Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter/Major Events/Cedric's Death
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| Muggles' Guide to Harry Potter - Major Event | |
| Cedric's Death | |
|---|---|
| Location | Graveyard, Little Hangleton |
| Time Period | Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, late June |
| Important Characters | Harry Potter, Voldemort, Death Eaters |
Contents |
[edit] Overview
At the conclusion of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Lord Voldemort orders Wormtail to kill Cedric in a cemetery.
[edit] Event Details
Because they helped each other during the Triwizard Tournament's Third Task, Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory agree to grab the Triwizard Cup together. They are unaware the cup is actually a Portkey, and it transports them to a rundown graveyard with an ancient manor house in the distance. Harry recognizes the Riddle family name on the gravestones; Cedric suggests keeping their wands at the ready. As a hunched figure carrying something resembling a bundled infant approaches, Harry's scar begins burning. A high voice commands, "Kill the spare." The figure, who Harry soon recognizes as Wormtail (Peter Pettigrew) utters "Avada Kedavra", the killing curse. Cedric instantly falls dead, while Harry is incapacitated by his scar's searing pain.
After a ritual restores Lord Voldemort's full human form, he engages Harry in a deadly duel. As they cast spells simultaneously, their wands' streams interlock, creating a Priori Incantatem effect. Because their wands are "brothers" that share the same magical core (tail feathers from Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes), they will never battle properly against one another. Harry, stronger, forces the stream back into Voldemort's wand, causing it to disgorge its previous victims' "echoes." Cedric's image emerges first, asking Harry to return his body to his parents. Bertha Jorkins and an old Muggle that Harry does not recognize also appear. Lastly are Harry's parents, James and Lily. The echoes momentarily shield Harry as he breaks the wands' connection, reclaims the Triwizard Cup, and is whisked back to Hogwarts with Cedric's body.
[edit] Notable Consequences
Cedric's murder seriously impacts the school's morale, it being the first time many students have experienced a peer's death. Cho Chang, Cedric's girlfriend, is deeply affected by his loss, and her continuing grief throughout the next book casts a pall over her relationship with Harry, eventually dooming it.
Despite Harry's insistence that Voldemort has returned and caused Cedric's death, the Ministry of Magic disputes that the Dark Lord has returned and asserts that Cedric died accidentally during the Tournament. They soon wage a public smear campaign against Harry and also Dumbledore, who fully supports Harry's claims. Harry is depicted in the Daily Prophet as an addled, attention-seeking liar, while Dumbledore is removed from several important Wizarding associations. It is not until the climatic battle at the Ministry of Magic in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when Fudge and other Ministry employees personally see Voldemort, that Harry and Dumbledore are finally vindicated. Fudge eventually resigns under pressure over his mishandling of the situation.
[edit] Analysis
When the spirit echoes appear from Voldemort's wand, they emerge in the reverse order that they were murdered. Cedric appears first because he was the most recently killed. As a side note, it has been mentioned that the order of Harry's parents emerging from Voldemort's wand was accidentally reversed by the author; James was killed first and so should have emerged from Voldemort's wand after Lily, who actually appears after James in many editions of the book. The author has stated that this was an uncaught editing mistake, made under the effects of time pressure and sleep deprivation. No mention has been made of whether it will be corrected in later editions, as other mistakes have been.
[edit] Questions
- Why does Voldemort have Cedric killed?
- How is Cedric killed and who kills him?
- What is the Ministry of Magic's official stance regarding Cedric's death? Why?
- What eventually prompts the Ministry of Magic to acknowledge how Cedric actually died?
