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Around the Common Room

July 24th, 2007 · 23 Comments · Gryffindor Common Room

  • Spoiler Alert: The post below and many of the links contain spoilers.

Updates:  I got a little behind on getting the post on Evil and the post on Snape up (Prophecy 2007 work took over), but I’m hoping to get at least one of the two up later today or tonight.  Also, we’ve had quite the influx of new readers and commenters here since the release of Deathly Hallows, so I just wanted to say “Welcome, newcomers!  Glad you’ve found the site, are enjoying it, and are making it a better place by contributing.  Thanks to those of you who have E-Owled me with such kind words about the site, and thanks, of course, to those who have linked here (I think I’ve read the phrase, “I found my way here from HogPro” multiple times in the last week, so thanks, John!). 

  • New Poll is up.
  • Janet Batchler is discussing favorite moments from the book. (Janet, could you hurry up and finish that second reading? We’re looking for your analysis!)
  • Lisa (Accio Quote) thanks Jo. So does Allison. Good for both of you; Rowling deserves as many thanks as we can send her. (Lisa’s blog, by the way, has become one of my regular stopping places, and I’ve added it to the Links page.)
  • Today Show teasers: Rowling’s first interview after Deathly Hallows should be a great one.
  • She’s going to write the Encyclopedia, and you’ll finally get all those plot details you wanted from Deathly Hallows. (Told ya.) She’s taking a nice, long (well-deserved) break first, though.
  • Same interview linked right above this one: Arthur Weasley is the character who got the reprieve!
  • LaShawn Barber’s “First Impressions.”

I plan to write a post tomorrow: “The Defeat of Evil, (and Lack Thereof?) in Deathly Hallows.” I’m not going to tell you what it will be about, specifically, because the last time I did that, you all stole my thunder in the comments the day before I wrote the post. ;-) A post on Snape will follow that, hopefully Thursday night.

Yes, pubcasts will come soon. I’m just absolutely overwhelmed by the daunting task of preparing three 50-minute talks for Prophecy 2007 in the next 9 days.

I also have to get back on friendly terms with Aberforth for calling him a bitter old man. He does seem to come around to forgiving, though, even if it takes 130 years.

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23 responses so far ↓

  • 1 janetNo Gravatar // Jul 24, 2007 at 11:03 pm

    Travis –

    Don’t know where else to put this thought but….

    I kept thinking of you during my read… every time the Sword of Gryffindor was mentioned… and thinking what a presciently perfect namesake you chose!

    Okay, okay, back to the readthrough….

  • 2 Travis PrinziNo Gravatar // Jul 24, 2007 at 11:10 pm

    janet, you know, when I chose the name, I did do so on the hunch that it would be significant to book 7. Had the site not gained so many readers, and the sword not been significant, I had seriously considered a change to “Hog’s Head Pub” I’ve even got the rights to the domain name (”hogsheadpub.com,” which presently links to this site).

    “Sword of Gryffindor” is definitely staying now!

  • 3 MichaelNo Gravatar // Jul 25, 2007 at 10:58 am

    The title of Chapter 32 was going to be one of the titles for book seven!

    http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/7/25/one-of-deathly-hallows-alternate-titles-revealed-and-more-from-midnight-deathly-hallows-launch-in-london

    Awesome! :)

    And we all know that it was Arthur who got the reprieve and that she’ll be doing an Encyclopedia about the back story and future story of he characters? Excellent! I think she wanted to do this for a while now. She gave us a snippet of what was to come when she wrote Nineteen Years Later.

  • 4 MichaelNo Gravatar // Jul 25, 2007 at 11:14 am

    Harry Potter and the Elder Wand does not have the same ring to it…Jo IMO made the right decision.

  • 5 Kjetil KringlebottenNo Gravatar // Jul 25, 2007 at 1:57 pm

    I loved this book (and all the other books.) One of the reasons, as Travis pointed out in another post, is that I started reading the books rather late, December 2005, and I have never been much interested in speculation. I have read many posts on it, but mostly just for fun.

    So, I was not dissapointed; I had no “favorite theory” that I clung to.

  • 6 Marge DursleyNo Gravatar // Jul 25, 2007 at 4:31 pm

    Hey, I have a two questions:

    How did the Elder Wand come to be Draco Malfoy’s and then Harry’s?

    How did the AK that Voldemort shot at Harry kill the part of Voldemort’s soul in Harry, but not Harry?

  • 7 LMBNo Gravatar // Jul 25, 2007 at 7:00 pm

    Thanks for the link!

  • 8 Little LambNo Gravatar // Jul 25, 2007 at 7:27 pm

    Marge Dursley,

    - The Elder Wand, which had been under the dominion of Dumbledore, was transferred to Draco when he disarmed Dumbledore in the Tower in HBP. Harry then disarms Draco at Malfoy Manor in DH, so dominion over the wand passed to him.

    - The AK “killed” Harry, destroying the Horcrux within him, but did not keep him down permanently because Harry’s blood resided in Voldemort. When Voldemort used Harry’s blood to return to human form in GoF, part of Harry’s mother’s protection was transferred to Voldemort. It didn’t protect Voldemort, it protected Harry, but lived in Voldemort. So as long as Voldemort still had life, he couldn’t truly kill Harry.

  • 9 korg20000bcNo Gravatar // Jul 25, 2007 at 7:42 pm

    That’s great, Little Lamb.

    I think what you said is important to understanding Lily’s protection of Harry. It didn’t protect Voldemort but continued to protect Harry. Lily’s sacrificial love was strong and couldn’t be changed to protect someone else.

    Matthew

  • 10 Fantasy Fiction for Christians: Christian themes and symbolism in Narnia and Harry Potter // Jul 25, 2007 at 7:58 pm

    Deathly Hallows: First Third…

    SPOILERS BELOW!
    I’ve jotted down a few notes from chapters 1-13, which I’ll refer to when I review Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for my next column and prepare subsequent posts. “Second Third,” “Last Third,” and posts on Christian t…

  • 11 Marge DursleyNo Gravatar // Jul 25, 2007 at 8:17 pm

    Thanx for the answers.

    Just 2 more questions: In Goblet of Fire, in the graveyard scene when Priori Incantatem occurred, The order of ghosts, or as Dumbledore puts it “echoes” that came out of Lord Voldemort’s wand was: Wormtail’s hand, Cedric Diggory, Old Man (Frank Bryce presumably), Bertha Jorkins, James Potter, Lily Potter. Dumbledore said that this was Priori Incantatem and that Voldemort’s wand produced the people that his spells had killed recently in reverse order. Why did James appear before Lily if Lord Voldemort killed James before Lily? This was even proven in Deathly Hallows.

    Another thing:Why did Cedric appear if:
    “he [Harry] heard a high, cold voice say, “Kill the spare.”
    A swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the words, “Avada Kedavra!”
    …Cedric was lying spread-eagled on the ground beside him. He was dead”

    This means that Wormtail killed Cedric, not Lord Voldemort. Why did Cedric appear when Priori Incantatem occurred?

  • 12 korg20000bcNo Gravatar // Jul 25, 2007 at 8:20 pm

    Here’s what I reckon.

    1: Rowling made a mistake and the editors didn’t pick it up. Maybe it will be changed in later editions.

    2: Wormtail was holding Voldemort’s wand and fried Cedric with it. Doesn’t VOldemort ask Wormatil for his wand later in the chapter?

    Matthew

  • 13 Ginevra PotterNo Gravatar // Jul 25, 2007 at 10:26 pm

    Matthew is correct on both counts. I am almost certain Jo admitted the first as a mistake and said it has been changed in later editions. Also, Jo may have confirmed that Priori Incantatem reversed the wand’s spells, which is why Cedric appeared.

  • 14 The Black AngusNo Gravatar // Jul 26, 2007 at 12:24 am

    Hello,
    This is my first post to your site after lurking for a long time (checking up on my brother Korg20000bc!).
    I’m not sure where to post my thoughts, so I thought I’d throw them here.
    I’ve been thinking about the WWII connections. I know Korg has posted on another site that Grindelwald=Hitler rather than Voldemort=Hitler. I agree, but I want to take it a bit furhter and look at the issue from a Muggle perspective.
    Now I’m sure JKR doesn’t want us to think that Grindelwald actually was Hitler, but at the same time Grindelwald was running amok, so was Hitler. Both of them were defeated in 1945. Could we then better understand Grindelwald from a Muggle perspective as a ’spirit of the age’ or even like the Prince of Persia of Daniel 10:13?
    Think of the Muggle Prime Minister in OotP: he receives a terrifying and perplexing visitation from a powerful being who tells him not to be afraid, but know that he is caught up in a battle he cannot see but is nonetheless a part of. He receives assurance that these powerful (to a Muggle) beings are on his side and are battling the forces of evil in (to him) the unseen realm. Just like the angel’s visit to Daniel in Daniel 10.
    So could Grindelwald be a ‘Prince of Germany’ whose work is echoed in the Nazi regime? Perhaps then Dumbledore personifies the spirit of the British who had to overcome their reluctance to join battle but eventually triumphed without destroying Germany/Grindelwald.
    So what of the Voldemort challenge today? Could it be that Voldemort represents a spiritual threat, another evil ’spirit of the age’? But how can I be a part of that battle as a reader? Well sadly, as much as I want to identify with Harry or the members of the Order, I am mere Muggle. Muggles have been killed by Voldemort and his death eaters, so I am part of the battle. How can I stand up to the threat? Well I can take courage that there are others in this battle, operating outside my normal senses. I cannot rely on governmental structures. They are ineffective at best and easily overtaken by evil at worst. I see the courage and loyalty and love of the good wizards and seek to play my part in the battle with the same qualities.
    I feel that the wars in HP reflect the spiritual warfare we read about in the Bible.
    Has anyone ever explored exactly how we Muggles are meant to identify with the books?

    And Travis, my only disappointment with the book as that we’ll see no apologies from Christian critics of the series. They don’t have enough grace to admit they’re wrong.

  • 15 korg20000bcNo Gravatar // Jul 26, 2007 at 1:33 am

    The Black Angus,
    What a first post!
    That’s a really interesting take on the series especially when viewed in the light of this Rowling statement.

    “OJ: Thank you. Are you implying that Dumbledore had a hand in ending the Second World War [JKR laughs] by his defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald -

    JKR: In 1945.

    OJ: - in 1945?

    JKR: I may well be implying that.

    OJ: Do you enjoy having stuff in the wizard world connecting with Muggle - Muggles - history?

    JKR: Well, I really do, yes, because I think that’s what adds to the believability of the books. I think that’s one of the reasons readers can imagine themselves so readily into the wizarding world because they can see how it does interconnect with our world. So it’s both secret and apparent, but we, Muggles, don’t have the perception to see what’s right under our noses, of course.”

    Your point about not fighting the battle alone is very helpful.

    Excellent food for thought, brother.

    Matthew

  • 16 Lady BeccaNo Gravatar // Jul 26, 2007 at 12:11 pm

    I don’t post often, but love reading the insights everyone has on this site. Can you please give me your thoughts on the Elder Wand?

    Does the Elder Wand submit to the wand that defeated it or the wizard?

    If it is the wand, then I hope Harry destroyed the hawthorn wand. Otherwise it seems whoever has the hawthorn wand controls the Elder Wand.

    If it is the wizard, then Harry will never be safe from power-hungry wizards, even it he places the Elder Wand back into Dumbledore’s crypt.

  • 17 Travis PrinziNo Gravatar // Jul 26, 2007 at 1:11 pm

    Lady Becca, the Elder Wand submits to the wizard, not to the wand. So yeah, if a power-hungry wizard were to discover the location of the wand, Harry would be targeted.

  • 18 revgeorgeNo Gravatar // Jul 26, 2007 at 2:24 pm

    Hi, first post here. Thank you, Travis, for putting out such a great site & for all your commentary.

    I just wanted to comment on Dolores Umbridge. Someone, perhaps not here, but elsewhere, had said they were disappointed that we don’t get to see her get any comeuppance. The trio get the locket from her & that’s it.

    Well, I can’t imagine her having a bright future in the post-LV world. She is a collaborator of the worst sort, not doing it out of fear nor to protect innocents but simply for personal gain. Aside from the fact that Kingsley doesn’t seem the type to let her continue in the ministry, which means she’s out of a very cushy job, there are lots of very angry people out there who would love to cause her personal injury, if not death, for her role in terrorizing their families.

    In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if a backlash happened after the war against anyone who could be connected to LV’s regime at the ministry. Not something Kingsley as Minister would condone, but something the ministry would have to try hard to overcome.

    Just some thoughts on Umbridge. I don’t think she will have gotten off lightly, which perhaps we’ll find out in JKR’s encyclopedia. Thanks again for the forum.

  • 19 Travis PrinziNo Gravatar // Jul 26, 2007 at 10:38 pm

    revgeorge, welcome! I agree. There is no bright future for Delores. Given Rowling’s statements in this morning’s Today show interview, the Ministry gets revolutionized by Harry, Ron, and people like them. So there’s no way folks like Delores keep their jobs there.

    And she also got quite a payback in Order. Were it not for Dumbledore’s mercy, Delores would likely be dead at the hands of angry centaurs.

  • 20 SomeoneNo Gravatar // Jul 31, 2007 at 2:09 pm

    Happy Birthday Harry!

  • 21 KristenNo Gravatar // Aug 24, 2007 at 12:06 am

    Where did Harry hide the Elder Wand after talking to Dumbeldore’s potrait?

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