Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Goblet of Fire/Chapter 27
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Chapter 27 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Padfoot Returns
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[edit] Synopsis
After the Second Task, everyone wants to hear what happened in the lake, which makes Ron much in demand. His stories become more embellished with each retelling until Hermione acidly suggests that the only way he could have battled Merpeople would have been to snore at them. After that, Ron reverts to the original enchanted-sleep version.
The March weather is extremely windy, causing delays in the owl post. The Friday before the Hogsmeade weekend, the owl Harry sent to Sirius returns with its feathers ruffled the wrong way. It immediately takes off once Harry retrieves the letter, as if afraid it will be sent out again. Sirius asks Harry to be at the stile beyond Dervish and Banges at two o'clock Saturday and to bring food. Ron is amazed that Sirius could be back in Hogsmeade. Harry wonders how he dares to, but Ron points out it is no longer swarming with Dementors.
When they arrive at Potions class, the Slytherins are huddled around something and sniggering. Pansy Parkinson tosses Hermione a copy of Witch Weekly. Hermione riffles through it, finding an article, Harry Potter's Secret Heartache, by Rita Skeeter. The article suggests that Hermione is Harry's girlfriend and is abandoning him for Viktor Krum, who has invited her to visit him during the summer. Hermione is unimpressed, even by Pansy Parkinson's quote that insinuates Hermione might be using love potions. She wonders how Skeeter knew about Krum's invitation. Ron is interested in hearing how she answered, but she ignores this. Professor Snape approaches from behind and penalizes Gryffindor ten points for Hermione's talking and ten more for having Witch Weekly in class. He reads Rita Skeeter's article aloud to gales of laughter from the Slytherins. Snape now separates the three, placing Hermione with Pansy, leaving Ron where he is, and placing Harry at the table immediately facing his desk. In a soft undertone, Snape accuses Harry of stealing Boomslang skin and Gillyweed from his stores. Harry remembers that Hermione stole Boomslang skin during their second year to make the Polyjuice potion and that Dobby swiped the Gillyweed, but he lies and claims he has no idea what Snape is talking about. Snape produces a vial containing Veritaserum. Just three drops in Harry's pumpkin juice, Snape threatens, and Harry would babble his innermost secrets. Igor Karkaroff enters the dungeon wanting to speak to Snape, who says they can talk after class. Karkaroff claims Snape has been avoiding him and stays until the class ends. Harry knocks over his armadillo bile, and, crouching behind his cauldron, sees Karkaroff show Snape his left forearm. He says, "It has never been that clear, not since . . ." Snape orders him to put it away, they can discuss it later. Spotting Harry, he demands to know what he is doing there. Harry replies innocently that he is cleaning up his armadillo bile. Karkaroff leaves, and Harry decides it would be a good idea to do likewise.
On Saturday, the Hogsmeade weekend, Harry, Ron, and Hermione grab extra food from lunch and set off for the village. They buy socks for Dobby at Gladrags Wizard Wear, and then head past Dervish and Banges, finding a stile and a familiar-looking black dog. The dog leads them to a cave in the surrounding mountainside. Inside is a tethered Buckbeak. The dog transforms into Sirius. Famished from living mostly on rats, he tears into the chicken. Harry's letters, he says between bites, have made events sound increasingly suspicious, especially when combined with what Sirius reads in scrounged Daily Prophets. Sirius claims that Crouch being sick is unusual; Harry mentions that he had looked bad when the Goblet selected the Triwizard Champions. When Hermione says he is getting his just desserts for firing his House-elf, Winky, Harry explains about the Quidditch World Cup and his wand being stolen. Sirius asks if Harry checked his pockets before leaving the top box, but Harry says he did not check until he was in the woods. Sirius suggests someone could have lifted Harry's wand; Ron suspects Lucius Malfoy, although Hermione reminds them Ludo Bagman was also there. Sirius wonders why Bagman keeps offering to help Harry win the Tournament. According to Sirius, Crouch taking days off is uncharacteristic. It was Crouch who sent him to Azkaban without a trial. Pressed for more explanation, Sirius explains how desperate times resulted in desperate measures, including using deadly force against suspected Death Eaters. Crouch, who headed the Aurors, championed these measures, achieving some results. He was tapped as the next Minister for Magic until his son, Barty Crouch, Jr., was found with Death Eaters who were attempting to return Voldemort to power. Crouch presided over his own son's trial and sentenced him to Azkaban. Sirius says Crouch and his wife made a deathbed visit to their son, and he later saw Dementors burying him. Crouch lost his son, his wife (who died shortly after), and his shot at the Ministry, eventually getting shunted aside to the Department of International Magical Cooperation.
Sirius suspects Crouch wants to capture one last Dark Wizard to revive his career, although it is unlikely Crouch would make a special trip to Hogwarts to search Snape's office. He had ample excuse to do that when he was there for the Triwizard judging. Ron and Hermione start squabbling over whether or not Snape is a Dark Wizard. Sirius says Snape certainly associated with Slytherins who became Death Eaters: Rosier and Wilkes; Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband; Avery, but Snape was never accused. Harry mentions that Snape and Karkaroff know each other and tells how Karkaroff showed Snape something on his arm, although Sirius does not know what that could be. When Ron mentions that his brother is Mr. Crouch's personal assistant, Sirius asks him to learn what he can from Percy about Mr. Crouch's illness and also about Bertha Jorkins' disappearance. Bagman was quoted in an article as saying that Bertha's memory is very bad, but Sirius claims that is untrue. Bertha had an excellent memory while at school, at least for gossip. At 3:30 p.m., Sirius sends the Trio back to Hogwarts. He wants to be updated on any new information and reminds them to address letters to him as "Snuffles." In his dog form, he leaves with them to scrounge for another newspaper in the village. Ron wonders if Percy knew about Mr. Crouch, but concludes that he would probably approve Crouch's refusal to bend the rules for his own son; Percy loves rules after all.
[edit] Analysis
Although Hermione deflates Ron's exaggerated boasts about his participation in the second task, he nonetheless remains rather pleased with himself, basking in some unfamiliar but welcomed attention that is, for once, separate from Harry's celebrity. Meanwhile, Harry must defend himself for something he did not do—stealing from Snape's stores. Snape certainly has some legitimate reason to suspect Harry. During Harry's second year, as mentioned above, Hermione stole Boomslang skin and Bicorn horn from Snape's office to make Polyjuice Potion. No doubt Harry remembers this, but he is unsure whether Snape is talking about that occasion, or something more recent. The Gillyweed that Snape mentions most certainly is more recent than that; Harry knows that Dobby had stolen it, so that Harry could get his "Wheezy" back. Though Harry can rightfully protest that he was not involved in either theft, he does believe that he knows who was responsible in both cases.
Readers, along with the boys in the school, have watched as Hermione has blossomed from a smart, but rather plain girl into an intelligent, attractive young woman. Despite new-found male attention, she avoids developing an inflated ego as other girls might, or relying on feminine wiles to get what she wants. Instead, she remains grounded and unaffected as she matures in more significant ways, never feeling too intimidated to use her abilities and intellect. Unfazed by Pansy Parkinson's and Snape's feeble attempts to embarrass her in class, Hermione merely shrugs it off, and, ignoring Ron's inquiries about Krum, instead focuses her attention on figuring out just how Rita Skeeter learned about Viktor Krum's invitation. Considering her usual determination, she likely will not stop until she has found an answer. And though Hermione now has a potential (if currently one-sided) romantic relationship with Viktor, her loyalty is only to Hogwarts and her friends, and she is committed to helping Harry succeed in each task, help for which she rarely seeks any credit.
Having returned to England, and now with his meeting Harry in Hogsmeade, Sirius shows his devotion and concern for his godson, even though Sirius is taking a huge risk that he could be caught and, as a fugitive, there is actually little he can do to help Harry. Sirius thrives on risk taking, however, and his long confinement in Azkaban and being on the run may have impaired his judgment somewhat. Regardless, the Trio are delighted to see him, and having his godfather close by, giving him the love and security he sorely craves but rarely feels, revitalizes Harry. Sirius also provides the Trio some valuable information, including much about Mr. Crouch, a man who was apparently so cold-heartedly dedicated to his job that he would convict and sentence his own son to life imprisonment in Azkaban for having been found with Death Eaters, although it was never proved if Barty was actually one himself. Whether or not Crouch Jr. deserved such a severe punishment, most fathers in that situation would have recused themselves to allow another judge to preside over the case. Crouch's motive appears to have been to protect his own reputation by showing he would unhesitatingly mete out justice to his own son. But the scandal forever tainted his career, and he was consequently demoted to a relatively menial position. Sirius is also particularly curious as to why Mr. Crouch's saved seat at the World Cup remained empty, questioning why someone so involved in the Tournament is apparently off doing something else.
Bagman stated for the Daily Prophet that Bertha Jorkins had a bad memory. While that claim was apparently untrue when Sirius knew her in school, the implication is that her memory had deteriorated or been magically altered before she vanished.
Harry wonders why Ludo Bagman always wants to help him with the Tournament. While it is possible that Bagman is a Death Eater and may have been attempting to put Harry in harm's way, this is unlikely as Bagman actually seems to be trying to help Harry, although just why is unknown. However, we have already seen that Bagman is a gambler, and while there is still little evidence regarding this, he may be trying to influence the Tournament's outcome because he is wagering on Harry to win. Sirius seems to re-enforce Harry's suspicions when he also wonders what Bagman's motive might be in helping Harry.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- What does Karkaroff show Snape on his arm? Why does he accuse Snape of avoiding him? Is he right?
- How does Ron's version about his underwater experience compare to Hermione's? What accounts for this difference?
- Has Boomslang skin been seen before? If so, where, and what was it used for?
- Why is Sirius suspicious about Mr. Crouch's illness?
[edit] Further Study
- Why doesn't Harry repair his water-damaged wristwatch with a Reparo spell?
- How did Rita Skeeter know that Viktor Krum invited Hermione to visit him? Why is Ron interested in knowing how Hermione responded?
- Why does Snape suspect that it was Harry who broke into his office? Are Snape's suspicions justified?
- Who might be stealing the Boomslang skin and Gillyweed? Why?
- Why would Mr. Crouch have presided over his own son's trial and sentence him to Azkaban prison rather than allow another judge to oversee the case?
- If Bertha Jorkins had as excellent a memory in school as Sirius claims, why would she have had problems with it now?
- Why would Ludo Bagman want to help Harry win the Tournament?
- Why does Sirius think Mr. Crouch's seat remaining empty at the Quidditch World Cup is significant?
[edit] Greater Picture
While Harry seems to believe that the Boomslang skin theft is from two years back, we will discover that it is a more recent occurrence. Shortly after Harry sees Bartemius Crouch in Snape's office on the Marauder's Map, Snape discovers Boomslang skin is again missing. It is reasonable to assume that Snape would connect the missing Boomslang skin to his office being broken into, which happened the same night. It is further reasonable that Snape, believing Harry to be out after hours when the Egg and the Marauder's Map are found, suspects that Harry may be involved in making some unauthorized potion again. Harry, of course, has no idea that anyone is using Polyjuice Potion, so he can only make a connection to Hermione's earlier theft. Interestingly, Snape does not seem to suspect that Hermione may be involved, even though she is apparently far more adept at Potions than Harry, and it was she who brewed the Polyjuice Potion two years before.
Although Harry has yet to figured this out, it was actually Barty Crouch, Jr. who was in Snape's office the night Harry was nearly caught by Snape and Filch. Barty Jr. is, as we later discover, using Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself as Moody; when Harry saw who he believed was Crouch Sr. on the Marauder's Map, it was actually Barty Jr. getting the necessary potion ingredients for his next batch.
Readers learn that Bartemius Crouch, Sr. sentenced Barty, Jr. to Azkaban, demonstrating how he mercilessly convicted any Death Eater, even his own son. However, it will be revealed later that it was Crouch Sr., along with his dying wife, who planned and executed the successful scheme to free Barty, Jr. from Azkaban. While Barty confesses that Bartemius had arranged Barty's escape at his mother's (Bartemius' wife's) request, Bartemius' actions were probably motivated by something more than a father rescuing his son from a miserable fate—a fate that he personally dealt him. Bartemius was an ambitious, dedicated, and rather ruthless Ministry official who was on track to become Minister for Magic. By convicting Barty, Bartemius may have been attempting to protect his own career by displaying no partiality. However, the embarrassing scandal and the ensuing fallout caused the Ministry of Magic to shunt Bartemius aside into a relatively unimportant and low-profile job, forever derailing his lofty goals. Freeing Barty may partly have been a vengeful act against the Ministry for their callous ill-treatment. Indeed, there appears to have been little love between father and son that would have compelled Bartemius to free him, and he had openly disowned Barty; and if Mrs. Crouch's plan was to save Barty from lifelong incarceration, leaving him locked up in the Crouch home was little improvement over his previous situation and certainly not what she would have wished. Bartemius had little choice but to keep his son confined, however, rightly suspecting that Barty would bolt and return to Voldemort's service. The parent-child relationship is complicated, ever-changing, and has many facets, and though Bartemius may have sought retaliation against the Ministry, he may also have been unable to live with what he had doomed his son to, as well as wanting to honor his wife's dying wish.
Sirius says he has no idea if Barty, Jr. was a Death Eater, only that he was found in the company of known Death Eaters, including Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius' cousin. It will be revealed that Barty is indeed a loyal Death Eater who participated in torturing into insanity the Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom to extract information about what had happened to Voldemort. Neville has never revealed to his classmates what happened to his parents, but Harry learns about this in a later chapter; at Dumbledore's request, Harry keeps Neville's secret to himself.
When speaking about Bartemius Crouch, Sirius tells Harry, "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." We will see later with Kreacher that Sirius, at least in this respect, does not treat his subordinate well. However, Kreacher is half-mad and fanatically loyal to the late Mrs. Black, who disowned her son, and he despises Sirius. This may account for Sirius' unkind treatment.
Sirius also mentions that Snape was never accused of being a Death Eater. This is not quite true: we find out later that he had been accused, but Dumbledore vouched for his having become a double agent before Voldemort fell.
By this book's end, we will learn the story behind Bertha Jorkins. Bertha, who has been missing and is eventually found to be dead, worked for Bartemius Crouch Sr. She happened to visit his home when Bartemius was gone and accidentally discovered that Barty, recently escaped from Azkaban, was alive and being hidden there. Either Bartemius or Winky, the Crouch's House-elf, used a memory charm on her to protect their secret. This charm, as it had to mask out large areas of her memory, apparently affected her overall memory. Soon after, she was transferred to Ludo Bagman's department. Ludo, who had never met her before the memory charm had been applied, only knew her when she was having spell-induced memory problems, prompting his comment in the Daily Prophet about her poor memory.
