Discussion Summary: GoF/Chapter 30 - "The Pensieve"

[Neil Ward]

No: HPFGUIDX 12087

Okay, here is this weeks GoF discussion summary: Chapter 30  The
 Pensieve.

A character summary of Severus Snape will follow later today.. as if you
needed an excuse to discuss Snape...

Neil/FFA
_________________________

IN DUMBLEDORES OFFICE

Harry is left in Dumbledores office as Moody, Fudge and Dumbledore search
the grounds for Crouch Snr.  Nosing around, he spots the Pensieve inside a
cupboard, which is rather conveniently left open.  As he stares into the
light made liquid in this brain-basin, he is surprised to see a dimly lit
room with an empty chair in the centre, surrounded an audience of witches
and wizards, and, before you can say Aberforths Goat! he has fallen into
the image and is sitting next to a marginally younger Albus Dumbledore

TRIAL SCENE ONE

Realising that he is in a memory, Harry wonders about the location of the
room: It surely wasnt Hogwarts  He decides that it is probably a
dungeon.  Igor Karkaroff is escorted in by a couple of Dementors and
proceeds to name supporters of the Dark Lord in the hope of buying his
freedom:

**Antonin Dolohov (tortured countless Muggles, already in custody);
**Evan Rosier (dead, put up a fight);
**Travers (helped murder the Mckinnons, already in custody);
**Mulciber (specialised in the Imperius Curse, already in custody);
**Augustus Rookwood (a spy planted in the MoM).

Then, in desperation, as he is about to be returned to Azkaban, he screams
out Snapes name.  Dumbledore leaps to Snapes defence and say that,
although Snape had been a Death Eater, he had returned to our side and
turned spy for us.

TRIAL SCENE TWO

The scene fades and a new one replaces it, in which a younger, fit Ludo
Bagman is up before the Council of Magical Law.  Bagman had been caught
passing information to Rookwood, but claims he had no idea that Rookwood was
a spy; he had been tempted by the promise of a post-Quidditch job at the
MoM.  The crowd becomes outraged at the idea that this popular Quidditch
star could end up in Azakaban, so, when the jury is asked to vote on the
matter, none of them raises a hand.  Crouch is incensed.  The day Ludo
Bagman joins us will be a very sad day for the Ministry he seethes.

TRIAL SCENE THREE

The scene fades and returns again.  Its more recent still, and this time
the place is silent.  Four people are brought in:

**a thickset man;
**a thinner and more nervous-looking man;
**a woman with thick, shining dark hair, and heavily hooded eyes who
treats her chair like a throne
   (and who later screams, We alone were faithful [to Voldemort]!);
**a petrified boy in his late teens with straw-coloured hair (Crouch
Jnr)

Crouch Snr accuses the four prisoners of having subjected the Longbottoms to
the Crutiatus Curse.  Frank Longbottom had been an auror and supposedly knew
the whereabouts of Voldemort.  The jury vote to send them all to Azkaban,
for life.  As Crouch Jnr is dragged out of the courtroom, begging his father
to intervene, Crouch Snr renounces him.

BACK IN THE OFFICE

Real-time Dumbledore returns and pulls Harry back into the office.  He
explains the workings of the Pensieve and demonstrates it by removing a
thought strand from his head with his wand (ewwww!).  Among other things, it
reveals a memory of Professor Snape saying its coming back and
Karkaroffs toostronger and clearer than ever.

Harry tells Dumbledore about the dream he had in his Divination lesson about
Voldemort, Wormtail and the snake (Nagini) and that he had woken up when
his scar hurt.  Dumbledore has a theory that the scar hurts when Voldemort
is near Harry or feeling a particularly strong surge of hatred, because
they are connected by the curse that failed.

Dumbledore begins pacing up and down, occasionally transferring thoughts to
the Pensieve, and becoming so distracted that Harry is forced to keep
calling his attention back to their conversation.  Dumbledore reveals that,
like Harry, he has been in correspondence with Sirius Black.  They discuss
the Longbottoms, and Harry realises that in four years he never bothered to
find out why Neville lives with his grandmother.   Finally, Harry asks
Dumbledore why he thinks Snape no longer supports Voldemort, and Dumbledore
says, with a note of finality, That is a matter between Professor Snape and
myself.

As Harry leaves the office, he sees Dumbledore looking older than ever.

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS

(1) Dumbledore seems to age whenever he uses the Pensieve, is this a
trade-off for using it?
(2) Curiosity is not a sinbut we should exercise caution with our
curiosity, says message-of-the-day-Dumbledore.  Would Harry find something
he didnt want to know if he dug too deeply?
(3) Will Harry befriend Neville and will Neville seek revenge for the attack
on his parents?
(4) Bagman is described as muscly.  This is not a word.  Could this be
evidence that JKR did indeed write the infamous wand order revision, using
that non-word untidy-haired?
(5) Could Dumbledores reference to our side imply some sort of organised
group or is it a reference to non-V supporters in general?
(6) Crouch says to Karkaroff: you have been brought from Azkaban to give
evidence to the Ministry of Magic. So, was this dungeon at the MoM?
(7) Who were the other people on trial with Crouch Jnr?  The Lestranges?
Who else?