The Riddle House

Chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: The Riddle House

Synopsis

The story opens in the small village of Little Hangleton at "The Riddle House." Many villagers still call it that, even though many years have passed since the Riddle family actually lived there. Atop a hill overlooking the village, the former manor was the largest building in the area.

The house has a creepy reputation. Half a century ago, the Riddle family, including the son, then about thirty years old, and his parents, were found dead in the living room. Frank Bryce, the Riddles' gardener, was arrested on suspicion of homicide but was released when it was determined the victims were not murdered; they simply died. But the villagers remain suspicious that Frank was responsible.

Bryce now lives alone on the Riddle property, caring for the house and grounds for its absent owners as best he can despite his advancing age. Late one night, Bryce investigates a light in one of the house's windows. Inside, he overhears Lord Voldemort and Wormtail (Peter Pettigrew) planning to take action after the Quidditch World Cup, though Bryce has no idea what that is. Lord Voldemort apparently distrusts Wormtail to act alone, and talks about his "faithful servant". It appears they have already killed someone named Bertha Jorkins.

Bryce is discovered by Nagini, Voldemort's huge snake, and Wormtail forces him into the room. Bryce threatens them with the police; Voldemort, calling him a Muggle, completely disdains Bryce's threat and slays him with a Killing curse.

Two hundred miles away, Harry Potter suddenly awakens with a sharp pain in his scar.

Analysis

This marks the second time in the series that a book has opened somewhere other than with Harry Potter at the Dursleys. The first was Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Readers are also witness to a murder first-hand, whereas before, murdered victims were mentioned after-the-fact. Arguably, Harry is viewing the events in a dream, although given the detail he sees and his strong reaction to it, it is likely much more than that. Also, though not immediately obvious, the story starts with the villagers' perspective of events that occurred some 50 years ago, and then shifts to Frank Bryce's current point-of-view. Harry's recollection seems to be as a detached third party, as he later recalls seeing Frank fall and the armchair swivel from Frank's viewpoint.

It should be mentioned that Voldemort, discussing his "faithful servant," is clearly referring to someone other than Wormtail. This third person's identity is left unclear, and it leaves Wormtail quite frightened, as it implies that Voldemort does not entirely trust Wormtail, and he is therefore subject to punishment and perhaps death. This again illuminates Voldemort's character: he rules his associates through fear, intimidation, and pain, rather than commanding their respect or fidelity.

Voldemort's snake, Nagini, makes its first appearance. Wormtail is apparently milking Nagini for some substance, possibly venom, to keep Lord Voldemort alive. If this is truly Voldemort, and not a dream, then even in his weakened state, his power is already strong and likely growing.

Questions

Review

1. Why does the Riddle manor have a "creepy" reputation? Why has no one lived in it for so many years?
2. Why was Frank Bryce accused and later exonerated of the Riddle family's murders? What could have killed them?
3. Why was Bertha Jorkins recently killed?
4. Can anyone else talk to snakes like Voldemort does with Nagini? How is that possible?

Further Study

1. Who might the "rich" owner of the Riddle house be? Why is he there now?
2. Why does Harry awaken in pain, 200 miles away, just as Frank Bryce is murdered?
3. Who might the "faithful servant" that is mentioned be? Give supporting reasons.
4. How and why does Nagini seem to act differently than other snakes?

Greater Picture

Later in this book, and also in a subsequent one, Harry will have "dreams" that appear to reflect actual events occurring as Voldemort is seeing them; internal evidence in the book lends credence that events in this chapter may well be such a "dream". Professor Dumbledore surmises that this link is, partially, the residual effects from Voldemort's curse when he tried to kill baby Harry. This murder attempt may have sheared off a portion of Voldemort's soul, transferring it to Harry, thus unintentionally making Harry one of Voldemort's seven Horcruxes. Much later, Dumbledore speculates that this perhaps constitutes a true link between their minds. Voldemort initially seems unaware that this connection exists, but he later exploits it in an attempt to entrap Harry; this happens throughout the fifth book.

Nagini seems more biddable and intelligent than a snake ought to be. Finding a Muggle standing in the hall, as Nagini does, a normal snake would attack, hide, or otherwise react; instead, Nagini slithers past unconcernedly and promptly reports Frank Bryce's presence to her master. And though readers saw Harry talking to the boa constrictor at the zoo in book 1, Voldemort's connection to Nagini seems deeper and darker than this. Nagini, we discover later, is also a Horcrux, and perhaps some human-like intelligence was passed to the snake when Voldemort moved his soul shard to her.

The viewpoints mentioned in this chapter also do not tally completely with what we believe now, and what is discovered later, that Harry is likely to be able to see. This chapter's vital events are seen from Frank Bryce's viewpoint, but Harry is actually sharing Voldemort's mind, and so may be able to perceive things either from Voldemort's or Nagini's point of view. (Nagini being a Horcrux, also sharing a fragment of Voldemort's soul, is not stated until Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, though the evidence for this is revealed a year earlier, at Christmas in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.) It is virtually certain that Harry is unaware of what Bryce overheard, except inasmuch as Bryce mentioned them when confronting Voldemort. Examining Harry's thoughts about this dream would indicate that he is largely experiencing the events through Nagini's eyes; this will occur again in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

While the "faithful servant" Voldemort mentions is never explicitly identified, we are meant to suspect Professor Snape, given Harry's relationship with him. However, by closely inspecting Wormtail's and Snape's careers, we can see that each reacted similarly at Voldemort's downfall: Wormtail went into hiding, while Snape continued working for Dumbledore, using Dumbledore's snow-white reputation as a shield. Neither, during Voldemort's absence, professed loyalty to his ideals; each, in his own way, repudiated Voldemort's scheme for Wizardkind. In fact, as Snape seemed to have been hindering Voldemort's attempts to regain the Philosopher's Stone in the first book of the series, it is likely that Voldemort believes Snape has turned against him, an assumption which may be echoed in a later chapter of this book, and which is not (apparently) repudiated in detail until the sixth book. We only learn the truth of Snape's loyalty in the final book. While it is never made entirely clear exactly who Voldemort's faithful servant is, it is likely that Voldemort is referring to Barty Crouch Jr., whose existence he had discovered by questioning Bertha Jorkins. The "one more curse" that Voldemort refers to is likely the Imperius curse which Wormtail will cast on Bartemius Crouch.