In the 34th chapter of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, we get to explore the wondrous Department of Mysteries. Anyone reading the books for the first time will tell you that by the time we get to this chapter, our curiosity is definitely piqued. Between Harry’s dreams and the odd references back in book four, we’ve definitely built up our curiosity about this part of the Ministry.
When the book first came out, fans theorized that Rowling probably wrote this chapter with the movies in mind, almost challenging them to recreate on film her wild and vivid descriptions. We were all a little disappointed when only the Hall of Prophecies and the Death Chamber made it into the film version. We wanted to see the Brain Room, the Planet Room, and particularly the Time Chamber with its huge bell jar where the Death Eater’s head was transfigured into that of a baby. The Department of Mysteries is a wild, weird, wonderful, oversized magical carnival fun house.
What I’d like to focus on in this discussion, however, is something a lot more subtle. I’d like to zero in on the reaction we get from Hermione to the archway and veil in the Death Chamber.
As always, we’re seeing this moment through the eyes of Harry. His reaction is actually mirrored by Luna. He is intrigued by the archway and then drawn to it. He’s not just curious, the way he is about everything else in the Department of Mysteries. Nothing else he’s seen can draw his focus away from the desperate mission at hand, rescuing Sirius from Voldemort. The archway and its gently moving veil is different. He is mesmerized by it. He forgets his mission and moves closer, listening.
Here’s how Rowling describes Harry’s reaction:
He had the strangest feeling that there was someone standing right behind the veil on the other side of the archway. Gripping his wand very tightly, he edged around the dais, but there was nobody there; all that could be seen was the other side of the tattered black veil.
We learned way back in Prisoner of Azkaban that Harry has the almost supernatural ability to sense the presence of someone even if they can’t be seen. This is from chapter 3:
Harry opened his trunk again and pushed the contents aside, looking for the Invisibility Cloak – but before he had found it, he straightened up suddenly, looking around him once more.
A funny prickling on the back of his neck had made Harry feel he was being watched, but the street appeared to be deserted, and no lights shone from any of the large square houses.
He bent over his trunk again, but almost immediately stood up once more, his hand clenched on his wand. He had sensed rather than heard it: someone or something was standing in the narrow gap between the garage and the fence behind him. Harry squinted at the black alleyway. If only it would move, then he’d know whether it was just a stray cat or — something else.
In Goblet of Fire chapter nine it happens again.