PoA Re-Read: Chapters Five and Six
Chapters 1-2
Chapters 3-4
Reminders: There's spoilers for all of the books here. Also, FFP is Fangirl of Fandoms Past. She stole a time turner and ended up here. She may or may not remind some of you of certain people...
Chapter Five: The Dementor
Ron is being driven crazy by Percy, because he dripped tea on his photo of Penelope Clearwater. (Whatever happened to her, anyway?) Harry wants to tell Ron and Hermione what he's heard, but doesn't get a chance because they're trying to leave. Hermione feels bad that Crookshanks doesn't like being in a basket, and Ron snaps that he's more worried about Scabbers. Here we go.
Arthur says they should go onto Platform 9 3/4 in pairs, and goes with Harry. When they get on, Penelope is in sight; Percy smooths his hair and goes pink. Harry and Ginny exchange a look and laugh at him.
Molly hugs everyone, giving Harry an extra hug, which both embarrasses and pleases him. Arthur pulls Harry aside to talk to him, and Harry cuts to the chase and says he overheard the conversation. He assures Arthur that he isn't scared, because "Sirius Black can't be worse than Voldemort, can he?"
Arthur asks Harry to swear he won't "go looking for Black," no matter what happens or what Harry might hear. Harry is very confused by this.
Here's a question: How does Arthur know just what Harry might hear? If I remember correctly, we learn in a later chapter that just what Sirius allegedly did wasn't really known outside a few people. Although it's possible Molly and Arthur were in the Order the first time around, I always got the impression they weren't. Arthur works for the Ministry of Magic, but it's implied he's pretty low on the totem poll there. Did Dumbledore tell him, knowing he and Molly had essentially become Harry's guardians? Did Fudge, for the same reason? Or is this just a book and we need to accept Arthur knows for foreshadowing purposes?
Harry tells Ron and Hermione they need to talk. They can't find any empty compartments, but they do find one with just one person in it -
FFP: OMG!!!
Of course we know it's Remus, who is wearing shabby clothes and looks ill. Despite being young, his hair has gray in it.
Ron asks Hermione if she knows who he is; his name, R.J. Lupin, is on his case.
FFP: But what does the J stand for?! Julius? Jupiter? Jocastus?
Me: John.
FFP: ... that's boring.
They figure out that he's the new DADA Professor as there's "only one vacancy." Ron hopes he's up to it, as "he looks like one good hex would finish him off." They then turn the conversation to Sirius being after Harry. For all he's nonchalant about this, Ron and Hermione are disturbed. Hermione asks him not to look for trouble, and Harry says that "Trouble usually finds me." True enough.
I'm not sure why Harry's being nonchalant about this, and perhaps that is what bothered me when I read it the first ten million times. Is he in denial or trying to be brave about it? Or has he already gotten a bit over his head? I'm not really sure. My guess is that it's a bit of all of those things. He figures that he and his friends always get themselves out of these things.
The Sneakscope starts whistling, and when Ron pulls it out, it's glowing. Ron says that it's not perfect, having gone haywire while sending it to Harry. Of course, he adds, he WAS using Errol without permission. Ron suggests they get it checked in Hogsmeade, because Fred and George told him about a store, and Hermione geeks out about how it's the only entirely non-muggle settlement in Britain. As per usual, I'm with Hermione. Ron brushes it off, saying he just wants to go to Honeydukes.
Ron and Hermione begin to talk excitedly, which makes me think of One Short Day from Wicked. Forgive me for the filking.
Hermione: There's lots of old school sorcery
Ron: There's Pepper Imps
Hermione: Goblin history
Ron: Sugar quills and sherbert balls
Hermione: The oldest town that I've ever seen
Ron: Enough trivia
Hermione: Don't be mean!
Harry: No one will sign my permission slip!
This horrifies Ron and Hermione, and they debate whether or not Harry should sneak to Hogsmeade. Ron naively suggests that Sirius wouldn't dare hurt Harry if they were with him, which Hermione dismisses as rubbish. Harry is not asked what HE thinks HE should do. Apparently Harry's friends make all of his decisions for him.
Hermione lets Crookshanks out, and Crookshanks jumps on Ron; Scabbers trembles and Ron pushes Crookshanks, telling him to leave. Hermione tells Ron not to, which is a mild reaction for a pet owner. You do NOT push my cat.
Remus stirs, but then keeps sleeping. How on earth does he manage that? He must have been in dire need of sleep.
The food cart witch comes, and not even that wakes Remus up. Ron is worried that he's dead, but Hermione assures everyone that he's still breathing. This has happened to me when I've been sitting next to sleeping commuters. "Wait, is this guy still breathing? Yep, it's all good."
Draco and his "cronies", Crabbe and Goyle, saunter into the compartment. Draco calls Harry and Ron "Potty and the Weasel," and asks Ron if his mother died of shock from earning money. Draco, did you not learn from Aunt Marge? Don't insult a man's mother. Ron gets up ready for a fight, and Harry holds him back. Remus lets out a snort, and Draco realizes there's a Grown Up in the Room. He leads his friends out
Had enough Mean Wizards? Yeah, me too. Fortunately, things are about to get more interesting.
The rain gets worse as they head closer towards Hogwarts; the train starts to slow down, and then comes to a complete stop, so fast that luggage falls out of racks. The lamps go out, and "they were plunged into total darkness."
People are moving, but nobody can see where they're going. The compartment door opens, and someone falls over Harry's legs. Harry says, "Hullo, Neville" and helps him up. Hehe, aww. Don't worry, Neville, you'll be awesome soon enough. Ginny comes into the compartment soon after, and there's more confusion and chaos.
A voice tells them to be quiet, and Remus has finally woken up. (Wow, he's a deep sleeper.) Remus tells the kids to stay where they are as he holds fire in front of him. However, the door opens before Remus can do his fire trick. The Return of the Dementor!
"Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin's hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry's eyes darted downward, and what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water..."
Yikes!
Harry feels an intense cold, and begins to faint. He can't see, and feels as though he's drowning. He can hear roaring, then "terrible, terrified, pleading screams."
Harry wakes up to his face being slapped. The Hogwarts Express is moving again, as though nothing had happened. Ron and Hermione are next to him, with Neville and Remus standing above staring. Harry asks who screamed, and Ron looks confused. He notes that Neville and Ginny both look very pale.
Remus hands Harry chocolate (ah, THAT fandom iconic moment), and explains that they'd been visited by a dementor. He urges Harry to eat the chocolate and then goes to "speak to the driver." More like ask why the hell it seemed appropriate to let a Dementor on the train with a bunch of kids... couldn't they have had an Auror do a search? Or do Aurors not exist yet? Maybe the Dementors just showed up without warning.
Harry asks what happened. In short, Harry started to twitch, and Remus told the Dementor that “none of us are hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks.”
FFP: Was he... angry?
Me: Oh, yes, for sure. He took off his shirt to reveal huge muscles and punched the Dementor in the face. Then he cried about it with an Indigo Girls song in the background.
FFP: ... I think that was in a fanfic I read.
Me: *Headdesk*
Neville and Ron talk about how cold it was, but don’t imply having remembered or heard anything specific. Ginny doesn’t say anything, but she does cry, which makes me wonder if she did in fact remember something. After all, she was possessed by Voldemort just a few months before.
Harry asks if anyone else fell or fainted, and of course nobody did (to his knowledge). Harry ponders: Harry didn’t understand. He felt weak and shivery, as though he were recovering from a bad bout of flu; he also felt the beginnings of shame. Why had he gone to pieces like that, when no one else had?
Let’s get serious here. JK Rowling has stated that Dementors were based on her experience with depression, and I think you can really see it here. Here Harry is in a situation that was bad, but his reaction was more severe - so much that he is ashamed of and confused by it. This is a very dark illustration of depression and other mental health issues. It also makes me hate the Ministry of Magic a little more. (Seriously, if there’s a Wizarding UN you’d think they’d have the Ministry down for a whole lot of human rights violations. Now I want a fanfic.)
Remus comes back, and with a “small smile” tells everyone that the chocolate hasn’t been poisoned. Harry is surprised at how much it comforts him. It’s true; chocolate is very comforting.
No one talks much until they get to Hogsmeade. Hagrid calls out to the trio as he leads “terrified first years” to the castle. And I just had a moment of horror… could you imagine a muggleborn eleven year old having Dementors as his or her first introduction to the wizarding world? It’s hell from here, kid. Get out.
When they get to the castle, Draco teases Harry for fainting, saying that’s what “Longbottom” told him. I was always a bit confused by this, seeing as Neville doesn’t seem like someone who’d divulge that, so the most I can surmise is that Neville was tricked into telling or something. Maybe Draco threatened to throw Trevor in the lake; I wouldn’t put it past him. When Ron stands up for Harry, Draco turns onto him… and here we go, more Mean Wizards. I can almost here Draco going, “get in, loser. We’re going shopping.” Remus cuts Draco off with an innocent “is there a problem?” and they go inside.
McGonagall shouts that she wants to see Harry and Hermione immediately.
Harry and Hermione turned around, surprised. Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor House, was calling over the heads of the crowd. She was a stern-looking witch who wore her hair in a tight bun; her sharp eyes were framed with square spectacles. Harry fought his way over to her with a feeling of foreboding: Professor McGonagall had a way of making him feel he must have done something wrong.
Harry's perception of McGonagall definitely changes throughout the series. Our Minerva's very much the teacher you initially kind of thought had it in for you, but you slowly began to realize she really did just want you to live up to your potential. I think the audience gets it long before the trio does (or at least Harry and Ron, she’s probably Hermione’s idol) - after all, McGonagall did put Harry on the Quidditch team instead of giving him detention for flying underage in what, the fifth chapter of the first book?
McGonagall explains that she’d heard Harry had taken ill, which is when Madame Pomfrey runs in. Harry says he’s fine, but that doesn’t stop Madame Pomfrey for talking about how Dementors and the like especially hurt people who are “already delicate.” Because that is the first thing you say to someone who suffered a breakdown - except sometimes, it is. JKR gets it.
Long worrying short, Harry is dismissed, but McGonagall asks Hermione to stay so they can go over her schedule. Foreshadowing!
For the sake of being silly, I will imagine the conversation.
McGonagall: Miss Granger, you’re going to time travel so you can fit in all of your courses.
Hermione: Like in Doctor Who!
McGonagall: What’s that?
Hermione: A muggle show my Mum and I used to watch. I normally raise myself above science fiction, but that’s not the point - do I get my own police box?
McGonagall: …
But here’s my only issue with this subplot - why would McGonagall just hand a Time Turner to a teenage girl? Yes, she’s smart for her age, and obviously we needed it for the plot, but it seems rather risky, letting a girl toy around with time in order to take extra courses. Maybe this was more of a fantasy on JKR’s part - I have a few overachiever friends who did take about eight classes at once, and I’m sure they wished they could have a time turner themselves. Perhaps JKR had the same predicament, so it’s wish fulfillment. Or a plot hole. Or just a book.
They realize that they’ve missed the Sorting, and that even worse, everyone seems to know Harry fainted because they’re all staring at him. To my relief, this does NOT happen:
Children: Double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble, fire burn and cauldron bubble! Something wicked this way comes!
FFP: I just saw that trailer! I can't wait to see what that has to do with the movie...
Me: Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
The speech Dumbledore gave in the movie actually is in this book - it amounts to, “don’t screw around with the Dementors, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition. “ He doesn’t look happy to be saying this. The guy who tried to take over the world once to avenge his sister’s insanity and/or appease his evil lover and would go on to subject Harry to child abuse for his own good thinks the Dementors are too harsh. Let’s consider this for a minute.
Dumbledore then introduces the new professors. First we have Remus, who receives “scattered, unenthusiastic applause” either because of how he’s dressed or because JKR loves to torture her alleged favorite characters. He is going to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, which most of you reading this already knew. Snape is staring at Remus, but out of unadulerated: loathing. Harry knew that expression only too well; it was the look Snape wore every time he set eyes on Harry.
And Harry decides he loves Remus because Snape hates him. Aww, another thing they have in common.
We then learn that Hagrid has become the Care of Magical Creatures professor. There is more applause for him, and it’s “tumultuous” at the Gryffindor table. Wait - didn’t most people pretty much think Hagrid was the weird guy who lived in a hut? Or was that only when he became a professor and they started coming close to losing limbs? I just always figured the only students who really noticed Hagrid were the trio and Charlie Weasley, Charlie probably because he was a more collected and athletic version of Hagrid.
We’re reminded that Hagrid was arrested for a crime he hadn’t committed, and once again innocence versus guilt is brought up. If this is intentional, JKR’s good.
We go to the Common Room, and Neville’s reaction to the new password is “oh no!” Because he always forgets them. Oh, Neville… if the moment you’re told something you “know” you’ll forget it, you’re never going to remember anything. Have some happy chocolate.
We end the chapter with Harry looking around thinking about how he’s finally “home at last.”
Chapter Six: Talons and Tea Leaves
Ooh, we’re going to meet Trelawney!
When Harry gets to the Great Hall the next day, Draco and Pansy are making fun of Harry. Hermione tells Harry to “just ignore him.” Harry sits next to George, who asks him what’s wrong while giving him his schedule. Fred and George inform the trio that Draco came running into their compartment and had “nearly wet himself,” and that the Dementors were horrible. Harry goes back to the fact that he fainted, and we learn that Arthur Weasley apparently had to “go out to Azkaban”, I guess for work. Isn’t it implied that he lost most of his family in the war? Poor Arthur.
Ron notices that Hermione’s schedule is messed up, and says that there “isn’t enough time.” Hermione says she’ll manage, and dismisses Ron’s protests impatiently.
Hagrid enters, swinging a dead polecat from his hand. He says the trio are in his first lesson, and can’t wait. The trio’s excitement turns into anxiety as they remember what Hagrid’s notorious for…
They head to Divination, but not before Draco pretends to faint again. Wait, this is the guy everyone compared to Spike from Buffy? Really?
It takes seven staircases before they reach the North Tower. They don’t know quite where to go from there, until Harry notices a pony show up in the painting they’re by. A knight soon follows, covered in grass which implies he’d fallen off. The knight attempts bravery…
They watched in astonishment as the little knight tugged his sword out of its scabbard and began brandishing it violently, hopping up and down in rage. But the sword was too long for him; a particularly wild swing made him overbalance, and he landed facedown in the grass.
Harry asks the knight if he knows how to get to the North Tower, and the knight goes from angry to excited about the “quest.”
I won’t pretend to not know perfectly well that this is Sir Cadogan, though I’m scared that I remembered that. In any case, Sir Cadogan seems to be faking being a Knight, which makes me want his backstory. He was either a horrible Knight or wasn’t really a Knight at all, but thought he was out of delusion.
He gave the sword another fruitless tug, tried and failed to mount the fat pony , gave up, and cried, “On foot then, good sirs and gentle lady! On! On!”
And he ran, clanking loudly, into the left side of the frame and out of sight. They hurried after him along the corridor, following the sound of his armor. Every now and then they spotted him running through a picture ahead. “Be of stout heart , the worst is yet to come!” yelled the knight, and they saw him reappear in front of an alarmed group of women in crinolines, whose picture hung on the wall of a narrow spiral staircase.
He just seems to be trying too hard. And failing miserably. Ron says it best: “We’ll call you… if we ever need someone mental.”
When they get to Trelawney’s office, a silver ladder descends to their feet. They come to a very strange classroom - “a cross between someone’s attic and an old-fashioned tea-shop.” The tables are circular, the light is crimson (that would hurt my eyes, honestly), a fire is burning, and there could not possibly be more candles, crystal balls or teacups.
Trelawney greets them by saying she is glad to see them “in the physical world at last.” O… kay then. She reminds Harry of an insect, who looks nothing like Emma Thompson. Trelawney explains that they probably haven’t seen her before because the business of the school crowds her Inner Eye. Even Luna would find Trelawney a little “out to lunch,” I daresay.
Trelawney goes on to explain that books wouldn’t help with Divination, which appears to offend Hermione. Teal Animagus short (please excuse the pun), having psychic powers is mostly a gift you have or don’t have, which makes me wonder what the grading rubric looks like.
Trelawney asks Neville if his grandmother’s well, and says maybe he shouldn’t be so sure. She tells Parvati to “beware a red-haired man” which Parvati takes to mean Ron, and she goes on to predict that "Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever.” I’ve still never figured out whether or not that foreshadowed something… though now that I think of it, wouldn’t both Peter and Dobby have died around Easter in DH?
They get into pairs in order to look at one another’s tea leaves, but it doesn’t work so well, partly because the “smoke” is making Harry feel tired and stupid. Are we SURE that’s smoke?
Let’s see what Harry and Ron have to say about their leaves, and whether or not it foreshadowed anything:
Ron’s Cup: A crooked sort of cross, meaning that he’ll have trials and suffering, something that could be the sun, and he’ll suffer but be happy. Hm. Well, he does destroy a Horcrux, which is what the cross could represent hypothetically, and the guy certainly does suffer but end up happy.
Harry’s: A bowler hat, though reversed it looks like an acorn, which means “unexpected gold.” Now we’re onto something; Harry encounters that a few times. Otherwise, I’ve got nothing.
Trelawney comes over and announces that Harry has a deadly enemy. To paraphrase her reaction…
Hermione: Well, no shit. Ever heard of You-Know-Who, you crazy bat?
Trelawney ignores her, continuing to analyze Harry’s cup into she screams. It’s The Grim, a “giant spectral dog”, an omen of death.
Harry feels sick as he remembers seeing “the dog” (who we all know was Sirius); Hermione and Seamus, meanwhile, don’t think it really looks like the Grim. Seamus says it looks more like a donkey from another angle. Harry lets out a snarky, ““When you’ve all finished deciding whether I’m going to die
or not!”
Everyone leaves and heads to Transfiguration. Nobody reacts even after McGonagall demonstrates her animagus form, which makes McGonagall suspicious as normally people clap or at least look mildly impressed. They explain that the previous class was Divination…
McGonagall: Oh, of course. Who’s dying?
Everyone: …
We learn that death predictions are normal for Trelawney, and that McGonagall disapproves of Divination because “True Seers are rare.” Little does she know…
Saved by the bell! Except I’m not sure Hogwarts has them, and the prospect of being saved by anything is a bit, ah, grimmer when Ron asks if Harry had seen a grim. Harry admits that he did; Hermione chalks it up to bad luck, and when Ron points out that his Uncle Bilius died after seeing one, Hermione waves his family's tragic loss off as “coincidence.” (And people used to write her as sweet and understanding in fanfic.) She does bring up a good point that people probably see it and die of fright, though.
Ron and Hermione fight some more (shocking), and Ron finally says she’s just upset because “you don’t like being bad at something for a change!”
Ouch, Ron. Hermione storms off saying that Divination was “absolutely rubbish compared to my Arithmancy class!”, and Ron’s confused because she hadn’t actually been to Arithmancy yet.
When it’s time to go to Care of Magical Creatures, Ron and Hermione don’t speak to one another the whole way. To make matters worse, Harry spots the Green Plastics (i.e. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle), and realizes they must have the class with the Slytherins. Hagrid is waiting for them at the door of his hut, decked in moleskin. They follow him to the forest and are instructed to open their books. Draco points out that they can’t, because it bites people; nobody disagrees with him. Hagrid can’t believe nobody figured out that you have to stroke the spine. Draco is mean about it, Hagrid looks hurt, Harry tells him to knock it off.
Hagrid goes off to get “the Magical Creatures.” Draco whines about how Hogwarts is “going to the dogs,” how his father will have a fit, but personally I think Lucuius would actually approve of COMC not being unicorns and magical butterflies. He probably wouldn’t like Hagrid teaching it, though, which is likely Draco’s problem too.
Hagrid comes back with about a dozen Hippogriffs, which have the heads of eagles but the bodies of horses. Hold on - a dozen?! Wonder what happened to the rest of them. Maybe I don’t want to know. Hagrid calls them beautiful, but warns that they can’t ever insult them because they’re proud. The Green Plastics are busy laughing, however, rather than paying attention, and Harry can tell they’re aiming to screw things up for Hagrid. Yeah, kids like this are why I won’t even consider becoming a teacher.
Nobody wants to approach them first, so of course Harry offers, because he’s Harry and that’s what Harry does. Parvati whispers to him to remember his tea leaves, but Harry ignores her, continuing to approach Buckbeak. Hagrid tells Harry to try not to blink, and I immediately imagine him saying, “don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead.” Yes, I know, wrong series. Harry takes a bow, and to his surprise, Buckbeak bows back. Harry pets Buckbeak, and everyone applauds. Yay, Harry didn’t get eaten, eight year old ballet students didn’t drop books off their heads, there will be more Harry Potter books!
Hagrid says that Buckbeak might even let Harry ride him, and tells him to just climb up without pulling his feathers out. The flight is nowhere near as exciting as it was in the movie; Harry feels nauseous and uncomfortable, and the flight lasts about a minute. This version is more realistic, but I can see why Cuaron chose a more… cinematically appealing approach.
Harry’s success is inspirational, and everyone runs towards the Hippogriffs, except for Neville, who keeps running to and then away from his. Harry watches Ron and Hermione practice on the chestnut Hippogriff.
Draco gets Buckbeak, and instantly insults him by calling him a “big ugly brute.” Draco’s learning two things this week: Don’t insult a man’s Mum, and don’t insult a Hippogriff at all. Draco of course gets attacked, and curls in the grass, screaming that he’s dying. Hagrid carries Draco away, and they all decide this means class is dismissed. Pansy is crying and saying that Hagrid should be fired. Way to be dramatic.
Hermione expresses some concern for Draco, but Ron is more worried about Hagrid. You know, I don’t want to go into a Kloves/Cuaron rant, so I won’t, but it is a shame that Ron was written as being an idiot in the movies when he really does have these moments where he’s the one who explores all the options and possibilities. Yes, Hermione’s pragmatic, and in this case a bit more empathetic towards an injured classmate than Ron appears to be, but Ron isn’t just thinking “Malfoy hurt, that’s bad,” he’s already thinking about the problems this may pose for their friend. Just an observation.
Time passes, they eat, nothing really interesting to recap here… finally they can see that Hagrid’s light is on, and Ron says if they hurry, they can probably make it without breaking curfew. Hermione’s not sure it’s a good idea for Harry, but Harry points out that Sirius hasn’t gotten past the Dementors.
Hagrid’s drunk, and says he hasn’t been fired yet, but that with Draco it’s only a matter of time. We learn that Madame Pomfrey did all she could, but that Draco claims he’s still hurt and in agony. The school “governors” have been informed, and have already decided Hagrid should have started with “flobberworms” or something. The trio assure Hagrid that they’ll stand up for him, and Hermione leads Hagrid outside so he can stick his head in a water barrel and sober up a bit.
Hagrid thanks them, and then realizes that Harry’s there for the first time. He yells at Harry for wandering around after dark, at the trio for letting him, saying he’s not worth that.
Next time: Snape, you Boggartized son of a Prince.
FFP: Also, Remus is riddikulusly awesome. Siriusly.
She said it, not me.
And now, rec time! I said yesterday that if you wanted, you could rec a fic taking place during or heavily referencing PoA, and I'd link to it. Today's rec is Introspection by daintress. (Written before DH.) Feel free to rec a fic, whether it's someone else's or your own!
Chapters 3-4
Reminders: There's spoilers for all of the books here. Also, FFP is Fangirl of Fandoms Past. She stole a time turner and ended up here. She may or may not remind some of you of certain people...
Chapter Five: The Dementor
Ron is being driven crazy by Percy, because he dripped tea on his photo of Penelope Clearwater. (Whatever happened to her, anyway?) Harry wants to tell Ron and Hermione what he's heard, but doesn't get a chance because they're trying to leave. Hermione feels bad that Crookshanks doesn't like being in a basket, and Ron snaps that he's more worried about Scabbers. Here we go.
Arthur says they should go onto Platform 9 3/4 in pairs, and goes with Harry. When they get on, Penelope is in sight; Percy smooths his hair and goes pink. Harry and Ginny exchange a look and laugh at him.
Molly hugs everyone, giving Harry an extra hug, which both embarrasses and pleases him. Arthur pulls Harry aside to talk to him, and Harry cuts to the chase and says he overheard the conversation. He assures Arthur that he isn't scared, because "Sirius Black can't be worse than Voldemort, can he?"
Arthur asks Harry to swear he won't "go looking for Black," no matter what happens or what Harry might hear. Harry is very confused by this.
Here's a question: How does Arthur know just what Harry might hear? If I remember correctly, we learn in a later chapter that just what Sirius allegedly did wasn't really known outside a few people. Although it's possible Molly and Arthur were in the Order the first time around, I always got the impression they weren't. Arthur works for the Ministry of Magic, but it's implied he's pretty low on the totem poll there. Did Dumbledore tell him, knowing he and Molly had essentially become Harry's guardians? Did Fudge, for the same reason? Or is this just a book and we need to accept Arthur knows for foreshadowing purposes?
Harry tells Ron and Hermione they need to talk. They can't find any empty compartments, but they do find one with just one person in it -
FFP: OMG!!!
Of course we know it's Remus, who is wearing shabby clothes and looks ill. Despite being young, his hair has gray in it.
Ron asks Hermione if she knows who he is; his name, R.J. Lupin, is on his case.
FFP: But what does the J stand for?! Julius? Jupiter? Jocastus?
Me: John.
FFP: ... that's boring.
They figure out that he's the new DADA Professor as there's "only one vacancy." Ron hopes he's up to it, as "he looks like one good hex would finish him off." They then turn the conversation to Sirius being after Harry. For all he's nonchalant about this, Ron and Hermione are disturbed. Hermione asks him not to look for trouble, and Harry says that "Trouble usually finds me." True enough.
I'm not sure why Harry's being nonchalant about this, and perhaps that is what bothered me when I read it the first ten million times. Is he in denial or trying to be brave about it? Or has he already gotten a bit over his head? I'm not really sure. My guess is that it's a bit of all of those things. He figures that he and his friends always get themselves out of these things.
The Sneakscope starts whistling, and when Ron pulls it out, it's glowing. Ron says that it's not perfect, having gone haywire while sending it to Harry. Of course, he adds, he WAS using Errol without permission. Ron suggests they get it checked in Hogsmeade, because Fred and George told him about a store, and Hermione geeks out about how it's the only entirely non-muggle settlement in Britain. As per usual, I'm with Hermione. Ron brushes it off, saying he just wants to go to Honeydukes.
Ron and Hermione begin to talk excitedly, which makes me think of One Short Day from Wicked. Forgive me for the filking.
Hermione: There's lots of old school sorcery
Ron: There's Pepper Imps
Hermione: Goblin history
Ron: Sugar quills and sherbert balls
Hermione: The oldest town that I've ever seen
Ron: Enough trivia
Hermione: Don't be mean!
Harry: No one will sign my permission slip!
This horrifies Ron and Hermione, and they debate whether or not Harry should sneak to Hogsmeade. Ron naively suggests that Sirius wouldn't dare hurt Harry if they were with him, which Hermione dismisses as rubbish. Harry is not asked what HE thinks HE should do. Apparently Harry's friends make all of his decisions for him.
Hermione lets Crookshanks out, and Crookshanks jumps on Ron; Scabbers trembles and Ron pushes Crookshanks, telling him to leave. Hermione tells Ron not to, which is a mild reaction for a pet owner. You do NOT push my cat.
Remus stirs, but then keeps sleeping. How on earth does he manage that? He must have been in dire need of sleep.
The food cart witch comes, and not even that wakes Remus up. Ron is worried that he's dead, but Hermione assures everyone that he's still breathing. This has happened to me when I've been sitting next to sleeping commuters. "Wait, is this guy still breathing? Yep, it's all good."
Draco and his "cronies", Crabbe and Goyle, saunter into the compartment. Draco calls Harry and Ron "Potty and the Weasel," and asks Ron if his mother died of shock from earning money. Draco, did you not learn from Aunt Marge? Don't insult a man's mother. Ron gets up ready for a fight, and Harry holds him back. Remus lets out a snort, and Draco realizes there's a Grown Up in the Room. He leads his friends out
Had enough Mean Wizards? Yeah, me too. Fortunately, things are about to get more interesting.
The rain gets worse as they head closer towards Hogwarts; the train starts to slow down, and then comes to a complete stop, so fast that luggage falls out of racks. The lamps go out, and "they were plunged into total darkness."
People are moving, but nobody can see where they're going. The compartment door opens, and someone falls over Harry's legs. Harry says, "Hullo, Neville" and helps him up. Hehe, aww. Don't worry, Neville, you'll be awesome soon enough. Ginny comes into the compartment soon after, and there's more confusion and chaos.
A voice tells them to be quiet, and Remus has finally woken up. (Wow, he's a deep sleeper.) Remus tells the kids to stay where they are as he holds fire in front of him. However, the door opens before Remus can do his fire trick. The Return of the Dementor!
"Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin's hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry's eyes darted downward, and what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, grayish, slimy-looking, and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water..."
Yikes!
Harry feels an intense cold, and begins to faint. He can't see, and feels as though he's drowning. He can hear roaring, then "terrible, terrified, pleading screams."
Harry wakes up to his face being slapped. The Hogwarts Express is moving again, as though nothing had happened. Ron and Hermione are next to him, with Neville and Remus standing above staring. Harry asks who screamed, and Ron looks confused. He notes that Neville and Ginny both look very pale.
Remus hands Harry chocolate (ah, THAT fandom iconic moment), and explains that they'd been visited by a dementor. He urges Harry to eat the chocolate and then goes to "speak to the driver." More like ask why the hell it seemed appropriate to let a Dementor on the train with a bunch of kids... couldn't they have had an Auror do a search? Or do Aurors not exist yet? Maybe the Dementors just showed up without warning.
Harry asks what happened. In short, Harry started to twitch, and Remus told the Dementor that “none of us are hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks.”
FFP: Was he... angry?
Me: Oh, yes, for sure. He took off his shirt to reveal huge muscles and punched the Dementor in the face. Then he cried about it with an Indigo Girls song in the background.
FFP: ... I think that was in a fanfic I read.
Me: *Headdesk*
Neville and Ron talk about how cold it was, but don’t imply having remembered or heard anything specific. Ginny doesn’t say anything, but she does cry, which makes me wonder if she did in fact remember something. After all, she was possessed by Voldemort just a few months before.
Harry asks if anyone else fell or fainted, and of course nobody did (to his knowledge). Harry ponders: Harry didn’t understand. He felt weak and shivery, as though he were recovering from a bad bout of flu; he also felt the beginnings of shame. Why had he gone to pieces like that, when no one else had?
Let’s get serious here. JK Rowling has stated that Dementors were based on her experience with depression, and I think you can really see it here. Here Harry is in a situation that was bad, but his reaction was more severe - so much that he is ashamed of and confused by it. This is a very dark illustration of depression and other mental health issues. It also makes me hate the Ministry of Magic a little more. (Seriously, if there’s a Wizarding UN you’d think they’d have the Ministry down for a whole lot of human rights violations. Now I want a fanfic.)
Remus comes back, and with a “small smile” tells everyone that the chocolate hasn’t been poisoned. Harry is surprised at how much it comforts him. It’s true; chocolate is very comforting.
No one talks much until they get to Hogsmeade. Hagrid calls out to the trio as he leads “terrified first years” to the castle. And I just had a moment of horror… could you imagine a muggleborn eleven year old having Dementors as his or her first introduction to the wizarding world? It’s hell from here, kid. Get out.
When they get to the castle, Draco teases Harry for fainting, saying that’s what “Longbottom” told him. I was always a bit confused by this, seeing as Neville doesn’t seem like someone who’d divulge that, so the most I can surmise is that Neville was tricked into telling or something. Maybe Draco threatened to throw Trevor in the lake; I wouldn’t put it past him. When Ron stands up for Harry, Draco turns onto him… and here we go, more Mean Wizards. I can almost here Draco going, “get in, loser. We’re going shopping.” Remus cuts Draco off with an innocent “is there a problem?” and they go inside.
McGonagall shouts that she wants to see Harry and Hermione immediately.
Harry and Hermione turned around, surprised. Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor House, was calling over the heads of the crowd. She was a stern-looking witch who wore her hair in a tight bun; her sharp eyes were framed with square spectacles. Harry fought his way over to her with a feeling of foreboding: Professor McGonagall had a way of making him feel he must have done something wrong.
Harry's perception of McGonagall definitely changes throughout the series. Our Minerva's very much the teacher you initially kind of thought had it in for you, but you slowly began to realize she really did just want you to live up to your potential. I think the audience gets it long before the trio does (or at least Harry and Ron, she’s probably Hermione’s idol) - after all, McGonagall did put Harry on the Quidditch team instead of giving him detention for flying underage in what, the fifth chapter of the first book?
McGonagall explains that she’d heard Harry had taken ill, which is when Madame Pomfrey runs in. Harry says he’s fine, but that doesn’t stop Madame Pomfrey for talking about how Dementors and the like especially hurt people who are “already delicate.” Because that is the first thing you say to someone who suffered a breakdown - except sometimes, it is. JKR gets it.
Long worrying short, Harry is dismissed, but McGonagall asks Hermione to stay so they can go over her schedule. Foreshadowing!
For the sake of being silly, I will imagine the conversation.
McGonagall: Miss Granger, you’re going to time travel so you can fit in all of your courses.
Hermione: Like in Doctor Who!
McGonagall: What’s that?
Hermione: A muggle show my Mum and I used to watch. I normally raise myself above science fiction, but that’s not the point - do I get my own police box?
McGonagall: …
But here’s my only issue with this subplot - why would McGonagall just hand a Time Turner to a teenage girl? Yes, she’s smart for her age, and obviously we needed it for the plot, but it seems rather risky, letting a girl toy around with time in order to take extra courses. Maybe this was more of a fantasy on JKR’s part - I have a few overachiever friends who did take about eight classes at once, and I’m sure they wished they could have a time turner themselves. Perhaps JKR had the same predicament, so it’s wish fulfillment. Or a plot hole. Or just a book.
They realize that they’ve missed the Sorting, and that even worse, everyone seems to know Harry fainted because they’re all staring at him. To my relief, this does NOT happen:
Children: Double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble, fire burn and cauldron bubble! Something wicked this way comes!
FFP: I just saw that trailer! I can't wait to see what that has to do with the movie...
Me: Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
The speech Dumbledore gave in the movie actually is in this book - it amounts to, “don’t screw around with the Dementors, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition. “ He doesn’t look happy to be saying this. The guy who tried to take over the world once to avenge his sister’s insanity and/or appease his evil lover and would go on to subject Harry to child abuse for his own good thinks the Dementors are too harsh. Let’s consider this for a minute.
Dumbledore then introduces the new professors. First we have Remus, who receives “scattered, unenthusiastic applause” either because of how he’s dressed or because JKR loves to torture her alleged favorite characters. He is going to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, which most of you reading this already knew. Snape is staring at Remus, but out of unadulerated: loathing. Harry knew that expression only too well; it was the look Snape wore every time he set eyes on Harry.
And Harry decides he loves Remus because Snape hates him. Aww, another thing they have in common.
We then learn that Hagrid has become the Care of Magical Creatures professor. There is more applause for him, and it’s “tumultuous” at the Gryffindor table. Wait - didn’t most people pretty much think Hagrid was the weird guy who lived in a hut? Or was that only when he became a professor and they started coming close to losing limbs? I just always figured the only students who really noticed Hagrid were the trio and Charlie Weasley, Charlie probably because he was a more collected and athletic version of Hagrid.
We’re reminded that Hagrid was arrested for a crime he hadn’t committed, and once again innocence versus guilt is brought up. If this is intentional, JKR’s good.
We go to the Common Room, and Neville’s reaction to the new password is “oh no!” Because he always forgets them. Oh, Neville… if the moment you’re told something you “know” you’ll forget it, you’re never going to remember anything. Have some happy chocolate.
We end the chapter with Harry looking around thinking about how he’s finally “home at last.”
Chapter Six: Talons and Tea Leaves
Ooh, we’re going to meet Trelawney!
When Harry gets to the Great Hall the next day, Draco and Pansy are making fun of Harry. Hermione tells Harry to “just ignore him.” Harry sits next to George, who asks him what’s wrong while giving him his schedule. Fred and George inform the trio that Draco came running into their compartment and had “nearly wet himself,” and that the Dementors were horrible. Harry goes back to the fact that he fainted, and we learn that Arthur Weasley apparently had to “go out to Azkaban”, I guess for work. Isn’t it implied that he lost most of his family in the war? Poor Arthur.
Ron notices that Hermione’s schedule is messed up, and says that there “isn’t enough time.” Hermione says she’ll manage, and dismisses Ron’s protests impatiently.
Hagrid enters, swinging a dead polecat from his hand. He says the trio are in his first lesson, and can’t wait. The trio’s excitement turns into anxiety as they remember what Hagrid’s notorious for…
They head to Divination, but not before Draco pretends to faint again. Wait, this is the guy everyone compared to Spike from Buffy? Really?
It takes seven staircases before they reach the North Tower. They don’t know quite where to go from there, until Harry notices a pony show up in the painting they’re by. A knight soon follows, covered in grass which implies he’d fallen off. The knight attempts bravery…
They watched in astonishment as the little knight tugged his sword out of its scabbard and began brandishing it violently, hopping up and down in rage. But the sword was too long for him; a particularly wild swing made him overbalance, and he landed facedown in the grass.
Harry asks the knight if he knows how to get to the North Tower, and the knight goes from angry to excited about the “quest.”
I won’t pretend to not know perfectly well that this is Sir Cadogan, though I’m scared that I remembered that. In any case, Sir Cadogan seems to be faking being a Knight, which makes me want his backstory. He was either a horrible Knight or wasn’t really a Knight at all, but thought he was out of delusion.
He gave the sword another fruitless tug, tried and failed to mount the fat pony , gave up, and cried, “On foot then, good sirs and gentle lady! On! On!”
And he ran, clanking loudly, into the left side of the frame and out of sight. They hurried after him along the corridor, following the sound of his armor. Every now and then they spotted him running through a picture ahead. “Be of stout heart , the worst is yet to come!” yelled the knight, and they saw him reappear in front of an alarmed group of women in crinolines, whose picture hung on the wall of a narrow spiral staircase.
He just seems to be trying too hard. And failing miserably. Ron says it best: “We’ll call you… if we ever need someone mental.”
When they get to Trelawney’s office, a silver ladder descends to their feet. They come to a very strange classroom - “a cross between someone’s attic and an old-fashioned tea-shop.” The tables are circular, the light is crimson (that would hurt my eyes, honestly), a fire is burning, and there could not possibly be more candles, crystal balls or teacups.
Trelawney greets them by saying she is glad to see them “in the physical world at last.” O… kay then. She reminds Harry of an insect, who looks nothing like Emma Thompson. Trelawney explains that they probably haven’t seen her before because the business of the school crowds her Inner Eye. Even Luna would find Trelawney a little “out to lunch,” I daresay.
Trelawney goes on to explain that books wouldn’t help with Divination, which appears to offend Hermione. Teal Animagus short (please excuse the pun), having psychic powers is mostly a gift you have or don’t have, which makes me wonder what the grading rubric looks like.
Trelawney asks Neville if his grandmother’s well, and says maybe he shouldn’t be so sure. She tells Parvati to “beware a red-haired man” which Parvati takes to mean Ron, and she goes on to predict that "Unfortunately, classes will be disrupted in February by a nasty bout of flu. I myself will lose my voice. And around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever.” I’ve still never figured out whether or not that foreshadowed something… though now that I think of it, wouldn’t both Peter and Dobby have died around Easter in DH?
They get into pairs in order to look at one another’s tea leaves, but it doesn’t work so well, partly because the “smoke” is making Harry feel tired and stupid. Are we SURE that’s smoke?
Let’s see what Harry and Ron have to say about their leaves, and whether or not it foreshadowed anything:
Ron’s Cup: A crooked sort of cross, meaning that he’ll have trials and suffering, something that could be the sun, and he’ll suffer but be happy. Hm. Well, he does destroy a Horcrux, which is what the cross could represent hypothetically, and the guy certainly does suffer but end up happy.
Harry’s: A bowler hat, though reversed it looks like an acorn, which means “unexpected gold.” Now we’re onto something; Harry encounters that a few times. Otherwise, I’ve got nothing.
Trelawney comes over and announces that Harry has a deadly enemy. To paraphrase her reaction…
Hermione: Well, no shit. Ever heard of You-Know-Who, you crazy bat?
Trelawney ignores her, continuing to analyze Harry’s cup into she screams. It’s The Grim, a “giant spectral dog”, an omen of death.
Harry feels sick as he remembers seeing “the dog” (who we all know was Sirius); Hermione and Seamus, meanwhile, don’t think it really looks like the Grim. Seamus says it looks more like a donkey from another angle. Harry lets out a snarky, ““When you’ve all finished deciding whether I’m going to die
or not!”
Everyone leaves and heads to Transfiguration. Nobody reacts even after McGonagall demonstrates her animagus form, which makes McGonagall suspicious as normally people clap or at least look mildly impressed. They explain that the previous class was Divination…
McGonagall: Oh, of course. Who’s dying?
Everyone: …
We learn that death predictions are normal for Trelawney, and that McGonagall disapproves of Divination because “True Seers are rare.” Little does she know…
Saved by the bell! Except I’m not sure Hogwarts has them, and the prospect of being saved by anything is a bit, ah, grimmer when Ron asks if Harry had seen a grim. Harry admits that he did; Hermione chalks it up to bad luck, and when Ron points out that his Uncle Bilius died after seeing one, Hermione waves his family's tragic loss off as “coincidence.” (And people used to write her as sweet and understanding in fanfic.) She does bring up a good point that people probably see it and die of fright, though.
Ron and Hermione fight some more (shocking), and Ron finally says she’s just upset because “you don’t like being bad at something for a change!”
Ouch, Ron. Hermione storms off saying that Divination was “absolutely rubbish compared to my Arithmancy class!”, and Ron’s confused because she hadn’t actually been to Arithmancy yet.
When it’s time to go to Care of Magical Creatures, Ron and Hermione don’t speak to one another the whole way. To make matters worse, Harry spots the Green Plastics (i.e. Draco, Crabbe and Goyle), and realizes they must have the class with the Slytherins. Hagrid is waiting for them at the door of his hut, decked in moleskin. They follow him to the forest and are instructed to open their books. Draco points out that they can’t, because it bites people; nobody disagrees with him. Hagrid can’t believe nobody figured out that you have to stroke the spine. Draco is mean about it, Hagrid looks hurt, Harry tells him to knock it off.
Hagrid goes off to get “the Magical Creatures.” Draco whines about how Hogwarts is “going to the dogs,” how his father will have a fit, but personally I think Lucuius would actually approve of COMC not being unicorns and magical butterflies. He probably wouldn’t like Hagrid teaching it, though, which is likely Draco’s problem too.
Hagrid comes back with about a dozen Hippogriffs, which have the heads of eagles but the bodies of horses. Hold on - a dozen?! Wonder what happened to the rest of them. Maybe I don’t want to know. Hagrid calls them beautiful, but warns that they can’t ever insult them because they’re proud. The Green Plastics are busy laughing, however, rather than paying attention, and Harry can tell they’re aiming to screw things up for Hagrid. Yeah, kids like this are why I won’t even consider becoming a teacher.
Nobody wants to approach them first, so of course Harry offers, because he’s Harry and that’s what Harry does. Parvati whispers to him to remember his tea leaves, but Harry ignores her, continuing to approach Buckbeak. Hagrid tells Harry to try not to blink, and I immediately imagine him saying, “don’t blink. Blink and you’re dead.” Yes, I know, wrong series. Harry takes a bow, and to his surprise, Buckbeak bows back. Harry pets Buckbeak, and everyone applauds. Yay, Harry didn’t get eaten, eight year old ballet students didn’t drop books off their heads, there will be more Harry Potter books!
Hagrid says that Buckbeak might even let Harry ride him, and tells him to just climb up without pulling his feathers out. The flight is nowhere near as exciting as it was in the movie; Harry feels nauseous and uncomfortable, and the flight lasts about a minute. This version is more realistic, but I can see why Cuaron chose a more… cinematically appealing approach.
Harry’s success is inspirational, and everyone runs towards the Hippogriffs, except for Neville, who keeps running to and then away from his. Harry watches Ron and Hermione practice on the chestnut Hippogriff.
Draco gets Buckbeak, and instantly insults him by calling him a “big ugly brute.” Draco’s learning two things this week: Don’t insult a man’s Mum, and don’t insult a Hippogriff at all. Draco of course gets attacked, and curls in the grass, screaming that he’s dying. Hagrid carries Draco away, and they all decide this means class is dismissed. Pansy is crying and saying that Hagrid should be fired. Way to be dramatic.
Hermione expresses some concern for Draco, but Ron is more worried about Hagrid. You know, I don’t want to go into a Kloves/Cuaron rant, so I won’t, but it is a shame that Ron was written as being an idiot in the movies when he really does have these moments where he’s the one who explores all the options and possibilities. Yes, Hermione’s pragmatic, and in this case a bit more empathetic towards an injured classmate than Ron appears to be, but Ron isn’t just thinking “Malfoy hurt, that’s bad,” he’s already thinking about the problems this may pose for their friend. Just an observation.
Time passes, they eat, nothing really interesting to recap here… finally they can see that Hagrid’s light is on, and Ron says if they hurry, they can probably make it without breaking curfew. Hermione’s not sure it’s a good idea for Harry, but Harry points out that Sirius hasn’t gotten past the Dementors.
Hagrid’s drunk, and says he hasn’t been fired yet, but that with Draco it’s only a matter of time. We learn that Madame Pomfrey did all she could, but that Draco claims he’s still hurt and in agony. The school “governors” have been informed, and have already decided Hagrid should have started with “flobberworms” or something. The trio assure Hagrid that they’ll stand up for him, and Hermione leads Hagrid outside so he can stick his head in a water barrel and sober up a bit.
Hagrid thanks them, and then realizes that Harry’s there for the first time. He yells at Harry for wandering around after dark, at the trio for letting him, saying he’s not worth that.
Next time: Snape, you Boggartized son of a Prince.
FFP: Also, Remus is riddikulusly awesome. Siriusly.
She said it, not me.
And now, rec time! I said yesterday that if you wanted, you could rec a fic taking place during or heavily referencing PoA, and I'd link to it. Today's rec is Introspection by daintress. (Written before DH.) Feel free to rec a fic, whether it's someone else's or your own!