Chapter 9: The Dark Mark, Death in the sky |
 Feb 28 2009, 02:23 PM
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Atrium Bouncer  Posts: 916 Joined: 1:13pm March 27, 2007 Location: The Leaky Cauldron(where else is there?!?)    |
Chapter 9: The Dark Mark Death in the sky  Chapter art by Mary GrandPre The Irish have won the Quidditch World Cup and, much to Mr. Weasley’s consternation, Fred and George are gleefully counting their winnings. Amid the raucous celebrating by the Irish fans, the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione retire to their tent and banter enjoyable about the match over one last cup of hot cocoa. After Ginny falls asleep at the table, knocking over her hot chocolate, Mr. Weasley declares it’s time for bed. In the midst of dreaming about attempting the Wronski Feint to the cheers of 100,000 fans, Harry is suddenly awakened by Mr. Weasley’s urgent shouts. Something is wrong! The campsite noises have changed from celebration to panic. The Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione scurry out of the tents and are met by a strange sight--masked wizards marching through the camp setting tents on fire and making an awful racket. Harry notices four figures floating above the masked wizards—-Mr. Roberts and his family! Mr. Weasley tells the kids to head towards the woods, and then takes off to help the Ministry wizards. Harry, Ron, and Hermione get separated from the others and stumble through the woods running across Draco (ugh), goblins, veela, a French-speaking young female wizard (“Beauxbatons” Hermione whispers), Winky (which unleashes an elf-rights tirade from Hermione), and Ludo Bagman (who appears out of sorts). Not exactly sure where to go, the trio make it to a small clearing, sit down, and start discussing the recent events. Suddenly, a voice rips through the night: "MORSMORDRE!!" The sky is lit up by a colossal emerald green skull with a snake protruding from its mouth! Panic ensues in the surrounding woods! Harry is confused until Hermione informs him hurriedly that this is the mark of Voldemort. Abruptly, the three of them are surrounded by Ministry wizards. They barely duck before several “Stupefy!” erupt over their heads. Confusion follows as Mr. Weasley recognizes the trio, the wizards scour the underbrush, and then find Winky, Mr. Crouch’s house elf, stunned and with Harry’s wand in hand! Accusations fly heatedly until Mr. Crouch decides to give Winky clothes and dismiss her from his service. Mr. Weasley leads the trio back to their campsite where they find the rest of the Weasleys. They discuss what happened (“Death Eaters did it!” Ron argues) and then head to bed, all exhausted. Harry lies awake for a few minutes, reflecting on when his scar hurt and now this. As he drifts off to sleep, the question floats around his mind, unanswered: What does it all mean? Here are a few questions just to start us off. Please add your own thoughts, questions, reactions, etc! 1. When you first read this chapter, what was your reaction to the commotion in the camp? 2. When you read about the Muggles floating unceremoniously in the air, what was your immediate reaction? Do you think Muggle/wizard relations were a part of this treatment? Why or why not? 3. What did you initially think of Draco’s reaction to the masked wizards? 4. Did Hermione’s sudden outbust against house elf treatment surprise you? Why or why not? Did Ron’s argument make sense? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We are starting our House Points Trivia Game that will continue throughout the reading of GoF. Before answering a trivia question, please click here to read the full rules of the game. House Trivia:  How many Ministry wizards were present in the clearing by the time Mr. Weasley and the trio left? (15 points)Please note, answers to House Point Questions must be included within posts that contain additional content to qualify. In other words, one-liner posts are not acceptable, even in the context of the game. Thank you for playing by the rules! This post has been edited by tryston009: Feb 28 2009, 02:25 PM -------------------- Tryston
"Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself." --Dumbledore-- Follow the RGs on Twitter! |
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Feb 28 2009, 03:38 PM
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Transfiguration Today's Star Reporter  Posts: 2,023 Joined: 7:49pm July 26, 2005 Location: I root for the Lily & Stag! |
I won't lie - this chapter still just absolutely gives me the shivers!! Jo's description of the family being tortured (maybe not physically as we don't know if they're in pain, but definitely emotionally through feeling so powerless and humiliated!) is just truly terrible. The knowledge that their memories will be wiped doesn't really make things better in my mind... I mean, isn't there a chance that something could resurface later, even in nightmares? I'm not convinced that even the strongest memory modifications can hide truly subconscious material.
And then there is the pure terror that we see in the rest of the Wizarding population to make things worse. To me, I read this and see that even though the handful of Death Eaters are INCREDIBLY outnumbered, people are so afraid of the power that even those members without Voldemort hold that they run instead of standing up to them. I've never really thought of Crabbe and Goyle as being particularly powerful, but seriously... to scare everyone so much, these must be some very, VERY bad people instead of just the bumblers who we later bump into!! Maybe it's just because I'm a chicken, but doesn't this scare the bejeesus out of anyone else? *shudder* No, I'm really not playing this up... I get images of the Ku Klux Klan and lynchings whenever I read this chapter, and it deeply disturbs me. And along that same theme, I think that Draco and Hermione's reactions remind me so much of that era in history anyway... Draco knows that he is absolutely safe because he is of the purest blood, and of course I'm sure he knows that his parents are in on it... no one would get a burning cross if their dad was the one burning them, you know? Likewise, the lynch mobs stayed away from the houses of the most rich and powerful. And on the other end, Winky being blamed and Hermione standing up for her is SO much in my mind like the lynchings of people like Emmit Till, which was completely unmerited (as if any lynching could be "merited....") Hermione, as is characteristic, acknowledges atrocities that have long been outlawed in our corners of the Muggle World, and somehow a society that is in many ways more advanced and privilege still is taking advantage of those differences to create a larger chasm. No wonder she is appalled that no one stands up for house elf rights (even if she is a little misguided in her way of doing it)! -------------------- |
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 Mar 1 2009, 01:12 PM
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Official Grandmother at the Lily and Stag Inn  Posts: 2,721 Joined: 4:33pm February 27, 2007 Location: Having tea with Minerva McGonagall at Hogwarts |
The Death Eaters see the Muggles as sub human very much the way the southern slave holders had viewed their black slaves, an attitude that survived long after slavery had been abolished and with state government approval.The Death Eaters used the unforgivable Imperius Curse on the Roberts family so that they were fully conscious and terrified as they dangled in the air being forced to turn in different ways. The DEs are extremely sadistic. They have been deprived of their base pleasures for far too long. They take advantage of an international gathering
 of wizards to indulge themselves in the cruelty they enjoy, picking on the family that has worked hard all day to organize the campsite. If the MoM did anything to punish the DEs for their misdeeds, I did not read about it. The government is satisfied with modifying the Roberts" memories, fairly disgusting; I think. It certainly foreshadows events to come. The DEs find their so called courage in numbers and the anonymity of their black hooded  costumes.So we can cross over to the Klu Kux Klan and the Knights of the White Camellia in the white south post Civil War.Even now at a time when it is not acceptable, there is a KKK, alive and well, underground. Unfortunately Emmett Till, a 14 year old black boy from Chicago in the 1910s was kidnapped, beaten, and shot in the head while visiting relatives in Mississippi. His body was subsequently thrown into the Mississippi River. Real life stories like his come forward from time to time to remind us of the kinds of behavior in which people are capable of indulging themselves. I grew up in Atlanta in the 1940s and 50s when Klan activity was very much alive and well. The state governor around 1970 was openly racist and sold wooden clubs at his restaurant in Atlanta. His name was Lester Maddox. Crosses were burned in yards in black neighborhoods and people disappeared without notice unless their skin was white. Klan activities were ignored by the law, and proof of literacy was required to register to vote. I had to read a sentence from the Bible. Back to the DEs. Draco  was protected by his pure blood and his family's wealth, but most of all by his father's status as a DE. They had safety in numbers. They were not expecting LV to come back. They just wanted to play at their old games. They were terrified by the appearance of the Dark Mark  because they knew that something darker than their little anti Muggle party was taking place.
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Mar 1 2009, 01:21 PM
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Monster Book Stacker  Posts: 358 Joined: 9:13am August 11, 2007 |
1. When you first read this chapter, what was your reaction to the commotion in the camp?
This is an interesting chapter because, like a few other chapters in the series, you can't quite figure out what's wrong at first. At first this seems just like drunken rioitng, until the Dark Mark is cast. 2. When you read about the Muggles floating unceremoniously in the air, what was your immediate reaction? Do you think Muggle/wizard relations were a part of this treatment? Why or why not? See at first, the reader will probably think the Roberts family were just random victims. Until you realize that this is a crowd of Death Eaters and the dark mark is cast. The first thing I notice about this chapter is the cover art. When I first saw it I thought there were people getting roasted over a camp fire or something. I do imagine Ron burning his Viktor Krum toy at one point or naother  Ya know I was just thinking, seeing the World Cup of Quidditch (As well as real life) is one of those things you remember forever. Except for Harry, because the happy memories will get washed over by "We had a great time at the world cup but then the Death Eaters showed up and anounced the return of the dark lord." It seems like this happens a lot to Harry, something good happens just for someting really bad to happen right after. Poor guy. Ya know throughout these books Harry always dreams of being a pro quidditch player. It never does happen does it? It's kind of like in real life, there's things we're good at and love doing, but they don't end up "Becoming us." As for the chapter itself: There's a lot more Death Eaters in the book then are portrayed in the movies, aren't there? The book makes it seem like there's a swarm of Death Eaters, in the movies we only see about four or five at each time. We get an actual mention of an "invisible person" holding onto Winikie's sholders on page 124. This post has been edited by ShanksForte: Mar 1 2009, 01:28 PM -------------------- Dumbledore has a posse.
"Listening to the news! Again?" "Well, it changes every day, you see." |
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Mar 1 2009, 02:19 PM
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Eeylops Owl Cage Cleaner Posts: 213 Joined: 8:33pm January 11, 2009 Location: Wilmington, NC |
1. When you first read this chapter, what was your reaction to the commotion in the camp? i was scared along with harry, and i was also very interested in seeing what was going to happen next. i wanted to know about the dark side of the wizard world, i wanted to see it and feel it. so far we had only heard of it through harry who had overheard it himself. so i was both scared and interested.
2. When you read about the Muggles floating unceremoniously in the air, what was your immediate reaction? Do you think Muggle/wizard relations were a part of this treatment? Why or why not? i was immediantly shocked. i could not believe that something so cruel was going on. i do believe that it has a lot to do with wizard muggle relations, and how some people operate within this paradigm. 3. What did you initially think of Draco’s reaction to the masked wizards? i was not surprised by dracos reaction, it matched the character that was painted for us so far. i also found it important that draco was so nonchalant about it because it added a new dimension to his personality 4. Did Hermione’s sudden outbust against house elf treatment surprise you? Why or why not? Did Ron’s argument make sense? i was surprised by hermiones sudden outburst but i was immensley proud of her. i too saw the house elves as being oppressed, every since Dobby in COS. i was glad that hermione became so impassioned that she had to do something. and for me, Rons argument was nothing more that ignorance. he had always been taught to think that way and so he just regurgitated it. i think what hermione says later about ppl like that propping up injust systems was dead on for ron at that moment. -------------------- Read books - formulate independent thought.
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Mar 1 2009, 03:29 PM
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Transfiguration Today's Star Reporter Posts: 2,011 Joined: 3:59pm May 15, 2008 Location: Sunny Phoenix, Arizona("It's a Dry Heat!")  |
Well, I think the questions so far have been discussed in some detail, so I want to go in another direction. After reading what mlwl and Granjo wrote about the Death Eaters, I have to admit that when I read the book, the image of the KKK simply didn't enter my mind. However, after seeing the film version of GOF, that scene where the Death Eaters were going through, with their masks, and robes with the pointy tops, it was clear that a connection to the Klan was being made. The more I think about this, it makes more sense. Anyone from the Southern part of the US, or who has studied the post-Civil War period is aware that it was not just Negroes whom the Klan targeted. They also persecuted Jews and Catholics as well. This correlates with the Death Eaters--they really despise muggles the most, but anyone in the wizarding world who doesn't conform with their world view is a potential target as well. I think the messages are quite similar--"conform to our view or else"!
However, for those people who are in the most hated category, namely Negroes, and Muggles, there is no choice. One does not choose one's skin color or magic ability. That's why this is such a cruel philosophy-- it targets people and puts them down, not because of something they have chosen, but something they have no power over. I also think, down deep, there is some level of fear on the part of those persecutors. What, after all, could pure-blooded wizards really have to fear from muggles, or muggle-born wizards? Could it be the very fact that a muggle-born can have magic is a threat to the way they view themselves? I think it's the same thing with the KKK. Racial purity is supposed to mean that they are very special--over every one else. However, what happens when it becomes apparent that Dark-skinned people can think and become successful? Isn't this a threat to the Klan's very world view? I think underneath all the persecution is a very real fear that the "other" people may not be so inferior, after all. This, however, can not be admitted by either the Klan or the Death Eaters. Anyone else have some thoughts on that? -------------------- "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phoenix avatar courtesy of ofenjen; thanks to atschpe for help |
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Mar 1 2009, 03:59 PM
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Triwizard Champ of the Lily and Stag Inn  Posts: 2,033 Joined: 8:34am April 9, 2008 Location: Swimming in lunacy   |
3. What did you initially think of Draco’s reaction to the masked wizards?
I first thought what the trio thought - his father is one of the masked people. Draco is very sure of his place in society and that shines through here in this chapter. 4. Did Hermione’s sudden outbust against house elf treatment surprise you? Why or why not? Did Ron’s argument make sense? I appaulded her. Someone should have said something. Im glad it was Hermoine as it was very within her character. In PoA we see her go for the underdog (or undercat in this instance) with crookshanks. She picks the one pet that she knows noone else will have because she cares very much about the person/animal that is seen as the outcast. House Trivia: How many Ministry wizards were present in the clearing by the time Mr. Weasley and the trio left? (15 points)20 Sorry, 20 is not correct. This post has been edited by Granjo Granger: Mar 1 2009, 07:47 PM -------------------- |
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Mar 1 2009, 04:51 PM
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Rat Spleen Restocker at the Apothecary Posts: 474 Joined: 2:31pm May 19, 2007 Location: hanging out at hogwarts with moony and padfoot |
1. When you first read this chapter, what was your reaction to the commotion in the camp?
i though that there was a party going on at first but as i read the chapter i knew somthing was wrong but i guess in some weird way it was interesting to finally see the Death eaters in action for the first time. -------------------- I solemnly swear I'm up to no good
 thanks to Tegalto for the lupin avatar |
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Mar 1 2009, 05:38 PM
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Triwizard Champ of the Lily and Stag Inn Posts: 2,033 Joined: 8:34am April 9, 2008 Location: Swimming in lunacy |
QUOTE(bookworm1102 @ Mar 1 2009, 04:51 PM)  1. When you first read this chapter, what was your reaction to the commotion in the camp? i though that there was a party going on at first but as i read the chapter i knew somthing was wrong but i guess in some weird way it was interesting to finally see the Death eaters in action for the first time. Exactly what I thought. Being Irish I know just how rowdy our parties can get, particularly if we are celebrating (Its not likely we'll ever win the football world cup so Quidditch is the next best thing)  We are a lot louder in an outsider perspective and I just thought Jo picked up on that trait.-------------------- |
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Mar 1 2009, 05:58 PM
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Cauldron Bottom Measurer Posts: 141 Joined: 7:04am February 8, 2009 Location: Alabama |
I remember when I first read this chapter being kind of confused. Who else but Death Eaters would conjure the Dark Mark, but who would be willing to risk getting caught by the Ministry or worse by Voldemort.
I was slso, believe it or not, surprised by Draco's reaction to the masked wizards. Well, I wasn't surprsed that he enjoyed it and was pleased by it, I was just surprised that he was so open about his feelings about it. I was thinking if his father was involved, he sure didn't seem worried that he would get caught. He let it be known he wouldn't admit it if they were involved, but he still didn't hide his pleasure at the Muggle abuse. He went very quickly from playing the part of the son of upstanding citizens who just made a generous charitable contribution to St. Mungo's, to being pretty open at showing his family's true colors without much fear of being caught by the very people his family wanted to impress. At any point anyone could have overheard their converswation. |
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