Harry Potter Series Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with another summer reading challenge post! I've been re-reading the Harry Potter series, and I've posted discussions about each of the books individually. Here are the links to all seven posts:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Now, I'm here to discuss the series as a whole, including my opinions about the entire series, my rankings of the books, rankings of the covers, and some of my favorite things in the series.

In my Cassie Clare series discussions, I talked about the overall premise of the series, and my opinions on it, but as I said in my individual posts, it's Harry Potter. If you don't know the premise of the series, then you need to stop wasting time reading this and go pick up the books and devour them. Therefore, this discussion is going to be very spoilery if you (somehow) haven't read the books or seen the movies. Also, as far as my opinion, I LOVE IT. This series was my childhood, my present, and my future. I love everything about it, and it will always be my favorite series. It's beautiful.

Ranking The Books

#7: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

I hate to say that I have a least favorite, simply because this entire series is absolutely beautiful and perfect. However, if I were to name the one book I least enjoyed reading and had the least urge to re-read, it would be Chamber of Secrets. I think this is more due to how amazing the other books are than to something being wrong with this one. I don't think there's anything specific that makes this one lower, it's just not as good as the others. 

Favorite moment: When Fred and George parade Harry down the hall, joking about him being the heir of Slytherin. Leave it to those two to be not only completely loyal, but to make you laugh while doing so. 

Rating: Overall, continuing the 10 star system, I'd give it 9.4 stars out of 10.

#6: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Yes, I understand that this was the book that started it all, and how dare I put it so far down on the list, but the plot just isn't quite as interesting or intricate as the other books. And overall, it just seemed way too short to me. We didn't get to the scene where they go after the sorcerer's stone until the last 40 pages of the book! The detail and intricacy that we get in later books just isn't there yet.  do think that the plot of COS is better and more intricate than Sorcerer's Stone. However, Sorcerer's Stone has some of my absolute favorite moments and quotes in the entire series, while Chamber of Secrets doesn't. That's why Sorcerer's Stone gets higher.

Favorite moment: Literally any time a Weasley twin says or does anything.

Rating: I'd have to give it 9.5 stars out of 10.

#5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

While #6 & #7 are fairly equal for me, Order of the Phoenix is a distinct step up in terms of how much I like it. I don't agree with the people who think the book dragged, but while the stuff in the middle was important, I didn't find it quite as exciting. Umbridge was perfectly evil, the DA was really cool, and the scene where Mr. Weasley got attacked was exciting. Everything else that takes place throughout the school year just isn't as exciting or interesting for me, and as far as ending, Voldemort-fighting sequences go, the battle at the Ministry just isn't my favorite.

Favorite moment: Probably either the Mr. Weasley/ snake bit, or when Harry and Hermione take Umbridge out into the forest. 

Rating: I'd have to go with 9.6 stars out of 10 on this one.

#4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I enjoyed this book much more on this read-through than I ever have before. In the past, books 4&5 have always been fairly even for me in terms of my favorites. But this time through, Goblet of Fire came out significantly on top. It's one of the most action-packed and fast-paced Harry Potter books by far. The Tri-Wizard Tournament keeps everything exciting and interesting. And the scene in the graveyard is one of the most important moments in the series. Overall, I really enjoy this book.

Favorite moment: I don't really know. Maybe the scene in the graveyard? I like the graveyard scene through the ending.

Rating: I'd probably have to give Goblet of Fire 9.8 stars out of 10.

#3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

While I also love the 4 books ranked lower than this one, my top 3 books are very distinct and definitely a couple steps up from the other four. Prisoner of Azkaban is where we first meet Sirius and Lupin, two of the best characters in the series (in my opinion). The last 150ish pages of this book are some of my favorite moments in the entire series. And we also get the most epic and exciting quidditch game ever in this book. And this is when we first get the Marauder's Map. I just love how much we learn and discover in this book and all of the characters we meet. 

Favorite moment: As I said, everything from the Whomping Willow onward. So perfect.

Rating: I'd have to give it 10 stars out of 10.

#2: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Over the years since its release, Deathly Hallows has gone back and forth between being my favorite and being my 2nd favorite, but I think it has found its final resting place in second place. A lot of people think that the book is a little slow in the camping scenes, but I disagree. It was still exciting. This book is just an epic conclusion to the most epic book series I've ever read. This book rips out my heart every time I read it. The battle of Hogwarts has me constantly in tears. I'm surprised I'm always able to read through it due to all the tears. This book is just... perfect.

Favorite moment: The Prince's Tale. We learn all of the secrets and it's great.

Rating: It was a clear 10 stars out of 10. So, so amazing.

#1: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

This book became my favorite Harry Potter book upon my first read at its release. For quite a while after the release of book 7, this remained my favorite before they eventually started flip-flopping back and forth. I've read this one more times than any of the other books, and actually had to repair it because some of the binding was coming apart. Reading the first 3 chapters feels like going home. It's so familiar and comfortable and I absolutely love it. I think that the pensive scenes are some of the most intriguing and interesting of the entire series. I just really, really love this book. A lot. 

Favorite moment: As I said, any moments with the pensive. So great.

Rating: It was a clear 10 stars out of 10. This book is perfect.

Ranking The Covers

#7) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

I've never really liked this cover. I'm not quite sure why... I dunno, this one just is my least favorite. I feel like I'm hating on Chamber of Secrets a lot since I put it last on both lists, but it really is my least favorite in both categories. And when I think of Chamber of Secrets, I picture the movie cover, which is a sure sign I don't like the cover. Sorry, COS!

#6) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I've never really been that excited about the cover, mostly because of the front. I think it's just because the way Krum and Diggory are drawn aren't really how I pictured them, so I didn't really like it. The rest of the cover is really cool though! The back is interesting, and the Goblet of Fire is cool! If some elements had been moved around, this could have been higher of my list.

#5) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I really like this cover. I think that it fits the tone of the book perfectly. Dark, mysterious, monotone blue, this cover is really cool and interesting. When I think of Order of the Phoenix, I immediately think of this picture. Very cool.

#4) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

I have very mixed feelings about this cover. If this list was based on just the front of the cover, this would be at #6. I'm not a fan of the front on its own at all. However, the full panorama like this is really cool and I really love it. I kinda wish the back were the front. I love the back, with harry's patronus, Sirius, the whomping willow, and the dementor. It's just really cool. But due to my very mixed feelings, this falls right in the middle.

#3) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter covers are always very intricate, and for me this one is the most intricate. We see Harry trying to get the snitch, we see an owl, flying key, Dumbledore, Fluffy, a unicorn, Harry sneaking out of bed, it's just so intricate and such an iconic cover. It's the one that started it all!

#2) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

While most people think that the most iconic cover is Sorcerer's Stone, I think it's Deathly Hallows. When I think of Harry Potter, this is the cover I think of. It's just such a vivid cover and it stands out so much. We get the curtains that we saw in book one, and we see Harry finally facing off against Voldemort. It's so great.

#1) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I couldn't find a full cover of this with the Harry Potter lettering across it, which is sad because I love the contrast of the green and purple. Anyway, I love the front, with Harry and Dumbledore looking into the pensive, with the memories swirling around them, because that's my favorite part of the book. The back, with the dark mark and Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, is also great and just as dark as the scene that it's from. I just really love this cover. Also, I think it's the only cover that has distinct images on the front and back rather than a full picture. Despite that, though, I just love the whole thing.

Favorites/Least Favorites

I'm planning to do a more in-depth "Favorite Harry Potter Characters" post, with a ranking of ALL of the most important characters, but for now, I'll just discuss the basics.

Favorite character: I've said it before, and I'll say it until the day I die. The Weasley twins are my absolute favorite characters in anything ever.

Least favorite character: Ooh, there are so many. I'd say Umbridge, but she's a really great character because she's just so unbearably evil. I'll just go with Filch for this. A bit random, yes, but he's annoying and serves very little purpose.

Favorite ship: ROMIONE. They are my OTP of life.

Least favorite ship: Neville and whoever he ended up marrying. Was it Hannah Abbott? Either way, NUNA. NUNA. NUNA.

Favorite moment: Everything. Everything. Everything.

Least favorite moment: I don't even know. Honestly. I just can't. I love it. 

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So, there you go, that's all for my Harry Potter Discussion! What are your feelings on the series? I know you have some- everyone has feelings about Harry Potter! What are your rankings? Your favorite characters? Let me know in the comments!

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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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! So, as you can see, I've finally finished my June reading challenge... 3 days into July. But at least I got it done!

As I said in the last posts, these Harry Potter posts will be formatted differently from the May discussion posts. I won't be writing non-spoiler sections for any of the Harry Potter books, simply because it's Harry Potter. If you haven't read the books already, go read them. At this point, there's almost no excuse for not having read the books except a lack of interest... in which case you probably wouldn't be here reading my discussion! I also will not be writing a summary of each book because, again, it's Harry Potter. If you don't know what Harry Potter is about, I'd really like to know what rock you've been hiding under because it sounds like an amazing place to get away and completely shut out all knowledge of the outside world.

Anyway, on to the discussion!

So, a little background. Of all the books, I think this was the one I read the fastest the first time through. I pre-ordered the book at a bookstore in town months before its release. However, my parents decided that we would take a vacation to Washington DC in July and that the Saturday that Deathly Hallows was released would be the day we would travel back home. I was desperate to get my hands on the book anyway- we were going to be travelling and flying all day and I felt it would be a day wasted if it wasn't spent reading this book I'd been impatiently waiting for. So, first thing in the morning, when we reached the airport, I found the closest store that sold books and bought it full price and spent the whole day reading it. I wasn't done by the end of the day and ended up finishing it the following day. My parents dragged me to the mall with them and I continued reading the whole time. I got to the scene where Fred is killed and actually started bawling in the middle of the mall. That's still my exact reaction every single time I read that scene and watch the movie.

The battle at Hogwarts through the end of the book is probably the best section of the entire Harry Potter series. I found myself constantly tearing up because of everything going on. The Prince's Tale is probably my favorite chapter in the book, and every time I read it, it's through blurry tear-filled eyes because Snape's story is just so heartbreaking. I also distinctly remember that when I finally got to the bits where Dumbledore's master plan was explained, my mouth dropped open. I was shocked but at the same time, it made perfect sense. 

I like that Deathly Hallows was a departure from the typical Harry Potter book formula. Typically, something exciting happens in the summer, Harry goes to Hogwarts, secrets begin to unravel/odd things begin to happen, and at the end of the year, Harry has to face Voldemort or some other villain. Formulaic? Yes. But it's still great. And it makes it even more exciting when the seventh book is very different. Yes, the big battle is still at the end, but that is how books work. The rest of the book is action-packed and unpredictable. 

A lot of people complain that the camping was boring and dragged, but I disagree completely. Yes, they camped for quite a while, but SO much more went on. Ron left, they got attacked by Nagini, Xenophilius Lovegood betrays them, they get taken by the snatchers, they get the sword... the list goes on and on. How is that boring? How is that dragging? I remember that after reading the series for the first time, I had no idea how they were going to pack all of the book into one movie. I tried to figure out what could be eliminated to cut down on time, but I simply couldn't think of anything specific. That's why I was so glad they made it into two movies. That way, they could flesh everything out and make it incredible.

I don't even know what else to specifically say about this book because it's all just so individually perfect and all of the elements come together to create a truly amazing book. 

So, let's talk rating. Overall, easy 5/5 stars. So great.

Favorite Quotes

Page 49: "Well, none of us really fancy it, Harry," said Fred earnestly. "Imagine if something went wrong and we were stuck as specky, scrawny gits forever."
Harry did not smile. 
"You can't do it if I don't cooperate, you need me to give you some hair."
"Well, that's that plan scuppered," said George. "Obviously there's no chance at all of us getting a bit of your hair unless you cooperate."
"Yeah, thirteen of us against one bloke who's not allowed to use magic; we're got no chance," said Fred.

Page 51: Fred and George turned to each other and said together,"Wow-we're identical!"
"I dunno though, I think I', still better-looking," said Fred, examining his reflection in the kettle.
.........
"Arthur and Fred-"
"I'm George," said the twin at whom Moody was pointing. "Can't you even tell us apart when we're Harry?"
"Sorry, George-"
"I'm only yanking your wand, I'm Fred really-"

Page 74: "How do you feel, Georgie?" whispered Mrs. Weasley.
George's fingers groped for the side of his head.
"Saintlike," he murmured.
"What's wrong with him?" croaked Fred, looking terrified. "Is his mind affected?"
"Saintlike," repeated George, opening his eyes and looking up at his brother. "You see... I'm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?"
Mrs. Weasley sobbed harder than ever. Color flooded Fred's pale face.
"Pathetic," he told George. "Pathetic! With a whole wide world of ear-related humor before you, you go for holey?"
"Ah well," said George, grinning at his tear-soaked mother. "You'll be able to tell us apart now, anyway, Mum."
He looked around.
"Hi, Harry- you are Harry, right?"
"Yeah, I am," said Harry, moving closer to the sofa.
"Well, at least we got you back okay," said George. "Why aren't Ron and Bill huddled round my sickbed?"
"They're not back yet, George," said Mrs. Weasley. George's grin faded.

Page 81: "Well said, Harry," said Fred unexpectedly.
"Yeah, 'ear, 'ear," said George, with half a glance at Fred, the corner of whose mouth twitched.
Lupin was wearing an odd expression as he looked at Harry. It was close to pitying. 
"You think I'm a fool?" demanded Harry.
"No, I think you're like James," said Lupin, "who would have regarded it as the height of dishonor to mistrust his friends."

Page 138: "When I get married," said Fred, tugging at the collar of his own robes, "I won't be bothering with any of this nonsense. You can all wear what you like, and I'll put a full Body-Bind Curse on Mum until it's all over."

Page 209: Ron glanced at Hermione, then said, "What if purebloods and half-bloods swear a Muggle-born's part of their family? I'll tell everyone Hermione's my cousin-"
Hermione covered Ron's hand with hers and squeezed it.
"Thank you, Ron, but I couldn't let you-"
"You won't have a choice," said Ron fiercely, gripping her hand back. "I'll teach you my family tree so you can answer questions on it."

Page 378: Harry crammed the broken locket into his pocket, knelt down beside Ron, and placed a hand cautiously on his shoulder. He took it as a good sign that Ron did not throw it off.
"After you left," he said in a low voice, grateful for the fact that Ron's face was hidden, "she cried for a week. Probably longer, only she didn't want me to see. There were loads of nights when we never even spoke to each other. With you gone..."
He could not finish; it was only now that Ron was here again that Harry fully realized how much his absence had cost them.
"She's like my sister," he went on. "I love her like a sister and I reckon she feels the same way about me. It's always been like that. I thought you knew."

Page 474: "Dobby has no mater!" squealed the elf. "Dobby is a free elf, and Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his friends!"

Page 514: "Yes- yes- a boy," said Lupin again, who seemed dazed by his own happiness. He strode around the table and hugged Harry; the scene in the basement of Grimmauld Place might never have happened.
"You'll be godfather?" he said as he released Harry.
"M-me?" stammered Harry.
"You, yes, of course- Dora quite agrees, no one better-"
"I- yeah- blimey-"

Page 602: "Piertotum- oh, for heaven's sake, Filch, not now-"
The aged caretaker had just come hobbling into view, shouting, "Students out of bed! Students in the corridors!"
"They're supposed to be, you blithering idiot!" shouted McGonagall. "Now go and do something constructive! Find Peeves!"
"P-Peeves?" stammered Filch as though he had never heard the name before.
"Yes, Peeves, you fool, Peeves! Haven't you been complaining about him for a quarter of a century? Go and fetch him, at once!"

Page 605: "I was a fool!" Percy roared, so loudly that Lupin nearly dropped his photograph. "I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I was a- a-"
"Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron," said Fred.
Percy swallowed.
"Yes, I was!"
"Well, you can't say fairer than that," said Fred, holding out his hand to Percy.
Mrs. Weasley burst into tears. She ran forward, pushed Fred aside, and pulled Percy into a strangling hug, while he patted her on the back, his eyes on his father."

Page 625: "The house-elves, they'll all be down in the kitchen, won't they?"
"You mean we ought to get them fighting?" asked Harry.
"No," said Ron seriously, "I mean we should tell them to get out. We don't want any more Dobbies, do we? We can't order them to die for us-"
There was a clatter as the basilisk fangs cascaded out of Hermione's arms. Running at Ron, she flung them around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron threw away the fangs and broomstick he was holding and responded with such enthusiasm that he lifted Hermione off her feet.

Page 678: "Hide them all, then," he croaked. "Keep her- them- safe. Please?
"And what will you give me in return, Severus?"
"In- in return?" Snape gaped at Dumbledore, and Harry expected him to protest, but after a long moment, he said, "Anything."

Page 682: Snape raised his eyebrows and his tone was sardonic as he asked, "Are you intending to let him kill you?"
"Certainly not. You must kill me."
"There was a long silence, broken only by an odd clicking noise. Fawkes the phoenix was gnawing a bit of cuttlebone.
"Would you like me to do it now?" asked Snape, his voice heavy with irony. "Or would you like a few moments to compose an epitaph?"

Page 688: Now Harry was flying alongside Snape on a broomstick through a clear dark night: He was accompanied by other hooded Death Eaters, and ahead were Lupin and a Harry who was really George... A Death Eater moved ahead of Snape and raised his wand, pointing it directly at Lupin's back-
"Sectumsempra!" shouted Snape.
But the spell, intended for the Death Eater's wand hand, missed and hit George instead-

Page 722: "Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love."

Page 743: "So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" whispered Harry. "Does the wand in your hand know its last master was Disarmed? Because if it does... I am the true master of the Elder Wand."

Page 747: But Harry had eyes only for the man who stood in the largest portrait directly behind the headmaster's chair. Tears were sliding down from behind the half-moon spectacles into the long silver beard, and the pride and the gratitude emanating from him filled Harry with the same balm as phoenix song.


So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! I hope you enjoyed it, because I definitely enjoyed making it. I could talk about Harry Potter ceaselessly for the rest of my life and never get bored. If you have questions, ask in the comments! Now that I've finally finished my June reading challenge, I'll be moving along to my July challenge: re-reading the Pendragon series!

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.

Thanks for reading! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all in a few days!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! So, as you can see, I'm behind on my June challenge. Raise your hand if you're surprised! No hands, right? I figured. Anyway, the whole point of this was to re-read my favorite series and enjoy myself. I'm still mad at myself for spilling into July, but I'll be making up for it this weekend (hopefully).

As I said in the last posts, these Harry Potter posts will be formatted differently from the May discussion posts. I won't be writing non-spoiler sections for any of the Harry Potter books, simply because it's Harry Potter. If you haven't read the books already, go read them. At this point, there's almost no excuse for not having read the books except a lack of interest... in which case you probably wouldn't be here reading my discussion! I also will not be writing a summary of each book because, again, it's Harry Potter. If you don't know what Harry Potter is about, I'd really like to know what rock you've been hiding under because it sounds like an amazing place to get away and completely shut out all knowledge of the outside world.

Anyway, on to the discussion!

So, a little background. This was the first book of the series that I read at its release. This physical book is probably the one that is most special to me, because it's the only one I was able to get at its midnight release party (I would've done the same with book 7, but there were some circumstances out of my control, which I'll explain in that post). The release party wasn't extremely exciting- they had a Bertie Bott's station where if you ate a random bean you got a metal Harry Potter bookmark. I ended up getting a gross one, but I used that bookmark for forever and I still have it somewhere even though it broke. I also got a stuffed Hedwig, but I'm not sure where exactly that came from. And while the party wasn't exactly exciting, the ability to get it at midnight was very exciting. I'm also pretty sure (but not certain) that of all the books I own, this is the one I've had the longest. Nine years is quite a while.

On to the book. When I started this book, I instantly felt at home. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this, but I've read Half-Blood Prince more times than any of the other books in the series. So, beginning this book was both extremely familiar and extremely comfortable. And that was kinda the general feeling throughout the whole thing for me. I know that both Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix are longer than HBP, but nonetheless, I flew through HBP. Normally, 600+ pages seems like a marathon even if you really enjoy a book, but the entire thing felt like a walk in the park. 

The best moments of the book, for me, are the ventures that Harry and Dumbledore take into the Pensive. Voldemort's back-story is incredibly interesting, and I always loved getting to learn more about his past. I especially love the first memory- where Ogden visits the Gaunts. I'm not sure why, but I've always thought that memory was particularly interesting. 

The one thing that makes me really sad about this book is the lack of the Weasley twins. Throughout the series, up to this point, they have been very prevalent and now that they're not in it very much, I'm definitely missing them. Sure, we get to see their joke shop in all of its wonderfully perfect glory, but that's part of a chapter, and then they're gone for the majority of the book. This is one of my favorite Harry Potter books, and yet my favorite characters aren't in it. I'm not sure how that contradiction managed to happen!

Harry, Ron, and Hermione also learn a couple of the coolest wizard skills (in my opinion) in this book. First off, they learn to do magic without speaking, which is both cool and really helpful. They also learn to apparate, which is something I really wish I could do.

Also, horcruxes! I'm not the only one who thought they were horribly described in the movie, right? It's been a while since I've seen it (not one of my HP faves) but I remember that they didn't go into a ton of detail about horcruxes and I was wondering how anyone who hadn't read the book could be able to understand the movie. Anyway, the revelation that Voldemort has split his soul into several pieces is absolutely terrifying and interesting at the same time. 

And then, of course, we have one of the saddest deaths in the entire series. What really got me more than the actual death was the other characters' reactions to his death. Hagrid's false sense of hope was the one that I think really got to me. It's just the most definitive statement that Harry has to do this himself. He's been depending on Dumbledore to lead the way, but now it's all on Harry.

I know I haven't really said a lot about this book, but I honestly don't know what else to say about it but that I love it. I LOVE IT.

So, let's talk rating. Easy 5/5 stars. So great. Wonderful.

Favorite Quotes

Page 51: Uncle Vernon shouted, "Will you get these ruddy things off us?"
Harry looked around; all three of the Dursleys were cowering with their arms over their head as their glasses bounced up and down on their skulls, their contents flying everywhere.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," said Dumblefore politely, and he raised his wand again. All three glasses vanished. "But it would have been better manners to drink it, you know."

Page 55: "You did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a son. He has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. The best that can be said is that he has at least escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you."

Page 116: Set against the dull, poster-muffled shop fronts around them, Fred and George's windows hit the eye like a firework display.
.........
The right-hand window was covered with a gigantic poster, purple like those of the Ministry, but emblazoned with flashing yellow letters: 
WHY ARE YOU WORRYING ABOUT YOU-KNOW-WHO?
YOU SHOULD BE WORRYING ABOUT U-NO-POO
THE CONSTIPATION SENSATION THAT'S 
GRIPPING THE NATION
Harry started to laugh. He heard a weak sort of moan beside him and looked around to see Mrs. Weasley gazing, dumbfounded, at the poster. Her lips moved silently, mouthing the name "U-No-Poo."
"They'll be murdered in their beds!" she whispered.

Page 120: "Harry, you help yourself to anything you want, all right? No charge."
"I can't do that!" said Harry, who had already pulled out his money bag to pay for the Decoy Detonators.
"You don't pay here," said Fred firmly, waving away Harry's gold.
"But-"
"You gave us our start-up loan, we haven't forgotten," said George sternly. "Take whatever you like, and just remember to tell people where you got it, if they ask."

Page 180: "Do you remember me telling you we are practicing nonverbal spells, Potter?"
"Yes" said Harry stiffly.
"Yes, sir."
"there's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor."

Page 282: "We're allowed to bring guests," said Hermione, who for some reason had turned a bright, boiling scarlet," and I was going to ask you to come, but if you think it's that stupid, then I won't bother!
.........
"You were going to ask me?" asked Ron, in a completely different voice.
"Yes," said Hermione angrily."But obviously if you'd rather I hooked up with McLaggen..."
There was a puse while Harry continued to pound the resilient pod with a trowel.
"No, I wouldn't," said Ron, in a very quiet voice.

Page 298: "Ginny, where're you going?" yelled Harry, who had found himself trapped in the midst of a mass midair hug with the rest of the team, but Ginny sped right on past them until, with an almighty crash, she collided with the commentator's podium. As the crowd shrieked and laughed, the wood under which Zacharias was feebly stirring; Harry heard Ginny saying blithely to an irate Professor McGonagall," Forgot to brake, Professor, sorry."

Page 326: Ron turned a little pink, but did not look displeased as he turned back to the sprouts. "Mind your own business."
"What a snappy retort," said Fred. "I really don't know how you think of them. No, what we wanted to know was... how did it happen?"
"What d'you mean?"
"Did she have an accident or something?"
"What?"
"Well, how did she sustain such extensive brain damage? Careful, now!"
Mrs. Weasley entered the room just in time to see Ron throw the sprout knife at Fred, who had turned it into a paper airplane with one lazy flick of his wand.

Page 335: "But you are normal!" said Harry fiercely. "You've just got a-a problem-" 
Lupin burst out laughing. "Sometimes you remind me a lot of James. He called it my 'furry little problem' in company. Many people were under the impression that I owned a badly behaved rabbit."

Page 357: "he accused me of being 'Dumbledore's man through and through."
"How very rude of him."
"I told him I was."
Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Behind Harry, Fawkes the phoenix let out a low, soft, musical cry. To Harry's intense embarrassment, he suddenly realized that Dumbledore's bright blue eyes looked rather watery, and stared hastily at his own knees. When Dumbledore spoke, however, his voice was quite steady.
"I am very touched, Harry."

Page 385: Harry spun on the spot, lost balance, and nearly fell over. He was not the only one. The whole Hall was suddenly full of staggering people; Neville was flat on his back; Ernie Macmillan, on the other hand, had done a kind of pirouetting leap into his hoop and looked momentarily thrilled, until he caught sight of Dean Thomas roaring with laughter at him.

Page 402: "Er-my-nee," croaked Ron unexpectedly from between them.

Page 449: "I love you, Hermione," said Ron, sinking back in his chair, rubbing his eyes wearily. Hermione turned faintly pink, but merely said, "Don't let Lavender hear you saying that."

Page 459: "Er- well- ghosts are transparent-" he said.
"Oh, very good," interrupted Snape, his lip curling. "Yes, it is easy to see that nearly six years of magical education have not been wasted on you, Potter. 'Ghosts are transparent.'"
.........
"Well, what Harry said is the most useful if we're trying to tell them apart!" said Ron. "When we come face-to-face with one down a dark alley, we're going to be having a shufti  to see if it's solid, aren't we, we're not going to be asking, 'Excuse me, are you the imprint of a departed soul?'"
There was a ripple of laughter, instantly quelled by the look Snape gave the class.
"Another ten points from Gryffindor,' said Snape. "I would expect nothing more sophisticated from you, Ronald Weasley, the boy so solid he cannot Apparate half an inch across the room."

Page 578: "I am not worried, Harry," said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. "I am with you."


So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! I hope you enjoyed it, because I definitely enjoyed making it. I could talk about Harry Potter ceaselessly for the rest of my life and never get bored. If you have questions, ask in the comments! As you can tell, I'm a bit behind again (what a big surprise) but I'll be getting the rest of the posts out ASAP!

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.

Thanks for reading! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all in a few days!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! So, as you can see, I'm reading my June series, Harry Potter! Since Harry Potter is my favorite book series and June is my favorite month (because my birthday was on the 10th!), I couldn't think of a better challenge to set myself in the month of June!

As I said in the last posts, these Harry Potter posts will be formatted differently from the May discussion posts. I won't be writing non-spoiler sections for any of the Harry Potter books, simply because it's Harry Potter. If you haven't read the books already, go read them. At this point, there's almost no excuse for not having read the books except a lack of interest... in which case you probably wouldn't be here reading my discussion! I also will not be writing a summary of each book because, again, it's Harry Potter. If you don't know what Harry Potter is about, I'd really like to know what rock you've been hiding under because it sounds like an amazing place to get away and completely shut out all knowledge of the outside world.

Anyway, on to the discussion!

So, a little background. I first read Order of the Phoenix in 5th grade. I know that I finished Goblet of Fire sometime in January or February of 2005. I'm sure I picked up Order of the Phoenix right after, but I'm not sure how long it took me to read it. I remember it taking a while to get through it for some reason, although I've always been a very fast reader. But, I know that I finished it long before the 6th book came out in July, so I'd assume I finished OOTP by March or April. I'm not sure how many times I've re-read this book, but I know that Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix are the two books I've read the least of the series.

I think I've mentioned that Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix have always been pretty equal for me as far as my rankings of the books, but after this read-through, I'm not so sure. I've never been of the mindset that Order of the Phoenix dragged on and on and on or that it was too long, but I've definitely realized that the middle is rather slow. The first 3 books didn't really have the ability to be slow because they were significantly shorter. Goblet of Fire is almost as long as Order of the Phoenix, but the Triwizard Tournament is going on throughout the book, so we get constant excitement. In OOTP though, it's not quite so exciting. A lot of things happen, but they're more subtle and overall they're certainly not very action-packed. 

This book introduces us to the character that every Harry Potter fan wanted dead... more than even Voldemort. UMBRIDGE. That woman... I don't even know how to put my rage into words. JK Rowling is a genius for crafting her as a character, because really, no one could be that vile right? NOPE. She does, however, allow us to see the most incredibly passive-aggressive sides of the Hogwarts professors that we've ever seen before.

Just like with Prisoner of Azkaban, OOTP doesn't get really good until the end. The twins have their infamous exit from Hogwarts, Harry and Hermione get Umbridge attacked by the centaurs, and most importantly we get the battle at the Ministry. All of these things happen within the last 200 pages of the book. That's not to say that the first 600 pages aren't important or interesting... they just aren't quite exciting or page-turning. Here's how I breakdown the book: We start with Harry getting attacked. Then we get to read way too many pages of Harry screaming about being misunderstood. Then we get hundreds upon hundreds of pages of Umbridge basically destroying Hogwarts, with an intermission of Mr. Weasley's attack.  Then, we get the action. Finally, the truth.

The DA is the source for some of the excitement in the midst of Umbridge destroying Hogwarts. It's one of the few interesting things going on in the middle of the book. Since Harry isn't allowed to play quidditch, we don't really get much of that either, so we don't even get that added excitement. Mr. Weasley's attack is also one of the more exciting moments for me, and for some reason, that chapter/ section of the book is my favorite. Maybe because I think it's more interesting than some of the later scenes?

The battle at the Ministry is pretty exciting... but when it comes to exciting Harry Potter battles, it's not one of my favorites. Maybe that's because Sirius dies? I'm not sure. The whole bit near the end of it all with Voldemort controlling Harry and the battle with Dumbledore confused me the first time I read it, and I guess since then it's just never been my favorite. 

The scene in Dumbledore's office after everything is said and done is really great though. Its just too funny to watch Harry destroying things while Dumbledore just lets him. What adult just lets a teenager destroy their belongings? Although I guess at this point, Dumbledore is feeling at least just the slightest bit guilty for not telling Harry about the prophecy before then, so he thinks that Harry's anger is totally warranted, even though I'm not really sure it is. Harry's just very angry in this book. Some of it is because of the connection to Voldemort, but a lot of it is just Harry being an annoying 15 year old. 

Overall, just so many mixed feelings about this book.

So, let's talk rating. Just as with the previous books, I'll give it 5/5 stars. I'm not sure it'll receive the full 10/10 in the series discussion, but for now, it gets the 5/5.

Favorite Quotes

Page 38: "Hang on. This Lord Voldything's back, you say."
"Yes."
"The one who murdered your parents."
"Yes."
"And now he's sending dismembers after you?"
"Looks like it," said Harry.
I just love the complete lack of correction on Harry's part. Obviously, corrections would be wasted on Uncle Vernon, but it's still funny.

Page 163: "I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family!"
"What are Fred and I, next-door neighbors?" said George indignantly, as his mother pushed him aside and flung her arms around her youngest son. 
The poor twins. They're brilliant, but they're constantly overlooked because they aren't the "typical" successful sons. It's OK, they'll get their moment soon...

Page 247: "Is it true that you shouted at Professor Umbridge?"
"Yes," said Harry.
"You called her a liar?"
"Yes."
"You told her He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is back?"
"Yes."
Professor McGonagall sat down behind her desk, frowning at Harry. Then she said, "Have a biscuit, Potter."
McGonagall is just such a great character.

Page 320: "I was just wondering, Professor, whether you received my note telling you of the date and time of your inspec-"
"Obviously, I received it, or I would have asked you what you are doing in my classroom," said Professor McGonagall, turning her back firmly on Professor Umbridge. 
Sassy McGonagall is sassy.

Page 363: "You applied first for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, I believe?" Professor Umbridge asked Snape.
"Yes," said Snape quietly.
"But you were unsuccessful?"
Snape's lip curled.
"Obviously."
I can't read this without hearing it played out in my head as it was in the movie. Love Alan Rickman.

Page 459: A slightly stunned silence greeted the end of this speech, then Ron said, "One person can't feel all that at once, they'd explode."
"Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have," said Hermione nastily, picking up her quill again.
This was a bit funnier in the movie, but still a great scene.

Page 507: "It sounds as though you've been trying to sew your skin back together," said Mrs. Weasley with a snort of mirthless laughter, "but even you, Arthur, wouldn't be that stupid-"
"I fancy a cup of tea too," said Harry, jumping to his feet.
Hermione, Ron, and Ginny almost sprinted to the door with him. As it swung closed behind them, they heard Mrs. Weasley shriek, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THAT'S THE GENERAL IDEA?"
Good thing they ran for it. Mrs. Weasley sounded absolutely murderous.

Page 551: Lee Jordan had pointed out to Umbridge that by the terms of the new rule she was not allowed to tell Fred and George off for playing Exploding Snap in the back of the class.
"Exploding Snap's got nothing to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor! That's not information relating to your subject!"
I really want to know what he did after leaving Hogwarts. Did he work at the joke shop? I don't remember him being mentioned. I guess I'll see soon enough, right?

Page 616: "...- why are you shaking your head, girl?"
"Well, usually when a person shakes their head," said Professor McGonagall coldly, "they mean 'no.' So unless Miss Edgecombe is using a form of sign language as yet unknown to humans-"
As I said, McGonagall is just the best.

Page 643: "Did you like question ten, Moony?" asked Sirius as the emerged into the entrance all.
"Loved it," said Lupin briskly. "Give five signs that identify the werewolf.' Excellent question."
"D'you think you managaed to get all the signs?" said James in tones of mock concern.
"Think I did," said Lupin seriously, as they joined the crowd thronging around the front doors eager to get out into the sunlit grounds. "One: He's sitting on my chain. Two:He's wearing my clothes. Three: His name's Remus Lupin...'"
Ah, Lupin. My favorite of the marauders. Everyone loves Sirius- and I do too, don't get me wrong!- but Lupin is my favorite.

Page 665: "-which means that this boy has as much chance of becoming an Auror as Dumbledore has of ever returning to this school."
"A very good chance, then," said Professor McGonagall.
.........
"Potter has no chance whatsoever of becoming an Auror!" 
Professor McGonagall got to her feet too, and in her case this was a much more impressive move. She towered over Professor Umbridge.
"Potter," she said in ringing tones, "I will assist you to become an Auror if it is the last thing I do! If I have to coach you nightly I will make sure you achieve the required results!"
Seriously, McGonagall is simply the best.

Page 674: "You two," she went on, gazing down at Fred and George, "are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school."
"You know what?" said Fred. "I don't think we are."
He turned to his twin.
"George," said Fred, "I think we've outgrown full-time education."
.........
"We won't be seeing you," Fred told Professor Umbridge, swinging his leg over his broomstick.
"Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch," said George, mounting his own.
Fred looked around at the assembled students, and at the silent watchful crowd.
"If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley- Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," he said in a loud voice. "Our new premises!"
"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat," added George, pointing at Professor Umbridge.
.........
Fred looked across the hall at the poltergeist bobbing on his level above the crowd.
"Give her hell from us, Peeves."
And Peeves, whom Harry had never seen take an order from a student before, swept his belled hat from his head and sprang to a salute as Fred and George wheeled about to tumultuous applause from the students below and sped out of the open front doors into the glorious sunset.
Longest quote ever, but the twins' most glorious moment. Too beautiful. Too perfect. I love them.

Page 678: Indeed, a week after Fred and George's departure Harry witnessed Professor McGonagall walking right past Peeves, who was determinedly loosening a crystal chandelier, and could have sworn he heard her tell the poltergeist out of the corner of her mouth, "It unscrews the other way."
This post has turned into McGonagall praise hour, but this book is when we really get to see the McGonagall sass because of how openly she despises and contradicts Umbridge.

Page 701: Weasley is our King, Weasley is our King, He didn't let the Quaffle in, Weasley is our King.
.........
Weasley can save anything, He never leaves a single ring, That's why Gryffindors all sing: Weasley is our King.
Ron finally got his heart's deepest desire. Such a great moment.

Page 848: "Well, Flitwick's got rid of Fred and George's swamp," said Ginny. "He did it in about three seconds. But he left a tiny patch under the window and he's roped it off-"
"Why?" said Hermione, looking startled.
"Oh, he just says it was a really good bit of magic," said Ginny, shrugging.
"I think he left it as a monument to Fred and George," said Ron through a mouthful of chocolate.
I just love that the professors continue to honor the twins' glorious last hurrah.


So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! I hope you enjoyed it, because I definitely enjoyed making it. I could talk about Harry Potter ceaselessly for the rest of my life and never get bored. If you have questions, ask in the comments! As you can tell, I'm a bit behind again (what a big surprise) but I'll be getting the rest of the posts out ASAP!

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.

Thanks for reading! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all in a few days!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! So, as you can see, I'm reading my June series, Harry Potter! Since Harry Potter is my favorite book series and June is my favorite month (because my birthday was on the 10th!), I couldn't think of a better challenge to set myself in the month of June!

As I said in the last posts, these Harry Potter posts will be formatted differently from the May discussion posts. I won't be writing non-spoiler sections for any of the Harry Potter books, simply because it's Harry Potter. If you haven't read the books already, go read them. At this point, there's almost no excuse for not having read the books except a lack of interest... in which case you probably wouldn't be here reading my discussion! I also will not be writing a summary of each book because, again, it's Harry Potter. If you don't know what Harry Potter is about, I'd really like to know what rock you've been hiding under because it sounds like an amazing place to get away and completely shut out all knowledge of the outside world.

Anyway, on to the discussion!

So, a little background. I first read Goblet of Fire in 5th grade. I finished Prisoner of Azkaban while travelling to my grandparents' house for Christmas, and I remember picking up Goblet of Fire while I was still at my grandparents' house. I think I finished it sometime in January. I'm not sure how many times I've re-read this book, but I know that Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix are the two books I've read the least of the series. 

Normally, this is the part where I would be like, "Whoa, I totally forgot about this thing that happened! And I also forgot about this other thing that happened!" but... I hadn't really forgotten anything. Obviously, I couldn't recite the book back to you word for word, but I hadn't even forgotten many of the smaller plot points such as the twins blackmailing Bagman, the trio going to the kitchens, Hagrid and Olympe's secret conversation, Rita Skeeter being an animagus, meeting Sirius in Hogsmeade... etc. I was actually just a tiny bit disappointed that I didn't come across anything I forgot.

However, while I hadn't forgotten anything happening in the book, I did forget a couple things concerning my feelings toward the book and a certain character. Goblet of Fire has always floated somewhere in the middle of my Harry Potter rankings. It's never been my favorite or my least favorite, just... a Harry Potter book. Because it's been so long since I've read it and because it's floated in the middle, I've always thought of it as just average- not exciting, not bad, just average. So, when I found myself absolutely loving Goblet of Fire, I was slightly surprised. I think I had forgotten how exciting the tournament was, and how interesting the stuff in-between was. I'm not sure that it will move up in my rankings just because of how much I enjoy the books I've already ranked above it. But, my opinion on the book has certainly changed and I appreciate it much more.

So the character I mentioned... I've never made it a secret that Harry, while a good character, is nowhere near my favorite. I don't know why, but this is a common theme for me when it comes to narrators/ main characters. I never seem to like them as much as the rest of the characters they're surrounded by. I often feel like the other characters are more dynamic, and I'm not really sure why that is. I honestly can't think of a book or series where the main character is my favorite character. Literally none. One of the secondary main characters (like Jace in TMI) is almost always my favorite character. However, this book reminded me how much I underestimate and undervalue Harry. He was strong and sarcastic and able to stand his ground and speak his mind, and I respect that immensely in a character. I think it was when Harry told off Rita Skeeter in the middle of the Three Broomsticks was when I really respected Harry more than I had in the past. I'm not sure why it was then, but it reminded me that he actually is a dynamic character who can hold his own.

As I said, I really enjoyed the Triwizard Tournament part of the book. It was really exciting and interesting. I really also love the intricacy of all of the smaller story arcs combining to create this really incredible story. Plus, the darker tone really starts to set in with this book, which is just great because that's when the series gets really exciting.

So, let's talk rating. Just as with the previous books, I'll give it 5/5 stars. I'm not sure it'll receive the full 10/10 in the series discussion, but for now, it gets the 5/5.

Favorite Quotes

I'll be adding commentary on these since this post is really short so far...

Page 48: Dudley was no longer standing behind his parents. He was kneeling beside the coffee table, and he was gagging and sputtering on a foot-long, purple, slimy thing that was protruding from his mouth. One bewildered second later, Harry realized that the foot-long thing was Dudley's tongue- and that a brightly colored toffee wrapper lay on the floor before him.
Serves Dudley right!

Page 60: The source of the commotion was revealed as they entered the garden, and saw that Bill and Charlie both had their wands out, and were making two battered old tables fly high above the lawn, smashing into each other, each attempting to knock the other's out of the air. Fred and George were cheering, Ginny was laughing, and Hermione was hovering near the hedge, apparently torn between amusement and anxiety.
This family is just absolutely perfect.

Page 83: One of them was a very old wizard who was wearing a long flowery nightgown. The other was clearly a Ministry wizard; he was holding out a pair of pinstriped trousers and almost crying with exasperation. 
"Just put them on, Archie, there's a good chap. You can't walk around like that, the muggle at the gate's already getting suspicious-"
"I bought this in a Muggle shop," said the old wizard stubbornly. "Muggles wear them."
"Muggle women wear them, Archie, not the men, they wear these," said the Ministry wizard, and he brandished the pinstriped trousers. 
"I'm not putting them on," said old Archie in indicnation. "I like a healthy breeze 'round my privates, thanks."
How on earth did this gem get cut from the movie?

Page 157: "I'm never wearing them," Rom was saying stubbornly. "Never."
"Fine," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "Go naked. And, Harry, make sure you get a picture of him. Goodness knows I could do with a laugh."
Sassy Molly is sassy.

Page 186: "It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."
"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly.
The tension that had filled that Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.
"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar..."
Once again, I love the twins.

Page 200: "... your dark hair... your mean stature... tragic losses so young in life... I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in midwinter?"
"No," said Harry, "I was born in July."
Trelawney is just so bad. So, SO bad.

Page 206: "What- what are you doing?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret's progress through the air.
"Teaching," said Moody.
"Teach- Moody, is that a student?" shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms. 
"Yep," said Moody.
This scene was just too good in the movie.

Page 260: For a split second Harry thought it had worked- George certainly thought so, for he let out a yell of triumph and leapt after Fred- but next moment, there was a loud sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled out of the golden circle as though the had been thrown by an invisible shot-putter. They landed painfully, ten feet away on the cold stone floor, and to add insult to injury, there was a loud popping noise and both of them sprouted identical long white beards.
The entrance hall rang with laughter. Even Fred and George joined in, once they had gotten to their feet and taken a good look at each other's beards.
Too funny.

Page 367: Just then, Neville caused a slight diversion by turning into a large canary.
"Oh- sorry, Neville!" Fred shouted over all the laughter. "I forgot- it was the custard creams we hexed-"
Have I mentioned that I love the twins?

Page 384: "Percy wouldn't recognize a joke if it danced naked in front of him wearing Dobby's tea cozy."
JKR's sense of humor is spot on.

Page 417: "Oh, I would never dream of assuming I know all Hogwarts' secrets, Igor," said Dumbledore amicably. "Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turning on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I have never seen before containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamber pots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye out for it. Possibly it is only accessible at five-thirty in the morning. Or it may only appear at the quarter moon- or when the seeker has an exceptionally full bladder."
Harry snorted into his plate of goulash.
Are we really supposed to believe that Dumbledore, the most brilliant wizard alive, who had lived in that castle for over 50 years, could make a wrong turn in the castle? Or that he'd never found the Room of Requirement previously? Still funny though.

Page 490: "Harry Potter has to go into the lake and find his Wheezy-"
"Find my what?"
"- and take his Wheezy back from the merpeople!"
"What's a Wheezy?"
"Your Wheezy, sir, your Wheezy- Wheezy who is giving Dobby his sweater!"
Dobby is another fave.

Page 525: "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."
Sirius getting all deep.

Page 733: The twins turned. Harry pulled open his trunk and drew out his Triwizard winnings.
"Take it," he said, and he thrust the sack into George's hands.
"What?" said Fred, looking flabbergasted.
"Take it,"Harry repeated firmly. "I don't want it."
"You're mental," said George, trying to push it back at Harry.
"No, I'm not," said Harry. "You take it, and get inventing. It's for the joke shop."
"He is mental," Fred said in an almost awed voice.
.........
"Look," he said flatly, "take it, or I'll hex you. I know some good ones now, Just do me one favor, okay? Buy Ron some different dress robes and say they're from you."
I actually teared up a bit at this. I wish it had been in the movie. It's such a beautiful moment.


So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! I hope you enjoyed it, because I definitely enjoyed making it. I could talk about Harry Potter ceaselessly for the rest of my life and never get bored. If you have questions, ask in the comments!

Thanks for reading! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all in a few days!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Disussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! So, as you can see, I'm reading my June series, Harry Potter! Since Harry Potter is my favorite book series and June is my favorite month (because my birthday was on the 10th!), I couldn't think of a better challenge to set myself in the month of June!

As I said in the last posts, these Harry Potter posts will be formatted differently from the May discussion posts. I won't be writing non-spoiler sections for any of the Harry Potter books, simply because it's Harry Potter. If you haven't read the books already, go read them. At this point, there's almost no excuse for not having read the books except a lack of interest... in which case you probably wouldn't be here reading my discussion! I also will not be writing a summary of each book because, again, it's Harry Potter. If you don't know what Harry Potter is about, I'd really like to know what rock you've been hiding under because it sounds like an amazing place to get away and completely shut out all knowledge of the outside world.

Anyway, on to the discussion!

So, a little background. I first read Prisoner of Azkaban in 5th grade. I can't fully remember when I first picked the series up, but I know it was during the first half of 5th grade, because I have distinct memories of my first reads of books 3 & 4 being during Christmas break. Random story- my family was travelling to my grandparents' house for Christmas and the roads were terrible, and I remember just chilling in the backseat of the car in the middle of the night, trying to read the last 100ish pages of Prisoner of Azkaban, while my dad was trying to actually be able to drive on the road. I think I actually did finish it that night. Anyway, I've read it several times since then, but the only one I distinctly remember was July of 2012. And I'm not sure I even finished it.

Honestly, for quite a while, I did not like Prisoner of Azkaban. From around the time that I first read the book, I didn't like it as much as the previous two, and I can't remember how long that lasted, but I remember not being a huge fan of it for quite a while. I also know that it's been one of my favorites for quite a while as well, so I have no idea when that shift happened. I think it was probably when I re-read POA for the first time, but like I said, I have no idea when that might have been. I think my initial disappointment was largely due to the ending (which is rather ironic now... but I'll talk about that in a bit). The last two books, Harry had faced Voldemort at the end and had managed to escape and be a hero. But in this one, Harry didn't face Voldemort. He didn't even really face a villain. I think that the 10 year old me was not only disappointed by the lack of an epic Voldemort fight, but also by the fact that the real exciting action is over with approximately 70 pages left. The rest of the book is Harry and Hermione with the time-turner, which (to a 10 year old) seems just a little anti-climactic after the last two books. 

That being said, let's talk about my favorite part of the book- the end. See the irony now? About half-way through this re-read, I found myself wondering why exactly it was one of my absolute favorites. It wasn't bad or disappointing in any way, but nothing particularly exciting or wonderful had really happened. But, I'd forgotten that everything in the Shrieking Shack onward is not only the highlight of the book, but also one of my favorite parts of the series. We learn the truth about Sirius Black and see him reunited with his only true friend that he has left. Harry finally gets a chance to have the father figure that he has wanted and needed his whole life. Harry finally performs an amazing patronus. And we get a really cool time-travel scene, which is pretty controversial because of what else could've been fixed using the time-turner, but is cool nonetheless. Although, I will admit that I honestly enjoy watching the time-travel scene in the movie more than reading it in the book. Yes, blasphemy. I know. 

One bit of the book that I had totally forgotten about was the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin quidditch match. And I'm not sure how I forgot about that, because it's literally the coolest quidditch match in all of the books. Penalties left and right, dirty playing from both sides, Lee Jordan giving some of his best commentary to date, Wood sobbing uncontrollably, Fred Weasley smacking a Slytherin in the head with his bat... the list goes on and on. My point is, it's the most exciting, hilarious, and rewarding quidditch match throughout all the books and somehow, I totally forgot it even existed. Shame on me!

Another really cool bit of the book has to do with Hogwarts itself. We learn so many Hogwarts secrets (not included in the movie- ugh!), which are just fascinating. To me, Hogwarts is one of the coolest, most interesting parts of the Wizarding World as well as the books. The Marauder's Map not only gives us really cool secrets about the school, but also about James and Sirius and Lupin. And Wormtail, but he doesn't matter. Speaking of Sirius and Lupin, this book also introduces us to both of them, and they happen to be a couple of my favorite characters in the series. Lupin is certainly my favorite Hogwarts professor- tied with McGonagall.

I usually like to talk about some things that I didn't like in a book... but I honestly can't think of any. Except maybe that Ron and Hermione were constantly mad at each other and that they were both being stupid, but that was a somewhat important plot point. I guess I could complain about the same thing as everyone else- that the time turner was used to save Buckbeak and Sirius, but not for James and Lily or any other important deaths, but that would be like beating a dead hippogriff at this point. And since Buckbeak was saved, I can't really do that. 

So, let's talk rating. Easily a 5/5. It's one of the best books in the series for sure. My lack of legitimate problems with the book shows how good I think it is.

Favorite Quotes

I'll be adding commentary on these since this post is really short so far...

Page 4: "HELLO? HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME? I- WANT- TO- TALK- TO- HARRY- POTTER!"
Ron was yelling so loudly that Uncle Vernon jumped and held the receiver a foot away from his ear, staring at it with an expression of mingled fury and alarm.
This scene always cracks me up. I wish this was how the movie had started rather than Harry doing homework.

Page 62: "Harry!" said Fred, elbowing Percy out of the way and bowing deeply. "Simply splendid to see you, old boy-"
"Marvelous," said George, pushing Fred aside and seizing Harry's hand in turn. "Absolutely spiffing."
Percy scowled.
"That's enough, now," said Mrs. Weasley.
"Mum!" said Red as though he'd only just spotted her and seizing her hand too. "How really corking to see you-"
I LOVE THE TWINS. I've probably said it about 1,000,000 times, but it bears repeating as many times as I get the chance. They're just too great.

Page 63: "We tried to shut him [Percy] in a pyramid," he [George] told Harry, "But Mum spotted us."
Have I mentioned my love for the Weasley twins?

Page 63: "It's because of you, Perce," said George seriously. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them-"
"- for Humongous Bighead," said Fred."
I love them.

Page 109: "You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."
Sassy McGonagall is sassy.

Page 192: "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Never truer than when uttered by a Weasley twin.

Page 261: "JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!"
The dynamic between McGonagall and Lee Jordan is always lovely.

Page 287: "Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business."...
"Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git."...
"Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor."...
"Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball."
The Marauders though...

Page 293: Harry and Ron both made furious moves toward Malfoy, but Hermione got there first- SMACK!
She had slapped Malfoy across the face with all the strength she could muster. Malfoy staggered. Harry, Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle stood flabbergasted as Hermione raised her hand again. 
"Don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic, you foul- you evil-"
Yet another reason why Hermione is awesome.

Page 307: A moment later, Fred Weasley chucked his Beater's club at the back of Flint's head. Flint's nose smashed into the handle of his broom and began to bleed.
You hit a Gryffindor teammate, you mess with Fred Weasley.

Page 309: Bole hit Alicia with his club and tried to say he'd thought she was a Bludger. George Weasley elbowed Bole in the face in retaliation. 
TWINS.

Page 310: "YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee Jordan was howling into the megaphone, dancing out of Professor McGonagall's reach. "YOU FILTHY, CHEATING B-"
Professor McGonagall didn't even bother to tell him off. She was actually shaking her finger in Malfoy's direction, her hat had fallen off, and she too was shouting furiously.
Like I said, their dynamic is just great.

Page 312: Then Wood was speeding toward him, half-blinded by tears; he seized Harry around the neck and sobbed unrestrainedly into his shoulder. Harry flet two large thumps as Fred and Georrge hit them; then Angelina's, Alicia's, and Katie's voices, "We've won the Cup! We've won the Cup!" Tangled together in a many-armed hug, the Gryffindor team sank, yelling hoarsely, back to earth.
I actually teared up at that point. It's just such a beautiful moment.

Page 374: "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" roared Black. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"........."THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"
Spoken like a true Gryffindor.

Page 379: "What-live with you?" he said, accidentally cracking his head on a bit of rock protruding from the ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"
"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," said Sirius quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd-"
"Are you insane?" said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as Sirius's. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"
Sirius turned right around to look at him; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but Sirius didn't seem to care.
"You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"
"Yeah, I mean it!" said Harry.
Sirius's gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it.
Such a great moment. Made better by the fact that Snape's head was scraping the ceiling.

Page 374: "Godfather?" spluttered Uncle Vernon. "You haven't got a godfather!"
"Yes, I have," said Harry brightly. "He was my mum and dad's best friend. He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of Wizard prison and he's on the run. He likes to keep in touch with me though... keep up with my news... check if I'm happy..."
Genius move, Harry. One of your better moments.

So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! I hope you enjoyed it, because I definitely enjoyed making it. I could talk about Harry Potter ceaselessly for the rest of my life and never get bored. If you have questions, ask in the comments!

Thanks for reading! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all in a few days!