36 Days later (but really 31)...

I'm finished. Harry Potter is done for quite a while.

You know, I've never read them all together before. It was lovely. Harry aged 7 years in little over month. Wow.

Deathly Hallows, particularly the last nine chapters, is such an emotional roller coaster. I can't imagine what it's like for people who score higher than 2% emotion on Harry Potter Wand Quizzes. Anyway, the last nine chapters of DoH, the Battle of Hogwarts and everything surrounding it after they become bank robbers, rates as a favourite section out of all the books. I'm waiting to reach it as soon as I start HBP. Also, you can tell it's a favourite section because of the density of dog ears in it compared to the rest of the book. So, without further ado, a cascade of quotes to end my journey.

...there were six Harry Potters gasping and panting in front of him. Fred and George turned to each other and said together, 'Wow - we're identical!'

I feel like there's a lot less humour in this book. Well, not feel, because there is. So this is a little gem of the small amount of humour in the book. Thankfully, that which is there is good. (Something about Severus Snape and shampoo comes to mind....)

'Always the tone of surprise.' [Said by both Ron and Hermione]

This little quote is lovely. Ron says it a fair bit to Hermione in a few of the previous books, but I only picked up on it because I read them all in a row. I just love how many references there are to previous books in DoH. It's great (another one is coming)

...each [g] felt like a friendly little wave glimpsed from behind a veil.

Enough said. Lovely writing.

'Yes - yes - a boy,' said Lupin again, who seemed dazed by his own happiness.

This scene made me so happy when I read it. I loved that Lupin had a kid, I loved that he and Harry were friends again, and I loved the punctuation of happiness in the midst of a grim story. But I'm always a little saddened byt he fact that Lupin could be dazed by his own happiness. It's a slightly melancholy image, whilst being happy at the same time.

'Potter belongs in my house!' Beneath the disbelief and anger, Harry heard a little strain of pride in her voice, and affection for Minerva McGonagall gushed up inside him.

I love that this line was written. And I love it when McGonagall screams when she thinks Harry is dead, and I love it that she duels Voldemort. It's been confirmed in the last month that McGonagall is one of my favourite characters.

...the Snape-shaped hole in the window.

'Are you a wizard or what?'

As promised, the throwback to other books. In this case the first, but this time reversed. Quite brilliant.

'After all this time?'/'Always,' said Snape.

Always. What a beautiful answer, from a character I still dislike. Haha.

...to think that people had years, time to waste, so much time it dragged, and he was clinging to each second.

What poetic language. I thought as I read this that I'm really glad she wrote this book last, which sounds stupid, but it's how the thought got phrased. What I mean is...her writing has gotten better, I think through the books, so that a lot of DoH is just really wonderful writing. This is one example. As an aside, the scene right after this (the resurrection stone) brought me to tears, but only the first time i read it.

Sorry for the length of this post but, you know, it is the last one. So, that's it. Now you can expect sensible, reasonably lengthened posts that aren't bordering on obsessiveness. Thank goodness for that.

Feeling Princely

There are so many pages turned down in my copy of the Half-Blood Prince to mark the lines I liked. More than the other books, so it's hard to be selective, but I've decided to pick a only er a few to share.

[About Harry's popularity]'And it doesn't hurt that you've grown about a foot over the summer, either,' Hermione finished, ignoring Ron. 'I'm tall,' said Ron inconsequentially.

Rowling has a knack for picking exactly the right word to describe tone and the way things are done. I think I said that in the last post, but I can so easily imagine Ron saying that. And I love how quietly amusing the books are. There's not really much that would make you laugh out loud, but there's plenty of lines that have me chuckling to myself.

He did not usually lie in bed reading his textbooks; that sort of behaviour, as Ron rightly said, was indecent in anybody except Hermione, who was simply weird that way.

Good old Hermione. I love that about her. And she doesn't even care that everyone thinks that.

'It's not my fault she's barking mad Hermione. Or d'you think she overheard you being rude about Filch? I've always thought there might be something going on between them...'

I love it when the kids discuss something other than the year's big mystery, or Voldemort. When you get a glimpse of when they're just being completely normal teenagers. I also love that later on in the book, at the funeral, Rowling specifically mentions that Madam Pince and Filch were standing together in the hall.

[Harry]:'I want to find McLaggen and kill him.' 'I'm afraid that would come under the heading of "over exertion",' said Madam Pomfrey.

I love it when the staff are funny. That is all.

'I am not worried Harry,' said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger, despite the freezing water. 'I am with you.'

What a compliment. Not much to say, except that I dog eared the page as soon as I read that line.

'DON'T --' screamed Snape, '-- CALL ME COWARD!'

So before book seven this made me dislike Snape more, but now this whole section makes me respect him more (not really like him though). He's just had to kill Dumbledore and commit himself to Voldemort indefinitely and Harry runs after him, taunting him and he's absolutely beside himself. It's quite um...an intense situation for him.

And that is all. Sorry, there turned out to be more than I thought. But still, that's about a quarter of the quotes I had marked, which is about half the quotes I mentally mark.

One more to go, ('thank goodness' I hear you say), and then I can return to posting about some things which are a bit more relevant, perhaps.

Phoenix Ramblings. Sorry.

Having finished Order of the Phoenix er a few nights ago, and being now a good 200 pages into Half Blood Prince (which is, incidentally, up there as a favourite), it seems odd to come back and write about the fifth harry potter book, but I have to, because I had several observations. I hadn't read this book for ages, so a lot of things stood out for me. (This post is long. I'll forgive you if you don't read the whole thing)

1) This book is long. Seems pretty obvious, but when I was setting a target of at least 100 pages a day just to get through it in a week, that tells you something. But while it's long it is also...

2) Quite a good story, yarn, tale etc etc. Well, I don't actually know how to articulate it, but it's just that there's so much in this story about one boy's year at school that it's just kind of engrossing. Okay, so much happens and...I give up on this point.

3) It's well told. I don't know if you've ever actually tried writing a story with so much dialogue and movement, but J.K does a really fantastic job of simply describing the way people say and do things that makes it easy to visualise, and not repetitive (you know the classic bunch of quotation marks followed by said all in a row. She avoids this) This is true of all the books, but I've never really noticed. I just really admire the variation and cleverness in her choice of description.

4) The fight in the ministry is really good! So I used to just kind of skim through this whole book I think I dunno, but I suddenly realised how er enthralling those whole two chapters are. The movie adaptation completely decimated the greatness of this bit. I mean the teenagers are running around in the depths of the ministry, dropping one by one .... it's suspenseful! Haha

Also, the book is humorous, but then again, they all are, so it doesn't make the list. As this was such a long book, it needs a longer post than this so I'll add a few quotes too. Had to be very selective, much to my consternation.

He was never going to see Ron and Hermione again - And their faces burst clearly into his mind as he fought for breath. 'EXPECTO PATRONUM!'

One of the great things about the books, and this sounds cliche but it's actually true, is how much they value friendship. In the quote above, it's this massively powerful thing that allows Harry to defeat dementors. And for Harry, Ron and Hermione are it, they are the people that mean the most to him for so long. It's just....amazing.

'Ron,' said Hermione, 'you are the most insensitive wart I have ever had the misfortune to meet.'

Okay, so I had to pick only one quote from this whole hilarious, four page discussion by the trio. I just love it, I laugh the whole way through every time. Anyway...

'Has it not occurred to you, my poor puffed-up popin jay...' [Phineas Nigellus to Harry]

Love a bit of alliteration, and how many people do you hear using this expression? Fantastic.

Ron had caused a dinner plate to mutate into a large mushroom and had no idea how it had happened.

I just was struck by (and loved) the fact that their mistakes in exams can be this bizarre. If you read through the whole OWLs section, it's like a list of bizarre mistakes, listed almost nonchalantly. The worst we can do is answer the wrong question.

And finally that's it. Oh, one more thing. I've juts got to say how much I love McGonagall. She's amazing; the scenes that she and Umbridge are in are hilarious/excellent because McGonagall completely owns Umbridge. So that's it. I'm off to read the sixth!

Bear With Me

Finished good old GoF after having not read it for years I think.

The bell was due to ring at any moment, and Harry and Ron, who had been having a sword fight with a couple of Fred and George's fake wands at the back of the class, looked up, Ron was now holding a tin parrot, and Harry, a rubber haddock.

What is a haddock anyway? I've never even found out, just always imagined some weird fish-bird thing. Turns out it's just a fish. Oh well. This little scene is quite amusing.

Yes. He'd [Moody] probably blast us through the door if we wake him at the crack of dawn.

Harry is actually quite funny. No one ever mentions it, but he's got more than a few funny one liners.

You fail to recognise that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!

Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.

Oh, classic Dumbledore. Such wisdom. I actually quite like these, because they are true. And that is all.

Ok so I'm sorry about all the Harry Potter posts and I promise I won't bore you with many more, but I had to post this.

The Scene: Dumbledore, Fudge and 'Moody' are discussing the disappearance of Senior Barty Crouch. Fudge throws a subtle insult at Madame Maxime and Dumbledore simply says he believes she is a very able Headmistress. Directly following is...

The Problem: 'Dumbledore come!' said Crouch angrily.

Say who? Crouch just popped up! [Crouch should be Fudge in this instance] That's handy, their conversation can now come to an end. It's odd because I've never heard this typo mentioned before and it's actually quite an amusing one.

And that was a little event from my day. Hope you enjoyed.

Oh...

Finished the third book on Monday night then realised I didn't have up any quotes from it, when it's one of my favourite. So here you are.

'And we've got a seeker who has never failed to win us a match!' Wood rumbled, glaring at Harry with a kind of furious pride. 'And me,' he aded as an afterthought.

'We think you're very good too, Oliver,' said George.

'Cracking Keeper,' said Fred.

'I don't need help,' Ron whispered. 'It's obvious what this means. There's going to be loads of fog tonight.' Both Harry and Hermione burst out laughing.

'Your parents gave their lives to keep you live Harry. A poor way to repay them - gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic tricks.' [Lupin] walked away, leaving Harry feeling worse by far than he had at any point in Snape's office.

This last quote always makes me feel really bad as well, for Harry. What a guilt trip from Lupin.

Forgot About this Line

Lockhart ... irritated Harry so much that he yearned to throw Gadding with Ghouls right in Lockhart's stupid face.

That a boy Harry.

Loathsome Lockhart

Loathsome is a little bit strong, but it was the only word beginning with L that I could think of. But it also sums it all up quite nicely. Lockhart is simply incredibly irritating, so I suppose I wasn't alone is always wishing Harry would just hit him square in the face. But that wouldn't exactly be in character, and would take some of the weight from Hermione's exclamation in the third book: 'we attacked a teacher!' Oh well. In any case, Lockhart provided Rowling with a nice source of humour because of how thick he is, and I'll leave you with a few.

'Yes,' he said dramatically. 'Freshly caught Cornish pixies.'

'She has been Petrified,' said Dumbledore ('Ah! I thought so!' said Lockhart). 'But how I cannot say...'

'I'll make it,' Lockhart butted in... -- 'Excuse me,' said Snape icily, 'but I believe I am the potions master at this school.' There was a very awkward pause.

My Philosophizing is Done. I'll Now be Delving into some Secrets.

Sorry for the plethora of quotes, but I wanted to share, and there were so many to share! I tried to cut them down but I couldn't. And, if this was book one I can't imagine how many I'll have for the others. There's not even really that many quotes I love from Philosopher's Stone. Anyway, I'll just aim to be ruthless and selective and pick the best ones in the future. For now, please try and enjoy this avalanche of Harry Potter.

'You haven't got letters on yours,' George observed. 'I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid - we know we're called Gred and Forge.'

I think I read their names normally the first time I read this line, because I remember having a '!' moment a few years ago and finding this line suddenly hilarious. Either way, it's classic Fred and George humour, and who doesn't like that?

Harry suddenly turned to Ron. 'Charlie,' he said. 'You're losing it, too,' said Ron. 'I'm Ron, remember?'

Another bit of humour. Lines like this add that little bit more character to the books which is so appealing.

So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut. 'Wonder what it's like to lead a peaceful life,' Ron sighed.

Sorry Ron, you won't know what that's like for another six years. I also just love how nonchalantly this line adds the hiding of a dragon to the worries of 11 year old kids. But then again, that's the whole Harry Potter story I guess.

'Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help,' snarled Ron.....'Have you gone mad?' Ron bellowed. 'ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?'.....'Yeah,' said Ron, 'and lucky Harry doesn't lose his head in a crisis - "there's no wood," honestly.'

These lines have always been a favourite. Why did they change them in the movie? They are fine as they are in the book. In fact, they're fantastic.

'Alas! Earwax! ... To the well organised mind, death is but the next great adventure.'

Classic Dumbledore. Cliche, but I had to put them in somewhere.

Ron and Hermione were a very good audience; they gasped in all the right places and when Harry told them what was under Quirrell's turban, Hermione screamed out loud.

I don't know why I like this line, but I always have. I guess it's the just the mental image of Harry teling a story to a rapt audience with exaggerated reactions that makes it for me. Either way, thought I'd share.

Also, can't find it now but there's a sneaky little reference to Snape mind reading in this book. 'Harry had the feeling Snape could read minds' or something of the like. Love that foreshadowing.

One little further observation. Has anyone else ever noticed that in book one Hogwarts only makes up half the book? 100-ish pages out of 200-ish. But I guess it takes quite a while to orient the reader to a world where magic is real....

On Quidditch and Friendship

But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.

I love this quote - it marks the beginning of the trio. Up until this point it's just Harry and Ron, and if you're re-reading, it gets a bit lonely without Hermione around. I've known this quote virtually off by heart for years, not because I sat and memorised it, but because, as a fantastic little quote about friendship with an anomalous reference to trolls stuck on the end, it just sticks in your head somehow.

'Jordan, I'm warning you -' / 'All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure.....hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose - only joking, Professor...'

My mum has always said she's a little bored by all the Quidditch matchs in Harry Potter, but it's one of the defining things about the books! I always find it harder to pick up books two and four simply because there's no Quidditch in them (well, one match in two). And a great part of Quidditch is the commentary. The banter, for want of a better word, between Jordan and McGonagall is always amusing, and definitely part of the appeal for me.

As an aside, I wanted to just revisit the whole mis-reading affecting your imagination thing. The Quaffle is described as being about the size of a football in this book. Unfortunately at the age of six/seven I was completely oblivious about the fact that soccer was actually known as football in the UK, and so happily imagined an AFL or rugby type ball for years, still do, and was again puzzled when the movie came out. It would be easier to catch anyway, I imagine.

Hogwarts Impressions

'I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!'

I like this line. It's got a nice ring to it, and also it reminds me of my first impression of Hogwarts, before it's actually described in the book. I pretty much imagined a whole lot of tables outside on a veranda type thing with adults teaching the kids your basic magic tricks (top hats, frogs, rabbits etc). I'm so glad Harry didn't go there.

However, I apparently didn't pay much attention to the description of Hogwarts when it was given to me, particularly the Entrance Hall.

'A magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.' Unfortunately, my Hogwarts is built with a completely different layout to the one in the book, because I imagined the marble staircase to the right. It's made a mess of a lot of scenes in the book for me, and I was puzzled when the movies came out about why they put the staircase in front of the entrance, but there you go. That's one thing I love about reading: everyone imagines it differently. Some more correctly than others, perhaps, but that's a matter of opinion.