<< Week 2 | Book Rereads | Week 4 >>​

You know the drill!

 

So after rereading chapters 1-7 I have to say that Dobby isn't as annoying as fanfiction makes him out to be, and Gilderoy seems more annoying than usual. Also this chapter 2 seems to be the first and only time where Vernon in particular really comes across as abusive.

 

Personally, I don't quite get why Vernon decides to lock Harry up like that as punishment? I get he was really mad at Harry for botching an important dinner and lying about ability to use Magic outside of school. But does he remember that:

a. Sooner or later, somebody from the Wizarding World was probably going to show up, if nothing else to explain why Harry didn't go to school. And he does remember that half-giant that bent his gun like a pretzel, right?

b. One of his neighbors noticing the bars on Harry's windows. Either Harry really was built up as the Worst Kid Ever by the Dursleys, or the neighbors are all assholes. Shouldn't at least one person have found it the least bit odd Vernon would suddenly feel the need to bar Harry's windows.

c. Harry going to Hogwarts is actually a good thing for Vernon. It meant nine months with no Harry Potter, and it's not like he can use any of the Magic he learned outside of school anyway.

Btw, Figg is really bad at her job. How did she not notice the bars on Harry's windows? Maybe Rowling only decided later she would be a spy for Dumbledore, but still.

 

Off screen she sent a letter to Dumbledore who sent a letter to the Weasley twins to break Harry out. It's never said outright but they were the secret "Order" members.

 

He tries to choke Harry in OotP, so there's that

Also the Dursleys, Vernon in particular, go from being able to say "magic" in Book 1 to having a near fainting fit when Harry mentions the word in Chapter 1. Interestingly, Vernon goes back to being comfortable with saying the word once Harry's expulsion letter arrives.

 

True, but this incident seems to be the worst one though.

 

How about, the window is on the opposite site of the street?

 

Figg doesn't even live on the same street, first of all.

 

And yet the only times you hear about it in fanfic is when they point at something poignant.

That's a lot earlier than I ever recalled him being mentioned.

Implies Dumbledore is the one sending out the letters, and that they're not just automated somehow.

About Percy, and it's mentioned right after that Bill accomplished the same. Hermione did how many owls?

Interesting how everyone calls Lucius Mr. Malfoy, even Borgin. Suppose that's the "lords" nonsense taken care of.

Poisons? One might wonder why you'd need any poison at all in your house.

One wonders if this is a nod at a specific necklace.

What the fuck kind of cabbages are those that they get eaten by Flesh-Eating Slugs?

And to think Arthur's usually shown as much meeker than Molly.

The Great Hall isn't usually shown as having windows, is it?

I recall in the movies that Mrs. Weasley's Howler also casually said hi to Harry after it was finished; doesn't seem to be the case in canon.

Hm. I wonder if it's also used for Animagi who get stuck in their original form.

An explanation of how moving photographs are made.

This is pretty interesting, although probably biased.

Hm.

This is just sad.

Huh. Guess Ouagadougou being a wizardly place (presumably in Africa) was foreshadowed before, IIRC, being revealed as the site of another wizarding school.

Now this is interesting. Especially since he mentions Dumbledore right after that.

 

I'm pretty sure we know that Hermione got 10 OWLs, missing Divination and Muggle Studies.

 

Pfff, Percy got 12

 

With or with out a time turner? If with out it shows pretty unfair treatment of students.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like JKR didn't really think it through when saying that Bill and Percy both got 12 OWLs. I highly doubt that Charlie (who was just a year younger than Bill) wouldn't have noticed something strange with Bill's schedule. As for Percy, I doubt the twins would have let that slip from their notice.

Or maybe Hermione was the only one taking 12 courses in her third year, so the Professors decided to turn her schedule into a giant mess.

Also, doesn't Ron speculate that Riddle might have achieved 30 OWLs for his Award for Special Services? What's that about?

 

Sarcasm. Ron does that.

 

As for the 12 OWLs thing, well, Hermione had 11 OWLs in the earlier editions of HBP, which would imply you can take the exam without taking the class for some subjects. I would assume she could have gotten 12 but stood on principle when it came to Divination. And considering we only have data for one student managing it every 5-10 years, it's not even that outlandish. But then, this was 'fixed' in the later editions of HBP and Hermione now has 10 OWLs.

 

And you only need an Acceptable to get the OWL, not that hard, I believe Hermione got near perfect O's which is far more impressive.

 

I know he does, but I remember thinking about it as there possibly being a different grading system in the past.

Percy doesn't strike me as someone who'd be happy with that

Prefect and Head Boy Percy and Prefect and Head Boy Bill both very much seem like the "model students" for whom McGonagall might have requested Time Turners. That none of their friends and siblings noticed seems very odd. Unless, again, there were other people who were taking 12 courses in their years and the Professors simply had to make a non-awful schedule.

 

We're told in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban that Percy received top grades on his N.E.W.T.s. With the top grade being Outstanding, it's probably safe to assume he also received O's when he took his O.W.L.s.

 

The illustrated edition has some really nice artwork for these first nine chapters of CoS: