GoF: Murder vs. Curse? (LONG)

[cynthiaanncoe at home.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 25929

Sheryll wrote:
> 
> Happy to oblige with quotes from the Canadian version!
> 
> > The American text in my book is:
> > 
> > "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 --"
> 
> In the Canadian version the above paragraph is the
> same, save the last 3 words, which read: "if I
> curse--"
> 
> > "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 -- "  
> 
> Again, there is only a minor difference. The Canadian
> version reads "come, Wormtail" one more obstacle
> removed and our path to Harry Potter is clear." These
> are both on page 15 of the Canadian version.
> > 
> > Then later:
> > 
> > "One more murder ... my faithful servant at Hogwarts
> > ... Harry Potter 
> > is good as mine, Wormtail."
> > 
> This is found on page 16 of the Canadian version and
> reads as follows:
> "One more curse ... my faithful servant at Hogwarts
> ... Harry Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail."
> 

Sheryll, I'm cooking up a theory that would explain why the 
editors/JKR would change "curse/obstacle" to "murder."  It is only 
half-baked at this point, but here goes.

Based on what you and Laura have quoted, 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 V that Bryce 
overhears seems to take place after they've found/tortured/killed 
Bertha, but before they've freed Crouch Jr.  How do we know this?  V 
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.  So I think this has to mean they are 
contemplating the curse/murder of Moody.  So V and Wormtail still 
have two jobs to do:  free Crouch 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?

I think 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).  I speculate that V 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 V 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 
Wormtail doesn't like to kill, and Crouch Jr. wanted Moody around to 
get the information he needs to pass himself off as Moody.

The upshot is that JKR lets this 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 V'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 my theory) V 
ordered Moody killed ages ago.  (And I think V believes that Crouch 
Jr. still has his soul at the end of GoF, BTW).  This raises all 
sorts of interesting possibilities, including having the real Moody 
assume Crouch Jr.'s identity to spy on V, which is how we can get all 
manner of juicy details about what's going on in V's camp.

Anyway, I know that this theory is quite wobbly, but it is all I can 
think of to have these changes from the original text make any sense 
at all.

Cindy (who is way, way out on a limb on this one)