S.P.E.W./Magical creatures in wizarding world
S.P.E.W. is an organization that Hermione creates for the protection of house-elves. I think that this creation is very important in the wizarding world, because creatures are treated very poorly and are often taken advantage of. Most people in the wizarding world ignore this, just automatically accepting their ‘rightful position’ in society- at the bottom. As we see in Deathly Hallows, the creatures are shocked when they are treated “like an equal” like Harry does when he buries Dobby and the way that he communicates with Griphook. He treats them ‘normally’ because he wasn’t raised around them in the wizarding world, and therefore wasn’t exposed to that prejudice. It is a form of racism shown in the books, much like the Mudblood situation.
Creatures like house-elves and goblins have their own type of magic and are not allowed to possess a wand. House-elves can Apparate where wizards can’t, as well as have their own magical abilities. Goblins are skilled in making metal objects and run Gringotts, where their magic involves protection in various forms of the wizards’ possessions. They also have their own language, as well as speak English.
The Crouch Family
The Crouch family is one of the few remaining pure-blood families. Barty Crouch is head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, and is a prominent and respected figure in the Ministry. He is an avid hater of the Dark Arts, which unknowingly, his son took part in. Crouch’s character is interesting. His family values are strange: he loves his wife and would do anything for her, including her death wish for him to save their son, which I was surprised that he fulfilled; but as for the son, once he disgraced him, he didn’t care. He was once proud of his son because he had a promising future, as we saw when he snuck into the grounds, but as soon as that changed, he didn’t care what happened to him, as long as he disappeared from the picture, after tarnishing his reputation. He sent his own son to prison because he disgraced him. He went so far as to place him under the Imperius Curse for a number of years in order to keep his reputation. This shows that he would not stop at anything.
Barty Crouch Jr. is the good kid that turned bad. In school, he had gained twenty O.W.L.s. He was obviously a very bright person because he had to trick the Goblet of Fire and capture and hold Moody, the greatest Auror, for a year. He was well versed in spells and curses, as we see in his DADA classes as Moody. He was a great DADA teacher, albeit that his experience shown was only because he was a Death Eater. He was very allegiant to Voldemort, and Voldemort recognized that, calling him [not directly, but it can be inferred] the one “who remains [his] faithful servant” on more than one occasion. It is revealed that he was very involved in the activities of the Death Eaters, even as a 19 year old, at least, since we don’t know when he joined them. Although crazy, he had a brilliant mind.
Percy’s Decline
Percy is very much like Crouch: obsessed with power and appearance and anything that gets in his way has to be removed. Crouch was Percy’s role model simply because they were very alike. Just as Crouch did with his son, Percy rejects his family and abandons them because they are against what he believes, and he can’t have that going against him because his job is more important. In Percy’s case, it could’ve been something that he did because he wanted to be exactly like Crouch. He saw that he would be able to regain power if he denounced his family and be able to save his reputation because Crouch was able to. This seems more likely to me, even though from the beginning he is a bit different from his family. He doesn’t hate them, but after seeing what other people think of his family at the Ministry combined with his want of power and a higher position, he turns away from them and chooses his career over his family.
Moody
Though in this book we don’t see much of the real Alastor Moody, he is mentioned many times by different characters. Most of the views are positive: he was probably the greatest Auror ever and was very skilled at catching dark wizards, but there were a few negatives as well, including his well-known madness and his jumpy and accusatory nature. Though highly praised, many people think that he had gone off the deep end and he was often scrutinized for his protective and defensive nature. I love the role that he has in the later books.
Voldemort’s rise to power
This book is the turning point for Voldemort. He is helped by Pettigrew to return back to his body, rebuild his army, and begin his terror again. In the graveyard, we see his Death Eaters return. Most of them had been living in society normally, having ‘denounced’ the ways of Voldemort to avoid imprisonment. At least six of them returned in the graveyard, and others are mentioned as being dead or in Azkaban. After he returns to power, his Death Eaters do his bidding in the wizarding world, while he stays in the background. Voldemort’s main objective is to kill Harry, and he has many unsuccessful attempts after his return.
Easy Things to Gloss Over
• The triumphant gleam in Dumbledore’s eye after he learns that Voldemort took Harry’s blood.
• The one Death Eater who Voldemort believes “has left [him] forever”
Things I Loved
• The scene at the Dursley’s in the beginning. It is in my top 5 of favorite scenes.
• Fred and George’s Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes
• The Quidditch World Cup
• The beginning of the Ron/Hermione relationship, even though the bickering was annoying sometimes.
• How JKR wrote Crouch Jr. as Moody; it was the perfect deception of not only the reader, but of the other characters and Dumbledore as well.
• S.P.E.W.
• The Bouncing Ferret.
• That Harry gives the twins his winnings for their shop
Questions I Have
• I want to know more about the connection between Voldemort and Harry. How is it that they can see through each other’s minds?
• How do the students at Beauxbatons and Durmstrang get along without the headmasters? In the past when everyone could enter, did the entire school go to the host school?
• Why did they have a Muggle working at the QWC? Couldn’t they have had a wizard?
• Why didn’t the ministry catch any of the Death Eaters at the QWC when there were so many MoM workers there?
• What kind of magic binds the contestants to the tournament? What would happen if they didn’t compete?
• How did Moody get away with using Unforgiveable Curses on the kids?
• How exactly do other people get into Hogwarts? Is someone alerted, or can they just walk in like Crouch apparently did- unnoticed?
• What evidence did Dumbledore give the ministry about Snape to clear him?
• What House[s] were the Crouches in at Hogwarts?
Sorry that this is late.
Mischief Managed.
Paige Cyrus
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