The Rising of Dumbledore’s Army
The Worst Villain in the Harry Potter Series
Disclaimer: if you have not yet read this book for whatever bizarre reason, look away now! This blog may contain spoilers and I definitely do not want to ruin the experience of reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the first time.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth book in this highly popular magical series by well-known author, J. K. Rowling. The previous four books are, Philosopher’s stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire. The threat of Lord Voldemort has returned to the wizarding world once again and while the Ministry of Magic attempts to deny it, a secret order gathers to fight against Voldemort’s dark forces.
This blog has been separated into different sections, to make it easier to read. I firstly start with a summary of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, followed by my top three funniest and top three darkest moments of the book. After this I show you my top five favourite quotes. I then take a closer look at the characters we come across in this book as well as analyse Harry’s growth in this book. I end with my rating and review of Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix.
Summary
J. K. Rowling does not slowly bring the adventure to you in this book. No, there is action and adventure right from the beginning. While on the receiving end of the usual torment from Dudley, Dementors show up in Little Whinging. In self-defence, Harry uses the Patronus charm to protect himself and his cousin. This leads to him being expelled from Hogwarts and needing to attend a hearing to be tried for his ‘crime’.
This hearing sets up one of the major plots of the book: the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has decided to discredit Harry as much as he can. He does not want to acknowledge that Voldemort is back and even pressures the Daily Prophet newspaper to report that Harry is unstable and dangerous. Fudge also sends a Ministry representative, Dolores Umbridge, to Hogwarts as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts instructor and High Inquisitor.
As Professor Umbridge refuses to allow the students to practice defensive spells during her lesson, a student group forms, Dumbledore’s Army (D. A), to study things like the Disarming spell and Patronus charm. The name, Dumbledore’s Army, is a joke more than anything else as this is what the Ministry fears the most: Dumbledore training wizards at Hogwarts who are loyal to him.
The D. A is the only positive thing in Harry’s life. Professor Umbridge has it in for him and so has put a life-long ban on Harry from playing Quidditch. Worse than this, Harry has been having dreams in which he seems to be looking through the eyes of Voldemort. This proves useful when Harry sees Voldemort’s snake attack Mr. Weasley in the Department of Mysteries. As soon as Dumbledore learns of what Harry has been seeing, he tells Harry to starts studying Occlumency.
Occlumency is a field of magic that is supposed to protect a wizard’s mind from magical probing and scanning. Funnily enough, the best Occlumen at the school besides Dumbledore himself, is Professor Snape – Harry’s most-hated teacher. These lessons come to an abrupt halt when Harry sees Snape’s worst memory, fifteen-year-old Snape getting bullied by Harry’s father, James Potter.
Voldemort takes advantage of being able to access Harry’s mind and one night Harry sees that Voldemort is torturing Sirius. Assuming that Voldemort has Sirius, Harry decides to go
rescue him. Harry rushes to the Ministry of Magic, accompanied by some of his friends, where there is no Sirius to be found. Voldemort has led Harry to Department of Secrets to retrieve a prophecy kept there for him. No sooner does Harry find it, that they are ambushed by Death Eaters.
In the fight that follows, Hermione gets horrible internal injuries, Ron grapples with a giant brain, Ginny breaks her ankle, Luna gets stunned and Neville breaks his nose as well as is on the receiving end of the Crucio curse. Harry has led his friends right into a trap and worse, Sirius comes to try to help him. However, he ends up on the receiving end of a curse from Bellatrix and tragically dies.
Professor Dumbledore arrives at the Department of Mysteries around the same time Voldemort does. The two duel at the Ministry, in an epic showdown, resulting in Voldemort trying to possess Harry to force Dumbledore to kill the boy. Voldemort disappears, but not before Cornelius Fudge and a bunch of other Ministry employees see Voldemort with their own eyes. Fudge removes Umbridge from power and reinstates Professor Dumbledore as Headmaster at Hogwarts.
Top Three Funniest Moments
#1 Professor McGonagall’s epic one liners
“Is it true that you shouted at Professor Umbridge?”
“Yes.”
“Have a biscuit, Potter.”
Honestly, sometimes I think Professor McGonagall is the funniest character in these books. This moment was so unexpected from the professor, making it both sweet and hilarious.
#2 Fred and George leaving a swamp in one of the corridors
“So – you think it’s amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?’
‘Pretty amusing, yeah,’ said Fred, looking up at her without the slightest sign of fear.”
What’s also funny is that all the other professors just leave it there and leave Umbridge to figure it out for herself.
#3 Dumbledore’s Priorities
While the rest of them are worried about the danger Dumbledore could find himself in if he keeps going against the Ministry of Magic, Dumbledore himself is not too bothered. This is possibly the funniest line in the entire book:
“But Dumbledore says he doesn’t care what they do as long as they don’t take him off the Chocolate Frog Cards.”
Bill says this when the group is explaining to Harry how everyone is trying to discredit Dumbledore and make them think he is senile by doing things like demoting him from being Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot and possibly taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class.
Top Three Darkest Moments
#1 Dementors showing up in Little Whinging
“Something had happened to the night … The balmy evening was suddenly piercingly, bitingly, cold. They were surrounded by total, impenetrable, silent darkness, as though some giant hand had dropped a thick, icy mantle over the entire alleyway, blinding them.”
This is completely out of character for dementors, to show up in a muggle area. However, their presence forces Harry to use magic outside of school, resulting in a ministry hearing.
“A towering, hooded figure was gliding smoothly towards him, hovering over the ground, no feet or face visible beneath its robes, sucking on the night as it came.”
#2 Bellatrix kills Sirius
During the battle at the Ministry, Bellatrix casts a curse on Sirius Black, causing him to stumble into the Veil and instantly die.
“It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arch.”
I really thought Harry would get a little longer with his godfather, so this scene was particularly heart-wrenching for me. I really hoped Harry’s relationship with his godfather would blossom and maybe he would learn more about his parents. However, it seems Harry just can’t catch a break.
“There’s nothing you can do, Harry … nothing … he’s gone.”
#3 Voldemort appearing at the Ministry
“Tall, thin and black-hooded, his terrible snakelike face white and gaunt, his scarlet, slit-pupilled eyes staring … Lord Voldemort had appeared in the middle of the hall, his wand pointing at Harry who stood frozen, quite unable to move.”
The fight which follows between Voldemort and Dumbledore is nothing short of epic. Voldemort decides to flee before we can see who would have won in this ultimate battle between him and Voldemort.
“It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom,’ said Dumbledore calmly. ‘The Aurors are on their way- ‘
‘By which time I shall be gone, and you will be dead!’ spat Voldemort.”
What I particularly loved about this scene, is Dumbledore referring to Voldemort as ‘Tom’. It shows Dumbledore’s complete disregard for the ‘dark and powerful wizard’ Voldemort claims to be, rather he still sees him as the same boy who was once a student at Hogwarts. I think Dumbledore wanted to defy him in any way possible as Voldemort is used to people following his orders. He wanted to show Voldemort that he would not cower in his presence nor follow his orders.
Top Five Favourite Quotes
“Is it true you shouted at Professor Umbridge?”
“Yes.”
“You called her a liar?”
“Yes.”
“You told her He Who Must Not Be Named is back?”
“Yes.”
“Have a biscuit, Potter.”
“Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect.”
“You should write a book,’ Ron told Hermione as he cut up his potatoes, ‘translating mad things girls do so boys can understand them.”
“Give her hell from us, Peeves.”
“Ask us no questions and we’ll tell you no lies.”
Get to Know the Characters
Harry Potter
Harry had a lot of experience with not being believed. In the Philosopher’s Stone, he insisted that the stone was not safe but nobody believed him. In Chamber of Secrets, he tries to tell everyone that he is not the heir of Slytherin but nobody believes him again. In Goblet of Fire, the students from all three schools believe Harry entered his own name in the Goblet, even Ron does not believe him!
Harry gets through all of this doubt by relying on his best friends, Ron and Hermione, who mostly stand by him and believe in him. After quite a lonely and ugly upbringing with the Dursleys, Harry is grateful to have friends who support him during these very tough times.
More about Harry will be discussed in the section about Harry’s growth in this book.
Ron Weasley
After the strain on their friendship in book four and the Triwizard Tournament, things between Ron and Harry are mostly back to normal. Even though he is on the receiving end of Harry’s anger, he is still by Harry’s side and supporting him throughout this book.
In this book we see Ron getting made a Prefect, a student who is supposed to monitor the behaviour of other students. While Harry did not want to be a prefect, he does wonder why Ron deserves the role more than he does. Ron also becomes Gryffindor Quidditch team Keeper now that Oliver Wood has finished school. As Harry is on a life-time ban from playing Quidditch, watching his best friend play the sport he loves so much must be difficult for Harry.
A lot of the humour in this book is from Ron and it balances nicely with Harry’s seriousness. Ron is amusingly and sweetly overprotective of his little sister, Ginny, who he is horrified to learn, has started dating. He takes an immediate dislike to Michael Corner, Ravenclaw Quidditch player, when he hearts that Ginny is dating him. When they break up Ron says “Well, I always thought he was a bit of an idiot” in true Ron style. While it is true that Ron provides light comic relief to the serious things happening, his courage in the final battle shows how important his loyalty will be in the battle against Voldemort.
Hermione Granger
True to her character, Hermione is mature, thoughtful and perceptive in this book. And, as always, she is incredibly smart. She reminds Harry that she and Ron are on his side so he needs to stop taking his anger out on them. Hermione is almost the anti-Harry in this book. When he gets out of line, Hermione is there to remind him of the consequences. When Harry wants to rush into a situation blindly, Hermione is the one who advises him to stop and think first.
Even though Hermione is more careful, the years with Harry and Ron seem to be rubbing off on her as she is the one to suggest luring Professor Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest where the centaurs trample her. Despite her uncertainty that Sirius is being tortured at the Department of Mysteries, she still accompanies Harry and helps him to the best of her abilities.
Hermione is nothing short of brilliant. She is also much more emotionally mature than Harry and Ron. When Harry cannot figure out why Cho is upset, it is Hermione who explains the complex feelings Cho has about dating Harry after Cedric’s death. Hermione isn’t just amazing at magic; she seems to know all about people and politics. An important example of this is her idea of how to manipulate Rita Skeeter into writing an article in Harry’s favour in The Quibbler, a tabloid newspaper out of the Ministry of Magic’s control. While Hermione seems like the perfect character in this book, she also has her flaws. As the exams draw near, she grows moody and difficult to be around. She always wants to talk about her results which can be difficult for those who may not have done as well as her. This shows that she is not always perceptive about what the people around her actually want.
Dolores Umbridge
We first meet Dolores Umbridge at Harry’s hearing for use of magic for an underage wizard. She openly sneers at the idea that there could be dementors in Little Whinging. It is evident that she is a loyal supporter of Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. She is then appointed the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts where she refuses to allow her students to practice defensive magic.
Professor Umbridge then gets herself appointed as Hogwarts High Inquisitor, with the right to start overseeing lessons. She uses her new power to fire Professor Trelawney, the Divination professor and she uses her authority to send Aurors after Hagrid because she hates half-humans. She appoints Malfoy and his friends as part of the “Inquisitorial Squad” to spy on their fellow students, which is how she learns about the groups Dumbledore’s Army. When Dumbledore claims that the D.A was his idea, he leaves the school and Professor Umbridge becomes Headmaster of Hogwarts.
All of this shows her main characteristic: she is ambitious and power-hungry. A disturbing example of this is when she gives Harry detention, she makes him write “I will not tell lies” over with a Blood Quill that makes his hand bleed. Professor Umbridge loves to lord power over people who are weaker than her and enjoys causing physical and emotional pain.
“Tut, tut, I don’t seem to have made much of an impression yet,’ she said, smiling. ‘Well, we’ll just have to try again tomorrow evening, won’t we? You may go.”
Personally, I find Professor Umbridge to be one of the most horrible villains in the entire Harry Potter series. What’s worse is she attempts to hide behind a mask of honour and a rule-follower. Behind the mask, she is just as bad as the Death Eaters.
Voldemort
In book five, the war against Voldemort is spent mostly in limbo. We know he is back because Harry saw him rise at the end of book four; however, the current Minister for Magic is too afraid of Voldemort to admit to his return. Fudge spends a lot of effort into undermining Harry and Dumbledore as much as possible. This year of Fudge’s antics allows Voldemort time to do his work in secrecy.
Voldemort definitely takes advantage of this time. He sends representatives to the giants; he begins luring the dementors to his side and this friendship with the dementors allows him to commit the largest prison break in Azkaban history. Ten of his worst Death Eaters, escape from prison during this prison break, including Bellatrix Lestrange.
With Fudge attempting to persuade people that Voldemort is not back, those on the ‘good’ side are torn between following the Minister for Magic or believing Dumbledore. Even before Voldemort starts operating out in the open, he is causing disagreement in the wizarding world. This kind of internal dissent is one of Voldemort’s strategies; he is good at turning allies against each other. Another example of this is turning Peter Pettigrew against the other Marauders.
In his continuing campaign to twist good people against one another, Voldemort discovers the link that he shares with Harry when he feels Harry in his mind. Once he realises what this means, he manipulates Harry into rushing to the Department of Mysteries to get the prophecy for Voldemort.
By the end of book five, Cornelius Fudge sees Voldemort with his own eyes at the Ministry of Magic. The Daily Prophet publishes an article praising Harry as ‘a lone voice of truth’ and warning of the second rise of Voldemort.
Harry’s Growth in this book
This book, allowing us to become a part of Harry’s journey in his fifth year at Hogwarts, is unfortunately not easier than any of the rest. Arguably this may be Harry’s most difficult year so far. Most of the wizarding world is now convinced Harry is crazy and to make matters worse, Hogwarts has been saddled with a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge, who seems to have it out for Harry personally. To add to all of this, Harry has to prepare for his Ordinary Wizarding Levels, exams set for all Hogwarts students at the end of their fifth year and finally, Harry is also having trouble with his long-time crush, Cho Chang.
“BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING?”
I feel like the dangers, troubles and trials from the past four years are now catching up to Harry in this book. We see him lash out at his closest ones so often that others like Fred and George comment on his behaviour.
“You don’t want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out,’ said Fred, also beaming.”
Harry’s rage can be uncomfortable to read at times as one of my favourite things about the first four books was his beautiful friendship with Ron and Hermione. At times, while reading this book, I wanted to shake Harry and tell him to snap out of it! This obnoxiousness may be a necessary part of Harry’s growth but that does not make it any more comforting to read. However, I will say, it makes his character more relatable. As humans, we are flawed, and we all lose our temper our let our emotions get the better of us at times so the relatable factor just adds to Harry’s overall ‘heroism’. He is a real life, human hero.
My Rating and Review
I cannot give this book less than five stars. Even in the summer with the Dursleys, Harry is ambushed by two dementors. How can you not love a book that starts in such a way? From this point on, the action and adventure does not stop.
The climax of the book was really well done. I could not put the book down; it truly hooks you. The stakes felt high and for the first time, these events were not taking place at Hogwarts but somewhere different. This, along with some new enemies introduced at the end, was truly refreshing. We have been introduced to Death Eaters before but at the end of this book, we can truly see how willing the Death Eaters are to do Voldemort’s bidding. This makes them well and truly dangerous. The end of this book marks the beginning of open war with Voldemort, which tells us that book six is going to get ugly and even more dangerous.
I really like that J. K. Rowling tied up all the loose ends at the end of this book, Harry’s resentment at being kept in the dark, his estrangement from his friends and Dumbledore and the corruption of the Ministry of Magic. The title of the final chapter is “The Second War Begins” and I don’t know about anyone else but this made me rush to pick up book six.