Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows - POTENTIAL SPOILERS

[Ilium]

BTW, can someone tell me what the big deal was with the Deathstick? What did it do that another wand couldn't? It's reputed to make the wielder unbeatable in a duel, and yet its wielders have all been defeated one by one via magic throughout its history. It certainly didn't seem to do a whole lot to protect Dumbledor against Malfoy's oh-so-clever disarming curse. I know Dumbledor had been weakened and all, but if it's sooo mighty why could a sixth year student defeat it's wielder with one shot? Methinks the Deathly Hallows suffer from reputation rather than power.

Well one thing it did was repair Harry's wand, which Ollivander said couldn't be done.

 

[Ambrus]

Well one thing it did was repair Harry's wand, which Ollivander said couldn't be done.

Well, that's something at least. Harry should have given it to Ollivander then so he could start repairing unrepairable wands with it.

 

[Demmero]

Ron's the one who's actually lacking in the title department.

BS! Weasley is our King!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Yes, but the intermediate time was the summer holidays. Nobody was at the school, no students, no faculty.

Dumbledore died at the end of one school year, Snape gets appointed at the begining of the next.

Well, schools don't really shut down for the summer. The administrators are there hiring new teachers (always necessary at Hogwarts, it seems) and doing other stuff to prepare for the next school year.

I imagine McGonegal was in charge for the summer as acting headmaster.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

And anyone who spends five minutes with him will realize that while a loyal friend, terribly brave and holding a wealth of herbology knowledge... he falls far short of being in the running for #2. He's the Hagrid of the modern age: good to have around, useful in his areas of expertise, and somewhat of a comic figure.

Most historians spend very little, if any, time with their subject. That goes double for members of the public.

If the public could spend time with most of their heroes (of any definition), the canon of heroes would be a whole lot smaller.

In the wizarding world's darkest hour, he did something only Harry had ever done before and struck a decisive blow in the battle while surrounded by lots and lots of witnesses who will all know just how important what he did was.

Neville is guaranteed a spot in the history books. His personal failings will be glossed over as "humble beginnings."

 

[Ilium]

Most historians spend very little, if any, time with their subject. That goes double for members of the public.

If the public could spend time with most of their heroes (of any definition), the canon of heroes would be a whole lot smaller.

And if they'd spend time actually listening to the "regular people" in their lives, it would get a whole lot bigger again.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

And if they'd spend time actually listening to the "regular people" in their lives, it would get a whole lot bigger again.

Most lists of folks' heroes seems to include their parents and others they know, so I think most people seem to appreciate what they've got.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

But why didn't Snape and the Death-Eaters secure the cabinet after taking over? They made a point of blocking up and securing all other secret passages into the school simply to block Order of the Phoenix members and Harry.

One end was in Hogwart's, which they controlled, and the other end was (I think) at the Malfoy House, which they also controlled. They probably considered it dealt with, if they considered it at all.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

And anyone who spends five minutes with him will realize that while a loyal friend, terribly brave and holding a wealth of herbology knowledge... he falls far short of being in the running for #2. He's the Hagrid of the modern age: good to have around, useful in his areas of expertise, and somewhat of a comic figure.

IIRC, Neville was described in book 5 as being becoming very good with his Defense Against the Dark Arts work, in addition to his herbology. I think he'll be well-remembered, though 2nd greatest hero might be a stretch.

BS! Weasley is our King!

I was thinking that might come up....

 

[Rykion]

BTW, can someone tell me what the big deal was with the Deathstick? What did it do that another wand couldn't? It's reputed to make the wielder unbeatable in a duel, and yet its wielders have all been defeated one by one via magic throughout its history. It certainly didn't seem to do a whole lot to protect Dumbledor against Malfoy's oh-so-clever disarming curse. I know Dumbledor had been weakened and all, but if it's sooo mighty why could a sixth year student defeat it's wielder with one shot? If all its previous wielders have been deafeated, why does the deathstick even have this great reputation? As Voldermort showed, it more often seems to be a liability to its wielder than a benefit.

It made any spell cast more powerful, when used by its true owner. A major point of the fairytale was to show that having more power doesn't actually make you unbeatable. It will still be a strong draw to any wizard that craves power, such as Voldemort and Dumbledore in his youth. No matter how powerful a wizard you are, you are a single unblocked spell away from death, no matter the age of the person who cast the spell.