The Parting of the Ways
chapter thirty-six of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry describes everything that happened to him to Dumbledore and Sirius. Then, in the hospital wing, Fudge arrives but refuses to accept Dumbledore’s explanation of Voldemort’s return. With Fudge gone, Dumbledore then springs into action, and Harry falls asleep for the night.
“I need to know what happened after you touched the Portkey in the maze, Harry,” said Dumbledore.
(by glockgal)
Once again, [Fudge] glanced at Harry before answering. “You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, on the word of a lunatic murderer, and a boy who… well…”
(by salamandersoup)
“There,” said Snape harshly. “There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord.”
(by Wacca)
“You’ll see me very soon, Harry,” said Sirius, turning to him. “I promise you. But I must do what I can, you understand, don’t you?”
(by Wacca)
“Severus,” said Dumbledore, turning to Snape, “you know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready… if you are prepared…”
“I am,” said Snape. He looked slightly paler than usual, and his cold, black eyes glittered strangely.
(by Vizen)
Mrs. Weasley set the potion down on the bedside cabinet, bent down, and put her arms around Harry. He had no memory of ever being hugged like this, as though by a mother. The full weight of everything he had seen that night seemed to fall in upon him as Mrs. Weasley held him to her.
(by Cambryn)
about the chapter
Something You May Not Have Noticed
It’s interesting that Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, didn’t seem to know about the Dark Marks that Voldemort branded into his Death Eaters. Did the Ministry know about them at all? Fudge certainly wouldn’t have been on a “need-to-know” list during the first war against Voldemort; he’s told us he was working in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes at the time. But it still seems to me like a critical piece of information that, if previous Ministers of Magic had known about it, would have been passed down.
The question is made all the more interesting by the fact that the fake Moody taunted Snape about his Dark Mark in the middle of the school year. Would Moody have known about the Dark Mark? He certainly would have been more likely to during the war, as a top Auror, but if nobody knew, then this was quite a potential slip-up on the part of Barty Crouch, Jr. I would love to know what was going through Snape’s head during that conversation.
The Wizarding World
Rita Skeeter will one day give her jounalistic philosophy as something along the lines of, “The Prophet exists to sell itself.” This is certainly true to an extent, but journalistic standards exist for a reason, and in Fudge’s reaction to Harry, we see a shining example of how dangerous it can be when they are ignored. We’ll never know how Fudge would have reacted to Harry’s news if Rita hadn’t published a story about Harry’s insanity, but it certainly cost Harry an awful lot of credibility. Rita probably wouldn’t have wished for Voldemort’s return to power, but by ignoring the moral code of journalism (and simultaneously being trusted by the establishment to follow it), she’s done quite as much to enable it as many Death Eaters.
Something to Remember
Yes, Dumbledore’s “look of triumph” is both meaningful and important. And it’s a fascinating clue into what’s to come. But Harry would never guess what it could signify, and it will be a while yet before he figures it out.
The Final Word
“My model of the world after Voldemort’s return was, directly, the government of Neville Chamberlain in Great Britain during the Second World War, when he tried to minimize the menace of the Nazi regime for political convenience.”–J.K. Rowling, January 2008
It says a lot about the muggle world where she got her inspiration.
wizardinventor said this on October 2, 2009 at 8:42 am
Another “Something You May Not Have Noticed” I hadn’t caught (especially the second part).
And I remember the “Something To Remember” being wildly discussed before DH. JKR is sooo good!
Kim said this on October 2, 2009 at 11:34 am
I love politics, so chapters like this one are among my favorites. On a re-read of this chapter, and indeed many others, the book becomes like a Greek Tragedy. We all know what happens, and the horrors to come, but yet I still find myself thinking “Come on Fudge! Just do the right thing!” But he won’t, and we are forced to watch as the Wizarding World descends into chaos. Quite powerful actually.
Ben said this on October 2, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Along with the ‘something you might not have noticed’ here–Sirius didn’t know about the Dark Marks either. In the cave, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione talk to him about how Karkaroff showed Snape something on his arm, Sirius was just as lost for an explanation as they were and dismissed it as not that important. If Sirius knew nothing, the Order probably knew nothing… it was probably how Peter was able to keep so hush-hush about being the traitor. If they knew they just had to find a tattoo…
I’m betting that bit of information didn’t get to the good guys until Snape joined up with Dumbledore.
Spider said this on October 4, 2009 at 9:15 am
Wow, great something you may not have noticed! But I think the real Moody would have known about the sign…
What I wondered about is if the sign would fade once Voldemort dissapeared the first time. Maybe that’s why Fudge looked so surprised: he didn’t remember it anmore… is that a possibility?
x-kim-x
kim said this on October 4, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Seems to me it’s obvious Moody would have known about the Dark Mark (from the conversation he may have even had a hand in prosecuting Snape), and that it’s likely Fudge DID know about it — he just didn’t want to think about it, or believe in what it meant. Same goes for Chamberlain; all the signs were there and his government simply hoped they didn’t mean what they obviously meant.
Jennifer said this on October 5, 2009 at 6:27 am
There’s no reason Fudge wouldn’t know about the Dark Mark; he’s just in denial, and even Snape waving one in his face doesn’t get him to change his mind. He doesn’t want Voldemort back, so he avoids accepting it. Chamberlain did the same thing; he knew perfectly well Germany was rearming and trying to take over Europe, he just didn’t want to acknowledge it and put off war as long as possible.
Jennifer said this on October 8, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I wonder how Dumbledore feels about his pets feather being inside Voldemorts wand. And was Fawks his back when the feather was used by Ollivander?
Kim said this on November 1, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Oops, sorry again for a double post.
I was also wondering if there are many brother wands around. I mean, since they effect a duel, it’s something to be considered. John, how about a wand essay?
Something John has already said when posting his Mafalda essay: Arabella Figg is mentioned as being part of the old gang. Of course I totally missed that for the first couple of read throughs.
Kim said this on November 1, 2009 at 1:54 pm
The first time I read this chapter I started looking the name of Arabella Fig in the other books, I knew we’ve heard about her! But when I found her I thought it was a coincidence, how wrong was I!
This chapter is amazing, it gives you so much: Dumbledore’s smile, Sirius come back, “the old gang”, Snape’s mission… And you go from sorrow to anger between Harry retelling the story and Fudge’s attitude and Molly’s hug. Incredible.
Paula said this on November 3, 2009 at 9:56 am
The best moments in this chapter in my opinion…
First, when Molly hugs Harry and he breaks down in tears, finally crying for the first time after the events of this evening. I sometimes forget, but at this point in the story Harry is a 14-year-old child who has just seen his classmate murdered, witnessed the return to power of the Muggle equivalent of a mass murderer, watched this mass murderer regroup his forces, made a conscious decision to fight to the death… Most grown-ups would have collapsed and broken down long before this. And also, while Harry has several ‘father figures’ (the most obvious being Sirius, but also Lupin and, in a very different manner, Dumbledore), the only warm and nurturing adult female in his life is Molly. “He had no memory of ever being hugged like this, as though by a mother.”
My second favorite is Dumbledore asking Snape to rejoin Voldemort. Regardless of what you think of him, Snape must be scared out of his mind. I believe he is the Death Eater ‘too cowardly to return’ and who will be made to ‘pay’. Snape knows that not showing up immediately after being summoned means that he will be punished, but does it all the same. It’s interesting to read what Snape tells Bellatrix about this at the beinning of HBP. Apparently Voldemort was eventually satisfied with Snape’s reasons but it can’t have been easy for him.
Valeria said this on November 30, 2009 at 4:11 am
Few characters dare to say Voldemort’s name aloud, but did you noticed that Fudge in his denial forgot to say “You-Know-Who”, or “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” (or “Lord Thingy” :) when he was confronting Dumbledore?
“You are prepared to believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, on the word of a lunatic murderer, and a boy who… well…”
Jose Lopes said this on December 3, 2009 at 6:59 am
Since Snape is a double agent from the end of the first war, wouldn’t he have already alerted the MoM about the dark mark tattoos? It also seemed to me that though they are always in the same place on the arm, they don’t seem to show up unless the death eaters are being summoned.
EH said this on December 16, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Valeria-
Snape would of course be terrified, at having to explain himself to Voldy, but my understanding was that Karkaroff was the one who was too cowardly to return, given that he fled when he felt the Dark Mark burn, having given too many names to the MoM, and that Snape was the one that he believes had left him forever, considering that he spent the last 14 years living ‘in Dumbledore’s pocket’.
Adele said this on March 11, 2010 at 1:19 pm
I always wondered, why DUmbledore had not simply asked harry for his memory in this chapter. First I thought that being Dumbledore’s pensieve it could not hold any thoughts and memories that were not his. but after HBP its obvious it can. So even if he were doing it for Harry’s own good (because acceptance and what not) why not ask for the memory to whitness Voldemort’s speach. we know Dumbledore is investigating the Horcrux business, this speach would have proven helpful.
It just makes sense to me.
Marta said this on May 11, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Marta, a very interesting idea. I can think of a couple of possibilities as to why Dumbledore didn’t ask, though:
First is that Harry doesn’t know the magic necessary to separate out one of his memories, so even if he wanted to do so, he wouldn’t have the ability to give Dumbledore the memory.
Another possibility is that Dumbledore knows he isn’t the one who will need the memory – Harry is. He’s been collecting the memories for Harry, so why take this one from him? A side note to this would be that he’s relatively certain Harry will be safe from Voldemort for a couple more years, thanks to the protections he’s given him, so there’s no urgency, either.
It also might just seem obvious to Dumbledore that Voldemort didn’t say anything useful (aside from what Harry already reported about going farther down the road to immortality than anyone before). With Death Eaters around, he’s not going to be giving anything away.
My final thought is just that Dumbledore might not have wanted to see it, and could have used any of the above reasons to justify what really was just a lack of desire on his part. After all, Harry only went to that scene because of a failure of intelligence on Dumbledore’s part; he hadn’t figured out Moody was behind everything. Watching Harry’s encounter with Voldemort (and Cedric’s death) which he knows are partially a result of his own failure would have to be torture for him.
Just my thoughts, but I’m open to others ;)
John Kearns said this on May 11, 2010 at 2:48 pm
I also think that Dumbledore thought that Harry needed to tell what he saw and went through, in a psychological approach that he so often uses… like a way of venting.
Paula said this on May 11, 2010 at 3:10 pm
John. I think those are very good reasons as to why Dumbledore did not ask to see the memory. I Personally like the last one. (Dombledore not wanting to)
by the way, great website, It’s a new experience, reading the books over again and then reading your site chapter by chapter, confirming theories and dircovering new ones. keep it up!!
Marta said this on May 12, 2010 at 3:52 am
In something you may not have noticed, why would the previous minister pass on information about the Dark Mark? (That’s assuming he knew about it, and I think there were some pretty strong arguments that hardly anyone on the light side knew.) Voldemort was believed to be dead and gone, And they thought they had rounded up all the Death Eaters. So why would Cornelius or anyone feel it was necessary for him to know how to identify Death Eaters?
magdilen said this on May 31, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Magdilen-
I assumed that everybody who had a substantial position in the Ministry of Magic while Voldemort was in power knew enough about the dark side to know that His inner circle was branded with the Dark Mark
Adele said this on May 31, 2010 at 8:22 pm