Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Books/Order of the Phoenix/Chapter 8
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
Chapter 8 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: The Hearing
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Upon entering the courtroom, Harry realizes this is where the Death Eaters were tried — the place he had entered in Dumbledore's Pensieve during his previous year at Hogwarts. Cornelius Fudge is acting as the head of the Wizengamot (wizard high court), and Harry is surprised to see Percy Weasley as the scribe. Dumbledore sweeps in, to the evident discomfiture of several members of the court, and announces himself as witness for the defence. Fudge begins the questioning, giving Harry little time to answer completely.
Frustrated, Harry exclaims, "I did it because of the Dementors!" This seems to stun the Wizengamot. Amelia Bones questions him further about the Dementors' presence. Dumbledore steps in, noting that they have a witness, Arabella Figg. Summoned, she seems particularly batty and frightened and begins her testimony as though she has memorized it. There is doubt as to whether Squibs can see Dementors, but Mrs. Figg describes them accurately.
After Mrs. Figg leaves, Fudge struggles to regain the courtroom's flow, insisting Harry's actions have little to do with the Dementors presence. A few court members aid Fudge, notably Dolores Umbridge, who obviously remains convinced Harry is guilty. Dumbledore quickly asserts that Harry has broken no laws if he was protecting himself and Dudley from a life-threatening danger, as is noted in the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. Fudge quickly brings up other instances where Harry has broken the Decree, but Dumbledore nullifies each one in turn. The council votes, and Harry is cleared of all charges, much to Fudge's dismay. Harry turns to thank Dumbledore, only to find that the Headmaster is already leaving the courtroom.
[edit] Analysis
That Harry would be subjected to a full hearing before the entire Wizengamot for a simple matter involving underage magic indicates that sinister forces are at work against Harry. Changing the hearing's time and location without prior notification is yet another despicable tactic by the Ministry of Magic to discredit Harry and also to prevent Dumbledore from testifying, although, fortunately, it failed. By attempting to prevent Harry from giving a complete explanation about the events at Privet Drive, it seems certain that some Ministry officials had already conspired to rule against him, showing they will do anything necessary to invalidate Dumbledore's and Harry's claims concerning Voldemort, including ousting Harry from the Wizard world and demoting Dumbledore from his many prestigious Wizarding posts. That the hearing was relocated to the same trial courtroom where Death Eaters were previously tried and convicted is significant—an obvious ploy to implant the impression in the Wizengamots' minds that Harry is likewise guilty. Dumbledore's intervention saves Harry, although his abrupt departure without speaking to him is puzzling.
Mrs. Figg's testimony was also crucial, although, as she is a Squib, it is believed to be unlikely she actually saw the Dementors and was probably coached prior to testifying. Looking back at the actual events, though, we see that Mrs. Figg had identified the Dementors when she was talking to Harry, before Harry had mentioned them, and before Mundungus Fletcher had returned. From this, we can see that Mrs. Figg not only can see Dementors, but was able to recognize them. Coaching, it if happened, must have happened before the events of that evening; Dumbledore must have informed Mrs. Figg that Dementors were likely, and trained her on what she was likely to see and feel when they were around. Dumbledore, as we saw at the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was expecting both the Dementors and the Giants to rally to Voldemort, and so is likely to have briefed Mrs. Figg.
[edit] Questions
[edit] Review
- Can Squibs really see Dementors? If not, how and why could Mrs. Figg provide such convincing testimony?
- Why would Fudge want Harry to be voted guilty, even if he is not?
[edit] Further Study
- Why would Dumbledore avoid looking at or talking to Harry?
- Why would Harry's hearing be held in the same courtroom that Death Eaters were tried and convicted in?
- Why would the full Wizangamot be present for a hearing on a simple case of underage magic? How could Fudge have arranged to convene the entire Wizengamot for such a simple case?
[edit] Greater Picture
Harry has been upset by Dumbledore's failure to get in contact with him throughout the summer, and by his failure to communicate with him even while he was at Headquarters. He was particularly dismayed by the revelation that Dumbledore had been at Headquarters and had left without visiting Harry. Here, Dumbledore arrives, defends Harry successfully, and departs, without ever speaking a word directly to Harry or even making eye contact. Harry here feels almost abandoned by Dumbledore; and this feeling of abandonment will result in Harry refusing to tell Dumbledore of things occurring during the course of the year that directly affected Harry and Dumbledore both. This, it will turn out, is a deliberate policy of Dumbledore's during this year. Knowing, as he does, that Harry is able to occasionally perceive things happening in Voldemort's mind, Dumbledore has come to the conclusion that, if and when Voldemort becomes aware of the connection, he will attempt to use it against Harry and his associates. Against this, Dumbledore is choosing to try and shield Harry and himself by not displaying any sign that there is a relationship greater than student to headmaster between them. Harry resents this change of relationship being made unilaterally, and will unconsciously retaliate by withholding useful information.
We see a curious, but possibly intentional, oddity of the Wizarding justice system here. Rather than having prosecuting and defending representatives in front of a neutral party, the defending party in the dispute is questioned directly by the nominal head of the Wizengamot, and the Wizengamot members then confer and vote on the innocence or guilt of the defending party. This tallies with the views of the Wizengamot that we were granted by means of Dumbledore's Pensieve. This can lead to abuses of justice, as the prosecution is generally going to be better prepared for trial than the defence, particularly if the defendant has just been released from Azkaban, and as the prosecutor will be a member of the same group as the judges. Most committees seem to be reflections of one powerful individual, who pulls the other committee members along with his or her views by main force; Harry's great fortune in this case seems to be that while Fudge is apparently the official head of the Wizengamot, the actual leader seems to be Amelia Bones, who, perhaps inspired by Dumbledore's presence, is more interested in justice than in toeing the Ministry party line.
We should note that this simplification of the justice system seems to make the courtroom drama better suited to a children's book. Very few children of this book's targeted age group will be fully aware of the normal judicial system's structure, and this adversarial form of court is better suited to their understanding. Additionally, Harry's victory over such a court is all the sweeter, as the deck is so clearly stacked against him.
