Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Goblet of Fire/Chapter 10
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Chapter 10 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Mayhem at the Ministry
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[edit] Synopsis
The Twins, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Percy, Charlie, Bill, and Mr. Weasley catch an early rubber tyre back to Stoatshead Hill, after quick negotiation with Basil, the keeper of the Portkeys. As they reach The Burrow, Mrs. Weasley charges out, overjoyed to see them safe. After reading about the riot in the Daily Prophet, she did not want her cross parting words to Twins to have been the last thing she said to them.
The Daily Prophet's main story is slanted to put the Ministry in the worst possible light; it is written by Rita Skeeter, a scribe who, Percy says, has it in for the Ministry. Mr. Weasley finds that although he has been quoted accurately, his words have been deliberately slanted. Because he was the one quoted and it has made things worse, he must now patch things up. Percy offers to go with him, Mr. Crouch will need all hands on deck. Harry corrals Ron and Hermione and tells them that his scar hurt three days ago and about the dream he had. He says he is expecting Hedwig to bring a response from Sirius about what he should do.
Over the next two weeks, Percy and Mr. Weasley are busy dealing with fallout from the riot. Just before the students are to leave for Hogwarts, Percy is lamenting the many Howlers that have arrived at his office, saying they have scorched his desk. All have to do with security at the Quidditch World Cup and demanding compensation for losses. One Mundungus Fletcher, for instance, is demanding compensation for a twelve-bedroom tent with an ensuite Jacuzzi, although Percy knows he was sleeping under a cloak stretched over sticks. Fred and George are hunched over a piece of parchment. Mrs. Weasley asks if they are making a new order form for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, but Fred dodges the question. Mr. Weasley arrives home and says that Rita Skeeter has discovered that Bertha Jorkins is missing and nobody has been looking for her. Mr. Weasley points out that Mr. Crouch's House-elf being found with the wand that cast the Dark Mark would be headlines for a week. This sets Hermione off; she says that House-elves are basically slaves, but before she can get properly started on her rant, Mrs. Weasley sends everyone off to check if they are packed.
Sorting through the parcels Mrs. Weasley has gotten him, Ron finds an ancient dress robe, frayed and edged with lace. Mrs. Weasley says he will need dress robes this year for formal occasions and that she also got some for Harry. With some trepidation, Harry opens his to find that they are not embarrassing at all, looking like his school robes only bottle-green. Ron demands to know why he could not have robes like that, but Mrs. Weasley says they can only afford second-hand. After she leaves, Ron laments, "Why is everything I own rubbish?"
[edit] Analysis
The Weasley family is spotlighted here, including Ron, who is continually embarrassed and anguished over being poor and having to buy used textbooks and other lower-quality chattels. This time, he is humiliated when Mrs. Weasley buys him hideous, ancient dress robes for formal school occasions; Mrs. Weasley's well-meaning, but misguided, attempt to provide for her youngest son's material requirements goes awry when she utterly fails to comprehend Ron's emotional needs, and that teen-agers, even wizard ones, desperately desire to fit in with their peers, not be different from them. She has unintentionally made Ron a more tempting target to his detractors. Ron is even more upset when he sees that Mrs. Weasley selected presentable dress robes for Harry because he can afford them. This contrast between Ron's relative poverty and Harry's inherited wealth appears several times throughout the book, and it will continually strain their friendship. Though Ron is sometimes jealous over Harry's affluence, he has yet to realize that Harry lacks and desperately wants what Ron takes for granted: a loving, supportive, and stable family. And while Ron will always have an opportunity to improve his lot in life if he so chooses, Harry can never hope to regain his parents.
Meanwhile, Mr. Weasley finds himself in a difficult position at work after his quotes were deliberately skewed by Rita Skeeter in her slanted article; now he must protect his job by attempting to repair damage inflicted on the Ministry of Magic. Percy's growing pompousness only makes matters worse. Even though his boss, Mr. Crouch, continually forgets his name, Percy convinces himself that he is needed at work to help handle the fallout following the World Cup riot. Adding to the Ministry's woes is Skeeter's discovery that Bertha Jorkins is missing, although, incredibly, Ministry officials have taken no action regarding this.
As with other characters, Rowling introduces Daily Prophet journalist, Rita Skeeter, only by name, hinting that Skeeter will later play an important role. An unethical and ruthless reporter, Skeeter employs any means to uncover a story that she then pads with juicy lies, exaggerated facts, and fabricated sensationalism to enthrall her readers and boost her paper's circulation. Skeeter's slanted articles have inflamed the already wide-spread fallout following the Death Eater attacks at the World Cup, although it remains unclear if she actually is biased against the Ministry of Magic, as Percy claims, or merely seeking notoriety. Regardless, she shows little interest in reporting the truth, and even less consideration for those victimized by her falsehoods. And while Skeeter freely abuses veracity, her character also represents just how prevalently the truth is skewered and manipulated by other characters in the series, often to malign Harry and Dumbledore and/or to benefit and protect themselves.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- Why does Harry only choose to tell Ron and Hermione about his dream now?
- How are the Twins able to manipulate Mrs. Weasley's relief over their safety to their own advantage?
- Why does Mrs. Weasley fail to understand why Ron is upset over the dress robes she bought him? Why does this further strain Ron's friendship with Harry?
[edit] Further Study
- Why has no one been searching for the missing Bertha Jorkins?
- Is Percy's claim that the Daily Prophet and Rita Skeeter have it in for the Ministry correct? If so, why, and what evidence supports this?
[edit] Greater Picture
The Twins manipulate Mrs. Weasley's relief that they are safely home to help defuse further questions about Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The letter the Twins are writing is likely to Ludo Bagman, informing him that his payment (in Leprechaun gold) has vanished. Even though they were not working on another Weasley's Wizard Wheezes order form as Mrs. Weasley suspected, it would have been equally precarious for the Twins to admit to their mother what it actually was. Not only was it connected with the Wheezes enterprise, it also involved gambling, which the Twins are forbidden to do. By invoking her earlier relief for their safety, Fred is able to deflect Mrs. Weasley's inquiry about the parchment, without admitting what it is.
Mr. Crouch continually forgetting Percy's name and his other odd behavior, as described here in passing, may stem from something other than him being an eccentric and inattentive boss. It will turn out that Mr. Crouch is being controlled by Peter Pettigrew, using the Imperius curse, in order to assist Barty Crouch Jr. in his attempts to force the Triwizard Tournament's outcome in Voldemort's chosen direction. However, it is unclear exactly when this curse is applied. It is believed it is before the start of the school year, as we are later shown that Crouch was under control before Moody was subdued, and it must have happened after Harry's dream as Pettigrew and Voldemort were then in Little Hangleton, while Crouch was still in London; so while it is safe to assume that Crouch was taken over sometime during this fortnight, we are unable to see exactly when his behaviour changed.
The journalist Rita Skeeter, introduced in this chapter, will have a large role in this book, writing embarrassing stories about Harry and Hermione in particular. She will ultimately be nullified by Hermione, though she will again play a role in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and will be brought back indirectly, through interviews and her own writing, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In the series' final book, Skeeter's acid pen poses questions that Harry will need to answer, primarily about Dumbledore.
