Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Chamber of Secrets/Chapter 18
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Chapter 18 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Dobby's Reward
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[edit] Synopsis
In Professor McGonagall's office, Harry finds Mrs. Weasley and Mr. Weasley, who immediately sweep Ginny into a hug. Also present are Professor Dumbledore and, of course, Professor McGonagall. McGonagall demands to know what happened, so Harry tells them, omitting Ginny's role and the diary as much as possible. Professor Dumbledore wonders how Lord Voldemort enchanted Ginny, as he is currently hiding in Albania. Harry is relieved, as this means Dumbledore is aware Ginny was under the influence of someone else. He says it was Riddle's diary, which he has brought with him, along with the sword and the Sorting Hat. Dumbledore confirms that Riddle and Voldemort are one and the same. Mr. Weasley chastises Ginny: "Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain!" Dumbledore sends her to the hospital wing, saying that there will be no punishment, as it is not her fault. "Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort." He also says she should have bed rest and perhaps a large mug of hot chocolate, one of his favorite things to do when he is distraught. He says that Madam Pomfrey will still be awake, giving out Mandrake juice. Ron is heartened to discover that Hermione will have suffered no permanent damage. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley leave with Ginny. Dumbledore dispatches Professor McGonagall to alert the kitchens that a feast is called for.
Professor Dumbledore awards Ron and Harry Special Awards for Services to the School plus two hundred House points each; then asks Professor Lockhart why he is so quiet about his part in the adventure. Lockhart gazes vaguely around to see who Dumbledore is talking about, as Ron explains about his wand backfire. Dumbledore has Ron take Lockhart to the hospital wing. Professor Dumbledore and Harry are now alone.
Harry admits to Dumbledore that Riddle alarmed him by noting their similarities: they are both orphans, dark-haired, and speak Parseltongue. Dumbledore believes Voldemort transferred some of his powers, including the ability to speak Parseltongue, when his curse on the one-year-old Harry failed. Harry says the Sorting Hat saw Slytherin's power in him and wanted to put him in Slytherin. Dumbledore said it put him in Gryffindor instead. Harry says it was only because he asked it to. Dumbledore says, "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." He then shows Harry the sword. Engraved on the blade is, Godric Gryffindor. "Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the Hat, Harry."
The door bursts open and Lucius Malfoy stalks in, accompanied by, to Harry's amazement, Dobby. Lucius is furious that Dumbledore has returned after being suspended. Dumbledore replies that when the news of the attack on Mr. Weasley's daughter had gotten out, he was asked to return by the other eleven Governors, some of whom had been under the impression that if they had not voted for his suspension, Malfoy would have cursed them and their families. Lucius demands to know if the culprit has been found. Dumbledore says it was the same as last time, via the diary, and most ingeniously. If the plot succeeded, Ginny Weasley would been blamed, reflecting badly on Arthur Weasley and his Muggle Protection Act. Behind Mr. Malfoy's back, Dobby is performing a charade, which Harry suddenly understands: it was Malfoy who gave the diary to Ginny at Flourish and Blotts. Lucius demands that they prove this accusation. Dumbledore says that is impossible with the diary destroyed, but if other such artifacts are passed to anyone, Arthur Weasley will be sure to link them back to Lucius Malfoy. Lucius stomps off, kicking Dobby along the way. Harry takes Riddle's diary, wraps it in one of his socks, and runs out to return it to Lucius. Lucius angrily strips the sock off and tosses it aside. Dobby catches it. He is free at last. He protects Harry against Mr. Malfoy's rage. Lucius leaves Hogwarts, defeated on all fronts. Dobby asks how he can repay Harry, and Harry says all he has to do is never try to save his life again.
The feast is an odd one, even for Hogwarts, with everyone in pyjamas, lasting all night, and enlivened by the return of the Petrified students and Hagrid. Everyone is further cheered by the announcement that exams are canceled; all except Hermione.
The remaining year is peaceful. The only grim face is Draco Malfoy's. His father has been fired from the Board of Directors. On the train back home, Harry asks Ginny what she knew about that Percy had not wanted her to tell anyone about. Ginny reveals that Percy has a girlfriend, the same Penelope Clearwater who was Petrified with Hermione. She saw them kissing. Fred and George plan to have some fun with Percy about this over the summer. Harry does not expect to have any fun at all, and asks Hermione and Ron to call him on the telephone so they can arrange to meet. And then the train pulls into Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
[edit] Analysis
Having used the time-honoured technique of having the villain explain to the hero exactly what had happened in the previous chapter, the author here completes the story by laying out the parts the other players had in the events. We learn here that the diary originated with Lucius Malfoy, and that Dobby, as we suspected, was his house-elf. We learn also that Dumbledore was perhaps more aware of what had been going on than we suspected, but was constrained, probably by forces with which we are not yet aware, from taking a more active role in things. Finally, we also see, with almost breakneck speed, the closing days of the school year, with the recovery of the victims of the Basilisk, the return of Hagrid, and the eventual return to London on the Hogwarts Express.
It is interesting to note that Tom Riddle, Ron, and Harry all received Special Awards for Services to the School for closing the Chamber of Secrets. Fifty years on, other students may be wondering what Ronald Weasley did to merit this award. It is unlikely that Harry's role will be questioned: after all, he is the famous Harry Potter.
One of the guiding principles of the series is here voiced, by Dumbledore, of course: "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Although in the mouth of another character, such as Percy Weasley, this would seem overly sententious, Dumbledore is able to say this without pontificating, perhaps in part due to his reputation as an eccentric. It is perhaps worthwhile at this point to look back and see where Harry had been given a choice, and which choices he has taken. Already we can see that Harry has seldom taken the easy choice, often choosing the hardest course because he thought it was right. It will probably be instructive to see if Harry maintains this course.
This particular instance is of interest in another direction as well. Throughout this book, we have seen Harry's increasing doubt that he is, in fact, meant to be in Gryffindor house where he has been placed by the Sorting Hat. In his meeting with Tom Riddle, we see this doubt again, though interestingly it does not seem to affect his course of action. It is Dumbledore's pronouncement, as mentioned above, coupled with the discovery that the sword in the hat was Gryffindor's, that finally removes Harry's doubt about the Sorting Hat's decision. We can safely guess that Harry will not be troubled about this matter again.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
[edit] Further Study
- How did they administer a restorative potion to Nearly Headless Nick? He is a ghost, and ghosts can't even taste ordinary food. How could a potion have any effect on him?
[edit] Greater Picture
Curiously, the fact that Voldemort is currently believed to be hiding in Albania will prove germane to the overall story arc. Voldemort had found an artifact that he had changed into one of his Horcruxes there, and had apparently returned there as a disembodied spirit after his initial encounter with Harry. It was there, apparently, that Professor Quirrell had encountered him, and it was there that Peter Pettigrew will rejoin him between books three and four. One wonders what attraction Voldemort had to Albania, or what the author intended him to find there.
It is in the sixth book that we will discover that this "memory of Tom Riddle" is, in fact, a Horcrux, and that Dumbledore had been very concerned when he discovered this fact, though we will not see that here: Dumbledore, throughout the relation of this story, seems as imperturbable as ever. Later, however, Dumbledore will tell Harry that the discovery of this Horcrux had worried him. As long as the Horcrux remains intact, the wizard who created it cannot die, his soul remaining tied to the earth by the Horcrux; thus, the primary purpose of a Horcrux is immortality, and wizards who do create them invariably protect them as they would their own lives. Yet this one was apparently crafted to be used as a weapon, and placed in the hands of a schoolgirl. Dumbledore concludes that there must be others, that this is not Voldemort's only Horcrux, and attempts to determine how many others there might be. Harry manages to secure a memory which suggests that Tom Riddle saw seven as the most magical number, and so Dumbledore concludes, correctly, that Voldemort had intended to have seven pieces of his soul: one remaining within himself, and six in Horcruxes.
We can see immediately that Harry's arranging Dobby's release from servitude, and Dobby's gratitude for that act, will have some effect on Harry's future, but it is not exactly clear yet what that effect will be. Dobby does not rejoin the story until the fourth book, and at that time he will help Harry solve one of the three major problems he is set. True to Harry's request, Dobby will not again try to save Harry's life, until directed to do so late in the seventh book; but in the mean while, Dobby will assist Harry in his work with Dumbledore's Army in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and his attempts to determine Draco's mission in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
