by June » Saturday 5 July 2003 6:53:05am
I think, at the beginning, the MoM still controls the Demeters. After all, Umbridge was able to order them to give Harry the Death kiss. But by the end of Book 5, I should think the Dementers had gone over to Voldemort, since they didn't go after the Death Eaters when they escaped from Azkaban, in contrast to Book 3, where they searched all over for Sirius when he escaped. Moreover, it's highly unthinkable that 10 Death Eaters could escape from prison in the first place without the Dementers' help.
Just a thought... the Dementers might already have gone over to Voldemort at the beginning of the book... and they took orders from Umbridge not because the MoM still controls them, but because harming Harry Potter was advantageous to Voldemort as well.