Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Goblet of Fire/Chapter 30
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Chapter 30 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: The Pensieve
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Professor Moody opens the door and invites Harry in. Cornelius Fudge asks if it was he who found Mr. Crouch. Knowing it is useless to pretend he did not overhear their conversation, Harry admits he did, but says that Madame Maxime was not there, adding, "And she'd have a job hiding, wouldn't she?" Fudge suggests he return to class, but Harry wants to see Professor Dumbledore. Dumbledore suggests he wait there while he, Professor Moody, and Fudge survey the spot where Mr. Crouch was found.
Alone in Dumbledore's office, Harry is intrigued by a shimmering light on the wall. Hunting its source, he finds a partially opened cupboard containing a stone bowl. It is filled with an odd, glittering, substance, halfway between a liquid and a gas. Inside it he sees a torch-lit stone room, filled with tiny witches and wizards. He moves closer for a better view, poking it with his wand, but when his nose tip touches the surface, he is catapulted into the scene. Nobody notices him, not even Professor Dumbledore next to him. Harry recalls when he similarly observed Tom Riddle's memories, and settles down to watch.
Harry has tumbled into a courtroom, an empty chair with chains on its arms sits in the middle. A trial is underway, and spectators are watching a door, which soon opens and two Dementors enter, dragging Igor Karkaroff between them. Karkaroff is placed in the chair; the Dementors exit, and the chains glow golden and enwrap Karkaroff's arms and legs. The proceedings are headed by a younger Bartemius Crouch; Alastor Moody is also present, talking to Dumbledore. Karkaroff, bargaining for his freedom, offers to identify Death Eaters. He names Antonin Dolohov, but Crouch responds he is already in custody. Increasingly desperate, Karkaroff mentions Evan Rosier, Travers, and Mulciber, only to hear that each has been captured or killed. He finally mentions Augustus Rookwood, who works in the Department of Mysteries and was passing information to Voldemort. Crouch admits they did not know about Rookwood, but then says Karkaroff will be returned to Azkaban while they deliberate. In desperation, Karkaroff says that Severus Snape was a Death Eater. Dumbledore rises to say that while Severus had been a Death Eater, he had turned double agent before Voldemort's downfall and is now no more a Death Eater than Dumbledore himself.
The memory fades and returns. It is the same room, but the atmosphere is lighter. This time, it is a younger Ludo Bagman who walks into the room and takes a seat. To his evident relief, the chair does not chain him. Mr. Crouch says he stands accused of aiding Death Eaters. Bagman claims he was a bit idiotic, being unaware that Rookwood was working for Death Eaters. He believed he was collecting information for "our side." The Wizengamot votes to free him, although Moody and Crouch are annoyed at this outcome.
Again the memory fades. When the room returns, it is grimmer. As a witch sobs in the center, a door opens to admit six Dementors escorting four people. Over the woman's piteous cries, a gaunter-looking Mr. Crouch says they stand accused of using the Cruciatus Curse on the Auror Frank Longbottom in an attempt to discover Voldemort's whereabouts. That failing, they then used it on his wife, Alice Longbottom. He calls for the Wizengamot to vote; the assembled witches and wizards unanimously sentence them to life in Azkaban. The lone woman defiantly cries out that the Dark Lord will return. The crying boy is Barty Crouch, Jr., who pleads with his father not to send him back to Azkaban, but Crouch, stony-faced, states he is not his son; he has no son. From the audience, a weeping Mrs. Crouch watches as Barty is condemned.
A second Dumbledore says it is time to go, and, taking Harry's elbow, they rise and return to Hogwarts. Harry starts apologizing but Dumbledore assures Harry that he quite understands. He explains that the bowl is Pensieve. When too many thoughts and memories are crammed into his mind, it is a relief to siphon some off and store them there. It is possible to see patterns inside the Pensieve that are not immediately apparent. Using his wand, Dumbledore extracts a thought and places it in the Pensieve. Harry is surprised to see his own face, only to watch it smoothly turning into Snape's who says, "It's coming back, Karkaroff's too . . ." Dumbledore muses that it is a connection he would have been able to make without help. Harry again apologizes, but Dumbledore responds that curiosity is not a sin, but it requires caution. A teenaged girl's image then rises from the Pensieve. She is explaining that a boy jinxed her because she said she had seen him kissing Florence behind the greenhouses. Dumbledore asks why she followed him behind the greenhouses in the first place. Dumbledore says that this is Bertha Jorkins as she was when he knew her at Hogwarts.
Dumbledore reminds Harry he that he came to see him about something, and Harry recounts his dream. Dumbledore asks if there was any other time, other than the end of the summer, when his scar hurt. Harry says no, but then stops – how did Dumbledore know about his scar hurting? Dumbledore says that Harry is not Sirius' only correspondent. Dumbledore seems to be analyzing this dream, pacing, and periodically removing thoughts from his mind and placing them in the Pensieve. Dumbledore tells Harry he believes his scar hurts whenever Voldemort is nearby and feeling particularly strong emotions. Dumbledore tells Harry that it, "was no ordinary dream." Harry says that he did not see Voldemort in it, only an armchair from behind, but there would be nothing to see: Voldemort still lacks a body. Asked if Voldemort is getting stronger, Dumbledore replies that his earlier accession to power was marked by unexplained disappearances. There have been three unexplained disappearances recently: Bertha Jorkins, Bartemius Crouch, Sr., and a Muggle, Frank Bryce, who vanished from Tom Riddle Sr.'s home village. Dumbledore believes they are linked, although the Ministry does not.
Harry inquires if it was Neville's parents who were mentioned in the memory. Dumbledore asks if Harry had ever wondered why Neville lived with his grandmother, and then goes on to say that yes, that was Neville's parents. They were tortured to insanity and now permanently reside in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. They no longer recognize Neville. Dumbledore also tells Harry that Ludo Bagman has been uninvolved in anything Dark since his trial. Neither has Severus Snape. Dumbledore assures Harry that he trusts Snape, but why is between Snape and himself. Dumbledore requests that Harry say nothing about Neville's parents, not even to Ron or Hermione. That is Neville's story to tell. Finally, he wishes Harry luck in the third task.
[edit] Analysis
Readers have watched the story unfold mostly through Harry's point-of-view or as told to him by other characters; gradually, the author has added additional mechanisms for Harry (and readers) to gain information about Voldemort and his Death Eaters. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry viewed Tom Riddle's memories that were stored in his diary. Now Dumbledore's Pensieve provides yet another means for Harry to observe historical events first-hand. The Pensieve is also introducing new characters who are from the past that readers may be seeing again in the future. It also sheds light on some current characters, such as Ludo Bagman, who was interrogated but never convicted as a Voldemort follower, although his actual involvement is still suspect. And though Harry learns much by watching both Voldemort's and Dumbledore's memories, these are still memories, and they may be imperfect and affected by personal viewpoints and biases.
It is also becoming apparent to us, gradually, that Harry has also been occasionally watching events in real time through a mental connection that exists between him and Voldemort. As these mostly play out at times when Harry is asleep, Harry still believes he is just having bad dreams. Harry's mental connection to Voldemort may become his most valuable information avenue, as he is viewing things that are currently happening although he has not, as yet, completely utilized this, being previously unsure if what he had been seeing was actually real; also, the information he does receive is sporadic and incomplete, making it difficult to analyze. There is also a danger that Voldemort can learn as much through Harry if he also discovers this link; it is probably only a matter of time before he does.
Also, Dumbledore has presumably been depositing his abundant thoughts into the Pensieve for many decades, including ones unrelated to Harry or Voldemort. How then does Harry happen to see only those memories directly related to current events and that are the most helpful to him? Is it possible that Dumbledore intended for Harry to view these particular recollections? It may be that Dumbledore is legally or ethically prevented from sharing such confidential information, and by making his memories available, he is able to pass this on to Harry without reprisal. The opened cupboard door almost seemed like an invitation for Harry to peer inside. This is, of course, only speculation and unfortunately, it remains unanswered. The Pensieve also reveals much about Neville Longbottom through what happened to his parents. The trauma Neville has suffered over his mother and father's sad fate may explain, at least partially, why his memory and magical abilities have been impaired. For whatever reason, Neville has chosen to keep his parents' condition secret, but Harry's knowledge about this will bring the two boys closer together, Harry realizing that Neville lost his parents to Voldemort, just as Harry lost his.
As a side note, it is interesting that even though the courtroom scenes are from Dumbledore's viewpoint, he is seen as a bystander. This matches what had happened in Tom Riddle's memories; though it was Tom's memories, Harry was always standing beside Tom, rather than seeing directly through Tom's eyes.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- Why has Neville never told anyone about what happened to his parents? How might this knowledge change Harry's relationship with Neville?
- Why is Harry so surprised that Dumbledore has been communicating with Sirius? Why has Sirius never mentioned this to Harry?
- Why did Harry wait so long to tell Dumbledore about his dreams?
- Why is Dumbledore convinced that Harry's visions are something other than dreams?
[edit] Further Study
- Why does Dumbledore refuse to tell Harry the reason he trusts Snape? Is Dumbledore's trust warranted?
- Why does the Ministry maintain that Bertha Jorkins', Mr. Crouch's, and Frank Bryce's disappearances are unrelated? Are they? Explain.
- Did Dumbledore intend for Harry to view his memories in the Pensieve? What evidence is there for this? If he did intend for Harry to see them, why didn't he just tell Harry all this instead?
[edit] Greater Picture
Knowing now that Harry has had at least two "dreams" which were apparent mirrors of Voldemort's thoughts, Dumbledore is now beginning to understand the nature of the link between Harry's mind and Voldemort's. This will cause Harry great concern in the next book, as Dumbledore will be taking great pains to conceal the nature of the relationship between himself and Harry from any potential eavesdropping by Voldemort through that link. Dumbledore feels, correctly as it turns out, that if Voldemort is aware of any feelings between Harry and himself more than student to headmaster, he will make use of those feelings as a weapon against Harry, Dumbledore, or both. In order to conceal his affection for Harry, Dumbledore will studiously avoid even making eye contact with Harry. As a result, Harry will feel that Dumbledore has abandoned him, and will, at several points in the book, refuse to pass information to Dumbledore that might have proved useful. Voldemort will become aware of the link near Christmas time, when Harry becomes aware of an attack being made on Mr. Weasley by means of the link, and throughout much of the remainder of that book, Voldemort will be attempting to use that link to use Harry to steal a Prophecy for him.
The Pensieve will be used by Harry again, providing him answers not only about Voldemort, but also his father and mother, Aunt Petunia, and also Snape. Perhaps interestingly, the function of the Pensieve will not be to store and look for connections between existing memories, as is implied here. The function of the Pensieve, as it will be used, is the way Harry uses it first: to replay memories placed in it. In the next book, we will use it to show an episode in Snape's life. In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, we will be examining the memories of those who have some knowledge of Voldemort in his younger days, when he was still known as Tom Riddle. And in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, we will be using it to replay memories of Snape's youth and adult life, thereby learning no small amount about Harry's parents.
