A Leader Steps Forward

As we meet this week for our last meeting before we all embark on the final chapter in Harry's story, it will be impossible not to talk about all the possibilities of what will happen next. Yet, we will try to first spend our evening discussing Half-Blood Prince and The-Boy-Who-Leads. Harry has spent most of the book trying to get others to trust his leadership, to listen to his concerns and his theories; but no one was ready to listen. He wasn't "of age". He wasn't a Ministry Certified, fully-qualified wizard... yet. But he is now (or will be in one month). And as the journey is set for the end of Harry's tale, Harry is not really alone, as he says, but actually in the lead with a host of supporters and friends loyal to him, ready to come to his aid.

He led Slughorn into a discussion that resulted in Harry retrieving the critical memory- with the aid of Felix; he led Dumbledore back home to Hogwarts after their horrifying ordeal in the cave. Harry is a leader destined to guide his community through these trying times and past the Second Wizarding War.

So, get ready this week to talk about Harry as a leader; Horcruxes (What do you think happens to a person when they create one?); Phoenix song (Compare this to the making of a Horcrux and ask yourself, what magic is it that Phoenix song has?); Dumbledore's Funeral; and what it means to be a "pariah". Look it up and add it to your dictionary.

The meeting is at my house, and we start at 6. It's a pot luck this week!I've got a trunk-load of intrigues, and for those motivated to have a full Harry Potter evening, I even have options to accommodate that, i.e. you may want to bring sleeping bags! S'mores around Hagrid's fire!

A Tale of Two Orphans

One, a collector of relationships; the other, a collector of “trophies” or things. One, seeks and craves the light; and one who fears, yet harnesses the dark. One who struggles to find his place IN his community, and one who works to set himself APART from his community. One boy spends seven years longing for and building love between a new family and friends; one who spends seven years cultivating no friends, only followers, and destroying any family he had left. One finds comfort and solace in others who are different -who are pushed to the edge of the only world they know; the other distances himself , strikes out at those who are different, and uses those who are on the fringe of the magical world for his own selfish purposes.

Two boys alike and yet, oh, so different. Two lives with start points almost identical, but two very, very different paths and ending places.

We have spent much of Half-Blood Prince learning about the boy Voldemort, a collector of trinkets and magical objects… “magpie like,” Dumbledore says. But he never collects the things that most Hogwarts boys do: friends, hobbies, sporting achievements, the respect of Albus Dumbledore, not even a girlfriend. (But who is this Half-Blood Prince? He's barely mentioned during this part of the book, yet the title is for him! Is he good, bad, brilliant, foolish? You tell me...and then...)

This week at Leigh and Clare's (6:00 pm) we'll delve into the history of Slytherin's Heir, for it has now come time when we need to talk about Tom Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort, the boy who would be evil.

Will and Won't

Life spins around what a person can do and what they can't; what they will do and what they won't; and what they have the "will" to do and what they don't.

In one of the opening scenes of Half-Blood Prince we see a very comical exchange at the Dursley's house involving Kreacher, Harry's new house-elf, but more than that, we are shown, perhaps, the theme to the entire Harry Potter series. "Will & Won't". What "will" happen next? "Will" Harry have the "will" to do what's necessary- to fulfill the prophecy? What "won't" he do to uncover the truth? What, beside Kreacher, has he inherited, if not through an official "Final Will and Testament" then perhaps through gifts and experience.

In other words, a person's "will" lists what happens to their possessions after their death, and within a will is listed the items that are "gift deeded"-like Harry receiving Kreacher and Number 12 Grimmauld Place- but sometimes a person receives "gift deeds" through other means than wills. Perhaps there was a birthday gift that came from a relative long-since-dead. Or a graduation present that once belonged to your great uncle. What items has our hero, Harry, been "gift deeded" through the course of all 6 books an what was the consequence of each gift? Hint: the invisibility cloak...Will these inheritances be a blessing or won't they? 

And what "won't" Harry do as he pursues growing up, staying alive, and facing his enemies? Lie? Cheat? Hide?
All this, plus discussions of: the other minister, our visit to Spinner's End, Dumbledore's portraits, Tarot cards, love potions, the House of Gaunt, and Spectrespecs.

A World of Mystery

We meet this week on Thursday Night, back at our old Potterology time of 6 pm- 8 pm at Kathy's house. We've had to make a couple small changes to meeting locations for the next month- baseball schedules!!!- so please check those on the blog's schedule page... But, book club changes are not very mysterious...

Harry's life, on the other hand, has always been a mystery that we, as readers, have slowly been unravelling. This week, it has become more somber and tragic than it ever was before; in addition, the importance and meaning of these mysteries seems to have increased to radical new levels. His cursed scar; Who heard the prophesy at the Hog's Head? The Department of Mysteries; What's up with the centaurs; What will happen with Grawp? The archway with the veil; What spells was Dumbledore atempting to cast at Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic? Sirius gave Harry a two-way mirror, but Harry forgot to use it...why? And what about Nearly Headless Nick saying to Harry, "learned wizards study (the secrets of death) in the Department of Mysteries"... And certainly not last, or least intriguing, look at the picture above and consider who and why is that elf or goblin clinging to the back of Harry on the British cover of Deathly Hallows...and is that Godric Gryffindor's sword? AND WHY DOES BOOK COVER ART MATTER????? What does it tell us, and not tell us, about a book?!!

۩ When we meet this week we'll start with a dinner-time discussion of last month's secret question, which could easily be a starter for this month's concluding discussion of Order of the Phoenix:

*We went inside Professor Snape's memories briefly when Harry took Occlumency lessons from him; Harry, who had accidently broken into Snape's memories, saw Snape, as a boy, cowering in a corner, while his father was cruel to his mother...also, a broomstick kept trying to buck young Snape off...but the question is ~~Why does our fearless writer, J.K. Rowling, include this scene in the book? What does it tell us about Professor Snape and how is this scene useful to the story? Think and be ready to discuss!

See you all Thursday at Kathy and Mikaya's!

Rebellion

(noun) To rebel, revolt, fight back; an insurrection or uprising.

Think of the Boston Tea Party and the colonists tossing over-taxed English tea into Boston Harbor -late at night, while dressed in disguise as Native Americans; or Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, with help from Wendy, John and Michael, fighting back against Hook with swords, trickery and magic. Or Harry, leading the new secret student defense group, Dumbledore's Army, striking back at the Ministry of Magic, it's unwillingness to believe in Voldemort's return, and preparing his schoolmates for an inevitable battle. (Go ahead and put "inevitable" in your dictionaries, because that word is going to start coming up, a lot, in our discussons!)

Sometimes in life, you have to stand up and fight back against those who would force you to live blindly, foolishly, dangerously (like the Ministry of Magic); or against those who hurt, or are cruel and vicious (like Lord Voldemort). The time has come for Harry to start taking his place in the battle against the Dark Lord, to stand up and rebel, but like all great freedom fighters, Harry has to work his way up to being a true leader of the wizarding world. He has to start small, with the DA. What do you think of Rebellion?
In other storylines, what is going on with poor Hagrid? What kind of a person has Hermione become? She's now a blackmailer??? How many more educational decrees can we take??? How many could any person take before they burst with outrage?
And last, but certainly not least, Harry's dreams...or are they??? What do you think about Occlumency and magic that forces you to relive your worst memories? It's a bit like something we've seen before, isn't it? Is Occlumency dark magic, or not? Who is our new face of evil? Why?

All this and more, Thursday, March 8th at 5 pm at the Menigoz house:

***Please find your dictionaries and bring with you, I didn't make them for my health!***:>)

Art by Camille

It's a Cruel World

This month's meeting is Thursday, February 8th at the Adams Family house-I've been waiting to say that-

We meet this week to begin discussing Order of the Phoenix, an important title as we have just finished reading the middle book (Goblet of Fire) in the Harry Potter arc (imagine the series as a rainbow shaped collection of stories). With Goblet (the middle of the arc) we saw the recreation of the worst wizard ever, the biggest, nastiest villain, Lord Voldemort. But now, the forces of good are marshaling their strength to do battle...rising from the ashes...like a phoenix. Keep in mind what phoenix song does for you...

But life is being cruel to Harry, as sometimes happens...even to good people.

We'll discuss thoughts on the cruelness of life, and why the Phoenix is a wonderful metaphor for this entire book; we'll also look at a few new spells, new friends, and new enemies...and lets explore the Ministry of Magic too! See you there! Remember, 5-7 pm

Imperio

Meeting location at the Livick's: Clare’s Mer-castle

(beware of popping snaps as you approach)



Ю We will test out the new "talking stick" in hopes of reinstating a sense of calm purpose to our meetings. No chaos, please!

The Imperius Curse-unforgiveable-

When Moody teaches the curse, and when Voldemort uses it on Harry, an unexpected thing happens. Considering that this curse is believed to be as bad as the Cruciatus, or nearly as bad as the Avada Kedavra, we would expect it to be something like torture. Instead, the curse offers its victims a clear empty mind, free of the need to make any decisions. It gives it's victim a "most wonderful feeling...a floating sensation as every thought and worry in (Harry's) head was wiped gently away, leaving nothing but a vague, untraceable happiness." (p. 231 GOF) With the Imperius Curse, all decisions are made for you. Harry, though, has never liked anyone making decisions for him- NEVER. Choices are what Harry is all about. As we finish this book, Harry's choices become more and more critical to the book series.

Although it may seem that Harry is destined to be a great wizard, no matter what, clearly he also acts of his own free will and at times makes very difficult choices indeed. Think of the times, throughout the series, when Harry made critical choices and, in each case, what would have happened if Harry had made different choices?

By this, the fourth book, J.K. Rowling has answered some important questions for us, including why Harry returns each summer to the Dursleys (page 657 GOF). What other questions are answered in The Goblet of Fire? What questions do you still wonder about? Write them down and bring them to the meeting!