Skip to main content

harry potter - What was "one more murder" that Voldemort was planning and talking about in GoF Ch. 1?


From the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 1 (THE RIDDLE HOUSE):




"If?" whispered the second voice. "If? If you follow the plan, Wormtail, the Ministry need never know that anyone else has died. You will do it quietly and without fuss; I only wish that i could do it myself, but in my present condition...Come, Wormtail, one more death and our path to Harry Potter is clear. I am not asking you to do it alone. By that time, my faithful serant will have rejoined us --"


...


"One more murder ... my faithful servant at Hogwarts...Harry Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail. It is decided. There will be no more argument. But quiet...I think I hear Nagini..."



What was that "one more murder" that Voldemort was planning and talking about? I can think of 5 possibilities (four actual and one attempted murders in GoF) but none of them fit:




  • Bertha Jorkins: Was already dead, and her death discussed in that same conversation





  • Frank Bryce: Doesn't seem to fit, since Voldemort didn't know he was around until after Nagini told him, several minutes later ("Nagini has interesting news, Wormtail," the vice said. "In-indeed, My Lord?" said Wormtail. "Indeed, yes," said the voice, "According to Nagini, there is an old Muggle standing right outside this room, listening to every word we say.")




  • Barty Crouch Sr: Wasn't pre-planned (necesitated by him fighting off Imperius Curse placed by Jr. and escaping).




  • Cedric: Wasn't planned - Harry was meant to end up in the graveyard alone.





  • Harry's attempted murder: The murder spoken of here was meant to be before Harry was in Voldemort's hands.




  • Also, as Xantec noted, it wasn't Moody, since he was needed alive for Crouch Jr.'s impersonation up till Harry's capture.





Answer



In the UK edition of Goblet of Fire, the text is slightly different:



"If?" whispered the second voice. "If? If you follow the plan, Wormtail, the Ministry need never know that anyone else has died. You will do it quietly and without fuss; I only wish that i could do it myself, but in my present condition...Come, Wormtail, one more obstacle removed and our path to Harry Potter is clear. I am not asking you to do it alone. By that time, my faithful serant will have rejoined us --"



...


"One more curse... my faithful servant at Hogwarts...Harry Potter is as good as mine, Wormtail. It is decided. There will be no more argument. But quiet...I think I hear Nagini..."



(source)


In this context, the "one more curse" that Voldemort refers to is likely the Imperius curse which Wormtail will cast on Bartemius Crouch (Sr). Which enabled Barty Jr, (the faithful servant) to impersonate Moody at Hogwarts.


(And the "obstacle removed" could be the Imperius curse which Bartemius Crouch (Sr) was using to keep Barty Jr. in line, or perhaps the obstacle referred to was (the real) Moody.)


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

tolkiens legendarium - Did Gandalf wear his Ring of Power throughout the trilogy?

After Gandalf discovered that Sauron was back and sent Frodo on his quest to Rivendell, did he continue to wear Narya (one of the Three Rings)? It seems like a huge risk to continue to wear it after the Nazgûl (Ringwraiths) started to try and reclaim the One Ring; if they managed to get the ring to Sauron, couldn't he be corrupted by his power? Whatever powers Narya bestows upon him couldn't possibly be worth the huge risk, could it? Answer When Sauron forged the one ring and put it on his finger, the other ring bearers were immediately aware of him and his intentions and removed their own rings. There is no reason why they couldn't merely do so again. As soon as Sauron set the One Ring upon his finger they were aware of him; and they knew him, and preceived that he would be master of them, and of all they wrought. Then in anger and fear they took off their rings. "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," Silmarillion