It's been so long, days have passed, potions spilt, incantations forgotten, and yet...we must spread the word...A Meeting Approaches!
Next Meeting, August 9th, Wednesday-
A FULL MOON NIGHT! Our conclusions concerning Chamber of Secrets!
We had a lot of discussion about Dobby's famous quote, "Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew," and the various forms of magical travel that we have so far been introduced to: Hogwarts Express, brooms, flying motorcycles/cars, floo powder (is it a licensed product with various commercial manufacturers???). We discussed the big theme of prejudice as demonstrated by Malfoy's use of the "M" word...not to be confused with Uncle Vernon's idea of the dreaded "M" word...could the injection and juxtaposition of both of those "M" words in Chamber of Secrets be an intentional thought bomb by J.K. Rowling??? {Juxtaposition: being side by side; in books and stories, two things being near enough together that the reader compares them}
Lists Lists Lists Lists Lists
Ж As everyone, I'm sure, remembers, we are going to embark on a lengthy list gathering throughout the reading of the remainder of the books. {And for those with a zesty heart, some will go back and re-check Sorcerer's Stone to insure complete lists.} These are lists pulled from the "canon" (a word that means: the works of an author; the authoritative information from an author's set of books...You can add that to your dictionaries!) ...
So, we are making lists of:
Passwords (Caroline); Potions and Potion Ingredients (Noelle and Dean) ; Charms (anybody?); Incantations/Spells (anybody else?); Characters~(Olivia N.); Plants (Caroline and Julia); Books and Authors ~mentioned anywhere in the stories (anyone curious?); Places~towns, villages, shops, destinations, buildings, etc ~(Kathy and Mikaya); Magical World Products ~(Caroline and Camille); Muggles or Squibs in the stories ~(Bryce);Witches or Wizards mentioned throughout the stories-this is different from "characters" who recur with dialogue between each other {Neville, Lavender Brown and Madam Pince are characters, while Doris Crockford and Dedalus Diggle are "Witches and Wizards" mentioned~(Noelle and Dean); ["Incantations and Spells", "Books and Authors" are lists available on the internet...Other interesting lists that someone could do...Historic events as mentioned by Professor Binns or others; Students, their year and their houses; Things in the Forbidden Forest and Lake ~(Kathy and Mikaya??); Portraits in Dumbledore's office or elsewhere.] *Let's bring our lists to the meeting and compare and share!*
Ω Now that we have had a little break from things, it's time to re-gather and get back to what's really important: HARRY.
So our next meeting will be a field trip to Hearst Castle.
Our schedule will be something like this:
2pm: meet to caravan
3pm: arrive at San Simeon in the shadow of La Cuesta Encantada and eat dinner while we talk about Tom Riddle's Diary~ is it time travel? how does it work? Why does Mr. Weasly say "Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain?" What else might this admonition (rule) apply to??? and what do we think about Harry's need to sacrifice himself for others~for example, saving Norbert to keep Hagrid out of trouble, and with Quidditch (or maybe it was for Oliver Wood) when the Rogue Bludger was after him. Why does Harry do this?
5: ish: we head out on our tour route through the castle looking for places on A Scavenger Hunt List. I will give out the lists after the meeting and dinner is complete! The list will include Castle locations at Hogwarts that also exist at Hearst Castle; can you identify the Great Hall? the Library? the Gryffindor common room? Can you imagine Harry, Hermione and Ron walking these corridors? Where would the secret passages be?
Between now and then everyone must finish the book, work on their lists and check out of the library (or buy your own copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them). This book was written by JK Rowling as a fund raising effort for Comic Relief Britain. Tucked within its few pages is a treasure-trove of secret tidbits about Harry's world, specifically set up as a mini encyclopedia of the magical creatures that inhabit our world. Read it for fun! Learn where Invisibility Cloaks come from! Summer homework assignment!!!!!
