# Well, I just read the Harry Potter series (thoughts, questions, SPOILERS aplenty) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2004, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751 "2004-07-19T01:17:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/21 "2004-07-19T15:32:40Z")
One thing I’ve noticed (and others have as well, of course) is that Harry has a need to interfere where he should not. If he hadn’t gone after the stone in the first book, Quirrell could not have gotten it, and I think the same thing was true about the fifth book as well. (It might also have been true elsewhere in the books.) Also, in the fifth book in particular, I think things would be much less mysterious if he had an honest talk with Dumbledore. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/22 "2004-07-19T15:39:09Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Um, Harry isnt a ‘mudblood’ or haflbreed, BOTH his parents were wizards…he may be first generation ‘pure’ but both parents were magic-slingers. I knew somebody would say that. > [@](#): > > Chapter 37, page 842, Order Of The Phoenix: “And notice this Harry, he chose not the pureblood (which according to his creed, is the only kind of wizard worth being r knowing), but the half-blood like himself.” ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/23 "2004-07-19T15:41:37Z")
I don’t know that “half-blood” means “half magic, half muggle”. It may just refer to half royal. My WAG is Neville Longbottom. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/24 "2004-07-19T16:41:03Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > Yet by the time Harry was born, they were dead, and Harry had no other living relatives. (Which is a real shame, since they seem very supportive of Lily.) This also raises questions about James Potter’s wizarding parents. Are all these (apparent) deaths somehow significant? Somehow linked? I assumed the maternal grandparents were just dead, of natural causes. We’re never sure of the Dursleys’ ages, but I assumed they’re middle-aged now, so it’s quite possible the parents are already gone. As for James’ parents, I’m guessing (and this is all random speculation, of course) that they’re dead. But his family may become significant again. I keep thinking back on the place where he died – Godric’s Hollow – which, again, strikes me as significant. If Voldemort is descended Salazar Slytherin, what if Harry is descended on his father’s side from Godric Gryffindor? > [@](#): > > Muggle government are aware of the existence of the wizarding world. It might also be true that the monarchy knows of wizards, too, and that the half-blood prince is of British royalty - maybe even a fictional pastiche of prince William or something. Or a deposed prince. Or a foreign prince. Do we know anything about Viktor Krum, now that I think about it? > [@](#): > > My hope is the prince is a vampire – vampires being the only major magical creatures not really discussed yet in the series. It seems dumb to omit them. Ditto. > [@](#): > > Exactly how old is the wandmaker, Mr. Ollivander? How do you suppose he got ahold of Fawkes’ feathers to make the cores of Voldemort’s and Harry’s wands? I hope his wand shop was named for an ancestor. Otherwise he’s about as old as Western Civilization. > [@](#): > > There was a thread not too long ago where we were debating whether wizards NEEDED their wands to do magic. I cited the Weasly’s twins prank charms as seemingly wandless magic, but other Dopers weren’t as convinced. In the second chapter of the first book, it’s established that wizards can perform certain magic tricks when under stress – Harry shrinks a sweater, and flies or apparates on to the roof of his school. Not to mention the disappearing glass. Not sure, but doesn’t somebody use _accio wand_ at some point to retrieve a wand? > [@](#): > > So I was wondering – Is it societal disapproval because he didn’t finish Hogwarts, or wizarding law because he’s half-giant, that prevents Hagrid from practicing magic with his wand? Wizarding law because he never finished school. The half-giant thing was a secret until the fourth book. Ollivander mentions that they broke his wand when he was expelled (though he still has it, of course). > [@](#): > > If I have any complaint about the series as a whole, it’s that J.K. Rowling has given Hermione the most short shift of the three lead chartacters when it comes to developing her Muggle home life and family background. That would be neat, but I think the reason Rowling hasn’t is because she thinks a Muggle family would bore her readers. Now, the Grangers staying with the Weasleys could have some good comic possibilities… ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/25 "2004-07-19T16:44:39Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Um, Harry isnt a ‘mudblood’ or haflbreed, BOTH his parents were wizards…he may be first generation ‘pure’ but both parents were magic-slingers. But that’s not how it’s presented in the books. In order to be pureblood, you have to be able to trace your heritage back generations to wizards. Harry is a “half-blood” because his mother was Muggle-born. You can bet that’s how the Malfoys and the Lestranges see it, as well. I wonder how many generations clears you of the taint of Muggleness? Anyway, it’s moot because Rowling said the title doesn’t refer to either Harry or Voldemort. ---
**Author:** ![Hamish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Hamish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamish)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/26 "2004-07-19T16:47:10Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > Also, in the fifth book in particular, I think things would be much less mysterious if he had an honest talk with Dumbledore. But that’s Dumbledore’s fault, really. Dumbledore didn’t tell him all of this when he had the chance. Instead, he tried to get Harry to block out Voldemort. A serious tactical error. ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/27 "2004-07-19T18:18:27Z")
**Askia** , if you’re right and Peeves is the half-blood prince, then won’t the filmmakers be angry when it’s time to make the inevitable movie, considering he hasn’t even been mentioned in them yet. Personally I think the half-blood prince is Godric Gryffindor, considering he had a flashy, bejeweled sword, plus Rowling considered “HP and the Half-Blood Prince” as a title for Chamber of Secrets. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/28 "2004-07-19T18:28:58Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > One thing I’ve noticed (and others have as well, of course) is that Harry has a need to interfere where he should not. If he hadn’t gone after the stone in the first book, Quirrell could not have gotten it, and I think the same thing was true about the fifth book as well. (It might also have been true elsewhere in the books.) Granted, it probably would have been better if Harry had left bad enough alone in OotP, but I’m not so sure about Quirrell not getting the Stone. Left to himself, I suspect he would have gotten it eventually. He was still flummoxed by thinking too far ahead when Harry arrived–he saw what he wanted to do with the Stone, not himself finding it. Frustration would, I think, have eventually driven him to a point at which all he wanted was to find the bloody thing and get it over with. Frankly, I didn’t think it was such a brilliant hiding place, as just about anyone could get the Stone out eventually; it was a pretty good delaying tactic, though. ---
**Author:** ![Saranga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Saranga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saranga)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/29 "2004-07-19T18:54:26Z")
> [@Hamish](#): > > But that’s not how it’s presented in the books. > > In order to be pureblood, you have to be able to trace your heritage back generations to wizards. Harry is a “half-blood” because his mother was Muggle-born. You can bet that’s how the Malfoys and the Lestranges see it, as well. > > I wonder how many generations clears you of the taint of Muggleness? > > Anyway, it’s moot because Rowling said the title doesn’t refer to either Harry or Voldemort. IMHO, “half-blood” is simply a euphemism for “mudblood” which is a wizarding version of “mulatto”. So any trace of muggle in Harry’s ancestry gets him labeled as a mudblood. Remember, wizards go back further than just the creation of Hogwart’s. ---
**Author:** ![BornOfStardust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@BornOfStardust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BornOfStardust)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/30 "2004-07-19T19:34:59Z")
Could somebody refresh my memory as to what the “half-blood prince” is? I don’t remember this offhand at all. Man. Reading threads like this sure makes me feel out of the Harry-awareness loop. And I just re-read the series last summer too! (Which I found just about as much fun as the first go-around btw.) ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/31 "2004-07-19T19:51:53Z")
The title of the next book is going to be “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”. The identity of the half-blood prince is now the subject of mad speculation everywhere, although J.K. Rowling has stated (as someone mentioned previously) that it’s neither Harry nor Voldemort. ---
**Author:** ![BornOfStardust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@BornOfStardust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BornOfStardust)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/32 "2004-07-19T21:50:07Z")
Ahhh, okay. Thanks, **Dante**. That explains why I didn’t remember any reference to such a thing from the other books. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/33 "2004-07-19T22:04:25Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > One thing I’ve noticed (and others have as well, of course) is that Harry has a need to interfere where he should not. While reading Book 5 I decided that this is part of what makes Harry a Gryffindor. When he keeps getting into trouble with Umbridge, he ought to just keep his mouth shut, and he can’t. Part of this can be explained by the suggestions that 1) this is normal “unruly teenager with raging hormones” behavior, and 2) Voldemort is tweaking his behavior from the other side. But I think Gryffindors are supposed to be the real crusader types – they see injustice and react right away instead of playing by the rules and working within the system (just ignore her and we’ll meet for our own secret DAtDA practice later). Another question about wands and their usage: the first book says Ron has Charlie’s old wand. So what does Charlie use? So poor Ron the underachiever has to make do with a wand that was never suited to him in the first place, then has to deal with it being damaged and taped up, then eventually gets his own wand at Ollivander’s. How is Ron supposed to learn using another person’s wand, or a damaged, taped-up wand? Give that kid a custom-fitted wand and see what he can do! I flipped through the first book the other day after reading another thread suggesting that Aunt Petunia flunked out of Hogwarts. She seems awfully clueless about the magic world. If I had the book here, I could quote you passages, but I suppose it doesn’t really matter. Anyway, I’ve never thought the Dursleys were ever intended to be anything more than Monty Python-esque comic relief. I’m just waiting to learn more about Harry’s grandparents on both sides. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/34 "2004-07-20T02:00:47Z")
**Saragna.** I agree with you on ‘mudblood’'s meaning … although I wonder why Draco or the other Slytherins has never really called Harry out on it… they’ve teased him about living with Muggles but not being half of one… unless Draco’s unaware of Lily Potter’s Muggle background, which seems unlikely. **Hamish.** The only reason I don’t buy the Godric Gryffindor ancestry is I find it hard to believe that the Sorting Hat (Gryffindor’s hat!) would have considered putting Harry in Slytherin for even a half-second if it “knew” Harry was a direct descendent. Also, that piece of ancestral history sounds like something Dumbledore or Hagrid would’ve outright confirmed by now. Your suspicion about Victor Krum being the half-blood prince is a really interesting one – thanks for sharing that! BtW, I hope it’s NOT wizarding law that keeps Hagrid from using magic simply because he didn’t finish school, because that would apply to the Weasly twins, too. They quit school right before exams. Let’s hope we see some vampires before this seroes is over, eh? **Arien.** I actually don’t think Peeves is the half-blood prince. At all. I just picked the least likely male character I could think of and tried to make a halfway reasonable case for it. Kinda my idea of a jokey-joke, but thanks for considering it! I would be the first person to scream “No way!” if any of my mad speculations turns out to be true. **a35362.** I am SO glad someone else here besides me thinks that Ron’s inferior spellcasting is due to his hand-me-down wand. I’ve said that for two years now. I’ve suspected exactly the same thing about Neville Longbottom ever since I kearned in book 5 he’s been using his dad’s wand all this time. I agree it’s a puzzler why Charlie Weasley would give up his wand in the first place; Mr. Ollivander seems so manic about finding wizards the perfect wand… .I dunno… maybe some lowly clerk was assisting Charlie that day and got him a less than perfect match, and Charlie’s traded up since. ---
**Author:** ![Arien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arien)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/35 "2004-07-20T02:16:30Z")
At least Ron got a custom wand by the beginning of PoA. I think his “inferior” spell casting is just a result of indifference. There are several examples scattered throughout the books that mention Ron and Harry half-heartedly practicing their charms in class, while Hermione gets hers perfect because she bothers to concentrate a little, despite all the important conversations that always seem to happen during Charms classes (all that background noise). Not that Hermione isn’t a very skilled witch; she is, but I think Ron and Harry can transfigure non-deformed teacups also, if they concentrated a little. There’s a new poll question up at JKR’s official site. I haven’t voted yet. For those of you who didn’t know about it, JK puts up 3 questions and promises to answer the question that got the most votes. Anyway, last time she answered the question about whether Mark Evans (boy briefly mentioned in OotP who got beat up by Dudley) was anyone significant, turns out he isn’t. (People thought he was since Evans was Lily’s maiden name). Her response to the question was amusing, even if it told no new information, so it’s worth a read. She’s also promised to put in more clues for book 6 behind the Do Not Disturb door on her site. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/36 "2004-07-20T02:57:18Z")
**Arien.** Thanks for reminding me to stop by Rowling’s website. I kepy meaning to look around over there but this was the first time I managed it. I was poking around and saw where some extra material had been jettisoned. I had no idea until I read Rowling’s notes that Dean Thomas was a half-blood, too. I thought he was from a purely Muggle background but no: his father was a wizard who died resisting the Death-Eaters and never told his wife the truth about himself. I do hope Rowling gets around t doing something with this background material. I also liked her ideas about the home life of Draco Malfoy and seeing Harry from a pureblood’s POV: I hope it gets used. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/37 "2004-07-20T06:19:45Z")
I’m sure no one cares ( 😉 ) but I read the first two and greatly disliked them both; I’m not likely to read any more. I’m bothered by the fact that whenever a child is faced with the choice of lying to an adult or telling them the truth, they almost always choose to lie. Among other things. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/38 "2004-07-20T06:31:13Z")
> [@Hamish](#): > > Anyway, it’s moot because Rowling said the title doesn’t refer to either Harry or Voldemort. Well, it couldn’t be Harry, because then the title would be _Harry Potter and Harry Potter_. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/39 "2004-07-20T22:26:09Z")
I speculated earlier that the Half Blood Prince would be Hagrid. Since someone mentioned earlier that then title was considered for _Chamber of Secrets_. Allow me another speculation. In a different thread I predicted the return of Guilderoy Lockheart, this time as a genuine hero. I predict that he will be the half-blood prince. Hey, if I keep making guesses, one of them will be right. ---
**Author:** ![Arch\_Trout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@Arch\_Trout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arch_Trout)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751/40 "2004-07-21T01:09:48Z")
> [@SolGrundy](#): > > Well, it couldn’t be Harry, because then the title would be _Harry Potter and Harry Potter_. Doesn’t mean it can’t be. What about “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” It’s full title is surely “Extra-Terrestrial: The Extra-Terrestrial” Which is just stoopid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/well-i-just-read-the-harry-potter-series-thoughts-questions-spoilers-aplenty/255751.md?page=3)