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That is all I have to say for now, so enjoy the read!
-Victor Bennet
The Half-Blood Prince
In the Chamber of Secrets, Harry accidentally ends up in Knockturn Alley, where he winds up in Borgin & Burkes. While he is there, he encounters a few objects that don't seem to be very important at the time, but wind up playing a big role in the 6th book.
- Vanishing Cabinet
- Cursed Opal Necklace
- Hand of Glory
Tom Riddle’s first job out of Hogwarts just so happens to be at Borgin & Burkes. This is important because he wouldn’t have been able to collect the objects he later made into his horcruxes without the opportunities he had at the shop.
Also in Half Blood Prince, Draco goes through a great deal of character development and Lupin finally figures out that he was purposefully bitten by Fenrir Greyback.
Snape takes the post as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor; thus, owing to the supposedly cursed position, we know something will happen to him by the end of the book.
Ginny has always had a crush on Harry, and she finally gets her man. The books don’t reveal that Ginny still likes Harry over the course of the series, but the movies give it away from time to time.
- Now let us take a break to have a small side note on films. All the different forms of storytelling have both advantages and disadvantages to them. Typically, movies are about 2 hours long. The Harry Potter films were longer than that, and the viewers STILL didn’t think that there was enough of the book in the movie. But we have to realize that books, movies, plays, poems, and such are all mediums. The thing about novels is you can put all the details in, and you can also collaborate with the reader. What does that mean? Well, it means that books can have a greater level of detail without getting extremely boring [readers of Moby Dick, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Similarion may wish to disagree with me on this point, and I wouldn't blame them, but I mean when compared to films.] "Collaboration with the reader" means that the reader must engage the work and use their imagination to build the world that they are reading about. In film, all the imaginative work has been done by the film makers and all the viewer has to do is watch someone else's interpretation of the book. So with film, you trade the ability of active imagination for the passive viewing of visualized ideas. End of bunny trail...)
In the first book, Quirrel has a part of Voldemort literally physically attached to him. This ties in with Voldemort's ability to possess people. But it also is mirrored later when we find out what a horcrux is and what it does. We also find out what the diary really is, and without that diary, Dumbledore never would’ve been put on Voldemort’s “horcrux” trail.
Aragog, who we meet in the second book, dies in the sixth book; this also plays a critical role in getting Slughorn’s memory and advancing the story.
St. Mungo's
Saint means "Holy One", and the holy ones are the followers of Christ Jesus. The use of that term is one of the little clues she lays out, and she’s showing her colors in a very discreet way. She’s very self-consciously creating a difference between the muggle and magic worlds, and names are a big part of her attempt. She takes great care and pride in the names and words she chooses.
The sound of the names (think of "Slytherin" and "Hufflepuff"), their etemology, it’s all a part of what she’s doing. Some words don’t mean anything anymore in context, but she keeps turning the tables on what is considered the norm of our culture.
You can almost contrast St. Mungo’s to St. Brutus’, which explicitly shows the Dursley’s brutality. In the muggle world, a saint's name is applied to dentention center, whereas in the magical world, the name is applied to a center of healing.
Angry Sisters
When the book opens, we find out that Fudge has been impeached from the Ministry; we then go to Spinner’s End where Bellatrix and Narcissa have gone to see Snape. Narcissa is showing storge love towards her son, Draco. Her sister is with her, yet she doesn’t tell Voldemort that she and Narcissa have gone to seen Snape. This means she is actually betraying the Dark Lord for her sister; even Bellatrix has this tiny little corner of storge for one of her sisters (none for Mrs. Tonks). For whatever reason, she’s protecting her sister’s treachery, and she doesn’t reveal their visit to Voldemort.
Part of this is the idea that there’s a little good in everyone. From a creation perspective, everyone is made in the image of God. Rowling is developing a doctrine of sin, and we see in every character the presence of sin. We all have sin, and we all do sin. However, there’s still the mark of creation, though we may befoul it. We cannot undo what God has done, and Bellatrix’s loyalty to her sister is a subtle theological statement.
We can compare those two sisters with Harry’s mother and Petunia Dursley, and with that, we go from Spinner’s End to Privet Drive.
Aunt Petunia knows about Azkaban from Snape. When we first read the book, she talks about “that boy” and later says, “that Potter boy”. Assuming she’s referring to the same individual, we believe this to be James Potter. After finishing the last volume and beginning again, we find out that “that boy” Petunia was referring to was Snape. This is very careful writing.
There’s this issue between Petunia and Lily, and it’s certainly not agape love. Why on earth would Petunia agree to take Harry in? Dumbledore sends her a howler telling her to remember the letter that had been left on her doorstep with Harry as a baby. It turns out, Petunia kept Harry to protect him. Here we have this corner of compassion with Petunia; we even see her put her foot down with Vernon in the fifth book. Petunia isn’t necessarily evil; there are scales of evil. Voldemort is completely evil, and everyone else is gradually less evil than him.
Professor Slughorn
He is very smart, but he has a lot of biases and plays
favorites in order to help himself achieve his personal goals. Slughorn has good qualities but he very
self-centered. “…whose god is their belly” Philipians 3:19 He’s not interested
in power or fame but he still collects people. He objectifies people.
Fear is his primary motive. He is on the run all the time,
he can’t even enjoy himself. And yet in the last book, he leaves but then comes
back! And he is actually dueling Voldemort at the end.
There’s a lot in the books about being called upon to make choices. “Chose you this day whom you shall serve” Joshua 24:15 The same challenge is presented to Slughorn by Professor McGonogall when she says, “We fight to the death.” She knows the importance of what lies ahead, and she wants others to know it as well.
He has his little group called the Slug Club. Harry is a member (not really of his own free will), and he doesn’t want to be. Dumbledore requires the memory, so he tells Harry that he has to be a part of the "club." Harry, however, doesn’t do a very good job of attending the dinners. (C.S. Lewis wrote The Inner Ring on this subject, and he also put this at the heart of his book, That Hideous Strength. In his book, the driving desire of the young junior member of the faculty is to become a part of the "in" crowd.) There are lots and lots of inner rings scattered around (Death Eaters, Dumbledore's Army, etc...), and you’re either in or out. The question is, how do you feel about it? Do you want to be in? Are you thankful you’re not?
Ron wants to be invited to Slughorn’s parties, but Harry doesn’t. Draco also wants to be in the inner ring, but neither Neville nor Luna will be invited in. The way that Harry dislikes the Slug Club and invites Luna to the Christmas party "just as friends" really brings up the issue of what real friendship is.
To a certain extent, Dumbledore’s Army was a different way about thinking of an inner circle. There is a difference in how you get accepted into the Slug Club and how you get into the DA. It all depends on what value system you are using to value other people. The Death Eaters are an inner circle, as were the Marauders in their time.
Rowling also makes the case that not everyone who has a reputation or intense popularity are the kind of people who you need to hang out with.
- Cornelious Fudge knows how to get along and flatter people.
- Horace Slughorn sets up the Slug Club and objectifies people.
- Gilderoy Lockhart is a pathological narcissist.
- Barty Crouch works very hard to keep his reputation, to the point of disowning his own son.
- Percy Weasley is a self-important flatterer.
- Ludo Bagman is very puffed up by his past position on a national quidditch team, and this is his continuing basis for operation.
- Cormac McLaggen will bore you to death talking about himself; he is an attention-seeker.
- Draco is this way in the first book onward. He brags about how wealthy his parents are, how much influence his father has, and it’s a skill he cultivates to his ruin.
- It’s clear that Rowling doesn't really like these sort of people.
Shield Charms
Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes
have a wide assortment of shield charm items for sale. These articles shield
you in different ways, and according to Dr. Poe this could allegorize the whole armor of God. This
is the whole idea between the shield and the onslaught of evil it’s protecting
you from.
Jinxes in the Bible?
Mrs. Weasley threatens to
jinx Ron at the Burrow. When a jinx comes upon us, we’re inhibited in some way. This is what
happened to the father of John the Baptist; he was "jinxed" so that he couldn’t speak because his lack of faith in God. John the Baptist’s
father was able to speak again once his son was born and named.
Dr. Poe quote of the day: (On the Harry Potter films) “Where there is a will, there is money to be made.”
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