Pius Thicknesse enters the office, and Harry, having failed
to find what he’s searching for, sneaks past him out the door and
goes back to the elevator. He encounters Ron, who is still working
on Yaxley’s rain problem. He also encounters Arthur Weasley and
tells him that he’s being watched, which makes Weasley think Runcorn
is threatening him.
Harry proceeds to the room where Umbridge is conducting
her hearings of suspected Mudbloods. Dementors guard the suspects. Hermione
is there taking notes, as well as Yaxley, and Umbridge is just beginning
to interview Mary Cattermole, whom she accuses of having obtained
her wand by theft. Mary Cattermole tries to flatter Umbridge by
complimenting a locket that Umbridge is wearing, which Harry recognizes
as the Horcrux. Umbridge makes up a lie about the letters on the
locket standing for members of her pureblood ancestry. Harry, enraged,
casts spells to Stun Umbridge and Yaxley, then Hermione takes the
locket, replaces it magically with a decoy, and the two lead Mary
Cattermole and the other prisoners toward safety. They meet up with
Ron and, urging the prisoners to escape and go into hiding, they
join hands and Disapparate together.
Analysis: Chapters Twelve–Thirteen
The sequence where Harry and friends break into the Ministry
of Magic gives us our clearest and most detailed picture yet of
how the wizarding world has changed now that Voldemort is pulling
the strings. The many things we see the Ministry doing in these
chapters are all systematically modeled after Nazi Germany. Obviously,
there is the separation of society based on racial heritage, with
Mudbloods classified as inferior and branded as a threat to society,
as the Jews were under the Nazis. We also see the organized use
of science, government institutions, and new laws in order to create
a veneer of legitimacy for evil. Wizard scientists have published
“proof” that Mudbloods are inferior, the Ministry has departments
for listing and tracking Mudbloods, and everyone is required to
register and give proof of his or her heritage. Wives are separated
from husbands and imprisoned. Acts of violence, terror, and intimidation
are practiced without fear of reprisal by people in official positions—such
as Yaxley intimidating Cattermole or Runcorn intimidating Arthur Weasley.
By controlling the Ministry, Voldemort creates an atmosphere of
fear that keeps ordinary people afraid to act decently, so that
decency has become an act of great courage.
These chapters also revolve around Dolores Umbridge, the
memorable villain of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Umbridge
is the type of villain who thrives in an institutional setting.
Being at the head of a committee and supervising a team of employees
suit her quite as well as being headmistress of Hogwarts. In contrast
to an outspoken villain like Bellatrix Lestrange, Umbridge thrives
on hypocrisy and the abuse of rules and regulations. Her pursuit
of Mary Cattermole under the pretense of the legal fiction that
any Mudblood who has a wand must have stolen it is perfectly typical
of Umbridge’s behavior. It’s a palpable lie, since Mudbloods were
buying wands and attending Hogwarts for years before Voldemort took
over, but Umbridge is so consistent in her pursuit of this lie that
you start to think she actually believes it. Her absolute consistency,
and the seeming arbitrariness of the lies she insists on, make her
such a fascinating and repulsive character.
