I blame condwiramurs and terri_testing, who have had all sorts of interesting analyses on various topics lately. Including just what Dumbledore's deal is, to conceal and abet so much bullying and straight-up crimes and then sigh nobly about how sad it is that young men keep making such terrible mistakes. (One recent example here, but they're all good ( Read more... )

I've been bad about updating my journal. I could say I've been busy, but when aren't I? So I'm trying to be better about it, which in this case means realizing that hey, I wrote something about Harry Potter a while back which is just sitting on my hard drive because I forgot to do anything with it, and I can post that!

“Very few people know that ( Read more... )

My grandmother sometimes sends me newspaper articles she thinks I'll find interesting. Most recently, she sent me one about the yew tree which mentions Voldemort and his wand at the beginning. It talks about yew's powers of regeneration and near-immortality, its poisonous qualities, its association with graveyards, and its hollowness, all very ( Read more... )

On Saturday, I experienced a thrilling story of flight, pursuit, redemption, and the power of love. I am, of course, talking about the Sacramento Music Circus's production of Les Miserables. I can't recommend this enough. The actors playing Valjean and Javert are amazing - the first has played Valjean nearly 2000 times, so you know he knows what he ( Read more... )

Title: Shadow and Vapor
Fandom: Harry Potter (Disclaimer)
Categories: Gen, PG
Word Count: 100
Summary: A foolish young man encounters something far more dangerous than the trolls he handles so easily.

( Quirrell flicked his wand, envisioning grateful villagers kissing his robes for defeating the malicious spirit that had been haunting their forest. )

Finally got the quotes and miscellaneous thoughts somewhat organized, so here it is! Intriguing connections, speculations, and no firm conclusions.

( Yes, 'Captains' is supposed to be plural. )

Whenever people talk about Quirrell, a question that often comes up is, How could Quirrell have taught for more than one year? Because Hagrid sure makes it sound like Quirrell was the DADA professor, took a sabbatical, and then came back "scared of his own subject." But now we know that the position is cursed, and no one has taught more than a year ( Read more... )

Title: Three Dark Lords Walk into a Bar
Fandom: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter (Disclaimer)Characters: Palpatine, Voldemort, Sauron. Cameos by Wormtongue, Wormtail, Gollum ( Read more... )

With the evidence the wizarding world had after the Third Task, I would probably conclude that Crouch's insane, convicted-Death-Eater, Azkaban-escapee son had broken free of the Imperius Curse, sent up the Dark Mark, Imperiused his father in revenge, stolen Moody's identity, and either confunded Harry or collaborated with him about the "Voldemort's ( Read more... )

I find it strange that the Potters did not retreat into hiding until a week before their deaths. Even if Dumbledore didn’t tell them about Trelawney’s prophecy, the Fidelius Charm seems like a reasonable precaution for a couple that has “thrice defied” Voldemort; they must have been high on the Dark Lord’s hit list even before the prophecy was made ( Read more... )