I have finished my PhD, woohoo! As I am currently looking for a job, I don't have much to occupy my days and so I thought it was high time I return to the blog.
Let's dive straight back in where we left off so long ago!
I'm quite looking forward to this chapter, because it features one of my favourite scenes from the book - the Deathday Party.
When we last saw Harry, he had just heard the mysterious, bodyless voice during his detention with Lockhart. This chapter opens up with an update on the passing of time - the first month of the school year is behind us and the month of Halloween has arrived. We all know of the significance of Halloween in the life of young Harry, but here we find out that October 31st is also the anniversary of the death of another character, albeit 500 years ago!
After a grueling and muddy Quidditch practice, Harry runs into Nearly Headless Nick in one of the corridors of Hogwarts. Nick confides in Harry that he had been hoping to join the Headless Hunt but that due to the fact that his executioner was apparently not very handy with an axe, he is not eligible to take part.
At this point in the books, we don't know much about the ghosts of Hogwarts. It was mentioned in the Philosopher's Stone that each Hogwarts house has its own ghost - the Bloody Baron in Slytherin, the Fat Friar in Hufflepuff, the Grey Lady in Ravenclaw and Nearly Headless Nick in Gryffindor. It is unclear if each ghost attended Hogwarts and if so, if they were in the same house they now represent. Also, why did they come back to Hogwarts after they died? Why does Hogwarts even need ghosts? It doesn't look like they do much, apart from Professor Binns, who teaches History of Magic.
We will learn a bit more about some of ghosts in Book 7 and some of the mechanics of becoming a ghost will be explained in Book 5, but at the moment we have more questions than answers. For example:
Can ghosts exist anywhere, or are they somehow bound to a magical place? As we will see later on in this chapter, there appear to be hundreds of ghosts at Nick's party...And how do ghosts even write letters to each other, if they can't physically touch anything? And once the letter is somehow written, how do they mail it? Is it delivered by a dead owl? And why would an animal become a ghost? Most importantly, can Muggles become ghosts?
The questions continue when Harry has a confrontation with Filch, the caretaker. Suffering from man-flu and generally hating all students, Filch takes his frustration out on Harry and is about to serve him with a horrible punishment for befouling the castle, when he is distracted by a horrible crash somewhere on the floor above them. While he is off dealing with whatever it is that happened, Harry finds a letter on Filch's desk.
I just can't get over how curious Harry is about everything. I suppose it comes from growing up not being allowed to ask questions about anything, but honestly he just can't leave well enough alone. Intrigued by the purple envelope and completely disregarding Filch's privacy, he opens the letter and reads all about the Correspondence Course in Beginner's Magic being offered. The letter reads like something you would see on the home shopping channel!
When Filch comes back, muttering about a vanishing cabinet (I wonder if that bit of information is significant at all?), and sees that Harry has been going through his things, he is - quite rightly so - angry and embarrassed by whatever it is that Harry read. Why exactly would someone working at Hogwarts need lessons on beginner's magic?
After accepting an invitation to Nick's Deathday Party, Harry enjoys the lack of punishment by watching Fred and George perform potential animal cruelty by feeding a firework to a salamander. By the time Halloween comes around, however, it turns out Harry isn't particularly excited about missing a Hogwarts Feast. Together with Ron and Hermione, they unenthusiastically make their way to the dungeons, following the sound of musical saws.
The party itself appears to be a great success, as we are told that there are hundreds of ghosts in attendance. Where have they all come from? Did Nick know them when he was alive? The dungeons are apparently very cold, which makes me wonder if ghosts work like air conditioners. There is also a table full of rotting food - why? We are told immediately that ghosts can't actually taste food and they presumably don't need to eat anyway...And finally, the moment has arrived: we meet Moaning Myrtle!
I'm not really sure why I enjoy Myrtle so much, but I really do. The book thus far has been a bit slow and the new characters that have been introduced in the previous chapters - with the exception of Colin - have been pretty irritating (I'm looking at you Lockhart and Dobby!). Myrtle's level of melodrama, however, I find truly entertaining.
The whole idea of the Deathday Party is fascinating to me. We've already seen J.K. Rowling's mastery at world building and I think the introduction to ghosts is another example of this. I only wish that she had expanded on this a bit more because if taken as a part of the whole book and then the series, this scene is pretty insignificant. We don't really learn enough to fully justify it being in the book at all and if it was taken out, we wouldn't be missing anything crucial. I mean, it works to introduce us to Myrtle, but as the Trio will be spending a lot of time in her bathroom later on anyway, she could have been brought in later.
As much as I like the idea of it, it seems the only reason she included it at all is because Harry, Ron and Hermione need to appear suspicious when they are found by the creepy sign. Which brings us nicely to the conclusion of the chapter as Harry once again hears the venomous voice and follows it straight to the body of Mrs. Norris, dangling immobile above a pool of water.
And it is at this point of the story where I truly start to worry about Draco Malfoy. Until now he has appeared as the typical bully, snobbish and spoiled. Sure, he has made some truly rude comments and shown total disregard for Harry's orphan status, but we all know that sometimes children can be cruel and lacking in empathy. But here, when it appears that Mrs. Norris is dead. he seems to be genuinely excited by the idea that Mudbloods will fall victim to the same fate, which I find deeply disturbing coming from someone so young.
And so, almost half-way through the book, the story can finally properly get started...
I leave you for now by pointing out that this chapter had zero magic in it, which means that our successful spell tally remains:
Harry - 0
Hermione - 2
Ron - 0.5
Let's dive straight back in where we left off so long ago!
I'm quite looking forward to this chapter, because it features one of my favourite scenes from the book - the Deathday Party.
Chapter 8 - The Deathday Party
When we last saw Harry, he had just heard the mysterious, bodyless voice during his detention with Lockhart. This chapter opens up with an update on the passing of time - the first month of the school year is behind us and the month of Halloween has arrived. We all know of the significance of Halloween in the life of young Harry, but here we find out that October 31st is also the anniversary of the death of another character, albeit 500 years ago!
After a grueling and muddy Quidditch practice, Harry runs into Nearly Headless Nick in one of the corridors of Hogwarts. Nick confides in Harry that he had been hoping to join the Headless Hunt but that due to the fact that his executioner was apparently not very handy with an axe, he is not eligible to take part.
 |
| Nearly Headless Nick by Jerome K. Moore |
At this point in the books, we don't know much about the ghosts of Hogwarts. It was mentioned in the Philosopher's Stone that each Hogwarts house has its own ghost - the Bloody Baron in Slytherin, the Fat Friar in Hufflepuff, the Grey Lady in Ravenclaw and Nearly Headless Nick in Gryffindor. It is unclear if each ghost attended Hogwarts and if so, if they were in the same house they now represent. Also, why did they come back to Hogwarts after they died? Why does Hogwarts even need ghosts? It doesn't look like they do much, apart from Professor Binns, who teaches History of Magic.
We will learn a bit more about some of ghosts in Book 7 and some of the mechanics of becoming a ghost will be explained in Book 5, but at the moment we have more questions than answers. For example:
Can ghosts exist anywhere, or are they somehow bound to a magical place? As we will see later on in this chapter, there appear to be hundreds of ghosts at Nick's party...And how do ghosts even write letters to each other, if they can't physically touch anything? And once the letter is somehow written, how do they mail it? Is it delivered by a dead owl? And why would an animal become a ghost? Most importantly, can Muggles become ghosts?
The questions continue when Harry has a confrontation with Filch, the caretaker. Suffering from man-flu and generally hating all students, Filch takes his frustration out on Harry and is about to serve him with a horrible punishment for befouling the castle, when he is distracted by a horrible crash somewhere on the floor above them. While he is off dealing with whatever it is that happened, Harry finds a letter on Filch's desk.
I just can't get over how curious Harry is about everything. I suppose it comes from growing up not being allowed to ask questions about anything, but honestly he just can't leave well enough alone. Intrigued by the purple envelope and completely disregarding Filch's privacy, he opens the letter and reads all about the Correspondence Course in Beginner's Magic being offered. The letter reads like something you would see on the home shopping channel!
When Filch comes back, muttering about a vanishing cabinet (I wonder if that bit of information is significant at all?), and sees that Harry has been going through his things, he is - quite rightly so - angry and embarrassed by whatever it is that Harry read. Why exactly would someone working at Hogwarts need lessons on beginner's magic?
After accepting an invitation to Nick's Deathday Party, Harry enjoys the lack of punishment by watching Fred and George perform potential animal cruelty by feeding a firework to a salamander. By the time Halloween comes around, however, it turns out Harry isn't particularly excited about missing a Hogwarts Feast. Together with Ron and Hermione, they unenthusiastically make their way to the dungeons, following the sound of musical saws.
The party itself appears to be a great success, as we are told that there are hundreds of ghosts in attendance. Where have they all come from? Did Nick know them when he was alive? The dungeons are apparently very cold, which makes me wonder if ghosts work like air conditioners. There is also a table full of rotting food - why? We are told immediately that ghosts can't actually taste food and they presumably don't need to eat anyway...And finally, the moment has arrived: we meet Moaning Myrtle!
 |
| Moaning Myrtle by Taryn Knight |
I'm not really sure why I enjoy Myrtle so much, but I really do. The book thus far has been a bit slow and the new characters that have been introduced in the previous chapters - with the exception of Colin - have been pretty irritating (I'm looking at you Lockhart and Dobby!). Myrtle's level of melodrama, however, I find truly entertaining.
The whole idea of the Deathday Party is fascinating to me. We've already seen J.K. Rowling's mastery at world building and I think the introduction to ghosts is another example of this. I only wish that she had expanded on this a bit more because if taken as a part of the whole book and then the series, this scene is pretty insignificant. We don't really learn enough to fully justify it being in the book at all and if it was taken out, we wouldn't be missing anything crucial. I mean, it works to introduce us to Myrtle, but as the Trio will be spending a lot of time in her bathroom later on anyway, she could have been brought in later.
As much as I like the idea of it, it seems the only reason she included it at all is because Harry, Ron and Hermione need to appear suspicious when they are found by the creepy sign. Which brings us nicely to the conclusion of the chapter as Harry once again hears the venomous voice and follows it straight to the body of Mrs. Norris, dangling immobile above a pool of water.
And it is at this point of the story where I truly start to worry about Draco Malfoy. Until now he has appeared as the typical bully, snobbish and spoiled. Sure, he has made some truly rude comments and shown total disregard for Harry's orphan status, but we all know that sometimes children can be cruel and lacking in empathy. But here, when it appears that Mrs. Norris is dead. he seems to be genuinely excited by the idea that Mudbloods will fall victim to the same fate, which I find deeply disturbing coming from someone so young.
And so, almost half-way through the book, the story can finally properly get started...
I leave you for now by pointing out that this chapter had zero magic in it, which means that our successful spell tally remains:
Harry - 0
Hermione - 2
Ron - 0.5
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