Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Goblet of Fire/Chapter 32
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Chapter 32 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Flesh, Blood and Bone
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The Triwizard Cup is a Portkey and deposits Harry and Cedric in a graveyard (which readers may suspect is in Little Hangleton). As they look around and wonder where they are, a figure approaches them, apparently carrying a baby. Harry's scar begins burning; the intense pain causes him to drop his wand and fall to the ground. A high voice orders, "Kill the spare." Cedric is instantly murdered by the approaching man. Harry, through his pain, dimly realizes he is being tied to a grave marker with the name Tom Riddle inscribed on it. He recognizes his assailant—Wormtail (Peter Pettigrew).
Wormtail checks Harry's bonds and gags him roughly, then departs. Looking at the bundle next to the graveside, Harry is appalled by the half-infant, half-snake creature. His scar burns again as the thing glares back through red, slitted eyes. Wormtail returns with a huge stone cauldron containing a clear potion, placing it beside the bundle and lighting a fire beneath. Wormtail picks up the creature and drops it into the cauldron; Harry hopes it drowns.
Wormtail causes the grave under Harry's feet to disgorge something that looks like dust; he chants, "Bone of the father unknowingly given. You will renew your son!" Wormtail sends it into the cauldron. Slicing off his right hand and dropping it into the cauldron, he continues haltingly, "Flesh — of the servant — w-willingly given — you will revive — your master." In pain and weeping, he slits Harry's arm with the knife and collects blood in a vial. As it drips into the cauldron, he chants, "B-blood of the enemy... forcibly taken... you will... resurrect your foe."
The cauldron emits huge vaporous clouds from which a tall, skeletal man ascends and alights on the ground. He orders Wormtail to robe him. Lord Voldemort has arisen.
[edit] Analysis
Just as Cedric dies, Voldemort is reborn. Cedric's death is a tragedy, but it is all the more so because he is killed only because he was an unexpected impediment to Voldemort's evil plan. After his hard-fought and well-deserved victory, Cedric's life was flicked away in an instant as if he was nothing more than an annoying insect. Not only does Harry see Cedric die, but he also witnesses Voldemort's horrific resurrection, which Harry is forced to participate in, his blood being added to the monstrous recipe helps restore the Dark Lord's body. In addition to being tied by their brother wands and Harry's scar, through which Harry imbibed some of Voldemort's powers, they are now bound even closer by their blood; just how this bond will affect future events is unknown. When Harry comes face-to-face with the completely restored and now powerful Voldemort, he sees him for the first time as a fully formed human. Previously, he was only a grotesque face attached to Professor Quirrell's head (in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) and as the young Tom Riddle's memory in the diary (in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets). Now he is a flesh and blood being, poised to kill Harry before inflicting more evil on the unsuspecting Wizarding world that he intends to conquer.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- Why was Cedric Diggory killed?
- Was Harry transported to this particular cemetery for a reason? If so, why?
- Why does Voldemort use Harry's blood in the ritual?
[edit] Further Study
- Why would Wormtail sacrifice his hand? Could his blood being used in the ritual change his relationship with either Harry or Voldemort? Explain.
- For the first time, Harry sees Voldemort as a fully restored human. How does this change Harry's perspective about Voldemort, and how will this affect their ongoing conflict?
[edit] Greater Picture
Voldemort, by using Harry's blood for his resurrection, has unintentionally strengthened the existing connection between them. This connection was forged by Voldemort's attempt to kill the one-year-old Harry. Professor Dumbledore, upon hearing that Voldemort used Harry's blood, displays a "gleam of something like triumph". In Book Seven, Deathly Hallows, when Voldemort casts the killing curse on Harry, this blood tie between Harry and Voldemort is all that tethers Harry to life, enabling him to survive the Avada Kedavra curse a second and third time, and it ultimately causes Voldemort's downfall.
Curiously, Wormtail's blood and flesh are also used in the ritual, although it is never revealed if this also gives him any significant tie to either Harry or Voldemort. Wormtail already owes Harry a life debt. Could their intermingled blood strengthen that obligation? While interesting to consider, this is only speculation.
Witnessing Cedric's murder will adversely affect Harry, giving him nightmares through the coming summer. It will also alter his relationship with Cho Chang, who first looks to Harry for information about Cedric's death, then clings to him for consolation that he is unable give, and finally leaves him when she is unable to cope with her loss. It will also enable Harry to see creatures that are visible only to those who have seen death first-hand. These creatures, called Thestrals, will play a role in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Though Dumbledore accepts them immediately, Harry's claims that Voldemort has returned will be disputed by the Ministry of Magic, who will continue to deny this "inconvenient truth" while subjecting both Harry and Dumbledore to public damnation and ridicule, painting Harry as a delusional, attention-seeking liar. Adding insult, the Ministry will also claim that Cedric died from injuries resulting from his own carelessness during the Tournament. This refusal of the Ministry to accept Voldemort's return will cause a year-long conflict between Dumbledore and the Ministry, with the students at Hogwarts, especially Harry, becoming victims trapped between the two forces.
