CHAPDISC: HBP1, The Other Minister

[Sherry]

No: HPFGUIDX 141918

nanuknnatasha:

> I think that for something as momentous to the readers as contact 
> between the Ministry and the PM, it should have come right where it 
> did....With 
> it being included in the book where things really start to "hit the 
> fan", it serves the purpose of really driving home the desperation 
> of the Ministry to stop Voldemort, and the terror of those who know 
> what's really going on.  After all, being an ignorant Muggle isn't 
> going to save them...

I think that's exactly why JKR used it here (and why I, for one, liked
it so much!)  The critical information in this chapter is that
Voldemort's return and the revolt of his movement is starting to
affect everyone--Muggles and the PM's Government, not just the WW and
the Ministry of Magic.  It follows up on what we saw after the
Quiddich championship in GoF: how willing and even eager Voldemort's
supporters are to strike at everyone they see as "mere" enemies who
happen to be at hand.

If JKR had included a scene between the PM and MoM in PS/SS, I assume
that, as others here have estimated, it would have taken place in the
same time as Ch. 1 there, around Voldemort's first downfall. If the
scene had taken place in PoA, it would probably have been the kind of
thing the PM recalls here, with Fudge informing him about Black's
escape. But this is definitely the best place to include the
encounter, underlining *how* big an impact LV's return has on both
magical and Muggle worlds.

Amontillada