Divination Twelve: The Siege of Hogwarts
‘Oh, know the perils, read the signs, / The warning history shows, / For our Hogwarts is in danger / From external, deadly foes / And we must unite inside her / Or we’ll crumble from within’ (OOtP11)
Into the Pensieve: Lucius Malfoy and the other Death Eaters released from Azkaban are soon installed in the Ministry of Magic, holding Scrimgeour, Umbridge and Fudge hostage in the Atrium. Other Ministry workers are executed in the Death Chamber. The Aurors (including Tonks, Shacklebolt and Williamson) and remaining members of the Order attempt to retake the building but in vain. Alastor Moody is killed in the struggle. With the inauguration of Lucius Malfoy as Minister of Magic, Lord Voldemort decides that the time is right to launch his great campaign against Hogwarts, funded by the gold of Gringotts, now at Voldemort’s disposal. The ancient stronghold is soon under attack from an army of Dark creatures, as teachers, students, ghosts and elves struggle to maintain its magical fortifications. Bellatrix Lestrange leads the Dark forces from her headquarters in the Shrieking Shack. McGonagall invites refugees into the castle (including patients from St. Mungo’s) but has to deal with the threat of sabotage from within as the children of Death Eaters are forced to take sides. For the students of Hogwarts lessons become very practical as they help their teachers reinforce defences, prepare potions and cure the wounded. Neville and Ginny, the future Herbologist and Healer, make a good team. McGonagall receives advice from the former Heads of Hogwarts and from the Sorting Hat. An ever-growing swarm of Dementors surrounds the fortress, while armies of Inferi attack the merpeople in the lake and even the centaurs become involved as Fenrir Greyback’s wolf pack invades the Forbidden Forest. The Acromantula are an unknown factor, but Mr. Weasley’s car is soon functioning as an ambulance, ferrying the wounded to safety. An early and grievous casualty is the Keeper of the Keys, Rubeus Hagrid, who is slain by another of Voldemort’s terrible allies, the Gurg of the Giants, Golgomath. Harry is particularly distraught about the death of his earliest magical friend, while the Giant Grawp is moved to avenge his half-brother. Meanwhile, Wormtail’s knowledge of the Honeydukes passage enables Bellatrix Lestrange to carry out a raid in which Sybill Trelawney is captured. Voldemort first tortures her into submission and then uses Legilimency to recover her lost prophecy. Several Hogwarts students (such as the Creevey brothers) are killed or injured in the raid.
Omens & Portents: Canonical Clues & Questions
1. Concerning Fudge…
- ‘Cornelius Fudge walked past them towards the front rows, his expression miserable, twisting his green bowler hat as usual’ (HBP30)? Is Fudge an Oswald Mosley or a Neville Chamberlain (the latter eventually supported Churchill against Halifax in WWII)? Would he willingly let Death Eaters into the MOM? Or might he try to resist?
2. Concerning Hogwarts…
- ‘The castle’s magical fortifications have been strengthened over the summer, we are protected in new and more powerful ways, but we must still guard scrupulously against carelessness on the part of any student or member of staff.’ (HBP8 ) Is Hogwarts castle equipped to withstand a magical siege? What are its weaknesses and liabilities? In particular, should we be worried about those secret passages? ‘Now, Filch knows about these four … but we’re sure we’re the only ones who know about these.’ (POA10)
- ‘Oh, know the perils, read the signs, / The warning history shows, / For our Hogwarts is in danger / From external, deadly foes / And we must unite inside her / Or we’ll crumble from within’ (OOtP11) Is Hogwarts likely to unite under the new Headmistress? Or will there be treachery from within?
- ‘Someone told me Flitwick was a duelling champion when he was young …’ (COS11) As the battle intensifies, what other talents will be revealed among the staff and students at Hogwarts? In the face of terrible aggression, which individuals will come to the fore?
- ‘Riddle scrambled to his feet, looking after it; he raised his wand, but the huge boy leapt on him, seized his wand and thew him back down, yelling, ‘NOOOOOOO!’ (COS13) It is easy to forget that Tom Riddle and Rubeus Hagrid are contemporaries (McGonagall at 70 is a near contemporary!) It was Riddle who framed Hagrid and ruined his chances of a proper education. How will this most basic rivalry play out in Book 7? And will Hagrid’s fate mirror that of other faithful gatekeepers of history, dying heroically at the entrance of Hogwarts? ‘With great relief he finally saw the tall pillars on either side of the gates, each topped with a winged boar.’ (HBP8 )
- ‘I cannot ask Firenze to return to the Forest, where he is now an outcast, nor can I ask Sybill Trelawney to leave. Between ourselves, she has no idea of the danger she would be in outside the castle. She does not know – and I think it would be unwise to enlighten her – that she made the prophecy about you and Voldemort, you see.’ (HBP20) Dumbledore has already hinted that Trelawney might be a target (though it seems that neither Trelawney herself nor McGonagall are aware of this). Voldemort broke through Bertha Jorkins’s memory charm; could he retrieve Trelawney’s unconscious memory?
Legilimency… what is JKR thinking?
‘Let’s go again … on the count of three … one – two – three – Legilimens!’ (OOtP24)
- Umbridge is still at the Ministry; we will see more of her because JK wants to “torture” her a bit more. [JKR, Mugglenet/TLC interview, 2005]
- JKR has a chart with every Hogwarts student, listing his or her house, magical ability, parentage and allegiances. She will need parentage info later “for the Death Eaters” [JKR, "Harry Potter and Me," 2001 – Madam Scoop’s Index]
- The fact that Ginny is the first girl to be born into the Weasley family in generations is meant to indicate that Ginny will be a very gifted witch. [JKR, Mugglenet/TLC interview, 2005 – Madam Scoop’s Index]
- The Death Eaters’ children are a small fraction of the total Slytherin population. In fact, some Death Eaters’ children belong to other houses. [JKR, Mugglenet/TLC interview, 2005 – Madam Scoop’s Index]
- We will be seeing Mr Weasley’s car again. [JKR, Barnes & Noble chat #2, 1999 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- JKR: “There is more to the Sorting Hat than what you have read about in the first three books.” [JKR, Boston Globe interview, 1999]
- Wizard portraits are not living or thinking entities, they are only a “distillation” of the real person. This “aura” can give advice or repeat catch phrases but not much more. [JKR, Edinburgh Book Festival, 2004 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Ghosts can communicate more effectively with people than the portraits. [JKR, Edinburgh Book Festival, 2004 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- JKR envisions Flitwick as “a very small old man;” she was surprised that he looked so goblin-ish in the movies. He does have a “a dash of goblin ancestry.” [JKR, website – Madam Scoop’s Index]
- McGonagall is 70, and Dumbledore [was] 150. Wizards have a longer life expectancy than Muggles. [JKR, Scholastic chat #2, 2000]
- Hagrid and Voldemort are both in their 60s. [JKR, National Press Club, 1999 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Hagrid can legally do magic again since he became a teacher, but he will always be a bit inept. [JKR, South West News Service interview, 2000 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Hagrid “can do magic to a fairly basic standard and occasionally surprises everyone himself included) by bringing off more impressive bits of magic.” [JKR, World Book Day, 2004 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Grawp will continue to become “more amenable to human contact.” [JKR, Edinburgh Book Festival, 2004 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- JK will not tell us if Lord Voldemort ever finds out what the prophecy fully said. [JKR, ITV, 2005 - Madam Scoop’s Index]
- Cuaron “put things in the [PoA] film that, without knowing it, foreshadow things that are going to happen in the final two books.” [JKR, Prisoner of Azkaban DVD, 2004]
i think that most of the enchantments thet were cast to protect hogwarts during the summer are gone because dumbledore probably but them on himself but since he is dead they broblably lifted
i never thought of it that way
Loved the idea that the Ford Anglia acts as an ambulance! And of course I’m particularly intrigued by the idea that the patients at St Mungos are brought to Hogwarts. (*cackles evilly*)
The alchemy theory has Hagrid mapped for death (Black (Sirius), White (Albus) and Red (Rubeus), but I’m not completely convinced he isn’t the character that got the reprieve. Your point about wormtail knowing the secret passages is also a point I missed, but I’m fairly certain Wormtail only tells Voldemort things that he has to…so he may still hold the secrets of the entrances to Hogwarts. I think the idea that Hogwarts becomes the one stronghold against Voldemort has a lot of promise so we may need Peter to keep his mouth shut.
As for Trelawney, I agree that Voldemort may torture her and destroy her mind if he gets a hold of her, but as you hint at, it is unclear if she actually has a memory of the prophecy for Voldemort to retrieve. It s possible she was simply a voice for something else and no amount of Legilimency can uncover something not there. Of course that may not save her from Bertha Jorkin’s fate. I doubt Trelawney will make it through the series.
jkr has me clinging on her every word
You say that the ghosts will help “maintain hogwarts fortifications”.
how will they do that?
i thought that ghosts can’t do magic
Also about the magical fortifications that dumbledore put on, if he is dead than they were probably lifted because it says “Harry had known there was no hope the moment that the Body-Bind curse dumbledore had placed on him lifted, known that it could have happened only if its caster was dead”.
if this is the case than all dumbledore’s spells should have been lifted.
however, shouldnt that mean that hogwarts doesnt hav any ancient fortifications because the caster of all those (ie the hogwarts 4) are dead?
‘The ancient stronghold is soon under attack from an army of Dark creatures, as teachers, students, ghosts and elves struggle to maintain its magical fortifications.’
Interesting point on the role of ghosts, S. M. G. … I’m not sure that they’re entirely helpless, though – if Moaning Myrtle can flood the bathroom etc. And I wonder if Voldemort’s fear of death might be a weakness for spirits to exploit? Just an idea. (Shakespeare’s Richard III didn’t like ghosts much either!)
On the subject of decreased security at Hogwarts following Dumbledore’s death, there is no obvious answer. I agree that Dumbledore undoing the enchantments before his death was symbolic – but I feel sure that he would have given this information to McGonagall (as his successor). After all, there are indications that DD was preparing for death in HBP and he would have wanted Hogwarts to be protected afterwards. As DD says in HBP25, “Please do not suggest that I do not take the safety of my students seriously, Harry.”
Also, interesting about the deaths of the Founders potentially undoing any spells which they had placed on the castle.
‘Harry had known there was no hope from the moment that the Body-Bind Curse Dumbledore had placed upon him lifted, known that it could have happened only because its caster was dead …’ (HBP28)
Now, the implications of this quote are a little unclear, IMHO. While I can quite understand a relatively minor jinx lifting in this fashion after the caster’s death, we have seen that there are more powerful spells like the Fidelius Charm etc. which probably don’t behave in this fashion (i.e. the Secret-Keeper takes his secret to the grave). We know of the ‘ancient magic’, which Lily’s sacrifice placed upon Harry: love stronger than death. And we have been told that Hufflepuff’s cup and Slytherin’s locket are supposed to possess “all kinds of powers” in their own right (according to Hephzibah Smith) which presumably were conferred by the original owners. In any case, Hogwarts was built by magic by wizards who are now dead and it hasn’t fallen down yet!
So JKR must have given herself some ‘room to maneuver’ here, IMHO.
ok!
good point about the fidelius charm. forgot about that one!
But, on the subject on ghosts again, how can an “imprint of a departed soul” that isnt solid, produce water, ie when crying?
It also says in CoS that Myrtle dived back into the toilet and water splashed over the edge. this doesnt make sense to me!
on a completly seperate issue, throughout the books, characters “create” things. fir example “He took out his wand, gave it a little flick, and a squashy chintz armchair appeared out of nowhere next to Harry” (OotP 8). How can things just appear out of nowhere? if it were so easy to create things then why doesnt everyone just flick their wands and get what they want? why does Mrs Weasly peel the potatoes when she could just create the dish by magic?
many thanks, S.M.G.
Good questions :–)
Won’t attempt to answer on JKR’s behalf, but I did find the following quote from her that might be of interest:
Q: It seems that the wizards and witches at Hogwarts are able to conjure up many things, such as food for the feasts, chairs and sleeping bags … if this is so, why does the wizarding world need money? What are the limitations on the material objects you can conjure up ? It seems unnecessary that the Weasleys would be in such need of money. . . (Jan Campbell)
A: Very good question … There is legislation about what you can conjure and what you can’t. Something that you conjure out of thin air will not last. This is a rule I set down for myself early on. I love these logical questions!
http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/2000/0700-swns-alfie.htm
P.S. I never really understood the flood from Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom either!
I really like this site it is very well thought out constructed brilliantly. My comment relates to Ginny Weasly. In JKR’s universe there is a lot of emphasis put upon the number seven. i.e seven horcruxes etc…….. Is it significant that Ginny is the seventh child of a prominent pure blood wizarding family ? ( Charlie, Bill, Percy, Fred, Goerge, Ron – Ginny) Many fantasy / Science fiction authors have in the past played with the idea of the seventh son scenario as being mystical, especially if either Molly or Arthur themselves turn out to be a seventh child. ie the seventh son of a seventh son.
Thanks for your feedback, Danny T!
You might be interested in this: http://book7.co.uk/hallows/