I’ve been asked to address two questions about the trailer from some of my wizard friends, so here it goes. First, “What is the young Tom trying to get from the burning fire? Is that a book?”
This particular question is in reference to the clip 23 seconds into the trailer. The young Tom Riddle opens the door to something with burning surroundings. I believe this scene takes place in one of Dumbledore’s memories – the one where he visits Tom at the orphanage. As you probably remember from the book, Tom is suspicious of Dumbledore until he tells him that he’s from Hogwarts, a school of magic. Tom demands that Dumbledore prove himself, and that is when Dumbledore sets Tom’s wardrobe on fire. Once convinced, Dumbledore puts out the fire and asks Tom to retrieve a box inside his wardrobe full of things Tom has stolen from his fellow orphans. Dumbledore demands that he return all the items before enrolling at Hogwarts.
This scene in the trailer, therefore, is probably the part where Tom goes to retrieve the box. In the film, they’ve tweaked the sequence a bit; here, the fire seems to be roaring as Tom opens the wardrobe door. Personally, I like that they kept the fire going; it’s quite symbolic to show the entire wardrobe on fire except for the box. Tom enjoyed collecting trophies of his destructive behavior, and that habit is one of many traits that ultimately makes him the most dark wizard of all time. It’s understandable then that these tainted objects aren’t susceptible to any normal conditions; they can’t be destroyed by a magically conjured fire alone, but rather, require more powerful magic in order to be confronted.
Now to the second question…
“In the beginning of the trailer, is that Harry who falls in the lake? What are the balls of fire hitting?” This sequence is 27 seconds into the trailer.
I had questions about this scene when I first saw the trailer as well, and it wasn’t until I froze it and watched it frame by frame did I finally figure it out. To the first part of the question, yes, it is Harry who falls into the lake. This is a departure from the book; I don’t remember Harry ever falling into the lake during "The Cave" chapter. So, in the interest of staying in line with the text, I didn’t think it was Harry at first. I actually thought it might have been Regulus who fell in, and that perhaps they made Kreacher’s tale from the seventh book into a memory for this movie, thereby enabling them to cut a scene from the final movie. That would be quite a stretch, however, and not faithful to the text at all, so I’m going to stick to it being Harry.
The second part of the question is in reference to the underwater shot 29 seconds into the trailer. You can see bolts of fire coming across the lake, which I think is the result of Dumbledore conjuring up the fire to ward off the Inferi. The fire is hitting what looks like an underground mountain or an enormous pile of rocks. But, in fact, what they are are piles and piles of dead bodies. If you freeze this shot you will see skeletal-like remains piled high! *gasp* I know!!
We know that even the Dark Lord’s most loyal supporters were expendable to him. Consider Regulus Black for instance. The inferi at the lake were a part of Voldemort’s spell to protect his horcrux, so perhaps he used the bodies of those he killed as the inferi? Snape did mention (in one of his Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, I believe) that inferi were a part of Voldemort’s army in the first war. In a sick way, this lake probably acts as “storage” for some of Voldemort's fallen Death Eaters. There not all bodies of those that Voldemort destroyed, but I'm sure he used many of them to protect the locket. It's quite a beautiful shot…disturbing, yes, but beautiful.
So, those are my thoughts. Take them for what they're worth. Until next time, mischief managed!
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