Three Missing Death Eaters (WAS: don't know if this has been discussed...)

[Tom Wall <thomasmwall@yahoo.com>]

No: HPFGUIDX 52842

Snuffles pointed out:
In GoF Voldemort states,
"And here we have six missing 
Death Eaters.... three dead in 
my service. One too cowardly to 
return...he will pay. One who 
I believe has left me forever... 
he will be killed, of course... 
and one who remains my most 
faithful servant, and who has 
already reentered my service."
- GoF paperback edition, pg. 651

I reply:
This has been driving me bonkers, 
this one quote, all by itself. 

Why?

Well, because IMO it is WAY too obvious and easy to make connections 
here. We've got three dead, and three who should be there but aren't. 
The clear connections that the author wants us to make here for the 
absent live ones are, IMO:

The coward = Karkaroff
The traitor = Snape
The faithful one = Crouch, Jr.

But we make these connections because this is what the narrative has 
led us to believe. It reeks to me of "Draco is the Heir of 
Slytherin," and "Snape is out to kill Harry." ;-)

Y'know, after some serious thought here, the only one of these that I 
can honestly buy is that Voldemort really means Crouch Jr. when he 
refers to the one faithful Death Eater, and that, only because he 
says:

"He is at Hogwarts, that faithful servant, and it was through his 
efforts that our young friend arrived here tonight..."
(GoF, US hardcover, Ch.33, 652)

And *still,* I'm not sure that I totally believe it.

The other two are completely up for grabs, IMO. This is why I think 
so:

Voldemort is not an idiot. He:
A) Went to Hogwarts, so would be familiar with the non-apparation 
magics in effect there, and
B) Knows that the Triwizard Tournament is currently in progress, and 
therefore
C) Any Death Eater who occupies a prominent position either in the 
tournament or at the school can not simply up and vanish because of 
the Mark's burn. 

Whether or not one's a Death Eater and has been called, Voldemort, 
IMO, would still value the secrecy of a well placed agent over a 
punctual appearance in the Graveyard.

I conclude that Voldemort is aware of the reality of the situation: 
A) That no one (out of the many present) at the school can just 
apparate away at the burn of the Mark, and 
B) That the ones who can opt to leave the school grounds first (via 
broomstick, tunnel, foot, or whatever) to appear in the circle 
couldn't do so, because it'd be too suspicious.

For instance, Crouch Sr. works for the Ministry and helped to put 
together the Tournament. Bertha Jorkins worked in Bagman's 
department, right? Voldemort has had unrestricted access to both of 
these people, and the information that is/was contained in their 
minds, in other words, it's not a stretch to conclude that Voldemort 
will be aware of who's doing what at the tournament.

So, if Bagman is still a Death Eater, then Voldemort has good reason 
not to expect him to just show up at the Graveyard. Why? Because IMO 
it's reasonable to understand that as a Triwizard judge, he won't be 
able to just up and hop over to the council.

Same with Snape. Snape is a teacher at the school (and Voldemort will 
know this thanks to Pettigrew,) so if we read canon the way it stands 
(despite the fact that Snape is suspiciously not visible in the 
chapter pertaining to the Third Task, only afterwards once Harry has 
returned,) then assuming he's present throughout the Third Task and 
because he's there so immediately after the fact, it's not reasonable 
to expect him to get away to the Graveyard without drawing attention 
to himself. Whether he's an agent, a double agent, or a triple agent 
notwithstanding, Voldemort will know that.

And if any other teacher is evil, like McGonagall, for instance, then 
the same will apply to him/her/them as well.

And also for Fudge. Since Crouch Sr. stopped coming to work, it is 
reasonable to expect that Fudge (if he is a Death Eater) would not be 
able to get away from Hogwarts and to the circle.

As for Karkaroff, Snape asks:

"Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. 
We both knew that he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's 
vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure 
of a welcome back into the fold."
(GoF, US hardcover, Ch.36, 710)

In fact, when Karkaroff and Snape chit-chat at the Yule Ball, and 
when Igor interrupts Snape's class, we're completely led to believe 
that he's afraid of Voldemort's return. But, because of clarity with 
which this is apparently presented, I see no reason to suspect that 
he didn't flee right off the grounds and go directly to the 
graveyard. 

Just because Voldemort doesn't address him doesn't mean that he isn't 
there:

"He walked on. Some of the Death Eaters he passed in silence, but he 
paused before others and spoke to them."
(GoF, US hardcover, Ch.33, 651)

I'll also add to that that if *I* was Karkaroff, I'd be more afraid 
of the Dark Lord *himself* than the other Death Eaters. Heck, most of 
the other Death Eaters present in the circle were accepted back, 
despite their prior lack of loyalty to Voldemort. Why assume that 
Igor would be any different? Igor, at least, admitted to being 
involved, unlike Lucius, who apparently denied that he ever willingly 
committed himself to the Dark Cause.

And anyways, since Voldemort keeps the full membership of the DE 
roster secret, I see no reason for him to out/off the Headmaster of 
Durmstrang, a doubtlessly valuable and eminently networkable 
position, just because the others might not like him too much. And as 
we know, the only one who's aware of everyone in that circle is 
Voldemort himself. 

"We never knew the names of every one of our fellows - He alone knew 
exactly who we all were."
(GoF, US hardcover, Ch.30, 588)

In fact, I don't buy for an instant that Karkaroff is the 'coward' to 
whom Voldemort is referring. That's way too simple. It's misdirection 
waiting to be revealed.

Voldemort may be evil and merciless, but he is not dumb and 
uncalculating. He knows what's going on during the council, and he 
understands the conditions under which some of his Death Eaters might 
have to return. Therefore, he'll know that some of them can't do so.

For instance, we know that there are more gaps in the circle than the 
ones he refers to openly. 

"Yet they left gaps in the circle, as though waiting for more people."
(GoF, US hardcover, Ch.33, 647)

Which means that those gaps may very well be empty because certain 
Death Eaters are at Hogwarts for the tournament, or are otherwise 
indisposed and unable to reach the council.

So, IMO with this quote, all obvious bets are off. I highly doubt 
that he's talking about Karkaroff, Snape, and Crouch Jr. respectively 
with those words. More than likely he's talking about people we've 
met, I can totally believe that. But I don't think that we're 
connecting the words with the correct people because of the plot 
twists in the novel.

-Tom