GOF question- who was "one more murder"? ( REALLY LONG)

[cindysphynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 32239

Bobby wrote:

> Question about GOF that has probably been asked before... in the 
first 
> chapter when Voldemort is talking to Wormtail and says that they 
just 
> need to commit "one more murder" and their path to Harry will be 
free, 
> whose murder are they talking about?  The only person that I can 
think 
> that he is talking about would be Crouch Sr, but he only kills him 
when 
> he runs away from the Imperius Curse, it's not like it's a 
necessary 
> murder.  

************

We had a long discussion about this a few months back.  Complicating 
this mystery is the fact that different editions of the book have 
different language.  Some books say "one more murder" and some 
say "one more curse."  Here is a lengthy reconstruction from a few 
threads of what was said, including emphasis around the important 
phrases from the texts:

**** 

Sheryll wrote:

> > > 
> > > American text:  "My Lord, I must speak!" said Wormtail, panic 
>>>> >in his
> > > voice now.  "All 
> > > through our journey I have gone over the plan in my
> > > head -- My lord, 
> > > Bertha Jorkins's disappearance will not go unnoticed
> > > for long, and if 
> > > we proceed, *if I murder* --"
> > 
> > Canadian Text:  The above paragraph is the
> > same, save the last 3 words, which read: "if I
> > curse--"
> > 
> > > American Text:  "If?" whispered the second voice.  "If?  If you
> > > follow the plan, 
> > > Wormtail, the Ministry need never know that anyone
> > > else *has died*.  If 
> > > you do it quietly and without fuss; I only wish that
> > > I could do it 
> > > myself, but in my present condition . . . Come,
> > > Wormtail, *one more 
> > > death* and our path to Harry Potter is clear.  By
> > > that time, my 
> > > faithful servant will have rejoined us -- "  
> > 
> > Canadian text:  
> >  "come, Wormtail, one more obstacle
> > removed and our path to Harry Potter is clear." These
> > are both on page 15 of the Canadian version.
> > > 
> > > American text:  "*One more murder* ... my faithful servant at   
> > > Hogwarts
> > > ... Harry Potter 
> > > is good as mine, Wormtail."
> > > 
> > Canadian text: "One more curse ... my faithful servant at Hogwarts
> > ... Harry Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail."
> > 
>
 
Cindy wrote:

> It sounds like the curse 
> language is in early versions, and later versions have the murder 
> language.  Is this an accident/flint, or is it changed for a 
>reason?  
> Once the book is in print, why would JKR (who demonstrated with the 
> wand order issue a certain reluctance to change the text after the 
> fact) just up and change something like this without a good reason?
> 
> First of all, the conversation between Wormtail and Voldemort that 
> Bryce 
> overhears seems to take place after they've found/tortured/killed 
> Bertha, but before they've freed Crouch Jr.   Voldemort 
> tells Wormtail that he won't have to do "it" alone:  "By that time, 
> my faithful servant will have rejoined us."  That might mean that 
> this curse/murder is supposed to happen after Crouch Jr. is freed 
> and Crouch Sr. is subdued.  This could mean they are 
> contemplating the curse/murder of Moody.  So Voldemort and Wormtail 
> still have two jobs to do:  free Crouch Jr. and kidnap Moody.
> 
> In both the original text and the rewritten text, however, V talks 
> about the MoM not finding out anyone else has "died."  Why do we 
> have 
> that language in the original version when the rest of the text 
> talks 
> about a curse, not a death?  And why is this inconsistency cleaned 
> up 
> later to discuss a murder?
> 
> The answer might have to do with Wormtail's reluctance to 
> follow the plan and to kill people (note that Voldemort, not 
> Wormtail, kills Bryce).  Maybe Voldemort wanted Wormtail and 
> Crouch Jr. to kill Moody and have Crouch Jr. assume his identity.  
> Wormtail and Crouch Jr. are ordered to go to Moody's house, subdue 
> him, question him about his habits, etc. at leisure, then KILL 
> him.  
> 
> But things don't go according to plan.  Wormtail has cold feet, and 
> Moody puts up a big struggle so that the cops and Arthur Weasley 
> come.  They don't have time to question Moody then kill him, so 
> Wormtail and Crouch Jr. Stun/Imperio Moody instead and keep him 
> alive.  
> 
> Why do they deviate from V's plan in this way?  Well, Crouch Jr. 
> tells us that they need Moody alive to keep making the potion.  But 
> I'm not sure Voldemort would agree with that assessment.  You can 
> make 
> polyjuice potion with a single hair, so Moody's mane of hair ought 
> to 
> have plenty to make the potion even if Moody were dead.  Perhaps 
> Crouch Jr. just wanted Moody 
> around to make his own job of passing himself off as Moody easier 
> and more convincing, and Wormtail went along because of his 
> newfound reluctance to kill.  I think Voldemort would *never* agree 
> to keep Moody alive all year because 
> Voldemort knows that Imperius Curses can be thrown off eventually.

> The upshot is that JKR lets this language change 
> from "curse/obtacle" 
> to "murder" go through because it is more consistent with this plot 
> detail as described above.  But why bother making the change at 
> all?  
> Why not just look the other way and leave it as "curse/obstacle"?  
> 
> Well, it could be that Moody is going to make an appearance in OoP, 
> and JKR needs Voldemort to be surprised that the real Moody is 
> alive, 
> and the way to do that is to firm up Voldemort's assumption that 
the real 
> Moody is dead.  Voldemort has no way of knowing at the end of GoF 
> that the real Moody is still alive because (under this theory) 
> Voldemort 
> ordered Moody killed ages ago.  This raises all 
> sorts of interesting possibilities, including having the real Moody 
> assume Crouch Jr.'s identity to spy on Voldemort, which is how we 
> can get all  manner of juicy details about what's going on in V's 
> camp.
> 


Haggridd responded:  

 
> > One difficulty I see with LV intentionally murdering Moody, and
> > therefore being surprised if Moody resurfacesin OoP, is that you
> > cannot then account for the year long impersonation of Moody by 
> Barty
> > Crouch, Jr.  What did they do, keep the cadaver of Moody in a 
> magical
> > deep freeze in order to snip parts from him for making more 
> polyjuice
> > potion?  Does the person to be impersonated have to be alive?  How
> > long will polyjuice potion keep fresh?  Just as you, I am puzzled 
by
> > the change in language.  I am inclined to blame the Scholastic
> > editors, who have made some rather silly changes, IMHO.
> > 
> 


Cindy responded:

> The "frozen cadaver" issue doesn't trouble me much.  JKR was clever 
> enough to have the one ingredient you need for polyjuice potion be 
> something that keeps indefinitely -- hair -- and something that 
> Moody 
> had a lot of.  (JKR could have given Moody a crew cut or made him 
> balding, but instead she gave him a "long mane of grizzled dark 
gray 
> hair").  She could have made the key ingredient blood, but that 
> would 
> require the person to be kept alive and raise the spoilage issues 
> you 
> mentioned.  
> 
> So under the plan Voldemort may have conceived, Crouch Jr. and 
Wormtail would just hack off Moody's hair, hang onto it, and proceed 
> to make the potion all year as needed, even with Moody dead.  
> Nothing in canon suggests that Moody had to be alive for this to 
> work.
> 

**********

So is it an editor's blunder or wickedly clever plan by JKR?  Any 
thoughts?  

Cindy