Chapter 36 Summary

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 15166

Chapter 36 Summary

The Parting of the Ways

The chapter opens with Dumbledore binding Barty Crouch Jr. after the
conclusion of Crouch's veritaserum testimony.  Dumbledore asks
McGonagall to keep watch over Crouch while Snape summons Fudge to come
and question Crouch.

Dumbledore is sensitive to Harry's emotional state, leading him gently
to his office with assurances that Sirius will be waiting for them
there.  His voice shakes when he tells Harry that the Diggorys are with
Professor Sprout, head of Hufflepuff House, revealing his own emotions
are a bit strained.

Sirius is even more visibly worried and upset than Dumbledore, conveying
emotional warmth and concern for his godson the instant that Harry and
Dumbledore enter Dumbledore's office.

As Dumbledore tells Sirius about the interrogation of Crouch, Jr., Harry
sits numbly.  Fawkes must sense Harry's need for comfort as he flew over
to perch on Harry's knee.  Despite Sirius' attempt to stall the moment
when Harry must relive the events of that evening, Dumbledore insists
that putting it off will only make the pain that much worse.

When Harry tells that Pettigrew pierced his arm so that his own blood
could help resurrect Voldemort, Dumbledore asked to see the wound.
Harry then told them that because of using his blood, Voldemort was now
able to touch him without harm.

"For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like
triumph in Dumbledore's eyes.  But next second, Harry was sure he had
imagined it, for when Dumbledore had returned to his seat behind the
desk, he looked as old and weary as Harry had ever seen him."  [How many
discussions have we had about this paragraph in the last 9 months?!]

Dumbledore reveals that the phoenix feather in the core of both Harry's
and Voldemort's wands came from Fawkes, which caused the rare Priori
Incantatem effect (one of the wands forces the other wand to regurgitate
the spells it has performed in reverse order).  Sirius was quite
emotional about the revelation that Harry had seen the shadows of his
parents.  At this point in the narrative, Fawkes uses his tears to heal
Harry's wounded leg.

Dumbledore praises Harry's bravery, adding that he has "shouldered a
grown wizard's burden and found [himself] equal to it."  He insists that
Harry spend the night in the hospital wing with a sleeping potion and
asks Sirius if he would stay with him.  When they approach the hospital
wing, they encounter Molly, Bill, Ron and Hermione.  Dumbledore insists
that none of them are to question him until he's ready but tells them
they are welcome to stay with Harry if he wants them to.  Dumbledore
said he would be back to check on Harry once he'd met with Fudge.  Harry
drinks a few gulps of the sleeping potion, but clearly not enough to
keep him in a deep sleep.

He awakens shortly later to the sounds of yelling and commotion.
McGonagall is furious because Fudge brought a Dementor in to the castle
and the Dementor administered the Dementors' Kiss to Barty Crouch, Jr.

In the course of the conversation among Dumbledore, Fudge, McGonagall
and Snape, Fudge blusters and refuses to acknowledge the facts
indicating Voldemort's return.  He suggests that Dumbledore is foolish
to rely on the word of a lunatic like Crouch Jr. and a boy who,
according to Rita Skeeter, is "having funny turns all over the place."
Fudge indeed seems most concerned with maintaining the "stability" of
the wizarding world, even if it means failure to act quickly to alert
the magical community of possible dangers.  He cannot fathom
implementing Dumbledore's specific suggestions of removing Azkaban from
the control of the Dementors and sending envoys to the giants.
Dumbledore, in turn, accuses Fudge of being more enamored of the office
he holds than concerned with the overall safety of the wizarding world.
"If your determination to shut your eyes will carry you as far as this,
Cornelius," said Dumbledore, "we have reached a parting of the ways.
You must act as you see fit.  And I --- I shall act as I see fit."

At this point in the narrative, Snape reveals the existence of the Dark
Mark on his left forearm as proof that Voldemort has indeed returned.
Still refusing to believe anything that has been said to him, Fudge
leaves abruptly but not before unceremoniously dumping Harry's Triwizard
Tournament winnings in his lap.

After Fudge's departure, Bill Weasley offers to go to his father with
news.  Dumbledore is anxious that Arthur be in immediate contact with
those at the Ministry who will recognize Voldemort's threat and work
with their side.  Dumbledore dispatches Professor McGonagall to bring
Hagrid and Madame Maxime to his office.  After sending Madame Pomfrey on
another errand, Dumbledore asks Sirius to resume his usual form.  After
a moment of shock and words from Dumbledore, the two Hogwarts enemies of
old, Sirius and Snape, reluctantly shake hands.

Dumbledore charges each of them with a mission.  He asks Sirius to alert
the "old gang" (including Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher).
Harry was reluctant to see Sirius leave so quickly but agreed that he
should do what was needed.  Dumbledore then said to Snape: "you know
what I must ask you to do.  If you are ready . . . . if you are
prepared"  Snape, although appearing paler than usual, agreed and set
off at once.  Before leaving again, Dumbledore tells Harry that he
should drink the rest of his sleeping potion.

Trying to encourage Harry to take his potion and get some rest, Molly
advises him to think about what he'll buy with his winnings.  This
prompts Harry to try and speak about the night's events to some extent,
noting that he doesn't want the money and shouldn't have won it.  He's
fighting against tears at this point, but as Molly comforts him,
Hermione slams the window shut, jarring both Harry and Molly.  Molly
then wipes her eyes and hands the remaining sleeping potion to Harry.
Harry gulps it all down and falls into a deep dreamless sleep.

QUESTIONS:

1. Do we have any sense of how Snape reacted when Fudge summoned a
Dementor to accompany him to the castle?  We know McGonagall was furious
and tried to insist that the Dementor be removed, but how do we think
Snape reacted?  Someone pointed out last week that Snape was as
powerless to stop the Dementor from administering the Kiss to Crouch Jr.
as McGonagall.

2. Now: that pesky "gleam of triumph" in Dumbledore's eyes.  We've
discussed it & hashed it to death before, but does anyone have any new
thoughts about this?

3. Any thoughts about what causes one of the wands in a pair of dueling
"brother" wands to gain dominance and force the other one to start
regurgitating spells through the Priori Incantatem effect?

4. Do your perceptions of Sirius Black change after reading this
chapter?  Some have commented that his explosive temper and desire for
vengeance in PoA put them off his character a bit.  Did GoF (and this
chapter in particular) do anything to change your feelings about or
perceptions of Sirius?

5. We've discussed Cornelius Fudge a fair bit in the past.  Any new
thoughts?  Is he a head-in-the-sand Neville Chamberlain type or is his
refusal to act based on more sinister intentions?

6. Do we assume Dumbledore could have intended anything else other than
for Hagrid and Madame Maxime to serve as envoys to the giants?

7. JKR confirmed in one of the chats that Arabella Figg, part of the
"old gang" in Dumbledore's camp, is the same "Mrs. Figg" with the cats
who lives around the corner from the Dursleys on Privet Drive and had
baby-sat Harry for years in the past.  What has been her likely role in
living in such close proximity to Harry all those years?

8. What do we think about what Dumbledore has asked Snape to do?

9. Was anyone else irritated at Hermione for interrupting the emotional
moment between Harry and Molly Weasley when they first read this
chapter?  We, of course, later understand what she was doing, but what
was your reaction when you first read this chapter?

Discuss!!