Book Review

Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM

“Dumbledore lowered his hands and surveyed Harry through his half-moon glasses. "It is time," he said, "for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry. Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything."

Like many others, I waited eagerly for this book and went to pick up a copy today. I saw little crowds, which made me nervous that the publicly had failed and the book was a flop. The book is a little disappointing on first read, but upon rereading it, I began to see how it all fit together. WARNING!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Harry Potter is recoving with the Dursley’s from the rebirth of Lord Voldemort at the end of GOF. His rest is interrupted by first his cousin, the pig-like Dudley, and then by a dementor, a wraith-like creature that eats souls. Using his magic, Harry saves Dudley, but is suspended from Hogwarts and expected to attend a meeting with the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, who believes Harry to have gone mad. Fudge has been mounting a press-campaign against Harry, which has turned his fame into notoriety. Kept in the dark by Dumbledore, Harry is brought to spend the reminder of his holidays with the mysterious Order of the Phoenix, and discovers that his friends have been forbidden to write to him.

Fudge attempts to use a kangaroo court to condemn Harry, but the surprising appearance of professor Dumbledore (we learn his middle names) manages to swing most of the court in his favour. The case does, however, manage to harden Fudge’s resolve to bring down Dumbledore. Dumbledore has other worries; You-Know-Who, Voldemort, has been “wery-wery-quiet” and, as Harry learns, is after a weapon of some kind.

There is an agonising moment in the house as two prefect badges appear – and Hermoine assumes that one of them is for Harry. Its not; its for Ron. Hermione manages to hurt Ron’s feelings a great deal, while Harry is upset. We see a reflection of the jealousy Ron feels for Harry here, as Harry wonders why Ron (and Malfoy) got the job – and he did not. Ron would almost sooner have not got the badge; the twins tease him about it mercilessly.

The return to Hogwarts brings no comfort for Harry – the new DADA teacher is Dolores Umbridge, senior undersecretary to the Minister of Magic, a simpering imbecile with real malice inside her. She does not believe that Voldemort is back and begins interfering with Dumbledore, as well as giving useless DADA lessons. Harry and Hermione start their own DADA class, which is officially banned when Umbridge becomes the new Inquisitor, and starts to attack Dumbledore’s power. When Harry is caught running a class, Umbridge tries to use that leverage to have Dumbledore arrested (!), who escapes, knocking out Fudge and his goons. Umbridge becomes the new headmistress, provoking rebellion amongst the students.

Much against his will, Harry discovers that he is being drawn into the mind of Voldemort when he sleeps. He discovers that Arthur Weasley has been injured by a snake and warns his family so that he can be saved. He also learns about a mysterious door in the department of mysteries – where the mysterious weapon is being stored.

As conditions at Hogwarts get worse, Harry discovers that Sirius has been taken prisoner by parties unknown, probably death-eaters, and held in the department of mysteries. Escaping from the school, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Ron sneak into the department and discover a proparcy about Harry and his relation to Voldemort. Attacked by death-eaters, they are forced to flee, destroying the secret as they flee. They fight the death-eaters and defeat them, including Lucas Malfoy, but at a cost; Sirius is killed by one of the death eaters.

Chasing his killer, Harry is confronted by Voldemort, who intends to kill him. He is saved by Dumbledore, who fights Voldemort, finally driving him off. Voldemort’s appearance is seen by the ministry workers, revealing his existence to a stunned Fudge. Dumbledore is reinstated as headmaster.

Harry and Dumbledore have a long talk about the proparcey. Harry is destined to fight Voldemort and only one of them can survive. Returning home, the Dursley’s are confronted by some of the magical people and warned to take better care of Harry – or else........

Analysis:

The War: Voldemort’s rebirth is no longer a secret. This means that the full resources of the ministry can be used to hunt for him, which means that he may strike first, given that there is no point in hiding anymore. He’s really suffered a double disaster as Malfoy Senior is locked up and can’t help him any more.

However, from what we saw of the ministry’s actions, I don’t think that they will be very helpful. Fudge is clearly not suited to be a war leader and the advice he gives appears to be more designed to calm people than to aid them. Worse, the disastrous DADA teachers will have crippled many of the student’s DADA instruction and they may not be suited to serve on the front lines, such as they are.

Snape: We still have no idea what Snape’s job is, but it appears to be some kind of double agent. He is still trusted by Malfoy Snr, which suggests that he has formed some kind of relationship with Voldemort.

However, there is another possibility. Snape may be a double agent with Malfoy rather than Voldemort. Malfoy Snr does have brains (unlike his son) and he might be attempting to use Voldemort as a puppet. The attempt in COS to create a weaker, schoolboy, version of Voldemort that could be easily controlled might also imply this.

Creatures: Dumbledore is right; the magical world is in for a shock. Fudge clearly believes the claim that elves, goblins and centaurs are inferior and subordinate to humans – the reality is a bit different. How would house elves act if they were not bound by enchantments? We now know that two of them acted to deceive their masters, even through they were supposed to be enspelled. The giants, those who are left, are almost certain to join Voldemort and we also know that most of the dementors have also joined him.

Fudge: There are still three possibilities; death eater, idiot or third player. If fudge is a death eater, surly he could have sneaked Voldemort into the department of mysteries without the need for an extensive scheme to trick Harry into going there. This might also explain the dementor attack right at the beginning and the desouling of Barty Crouch

The idiot hypothesis is perhaps the most likely. Fudge was unwilling to believe that Voldemort was back until he saw him himself and he preferred to believe that Harry was mad. However, Fudge does show a certain cunning in forming a kangaroo court and in becoming minister in the first place.

Third player is unlikely. Does fudge have delusions of grandeur? He certainly acts to prevent Dumbledore from forming an army – although we don’t know who Umbridge was really working for – and he does not seem the type to become a dictator.