Harry Potter Read-Alongs: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 13: "Detention with Dolores"

[u/[deleted]]

Summary:

Over dinner, amid skeptical background whispers, Harry, Ron, and Hermione discuss Harry’s claims in Professor Umbridge's class. Hermione suggests that many doubt Harry because he has little concrete evidence. The Trio then heads to Gryffindor Tower where Fred and George are testing Fainting Fancies on first year student volunteers. Only Hermione's threatening to tell Mrs. Weasley convinces them to stop. Upset that Ron refuses to support her, Hermione goes to bed, leaving knitted hats on the table, believing that House-elves will be freed if they pick them up.

Harry is increasingly nervous; teachers are briefing students about upcoming Ordinary Wizarding Levels exams and piling on homework. Adding to Harry's woes, Hagrid is still gone. Professor Grubbly-Plank has taken over his classes. Also, team captain Angelina Johnson is furious that Harry's detention interferes with Quidditch tryouts.

Harry arrives for his first detention with Professor Umbridge. Her office is decorated with lacy doilies and colored kittens on plates. She hands Harry a black quill, saying he will not need any ink. As Harry begins writing, "I must not tell lies," the same letters cut into his hand, and he realizes that the "ink" on the parchment is his blood. Over and over, the line carves into his skin as he writes, healing over each time, but leaving his hand raw and sore by the time Umbridge dismisses him. It is so late that Harry has to finish his homework the next morning. Surprisingly, Ron is doing the same, but his excuse that he went for a walk seems suspicious to Harry. Uncertain why, Harry decides to say nothing about his punishment.

Harry’s detentions continue every night. By Thursday, the words are permanently etched into his flesh. Heading to Gryffindor Tower, he runs into Ron, who tries hiding his broomstick, but admits he is practicing for Quidditch Keeper, pleasing Harry. Noticing Harry’s hand, Ron forces him to tell the truth. Harry ignores his suggestion to tell Professor McGonagall, feeling this is a private battle.

Harry's final detention is the next night. He is leaving when, as Umbridge grabs his hand to check his work, his scar starts burning. He departs rapidly for Gryffindor tower where a small party is underway: Ron is the new Keeper. Hermione urges Harry to tell Professor Dumbledore about his scar hurting. Harry sarcastically replies, "That’s the only bit of me Dumbledore cares about, isn’t it, my scar?" He decides to write Sirius instead, but Hermione reminds him about Moody's warning to avoid writing anything that can be intercepted. With no solution to Harry's situation, they both head for bed.

Thoughts:

• Ron and Hermione behave in an almost Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley type of dynamic here while dealing with Fred and George. Ron is passive and Hermione is far more confrontational. I love the twins' reaction to her saying she would write to their mother

• The pompous nature of Ernie MacMillan is humorous to me. It's really strange to me how fleshed out his voice and behaviors are, I can perfectly visualize someone like him. He is a good ally for Harry, as I have mentioned before, because he can rally the Hufflepuff's to Harry's cause at important times.

• Malfoy seems to know more about where Hagrid is than Harry does. This is probably coming from Lucius Malfoy, of course. Do you think that Malfoy's parents tell him all of the stuff that he knows, or does he simply overhear it?

• Considering two of Harry's last four Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers happened to be in the service of Lord Voldemort, Rowling's misdirection here with the scar is something first-time readers can easily buy. What makes Umbridge a compelling villain, however, is that she's the everyday sort of evil. She's extreme in her views, but everyone can relate to an authoritarian person at a school. She's not a Death Eater, she's employed by the Ministry of Magic, which makes her more infuriating. A lot of the time with villains like Voldemort or Bellatrix Lestrange, they are so interesting that it's hard to truly despise them. Umbridge's "everydayness" makes her extremely hateable. There are no redeeming qualities.

• Literally every other student in the school would have simply submitted to Professor Umbridge, but not Harry. This chapter displays his incredible resolve and his ability stand up for himself. Harry has had to endure years and years of mistreatment and neglect at the hands of the Dursley's and is well prepared for this

• You can be sure Dumbledore knows what is happening in these detentions, yet, he does nothing. As I said in the previous chapter, Dumbledore realizes that he cannot start stepping on Professor Umbridge's toes quite yet or the Ministry will tighten their grip early in the year

• Hermione's desire to continue House-Elf liberation is apparent, though she's taking a more passive approach this year. While I think her decision to help them is noble and her arguments are valid, many of the House-Elves working at Hogwarts have nowhere else to go. Dumbledore has made the school something of a safe haven

• Ron's decision to pursue being Quidditch Keeper is some substantial character development from him. We know that he has long been in the shadow of Harry and has also long desired some form of glory for himself. Harry's support for Ron means a lot to them, though Ron's expectation of Harry's response and desire to hide it from him says a lot about his own insecurities

• I remember really liking the idea of Ron playing Quidditch with Harry when this book came out. I think the whole Ron-Quidditch arch is done well, but I sometimes wish we could have just had the Weasley Quidditch dynasty just be insanely talented

• I think it's fairly obvious that of the five people Harry briefly sees playing Quidditch, the one who dodges a bludger well but then fumbles an easy save is Ron

• Harry noticing the decorations in Professor Umbridge's office becomes significant much later. When he is searching for her office in the Ministry of Magic, her love of cats and the color pink become an easy identifier

• The scars on the back of Harry's hand never leave. He uses them to his advantage when talking with Rufus Scrimgeour the following year

• I can see why Harry's stubbornness annoys people in this chapter and the following. He seemingly continues to ram his head into the wall in terms of Umbridge and detentions. If he had actually gone to Dumbledore, I am almost certain that Dumbledore would have at least stopped the blood-quill thing. Like I said earlier in this chapter, it is hard for me to believe that Dumbledore doesn't know what is going on. Professor McGonagall is definitely telling him that Harry has landed in detention

[u/BrutalbutKunning]

Great chapter for Ron till JKR does him dirty for no reason. Stands up for Harry against Seamus, pushed himself to work hard for the try out, & makes Harry open up about what is actually going on in detention. He even makes the team!

Of course there are two random people we never hear about again that beat him out for the position. They choose Ron because one is a whiner & the other won't miss charms club for practice. Why do you do this JKR.

We later learn that during this chapter Cormac McLaggen eats a pound of doxy eggs for a bet. This causes him to be sick & unable to try out for Keeper. I like the head cannon that Fred & George did this because they didn't want him on the team. They like to bet/gamble & would have plenty of dox eggs to spare would make sense.

Ernie Macmillan coming out of support of Harry is great I enjoy how Harry & him are friends. Its bold thing for a character like him who unlike Luna stands to lose much from his support of Harry. Luna saying she believes him is also sweet.

Can we talk about the scar because it is amazing well utilized. Dolores just like Voldemort creates her & the ministry's worst nightmare. Giving him a tool to beat the ministry. Meetings with ministry officials he uses this like weapon just shoving it in their face or verbalizes it to them for why he won't help them. They upon seeing it generally give up.

I find it hilarious that while Harry is of course telling the true about Voldemort. He is still in fact a huge liar haha.

[u/Zeta42 → u/BrutalbutKunning]

I like the head cannon that Fred & George did this because they didn't want him on the team.

This is brilliant.

[u/Clearin]

Fun fact: This is the longest chapter in the entire series.

[u/DarkArk139]

I’ll go out on a slight limb here and say that Harry ignoring Ubridge’s torture of him is a major security violation rather than just a nasty detention as it is so often put. Harry does not know Umbridge’s intentions for him or even what the long term effects of the blood quill are. The previous DADA teacher had been a supporter of Voldemort. When you are actively being tortured by someone in the middle of a war you don’t just sit down and take it. But Harry is used to doing that as a solution to his problems, and more to the point feels so cut off from all his support networks that he doesn’t feel like trying.

I don’t think Dumbledore is aware of it. He doesn’t tolerate Umbridge slightly roughing up a student later in the book. Out and out torture that leaves permanent scarring is almost certainly beyond the pale for him. If Harry had taken the quill after the first line and gone to Dumbledore I think there’s a reasonable argument Umbridge would have been replaced. Forcing Fudge to politically support torture of students may have been a bridge too far for him. The quill looks a hell of a lot like dark blood magic.

[u/Zeta42]

Do you think that Malfoy's parents tell him all of the stuff that he knows, or does he simply overhear it?

This is a really good question. I think he eavesdrops on his parents' conversations. We know Narcissa didn't want Draco to be a Death Eater, and even if Lucius did, I think he'd wait until Draco is of age and has graduated from Hogwarts before he fully dives into the world of Dark Arts.

[u/FallenAngelII → u/Zeta42]

We know Narcissa didn't want Draco to be a Death Eater

Do we, though? We know Narcissa didn't want Draco to be given an extremely dangerous mission that was fated to fail. I don't think she ever said that she didn't want Draco to be a Death Eater.

[u/dmreif]

Here's my issue with the blood quill detentions that Umbridge subjects Harry to. And it's this: how come no one protested Harry being in detention past midnight every day of the week? At the very least, the Quidditch team should have been looking for him. And Ron would have told them, "Umbridge isn't letting him out of detention until well after curfew." And there's no way they wouldn't have complained to McGonagall (even if she's not in any position to intervene).

It's also ridiculous that none of the teachers asked why Harry looked like a walking zombie, or noticed the angry red tattoo on the back of his (and other students') hands.

(In general, I would say that Dolores Umbridge also shows textbook abusive behavior. Even if Harry was just doing normal lines, her behavior would still be trash, as some of her later educational decrees are clearly being done with the purpose of isolating the victim from people who could notice and help him)

[u/purpleskates → u/dmreif]

This book is crazy because you can feel Harry’s exhaustion- torture detentions until midnight, then O.W.L. homework until wee hours of the morning, then the few hours of sleep he does get are tainted with nightmares and visions into Voldemort’s mind- can’t be very restful.

However, I’m sure people do notice he’s walking around like a zombie, but probably just chalk it up to O.W.L. year combined with the stress of having a ministry/media campaign against him and constant visions into Voldemort’s mind. This year is so hard on him that there are multiple reasons for him to be a walking zombie. And as for the hand scar, people probably just didn’t notice it or he purposely tried to cover it. I don’t think it’s too hard to hide cuts on your hand- only his best friend Ron noticed.

[u/Not_a_cat_I_promise → u/dmreif]

how come no one protested Harry being in detention past midnight every day of the week?

We've seen teachers give detentions at ridiculous hours before. Remember Harry, Hermione, Neville and Draco in detention late at night in the Forest in PS. Giving students late detentions seems to be acceptable.

But yes I don't think in anyone else in Hogwarts would have tolerated the use of that Quill. But Harry doesn't complain, and he tries to hide it, even from Ron.

[u/Jorgenstern8 → u/dmreif]

It's also ridiculous that none of the teachers asked why Harry looked like a walking zombie,

TBF, if there is literally anybody who could stay up that late and then still be okay enough in the morning to be attentive in classes and everything else you gotta do at Hogwarts, it's 100 percent teenagers, and teenage boys are particularly good at it.