GOF Chapter 30: The Pensieve

[oryx_leucoryx]

'Moody' invites Harry to enter the room - it is hard to realize, but this is late May of Harry's 4th year, and it is the second time in his life that he actually enters the headmaster's office. 'Moody' Fudge and Albus were about to leave anyway, but as Harry wants to talk to Albus the headmaster asks Harry to wait for him. And thus for the first

Comments

[charlottehywd]

So... why exactly is Crouch Sr. allowed to judge his own son's case. Isn't that a bit of a conflict of interest?

Poor Neville. With his history and personality, I still feel that he would be a much more compelling hero than Harry.

[oryx_leucoryx]

So... why exactly is Crouch Sr. allowed to judge his own son's case. Isn't that a bit of a conflict of interest?

That would have been the case in any normal justice system. I doubt Wizarding Britain figured that concept out yet. I think the Crouch family story was one of the major reasons early theorists got the picture of Wizarding Britain as a pseudo-Roman society, with a father who has the power of life and death over members of his household.

Poor Neville. With his history and personality, I still feel that he would be a much more compelling hero than Harry.

Oh, most definitely.

[charlottehywd]

Actually, a pseudo-Roman magical society would be pretty cool, especially if it took a militaristic bent the way Rome did. Somehow, the idea of training soldier-mages at Hogwarts sounds interesting, if creepy. Dumbledore's Legion, perchance?

[majorjune]

Actually, a pseudo-Roman magical society would be pretty cool, especially if it took a militaristic bent the way Rome did. Somehow, the idea of training soldier-mages at Hogwarts sounds interesting, if creepy.

I've always contended that Snape would have been much happier as a teacher at a military academy, where strict discipline and deference to one's superiors is strongly enforced... :-)

In general I don't have a problem with the idea of a magikal military force -- but yes, such an institution in Rowling's universe would be creepy! LOL

[mmmarcusz]

Harry never asked Neville about his family, despite the shared fate of not being raised by one's parents. No, he isn't self-centered, he was respecting Neville's privacy, that's what. Really!

His apparently complete lack of empathy and concern is just because he's so full of love that he'd explode if he released any of it.

[charlottehywd]

Spontaneous love combustion?

[madderbrad]

OMG the full page came up! For the last 2 days I've only had the title of this post rendered on my browser. MustpostacommentbeforeLJgoesawayagain!

When Harry sees that the Albus he finds in the basin is ignoring him he realizes he is inside a memory. Ironically 2.5 months from now present-day Albus will ignore him in that very same courtroom.Neat

[mmmarcusz]

Not really. At the trials it's pretty clear that the DEs were organised in cells, with each member only knowing a few others. But then in the graveyard he tells everyone each other's names (except Crouch jr and Snape, presumably for the reader's benefit) And she's vague about how many Lestranges there were in GOF. And she gave the giants to Voldemort without thinking about how they would even be useful. Similarly, the breeding Dementors never came to anything. Or the mass attacks on Muggles. The thing with witholding information from the reader is that the author still has to know it.

[oryx_leucoryx]

But then in the graveyard he tells everyone each other's names

Tom only names 7 of the DEs present at the graveyard, Peter and 6 who were cleared. I think those were the ones who denied him most openly, and he named them as negative examples. He also named the Lestranges as a positive example - but then since their trial was public and they admitted their support of him they were publicly confirmed as DEs, there was no point in being secretive. But there were more than 20 DEs in the graveyard he did not name. At least some of those were the ones who slipped back into normality without being suspected.

[oryx_leucoryx]

I doubt half of my conclusions were intended by Rowling. She just wanted Igor to accuse a DE in each of the Unforgivables, plus adding the spy network to have an excuse to bring Ludo into the picture. She wanted Severus' offenses to remain mysterious (to her he is only important as the one who leaked the prophecy and eventually regretted it because of who ended up being involved, I don't think she worked out what he did otherwise in the years between leaving school and returning as a teacher