“Not Harry! Please – I’ll do anything -”

After seven books of hearing only whispers and seeing only flashes of what happened the night Voldemort killed the Potters, marked Harry as his equal, and got this ball rolling, Chapter 17 finally gave us the long awaited scene in its entirety. Funny, but when I guessed what would happen in Deathly Hallows, I didn’t even consider that we’d get the opportunity to see how things unfolded that Halloween night, so it was a wonderful surprise to stumble upon it.

It was also a really difficult scene to get through. I will argue it was more difficult than Harry crying at his parents’ grave, and we’ve already said that one was a sucker punch right to the gut.

I read the account of Voldemort’s attack days ago, but I haven’t said anything until now. Instead, it’s been sort of sitting there, stewing. I really just haven’t been sure what to say, so I’ve covered other things in the meantime – Ron’s abandonment, the events in Godric’s Hollow, the Gryffindor Sword, Dumbledore’s rumored past, Harry’s broken wand.

Yet, I’ve found myself drawn to re-read this scene again and again. I think I’ve been through it three times now. It’s just…yeah…

So let’s do this, shall we?

Halloween. I never really thought about the fact that the Potters were killed on Halloween. I’d be quick to shrug this off as a bit cheesy, but I loved the way it was justified: Halloween, a holiday where Muggles dress-up as magical beings they don’t believe exist. To have that pop up this close to the end of the series is a wonderful tip-of-the-hat to the very first chapter of the very first book. It’s as if to say “Remember when none of this existed? Remember when it was just make-believe?”

Halloween also allows for Voldemort to wander the streets of Godric’s Hollow in full regalia. He seems like the type to hide in the shadows, but there’s no indication of that here. Oddly, this also affords us the interesting opportunity to see Voldemort display a bit of mercy. It’s a choice that shouldn’t surprise me as much as it does. Of course Voldemort has more than one side. Of course he is capable of mercy, even if he doesn’t exercise it. He’s not flat. He cannot possibly be 100% evil. That would instantly negate him as a believable villain. That said, I didn’t expect him to shrug off a Muggle child, though I can see where you can make the arguement that he didn’t spare him out of any sort of mercy; he spared him because there was no need to kill him. Perhaps Voldemort’s treatment of this kid (and Lily) doesn’t show the thin trace of humanity that remain, but the complete lack of it. He’s not being compassionate – he just can’t be bothered.

The Fidelius Charm was broken. Screw you, Pettigrew (mmm, rhyming is fun!). What’s sick about this moment is that the Potters had no idea. They weren’t even keeping their wands on them. Have we ever seen Harry without his wand? Isn’t constant vigilance key here? It was foolish of them and it shows how very young and optimistic they were in the end. I’m not casting blame here – it just gives a new dimension to a pair of characters who never quite made it into the series in earnest.

It wasn’t until the second reading that I really considered the perspective of this scene. We aren’t just watching this from Harry’s point-of-view. We are watching it through Harry’s eyes, through Voldemort’s eyes. Harry is embodying the wizard who kills his parents. He is attacking himself. It’s twisted and unnerving and would probably result in years of therapy if it happened in real life.

So here we have Harry watching his father play with his infant self, through the eyes and with the emotions of the man who is about to attack them. Does Harry even get the chance to feel for himself? Does the ass backward nature of this sink in at the time, or is that something he only gets to deal with afterward?

Okay, can I be honest for a second here? It’s kind of upsetting me to write this entry. I mean, I didn’t cry at this scene, but it’s just – yeah, I think this one ranks right up there with the Potters appearing out of Harry’s wand and Mrs. Weasley hugging him in Goblet of Fire. Some of these scenes are just harder than others.

Anyway…

You have to love James Potter for his one glorious moment of trying, in vain, to protect his family. “Lily, take Harry and go! It’s him! Go! Run! I’ll hold him off!” He didn’t even have his wand. For some reason, he reminded me a lot of Ron in this. The whole thing seemed like a very Ron thing to do – jump in front of the bullet, completely unprotected, to save the others. No real thought as to whether or not it would work. No real consideration of the consequences. Complete self-sacrafice. It’s a Ron thing.

An interesting thought (and we’ll deal with this sometime in another entry): An argument can be made that James Potter is very Ron-like and Lily Potter is very Hermione-like. Let that one sit for awhile.

So James Potter died because he didn’t have a wand. I mean, maybe he would have still died even if he did have a wand, but without it he didn’t stand a fighting chance.

And Harry doesn’t have a wand anymore.

A wizard is never more vulnerable than he is without his wand. It’s very clear in this scene: Wizards die without their wands.

Harry doesn’t have a wand, Harry doesn’t have a wand, Harry doesn’t have a wand…

…yeah, this is gonna be good!

James dies quickly – too quickly – and then we’re face-to-face with Lily, doing her best to block Harry.

“Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!”
“Stand aside, you silly girl…stand aside, now.”
“Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead -”
“This is my last warning -”
“Not Harry! Please…have mercy…have mercy…Not Harry! Not Harry! Please – I’ll do anything – “

Central to this story is Lily’s sacrifice, which takes awhile to comprehend. What do you mean Lily had a choice? Why would Voldemort kill James and be willing to spare Lily? This never made much sense to me. I get it now – I think.

James was killed because he stood in the way. Part of me read this as Voldemort seeing James as more of a threat, but I don’t really think there’s much merit in that. James was a barrier that had to be removed. Done and done. But Voldemort saw Lily differently. She could be frightened out of the way. She could be physically moved. There was no real need to kill her, so why bother? If she would just step aside…

Of course she wasn’t going to step aside. You find me a mother that would step aside. But it’s not like I imagined it. Voldemort didn’t tell her to move and then kill her. He offered her the chance to escape three times and three times she refused – once, when he walked in the room, once when he warned her the first time, and once when he gave her the final warning. For those of you who enjoy the significance of the number 7 in this series, I’m going to let you chew over Lily’s insistence to spare Harry repeated 3 times. A message repeated 3 times without wavering is often used to drive a point home – to show complete adherence to what is being said. I bet you can find another example of this pretty easily. Biblical reference time! See what you can come up with.

Harry didn’t cry.

I mentioned this back when Cedric was abruptly escorted out of existence: the Avada Kedavra is not a violent death. In fact, it’s startling in its lack of violence. James’ death is described as a marionette puppet having its strings cut. The ease of this sort of murder is what makes it so frightening. Murder should leave traces. It should create something worthy of its weight. A bloody death says “Something happened here”. The Avada Kedavra simply pushes the furniture around a little and creates a momentary light show. Of course a baby wouldn’t cry. You can hardly tell anything happened at all.

Which is why it was so shocking to see the utter destruction that resulted from Voldemort’s attack on Harry. This time, the Avada Kedavra backfired and blew up the house!

What’s been sitting in my mind is that Voldemort aimed the spell directly at Harry’s forehead. He looked Harry in the eye and Harry looked at him right back. Can you see defiance in an infant’s eyes? In this moment, did Harry look into his own defiant eyes and see the challenge that seemed to say “Go ahead, try”?

As Voldemort shoots an Avada Kedavra out the window at Harry and sees him vanish, unscathed, do you think he sees that defiance all over again?

Why won’t this child die?

This is, by far, one of my favorite scenes in the series.

What chapter are we on? (the massive read-along)

Over the past week, Chapters 11 through 18 have sort of blurred together into one massive presence in this blog without delineation. I’m finding Deathly Hallows, more so than the previous books, extends the plot beyond the end of the chapter, begging for entries that combine them all together. This also makes stopping at the end of a chapter and putting the book down a wee bit more difficult.

This wouldn’t be much of an issue if I was just reading the book, but many of you folks are reading along, so it’s probably time to throw up a mile marker so everyone can catch up or slow down respectively.

I have finished up through Chapter 18: The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore.

The next chapter I will read is Chapter 19: The Silver Doe. I have not started it yet.

Rumor has it the Northeast is going to get another foot of snow on Wednesday (because one massive snow storm in a week simply isn’t enough), so I’ll guess we’ll jump into Chapter 19 sometime late Tuesday or Wednesday. It depends on how badly the storm cripples Philadelphia and whether or not I can get out of the house.

The last snow storm resulted in 7 chapters finished at the speed I usually cover 2 or 3.

Let’s try not to finish the book if a blizzard hits…

In the meantime, there’s definitely more to be said about the rapidly unfolding events of the past few chapters. We finally have an account of exactly what happened the night Voldemort killed Harry’s parents. I haven’t forgotten about it. I’m just…I really don’t know how to approach it yet. Rough scene. Next entry. Promise.

A Snake in a People-Skin Coat OR Harry Overreacts Again

Now that I’ve given my two cents about Ron (which I wanted to keep in its own entry), let’s take a moment for this whole Gryffindor Sword/Godric’s Hollow thing.

The Potters, Stoned (the puns are endless here)

 

The realization that the Gryffindor Sword can destroy a Horcrux and the sword that is currently at Hogwarts is a fake is HUGE news for our remaining pair. If you’re trying to put together a puzzle, every piece is important. They have one Horcrux and they know how to destroy it. Perhaps they should stop knocking themselves around so much about all they haven’t accomplished and be thankful they’ve gotten this far. No one ever said this would be a quick process. It took six years before they even realized there were Horcruxes.

A tip of the hat to Rowling for revealing the Gryffindor Sword  details through some familiar faces, on the run as Muggle-Borns. Dean being among those on the run gives us insight into how things are unfolding back in the wizarding world. Talk of Ginny, Luna, and Neville also provides us with the necessary tidbits to keep tabs on life back home. This is the longest we’ve gone without a trip to Hogwarts, after all.

I have to be honest, I was convinced the Sword was at Godric’s Hollow, under the watchful eye of Bathilda Bagshot. The clues were all there and eventually, they have to start making significant progress, don’t they?

Evidently, Polyjuice Potion is the way to go these days. Who needs an Invisibility Cloak when they can perfectly disguise themselves as anybody else? It’s interesting to consider that Nagini could see Harry and Hermione under the cloak, through the disguises. Was it just a lucky guess? Could she sense her fellow Horcrux residing nearby? Would the sign appearing outside the Potter’s home without a wizard in sight imply that someone must be hidden nearby and that someone would probably be Harry? Or is Voldemort powerful beyond Invisibility Cloaks and Polyjuice Potion? Dumbledore was.

So now is the moment I admit that Harry kneeling at his parents’ grave, sobbing, got me right here. I didn’t cry. I’m still waiting for the moment when this book destroys me. I just found it touching. Sad. Teenage boys crying? Always sad. I’ve been saying that since I was a teenage girl. When a guy cries, you know something is wrong.

Anyway, I was totally fooled by Miss Bagshot. Totally fooled and really disgusted. Barty Crouch Jr. is Mad-Eye Moody, Peter Pettigrew is Scabbers, and Nagini is hanging out in the decaying corpse of Bathilda Bagshot. Hey, why not?

The writing style took me a moment. It’s as if Rowling wants you to feel the confusion felt by the characters. Everything’s going well, then there are these voices, a flash of light, flying through the air, darkness…I had to read it a few times to grasp that Nagini came out of Bathilda’s corpse, summoned Voldemort, and Voldemort arrived as Hermione and Harry leaped out the window and Apparated.

That’s going to be pretty sweet in the film.

Backing up a moment, the memorials to the Potters are really interesting. It’s one thing to find your parents’ grave. It’s another to find a statue to them (and you) standing in the square. I don’t know if Harry has ever really fully grasped the extent of his fame. He knows he’s famous, but to see a memorial to his existence? To see the notes scrawled nearby, wishing him luck? He was folklore before he even knew he was a wizard.

However, folklore or not, it’s hard to say whether he’s two steps forward or one step back at this point.

Pro: He has the locket Horcrux.
Con: He hasn’t destroyed it yet.
Pro: He knows he can destroy it with the Gryffindor Sword.
Con: He doesn’t know where the Sword is.
Pro: He found Nagini.
Con: He didn’t kill her.
Con: The only lead they had didn’t pay off.
Con: They haven’t put together any other locations for the Sword.
Con: There are still three Horcruxes to find before Voldemort.
Con: They only know for sure what two of those Horcruxes are.
Con: But they don’t know where they are.
Con: Ron is still missing.
Con: Harry’s wand is broken with no obvious way to get a new one.
Con: This also destroys the whole twin cores thing.
Pro: Um…they aren’t dead yet???

Sigh.

The ring and the diary were destroyed long before this started. They have the locket, but it remains intact. The Hufflepuff cup is still at large, as is Nagini. The sixth Horcrux remains a mystery. And the Gryffindor Sword is M.I.A.

Glorious!

I guess the most pressing issue right now, however, is Harry’s wand. Way to make the kid absurdly vulnerable, J.K.! As if throwing him in the forest, taking away his best friend, taking away his girlfriend, taking away his broom, villainizing his dead mentor, and giving him almost nothing to work off of isn’t enough. You killed his parents, killed his Godfather, killed his Dumbledore, killed his damn owl! Now he doesn’t even have a working wand? I know you’re supposed to make a hero sympathetic by weakening him and giving him faults, but cut the kid a break!

Dear Harry,
Things look pretty damn hopeless now, don’t they?
Yeah, well I’m pretty sure they’re gonna get worse. Sorry, bud.
GOOD LUCK!

********************

Moving on to “The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore”.

I’m getting the distinct impression there was a side of Dumbledore we weren’t privy to. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, considering he was old as dirt when we met him.

What also doesn’t come as much of a surprise is that Harry is dramatically overreacting to all of this.

Dumbledore wasn’t perfect. He went through a phase when he wanted to exercise his extreme power in a less-than moral fashion. He befriended someone who turned sour and inadvertently contributed to it. He didn’t stand up to his mother the way he should have. He wasn’t always brave and righteous.

GOOD! GREAT! WONDERFUL!

He was normal. He had flaws. He wasn’t this perfect, incredible, brilliant wizard his entire life. He had problems. He made mistakes. He f’ed up. And he didn’t tell Harry about it.

Harry has always had this problem where he thinks he’s the ultimate center of the universe. Maybe it’s the product of being the only person to care about himself for ten years of his life, but he seems to think that everyone should be taking him into account and every little thing they do is a personal affront.

The fact that Dumbledore didn’t confide his questionable past in his young student is not as personal as Harry is making it out to be. Dumbledore needed Harry to trust him. He had to be the rock. He couldn’t very well be like “By the way, I’ve made the following mistakes in my life, but I want you to forget all about those and completely trust me in this task that could easily and will very likely kill you. Cool with that?”

Harry needs to chill. Of all the things he has to worry about, Dumbledore’s torrid history isn’t one of them, unless it’s going to lead him toward solving the mystery of the Horcruxes (which I suspect it might, even if inadvertently). I know he wants to fully trust the man who got him into this mess, but it isn’t Dumbledore’s fault Harry is going after Voldemort. Dumbledore just provided him the tools and the knowledge (even if both of these are limited). Without Dumbledore, the Horcruxes would still be out there and Harry would still be a marked man – he just wouldn’t know it. Is that better? Is ignorance bliss?

Would Harry really be any further along if he had traipsed through Dumbledore’s past, as oppose to discovering necessary information about his own? Would things be better if he knew where Dumbledore came from, but had no idea about his own prior life? Do we like that option more?

Would that have just been easier?

In Defense of Master Weasley

Way back at the beginning of this blog, I wrote an entry in defense of Hermione and her bookworming, rule-abiding ways. However, I’ve never done Ron the same favor. Throughout the series, Ron has always been that “other” sidekick for me. His flaws seem less endearing, his strengths less impressive.

Now, with Ron missing in action and Harry unwilling to so much as speak his name, I think it’s time to give our red-headed friend his due.

Ron could have avoided all of this – every last ounce - had his family simply not been at the station at the same time Harry was struggling to find Platform 9 3/4ths. He would have met Harry, no doubt, when they both became Gryffindor, and the two of them may have struck up a friendship eventually. But had they not bonded on that first trip to Hogwarts, I don’t think they’d be so close.

Ron would not be coming to fetch Harry to head back to Hogwarts the next year. Harry would not spend any sort of time at the Burrow. He would not become the ninth Weasley child. Mrs. Weasley would not fill that void left by his lost mother. Maybe he wouldn’t really be in such good contact with the Order of the Phoenix. He probably wouldn’t end up dating Ginny. He wouldn’t have gone to the Quidditch World Cup. He may not have even made it through the chess match in The Sorcerer’s Stone.

In other words, things would be very different.

And if you think about it, things being very different could have worked for Ron.

Of the trio, Ron comes from the best situation. He is the child of an intact pure blood wizard family. They aren’t rich and they aren’t powerful, but they’re comfortable. He has grown up as a wizard and doesn’t need to acclimate like Hermione or Harry. He has parents who completely understand the wizarding world, perhaps more than he does, so that support system is in place. Hermione may try to explain things to her parents, but they’re dentists; they don’t understand. As for Harry, well he doesn’t even have parents to try and explain things to.

By comparison, Ron has the most going for him. He has exactly what Harry wants. That said, Ron spends seven years in his best friend’s shadow.

It’s not easy being a sidekick to the Chosen One. Harry is always in the limelight, even when he is being villainized. Ron struggles with Quidditch; Harry is the star player. Ron helps Harry in his tasks against Voldemort; Harry gets the credit. Ron goes home to visit his family; Mrs. Weasley gushes over Harry. It’s Harry this and Harry that. Everything they do is about Harry. Every danger they encounter is the result of Harry.

Ron’s family is being tracked because of Harry. Mr. Weasley has always been trouble. His interest in Muggles goes well beyond what the Ministry finds appropriate. Still, if it wasn’t for the family’s connection with Undesirable #1, they could have probably continued to exist under the radar. Being a member of the Order of the Phoenix does not seem like a punishable offense…yet. It could have worked for them, at least for awhile.

But no. Instead, Ron’s family is being watched. As Mrs. Weasley’s clock says, they’re in constant mortal peril.

And they’ve suffered a great deal for Ron’s dear friend Harry.

Ginny was possessed by Voldemort. Ron was poisoned by Draco. George lost his ear. Now Ron has been splinched and Ginny has been “punished” back at Hogwarts and there’s talk of the Weasleys suffering further loss. Bill’s wedding was trashed. Mr. Weasley could easily lose his job or the whole family could be thrown into Azkaban for harboring Harry.

Ron has given up a lot, and he does it because he loves Harry like a brother and believes in what he is doing – to a point.

Hermione can’t go home without being hunted down as a Muggle-Born. Harry must continue this quest. Ron, though, can simply leave. He can go home, go back to Hogwarts, and have a future. He doesn’t have to sleep in a tent in the rain, starving while a Horcrux hangs around his neck. He doesn’t have to fear death at every moment. He could be fine.

He has more to lose than any of them. If Hermione dies, her parents won’t know the difference. If Harry dies, the wizarding world is screwed but Harry really won’t be around to suffer for it. If Ron dies – or if one of his family members dies – the whole Weasley clan will reel.

I’m not surprised he bailed.

Ron is not the smartest or most talented. He is not the bravest or most noteworthy. He is an ordinary boy in an extraordinary situation and he’s done fairly well until now. It’s too much to expect him to stick around while they founder, waiting to die in the woods. He has every right to be concerned about his family and to question why he ever came along at all.

Of course, he’ll be back. He will mature and he will return, one way or another. Ron hasn’t had to grow up. He has been able to stay the baby throughout this series and he just hasn’t quite hit the same level as the other two. Something will bring him around.

What worries me is that this something will be a death in the Weasley clan.

I hate to say it, but that would do it.

The Midpoint

I’m halfway through Deathly Hallows, having said nothing on The Goblin’s Revenge, Godric’s Hollow, Bathlida’s Secret, or The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. In other words, I’m reading faster than I can blog.

Do I go forward and read The Silver Doe?

We’re at the midpoint. The same number of pages fall to one side of the book as the other.

Do I wait?

Or do I keep reading…?

Will she keep going? Will she stop? Will she finish the book in one sitting?

Is the suspense killing you?

Now you know how I feel!

These are a Few of My Favorite Wizards

The poll has been swinging back and forth all week. Who’s the Last Muggle’s Favorite Character: Hermione or Snape?

When I posted that poll, I was thinking “This is going to be so obvious! People are going to figure this out in seconds.” Looking back through the blog, though, my leanings haven’t been as blatant as I’ve assumed. Numerous characters have been introduced as my “favorite” over the months and it’s easy to see how this would confuse things a bit.

I don’t want to do a whole character analysis right now (we’ll save that for when everything is over and done with), but I’d like to go through this a little more.

Albus Dumbledore
The only character who didn’t receive a single vote was good ol’ Dumby, but then again I’ve never given you any reason to assume he’s my favorite. I love Dumbledore. Who doesn’t love Dumbledore? Assuming whatever secrets from his past that come out during Deathly Hallows do not destroy his character, Dumbledore is a standup sort of guy. He’s the type of man you want in charge – power hasn’t gone to his head. He’s quirky in a way you still trust. He’s eccentric, but also powerfully sane. If the series wasn’t so littered with wonderful characters, maybe my favor would fall with the late, great Albus Dumbledore. That’s just not how things panned out.
 

Luna Lovegood
I’m not sure how she got a vote in this, though I guess it’s safe to assume a reader would love Luna. Lots of folks have told me they adore her. However, I have to admit that of the characters listed in this poll, she’s my bottom pick. I’ve never really felt any sort of great love for Luna. I appreciate her novelty; I just don’t find her as amusing as most readers. Nothing against her. I love the radish earrings and all. I just didn’t find the joy in her announcing the Quidditch game that others found. I know J.K. was particularly fond of that scene (she’s particularly fond of this character) and I feel like I’m missing out on something in not loving her, but I just don’t have it in me.
 

Sirius Black
I’m not really sure how Sirius Black would ever top this list of amazing characters. Maybe Lupin…maybe. But Sirius? We like Sirius because Harry likes Sirius. We’re sad when he dies because Harry is sad when he dies. He’s a good guy and we appreciate having him in the story. But is he really anyone’s favorite? He’s fascinating, exciting, and dangerous. He brings adventure everywhere he goes. I’m definitely not knocking him. I just don’t see him as the sort of guy that makes you step back and go “That’s my favorite Harry Potter character, hands down”. No, I don’t see that happening. Prove me wrong! Let me know if he’s your guy.
 

Ron Weasley
I’ve given Ron the short end of the stick throughout this entire blog. As a member of the trio, he’s always in the shadows. Maybe that’s where he’s most comfortable. As the youngest son of the Weasley brood, I’d imagine he’s used to living in the shadows of everyone else. He’s not the smartest. He’s not the most talented. He’s not a standout anything really, other than a standout friend. Really, there’s a lot more to say about this than I’m going to say here (we’ll get to it in the next chapter), but Ron has never been dealt a fair hand by me.
 

Harry Potter
He’s the main character. He’s our top dog. He’s our dude, our guy, our homeboy. We follow him from the beginning to the end. We see everything from his point-of-view. He is our hero. And for these reasons, he isn’t our favorite character. When asked who they like the best, no one picks Harry. As readers, we essentially are Harry (this is about to get deep, folks). We see his friends from his perspective and for that reason, we then to favor them. Of all the crazy characters who inhabit these books, Harry seems relatively normal by comparison.
 

Tom Riddle – a.k.a. Lord Voldemort
No, no, no. Why would Voldemort be my favorite character? While I’m making heartfelt cases for Draco and Snape, I’m not the type to side with the bad guy just for the sake of it. I appreciate Voldemort as a well-developed character. His motivations are very clear. There’s just no way I’d count him as one of my favorites in this series. I’d actually be curious to hear from someone who does. I’d love to hear that argument. In a book full of compelling potential victims, why side with the perpetrator? Is it sympathy? Can you relate with a character who is driven to murder out of fear of death? Is there something incredibly human still hidden in there?
 

Minerva McGonagall
She’s the best professor at Hogwarts. No questions. She is the type of teacher I would go back to school for. She is stern when one should be stern and flexible when one should be flexible. She stands her ground and protects her chicks. I love every second she’s on the page. It also doesn’t hurt that Maggie Smith is absolutely perfect in this role. All that said, though, she isn’t my favorite. Good guess, but no. I really hope she makes it until the end of the series – I haven’t even considered the possibility that she might not – and I hope she ends up the Headmaster of Hogwarts in the end. But if I have to only pick one character, she’s not it.
 

 Neville Longbottom
What’s not to love? I’ve called this little awkward fella my favorite character countless times, though I will admit I was exaggerating. Still, he’s such a solid character, it’s hard not to enjoy him. Neville has so much working against him. His magical skills (and social skills) are questionable, at best. Yet, he remains one of the most loyal friends in the entire series. Without the true talent to get himself through the Ministry unscathed, he still marches off with the rest of them without turning back. His resolve is the result of a turbulent childhood. He knows the price paid by those who defy Voldemort – he needs only look at his parents. And if things had been different, he could have found himself in Harry’s position. You can’t help but hope for the best for Neville.
 

Mrs. Weasley
If I had to pick a fictional mom, Mrs. Weasley would be it. While Lily Potter makes the ultimate sacrifice for her son, I have no doubt Mrs. Weasley would do the same if the situation arose. I don’t know which is worse: seeing her crumpled over in tears when the boggart takes on the form of each of her relatives dead on the floor, or seeing her carting around her Mortal Peril clock with each hand pointing toward her family’s precarious situation. She takes in Harry as one of her own without hesitation, putting her whole family at even more risk than they would face otherwise. What’s not to love? She may not be my absolute favorite, but I have a special place in my heart for Mrs. Weasley.
 

Draco Malfoy
Good guess! Why else would I go to bat for this kid so many times if he isn’t your favorite? He is our hero’s nemesis throughout his childhood. Before there’s Voldemort, there’s Draco. Why sympathize with him? I’ve just always felt there is something good there. He has never struck me as evil – just misguided. He’s a product of his upbringing and I believe that if he can find a strength he has never displayed before, he can rise above it. But as I just said, he hasn’t really displayed that strength before. Is it foolish to hold out hope for him doing it now? Maybe. Still, I refuse to completely give up on him until the final page closes. Every character has a personal journey. I think his will have an ending worth staying on his side for, even just a little. That said, he’s not my favorite.
 

That leaves our two contenders: Snape and Hermione.

Severus Snape
At the close of this poll, 34% of the voters sided with Severus Snape as my very favorite Harry Potter character. I’ve spent so much time over the past few weeks showing support for this questionable fellow. As I write this, I’m still not sure whether or not he’s a good guy and to be honest, there seems to be a lot more reason to think he’s not. But I hold strong. I believe we’ll find something very positive in him in the end. It’s my biggest prediction – it’s what I hold on to as I finish this series up. Many times, I’ve said this story is just as much Snape’s as it is Harry’s. All that said, Snape is not my favorite character.
 

Hermione Granger
With 31% of the vote, Hermione has always been and will always be my very favorite character in this story. Maybe it’s because well before I ever considered reading Harry Potter, people were telling me that I am Hermione. She’s a book nerd who replaces street smarts with classroom smarts. She may be annoyingly cautious and have a hard time simply letting things be, but in the end, she’s the only reason the rest of the trio is still alive. She didn’t have to become a part of this world. As a Muggle-Born, she could have rejected this crazy life and stayed a normal little girl. She chose otherwise and has not looked back. People don’t do Hermione any favors. Even Ron and Harry take a long time to warm up to her. Any accolades she receives come through her classes. Still, she doesn’t waver.

And I adore her!

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New poll in the sidebar. Think hard about this one and be honest.

Wizard Camporee

"Hey guys, after I finish up with these protective spells and stop Ron from bleeding to death, you wanna make smores?"

 

Chapter 14 introduced us to the first of what is bound to amount to many serious injuries sustained by our valiant trio. If all bets are off – and J.K. clearly stated with Deathly Hallows that all bets are off – Ron being splinched en route to the Quidditch World Cup campgrounds shouldn’t come as a shock. I mean, we’ve seen this sort of violence before: the bloodiness of Harry’s Sectumsempra attack on Draco, of Neville’s broken nose during the Death Eater battle in the Ministry, not to mention the bloodless violence implied by the Cruciatus Curse.

That said, Ron bleeding to death on the forrest floor still came as a shock anyway. As did the realization that the three could not return to 12 Grimmauld Place, but were finally on the run for real. I have to admit that the second Kreacher told them he would have a lovely dinner waiting their return, it was pretty obvious they wouldn’t be coming back. Still, it’s a blow. Twiddling their thumbs and biding their time from the comfort of home, even if it’s not the warmest of homes, is world’s different from doing the same from a tent in the woods.

The return to the Quidditch World Cup campground was a surprise. Not only are we going to encounter each and every character ever introduced, but we’re going to go on a grand tour through every location in the series. We get to bid fond farewell to everything before this is over.

Anyway, Ron’s splinched on the forrest floor and the trio is completely unprotected. Good times!

In comes Hermione to save the day, as per usual. For a Muggle-Born, she sure seems to know her magic a lot better than her pure-blood pals (though is Harry really considered pure-blood if his mother’s Muggle-Born?). I’m not going to say Hermione is a better wizard – she’s a better studied wizard. Harry could whip out a protective charm that would probably be much stronger than any Hermione could manage, but Hermione is the one who thinks of it. She’s the one who knows the incantations.

Where does that leave Ron? If Hermione has the smarts and Harry has the skill, what about Won Won? It’s a question that will come up later (wait a chapter), but it really does seem like our red-headed friend doesn’t bring as much to the table, though he has the most to lose. He’s the one with the wizard family at risk. He’s the one who lacks the strength or knowledge or skill to truly defend himself as well as the others. Why is he there?

More on that next entry.

For now, Ron’s splinched on the floor, bleeding to death. Whelp, I guess it could have been a lot worse. What if Yaxley managed to make it to the campground? What if Ron was splinched across the chest…or the neck? An arm injury, while definitely not a positive thing, is better than the alternative. And it shows Ron’s weakness, doesn’t it? He can’t manage to Apparate as well as his friends. He doesn’t quite have it together yet.

Is it better he leaves?

Getting ahead of myself again. We’ll talk about it later.

The chapter continues with another peak into Voldemort’s mind and, in an interesting turn of events, Gregorovitch’s mind (so many levels of Leglimacy).

Gregorovitch is dead. His family is dead. Is Ollivander dead? I’m going to say no, if only because he’s a feature in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and that would be a little inaccurate, don’t you think? Well, that and the fact that we don’t see him die or have any proof of it. No, he’s probably still a prisoner.

Gregorovitch, however? Not so lucky (or maybe more lucky?). So now attention turns to the blonde-haired thief.

I wanted to say Lupin off the bat, if we’re going to assume it’s someone who’s already been introduced (which it seems like it must be). But that’s silly, because there is no reason to think Lupin would be in Russia stealing anything from Gregorovitch. I’m just going off the light hair. He has light hair, right?

Oh crap, it’s Xenophilius Lovegood, isn’t it? Oh my God, it totally is! That just clicked! He goes on trips abroad quite a lot – he’s crazy enough to pull that sort of stunt – and why introduce him at this stage in the game if he’s not vitally important?

Pieces…coming together…