[HPforGrownups] Re: Harry's fate in book 5 & Amos Diggory

[wynnde1 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 49155

Originally, I was going to respond to this off-list to Jo Serenadust, as this 
is mostly just a big "me too" post, agreeing with the many fantastic points 
she made as to whether or not Fudge could blame (or frame) Harry for Cedric's 
death. I had stated that I don't think this will actually happen, but some of 
Jo's comments have got me wondering if I might be wrong about this . . .  
hopefully what I've got to say is of enough substance to warrant being posted 
to the entire list.  

Jo wrote:

"Things are still very unsettled, but oddly quiet at the end of GoF.  Too 
quiet, 
considering the enormity of what's just happened. <snip quote in which 
Hermione tells Harry that recent events have not received coverage in the 
wizarding press>. I agree with Hermione here.  I think that Fudge is waiting 
for the other shoe to drop, and laying the groundwork for his next move, 
depending upon what Dumbledore and co. do next."

Now me:
Excellent point. Earlier, I speculated that if Fudge was going to take action 
against Harry, he'd have done so by the end of GoF, but Jo has got me 
thinking that it is not too late for something like this to still happen. As 
I mentioned in another recent post, all the students at Hogwarts, along with 
anyone else who knows the truth about events at the Tournament, are going to 
have an entire summer to wonder about what really happened. Well, obviously, 
they'll all be able to wonder about things for as long as they like, but I 
think the summer is important because this is the time that Harry will not be 
an active part of the WW, as he'll be with the Dursleys. By the time everyone 
returns to Hogwarts, where Harry will once again be part of the community, I 
suspect many of them will have made up their minds about what they believe 
really happened. Public opinion has turned against Harry before, and I won't 
be at all surprised if it happens again. Plus, Harry may have another 
vociferous enemy now . . . 

Jo wrote: 

"I have always had the horrible feeling that Amos Diggory is going to turn on 
Harry 
with a vengance in book 5, and that this article [by Rita Skeeter, in which 
she described Harry as disturbed and dangerous], combined with the grief of 
loosing Cedric, will be the impetus behind a large part of the WW turning 
against Harry."

Now me:
Yes, yes, yes and YES! I think you are absolutely spot-on with this. In fact, 
I'm rather annoyed with myself that I didn't think of it. <g> I dislike and 
mistrust Diggory intensely, and have often thought that he could be 
responsible for all sorts of blow-ups within what we think of as the "good 
guys." I just never came up with this as one of the possibilities. <G> 
Although not mentioned as one of Dumbledore's "old crowd," I wouldn't be 
surprised if he turns out to have been an auror in VW1, or actively involved 
in some other way. And, if he was an auror or similar, I don't imagine he'd 
have had any qualms at all about Crouch's decision to use the unforgiveables 
against the Death Eaters. That sort of thing strikes me as right up Diggory's 
alley, actually. He's a bully, a hypocrite, dishonourable, and pompous. Not 
to mention that he is happy to believe and defend whatever version of the 
truth makes him feel best about himself. 

At the end of GoF, I have always been suspicious of Diggory Sr.'s calm 
attitude towards Harry, and I agree with you that Amos will want vengeance 
for his son. Meaning, he wants someone to be *punished*, whether it's the 
real perpetrator, or not. Harry is an easy target, especially since 
Voldemort's return is not yet being acknowledged. And what makes it even more 
interesting is that, at this point, Diggory will get nothing but sympathy 
from pretty much everyone in the WW - the bereaved parent demanding "justice" 
against the deranged young wizard who killed his son. Amos could easily claim 
that Harry's had it in for Cedric since the Quidditch match in PoA when Harry 
fell off his broom, and has harboured that resentment until finally killing 
Cedric when he had the chance during the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

I don't like Diggory at all, actually, and (in a perverse sort of way) really 
hope that we'll see more of him, because I'm sure he'll cause nothing but 
trouble. And, in a departure from the many EverSoEvil theories which are 
rampant around here (and in my own mind! <G>), It never occurs to me for a 
second that Diggory could actually be Evil, in the sense of supporting 
Voldemort. Nope, he's one of the "good guys," even though he goes around 
acting like a jerk much of the time. Which makes it just that much more 
interesting, don't you think?

:-)
Wendy
(Who would really like to thank Jo Serenadust for her thought-provoking post. 
St. Mungo's, not Azkaban . . . YES! And who is now fantasizing about writing 
a brilliant 9-part defamation of Diggory's character, but somehow doesn't 
think she could manage to do it justice as Elkins did with Crouch Sr. <g>)



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