For all the Potterheads in my life.

I promise to remember Tonks

Each time I knock something down.

And I promise to remember Charlie Weasley

Whenever I’m out of town.

I promise not to obey traffic laws

For Sirius’s sake of course.

And I promise to remember Lupin

When my heart fills with remorse.

I promise to remember Arthur

Whenever I am at St Mungo’s Room.

And I promise to remember the Weasley Twins

Every time fireworks boom.

I promise to remember Lily

When I see someone that holds pure beauty.

And I promise to remember Dobby

Whenever a pair of socks spots me.

I promise to remember Teddy

When I see someone with turquoise hair.

And I promise to remember Molly

When someone tells me they care.

I promise to remember Ginny

Whenever bogey hexes are unfurled.

And I promise to remember the death eaters

When someone speaks of dominating the world.

Yes I promise to love Harry Potter

Wherever I may go

So that all may see my obsession

Because I know what the wizards know.

Onto Order of the Phoenix

Well, I started to listen to OotP a few weeks ago and I just couldn’t get into it. I am not sure if it was because I just don’t like the beginning of that book or if I was still processing Goblet of Fire, but for whatever reason I got up to the advance guard and stopped. So today I found myself yearning for a good dose of Potter and resumed my listening. 

 

During the epic rescue scene where Mad-eye and the rest of the advance guard come to steal Harry away, I realized that they really need a muggle coordinator on the Order staff. I mean I understand that these people live in the Wizarding world and they think like wizards so of course their first thought is, we’re going to steal Harry the wizarding way, with brooms. But as I listened to this part of the story, Lupin talks about how they can’t apparate because Harry is too young, and Mad-eye is going on about people getting killed during the flight. 

 

So this is what I don’t understand: if they are expecting Death Eaters to be on the look out for Harry’s removal from Private Drive, then why make it so obvious? Why risk all their lives by concocting a plan with absolutely no stealth what so ever? This is absurd to me! Come on now. Death Eaters have no respect for Muggles, they don’t think like them or observe their comings and goings. So with this logic in mind, wouldn’t it make sense to transport Harry in a less obvious, muggle fashion? I understand it would take longer but I think ultimately it would be less likely to attract muggle attention. 

 

Here’s what I was thinking to revamp the advance guard. Observe the Dursley’s for while, learn their tempremant and how they interact with Harry. Transfigure a car to look exactly like theirs. Send the Dursley’s on a wild goose chase. Good job Tonks, you’re on top of it. Once their gone, polyjuice three Order members to look like the Dursleys and go get Harry that way. You’ll look like the Dursleys and you can just drive off with him. No looming Death Eaters would find this odd in the least. This wouldn’t attract any attention in the least from watching Death Eaters. We know Harry roams around the neighborhood so it’s obvious he is safe in the area so this seems like way more logical plan than flying brooms across the country. Death Eaters would be sure to be looking out for this kind of activity. They probably wouldn’t notice the Dursley’s leaving with Harry. 

 

Also, why doesn’t Dumbledore just show up and Apparate with Harry? We already know he can side-along  apparate with him. Wouldn’t this be infinitely easier and safer? I guess I’m just not seeing the logic in using brooms to steal Harry. There were way safer and easier ways to do this. 

More headcanon

After the final battle Neville went to St. Mungos to tell his parents that their torturers were dead, of the part he played both at Hogwarts and during the final battle, and that after all the years of fighting, there was finally peace. As he told them, for the first time since he was a child, he cried in front of them. Somewhere, beneath the insanity and torture, her mother’s instinct still lived because Alice reached out and held her son’s hand as he cried for all he had lost.

HP Head Crack canon – compliments of Phoenixfeatherbird <3

Once when Lily Luna was watching a romantic teenage drama movie, Harry caught a glimpse of the actor and for a fleeting second he thought he knew the guy. But then he shook the idea off his head. It couldn’t be who he was thinking about; the guy sparkled.

 

After the battle of Hogwarts, Luna decided to help her father with Quibbler, which had become a very popular magazine. But since she didn’t particularly enjoy working working for it, she thought of  trying her luck somewhere else. She had always enjoyed singing and so decided to join theMuggle music industry. Today, she is widely known as Lady Gaga.

 

Winky was full of admiration for Dobby when she learnt of his bravery. She decided to follow in his footsteps and stay on at Hogwarts and would always be found wearing Dobby’s socks. Her stories about Dobby’s heroism and dauntlessness were quite popular among the students at Hogwarts.

 

Lily had once tousled Snape’s hair in their fifth year in an attempt to cheer him up. He had never washed his hair since.

 

After the war the Wealseys’ became a well reputed family. Special exceptions were accommodated so that Arthur Weasley could keep a private Muggle jet in his backyard with a tiny runway. Although the entire Weasley family had been in Gryffindor at Hogwarts, none of them were brave enough to take a ride with him.

 

The reason why Voldemort could not comprehend ‘Love’ was because he was conceived under the effects of a love potion.

 

Rose Weasley drove Scorpius Malfoy mad by going on and on about some muggle singer named Justin Bieber.

 

When Molly Weasley had her seventh child, she was convinced it was going to be a boy. When the Doctors told her it was a girl, she didn’t believe them and retorted by saying, “Which of the twins put you up to this!?”

 

When Scorpius was 7 years old he asked his dad if he could have a pet Hippogriff. He had never seen his father so scared before in his life.

 

After a particulary bad bout of James flirting with her, Snape and Lily brew Polyjuice Potion to trade places for a day. James was quite surprised when ‘Lily’ told him to ‘piss off’ and gave him the bird.

 

Pansy was heartbroken when she heard of Draco’s engagement to Astoria Greengrass. She fancied Draco a lot and dreamt of marrying him. One of the main reasons why she always pretended to be a bully and the “mean girl” was to impress Draco. She didn’t know Draco loathed her after he learnt of how she was in favor of handing over Harry to Voldemort.

 

Fred had made a vow to himself that if everything turned out fine after the war, he would ask Angelina Johnson to marry him. He never got his chance.

 

Harry searched for the Resurrection Stone 3 times in his life.

The first time was for George, who refused to have anyone but Fred as his best man.

The second time was for himself, because he needed James and Lily to reassure him that he would be a good father.

The third and final time was for Teddy, who didn’t believe that his parents loved him. If they did then why did they leave him to go and fight?

He never found the stone.

 

Rose Weasley’s first words to Scorpius Malfoy were: “Pale blonde hair, and pretentious robes? You must be a Malfoy.” When later asked by Scorpius why she had said that, she blushed and confessed that her dad had told her to say it.

 

After the battle of Hogwarts, Luna decided to help her father with Quibbler, which had become a very popular magazine. But since she didn’t particularly enjoy working working for it, she thought of  trying her luck somewhere else. She had always enjoyed singing and so decided to join theMuggle music industry. Today, she is widely known as Lady Gaga.

 

When Rose told her parents she was marrying Scorpius Malfoy, Ron screamed that she was making a horrible mistake. This was the first time she saw her father cry. When Scorpius told his parents he was marrying Rose Weasley, Draco pulled him into a hug and told him how proud he was. This was the first time he saw his father cry.

 

 

Cedric Diggory’s name sake

JKR says…

Why the second Hogwarts Champion had to be a Hufflepuff

Besides being AWESOME of course, the second champion for Hogwarts in GoF had to be a Hufflepuff. I came upon this realization this morning in the car when I was listening to the part where Cedric and Harry argue over who is going to take the cup.

Now I have to say this before we go any further. There are a lot of assumptions that go along with being in a particular house. We all know each house values different traits but those aren’t the only traits people in a certain house can have. For instance, we can have an ambitious Slytherin who is brave. Look at Professor Snape. Or a Gryffindor who is ambitious: Peter Pettigrew. So I am not saying that the only traits one has is the one’s associated with their house but I am saying these traits do tend to be the most prevalent in the house members.

Now let’s take a look at the traits of a Hufflepuff, again these are just the most prevelant traits.

• Loyalty
• Dedication
• Hard Work
• Fair play
• Patience

Damn you Cedric, why did you have to be the most sterotypical Hufflepuff ever? Maybe if you had embedded more of the traits from other houses, besides just bravery, you may still be alive.

So here’s why the Hogwarts Champion had to be Hufflepuff, no other houses cherish the traits of Fair Play as much as Hufflepuff. Definitely not Slytherin as their ambition would out weigh any desire for Fair Play they have, Ravenclaw’s logic would out weigh the Fair Play and Gryffindor couldn’t have a second champion because it just isn’t logical for JKR to have 2 Gryffindor champions. The whole school would rebel against it.

Had the second Champion been from Slytherin or Ravenclaw, they would have taken the opportunity at the end of the third task, while Harry was pre-occupied with the Acromantula to grab the Goblet of Fire and if they did that, they would be transported to the grave yard, instead of Harry, and the whole plot would have fallen apart.

Because Cedric is the ideal Hufflepuff, he couldn’t handle taking the cup after all Harry had done for him. Harry had saved Cedric’s life from the Acromantula or at least saved him from a great deal of harm, he had tipped Cedric off about the dragons, and he had saved Cedric from the cruciatus curse Krum had put on him.

Had any other student outside of the Hufflepuff ideal become champion, they wouldn’t have put such an emphasis on Fair Play. Cedric lists all the reasons why Harry should take the cup, including the three I’ve listed. He says he can’t take the cup after what Harry had done for him. He said he owed it to Harry and insisted Harry take the championship.

Instead, Harry offers to take it at the same time, guaranteeing a Hogwarts championship and also splitting the glory and the winnings with Hufflepuff house (who desperately needed it). Being the even-minded Hufflepuff Cedric is, Ced thought this was a great deal and helped put his conscience at ease. Unfortunately this was also his downfall. Had he simply continued to insist that Harry take the win, he would have lived. But what would the beginning of the Dark Lord’s second reign be if it didn’t start so tragically?

Unfortunately Cedric’s death put a damper on the celebrations of winning the TriWizard Tournament. Not only did Cedric’s death overshadow his great performance in the Tournament but it also distorted any glory it would have brought to House Hufflepuff, thus leaving Hufflepuff with little to no glory throughout the series.

Pottermore Spoilers – The plight of Minerva McGonagall

Wow. Professor McGonagall.

I’ve just finished reading through book one on Pottermore. I’m absolutely flabbergasted. Who knew our favorite Hogwarts Matron had such a beautiful, and tragic, life before she met Harry?

Her story is so heart breaking but I love it! I can just see little mini-McGonagall, growing up in secrecy with a preacher father and a witch mother. There is no lack of love in her house but the tension of secrecy is so thick you could cut it with a butter knife.

But oh what a relief Hogwarts would be! To be free of the secrecy and lies that surrounded her childhood, I can just imagine how Minerva flourished at Hogwarts. She probably took Gryffindor by storm putting the other students in her year to shame. Showing them all up in classes and being a right know it all. It almost reminds me of Hermione but I think that McGonagall would be more reserved in class. Simply preferring to answer questions as they came her, eager for the knowledge but not to show off, as Hermione was sometimes prone to do.

I can see her working through her studies working to become the best witch she could be and falling in love with transfiguration. I bet Minerva felt at thrill of excitement every time she successfully transfigured something her classmates could not and reveled in Dumbledore’s praises over her work. I’m sure she took great pride in being the most promising up-and coming transfiguration-ist.

But oh the heart break! Minerva, after being so successful at school and in the wizarding world comes home for the summer before starting her internship at the Ministry of Magic, only to find herself in love with a Muggle farmer. Just like her mother.

The thrill of first love, smothered in secrets. Like mother like daughter. Minerva just couldn’t get away from her family legacy. She almost ended up in the same place her mother had. Luckily though she was smart enough to let her love go and live in the wizarding world without all the secrets and lies that come with marrying a muggle.

I was really happy to see that McGonagall eventually married someone and lived happily with him for 3 years. I bet she cherished those years and thought of them with fondness for the rest of her life. Even after her husband died, she still had her close friendship with Albus Dumbledore. The two are so similar in personality, I’m not surprised they got along so well and confided in one another.

I really feel like this whole back story has inspired me to write out some one shots about McGonagall and her life before Harry. So coming soon “An Ode To McGonagall, a short story”.

The Mystery of the Thestrals

Why can’t Harry see the Thestrals at the end of Goblet of Fire but sees them when he comes back for Order of the Phoenix?

Credit to HPLexicon

Well JKR has given us an answer.

According to J.K. Rowling: “…Why couldn’t he see the Thestrals on his trip back to the train station? Well, I didn’t want to start a new mystery, which would not be resolved for a long time, at the very end of the fourth book. I decided, therefore, that until Harry is over the first shock, and really feels what death means (ie, when he fully appreciates that Cedric is gone forever and that he can never come back, which takes time, whatever age you are) he would not be able to see the Thestrals. After two months away from school during which he has dwelled endlessly on his memories of the murder and had nightmares about it, the Thestrals have taken shape and form and he can see them quite clearly.”

The Yule Ball

 

I really loved the scene where Ron tells Ginny she is going to the ball with Harry…

and Ginny’s all like “I can’t!” and turns all red and looks upset…

and says she’s going with Neville…

and runs away….

 

I remember laughing really hard when I was listening to this scene in the car on the way to work. I just kept thinking to myself, Oh Gin, you really messed it up this time. You could have gone to the ball with Harry and you would have had 3 whole years with him, at least. But then I think about it and realize, Harry doesn’t even realize he loves Ginny yet. So that probably wouldn’t work. I just love the whole Harry/Ginny scenario in the books. I love catching all Ginny’s little nuances. 

The Sacrifices of Albus Dumbledore

So, I just read the chapter in Goblet of Fire where Harry is in Potions class and Snape catches Harry, Ron and Hermione reading the Witch Weekly article where Rita Skeeter bags on Hermione by basically calling her a “Scarlet Woman”, to quote Mrs. Weasley. In epic Snape fasion, Snape swoops down on the trio and confinscates the magazine and reads the article out loud. He not only humiliates Harry (Snape’s favorite game), but he also humiliates Hermione.

After splitting up the trio, Snape proceeds to degrade Harry. Calling him “big headed” and “pint-sized hero”. Towards the end of the tirade, Snape basically threatens to dose Harry with Veritaserum because he’s convinced Harry was stealing from his private stores (the gillyweed and some other potion ingredient needed for the Poly-juice).

This scene just gives a really vicious picture of Snape. It’s one of the more classic Snape moments too, in my opinion.

Then I started wondering why Harry takes so much crap from our favorite potions master. Why doesn’t he talk to Dumbledore or if not at least go to McGonagall about it.  Something should be done. Obviously it’s not okay for teachers to humiliate their students and degrade them in class. It’s abusive and hasn’t poor Harry gone through enough abuse at the hands of the Dursleys?

This naturally led to thoughts about why Dumbledore would allow this to go on. Certainly he cannot release Snape from his position for obvious reasons that we find out in Deathly Hallows but couldn’t he at least curb Snape’s abuse towards Harry and the other students? If Dumbledore intervened could he control Severus at all, though? Would the potions master just threaten to leave as he has done before?

These were all thoughts I had while reading. Then I thought about how Dumbledore obviously cares for the students in his school. Their protection and the protection of the wizarding world has always been his number one priority and I wondered if watching Snape abuse his students was just one more sacrifice Dumbledore was willing to make to protect them. Did Dumbledore foresee that  Hogwarts would one day need a protector in the form of a bitter and menevolent Potions Master? I think he did.

I don’t think Dumbledore ever underestimated Snape’s rage and bitterness towards Harry and the other students of Hogwarts. I think that Dumbledore ultimately had their highest protection in mind, the survival of his students; their survival was more important to him than saving them from the mental and emotional scars Snape would leave on them as a raging, bitter teacher.

I wonder how many sleepless nights Dumbledore experienced over these kinds of decisions that he had to make. I wonder how long he weighed the decision to keep Snape on staff even though he knew Snape’s personality wasn’t conducive to teaching and dealing with children.  This also leads one to wonder what other sacrifices Dumbledore made in regards to the students as his school, just to ensure their survival and safety.