CHAPDISC: HBP1, The Other Minister

Tue Oct 18 16:07:59 UTC 2005

No: HPFGUIDX 141797

CHAPTER DISCUSSIONS: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 
1, The Other Minister

Chapter the first of HBP is one of those few occasions on which we 
are not seeing things from Harry's point of view.  It opens in the 
Muggle world, where the Prime Minister sits alone in his office late 
at night, after a very stressful week during which he had been 
blamed for a freak bridge collapse, a freak hurricane, and two 
gruesome murders, not to mention Junior Minister Herbert Chorley's 
strange behavior and the overall gloominess of the nation.  Things 
are not normal and not good.  

The portrait on his wall requests that the PM receives a visit from 
Cornelius Fudge.  The Prime Minister tries to beg off, but the 
portrait will not take no for an answer, even from the Prime 
Minister.  The PM consents to meet with Fudge, who immediately 
arrives. 

Fudge and the PM compare with one another the week that they both 
just had.  The PM is shocked to discover that the various disasters 
of the week are, in fact, WW-related, while Fudge is equally 
surprised that the PM did not catch on to this fact.  The PM feels 
he is being treated like an `ignorant schoolboy,' just as he has 
felt with each visit from Fudge.  We readers are then treated to the 
history of Fudge's increasingly frequent visits to the PM.  

The first meeting was an introduction to Fudge and the WW, in which 
Fudge assured the stunned Muggle it was likely they'd never see each 
other again.  But Fudge did return.   On the second visit, Fudge 
warned of the known Muggle-killer, "Serious" Black's, escape, 
requested the PM warn the Muggle population, and explained who Lord 
Voldemort is.  Less than a year later Fudge dropped by to tell him 
of the trouble at the QWC involving Muggles, but not to worry.  
Fudge informed the Minister, offhandedly, that they imported some 
dragons and a sphinx.  Less than two years after that, Fudge breezed 
in to share the news of the mass Azkaban prison break and was gone 
again before the PM could get a word in.  Having noticed that Fudge 
brought even graver news with each visit, the PM considers the 
wizard in his office the worst thing to happen to him all week.  

Fudge lays out the hard truth:  LV *has* returned, and he and his 
followers are wreaking havoc, causing the problems the PM has been 
handling over the past week.  The PM is outraged that he's being 
blamed for events that are not his fault, *and* he can't tell anyone 
about the truth: that LV blew up the bridge; Death Eaters and giants 
caused the `hurricane;' no number of policemen could have prevented 
Amelia Bones and Emmeline Vance's deaths; and the dementors are 
attacking and breeding, creating misery—and a chilly mist--
everywhere.  

Fudge then reveals he's been fired- and the new Minister for Magic, 
Rufus Scrimgeour, our old lion guy, arrives, probably after making 
another attempt to continue Fudge's efforts to get to Harry through 
Dumbledore.  He makes a big to do about locking the door and closing 
the curtains (using his magic).  They discuss protection for the 
Prime Minister, revealing that the PM's new favorite employee, 
Kingsley Shacklebolt, is a wizard assigned to ensure the PM doesn't 
become a DE puppet.  Herbert Chorley has been taken to St. Mungo's 
to treat his reaction to a poorly performed Imperius Curse. 

Scrimgeour promises to keep the PM posted on what is going on, but 
will probably send Fudge since he will be too busy to come 
personally.  As Fudge and Scrimgeour finish their business, the PM 
expresses his helplessness, shock, and disbelief for a final 
time.  "But for heaven's sake—you're *wizards!* You can do *magic!*  
Surely you can sort out –well--*anything!*"  

To which Fudge replies, "The trouble is, the other side can do magic 
too, Prime Minister."  And both wizards depart.

QUESTIONS (in no particular order):

**Got a different question?  Feel free to ask it or bring up 
anything I've overlooked**

1. JKR wrote on her website: 
*******************************************
The Opening Chapter of Book Six

I have come close to using a chapter very like this 
in 'Philosopher's Stone' (it was one of the discarded first 
chapters), 'Prisoner of Azkaban' and 'Order of the Phoenix' but 
here, finally, it works, so it's staying. And that's all I'm going 
to say, but when you read it, just know that it's been about 
thirteen years in the brewing.
****************************************************
http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/extrastuff_view.cfm?id=6

Does this scene work?  If so, what made it work here in contrast to 
the other potential locations in the series?  Is it simply that 
Fudge has more information to disseminate or are there thematic or 
stylistic reasons to include this scene now?

2. The PM felt like an `ignorant schoolboy.' Is this truly how they 
were treating him and if so, how does the condescension of the two 
wizards relate to their ostensible leadership of opposition to the 
Muggle-hating DEs?  Is this condescension symptomatic of their rise 
to power or a deeper problem within the wizarding community apart 
from LV & co.?

3.  The PM appreciates why a fearful wizarding public would prefer 
Scrimgeour to Fudge.  What differences do we encounter between the 
two?  Besides the lime green bowler hat

4.  Fudge shows up and tells the PM a bunch of things that he is 
powerless to do anything about.  Sirius Black's escape is the only 
time Fudge requested any help from the PM.  There seems to be little 
any non-wizard could do about it, and the action provoked criticism 
of Fudge in PoA (Ch 3, The Knight Bus).  What is the point of 
telling the Muggle Prime Minister anything about what is going on in 
the WW?  Law? (What is the relationship between the WW government 
and the Muggle government?)  Courtesy? Glaring Incompetence?

5.  Fudge says the dementors are breeding, which is causing the 
gloomy weather throughout England.  We know prior to this the 
dementors were guarding Azkaban and working with the Ministry, yet 
there was no chilly mist covering the land until now.  Why weren't 
they breeding before?  Ministry controls?  An agreement?  

6.  Is "Serious" Black now officially innocent?  

7.  Scrimgeour performs an overt display of magic merely to keep his 
statement to the PM that Kingsley Shacklebolt, likely as not the 
only person nearby anyhow, is a wizard from being overheard.  Then 
he leaves.  Fudge, on the other hand takes no precautions whatsoever 
and then blurts out intimate knowledge of the WW.  Is the 
Shacklebolt information somehow more sensitive than everything Fudge 
said?  Is Scrimgeour protecting this information from Muggles, Death 
Eaters, or both?  Or are his attempts at keeping it private just 
fodder for the GARBAGE SCOW (Gibberish, Altogether Redundant Blather 
And Gobbledegook Everywhere! Superfluous Can(n)on Obtains Welcome)?  
(http://www.hpfgu.org.uk/faq/hypotheticalley.html#scow)

8.  Who might have cast the poorly performed Imperius Curse?  What 
makes the curse poorly performed?  Was it just sloppy magic, or 
function similarly to the other Unforgivables in that you really 
have to mean it for it to be successful?

And here are a few discussions that involve events of Chapter One I 
found after fighting with Yahoomort's search (In no particular order—
and read downthread):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/140868
Subject: Re: Who is RAB again. WAS:Re: Snape and Regulus

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/139744
Re: Is Voldie alive?

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/137569
Peter Pettigrew and Serius Black (was Re: DD is Dead/Snape)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/136788
Subject: Chapter 1

Have Fun! 

KathyK*

NOTE: For more information on HPfGU's chapter discussions, please see
"HPfGU HBP Chapter Discussions" at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/database

*With special thanks to hitchyker42 for doing all the work ;-)  
Well, some