pauraque_bk | GoF 7

Forgot one thing in Chapter 6:

'No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets,' said Mr Diggory. 'There aren't any more of us in this area, are there?' (68)

Luna lives near Ron and Cedric.

Lots of lovely discussion last chapter! Don't miss

caesia390 and

black_dog on queer readings, now buried in collapsed threads.

GoF 7: Bagman and Crouch

'It's like some sort of ... I dunno ... like some sort of rally,' said Mr Roberts. 'They all seem to know each other. Like a big party.'

At that moment, a wizard in plus-fours appeared out of thin air next to Mr Roberts's front door.

'Obliviate!' he said sharply, pointing his wand at Mr Roberts.

[...]

'Been having a lot of trouble with him. Needs a Memory Charm ten times a day to keep him happy[...]' (72)

Sigh!

No one will be surprised that I find this bit of Muggle mistreatment distasteful as well. Given what we know about Memory modification, I can't believe this doesn't do Roberts any harm. And he's not the only one, either -- the Diggorys go to a separate camp site with a different Muggle caretaker.

'Right,' [Mr Weasley] said excitedly, 'no magic allowed, strictly speaking, not when we're out in these numbers on Muggle land. We'll be putting these tents up by hand! Shouldn't be too difficult ... Muggles do it all the time ... here, Harry, where do you reckon we should start?'

Harry had never been camping in his life; the Dursleys had never taken him on any kind of holiday, preferring to leave him with Mrs Figg, an old neighbour. However, he and Hermione worked out where most of the poles and pegs should go[...] (73-74)

I just realized how strange it is that Arthur keeps turning specifically to Harry when Hermione's right there. He did it with the clothes, then with the money (71), and again with the tent. But surely Hermione had a more normal Muggle childhood, and should be more familiar with these things. As Harry notes, the Dursleys always tried to keep him shut away from the world.

Harry bent down, ducked under the tent flap, and felt his jaw drop. He had walked into what looked like an old-fashioned, three-roomed flat, complete with bathroom and kitchen. Oddly enough, it was furnished in exactly the same sort of style as Mrs Figg's; there were crocheted covers on the mismatched chairs, and a strong smell of cats. (74)

Some fans had guessed that Mrs Figg wasn't a Muggle before OotP; this is probably one of the stronger clues. The tent actually belongs to Arthur's co-worker Perkins.

'Who cares what [Krum] looks like? He's unbelievable. He's really young, too. Only just eighteen or something. He's a genius, you wait until tonight, you'll see.' (77)

Though Ron purchased himself a dancing-shamrock hat and a large green rosette, he also bought a small figure of Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker. (85)

Ron's fancrush on Krum absolutely slays me. Boys and their sports heroes!

'I bought this [nightgown] in a Muggle shop,' said the old wizard stubbornly. 'Muggles wear them.'

'Muggle women wear them, Archie, not the men, they wear these,' said the Ministry wizard, and he brandished the pinstriped trousers.

'I'm not putting them on,' said old Archie in indignation. 'I like a healthy breeze round my privates, thanks.'

Hermione was overcome with such a strong fit of the giggles at this point that she had to duck out of the queue, and only returned when Archie had collected his water and moved away again. (77-78)

Archie! How fandom loved you! Pre-OotP, this was our primary evidence for what wizards wore (or didn't wear) under their robes. Of course, this was before Snape's infamous underpants.

It does seem that it's the older wizards who have a harder time with dressing like Muggles, as I was thinking earlier.

I only cited Hermione's reaction because it cracked me up. Despite the Obliviation business, this chapter is a lot more appealing to me than the last few have been.

[Arthur:] '...and that's Bode and Croaker ... they're Unspeakables ...'

'They're what?'

'From the Department of Mysteries, top-secret, no idea what they get up to...' (79)

Broderick Bode! We hardly knew ye (before you got killed in the next book).

[Ludo Bagman] had the look of a powerfully built man gone slightly to seed; the robes were stretched tightly across a large belly he surely had not had in the days when he had played Quidditch for England. (80)

Addressing again the issue of whether Quidditch is really a sport that requires much physical exertion. (Or maybe it addresses how much weight a broomstick can hold, though Crabbe and Goyle don't seem to have a problem.)

[Bagman:] '...My Bulgarian opposite number's making difficulties, and I can't understand a word he's saying. Barty'll be able to sort it out. He speaks about a hundred and fifty languages.'

'Mr Crouch?' said Percy, suddenly abandoning his look of poker-stiff disapproval and positively writhing with excitement. 'He speaks over two hundred! Mermish and Gobbledegook and Troll...' (82)

OMG Mr Crouch squee!!!!11

Okay, seriously. Harry isn't surprised that Percy is a Crouch fanboy, since Crouch is severe and rule-loving -- even Vernon would approve (83). Help me, guys: Does Crouch forget Percy's name because he's already under the Imperius, or because he genuinely doesn't appreciate Percy? Because I don't think it makes sense for Percy to fanboy someone who doesn't give him any particular approval.

The parting in [Crouch's] short grey hair was almost unnaturally straight and his narrow toothbrush moustache looked as though he trimmed it using a slide rule. (83)

What? A slide rule is something you use for (oh dear) maths, not measuring. Maybe she meant he does complex moustache-trimming calculations.

'Oh, and I've been wanting a word with you, too, Arthur,' said Mr Crouch, his sharp eyes falling upon Mr Weasley. 'Ali Bashir's on the warpath. He wants a word with you about your embargo on flying carpets.' (83-84)

Yeah, I remember this now. Arthur doesn't just enforce the law, he makes it. Checks? Balances? Who needs 'em!

Since it does seem that a family vehicle that could transport several people would be very useful to the magical community, I can only assume that the underlying reason for the continuing ban on magic carpets has something to do with the (English) broomstick industry. Carpets will "never replace brooms in Britain, will they?" says Bagman (84). Interesting.

Easy transport changes a society. The present wizarding world is one where families and villages are rather isolated from each other. Arthur remarks on how wizards show off when they get together -- indicating that it happens rarely. It's like the US before cars were affordable and the interstate system was built.

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