Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Goblet of Fire/Chapter 9

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Chapter 9 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: The Dark Mark ← Chapter 8 | Chapter 10 →

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Analysis 3 Questions 3.1 Review 3.2 Further Study 4 Greater Picture

[edit] Synopsis

Money in hand, the Twins return to the campsite with Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Percy, Charlie, Bill, and Mr. Weasley (who, upon reflection, prefers not knowing why the Twins want the money). Everyone discusses Quidditch until Ginny falls asleep at the table. Mr. Weasley sends them to bed, and they fall asleep to the ongoing magical celebration noise. Soon after, Harry is shaken awake by Mr. Weasley; Harry immediately realizes something is wrong, the banging noises are louder and the singing has been replaced by screams and running feet. Outside, hooded wizards are shouting, blasting random tents, and suspending four Muggles, including Mr. Roberts, the campground owner, high in the air. Mr. Weasley orders Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to hide in the woods; he, Bill, Charlie, and Percy help the Ministry wizards break up the mob.

In the woods, Draco Malfoy is casually learning against a tree, unperturbed by the ensuing chaos. He implies that the mob is Death Eaters hunting Muggles and that they would also attack a Mudblood. Ron takes umbrage, but Hermione pulls them away, heading further into the forest, although Ginny and the Twins become separated from them. They run into a clutch of teenagers in pyjamas, arguing in French; Hermione identifies them as students from Beauxbatons Academy, another Wizarding school. As they pass, Ron illuminates his wand; Harry reaches for his wand, only to discover it missing. As they search for it, Winky the House-elf darts across their path in an odd manner, looking as if something invisible is holding her back. Harry surmises it is because no one gave her permission to run away. Hermione becomes indignant over House-elves' status, complaining they are basically slaves. Ron claims they are happiest that way; they say so themselves.

Finding a quiet place, they settle down and wait. A worried-looking Ludo Bagman appears from behind a tree, seemingly unaware a riot is underway, but immediately Disapparates upon being told. Hermione suggests he is not quite on top of matters. When the campsite has quieted, the Trio thinks the riot may be over, but they hear someone in the bushes behind them. A deep voice calls out, "Morsmordre!". A large green skull with a snake protruding from the mouth appears in the sky as screams sound. Hermione recognizes it as Voldemort's Dark Mark, but before they can get away, about twenty Ministry wizards Apparate around them. Harry, Hermione, and Ron hit the ground as stun spells criss-cross over them. Mr. Weasley halts the spell casting, and Bartemius Crouch demands to know who conjured the Dark Mark. Hermione points to where the shout was heard. Amos Diggory says that the conjurer may not have Disapparated before he was Stunned. A few wizards investigate and return carrying an unconscious Winky, shocking Crouch, who leaves to investigate. Diggory notes that Winky had a wand. Ludo Bagman Apparates in, shocked to see the Dark Mark and a stunned Winky. Crouch returns empty-handed; wanting to interrogate Winky, Diggory revives her. Winky denies conjuring the mark, she does not know how. When Harry recognizes the wand as his own, Diggory accuses him of conjuring the Mark, but Mr. Weasley reminds him who he is speaking to. Diggory accuses Winky, but Hermione reports hearing a much deeper and definitely human voice. Ron and Harry concur. Using the Prior Incatato spell, it is determined that Harry's wand conjured the Dark Mark. Claiming Winky disobeyed him, Crouch tells her, "This means clothes!" (Giving clothes to House-elves releases them from servitude.) Nobody else believes this as a dismissal-level offence, but Crouch is adamant; Winky is being discharged.

Mr. Weasley and the Trio head back to their tent where Fred, George, and Ginny have safely returned. Asking about the "skull thing", Harry and Ron are told that Voldemort's mark was usually left floating over a house where Death Eaters had killed all within. Its reappearance after thirteen years is nearly as frightening as Voldemort himself. Bill suggests that the rioters were likely Death Eaters who evaded capture. Ron wonders why Death Eaters would Disapparate when the Mark appeared. Bill says it is because they avoided Azkaban by disavowing any connection to Voldemort. If he is around, they would be in the Dark Lord's bad graces for having denied him.

Mr. Weasley tells everyone to get some sleep before catching an early-morning Portkey back to the Burrow. But it is a long time before Harry can doze off. Three days ago his scar was acting up, and tonight, the Dark Mark. Is there a connection?

[edit] Analysis

While most wizards believe that Voldemort is long-dead, the havoc and mayhem caused by his surviving Death Eaters shows how deeply his evil remains embedded within the Wizarding world, and how quickly and easily it can incite terror and panic. And though it appears the hooded rampagers randomly attacked anyone in the campground, Draco's pointed comment indicates that they may have been targeting Muggle-borns like Hermione. As a reminder, Voldemort's earlier ascendancy to power was built upon "pure-blood" wizards' belief that they were somehow, by birth, superior to Muggles and Muggles' magical offspring. Draco Malfoy's smug amusement over Muggles and Muggle-borns being attacked suggests he has some insider knowledge about the riot and that his father, Lucius, is probably involved. The elitist Malfoys and their many contemporaries have a long connection to the Dark Arts and support a pure-blood ethos advocating bigotry and violence to suppress (and even eliminate) those considered inferior; Draco's dispassionate reaction not only reflect his personal feelings but also represents his social class' belief that Muggle-borns pose a threat by competing for important and influential positions within the magical community for which only they should be entitled to by birth.

Mr. Crouch's accusation that one of the Trio conjured the Dark Mark is not only a rush to judgment, but suspicious, and he immediately spotlights Harry as the prime suspect, despite flimsy circumstantial evidence. A "mob mentality" quickly overtakes the group, and when Harry's stolen wand is determined to have cast the Dark Mark, Amos Diggory immediately accuses Harry, then Winky, who is obviously innocent of conjuring it. Only Mr. Weasley's timely intervention restores reason among the nearly irrational Ministry officials. Crouch firing his House-elf, Winky for a seemingly minor offense, may indicate that he knows something about the attacks and is attempting to deflect suspicion. Ludo Bagman's behaviour is peculiar as well, and he clearly has been somewhere he should not, most likely tending to his gambling clients.

Winky's unjust firing so outrages Hermione that she resolves to champion House-elves rights, although few, including House-elves, will initially support her cause. Once the seed is sown, however, Hermione remains passionately committed to fighting oppression and bigotry, a recurring theme throughout the series. And while many creatures suffer from disdain to outright racial hatred and discrimination, House-elves are perhaps the most mistreated and maligned among all magical folk, being virtual slaves without rights, representation, or purpose other than serving the Wizard families they are indentured to. Ironically, House-elves are magically powerful creatures, as seen when Dobby protected Harry by threatening Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Dobby's threat alone was enough for Malfoy to immediately reconsider his actions. It is therefore curious as to just how House-elves became enslaved by wizards, although suppressing an intelligent and potentially magically superior race may have partially been their motivation. While this is never explained, it is possible elves were subjected to centuries-long and magically-induced behavioral conditioning (brainwashing), resulting in them willingly accepting slavery and deriving their status and identity from the Wizard Houses they happily and loyally serve, even those who are mistreated. Hermione must overcome this huge obstacle if she is ever to realize her goal to liberate such a contented group.

[edit] Questions

[edit] Review

1. How are House-elves fired?
2. Why does Mr. Crouch fire his House-elf, Winky? Was this justified, or does Crouch have some other reason for dismissing Winky?
3. Who were the hooded figures, and why were they rioting?
4. What was left floating in the night sky? Who is responsible for it and what does it represent?
5. What do the Trio hear someone in the bushes shouting? What happens immediately after? Who recognizes it?
6. How is Mr. Weasley able to convince the others that Harry is innocent?

[edit] Further Study

1. If most wizards believe Lord Voldemort is long-dead, why does seeing his Dark Mark cause such terror?
2. Why is Draco Malfoy so calm and unconcerned during the riot? What does he tell the Trio?
3. Why was Harry so immediately suspected of casting the Dark Mark? What evidence, other than his stolen wand, would support this?
4. How was Mr. Weasley able to convince the Ministry officials that Harry is innocent? Was he believed?
5. Why would Ludo Bagman, a Ministry official, be unaware that an attack was underway? Where might he have been and why was he there?
6. Was Ludo Bagman's worried look about the riot, or something else? What might that be?

[edit] Greater Picture

When Amos Diggory retrieves the Stunned Winky from the woods behind the clearing, Bartemius Crouch immediately recognizes her as his own House-elf. When he goes into the same woods afterwards, he is looking for someone who Winky had been charged with guarding. Winky is unable to explain what happened or tell anyone who cast the Dark Mark because she is magically bound to conceal anything she knows about the family she serves. Winky's offence was not that she was in the woods without permission, or even in possession of a wand, but for failing to protect a family secret. This is a far more serious offence and the real reason she is sacked, although readers should consider why Crouch would dismiss such a valuable servant or why he had been so quick to accuse Harry.

There are several clues that Winky is guarding a person in this chapter. Harry's wand vanishes, later turning up in Winky's possession. This could only have happened if Winky, or the man she was guarding, had either picked up the wand in the forest if Harry had dropped it, or had lifted it from his pocket in the Top Box while Harry was watching the Quidditch match. When Winky runs across the forest path, she is apparently talking to herself and acting as if she is being restrained. In fact, someone is restraining her, but he is hidden under an Invisibility Cloak, unseen to Harry. It is this man who casts the Morsmordre spell, and though he is Stunned by Ministry wizards, he falls under the cloak and remains hidden from Amos Diggory. Crouch, though, knowing what he is looking for, finds and sends him home.

It is to the author's credit that, despite giving strong clues in this single chapter, we are unable to conclude that Winky was guarding someone until later in the story when that person, Barty Crouch Jr., explains what had happened during the riot.

It is perhaps ironic that Crouch dismissing Winky is very likely what leads to the secret's final revelation, as Winky is Crouch's most powerful assistant in keeping that secret.

Ludo Bagman's worries, we will learn, are likely because his "little flutter" has gone rather badly wrong, and it seems that he now owes more money than he has. Bagman was likely aware that the Leprechaun gold was transient when he used it to pay off the goblins. Though it has bought him some time, he is probably now worried over how to deal with the inevitable fallout when that gold vanishes.