Harry Potter And, More Importantly, The Devilishly Handsome Professor: A Book By Gilderoy Lockhart.
The DDoS attacks that Livejournal has been suffering over the past few days are beginning to make me a touch nervous, so I've acquired a Dreamwidth account, just in case. I'm still rionaleonhart over there. I'm not planning to move unless LJ goes down altogether, because this is very much my Internet home, but if it does that's where you'll find me. For the moment, it exists as a backup.
(...but only in theory, because it doesn't actually have anything backed up. I'm a bit afraid of running the entry importer. What if I inadvertently contribute to Livejournal's traffic problems? Should I wait? What if waiting means I miss my chance and lose my journal? I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.)
Anyway! In other news, I recently reread Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Have some notes.
- We meet Hermione's parents in Diagon Alley, but we don't get to hear them say a word. Essentially, the only Muggles who have a real role in the Harry Potter books are the Dursleys, which is a bit of a shame. There's definitely room for some non-awful Muggles in these stories.
- I've always sort of envisioned Lockhart as a blond Wizard Whitebeard from Where's Wally. I don't know.
- I get so much second-hand embarrassment from the Howler scene, even now. I think the embarrassment has actually increased since the last time I read it.
- Something I don't think I've ever thought before: Colin Creevey is sort of adorable! He's annoying, yes, but he's also terribly cute.
- I'd never realised before that Chamber of Secrets tries to make it look as if Percy Weasley might have something to do with the attacks! Riona: so oblivious that she doesn't even notice the red herrings.
- I also failed to notice exactly how unpleasant Draco was when I was ten. Wow. Of course, he's nothing compared to his father. A lot of the things Draco does and says seem to be rooted in a desire for fatherly approval, even if his father isn't actually present; if he can knock Lucius off his pedestal, I suspect Draco has a chance of training himself out of the prejudices instilled in him by his upbringing and turning out to be a halfway decent human being. (The Polyjuice scene is so interesting! I'd have loved to see more of What It's Like To Be Friends With Draco Malfoy.)
- I'm terribly touched by the scene in which Ernie Macmillan explains that he knows Harry would never attack Hermione and apologises for suspecting him. Awww.
- 'Harry left the Invisibility Cloak on Hagrid's table. There would be no need for it in the pitch dark forest.' HARRY, YOU IDIOT, YOU KNOW THE THING ABOUT MOST FOREST-DWELLING MONSTERS? THEY CAN SEE IN THE DARK.
- Professor McGonagall is the best ♥ ♥ ♥. She's strict and intelligent and doesn't put up with any nonsense and she has such sympathy for Harry and Ron when Hermione is attacked and she would absolutely be my favourite teacher if I were at Hogwarts.
- I'm so amused by the 'a mysterious noise! LET'S INVESTIGATE' attitude Harry and Ron (and I suppose Gryffindors in general) have. Harry Potter was definitely the BBC's Merlin in a previous life: magical powers, a good heart, a great destiny, and a compulsive need to follow people and find out what they're up to.
- In my memory, Harry and Ron discovered that the monster was a Basilisk and immediately went 'LET'S GO AND FIGHT IT OURSELVES LIKE IDIOTS'. Upon rereading, I find that their immediate reaction was 'we'd better tell the teachers!', and it was only after finding that Ginny had been taken that they went into LET'S GO AND FIGHT IT OURSELVES LIKE IDIOTS mode. You have more common sense than I credited you with, Harry and Ron! Well done.
- Lockhart has a life-sized poster of himself on the inside of his office door. Of course he does. I sort of want to read Harry Potter fanfiction as written by Gilderoy Lockhart; it would be absolutely hilarious.
- Ron's wand is broken in the fifth chapter, and it's malfunctioning all year, and finally it pays off when it backfires on Lockhart. Rowling is a master of Chekhov's Gun.
- When Harry and Ron are separated by the rockfall and neither of them knows whether Harry is going to survive, Ron is trying to keep his voice steady and seems about to say something heartfelt before Harry cuts him off with a faux-confident 'See you in a bit' and, oh, I love the trio. I love their friendship. I love them.
- I find the relationship between Harry Potter and Tom Riddle weirdly intriguing. One of my favourite lines in this book is 'And while Harry was sure he had never heard the name T. M. Riddle before, it still seemed to mean something to him, almost as though Riddle was a friend he'd had when he was very small, and half-forgotten.' And I love that, in the chamber, Harry begs Tom to help him at first, before he really understands what's going on. He's so completely misunderstood what Riddle is to him. I want to see some sort of crazy time-travel epic in which Harry and Tom actually are friends and it all falls apart horribly. Someone must have written that, surely? It's the Harry Potter fandom; everything has been written.
- I also love the first indication that Riddle isn't a friend, when Harry realises Riddle has his wand and says, 'Thanks,' holding out his hand in the assumption that Riddle is going to return it: 'A smile curled the corners of Riddle's mouth. He continued to stare at Harry, twirling the wand idly.' This is largely, I'll confess, because I find it strangely hot.
- Mr and Mrs Weasley's reaction when Ginny is found alive! I teared up a little, I have to confess.
- I still remember how deeply confused the ten-year-old me was when Harry stuffed Riddle's destroyed diary into his dirty sock. It's just as well I'm not the hero of these books, because I would never have thought of that, Dobby would have remained in the Malfoys' ownership and five books later we would have been screwed.
Maybe I should try to reread the entire series before the final film is released in July. Hmmm. We'll see.
(...but only in theory, because it doesn't actually have anything backed up. I'm a bit afraid of running the entry importer. What if I inadvertently contribute to Livejournal's traffic problems? Should I wait? What if waiting means I miss my chance and lose my journal? I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.)
Anyway! In other news, I recently reread Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Have some notes.
- We meet Hermione's parents in Diagon Alley, but we don't get to hear them say a word. Essentially, the only Muggles who have a real role in the Harry Potter books are the Dursleys, which is a bit of a shame. There's definitely room for some non-awful Muggles in these stories.
- I've always sort of envisioned Lockhart as a blond Wizard Whitebeard from Where's Wally. I don't know.
- I get so much second-hand embarrassment from the Howler scene, even now. I think the embarrassment has actually increased since the last time I read it.
- Something I don't think I've ever thought before: Colin Creevey is sort of adorable! He's annoying, yes, but he's also terribly cute.
- I'd never realised before that Chamber of Secrets tries to make it look as if Percy Weasley might have something to do with the attacks! Riona: so oblivious that she doesn't even notice the red herrings.
- I also failed to notice exactly how unpleasant Draco was when I was ten. Wow. Of course, he's nothing compared to his father. A lot of the things Draco does and says seem to be rooted in a desire for fatherly approval, even if his father isn't actually present; if he can knock Lucius off his pedestal, I suspect Draco has a chance of training himself out of the prejudices instilled in him by his upbringing and turning out to be a halfway decent human being. (The Polyjuice scene is so interesting! I'd have loved to see more of What It's Like To Be Friends With Draco Malfoy.)
- I'm terribly touched by the scene in which Ernie Macmillan explains that he knows Harry would never attack Hermione and apologises for suspecting him. Awww.
- 'Harry left the Invisibility Cloak on Hagrid's table. There would be no need for it in the pitch dark forest.' HARRY, YOU IDIOT, YOU KNOW THE THING ABOUT MOST FOREST-DWELLING MONSTERS? THEY CAN SEE IN THE DARK.
- Professor McGonagall is the best ♥ ♥ ♥. She's strict and intelligent and doesn't put up with any nonsense and she has such sympathy for Harry and Ron when Hermione is attacked and she would absolutely be my favourite teacher if I were at Hogwarts.
- I'm so amused by the 'a mysterious noise! LET'S INVESTIGATE' attitude Harry and Ron (and I suppose Gryffindors in general) have. Harry Potter was definitely the BBC's Merlin in a previous life: magical powers, a good heart, a great destiny, and a compulsive need to follow people and find out what they're up to.
- In my memory, Harry and Ron discovered that the monster was a Basilisk and immediately went 'LET'S GO AND FIGHT IT OURSELVES LIKE IDIOTS'. Upon rereading, I find that their immediate reaction was 'we'd better tell the teachers!', and it was only after finding that Ginny had been taken that they went into LET'S GO AND FIGHT IT OURSELVES LIKE IDIOTS mode. You have more common sense than I credited you with, Harry and Ron! Well done.
- Lockhart has a life-sized poster of himself on the inside of his office door. Of course he does. I sort of want to read Harry Potter fanfiction as written by Gilderoy Lockhart; it would be absolutely hilarious.
- Ron's wand is broken in the fifth chapter, and it's malfunctioning all year, and finally it pays off when it backfires on Lockhart. Rowling is a master of Chekhov's Gun.
- When Harry and Ron are separated by the rockfall and neither of them knows whether Harry is going to survive, Ron is trying to keep his voice steady and seems about to say something heartfelt before Harry cuts him off with a faux-confident 'See you in a bit' and, oh, I love the trio. I love their friendship. I love them.
- I find the relationship between Harry Potter and Tom Riddle weirdly intriguing. One of my favourite lines in this book is 'And while Harry was sure he had never heard the name T. M. Riddle before, it still seemed to mean something to him, almost as though Riddle was a friend he'd had when he was very small, and half-forgotten.' And I love that, in the chamber, Harry begs Tom to help him at first, before he really understands what's going on. He's so completely misunderstood what Riddle is to him. I want to see some sort of crazy time-travel epic in which Harry and Tom actually are friends and it all falls apart horribly. Someone must have written that, surely? It's the Harry Potter fandom; everything has been written.
- I also love the first indication that Riddle isn't a friend, when Harry realises Riddle has his wand and says, 'Thanks,' holding out his hand in the assumption that Riddle is going to return it: 'A smile curled the corners of Riddle's mouth. He continued to stare at Harry, twirling the wand idly.' This is largely, I'll confess, because I find it strangely hot.
- Mr and Mrs Weasley's reaction when Ginny is found alive! I teared up a little, I have to confess.
- I still remember how deeply confused the ten-year-old me was when Harry stuffed Riddle's destroyed diary into his dirty sock. It's just as well I'm not the hero of these books, because I would never have thought of that, Dobby would have remained in the Malfoys' ownership and five books later we would have been screwed.
Maybe I should try to reread the entire series before the final film is released in July. Hmmm. We'll see.