CHAPDISC: HBP1, The Other Minister

[meriaugust]

No: HPFGUIDX 141804

Snipping KathyK's v. excellent chapter summary, Meri (back from 
posting purgatory) posits her answers: 
 
> 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?

Meri: I personally loved this scene (heck, I read it in the parking 
lot of the bookstore at 12:30 in the morning with one of the friends 
I made that night pacing me page for page). I think it gave us a 
better idea of how the WW relates to the RW and answered (at least 
my) questions about how the RW authorities react to incidents in the 
WW. I think it also serves, to some extent, as a refresher of the 
events of the last five books (which JKR must be finding harder and 
harder to summarize as the years go on). I also think that this 
would be kinda pointless (and relatively short) had she included it 
in an earlier book, though I have to say I would be interested to 
see Fudge and the PM on the night that LV disappeared, just for the 
heck of it. Though I will say I too had my heart set on a trip back 
to Godric's Hollow in Chapter 1, but cest'la vie. I think we're 
pretty much guaranteed that in book 7 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.?

Meri: I think we see this to some extent with the way Arthur Weasley 
looks at Muggles (and I know this has come up before). He seems to 
look at them as funny, adorable little children who need to be 
looked out for and protected and kept from hurting themselves, just 
as the PM feels he is being treated by Fudge. And I think that, on 
Fudge's part, he wasn't treating the PM like an equal, like the head 
of a powerful national government. Now to be fair, there really is 
now way to equalize their possitions, because the WW is probably 
well informed of what goes on in the RW for a lot of reasons, but 
perhaps if Fudge had asked for help it would have alieviated some of 
the PM's perception of being condescended to. 
 
Snip 
> 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?

Meri: I like to think that the WW just accepts that they cannot 
completely cut themselves off from the RW, just as the RW cannot 
completely absorb the WW. As much as we want to think that they are 
totally seperate entities IMHO they aren't. I almost wish that the 
chapter had delved deeper into the relationship between the two 
worlds. I've always wondered: Do wizrads have any relationship to 
the royal family? Do they sing "God Save the Queen"? Are they 
technically citizens of the RW? Do they pay taxes, serve in the 
military when there's a draft, attend regular primary schools, shop 
at the Gap? We'll never be unified again, perhaps, but I think our 
fates are intertwined. After all, if the RW suffered from a nuclear 
WWIII the WW would die just as swiftly as if LV took hold.
 
> 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?  

Meri: Maybe dementors can only breed if given proper scope for their 
powers, which is what LV is giving them. 
 
> 6.  Is "Serious" Black now officially innocent?  

Meri: Goodness gracious me, I should hope so. I think he must be if 
DD is able to execute his last will and testament and pass on to 
Harry all of Sirius' possessions. Besides, even if he wasn't, don't 
you think the MoM has bigger fish to fry now, like that Stan 
Shunpike. Now there's a nefarious character if I ever saw one ;-).