Chapter Discussion: Goblet of Fire Ch 1: The Riddle House

[rtbthw_mom]

No: HPFGUIDX 191334



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> GoF  Chapdisc 1: The Riddle House
> 
> Summary:
>Snip summary
> 
> Questions:
> 
> 1. The first time you read the book, did you have a sense of the timeframe of
> the story, and therefore when "fifty years ago" would have been? Did you
> attribute any significance to that era?
>
Pat:

I understood it to be happening around the end of WWII.
 
> 2. What was your initial impression of the Riddle family?
>
Pat:

Didn't think they were very sympathetic characters.  But I'm not impressed by wealthy people with an attitude in literature - usually that just screams out "bad people"!  
 
> 5. Prior to the end of the chapter, did you think Frank Bryce would go on to be
> a more major character in the series?
> 
Pat:

No, he was a Muggle and located far from Hogwarts. I was fairly certain he'd be staying in Little Hangleton, one way or another.

> 7. Why do you think that Voldemort chose the house as his hideout?
>
Pat:

Voldemort always chose to do things that had meaning in his life. This was his Muggle father's home - it had symbolism for him in that way and it was a lot nicer than his mother's home, lol. Also it was pretty much abandoned, no other Muggles (besides Frank Bryce, although I don't think he knew about Frank) running around to bother him, and had been cared for over the years so it wasn't a dump.
 
> 8. Recognizing that he has no say in what Voldemort calls him, do you think that
> Peter Pettigrew likes being called Wormtail instead of his original name?
>
Pat:

No. I think Peter knew when he returned to LV that his choices had dwindled down to that or death, and he wasn't ready for death yet. LV uses the name Wormtail to be demeaning, and everyone else seems to take it that way, too.
 
> 9. In Voldemort's comment about Bertha being useless, did you think it meant that
> she was useless in questioning, or that after the questioning methods, she was
> rendered useless.
>
Pat:

She obviously was not useless during the questioning - she gave up lots of useful information: she's LV's source that Barty Crouch,  Jr., is still alive and under the Imperious Curse at his father's house, and she also gave up the information that the World Quidditch Cup was going to be held in England that year, so it would be a good time for LV and Peter to slip into England unnoticed.  It's not in canon, but I would also imagine that she gave up information on goings-on at the Ministry, and even information about Death Eaters' trials and what had happened to them during the ensuing years (although Peter could also help with that information.)

I also got the strong impression that either the method by which LV broke the Memory Charm or the process of extracting her information damaged her brain (and possibly even her body) beyond repair. I felt she was probably left in a vegetative state. Another instance of LV feeling that the ends justify the means when you're him.

> 10. Do you think that Voldemort knew Frank Bryce was there all along?
> 
No, I had the impression that he got his information from Nagini. I don't think he knew that Frank was there. In retrospect, I always thought that the "investor" who owned the place was Lucius Malfoy. LV loves to have his hirelings do things for him - for example, having Bellatrix store his horcrux and the (false) sword of Gryffindor in her Gringotts vault - so I always imagined LV telling Lucius to buy the mansion in case he ever needed a place to have the Death Eaters meet. Or just to hang out in, have his own headquarters. Seemed like the kind of thing he would do, and Lucius had the cash to be able to do something like this for his Lord and master. And, being a prudent sort of guy, I could see Lucius having Frank stay on to take care of his investment.

> Megan Real
> 

Thanks for the questions, Megan! 
Pat