01 HP Prisoner of Azkaban

[chantaldormand]

And now we are back to regular program.

According to one of my relatives I filled out my vulgarity and dick-jokes quotas for this month. Me, being over-competitive jerk had to take it as challenge. So this chapter is Work Safe-ish?

Ch1 Owl Post

Comments

[jana_ch]

>If the Dursleys had medieval approach to magic, you would either be stoned to death or getting goods in exchange for fertility potions and medicine.<

Harry would be getting goods in exchange for fertility potions and medicine only if there were absolutely no other magic-users in the village to do the job. And even then they might prefer the local muggle monk or nun who worked in the herb garden and had read a bit of Galen.

>For that matter how does [the Sneakoscope] gauge trustworthiness? Wouldn’t that require mind magic?<

Why doesn’t Harry take the Sneakoscope to Potions class to learn for sure whether or not he should trust Snape? Of course Snape’s world-class Occlumency would block it as soon as he felt its cold, mechanical touch, but Harry doesn’t know that. What Harry really needs to do is take the Sneakoscope with him the next time he goes to the Headmaster’s office.

[sunnyskywalker]

I would love to see the explanation Harry would come up with when the Sneakoscope went wild every time Dumbledore walked into the room.

[chantaldormand]

That would be sequel to "Snape looked at me and now my head hurts D:" situation from PS. Unless Severus took sabbatical, then Harry would be thrown for loop for a few scenes until he realises he has House for potential scapegoats.
Don't worry Harry has you covered 👍

[chantaldormand]

Sneakoscope shenanigans sound like an interesting set up for a FF. There would be lot of drama and Harry surely would be in denial for at least a few chapters, but it could lead into interesting places.

[smirkingcat]

uhhhhhh
it goes on!
this is my 2nd most disliked book
i cant wait to read what you make out of it

>Wait, Dursleys’ are flinching at Harry’s sight? You don’t flinch out of hate or disgust, you flinch if you are startled or afraid.
that is a VERY good point

>I mean if there are only a few Hogsmeade weekends per year and there are no on campus shops, how less organised students get their supplies when they run out? What if you took more notes during class or ran out of parchment during writing love letters? You need to live off other students’ good will?
most likely jkr didn't think about the practicality of that system but when i first read it, i always wondered WHY there is a restriction in the first place? hogsmeade is a fully wizarding town, why is there no spell to keep the kids out of trouble, and just let them leave the castle and get some alone or out time? never made sense to me

yay for going along with it!

[jana_ch]

>Why is there no spell to keep the kids out of trouble, and just let them leave the castle and get some alone or out time?<

If that were the case, Harry couldn’t be deprived of his Hogsmeade rights by the Horrible Dursleys, allowing him to angst over it for weeks, then demonstrate his Gryffindor Courage by breaking the rules with his ultra-special Marauders Map, nobly claiming his freedom to risk his life for the sake of candy, and brilliantly humiliating Draco Malfoy with the aid of his Mary Sue Invisibility Cloak. We can’t have the Chosen One just strolling into town and buying a ream of paper like any other student.

[smirkingcat]

uhhhhhh savage burn!
me likes!

[sunnyskywalker]

I think it's because the villagers remember their own schooldays too well to want Hogwarts students taking over the village every weekend. Imagine what a nightmare that would be! But one weekend a month should be reasonable. And it's not like they send staff down to supervise, so that doesn't work as an excuse to limit them. Maybe they used to have Hogsmeade weekends more often until Fred and George were old enough to go. Then the villagers demanded that they re-negotiate the deal.

[sunnyskywalker]

I like to think that this textbook, and maybe others, were bowlderized and had propaganda added for student editions. The original editions were more nuanced (though probably still condescending toward Muggles

[chantaldormand]

The tone used in the textbook's excerpt makes me wonder if this is WW's answer to WW II. No matter how well protected were wizarding homes, somehow I doubt there were no magical victims of muggle warfare in WW II.

I agree that Harry is super sheltered, but quite often his author acts equally sheltered/disconnected from uglier sides of life. It's shame too since it would be interesting to watch Harry grow from even talking with people from different ways of life.

Actually, I'm surprised that Jo didn't do such a thing in books. It fits Severus' teaching style and Harry would have yet another thing to rage at Snape. Even if we don't get the second punch in the shape of Minnie also cutting off essays it would still be great to see in the books.

[sunnyskywalker]

It would be hard not to notice large chunks of London turning into rubble, yes. And Shield Charms only help if you can perform them reliably in the first place (according to Fred and George, lots of people can't, and that's why their Shield Charm Hats are selling well) and you know your house is about to blow up. I agree, it's unlikely that no witches or wizards were caught unawares or just couldn't work up decent protective charms. Same for any building-strengthening charms--can you do it or afford to hire someone? No? Too bad, there goes your house! The idea that Muggles could kill magicals en masse before the magicals even realized what was happening must have been traumatic for everyone who realized it. And just think how the few of them who heard of the Cold War would react

[aikaterini]

/Jo loves sending mixed messages. In the previous book she made a big fuss over not doing magic around muggles and shown us that muggles can be at least semi effective in confrontation with wizard. In this book not only Harry doesn’t get as much as slap on wrist for harming family member with magic, but also gets to write an essay on pointlessness of muggles resisting wizards

[sunnyskywalker]

Well, Harry does admit in GoF that spending time with just Hermione isn't much fun... But if the other option is the Dursleys, he ought to jump at the chance. I think we're down to (a) learned helplessness--he's spend so many years really having no way to escape the Dursleys that he hasn't yet adjusted to the idea that he isn't so helpless anymore, and/or (b) Dumbledore meddling behind the scenes because keeping Harry isolated with the Dursleys and having no adults who know enough to ask awkward questions serves his purposes.