybe one of them knows a discreet expert in dealing with XXXXX creatures. Or a relative with a chicken farm. But Dumbledore is bad at recognising other people’s ability to know things.
Security theater is what the ministry tried to do (especially with Harry), and for all his flaws (see above) I believe Dumbledore is above that.
Why would they be trying to “smoke out” the Heir if Dumbledore already knows you-know-who it is? Dumbledore admits he doesn’t know “how” (and doesn’t until Harry reveals the diary at the end), so he’s doesn’t have the framework of “one of our students is helping Voldemort”.
In the staff room, I think Ron and Harry are just trying to emulate the dramatic behaviour shown by adults (most notably Snape) of entering on a line. They were waiting for one of the teachers to remark something like “No-one knows how to find the entrance to the Chamber,” whereupon they can burst out and cry “But we do!”
Meanwhile Snape is all: “But if a student is dead… how can I take points off them?”
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Before Lockhart gives his proud monologue, I wonder if Harry and Ron see him as a braggart rather than a complete fraud. As in, he still managed to defeat the various monsters he’s faced, but messily and sneakily. So his books are about things he has done, but completely false about the way he did them (and how good he looked during).
Aside from his value as a meat shield, the boys remember that the crowing of a rooster is fatal to a basilisk, and they figure it’s close enough to be worth a shot.
LOL at the crowing of a Lochart!
Re, staff room, while I can always get behind “dramatic flair!” as an explanation, I think Harry and Ron might have been hoping for one or two teachers (preferably friendly ones like McGonagall or Flitwick), as opposed to the entire faculty. For twelve-year-olds, having all of the grown-ups there in full crisis could be hella intimidating.
I just wanna heartily endorse everything Sophia said about Draco, and particularly his relationship with Lucius! Took the words right outta my mouth on several occasions – I think our readings of the Malfoy family dynamics are very consistent with each other.