Week 3 Roundup

I can't believe 3 weeks have passed already since Corrie and I took up this challenge! Time certainly does fly. So what's been happening these past 7 days?

Reading

I am on chapter 4 of Chamber of Secrets and am trying to take it more slowly with the second book. I've learned from some of my mistakes from reading book 1 - namely not taking notes as I read, making the writing of new blog posts hindered by needing to re-read whole chapters. So, I've taken to carrying a notebook around with me when reading. I popped by Waterstone's with my lovely boyfriend this weekend and I saw some Harry Potter themed notebooks; they were so tempting! I resisted, however, as they didn't have one with a Hufflepuff front cover!

Wearing my Hufflepuff badge with pride!

Blogging

There are only 9 days to go until the end of June and I am so behind with my review posts - I still have chapters 7-17 left to write about! I discussed this worry with Corrie and she suggested that I group the chapters together. This is a valid suggestion, however, I am reluctant to do that, especially with the first book as it is so short.

Writing posts encompassing 3-5 chapters will become necessary as we move through the series, particularly once we reach Order of the Phoenix and I'm already trying to envisage how to tackle the new challenge that will pose. Reviewing one chapter isn't that difficult for me. Writing a coherent review of ~5 chapters will be tricky.

The other option would be to post more frequently, however as I approach the end of my PhD and the task of writing my thesis comes ever closer, that simply would not be feasible...perhaps I didn't chose the best time to start a blog...

London Blog Meet-Up

On Tuesday last week I met up with Corrie and Nikita to talk all things Harry Potter over a Starbucks coffee. It was great! I can't remember the last time I spent an hour analyzing the books with other people. We briefly discussed my post about religion, the length of book 6 vs book 7, font size...

Possibly the most interesting - for me at least - topic of discussion was the timeline of chapter 1. I honestly can't believe that even now, having read the book for at least the 10th time in my life, I still hadn't noticed the logistics of how long it took Hagrid to deliver Harry to Privet Drive.

We are told quite clearly that McGonagall arrives at number 4 Privet Drive in the morning, as Uncle Vernon is heading off to work. Presumably this would be somewhere between 7 and 8am. Dumbledore doesn't arrive until the Drusleys go to sleep, so probably after 10pm and by the time Hagrid finally flies in on Sirius's motorcycle, we can assume it is at least 11pm.

Voldemort was defeated the night before. Did Dumbledore know immediately what had happened? How long did it take for the Order of the Phoenix to hear about the attack? Probably not that long, as Hagrid is said to have arrived at the Potters' house just as the 'Muggles started arriving.' I assume these are Muggles that lived in Godric's Hollow and considering the house was pretty much destroyed in the attack, crowds would have started gathering quickly.

So, the Potters are killed on the night of October 31st. Within minutes of their death, Hagrid is on the scene ready to pick up Harry (on Dumbledore's orders). How did Dumbledore know that Harry is alive at this point? Or did he send Hagrid to look for survivors? On that note. why did he send Hagrid - why didn't he go himself?

While there, Hagrid bumps into Sirius, who wants to take Harry into his custody, as he is Harry's Godfather. He gives Hagrid his flying motorcycle. What does Hagrid do next? I don't think he goes straight to Privet Drive, as he somehow has the time to inform McGonagall that that is where Dumbledore is headed.

Thinking about it now, I think it would make sense for Hagrid at this point to either a) reconvene with Dumbledore at Hogwarts for further orders or b) lie low somewhere waiting for further orders.

Either option would explain why Hagrid flew over Bristol to get to Surrey (Godric's Hollow is meant to be somewhere in West Country), while option a) could explain how/when he told McGonagall that Dumbledore will be going to Privet Drive.

What do other people think? Has this been explained somewhere?

Creative outlets

Corrie is a very artsy person and, apart from reading more, I've also been looking for creative outlets in my life. I cannot play any musical instruments and while I would love to learn to play the piano, I simply do not have the time to dedicate to such an endeavor.

I would hesitate to call myself a dancer, but I am learning both ballroom and latin dancing and have a lesson once a week, which I find to some extent to be creative.

I recently reminisced to my lovely boyfriend about paint-by-numbers projects I did as a child and really enjoyed, as it allowed me to paint pretty pictures without really knowing how to paint at all. So he bought me a coloring book for adults and for a brief time, I spent my evenings meticulously coloring in pictures depicting plants and insects.

And then, I accompanied Corrie to John Lewis last week and randomly decided to buy a cross-stitch pattern to try (Corrie bought the same one too!). So, this is now my new addiction. As with most of the hobbies I try I'm pretty sure this one won't last long, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

My first cross-stitch in over a decade (Day 2)

Until next time,

Lucia