30 Day Harry Potter Challenge 3

Hey y'all! I've got another One Day Tumblr Challenge for you. I know I've done Harry Potter challenges in the past, but this one asked a lot of questions that I haven't seen in other challenges, and they were really cool and more in-depth and I just couldn't help myself. If you'd like to see the other Harry Potter challenges I've done, you can click the links below:

30 Day Harry Potter Challenge

30 Day Harry Potter Challenge 2

Before I get started, I'd just like to issue one of these:

These questions ask about some spoilery things, so if you haven't read the books or seen the movies, 

A) WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS?! and 

B) Don't read any more of this. Just go pick up a Harry Potter book and read it.

Now, let's get right into the questions!

01. Top 3 favorite characters & why

3- Ron Weasley

Ron is just such an awesome and loyal friend to Harry. Honestly, where would Harry be if he didn't have Ron by his side constantly? I love Ron.

2- Hermione Granger

I've always really identified with Hermione, and I've always loved her. She was my favorite character for quite a while, but eventually got overtaken. She's so talented and intelligent and hard-working, and is such a great example for how epic girls can be. 

1- Fred and George Weasley

Let's be honest here, these two are my favorite literary characters ever. Sure, they're the funny ones, and their funny moments are some of my favorite moments in the entire series, but they're so much more than just the comic relief. Fred and George are constantly loyal to Harry- sometimes more than his own best friends. They're always the first characters to support Harry and stand up against anyone who doubts him. And we can't forget that absolutely epic exit from Hogwarts in OOTP. Plus, they're incredibly talented wizards and they started their own business when they were 16/17. There's just no way to trump these two.

02. Did it take a while before you got into the series, or did you immediately fall in love?

It took me a while to actually begin reading them, but once I started reading them, I was hooked. I wasn't allowed to read them when I was younger because some people at church told my parents that there was devil worship in the books. (Thanks, liars!) If I'd been allowed to, I probably would have started reading them when I was like 8. But I actually ended up starting them in fifth grade and I sped through the first 5 (the only ones that were out) and waited impatiently for book 6. 

03. Favorite villain & why

OK, I have two answers for this one. In terms of "the villain I loved to hate," definitely this one:

I mean, everyone hates Umbridge. Most people even wanted her to die more than they wanted Voldemort to die. I was really mad when she didn't die. She was just such a terrible person for seemingly no reason, and she was packaged in this tiny, pink-covered, cat-obsessed package. It's the creepiest form of evil, if you ask me. Plus, she gave us countless entertaining scenes and moments when you just want to smack her.

As far as the villain I like like the most/ find most interesting, definitely:

Yes, it's very cliche to say that Voldemort is my favorite villain, but he's the entire reason that I love book 6. He has such an interesting and complicated back story and it explains so much about him and why he can't love. It's just so intricate and interesting and it actually helps to understand him, and I really appreciate that.

04. I know you love them all, but list all of the books in order from favorite to least favorite:

I actually already did a ranking of the books, so I won't give an explanation of my rankings, but I will leave the link to that post here if you want to check it out. 

7- Chamber of Secrets
6- Sorcerer's Stone
 5- Order of the Phoenix
4- Goblet of Fire
3- Prisoner of Azkaban
2- Deathly Hallows
1- Half-Blood Prince

05. Which one of the deaths did you have the hardest time with

Just seeing this is making me cry. Fred's my favorite character and I still haven't accepted/dealt with his death. I refuse. No. 

06. One of your favorite quotes

“You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid-we know we're called Gred and Forge.”
(Sorcerer's Stone)

07. Favorite movie

Ooh, this one is actually really tough, because I haven't perfected my movie rankings like I have with my book rankings. Maybe this one?

08. Anything you’d change in the epilogue

Honestly, I would have made it significantly longer. What's going on in everyone else's lives almost 20 years later? I care about way more than just Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. What about George? Neville is only mentioned in passing. What about Molly and Arthur? How are they? Luna? 

09. What would be your favorite class at Hogwarts

I've always thought that Potions would be a super cool class. I know Snape is a bit of a jerk to students, but Maybe once Slughorn took over, it'd be fun. I just always thought it would be cool to mix things together. I was always concocting drinks as a kid.

10. The cloak, the wand, or the stone

This depends on the scenario. If we're assuming that I'm a witch in the wizarding world and I was presented with this choice, I'd choose the invisibility cloak, no question. However, if I was presented that choice just as a normal human being as I am now, I'd choose the wand so that I could do magic. 

11. Is there a character you didn’t like in the books, but loved in the movies or vice-versa?

Well, I don't think there were any characters where my opinions were that different. If I liked them in the books, I was likely to also like them in the movie. However, one slightly-annoying character became even more annoying in the movies...

12. Least favorite character

I mean... it's pretty much the same thing. Ginny is probably my least favorite. Almost her entire purpose is to marry Harry and have his babies.

13. Favorite location from the movies?

I mean, Hogwarts is actually the coolest place ever. I'd love to go to school there and live there and then eventually be a professor there. Yes please!

14. If you could work at any place in Hogsmeade which would it be?

Hmmm... either Honeyduke's or Zonko's. I'd probably have to say Zonko's, just because it's a joke shop and that makes it super cool. So Zonko's!

15. Top 3 favorite scenes from the series

You're kidding, right? I have to pick 3 scenes from an entire 7 book, 8 movie, who-knows-how-many-hours series? Yeah right. Nice try.

16. If you could ask your favorite character one thing what would it be?

I don't even know... Maybe what it's like to own a business at such a young age? Or what it's like to be a twin?

17. What would your Patronus be?

I'm not sure this would definitely be my patronus, but I'd like to believe that it would be. I love horses, and I really love that they symbolize independence (among other things).

18. What book have you read the most?

Definitely Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. At this point, reading it is just pure nostalgia. It's the only book I've ever been able to get at a midnight release, and it was also the first that I got the day it came out. I fell completely in love with it. I've read the other books a lot too, but they don't compare to this one.

19. If you had to date a character who would it be?

I mean, it's not like you'd have to twist my arm to get me to date Fred Weasley. I'd jump at the chance to date him! If only my favorite fictional characters were real...

20. What would a boggart turn into in front of you?

I'm actually very uncomfortable with the fact that I can see this picture right now as I type. I hated searching for it, I hated saving it, and I hate that it's looking at me. I'm terrified of ostriches. TERRIFIED. And emus, but let's not get into that. I'm also afraid of all other types of birds, as well as spiders and clowns. But above all, ostriches. And then emus. And then like peacocks and turkeys and chickens. Those 5 are the scariest birds. That's why I eat so much chicken... to kill as many of them as possible.

21. Favorite magical creature

This one is a toughie... because I don't want to consider house elves, ghosts, or centaurs as creatures because they're intelligent beings, but at the same time, hippogriffs freak me out because of the whole scared of birds thing, and I don't really care for thestrals. And obviously I don't like owls... I guess I find boggarts really interesting... OK, that's what I'm going with- boggarts. I'd hate to come across one, because it would turn into an ostrich, but I think they're really interesting.

22. Have you ever been to a midnight showing of a movie?

Yes! I was planning on going to the midnight showing of Half-Blood Prince, but I ended up going to visit my grandparents that week, and I wasn't old enough to drive (well, I had a permit, but w/e) and neither of my grandparents would have stayed awake that late, so I didn't get to go until the next day. HOWEVER, I did get to go see Deathly Hallows part 1 & 2 at midnight, which was really cool. For part 2, our movie theater did a really cool double-feature where they played pt. 1 at like 10ish and then at midnight, they played pt. 2. So fun.

Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 Premiere!

23. Favorite Dursley

That scene where he's actually nice to Harry makes me tear up every time. It's not like Dudley turns into an incredibly nice person, but for once, he actually accepts Harry, and none of his other relatives ever really did that. Not even Petunia, who was clearly working under orders from Dumbledore.

24. Who is your favorite professor at Hogwarts

Ugh I'm so torn about this one, because on one hand I want to say:

But on the other hand, I also love:

They're both so incredible. McGonagall is so sassy and such a great professor and constantly there for Harry, but on the other hand, Lupin is also the best DADA prof. ever, and becomes a kind of father figure in Harry's life. I just love both of them. Don't make me choose!

25. Which character do you think they did the best job casting for the movies

All other arguments are invalid. 

26. Does it bother you that the movies differ from the books

Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no. Do I wish that the movies were exactly like the books and that nothing was left out? YES. But I can also understand some of the changes made. Obviously, they had to cut down Order of the Phoenix because it's a HUGE book. But I didn't agree with some of the stuff they cut out. A lot of the amazing parts in OOTP are when the professors are absolute jerks to Umbridge and we only got a very tiny snippet of that. Also, 90% of the Weasley twins' humor was cut out of the movies. So in general, yes, it bothers me when the movies differ from the books, but only when I think the change isn't justified. 

27. What movie have you watched the most

I'm not positive on this one, but I just have to assume it's POA because it's my favorite.

28. Have you ever been to the WWoHP, if not do you plan on it?

YEP. Sr. year of high school, spring break. Best day of my life. I'm also going again next June!

29. What would be the first thing you’d buy at the Twins’ joke shop?

EVERYTHING. ALL THE THINGS.

30. 5 parts of the Deathly Hallows movies (1&2) that you’re looking forward to the most

Well, clearly this was made before the last 2 movies came out... The one thing I remember really wanting to make it into the movie was the George "holy" joke. And hallelujah, it did!

So that's it for the 30 Day Harry Potter Challenge #3! I hope you loved it as much as I did. Third time's the charm, right?

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

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The Secret Lightning Scar- Chapter 3 [A Harry Potter FanFic]

September 1^st came surprisingly quickly, and it wasn’t long until I found myself on the Hogwarts Express, sitting in a compartment with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George, staring out the window at the English countryside the train was weaving through. Fred and George were chatting excitedly about all of the pranks they would pull upon arriving at Hogwarts, while Hermione scolded them. Ron and Harry were talking animatedly about the upcoming quidditch season and the positions that would need to be filled on the quidditch team.

“Are the twins planning on playing quidditch this year?” I wondered, hoping that the answer was no. While they were still at Hogwarts, I played as a chaser, and only ever got to play beater when they were out. I didn’t mind playing chaser, but my real love was playing beater. Competing with the twins would be difficult. They were both equally good, meaning either both of them would get the spots, or neither would.

“So are you two going to play quidditch for Gryffindor?” I asked them, pulling myself out of the daze I’d been in.

“Don’t worry, sis,” George said with a smirk that looked surprisingly sad. “We’re not allowed to play. The letter from Hogwarts said that. I’m assuming it’s because we’re far older than everyone else. Or something. So your spot is safe.” I immediately felt bad for asking, because I knew how much they enjoyed playing quidditch.

Just then, the door to our compartment slid open to reveal Malfoy, signature smirk across his face, flanked by Goyle and Zabini, both looking incredibly bored.

“Potter. Granger. Weasley.” Malfoy said as a curt greeting. “Carrie,” he continued with a warmer tone and an actual smile directed at me. Shockingly, he was being abnormally friendly toward everyone else. Normally, all everyone else got was a sneer in their general direction. I was the only one who ever received a warm greeting from him, his affection never failing to be completely obvious.

“What do you want, Malfoy? I’m not interested,” I snapped. He frowned, but my rejection didn’t seem to shake him too much. It shouldn’t have at that point. He’d continually asked me out throughout school. At this point, I was all but convinced that I was a mere challenge for him. He just wanted to win, and he was going to keep going until he did.

“I’m here to extend an olive branch, actually. Although I would still completely love to take you out if you’d give me a chance,” he said, another seemingly sincere smile crossing his face. I was speechless. Draco Malfoy, who had tormented us for years, was standing in front of us, asking for forgiveness. Sort of. It was as close to “I’m sorry” as he was probably going to get.

Unlike me, Hermione seemed to have plenty of words to say. “Oh shove off, Malfoy. You’re only saying that because Voldemort was defeated and now you’re crawling back with your tail between your legs,” she retorted.

Malfoy scowled at her. “And how would you know that, you filthy-” but he stopped himself mid-sentence, and paused before beginning to speak again. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, much more calmly.

Fred rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Malfoy,” he said. “Just get out. No one wants you here. Not 
after what happened.”

Malfoy frowned- a legitimate frown this time- and simply said, “I tried.”

He looked straight at me for a brief second, but I couldn’t exactly read the emotion in his eyes. Frustration? Sadness? Whatever it was, he was upset- but not angry. He then turned around and walked down the train’s corridor, Goyle and Zabini following.

“That was pathetic,” Ron said with a chuckle. I frowned, still confused by what had just happened.

“Did no one else think that seemed surprisingly genuine for once?” I asked. It was Hermione’s turn to roll her eyes.

“He’s just trying to get your sympathy. He realizes he was on the losing side and then has to return to school with everyone hating him. He’s the same Malfoy we know and hate,” she said. But I wasn’t so convinced.

“Hermione, he stopped himself from calling you a mudblood. When has he ever done that in the past?” I said.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually falling for this. He’s just trying to save face. Anything that’s pro-Voldemort isn’t at all OK right now,” Fred said.

“I just think he’s acting incredibly odd, that’s all,” I said. Harry, who was directly across from me, gave me a very quizzical look, as if wanting to know what was going on in my mind, and I knew he’d question me about it later when the others weren't around.

I went back to staring out the window, this time wondering what had just happened, and where the real Malfoy had gone. We arrived at Hogwarts soon enough and I soon found myself seated in one of the carriages, being pulled closer and closer to my one true home. Everyone continued chatting except for Harry and I, who simply sat and attempted to catch glances of Hogwarts through the trees. When we finally got through the woods, my heart leapt with joy at the sight of Hogwarts spread out before me. I glanced over at Harry and we shared a joyous grin, knowing we were home.

Once we reached the front gates, we all hopped off the carriage and hurried to grab our luggage and haul it toward the doors of the castle. I was impressed by all the repairs that had been done in the last couple months since Voldemort’s defeat. Last time I’d been here, huge chunks of the building were strewn all over, but now the castle looked as if it had never been touched. As we walked across the courtyard, we ran into Neville, Dean, and Seamus, who were catching up on each other’s summers. We said a brief greeting to them as we continued toward the entrance hall. Once there, we dropped off our luggage and made our way through the huge doors of the Great Hall to the Gryffindor table. We took our seats and waited for the sorting ceremony to begin. The ceiling above us reflected the gorgeous sunset that could just be seen through the windows, making my return home feel all the more perfect.

The first years filed through and were sorted into their houses fairly quickly. I noticed that there was a relatively low number of Slytherins this year, and couldn’t help but wonder if that wasn’t a coincidence.

I was starving, and by the way Ron was squirming, I could tell he was famished as well, but we had one more thing standing in the way of our feast- McGonagall. Once all of the first years had been sorted, she stood and walked up to her podium.

“Welcome to another year at Hogwarts- a very unique and unprecedented year, if I do say so myself,” she said. “I’m sure you’re all at least a little confused about how this year is going to work, so I’ll briefly explain before continuing on with my other announcements. I and the Ministry of Magic have decided that the education received last year at Hogwarts was not up to par due to Lord Voldemort’s control over this school. Because of this, students will be completing the year they should have completed last term. This means that we have a doubly large class of first years. Students may, if they desire, take examinations to prove proficiency in their current year and move forward a year. We understand that this is inconvenient, but we have been left with no other choice after last year’s fiasco.”

McGonagall paused for a moment, to let her words settle, and then continued on to her announcements. “I would like to remind everyone that the Forbidden Forrest is, in fact, forbidden. I would also like to remind everyone to look at the list of banned items that they should have received, and to make sure you are not in possession of any of these items, especially those from Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes.” McGonagall paused once again to peer over her glasses at the Weasley twins, who both scowled back at her. “I would also like to introduce our new professor, Professor Hughes, who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts.” McGonagall gestured toward a pretty blonde woman seated beside Professor Sprout who appeared to be in her mid-thirties.

“Now,” McGonagall said with a smile, “let the feast begin!” As soon as the food appeared in front of us, Ron, Harry, and I were grabbing at it.

We sat there for several hours, shoveling food into our mouths, sharing summer stories, and enjoying being back at Hogwarts. After we’d sufficiently stuffed ourselves with enough food for the next month, we retrieved our luggage and hauled it upstairs to Gryffindor tower.

Hermione turned in quite early, preparing for the first day of classes by getting as much sleep as possible. Several of us hung out in the common room until only Ron, Harry, and I were left. It was nearly 1 in the morning before Ron finally left, yawning profusely.

Not two seconds after we heard the boys’ dormitory door shut, Harry turned and looked at me. “Spill the beans,” he said. At first I was completely confused.

“About what?” I asked.

“Malfoy,” he reminded me.

“Oh! Right! I dunno, I just thought he seemed like he genuinely wanted to make peace with us,” I said. “He was relatively friendly, and didn’t insult any of us the entire time he was there.”

“This might surprise you, but I actually agree,” Harry replied.

“You do?” I asked, taken aback.

“Yeah. He was certainly acting odd if nothing else,” he said.

“So you think he actually regrets the side he chose?” I asked. Harry shrugged.

“I don't think he really chose. He had it pushed upon him. His father messed up, and Voldemort forced him to step up in his place,” Harry said. “He only chose the side he did because he would have been killed otherwise.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Malfoy is still definitely of the pure-blood mindset,” I replied, still skeptical. Harry vehemently shook his head.

“You should have seen him the night Dumbledore died. Dumbledore offered him protection from Voldemort and told him he had options. Malfoy was lowering his wand. He didn’t want to do it. He may be a stuck-up git, but I’m not sure I’d ever define him as evil,” Harry said. I let the words sink in. Maybe Harry was right. Maybe Malfoy wasn’t quite as sinister as he seemed.

“I guess only time will tell,” I said. “Maybe he’ll leave us alone now.”

“Maybe. But right now, we should probably get to sleep. We have class early in the morning,” Harry said.

We said goodnight and headed up to our dorms. I curled up into bed, excited to start the new term in the morning, thoughts of classes, food, and Malfoy’s oddities filling my head. This was already turning out to be an interesting term.

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I hope y'all enjoyed chapter 3 of The Secret Lightning Scar! Chapter 4 is coming on Saturday, March 1st! Sorry this one was a bit short. The next one will make up for it, I promise!

Hope y'all are excited for the next section, because I'm excited for y'all to read it! See you back here soon!

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