Bertha Jorkins is a character in the Harry Potter book series.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Bertha attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a few years above Sirius Black.[3]
Bertha was considered an incompetent employee at the Ministry of Magic where she was shunted from department to department. She once worked for Bartemius Crouch Snr. in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Barty was said to be quite fond of her. Eventually, she was moved to the Department of Magical Games and Sports.[4]
Disappearance and death[]
In the summer, Bertha took a holiday to Albania. When she entered an inn, she saw Peter Pettigrew in there even though he was officially dead. He persuaded her to take a walk with him in the nearby forest and lured her to Voldemort who was in hiding. Voldemort figured out she had a very powerful Memory Charm placed on her and broke through it with spells. Through her, he learned a great deal about what was happening the wizarding world. She told him about the 422nd Quidditch World Cup, how Alastor Moody was teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts that year and that Barty Crouch Senior was imprisoning his son and Death Eater, Barty Crouch Junior in his house.[source?]
With these details, Voldemort created a plan to return to power.[2] Upon breaking through her memory, Bertha's mind and body were damaged beyond repair.[source?] No longer being of use to Voldemort, he murdered her.[2]
When she didn't return from her holiday, the Ministry realised she had gone missing. Her boss, Ludo Bagman was not overly concerned because she had a habit of getting lost, and thought that she had just misread a map and gone to Australia instead of Albania.[4] He told Arthur Weasley that she had a memory like a "leaky cauldron" and that she would turn up at the office in October believing it was still July.[5]
Barty Crouch Snr. thought that Ludo should send someone to look for her but he responded that he could not spare anyone in such busy times.[5]
Notes and sources[]
- ↑ In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 19, Sirius Black says Bertha was "a few years" above his year at Hogwarts. He started in 1971. A "few" years indicates more than two. If she was in her seventh year when he started, the earliest she was born is 1953. If she was in her third year, the latest it can be is 1957.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 19
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 5
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Chapter 7