I love Harry Potter.
I was 11 or 12 when I first read it, and started with book two because we were reading it at school. I remember being slightly annoyed as it was already very popular and I didn’t want to pay any attention to what everyone else was interested in. But I’m a good girl, so I did what I was told and got hopelessly sucked into the magic of the Wizarding World.
I’ve read all the books countless times. My first three books are falling apart. From book four onwards, I was a release day sort of person - not as hardcore as the midnight releasers, but as soon as possible thereafter and then it was a race to try to read it as quickly as possible. I remember being particularly proud of getting through book five in 16 hours, because that was obviously my priority half way through my GCSE’s.
Recently, I decided to read them all through again. Only this time, I felt the need to note down a few points. All of the below are the notes I made as I read the books. Some make little sense.
In the style of a Buzzfeed article - Thoughts I Had While Rereading Harry Potter in my 30’s
Philosopher’s Stone
- mean to make them do Astronomy at midnight but then be in lessons the next morning.
- why did Dumbledore take so long to get to and from the Ministry. He could have flown on a broom, apparated from Hogsmeade, floo powdered it, hell even got Fawkes to drop him off, but no - did he walk there?!
Chamber of Secrets
(everything is in response to Harry being collared for Dobby’s magic)
- how does the Trace work, when do they put it on you?
- surely Petunia knows that students can’t do magic outside of school having grown up with an underage witch
- doesn’t this mean that the Ministry knows about Hagrid using magic to get Harry in book one?
Prisoner of Azkaban
- how long are the summer holidays?! 5 weeks before Harry’s birthday, which is at the end of July, they break up in the last week of June? 8 or 9 weeks off, no wonder Harry hated the summer holidays.
- Hermione missed a trick not using the time turner to sleep more. Or you know, catch up on homework or whatever.
- why doesnt Harry seem to watch the other quidditch games? What happens when a non playing house wins the cup if they present the cup at the last game?
- 200 slytherins
Goblet of Fire
- 11 teachers
- why didn’t Harry just accio the egg
- Moody’s eye can see through robes = pervert
- do all spells make jets of light
- why can’t Harry see the thestrals
- did Hermione feed beetle Rita Skeeter? Beetle food or human food?
Order of the Phoenix
- must not use magic - Tonks uses all the magic
- summer holidays = 4 weeks before rescue few days after 2nd Aug, break up beginning of July
- 6 lessons a day = single, break, double, lunch, single, double. Single 90 mins, double two hours?
- different break times on different days? Tues no break, 2x double, lunch
- Harry is so mean to Hedwig ALL OF THE TIME
- have to go outside at break
- paintings can talk but photos can’t
- lessons end 5 o’clock
- why do the Order take so long to get to the ministry. Adults only apparate when they don’t have to be somewhere quickly. Oh no, Harry is in mortal danger, LETS WALK THERE
- why don’t use memories as proof Voldemort is back
Half Blood Prince
- Stan is 21 = 19 in book three so why didn’t he recognise Harry when he was at school with him for two years when Harry was kind of a big deal?
- being arrested nowhere near as scary now dementors have gone
- why did Harry let first years try out for the team when first years aren’t allowed to play quidditch
- they say snog a lot in this book and it makes me uncomfortable
- glad Hermione spent Christmas with her family - probably last time before she deletes herself from their memories ... unless she stayed at Hogwarts to study ... which she probably did
- Hermione is a much better friend to Hagrid than Ron and Harry combined
- where are all these kids getting Dumbledore’s notes from, why can’t he just give them directly
- Dumbledore doesn’t need Harry to translate but knows what is being said - can you learn parceltongue?!
- do the teachers sleep in their offices?
- not only is a teacher giving 16 year olds alcohol, but it’s the first thing in the morning
- Zonko’s closed because Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes so popular?
- CAN SLUGHORN STOP GIVING MINORS ALCOHOL
- Dumbledore hand - why is Snape at school in the holidays?
- sword only griffindor relic - hat?
- why don’t students get train back?
- Harry could have just grabbed the broom that was RIGHT THERE to chase Snape
- where did Hagrid put Dumbledore - does Hogwarts have a morgue?
- is it automatic that a portrait of previous/dead headteachers goes into headmasters office or did someone put it there?
- Fawkes, where you go?
Deathly Hallows
- why didn’t Moody’s curse on Grimmauld Place break when he died?
- Harry overly harsh on Scrimgeour - blames him for actions of Fudge and Umbridge, doesn’t appreciate that Ministry has helped keep him safe too. Ministry is corrupt but not Scrimgeour
- why did Snape lock the door after searching Regulus’s room?
- Ministry witch called Wakanda
- how did Hermione have time to disfigure Harry, Ron to turn out the lights and for them to listen to the voices get nearer but not to disapparate? All sat next to each other within touching distance, 15 seconds of dialogue, Hermione could have just grabbed the boys and disapparated before a word was even spoken
- Bill is his own secret keeper = why get anyone else involved? Whole faff with Pettigrew pointless
- but awkward, spending 1000 years with the guy who stalked then killed you
- I get that Fred dying with the ghost of his last laugh etched on his face is supposed to be poetic, but picture it, it’s hella creepy
- what happened to all the bodies in the Great Hall when the fight moved there?
And on that cheery note ... that’s it!
