Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Order of the Phoenix/Chapter 3
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Chapter 3 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: The Advance Guard
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Harry immediately writes letters to Sirius, Hermione, and Ron. He instructs Hedwig to get detailed replies from each. Frustration overwhelms him: he has no idea what is happening in the wizarding world and, cut off, feels he is being treated like a "naughty child" by Arthur Weasley, Dumbledore, and Sirius, who sent instructions. An annoyed Harry remains locked in his room for the next three days.
On the third day, Uncle Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley leave to attend an award ceremony for the best kept lawn in England. Harry is ordered to stay in his room and not steal food or touch their possessions. Uncle Vernon leaves, locking the door behind him. Later, as Harry ponders his lack of feeling about all this, he hears a crash in the kitchen. Grabbing his wand, he is startled when the door clicks open. He cautiously advances to the stairs where nine witches and wizards, including the real Mad-Eye Moody and Remus Lupin greet him.
Harry is being taken from the Dursleys', and he returns upstairs with Nymphadora Tonks to pack. Tonks curiously changes her appearance, explaining that she is a Metamorphmagus and (impressing Harry) an Auror.
Lupin leaves a note for the Dursleys, then the entire group heads outside. Because Harry cannot yet apparate, they mount broomsticks and begin a long, cold flight. They finally descend in what appears to be a lower-class neighborhood. Moody shows Harry a scrap of paper which reads: "The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, London."
[edit] Analysis
Harry has become increasingly upset and frustrated at being isolated, both physically and mentally, from his friends and the wizarding world. Clearly, someone is preventing him receiving detailed information, which leaves Harry feeling that he is being treated like a small, untrustworthy child. This is especially galling to him as, having fought Lord Voldemort twice successfully, and certainly being capable of understanding the overall situation, he feels as though he should be treated as an adult. However, even though Harry is on the verge of adulthood, we have seen that he sometimes acts immaturely and impulsively, often reacting in anger and frustration rather than logically evaluating what the actual circumstances may be and taking appropriate action. In particular, we note from the previous chapter that, on being informed that he was in trouble with the Ministry for underage use of magic, his impulse again was to run away.
The arrival of the Advance Guard tells us several things. First, there is the fact that the number of wizards that have come to collect Harry is so large. This is another indication of Harry's fame in the Wizarding world; Harry is surprised by the number because he has not internalized his own celebrity status. We are introduced for the first time to the true Mad-Eye Moody, and are exposed to the level of paranoia that he works under; we also find that even the other Aurors find his planned precautions to be excessive. Finally, their appearance is a clear indicator that Harry has not been forgotten, is not being ignored, but has simply been "put on ice," kept in his safe-house until there was another place to keep him safe. We as yet have no grounds to speculate why Harry was not told of these plans for his removal from Uncle Vernon's house, or for that matter, why he has been kept in the dark on all matters occurring in the Magical world, since he left Hogwarts. One thing we can see quite clearly is Harry's relief and excitement at being able to rejoin the Magical world, even if, as Moody seems to expect, it puts him in more danger.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- Why is Harry so frustrated?
- What is a Metamorphmagus?
- Why did so many people come to get Harry?
[edit] Further Study
- Why has Harry been denied information about Voldemort and what is happening in the Wizard world?
[edit] Greater Picture
We will find out shortly that it is at Dumbledore's bidding that Harry has been kept uninformed. Part of this is due to Dumbledore's awareness of the link between Harry and Voldemort, and his understanding of what exactly it is. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore learned that Voldemort had made at least one Horcrux, and was alarmed to find that the Horcrux had been designed as a weapon, and used as one, rather than being kept safely hidden. From this, Dumbledore suspected that Voldemort had created multiple Horcruxes, a suspicion that was confirmed by Voldemort's saying that he had "gone further along the road to immortality than any other wizard." Eventually, Dumbledore will guess that the link between Harry and Voldemort is actually a soul fragment that had been torn away from Voldemort and had adhered to Harry's soul; whether he already has guessed this, or is simply aware of the existence of the link at this point is uncertain. In any event, Dumbledore's reasoning for keeping Harry uninformed is largely to decrease the chance that Voldemort would learn of the plans against him through that link.
Additionally, the adult Wizards, notably Dumbledore and, to a lesser extent, Mrs. Weasley, have withheld information from Harry because they believe it could put him, and also his peers, in jeopardy by making them easy targets for Death Eaters. The less Harry knows for now, the safer he is.
