I started with Sorcerer’s Stone about the time Deathly Hallows came out.
I just finished Deathly Hallows.
My SO was the fan, so she has all the books. Kid stuff, thought I. But once the series was over, my curiosity got the better of me. I was soon hooked.
When you reserved your copy of DH, you got to choose one of two stickers.
‘Snape is a very bad man.’ or ‘Trust Snape’. I chose the right sticker, even though my only experience was the first four movies. (Hadn’t seen Order of the Phoenix, at the time.)
I’ve got one question, that maybe got explained somewhere in the shuffle of the climax at the end.
There is a scene where RKR describes Neville in the big hall after Voldemort is killed, with the Sword of Gryffindor beside him. How did they get it back from Griphook?
Any questions for someone who just took all of Harry Potter in one lump, as it were?
What excellent timing. I am just re-reading #7 and I wanted to check something from my copy of #1 which is 500 miles away.
In answer to your question: I believe that Dumbledore said at one point that the sword will be available to any Griffindor who needs it. This was presumably in Chamber Of Secrets. The fact that goblins and humans have differing ideas about who owns the sword now that Godric is dead probably doesn’t mean much to the sword.
Now my question. I was just musing over Harry’s wand. <snerk> I seem to remember that several wands were presented to Harry and either he or the wandmaker felt that they were not suitable. Do I remember his initial trip to Ollivander’s correctly or was he just presented with the perfect wand as soon as Ollivander sized him up?
Yes. I was getting pretty bleary-eyed after my 18-hour marathon session of reading Deathly Hallows by that time, and had the same question as the OP, but I was told by a co-worker who read it the same weekend that Neville pulled it out of the Sorting Hat, same as Harry in Chamber.
I’m confused about the protections granted Harry by his mother’s selfless act. There was a protective charm on him that meant that he was safe from harm as long as he still called Privet Lane his home, right? How did that work, exactly? Did it expire when he turned 17 or when he moved out, or both, or what?
Also, I am still confused by Dumbledore’s “smile of triumph” or whatever it was, back in book 4, when Harry revealed that Voldemort had used Harry’s own blood to restore himself to life. I don’t get why Dumbledore was triumphant about that.
This is exactly correct. Ironically, Voldemort was the one who put the hat on Neville’s head. Originally it landed on his own.
MsWhatsit the smile of triumph was because in doing that, Voldemort tied Harry and himself together even more thoroughly. He did not, as he thought he did, remove Harry’s protection from him, but again, sowed the seeds of his own destruction by doing that.
So long as he could call the place his family lived ‘home’ then he was protected. Once he reached adulthood or left forever (whichever came sooner) then the protection no longer lingered. This was one reason that Dumbledore was so insistent that Harry spent at least some time each year at ‘home’.
Dumbledore smiled because he realised that Voldemort had just created another tool against himself. The prophecy was just that - a prophecy - something which might happen or it might not. By attacking baby Harry, Voldemort gave him a weapon namely the horcrux. By then absorbing Harry’s blood Voldemort provided another weapon - Harry’s blood carried the protection of his mother’s sacrifice. Therefore to kill Harry completely Voldemort had to harm himself.
when lily chose to die defending harry she gave him blood protection.
in the books we learn that it was manifest in 2 ways.
as long as harry could claim “home space” in the house of someone who shared blood with him and his mother, he would be protected (or untouchable) in that house.
a. harry had to spend time in the house at least once a year.
b. no matter how reluctantly he was allowed in the house, or reluctant he was to be in the house protection held until…
c.he becomes of age or is thrown out of the house.
her protection was carried for harry’s life within the shared blood of lilly and harry, against the person who killed her.
a. this only worked against tommy. anyone else trying to kill harry could.
b. tommy literally could not touch harry or be touched by harry due to this.
c. when tommy took harry’s blood for his own rebodifiation in gof, he took the protection as well.
d. tommy was then able to touch or hurt harry, but not kill him because he shared harry’s blood protection.
Harry Potter, is it? Sorry, I’m out of here; I thought you were talking about HP Lovecraft. - I had some questions about Nyarlathotep, but never mind. Never mind.
Nope. My biggest one was the sword, and zelie zelerton answered it. In fact, after posting, I remembered the ‘available to any Griffindor in dire need’ clause. IOW, a wizard did it.
I can confirm Harry was presented with several wands, before the holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, very supple, chose him.
Wait, come back, there just might be a thousand legged, Goat headed, eldrich monstrosity, black as night, waiting out there for you. Take this vial of strangely coloured gas. I found it in a meteorite.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my mindless writhing to the piping of thousand demon spawn.
The statue in the main hall of the Ministry of Magic depicts those races that can perform magic: humans, goblins, elves- and centaurs? Did they ever show a centaur performing magic? (I don’t think simply being really good at astrology counts.)
Would you agree with me that Neville Longbottom is the true hero of the series? :eek:
Although Harry’s parents are killed and he is bullied at home and school, he has powerful allies (Dumbledore, Hagrid, Sirius, Order of the Phoenix), friends (Ron, Hermoine) and girl-friends (Cho, Ginny).
Neville’s parents are tortured into insanity and he comes across as a lonely chap. Yet he does brave things and saves the day at least twice…
No - Neville’s the quiet man forced into action. See Book 1. And Harry Potter is never bullied once he gets to Hogwarts. Also the end of Book 7 shows a repeat of the prophecy, doesn’t it?
Well, not quite, but he certainly shows more guts than he’s given credit for. He was always one of my favorite Griffindors, and shows almost as much development as the title character.
OK, one other question. I don’t remember the Huffelpuff Horcrux being destroyed. The Ravencraw diadem was destroyed in the fire, in the magical storage closet, but when and how was the cup destroyed?
I agree with the ‘quiet man forced into action’ description. I see a lot of myself in Neville, actually. But I wouldn’t say Harry was ‘never bullied’ at Hogwarts. Didn’t Draco break his nose and leave him trussed up on the Hogwarts train in Order of the Phoenix?
While Harry was running around talking to the Gray Lady ghost and trying to find the location of the diadem, Ron and Hermione slipped down to the Chamber of Secrets (Ron managed to say “Open” in Parseltongue, copying what he’d heard Harry say to the locket earlier in the book) and Hermione snagged some basilisk fangs and destroyed the cup.
Then, I suspect, they had a quick shag and came back upstairs to re-join Harry.
