Thursday 18 September 2014

Harry Potter Moment of the Week

Best "Dumbledore Moment"

I once again turn to HBP and as I do so I realize that the sixth book has a lot of things that make it my favourite book as well as a great many things that make it my least favourite book in the series, some of which I mentioned in my last week's post and will, no doubt, mention in the next week's post too. Of course, Dumbledore, being my second favourite character in the series after Harry, has a lot of excellent scenes throughout the books that I enjoy reading and rereading, but I'm going to go with the one that takes place in the beginning of HBP - Chapter Three "Will and Won't" - when Dumbledore arrives to take Harry to the Burrow and has a little chat with the Dursleys. In my opinion this part is a real gem and here are some of my all-time favourite Dumbledore moments and quotes: 

There in the doorway stood a tall, thin man with waist-length silver hair and beard.  Half-moon spectacles were perched on his crooked nose and he was wearing a long black travelling cloak and a pointed hat.

'Judging by your look of stunned disbelief, Harry did not warn you that I was coming," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "However, let us assume that you have invited me warmly into your house. It is unwise to linger overlong on doorsteps in these troubled times.'

He stepped smartly over the threshold and closed the front door behind him.

'It is a long time since my last visit,' said Dumbledore, peering down his crooked nose at Uncle Vernon. 'I must say, your agapanthuses are flourishing.'

'Ah, good evening, Harry,' said Dumbledore, looking up at him through his half-moon glasses with a most satisfied expression. 'Excellent, excellent.' These words seemed to rouse Uncle Vernon. It was clear that as far as he was concerned, any man who could look at Harry and say 'excellent' was a man with whom he could never see eye to eye.

He [Dumbledore] drew his wand so rapidly that Harry barely saw it; with a casual flick, the sofa zoomed forwards and knocked the knees out from under all three of the Dursleys so that they collapsed upon it in a heap. Another flick of the wand and the sofa zoomed back to its original position.

'We may as well be comfortable,' said Dumbledore pleasantly.

'I would assume that you were going to offer me refreshment,' Dumbledore said to Uncle Vernon, 'but the evidence so far suggests that that would be optimistic to the point of foolishness.'

A third twitch of the wand and a dusty bottle and five glasses appeared in midair. The bottle tipped and poured a generous measure of honey-coloured liquid into each of the glasses, which then floated to each person in the room.

'Madam Rosmerta's finest, oak-matured mead,' said Dumbledore, raising his glass to Harry, who caught hold of his own and sipped. He had never tasted anything like it before, but enjoyed it immensely. The Dursleys, after quick, scared looks at each other, tried to ignore their glasses completely, a difficult feat, as they were nudging them gently on the sides of their heads. Harry could not suppress a suspicion that Dumbledore was rather enjoying himself.

Dumbledore paused, and although his voice remained light and calm, and he gave no obvious sign of anger, Harry felt a kind of chill emanating from him and noticed that the Dursleyes drew very slightly closer together.

'You did not do as I asked. You have never treated Harry as a son. He has known nothing but neglect and often cruelty at your hands. The best that can be said is that he has at least escaped the appalling damage you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you.'

Both Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked around instinctively, as though expecting to see someone other than Dudley squeezed between them.

'And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.'


Ah! I just love this chapter. It has both the humour and the serious and it's so Dumbledore!

12 comments:

  1. Haaaa good pick! I totally forgot about this one. :D I loved it because it was so hilarious :D

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    1. Yeah, me too! It's one of the best. I just love the way Dumbledore behaves all through the visit and how uncomfortable he makes the Dursleys feel.

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  2. That quote never fails to make me shiver!

    'And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.'

    I loved this moment too - can't believe I'd forgotten about it! Thanks for joining us too :D

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    1. Yeah, this quote is pure magic! Thank you for hosting this thing. It's so much fun!

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  3. 'And now, Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.' I get chills with that line. Every Time. Wonderful moment pick ^^ HBP is definitely the way to go for Dumbledore moments, as that really is 'his' book in my opinion ♥

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    1. Isn't it, though? '...that flighty temptress, adventure." I just love it :))

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  4. I completely forgot about this moment! You are so right, it was fantastic. I loved reading it, because it's almost vindicating in the way that he rebukes the Dursleys on their treatment of Harry over the years. He's not overly nasty about it, but he leaves no room for argument over how badly they've behaved. So incredible. I went with a moment where Dumbledore was a little flashier... HP MOTW.

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    1. I just love his outward serenity when, in fact, he is nothing but livid with them and he makes them squirm and feel uncomfortable and, of course, it's not a real punishment, but those bottles with mead nudging them all the time - it's hilarious!

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  5. I also forgot about this one! Such a brilliant scene, and I love how Dumbledore handled the Dursleys! Awesome pick!

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    1. Yeah, I always loved it and it was the second - after his escape from right under the Ministry's nose in OotP - that I thought of:))

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  6. This one is definitely one of those great Dumbledore moments! He gives the Dursleys exactly what they need at this point and shows them that Harry is definitely important to someone. I love the way he just keeps talking like nothing is wrong, like they aren't ignoring him and wishing he was gone. Very funny scene! Great pick :D Jaclyn @ JC's Book Haven.

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    1. Yeah, I love how he makes them feel uncomfortable without breaking sweat and yet behind his pleasant air you feel the real fury.

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