Read All the Things: Hallowe'en from Down Under

I have got to Christmas at Hogwarts, and enjoyed reading some of the more magical descriptions of Hogwarts that have shaped my imagination over the last 16 years...) It's been a while since I posted - I have a legitimate excuse for this, as I am in Australia! I thought my connectivity would be much better than it has been - it's Australia after all, a first world country, why would it be difficult to get online Down Under?

Well, it has been difficult. I've also been busy - my boyfriend was best man at a wedding, and I strongly believe that Best Man's Girlfriend is the role that is largely undervalued at any wedding! The wedding was lovely and I was thrilled to be able to celebrate with our friends. On top of that, wedding crafting has been going on (including a full cross stitch in less than a week) and I got food poisoning from a poorly cooked piece of BBQ'd meat.

Our lovely newly-wed friends.

As a result, I'm behind on my reading and still getting through Philosopher's Stone. However, I'm sure this will not be true for long...

First Term at Hogwarts

My old copy of Philosopher's Stone is now littered with annotations, from wondering at the Hogwarts song (why do we never hear of it again?), the word "glided" (is that a real word??) and musings on the fact that there are "...a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts...".

We've just spent a few days in a beach house on the Sunshine Coast, and it had a staircase with no wood on the vertical as well as a mirror opposite the staircase so you could see yourself walking up the stairs. It made me incredibly nauseous, and I did not enjoy them at all - especially when in the aftermath of two days of throwing up. I have never appreciated this part of Hogwarts at all.

Flicking through the book, I have so many more comments to make, but this post will be the length of a novel if I go through all of them. I'll point out some things I particularly enjoyed.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts...anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back." I'm sure Harry and Ron mess around in Transfiguration throughout the series...McGonagall is clearly not above using hyperbole to control classes.

During the first Potion's lesson, we get some foreshadowing as the Draught of Living Death and Bezoars are mentioned, both of which have great importance in Half Blood Prince. We discover what an a-hole Snape is, and learn to hate Malfoy even more than we already do.

I don't have a lot to say about the flying lesson, apart from here is yet another aspect of Hogwartian life that we only hear about once. I wonder whether Hermione and Neville ever actually learn to fly? We meet Fluffy, and find out that Harry is ridiculously nosy, as we learn a little more about the mystery of 'the grubby little package' that Hagrid picked up at Gringotts. I get the feeling that the series would be a lot less eventful if he wasn't so curious!!

Hermione Granger

Something that I noticed throughout this reading was that Hermione is always referred to for the first time in a situation involving her as "Hermione Granger". I noticed this because by the levitation lesson, we are reminded of the existence of Neville, Seamus and Dean using just their first names, yet Hermione is still introduced as if we have never heard of her.

To put this into an example from slightly later on, Harry and Ron are discussing when they're going to meet Malfoy for the midnight duel after the flying lesson, she overhears them and interrupts. "They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger."

The next time we hear of her is a different situation, when Harry and Ron are sneaking through the common room to get to the duel. We find out she is waiting for them with "A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger...". She is then referred to as Hermione throughout this little incident. This recurrence of her full name happens on exactly the same page as the previous one.

Because I had noticed this, I started paying attention. The first time Hermione is referred to for the first time in a particular occurrence without her surname is on Hallowe'en, with "Neither Neville or Hermione showed the slightest interest..." What then follows is the deed that makes her a friend to Harry and Ron, with the defeat of the troll and that little episode. The last time she is "Hermione Granger" is the sentence "But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend."

I was wondering at this as I read. We are introduced to Hermione in a fairly unpleasant way, and she continues to be slightly annoying right up until the moment when they become friends. Referring to her by her full name singles her out from the rest of the cast of characters - this is not a usual thing to do, and perhaps it is no surprise when she becomes the third in our trio of heroes. From now on, she is Hermione, and she is well loved.

Hallowe'en

Well, now all the big things are happening. We are introduced to the rules of Quidditch, find out exactly how good at magic Hermione really is when she masters Wingardium Leviosa on the first go, and find out how Hallowe'en is done at Hogwarts. The description of the Great Hall during the Hallowe'en feast has always enchanted me:

"A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter."

It's such a short sentence; in my head it is magnified to way beyond that, and I was shocked when I was trying to find this description a few months ago and realised how little was actually said.

The troll, by the way, sounds hilarious. (This is a fairly good artistic representation, though I'm not sure about the piercings.)

Artists rendition of the Mountain Troll (Source)

We find out about bravery, daring, nerve and chivalry, all the qualities that set Gryffindors apart. (If Hermione 'fessing up to hunting a troll, a wildly implausible story at best, to stop Harry and Ron getting in trouble isn't chivalrous, I don't know what is). Use of spells is starting to become a part of daily life.

And we start getting into the meat of the story without requiring 'set-up'. JKR has now introduced many of the basic elements we need to imagine Hogwarts, Harry's friends and teachers, and how life proceeds in general. It's time to really get started on finding out about grubby packages.

I'm being rushed on to dinner now. Hopefully it won't be too long until I can connect again.

Much love,

Corrie xx