It just hit me today—the Brockdale Bridge that collapses in the beginning of Book 6 is in London.
Witches and Wizards everywhere can join with their Muggle friends in singing "London Bridge Is Falling Down."
Monday, February 2, 2009
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Book 7 - Ronald Bilius Weasley
I love Ron in this book. This is the book where Ron really grows up. He probably matures more in this book than any other. It starts from the very beginning. I think he first truly realizes the danger they're in when people he knows personally, his own family, in particular, start getting seriously wounded. It's one thing to have someone you don't know killed, another to have someone you know and trust killed, and quite another to have your own brothers hurt. It actually probably started at the end of book 6. First there is the shock that Dumbledore could be killed. Then Bill is attacked by Fenrir Greyback. At the very beginning of book 7, George's ear gets cursed off by Snape. It had to have been a rude awakening for Ron.
To add a bit of comic relief to Ron's maturing, he also starts off the book with a new awareness of how to treat women. He takes the book that Fred and George gave him and starts learning that girls are different than guys and need different treatment. (Leave it to Ron to not figure that out until he's 17...) It's so cute to watch him compliment Hermione and see her positive reaction to his efforts.
Ron shows foresight in protecting his family by leaving an alibi for why he didn't return to Hogwarts. Arthur, Fred and George helped him in his plan by transforming their ghoul to look like Ron with spattergroit. That way, the Ministry (a.k.a. Death Eaters) won't torture his family trying to find out where Ron, and thus Harry, is hiding.
While they spent weeks and weeks jumping from one place to another, trying to find horcruxes and trying to destroy the locket, Ron was the most susceptible to the locket. Ron had always been a very insecure person. He was always living in the shadows of his older brothers and his best mate. He wanted nothing more than to be special somehow, but always feared that he never would be. The locket preyed on that weakness. It told him that he wasn't good enough. It emphasized Ron's fear that Hermione secretly loved Harry, not Ron. It spread fear and distrust until finally, Ron couldn't take it anymore and left. Of course, Ron isn't really the world's biggest prat, and he regretted the decision immediately, but due to getting caught and Hermione and Harry's increased security, he couldn't come back for weeks. However, when he did come back, it was with true remorse. He immediately found Harry and saved his life. He recovered the sword of Gryffindor under very dangerous circumstances, and then he proceeded to destroy the locket, facing his biggest fears in front of Harry in doing so.
Of course, just as with Hermione, my favorite moment with Ron is the kiss. Ron finally understands why creatures such as house elves should be treated with respect, just like Hermione had been telling him for years. But in this book, Ron actually saw house elves in a good light. He saw Kreacher turn into the most pleasant, lovable house elf, simply because he was shown kindness. He watched Dobby sacrifice his own life to save theirs. He finally realized that house elves should be free to make their own decisions. I don't think he even realized his own change of heart, but when he realized that all of the Hogwarts house elves were in danger of dying simply because they were tied to the castle, he balked at the idea. This is when Hermione finally breaks down and kisses him. My favorite line of the whole thing, however, is said by Harry. "OI! There's a war going on here!" Seriously, I love how Rowling can insert humor into the most dire of scenes.
But don't fear, the snarky Ron that we all know and love is still there. Please note what he tells Rosie about Scorpius in the epilogue. Ahhhh... you just gotta love him. Yes, I think he may be my favorite character of this book.
To add a bit of comic relief to Ron's maturing, he also starts off the book with a new awareness of how to treat women. He takes the book that Fred and George gave him and starts learning that girls are different than guys and need different treatment. (Leave it to Ron to not figure that out until he's 17...) It's so cute to watch him compliment Hermione and see her positive reaction to his efforts.
Ron shows foresight in protecting his family by leaving an alibi for why he didn't return to Hogwarts. Arthur, Fred and George helped him in his plan by transforming their ghoul to look like Ron with spattergroit. That way, the Ministry (a.k.a. Death Eaters) won't torture his family trying to find out where Ron, and thus Harry, is hiding.
While they spent weeks and weeks jumping from one place to another, trying to find horcruxes and trying to destroy the locket, Ron was the most susceptible to the locket. Ron had always been a very insecure person. He was always living in the shadows of his older brothers and his best mate. He wanted nothing more than to be special somehow, but always feared that he never would be. The locket preyed on that weakness. It told him that he wasn't good enough. It emphasized Ron's fear that Hermione secretly loved Harry, not Ron. It spread fear and distrust until finally, Ron couldn't take it anymore and left. Of course, Ron isn't really the world's biggest prat, and he regretted the decision immediately, but due to getting caught and Hermione and Harry's increased security, he couldn't come back for weeks. However, when he did come back, it was with true remorse. He immediately found Harry and saved his life. He recovered the sword of Gryffindor under very dangerous circumstances, and then he proceeded to destroy the locket, facing his biggest fears in front of Harry in doing so.
Of course, just as with Hermione, my favorite moment with Ron is the kiss. Ron finally understands why creatures such as house elves should be treated with respect, just like Hermione had been telling him for years. But in this book, Ron actually saw house elves in a good light. He saw Kreacher turn into the most pleasant, lovable house elf, simply because he was shown kindness. He watched Dobby sacrifice his own life to save theirs. He finally realized that house elves should be free to make their own decisions. I don't think he even realized his own change of heart, but when he realized that all of the Hogwarts house elves were in danger of dying simply because they were tied to the castle, he balked at the idea. This is when Hermione finally breaks down and kisses him. My favorite line of the whole thing, however, is said by Harry. "OI! There's a war going on here!" Seriously, I love how Rowling can insert humor into the most dire of scenes.
But don't fear, the snarky Ron that we all know and love is still there. Please note what he tells Rosie about Scorpius in the epilogue. Ahhhh... you just gotta love him. Yes, I think he may be my favorite character of this book.
Book 7 - Hermione Jean Granger
Hermione I was well pleased with. I'm actually quite impressed with how well Dumbledore knew Hermione and Ron, considering that they rarely actually spoke. He knew that if he gave Hermione a puzzle, she would take the time to fully understand it before she did anything rash. It's because of Hermione that we have most people's complaint about this book—that the middle is too slow. I think it was fantastic. The fact that we sit and do nothing for pages upon pages and get annoyed that they're doing nothing is exactly what Rowling wanted. She wanted us to be just as frustrated (well, relatively speaking) as our heroic trio were. Pretty effective, yes? Hermione played her part perfectly in keeping Harry's head on his shoulders. Yes, he was too rash and wanted to do things before he really understood them. Meet Harry. However, he is smart enough to trust Hermione's sense. He may argue and he may threaten to do it without her, but he always ends up listening. (Well, usually, anyway.)
Hermione has many notable moments in the book. There's the awful moment in Godric's Hollow when she fights off Nagini and breaks Harry's want. We've all been in that spot—when we have broken or ruined something of someone else's on accident—so I think we can all empathize with her. But I don't think anything can top destroying the wand of the only person who can defeat the most evil man on earth.
Another is when she modifies the memories of her parents. She knows that the only way to protect them is to disassociate them with herself. She does this, knowing full well that if she dies, they will never return to their real lives, that they will never mourn the loss of their only daughter. It's a truly heartbreaking moment.
You really see Hermione as a typical girl when Ron comes back after walking out on them. She had spent weeks feeling like he had abandoned her (and of course she loved him, so this was the utmost betrayal), wondering where he was, if he was safe, thinking he may possibly not even care about her, and didn't return his love for her. Of course, she couldn't say any of this to Harry, as she had never confided her feelings for Ron to him. Also, she knew he was mourning the loss of his best mate. So when Ron came back, instead of embracing him and being grateful, like most guys would think would be the natural result, she attacks. All of the frustration and fear and hurt that had been pent up over the last several weeks came out. He had hurt her and she had no inclination of letting him see her weak, never giving him the opportunity to do that to her again. Even listening to the story of him risking his life to save Harry and destroy the horcrux did nothing to dissuade her of her anger. He had hurt her and no part of this heroic feat had proven to her that he felt any remorse for that. Sure, she would have reacted differently had he been hurt or killed, but she could see that he was perfectly safe and thus didn't have to worry about his health.
My favorite Hermione moment of the book is, of course, the kiss. They're in the middle of the most important war of their entire lives and Hermione takes the time to notice when Ron stands up for the house elves. Hermione, who I took to be a more old-fashioned kind of girl, drops everything (quite literally) and kisses him. The two forget where they are, what they're doing, and finally embrace the love that has been growing for 7 years. (Seriously, what took them so long?!)
Hermione has many notable moments in the book. There's the awful moment in Godric's Hollow when she fights off Nagini and breaks Harry's want. We've all been in that spot—when we have broken or ruined something of someone else's on accident—so I think we can all empathize with her. But I don't think anything can top destroying the wand of the only person who can defeat the most evil man on earth.
Another is when she modifies the memories of her parents. She knows that the only way to protect them is to disassociate them with herself. She does this, knowing full well that if she dies, they will never return to their real lives, that they will never mourn the loss of their only daughter. It's a truly heartbreaking moment.
You really see Hermione as a typical girl when Ron comes back after walking out on them. She had spent weeks feeling like he had abandoned her (and of course she loved him, so this was the utmost betrayal), wondering where he was, if he was safe, thinking he may possibly not even care about her, and didn't return his love for her. Of course, she couldn't say any of this to Harry, as she had never confided her feelings for Ron to him. Also, she knew he was mourning the loss of his best mate. So when Ron came back, instead of embracing him and being grateful, like most guys would think would be the natural result, she attacks. All of the frustration and fear and hurt that had been pent up over the last several weeks came out. He had hurt her and she had no inclination of letting him see her weak, never giving him the opportunity to do that to her again. Even listening to the story of him risking his life to save Harry and destroy the horcrux did nothing to dissuade her of her anger. He had hurt her and no part of this heroic feat had proven to her that he felt any remorse for that. Sure, she would have reacted differently had he been hurt or killed, but she could see that he was perfectly safe and thus didn't have to worry about his health.
My favorite Hermione moment of the book is, of course, the kiss. They're in the middle of the most important war of their entire lives and Hermione takes the time to notice when Ron stands up for the house elves. Hermione, who I took to be a more old-fashioned kind of girl, drops everything (quite literally) and kisses him. The two forget where they are, what they're doing, and finally embrace the love that has been growing for 7 years. (Seriously, what took them so long?!)
Book 7 - Harry James Potter
Wow. What can I say about Harry? As usual he had to go through some emotionally trying times because he can be a prat. (Seriously, after all of this time implicitly trusting Dumbledore, he would let Rita Skeeter dissuade him of that trust? Honestly, Harry, and I thought you were smart. I was impressed at how he stood up to Scrimgeour at the beginning and figured out little clues (like how to open the snitch) on his own. Lots of people have criticized Harry over the years for not always being the brightest quill in the pack, but that’s part of why I like him. He really is just an average kid. The only reason he is special, the only reason he is able to defeat Voldemort is because a) Voldemort gave him powers when he tried to kill him as a baby, b) witches and wizards smarter than he turned their special attention to teach him, and c) he’s got awesome friends who risk their own lives to help him. Did you notice that it wasn’t Harry that destroyed the Horcruxes? Nope! Of the original horcruxes that Harry knew about, Harry didn’t destroy a single one. The only one he destroyed was the one inside of him. And technically, he didn’t even destroy it; Voldemort did when he “killed” Harry the last time. The point of these books are not, Oooohhhh, Harry Potter is special and awesome and can defeat even the most powerful wizard! I think it’s more the idea that even an average person, with the help of good friends, and especially accompanied with the power of love, can defeat even the greatest evil in the world. Harry just happens to be the average person destined to play the part.
As always, Harry is impatient and wants the answer now. Luckily, he surrounds himself with good friends that are able to slow him down to see the important parts. He gets carried away with Hallows for a time, but ends up making the best choice to pursue the destruction of the Horcruxes. By making that choice he ends up ensuring the destruction of Voldemort, and as an added bonus, finds all three Hallows as well. And my favorite part, after 7 years of hating and loathing Snape, he realizes in one fell swoop how much he misunderstood and finally understood why Dumbledore trusted him. He realized how much Snape had risked for Harry. Kind of telling, isn’t it? Are we like that? Are we so convinced by what we believe to be the truth of something that we totally miss the real truth? Do we hate someone for something when someday, too late, we’ll find out that’s the very reason we should have loved them? It’s funny to me, though, because Snape really and truly was the world’s biggest git… who had good intentions in the big picture, but resented the boy he was protecting. I find it interesting that Harry forgave Snape so easily, even though Snape’s attitude wasn’t an act. I think it shows the growth in maturity over the years
Also, I think it’s awesome and perfect that he married Ginny.
As always, Harry is impatient and wants the answer now. Luckily, he surrounds himself with good friends that are able to slow him down to see the important parts. He gets carried away with Hallows for a time, but ends up making the best choice to pursue the destruction of the Horcruxes. By making that choice he ends up ensuring the destruction of Voldemort, and as an added bonus, finds all three Hallows as well. And my favorite part, after 7 years of hating and loathing Snape, he realizes in one fell swoop how much he misunderstood and finally understood why Dumbledore trusted him. He realized how much Snape had risked for Harry. Kind of telling, isn’t it? Are we like that? Are we so convinced by what we believe to be the truth of something that we totally miss the real truth? Do we hate someone for something when someday, too late, we’ll find out that’s the very reason we should have loved them? It’s funny to me, though, because Snape really and truly was the world’s biggest git… who had good intentions in the big picture, but resented the boy he was protecting. I find it interesting that Harry forgave Snape so easily, even though Snape’s attitude wasn’t an act. I think it shows the growth in maturity over the years
Also, I think it’s awesome and perfect that he married Ginny.
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