Friday 8 July 2016

The most memorable HP revelations, part 2

Goblet of Fire 

It was the first book that I failed to read in one sitting. It was just too long. I remember I’d been reading the whole day without a stop and by the time I’d reached the graveyard scene with poor Harry tied to the tombstone my head was literally buzzing with Voldemort’s shrieks and Death Eaters’ laughter. So… revelations! I was shocked to learn that Mad-Eye Moody Harry trusted throughout the year turned out to be a Death Eater in disguise – so much for ‘Constant Vigilance!’ – and that the real Mad-Eye Moody had spent the whole school year at the bottom of his own trunk subdued by spells – so much for one of the toughest Aurors there has ever been! I was even more shocked that the Death Eater in disguise turned out to be Barty Crouch Jr, whose trial we’d seen earlier in the book and whom I’d felt genuinely sorry for. I couldn’t believe it! Or that he killed his own father and turned him into a bone that he buried somewhere in the Forbidden Forest! I was shocked to learn that Snape was a Death Eater too or that he actually revealed his Dark Mark! I was floored. On a lesser scale, I was really astonished to see a whole different side of Fudge. I didn’t expect such a total parting of ways there. Also, it was inconceivable for me to see Ron turn his back on Harry like that. It broke my heart to see them torn apart by envy and jealousy. But to see Rita Skeeter locked up in an enchanted jar as a beetle by Hermione made my day! All those clues about her buzzing around and I didn’t see it… Just like the fact that it never occurred to me that there were house-elves at Hogwarts. 

Order of the Phoenix 

I suppose the biggest revelation of all was the content of the prophecy as well as the person who gave it and the person who received it. Of course, Aunt Petunia talking about Dementors and Azkaban. Arabella Figg, Harry’s old, batty, cat-loving neighbour, being a Squib and working for Dumbledore. The Order of the Phoenix! Harry being watched round the clock. Sirius’ dark family! Grimmauld Place. Percy’s new attitude. St. Mungo’s. The Ministry of Magic and its many and varied departments. Dumbledore’s fall from grace. Harry’s stigma as an attention-seeking liar, possibly disturbed and violent. Snape’s worst memory. His childhood memory. Harry’s revelation about his father and mother. Fred and George leaving Hogwarts on broomsticks! Grawp! Thestrals! What else… what else?! It was such a HUGE book it’s hard just now to remember it all. 


Half-Blood Prince

I really enjoyed that we got to learn a lot more about Voldemort. I didn’t see that coming, but I’m usually bad at guessing. I was taken aback by the whole Half-Blood Prince/Snape thing. I was devastated when Snape killed Dumbledore. I wanted to believe that it was part of the plan but I have to confess that it was hard. My faith wavered. Later on my best friend would reproach me for not trusting him – she believed him through and through. Just like she always believed that Harry and Ginny would end up together. I was slightly surprised when I saw the first inklings early on in the book. However, I wasn’t surprised to learn that Snape asked Voldemort to spare Lily because he loved her – I remember once upon a time discussing different theories with my friend and suggesting more for laugh than anything just that; well, she laughed all right, but I proved right in the end! But I was really shocked when I discovered that it was Snape who’d overheard Trelawney telling the prophecy to Dumbledore and reporting to Voldemort! What an ugly, horrible revelation that was! Voldemort’s request to teach at Hogwarts and the jinx that he put on the job when denied. Now who could have thought that? Horcruxes. Vanishing Cabinet. Fleur and Bill getting married! Snape getting to finally teach DADA… 

Deathly Hallows

The final book has some of my favourite revelations. Dumbledore’s backstory: so many shocking things from his father’s imprisonment to Dumbledore’s swift and heartbreaking friendship with none other than Gellert Grindelwald and everything in between! Helena Ravenclaw’s devastating story. Who would have thought that the ghost of the Ravenclaw Tower, the Grey Lady, was Rowena Ravenclaw’s daughter, who broke her mother’s heart, and who was loved and killed by Bloody Baron? I mean, on top of everything else! And, of course, the story behind the Deathly Hallows. I love it! 



Have I missed anything crucial? What were your favourite revelations? Not necessarily momentous but just interesting?

5 comments:

  1. Harry and Ron's falling out in GoF always gets me down. I always wait for the moment when they patch things up :D But yeah, Voldemort coming back, Moody, Fudge, Crouch and Crouch JR all blew me away in this one!

    OotP was such a turning point book for me. Darker, with poor Harry being even more of an outcast than usual! And then the Ministry and their attitude, ugh. The Weasley Twins' exit was a highlight for me for sure - way to go out with a bang! Unfortunately poor Sirius surprised me too in the one I'll NEVER get over :*(

    LOVED HBP because Dumbledore and Harry spend so much time together...and studying Riddle no less!! And then the Snape thing at the end. GAH! To me, that had sealed his faith as a bad guy and there was no redeeming him (at that point).

    I can't even start discussion DH right now. That ENTIRE BOOK was one shocker after another. Dumbledore, The Hallows, Harry and THAT ENDING. I'm rereading the series now and I'm still not ready for the feelings this one will bring on...even after so many rereads ♥

    ReplyDelete
  2. I was so upset by Ron turning his back on Harry. Loyalty is such a big thing to me, and it just hurt that he left Harry alone during such a hard time. I was glad when Hermione tried to explain his actions so we could see it a little from his perspective. Seeing Fudge turn from nice and relying on Dumbledore to completely disbelieving everything he was told was a big shock to me as well. Petunia knowing more about the wizarding world than we were led to believe was a little unnerving for me at first. Snape's memory was a big one too - we got a look at a real reason for him to dislike Harry's dad and Sirius. I had faith that Snape would end up being a good guy as well. I think it was mostly because he just always looked so bad. So many revelations! I love being surprised and she got us all good quite a few times.

    ReplyDelete
  3. First, these covers are so beautiful! I hadn't seen them before. I had no clue what was going on with Fake Moody until all was revealed at the end of GoF, and it took me a bit to process it all. I was definitely surprised when Mrs. Figg turned out to be knowledgeable about the wizarding world. Something that was constantly on my mind while reading DH was how Harry was supposed to open the Snitch that Dumbledore left him, and then when Harry figured it out, and what was inside, my mind was completely blown!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The revelation that Moody was not Moody was HUGE in GoF and I never saw it coming. I also couldn't believe that Mrs. Figg was a squib in OotP! I wonder if Rowling had planned that from book one. Learning about Snape's backstory in both HBP and DH was shocking and sad. I also loved the Grey Lady's story. I love the tragedy of it and the fact that we get a story that's connected to the Founders.
    I wish I remember what my first reactions were to more of these revelations, but that was so long ago and I watched most of the movies first.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Okay, so I'm thoroughly impressed that you read the other three in one sitting. I'd love to be able to do that, but I just can't. Oh man.
    Ron's jealousy was such a sad sore spot for me in Goblet of Fire. It was just so heartbreaking to see Ron fueled by that irritation and anger, thinking that Harry would go looking for that fame and glory (which I get because Ron would have loved that kind of attention, made it hard for him to understand that Harry didn't.) He's been in the shadows for so long, all that emotion was bound to come out sooner or later, I'm just glad that Harry and Ron worked it out.
    In Order of the Phoenix, my favorite revelations was probably those about Neville. We learn why he lives with his grandmother, and that he could have been in Harry's position had Voldemort chosen to interpret the prophecy differently. Just thinking about the fact that Harry might have had a relatively normal life, and Neville could have been the Chosen One. Who knows, maybe Harry's parents would have ended up in St. Mungo's. Both of them would have been two entirely different people.
    I admit, I didn't think we'd ever learn anything about Dumbledore's past. But! I love that we did. He was such an integral part of Harry's school and growing up, I'm glad we got to learn about some of what made the wise professor, as tragic as it might be.

    ReplyDelete