pauraque_bk | GoF 11

If you have a lot of things to get done, I do not recommend playing with Google Earth, for it is quite possibly the coolest thing that has ever existed.

GoF 11: Aboard the Hogwarts Express

FINALLY.

Mr Diggory's head rolled its eyes. 'Says he heard an intruder in his yard. Says they were creeping towards the house, but they were ambushed by his dustbins.'

'What did the dustbins do?' asked Mr Weasley, scribbling frantically.

'Made one hell of a noise and fired rubbish everywhere, as far as I can tell,' said Mr Diggory. 'Apparently one of them was still rocketing around when the please-men turned up--' (142)

Okay. I have a hard time with the plot of this book, so bear with me. After the QWC, Peter shows up at the House of Crouch (with Baby Voldie in tow), they put Crouch Sr under the Imperius. A week later, Peter and Junior head over to Moody's place, Moody and his dustbins put up a fight but they subdue him and lock him in the trunk. Junior Polyjuices into Moody, Peter runs back to Chez Crouch.

One interesting thing about the detail of both Peter and Junior going to get Moody (as Junior mentions in Chapter 35) is that it confirms his other comment that it actually was Baby V who put and kept Crouch Sr under the Imperius, at least some of the time. I've tended to think that it was mostly Peter doing the actual Imperiusing, firstly because V is still weak, and secondly because when Senior does escape, V blames Peter.

Mrs Weasley took a piece of buttered toast from a stack on the kitchen table, put it into the fire tongs and transferred it into Mr Diggory's mouth.

'Fanks,' he said in a muffled voice, and then, with a small pop, vanished. (143)

First time we see fireplacing-calling (or whatever you want to call it -- there's no canon name). I'd forgotten that you could transfer objects through the fire.

'Mad-Eye Moody?' said George thoughtfully, spreading marmalade on his toast. 'Isn't he that nutter--'

'Your father thinks very highly of Mad-Eye Moody,' said Mrs Weasley sternly.

'Yeah, well, Dad collects plugs, doesn't he?' said Fred quietly, as Mrs Weasley left the room. 'Birds of a feather...'

'Moody was a great wizard in his time,' said Bill.

'He's an old friend of Dumbledore's, isn't he?' said Charlie.

'Dumbledore's not what you'd call normal, though, is he?' said Fred. 'I mean, I know he's a genius and everything...' (143-144)

I don't really see what's so abnormal about Dumbledore by wizard standards. I mean, there's that nitwit-blubber-oddment-tweak thing, but how often does he do things like that?

I know some people who collect plugs. Just not that kind. Hem hem.

'I just can't justify taking more time off at the moment,' [Percy] told them. 'Mr Crouch is really starting to rely on me.' (144)

I bet he is! Calling in ~~Imperiused~~ sick so often...

aithopa and I used to amuse ourselves wondering what kind of antics Imperiused-by-Voldie!Crouch would get up to.

Ungrateful infidels,

I have decided not to come to work today on account of the fact that you are unworthy to kiss the hems of my robes. Even so do the weak fall and falter before my power! And yet I will be waiting, waiting, rebuilding my strength, awaiting the perfect moment for my return!

Your Lord,
Bartemius Crouch

(I really can't take credit for that. All

aithopa! XD )

[Draco:] '...Father actually considered sending me to Durmstrang rather than Hogwarts, you know. He knows the Headmaster, you see. Well, you know his opinion of Dumbledore -- the man's such a Mudblood-lover -- and Durmstrang doesn't admit that sort of riff-raff. But Mother didn't like the idea of me going to school so far away. Father says Durmstrang takes a far more sensible line than Hogwarts about the Dark Arts. Durmstrang students actually learn them, not just the defence rubbish we do...' (147)

Despite Durmstrang's admittance policy, Krum doesn't seem to have a problem dating a Muggleborn (unless he doesn't realize she is one).

Although Narcissa's protectiveness of Draco is firmly canon now, there may be other reasons Lucius wouldn't have wanted to send him to Durmstrang. He sure does know Karkaroff -- because they were both DEs. And Lucius definitely tries to downplay his associations with that crowd.

And then the kids eat Cauldron Cakes and so on, and talk about Unplottable buildings. There are a lot of magicky details introduced in GoF -- fire-calling, Unplottability -- that see heavy use in fic.

Look at this!' said Malfoy in ecstasy, holding up Ron's robes and showing Crabbe and Goyle. 'Weasley, you weren't thinking of wearing these, were you? I mean -- they were very fashionable in about 1890...' (150)

We've already been over Harry's subtextual queerness, but am I the only one for whom Draco just reads as gay? Adorably so! He just sounds so much like some of the bitchy queens I know.

A gleeful smile spread across Malfoy's pale face.

'Don't tell me you don't know?' he said delightedly. 'You've got a father and a brother at the Ministry and you don't even know? My God, my father told me about it ages ago ... heard it from Cornelius Fudge. But then, Father's always associated with the top people at the Ministry ... maybe your father's too junior to know about it, Weasley ... yes ... they probably don't talk about important stuff in front of him...' (150)

Between CoS and HBP, Draco is not really Harry's rival -- he's Ron's. In this scene it's particularly evident. He spares a couple of sentences for Harry, but spends paragraphs delightedly mocking Ron.

Previous GoF posts are saved in memories here.