Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Goblet of Fire/Chapter 1
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
Chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: The Riddle House
Contents |
[edit] 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.
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, although 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.
[edit] 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, anyone who has been killed was 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 to be much more than that. Also, the story starts with the villagers' view of events that occurred in the old Riddle house 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 (or fifth) party, as he recalls, upon awakening, both seeing Frank fall, and the armchair swivel from Frank's viewpoint.
It should be mentioned that Voldemort, discussing his "faithful servant," is clearly talking about someone other than Wormtail. This third person's identity is left unclear. Wormtail is quite frightened, however, as the implication is that Voldemort does not consider Wormtail to be entirely loyal, and therefore subject to punishment and perhaps death. This again illuminates Voldemort's character: he rules his associates through fear and pain, rather than commanding their respect or fidelity.
This also marks Voldemort's pet snake, Nagini's, 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.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- Why does the Riddle manor have a "creepy" reputation?
- Why was Frank Bryce accused and later exonerated of the Riddle family's murders?
[edit] Further Study
- Who is the "rich" owner of the Riddle house?
- Why does Harry awaken in pain, 200 miles away, just as Frank Bryce is murdered?
[edit] Greater Picture
Later in this book, and also in a subsequent book, Harry will have "dreams" that appear to reflect actual occurrences happening in Voldemort's mind; internal evidence in the book leads 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 attempted to kill baby Harry. This act may have resulted in Voldemort's soul shard being transferred 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; Nagini glides past unconcernedly and promptly reports his presence to her master. Nagini, we will find later, is also a Horcrux, and perhaps some human-like intelligence was passed to the snake in the process of moving Voldemort's soul shard to her.
While the "faithful servant" who will be returning to bring Voldemort's plans against Harry to fruition is unknown, we are clearly meant to guess, given Harry's distrust of his potions master, that Voldemort is referring to Professor Snape. However, upon closer inspection of Wormtail and Snape's careers, we can see that each reacted similarly at Voldemort's downfall; Wormtail went into hiding, and Snape continued working for Dumbledore. 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 entirely turned to the good side, an assumption which may be echoed in a later chapter of this book, and which is not repudiated in detail until the sixth 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.
