Back to Hogwarts

It's almost eleven o'clock

2011-09-01T10:40:00.005-05:00

Don't forget to meet the Hogwarts Express today!

It's hard to believe it's been two entire years since I started this little project. Clearly things didn't finish up according to plan... but I have no regrets. The experiences of being in and designing costumes for The Final Battle at Infinitus (and again at Leaky Con 2011, in addition to designing for Warlock's Hairy Heart) are something I will always cherish, even if my lack of a Time Turner meant this project was shoved to the back burner.

Meanwhile, over at The Last Muggle, Jess is re-reading GoF and I highly recommend you join in if you're a-hankering for some re-read goodness.

What's next for the HP reread? I'm not sure! Someday I might resume the reading plan just for the heck of it, but for now I'll let it lie.

"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapters 17 & 18

2010-06-08T23:59:00.004-05:00

Wizard rock of the week: "Peter Pettigrew"by Hogwarts Trainwreck

By gum, I got it in just under the wire! It's still Tuesday! And so this post is only eight weeks late...

Darlings, as impossible as it might be to believe, I actually forgot about this little blogging adventure for a brief spell. So many other things have been capturing my time and attention for the past two months.

And here we are

(Shameless plug: The Final Battle is gonna be awesome. But we need.... um, money. Check it. Our Livestream show last month raised $1,500 but we still need another $1,500.

Update: Alan of YouTube/DFTBA fame shocked us all with his generosity . Thanks Alan! Wow! We're still looking for another $500, but we are getting so close!)

And because I cannot adequately express my sorrow about my lax blogging, I delegate that to Peter Cetara and the gang:

So without further ado, let's begin! This post will cover Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapters 17 and 18, in which we ride the backstory train and depart at Foreshadowing Station. (Obligatory warning for your own good: if you click the previous link you might never be seen again).

Chapter Seventeen: Cat, Rat, and Dog

What Happens:

In the aftermath of Buckbeak's execution the kids are in shock, especially Hermione. Devastated, they head back up toward the castle but Scabbers leaps out of Rons hands. Ron can't figure out why the rat is wigging, until Harry spots Crookshanks, about to pounce. Scabbers bites Ron to escape and tears off across the grounds. Ron runs after him in the darkness and Harry and Hermione follow. Before they get very far a giant black dog leaps out of nowhere and attacks Ron. It drags a very injured Ron toward the Whomping Willow and down into a secret passage below its roots.

Desperate to save Ron, Harry and Hermione fight their way through the Willow until Crookshanks returns. He touches the tree with his paws and the branches freeze, allowing the kids to get inside without losing any eyes. The tunnel is dark and dank, and not quite tall enough for Harry to stand in. They try to run down the passage but know that they dog is far ahead. Finally Harry sees light and they clamber up into a destroyed house: the Shrieking Shack. They hear movement in the upstairs and sneak up the hall, terrified.

Ron is okay, relatively; he's lying on one of the old bedrooms, injured but alive. He tries to warn them it's a trap but it's too late; the dog is gone, replaced by the gaunt, dirty form of Sirius Black.

A boiling hate erupted in Harry's chest, laving no place for fear. For the first time in his life, he wanted his wand back in his hand, not to defend himself, but to attack... to kill.

Harry lunges forward to attack him, but Hermione restrains him. She and Ron warn Black that he'll have to kill them too. Chaos ensues as they attack each other, but Harry ends up facing a wandless Black. He wants to kill him. He knows he has the perfect chance. But the seconds drag and Harry can't bring himself to do it. As he hesitates the kids hear someone below and Hermione screams for help. It's Lupin. He and Sirius have a strange conversation way over Harry's head, but it ends with the two adults embracing. Harry is shocked but Hermione is the one who screeches and accuses Lupin of treachery... and being a werewolf.

Lupin explains that all the staff knew about him, and that he knew Sirius was here tonight because of the Marauders' Map. Harry is incredulous that he knows how to use it, but as Lupin was one of its creators, he's familiar with it. Lupin and Sirius keep referring to a "he" who is with Ron, until they point at Scabbers and declare him to be not a rat but an Animagus named Peter Pettigrew.

Commentary:

Hoboy. Action chapter! And.... go!

There are two things that leap out right away about this chapter: a huge step forward in Harry's self-awareness and character development and how very close it came to all ending very badly. Or ending worse, rather, since at this point things are still pretty dicey.

The quote above- about Harry's blood rage-- is a big deal. Harry's harmed people before with magic , but it's always been in self-defense (or for fun & profit; ie making fun of Malfoy) and never very seriously. Here he contemplates murder, and contemplates it seriously. He himself is aware of the difference and it doesn't scare him. But, thankfully, when he does get the chance a few moments later, he can't bring himself to do it.

A hero who can't actually bring himself to end anther's life -- even one who might actually deserve it -- is incredibly common in fiction. After all, we're supposed to root for this guy, right? And if he ends another life- even a guilty one -- he drops a few pegs on the integrity ladder. But also, remember that Harry is only thirteen, and it would have been horrible had he gone through with it. The real story would've come out eventually, so had he actually killed Sirius the guilt would have likely driven him round the twist.

{This situation is a rather good example why the death penalty is a horrible idea; ie, the System found Sirius guilty and all the evidence pointed at him. But we don't really ever know the whole story, do we? And you can release a prisoner if his name is cleared, but no spell can reawaken the dead.} *Steps off soapbox*

To wrap up this very long point: Harry's tendency to hesitate killing people might seem like a weakness now, and will again, especially in DH, but in the end, it's usually the right choice. Especially knowing what we know about Horcruxes and how they're made, Harry can't ever kill someone if he's supposed to be the opposite of Voldemort, who kills entirely without remorse.

Also, let's take a second to appreciate Mr. Ronald Bilius Weasley, who, at this point in the story, has endured terrible things all for the sake of protecting his silly pet rat. Even knowing what we know about that rat, it's kind of adorable.

Chapter Eighteen: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

What Happens:

Harry protests: Scabbers can't be Pettigrew, because, as everyone knows, Black killed Pettigrew in front of dozens of Muggles twelve years ago. Black wants to kills Pettigrew straight away, but Lupin insists they wait and explain everything to the kids first.

Lupin explains that Sirius didn't kill Peter, but he meant to: at the last second Peter transformed into a rat and escaped, framing Sirius. Hermione cuts in, retorting that Peter couldn't have been an Animagus because all known Animagi are registered at the Ministry so they can be checked on. Lupin agrees with her, except that the Ministry never knew about three teenaged Animagi that used to run wild at Hogwarts about twenty-five years ago.

As Lupin continues his story they all hear something creak in the house. Ron insists the Shack is haunted, but Lupin denies it. He was the reason the house is so feared. As a small child Lupin was bitten by a werewolf. Under normal circumstances he could never have come to school, but Dumbledore made special arrangements, including a place Lupin could come every month and transform, safely away from other students.

Lupin's life was hardly rosy thanks to his condition, but at school he made three wonderful friends- Sirius, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew. Eventually they figured out why he disappeared every month, and rather than be repulsed they took it upon themselves to study extra Transfiguration and become Animagi to keep him company during his transformations. They had all sorts of escapades while disguised as animals, and their wanderings led them to create the Marauders' Map.

Remus explains that he felt terribly guilty for the risks they were taking, but always squashed the guilt as he and his mates planned their next month's activities. Lupin mentions that Snape fought particularly hard against Lupin's employment at Hogwarts. Sirius is disgusted; he hadn't known Snape was a Hogwarts teacher, too. Snape was in the same year as the Marauders at school, and always tried to figure out where they went. He disliked all four of them, but especially James. One month Sirius tricked Snape into approaching the Willow, and it could have resulted in Snape's death or a werewolf attack. James, however, prevented Snape from reaching Lupin and saved his life.

And speak of the devil, Snape walks in, pointing his wand at the wandless Lupin.

Commentary:

Oh man, I loves me some backstory. This chapter is probably why Prisoner of Azkaban is like #3 on my "Let's Rank the Potter Books" list (behind #1 GoF and #2 HBP, in case you were wondering).

If you weren't already on Lupin's team (what's wrong with you?) this chapter has got to clinch it. Just the sympathy vote alone is enough to melt anyone's heart. Poor Lupin. He's subjected to a horrible circumstance, but rather than become bitter or angry, he's just happy to have friends. And even fifteen/sixteen year-old Lupin feels guilty about the more questionable things he and his buddies do.

We get a small glimpse into Snape's history here too, and a much clearer explanation of the "James saved Snape's life" incident to which Dumbledore alluded back at the end of Sorcerer's Stone. Also, I totally didn't pick up on this the first time, but Lupin notes that Snape had a particular hatred for James, guessing it had something to do with James' Quidditch skills and popularity. Guess again, buddy.

And - yay for Hermione being smart, as usual. That's our girl! But one piece of her information is a little unnerving; after all, I can kind of understand why the Ministry wants a record of Animagi. As Lupin explains, the transformation can go horribly wrong, so maybe it's like Apparation (ie you need a license because it's tricky). But it's still freaking me out a little bit.

With that, I'm out! Time to keep sewing! See y'all soon. Hopefully next week. *crosses fingers*

Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapters 15 & 16

2010-04-06T07:02:00.001-05:00

Wizard rock of the week: "I Don't Need Divination" by Riddle TM

No time for a witty intro! There's a post to be had. Fancy that!

Chapter Fifteen: The Quidditch Final

What Happens:

When we last left our Heroes (over a month ago!) Buckbeak was condemned to execution and Harry had a narrow escape from Snape's justice. Hagrid is miserable about Buckbeak and the kids try to cheer him up, promising to help with the appeal. Hermione displays a nice bit of backbone and slaps Malfoy when he makes fun of Hagrid's anguish. Ron is rather shocked and impressed with her badass behavior, but both he and Harry are mystified when Hermione disappears once again on their way to class.

In Divination, Hermione's bad day continues. She finally explodes about the ridiculousness of the subject matter and Trelawney's dire predictions and drops the class. Easter break (how timely for us!) isn't at all relaxing, since exams are coming up. The Trio are also trying to research for Buckbeak's appeal and Harry is facing the additional pressure of the final Quidditch match. Harry is troubled by nightmares and thinks he's seen a Grim again.

The match, against Slytherin, is fully of fouls, cheats, and anger on both sides. Harry nearly loses the Snitch to Malfoy, but the Firebolt's superior speed prevails and the Gryffindors claim the cup.

Commentary:

It's nice for the kids to have something to celebrate amid all this drama, eh?

Notice, here, the appearance of a Flint. The Flint, in fact, for which all others are named. Marcus Flint, if you recall, was a sixth year Captain back in Philosopher's Stone. His presence here, two years later, indicates either that 1) he failed a year, as Jo explained or 2) without the careful watching of Hottt Cheryl Klein, continuity editor extraordinaire (who didn't come on board until the editing of GoF), Jo made a mistake (gasp!) The choice is yours, I suppose. :-)

It's nice to see the Gang back together. They really miss each other when someone's not there.

And off to the next!

Chapter Sixteen: Professor Trelawney's Prediction

What Happens:

It's exam time, and everyone is nervous. Even Fred and George! Harry and Ron stay puzzled about Hermione's impossible schedule, but she never explains. Harry does as expected on his exams and is particularly proud of doing well in Defense Against the Dark Arts. His last exam is Divination, and he climbs up to Trelawney's overheated tower just ready to be done. He doesn't do very well, and just as he's about to leave Trelawney's demeanor changes. She makes an odd set of statements, oblivious to Harry's presence, and can't remember them afterwards.

"It will happen tonight. The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight... the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight... before midnight... the servant... will set out... to rejoin... his master..."

More on that later.

Harry hardly has time to process this, since Ron tells him that Buckbeak lost the appeal and the execution is already set for sunset. They all want to visit Hagrid, but without the Cloak it'll be impossible. Hermione volunteers to go get it (still stashed inside the passageway to Honeydukes), and off they go.

Hagrid is a mess and the kids try their best to cheer him up. Most importantly, though, Ron finds Scabbers hiding in Hagrid's house. He grabs the rat just as Hagrid sees Fudge and the Committee approaching to carry out the execution order. The kids run out the back and a few minutes later hear the unmistakable thud of a falling axe.

Commentary:

Ho boy. LOTS to talk about here! Let's see.

Part I: The Prediction:

There. Is. So. Much. Packed. Into. That. Little. Paragraph. Let's go line by line.

(a) It will happen tonight. Something is brewing, coming tonight. Okay.

(b) The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. This jives with what we know already (and what Harry knows too, though probably not many others aside from Dumbledore) . He's still out there. He's not "gone." And he was indeed abandoned at his downfall.

(c) His servant has been chained these twelve years. One of Voldemort's minions has been "chained" these twelve years. Now, this seems to imply one specific person, but I will claim that it applies to two, not just one, of his servants.

(d) Tonight, before midnight... the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. "It" has now been defined. A servant will break free and begin a journey back to Voldemort.

(e) The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Voldemort, powerful as he is, needs the aid of another. But when he does return as the prophecy promises, it'll be even worse than before.

(f) Tonight... before midnight... the servant... will set out... to rejoin... his master..." In case you weren't paying attention, it's tonight. And it's not good.

I want to mostly closely look at lines (c) and (d). In the context of this book, and GoF too, for that matter, the most obvious answer for the Servant's identity is Peter Pettigrew. And that certainly makes sense. He's been hidden for twelve years, under the guise of a rat. He will resume human form (well, temporarily) and thereby "break free" from his Animagus prison. He will escape Ron's control and run away to find Voldemort. It all checks out.

But there's more, I think. I am convinced (and you're welcome to disagree) that this prophecy also refers to Barty Crouch, Jr. We'll learn at the end of the Goblet of Fire that Croach escaped Azkaban and went to live, hidden, with his father and Winky. Then, he overtook his father and met up with Voldemort, readying himself to impersonate Moody. While Wormtail's actions are certainly important and do directly lead to Voldemort's restoration a year later, Barty Croach's presence at Hogwarts was equally important. And he, arguably, fits the prophecy better, because his break out from Azkaban more literally fits with the "chained for twelve years" line. I don't have proof, of course, and we never know a specific date of his escape. But I don't think it's out of line to assume that the prophecy refers to both men. Crouch, as well, is far more "official" in his capacity as Voldemort's servant. I could be wrong on this too, but Croach Jr. was an official Death Eater long before Wormtail was. Can anyone corroborate or refute that?

(d) and (f)'s references to Midnight are, I believe, a benchmark for us to use; a concrete time to cling too. That will sure be nice in a few chapters when things get really ridiculous with time (enough to give me a headache the first time I read it).

Part II: Fun with Time Travel, the Prologue. Or, Jo Uses Clever Tricks to Create a Twist Ending.

From here on out, I'm going to try and recap the parallel storylines, because once Hermione and Harry go 'three hours back' from the hospital wing, there are two Harrys and Hermiones. Right now our "present" Harry and Ron and Hermione are leaving Hagrid's, trying to avoid the Minister & Co. noticing them. They've just reclaimed Scabbers and are on their way back up to school. Future Harry and Future Hermione are in the woods behind Hagrid's house, avoiding both the Minister and their past selves.

Thinking too much about time travel makes my head hurt, but there are some good points that Hermione makes later. Because our actions are so determined by our assumptions, it's a darn good thing that we can't time travel in Real Life. Because, of course, if present-Harry and friends had known that Buckbeak wasn't really dead, or that Scabbers was going to escape, or that Black was going to show up..... yeah, you get the idea. I certainly don't envy Hermione's job of keeping all that straight for an entire year without even talking it out to someone out loud. No wonder she was so stressed all year.

Concerning predictions. Trelawney has now made two "real" predictions that we know of, claims Dumbledore. Since there isn't another Seer in the books, is her behavior typical? Do prophets usually recall their predictions, or not? Without any eyewitnesses, how would people ever know predictions happened if the person who gives them can't recall? Are all the little crystal balls in the Department of Mysteries made of the memories of bystanders, or from the Seers themselves? Or does Trelawney have prediction amnesia because she's not a very able Seer?

Alright, friends, all these questions are hurting my little brain. Off to work, then off to read some more!

I Do Not Like the Cone of Shame

2010-04-05T12:11:00.005-05:00

Yet here I am.

Never fear, darlings, a new post is on its way. As in, is scheduled really and truly for tomorrow (a Tuesday! Wonders never cease!)

I hope you all had a delightful Easter, Passover, or other celebration of Spring-ness. I myself hosted a delightful feast, and now have leftovers enough to last me till August.

In other nerdy news, several of my high school friends were back home for Easter. One of these snazzy friends works for Penguin in NYC.

I was checking Twitter as we chatted, and exclaimed without any context, "Will Grayson, Will Grayson is in the Top 100 on Amazon!"

Then I thought, "Shoot, now I have to explain what that meant. Where to begin?"

But my friend said, "Wait, wait. Are you a nerdfighter?"

And thus a friendship that has existed since the 6th grade reached a new level of awesomeness.

It turns out that my friend worked on the marketing team for WGWG, and read an ARC. "I would totally have sent you one if I'd known!" she said.

So in the future, I will receive ARCs of all John Green novels published by Penguin thanks to my friend on the Inside.

And with that story, I leave you until tomor--SQUIRREL!

Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapters 13 & 14

2010-03-05T13:27:00.010-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: “The Ravenclaw Seeker” by The Remus Lupins

(with apologizes to dear William)
Wizards, Muggles, and Squib-persons, lend me your ears.
I come to bury Maggie, not to excuse her
The sloth that bloggers do haunts after them
The good is oft hidden in old posts…

I have no fantastic, tragic, or otherwise exciting reason for being more than three (!!!!) weeks behind in our blogging adventure. Chalk it up to almost-simultaneously packing, moving, getting very sick, being overly social, and too busy with work. I gulped with shame when I read that my inspiration for this blog, the talented Leigh Butler, managed to blog after surviving root canal surgery. So now you all really do have permission to shoot me very angry stares. And… *shifts feet guiltily* in my rare moments of spare time I’ve been entirely caught up watching this instead of blogging…

Ahem.

But I am incredibly flattered and grateful to the dozens of you still stopping by regularly in the hope of a new post. A hope that was in vain… until today. Thank you for your patience and kindly forgive my negligence!

My goal this week is to catch up. Today’s post covers Chapters Thirteen and Fourteen, which, by rights, I should have covered way back on February 16th. The rest of the week I’ll do my darndest to get us back on track, even if I have to steal a Time-Turner to do it.

There’s quite a lot going on in these chapters. We’ll read about trickiness from Malfoy and Co., wise advice from Hagrid, and some brilliant Snape-directed snark from students past. They also contain the account of one of my favorite Quidditch matches and the very first droplet from the forthcoming sea of raging hormones (*bonus points if you can guess which Disney movie to which I just vaguely alluded).

And now, the post!

Chapter Thirteen: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw

What Happens:

Hermione and Ron are having their biggest fight to date, which is less-than-fun for Our Hero Harry. On the upside, the Gryffindor Quidditch team is thrilled with Harry -- and the Firebolt's -- performance at practice, and even Madam Hooch can't stop admiring it. On the way back to the castle, Harry's sure he's seen something... that turns out to be Crookshanks.

The morning of the match, all the typical elements are in place: nervous Harry, swaggering Malfoy, gambling Percy (showing off for Penelope, of course), and uptight Wood. As the teams get ready to start, Harry notices that the other Seeker is a very pretty girl named Cho Chang. Lee Jordan's commentary is predictably hilarious, this time focusing on the attributes of the Firebolt more than the match. As the match goes on, Harry realizes that Cho is more than just a pretty face; she's a skilled Seeker, too. He spots the Snitch and races off to catch it, only to spot three dementors looming out onto the pitch. Without hesitation, he pulls out his wand and sends a Patronus down to face them. It works; the dementors don't affect him at all, and he catches the Snitch to secure Gryffindor's victory.

Landing, Harry's thrilled that he beat the dementors, until Professor Lupin notes that they weren't really dementors, just Malfoy & Co. trying to mess Harry up. Harry doesn't mind, though; they won the match and he scared the lving daylights out of Malfoy. A win-win! Fred and George start a raucous party in the common room. Hermione's the only person who doesn't join in, claiming she has far too much work to do, and spends the evening shooting dark looks at Ron.

Harry wakes up in the middle of the night as Ron screams hysterically about Sirius Black. The whole House wakes up and Professor McGonagall intervenes. Ron is convinced he wasn't dreaming; he really did see Black standing over him with a knife. Skeptical, McGonagall asks Sir Cadogan, who cheerfully confirms the whole story. A man had the whole week's worth of passwords and read them off a slip of paper.... which formerly belonged to one Neville Longbottom.

Commentary:

My favorite line in the whole chapter has got to be Fred's: "Excellent, are we carrying on?" Always good for a chuckle, weren't you, Fred? {sadness}

I know Ron and Hermione's relationship is characteristically argumentative from the get-go, but this is is really the first time they have a significant argument. It's easy to retrospectively see that they're both being rather stupid, but if you were one of them it would be hard to see beyond your own anger. We'll see more of this in GoF, and there it's escalated to jealousy problem.

Let's take a moment, in preparation for the match, to talk about our friend (?) Percy Weasley. He's not a total jerk yet, just the least-liked sibling. But even here at Hogwarts where he's successful and hard-working, he's still pretty insecure about his family. Why else would he make such a ridiculous bet with Penelope? Does he need to gamble 10 galleons from his girlfriend just to prove how nonchalant he can be about the money his family doesn't have? This is a faint glimmer of attitudes that will come into full force in his adulthood. So pay attention, mmmkay?

The match is brilliant, not because of the Quidditch, but Harry's confrontation with the, ahem, dementors. It's always fun when Harry can solidly one-up Malfoy, especially in such a public venue.

Hermione, of course, can't enjoy the party because her workload is too heavy. She and Ron do balance one another out nicely; without her, no one would keep Ron from failing every class from laziness. Without him, she'd constantly freak out about grades and homework. Seeing them apart accentuates their weaknesses.

Looking back, the incident with Black in the dorms is the first glimmer that things might not be all that they seem. We've been told Black is a murderous psychopath. For him to spare the five defenseless teenagers is uncharacteristic of his public persona.

Poor Neville. Always with good intentions... that go horribly awry. This whole thing could be laid squarely at Sir Cadogan's feet, though; if he weren't such an idiot, Neville wouldn't have needed to have the passwords written down. But then, if Black hadn't attacked the Fat Lady, none of this would've happened either.

Chapter Fourteen: Snape’s Grudge

What Happens:

Black's second successful attempt to penetrate the extra security puts the castle in panic mode. Harry feels rather uncomfortable about the secret passages, and can't decide if he should tell an adult about them. Despite the unpleasantness of the break-in, Ron is in the spotlight for the first time and is loving it. Neville, on the other hand, is having a worse time of it. The students, faculty, and his family are all making the poor kid feel terrible.

Hagrid invites Harry and Ron for tea. Much to their surprise, he upbraids them for treating Hermione so badly. Hermione, it turns out, has been doing all her coursework plus all the investigating and preparation for Buckbeak's trial. Ron and Harry feel guilty about this, but not guilty enough to set things right. They're busy planning their next Hogsmeade adventure, which Hermione overhears, and she warns them she'll tell McGonagall if she sees Harry in Hogsmeade again. Both boys ignore her, but Harry decides to take the Invisibility Cloak on the next village visit.

The day of the visit, however, things don't go exactly as planned. Neville, also banned from Hogsmeade, can't seem to take a hint as Harry tries to get rid of him and sneak off to Honeydukes. He and Ron have a nice afternoon visiting all the shops, and are just taking a look at the Shrieking Shack when Malfoy and his cronies arrive, making fun of Hagrid. Harry takes his chance; he flings mud at the Slytherins as Ron guffaws. It's great fun until the Cloak slips off and Malfoy catches a glimpse of Harry's head. Harry rushes back to Hogwarts as fast as he can, but it's too late.

Snape greets him just as he climbs out of the one-eyed witch statue. Harry tries to find believable excuses but Snape is having none of it as he marches Harry to his office. He makes matters worse, insulting James to bait Harry. Snape finds all the Zonko products -- and the Marauder's Map -- in Harry's pockets. Snape tries to make the map show him its secrets, but all he gets are some sophomoric insults. To Harry's surprise, he summons Snape to the office. More to Harry's surprise, Lupin covers up for him and Ron arrives, trying to help Harry with an alibi. Astonished at his luck, Harry leaves the office without punishment. Lupin asks for a quick word. He's deeply disappointed in Harry's lack of sense, but confirms that he did actually know the original map-makers. Harry is just starting to think about this when a teary-eyed Hermione arrives. Buckbeak lost his appeal and faces execution.

Commentary:

Ahh, the great question pops up again: just how much does Snape know? And is it via Legilimancy, or just his past experiences?

I feel a little sad for Ron here. The only reason he's famous is because was almost killed. Maybe this makes sense; after all, that's the reason Harry's famous too. But Ron doesn't take the spotlight well, and we'll see more of his spotlight-hungry consequences in GoF and HBP. Always overshadowed by family and friends, Ron has a long way to go until he's legitimately grown up. Patience, young sidekick. We'll get there.

Here's another good demonstration of Harry and Ron's youth and (arguably normal) recklessness. There's a murderer on the loose and there have been two close calls, but all the boys can think about is sneaking Harry back into Hogsmeade to go to the joke shop. It's very normal teenage boy behavior, and gives a nice zest of realism to the story. Serious as he can be sometimes, in the end Harry's just trying to be a normal kid.

Alright, now the meat at the end of the chapter. Of course Malfoy narked the instant he was back at Hogwarts, and of course Snape found Harry. But questions linger. How did Snape seem to know exactly where Harry would reappear from the passageway? Did he recognize the names Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs? Did he have any real idea about the map's abilities?

Since he called Lupin to answer his questions, I'll bet Snape knew exactly who the mapmakers were. I'm not sure how commonly know the Maurauders' nicknames were, I bet Snape knew (remember, he spent a lot of time trying to get them in trouble and find out Lupin's secret). I don't think he really understood the map's true purpose, though. It seems like a closely-guarded secret Snape couldn't have known... unless he was doing Legilimancy on Harry.

Obviously, it's impossible to really know, but if Harry and Ron hadn't been distracted and actually helped with the appeal, would Buckbeak have fared better? Or did the corrupt Ministry process doom him from the start, no matter who would've worked in his defense? I suppose it all works out in the end, but here, halfway through the book, it's a stark reminder that our actions or inactions affect others... sometimes seriously.

On that rather unhappy note, I bid thee goodnight!

Alas, my darlings...

2010-02-16T17:32:00.004-06:00

There will not be a post today. Real Life has been ridiculous this week. I am also rather busy designing & buying fabric for pretty and/or badass costumes for a certain Project.

So I beg your forgiveness and promise there will be a post soon! Very soon! Perhaps tomorrow!

In the meantime, I encourage you all to go and read this lovely post from Jess's blog. Jess, if you're not aware, has never read the series before. EVER. And she's been blogging her way through her very first Harry Potter experiences. She's about to get to the super-intense parts of Deathly Hallows, so perhaps go offer her support. BUT NOT SPOILERS. She's the Last Muggle to read Harry Potter. We want her to have the same un-spoiled first read that we all had :-)

Until tomorrow, cheerio!

Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapters 11 & 12

2010-02-09T16:57:00.009-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: "The Firebolt" by Harry and the Potters

(okay, okay, I admit it: there have been a lot more HatP songs on here than any other band. I tried to avoid this. As much as I love HatP, there are like 500 other wizard rock bands that need some lovin'. BUT... I try to match chapter content with song content. Early books are tricky, because wizard rock didn't really explode until 2005, and so most of the first songs written by newer bands were about Order of the Phoenix and beyond. It makes things a little difficult, but ah well. Also, it's hard to get mp3s from bands whose music is not yet available for purchase online. I have a lot of songs from the EP of the Month Club, but otherwise, if it's not on iTunes, Bandcamp, Snowcap, or Soundclick, I'm out of luck. This is why suggestions are always welcome!)

Welcome back! As the East Coast prepares to hide from yet another ridiculous storm, I'm curled up in my nice Midwestern-ness enjoying the plethora of snowplows that makes my commute far less dangerous than the one awaiting our friends in DC or New York. What a perfect way to read two more chapters of PoA!

And... what the awesome!?!? Help Haiti Heal officially closed last Saturday at midnight. Total raised? $122,910.85 according to Andrew Slack's twitter. Enough for three cargo planes of supplies (named Harry, Ron, and Hermione, of course) and then some. Remarkable. Incredible. Stupendous. I'm out of adjectives.

This week it's Christmas at Hogwarts! Harry and Lupin will officially begin Patronus lessons, and Hermione and Ron's pet feud reaches its zenith. Buckle your seat belt and here we go!

Chapter Eleven: The Firebolt

What Happens:

After overhearing the "true story" of Sirius's betrayal, Harry's still reeling as he comes back through the Honeydukes passage. He avoids everyone in the common room and looks at his book of old photos from Hagrid, where he sees the formerly-handsome Sirius standing beside James at the Potters' wedding. His night is restless and full of horrible dreams. The morning isn't much better. Ron and Hermione try to sit him down and keep him from running after Black, but Harry just resents their input. After all, they're not the ones who lost parents and hear that loss repeated every time a dementor gets close.

Desperate to calm Harry down, Ron suggests they all visit Hagrid. It's a good idea until they get to the hut. Hagrid's in tears over the Ministry’s ruling on Buckbeak. Hermione briskly suggests that they'll all help Hagrid put together a good defense to save the hippogriff. Hagrid's woes continue, though; he's certain none of the students like his classes. Harry, Ron, and Hermione bravely put cheerful faces and don’t dare mention that Hagrid’s classes have lately been less than stellar.

When Christmas arrives, Harry’s presents are run-of-the-mill: Weasley sweater and fudge…. And a long, thin package that turns out to be what Harry wants most in the world: a Firebolt! He and Ron try to figure out who could have possibly sent it (“I’m betting it wasn’t the Durlseys,” says Harry). Not Dumbledore, Harry thinks. Ron’s certain it’s Lupin, but Harry can’t imagine their perennially poor professor spending hundreds of Galleons on Harry. Ron also info-drops that Lupin wasn’t in the hospital while he was ill a few months earlier; Ron didn’t see him there. Before Harry can fixate on this, Hermione bursts in the boys’ dorm to see what’s going on. Unlike either of them, she’s incredibly suspicious of the Firebolt right from the get-go. Scabbers and Crookshanks continue their typical game of cat-and-mouse (see what I did there?

Finally, the three of them go down to the Great Hall for a festive Christmas lunch with the faculty and a few other students. Not long later, Professor Trelawney attempts to join their party, but hesitates, for her presence would make the number at the table thirteen. An exasperated McGonagall tells her to “risk it,” and lunch continues without incident. Harry and Ron stand up to leave at the same time, causing great alarm to Trelawney. Despite her dire warnings, they both make it back up to the dorms unscathed (“…the entrance hall, which was completely devoid of mad axe-men,” notes Harry).

Hermione comes in a few minutes later with McGonagall. In her usual no-nonsense manner, Minerva confiscates the broom. Harry and Ron are furious with Hermione, but she holds her ground. She is certain the Firebolt was sent to Harry by Black in attempt to harm him, and McGonagall apparently agrees.

Commentary:

After all the drama of the last few chapters it’s nice to see the kids and faculty just enjoying some Christmas holiday downtime. Of course, nothing’s ever so simple for Harry, so a dose of drama is just what the doctor ordered.

This is a chapter where Hermione really shines, and shows her true mettle. I’m a huge Hermione fan, so I’m certainly biased, but how many thirteen-year-olds would have the moxie to nark on their best friend, for something so seemingly wonderful? Even though Sirius didn’t send the with maleficent intent, she’s right on the mark that it’s from Sirius, so you can’t fault her for that. This is also where Hermione takes the reigns of Buckbeak’s appeal, and it’s lucky she does because Ron and Harry totally drop the ball on that one. More on that when we get to it.

For a very long time… and I mean, a *really* long time, I was one of those people who nit-picked every detail on things Trelawney said, searching for clues and premonitions. One of those was her assertion that “the first to rise [from the Christmas dinner table] will be the first to die.” For a long time this was one of my ironclad reasons why Harry couldn’t die at the end of the series. If the prediction is true, then Harry and Ron will die at roughly the same time. I was certain Jo wouldn’t kill off two characters from the Trio, so they would both make it through. Now, retrospectively, this is a tad silly, since there are many other reasons whey Harry couldn’t kick the bucket (like: the story is told from his point of view. No Harry, no story. The end). But remember that I (and we, probably) were grasping at straws, and with such lag time between books we had time to go a little crazy (a little? Remember the Mark Evans thing? Nevermind, we’ll get to that when it comes). But also, this isn’t a prediction, per se. It’s a superstition. Last week I touched a little on how superstition is actually not prominatn in the Wizarding World, at least in Harry’s [and our] experience. There are Prophecies, as we’ll see, and there are omens, but people aren’t worrying about the number thirteen or wearing amulets against evil. When they do, they’re looked down upon by characters we trust, like McGonagall or Mr. Weasley. This makes it easier for we readers to differentiate between actual prophecies (like those in the Department of Mysteries) and silly customs (like being afraid of a Grim).

Chapter Twelve: The Patronus

What Happens:

Harry and Ron are predictably furious with Hermione, and the rest of the holidays aren’t very fun. Harry’s glad when everyone comes back for the new term. Ron tells Oliver Wood the Firebolt story, and Wood vows to make McGonagall see reason.

Harry and Lupin make plans to begin anti-dementor lessons. Lupin decides to use a boggart to practice against; much safer than a real dementor, but good for training. He learns the incantation- Riddikulus!- and tries to focus on happy memories of varying degrees, but it’s not working. In fact, each dementor attack is getting worse, and he’s remembering more and more of his parents’ murders each time. Finally, after several tries, he succeeds in making a workable Patronus. Lupin is impressed with him. Just as Harry turns to leave, he mentions that if Lupin knew James Potter he must have known Sirius Black at school, too. Lupin is very guarded in his answer, but confirms that yes, he did know Sirius.

As the weeks go on, Harry makes a little progress with his Patronus but not as much as he’d hoped. He asks Lupin what’s under a dementor’s hood, and Lupin explains about the fate worse than death under the hood: the dementor’s kiss. Harry is about to ask him about what he overheard in the Three Broomsticks, but thinks better of it. After all, he doesn’t want Lupin to know he’s been sneaking out of school.

On the way back to the common room he runs into McGonagall. Much to Harry’s delight, she gives him the broom back. He returns to Gryffindor tower and rescues Neville, who’s stranded in the hallway without the password. Neville wrote all the passwords down, but the list is gone and he can’t remember the new one. Harry lets him in and enjoys everyone’s reaction to his Firebolt. Now that the broom is safely his again, he sort-of apologizes to Hermione and chats with her. Just then, Ron’s tortured screech echoes throughout the room. Scabbers is missing, and Ron’s sheets are stained with blood and surrounded by ginger cat hairs.

Commentary:

If you think about it, Harry’s ability to produce a corporeal patronus is really quite impressive. As Lupin says, many adult wizards can’t do it. However, I’m sure it was a little easier to produce one against a boggart-dementor than a real one. It’s terribly convenient that Harry can safely practice against a boggart instead of the real thing. Not a cliché device, just a clever use of plot elements. Well done, Jo. We get another glimpse at Lupin’s “silvery orb” patronus. I believe this brings our total to three sightings.

This chapter is a lot of set-up for future happenings: like Neville’s missing list of passwords, Hermione and Ron’s pet conflict, and Harry’s ability to fight dementors effectively. So with that, I’ll say goodnight, for this post is already far too long and I must go to sleep. Farewell till next week, dears!

Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapters 9 & 10

2010-02-02T18:37:00.000-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: "Four of Us" by Creevey Crisis

Hi again everybody! Welcome! Happy Groundhog Day (and, if you're of the Jesus-y persuasion, happy Feast of the Presentation!). Poor Punxsutawney Phil. Of *course* he saw his shadow; with 384 TV cameras around it's nearly inevitable. Alas an alack, six more weeks of winter it is. Or maybe instead, we'll wake up tomorrow and it will still be today...

This past week the HPA's Help Haiti Heal continued, and the cumulative total is now over $85,000, or more than enough for TWO planes full of aid supplies with Partners in Health. (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I think my favorite moment was Andrew Slack's dramatic Barack Obama-style rendition of "I'll Make a Man out of You" from Mulan. And also, we got to see John Green's beautiful new baby Henry today (which is why this post is late- I was busy watching the livestream show)! Clever vocabulary and witty expression fails me at this moment, so all I can say is, "OMG you guys!!" Yay for babies. Everybody loves babies :-) And Hank Green danced to Bad Romance when we broke $85,000. Yup.

UPDATE: We only need another $20K to send THREE planes full of supplies! Wowee! Partners in Health said that they'll name the planes "Harry, Ron, and Hermione." How amazing would that be? Amazing #1: Helping people in a desperate situation who really need help. Fellow human beings. People with the same dignity as us. Our brothers and sisters. Amazing #2: Once again demonstrating the power of activism in the fandom... because the weapon we have is love. Amazing #3: Um... planes named after three characters we all love? Yes please! So, go here to donate what you can. Even a few dollars from everybody adds up to a lot!

UPDATE THE SECOND: We did it! I'm so amazed. $105,000, enough for planes named "Ron, Harry, and Hermione." I am hoping we manage to finish the event at $140,000, or enough for a fourth plane. I'd suggest naming the fourth plane "Luna."

Today's post covers chapters 9 and 10, in which Harry almost dies (again), he and Lupin chat (again), Fred and George help Harry break the rules (again), and Harry learns some unpleasant facts about his parent's history (again). Also, I'm terrible at spelling the word mauraders "marauders."

Ready? And... here we go!

Chapter Nine: Grim Defeat

What Happens:

Dumbledore assumes command immediately, sending the students to the Great Hall under the prefects’ care while the teachers set off to search the castle. Everyone nervously tries to settle down but all the students are understandably freaked out. Ron notes that it’s lucky it’s Halloween; everyone was at the feast and not their dorms. Hermione can’t believe that no one else has read Hogwarts, A History; after all if they had they would know that sneaking into Hogwarts is no small feat. The students drift off to sleep. In the middle of the night, Dumbledore returns and Harry overhears his conversation with Percy. Dumbledore has appointed a replacement to guard the Gryffindor entrance. Later, Snape tries to raise his concerns about how Black could’ve gotten past all the school’s defenses, and he’s about to accuse someone when Dumbledore curtly cuts him off.

Life without the Fat Lady isn’t super. Sir Cadogan makes up absurd passwords and changes them far too often. This is especially difficult for Neville, of course. Lots of the teachers seem to be hovering around Harry, and even McGonagall tries to convince him to take some time off from Quidditch. Harry, however, insists upon playing. Just before their first match, Wood breaks some bad news. Slytherin has begged out of the match and they’ll be playing Hufflepuff instead. Wood is frantic and keeps cornering Harry in the halls between classes to give him last-minute tactical advice. His extra coaching sessions make Harry late for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and (of course) it’s on a day when Lupin is ill and Snape is substituting. Rather than follow the usual lesson plan, Snape spend the whole class lecturing about werewolves despite the students’ protests.

The morning of the Quidditch match, Harry wakes up at four a.m. thanks to Peeves’ antics. He’s too nervous to go back to sleep, so he just waits for sunrise. He notices that Crookshanks keeps trying to sneak up toward Scabbers in the boys’ dormitory, and when looking out the window he sees a huge black dog that looks just like the Grim.

The weather is truly horrible- cold and very raining and windy. Harry can’t see or hear anything during the match. During a time-out Hermione does a water-repelling charm on his glasses, which helps considerably. He’s just about to chase after the Snitch when a flock of dementors glides on the field. He hears a woman screaming and pleading for her life and faints into the blackness.

When Harry comes to, he’s in the hospital wing, surrounded by Ron, Hermione, and the team. They’re all relieved he’s alive, but Harry’s horrified that his fall caused them to lose the match. Ron fills Harry in; Dumbledore was furious at the dementors, “shot some silvery stuff at them” to send them away, and made sure Harry was carefully taken to the infirmary. To add to the bad news, Harry’s Nimbus blew away in the violent wind and hit the Whomping Willow, which made short work of the broom… which has been reduced to kindling sticks.

Commentary:

Yeah, that was a long recap. Sorry. I'm not so good with brevity, especially if I'm not limited by a wordcount or article size. On the interwebs, it's free reign! So mhhahahamama.

What was I talking about again? Oh yes, Harry's rotten week. Poor kid can't ever seem to catch a break can he? No wonder he'll start getting pissy in a few books.

I'm not sure how I feel about this whole "Grim" business. At first it seems like a red-herring. After all, the books might involve magic and prophecies, but they don't really encourage superstition, and I think that being afraid of a Grim is the Wizarding World equivalent of trying not to walk under a ladder. But... Harry's life is in danger, almost constantly. So which is it? Coincidence, or actual omen?

Okay, I'm a little suspicious that Quidditch wouln't be canceled for hurricane-force winds. Really? Maybe I'm just a wimp. That must be it.

This is a good demonstration of employing creatures, like dementors, who you'd rather avoid. It's easy for us, because hindsight's 20/20, but seriously NO ONE at the Ministry was worried about these creepy creatures turning against them at some point? Really? Have they not read *any* science fiction or fantasy novels?

I don't think Harry has quite figured out what the dementor-induced flashbacks are really about. He tells Lupin that he can hear Voldemort murdering his mum, but that's not till a few days later. Right now he can just hear a woman screaming.

Ron doesn't get a good enough look at the "silvery stuff" Dumbledore shoots at the dementors to describe in any more detail... but what is Dumbledore's patronus? Is this every answered? My guess is a phoenix.

Chapter Ten: The Marauders' Map

What Happens:

Harry spends a few days recovering in the hospital wing. He hasn’t told anyone about his Grim sighting or the specifics of what her hears when the dementors draw close. He’s glad to get back to the routine of school, especially now that Lupin is back teaching. After class Lupin asks Harry to stay for a minute. He asks after Harry’s broomstick, and Harry glumly informs him it was destroyed. Lupin tells him a bit about the Willow’s history: it was planted the year he came to Hogwarts. Harry finally asks Lupin why the dementors affect him more strongly than anyone else, and Lupin insists it has nothing to do with any kind of weakness. He explains a little more about the dementors’s tendencies. Harry asks if there are things he can learn to do to block them, and Lupin agrees to begin teaching after the Christmas holidays.

Just before Christmas the students get another chance to visit Hogsmeade. Harry, of course, glumly resigns to stay behind, but Fred and George corner him in a deserted corridor and bequeath to him a treasure: the Marauders’ Map. Among its many gems are the secret passages out of Hogwarts, and the twins give Harry some sage advice about how to use it. Hardly daring to believe his luck, Harry takes the passage behind the one-eyed-witch statue into Honeydukes, where he meets up with Ron and Hermione a fun afternoon of exploring the village. Finally they’re ready for some warm drinks at the pub. They enjoy the delicious butterbeer until several people walk in at once: McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid, and Cornelius Fudge. Harry hides under the table at once. The adults sit down at the table next to him and begin to chat about the dementors, the recent Black sighting, and how it’s affecting the village and the school.

During their conversation, Fudge and the teachers fill Rosmerta in on the whole story: Black and James Potter were best friends, like brothers. When Lily and James went into hiding Black was the Secret Keeper for their Fidelius Charm spell and told Voldemort how to find them. The day after the Potters' demise, Ministry officials cornered Black on the street while he confronted little Peter Pettigrew. Black blew up Pettigrew and half the street, killing 12 others. Despite twelve years in prison, Fudge notes that Black seemed very normal when he last saw him; he asked to see the newspaper, calm as you please. Finally, the adults leave to go back to the castle and Harry, Ron, and Hermione sit speechless in their absence.

Commentary:

A nice afternoon of friends and tomfoolery, ruined by the details of his tragic past. Welcome to a day in the life of Harry Potter.

This chapter is a very good example of clever info-dumping. Rosmerta's presence at the Grown-Ups' Table makes it work. Everyone else present already knows the story, so to avoid an inelegant case of As You Know, Bob, Rowling includes a newcomer to the group who can proxy for Harry and the audience. Clever, Jo. I see what you did there.

Remember back in the beginning of this book when Fudge greeted Harry at the Leaky Cauldron? I noted that he's rather rude to Stan the bus attendant and Tom the barman, and detected a hint of elitism. But here he is, happily rubbing elbows with Hagrid (who's concerned an "oaf" by the Malfoys and likely others of their ilk) and Madam Rosmerta, a barmaid. So is he an elitist? Maybe not. Or maybe he's just being nice to people outside is social group because it looks good in public. Hmm. What do you think?

I'll spend more time on the Pettigrew vs. Sirius saga when we get there at the end. But for now, let's just say that I'm impressed ( in a bad way) how so many people - EVERYONE - were all simultaneously fooled, and remained in the dark for so long. This leads me to suspect that Pettigrew had help setting up the whole thing; he doesn't seem bright enough (or a powerful enough wizard) to do it on his own. But if he had help, who was it? If it was another Death Eater, why didn't they confess to help save their own skin when they were caught? Or if it was someone like the Lestranges who never tried to pretend innocence, why would they help Pettigrew? He was pretty pathetically low on the Death Eater chain of command, as I recall.

Poor Harry. But onward and upward, and next week he'll get a pretty fabulous Christmas present, so we have that to look forward too.

And that's it!! Enjoy the LOST premiere, Lost fans... I have so far resisted the temptation to get addicted to another show. I'll netflix them all when the whole series is done :-)

There's going to be a Wizard World of Harry Potter commercial played during the Superbowl!! Woot! So whether you're Team Colts or Team Saints, I think we can all agree: Go TEAM POTTER!

Have a wonderful week, friends.

Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapters 7 & 8

2010-01-25T23:49:00.018-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: "Don't be Riddikulus" by Danny Dementor

Well hey there, cats, and kittens, this is Josh Lyman Maggie coming at you with your 2 'o clock briefing weekly dose of re-read! (sorry, I've been a huge West Wing kick lately. Couldn't resist)

Despite several misadventures with my ancient car in the past few days, my spirits were irresistibly buoyed by the Help Haiti Heal event, a multi-fandom auction initiative which has raised over $42,000 so far (!!!!!). You can still donate until the end of this week, so do what you can!! There are some totally kickin' prizes up for grabs! I was also so excited to see HHH promoted on another geek site I frequent, tor.com. Good lord, I love being a nerd.

This week's post covers PoA chapters 7 & 8. Here we'll learn things about people's deep-seated fears, realize Severus Snape looks dashing in long green dress, and that Peeves is rather useless as an anti-break-in alarm. Usual guidelines apply: spoilers for all seven novels abound, so if you haven't read, don't read.

Below: a secret plan to fight inflation! Or, perhaps, ya know, the Post!

Chapter Seven: The Boggart in the Wardrobe

What Happens:

Malfoy finally returns to Potions class, where he takes full advantage of his "injuries" to make Harry and Ron's lives difficult. (In other news, the sky is blue.) Snape is in full venomous form, worse than usual. Seamus mentions that Sirius Black was sighted not far from Hogwarts. After class Ron and Harry seem to lose track of Hermione, who turns up just in time for lunch coming from an entirely different direction. They're puzzled but she refuses to talk about it.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lupin impresses the students by dispensing with Peeves' usual annoyance and asking the students to put their textbooks away. In the staffroom they have a hands-on lesson fighting a boggart. Snape arrives and manages to berate both Neville and Lupin in a single breath. Neville is predictably crushed, but Lupin lets him be the first to demonstrate boggart-fighting. Putting Boggart-Snape in Mrs. Longbotttom's clothing is probably one of the cleverest things Neville has ever done, and he cheers up at once. The students line up and attack the boggart one by one. Harry notices that the boggart becomes a "silvery orb" when it's in front of Lupin. Harry is ready to take on the boggart, expecting it to materialize as a dementor, but Lupin blocks him before he gets the chance.

Commentary:

This is probably up there as one of your "favorite chapters ever." It certainly is for me, probably because I have such a crush on Remus John Lupin. As we discussed last time, some of the teachers at Hogwarts have dubious teaching credentials, but Lupin is certainly not among them. Let's add up the points: He immediately builds rapport with the students by defeating Peeves, a much-maligned part of their school experience. He refuses to let Snape bully Neville, but stands up for the poor kid and boosts his confidence by helping him succeed in front of his peers (and making everyone laugh). He lets almost everyone have a hands-on experience in his subject. In short, he's the antithesis of Dolores Umbridge. I had a few teachers who were like Lupin in my high school and college years, and I'm so grateful. We should all be so lucky!

This is such a fun chapter because it's full of action and laughter, but there are a few important points to keep in mind before we move on:

Snape's animosity toward Lupin is beyond the usual "Snape dislikes everyone" and rather more like "Snape hates this particular person with a deep-seated fierceness."
I know there are lots of ardent Snape fans out there, and I don't deny that the guy had a rough life. But his abuse of Neville is *really* pronounced here, more than usual. Poor Neville. I'm so glad the boggart provided such a convenient outlet for revenge.
I was surprised at how many of the students were afraid of magical beings like mummies and banshees. I mean, I've never had a run-in with either one, and maybe I'm just too dense from living as a Muggle all these years... but my boggart would be akin to Mrs. Weasley's (harm coming to my family and friends), or a more "conceptual" one like Hermione (whose boggart was "failing everything.") Then again, I'm an old fogey, not a spry thirteen-year-old. What would your boggart be?

Chapter Eight: The Flight of the Fat Lady

What Happens:

The school year hums along. Defense Against the Dark Arts classes continue to go well, with more interactive lessons about dangerous Dark creatures. Hagrid's class, on the other hand, takes a marked turn for the worse. After the hippogriff catastrophe, the students spends each class looking a flobberworms. Divination isn't much better, and Harry is increasingly fed up with Trelawney's predictions of doom. Hermione continues being skeptical, even when Lavender Brown's gets the news that her baby rabbit was killed. Quidditch training begins, which is always fun and takes Harry's mind off classes. Harry notes that Captain Oliver Wood is a bit manic about winning this year, since it's his last year at school.

Ron and Hermione's pets --and thus Ron and Hermione -- are rather at odds, which is making things a little awkward for the group dynamic. The first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up at the end of October, but Harry still doesn't have a signed form. Ron encourages Harry to ask McGonagall for permission. Predictably, she refuses, and Harry is stuck at Hogwarts while all his fellow third-years visit the village. He wanders around, feeling a bit sorry for himself, until he runs into Lupin. Lupin invites Harry to help him with a newly-delivered grindylow, and they have a cup of tea and chat about the boggart lesson. During their tea, Snape comes in a gives Lupin a foul-smelling potion, which Lupin drinks straight away.

Hermione, Ron, and the others return from Hogsmeade full of sweets and fascinating stories about the village. After the Halloween feast, all the student are ready for a nice turn-in... but the portrait hole is slashed and the Fat Lady is missing. Peeves, the sole witness, grins oily. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

Commentary:

Ooh, now we're cooking! There are lots of little things in the chapter laying groundwork for later.

I'm always in two minds about Hermione's reaction to the demise of Binky the Rabbit. On the one hand, poor Lavendar! I've never owned a rabbit, but one of my friends did when I was little, and they sure are adorable. It would be terrible to find out that your pet expired before its time. So maybe sympathy is the best choice. But... Hermione is right, of course. Lavender is stretching the prediction thing a little too far, for all the reasons Hermione lists. Though, this might not be the best moment to explain that logic. Oh well, chalk it up to another example of Hermione's brilliance... which accounts for her occasional social ineptitude. And as silly as it seems, this little scene is one of a few prior to Half-Blood Prince in which Lavender isn't just a background character. Already we know she has a flair for the dramatic, which will become very important to a certain red-headed young gentleman about three years down the line.

One of the most important things in this chapter is Harry and Lupin's little tête-a-tête over tea. It sets up the Wolfsbane Potion, for one thing, and Harry and Lupin's mentoring relationship. I do find it a little odd, though, that Lupin doesn't even mention Lily and James at this point. Maybe he and Harry just aren't that close yet? Also, as Lupin will point out in Half-Blood Prince, Snape was incredibly decent to make the Wolfsbane Potion (or maybe he did it under Dumbledore's orders? I can't remember, but I don't think so). Even though I go back and forth about my respect/dislike for Snape, this is certainly an example of him being a Decent Fellow, even though he's angsty.

Sirius tried to get into the Gryffindor common room! Yikes! At this point, of course, Harry and the first-time readers think Sirius is an enemy, but boy, the guy is really not helping matters with this sort of behavior. If you are trying to prove your innocence, attacking anthropomorphic objects just isn't going to get you points in a Mr. Congeniality contest. But... he's a little cracked, after all. Not mad like other Azkaban prisoners, maybe, but that long in a wretched prison among dementors can't be good for anybody.

Poor Fat Lady. But um... if Peeves was floating there watching the whole thing, why 1) didn't he raise an alarm? and 2) did he see Sirius transform from Animagus to man? And if so, why didn't he tell Dumbledore that little tidbit of information? Based on his behavior in OotP and DH, Peeve is clearly loyal to the school, but that loyalty doesn't seem to do much good except in dire situations. Hmm.

That's all for now! See you next week!

Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapters 5 & 6

2010-01-19T17:05:00.002-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: “Give Me Some Sugar” by Tom Riddle and Friends
[which, strangely, is not loading properly on the music player. Hmm. I will try to fix it. In the meantime, the lyrics are great!]

Hello again dear readers! Hope your life has been grand this past week. In addition to our continued journey in PoA, there's a new "feature" available here in re-read land:

"Why, hark! 'Tis an Index of all the chapter posts, handily organized for thy convenience! Splendid!"

[Finally, I'm sure you are all just as shocked and horrified as I am about the deteriorating situation in Haiti these past few days. There are many reputable places to donate, and Melissa from Leaky has hinted that a fandom-wide initiave is coming in the next few days. In the meantime, give what you can, pray, and hope.]

Today we ‘ll meet some new Hogwarts faculty, eat chocolate, pet a Hippogriff, and venture into new territory: the future! Also, I get to use the word "kibosh." Our hostess, Sybill Trelawney, will tell us everything we need to know about our futures… or at least she’ll try to. Pull up a poof, don’t mind the incense, and gaze into the depths of your tea cup…

Chapter Five: The Dementor

What Happens:

In the morning, Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys get ready to go to King's Cross. Once at the station, Arthur awkwardly begins talking to Harry privately about Black, but Harry already knows. Mr. Weasley asks Harry to promise he won't go looking for Black, no matter what happens or what he hears.

Ron, Harry and Hermione sit in a compartment with a sleeping adult: Professor R.J. Lupin, as Hermione deduces. Harry tells Ron and Hermione what he's overheard and been told about Black. Just as he does, the Sneakoscope in his trunk begins whirring loudly. Ron suspects it's broken - he admits it was pretty cheap - and suggest Harry can get it fixed at one of the shops in Hogsmeade. Harry, of course, won't be going to Hogsmeade, and Ron instantly begins suggesting alternate means of sneaking in while Hermione scoffs. Later Malfoy & Co. come by to annoy everyone, as usual, but Lupin's presence puts a kibosh on their antics.

Not long later the train slows down. Everyone is confused; they aren't at Hogwarts yet. None of the students can see what's going on in the dark, but Harry feels horribly cold. He hears distant screaming and feels like he's drowning, until he faints. When he comes to, Professor Lupin gives all the kids some chocolate and leaves to go check on the train. Ron and Hermione admit that they felt horrible while the dementor was there, but no one fainted like Harry.

Once at school, word has somehow spread about Harry's fainting. Malfoy, of course, makes fun of him. McGonagall swoops in and asks to see Harry and Hermione in her office. Madam Pomfrey checks Harry over and pronounces him healthy despite the episode. Harry waits outside while Hermione and McGonagall chat about course schedules and then they head down to the feast. Dumbledore begins, as usual, with announcements. He mentions that the dementors are from Azkaban and present to protect the students, although his distaste for the idea is evident. He announces two staff appointments: Lupin for Defense Against the Dark Arts and Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures. Snape looks particularly murderous; after all, he missed his target job again....

Harry and the others head up to their dormitories to sleep, and Harry is so glad to be home.

Commentary:

Truth be told, I understand *why* the train scenes are important (ie: they introduce us to Lupin, they establish Harry's extra sensitivity to dementors, continue to emphasize Sneakiness detected via sneakoscope, etc). But I never quite understood why the train had to stop enroute to school. Seems very odd to me. However, our introduction to Lupin- and later, Harry's relationship with him- is far more personal and big-brotherly than that of an average professor and student. So maybe his unorthodox train appearance makes sense on that level.

Mr. Weasley's concern here is warranted and adorable. He knows Harry well enough to know that Harry tends to act first and think later, especially when emotions are involved. However, Arthur is trying to abide by his wife's request and keep Harry in the dark. From what Arthur says, it seems to be common knowledge (at least to the Weasleys) that Sirius was the Potters' best friend. However, when Fudge explains the story to Madam Rosmerta later on, she is genuinely surprised. Maybe the Weasleys know because they were members of the Order?

Also- I *love* that chocolate is the antidote for dementor exposure. It's both funny, and has a ring of truth. When I feel yucky, chocolate certainly helps me!

Chapter Six: Talons and Tea Leaves

What Happens:

Malfoy continues his mockery of Harry at breakfast the next day. Harry tries to ignore him. Fred and George try to cheer Harry up; after all, the first Quidditch match of the year is against Slytherin and Harry can get revenge then. Harry and Ron notice that Hermione's schedule is a little full- she's listed for three classes at once- but Hermione ignores their questions as they head off for Divination. They get a bit lost but the chivalrous (if crazy) Sir Cadogen guides them to the North Tower. Up in Trelawney's room the students listen to her dire predictions (mostly about Harry) and try to decipher the tea leaves for signals. Hermione is skeptical, but Harry is a little worried. None of the students are paying particular attention in Transfiguration, either, and McGonagall shrewdly figures out what is going on. She crisply gives them her opinion of the subject and Hermione feels better at once. Ron maintains that the Grim isn't something to sneeze at; the omen scares most wizards. Hermione scoffs again.

Finally the Gryffindors and Slytherins gather at Hagrid's for Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid seems nervous but very excited for his first day. He's a little deflated when he learns that none of the students could devise how to open their frightful, snapping text books (stroke the spine, of course). He begins telling them about Hippogriffs: especially about their pride and the need to be respectful when approaching one. Hagrid asks for a volunteer to approach the creature and Harry agrees with trepidation. He does very well, and Hagrid insists he's ready to try and ride Buckbeak. Harry rides, but doesn't much like it; it's not a very secure seat.

Buoyed by Harry's success the other students come closer. Malfoy, of course, hasn't been listening, so the first thing he does is insult the hippogriff. Buckbeaks rears and his hooves hit Malfoy's arm. Hagrid, looking worried, takes Malfoy to the hospital wing as the Slytherins yell and jeer. The Gryffindors are worried for Hagrid, especially Hermione. After dinner Harry, Ron, and Hermione sneak down to the hug to see Hagrid, who's a mess. All three insist that they'll help Hagrid avoid any trouble; they'll vouch for him as witnesses. Hagrid starts to feel a little better and then shoos them back to the castle, insisting they're not safe out at night.

Commentary:

Haha, I love Sir Cadogen. He's a lovable idiot. I very much enjoy when very minor background characters have distinct personalities, and he's a prime example.

As much as I love Dumbledore, there are times when I question his decisions, especially as far as his staff is concerned. Not to sound like Lucius Malfoy.... but seriously, man. Trewlawney is a terrible teacher. Whether you're like McGonagall and Hermione and think that Divination is a load of dung or a believer like Lavender Brown, I think we can all agree that Sibyll isn't a very effective instructor. Of course, Dumbledore kind of had to hire her to protect her from Death Eaters/etc after she made the prophecy all those years ago... but couldn't he have gotten her some kind of staff development to make her a little more effective in the classroom? Sheesh. Maybe her teaching ineptness is just due to perpetual awkwardness. But either way...

And Hagrid! I love Hagrid. He's a wonderful guy, loyal, hardworking, supportive, and brave. A great gamekeeper and great friend to Harry. But..... oh boy. I know the attack was like 99% Malfoy's fault for deliberately disobeying instructions, but Hagrid is the adult in charge and still liable. This doesn't reduce Malfoy's quotient of jerkishness, and the Ministry will go way too far in their persecution.... but if I were a Hogwarts parent I'd be concerned too. Professor Grubbly-Plank, Hagrid's sub, proves that Care of Magical Creatures can be interesting and safe.... Hagrid just needs to find the right balance. Poor guy.

One of the themes in this book (and again in OotP) is the conflict between wide-eyed superstition and actual Real Prophecy. I'd bet that 90% of what Trelawney says is fake, but those few times when she actually acts like a Seer.... damn, she's right.

And that's all I have for you this week, ladies and gents. Next week is one of my favorite chapters ever. Snape + handbag & dress = hilarity ensues. Keep your Patronuses bright and I'll see you then.

Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapters 3 & 4

2010-01-12T06:52:00.000-06:00

Wizard Rock of the Week: "Get on the Bus" by Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls

Hello again! This post officially puts us back on schedule, and I’m so glad! There’s a lot to cover this week in PoA chapters three and four. We get to spend time at one of my favorite places: The Leaky Cauldron. No, not that Leaky Cauldron, silly, the one in London! Grab a butterbeer and have a sit.

(I’m currently packing in order to move to a new apartment. This weekend I found a binder full of re-read notes… from my last great (unpublished) re-read effort, prior to the release of Deathly Hallows back in 2007. The binder also contained the 400+ questions and my answers to Leaky’s pre-release prediction quiz, on which I scored a 65%. It was quite the trip down memory lane, let me tell you!)

Chapter Three: The Knight Bus

What Happens:

Moments after his angry exit from the Dursleys, reality dawns on Harry: he’s in quite the pickle. He’s temporarily homeless, has no Muggle money or way to communicate, and is probably expelled for his magic use. He’s just about to try flying to London when he sees a dark shadow in the corner. In his shock Harry trips and falls into the street. A huge triple-decker bus pulls up and its adolescent conductor, Stan Shunpike, invites Harry aboard. Harry lies about his name and climbs aboard, heading to London.

En route, the bus careens around the British countryside and Harry happens to notice the Daily Prophet’s article about Black, whom he’d seen on the Muggle news earlier. Stan and Ernie are incredulous that Harry doesn’t know about Black and quickly fill him in on the whole story. Black, of course, in an infamous murderer and big Voldemort supporter.

Once they pull up at the Leaky Cauldron, the surprises continue. Cornelius Fudge himself is waiting to greet Harry. Much to Harry’s surprise, Fudge appears to be personally involved in the search for Harry and insists that Harry won’t be punished for his loss of control back at the Dursley’s. Fudge will not, however, sign Harry’s Hogsmeade form. He orders Harry to stay at the inn or in Diagon Alley for the remainder of the holidays and bids Harry good night.

Commentary:

Fudge, you’re so very tricksy. At this point we really don’t know how big of an ass he’ll turn out to be; a bit bumbling, perhaps, but not nearly the sort of jerk he’ll devolve into within two books. Ugh. I’ll save most of my “boo-hiss Ministry” ranting for later books, but even at this early stage, it’s important to note that the Ministry is woefully inconsistent and willing to play favorites. Fudge, after all, is probably more concerned about Harry because of how things would look, not out of actual concern for Harry’s well-being. There’s a smidgen of elitism there too; Fudge is not quite polite to Stan or Tom the bartender, practically ignoring both of them. I mean, he could have at least been nice to them. I believe this demonstrates that in the Ministry (or Fudge’s head, at least) elitism isn’t just defined by one’s heritage, but by one’s socioeconomic class, too. I suppose Jo gets the credit for creating a believably unpleasant government system for the Wizarding World. Very often in fantasy literature (epic fantasy, especially) the author portrays the noble/ruling class as very nice and kind to the poor peasants beneath them, all the while acting as though feudalism as a legitimate form of government. As annoying as it is, this portrayal of a corrupt government in the MoM is, unfortunately, more realistic.

Harry is rather lucky that the Knight bus came zooming by. What would he have done? I suppose his plan of flying to London might have worked out, but how, exactly would he know how to get there?

And Stan! He’s going to get such a rough deal pretty soon and I feel so sorry for him. It is nice, I think, that Rowling follows the Law of Conservation of Characters; we’ll see Stan again at the Quidditch World Cup and hear of him again several times in HBP until finally, in DH, he’s Imperiused.

I won’t rant about those ridiculous shrunken heads in the film; I’ll just upset myself otherwise.

As Tom the bartender notes, Hedwig is an exceptionally smart owl. Owls in the Potter world are very smart creatures, and I can’t decide if it’s awesome or a little creepy how your owl knows your whereabouts almost before you do. Have owls ever been bewitched by Dark wizards to stalk people, like wire-tapping for wizards? Do owls have unions?

Chapter Four: The Leaky Cauldron

(This chapter gets its own song because the perfect one was so conveniently available.) Presenting: “Two Weeks to Myself” by Harry and the Potters

What Happens:

Harry enjoys his summer holidays more than he’d ever believed possible. He has loads of free time to explore Diagon Alley and finish his summer homework. Wandering around the shops he discovers the newly-released Firebolt broomstick and has to exercise a lot of self-control not to buy it.

While buying books at Flourish and Blotts, Harry notices a book about omens which mentions the Grim, a mysterious dog that indicates death is coming. The store manager urges Harry to ignore the book, and Harry does his best. A few days later he meets up with Hermione and who have come to do their school shopping. Hermione can’t stop chattering about all the new classes she’ll get to take this year. She decides to buy an owl and heads to the magical pet shop. Ron needs pet tonic for Scabbers, who’s looking ill, so he and Harry come along too.

Ron buys some medicine for Scabbers and Hermione, much to Ron’s horror, buys a huge ginger cat called Crookshanks. Crookshanks is antagonistic to Scabbers right away.

Back at the Leaky Cauldron everyone enjoys a lovely meal. Fred and George cause mischief, of course, stealing Percy’s Head Boy badge. Later in the evening Harry overhears Mr. and Mrs. Weasley arguing about whether or not to tell Harry something about Black. Mrs. Weasley is nearly panicked about Harry’s safety, but Arthur reassures her, arguing that Harry will be safest near Albus Dumbledore. Harry creeps back upstairs unheard and tries not to worry about Black.

Commentary:

There’s just so much to love about this chapter, mostly because I freaking love the Weasley family. This is one of the last times we’ll get to see them all together and all happy before things begin getting serious. Fred and George are harassing Percy, Molly is puffed up with pride for her children and worrying about their safety… it’s just lovely and normal for them.

This is, I believe, the only time we ever really hear anything about Florean Fortescue (of the ice cream parlor) before his murder in HBP. But even though poor Florean isn't a major character, we know that he's kind to Harry and runs a great store. So, when he's taken by Death Eaters, we're actually a little attached to him and it makes us more upset than the other random people they harm. Sad pandas.

In other news, there’s quite a bit of foreshadowing & set-up in this chapter (the Firebolt, the Grim, Hermione’s ridiculous class load, Scabbers’ ailing health, Crookshanks and Scabbers’ animosity) and some info-dumping about Black. Retrospectively, all the things we “know” about Black prior to this book’s climax are wrong, which really makes me feel terribly sorry for Sirius and the undue burden of guilt and shame he’s been carrying. Even after escaping in this book he’s not free to live a great life; he’ll always be in hiding. Even when the Order re-forms and he has comrades and visitors, things don’t get much better. Poor guy. Sirius’s story is probably one of the saddest in the series, eclipsed only by Neville.

Harry gets some mad props, I think, for not buying the Firebolt straight away. For a thirteen year old boy, he shows great maturity and foresight by not spending tons of money on something he doesn’t need. Well done, Harry!

This is a tiny thing, but remember that Percy owned Scabbers before Ron did. I can’t help but note the similarities between Peter Pettigrew and Percy Weasley; both them have dubious loyalty. Both are looking out only for themselves, which others around them step up and do the right thing… so it’s rather appropriate that they were together, perhaps.

That’s all for now! Make sure you bring some chocolate next week because we’re going to need it. Until then, stay warm!

Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapters 1 & 2

2010-01-07T20:25:00.013-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: "Get Back to Hogwarts" by A Very Potter Musical (in honor of a new book, and the announcement that there will soon be A Very Potter Sequel!!!!!!!!!!!)

And we're back again! In my effort to get back on schedule, this post is going up on a non-Tuesday. It's time for a new book, Prisoner of Azkaban, one of my favorites (though, to be fair, they're all my favorites on some level. But PoA is super-special because I love backstory, and this book has it in spades!)

This week's adventures feature lessons in telephone etiquette, Very Annoying Relatives, a wee bit of foreshadowing, and an early glimpse of Harry's forthcoming Hormonal Teenage Angst. Ready? Here we go!

Chapter One: Owl Post

What Happens:

Harry is up late doing summer assignments, hoping the Dursleys don't discover his nefarious nighttime habit of (gasp!) doing homework. While writing an essay about Wendelin the Weird, Harry's POV gives the dear readers a nice exposition of his life and the previous two novels. Highlights include a recent call from Ron which didn't go over very well with Uncle Vernon. Tip: telephones are for talking, not imitating Sean Penn in Mystic River. (which, btw, is an incredibly powerful movie).

Hedwig and Errol arrive with birthday greetings for Harry and a note from Hogwarts. Ron sends Harry a Sneakoscope, a letter, a newspaper article about the Weasley's recent trip to Egypt, and the news that Percy's the new Head Boy. Hermione's gift is a Broomstick Servicing Kit. Even with good intentions, Hagrid's gift - The Monster Book of Monsters - isn't quite as appealing. The Hogwarts letter is a permission form for Hogsmeade visits, and Harry isn't quite sure how he'll get the Dursleys to sign it. Nevertheless, he's glad to be thirteen.

Commentary:

Here we are again, ready for a new year! A couple of little things to note: Harry's using a flashlight to read his textbook, because underage wizards can't do magic. So, ahem, no Lumos Maxima nonsense here.

Rowling's characteristic humor shines through in her tale of Wendelin the Weird... but I have to wonder... a Flame Freezing Charm won't hurt you, so how did Wendelin get away from her captors once they were certain she'd be good and dead? I'm probably overthinking this.

This chapter contains some of the cleverest recapping; not nearly as awkward as in CoS. I was happy to see that Jo abandoned the whole "Previously on...." segments by OotP. I mean, really, if you haven't read the previous books by now, why are you picking it up halfway through? Either read the preceding volumes or, *cringe* look up the plot summaries on Wikipedia if you're lazy. Gah.

The Monster Book is so... Hagrid. I love it.

So much is set up here! And so sneakily! Oh look, a picture of the Weasleys in the paper. Oh look, there's a certain rat on Ron's shoulder! And oh, a Sneakoscope for detecting Shifty People. Lovely!

Chapter Two: Aunt Marge's Big Mistake

What Happens:

In the morning, Harry makes breakfast in the kitchen as a the news reporter talks about someone named Black, a dangerous escaped convict. Harry's morning doesn't improve when he remembers that Vernon's sister, Marge, is coming for a visit. He tries to leverage this unwelcome news with Uncle Vernon; Harry will stick to the story about his attendance at St. Brutus' Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys... if Vernon signs the Hogsmeade permission form.

Marge's visit is predictably horrendous. Over the next few days Harry tries desperately not to let her goading get to him as she insults his person, his appearance, and his family. He holds it together until the last evening, when Marge (under the influence of quite a lot of brandy) makes some pointed remarks about his parents. Harry finally reaches his limits and yells back at her... but Marge seems to growing larger by the moment. Within a few minutes she swells like a balloon. Harry runs to his room and grabs his trunk and supplies. Over Vernon's screeched protests, he declares he's had enough and stalks out into the dark street.

Commentary:

My, what an unpleasant person! [/understatement] Harry does fly a little off the handle here, but, frankly, wouldn't you? He's only thirteen, for Heaven's sake, so losing his temper like this s kind of part of the territory.

There aren’t really too many other things to take note of here; Marge is a wretched person. But do take notice: Harry’s first use of magic (accidental, of course) is bursting Marge’s brandy glass. But… he doesn’t get a Ministry owl swooping down on him promising punishment. This doesn’t jive with past precedent; after all, in CoS, Dobby was the one who dropped the pudding, and Harry was blamed instantly. I believe that in the next chapter Harry will note this inconsistency. Is the Ministry simply so apoplectic about Black’s escape that they’re not quite as harsh against minor offenders?

That's all for today! Tomorrow is a Tuesday and Chapters Five and Six will be up for your re-reading enjoyment! Have a lovely day, friends.

Chamber of Secrets: Chapters 17 & 18

2010-01-05T10:08:00.016-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: "Save Ginny Weasley" by Harry and Potters

Step right up, step right up! It's a new year and a new start, so let's celebrate! Here in re-read land we aim to please, so for a limited time you -yes, you!- are eligible for an aaaaaaaaaaaaaaamazing offer: two re-reads for the price of one! Why, that's right, for this week only you'll get double your money's worth in the form of two posts in one week! Wowee!

[so, um, last week: yeah. Life is crazy sometimes, peoples. Especially when you're coordinating a wedding for 350 guests at a giant basilica. But now my dear, dear friend is officially a Mrs. and my life is returning to normalcy]

Today's post will finish off Chamber of Secrets in all its thrilling glory, especially in the actions of Chekhov's Phoenix Gun. And also, I get to gloat a little bit. But more on that later.

AND: This week the awesome kiddos over at Team Star Kid announced that they're making a sequel called A Very Potter Sequel, coming Summer 2010!!!! GET PUMPED!

And now, ze post!

Chapter Seventeen: The Heir of Slytherin

What Happens:

Harry walks through the huge, creepy Chamber and sees Ginny's unconscious form on the ground. He turns her over gently, but Tom Riddle interrupts him. Riddle isn't a ghost, but isn't quite solid; he claims to be "a memory, preserved in a diary for fifty years." Harry frantically reminds Tom that there's a basilik, and then notices that his wand is missing, but Tom just wants to chat. In typical villain fashion, he monologues. He explains that Ginny became so attached to her sympathetic diary that Tom was able to manipulate her into opening the Chamber and attacking the students (and the cat). Later, when Ginny started to get nervous about the diary and threw it away, Tom was thrilled that Harry was its new owner and manipulated Harry into believing the worst about Hagrid. It turns out, actually, that Riddle's motive for Ginny's disappearance was that he wanted to meet Harry and talk to him face-to-face about how a little child could've defeated Voldemort.

Harry is confused; after all, Voldemort wasn't during Riddle's time. Riddle contradicts him, however, he is Lord Voldemort, the true Heir of Slytherin. Even amid his shock at this revelation, Harry manages to hang onto his head. Riddle declares himself the "greatest sorcerer in the world," and Harry contradicts him; Dumbledore, not Riddle, is the greatest. At this a red and gold blur sweeps by; Fawkes has arrived, along with the Sorting Hat.

Riddle speaks Parseltongue and summons the basilisk. Harry has the sense to keep his eyes closed, and can hear the snake slithering around the Chamber. Fawkes dives in and tears its eyes out so Harry can look around. He feels rather helpless until the Hat falls on his head. Desperate, he pleads it to help him, and is shocked when I giant sword comes out of its depths. He fights the basilisk and , but one of its fangs sinks deep into Harry's arm, spreading venom everywhere. Harry feels himself fading.... until Fawkes lays his head on the wound and his tears heal the bite. Riddle raises his wand against Harry, but Fawkes saves the day again: he drops the diary in Harry's lap, and Harry uses it to stab the diary. Riddle disappears and Ginny comes to.

She's terrified of what she's done, nearly hysterical. Harry tries to comfort her the best he can, and he, Ginny, and Fawkes make their way back down the hallway and meet up with Ron and the Obliviated Lockhart. They fly out of the Chamber thanks to Fawkes' incredible strength. Myrtle is a little bit disappointed to see them alive, but Fawkes leads the four of them to McGonagall's office

Commentary:

Okay, I'm just gonna come out and say that this chapter is by far one of the most intense in the whole series.

[Captain Obvious sticks his head in. "Maggie?" he asks. "You do realize that the penultimate chapter of a Potter novel is almost always a pretty intense one, right?"

"Of course," I agree. "But in this case the climax is even more intense than usual; more intense, I'd argue, than any except GoF and DH."

The good Captain nods. "Just making sure." He salutes and strides out, magenta cape swooshing behind.]

The last time we saw Our Heroes things were looking grim. Dumbledore has been suspended, Hagrid sent to Azkaban, Hermione (and others) Petrified, and Ginny Weasley taken into the Chamber. Harry and Ron were almost victims of Lockhart's memory charm, got caught in a cave-in, and Harry was alone heading toward the basilisk, all in the interest of saving tiny Ginny Weasley from certain death.

Aaaaaaand this is the part where I gloat. I would just like to clearly state, for the record of the universe in blog-land, that way back in 1998, after reading this book, I TOTALLY CALLED that Harry and Ginny would end up together. On the since-defunct harrypotterfans.net, I got a lot of heat for this unpopular view even way back then, especially when PoA came out and people where convinced that Cho was Harry's One Twu Luv. But I knew then.... and was ever so happy when I read HBP and my prediction was vindicated. So hah, universe, I win!

Where was I? Oh yes, Harry's entering the very scary Chamber all by himself. Poor guy. I'm trying to remember what my reaction was when I first read this... I think I was confused, just like Harry, about Tom Riddle, his intentions, and why someone who was 16 fifty years ago was standing in the Hogwarts Chamber still looking a gorgeous as ever.

But let's count the red flags about Tom Riddle, red flags neither Harry nor I noticed. One: he's still looking sixteen fifty years later. Fishy. Two: He seems completely unconcerned that a giant monster lives about twelve feet from where he's standing. Three: He steals Harry's wand without any trouble, and then claims Harry won't need it.

Now let's delve into the terrifying and confusing world of Horcruxes. I am so mystified by the idea of a Horcrux like Riddle knowing about present day events... granted, Ginny filled him in on the whole story, but I'm a tad confused about how much Horcrux Voldemort knows.

Also- a conundrum! What would've happened if Harry had dueled with Riddle in the usual way? Riddle didn't have a wand though... unless he stole Ginny's.... oh my, this is making my head hurt. And what would have happened if Riddle had succeeded in sucking all the life out of Ginny to fully reincarnate himself? Discuss!

Chapter Eighteen: Dobby's Reward

What Happens:

Back in the office, the Weasley parents, Dumbledore, and McGonagall are thrilled Ginny's okay, but can't understand how. Harry explains as best as he can, trying to leave out the diary, which would incriminate Ginny. Dumbledore must know Something Is Up, so he gently pries and gets Harry to admit about the diary. Mr. Weasley is outraged that Ginny would get involved with something clearly Fishy, but Dumbledore defends her, tells McGonagall to throw a celebratory feast, awards Harry and Ron Special Awards for Services to the School. Ron leaves, and it's time for this book's episode of Dumbledore Explains it All.

Harry asks Dumbledore about what Riddle said: is he really so similar to Voldemort? After all, he's a Parseltongue, he would've done well in Slytherin... Dumbledore explains that Voldemort passed a little bit of himself along to Harry, which is why they have so many things in common. Harry feels defeated; he should be in Slytherin after all! But no, Dumbledore protests- Harry specifically asked not to be in Slytherin, and therein lies the difference. It is our choices, after all. For further proof, the sword he drew out of the hat was Gryffindor's himself. Feeling much better, Harry turns to go. Lucius Malfoy is waiting to come to the office, accompanied by Dobby. Lucius sneers at them, and Harry figures out that it was Malfoy who planted the diary on Ginny, way back in the fall. Lucius hisses at Harry to prove it, which, of course, Harry can't do.

Moving by instinct, Harry asks Dumbledore if he can have the old diary back; he pulls off one of his disgusting socks, stuffs the book into it, and hands the whole thing to Malfoy. Lucius flings the horrible sock in the air... and Dobby catches it! Freed, Dobby uses his considerable magic to defend Harry against Malfoy, whom he launches down the stairs.

At the feast, Hermione and the other Petrified people return, and Hermione is thrilled that Harry and Ron figured out the mystery.

The rest of the school year flies by; exams are canceled as a treat and life returns to normal. Just before everyone arrives home on the train, Harry asks Ginny what she had been trying to tell them all the morning before she was taken to the Chamber. Much to Fred and George's delight, she reveals that Percy has a girlfriend: Penelope Clearwater, a Ravenclaw prefect. And so, all end happily for our friends and they laugh as they rejoin the Muggle world.

Commentary:

Whew! I must say, it's rather adorable how Harry tries to cover up for Ginny, but it was kind of inevitable that the story was going to get out.

This book's big chunk of exposition is *exceedingly* important! I hope you were paying attention! Dumbledore pretty much lays it out: part of Voldemort was implanted into Harry.... hello, giant clue! Of course, none of us had any idea what it meant, so maybe it wasn't so helpful.

There's really not much to say about this chapter- it's one of wrapping up, and the lovely moment of Dobby is freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! (which they totally got wrong in the film, btw... since I'm not sure if handing someone a sock inside a book is the same as handing someone a sock, period... but maybe I'm just splitting hairs?)

And ::snigger:: Percy's got a girlfriend. Haha.

And with that I'm out till later in the week! Hope you all had a splendid New Year and all that, and I can't wait to kick off the third installment of the series.

Re-Read Index

2010-01-01T15:32:00.008-06:00

Harry Potter Re-Read Master Index!

Introductory Post

Book One: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone

Chapter 1
Chapters 2 & 3
Chapters 4 & 5
Chapters 6 & 7
Chapters 8 & 9
Chapters 10 & 11
Chapters 12 & 13
Chapters 14 & 15
Chapters 16 & 17

Book Two: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Chapters 1 & 2
Chap ters 3 & 4
Chapters 5 & 6
Chapters 7 & 8
Chapters 9 & 10
Chapters 11 & 12
Chapters 13 & 14
Chapters 15 & 16
Chapters 17 & 18

Book Three: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapters 1 & 2
Chapters 3 & 4
Chapters 5 & 6
Chapters 7 & 8
Chapters 9 & 10

Eek!

2009-12-29T23:00:00.006-06:00

Gah! It's one minute from Wednesday and I've not yet read nor blogged this week's chapters. Mea culpa... tomorrow I promise! I have a really long layover tomorrow which provides the perfect opportunity.

In the meantime:

Are you a boy? Do you know any boys? Are they going to Infinitus? They should audition for The Final Battle! Audition videos are due January 5th!

More info here and email auditions to Lena & Mallory ASAP!

Update: 11:30 pm EST on Wednesday: So in the rush of packing and my mother doing her usual crying-as-we leave-for-the-airport, I forgot my copy of CoS!! ::headdesk::

But never fear... I have another one at home. I get a big fail-whale for a very late post :-(

And also: currently posting this update from 15,000 feet in the air.... because now you can get interwebs while in flight!

Chamber of Secrets: Chapters 15 & 16

2009-12-22T10:18:00.027-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: "And Then I Died" by The Moaning Myrtles

Hello and Merry almost-Christmas! I hope your week has been super, and if you live in the Northeast I hope you've managed to dig your way out of the blizzard that put our little Midwestern blizzard to shame. 30 inches in some places! Whoa!

Sorry I'm posting this so late! I'm on vacation, which is somehow more frantic than work... and I'm busy planning a friend's wedding and doing costume-y things for The Final Battle (ps go audition! Videos due to Lena and Mallory by January 1st)!

Also, I'd like to take a moment and pause in recognition: I just found out that the latest shipment of EPs from the EP of the Month Club is the last one... ever. ::sniff:: But thanks so much to Paul and Matt who worked so hard these past three years, and to all the bands who contributed.

This week things get really hairy for Our Heroes, literally, because they just couldn't follow the butterflies! This post covers chapters fifteen and sixteen. Usual rules apply: this will contains spoilers for all the books, so read at your own risk!

Chapter Fifteen: Aragog

What Happens:

Things are pretty grim at Hogwarts. Dumbledore's absence makes everyone more skittish, and Madam Pomfrey even bars access to the hospital wing. Harry and Ron try to follow Hagrid's advice about following the spiders, but they can't seem to find any. Malfoy, of course, is throughly enjoying all the fear and chaos, especially since his father's influence was responsible for getting rid of Dumbledore.

During Herbology Harry notices a line of spiders heading toward the forest. Harry is sure if they go in the Forest they'll get answers, even though Ron seems nervous about heading in there. They decide to sneak out that night. Once all the other students go to bed the boys sneak out to Hagrid's. The leave the Cloak there and bring Fang along for their journey into the dark. They're nervous, which isn't remedied by the strange sounds coming from the Forest. The worst sound is coming from a hidden beast rumbling through the trees.... which turns out to be the Weasley's old car!

By the light of the car's headlights Harry can see more spiders and they pick up the trail ... until they're both grabbed by giant, hairy spider legs. The spiders are giant, easily the size of large horses. The spiders drop them and speak to their leader, Aragog. Aragog asks if they humans are Hagrid, and since they're not, he gives the others permission to kill them. Desperate, Harry protests that Hagrid sent them, and Aragog reveals his story.

Fifty years ago, a stranger gave Hagrid Aragog as an egg. Hagrid cared for the spider, hiding him in a cupboard at school. Aragog was blamed for a girl's death, but it wasn't his fault. The dead girl was discovered in a bathroom, somewhere Aragog never went. Hagrid took the monster to the forest and let him grow free, eventually finding him a mate. Harry asks for more information about the monster, but Aragog refuses to talk about it

Sadly, Aragog notes that Harry and Ron are goners; they wandered into the Forest of their own volition and don't have Hagrid's special protection. They're about to be devoured by spiders when the Ford Anglia rushes in to rescue them. Lucky to be alive, they recover in Hagrid's cabin. Ron is livid, but Harry thinks they learned something important. After all, it wasn't Hagrid who opened the Chamber; he just took the blame for it. They sneak back to the castle and go to sleep, disappointed. Hours later, just before he falls asleep, Harry sits bolt upright: he realizes that the girl who died was killed in a bathroom. He asks Ron, "What if she never left?"

Ron understands at once: Moaning Myrtle.

Commentary:

So much dropping of knowledge! Still, I wonder if there hadn't been a less dangerous way for Harry and Ron to learn of Hagrid's innocence? But then, it wouldn't be as exciting if they just had a sit-down and talked about things.

Also, I'm having a horrific memory lapse. When do we next see the Ford Anglia? Ever? I don't think it disappears forever... but I can't recall when we see it next. Someone help me out here.

Oh, and a possible inconsistency: Aragog mentions that he doesn't eat humans out of respect for Hagrid... but then he almost lets Harry and Ron get eaten? I'm sure what that's all about. Let's all note, also, that a traveler gave the spider egg to Hagrid... so our favorite half-giant is 0-2 in the "creatures random strangers give me" department.

And with that, we're off to another cliffhanging chapter... so here we go!

Chapter Sixteen: The Chamber of Secrets

What Happens:

Their brilliant revelation isn't very useful, though, because no students can go anywhere without a teacher. Exams are coming up too, and the students are incredulous. However, McGonagall announces that the Mandrakes are almost ready and the Petrified people will be revived soon. Ron points out that Hermione will probably have all the answers anyway once she wakes up. Ginny sits next the boys and looks nervous. She's about to tell them something, but Percy comes by and Ginny clams up. He seems very twitchy, trying to cover up whatever Ginny was going to reveal.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry flatters Lockhart in order to slip away. He and Ron are almost to Myrtle's bathroom when McGonagall spots them in the hallway. Harry covers their tracks, saying they were trying to sneak in and see Hermione in the hospital. McGonagall, surprisingly, understands, and lets them go. Harry notices that Hermione is clutching a crumpled piece of paper in Petrified fist. Carefully he and Ron work the paper out. It's an entry from a library book about the Basilik, king of serpents, describing how roosters are fatal the beast and spiders fear its deadly gaze. Hermione's contribution to the page, Pipes, makes things clear to Harry. He describes all the puzzle pieces and how they fit together: the monster is a serpent, which is why he can hear it, being a Parselmouth. The basilisk kills people by looking at them, but no one dies because no one has seen it directly. The roosters were killed because they are the beast's enemy. The spiders are fleeing, and it travels in the plumbing. Finally, he figures that the Chamber's entrance must be in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Both boys rush off to tell McGonagall what they've learned, but before they can find her, an announcement thunders through the corridors: all students must return to the common room and teachers to the staff room. Harry and Ron sneak into the staff room and hide among the cloaks. They overheard McGonagall telling the teachers that Ginny Weasley was taken into the Chamber and they'll be sending students home tomorrow.

Lockhart bursts into the room late, and the teachers all gang up on him, sending him to fight the monster as he's always bragged he could. Lockhart makes excuses and disappears back to his office. Ron and Harry slip back to the common room for a terrible, tense, long afternoon. Ron is so mad at himself; he was sure Ginny had information about the Chamber and was taken because of it. Ron suggests they visit Lockhart and give him all the help they can; after all, he and Harry know what the monster is and what its weakness is.

Lockhart, however, isn't interested in help; he's about to run away. It turns out he's a huge fraud. All the heroic things he's done are shams. He just took credit for other people's work and modified their memories. He's about to do the same to Harry and Ron, but Harry Disarms him just in time. They insist Lockhart comes along and drag him off to the bathroom. Myrtle is incredibly flattered that they want to hear her death story and describes it with great relish. Harry realizes the entrance the Chamber is right there, and uses Parseltongue to open it. He, Ron, and Lockhart slide down the pipe into the slimy darkness.

First, they find a huge discarded snakeskin, which demonstrates just how big the basilisk is. Lockhart manages to steal Ron's wand and tries to Obliviate the boys, but the broken wand backfires and he hits himself instead. The spell's misfire also causes a minor rockslide, separating Harry from the other two.

Harry goes on alone and comes through another chamber. He intuitively knows to use Parseltongue to open the next door and walks inside...

Commentary:

Here we have an early instance of Percy being a prat... and it leads to Very Bad Things! Had Ginny simply told Harry and Ron that morning without Percy's interference, things might have been different.

Also, Hermione is the one who has the answers, per usual. Inconveniently she can't communicate very well, but manages to help the boys nonetheless.

I wonder about the timing of Ginny's taking. We know that Riddle's motive was to get Harry, but just how much did he know about what Harry was figuring out? How exactly does the possession work, exactly?

And Myrtle! Oh, you poor thing. Still, I'm not sure if haunting someone is really a proportionate response for making fun of you... hmm.

Lockhart's great act of cowardice isn't quite unexpected, since, well, he's a tool. But I'm still appalled that he was going to abandon a tiny girl to a horrible fate.... and later, that he tried to curse and betray two two twelve year old boys... horrible man.

And once again, Harry's off to face the Big Bad all by his lonesome. See you next time!

The merriest of Christmases to you and yours. :-)

Chamber of Secrets: Chapters 13 & 14

2009-12-15T09:42:00.017-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: "Dear Tom" by Creevey Crisis

And we’re back! I hope you had a great week. Despite a raging blizzard and a foot of snow last Wednesday I managed to continue re-reading and blogging with reckless abandon.

Just a fun note: By chance a few months ago I stumbled upon this blog, a delightful site called Muggle Meets Wizard. Its author, Jess, is reading the series for the very first time. Yipes! It’s been great to read her entries, but also maddening at times, because I love discussing Harry Potter but I really have bite my tongue because I’m determined not to spoil her first read through. But ooh! Especially now that’s she in the meat of Half-Blood Prince… and I can’t say a word! So instead I sit there and gleefully rub my hands together, eager for her to experience the awesomeness to come. And some of her predictions have been sooooo close! Oh, the agony and the ecstasy!

This week’s episode will covers Chamber of Secrets chapters thirteen and fourteen. We’ll see early glimmers of adolescent hormones, our first ride on the Flashback Express, slick treachery and falsely accusations, and our first glimpse of a certain Minister for Magic. Ignore Myrtle’s moaning and come along!

Chapter Thirteen: The Very Secret Diary

What Happens:

Hermione is slowly recovering from her Polyjuice disaster as Ron and Harry stay flummoxed about the Heir of Slytherin. After visiting her one afternoon, Harry and Ron pass by Myrtle’s bathroom on the way back to the common room. Myrtle is even more upset than usual and flooded her bathroom in frustration. Someone came into her bathroom and threw a book at her… and a very strange book it is, too. Ron warns Harry not to pick up; he’s heard all sorts of stories about haunted books from his dad. Harry ignores him and picks it up. It’s a faded fifty-year-old diary with “T.M. Riddle” stamped on the cover and nothing written inside. Ron remembers polishing a trophy with Riddle’s name, and Harry notices that the diary is from a London shop, meaning its owner must have been Muggle-born.

Once Hermione is released from the hospital wing, she’s as intrigued by the diary as Harry is. Exploring the Trophy Room the discover Riddle was also a Head Boy and Prefect. Despite her best efforts it doesn’t reveal anything special, and she and Ron are ready to write it off. Harry can’t stop thinking about the diary, however, and keeps it.

On Valentine’s Day, Lockhart tries to cheer everyone up by sending Valentines via cupid and decorating the Great Hall with a ridiculous amount of pink. In the hallway, one of the cupids corners Harry to recite a Valentine, ripping Harry’s schoolbag and spilling his books and ink all over the place. Harry is mortified by the Valentine, much to Draco’s delight and Ginny’s distress. Harry notices that the diary, unlike all his other books, isn’t soaked in ink. Alone in the dorm, he writes in the diary and to his surprise it writes back! The writer introduces himself as Tom Riddle, a Hogwarts student fifty years ago who helped catch the Heir of Slytherin. He offers to show Harry the night he caught the culprit and Harry agrees.

Once in the diary’s memory, Harry finds himself in the Headmaster’s office- only it’s not Dumbledore sitting there. Tom enters and asks Professor Dippet if he can stay at school. Dippet refuses on the grounds that it’s not safe with all the recent attacks. Once out of the office, Tom looks like he’s decided something and hurries off. He’s briefly stopped by Dumbledore but continues on. Harry follows him to a corridor where he confronts Hagrid and some sort of creature. There’s a minor scuffle and Harry is ejected from the memory, certain that it was Hagrid who opened the Chamber fifty years ago.

Commentary:

This chapter is also known as, “The Part Where Harry is Sort of Dumb and Ron Isn’t Nearly As Stupid as They Make Him Look in the Movies.”

Let’s add up the points for our red-headed buddy. Ron is the one who thinks the diary might be dangerous. Ron is the one who knows who Tom Riddle is. Ron is the one who first thinks that Tom Riddle might have been kind of an annoying guy.

If I ever get around to doing a re-watch of the films (maybe someday?) one thing I’m sure to rant about it how silly Ron is portrayed. This isn’t Rupert Grint’s fault --I think he does a great job with what they give him – but Ron has been relegated to comic relief in the movies to make way for Harry, the Hero, and Hermione the Pretty Smart One. It’s sort of like Gimli syndrome from the Lord of the Rings movies. But that’s another rant for another time.

Anyway, Harry has a connection with the diary early on- far before he ever begins writing in it. Is this because it’s a Horcrux like he is, and the connection creates some sort of resonance between them?

Also, oooh the diary is so sneaky! Appropriately, it’s just like the locket Horcrux in its methods. Here, it convinces Harry that one of his trusted friends is against him. Similarly, in DH, the locket will try to convince Ron that Harry is against him. I didn’t really think about it when I first learned the whole story of the Horcruxes, but they really are incredibly dark, powerful entities. Voldemort’s soul is also rather dark and twisted, even at age sixteen, to try (and succeed) to manipulate Harry like that. I am pretty sure -- but this could be wrong -- that the Diary is the first of the Horcruxes Riddle made, meaning Myrtle’s murder was his first. His father and grandparents will be next, probably the following summer, when he goes to the Gaunt shack and steals the Peverell ring…

Ginny’s adorable Valentine is also how she finds out Harry has the diary; she sees it fall out of his bag when the cupid delivers her message. My question is, if Ginny hadn’t stolen the diary back from Harry, she wouldn’t have kept opening the Chamber because she wouldn’t continue to be possessed by the Horcrux, right? But then, would Harry have gotten similarly close to the diary and then been culpable himself? I suppose we’ll never know…

Chapter Fourteen: Cornelius Fudge

What Happens:

The spring draws closer and fortunately, no further attacks are reported. Harry's classmates are starting to treat him kindly again and everyone is getting hopeful that the Petrified students will be revived soon. Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide not to confront Hagrid about what the learned in the diary. Meanwhile, all the second years are choosing their elective courses for the next year. Harry has no idea what to take, so he just signs up for the same classes as Ron. Hermione signs up for every class offered.

The next Quidditch match is drawing closer. The evening before the match, Harry discovers that his dorm has been ransacked and Riddle's diary is gone. Hermione and Ron are alarmed; only another Gryffindor could have stolen something from within the Tower. Things get worse the next day. The morning of the match, Harry hears the mysterious disembodied voice again, even though Ron and Hermione can't. Hermione suddenly realizes something and sprints off to the library at top speed. This is typical Hermione-ish behavior, so Ron and Harry think nothing of it. Just before the match can begin, Professor McGonagall comes onto the pitch and announces its cancellation. Harry and Ron follow her to the hospital wing, where Hermione and a tall Ravenclaw girl are lying Petrified.

New rules are in place now; no evening activities, no one allowed out alone. Harry and Ron decide it's finally time to go and visit Hagrid and ask him some hard questions. They use the Invisibility Cloak to sneak out. Hagrid is acting very nervous when the boys arrive, and within a few minutes there's another knock at the door. Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge enter, looking serious. Fudge looks resigned; he explains that he has to act in order to appease angry parents. Over Dumbledore's strict objections, Hagrid will be temporarily taken to Azkaban until a culprit is caught. Lucius Malfoy joins the unhappy gathering to declare that Dumbledore has been suspended as well; the school's governors have all voted.

Just as Hagrid and Dumbledore leave, both of them say things that seem strange to Fudge and Malfoy; Dumbledore advises the "empty" room that his presence at the school will remain if people are loyal to him. Hagrid announces that anyone looking for answers ought to "follow the spiders" to learn the truth.

Commentary:

Enter: Cornelius Fudge, Idiot-in-Chief. DUN.

Egads, I hate this guy. Notice that his motives for locking Hagrid up aren't really pure; he feels he has to act to appease public opinion and keep up appearances. Malfoy, of course, is just as bad, manipulating things and exploiting horrific events for his own gain. Somehow, though, I have more contempt for Fudge. At least Malfoy knows he's evil. Fudge is just a fool. Oy.

Hermione's insights will end up saving her life; Madam Pomfrey notes that the girls were found with a mirror beside them. Retrospectively, we know why, but it's not a very helpful clue for Harry and Ron.

This is also the chapter that lays groundwork for PoA; after all, class selections will drastically affect the course of the students' next three years. For Hermione, especially, her decision to sign up for everything will have huge consequences very soon.

Now we're off to the races; all the pieces for the climax of this book are set. It's up to Harry and Ron now; without Hermione's intelligence it's going to take them a lot longer to figure things out. Next week we'll venture into the Forbidden Forest and follow the spiders, even though all Ron wanted to do was follow the butterflies...

Have a lovely week!

Chamber of Secrets: Chapters 11 & 12

2009-12-08T00:05:00.004-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: “Potions Yesterday” by Draco and the Malfoys (note: this fabulous version is from the Anthology of Slytherin Folk Music album. The Malfoys so totally rock the bluegrass. Yeah. It’s awesome. Their folk set at Leaky Con was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, and friends, that is saying something!)

Hi there! Welcome or welcome back, whichever applies to you :-) A few little news-y items before we dive in this week’s action-packed chapters:

The gentlemen of Dawlish and the Archies are celebrating the Advent season with an Advent calendar of wrock music! Every day until Christmas they’ll have a new song available to download for free (free!!!). Check it out here.

If you’re going Infinitus in Orlando next July, consider volunteering!! You’ll get to meet fabulous people and help make the event even better. Contact Christine for info. Also, Lena of The Butterbeer Experience is writing a freaking amazing musical called The Final Battle, which will be performed at Infinitus. Auditions are due soon!

Frankie Franco III, beloved member of the PotterCast quartet, is once again selling sketchbooks with samples of his work. I have the first volume and wowee, it’s great! Thrilled that Volume II came out so soon, I bopped over to PayPal right away. I highly encourage you to do the same!

Alright, to business. This week’s post covers Chamber of Secrets chapters eleven and twelve. I hope you brought your A-game; we’re gonna duel!

Chapter Eleven: The Dueling Club

What Happens:

Harry, Ron, and Hermione begin brewing Polyjuice Potion in Myrtle's bathroom. The students are far more cautious in the wake of Colin's attack. The first years, especially, are very nervous, and Neville fears that his "almost-a-Squib" tendencies have marked him as the next victim. With Christmas fast approaching, Hermione, Harry, and Ron are surprised- and suspicious - that Malfoy is staying at Hogwarts too. They decide that will be the perfect time to put their Polyjuice plan in action. However, some of the ingredients are very hard to find and Hermione resolves that they need to steal from Snape's office.

Harry uses a Filibuster firework to explode Goyle's Swelling Solution, causing the chaos Hermione needs to sneak in and out of the store room. Snape can't "prove" it was Harry, although he stares at him for a few tense moments. Hermione adds the final ingredients to the cauldron and anticipates it'll be ready in a matter of weeks.

All the students are intrigued by the newly-formed Dueling Club. Snape and Lockhart are the supervising teachers, and their demonstration at the first meeting doesn't teach the kids very much except how to drop a wand when attacked. When the students pair up, Snape sticks Harry and Malfoy together. Neither of them wastes this opportunity to do some damage to the other, and their duel quickly gets out of hand. Malfoy conjures a snake to attack Harry, but Harry inexplicably talks to the snake and tells it not to attack Justin. The students draw back in horror. Hermione and Ron whisk Harry away and ask him about his ability to talk to snakes. Harry remembers talking to a boa constrictor at the zoo before he knew he was a wizard and thinks nothing of it. Hermione and Ron, however, are worried, since Slytherin was famous for being a Parselmouth. Harry protests that he couldn't possibly be related to Slytherin, but Hermione disagrees. Who knows what kind of distant relatives Harry has in his wizarding heritage? To make matters worse, Harry can't help but remember the little Sorting Hat voice that promised he'd be great in Slytherin.

News of Harry's ability spreads through the school like wildfire. Everyone treats him with suspicion, even Hufflepuffs. Ernie Macmillian is certain that Harry is setting the monster on people who upset him and lists lots of circumstantial evidence. Frustrated, Harry runs into Hagrid (who's complaining about something killing his roosters). Hagrid tries to cheer Harry up, but it's not much use. Moments later, he turns a corner to find Justin Finch-Fletchley's Petrified form and the paralyzed ghost of Nearly Headless Nick. In the wrong place at the wrong time yet again, McGonagall sweeps in and and takes Harry up to Dumbledore's office as the students gawk at him.

Commentary:

Oh my, Harry, we are in trouble. I'm pretty certain that Snape, using Legilimancy, knows EXACTLY who threw the firework at Goyle's potion. I'm curious why he didn't accuse Harry, though. Perhaps 1) he doesn't want students to know he can read minds or 2) reading students' minds is forbidden, so any Legilimancy-gleaned evidence would be inadmissible in the court of Dumbledore. Hm. However, he gets petty revenge at the Dueling Club, which maybe is what he wanted all along.

The Dueling Club is, of course, where Harry first learns his "signature" Expelliarmus! spell. Interesting that he learns if from Snape, of all people.... ruminate on that, if you will.

It's very clever how the Parseltongue seeds were planted long ago. We, like Harry, completely accepted that his ability to talk to snakes was not a big deal at all. Suddenly, Harry feels stigmatized, poor guy, and is the subject of some very nasty gossip. I think this speaks to two things: 1) people's tendency to latch onto rumors and scapegoat people with little to no legitimate evidence and 2) how vulnerable we all are, especially at Harry's age, to the viscous things people say about us. Of course, all twelve-year-olds deal with gossip and rumor mongering, but not as serious as this. Retrospectively, however, the gossip that flies about Harry is giving him a thick skin for what's ahead, especially in OotP and DH.

And actually, Hermione is right about Harry's relation to Slytherin. If I remember my genealogy correctly, Harry is descended from Ignotus, the third Peverall brother, and I'm pretty sure that the Gaunts (descendants of Slytherin) are related to the Peveralls, or at least connected to them enough to own the Resurrection Stone (aka "Peverall Crest") ring. Voldemort, the true Heir of Slytherin, is Merope Gaunt's son, so he and Harry are actually related. But, I suppose, everyone is probably related on some level if you go back far enough, especially in the small Wizarding community.

Chapter Twelve: The Polyjuice Potion

What Happens:

Harry is silent on their trip up to Dumbledore's office. McGonagall ushers him inside, but Dumbledore isn't there yet. Alone among all of Dumbledore's fabulous possessions, he tries on the Sorting Hat. It just reiterates that he would have done well in Slytherin, and Harry angrily takes the Hat off. He turns around and notices a beautiful red and gold bird which looks very ill. After a moment, it bursts into flame and Harry yelps as Dumbledores enters. Rather than be upset, however, the headmaster smiles at Harry and notes that it's about time for Fawkes to be reborn.

Hagrid bursts in, protesting Harry's innocence, but Dumbledore assures both of them that he's not upset with Harry. Hagrid sheepishly leaves and Dumbledore simply asks Harry if there's anything he'd like to talk about. Harry has lots of troubled thoughts swimming around his mind but can't quite articulate any of them to Dumbledore, so he leaves quietly.

When the Christmas holidays arrive, most students go home. The castle is quiet and still. Only Harry, Hermione, the Weasleys, and Malfoy, Goyle, Crabbe, and a few others have chosen to stay. Christmas morning Hermione wakes Harry and Ron up early: the potion is almost ready. They plan to infiltrate the Slythrin common room that night. After the magnificent evening feast, Hermione leaves out two Sleeping Draught cakes for Crabbe and Goyle to greedily munch. After Crabbe and Goyle fall asleep, Ron and Harry take some of their hair and meet up with Hermione in Myrtle's bathroom to take the potion. Harry add's Goyle hair, Ron adds Crabbe hair, and Hermione adds Millicent Bulstrode hair to the their respective glasses. Transforming via Polyjuice isn't a very pleasant experience. Harry's amazed with the results- he looks and sounds exactly like Goyle. For some reason Hermione stays in her stall and refuses to come out, so Ron and Harry set off for the Slytherin common room alone. They're aren't quite sure where to go, and they have a run-in with a Ravenclaw girl and Percy until Malfoy finds them and leads them to the Slytherin entrance.

Once inside, he shows them a "funny" newspaper clipping Lucius sent him; Arthur Weasley is facing an inquiry at work for his involvement with the flying Ford Anglia incident. Malfoy thinks this is hilarious and Harry hopes Ron can restrain his anger. Malfoy continues ranting about Muggle-borns and other "scum" currently at Hogwarts. Harry and Ron are certain Malfoy is about to confess his identity as the Heir of Slytherin... but he stuns them by denying it. They do learn, however, that the Chamber was opened fifty years ago, before Lucius was at school.

Suddenly, Harry notices Ron's hair beginning to turn back to red. They mutter something about going to the hospital wing and run out of the Slytherin common room just as they re-transform into themselves. They dash back to Myrtle's bathroom to change and find Hermione, but she's still hiding in the stall. Myrtle looks delighted at Hermione's situation: her face is covered with hair, her eyes are yellow and she has cat ears and a tail. She used a cat hair instead of one of Millicent Bulstrode's and the consequences are horrible. Ron and Harry convince her to get help from Madam Pomfrey as Myrtle gleefully laughs at them.

Commentary:

The Sorting Hat's responses to Harry are absolutely no help at all. I wonder if he'd kept the hat on longer and had a more in-depth conversation things might have been less upsetting? But to what extent can the hat converse with its wearers? And just how much does the Hat know? Does it have any idea that Harry's walking around with a bit of Voldemort in his skull, or does he just see Harrys' traits and devise that he'd make a good Slytherin?

Oh my, if Harry had just talked to Dumbleore about all the doubts he was having.... he would have felt so much better. But at this point in the series, he and Dumbledore have only had one conversation (in the hospital at the end of SS), so it's understandable that Harry wouldn't be comfortable spilling his inner turmoils to Dumbledore.

There have been two conspicuous mentions of the dead roosters so far... A Clue! But one that's only detectable on one's second or third read-through.

Why do you think Malfoy chose to stay at school for Christmas? I don't think this is ever explained. Harry and the Weasley have good reasons, but isn't Malfoy always gloating about having a great family to go home to? Why didn't he spend Christmas with his parents?

I always feel sorry for Hermione and the consequences of the failed transformation, but it makes the most sense for her to stay behind. After all, would Malfoy have been as open with "Crabbe and Goyle" if someone else was there? Probably not.

Notice that when Harry and Ron are trying to find the Slytherin entrance, they ask Percy's girlfriend Penelope where to go. She's amazed they're asking her; after all, she's a Ravenclaw!! This little passage points to the otherwise ignored fact that members of different Houses do NOT have self-identifying House clothing like they do in the films. If they did, Harry and Ron would've known that Penelope was a Ravenclaw by her blue and silver tie. This is just a little pet peeve of mine about film costuming... and yes, it makes sense that in the films they needed an easy visual way to identity people's Houses... but it's so blatantly anti-canon! Gah.

The Slytherin password is "pureblood." Obviously, not all Slytherins are purebloods (see: Snape, Severus), so how do the half-bloods feel about the pure-blood superiority in their House? Are there any Muggle-borns among the Slytherins? Does the Hat select for heritage/family lines or just talents and abilities? It seems to me that being a Muggle-born Slytherin would be horrible.

Since they were wrong about Malfoy's identity as a the Heir of Slytherin, Harry, Ron, and Draco are really all in the same boat: none knows who the Heir is. Wrong about Malfoy again, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are back to the drawing board.

Have a wonderful week! Tune in next time for some embarrassing Valentines, memory-traveling, and false accusations!

Chamber of Secrets: Chapters 9 & 10

2009-12-01T10:26:00.013-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: “Wrocking Around the Bathroom Stall” by The Moaning Myrtles

Happy December! I hope you’re rested from a fabulous weekend of food, family, friends, shopping, and other applicable awesomeness as the holiday season kicks off. Things won’t be going so well for Harry this week, since these two chapters heap disaster upon disaster for the poor guy.

Usual guidelines apply; lots of spoilers abound. And with that, let’s go.

Chapter Nine: The Writing on the Wall

What Happens:

Harry, Ron and Hermione are inconveniently standing right on the site of Mrs. Norris’ apparent demise. Filch, of course, is murderously angry. The kids accompany Dumbledore, Filch, McGonagall, Snape, and Lockhart head up to the idiot’s nearby office to examine the cat. While Lockhart is prattling on about what killed the cat and how he could have saved her, Dumbledore determines that the poor feline isn’t dead, just Petrified. Such Dark Magic would be way beyond the abilities of a second year, so over Filch’s protests Dumbledore clears Harry’s name at once. Filch is unconvinced; he admits that he’s a Squib and Harry saw his Kwikspell course. Snape greasily asks why they were in that hallway to begin with. Even though their Deathday Party alibi is good, it doesn’t explain why Harry wanted to take such an unusual route back to the Gryffiindor room. Harry doesn’t want to mention the voice he’s been hearing. After a chilly exchange between teachers as to who will make the Madrake Restorative Draught when the time comes, the kids slip out.

Ron seems to vaguely remember something about the Chamber but can’t quite place it. Hermione, of course, is racking her brain and her books. However, she doesn’t have her personal copy of Hogwarts, A History at school, and remains frustrated for days. Meanwhile, Ginny is very upset about the attack, and Harry notices that his new Hufflepuff acquaintance Justin Finch-Fletchley seems to be avoiding him. In a typically boring History of Magic class, Hermione asks Professor Binns about the Chamber. He protests that the story is ridiculous, but tells the story anyway:

When Hogwarts was first new, its four founders lived in agreement with one another. However, as the years went on, Slytherin wished to become choosy about whom to admit; specifically, children from pure blood families only. He and Gryffindor argued and Slytherin left. Rumors abound that before he left, Slytherin created a secret Chamber deep within the school that only his heir would be able to find and unlock. Inside the Chamber dwelt a fearsome creature, which the Heir would release to purify the school of “unworthy” students.

On their way back to their dorm, Ron and Hermione agree that they’ve never been so glad to be in Gryffindor. Harry is quiet, because he remembers his own Sorting… and how he almost ended up in Slytherin himself. They wander past the infamous corridor and glance around for clues. Hermione notices that hundreds of spiders are making a mass exodus from the hallway. The poke around a bit until they come to an unused girls bathroom. Myrtle is moping inside, and has nothing helpful to say. Percy is scandalized that Ron was in the girls’ room, and docks five points. In the common room, even Hermione can’t concentrate on homework. Ron immediately accuses Malfoy as the one responsible for the attacks, but Hermione scoffs. The only way to actually know whether or not it’s Malfoy would be to ask him questions about his plans—which is impossible. Hermione suggests a way that might work: Polyjuice Potion. The recipe, however, is in a book in the Restricted Section.

Commentary:

Ooooh so much awkwardness between Snape and Lockhart. I love it. In other news, I love the irony that Hermione can't' get her hands on Hogwarts, A History just when she need it for something actually useful. Binns is actually interesting for once while telling the Chamber's history to the kids.

It's a testimony to Harry's thoughts about his Sorting that he hasn't told Ron and Hermione. He won't ever tell any, ever, except little Albus Severus in the Epilogue. It suprises me a little, but maybe he is really that unnerved by the whole thing.

Poor Moaning Myrtle! At least the kids will keep her company for a while in this book. Ron's right about Percy- the prattish older brother likely doens't give two knuts about Ginny's upsetness or Ron's involvement with Harry's sleuthing... but he's mostly concerned about being chosen to be Head Boy and is worried that his younger siblings would taint his name. First of all, is Head Boy selection really so political? And, with Fred and George as siblings, don't you think it's a little ridiculous of Percy to be coming down so hard on Ron and Ginny for embarrassing behavior?

Notice that Ron is the one who initially accuses Malfoy of being the Heir of Slytherin. Harry immediately agrees, but he wasn't the first to suggest it. Hermione, quite unlike herself, doesn't have a moment's worry about making a potion that's probably illegal and dangerous. Maybe that's because she gets to show off to do it?

Chapter Ten: The Rogue Bludger

What Happens:

After another ridiculous DADA lesson in which they learn nothing, Ron, Hermione, and Harry approach Lockhart. He signs their library note without even looking at it and they sprint off to the library to get Moste Potente Potions. At Hermione’s suggestion, they go to Myrtle’s bathroom to read without being overheard. The potion is daunting even to Hermione, who estimates it will take a month to brew- provided they can acquire all its rare ingredients.

The first Quidditch match is against Slytherin, of course, and Harry is under immense pressure from himself and Oliver Wood to “get the Snitch or die trying.” This turns out to be an almost literal situation, since one of the Bludgers continually follows Harry around the pitch despite Fred and George’s best efforts. Luckily, Harry catches the Snitch quickly, but not before the crazy bludger hits arm, breaking it. Lockhart, of course, is eager to help, but manages to remove all of Harry’s arm bones rather than mend them.

Madam Pomfrey gives Harry a large dose of Skele-Gro and he settles in for a miserable night in the hospital wing. He’s awoken in the middle of the night by Dobby, who is trying to take care of him. Harry discovers that it was Dobby who sealed the entrance to Platform 9¾ and Dobby who tampered with the Bludger, both attempts to get Harry to go home. He tries to convince Harry to go home again, but Harry only gets angrier. In their conversation, Dobby lets slip that the Chamber of Secrets is opened again. Dobby leaves just as they hear footsteps approaching. McGonagall and Dumbledore carry in the Petrified form of Colin Creevey. Harry pretends to be asleep and overhears their conversation. Something burned up all the film in Colin’s camera. Dumbledore quietly confirms the rumors that have been running around the school: the Chamber is open again. Dumbledore, however, isn’t curious about who is doing it, but how.

Commentary:

Obviously, Lockhart is one of those idiots who signs things without reading them. Luckily for the kids, this enables them to get around the Restricted Section rule. I love how Hermione has a Rachel Barry <3 Will Schuster style crush on Lockhart... especially because he's such an idiot and she's normally so logical. Haha.

Okay, this might be a horrible thing to write... but I never really felt that the "Dobby trying to get Harry to go home" plot point really works. I mean, he's not acting on Malfoy's orders; he's doing this on his own. He stops Harry's mail, prevents him from making the train, and now is bewitching dangerous objects to fly at his head. Why? Just how much danger is Harry really in from the Chamber's reopening? I don't know why, but as much as I love Dobby the whole thing never feels quite right to me.

Finally, it's darn lucky that Colin had his camera up to his face or he would have been in serious trouble. So how far away from the basilisk does one have to be to die from its gaze? Across a room? Within a few yards?

Alright, peoples, that's it for this week! Hope your December is off to a good start and see you lata!

Chamber of Secrets: Chapters 7 & 8

2009-11-24T12:30:00.004-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: "The Lonely Life of Sir Nick" by Catchlove

Why hello again! Hope you've had a lovely week and are as excited as I am for Thanksgiving (if you're American, that is. I suppose this is a normal week if you live elsewhere, but I'm thankful I get two and half days off this week. And there's going to be pie!)

So, here we are, decently into Chamber of Secrets, and this pair of chapters is where things really start to get cookin' for Our Heroes. Puking! Narcissism! Prejudice! Dead People! Clues! It's going to be a wild ride, so hold onto your Nimbus Two Thousand (and One) and off we go.

Chapter Seven: Mudbloods and Murmurs

What Happens:

Harry’s weekend starts off earlier than expected when Oliver Wood insists on break-of-dawn Quidditch practice. Colin Creevey tags along, eager to photograph the training session. Harry, slightly exasperated, explains all the rules to him on the way to the pitch. Wood spends hours detailing his new strategy, and when they finally make it outside, the Slytherins descend on them. Snape has given permission to use the field, as they need to “train their new Seeker:” Draco Malfoy. Malfoy’s father donated brand-new Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones to the entire team. Ron and Hermione join the group on the field as the Slytherins and Gryffindors trade insults. Hermione accuses Malfoy of buying his way onto the team, and he retaliates, calling her a “filthy little Mudblood.” The entire Gryffindor group is outraged, but none so much as Ron, who tries to curse Malfoy. Unfortunately for Ron, his broken wand backfires and he starts throwing up slugs. Harry and Hermione bring him to Hagrid's, narrowly avoiding another run-in with Lockhart.

Hagrid is rather disgruntled with Lockhart, who keeps trying to give him advice. He explains that Lockhart was the only applicant for the Defense Against the Dark Arts job, since rumors are flying that the position is cursed. Hagrid and Ron explain toHarry and Hermione that “Mudblood” is an incredibly insensitive, insulting term for someone of Muggle parentage. Ron adds bitterly that some wizards, including the Malfoys, think that their “pure” blood makes them better than others.

At lunch, Professor McGonagall reminds Harry and Ron that their detentions will be that evening. Ron has been given cleaning duty with Filch and Harry will be helping Lockhart with fan mail. Both of them are horrified at their assignments. As Harry predicted, answering fan mail with Lockhart is a nightmare. At the very end of the evening, he hears a disembodied voice over Lockhart’s inane prattling. The voice is cold, evil, and venomous, and says eerily, “let me rip…tear…kill…” Harry asks Lockhart about it, but the dim-witted teacher didn’t hear anything. He lets Harry leave. Back in the common room, he tells Ron about the voice, but neither of them knows what it could mean

Commentary:

An occupational hazard of being the second book of a series is that there's a lot of exposition and catch-up to be done. Here, Jo uses Colin to accomplish this. Colin, after all, is a Muggle-born first year who has no idea how Quidditch is played. It's not quite as annoying to be info-dumped-upon if the info-dumping is directed at a cute eleven-year-old with a camera.

Putting Malfoy on the Quidditch team also makes a lot of sense. Being a Quidditch player is like the Hogwarts equivalent of being on the starting lineup for that school in Friday Night Lights. If Harry and Malfoy are really foils, they need equal footing and social status. It's perfect, too, that Malfoy will play the same position as Harry. Of course, Hermione's right though; Malfoy's spot on the team was probably influenced just a teeny bit by his father's "generosity." This confrontation reveals, in explicit terms, the lines of class and prejudice in the Wizarding world. We learned back in Sorcerer's Stone (during Harry's trip to Diagon Alley) that Malfoy thinks certain families are better than others, but here that prejudice is given a name and specific criteria. Obviously, the purebloods vs. every one else distinction will be brought to its zenith in Deathly Hallows, but the groundwork is already being laid. Even without Voldemort's direct influence, the vestiges of prejudice and bigotry exist. Wizarding society isn't all that different from Muggle society. Human nature is consistent, I suppose.

Hagrid drops a little bit of important information too: applicants for the Defense Against the Dark Arts job are few and far between. People are "whispering" that the job is cursed, and in this book's bookend parallel (HBP) we'll learn that it is indeed. Curious, though, that Lockhart would want the job at all. He's a bestselling author, after all, and even though that doesn't mean he's a rich as our Jo, he's probably a bit better off than your average author. So why does he teach? He's clearly terrible at it. Is he just looking for a venue to talk more about himself and increase his book sales via textbook requirements?

I agree with Harry's assesment of the detention assignments; I'd much rather clean trophies than put up with Lockhart's prattle for four hours. Ugh. But then, I'm not burping up slugs like Ron. And ooh ooh! Notice that Ron has to re-polish a certain yet-unnamed someone's Special Award for Services to the School because of his slug affliction. Very nice, very subtle. Meanwhile, Harry is stuck in Lockhart's office where he hears the basilisk for the second time. Neither he nor Ron has any idea where the voice is coming from, which makes sense, since "clearly, it must be in the pipes!" isn't something I'd think of either, were I in their shoes.

Chapter Eight: The Deathday Party

What Happens:

As Halloween approaches, the weather turns cold and several students are getting sick. Ginny Weasley is looking pale, too. One morning after a cold, rainy Quidditch practice, Harry runs into a very glum Nearly Headless Nick. The ghost is upset; once again his request to join the Headless Hunt was denied. Just as Harry begins complaining about his Quidditch woes, Mrs. Norris lurks by. Harry is dripping mud all over the place, and when Filch appears moments later he’s livid and hauls Harry to his office for punishment.

Once there, however, a huge crash resounds above the office. Certain Peeves is to blame, Filch storms out, leaving Harry alone. On Filch’s desk is a curious envelope full of information about a Kwikspell course. Harry looks through it, but Filch comes back more quickly than he expected, ranting about Peeves damaging a valuable vanishing cabinet. Harry shoves the folder aside, but Filch can tell he’s been reading it. Embarrassed, Filch sends Harry away without punishment. Back upstairs, Harry sees Nick again. Nick convinced Peeves to create the diversion. To thank him, Harry agrees to attend Nick’s five hundredth deathday party.

Despite his promise to Nick, Harry is less than thrilled to attend the party when it arrives. Hermione won’t let him bail, however, and the there of them venture to the dungeons to join Nick and hundreds of other ghosts. Hermione tries to avoid Moaning Myrtle, who haunts a girls’ bathroom, but Myrtle sees them and comes over to chat. After a few awkward moments she drifts away. The Headless Hunting party arrives to crash the party, much to Nick’s dismay. The kids, starving and cold, decide to slip out. On their way back up to the feast, Harry hears the creepy voice in the hallway again. He yelps and tries to follow it as it climbs through the castle. They come to a deserted hallway with a message dabbed on the wall:

“The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware.”

Mrs. Norris’ unconscious body is hanging from a hook on the wall. The kids try to leave without notice, but it’s too late; the feast is over and people are pouring into the hallway. Draco Malfoy is at the front of the group, happily grinning at Mrs. Norris’s frozen form.

Commentary:

Hokay, so, there are a quite a few important and semi-important revelations in this chapter, and a handful of other observations:

Ginny looks pale. This is only a "clue" one could detect on a second/third/fourth re-read, because at this point we have no reason at all to suspect that Something Is Up with the tiniest Weasley. Given, too, that this is a throwaway mention during a paragraph about other sick students, it's incredibly faint as clues go.
Poor Sir Nicholas. Really. One could make a case (and I will) that the sub- theme of these two chapters, and a big theme of this whole book, is the lengths to which people to in order to segregate themselves and try to create arbitrary distinctions to make some people inferior to others. With Malfoy it's people's heritage. With the ghosts it's the Headless Hunt. And on and on.
Harry finds out about Filch, but not really. Harry, not raised by wizards, doesn't know about Squibs. He only discovers that Filch is trying a different way to do magic with Kwikspell, not what that implies. However, Filch is obviously embarrassed about it. Even though he's a horrible person I can't help but feel a little bit sorry for Filch; after all, he's employed in a place teaching students the very things he'll never be able to do. But then, Mrs. Figg is a Squib too, and she manages to be sweet and helpful rather than bitter. As Dumbledore will say soon, "it is our choices, far more than our abilities..."
EEK IT'S THE VANISHING CABINET OMG! (Sorry, I'm a little excited about this.) So, obviously, this makes a heck of a lot more sense in light of Half-Blood Prince. Back on Knockturn Alley, Harry hid himself in the Borgin and Burkes cabinet. I postulated that if he'd closed the door, he would have been transported into the broken cabinet and gotten stuck like Montague will years later. However... maybe not so much. If Peeves is the one who dropped the cabinet and initially broke it (here, in this chapter) then before the cabinet was broken Harry would have just been transported to Hogwarts if he'd shut himself in the Borgin and Burkes cabinet. Eh? But anyway. So Peeves breaks the Cabinet, which will lead to Montague getting stuck in there when Fred and George shove him in there in OoTP. This inspires Malfoy to use the Cabinet as a way to sneak Death Eaters into Hogwarts and attack the school and kill Dumbledore! Whew!
Hi Moaning Myrtle! We'll be seeing a lot more of her soon, so that's all I've got for now.
1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue... and Nick was brutally beheaded. This humble, moldy little deathday cake's decoration will become the focal point around which the entire timeline is based (there's other evidence, but this is the clearest one). If 1492 was his death, and this year is the five hundredth anniversary of that death, then Chamber of Secrets takes place in 1992, or, more properly, the 1992-93 academic year.
After the kids discover Mrs. Norris, Ron's instincts are correct: they really don't want to be found at the scene! As we'll say, Harry will be the subject of a lot of whispers in the coming months. However, even as hundreds of other students swarm the hallway after the feast, the only one Harry really sees or takes note of is Draco Malfoy. At this point Harry has no earthly reason to think Draco had anything to do with Mrs. Norris's condition, but he'll immediately suspect him because Draco is such a prat.

Alright, kiddos, that's all I've got for this week. I hope you have a glorious Thanksgiving! Mine is guaranteed to be superb, since Thursday night after eating a lot of delicious things my family is watching Wizard People, Dear Reader. Yeah, it's gonna be totally awesome. :-)

Chamber of Secrets: Chapters 5 & 6

2009-11-17T19:48:00.015-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: "Your Flying Car" by The Whomping Willows

So, here we are again! Barely in under the wire, but I promised I'd post on Tuesday this week and darn it, here you go! This week we'll learn all kinds of things about angry trees and conceited teachers. Unlike Harry's first Defense Against the Dark Arts class, this post will not have a fifty-four-question quiz at the end. Usual rules apply though: spoilers abound, so if you haven't read don't read. Onward into Chapters Five and Six!

Chapter Five: The Whomping Willow

What Happens:

Harry has had a wonderful summer at the Weasleys, and is certainly not looking forward to the chilly reception he'll get back on Privet Drive at the end of the school year. September 1st is a chaotic morning at the Burrow; people frantically run around packing, inevitably forgetting things (Fred: fireworks. Ginny: diary). Conveniently, the flying Ford Anglia has a trunk that can accommodate eight people and their luggage. They're running late, but Molly refuses to let Arthur use the car's flying function. They make it to King's Cross with minutes to spare. Percy, Arthur, Fred, George, Molly, and Ginny make it through the barrier with no problem, but when Harry and Ron try to get past the barrier they can't cross it. Neither of them knows why they can't get through, but they're going to miss the Hogwarts Express' eleven o'clock departure. Ron worries that the barrier might be sealed from the other way too, and his parents won't be able to come back out.

Harry suggests they wait by the car, and Ron comes up with a brilliant solution: they'll use the Ford Anglia and fly to Hogwarts! Harry quickly agrees and they pile back in. Things go well at first- the car starts, becomes invisible, and up they go, until the faulty Invisibility Booster starts to go haywire. Desperate, Ron drives up into the clouds to avoid curious Muggle eyes. They dip below occasionally to make sure they're following the train properly, but otherwise have a wonderful afternoon flying along above the world. Harry and Ron are pleased with themselves and can't wait to land at Hogwarts amid the jealous and amazed faces of their fellow students.

The reality is a bit less rosy, however. Tired from a long journey, the car begins to give out just before they get to Hogwarts, much later than expected. They're nearly to Hogwarts, passing over the lake, when the engine dies and they plummet out of the sky. Ron can still steer, so he narrowly avoids crashing into the castle wall, but instead they land in a large tree that hits back! Ron's wand is broken in the chaos and the car is launched out of the branches. The car ejects the boys, their luggage, and Hedwig before racing off toward the Forest by itself.

Harry and Ron drag their things up toward school. They can just barely peek into the Great Hall's tall windows to see the beginning of the Sorting Ceremony . Harry notices that Snape is missing from the staff table, and the boys speculate about what happened to him. Neither of them expects their least favorite teacher to suddenly loom over them and drag them to his dungeon office. They try to explain about the barrier, but Snape won't hear it. He shows them the Evening Prophet; they were spotted by Muggles as they flew cross country and the Ministry is involved. Snape sweeps out to get Professor McGonagall as Harry and Ron wait nervously.

McGonagall's anger is obvious, as it her disdain for their plan to fly the car to the school. Why couldn't Harry have just sent an owl? she wonders. Harry feels more and more foolish, but feels even worse when Dumbledore steps in. The headmaster's quiet disappointment is far worse thatn Snape's threats or McGonagall's anger; Harry is deeply ashamed. Both boys expect to be expelled, but Dumbleore surprises them. They're not expelled today, but he warns them that another infraction of such severity will lead to expulsion

Dumbledore and Snape return to the feast and McGonagall doles out their punishments. Harry, thinking quickly, argues that Gryffindor shouldn't lose any points because the term hadn't technically started. McGonagall doesn't take anyHouse points, but she does give each of them detention. She provides dinner and orders they go right up to Gryffindor Tower after eating. Harry and Ron are relieved; it could have been so much worse!

After dinner, they try to get into Gryffindor but don't have the password. Luckily, Hermione comes by and lets them in and she tries lecture them about their stupid stunt. The rest of Gryffindor, however, thinks its was a wonderful idea; Lee Jordan and the twins are particularly impressed. Harry goes to sleep surrounded by his classmates, glad to be home.

Commentary:

Bye, Weasley family! See you in June!

Anyone who has ever taken a family vacation knows that if you plan to leave your house at a given time, it's darn near impossible no matter what kind of detailed planning goes into packing. The Weasley house is more chaotic than most, so it's really a wonder they made it to King's Cross at all before 11:oo. As they're rushing around, notice a few things:

Socks are prominent. Okay, maybe not prominent, but mentioned as something Molly keeps trying to organize. Foreshadowing, or coincidence? You decide.
Ginny is horrified that she forgot her diary. She's had the diary for a few weeks, since the trip to Flourish and Blotts, and is clearly very attached to it already.

Dobby's timing to close the platform barrier was very precise. No one else was prevented from crossing, just Harry and Ron. Harry and Ron don't notice Dobby on the platform, and I don't think the Muggles do either, so there are a few options: either the elf is on the Muggle side, unnoticed, or he's on the wizard side, unnoticed, or he's on the Muggle side, invisible, or he's doing the barrier magic from afar. What is the most likely, do you think?

When Harry and Ron resolve to use the car to get to school, Ron is certain they won't get in trouble with the Ministry because this falls under an "extraordinary circumstances" clause. Apparently, the Ministry's rules in this regard are a little lax, at least compared to what will happen to Harry in OotP. Stupid Ministry.

Speaking of which, Ron clearly uses magic to unlock the car (he taps his wand on the trunk and the doors till they open). How come he doesn't get a warning owl from Mafalda Hopkirk reprimanding him? The magic Harry was punished for wasn't even his own; it was Dobby's. Where's Ron's loophole? Or is it because he has wizard parents, and the Ministry expects parents to enforce the underage law regardless of setting?

Hi, Whomping Willow! Wow, nice set-up for PoA, Jo. Never saw that one coming. As Harry and Ron watch the Sorting Ceremony, Harry has a flashback to his own Sorting (which also provides nice info-dumping for new readers). His inner monologue reminds us how he was almost sorted into Slytherin, but amusingly, he mentally refers to Hermione as one of the Weasleys. I'm serious:

"...but he had ended up in Gryffindor, along with Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys."

Did you catch that? Hermione's with "the rest of the Weasleys." Haha!

Snape, of course, is his usual greasy self. Something to think on: one of his accusations against the boys is that they damaged an old and valuable tree. Now, of course, this is Snape, so he's trying to pile on the guilt, but how ironic! This is the very tree that nearly killed him when he was in school, and he's siding with the Willow? Really? Oh Snape, you slippery git.

Alright kiddos, onward, because now it's time for more fun with Gilderoy!

Chapter Six: Gilderoy Lockhart

What Happens:

The first day of class doesn't start off very well. At breakfast, Ron receives an embarrassing Howler from his mother, much to Draco delight. As they head to Herbology, Gilderoy Lockhart appears, dogging Professor Sprout and offering unwanted advice. He holds Harry back from entering the greenhouse for a chat. Lockhart apologizes; after all, his encounter with Harry at Flourish and Blotts must have given Harry the "publicity bug" and Lockhart has some advice for an up-and-comer like Harry. Once Harry escapes, he spends the Herbology class re-potting Mandrakes and meeting Justin Finch-Fletchley. Transfiguration is difficult for Ron, whose broken wand refuses to do anything he wants. At lunch, Harry notices a small boy staring at him curiously. First-year Colin Creevey asked for a signed photo. Draco, of course, happens to overhear, as does Lockhart, who warns Harry it's a bit too early in his career to be giving out signed photos.

Lockhart's class, it turns out, is an unqualified disaster. After a thirty-minute quiz on the minutiae of his books, Lockhart sets Cornish pixies loose to wreak havoc in the class. All the students hurry to the door when the bell rings, as does Lockhart, leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione to deal with the mess. Hermione tries to defend the professor, but Harry and Ron are suspicious of this new idiot on campus.

Commentary:

Okay. I once dated someone much like Gilderoy, so forgive me if a little bitterness seeps in occasionally. Lockhart's based on a real person, apparently, though NOT Jo's ex husband.

But I really despise this character. People who take credit for others' work = fail. Conceited people = fail. People who think they're God's gift to the world even when they're generally despised and have done nothing good for humanity = fail. So even though Gilderoy isn't evil, just a lying jerk, I still can't stand him. Also, he seems to put far too much product in his hair.

Oh, Howlers. Did you know you can send them to your friends (or enemies) via email? You can. I wonder how parent-child relations would be different if Muggle parents had this tool of humiliation at their disposal. When I was in high school, I would have gotten a wake-up Howler from my dad every single day. And a "clean your room!" Howler pretty much every weekend from Mom.

Hi, Colin Creevey! We're never going to see you in the movies (replaced instead with that ridiculous Nigel kid), but you're hilarious in this book. And your camera provides a nice clue/plot device, so thanks for that buddy!

Also, hi JFF! One of the things I really appreciate about Jo's writing is that most of the characters, even the "extra" ones like JFF and Ernie Macmillian and Hannah Abbot have back stories, individual personalities, and character depth. It really adds to the authentic feel of the world.

And I leave you with this thought, dear friends: if Lockhart's true ideal gift is "harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples," like he claims, why the heck does he spend his time stealing people's accomplishments and trying to sell his books instead of working towards that goal? Eh?

Have a lovely week! Next time Ron will get a very gross case of the hiccups and Harry will be the life of the deathday party. Tata for now!

Chamber of Secrets: Chapters 3 & 4

2009-11-14T21:44:00.003-06:00

Wizard Rock of the week: "The Burrow" by the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office featuring RiddleTM

I know, I know... this post is going up on Saturday, rather than Tuesday like it should have. I'm so sorry! This week Real Life produced a horrid cocktail of a big project at work, a big paper due for my pseudo-grad school class, another fight against the Cold Virus of Doom, and an alumni event last weekend that left me exhausted (and super nostalgic!). Apologies, apologies.... it shan't happen again!

::hangs head in shame::

I apologize, also, for last week's rather light post; there wasn't a great deal of content to begin with (most of the first chapter was a recap of Sorcerer's Stone) and I was also extraordinarily busy with life. But onward we go, into some meatier content. This post covers chapters three and four. Also, the flash mp3 player wasn't working for a few days this week because my hosting site was mysteriously down... but thankfully is back up now. I don't want to deprive anyone of wizard rock for too long!

Speaking of wrock, Dinah of HPA and Wizrocklopedia fame has started an awesome new project called the Daily Wrocket. She's profiling a different wrock band every day. Whew! And to think I was whining about the stress awesomeness of updating this thing once a week! So go check it out, yo.

And in other news (not that you need me for news, since there's Leaky and the 'Pedia... but anyway) Aaron Nordyke and Erinn Lewis are certainly not forgetting to be awesome as they run like maniacs to raise money for a kickin' good cause.

Enough dithering. And now, ze post!

Chapter Three: The Burrow

What Happens:

With help from Ron and the twins, Harry and Hedwig escape the Dursley's prison. En route, he tells Ron about Dobby's visit and they decide that the elf must have been sent by Malfoy as a prank on Harry. Harry is mad he took Dobby's warning seriously. He doesn't understand how the twins avoided the "no magic for underage wizards" rule with the magic car, but the twins insist that since their father did the enchanting they're homefree. It certainly feels that way... until they actually get home and an irate Molly Weasley lambastes her sons for taking off without a word. After breakfast (and a brief glimpse of Ginny) Molly sends her sons out to de-gnome the garden (with a little advice from Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests). When Arthur comes home, Molly tells him about his sons' nighttime car-flying exploits. Sensing an argument brewing, Ron and Harry go upstairs. Once in Ron's room, Harry declares the Burrow "the best house I've ever been in."

Commentary:

This is Harry's first foray into the social habits and normal homelife of wizards, and maybe that's why I like it so much. I've made no secret that I want to be Molly Weasley when I grow up, with a loud, messy brood of boys (and girls), so anything that happens at the Burrow is near and dear to my heart.

Despite all the sentimentality going on, there are a lot of important seeds planted in this chapter. OnceHarry starts ruminating on who might have sent Dobby, he quickly concludes (with Ron's help) that it was Draco, and as usual, Harry's anti-Draco prejudice will cause trouble later on. Remember, I'm particularly interested in book parallels, and CoS's natural partner is HBP. In HBP Harry will obsessively worry about Draco's nefarious activities, with much more dire results. However, we know that the Malfoys are a dark family, and this book will begin to plant the seeds for the Death Eaters' return later. In Sorcerer's Stone Malfoy was a nuisance because he's mean to Harry. Here, there's something more sinister going on with him and his family.

Note, too, that Fred and Geoge aren't just jokesters anymore; they are clever and useful in Harry's escape, demonstrating an aptitude for mischief even without magic. Right away, Molly deep love and concern for her family is obvious- she's livid at her sons, but her anger is truly out of love. Finally, Arthur's job at the Ministry is low on the totem pole, though things at the Ministry aren't nearly as bad as they'll be in a few years.

Harry and Ron's relationship will always have a tinge of awkwardness about money, since Ron feels a little uncomfortable around Harry and his trust fund (and has since their first train ride). But Harry is so thrilled to be away from the Dursleys that he doesn't notice or care about the things Ron seems to worry about; he declares the Burrow a perfect place to live and would much rather be there than Privet Drive. I think this dilutes in later books as their friendship and brotherhood grows stronger, but even in GoF Ron is sensitive about his poverty, especially in relation to Harry's wealth.

Even though the Weasleys know they're poor, they don't hesitate to welcome Harry (another mouth to feed) warmly into their home and love him as one of their own. Oh gosh, I just love them.

"Maybe we’re not rich, but we are happy (Happy). Maybe we can’t afford a big, dark house like the Malfoys. We’re the Weasley clan and we love everybody (everyone). If you came over you’d be a Weasley too. Yes, it’s true."
~I Heart Weasleys by the MoM

Chapter Four: At Flourish and Blotts

What Happens:

Harry loves his life at the Burrow. He spends time playing Quidditch with Ron and the twins trying to puzzle out what Percy's been up to, hiding in his room for hours per day. Not long after, the Hogwarts letters arrive. Second year students (and everyone else) need a long list of Lockhart books. The twins speculate that the new DADA teacher must be big Lockhart fan, while Molly frets over affording so many expensive books. Ron and Harry receive an owl from Hermione (who is busy with schoolwork) suggesting they meet at Diagon Alley.

The morning of their shopping trip, Harry hesitantly takes his first journey with Floo Powder. He tries to follow Fred's example but misspeaks through the ash and ends up in a dingy Dark Arts shop on Knockturn Alley: Borgin and Burkes. He hides in a closet to avoid the Malfoys, who've come to sell some things. Draco is whining to his father about everything; wanting a new broom, Harry, wanting a Hand of Glory, Harry, Muggle-borns, Harry, and the teachers' favoritism. After the Malfoys leave Harry sneaks out of the shop onto the grubby street. Trying not to panic, he's lucky to run into Hagrid who points him toward Diagon Alley. There, he meets up with Hermione, her parents, and the Weasleys. They all head to Gringotts and then to their various errands.

At Flourish and Blotts, their last stop, they have to fight a huge crowd gathered around for a book signing by Gilderoy Lockhart. Lockhart spots Harry and pulls him up to the front for a photo opp, much to Harry's frustration. Draco is there, too, and sneers at Harry for his fame. Ginny pipes up to defend Harry, and soon Ron comes over and joins their sparring match. The adults aren't having a better time of it; Lucius and Arthur trade insults that finally come to blows. Molly is mortified with her husband's behavior. Just as he leaves, Lucius sticks an old book into Ginny's cauldron.

Commentary:

Ladies and gentlemen start your engines! There's so much stuff in this chapter, *especially* HBP foreshadowing!! Ooh, I hardly know where to begin. Hmm, let's see:

-the "what is Percy up to?" will provide the lighthearted mystery to even out the otherwise darker question of "who's trying to kill people?" later in the book. Oh Percy. Before you started sucking you were hilarious in your own prickish way. Sigh.

-The entire scene in Borgin & Burkes should contain a light-up sign: "Iz foreshadowing. Plz pay attenshun!"
The Cabinet!! It's right there! Now, I'm not sure, but strongly suspect this is the cabinet; the Vanishing Cabinet itself. Harry doesn't Vanish, of course, because he leaves the door open a little bit so he can overhear the Malfoys. It's lucky he kept it open, too, or it would have been tricky. The Hand of Glory! The Cursed Necklace! And pureblood-mixed blood class warfare! All laid out for us. Very nice, Jo, very nice.

-Flourish & Blotts establishes Gilderoy as an attention-seeking prat very quickly, but more importantly, gives Lucius a chance to slip the Diary into Ginny's pile of books. It's strange, actually, Lucius was just in Borgin's shop and could have gotten a very good price for the diary (maybe), yet chose to dispose of it instead. Was it just to spite Arthur, or was there another motive involved?

That's it for now, witches and wizards. The upside to this incredibly tardy post is that we'll resume our story in a only three days instead of a week. For real! Come hell or high water, I'll be back on Tuesday!

Chamber of Secrets: Chapters 1 & 2

2009-11-03T09:58:00.006-06:00

Wizard rock of the week: "A Dobby Ditty" by Marked As His Equal

Here we go into Chamber of Secrets! This post covers the first two chapters of book two, both of which are nice and succinct. Since it's been a while since we began this re-reading adventure, here's a quick recap of the Guidelines for Harmonious Blogging:

This and all re-read posts will contain lots o' spoilers for all seven Harry Potter novels. For the health and purity of your own Potter-reading experience, don't continue unless you've read them all. Plus Beedle. And the schoolbooks. (You've not yet read them!? For shame! The proceeds all go to charity- get thee to a bookshop!)
I won't be delving into quite the level of re-cap detail as the Lexicon. I'm mostly concerned with key plot events, foreshadowing, and character development.
To that end, I assume you have a standard working knowledge of Harry's world. I don't expect anyone will do this, but a Vernon-like comment such as, "so... dementy-thingies. What are those again?" won't really get an answer. If you need a refresher, there are lots of resources out there :-)
Even if I were the greatest re-read blogger in the world, I couldn't hold a candle to Jo's beautiful prose and descriptions. I highly encourage you to read along with me rather than just relying on the summaries to jog your memory.

And so here we go!

Chapter One: The Worst Birthday

What Happens:

Life on Privet Drive hasn't gotten much better for Harry since he's been home for the summer. The Dursleys are as mean as ever. Vernon confiscated all of Harry's books and school supplies and locked up Hedwig, keeping Harry isolated from everything he loves about the Wizarding world. They've completely ignored his twelfth birthday, focusing instead on an important dinner party Vernon is hosting. While Vernon and Petunia will spend their evening trying to impress a rich builder, Harry will be spending his birthday silently pretending he doesn't exist. Frustrated and missing his friends, he vaguely mentions magic around Dudley, which only gets Harry punished and sent to his room after a pitiful dinner. But when he gets to his bedroom, there's someone there to greet him.

Commentary:

Whew, since most of this chapter was backstory summarizing what happened in Sorcerer's Stone it went very quickly! However, a few things to keep in mind:

-The Dursleys seem to be treating Harry even worse than before, except they're also afraid of him.
-Their paranoia about any mention of magic or the wizarding will only worsen with time.

Chapter Two: Dobby's Warning

What Happens:

Trying not to make any noise, Harry nervously greets the strange creature. Dobby the house-elf wears a pillowcase, has large eyes and ears and a high voice. Harry tries to be polite to Dobby, which only makes Dobby more exuberantly emotional. Dobby is particularly self-deprecating when he almost insults the wizard family he serves. Finally, Dobby delivers awful news: Harry can't go back to Hogwarts. Something will be happening that's dangerous, and Dobby wants Harry to stay out of it. Dobby can't say anything else about who's plotting or what the plan is, but he's vehement that Harry can't be a part of it. It doesn't have anything to do with "He Who Must Not Be Named," and Harry feels confident that Dumbledore can protect the school from anything.

After Dobby makes enough noise to draw Vernon's attention, Harry tries to reason with the elf. He has to go back to school; he can't stay cooped up here! Dobby asks about his friends, none of whom have written to Harry all summer. Dobby, it turns out, has been intercepting Harry's mail. Furious, Harry tries to grab them back. Dobby tries to make Harry promise not to return to school. Harry refuses, and Dobby sadly takes drastic action. He dashes to the kitchen and destroys the pudding dessert Aunt Petunia made. Shortly afterward, Harry receives a terse owl from the Ministry reminding him that he's not allowed to use magic outside of school.

Furious with Harry for ruining his evening, Vernon locks Harry in his room. Harry is miserable. Hungry, lonely, unable to escape by magic and with no chance of contacting anyone, his best hope is that someone from school will eventually wonder what happened and visit Privet Drive.

Late at night, he wakes up to an annoying tapping sound outside his window: Ron Weasley!

Commentary:

Oh Dobby! Somehow the adorable guy manages to be lovable right away even while he's making Harry's life more difficult. Right away, we know that something is strange with the house-elf system. Any sort of hierarchy that demands self-punishment and such intense guilt and self-deprecation has got to be dodgy. I'm not totally on board with Hermione and her S.P.E.W efforts, but when a family like the Malfoys can inflict such suffering on someone like Dobby.... whew, I'm mad. Even here, we're already seeing the vestiges of prejudice and class conflict between wizards and other magical creatures.

Also, take note that this, the second chapter of the second book, focuses on a Plot of Sneakiness involving the Malfoys. CoS's natural mirror is HBP, and HBP's second chapter, "Spinner's End."

Well, that was certainly short and sweet! Next week we go to the Burrow, one of my favorite places in the world :-)

Happy November! Good luck to everyone participating in NaNoWriMo!

Sorcerer's Stone: Chapters 16 & 17

2009-10-27T18:40:00.005-05:00

Wizard rock of the week: "Different As Can Be" from A Very Potter Musical (yes, technically it's not wizard rock. But so awesome anyway!)

Wow, we're 1/7th through the books! I feel like we've just started. There is so much jam-packed into these two final chapters that this will be an exceedingly long post. But nevermind; trapdoors and riddles and bravery, oh my!

(on an entirely unrelated note, the newest book in another series I've been reading for 10+ years, The Wheel of Time, was released today. There were a few midnight release parties, but none near me, and I reflected this morning on the dynamics of fandom and fantasy and nerdiness... and remembered how darn much I love being a Harry Potter fan.) So on that sappy note.... onward!

Chapter Sixteen: Through the Trapdoor

What Happens:

Exams are here! The students are all stressed, including Harry, but his situation is worse because he keeps having nightmares and expecting Voldemort to come back any moment. Hermione and Ron aren't quite as scared as Harry, though. Once exams are over, they finally relax by the lake. While enjoying the spring air, Harry keeps thinking about Hagrid, Fluffy, and what happened in the Forest. Suddenly, it all clicks: Hagrid is only person aside from Dumbledore who knows how to get past Fluffy. But it seems just a little too convinient that a stranger turns up with an illegal dragon egg, something Hagrid wants very badly. Hermione and Ron are bewilderend, but Harry insists they talk to Hagrid right away. They find Hagrid sitting outside his hut and Harry asks him to recall the night he won Fluffy. Hagrid's recollection is a bit fuzzy because the stranger kept buying him drinks, but he remembers that the cloaked person was interested in Hogwarts and magical creatures, and Hagrid told him a bit about Fluffy, including, "...if yeh know how to calm him down, ju' play him a bit o' music an' hel'll go straight off ter sleep-"

Harry realizes it's too late. They've got to go to Dumbledore; Snape knows how to get to the Stone! Before they can find his office, they run into Professor McGonagall. She explains that Dumbledore was called away to London on urgent Ministry business. Harry decides secrecy won't cut it anymore. McGonagall is astonished he knows about the Stone, but assures Harry it's too well protected to be stolen, and shoos them outside.

It's clear to Harry at once: Snape will be going after the Stone tonight. The ministry owl was a hoax to get Dumbledore out of the way. Unfortunately, Snape is lurking right behind them as Harry explains this to Ron and Hermione, and coldly dismisses them. Harry assigns Hermione to keep an eye on him while pretending to ask Flitwick about her exam marks. Ron and Harry head to the third-floor corridor to keep watch. Neither look-out plan works, though; McGonagall finds Harry and Ron and angrily sends them to the common room, where Hermione meets them.

Harry resolves to go through the trapdoor himself tonight and get the Stone before Snape can. Hermione and Ron protest, but Harry doesn't listen. After all, he says, what good are house points and good grades if Voldemort is back?

Hermione and Ron insist upon coming too, depsite Harry's objections. The rest of the day passes slowly, until finally all the other students have gone to bed. Harry grabs his cloak and Hagrid's flute and they make ready to leave, but Neville interrupts and tries to stop them. Desperate, Hermione apologetically curses Neville with the Full-Body Bind and they sneak out into the night.

Almost at the third floor, they meet Peeves, who can't see them but senses someone's there. In a moment of brilliance, Harry pretends to be the Bloody Baron and scares Peeves away. They make it to the third floor corridor and take a deep breath. Inside, a discarded harp is on the floor- Snape must have already been there. Harry starts playing Hagrid's flute and Fluffy immediately falls asleep. Harry drops through the door first and lands in something soft and squishy. Ron follows right away, and finally Hermione joins them. She leaps up in horror- they've all landed in Devil's Snare, a dangerous plant whose vines and creepers have thoroughly trapped Harry and Ron. After a moment of panic, Hermione comes to her senses and lights a fire. They escape the plant and hurry along down the passage.

Next up is a locked door surrounded by hundreds of strange, glittering birds. They're actually keys, and Harry uses all his Quidditch prowess to catch the right one and move on. They enter a dark chamber that immediately fills with light to reveal a life-sized chessboard. Ron knows what to do at once; he direct Harry and Hermione to take places on the board the plays the game well. Finally, he has to sacrifice himself so Harry can checkmate the king. The fearsome queen knocks him out, freeing Harry and Hermione to continue on. The moment Harry and Hermione pass through the door they smell a horrible stink from an unconscious troll. Relieved they don't have to fight it, they soldier on. The next room is far trickier than they anticipated: rather than magic, it's a logic puzzle with potentially deadly results. Hermione, ever the clever one, figures out the answer, but there's only enough potion for one person to go on and one to go back. Hermione decides to go back and send an owl to Dumbledore, while Harry continues on.

"...for a moment he cold see nothing but dark fire -- then he was on the other side, in the last chamber. There was already someone there -- but it wasn't Snape. It wasn't even Voldemort."

Commentary:

Wouldn't it have been evil of me to only do Chapter Sixteen and not follow that little cliffhanger to its conclusion one page later? Ah well, the schedule demands I do both chapters, lest we fall behind.

WHEW! There's a lot in here, so to keep it straight I'll proceed chronologically.

Right after exams is Harry's big epiphany. Now, retrospectively it might seem obvious to us that the strange pub person was Very Suspicious, but remember that Harry is only eleven years old. Hagrid isn't suspicious because Hagrid is loving and lovable; he trusts people. Plus, he was schnookered. What is most impressive, though, is Harry's immediate resolve and bravery. When their first plan (tell Dumbledore) and second plan (guard the corridor/watch Snape) both fail, Harry wastes no time in deciding to go after Snape himself. Showing his Gryffindor colors, to be sure! To their credit, Hermione and Ron immediately decide to come with him. Neville, for his part, does show a glimmer of Gryffindor nerve; he stands up to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, even though he's nervous and doesn't want to make his friends mad, he's concerned for Gryffindor. I'm sure his zeal was strengthened because he was partially responsible for the disastrous loss of 150 points the previous week.

As Harry is getting ready to sneak out, our sympathies lie with him because we know the urgency of getting to the Stone. When I first read this part, I was just as irritated at Neville as the kids are. Now, however, it's bittersweet. Neville doesn't know that everyone might be in mortal peril if Harry doesn't go save the day. All Neville knows is that Harry might get in trouble again. Neville is being brave, and in some ways, it's more difficult to stand up to a friend you believe is making a poor choice than to go for the adrenaline rush of facing a giant.

The way Harry tricks Peeves on the way to the third floor is very clever, but I'm not quite sure I buy it. First of all, how does Harry know what the Baron sounds like? He's never talked to him, at least so far as we know. The Baron is the Slytherin ghost, so I can't imagine he would ever seek Harry out. Also... since when can ghosts be invisible? As far as I know of ghost-lore in Jo's world, ghosts don't have magical powers anymore; they're just the spectral image of their former selves. But maybe I'm being too nitpicky and I should just let it go. What do you all think, wise readers?

The Devil's Snare sequence is one of my favorites in this book. Harry and Ron obliviously think it's a nice cushion to break the fall and sit there while the terrible plant does its thing. Hermione saves the day! Her exchange with Harry and Ron ("ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?") is so funny, and I love love love love that it's mirrored in DH. Devil's Snare is also a nice setup for events in OOtP, when Bode (the Imperiused Unspeakable) is murdered in the hospital by a small Devil's Snare. Herbology: so fun it can kill you.

The flying key sequence is fun too, since it's not deadly and makes convenient use of Harry's Seeker skills. I was really mad when they altered it in the movie, making the flying keys vicious... but oh well. The door doesn't initially open with Hermione's standard "Alohomora" Charm, hinting that the nice textbook magic Our Heroes are learning is just the beginning. I would imagine that every wizard worth his salt puts an anti-Alohomora charm on his home/office/etc... except, of course, the third-floor corridor. Why do you think Dumbledore left the first third-floor door vulnerable to such simple magic? Clearly, it lets the kids escape from Filch back in Chapter Nine, but otherwise, why?

The chess scene was nicely foreshadowed since Christmas time, since it's been well established that Ron is good at wizard chess. A nice hat tip to Ron and his talents, too, since sometimes he takes a back seat to Hermione's brains and Harry's sheer force of will. However- holy buckets. Violent much? Clearly, this game was not intended for children, since you could be seriously hurt playing. I'm not a chess player, myself, so I don't quite understand Ron's choices of who gets to be who on the board, but I'll just go with it. Ron goes down brutally, and then there were two.

Luckily, Snape Quirrell already beat the troll, since I don't think another troll-fighting scene would be quite as fun as before. Plus, I'm sure Snape Quirrell would've overheard them.
Speaking of which, are these various chambers soundproof? The chess game was probably loud, but how much transmits to the other rooms?

The logic puzzle is awesome. As Hermione notes, some wizards are great at magic but haven't got an ounce of logic. Well done, Snape. I won't spend a lot of time on the riddle; there are many excellent places that do. I admit, however, that when I first read this book I was determined to figure it out on my own. After a frustration half-hour (far longer than Hermione spends on it), I gave up and forged ahead. This riddle is WAY harder than the one Harry has to figure out from the sphinx in GoF, but then, Harry doesn't have Hermione's way with logic, and that riddle was intended for a teenage audience (ie, the champions) whereas this one is mean for adult wizards. Which just makes Hermione all the more awesome. Hermione and and Harry's farewell exchange here is so cute, and despite what the Harry/Hermione shippers once thought, it is a token of their deep filial (brother-sister) friendship, not anything deeper. However, the Potion Riddle incident is oddly appropriate, since Ron is out of the picture and Harry and Hermione are left alone, much like the middle chapters of DH.

Harry and Friends have done very well so far; against the protection of some very clever adults witches and wizards they've emerged nearly unscathed. But no one was expecting what happens next!

Chapter Seventeen: The Man with Two Faces

What Happens:

"It was Quirrell."

Harry gasps. Quirrell, of course, is the last person he expected to be there. Right away, he notices that Quirrell's whole demeanor is different; he's not stuttering, twitching, or looking awkward. Harry stutters out something about Snape, and Quirrell laughs him off, noting that Severus does seem like the type, and Snape's slimy-ness was a convenient ruse to make Quirrell look innocent by comparison. Quirrell is also nice enough to do the classic villain thing and monologue the entire plot, and a great deal of backstory. Strangely, he includes the tidbit that Snape and James Potter were school enemies, which is a nice thing to know but utterly unimportant at this crucial moment when Harry's life could be in the balance.

The key to finding the Stone, Harry realizes, is the Mirror of Erised. Quirrell can't quite seem to get it; all he sees is himself giving the Stone to Voldemort. Harry, based on his past encounter with the mirror, knows what to do. If he looks in the Mirror, he'll know where the Stone is! To keep Quirrell unfocused, he keeps asking him questions, and Quirrell continues to infodump. It was Quirrell who tried to steal the Stone from Gringotts, and it was Voldemort who kept threatening him, not Snape, and Voldemort is with Quirrell all the time. After a few frustrating moments, Quirrell cries out for help. Shockingly, a voice answers, telling him to "use the boy."

Harry stands in front of the Stone, knowing he has to lie about what he sees. All he sees is himself, and then mirror-Harry reaches into his pocket and pulls out the stone. The real Harry feels something heavy in his pocket and realizes that somehow, incredibly, he'd gotten the Stone too! Quirrell impatiently asks what he sees, so Harry lies about winning the House Cup. A high, cold, cruel voice tells Quirrell that he's lying, and the voice orders to see Harry face-to-face. Quirrell protests, but unwraps his turban and turns around.

Harry can't move; the sight of Lord Voldemort's mutilated face is too horrifying. Voldemort, like Quirrell, participates in the Villian's Monologue, but he also knows that Harry has the Stone. Very important for us to know, however, is that Voldemort makes one point clear: when he killed Harry's parents, Lily needn't have died. When Harry won't give in, Voldemort orders Quirrell to take the Stone from him... only Quirrell can't touch Harry without horrible pain. Harry's scar sears and burns when Quirrell touches him, but Quirrell can't even touch any of Harry's skin without crippling pain. Voldemort orders Quirrell to kill Harry, and in self-defense Harry grabs at Quirrell's face. The pain in Harry's head is overwhelming and he begins to faint, vaguely hearing a newly-arrived voice calling, "Harry! Harry!"

***

Harry wakes up in the hospital wing, Albus Dumbledore right beside him. He's been asleep (unconscious?) for three days and get-well gifts have been arriving. Dumbledore fills Harry in; right after Harry passed out Dumbledore defeated Quirrell and retrieved the Stone. Quirrell is dead and Voldemort's spirit has fled. As for the Stone, he explains, it was destroyed. Harry asked about Nicholas Flamel, and Dumbledore is delighted he knows about the Flamels. Dumbledore explains that yes, Flamel and his wife will die now, but they're okay with it; for them it seems like "going to sleep."

Harry wonders about Voldemort, and Dumbledore says that he is "still out there," but in a weakened form. Finally, Harry asks Dumbledore a question the headmaster won't answer: "Why would he want to kill me in the first place?" Dumbledore claims Harry isn't ready, but he will tell him when he's old enough. He also explains Quirrell's inability to touch Harry. Because Lily died to save her son, the gift of self-sacrifice is in Harry's very skin. An essence of such pure love cannot be penetrated by something so evil.

The Cloak was a gift from Dumbledore; it was James' and he felt Harry would like it. Dumbledore explains some of Snape and James' history, too; they were school enemies, but at some point James saved Snape's life, and Snape hated being in his enemy's debt. By protecting Harry he was trying to even things out, so to speak. Finally, Harry asks how he got the Stone. Dumbledore smiles at him. Only a person who wanted to find the Stone, not use it, could get it out of the Mirror.

After Dumbledore leaves, Ron and Hermione are allowed a quick visit. Harry recounts what happened, and Hermione and Ron tell him what they did. Hermione revived Ron and they set off to send Dumbledore an owl, but he was already back and heading for the third floor corridor. Ron also explains that the Gryffindor Quidditch team lost horrifically in Harry's absence, but the end of term feast should be fun tomorrow, anyway. The next evening, Harry convinced Madam Pomfrey to let him go to the feast, where everything in decked out in Slytherin colors. On the way there, he meets Hagrid, who apologizes over and over. He also gives Harry a present- a phote album full of pictures of his parents.

Before the feast begins, Dumbledore awards a few last minute points: 50 to Ron, 50 to Hermione, and 60 to Harry. Gryffindor and Slytherin are now tied, until...

"It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

He changes the decor to the appropriate red and gold, the Gryffindors cheer, and Harry has a wonderful last few days at school. Not too long later, it's time to go back home. All the students get letter reminding them not to use magic during the summer, but Harry isn't worried; the Dursleys don't know about that particular rule. Vernon meets Harry at Kings' Cross and Harry bids farewell to his friends... for now.

Commentary:

Where to begin? I'll try to organize my ramblings into a few distinct segments. 1) Showdown 2) Dumbledore Explains it All 3)Aftermath

1) The Showdown

As Harry Potter book climaxes go, this is one of the most relaxed, but also one of the most frightening. The image of Voldemort's head on the back of Quirrell's is one of the most disturbing in the whole series. Now, looking back, I'm a little irritated with all the end-of-book info-dumping we get, especially since it's all lumped together in one chapter, but it works very well in the story. There will be a villain monologue in pretty much every book from here on out, but I do think that it's done the least elegantly here. Oh well. Also, Harry is outmatched and a clever way to distract an enemy is to keep him talking. James Bond does it. In like every movie.

A few interesting tidbits from Quirrell's monologue: He explains that Voldemort began keeping a "closer eye" on Quirrell after the debacle at Gringotts....So yes, as discussed at length back in Chapter Five, Voldemort might not have been physically part of Quirrell till after the break-in at Gringotts?

Unlike every other Death Eater or Voldemort follower we'll meet in future books, Quirrel refers to his master as Lord Voldemort. This seems incredibly out of place.... but then I giggled when I remembered a certain scene from A Very Potter Musical. ("You can call me 'Voldemort.' We're there. We've reached that point.") HA.

Key point to note: Voldemort knows that Harry is lying about what he saw in the Mirror. Obviously, he can still do Legilimancy without a body or a wand. Holy smokes, that's freaking scary.

2) Welcome to this book's episode of Dumbledore Explains it All!

I'm not going to delve in super deep here, because most of what we need to know was already covered. But this is an incredibly important scene for setting up the rest of the series. Key elements are established and highlighted, including:

-The Snape/James animosity, which will not really be understood till "The Prince's Tale."
-The reason Voldemort tried to kill Harry... and question that will haunt him (and us) until the end of OotP.
-The idea that death is not to be feared, but is simply another step on our journey. This attitude, plus his heroic self-sacrificial love, is the very reason Harry can give himself up to Voldemort at the end. Beautiful.
-Dumbledore is so awesome. I mean, really.
-This isn't the end of Voldemort. He's still out there.

3) The Afterward

Hagrid's gift (the book of photos) is so cool. One of the nicest things he does for Harry in the whole series, and that's saying something. It speaks to the depth of their friendship; after only one year of knowing each other, Hagrid wanted to go to all that effort. Very sweet.

The House Cup award is a nice one-up on Malfoy & Co; just the icing on an already awesome cake. Neville's ten points are the ones that warm my heart the most. I'm so happy for the poor guy. (hey -by the way- how long do you think it took Hermione to remember that Neville was lying paralyzed on the common room floor? This is never addressed, so I assume that she went back to un-hex him right after she and Ron met Dumbledore.)

There are few subtle things that set us up nicely for CoS. Harry isn't allowed to use magic at home. Ginny is fangirling Harry. Vernon's still a jerk. And Ron wants Harry & Hermione to come visit over the summer.

I love Sorcerer's Stone, even though it's not my favorite book. It opened the door to Harry's world, a world I've loved since 1999. It introduces us to characters we'll love and loathe for 1400 more pages. And so thanks, Jo, for all your work... and thanks to Bloomsbury (and Scholastic) for bringing the magic into our homes.

With that, I'm out! Next week we start Chamber of Secrets, so I hope you're all ready! Have a wonderful week!

Sorcerer's Stone: Chapters 14 & 15

2009-10-20T18:47:00.000-05:00

Wizard rock of the week: "Norbert Will Eat You!" by The Mudbloods

Welcome back everyone! It's Tuesday, and thus time for your weekly Harry Potter re-read fix. I am trying valiantly not the fall prey to the viral plague devouring my sinuses, lymph nodes, and vocal chords, so if I write something silly it's probably because my head feels full of stuffed wool. But never mind that!

Today's post covers chapters fourteen and fifteen and is the penultimate post of Sorcerer's Stone! It includes contraband smuggling, tattle-tale telling, snobby centaurs, and a detention of doom. And now, the post!

Chapter Fourteen: Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback

What Happens:

Throughout the spring, Harry, Ron, and Hermione stay concerned about Snape's designs on the Stone, but so far it seems like he hasn't achieved his goal. Exams are their more pressing worry, however, so they spend a lot of time in the library studying. It is there they see Hagrid awkwardly sneaking by hiding a book behind his back. He invites them to his hut later, but Ron notices that Hagrid was looking for books about dragons. Dragons, of course, have been illegal in Britain since 1709, and Ron is truly horrified that Hagrid might be trying to get one.

When they arrive at Hagrid's hut, he seems very distracted. The curtains are shut, the fire is roaring, and he keeps glancing at the fire. Harry asks Hagrid point-blank what things are guarding the Stone, and Hagrid doesn't know. Hermione sweet-talks him into sharing the little he does know: there are various spells and enchantments put in place by teachers: Sprout, Flitwick, McGonagall, Quirrell, Snape, and Dumbledore. The kids are worried that Snape is one of the protectors, but Hagrid blows them off; if Snape is protecting the Stone he's clearly not trying to steal it! Hagrid also assures them; no one except he and Dumbledore know how to get past Fluffy, so the Stone is surely safe. Hagrid refuses to open a window, despite the boiling heat, and Harry notices something in the fire: a huge, black, speckled egg. Hagrid proudly declares it to be a Norwegian Ridgeback egg he won from someone in the pub.

A few days later, Hagrid sends them a note at breakfast- "it's hatching!" Ron and Hermione argue about whether or not to skip class to go and see it, but Draco overhears them. After Herbology, all three rush down to Hagrid's just in time to witness Norbert's arrival, but Draco peers through Hagrid's window and sees it too.

Harry tries to convince Hagrid he's got to get rid the dragon; it will land him in serious trouble. But Norbert, despite being three times his birth size, is "too little" to survive on his own. Harry thinks of a solution: Ron can write to Charlie and ask that Norbert be sent to live among other dragons there. Hagrid is sad about the idea, but agrees. Later that week, Ron helps Hagrid feed the dragon, getting horribly bitten in the process, and Charlies responds to the owl: he and his colleagues will certainly take Norbert. The kids need to get the dragon up to the Astronomy tower at midnight on Saturday. Unfortunately, Ron needs to go to the hospital for his bitten hand. Malfoy comes to taunt him about it, taking one of Ron's books.... which just so happens to contain in its pages Charlie's letter about Saturday night. Harry and Hermione decide to go ahead with the plan anyway, though, since it's too late to get in touch with Charlie again.

Dragon Delivery Day goes reasonably well. Almost. Thanks to the Invisibility Cloak Harry and Hermione meet Charlie's friends easily and get rid of Norbert, after happily hearing Malfoy get a detention for trying to rat on them. Everything is going great until they come down the Tower staircase.

Filch's face suddenly loomed out of the darkness. "Well, well, well," he whispered. "We are trouble." They'd left the invisibility cloak at the top of the tower.

Commentary:

This chapter, much like "The Midnight Duel" is a nice demonstration of Yup, It Gets Worse, while still being short of scary. The things that go wrong here, unlike some later sequences, are due to literal kid stuff: a vindictive brat trying to nark, forgetfulness, coincidence, and Hagrid's dragon-breeding (which, as much as I love Hagrid, was a horrible idea. Seriously, man).

Draco's situation in these early books always makes me a little sad. Obviously, he's an insecure child, despite his outward snobbishness and braggart ways, and doesn't have close friends or community like Harry does. Sure, he has Goyle and Crabbe, but it doesn't seem like they're really close friends, just friends of convenience and bullying. Harry, however, has comrades; friends who are equal to him, who argue with him, whom he doesn't boss around, and with whom he has lots of fun. I don't think Draco is so lucky. I remember Jo once said that she wrote a chapter where Draco visits the home of Theodore Nott, another Death Eather's son, and they have a very awkward relationship because Draco can't boss Theodore around, since they are both rich, purebloods, intelligent, and confident. I would love to read those scenes someday. I don't want to take my sympathy for Draco too far, but here, especially in the early books, I feel sorry for him a little. Despite having "everything" he's clearly a very unhappy kid. Of course, this nicely foils Harry, who has nothing at home and finds everything at Hogwarts... but jeez.

Before all the dragon business, however, is the set-up for the final Quest sequence: the seven challenges Our Heroes must face before saving the day. Now, it's very nice that there are seven teachers about whom we know (ie, the kids take their classes), and it's very nice that seven is, as Tom Riddle will observe, "the most magically powerful number." But... um.... the other Hogwarts faculty members need some serious lovin'! What about poor Professors Sinastra (astronomy), Vector (arithmancy), Burbage (Muggle studies), and Trelawney? Dumbledore doesn't ask them for help? Granted, one could argue that their challenges, which, of course, would be based around their various subjects, would't be very interesting.

(ie. Professor Vector's Arithmancy challenge might be, "Two Hogwarts Expresses are traveling toward one another. The first train is going 60 mph and left London at 11 o' clock. The second is traveling 45 mph and left Edinburgh at 1:30. Were and when do they meet? How many wizards from the Ministry of Magic Obliviation Squad will be required to cover up the resultant crash?"

Which just wouldn't be as much fun as chasing flying keys on a broomstick.

Chapter Fifteen: The Forbidden Forest

What Happens:

As terrible as Harry feels about getting caught, it's nothing like how badly he feels about Neville, who was also caught trying to warn Harry and Hermione about Malfoy. Neville feels betrayed, as though they tricked him too. Professor McGonagall, furious with all of them, takes fifty points each, putting Gryffindor in last place. Harry's fellow Gryffindors are horrified, and even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are openly hostile. Harry resolves to keep his head down and not get involved in things that aren't his business from now on, even when he overhears Quirrell in great distress. Harry thinks that "...from what Harry had just heard, Snape would be walking with a new spring in his step -- Quirrell seemed to have given in at last."

Harry, Hermione, Neville, and Draco all have been assigned detention together, helping Hagrid. Draco, of course, complains that helping the gamekeeper is "servant stuff, not for students to do." Hagrid shuts him up and explains that they'll be dividing up to look for a wounded unicorn. He, Harry, and Hermione run into Ronan and Bane, centaurs. Ronan is pleasant, but unhelpful; he doesn't answer any of Hagrid's questions, but repeats, "Mars is bright tonight." After Malfoy spooks Neville, Hagrid sends Harry to search with Malfoy and Fang.

Harry and Malfoy do eventually find a dead unicorn, gleaming beautifully on the ground. Before they go to get Hagrid, they hear something and see a dark cloaked figure bending over the unicorn's body, drinking its blood. Malfoy screams and runs away with Fang, leaving Harry alone. Thanks to Draco's cowardice the hooded figure notices Harry and begins moving toward him. Harry's scar burns with terrible pain, far more severe than ever before. A blond centaur comes between Harry and the cloaked person; Firenze chases the specter away and lets Harry ride on his back. Bane sees them, berating Firenze for interfering with human business, but Firenze holds his ground.

Unicorn blood, we learn, comes at a terrible price: the drinker will survive, but will live cursed. It dawns on Harry: only someone seeking something "better" than unicorn blood - like, say, the Sorcerer's Stone - would accept a cursed half-life in the meantime. And who might make such a bargain? Voldemort, of course. Firenze takes Harry to safety, but once back in Gryffindor Tower Harry wakes up Ron so he can tell both Ron and Hermione about Voldemort and the Forest. Snape, he believes, wants the Stone for Voldemort, not just for his own selfish reasons. Hermione and Ron are both terrified, but Hermione logically reminds the boys that Dumbledore is an unbeatable defense; with Dumbledore around things will surely be okay.

Back up in his room, Harry pulls back his bed covers to discover his invisibility cloak and a note attached: Just in case.

Commentary:

The board is set. The pieces are moving (literally! Haha! Or, more accurately, they will be moving in the next chapter.)

There are some very cool things going on here. First up: the beginning of a paradigm shift between "school/points/house cup/omg" to "save the world/defeat evil/live up to Destiny." Next, be begin to see Neville embrace his inner Gryffindor and be awesome, albeit in a small way, and foreshadow his incredible heroism in future books. Third, we'll look at the spring in Severus Snape's step and why it's suddenly so bouncy. Finally, we'll begin talking about centaurs, a discussion which will then get tabled till.... about a year from now (when we'll be 2/3 through OotP according the handy Excel chart I made to keep this re-read organized). So:

Remember that Harry is eleven years old. Eleven-year-olds are chiefly concerned with friends, family, figuring out how the heck to survive the onset of puberty, school accomplishments, and hobbies. This is true for Harry, also. Now add to that the worry about a friend and mentor who may or may not be arrested for dragon breeding, suspicious activity involving a sketchy, disliked teacher, and the return of a horrendous evil force right under your nose. I'd be stressed too! For Harry, his best efforts to help his friends (ie, get rid of Norbert) seem to keep getting him in trouble, so his new resolve to keep his head down and not get in more trouble is totally understandable. It lasts for about ten pages.

Harry's encounter with Quirrellmort in the Forest scares him, but what scares him even more is the idea that Voldemort might come back. He'll more fully articulate this feeling in the next chapter, but Harry's worldview is broadening. Life isn't just about Quidditch and homework and House points anymore. This is one of the reasons the Harry Potter series is a coming of age saga more than anything else; within the seven books Harry grows from a boy to a man.

Neville. Oh Neville. I feel so terrible for him here, and terrible for Harry and Hermione also: Neville is convinced that they tricked him on purpose. He was bravely trying to warn them and the rejection of this bravery (though not intentionally) probably is one of the biggest reasons he stands up to them when they try to go through the trapdoor.

Okay. Snape and Quirrell. Once again, when Harry overhears Quirrell shrieking in pain and fear, we assume it's because he's being intimidated by Snape. Notice, once again, that Harry's evidence is purely circumstantial, but he is totally convinced Snape is the villian... and so are we. This works very well for the shock coming in Chapter Seventeen, but it highlights one of Harry's heroic flaws. His opinions of people are set early and don't change. Part of this is normal immaturity; Snape is mean, therefore Snape must be a terrible person. He'll make the same misjudgement in CoS when he assumes Malfoy is behind the basilisk attacks. Jumping to conclusions will prove to be far more treacherous for Harry, especially in OotP.

Centaurs, introduced here, seem to only serve to explain all the things we didn't know but will soon be very important. However, the exchanges between Bane and Firenze provide nice groundwork for the terrible relationship the Ministry has with many magical creatures. This attitude will literally bite one of their more horrid members on the ass in a few years. Centaurs are also the first magical creatures who aren't particularly fond of humans. In Harry's understanding, magical pets are just like Muggle pets: under the control of their owners and docile. Centaurs are entirely different; they are autonomous, do not mingle with wizards, and get very upset about their "secondary class" status. Actually, they remind me a little of Tolkien's Eagles in Lord of the Rings; willing to help in extraordinary circumstances but not invested in the affairs of humans.

Finally, centaurs can read the planets to tell the future. The repetition of "Mars is bright tonight" seems to imply that Voldemort's return was destined by Fate. If this is the case, how much is left up to free will? Harry and his friends thwart Voldemort's return here, and in CoS, but was Voldemort always destined to come back? How much of that destiny is because of the prophecy and how much is because of Voldemort's own plans and the nature of magic (ie, since he'd made Horcruxes, his return was inevitable)?

So whew, now that we're all set and ready to go for the Gigantic Dramatic Climax of the book..... um, see you next week.

Sorcerer's Stone: Chapters 12 & 13

2009-10-13T08:55:00.031-05:00

Wizard rock of the week: "Christmas Mirror" by The Butterbeer Experience (tender lyrics + Lena's beautiful voice = another tear-jerker. You've been warned!)

It's Christmas at Hogwarts! It feels a little Christmas-y where I am too, because it snowed this week. (Yup. In the second week of October). Despite the snow I had a great week and I hope you did too!

This post covers chapters twelve and thirteen, in which there is much sentimentality, sleuthing, and sweater-wearing. Remember: spoilers for the whole series abound; if you haven't read, don't read. This is another long one; Chapter Twelve nearly has enough material for its own post.

Put on your snow boots, keep your hands and arms inside the sled, and off we go!

Chapter Twelve: The Mirror of Erised

What Happens:

Winter comes suddenly at Hogwarts: one morning inches and inches of snow have covered the grounds! All the students are excited for Christmas, especially Harry, who will be staying at school over the holiday. Draco tries to make him feel bad about "not being wanted at home," but Harry is excited for Christmas in the castle. Hagrid and the other adults have decorated the castle; it's gorgeous!

Harry, Ron and Hermione are using their free time between classes to search the library for any clues about Nicholas Flamel. Despite their efforts they haven't found a trace of him in any of the library's books on notable modern magic. Harry tries to look in the Restricted Section, where only older students are allowed, but Madam Pince quickly catches him. Hermione leaves for her holiday. Ron and Harry promise to keep looking over the break.

Once break starts, though, the boys are having too much fun to worry about Flamel. Harry is have a great Christmas, which gets even better Christmas morning. Much to his surprise, he receives several gifts: a Weasley sweater, candy from Hermione, a flute from Hagrid, and even some money from the Dursleys. Most astonishing of all is an invisibility cloak. The mysterious gift giver doesn't sign his name, but his note does tell Harry that the cloak once belonged to his father.

After a fun Christmas day, Harry can't seem to fall asleep. He slips on the cloak alone and sneaks out of Gryffindor tower toward the library. It's a little eerie at night, and the Restricted Section makes him nervous. Nevertheless, he looks through a few books until one of them screams out of its pages. Harry shoves it away, but it's too late: Filch and Snape are there in a flash. In desperation he runs through the corridors without knowing where he's going. He ducks into an unused classroom to avoid his pursuers, but soon forgets them when he sees what the room contains: a huge gilt mirror. Somehow drawn to it, Harry tries to look at his invisible non-reflection. He's shocked to see dozens of people gazing out at him. All the people look a little like him, and it dawns on Harry that this is the family he's never known.

"The Potters smiled and waved at Harry as he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them. He had a powerful ache inside him; half joy, half terrible sadness."

The following night Harry brings Ron along so he can see them too, but when Ron looks in the mirror he sees himself, alone, proud and high-achieving. Harry wants another chance to look at his family. He and Ron begin arguing loudly and Mrs. Norris finds them. They quickly hush up and head back to bed. The third night, Harry visits the mirror alone again, hoping to spend the entire night with his family. Dumbledore quietly interrupts him and explains what the mirror does: it shows the deepest desire of one's heart. Harry, who has grown up in a miserable home, sees his loving family. Ron, the youngest son of a large family, sees himself outshining all his brothers. Dumbledore tells Harry that the mirror will be moved tomorrow and Harry should not go looking for it again. As they turn to leave, Harry asks Dumbledore what he sees. Dumbledore smiles and says, "Socks."

Commentary:

Can you pass me that box of tissues? It's like Niagara falls over here.

This chapter is one of the most beautiful in the entire series, I think, right up there with "The Forest Again" in Deathly Hallows. I tip my hat to Jo for using a very clever plot device that is the essence of the authors' maxim "show, don't tell." We get a deep insight into both Harry and Ron here, but especially Harry (since the story is from his perspective). The chapter is well-balanced, too; the maudlin sadness and poignancy of the Mirror experience is nicely contrasted with wizard chess, snowball fights, and Christmas cheer.

Harry's desire is such a beautiful one; we all deeply long for community and loving union with those closest to us. Denied his entire life, Harry has started to build a kind of family at Hogwarts, but even wonderful friends don't quite replace the desperate ache he has for a real family. Always criticized by the Dursleys (especially for his hair, if we remember Chapter Two), Harry is overjoyed to see people who are just like him: Lily shares his eyes, James shares his untidy hair; an older relation shares his knobby knees, and on and on.

Dumbledore understands this loss better than Harry will know for another seven years. Having lost family himself, he surely can empathize with Harry's desire for family. I so admire how Dumbledore handles this situation; rather than chastise Harry for being out of bed, he helps him better understand what he is seeing the mirror and prepares him for what's ahead.

Until the end of Half-Blood Prince I never really thought too hard about Dumbledore's final words here. It seems delightfully natural for Dumbledore to say that the deepest desire of his heart is "socks," because Harry (and the reader) only knows him as the unshakable, eccentric, brilliant Headmaster. It's not until the end of HBP we get any further insights on him, and, of course, it's not until DH that the whole story comes out. But really? I'd be willing to wager that when Dumbledore looked in the mirror he saw something not unlike what Harry sees: his family.

::sniffle::

Okay, done with the sappiness. There's tons more in this chapter, including:

Wizard chess: how sweet would that be? Really? I'm truly terrible at chess, so it might be nice to have magical chess pieces tell me what to do. A very nice skill-plant for the end of this book, too.
The first thing Harry does with his invisibility cloak is go to the library. This is so hilarious. And awesome. It speaks, I think, to two things: Harry is very focused on the search for Flamel and the mystery of What Fluffy Is Fluffy Hiding? Perhaps just as importantly, this demonstrates his innocence and purity of heart. Can you imagine what Fred and George would do if they had an invisibility cloak? To be fair, Harry will use the cloak to get in a lot of trouble as time goes on, but I find it simply adorable that his first rebellious invisibly night time wandering is a trip to the library. Aww.
Filch goes to Snape right away when he sense someone in the library. This is a very minor instance of info-dumping, but it opens up an interesting question: why the heck does Snape care so darn much about people snooping around after hours? Of course, in retrospect, we know he's just trying to keep an eye on Quirrell, but it makes him seem like a creeper, don't you think?

Chapter Thirteen: Nicholas Flamel

What Happens:

Once the holidays are over, life returns to a hum of activity at school. Hermione is disappointed the boys didn't find anything else about Flamel but all three keep looking; Harry is sure he's heard the name somewhere. Quidditch practice is getting intense; the next match is against Slytherin. Wood is frantic. Snape will be refereeing the match and surely will take any excuse to mark against Gryffindor. Hermione and Ron advise Harry not to play, but Harry can't back out.

One eveing, Neville hops up to the common room; Malfoy cursed his legs together. Harry encourages Neville to stand up to Malfoy; after all, Neville is "worth twelve" of him. Neville smiles and thanks Harry; he hands him a Chocolate Frog card. The card is Dumbledore; Harry almost dismisses it before he suddenly reads Flamel's name: he was an alchmist andcolleague of Dumbledore's. Hermione leaps up at once; she runs to her room and returns with a huge old book. Flamel, she explains, is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone! Ron and Harry have no idea what she's talking about, so she explains what it is. They conclude that Snape must be trying to steal it; after all, "anyone" would want the Stone.

During the last few days before the match, Harry seems to be seeing Snape everywhere. Harry senses more animosity coming from him than usual and wonders if Snape can read minds.

The morning of the match, Harry is terribly nervous. Ron and Hermione have been practicing curses to use against Snape at any sign of trouble. However, all their worries are relieved when they see Dumbledore in the stands. Harry knows Snape can't try any funny business with Dumbledore there, so he focuses on the game and plays superbly: he catches the Snitch in a matter of minutes and secures Gryffindor's place in the lead. Coming out of the locker room, Harry sees Snape sneaking out of the castle toward the forest. Overcome with curiousity, Harry flies after him, keeping out of sight. He finds Snape in the Forest threatening Quirrell.

Back in the common room, Harry tells Ron and Hermione what he overheard, and all three are alarmed: if Snape is trying to get the Stone, it seems that all stands in between him and his goal is wheddling information out of quivering, timid Quirrell.

Commentary:

Very subtle foreshadowing this whole Flamel business- we, like Harry, took no notice of Flamel when Harry first read about him on the Hogwarts Express. I do wonder though: clearly, if he's in his six hundreds, Flamel succeeded in making the Stone many centuries before he began doing research with Dumbledore. However, traditionally alchemy was chiefly concerned with making a Philosopher's Stone, so once Flamel acheived this goal back in the 1200s, what more did he have to study? Especially six hundred years later? For more on alchemy and its use in Harry Potter, I defer to John Granger and other Very Smart Fellows, particularly those who host the Potter Pundits segment on PotterCast

Remember: the novels are parallel to their opposites. Harry's main query in this book is protecting the Sorcerer's Stone, which provides endless life and riches. In Deathly Hallows, Harry will do the exact opposite: sacrifice his life and walk "calmly into Death's waiting arms." Keep that in mind; the themes of life, death, and self-sacrifice are all over the place in this novel. It's beautiful.

Harry suspects Snape can read minds! This seems like such a throwaway comment, but nope! We're nicely set up for Occlumency/Legilimancy and all its implications which bear the most fruit in OotP.

And finally, if you weren't convinced by now that Snape is a nasty piece of work there's just no more denying it. Very convincing misdirection. Remember, too, that Snape is an anti-hero; he is trying to protect Harry, but that doesn't mean he's all warm and fuzzy.

Whew! That's all for now! Next time we'll spend time with some splendid magical creatures, but until then have a lovely week.

Sorcerer's Stone: Chapters 10 & 11

2009-10-06T19:19:00.015-05:00

Wizard rock of the week: "Insufferable Know-It-All Hermione Granger" by Gred and Forge

Welcome back!

[I'm not feeling particularly funny this week, so just insert a clever/witty intro here]

This post covers Sorcerer's Stone chapters ten and eleven and marks the two-thirds mark on our journey into the first novel. Wow, that was fast!

Chapter Ten: Halloween

What Happens:

After their nighttime wanderings in Chapter Nine, Harry and Ron begin to remember their near catastrophe as a great adventure. Hermione and Neville don't quite agree. Within a week Harry receives his new Nimbus Two Thousand, and Malfoy is furious when he learns Harry has been granted an exception to the first year rule. Hermione is indignant, too, because Harry seems to be getting a reward for rule-breaking.

Harry meets Oliver Wood on the Quidditch pitch for his first training session. Oliver teaches him the basics about scoring, balls, and player positions. The Golden Snitch, of course, will be Harry's main objective. Wood is very impressed with Harry's skills and is excited for him to join team practices later in the week.

The rest of the fall goes by quickly and it's Halloween before Harry can blink. The day of the feast the first years begin making objects fly in Charms class ("swish and flick!"). Ron and Hermione are paired up, and when Hermione criticizes Ron's pronunciation he snaps. Heading out of class, he tells Harry, "It's no wonder no one can stand her. She's a nightmare, honestly." Hermione overhears him and starts crying. Harry overhears Pavarti and Lavender talking about how Hermione has been crying in the girls' room all afternoon and won't come out. Ron feels a little guilty, but shrugs it off.

Just as the Feast begins, Professor Quirrell bursts into the Great Hall. A troll is in the dungeon! Dumbledore sends the students back to their common rooms with the prefects. Harry and Ron step out of line to go warn Hermione, who doesn't know about the troll. On their way to find her they see Snape sneaking off toward the third floor. Before they can speculate about this, they spot the troll and lock it in a room which unfortunately is the girls' bathroom. Horrified, Harry and Ron try to rescue Hermione, who is frozen with fear along the wall. Harry jumps on the troll's back, sticking his wand up its nose, and Ron uses the first spell that comes to mind: Wingardium Leviosa! The club levitates and knocks the troll out just as Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell find them. Incensed, McGonagall demands to know what they're doing. To Harry and Ron's astonishment, Hermione lies to cover for them. Later in the common room, the three of them exchange awkward thank-yous that will mark the beginning of their friendship.

Commentary:

Once again, Harry upstages Malfoy on sheer luck. He almost was caught after the Fake Duel setup, but escaped. He could have gotten in terrible trouble for flying after Malfoy, but his skill and Gryffindor's need for a Seeker saved him. Now Harry has a broomstick, something Malfoy isn't allowed to have. These may seem like silly trivial things, but for eleven year old rivals it's big stuff!

I felt sorry for Hermione in this chapter the first few times I read it. Obviously, she's an insecure eleven-year-old trying to fit in a brand-new school where she doesn't know anyone and trying to prove her mettle academically. She is an annoying know-it-all, but I still sympathize with her. As much as I love Ron, he can be blunt to the point of rudeness sometimes, especially in the early books. Ron & Harry do display quite a lot of integrity for eleven-year-olds though; acknowledging that Hermione is in danger because of them, they set out to make it right. Harry's characteristic bravery is on display here too; he jumps on the troll's back without much concern for himself, only thinking to distract it from Hermione.

Hermione is pretty awesome here though- she recognizes that Harry and Ron took a terrible risk to come save her and helps them out of a tight spot. She could have simply told the truth, which would have gotten the boys in a lot of trouble (using magic outside class, leaving the prefect line, etc) and instead shoulders the blame on her own and makes them heroes. Very nice of her, really, and shows a glimmer of her true character.

Still, though.... I have to agree with Professor McGonagall on this one: three first years versus a ten-foot troll? It's a miracle they're not killed! It's funny that I think that, though, because when I first read this I was in my early teens and thought this adventure was awesome. Now that I'm a grownup and responsible for the safety and welfare of kids Harry's age, I'm tsking right along with Minerva.

Chapter Eleven: Quidditch

What Happens:

The first Quidditch match of the year will be against Slytherin. Harry is enjoying Quidditch training (and Quidditch Through the Ages, which Hermione lends him) but is still nervous about his first match. Hermione is a helpful friend to have around; not only does she help with homework and have interesting books, but she can conjure clever blue fire to keep them all warm on the crisp fall days. Snape seems to be limping lately but Harry doesn't know what that means. He's also as nasty as ever, confiscating Harry's QttA when he sees Harry reading it outside.

Later that night Harry goes to the staff lounge to try and retrieve his book. He walks in on Snape and Filch talking: Snape has a terrible gash in his leg and is complaining about the three-headed dog. He shares this revelation with Ron and Hermione and guesses Snape let the troll in as a diversion on Halloween and tried to get past the three-headed dog. Ron thinks Harry must be right but Hermione is skeptical. After all, she insists, Snape might be mean, but he's a teacher in Dumbledore's employ. He wouldn't be trying to undermine Dumbledore that way.

When morning arrives, Harry is still very nervous about the match. He doesn't have an appetitite but Hermione and Seamus both insist that he needs to eat before the match. Harry and the team head to the locker room while their fellow students fill the stands. Oliver Wood gives his traditional pre-match pep talk. The Captains shake hands and the match begins. Lee Jordan begins his play-by-play, complete with commentary on Angelina's attractiveness. The Gryffindors score first. Harry spots the Snitch, but is fouled by Marcus Flint. The Gryffindors win the penalty shot and play continues. Harry however, notices that something is wrong with his broom.

Down in the stands, his friends notice too, and conclude that Snape must be jinxing the broom. Hermione rushes over to the faculty stands and distracts Snape with some fire (and knocks Quirrell over). Harry's broom goes back to normal just in time and he nearly swallows the Golden Snitch, ending the match for a Gryffindor victory. The trio come back to Hagrid's hut for tea, where Hagrid rebuffs their suspicions about Snape. He also reveals the three-headed dog's name: Fluffy and that what he's guarding is "between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."

Commentary:

Whew, I can understand why Jo once said that she didn't particularly like writing the Quidditch scenes. Recapping a sporting event short of just transcribing the entire text is tough. However, Lee Jordan is so awesome it's all worthwhile. His commentary was always so snarky and clever I dearly missed him after he graduated..... at least until Luna did commentary in HBP. She wins, period.

As far as Quidditch goes, there's a general FYI: if you aren't aware, there is an American intercollegiate Quidditch organization, originally based out of Middlebury College in Vermont, and now includes over sixty schools. Every year they host a Quidditch World Cup and last year got some decent press: CBS Sports' Greg Gumbel did a segment and even commentated a match! I still think Lee Jordan is a better commentator though :-)

Of course we all suspect Snape from here on out (if you didn't already). Not only does he act Very Suspicious, but he clearly dislikes Harry and goes out of his way to make the hero's life miserable. Very clever misdirection Jo's part, both for this book and the rest of the series. Just for the record though, Hermione was right: Harry and Ron immediately assume that Snape is trying to steal the Mysterious Object, but Hermione points out that he should be loyal to Dumbledore. She doesn't pick up on Quirrell's true loyalty though; that one threw us all for a loop.

And now arriving: our next Clue about the central mystery in this book! Of course, it's lovable Hagrid who spills the beans about Nicholas Flamel, thus sending Our Heroes off on another search.

That's it for these chapters! Next week includes one of the most beautiful and poignant moments in the whole series: Harry and the Mirror of Erised. I'm so excited! Until then, have a lovely week!

Sorcerer's Stone: Chapters 8 & 9

2009-09-29T20:10:00.004-05:00

Wizard rock of the week: “My Dad is Rich” by Draco and the Malfoys

Random story time:

A cool thing happened: remember how last week I wistfully wrote about the School Song and I wished there was a real live wrock version? Well, I idly mentioned this in a comment on Wizrocklopedia, and *two* people responded very quickly with fabulous news: there already is such a song! It’s here and it’s totally awesome. So I’m just tickled that this wish came true within hours… and it was Russ of Creevey Crisis (fangirlish squee) and Dinah of the HPA who were kind enough to tell me! Oh my, how I love this fandom!

Public Service Announcement: I’m thrilled that people are commenting! So thank you very much. Blogs are boring as monologues; it’s much more fun if we have conversations. However, all the Anonymous-es are getting a little confusing. So, here’s my request: If you don’t have a Google/Blogger/LJ profile and prefer to be Anonymous, that’s just fine. But could you please sign your comment with a name/pseudonym? It’s much nicer to call people by their names/aliases than just “Anon 1/2/3. Okay? Thank you!

Remember: this and all re-read posts contain spoilers for the entire series. If you haven’t read, don’t read.

And FYI: Kristina of the Parselmouths is ::this close:: to winning a trip to Antarctica. Head over here and vote for her!

This week we’ll spend lots of time with our two favorite Slytherins: Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy. Chapters 8 & 9, arriving in three…two...one!

Chapter Eight: The Potions Master

What Happens:

Harry and Ron have a few understandable difficulties navigating the castle, but otherwise their first week of school goes well. Hogwarts has all sorts of classic enchanted castle traits: staircases move, suits of armor walk, pictures talk, and doors disappear. Peeves is resident hell-raiser, constantly trying to make students late and cause chaos. Filch and Mrs. Norris don’t help either, also suspecting students of mischief real or imagined.

Classes are interesting to Harry but much harder than he expected. Professor Binns’ class is as lifeless as the professor who teaches it. Harry is intrigued by Transfiguration with McGonagall, who immediately makes it clear she won’t tolerate any nonsense in class. All the students are disappointed by the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, since Quirrell seems too terrified of his own subject to do much useful teaching.

Friday Hagrid sends Harry an owl inviting him for tea. Harry is glad to go, especially since his afternoon Potions class is an unprecedented disaster.

From the first moments of class it’s obvious to everyone that Snape has a special hatred for Harry. After disdaining the entire class, (“Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn’t a dunderhead.”) Snape fires three ridiculously advanced questions at Harry. Malfoy laughs and Harry gets more and more agitated with Snape’s interrogation until finally:

“I don’t know,” said Harry quietly. “I think Hermione does, though, why don’t you try her?”

Most of the other students are impressed by Harry's nerve, but Snape is not amused. He takes a point from Gryffindor and the lesson deteriorates from there. The students brew a solution to cure boils, which goes characteristically awry for poor Neville. As Neville’s potion seeps across the floor, Snape blames Harry for the mishap and takes another point. When the lesson is finally over, Harry can’t understand why Snape’s hatred is so overt. He and Ron go Hagrid’s for tea. Harry asks Hagrid about Snape’s behavior, but Hagrid quickly denies it. As Ron and Hagrid chat about Charlie, Harry reads an article in the Daily Prophet. The Gringotts break-in occurred on July 31, the very day he and Hagrid went to Diagon Alley. The article mentions that the vault the thieves entered had been emptied that same day. Harry asks Hagrid, who hastily changes the subject and avoids Harry’s gaze.

Commentary:

I’ve always loved reading about the rhythm of Harry’s school life, probably because I’m American and nobody here goes to boarding school. We Yanks are fascinated by all things across the pond, especially the boarding school phenomenon. The Hogwarts Castle is such a unique place, even though it borrows many of its magical elements from other fairy stories. (I hoped that dishes in the Great Hall would break into “Be Our Guest” led by a dancing candelabra… but alas).

Even though they look nothing alike, Professor McGonagall will always remind me of my eleventh-grade AP English teacher, a woman who was beloved and highly respected for her strictness, fairness, excellence in teaching, and commitment to integrity. Whenever I read about Minerva I always think of this teacher. Funny how those associations creep in, eh? Do any of your professors remind you of the Hogwarts faculty?

Filch and Mrs. Figg are the only Squibs we know of, right? They represent yet another facet of the “it is our choices” philosophy. Filch, of course, is bitter and angry about his Squib-ness, and takes it out on the students in petty ways. His only friend is a cranky old cat. What a miserable existence he must lead! Mrs Figg, on the other hand, doesn’t seem bitter about her lot in life; rather, she uses the gifts she does have to help Harry and Dumbledore. Her story is far happier than Filch’s, even though they were dealt the same hand. Food for thought.

Now that we know the whole story, I am alternately sad and angry about Snape’s treatment of Harry throughout the series. On one hand, it must be torturous for Severus to see Harry, the living representation that Lily chose someone else, and see her eyes gazing back at him, knowing all the while that Lily’s death is his fault. But even all that emotional baggage doesn’t excuse his behavior. Treating another human being with the contempt Snape shows Harry is ridiculous. Especially here in the beginning, when Harry is only eleven years old, and hasn’t done anything to warrant Snape’s grudge except to exist! Argh. I’m not a Snape hater; actually I feel a great deal of sympathy for him, especially given the sacrifices he makes later on… but I can’t stand to see children mistreated, especially by adults who should be keeping them safe. Gah.

There are three things Snape mentions in his Harry-baiting: the Draught of Living Death, the bezoar stone, and a plant called wolfsbane. Operating from the principle that nothing is coincidence in this series, let’s take closer look:

The Draught of Living Death is the potion Harry will make in his first N.E.W.T.-level Potions class with Slughorn. His success making it (due, of course, to aid from the Half-Blood Prince) will win him Felix Felicis and enable him to get Slughorn’s memory. Whoa.
The bezoar, of course will save Ron’s life not long after, when he drinks the poisoned mead intended for Dumbledore.
Wolfsbane is a plant, but there is also a potion by the same name. The Wolfsbane potion enables werewolves to transform harmlessly, keeping their human minds and wills. Snape will make this for Lupin during the PoA year.

Hagrid knows about Snape’s hatred for James. Indeed, having been at Hogwarts for over fifty years, Hagrid probably knows more about the dramas in students’ and teachers’ lives than anyone except Dumbledore.

Quirrell tried to steal the Stone on July 31, just after Hagrid removed it to safety. The question is this: Did Quirrell know Hagrid was going to move the Stone, so he went after it first? Or did Dumbledore know Quirrell was going to steal the Stone, so he sent Hagrid to Gringotts? Or both?

Chapter Nine: The Midnight Duel

What Happens:

Gryffindors and Slytherins will be taking flying lessons together. Most of the students from Wizarding families already fly and won’t stop talking about Quidditch. Hermione is nervous, because an athletic skill like flying can’t be learned from a book. The morning before the lesson, Neville’s grandmother sends him a Remembrall. That afternoon on the flying pitch, Madam Hooch just barely begins teaching when Neville’s broom takes off, and he falls from midair. He breaks his wrist and Madam Hooch escorts him to the hospital wing.

While they’re gone, Malfoy takes his Remebrall and tries to hide it, but Harry confronts him. Malfoy sneers and takes to the sky. Over Hermione’s protest, Harry follows. Harry can fly easily- it feels natural! Incredulous and probably a tad intimidated, Malfoy throws the little Remembrall and it crashes toward the ground. Acting on instinct, Harry follows and catches the little object. He earns the admiration of his fellow Gryffindors, but Professor McGonagall saw him too, and she marches him back to the castle. Harry is terrified he’ll be expelled, but much to his surprise McGonagall offers him a place on the Gryffindor Quiddtich team and introduces him to Captain Oliver Wood. At dinner, Malfoy can’t believe that Harry isn’t being punished. He challenges him to a wizard’s duel at midnight.

As Harry and Ron discuss tactics, Hermione comes over to berate them for rule-breaking. They blow her off, but when it’s time to leave for the duel she’s still in the common room trying to dissuade them. Hermione follows the boys out of the portrait hole, only to discover the Fat Lady isn’t there and Hermione is locked out. She insists on coming along. Not much farther, the Trio find Neville curled up in the hallway. He forgot the password and has been sleeping in the corridor. Neville joins their group too, too terrified to stay alone anymore. Ron glares at both of them. “If either of you get us caught, I’ll never rest until I’ve learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you.”

All four make it to the trophy room but there’s no sign of Malfoy. Minutes creep by until they hear Filch sneaking around. Harry keeps his head and leads the group out, but Neville crashes into a suit of armor and they break into a run. They avoid Filch, but Peeves is right around the corner. Ron makes the mistake of threatening the poltergeist, who bellows for Filch. The kids dash down the hallway again and get stuck in a dead end hallway. Hermione opens a locked door and they avoid Filch… but of course, that’s not all. A giant three-headed dog is slobbering down on them, growling and looking ferocious. They burst out into the hallway again, no longer caring about getting caught, and sprint back to the Gryffindor common room. After she chews them out (again) for their stupidity, Hermione mentions that the three-headed dog was standing on something: a trapdoor. “It’s obviously guarding something.” Harry muses that the grubby little packaged from Gringotts is probably at Hogwarts now, kept safe by the huge dog.

Commentary:

I don't think we ever see Madam Hooch again after first year. She referees a few Quidditch matches, but then disappears. If I'm wrong please correct me. Harry's instant flying skills have always been a tad hard for me to believe, because flying doesn't seem to be an instinct-type thing. I mean, balancing on the broomstick (with or without the aid of those odd-looking foot rests in the films) has got to be difficult. But Harry's the hero, so sure, he needs a cool skill. I'll take it. If I remember way back to one of my first readings, I was pleasantly surprised when McGonagall didn't punish Harry for the incident. Of course, the flying lesson is there mostly written to set up Quidditch, which we'll learn more about next time, and the Fake Duel with Malfoy.

It's funny to read these early chapters and notice the utter distaste both Ron and Harry have for Hermione. Arguably they have good reason to dislike her, but knowing how tight the three of them are going to be soon makes reading about it seem ever-so-slightly off kilter. The Midnight Duel chapter is good old fashioned "kids get into a rule-breaking scrape" fun. Things start off poorly - Hermione and Neville tag along - and keep getting worse and worse. I'm inclined to agree with Ron, though: "What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" As much as I love Dumbledore, if I were a Hogwarts parent I would be more than a little upset if my son or daughter were living in close proximity to a monster like that. "Ah!" you might argue, "but the kids aren't supposed to go in the third-floor corridor, so it's okay! And I would respond, "Since when has telling a teenager to stay out of something actually worked? Hmm?" The importance of the Stone notwithstanding, there's got to be a safer way to guard it.

Have a lovely week! Remember: vote for Kristina's trip and we'll see you soon!

Sorcerer's Stone: Chapters 6 & 7

2009-09-22T09:58:00.039-05:00

Wizard rock of the week: "House of Awesome Theme Song" by The Whomping Willows

(this is the album version, and it's super, but if you really want your socks throughly rocked off go to Whompy's myspace. There's a new live version, and ...holy crap. No, seriously. Go listen. I'll wait.)

Welcome! I hope you've all had a splendid week, because I certainly have. After last week's adventures on Diagon Alley it's time to hitch a ride on Hogwarts Express at 11 o'clock sharp! Don't be late! This post covers chapters six and seven.

Can I have one of your Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans? Thanks.

::grimace::

Um, gross, it was turnip. I'll try a pumpkin pasty instead.

Chpater Six: The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

What Happens:

It's finally 1 September! Harry goes to London with the Dursleys, who are heading into town anyway for pig tail removal surgery. (::snicker::) The Dursleys unceremoniously drop off Harry at King's Cross and zoom away, leaving Harry alone with his trunk, owl, and no idea what to do next. The train ticket tells him to take the 11 'o clock train from Platform 9¾, but doesn't have any helpful information on finding said platform. (if there had been Hufflepuffs around he could have found it more easily, I think...). Starting to panic, he asks a guard but doesn't learn anything useful.

Finally, he sees a large family of redheads walk by. Not only do they have trunks and an owl, but their mother sighs, "...packed with Muggles, of course." Harry watches surreptitiously as the oldest brother and two twins disappear into the barrier between platforms nine and ten. He timidly asks the boys' mother how to get onto the platform. She introduces Harry to her youngest son, Ron, and explains how to cross the barrier.

Harry runs at the barrier, nervous that he'll crash, but somehow he just keeps going, until he opens his eyes and sees a train, a crowd of people, and "Platform 9¾" on a sign. He breaths a huge sigh of relief, at least until he tries to get his trunk on board and it's too heavy to lift. The red-haired twins help him out, and notice his lightning scar. They immediately ask if he's Harry Potter, and stare at him until the rest of their family comes along. Harry overhears the twins make fun of Percy being a prefect, Ron having dirt on his nose, and the idea of sending their sister Ginny a Hogwarts toilet seat. The whistle blows and the train begins to move.

After a few minutes the youngest red-haired boy joins Harry in his compartment. He introduces himself and they share a little about their families. Ron has five older brothers, all of whom have already done well at school. Ron sighs, "Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do it's no big deal, because they did it first." Ron's family doesn't have a lot of money, and he's awkward around Harry until Harry tells him how he used to have to wear Dudley's hand-me-downs and never had money, either. Harry tells Ron how nervous he is; he's afraid of being the worst in the class and not knowing things other wizards know, like not saying Voldemort's name.

As they eat their way through the candy, Harry opens his first Chocolate Frog. The card inside is Dumbledore, who is just so darn awesome I'm going to transcribe the entire card instead of just summarizing:

Albus Dumbledore: Currently Headmaster of Hogwarts

Considered by many to be greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicholas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

(he also enjoys Muggle knitting patterns!)

A round-faced boy comes in, looking for a lost toad. Harry and Ron haven't seen one, but after he leaves Ron remembers a spell Fred and George gave him to turn Scabbers yellow. Just as he tries it, a girl with bushy brown hair and large front teeth comes in to watch. The spell doesn't work, and the girl introduces herself. Hermione is a Muggle-born witch who's been reading up about Hogwarts and the Wizarding world ever since she got her letter. She mentions the Houses she hopes to be in; Gryffindor "sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it." After Hermione and "the toadless boy" leave Harry and Ron discuss Houses. Ron's whole family has been in Gryffindor, and he's worried he might be the only one not sorted there. His brothers Bill and Charlie, both of whom have graduated, are out working: Bill for Gringotts and Charlie with dragons.

When he mentions Gringotts, Ron adds that there was a break-in recently, which is a big deal because of all the high-level security around the bank. Nothing was taken, but everyone is still a little freaked out because it makes them think of Voldemort.

After Ron and Harry spend some time chatting about Quidditch, three new boys enter. Harry recognizes the pale-faced boy he met on Diagon Alley, now accompanied by two huge friends. Malfoy introduces himself, Crabbe, and Goyle. Ron sniggers at Malfoy's name, but Malfoy immediately scorns Ron's family for their poverty. He tells Harry that some wizards are the "wrong sort" to befriend, but Harry can already tell who the wrong sort are. Malfoy classifies the Weasleys and Hagrid as "rifraff," and Ron stands up to him. Goyle lunges toward Harry and Ron's snacks, but Scabbers bites Goyle's finger. The prospective Slytherins leave and Ron tells Harry that the Malfoys are well-known; it's suspected they were in league with You-Know-Who. Hermione returns to tell Harry and Ron they've nearly arrived at school.

Once off the train, Hagrid gathers all the first years for their journey across the lake. Harry and Ron share a boat with Neville and Hermione and they all wait expectantly in front of the huge castle doors.

Commentary:

Whew, another long recap, sorry. But we get to meet so many new people! First, of course, are the Weasleys. I love the Weasleys. I heart Weasleys. I want to be Molly Weasley when I grow up. (In fact, the Wizard Rock of the Week was very nearly MoM's "I Heart Weasleys" but House of Awesome got it instead because of Chapter 7.) While Ron will soon become the most important Weasley in Harry's world, Fred and George steal the show here by just being... Fred and George. I was actually surprised later on that they didn't send Ginny a Hogwarts toilet seat. Though, I think they try to send Harry one at the end of SS when he's in the hospital, so that's just as well.

Who's your favorite Weasley and why? Molly is mine, since I want to be her someday, big family and all. But I've been a Bill fangirl since we met him in GoF (probably because he has that mysterious bad boy edge to him) and so I'm thrilled he's finally been cast in the movie.

Ron's worry about not being special (because he's the youngest) will come back later, and now that he's BFFs with Harry Potter, playing second fiddle will be part of his character for a long time. Poor guy. Other characters' attitudes and tendancies are established right away: Neville the forgetful one, Hermione the swotty one, Malfoy the mean one. As usual, Malfoy uses Crabbe and Goyle as his thugs.

Foreshadowing also occurs here, both short and long-term. Jo lays tracks for Flamel/Sorcerers' Stone as well as Grindelwald and more DH-related information.

I always thought it was cool that first years have a special way to get to school. Can you just imagine how beautiful the castle would look all lit up, shining across the big black lake? Coming across by boat would be a little difficult in the rain (as the Creevey brothers will find out), but otherwise- how sweet!?! I really hope they have boat rides across the lake at the WWoHP... I guess we'll know pretty soon!

And in honor of this chapter, I would like to remind everyone that the HP Alliance is inviting us all to give Nine and Three Quarters to support causes like literacy, fair trade, and human rights.

Chapter Seven: The Sorting Hat

What Happens:

Professor McGonagall greets Hagrid and the first years just inside the doors. They follow her to a small chamber, openly gawking at the castle's size and magnificence. McGonagall crisply explains the upcoming Sorting ceremony and the House point system before sweeping out. Harry and Ron don't know what the Sorting test entails, but Ron's brothers told him it might involve doing magic or some other task. Harry and the other students are very nervous; Hermione is characteristically rattling off the magic she's already learned until a heard of ghosts comes floating by. They're arguing about Peeves, and stop for a minute to say hello to the startled first years.

Once in the vast Great Hall the new students line up near the Sorting Hat, which sings about what sets each House apart. Ron is relieved; all they have to do is try on the hat! Harry, however, isn't so sure, and wonders: what happens if the Hat doesn't put him in any of the Houses? His classmates are sorted, until finally McGonagall calls, "Potter, Harry!"

The Hat tells Harry he's got courage, talent, "not a bad mind," and a thirst to prove himself. Harry frantically thinks that he doesn't want to go in Slytherin, and while the Hat questions his judgement it ultimately puts him in Gryffindor. As the other students are sorted he looks up at the High Table and recognizes Dumbledore right away He also sees Quirrell and notices he's wearing a strange purple turban. To Harry's relief, Ron becomes a Gryffindor, too, and Dumbledore speaks to the students before dinner appears: "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

As Harry and the others students dive into the food, Nearly Headless Nick laments that he hasn't eaten in nearly four hundred years. The students introduce themselves, and Harry learns that Seamus Finnigan is "half and half" and Neville didn't show signs of magic until very late. Harry glances up at the High Table again. The sallow-skinned teacher with long black hair and hooked nose looks at Harry and his scar sears with pain. He asks Percy who the teacher, and Percy explains that Snape teaches Potions but wants the Dark Arts job.

Dumbledore gives out a few start-of-term notices after dinner is over. He reminds everyone that the Forest is out of bounds, Quidditch trials are coming up, and the third-floor corridor is off limits. Harry isn't sure if Dumbledore is serious, but Percy seems to think he is. Finally, Dumbledore invites everyone to join in the school song, for music is "a magic beyond all we do here."

Harry and the other first years follow Percy toward their tower. On the way, Peeves throws sticks at them. They reach Gryffindor tower and Percy gives the password to the Fat Lady. Harry sinks into his comfortable four-poster bed and falls aspleep immediately. He has an odd dream that he won't remember in the morning: Professor Quirrell's turban tells him that he must be in Slytherin, but Malfoy laughs at him as he tries to pull it off. Malfoy becomes Snape, and lots of green light accompanies a high, cold, cruel laugh.

Commentary:

Oh, Sorting Hat. How awesome you are. If any of you blog readers are wizard rockers, aspiring wizard rockers, or friends with any wizard rockers... please encourage wrock songs based on the Sorting Hat's songs/life/existence (and the school song! We need a wrock version of the school song!)

The Hat assigns peoples' Houses very carefully. Some are obvious, like Malfoy ("the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, 'SLYTHERIN!'"), but others are tricky. It takes a long time to decide with both Neville and Seamus. Neville proves his worth as Gryffindor; his Crowning Moment of Awesome against Voldemort six books later was incredible. What Houses might have the hat been deciding between for Seamus and Neville?

And Harry! Harry does have traits that could have made him a good Slytherin, but I wonder if that was just because of the accidental Horcrux in his scar? Harry's true nature is much like Lily's so perhaps he would have been an instant Gryffindor if he wasn't walking around with a piece of Voldemort in his head. But, in the end, it doesn't matter. As Dumbledore will tell Harry at the end of CoS, "It is our choices, far more than our abilities..." And, of course, this moment of uncertainly will allow for a very sweet, tender father-son moment between Harry and Albus Severus about twenty-six years from now.

As ifucare2findme noted in last chapter's post, in Diagon Alley Harry doesn't remark that Quirrell is wearing a turban, and Harry does notice the turban here at school. So, had Quirrell not yet allowed Voldemort to live out of the back of his head a month earlier? The timing is odd to me; there's only a month between Harry's Diagon Alley trip and the first day of school- did Quirrell really have time to go to Albania, meet Voldemort, submit to him, and get possessed, while still having time to get back to school and set up his classroom for the new year? I'm puzzled. However, Quirrell *might* have been wearing the turban at the Leaky Cauldron and Harry didn't notice it because 1) it was dark/poorly lit 2) he was distracted by all the people trying to shake his hand. Curious.... what do you think, fabulous people? Any insights?

And... I think we've encountered our first Flint! Nearly Headless Nick hasn't eaten in nearly four hundred years, (page 123, American hardcover), but in CoS we learn that he was executed in 1492, five hundred years ago. Does anyone with a more recent edition (ie, not the ancient, well-loved, decade-plus old copy I have) know if this was corrected in later printings?

So many things are set up in this chapter: the Snape/Quirrell suspect conundrum, Neville's lack of magic competency, and Harry's dream! When Harry has a dream, you'd best pay attention, because it will become Very Important somewhere down the line. Subconsciously, at least, Harry is making a connection between Quirrell's turban and the green light that killed his parents. Wow.

That's all folks! Next weeks' chapters contain a lot of Snape, Snape, Severus Snape... so we get to write more about him soon!

Sorcerer's Stone: Chapters 4 & 5

2009-09-15T10:14:00.026-05:00

Wizard rock of the week: “Ascendio” by the Ministry of Magic (just a warning: this song is so beautiful you might cry. Or maybe that’s just me).

Happy Tuesday! It’s time for your weekly re-read fix, but first, we interrupt this message for a public service announcement: the theme park opening confirmed for Spring 2010!!!! Much more info, pictures, and videos at Leaky and on Leaky’s twitter.

::happy dance::

::squeals of delight::

::deep breaths::

Now back to your regularly scheduled re-read. This post covers Sorcerer’s Stone chapters four and five. It's a looooooong post, too, because there's a lot of information/exposition/discovery contained therein, which makes the chapters hard to recap succinctly. And we’re off:

Chapter Four: The Keeper of the Keys

What Happens:

It’s just after midnight when Hagrid busts down the hut’s door. Vernon tries to bluster and intimidate him, but the “giant of a man” brushes him aside to greet Harry, wish him a happy birthday, light the fire, and make tea. Harry politely asks who Hagrid is, and when the answer (“keeper of keys and ground at Hogwarts”) isn’t much help, Hagrid begins to understand: Harry has no idea about his parents’ world. Of course, this is completely the Dursleys’ fault, and Hagrid is furious at them. He gives Harry the Hogwarts acceptance letter, sends an owl to Dumbledore, and starts to tell Harry the truth. Petunia interrupts with an outburst- one of her longest speeches to date, I believe- and gives a summary of Lily’s story. For the first time, Harry learns that his parents didn’t die in a car crash.

Hagrid tells Harry everything he knows about Voldemort’s downfall and Lily and James’ deaths. Harry asks Hagrid what happened to Voldemort, and Hagrid doesn’t know; Voldemort vanished, but Hagrid speculates, “dunno if he had enough human left in him to die.” Humble as usual, Harry suggests that he can’t be a wizard… especially not since he’s been maltreated for most of his life. Hagrid chuckles and reminds Harry that sometimes things have happened to Harry when he was upset. Harry slowly begins to accept this, but Vernon refuses to finance Harry’s education. Hagrid explodes: “NEVER…INSULT…ALBUS…DUMBLEDORE…IN…FRONT…OF…ME!” And bam! Dudley has a pig’s tail!

After the Dursleys flee the room in terror, Hagrid asks Harry if he doesn’t tell anyone about his little display, because he’s technically not supposed to do magic. Expelled for some reason in his third year, he’s stayed on as gamekeeper. Harry accepts Hagrid’s coat as a blanket and falls asleep.

Commentary:

Wowzers, there’s a lot in this chapter! I’ll try to organize a bit by subject.

Harry:

…is a wizard. Harry doesn't quite believe it at first, which makes sense; we know the Dursley's don't "approve of imagination" so I can't imagine Harry heard many fairy tales growing up. He's also shy, quiet, mistreated, and humble. He's been told, over and over again, that he's ordinary, unlovable, and burdensome. Finding out that he's wanted, loved, accepted, and special-- well, that would throw me for a loop too.

...defeated the worst Dark wizard of all time when he was one year old. This is our first glimpse into his backstory outside of what we learned in Chapter One. Hagrid’s thoughts here are especially important, because they represent what the “average wizard” (i.e., not Dumbledore) thinks about Harry and his parents’ demise.

Petunia:

...has some serious family issues. Her aversion to all things magical makes more sense in light of what we learn in the Prince's Tale, but still: this woman clearly needs to see somebody. Well, maybe not, since any Muggle psychologist would classify her as looney the minute she mentioned her sister's history, but... have I missed something? I can understand her jealousy over Lily's gifts and special treatment by her parents, but is there something more? It seems like a childhood jealousy isn't quite adequate to provoke years and years of bad relations. Of course, she may just resent being saddled with Harry against her will, especially since he can do magic, something she never could.

...married a prat. Not only did the Dursleys know about Harry's world and keep it from him, Vernon's a first-rate jerk (we've known that for a while). After Hagrid tells eleven-year-old Harry how his parents were brutally murdered, Vernon's response is "load of old tosh." $#^!@!?

Hagrid:

...is awesome, and will get more and more awesome as time goes on. His coat contains more goodies than Mary Poppins' carpetbag, including a real owl (don't tell PETA), a cake, and sausage-roasting equipment.

...was expelled from Hogwarts in his third year. We're four chapters in and Jo is already laying groundwork for Tom Riddle & Horcruxes.

...does semi-illegal magic. Hagrid's been expelled, wand snapped in half, etc. He's not supposed to do magic, but clearly he does. Why doesn't the Ministry know? They seem to snoop their noses everywhere, so I find it hard to believe they don't know that Hagrid starts magical fires, gives fat Muggles pigs' tails, puts engorgement charms on his garden vegetables, etc. I don't think this is ever clarified, but why is Hagrid disallowed from doing magic at all? Just because he was expelled? He's an adult, after all, and we know that not all wizard children go through Hogwarts or graduate, but they're still able to do magic as adults (Ron & Harry are the obvious examples). Is this just part of the Ministry's anti-giant bigotry?

...is Dumbledore's man, through and through. Understandable, to be sure, since Dumbledore was so good to Hagrid after his expulsion, not to mention that Dumbledore is just freaking awesome.

Other Things of Note:

The first intentional magic Harry ever witnesses is Hagrid lighting a fire. It might just be coincidence, but Tom Riddle's first experience with intentionally demonstrated magic also involves fire. Hmm.

There's some name dropping here, both subtle and important. Hagrid lists some of the "best wizards of the age" who became Voldemort's victims: the McKinnons, the Bones, and the Prewetts. I don't think we know a lot about the McKinnons except they were close friends of Lily and James, but the Bones are famous Hufflepuffs whose family includes Madam Bones from the Ministry and her niece Susan, one of Harry's classmates. Prewett is Molly Weasley's maiden name, and Hagrid is likely referring to her brothers Gideon and Fabian, both of whom were killed in the first war.

Albus Dumbledore has a rather impressive C.V. He has an Order of Merlin, First Class (I suspect it was earned for defeating Grindewald, though I have no evidence). He's a grand sorcerer, a chief warlock, and, my personal favorite, the supreme mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. I believe - again, trying to remember- that Chief Warlock is his title as head of the Wizengamot, but I haven't a clue about grand sorcerer. Ah well... hopefully it'll be in the Scottish Book.

Chapter Five: Diagon Alley

What Happens:

Harry wakes up to a tapping noise. Certain everything was just a dream, he’s elated when he sees an owl outside the window trying to deliver The Daily Prophet. The owl needs to be paid, which reminds Harry of his own poverty. Vernon certainly won’t pay for Harry to go to Hogwarts, and Harry doesn’t have any money. Just like that, his few hours of happiness vanish. Hagrid reassures him, though: the Potters left their son quite a bit of money, stored in a bank run by goblins. Hagrid needs to go to the bank too, on “Hogwarts business,” so Gringotts will be their first stop.

Outside the Hut, Hagrid and Harry board the Dursley’s rowboat and speed off toward land. The take a train and the Underground into London. On the way, Harry reads his supply list, hardly daring to believe that you really can buy wands, spellbooks, and cauldrons in London. Once there, Hagrid points out the Leaky Cauldron, a grubby pub invisible to Muggles. As Hagrid predicted, Harry is an instant celebrity. Professor Quirrell is one of the more notable names there, which will become Significant pretty soon.

Diagon Alley itself is amazing to Harry. Its dozens of unique shops are packed with people. Harry and Hagrid go to Gringotts first, where Harry withdraws some money and Hagrid picks up a “grubby little package” from vault 713 for Dumbledore. We learn a little bit about the security at Gringotts, including Griphook's vanishing finger which can open the top-security vaults.

After the bank, Harry goes to Madam Malkin’s to buy robes while Hagrid sits to rest his stomach. Here he meets his first wizarding peer, later revealed to be Draco Malfoy. Right away Harry can sense there’s something he doesn’t like about the “pale-faced boy;” Malfoy immediately radiates his pompous attitude and snobbery. This scene is also the first time we hear about the distinction between purebloods and Muggle-borns. Malfoy mentions Quidditch, but Harry's never heard of it. Hagrid deems the game too complicated to explain. Harry and Hagrid head off to the magical creature store where Hagrid buys a beautiful owl for Harry.

Finally they head to Ollivanders to buy a wand. Harry is a little creeped out by Ollivander, who seems to be both afraid and in awe of Voldemort’s power. Voldemort’s wand also came from this shop. As the tape measure measures Harry, Ollivander explains the different materials used for wand cores, and a key piece of wandlore emerges: you will never get quite as good results from someone else’s wand, because the wand chooses the wizard. Ollivander proffers Harry many wands, but none of them are “right” until-

“…holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple…”

Ollivander finds the wand’s selection “curious:” the core of Harry’s wand contains a feather from the same phoenix as only one other: the thirteen inch yew wand belonging to Lord Voldemort. As Ollivander says, “I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things – terrible, yes, but great.”

Harry and Hagrid leave Diagon Alley and walk back through London. While they’re eating dinner, Harry confides in Hagrid:

“’Everyone thinks I’m special,’ he said at last. ‘All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander… but I don’t know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I’m famous and I can’t even remember what I’m famous for.’”

Hagrid assures Harry he’ll be alright. He gives Harry his train ticket for Hogwarts and seems to vanish from the train station.

Commentary:

There's so much in here I hardly know where to begin.

Harry notes early on that he “can’t help but trust” Hagrid, even though he’s only know him for a few hours. This, perhaps, is an instance of Harry’s good instincts and ability to read people. We’ll see more of this soon.

Do wizards really only have one bank? Or does Hagrid mean British wizards only have one bank? Probably the latter, I think. Still – no local branch locations? I guess if you can Apparate/use Floo Powder local branches or ATMs aren’t really necessary, but it seems odd to my Muggle mind.

Much of this chapter is a who’s who parade of important people, including:

Quirrell does such a good job passing himself off as a joke that I was completely shocked by his Big Reveal at the end. He even fools Dumbledore, which takes quite a bit of skill and trickery, and holds his own against Snape’s threats. He’s the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher about whom we know the least. I’m curious about his House; I don’t think we even find out about own school days. Stereotypically he should have been a Slytherin, but we know that not all Slytherins are evil and that members of other Houses can be tempted by Voldemort, too.

Hi Griphook! In yet another instance of opposite-end book parallels, this strange little goblin will be crucial in Deathly Hallows. It's worth noting, too, that the ability of a goblin to open a vault (with the disappearing finger trick) isn't an inherent ability of all goblins, but rather only those employed by Gringotts. .

Did someone say Draco Malfoy? Here we meet the most infamous of Harry’s contemporaries. I find it interesting that Harry meets Malfoy before he meets Ron or Hermione, but perhaps this hints at Malfoy’s later importance; remember that Harry’s brief tussle with Malfoy at the Manor in Deathly Hallows was one of the key reasons Harry could defeat Voldemort in the end. Harry and Malfoy are such clear foils; in only a few pages we know Harry is humble and Malfoy is arrogant; Harry is hesitant about his new life while Malfoy is seething with confidence; the list goes on.

Finally, I'll go out on a limb and argue that what Harry learns about wands in this chapter is the most important bit of information of all. Notice, too, that Griphook and Ollivander are both introduced close together, setting the stage for Harry's "hallows or horcruxes?" conundrum in DH. Looking back, I don't know whether Jo planned all these opposite book parallels or if they just happened that way; what do you think? Why do you think Harry and Voldemort’s wands are brothers? Is it because Harry’s head is a Horcrux, or is it the Prophecy/Destiny? Or even just mere coincidence?

Whew! Sorry for such a long recap! Have a fantastic week and come back next week for our journey from Platform 9¾!

Sorcerer's Stone: Chapters 2 & 3

2009-09-08T21:08:00.000-05:00

Wizard rock of the week: "I Am A Wizard" by Harry and the Potters

Hi again! Sorry this post is late- it's been a busy week! But it's Tuesday, so let's continue our journey with Harry. This post will cover chapters two and three, "The Vanishing Glass" and "The Letters from No One."

Remember: spoilers abound. If you haven't read, don't read.

Chapter Two: The Vanishing Glass

What Happens:

Ten years after we last saw him, life is rough for our hero. Harry doesn't remember his parents, lives in the cupboard under the stairs, is emotionally abused by the Dursleys, picked on at school, and is often Dudley's favorite punching bag. But Dudley's birthday is a good day for Harry... almost.

Mrs Figg, the "mad old lady" who lives two streets away, can't babysit Harry while the Dursleys go out, so he accompanies Vernon, Petunia, Dudley, and Piers Polkiss to the zoo. Vernon warns Harry he doesn't want any "funny business," but strange things do happen around Harry. He remembers his hair growing back overnight, a sweater shrinking, and finding himself on a roof. Strangers often seem to recognize him, too, but he never gets the chance to talk with them. However, Harry is certain that nothing bizarre will happen on this special trip. He obviously hasn't heard about not tempting the wrath from high atop the thing.

Harry gets a rare dessert at lunch, successfully avoids being punched by Dudley, and has a lovely time until the Dursleys arrive at the zoo's Reptile House. Dudley immediately dismisses the boa constrictor as "boring," but Harry sympathizes with the snake's existance. He notices that the snake is looking at him as though it can understand him. They have a conversation about Brazil, and Dudley notices the snake's animated behavior. He knocks Harry out of the way to get a better look, but the glass vanishes and the snake slithers out of the reptile house. Piers hints that Harry might have had something to do with this, and Vernon is so furious he banishes Harry to the cupboard without dinner.

Commentary:

As we'll see, there are myriad similarities between Harry and Tom Riddle. As captured creepily well by the tiny Fiennes child in HBP, Tom tells Dumbledore "...[snakes] find me; they whisper things.." Notice that Harry didn't start talking to the snake until he felt a connection with it; it was the snake itself who initiated their conversation.

Note, too, that Harry's magic manifests itself when he's scared or angry. This seems to be pretty normal, but I'm curious, then, about the differences between himself and Lily. As we learn in Snape's memories (in DH), Lily had a rough control over her magic before her Hogwarts letter arrived: flying off the swing set, making the flowers move. She, like Harry, had no idea where the abilities came from, but she was able to use them in (sort of) intentional ways. Harry, however, can't control his magic yet; rather, he just accepts that strange things happen to him. Every child is different, but maybe this is result of the homes in which they were raised? Lily and Petunia, so far as we know, had loving, supportive parents. Harry's growing up has been pretty grim, and he's shy because of his horrible relatives. Could this have affected his abilities? Then again, Tom Riddle grew up in a grim environment too, and he know he had extensive control over his powers at a very early age.

Oh, and also... Dudley received thirty-nine birthday presents? Are you freaking kidding me? [a rant about materialistic consumerist culture has been excluded for time]

Chapter Three: The Letters from No One

What Happens:

School is out and Harry's looking forward to September when he and Dudley will finally be at different schools (Smeltings for Dudley, Stonewall for Harry). A few weeks before term begins, Harry gets the mail and notices it contains a fancy letter addressed to him. Vernon, of course, snatches it away before Harry can open it. The Dursleys have a third-degree wig out, destroying the letter, turning funny colors, and acting uncharacteristically nice to Harry. He moves into the small bedroom over Dudley's protests.

The Dursleys seem to hope that ignoring the letters will make them go away, but over the next few days they receive letters in the mail, pushed in the door, hidden in the dairy delivery, and finally flying out of the fireplace. Vernon declares they're leaving, but it doesn't do much good, since "only about an 'undred" of them show up at their hotel the next morning. Trying a last resort, they row out to a dilapidated hut in the middle of the sea. Harry rings in his eleventh birthday shivering under a ragged blanket on the floor of the shack... until he hears Something knocking outside!

Commentary:

I've always been curious about the logistics of the new student letters from Hogwarts. If I remember correctly, Jo once said that a special quill in the headmasters' office records the birth of wizard children and then generates acceptance letters to those students when they're old enough. I don't think we ever saw such a quill, but if Jo said it that's good enough for me. Snape mentions to Lily (when they're little) that someone will come from the school to explain things to her parents, but this doesn't happen with the Dursleys (until Hagrid). I'm also fairly convinced that the numerous ways the letters arrive is one of Dumbledore's funnier jabs at the Dursleys and their bigoted tendencies.

Do you think Hagrid (or McGonagall, or Dumbledore) would have come to Privet Drive rather than the Hut-on-the-Rock if the Dursleys had stayed home? Or if no response came, would they have assumed (as Vernon hoped) that Harry wasn't interested in Hogwarts? How much does the Ministry know about the Hogwarts letter deliveries to Muggles? Lily and Snape theorize that wizards work in the post office, too, but doesn't delivering letters in someone's egg cartons violate the Statue of Secrecy in some way?

...whew, it's just barely still Tuesday. Next week we get to go to the Leaky Cauldron. I can't wait!