Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Chapter Notes

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 22: St Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

• “The instrument tinkled into life at once with rhythmic clinking noises. Tiny puffs of pale green smoke issued from the minuscule silver tube at the top. Dumbledore watched the smoke closely, his brow furrowed. After a few seconds, the tiny puffs became a steady stream of smoke that thickened and coiled in the air … a serpent’s head grew out of the end of it, opening its mouth wide. Harry wondered whether the instrument was confirming his story: he looked eagerly at Dumbledore for a sign that he was right, but Dumbledore did not look up. ‘Naturally, naturally,’ murmured Dumbledore apparently to himself, still observing the stream of smoke without the slightest sign of surprise. ‘But in essence divided?’” – I don’t think it is ever explained what exactly this instrument is, but this, along with Dumbledore’s question from which perspective Harry saw the attack on Mr. Weasley, confirms that by now Dumbledore knows or at least suspects about the Horcruxes. He might had suspected it since book 2 and the Riddle Diary and the way it worked. By now though it is confirmed to him that Harry is a Horcrux as well, which would explain we he could see through Nagini’s eyes, as all the Horcruxes and Voldemort are connected. This would also explain why Dumbledore refuses to even look at Harry, though he did ignore him ever since the start of the summer, so while Harry’s knowledge about the attack confirms his theory Dumbledore must have known for much longer. Which would also explain his emotional distance: he didn’t want to get to close to the boy he knew had to die.

• “Dumbledore was now rummaging in a cupboard behind Harry and Ron. He emerged from it carrying a blackened old kettle, which he placed carefully on his desk. He raised his wand and murmured, ‘Portus!’ For a moment the kettle trembled, glowing with an odd blue light; then it quivered to rest, as solidly black as ever.” – I like the idea of Dumbledore having a cupboard of random things he can turn into Portkeys at any given time should he need one.

• “At once, Harry’s scar burned white-hot, as though the old wound had burst open again – and unbidden, unwanted, but terrifyingly strong, there rose within Harry a hatred so powerful he felt, for that instant, he would like nothing better than to strike – to bite – to sink his fangs into the man before him –“ – We know that Voldemort never possessed Harry here, and that obviously Dumbledore was never in real danger to get attacked by Harry through him. So I think another reason why Dumbledore ignored Harry was because he might had suspected that his view would be enough to re-connect Harry and Voldemort and that perhaps this time Voldemort would be aware of the connection, using it against Harry, the way he ultimately does at the end of this book.

• “[…] Sirius was hurrying towards them all, looking anxious. He was unshaven and still in his day clothes; there was also a slightly Mundungus-like whiff of stale drink about him.” – I think Harry noticed that Sirius didn’t do well, but never the full impact of it, because he was too young to understand. There are clear signs that Sirius was depressed, and also had maniac episodes, which would explain his reckless behaviour in the Ministry. Mental health is something that is largely not addressed in the Wizarding World. When we enter St. Mungos there are several floors for all kind of specific injuries and diseases, but no psychotherapeutic ward. In the next chapter we see the Longbottoms and Gilderoy Lockhart, who are both not in their right mind, but in both cases this is caused through magic, and treated as such (irreversible spell damage). Harry clearly suffers from PTSD as well, but never gets the help he needs.

• “‘Your father knew what he was getting into and he won’t thank you for messing things up for the Order!’ said Sirius, equally angry. ‘This is how it is – this is why you’re not in the Order – you don’t understand – there are things worth dying for!’ ‘Easy for you to say, stuck here!’ bellowed Fred. ‘I don’t see you risking your neck!’ The little colour remaining in Sirius’s face drained from it. He looked for a moment as though he would quite like to hit Fred, but when he spoke, it was in a voice of determined calm.” – Low blow, Fred. And it hits right where it will hurt Sirius the most, confirming that he is useless and no help, while everyone else risks their life for the cause. Which again will lead to his downfall in the end.

• Sirius dismisses Harry’s worries that there might be something wrong with him, and he is the one who attacked Mr. Weasley somehow. Either Sirius really thinks there is nothing to it, that Harry is just under shock, or he knew something was up and didn’t want Harry to worry. Somehow I can’t imagine that Dumbledore would have shared his theory that Harry is a Horcrux with Sirius, because Sirius would have known what that meant for Harry’s life as well. I really think Snape was the only one who knew besides Dumbledore, because Dumbledore trusted him to see the bigger picture. But it is also interesting to see how different this scene is portrayed in the movie adaption. It is then that Sirius tells Harry that you can’t just categorize people into Death Eaters and good people, meaning that even good people like Harry have a dark side, and that it matters what we choose to act on. In the book this line refers to Umbridge, meaning that even though she isn’t a Death Eater she can still be a bad person. Two very different interpretations of the same sentence.

• “They had arrived outside a large, old-fashioned, red-brick department store called Purge & Dowse Ltd. The place had a shabby, miserable air; the window displays consisted of a few chipped dummies with their wigs askew, standing at random and modelling fashions at least ten years out of date.” – As if Harry even would know what is fashion. The kid still wears his cousin’s old clothes, despite owning a small fortune.

• “Harry thought how absurd it was for Tonks to expect the dummy to hear her talking so quietly through a sheet of glass, with buses rumbling along behind her and all the racket of a street full of shoppers. Then he reminded himself that dummies couldn’t hear anyway.” – How did you ever manage to get through life? (Then again, this could have been me, wondering about the very same thing)

• “‘Doctors?’ said Ron, looking startled. ‘Those Muggle nutters that cut people up? Nah, they’re Healers.’” – This kind of reminds me of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (aka the best Star Trek movie) and Bones utter horror when he learns how doctors used to treat their patients in the past (“Now, put away your butcher’s knives and let me save this patient before it’s too late!”).

• “A harassed-looking wizard was holding his small daughter tightly by the ankle while she flapped around his head using the immensely large, feathery wings that had sprouted right out through the back of her romper suit. ‘Fourth floor,’ said the witch, in a bored voice, without asking, and the man disappeared through the double doors beside the desk, holding his daughter like an oddly shaped balloon. ‘Next!’” – This is what they should have used their CGI for, just saying.

• ‘We’ll wait outside, Molly,’ Tonks said. ‘Arthur won’t want too many visitors at once … it ought to be just the family first.’ Mad-Eye growled his approval of this idea and set himself with his back against the corridor wall, his magical eye spinning in all directions. Harry drew back, too, but Mrs Weasley reached out a hand and pushed him through the door, saying, ‘Don’t be silly, Harry, Arthur wants to thank you.’” – It is interesting how Harry doesn’t see himself as part of the Weasley family, despite Molly saying he is like a son to her. We already saw this with him questioning where he would spend his Christmas holidays, because Ron had forgotten to invite him, not naturally assuming he would spend the holidays with the Weasleys. Harry only acknowledges Sirius as his family and at times like these feels like an intruder to the Weasley family.

• “‘A werewolf?’ whispered Mrs Weasley, looking alarmed. ‘Is he safe in a public ward? Shouldn’t he be in a private room?’ ‘It’s two weeks till full moon,’ Mr Weasley reminded her quietly. ‘They’ve been talking to him this morning, the Healers, you know, trying to persuade him he’ll be able to lead an almost normal life. I said to him – didn’t mention names, of course – but I said I knew a werewolf personally, very nice man, who finds the condition quite easy to manage.’”- Mrs. Weasley immediate reaction is to see the patient who was bitten by a werewolf as a threat to her own family, especially her husband. Her first instinct is to isolate him, despite knowing a werewolf herself and the social stigma that surrounds him. Also I doubt that Lupin would say the condition is easy to manage. We know that by now there is a potion that will help him during his transformations, but it was also mentioned that only people as skilled as Snape can produce such a potion. Between his year at Hogwarts and his work for the Order Lupin probably had to manage without the potion (I assume Snape provides him the potion once again since they are both in the Order). And not everyone has access to said potion. The Magical Health System is very flawed.

• It is Moody who says Voldemort possesses Harry, because assumingly not knowing about the Horcruxes (and that Harry is one) that would be the logical explanation to him. Dumbledore had to offer the Order another explanation than that though, but again I doubt anyone except Snape knew the whole truth.