There's been some general Harry Potter discussion around in a couple of threads lately, so I thought we might be able to really expand upon topics here and let loose!
Discuss and and all HP JKR anythings and everythings.
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There's been some general Harry Potter discussion around in a couple of threads lately, so I thought we might be able to really expand upon topics here and let loose!
Discuss and and all HP JKR anythings and everythings.
watch this thread get like five posts now
Well now that you've jinxed it, ass. :colbert:
you did that when you wouldn't let me take the job of dada teacher
Luna Lovegood is awesome no matter what Sharty says.
What a surprise, someone twisted my words and turned me into a Luna hater even after I said she was great. :roll2
You're the one who said I was nuts for thinking she's the best despite not realizing I've never read the books, thereby making my statement regarding the movies objectively correct.
Check.
And.
Mate.
That logic makes the least amount of sense ever. Not reading the books has nothing to do with it.
I like Luna very much. I do not think she is the best character in the series.
Hence why you are wrong oh short one. :p
I've been tempted to re-read these books again, but it won't be the same without my Harry Potter chum from the UK. We used to waste our biology and physics lessons at school at the back of the classroom just talking about Potter stuff. It was great. We would have wasted chemisty too, but our teacher was a psycho and sat us at the front of the class with the nerds. In fact, we were sat with our class equivalent of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Something that amused us to no end.
The character I identify most with in Harry Potter is probably Hermione, I do love Luna but she's a tad too battrout for me, and when I was a schooly I was a proper book-nerd and had the same wild tresses. I also love house-elves and I'd totes fight for their rights, yo. I'd also most definitely punch Draco Malfoy in his greasy little wet fart face.
I've considered rereading the books lately just so I could have more to say when Jinx or you inevitably started this thread, haha.
I have to say that it has always bothered me how the Slytherin House is treated in the books. It's no wonder that a lot of the Slytherin house seemed to grow up to join the Death Eaters and the like when everyone seems to treat the students in that house as delinquents.
You should! Everyone do a mass re-read!
I'll have to find my books, haha. They are probably scattered in boxes right now.
loved the series to death, then Sirius Black died by Bellatrix.
Then stopped reading. I quickly flipped through the 6th and 7th book though, only to get more heartbroken. ;A;
But when Sirius died, so did my huge love of the series. I hate the novel version of Bellatrix, but the movie version of Bellatrix is just too awesome, crazy and well done to despise.
Loved the 4th book the most <3
I have also started my re-read of the Potter series. I was going to read the second GoT book, but instead I started reading The Philosopher's Stone. IT IS ON. :love:
Way ahead of you, partner.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shorty
Halfway through book six at the minute. I'm already excited to start The Deathly Hallows. The seventh book is the best one by a long way.
"The genital herpes had not pained Harry for nineteen years, All was well."
Finished HBP this morning! I'll probably start Deathly Hallows this evening. I need a little bit of an HP break.
Also, I like to think that me and my incessant Facebook posts are the inspiration for this mass re-read. :3:
I'm nearly halfway through Deathly Hallows for the first time!
I'm surprised how far I am into the book with the events that have transpired. Perhaps it was the two installments of the Deathly Hallows movies that is making me feel like the book should be much longer and that I should only be a quarter of the way into it by now.
I am enjoying it! Prisoner of Azkaban has been my favorite all these years, but I think Half-Blood Prince might have stolen the spot now and I'm eager to see how Deathly Hallows will fare.
e; and who was it who inspired you to reread the series :shobon:
I was inspired to read the series because Rob and I talked about how he'd only ever seen the first two movies, and so we watched them together. ;)
AND YES HALF-BLOOD PRINCE IS BEST
I'm honestly not a huge fan of Deathly Hallows. I love it until they've been to the Ministry; after that, it really goes downhill for me. I hate, hate, hate the introduction of the Deathly Hallows so late in the series. Hate. It's like, "Oh hey, we already have like a million Horcruxes to find and destroy, now it's just more trout to collect."
interesting that it happened the very next day after our lengthy discussion about HP when you and rob tried to thrash me for my rating of OotP on Facebook :shobon:
MY POINT STILL STANDS THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT MORE BECAUSE I'VE BEEN SUPER ANNOYING ON FACEBOOK ABOUT IT OKAY
If I reread it, it will be in part due to your posts on facebook, haha. They reminded me how much I kind of miss the long discussions I had with a couple of my friends about theories on how the series would end and how I interpreted some of the events in the books.
I do find that as I get further in the series, I have less comments to make.
We should do a mass summer rewatch HP month. Around the Ciddies because the forums are most fun during that time of the year.
I have been meaning to reread the series for a long time, and I will admit that your Facebook posts did inspire me to get to it faster. Although, playing the LEGO HP games, and the fact that I frequently chat with my manager about Harry Potter and the Studio Tour also had a large impact on this. :3
I am 4 chapters in to PS. Because I read slowly, apparently. I will need to get Matt to read too, he read a whole chapter when we were in London. xD
OH MY GOD I WANT TO PLAY LEGO HARRY POTTER AND CURSE MY FELLOW CLASSMATES AND WATCH THEM EXPLODE INTO LITTLE LEGO BITS
Honestly, running around in Lego HP as Bellatrix spamming Avada Kedavra indiscriminately is the most fun a girl can have without taking off her clothes.
I think the last book was perfectly written. The Deathly Hallows were a great addition, I thought. They were what Voldemort chose in order to gain complete power for himself. Harry had the choice to pursue those or the horcruxes and went for the latter. The horcruxes themselves were only addressed halfway through book six.
The chapter The Prince's Tale is the best chapter in the whole series.
I disagree with that, but that's just my opinion. I'm not a Snape fan.
And while I guess you could say Harry's cloak as an exception, the Horcruxes are actually mentioned from book two...just not by name. Even still. Rather by name in book six (and really allusions to Horcruxes are made throughout the entire book), than the very last book. Introducing the catalyst for the final quest in the penultimate book was fine. Introducing a whole new thing in the last book was something I didn't care for.
I know. That's why I said they were only "addressed" in the sixth book. I actually really like the way it referred back to the previous books. I thought the fact they found the locket whilst cleaning Grimmauld Place and had no idea what it was... was brilliant.
You could argue that considering one of the deathly hallows was introduced in book one... they've been a part of the books longer than the horcruxes have :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Jinx
I liked Deathly Hallows a lot, but I thought it was one of the weaker books. I'm good at just escaping into a world that I don't really think about those issues while I'm reading though.
Don't forget the diadem in the sixth book as well! Just mentioned briefly in one sentence. I loved both of those things. :) And yeah, right after reading the sixth book I was like, "HARRY YOU GOON THE LOCKET IS IN GRIMMAULD PLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE"
I mean, don't get me wrong. I still enjoy Deathly Hallows. I just don't love it. But I do think there are some really exceptional parts of it, and the ending of the wedding chapter has to be probably my number one HP moment in the entire series. I think the first third of the book is brilliant, and I enjoy the Battle of Hogwarts. It's just the in between bits I don't care for (and the anti-climax and shoddy epilogue).
Mugglenet have a podcast in which they read a chapter a week and encourage a more thorough look into all the bits and pieces of the books. They're just about done Goblet of Fire. It's an interesting listen, and certainly they have highlighted things I never thought of.
Just in case anyone else is interested in that sort of thing. :3
I have always and will always love Snape. Especially Alan Rickman's portrayal of him. Wonderfully brilliant. I sobbed my stupid smurfing eyes out during Deathly Hallows Part II.
Ha, yeah that was brilliant!Quote:
Originally Posted by Jinx
I understand what you mean. When they were apparating around aimlessly for a while it did get a little dull. But that was interspersed with them infiltrating the ministry and then later Gringotts which was just awesome.
This is one of those things I still geek out about and always will. Sometimes you find a special fandom and marry it for life. I'll still be talking about this trout when I'm 50 as if it just came out yesterday.
I have read all the books multiple times because my brain can't be filled with useful trout. I need to make sure only pop culture is in there. It's weird for me reading them now, because I want to imagine kids attached to their phones and ipods when Harry Potter was born in 1980 and the books are in the 90's. The decade of glorious pop music and hair.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jinx
Not even Movie ! Snape ??
You ought to be careful. People will think you’re…
[sees Harry staring at him]
Professor Severus Snape: “Up to something.”
I love Snape as a character - very well written and all that jazz. I also shed some tears at his backstory, because it was pretty heartbreak.
But like, he is a complete dick at all times for no real reason - and no that heartbreak past doesn't excuse all the horrible things he does. So I don't particularly like him very much.
Shauna and I have had this discussion on Facebook, and she sums up how I feel. I don't like Snape BECAUSE of how well he was written...in such a way that was intended to make you hate him, and so believably you just want to punch him in the face. Still, he's not a favorite of mine. While I can admit he's a wonderfully-written character, I don't enjoy scenes he's in.
And maybee, I like movie Snape much more. I think it's because movie Snape is much more stoic, where as book Snape was angry and cruel (at least more often than in the movies). Also, movie Snape is made to be pretty damn comical (the running gag of hitting Ron and Harry with books, for example)...and yeah, I'll echo Cobb that DHpII had me bawling. I prefer that scene in the movie to the book, because in the movie his memory comes from his tear from looking into Harry's eyes...and I just think that's really beautiful.
I prefer Book Snape because of the extreme duality of his character. He is at once one of the most level-headed and logical people around and yet he has a heaping helping of resentment and bitterness that can make him fly off the handle. That's why he is believable to me. The cold, austere exterior masks a very damaged person which you can see in stuff like the end of Book 3 when he loses it thanks to Sirius not getting the Dementors Kiss.
And since Sirius tried to have him MAULED TO DEATH, I don't blame him.
And the same for the end of Half-Blood Prince. He's supposed to be beside himself. "DON'T CALL ME A COWARD!!!" I attribute this to self-loathing on his part as he's being called a coward by James' son. James who, while he died pathetically, at least tried to fight and protect Lily, while Snape was safe and hidden.
But the movie he's just kinda mumbling and the scene loses all its power.
I also love Snape for his anti-Harry Potter beliefs.
"Of course, it became apparent to me very quickly that he had no extraordinary talent at all. He has fought his way out of a number of tight corners by a simple combination of sheer luck and more talented friends. He is mediocre to the last degree..."
This is so true it's like Snape was hanging a lampshade. harry gets so many breaks when he does not deserve them.
FIRST YEARS CAN'T FLY BROOMS!
Harry does.
WAY TO GO HARRY! WE MAKE AN EXCEPTION FOR YOU!
There's a time limit in the Second Task.
Harry is a moron and doesn't make it in time.
WE AWARD YOU A TON OF POINTS ANYWAY!
Snape was right all along - Harry sucks and is intensely full of himself because the entire universe bends over backwards for him.
I hate the Harry Potter movies in general though. The books are infinitely better.
Ron and hermione are literally the only couple in the series that had any development apart from Hrry and Cho. People need to stop complaining about it since it was obvious since Book 4. It's the only vaguely decent romance Rowling gave us.
I love the audiobooks of Harry Potter. I've been listening to them for over a decade now.
Professor Umbridge: "...and you were unsuccessful?"
Professor Snape: "Obbb-vi-ous-ly"
I like how House Points escalated to ridiculous levels. At the start you got one good point for doing a good thing, and lost one for being an idiot. Then it became five, then ten, and then next thing you know FIFTY POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR. Someone put a smurfing lid on this points arms race.
Teaching kids about inflation, I guess.
Weird how saving the world and being out of bed after hours are worth the same amount of housepointsQuote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
Quote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
Dumbledore : Slytherin is winning ?
Dumbledore :
Dumbledore : 899, 9999 pts to Gryffindor, for being my favorite house. Not biased or anything.
I refer to this scene every time I play mario party when the bonus stars are handed outQuote:
Originally Posted by maybeeQuote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
Dumbledore : Slytherin is winning ?
Dumbledore :
Dumbledore : 899, 9999 pts to Gryffindor, for being my favorite house. Not biased or anything.
I thought this scene was very out of character for Snape when I re-read it but years after I realised it wasnt just because of the mauling thing. It was because Snape thought Sirius was the one who betrayed Lily and co to VoldemortQuote:
Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover
I imagine Snape becomes a very different character, with different motivations than we originally saw, in a second read through, knowing how he felt about Lily, etc. (Still excuses nothing)
Like how in Snape's Worst Memory we originally thought it was the worst because he was publically humiliated and all that (at least I did), but with some hindsight, we can see that really its because that was when he lost his only friend by being an absolute dick to her. :3
Quote:
Originally Posted by maybeeQuote:
Originally Posted by Psychotic
Dumbledore : Slytherin is winning ?
Dumbledore :
Dumbledore : 899, 9999 pts to Gryffindor, for being my favorite house. Not biased or anything.
It sends a bad message when you let the Voldemort Youth win.
Pretty disappointed with the Helena Ravenclaw and her mother's diadem business in the book. That was one of my favorite scenes in the movie, and I always liked that Tom has tricked it away from her and defiled it with blackmagic and that she was reluctant to trust anyone else with it. I also like that she gave him a riddle to help him find the diadem in a true Ravenclaw fashion. I also super love Kelly MacDonald.
The scene in the book felt rushed and unimportant as if she cared very little about the diadem. It was as though it was thrown in there for quirky trivia in revealing about Helena's death and the Bloody Baron. I am disappointed.
My chief complaint about Book 7 is that...Dumbledore was completely right about everything. You might remember in Book 6 he predicted the two unknown Horcruxes would be an object from one of the Founders and his pet snake.
I was absolutely certain going into the book he'd be wrong about Nagini. Like, Harry would go through a lot of effort to kill the thing and then Voldemort would laugh in his face. "You think I'd put part of my soul in my pet? GET REAL POTTER."
But nope, there were no surprises there at all. it was the crown of Ravenclaw and the damned snake and then Voldemort basically killed himself by being that retarded.
Bleh.
I loved that Snape was a good guy all along. In a way I could see it coming but not to the extent of how important he was to beating Voldemort. I also love that one of my favourite music artists of time had a 4 second cameo in The prisoner of Azkaban.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bWOfqJZuHs
I will show you my hidden horcrux...
Attachment 52442
Quote:
Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover
Not all Slytherin's are bad and Gryffindor's are not always good. Hell Peter was a Gryffindor and he was willing to let Harry's parents die, and serve Voldemort.
Tru Dat.Quote:
Originally Posted by maybeeQuote:
Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover
Not all Slytherin's are bad and Gryffindor's are not always good. Hell Peter was a Gryffindor and he was willing to let Harry's parents die, and serve Voldemort.
Also, McClaggen was a knob and he was Gryffindor. I suppose he was hardly evil though compared to Pettigrew.
Slytherin's pendant was mentioned in the Order of the Phoenix when they cleaned Sirius' house. It must be when Molly had problems casting a spell and was all like "you must think bad of me who cannot even do this ..."
What I did not really like was that Harry was pretty much invincible throughout the whole series because of his mother's love, then the dual core, then being able to come back from the edge of life and death and being the owner the Elder Wand. At least the final battle should not have been that one-sided because Harry owned Dumbledore's wand.
Even though it had the same problem I like the final movie more as it had an actual final battle that was not just one page long like "Avada Kedavra" - "Expelliarmus" - Voldemort hurt itself in confusion - Voldemort faints.
What I do like is that Dumbledore was still shown to be the total hero. I mean many people were like "Boo, he planned that for Harry and he was an ass when he was young" but he did it for the greater good, always supported Harry and still planned that Harry could survive so except not telling him there was nothing really "bad" as there was no actual problem for Harry and he was save even after sacrificing himself so he did not just want Harry to die for that and that's it. And he even felt bad about himself but Harry did nseot lo faith in Dumbledore. He is my most favourite character in the series and if you ask me he is the true hero, a man who sacrificed his own life to help Snape getting Voldemort to trust him. And to not feel totally bad about him as reader he was also given the curse so he did not have much time left anyway.
The whole house point thing was "riddiculus", even though it is meant for a total happy ending for every book, but they did not win all the time. Still it was random for the story itself.
The pendant had nothing to do with Molly having trouble against the boggart; she wasn't wearing it, they threw it away.
The house point system is in place to teach them about accountability and how your bad (or good) behavior affects your classmates. Of course, it's not really like Harry or Ron ever cared much. :p
I didn't say it was the reason I said it was the time when it was mentioned, so the cleaning part.
For the first...four or five books, Slytherin = House of Evil. That's undeniable. They are all racist, all the girls are described as being ugly, they cheat at Quidditch... They have no redeeming qualities at all.
Now, in theory, Slytherin House isn't so bad. Dumbledore said in CoS:
"Listen to me Harry. You happen to have many qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his handpicked students. His own very rare gift, Parseltongue - resourcefulness - determination - a certain disregard for rules."
And then Phineas Black's quote in HBP:
"We Slytherins are brave, yes, but not stupid. For instance, when given the choice, we will always choose to save our own necks."
Salazar Slytherin probably was suspicious of Half-Bloods and Muggleborns because at that time, being a witch was kinda dangerous. But over time his pragmatism was warped into just generic discrimination, racism and hatred.
Yes, people like to say "well the Slytherin we see in the books is post-Voldemort. A lot of the kids are sons of Death Eaters and Slytherin House probably wasn't always like that."
Okay...but since it's THAT Slytherin House we saw for six books, it's the one that matters. And it is demonstrably ugly and hated by every other house in the school.
There were a grand total of 3 good Slytherins in these books - Snape, Regulus and Slughorn.
If we're counting Snape and Regulus amongst the good Slytherins--because they turned from evil--then you've got to count all three Malfoys. In the end, they just wanted to be together and didn't care about Voldemort winning. I mean, Narcissa saved Harry's life in the forest. Even if it was only so she could eventually save Draco, it came from a place of love.
Okay, six.
Point is, that we should all realize Harry Potter grew with its fanbase. It was very whimsical and had a totally different tone for the first three, maybe four books. In Book 1 and 2, it was suited for children of Harry's age at that time (11-12). By the later books it has grown more complex and mature, just like its readers.
In the first few books, Slytherin could be the House of Evil because the setting was simply that....I don't want to say childish... It was simple there ya go. Draco Malfoy was not intended to be anything but a mustache-twirling jackass and neither was the rest of them.
I would not refer to the Malfoys' indifference as being "good Slytherins". As it happens, their choices worked out well for the non-Voldemort supporters, but it could have easily been on the other side of the coin if it would have benefited the Malfoys to remain with Voldemort. Such actions are not characterized by good; they directly boil down to neutral and self-serving without regard for others, even their supposed master.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jinx
They did not turn from evil because they were never truly evil. It made no difference to them whether the war was won or lost, because the only side they were ever on was their own.
Draco didnt turn in Harry and Co when he couldve betrayed them all to Voldemort (when Fenrir Greyback took them to Malfoy manor) and make him and his family on top in the new world order so he's not so evil but Narcissia and Lucius are still selfish and self serving to the end.
Snape and Regulus betrayed Voldemort for very little benefit to themselves, knowing what it might cost them where as Narcissia and Lucius stayed out of it because they hardly knew which horse to bet on.
I never heard of Harry Potter until the first movie came out and when I saw previews of it everywhere I thought it looked meh. I even had the chance to get an Albus Dumbledore action figure, but I didn't because I thought the whole thing was meh. Eventually mom would rent the first movie from Blockbuster and I'd sit down with my parents to watch it.
It was the greatest thing I have ever witnessed in my known existence. Never before have I been so utterly and completely wrong about something in my life. I immediately wanted to get my hands on everything Harry Potter. I read all the books that were already out at the time, bought the action figures, played the video games (why is Hermione blonde? Why are the Hufflepuff colors black and purple? Goddammit, EA!) and was in line at my local library to get Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I could not put it down I loved it so much.
Unfortunately, Half Blood Prince would be ruined for me by people online who thought it was funny to give away the ending so I lost interest and didn't come back to Half Blood Prince until a few years later and had to force myself to get to the end. By the time the seventh book came out my interest has waved entirely. The Nothing was victorious in me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.
It was terrible how Snape killed Aeris. :( I'm sorry you had it spoiled.
My best friend rescued a naked cat today and named it Voldemort.
Still a big shock even now. I thought the part where Voldemort summoned Meteor was particularly awesome though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover
Quote:
Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover
This
The first book was very Cinderella story, the movie was almost Disney-ish in a way, very bright, colorful, happy. As the books and readers developed, so did the Slytherin house. It became less black/ white, and more than just the " evil house "
More like the labeled, judged, discriminated, parents are Death Eaters, Voldemort ruined our life/ parent's life house.
BK 1/2 - Ooooooooh Slytherin is the bad house !
BK 6/7- Slytherin is not the most perfect house and it does have alot of assfaces in it, but the world isn't so black/ white. And they most likely refused to battle within the Battle Of Hogwarts, since they would be battling against their parents.
Ya know when you think about it, Sirius was really only in maybe two books total. He has a decent role in OoTP but his appearances in PoA ad GoF only really add up to one book's worth of character as far as I'm concerned.
And then he dies. We're supposed to be oh so attached to this guy we have barely spent any time with.
This is made even more laughable in the movies. I'm watching RiffTrax'S Goblet of Fire now and I had totally forgotten they took out what little presence he had in it to begin with. So now we're supposed to care about a guy who was in 1.5 books at most.
What I'm saying is that Harry has no reason to feel close to Sirius at all in the movies.
I don't really agree with this. Maybe you don't always see Sirius but he is the closest thing Harry has to a parent for nearly three books. They're always discussing him or writing to him for advice.Quote:
Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover
I thought his character development was excellent.
Agreed. Sirius is one of my all time favorite characters in Harry Potter. I love his part in 3 - 5.Quote:
Originally Posted by BubbaI don't really agree with this. Maybe you don't always see Sirius but he is the closest thing Harry has to a parent for nearly three books. They're always discussing him or writing to him for advice.Quote:
Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover
I thought his character development was excellent.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover
i cared about Sirius. ;_;
He was my favorite character, still is today, in draw with Lupin. In fact I was so upset, mad, emotional about his death, that I stopped reading HP for years. I can't handle BK 5 at all.
I'm serious for Sirius. So Sirius it hurts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ToriJAgreed. Sirius is one of my all time favorite characters in Harry Potter. I love his part in 3 - 5.Quote:
Originally Posted by BubbaI don't really agree with this. Maybe yrou don't always see Sirius but he is the closest thing Harry has to a parent for nearly three books. They're always discussing him or writing to him for advice.Quote:
Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover
I thought his character development was excellent.
:heart: