First Year Ends

Oh goodness, you guys I've finally got through the first book and sat down to blog about it. I actually finished reading it weeks ago, but sitting down to blog felt like too much...I'm busy preparing for the biggest retail event of my life, and it feels a little bit like getting ready to sit end of year exams. There's so much to do!

I'm normally a pretty good blogger, but clearly I'm not doing so well here...

Anyway, I am still determined to finish Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by the end of August. Sit tight...

Are you a witch or not?

One of my favourite lines of the first book comes in the first page of chapter sixteen.

"Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness Potion." 

The utter genius of this line had me in stitches the first time I read it, and one of my clearest early memories of Harry Potter is my brother turning to me and pointing it out. JKR's sense of humour really comes out here, and I love it.

Recipe for this potion... (source)

This is a minor part of the chapter, I'll admit. It's just more proof of how Harry Potter is crafted and not just written.

That said, I've picked up on a few things through this chapter that are small, but interesting. We get the first mention of the giant squid as Lee Jordan tickles its tentacles, and JKR seems to commit a small error. I wonder what you make of the following sentence?

"He watched an owl flutter towards the school across the bright blue sky, a note clamped in its mouth."

I know I'm just being pedantic, but it still bugs me!

At one point in this chapter, Hagrid alludes to getting drunk. I thought this was really interesting, and a device that we often see in 'kids' stories, whether it is book, film, tv or otherwise. The best stories that appeal to both adults and kids are those that contain information that kids just don't pick up on - as kids, we already feel that Hagrid is a bit silly and the fact that Hagrid drank too much when giving away how to get past Fluffy is fairly inconsequential.

Hagrid's ultimate temptation (source)

As adults, we can empathise with that 'oops' moment you have when you've over-indulged (not necessarily on alcohol, but sometimes just goodwill and atmosphere) and said something you shouldn't have. As well as that feeling of memory loss! I do find it interesting that Harry then talks directly about Hagrid getting drunk...I'm not sure that at 11, I would have known what that meant. Would you? I'd also like to point out, again, that Harry was trying to make a forgetfulness potion in his exam.

Without turning this into another 10,000 word essay, I'll skim through the rest of my thoughts. There is some foreshadowing when Harry says Voldemort will turn Hogwarts into "...a school for the Dark Arts!" That's exactly what happens six years later. Hermione gets 112% on a charms exam. Exactly how does one achieve this?! I know it's magic, but still... After a confrontation with Neville (a bravo moment in his character development), the trio end up entangled in a Devil's Snare plant. Hermione displays one of the few moments of panic that we ever see her experiencing (unless it is with respect to Boys and Feelings), which made me feel so much more kindly towards her. She is not invincible, after all!

Hermione and the Devil's Snare (source)

It feels like a crime to be shooting through the book like this, especially as there is so much crammed into these chapters - but there we have it. The heroes battle through keys, trolls and chess, and then we have the riddle that Hermione solves. I tried to solve it on Pottermore. I would have died a quick death, as it turns out! Then another line that endeared me to Hermione.

"There are more important things - friendship and bravery and - oh Harry - be careful!"

This is also a clue to the things that make Harry so special, that will be important later in the series.

Try to get through the flames, if you dare. (Source)

Then, we meet the "...someone already in the chamber".

(As a kid being read to, my dad would have insisted on stopping here and making me wait until the next night for the next chapter if we had ever got to Harry Potter while I was small enough. Genius.)

The First Casualty

I'd like you to try something for a moment. While you're reading this, try to make your face twitch. (I did this in front of my boyfriend...he thought I was having an episode.) It's hard work! Quirrell must have been a hell of an actor.

Fan art - the Man with Two Faces (source)

The fact that I didn't write that many notes on the pages here is a testament to how this last chapter grips me - even now. However, I did get a few in. We find out that Quirrell has a special gift with trolls. What does this even mean?? Harry and Ron managed to knock the Hallowe'en troll out with apparent ease, something that Quirrell also appears to be able to do. Does this mean that Harry and Ron have a special gift with trolls? Just food for thought. 

The climax of the entire book takes just two pages. Harry gets the stone, meets Voldemort, fights them both and kills Quirrell. The first casualty of the book (I'm not including Lily and James as that is not really in the book, but more the prequel...) is a grown man, killed by Harry.

The Man with Two Faces (source)

The book skips over it, but this is heavy stuff. We find out he is definitely dead when Dumbleore tells Harry that Voldemort "...left Quirrell to die." I will admit - I didn't realise that this actually happens until a few years ago. I'm pointing it out here. Harry kills Quirrell. Just a taster of the carnage that is to come later, but one that skips you by quite easily.

The next important thing is Harry asking Dumbledore why he was attacked. The question is skipped, for reasons we find out later - and we are introduced to the thought that Harry is protected by love. It's impossible to realise how very important the protection that Harry carries in his blood is until the end of the seventh book, and the explanation is basic here, preparing us for more information later.

I cannot understand why Dumbledore let all of these shenanigans go on under his nose. Harry explains it as the headmaster thinking he has a right to face Voldemort, but it seems an awful big risk to take on the off-chance that Harry may be OK. He got fooled into going to the Ministry, even though he apparently knows exactly what is going on at Hogwarts at all times, and he made sure Harry had the Invisibility Cloak so he could get up to mischief. I know it is character development, foreshadowing, building the story, but it doesn't sit well with me, and one of my main gripes about this part of the series.

Dumbledore - irresponsible or wise? (source)

Anyway, moving on. Things are then wrapped up rather neatly. Fred and George try to send Harry a toilet seat, bringing us straight back to the first time we encounter them at Kings Cross. People stand up to look at Harry as he walks into the Great Hall, as in the beginning of the book. Hagrid takes them back across the lake in the fleet of first year boats. (Do we think this is something that JKR forgot about for the rest of the series? We never hear of it again.) Harry thanks Mrs Weasley for the jumper and fudge (he should have sent a note!) and we meet Ginny again - who is just as infatuated with Harry as ever.

However, things aren't as neat as that. Hagrid has given Harry a photo album, which will have a role to play in identification of Sirius Black later. Gryffindor still haven't won the Quidditch cup.

Chamber of Secrets is my least favourite book of the series - but we won't get into that now. Book One is over, and I'm super excited to move on. I know Lucia is too - off we head into new territory!

Much love,

Corrie xx