03 HP Prisoner of Azkaban
Ch 3 The Knight Bus
>For the first time in his life, Harry is stranded without any kind of support system. It would do him loads of good if Jo kept him here for a few chapters. Shame JKR is not that kind of writer.
>Just how heavy Harry’s trunk is? His broom is professional equipment meant for adult Quidditch players. The average healthy 13-year-old boy weighs about 45 kg. Unless Harry's trunk weights over 40 kg, he should be fine tying it to broom without using magic.
>Outlaw!Harry makes a great start to his law-breaking life: by casting a spell and potentially giving away his position +1 to SP +1 to LOL +1 to Uncovered +1 to CC
>Shining light over your head actually makes it harder to see in darkness. Just saying.
>That has to be the worst way to catch a ride. Just imagine, a wizard tired of waiting for the government to repair road near his home, repairs road with spell and then BAM! Knight Bus!
>That being said, as much as I criticise this scene, from the technical point it’s quite well written,
>Goddamn Rowling and her need to write friggin accents.
>I imagine that from Stan’s POV this scene sounds like the beginning to average Uber driver horror story on Reddit.
>I remember someone trying to convince me that Harry pretending to be Nevile was foreshadowing of Nevilles’ role in the prophecy.
>As the rest of this scene suggests, Harry paid for a ticket from Surrey to London and for hot chocolate. This means he paid 13 sickles. 13 sickles are about £ 3,80. Now I don't know how much tickets cost back then, but for that ride (about 51 km) currently, you have to pay around £ 8.
>It’s quite telling that Knight Bus’ staff doesn’t think twice about picking up ran away teenager in the middle of the night.
>I’m on a fence when it comes to beds in the Bus. On one hand, if you lay down you are less likely to be sent flying. On the other hand, Knight Bus seems to be utilising some interesting magic to reach high speeds, so there shouldn’t much need to use them.
>” ‘This is where we was before you flagged us down,’ he said. ‘Where are we, Ern? Somewhere in Wales? “ Wuth? The Bus teleported to the place where it was before Harry flagged them down? What is the friggin point in driving the bus if you can just friggin teleport it to where passengers want to go??? +2 to LOL
>Ah yes, yet another wizard claiming that muggles are blind and stupid while ignoring all those hardworking Obliviators. Charming.
>According to common knowledge Sirius was sent to prison for, among many other offences, killing 12 muggles. And people question why muggles were informed about him being on loose? This is madness! +1 to LOL
>It’s early 90’s, London didn’t become capital of mass surveillance yet and common Joe isn’t walking with good quality camera in his back pocket. Still, it would be difficult to cover the situation up if Sirius had a wizarding version of meltdown in middle of street.
>” While Muggles have been told that Black is carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand which Muggles use to kill each other), “Wizarding explanation of gun is one part cute and two parts annoying.
>Harry we already went over this: the only people who say Voldemort is you and Dumbledore. You didn’t ‘forgot’ you are not supposed to say ‘Voldemort’, you are trying to be extra edgy.
>Considering just how suspiciously Harry acts, there is no way Knight Bus’ staff doesn’t suspect something.
>Wizards send criminals (and sometimes innocent people) to prison that drives prisoners crazy. That is like supervillain's origin story. +1 to LOL
>So how Fudge knew he should wait here for Harry? Sure Harry is rich so he might want to clean out his bank account if he is on run, but we are talking here about a 13-year-old boy. He would be more likely to run to extended family or friends.
>” Miss Dursley has been punctured and her memory has been modified.“ Wait, punctured??? What the heck Jo?
>Rowling and WW seems to have a very traditional outlook on family.
>And once again Harry get scot-free. Not only that, but the head of government came to him to inform him. Yes Jo, keep telling me how Harry is every-man.
>So a thirteen-year-old celebrity is left on his own to live next few weeks in a hostel. If you expect awesome adventures and character development, you will be very disappointed.
>No seriously, Jo created here a great set up for anything, yet she doesn’t do much with it.
>Wait, Fudge counts on Tom to make sure Harry doesn’t go to muggle London. Does that mean the Diagonal Alley has only one entrance? I think I’m getting a headache... +1 to LOL
>Not only that, but this is the universe where Polyjuice Potion (among many other means to disguise yourself) exists. The only reason Fudge's plan didn't fail is authorial intervention...+1 to LOL
>Let's be honest, the only reason Cornelius didn't agree to sign Harry's permission form is, because Sirius is still on the loose.
Crime Count: 1
Death Count: 0
Freud Would Be Proud: 0
Leap of Logic: 7
Uncovered: 1
Spell Count: 1