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pauraque_bkIn Chapter 1, we had talk of DA/DE parallels, whether Lucius is the "wealthy man" (or not), and the "curse"/"murder" editorial snafu in the US edition.
GoF 2: The Scar
I think this may be just an ability Harry happens to have, and that the fact that his scar hurts even in clairvoyant perception of Voldemort is secondary. Divination of all kinds has often been downplayed and ridiculed in the books; it seems that most wizards don't appreciate how it really works, and how rare/difficult it is. I wonder if Harry will recognize this ability in himself, and try to consciously use it. It'd be an interesting topic for a fic, at least.
I'm very drawn to the observation some have made that Harry is like many abused children in that he has an elaborate fantasy world he can escape to when reality becomes too unpleasant; the main difference is that Harry's is real. As he gets older, misery and danger encroach ever further into his "fantasy" life, finally reaching that crisis point where he can no longer separate them, and will have to take action to bring the confidence and friendship he's gained in the "fantasy" world into (Muggle) "reality".
In PS 1 I was bothered by the curiously specific references to Voldemort having been on the rise for "eleven years" (as opposed to ten years, or a decade, or more than a decade), and here it is again. There must have been some particular event from which people are counting the years of V's rise to power, perhaps a notable attack that made people wake up to the fact that something was wrong.
The heavy-handed exposition carries on here for quite a while. Totally unnecessary, especially given that by the time GoF was being written, the series was very popular and widely followed.
He covers his reasons for not wanting to talk to the Dursleys, Dumbledore, or Arthur Weasley, and eventually settles on writing to Sirius. There's no mention of the possibility of writing to Remus Lupin. It's interesting that those two aren't closer than they are; Lupin was an adult Harry knew and trusted for a whole school year, whereas he's only known Sirius for two months (and only after believing him to be a murderer, etc). At the end of OotP, Lupin asks Harry to keep in touch, but that doesn't happen. In HBP, Harry complains of Lupin not writing to him, but has he ever made an effort to stay friends?
Remus seems to behave in a more fatherly way to Harry than Sirius, who tends to act more like a brother. And Harry accepts that; when Remus chastises him in PoA for being out of bed, Harry is penitent, not angry. I wonder if Harry is responding to Sirius's intense emotionality, as compared to Remus's withdrawn, self-protective demeanor.
Previous GoF posts are saved in memories here.
GoF 2: The Scar
Harry lay flat on his back, breathing hard as though he had been running. He had awoken from a vivid dream with his hands pressed over his face. The old scar on his forehead, which was shaped like a bolt of lightning, was burning beneath his fingers as though someone had just pressed a white-hot wire to his skin. (20)I don't think we ever find out exactly what was happening here. He wasn't experiencing V's thoughts/feelings, but observing events first through an abstract narrative voice, and then through Frank's POV. Once he wakes up, he has a hard time remembering the details of the dream. This isn't the first time Harry's had clairvoyant or prophetic dreams and then failed to remember them properly -- I know there's one in PS/SS that's something about Snape and Voldemort, and one in PoA where he dreams he's chasing a stag (before he knows about Prongs).
I think this may be just an ability Harry happens to have, and that the fact that his scar hurts even in clairvoyant perception of Voldemort is secondary. Divination of all kinds has often been downplayed and ridiculed in the books; it seems that most wizards don't appreciate how it really works, and how rare/difficult it is. I wonder if Harry will recognize this ability in himself, and try to consciously use it. It'd be an interesting topic for a fic, at least.
No, the thing that was bothering Harry was that the last time his scar had hurt him, it had been because Voldemort had been close by ... but Voldemort couldn't be here, now ... the idea of Voldemort lurking in Privet Drive was absurd, impossible... (23)Suggests the moment when that barrier really is breached, when the Dementors appear in Little Whinging in OotP. I still think we might be heading for an ending where the Muggle and magical worlds are openly reconciled in some way... Harry starts by divorcing himself as much as possible from the Muggle world, but in OotP and HBP is increasingly confronted with the reality that the two worlds mutually influence each other. That rift is the heart of the plot conflict, and I think it's close to the core of Harry's internal conflict as well.
I'm very drawn to the observation some have made that Harry is like many abused children in that he has an elaborate fantasy world he can escape to when reality becomes too unpleasant; the main difference is that Harry's is real. As he gets older, misery and danger encroach ever further into his "fantasy" life, finally reaching that crisis point where he can no longer separate them, and will have to take action to bring the confidence and friendship he's gained in the "fantasy" world into (Muggle) "reality".
Harry had been a year old the night that Voldemort -- the most powerful Dark wizard for a century, a wizard who had been gaining power steadily for eleven years -- arrived at his house and killed his father and mother. (23)A century? Grindelwald, you just got dissed!
In PS 1 I was bothered by the curiously specific references to Voldemort having been on the rise for "eleven years" (as opposed to ten years, or a decade, or more than a decade), and here it is again. There must have been some particular event from which people are counting the years of V's rise to power, perhaps a notable attack that made people wake up to the fact that something was wrong.
The heavy-handed exposition carries on here for quite a while. Totally unnecessary, especially given that by the time GoF was being written, the series was very popular and widely followed.
Harry kneaded his forehead with his knuckles. What he really wanted (and it felt almost shameful to admit it to himself) was someone like -- someone like a parent: an adult wizard whose advice he could ask without feeling stupid, someone who cared about him, who had had experience of Dark Magic... (25)Wow. He's actually ashamed of himself for missing his parents and wishing for the help of a loving adult. It's not often we get overt references to Harry's neuroses like this.
He covers his reasons for not wanting to talk to the Dursleys, Dumbledore, or Arthur Weasley, and eventually settles on writing to Sirius. There's no mention of the possibility of writing to Remus Lupin. It's interesting that those two aren't closer than they are; Lupin was an adult Harry knew and trusted for a whole school year, whereas he's only known Sirius for two months (and only after believing him to be a murderer, etc). At the end of OotP, Lupin asks Harry to keep in touch, but that doesn't happen. In HBP, Harry complains of Lupin not writing to him, but has he ever made an effort to stay friends?
Remus seems to behave in a more fatherly way to Harry than Sirius, who tends to act more like a brother. And Harry accepts that; when Remus chastises him in PoA for being out of bed, Harry is penitent, not angry. I wonder if Harry is responding to Sirius's intense emotionality, as compared to Remus's withdrawn, self-protective demeanor.
Harry had received two letters from Sirius since he had been back at Privet Drive. Both had been delivered, not by owls (as was usual with wizards) but by large, brightly coloured, tropical birds. (27)And his letters sound cheerful. I really appreciated the realistic attention paid to Sirius's downward spiral in OotP; it's his pleasant and mature behavior in the intervening book that seems aberrant to me.
They told [Dudley] they'd have to cut his pocket money if he keeps doing it, so he got really angry and chucked his PlayStation out of the window. (27)There's an extremely thorough article on HPL covering the anachronistic PlayStation and basically everything else you'd ever want to know about what years the books take place: Mapping the Harry Potter Timeline by Troels Forchhammer (which is a great name).
Previous GoF posts are saved in memories here.
