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Mundungus Fletcher: Is There More
to Him than Meets the Nose?

By Expelliarmas

Mundungus¹ Fletcher (Mundungus)
is a low-life sneak thief. He counts as his friends other thieves and
underworld connections, which Dumbledore and the Weasley twins find invaluable.
Mundungus is Dumbledore’s friend in low places ’ he makes it possible for
Dumbledore to connect with that element of the wizarding community.

Given
that Mundungus ransacked Grimmauld Place shortly after Sirius’ death, just
about every fan suspects him of stealing the heavy locket (a likely Horcrux).
Mind you, such an action is shockingly reprehensible, but for a guy like
Mundungus, who seems to have no concept of ethics, he would figure that Sirius
wouldn’t miss a few heirlooms where he was going.

Two
critical issues center around Mundungus. The first is the aforementioned
possible theft of the Horcrux locket; I will not tackle this issue here. The
second, however, is his previous role in the old Order of the Phoenix. This
matters because he may have been present at Godric’s Hollow the night the
Potters were killed.

Providing A Quick Background of a Shady Kind of Guy

We
first hear about Mundungus in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Arthur Weasley (Arthur) refers to Mundungus as trying to hex him while his back
was turned during one of Arthur’s nine raids.² In Harry Potter and the Goblet
of Fire, he tries to put one over on Percy Weasley by putting in a claim
for a 12-roomed tent with en-suite Jacuzzi when he actually slept under a cloak
propped up with sticks.³ Obviously Mundungus is, at best, a dodgy character.

At
the end of Goblet of Fire, Dumbledore sends Sirius off to gather the
“old crowd”⁴ for purposes of fighting Voldemort once again. He mentions Mundungus
as one of the “old crowd.” Therefore, it is clear Mundungus was either in the
original Order of the Phoenix (the Order) or served as one of Dumbledore’s
contacts during the first wizard war. It is more likely than not, however, that
he was a member of the Order the first time around.

Dumbledore
trusted him enough to allow him into the new Order, and gave him the task of
guarding Harry with the use of Moody’s Invisibility Cloak. Mundungus, however,
acted true to form and instead of keeping an eye on Harry, Apparated to some unknown
location to buy stolen cauldrons ’ a business opportunity too good for him to
resist.⁵

Mundungus
returned from buying stolen cauldrons and had the mingled stench of alcohol and
tobacco upon his person. In his hands he carried the cloak. He had bloodshot,
baggy eyes; long, straggly, ginger hair; grubby hands, and dressed in tatters.
Overall, he looked like a baleful Basset hound.⁶ After Mrs. Figg gave Mundungus
the beat-down he so clearly deserved, he Apparated to Dumbledore and told him
of the dementor attack on Harry.⁷ As a result, Dumbledore and the
Order quickly took action to prevent Harry’s expulsion from Hogwarts or
confiscation of his wand by the Ministry.

Mundungus
likely got quite the rebuke from Dumbledore as, according to Hermione, Dumbledore
was scary in his anger.⁸ Nonetheless, Dumbledore still trusted Mundungus to keep
an eye on Harry during his fifth year at Hogwarts. Mundungus disguised himself
as a witch under a veil to get into the Hog’s Head from which he had been
banned.⁹

In
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, during the dinner scene at
Grimmauld Place, Mundungus casually asked Sirius if the goblets used at dinner
were real silver. He even mumbled that it would be possible to erase the Black
family crest from the goblets.¹⁰ Simply put, as he sat at Sirius’
table, he openly appraised Sirius’ silverware. Clearly, he was calculating
another “business opportunity.”

In
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, on a weekend trip to Hogsmeade,
Harry caught Mundungus chatting with Aberforth outside the Three Broomsticks.
Mundungus had stolen the Black goblets, which now belonged to Harry, and was
trying to sell them. Mundungus ransacked Grimmauld Place right after Sirius’
death and stole anything that looked valuable.¹¹ Perhaps including a
certain locket. Mundungus was obviously absent for any lesson involving right
and wrong. Still, Dumbledore had enough faith in Mundungus to let him into the
old and new Orders.

By
the end of Half-Blood Prince, however, it appears Mundungus may have
worn out his welcome with and been cut loose by the Order. Mundungus was
arrested for impersonating an Inferius during a robbery, which went awry.¹² After stealing some of
Harry’s inheritance, it seems unlikely that anyone in the Order would go out of
his or her way to keep him out of Azkaban by putting in a good word for him ’
including Dumbledore.

Mundungus’s
recurring presence in the series is a sign of his importance. He was referenced
in Chamber of Secrets long before we really meet him in Order of the
Phoenix. This early conception by Jo Rowling and the fact that we know for
sure he was part of the “old crowd” indicates he may have played a more
fundamental part of the story than we currently know. He is also comic relief
in the story. Though I personally find his hijinks reprehensible, it is still
humorous to most readers and this could be a distraction from his later
importance in the story; perhaps being one of Jo Rowling’s famous red herrings.

What Was Dumbledore’s Plan for Protecting the Potters?

Jo
Rowling has told us a critically important question to consider is why
Dumbledore had an Invisibility Cloak as he did not need one to become
invisible. On her website (under the heading NAQ, which stands for Never Asked
Questions) she says:

Why did Dumbledore have James’
invisibility cloak at the time of James’ death, given that Dumbledore could
make himself invisible without a cloak?

Prior to posting this I had a
quick look on-line, and realised that some fans have been speculating about this
question. However, nobody has ever asked me about it, and they really should
have done. Just to allay the fears of the justifiably suspicious, this isn’t
what we in the know call ˜a Mark Evans situation.’ There IS a significant ’
even crucial ’ answer.¹³

It
seems unbelievable that, once Dumbledore knew of the Prophecy, the only safety
measure he took to protect the Potters and the Longbottoms was to suggest the
Fidelius Charm. No, Dumbledore would have done a lot more than that. He likely
added alarms such as an Intruder Charm, jinxes, and hexes to trip up potential
Death Eaters. Naturally, there would have been charms to make the Potter home
in Godric’s Hollow unplottable. But, nothing works as well as a human guard to
keep an eye on things. For this, James’ Invisibility Cloak would have been
invaluable. I suggest that this is the answer to the Never Asked Question.

Dumbledore
would never require any of the Order members to take on a slew of Death Eaters
or Lord Voldemort on his or her own. Had Death Eaters or Lord Voldemort come to
Godric’s Hollow, the Order member on guard duty would have alerted the other
Order members and together they would have been the first line of defense. The
guard could either Apparate directly to Dumbledore or use his or her Patronus
to alert the Order. Once the alarm was raised, the Order would converge on
Godric’s Hollow and either defend the Potters or give them enough time to
escape.

You
might think there would be more than one Order member on guard duty, but that is
not necessarily so. This was not a large group and they were protecting more
than one family. The Longbottoms were in need of similar protection. It would
have been unconscionable for Dumbledore to leave them unprotected given the
Prophecy could have applied to Neville as much as Harry. That would have split
the Order members and they had other things to do during the first war.
Remember, in Order of the Phoenix, they performed individual guard
duties over both Harry and the prophecy.

So
who was the guard the night the Potters were killed? Of course, almost any
Order member might have been under the Cloak that night and it is impossible to
eliminate all of them from consideration. Surely if it was someone that knows
Harry well, such as Arthur or Lupin, they would have mentioned witnessing the
murder of Harry’s parents. Because Jo feels this question is so important, it
seems it must be someone that we have met, someone from whom information could
be gleaned but who has not yet had the opportunity to reveal it. On her
website, Jo Rowling shot down the idea of one particularly greasy-haired
professor being under the cloak.¹⁴

One
possibility is that this person was Aberforth Dumbledore. Unfortunately, we
know next to nothing about this character (which likely means Jo will surprise
us with him in Deathly Hallows). Because he is Albus’ brother it is
possible he can become invisible without a cloak, though this is pure
speculation.¹⁵

In
all likelihood, if there was an Order member at Godric’s Hollow that night,
hiding under James’ Cloak, my money is on Mundungus. We know Mundungus used
Moody’s Invisibility Cloak to perform guard duty over Harry in Order of the
Phoenix.¹⁶ Perhaps tailing Harry around Privet Drive was not the
first time Mundungus had guard duty over a Potter family member. After all, he
is just the type of character that might be harboring unrevealed knowledge of
something important to Harry. And we already know Harry will probably be
hunting him down to find the missing locket Horcrux.

If
he was on guard duty the night the Potters were murdered, then more questions
follow: Did he leave the Potters unprotected; did he Apparate back to
Dumbledore; or did Voldemort somehow disable him?

Dereliction of Duty or a Successful Guard?

Come
on, you know deep down inside you suspect that, if Mundungus had guard duty
that night, he likely went off with the Invisibility Cloak to pursue more
lucrative opportunities. Pettigrew with his own rat contacts might have given
Mundungus a really hot and profitable tip. After all, Pettigrew has a talent
for manipulation and misinformation. It would not be hard for the rat to talk
Mundungus into it. Mundungus showed us in Order of the Phoenix that he
would always place profit over duty at the drop of a knut.

But
would Dumbledore have allowed Mundungus to return to the Order if he left the
Potters unprotected? True, Dumbledore trusts where no one in their right mind
ever would. But would dereliction of duty, which led to the death of James and
Lily Potter, be something even Dumbledore could forgive to the point where he
would allow Mundungus to watch over the last remaining Potter?

Dumbledore
was not a naïve fool. Had Mundungus left the
Potters unprotected that night, Dumbledore might have forgiven him. But Dumbledore
would not trust Mundungus enough to have him watch over Harry years later. So,
if he was indeed guarding the Potters, he must not have abandoned his post. But
if Mundungus had been able to Apparate for help when Voldemort arrived at
Godric’s Hollow, then surely Order members would have quickly arrived to assist
the Potters. As this did not happen, we must assume that he was unable to carry
out his duty as a guard.

What Would Lord Voldemort Do?

As
I mentioned above, Dumbledore probably placed anti-Apparition protections on
Godric’s Hollow. Notice in Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry relived the
memory of that night, he hears a voice he believes is James’ say: “Lily, take
Harry and go! It’s him! Go! Run! I’ll hold him off’” ¹⁷ James was surprised to
find Lord Voldemort got through and into the house. The Potters did not think
to Apparate, use Floo powder, or use a Portkey to escape. This implies they
could not have done so.

Therefore,
even though Pettigrew betrayed the location of his friends, the Dark Lord still
could not Apparate directly into the Potters’ home ’ nor could the Potters use
Apparition to escape. As such, Lord Voldemort would need to enter the house in
a conventional manner, but would need to preserve the element of surprise to
kill Harry.

Given
that Pettigrew was a member of the old Order, he would have known of many of
the additional safeguards implemented by Dumbledore. Certainly guard duty would
require coordination between the Order members. Pettigrew would have been
around for many of those meetings (the rat!). He would have given Lord
Voldemort the benefit of all the information that he learned about the Potters
and the measures taken to protect them, i.e., protections placed upon and
around the house, including a watch guard. Even if Pettigrew did not speak of
the protections on the house, surely Lord Voldemort would sense the presence of
a witch or wizard hiding under an Invisibility Cloak as Dumbledore sensed the
presence of the entrance to the cave in Half-Blood Prince.

Why
not kill the watch guard rather than disabling him or her? While there are
other explanations for why Lord Voldemort would not kill the guard that night,
the most likely reason is that he wanted a witness to his act. The fact that
the house was blown to bits¹⁸ would provide the ability for a
guard, frozen outside the building under an Invisibility Cloak, to witness the
events that occurred. Perhaps Voldemort blew the front of the house apart for
the guard to provide an account of his victory to Dumbledore. Lord Voldemort is
arrogant. He fully expected to kill Harry that night. His ego would want the
world and Dumbledore to know what he had done. Disabling the person under the
Invisibility Cloak, rather than killing the person would ensure Dumbledore knew
Lord Voldemort prevailed. The Dark Lord could never resist wiping Dumbledore’s
eye with Harry’s murder.

In
Order of the Phoenix, Hermione thought Lucius Malfoy randomly cast the
Imperius Curse while inside of the Ministry. Malfoy did that to catch anyone
who might be under an Invisibility Cloak and so caught Sturgis Podmore.¹⁹ Upon arriving at
Godric’s Hollow, it would have been a simple matter for a wizard of Lord
Voldemort’s caliber to cast a blanket spell to disable anyone under an
Invisibility Cloak. Given the powerful nature of Lord Voldemort and the expanse
of his knowledge, it would also be possible for him to actually “see” someone
like Mundungus under an Invisibility Cloak and to disable the guard. If
Voldemort was accompanied by one or two Death Eaters, then he would have had
one of them take care of the Potters’ guard.

Had
Mundungus been frozen under the Cloak, he would have been powerless to Apparate
for help until the events played themselves out. Once Lord Voldemort’s spell
backfired and he was reduced to vapor, the spell on Mundungus probably would
have lifted. Mundungus could Apparate to the Order’s headquarters and
Dumbledore would take the necessary steps to secure Harry’s care until his
start at Hogwarts.

How Does This Impact Deathly Hallows?

So,
why is this so important to Deathly Hallows? The events at Godric’s
Hollow and other details pertaining to the Potters’ deaths remain shrouded in
mystery. After six books, we are left wondering: what other protections may
have surrounded the Potters; how Lord Voldemort got past these protections;
what methods the Potter’s used to fight him; who (if anyone) accompanied him;
why Lily did not have to die; why Dumbledore trusted Snape’s claim to feel
remorse over their deaths; how anyone could know where Godric’s Hollow was
without knowing Peter Petigrew was secret keeper; how Dumbledore found out
about what happened to them quickly enough to send Hagrid to fetch Harry; and
whether Harry is one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. How can Harry learn all this? He
was only one year old and while he has some memories of the murder, there is
not enough there for him to have a real recollection.

We
have seen a lot of usage of the Pensieve and bottled memories. Dumbledore used
the Pensieve extensively in Half-Blood Prince to understand Tom Riddle.
Dumbledore told Harry he spent a great deal of time retracing Lord Voldemort’s
steps and acquiring those memories.²⁰ His focus was the
acquisition and application of information and he took great pains to prepare
Harry for what was coming. Harry was left without one glaring memory which
involved Voldemort; the one in which Voldemort murders the Potters.

For
Deathly Hallows, therefore, Harry needs to understand his parents and
their murders. There is one way that all these questions could be answered; if
a person was frozen under James’ Invisibility Cloak at Godric’s Hollow, this
person could provide a Pensieve account of events. In this case, Dumbledore
would surely have viewed a memory of the event. If he did, then he did not tell
Harry. Dumbledore might have chosen to keep a memory like this from Harry if he
felt it would be too difficult for Harry to witness. Witnessing the murder of
one’s parents would be terrible and Dumbledore was prone to protecting Harry
from that sort of trauma.²¹ Also, whatever Dumbledore knew about Snape, he chose in Half-Blood
Prince to keep it to himself, this implies that it is personal.²² Though Snape was not,
himself, under the cloak at Godric’s Hollow, he may have either come with
Voldemort or arrived afterwards. Therefore, Mundungus may have witnessed the
reason for Dumbledore’s trust in Snape. If Dumbledore felt this reason was too
painful or personal, he might have kept it from Harry.

Perhaps
those who knew Godric’s Hollow was the location of the Potters’ hideout had a
note written by Pettigrew that told them where the house was. It is possible
that none of them recognized Pettigrew’s handwriting to realize Black didn’t
write it. One can imagine Lord Voldemort Apparated to the street outside the
Potters’ home on Halloween night 1981 and cast the Petrificus Totalus
spell on Mundungus as he hid under the Invisibility Cloak. Then blew the front
off the house to get to the Potters, ensuring his witness had a clear view of
the scene as it unfolded.

The
memory could then show what methods James and Lily used to fight Lord
Voldemort. Possibly Lord Voldemort would reveal why he was willing to give Lily
a choice himself, in his own words. Perhaps Lord Voldemort performed some
actions that related to the creation of or hiding of a Horcrux.

Lord
Voldemort may have brought Snape with him to Godric’s Hollow.²³ But any memory of
Snape’s behavior would have to be ambiguous, i.e., show something Dumbledore
would interpret one way and Voldemort another, to ensure the trust of both
through the series.

One
explanation of this is that Snape entered the scene after Lord Voldemort did,
perhaps even after the Potters had been murdered.^{24, 25} If Snape intended to
save Lily and not James, for whatever reason, he might have reacted physically
to Lily’s death. Mundungus may have witnessed Snape expressing an emotional
response that looked as though he either loved Lily or simply cared that it was
his fault the Potters died; if this was after Voldemort’s defeat than Voldemort
would not know this, but Dumbledore would. It might be a very compelling reason
for Dumbledore to trust Snape; it would have appeared he rushed to the scene to
save the Potters and that he was remorseful at their deaths. Please note that
though Dumbledore could have been right in this interpretation of such an
action, it is also possible that he misconstrued Snape’s response in some way.
The point is that Dumbledore might have chosen not to share this knowledge of
Snape’s behavior with Harry to avoid showing him the memory of the death of his
parents.

What is the Answer to the NAQ?

Given
that Dumbledore could make himself invisible without a cloak, why did he have
James’ Invisibility Cloak? To answer this question (Jo’s question), we can say
that someone, probably Mundungus Fletcher, was hiding under that Invisibility
Cloak when the Potters were killed and he then gave it to Dumbledore when he no
longer needed it. A person hiding frozen under the cloak at Godric’s Hollow
could tell Harry about the sequence of events immediately before and after the
murder of his parents, and from this person readers could learn the answers to
a slew of questions.The best way to get this information would then be to use
the Pensieve to view the memories of the person hiding under the Invisibility
Cloak. Mundungus, who deals in information, would gladly give up such memories
in exchange for Harry helping him out of Azkaban. Thus, it is my opinion that
there is one person who can complete Harry’s education on the actions of
Voldemort and Snape the night of the murder. That person is Mundungus Fletcher.

Notes

1. From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: “Mundungus” a modification of the
Spanish word for tripe’mondongo; also means a foul-smelling tobacco. Given that
he has a stench about him of burnt socks, his name really fits. Merriam-Webster
Online Dictionary.

2. Rowling, Chamber of Secrets, 34.

3. Ibid., Goblet of Fire, 151.

4. Ibid., 713.

5. Ibid., Order of the Phoenix, 22-23.

6. Ibid., 22.

7. Ibid., 23.

8. Ibid., 64.

9. Ibid., 370

10. Ibid., 83.

11. Ibid., Half-Blood Prince, 246-47.

12. Ibid., 457.

13. J.K. Rowling’s Official Site, “Extra Stuff.”

14. Ibid., “Rumours.”

15. birthday twins, “The Amazing Invisible Dumbledores.”

16. Rowling, Order of the Phoenix, 22.

17. Ibid., Prisoner of Azkaban, 240.

18. Ibid., Philosopher’s Stone, 16.

19. Ibid., Order of the Phoenix, 588-9.

20. Ibid., Half-Blood Prince, 504.

21. Ibid., Order of the Phoenix, 826-39.

22. Ibid., Half-Blood Prince, 358-9.

23. Remember, Jo only said Snape was not under the Invisibility Cloak, she did
not deny his being at Godric’s Hollow. Depending on what Snape was doing within
the memory, it would shed light on Snape’s loyalty.

24. Another example is that the memory might show Snape coming to Godric’s
Hollow to purportedly keep an eye on Pettigrew’who might have lied about
delivering the Potters to Voldemort. Once the guard was immobilized, Snape
could appear to Dumbledore to plead for the Potters while Voldemort interprets
the pleas as an exhortation: “Remember, my Lord, what I have told you about the
Potters!” Such a statement to Dumbledore would mean Snape pleading for the
Potters, i.e., there is no need to kill them. That same statement to Voldemort,
however, would mean Snape reminding Voldemort that James and Harry were threats
who should die while Lily should be spared and recruited.

27. Yet another possibility is that Snape is out for Snape. He craves
glorification and is driven by vengeance. He wants the fame of defeating
Voldemort. To achieve that glory, he systematically eliminated or profited from
the elimination of anyone he thought might stand in his way, up to and
including Dumbledore. Those steps began with the elimination of
James’regardless of any “life-debt” owed. Which served his need for vengeance
relating back to his worst memory. James and Sirius are dead. Lupin was outed
as a werewolf and becomes a social pariah”as good as dead.

Bibliography

Birthday Twins. “The Amazing Invisible Dumbledores.” Scribbulus 18, The Leaky
Cauldron. Member of the Floo Network. /#scribbulus:essay:407.

J.K. Rowling’s Official Site. “Section: Extra Stuff NAQ.” http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/extrastuff_view.cfm?id=23
(accessed 28 April 2007).

”””, “Section: Rumours.” http://www.jkrowling.com/textonly/en/rumours_view.cfm?id=46
(accessed 28 April 2007).

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, s.v. “mundungus.” http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/mundungus
(accessed 28 April 2007).

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. London:
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”””. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. New York: Scholastic Press,
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”””. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. New York: Scholastic Press,
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”””. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York: Scholastic
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”””. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. London: Bloomsbury, 1997.

”””. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York: Scholastic
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