Harry Potter Prognostications

We're Back!

2006-09-18T12:25:00.000-04:00

OK, hopefully some people are still reading this...it's been a long, long time, but I'm happy to say, we're back (and it really is a we this time).

Please update your bookmarks, tell your friends, and alert the media, 'cuz the prognostications have begun anew, this time in podcast form. When you get a chance, mosey on over to the newly reclaimed www.hpprogs.com, and take a look; we've even got a brand-spanking new prog up already!

I'm going to leave everything here as is, but all new stuff will be over on the hpprogs.com site. We're hoping to podcast (progcast?) over there on a weekly basis, Wednesday's if all goes well (it didn't this week).

Thanks again to everyone who has read and commented in the past, I hope you'll join us over on the new site, and I hope you'll tell your friends!

Book 4, The Movie

2005-11-21T14:20:00.000-05:00

Saw GoF on Saturday night; it was great.

What I love most about the movies is that, due to the obvious time constraints, the writers are forced to focus the plot line around a central theme. Those of you who have read this blog thoroughly know that my main thesis is that each book has a central theme around which all the action takes place. Particularly with Books 3 and 4, the movies have added incredible support to my theories.

As regards Book 4, if you recall, our theory was that the essential theme was pride. Harry fell victim to pride, but by the end is able to overcome his pride and work with others to escape from Voldemort. The pride that Harry confronts is mostly in his refusal to trust or accept help from others; but we also see the way the Death Eaters display their pride...

The movies are also good at pointing out the meaning of things in the book that were somewhat unclear. I find it interesting in that most everyone watching Snape in this movie will be thinking, "Oh gosh, he's going to kill Dumbledore in two more movies time..." But instead of a any ominous smiles from Dumbledore, or mysterious comments to Snape about what he knows he has to do now, we get a single moment with Snape alone with Barty Crouch Jr. Snape, with a look of utter revulsion on his face, points his wand ominously at Barty Jr., as if to say, "You're going to pay for this, you worthless piece of dragon dung." I really got the impression that Snape was on our side at that point. Of course, we at least think we know differently come Book 6.

Flight of the Bumblebee

2005-11-01T11:44:00.000-05:00

I stumbled upon a set of posts on ParshaBlog (which happens to be written by a fellow I went to college with) with an interesting theory regarding Dumbledore's "death." I have heard many of the theories speculating that Dumbledore did not die, mostly based on some nuance of his language or the way in which his body responded to the death curse. None have been, in my mind, convincing enough to merit serious consideration. Until today.

Take a look at the theory, with part 1 and part 2. The theory can be summarized as: Dumbledore does not appear at all in Book 6. Rather, Wormtail or Lucius Malfoy are impersonating him using Polyjuice Potion.

I realize it sounds a little farfetched (and oh-no-not-another-polyjuice-potion-plot-point), and many of the points made aren't well-presented, but once you read through the whole thing, you do have to admit that there are some good points. Wormtail's presence at Spinner's End is never accounted for (for this main reason, I would lean more towards Wormtail than Lucius). All the points about the necklace and Tonks, while they have explanations that we know of, might work out better if considered as presented here. Dumbledore's torutured screaming while retrieving the horcrux are also begging for a better explanation. At the very least, taking the "if a gun appears in the first act, someone will be shot with it in the fourth act" principle as our mantra, the theory does point out several unfired guns that need to be accounted for (I've suggested this approach in the past...but never really followed through with it).

It does seem that what we have is a plot that is infinitely more subtle and complex than what we have taken it for. JK Rowling, from a literary style perspective, has always been closest to the mystery format, the red herring being the ultimate plot point. If the above theory is correct, Book 7 should be very interesting. What would be really cool is if JKR went existential, and did not explain the puzzle, but instead left it up to us to decipher (read The Big Sleep for an example).

What do you think?

The (Half Blood) Prince

2005-07-21T17:05:00.000-04:00

Tazmy does it again! Check out her post explaining the parallels between Machiavelli's The Prince and Snape. Perfect! Considering the theme of Book 6 looks to have at least a little bit to do with politics, I'd say Tazmy is on to something.

Tracking Horcruxes

2005-07-20T21:38:00.000-04:00

An interesting thing to watch will be the proliferation of the term "horcrux," which, to the best of my knowledge, was unknown to the world as of less than one week ago. Google and Yahoo both report about 700 instances of either horcrux or horcruxes (horcruxi?). It will be interesting to track the growth as the term enters our cultural vocabulary.

The likely plot path from here does seem fairly obvious, which naturally makes me suspicious. R.A.B. is likely Regulas Black; it would account for the numerous times he is mentioned in Books 5 and 6. We all know that JKR is fond of the old adage: "if there's a gun hanging over the mantlepiece in Act 1, someone will get shot with it in Act 3." I wouldn't put aside the possibility that R. Amelia Bones was R.A.B. (credit to Penny for that one), although the language of the note implies someone who knew Voldemort personally...combined with the mention of a locket in 12 Grimmauld Place from Book 5 (pg 116, I believe) and the Mundungus Fletcher incident, it's all clearly pointing to Harry following the footsteps of R.A.B. to find the locket, etc. Which is why I'm a bit skeptical of the whole thing. It's too obvious.

Harry as Horcrux is also not a bad theory, and would match one of our previous prognostications, that Harry was in some way invested with power because of Voldemort's attack, and that he would have to give that up in order to defeat him, which could include his death. A more thorough treatment is warranted, to say the least.

My own wacky theory: when Harry and Dumbledore enter the Pensieve to view Voldemort's last atttempt to obtain a teaching position at the school, there is a brief mention that as Voldie is sitting down, Harry thinks he sees him flash his wand for brief second. Keep in mind that we have been learning this year about non-verbal spellcasting. Could it be that Voldemort quietly created a horcrux while in Dumbledore's office, perhaps of some Gryffindor artifact or one of the ex-headmaster portraits? Granted, he didn't kill anyone at the time, but who knows.

Going forward, I think it's worthwhile to compile a list of all the things we haven't resolved, which will give us a good idea where things will have to go in Book 7. Two quick ones: why Lily was given a choice to live or die by Voldie, how will the Pettigrew/Potter relationship pan out.

First thoughts

2005-07-18T01:26:00.000-04:00

Just finished, or, nearly finished, I've got the last few pages to go, but I'm pretty sure I've covered all the important stuff. This book was good, reminds me why I liked them in the first place; JKR is back, big time.

A few first thoughts: obviously, one of the larger themse of Book 6 is politics. You cant help thinking the current war-time situation influenced the writing in some fashion. Quite a few of our progs were proven true, and quite a few were proven wrong, I'll do a recap tomorrow. At any rate, I think we can all agree that the good ship H/H has been forever sunk. Thank you!

All in all, well done!

Book 6!

2005-07-14T21:56:00.000-04:00

Just in case anyone still visits this site, here's what things will be like over the next week. This site will be Spoiler-FULL - don't come back if you don't want to learn how things end. I'm probably going to read this one at a more leisurely pace (no need to rush it, we've only got one more after this...). I think what I will do is post thoughts as I read, so, for example, immiedietly after reading the first section, I'll write a post about the theme from the Dursley's perspective, and so on.

I, honestly, have withdrawn a bit from HP over the past year or so, so I hope I still have my chops, we shall see. Most important is the discussions that we have, since that's where the real good stuff comes out.

See you next week!

Yeah!

2005-07-14T11:15:00.000-04:00

Still here...sort of

2005-07-07T15:32:00.000-04:00

Hi Janice, and everyone else. I'm still out here. Anxiously awaiting Book 6. Hope everyone is doing well. Talk to you soon!

Book 6 is DONE!

2004-12-20T21:53:00.000-05:00

Walk, no, run over to JKRowling.com; the door is open once again, with some very good news. Watch the newswires, we should know the release date for Half-Blood Prince within 24 hours.

Update: Mark your calendars, July 16 is the date. Preorder from Amazon US here.

New stuff at JKRowling.com

2004-11-02T17:13:00.000-05:00

There's some new stuff over at JKRowling.com. If you go soon, you just might be able to find out the names of three of the chapters of Book 6! I don't want to spoil it for you, but in case you're frustrated, try this link. Also, I hadn't seen this before, it's possible I simply overlooked this the first time around, but if you click on the gum wrapper immiedieatly to the left of the coffee mug, you are taken to a page that I'm sure was not there before: The Rubbish Bin. Therein, JKR goes through some of the rubbish that's been spread about either her personal life or the background of the HP books. And if you look carefully, there's some new objects to click on: find three, I believe, one from this page, and others from various places around the site, and you are treated to a new prize, a sketch of our favorite almost-beheaded Ghost.

Please, only check this out if you have already voted. Otherwise, go out and vote! If you're under 18, by all means, carry on.

About.com review of Book 1

2004-08-04T10:15:00.000-04:00

Tazmy's got another gig, this time at About.com. Check out her review of Sorcerer's Stone. Very nice!

As for me, I'm still really busy. I do want to post an email I got from a reader; it's in my inbox, I've read it, and just want to ask his permission before posting it, because I think it's spot on, and meshes well with the theories presented here for Book 6.

One other person wrote in with a rumor Book 6 would be released in May 2005. I don't think this is possible, but it would be nice!

Tazmy on Snape

2004-07-16T12:01:00.000-04:00

Tazmy's got a gig with MuggleNet, and recently wrote a piece on Snape. She deftly combines some of the HPProgs theories on Snape and Lucius Malfoy with her own ruminations to come up with an excellent theory as to what is going on with Snape. Check it out.

For those of you visiting from MuggleNet, check out Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy and The Lion and the Snape. Then check out the rest of the site; I happen to think there's some pretty good stuff in there ;)

Also, I like Blogger's new rich text editor. One step closer to perfect XHTML. I'm sur that none of you care about that though...

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

2004-06-29T13:31:00.000-04:00

Or, as we shall call it, Book 6.

Check out JKRowling.com for the sordid details. In all seriousness, JKR's site is becoming a vital source of clues.

Book 3, The Movie Clips

2004-05-27T23:36:00.000-04:00

I'm still reading Book 3 ( I took a day off to read Book the Fifth, if you catch my meaning). Anyways, check out the Yahoo Movie clips for the upcoming movie. They look good.

Update: Yahoo has added another bunch of clips to the page; there are about 10 in all. A quick comment:

You might recall that our discussion of Book 3 revealed the major theme to be emotions. Harry, and the other various characters, must learn to master their emotions in various situations, using a combination of reason, compassion and common sense to appropriately address a situation. We begin with Harry failing miserably at this, by inflating Aunt Marge out of anger. The conclusion of the story comes with Harry sparing Pettigrew's life out of mercy, even if emotionally he would have like to kill him.

So check out the clip where Harry first meets Buckbeak. I'm assuming that this clip is unedited; if it's not, then this might not apply. Harry approaches Buckbeak slowly and cautiously, but the movie omits the bowing ritual detailed in the book, where Harry humbles himself before the proud Hippogriff in order to gain his favor.

I always thought the ritual, and Buckbeak's hard-nosed sensibilities, to be an important facet of the theme. One of the interesting things that J.K. Rowling does is show you how characters that we consider "good" get into trouble because of certain facets of their personalities. In this case, Buckbeak's pride, while natural for his species, really is a bad thing; although Draco should have known better, Buckbeak's pride gets him into a spot of trouble. Had he the power (perhaps, the choice) to conquer his natural emotion, to overlook the (in greater scheme of things) slight that Draco played him, he could have spared himself, Hagrid and everyone else a lot of anguish.

Just an observation, we'll see the whole story when the movie comes out. So far, it looks good!

Howdy

2004-05-20T22:45:00.000-04:00

Surprise, surprise. I've been long away from HPProgs, and I'm thinking it's about time to revisit this site. There's been a bunch of HP-related goings-on over the last few weeks, spurred on by the upcoming release of Book 3, The Movie.

For those of you in the know, you'll have visited www.jkrowling.com, personal site of, yep, J.K. Rowling. There are lots of goodies on this site, it is definetly worth taking a look at. I've managed to find four (4) secret documents; if you've found more, please let me know (I'm beyond the need to solve these things myself...I'll take your answers, if you've got them). I have a few theories as to other puzzles that might be hidden or hiding on the site...for example, have you noticed, on the Extra Stuff page, the multiple business cards for a car service? If you combine the numbers visible on all three cards, you can discern the whole phone number...I tried it on the cell phone on the home page, but to no avail. Is there a secret hidden here?

Looking back at our prognostications and Patterns in Potter series, we left off around Book 3. Perfect! With Book 3, The Movie coming out soon, it's a perfect time to revisit the themes of this most exciting Harry Potter novel. I'm going to start re-reading PoA, and hope to offer a series of thoughts on the story before the movie comes out, for your general perusal and consumption.

Oh, and one more thing about web sites. As I noted over on HPProgs.com, I'm going to be sticking with the Blogspot site for now. There's a lot of nifty features on the new Blogger that I want to mess around with; we've even got an Atom feed (http://hpprogs.blogspot.com/atom.xml), so you can subscribe to HPProgs in your favorite news aggregator (or search for it on Blogdigger, by far the best blog search engine I have ever built). So check here for your HPProgs goodness.

That's it for now, I'm re-starting Book 3 tonight, so watch this space. Peace out!

Welcome to HPProgs.com!

2004-02-02T12:02:00.000-05:00

I've finally had the time to set up HPProgs.com, the new home of Harry Potter Prognostications. Requests for the old site should get forwarded on to here, and I'm in the process of updating links (for now, they will take you to the old blogspot site). I'm still working on a way to import comments from the old commenting system to this site, so that we can keep the conversations going. In the mean time, feel free to start commenting here!

The good news about the new site is that HPProgs content is not syndicated. You can subscribe to HPProgs in your News Aggregator, if you have one. Look for the link to the RSS feed on the side bar.

Welcome to HPProgs.com!

www.hpprogs.com!!!

2003-12-20T22:31:00.000-05:00

Now that the registration has gone through, I thought I would announce it:

Harry Potter Prognostications will be moving to its very own domain, www.hpprogs.com. This wont be for a bit, and I will definetly send out a note letting everyone know. We'll also set this page up to automatically forward you on to the new site. I'm going to work on exporting all the comments as well. The new blog will be run by MovableType, a pretty nifty blogging application that, amongst other things, will allow me to create a proper RSS feed for the site. Hopefully I'll post a bit more often as well.

In other news, I saw Return of the King last week. What a fantastic movie! If you haven't seen it, check it out.

That's all for now. See you soon, at the new site!

Azkaban Teaser

2003-11-13T20:29:00.000-05:00

I would be remiss if I didn't link to The Prisoner of Azkaban teaser trailer.

In a word: Excellent.

Truth in History?

2003-11-05T10:40:00.000-05:00

I did a little "research" (that means I did a Google search until I found an illicit copy of Book 5 somewhere on the Internet), and came up with the text in question. As background, go to the above post over at Baraita and read the comments. In particular, the Anonymous Commenter (heretofore referred to as AC) writes:

History of Magic is appallingly taught at Hogwarts because WIZARDS ARE AFRAID. They are afraid of their own history because of their own guilt. Look at the statue in the Ministry and how it is treated in the book itself, and then look back at what Bill says about the attitudes to goblins, and its impact on goblins themselves, comparing it to how the "false" newspaper the Quibbler talks about Fudge and goblins (given how the Quibbler is, surprisingly, right in essence if wrong in substance - Sirius Black, anyone - much of the time) and then look at the precise question Harry gets stuck on in his OWL.

My research turned up the question in question (found here; we'll see how long that link stays up).

He was finding it very difficult to remember names and kept confusing dates. He simply skipped question four (In your opinion, did wand legislation contribute to, or lead to better control of, goblin riots of the eighteenth century?), thinking that he would go back to it if he had time at the end. He had a stab at question five (How was the Statute of Secrecy breached in 1749 and what measures were introduced to prevent a recurrence?) but had a nagging suspicion that he had missed several important points; he had a feeling vampires had come into the story somewhere.

He looked ahead for a question he could definitely answer and his eyes alighted upon number ten: Describe the circumstances that led to the formation of the International Confederation of Wizards and explain why the warlocks of Liechtenstein refused to join.

I know this, Harry thought, though his brain felt torpid and slack. He could visualise a heading, in Hermione's handwriting: The formation of the International Confederation of Wizards ... he had read those notes only this morning.

He began to write, looking up now and again to check the large hour-glass on the desk beside Professor Marchbanks. He was sitting right behind Parvati Patil, whose long dark hair fell below the back of her chair. Once or twice he found himself staring at the tiny golden lights that glistened in it when she moved her head slightly, and had to give his own head a little shake to clear it.

... the first Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards was Pierre Bonaccord, but his appointment was contested by the wizarding community of Liechtenstein, because -

All around Harry quills were scratching on parchment like scurrying, burrowing rats. The sun was very hot on the back of his head. What was it that Bonaccord had done to offend the wizards of Liechtenstein? Harry had a feeling it had something to do with trolls... he gazed blankly at the back of Parvati's head again. If he could only perform Legilimency and open a window in the back of her head and see what it was about trolls that had caused the breach between Pierre Bonaccord and Liechtenstein...

Harry closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands, so that the glowing red of his eyelids grew dark and cool. Bonaccord had wanted to stop troll-hunting and give the trolls rights... but Liechtenstein was having problems with a tribe of particularly vicious mountain trolls... that was it.

He opened his eyes; they stung and watered at the sight of the blazing white parchment. Slowly, he wrote two lines about the trolls, then read through what he had done so far. It did not seem very informative or detailed, yet he was sure Hermione's notes on the Confederation had gone on for pages and pages.

He closed his eyes again, trying to see them, trying to remember... the Confederation had met for the first time in France, yes, he had written that already...

Goblins had tried to attend and been ousted... he had written that, too...

And nobody from Liechtenstein had wanted to come...

Think, he told himself, his face in his hands, while all around him quills scratched out never-ending answers and the sand trickled through the hour-glass at the front...

He was walking along the cool, dark corridor to the Department of Mysteries again, walking with a firm and purposeful tread, breaking occasionally into a run, determined to reach his destination at last... the black door swung open for him as usual, and here he was in the circular room with its many doors...

After reading this, let's go back to the end of the AC's comment:

No. History of Magic in Harry Potter isn't treted [sic] that way because JKR despises history but because the society she is in despises it and it is one of the things she - like the Quibbler - is able to point to because the field in which she writes is sufficiently despised itself by those in whose interest it is to despise history that things can be said in it which would be ruthlessly suppressed if said elsewhere.

The AC's point is that JKR treated history the way she did on purpose. The Wizarding World does not learn from the truths of history; it intentionally ignores them. Instead of teaching history, and preventing those in Hogwarts from repeating its mistakes, the Wizarding World erects false monuments, rewriting history in one swift stroke (notice that Dumbledore "accidentally" destroys this monumnet in his battle with Voldemort; the Battle against Evil includes the Battle for Truth). We've noted before (see below, esp. 'The Boy Who Knew Too Much') the similarity between Book 5 and Orwell's 1984, but the attitude fostered here by the Ministry of Magic echoes the mantra espoused by Oceania's Ministry of Truth:

'There is a Party slogan dealing with the control of the past,' he said. 'Repeat it, if you please.'

'"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past,"' repeated Winston obediently.

The Ministry controls the present, rewriting the past to fit the image that serves it best. This in turn controls the future attitudes of the constituients of the Wizarding World. That being said, it is strange to me that Dumbledore does not realize that History is given short shrift at his school. You would think that he would recognize the importance of the subject and feature it more prominently in the curriculum.

As Book 5 represents Harry's quest for Truth, it is fitting that, during an exam where he is asked to recount historical truths, Harry is unable to make sense of the questions, and passes out. Instead, he finds himself in the Department of Mysteries, searching for knowledge. On a subconcious level, Harry knows the truths he has come to believe in as history, as objective fact, are in fact subjective, only true because the society he lives in says they are true. The path to truth involves realizing the difference in perpective that each individual brings to their interpretation, and the subjective nature of such truths. Rather than rely on history, Harry must learn to cultivate his sense of right to show him how to act.

Perhpas, then, this is the answer. History by its very nature is subjective; it is practically impossible to relate objective historical fact. As such, using History as a guide for your moral actions is somewhat questionable, as the history you are relying on is a product of the value system that recorded it, defined by their perspective. To act, one must rely on a highly-developed moral sensitivity, not a historical imperitve. Harry has all the makings of a Stoic hero; he acts based on what he considers right and wrong, and our journey with him tracks his moral evolution. Often Harry makes incorrect decisions, and often pays high prices. Perhaps this is why Dumbledore deigns to focus on history at his school. He would rather his students develop morally.

On the other hand, one of Harry's greatest faults is pride. He often refuses to learn from others, or from the past. All his great defeats (and Voldemort's victories) have come at the hand of Harry's pride. It would seem that Harry does have something to learn from History.

I am presenting two conflicting opinions here (I'm not sure which one is correct, or which one I believe - maybe neither). Any thoughts?

Either way, it's good to be back ;)

Boo!

2003-11-05T10:38:00.000-05:00

Sorry, didn't mean to scare you.

Found a good Harry Potter post, about the attitude JK Rowling displays towards History of Magic. Particularly the comment by the anonymous poster is encouraging me to go back and look through Book 5 a bit more (his/her comments dovetail with our analysis of Book 5 quite nicely). Which means, maybe I'll write something...who knows?

Housekeeping

2003-09-24T15:24:00.000-04:00

First off, thanks to all who signed up for the auto-email-notifications. This will be a good first test of the system.

I was trying to find "The Boy Who Knew Too Much", and to my consternation, the link to the archive was not working. I have tried republishing a number of times, but it doesnt seem to help. So I made the home page display the fifty (50) most recent entries. I'm pretty peeved at Blogger right now. If you really need to find a post, and the links on the side arent working, just do a text search on the home page. I'll keep messing with it and hopefully get it working again.

In other news, I went comment trolling today, going through all the old posts and responding to comments where I had missed. Some good stuff in there. My most popular posts seem to be: 1) The Hermione and Ron post, 2) Neville/Prophecy stuff and 3) Snape.

A few comments on Ron and Hermione, and Harry. I still think Ron and Hermione are a go. There seems to be a lot of discussion about who Harry will end up with. We already saw his relationship with Cho fail. Other possible candidates are Susan Bones, Luna Lovegood and Ginny. But I think the most obvious and likely option is not being discussed.

I think Harry will end up with noboby. Nobody at all.

Whatever happens in the end, Harry is not going to be whole. Either he'll be dead, or so broken that a personal relationship would be impossible. Remember, by all accounts, Harry is going to use Love to beat Voldie. After using the power so globally and self-sacrificially, I'm not sure he'll have any left for just one person (maybe he cant limit it, or he cant use it at all). There is also my personal theory that Harry will have to abandon his magical abilities in order to defeat Voldy, in which case, he wont really be a part of the wizarding world, and might marry a Muggle.

In other news, I started a personal blog for myself. It's called Presence, and it's hosted by Baltiblogs, an incredible free blog hosting service for people who live in Baltimore (like me). I'm not putting any HP stuff over there, so feel free to ignore it if your only interested in HP. If you care to find out more about me, then check it out.

That's all for today; I'm musing over a post about a person we should have covered a long time ago, but I'm glad we didnt, because things got much more interesting after Book 5. Guesses go in the comments.

Email notifications

2003-09-11T14:59:00.000-04:00

You asked for it, and you got it. I just set up a Yahoo Group for email notifications of updates to HPProgs. All you have to do is go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hpprogs, follow the easy-to-follow instructions, and you will get an email each time I update this site (I would still appreciate a visit every now and then, though ;). Let me know if you have any questions, I will try and help as best I can. Enjoy!

The Lion and the Snape

2003-09-10T23:47:00.000-04:00

Many words can be used to describe Harry Potter (the boy, not the books). Courageous, brave, faithful. Some words can't. A good example of a word that can't be used to describe Harry is "perfect." Harry is not perfect.

The problem is that Harry would like to think that he is perfect. Any number of events in Harry's past could have contributed to this; the death of his parents, making him feel as if the world owed him something, or the sudden knowledge that he was a hero to the Wizarding World. Either way, Harry is not sufficiently in touch with his Dark Side. Throughout the books, we see the proverbial little red devil on Harry's shoulder sway him towards untoward actions. And all the while, Harry's ego is calmly ignoring the pleas of his conscience.

[Slight tangent: the relationship between Harry, Ron and Hermione can be equated to many of the three-part relationships out there. In this particular one, Harry as Ego, Ron as Id and Hermione as Superego is most relevant. This helps in understanding Harry's initial affinity for Ron in Book 1, and his distaste for Hermione. Eventually (and continually) Harry is incorporating Hermione into his conscience. The final resolution will be the "marriage" or resolution of these competing forces in Harry consciousness. So quit trying to set Harry up with Hermione - Harry needs her to hook up with Ron. There are other explanations of the trio, for example Heart (Ron), Mind (Hermione) and Soul (Harry), as well as Rational (Hermione), Emotional (Ron), and whatever the synthesis between them would be (maybe religious or existential?).]

Try as he might to ignore the fact that he is not perfect, one person constantly reminds Harry of this fact: Snape. Time and again, just when Harry thinks he's on top of the world, Snape comes along and takes him down a few. From their first meeting in Book 1, Snape shows his contempt for Harry's self-righteousness. Repeatedly, he presents us with a clear and concise explanation as to why he feels this way: Harry is a boy who thinks he is above the rules, that he can decide for himself what is right.

The striking aspect of Snape's character, aside from his loathsomeness, is the fact that he is the exact opposite of Harry in this regard. Snape has shown he has the moral strength to not get down with his bad self. Despite his inclination towards the Dark Side, in which he indulges quite copiously in ruling his Potions class with iron-fist, when the big decisions come around, Snape makes the "right" choice. He chooses to defy Lord Voldemort, turning spy for Dumbledore (despite the fact that James and Sirius, his arch-rivals, would not only be on his side, but would be able to harp him for admitting his failure in judgment). He does this even when it puts him in danger; in Book 5 it is apparent that he has some contact, if not with Lord Voldemort himself, then at least with some of his Death Eaters.

In Book 5 we get a bit more history on Snape, when Harry delves into his memories in the Pensieve. What we learn of Snape is not pretty, but adds to our knowledge and understanding of him considerably. We learn, amongst other things, that as a boy, Snape liked to kill spiders with his wand, practicing the Unforgivable Curses. His family was, in a word, dysfunctional. He was disliked at school, despite being an exceptional student. And he was picked on and tortured by James and his gang, who relied on their house affiliation to keep their images pristine. As a result of years of this kind of pressure, Snape becomes the person who is today: a bitter, jaded and sometimes cruel soul.

Here we come to the crux of who Snape is, and what to expect from his character. Snape represents the injustice paid to people who have affiliations and connection they can not break to unfavorable elements of society. His natural tendencies are towards Slytherin, which really shouldn�t be a big deal. We see that Snape is able to make moral decisions in important situations. Yet he is still accused of being a Death Eater, and only the testimony of Albus Dumbledore saves him from Azkaban. Even after repeated events that should have convinced Harry and the Gang that he is trustworthy, Snape still finds himself having to win over the Gryffindor's trust and respect. Nonetheless, Snape stays true to himself, not compromising his identity to placate the masses into accepting him.

What Snape experiences is the exact opposite of the racism preached by Lord Voldemort. Lord Voldemort's elitism excludes all but the purest of blood. But the so-called inclusiveness heralded by the Gryffindor's in fact alienates those Slytherins who are not pure Evil, like Snape. Due to their association with the house that Voldemort built, they are branded as outcasts. True, so far no one in the books appears to exhibit redeeming qualities, but the prevailing attitude is "Kick out the Slytherins" and not, "Kick out the Bad Guys." But as soon as it becomes about the house and not the person, it�s the same racism espoused by Voldemort. No doubt Snape's dislike for Harry stems from this; within himself, he has conquered his Little-Red-Devil, making sacrifices beyond most others, yet he is still considered an outcast. Harry, on the other hand, quietly gives in to his desire quite frequently, yet is still publicly thought a hero. Harry pleaded with the Sorting Hat to keep him out of Slytherin, yet he calls on their powers ever so often, all the time wearing the pure badge of Gryffindor. Snape senses this hypocrisy, sees in himself the result of its distinctions, and fights back.

In the end, I think Snape will be presented with a choice, where if he makes the "right" decision, it will be detrimental to himself, and beneficial to Harry. This in turn will drive home to Harry the nature of his own selfishness, and cause him to consciously change his attitude. Snape will help Harry take a major step away from the James he saw in the Pensieve, towards a Harry that is able to look past his own insecurities and join together even with those he loathes. And he will be one step closer to fulfilling the advice of the Sorting Hat in Book 5; that all houses must work together in order to conquer Evil. Don�t forget, this was the major advice of the Sorting Hat in Book 5, and by the end we are no closer (in fact, we are much further) away from this goal than before. Snape may be the rare individual who has the power to join the two houses, of integrating the Lion and Snake into a single, whole beast, stronger and more terrible than Lord Voldemort can imagine.

Happy Birthday, HPProgs!

2003-09-01T15:07:00.000-04:00

I just realized, Harry Potter Prognostications is one years old, today.

Wow.

Thanks to all the readers, who really make this site what it is.

In the mean while...

2003-09-01T14:59:00.000-04:00

I know I have promised a Snape post, but I am suffering from an acute case of prognostication block. But that is no reason for y'all to suffer. Reader Tazmy has started her own literature discussion site (with many an HP article) over at Tazmy's Pensieve, and she has some good posts over there that you should check out. In particular, for your Snape-o-philes, there is Snape's Job and Do Snape and Harry Have to Reconcile. Check it out.

I will offer a few of my thoughts on the "Snape's Job" post. I like the thread's that Tazmy draws between the various plot elements (especially since she used some of our work here as support!). But in the end, I have to conclude (as Tazmy does) that we really dont have enough information yet. Tazmy does lay out most of the key sources for this discussion, however, so that article is worth a read.

Thanks Tazmy!

(That ought to buy me a few days...) ;)

Book 5 chapter summaries

2003-08-28T11:16:00.000-04:00

Just stumbled upon David Harris' Science and Literature, a site that has summaries of each chapter from Book 5. Very cool. Looks like he is also from MD. I wonder if he has heard of O.A.R.?

Audiobooks

2003-08-21T19:54:00.000-04:00

I just started listening to the audio book version (narrated by Jim Dale) of Book 5. So far, so good. The one major thing I notice is that JKR is much more verbose and descriptive in this book than in the past, even than in Book 4. I'm just in the beginning of Chapter 1 right now, but I am hoping that listening to the book helps me concretize some ideas about the themes.

In other news, I just finished listening to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which I cant recall having ever read all the way through before. What a fantastic story. They certainly dont make them like that anymore. Here is my one comment/question about Huck Finn - I realize the themes of the book are liberty and freedom - both from the perspective of Huck, who wished nothing more than to be left alone to do as he pleases, to Jim, who is literally running for his freedom from slavery. But I couldnt help noticing, right from the very beginning, that the entire book, and I mean every single scene is about Death. Either someone dies, fakes their death, gets mortally wounded, is found dead, is impersonating a dead person's brother, or something. Huck approaches all this in his matter-of-fact way, dealing with it as best as he can. I think there might be something deeper here, a connection between Death and Liberty/Freedom, but I cant quite get at it. Any ideas?

Either way, if you're waiting for the next Harry Potter book, check out Huck Finn. It'll do ya right well, considerable. So I done it.

Sorry for the delays...

2003-08-16T23:52:00.000-04:00

Hi guys, sorry I havent posted in a while. I have been working on a few things with Blogdigger, my RSS search engine, and havent had much time to gather my thoughts. I am trying really hard to come up with a Snape post, since he is by far the most-requested character.

One other new thing you might notice: there is an ad bar on the left side of the page with some books from Amazon. I wrote a little service that goes out to Amazon and returns the top 10 results for any keyword search, formatted into that little tabel you see there. So if you want to support this site (or really Blogdigger, as all proceeds go towards it) then you can buy a book by clicking through to Amazon. I have it set to query for Harry Potter books, which probably is useless for this site, as if you are here, you probably already own the books ;) Oh well, I think it is cool anyway. If you would like to get an ad bar like that for your site, customized for whatever search terms you like, get in touch with me and we can work something out.

Thanks for reading, I'll do my best to get back to you soon!

Doubting the Marvelous Riddle

2003-07-30T22:52:00.000-04:00

One of the great things about weblogs is that they make conversation so easy. In the beginning it was just me posting, and Peninah leaving comments. Now there are whole gaggles of people who leave great comments, building on the ideas here. Sometimes I get emails that blow me away. One such email came from Janice R. Janice gave me permission to reprint her theory here (sorry it took me so long Janice!). Hold on to your seats, folks, this is a good one.

Your last prognostication, Prophecy Boy, put me in mind of something I've been wondering about since, oh, Book 2 or so. I've never seen this mentioned anywhere - although of course I may have just missed it. (If so, I apologize.)

Everyone has deconstructed "Voldemort" to get the French for "flight from/of death". Given what you've just written lately, I wonder, what do you think of deconstructing "Tom Marvolo Riddle" as follows?

Tom: Tom is short for "Thomas." While there are many Thomas's in history, the first one I always think of is "Doubting Thomas", one of the oldest and best-known Thomas's. So 'Tom' suggest the most famous doubter in western culture.

Marvolo: can be taken as a form of "marvelous." "Marvelous" is more interesting here if we think of it in the old sense of the word, as meaning 'worthy of marvel,' causing one to marvel at it, etc.

Riddle: fairly self explanatory.

Put this together and add some articles, and one can get something approximating:"Doubter [of the] Marvelous Riddle[s]."

What is/are the 'marvelous riddle[s]'? Such a phrase to me suggests things like existence itself; life; death; love; time; etc.

So the 'doubter of the marvelous riddle[s]' is the one who doubts the 'mysteries' of existence -- the 'mysteries' (or, if you will, 'riddles') that are, in fact, studied in the Department of Mysteries.

Tom Marvolo Riddle as the doubter of life/death/love/etc. - or whatever you consider to be the ultimate riddle[s] - does in fact sound like our Lord Voldemort, who has 'flown' from the uncertainly of such insoluble riddles by defying death (and time, too, if you think about it, through both the diary self and the refusal to let time affect him through death).

This would seem to tie into a lot of HP themes. But not having seen such an explanation of the name anywhere, I've also wondered if I've just made too much of a stretch and imagined such a meaning.

If this explanation is correct (and I think it is) then we have one more piece of the puzzle of who Lord Voldemort is. Fear of death is indicative of a materialist outlook; this world is all that there is, only that which I can prove is true. Those that have no proof of the greater mysteries in life will doubt that there is anything to those mysteries. They will come to view this world as the end, and so will fear that end, and flee from it by any means. So we see the natural progression of a boy who doubts that there is more to life than this world, and believes that all will end when this world ends. This causes him to refuse to love, since love is letting a part of you die when the object of your love passes on. This, combined with the terror of impending Doom, causes one to flee, at all costs, from Death, even if this means others will have to die. So was born Lord Voldemort.

I believe I have said this before, but it bears repeating. Harry Potter is the story of a boy growing up in the Mordern World, a world that offers him everything in the here and now, and yet seems not to answer the greater questions. The magical world is a substitute, an allegory, for our modern technology and science, all of which aims, ultimately, either to help us get "more" out of this world, or to prevent us from dying. Harry is thrust into this world, and must learn, each year in a different way, to deal with and confront the temptations and travails that this life presents. With his triumphs and failures, we begin to see that magic, while technical in nature, has deeper roots.

I think this points to the real reason why Harry Potter is so popular. Most children's books are materialistic in nature; Encyclopedia Brown, Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew, Lemony Snickett. These characters get by with their intelligence, creativity and strength (Klaus, Violet and Sunny match these attributes exactly, for those of you who enjoy the incredibly coy and delightfully entertaining Series of Unfortunate Events. If you havent read them, check them out. And dont ever let the Virginian Wolfsnake anywhere near the typewriter). Harry gets by on none of these. None said it better than Hermione (the archetype of mind):

�Harry -- you�re a great wizard, you know.�
�I�m not as good as you,� said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him.
�Me!� said Hermione. �Books! And cleverness. There are more important things -- friendship and bravery and . . .�

Harry's battle is for his soul, not his life. I think this resonates with us more than we care to admit.

Thanks again to Janice R for the great email! Keep 'em comin!

In other news, I'll be heading to New York tommorrow to watch the taping of the David Letterman show. My brother's band O.A.R. will be playing. The show airs Friday night, so check it out, if you can!

Ron does it again

2003-07-24T00:03:00.000-04:00

Just a short post, I am working on a summary of the supporting casts' role in connection with the main theme of Book 5, but until then, here is an interesting tidbit to grind your gears on.

It has been documented that Ron often, unknowingly, makes stellar predictions as to what is going to transpire in the future. I think I found another one.

At one point in Book 5 (I promise to update this later with the page number) Ron says, "We have about as much chance of winning that Quidditch Cup as Dad does at becoming Minister of Magic!"

Well, Gryffindor does win the Quidditch Cup. In which case, I somewhat abashedly refer you to the Arthur Weasley prog.

Prophecy Analysis

2003-07-16T13:56:00.000-04:00

Cole comments:

Would you please take a swipe at the fourth part of the prophecy: "�and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.� This sentence seems crafted with great care and with such ambiguity.. Does it even mean something in and of itself, without further explanation? Could Dumbledore's interpretation be wrong?

Great question! We here at HPProgs have been hard at work analyzing this passage. The common assumption based on the text is that this means either Harry kills Voldemort or Voldemort kills Harry. But as Cole points out, the language is somewhat ambiguous. With the help of Brother Mike, HPProgs resident logician, we have come up with a logical analysis of the text, with some pretty startling conclusions.

Logically there are two parts to this prophecy: the first is "either must die at the hand of the other..." This uncommon verbiage can be unclear at first blush. Brother Mike suggests replacing "either" with the phrase "one of the two" to make it easier to understand. The new phrase reads: "one of the two must die at the hand of the other." This states that the vanquisher (Harry) must kill the Dark Lord (Voldemort) or Voldy must kill Harry.

A few quick points: First, it does not does not rule out both of them dying. It�s quite possible for Harry to kill Voldy and then at some later time die at the hand of a third person or of natural causes.

Second, this part of the prophecy doesn�t preclude the odd possibility of both dying at each other�s hand, as in a old-west-style duel in which each participant simultaneously and lethally shoots the other as he himself is about to die.

Third, if a third person�not Harry and not Voldy�does kill Harry or Voldy it will have to happen after the other one is already dead at the other�s hand. That is, in most cases while both Harry and Voldemort are alive, no one else can kill either of them. We say in most cases because there is an exception to this claim typified by the following. Suppose Voldy feeds Harry a slow acting poison that will kill Harry, but not for several weeks. In the meantime Neville kills Voldy. Neville has killed Voldy while both Harry and Voldy were alive, but still Harry is soon to die at Voldy�s hand fulfilling the prophecy. Notice that in this case Neville can not kill Harry. For if he did then neither Harry would have killed Voldy nor would Voldy have killed Harry.) Harry has been killed at Voldy�s hand; he just hasn�t died�yet.

In summary, excluding the bizarre or unusual, Harry must kill Voldemort (and then someone or something else could kill Harry) or Voldemort must kill Harry (and then someone or something else could kill Voldemort). But, neither can die by anyone else�s hand before one of them (or both of them) is killed by the other.

Very good, let us continue. The second part of the prophecy, which states "neither can live while the other survives�, is trickier than it appears. One way to try to understand this statement is to use logic. (This might get a bit technical, for those unfamiliar with the art of logic, so bear with us.)

If we let H and V stand for �Harry is alive� and �Voldemort is alive� respectively, we can write :

(H -> ~V) & (V -> ~H)

This can be thought of as stating that "Harry�s being alive implies that Voldemort is not alive, and Voldemort�s being alive implies that Harry is not alive"�which seems, at first, a fair interpretation of the prophecy. Those familiar with logic know that:

(P -> Q) <=> (~P OR Q)

(I leave proof of that as an exercise to the reader.) Using this, we can rewrite the above expression as:

(~H OR ~V) & (~V OR ~H)

which is the same as

(~H OR ~V) & (~H OR ~V)

which is the same as

~H OR ~V

i.e., either Harry is not alive or Voldy is not alive, or both are not alive.

(This simple truth table below shows that ~H OR ~V is true if and only if at least one of Harry or Voldy is not alive.)

H	V	~H	~V	~H OR ~V
T	T	F	F	F
T	F	F	T	T
F	T	T	F	T
F	F	T	T	T

One thing to note about the above interpretation: it assumes that we treat the word �survives� just the same as it would treat the phrase �is alive,� and that might not be proper because doing so already falsifies the prophecy. That is, the interpretation given above treats the prophecy as if it states "neither can live while the other is alive," clearly already not true assuming Harry is the vanquisher and Voldy is the Dark Lord because both are currently alive! Harry is clearly alive, and Voldemort more than once states that he has never died. An optional modification would be to understand the prophecy as referring to some point in the future.

Therefore we might suggest another possibility, namely that the word survives is meant to be interpreted in one of its other senses, either:

(1) To carry on despite hardships or trauma; persevere, or
(2) To live, persist, or remain usable through (some event)

Perhaps �survives� might be meant to modify something unstated (as of yet). Perhaps there is some critical, implied event, E, that either the vanquisher or the Dark Lord is not permitted to survive if the other is to live. At such time as E unfolds, it will not be the case�according to the prophecy--that both the vanquisher and the Dark Lord live through E. (Interestingly, if both are alive to experience E, then according to our analysis of the first part of the prophecy, one or the other will kill the other at the end of E.)

In conclusion, we see from this carefully and cryptically worded prophecy that, if our analysis is correct, not only must Harry kill Voldemort, or Voldemort kill Harry, but it is possible, within the logic of the wording prophecy, for both of them to be killed, as long as one of them kills the other. It also follows from our analysis that neither Harry nor Voldemort can die by another�s hand until one of them has been offed by the other. Dumbledore only told Harry that it was a kill-or-be-killed situation; he never mentioned that it might be kill-and-be-killed.

Please let us know if you find any holes in the argument. Big thanks to Brother Mike for his analysis!

Prophecy Boy

2003-07-13T00:33:00.000-04:00

There seems to be some confusion about the prophecy as explicated at the end of Book 5. I thought I would give you my take as to what it means and doesnt mean. Take it or leave it.

Just for the record, let's set the text down:

The One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies....and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vaquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."

Dumbledore tells Harry that this prophecy could have applied to two people: Harry and Neville. Upon hearing this, Harry is hopeful that perhaps this was all a big mistake. Call up Voldemort, let him know, he's got the wrong guy. No such luck, says Dumbledore:

"Then -- it might not be me?" said Harry.
"I am afraid," said Dumbledore..."that there is no doubt that it is you."
"But you said -- Neville was born at the end of July too -- and his mum and dad --"
"You are forgetting the next part of the prophecy, the final identifying feature of the boy who could vanquish Voldemort...Voldemort himself would 'mark him as his equal.' And so he did, Harry. He chose you , not Neville. He gave you the scar that has proved both blessing and curse.
"But he might have chosen wrong!" said Harry. "He might have marked the wrong person!"
"He chose the boy he thought most liekly to be a danger to him," said Dumbledore..."and in marking you with that scar, he did not kill you, as he intended, but gave you powers and a future, which have fitted you to escape him not once, but four times so far..."

Dumbledore's answer to Harry is that there was no wrong choice for Voldemort to make. Whomever he saw as the greatest threat, whoever he marked, would be his enemy, and eventually have to face him. This fits with JK Rowling's overall theme of personal choice: we are not defined by our abilities, but by our choices. Harry became the Prophecy Boy, not because he is the great-grandson of so-and-so, or the mixture of this house or that house's bloodlines. Harry became the Prophecy Boy because Voldemort chose him. Had Voldemort chosen Neville, it would be his burden to carry.

A little insight in to this, I think, will show us where things are going to go with Harry and Voldemort. Voldemort's essence (indeed, even his name, the French Vol-de-Mort) represent a Flight from Death. Voldemort is terrified of one thing only: death. He does not wish to die, to fade from this world. Because of this, he can not love. When we love, we invest a part of our selves in another person, but in doing so, we open our selves up to pain and loss. Because when a loved one dies, when they leave this world, they take a part of us with them, and we can never get that part back. It is a bitter bargain that we make. Voldemort, fearing Death in any form, refuses to love, refuses to invest part of himself in others. When he hears of one who will vanquish him, he sets out to destroy that person, and all connected to him.

And here is the trick. Voldemort goes to kill Harry and his parents. Harry, who is saved by the love of his mother, has a preternatal connection to both Death and Love. Part of Harry is gone from the beginning, his parents having sacrificied themselves to save him. Harry knows of Death, and is not afraid of it. In the Death Room at the end of Book 5, Harry is drawn to Death, to the voices behind the veil, unlike the others (apart from Luna). Harry's connection to Death allows him to love without fear. He has experienced Death, the pain that comes from losing someone you have invested part of your soul in.

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

In Memoriam, Alfred Lord Tennyson

This knowledge of Death gives Harry the ability to Love. His soul is already incomplete, his parents having died before he knew them. But this gives Harry the ability to love, to invest in others without fear of Death taking it away.

And who gave this to Harry? Voldemort did. By killing his parents, Voldemort created the exact type of person who will have the power to defeat him, the person who Loves, and does not fear Death. Dumbledore says as much to Harry, intimating to him that his one strength over Voldemort comes from his ability to love. It is with this Love that Harry will overcome Voldemort, unafraid to die to protect that which he cares about.

So Neville is not the guy; his life experience does not give him the proper knowledge to ultimately defeat Voldemort (that is not saying he isnt a great guy...). The marking of Harry by Voldemort created in him the unique consciousness of Love and Death that is required to take on he who flees from Death at all costs. He, and only he, is the Prophecy Boy.

Susan Bones Rules!

2003-07-12T23:43:00.000-04:00

Just a short note, of which I am very, very proud.

Harry Potter Prognostications is the #1 site returned on a Google search for "Susan Bones."

Thank you, Chris Columbus.

The Boy Who Knew Too Much

2003-07-09T00:37:00.000-04:00

As we discussed before, in Book 5 Harry is entering the stage of life where what he thinks he knows about the world begins to fail him, what he once thought true no longer seems to hold. Harry leaves the Dursley's under the influence of a Disillusionment Charm, representing his feelings about the world he has come to know. The Wizrading World, once hailing him as the hero of a generation, now considers him a certifiable quack. Even those who believe Harry's account of Lord Voldermort's return keep him at a distance, refusing to fill him in on the goings-on of the Order of the Phoenix. Ron, Hermione, even Sirius participate in withholding knowledge from Harry. This disillusionment causes frustration that leads Harry into one of the worst bouts of literary teenage angst since Holden Caulfied. Harry wants the truth, he wants answers, and he wants them now (insert Jack Nicholson line here).

Harry heads off to Hogwarts, the root of his experience of knowledge and answers. Expecting a year filled with learning, Harry and Co. are surprised and dismayed to find that their school has been taken over by those that wish to suppress knowledge. Umbridge's curtailing of the curriculum, at first just DADA, but later the entire school, represents an attempt to further distance Harry from knowledge and truth. Umbridge redefines DADA, similar to the tactics employed by the Ministry of Truth (from Orwell's 1984). Any attempt at real, practical learning is thwarted, either by cruel and unusual punishment (Harry's forced self-branding as a liar, a blatant attempt to redefine the truth) or by legislation from the Ministry.

Harry (and Hermione's) response to this represents a key facet of the theme of the book, truth and knowledge. Instead of believing what they learn in books, what they are told by others, they choose (and influence others to choose) to define their truth based on experience - Harry's first-hand experience of the return of Voldemort, as well as his experience over the years at actual, practical Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry becomes the leader of a subversive underground militia, the D.A., whose sole purpose is to teach the truth, both historically and practically. Hiding from truth you experience, pretending that it does not exist, won�t help you. In the end you will have to face up to it, and no amount of wishing can make it go away. As we shall see, this indeed comes to pass.

As Harry continues his year, he learns some new truths as well. One of the most important encounters Harry has is with Snape, or more precisely, with Snape's memories. While peeking in the Pensieve, Harry gets a glimpse of his father in his youth. Far from the pristine, upright father-figure Harry had in his mind, James turns out to be much different than Harry had believed or had been told. This leads Harry to question all that he thinks he knows. Perhaps his father was the evil one, and Snape was just a poor wizard-geek who everyone picked on because he was different? Perhaps Snape's hatred of Harry was justified, and James really was bad? After speaking with Sirius and Lupin, Harry learns that the truth is somewhere in between. Second-hand truth is always conveyed from a particular perspective, When understanding Snape's memories, Harry has to keep in mind where it is coming from. It is not an objective recording of facts, but a subjective experience, colored by the emotions, prejudices and perspective of the one experiencing it. To learn the whole truth, a more holistic approach is required, providing multiple perspectives, illuminating difference and discrepancy. Sure, James had a bad side. But he also had plenty of good, and Harry learns to approach things from a broader perspective. This is an excellent argument for diversity.

Continuing our quest for truth and knowledge, the students begin studying for the dreaded O.W.L.s. The tests represent an attempt by the ministry to quantify the knowledge of each individual, and determine a suitable life-path for them based on this knowledge. Each wizard's future rests on their performance on these tests, their future career choices limited if the don�t succeed. This, of course, is a real-life challenge we all must face at some point in our lives. We will revisit this theme later in discussing Fred and George Weasley, who eschew the idea of an inherent connection between knowledge and success.

And now the final climax of the book. No Harry Potter tale is complete with out Harry facing down Lord Voldemort (except Book 3...whatever). Harry is under attack this year, not physically, but mentally. He is dreaming, dreaming of some mysterious place (which, not coincidentally, turns out to be the Department of Mysteries), which he strives to learn the truth of. What is at the end of the dream? What is at the end of the hallway? What is the mystery at the end, what is the answer, what is the truth? These questions, this need to know, consume Harry. The more he digs to uncover the mystery, the further he gets from understanding. Despite the advice of Dumbledore, who tries to council and teach Harry to ignore the dreams, and to let the mystery go unexposed, Harry continues to pursue the knowledge, the understanding of what is revealed in the dream, believing, hoping that upon discovering what it is, he will be satisfied, complete.

In the end, this couldn't be further from the truth. We find out that the dreams were false, fabricated by Lord Voldemort to lure Harry into exploring them, believing them and, ultimately acting upon them. There are two ideas here, intertwined. The most obvious is that of trusting your senses to bring you knowledge. Voldemort acts here as the malicious entity that Descartes feared was deceiving his observations of reality (you can substitute Satan, if you like). Harry is coached into blocking out this influence, but relents and gives in, accepts it as truth, and is enveloped in the eagerness to understand it. This leads him to the Department of Mysteries, where the wizarding world�s brightest "scientists" attempt to do just this; study, analyze, know the mysteries of Mankind. Death, Love, Time; each has its own laboratory in which it is studied, prodded, poked and attempted to be understood, to reveal the truth behind the mystery. Yet all attempts are fruitless. "And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly--I perceived that this also was a striving after wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." (Ecclesiastes 1:17-18).

Voldemort seeks knowledge of the future, as if knowing it will allow him in some way to plan to manipulate it. He views the world as objects, as a scientist who learns to manipulate and predict. He removes all mystery from the world, attempting to know the future, the thoughts of all men and their actions. And he convinces Harry of the same outlook, causing him to strive to uncover at any risk, the mystery of the dream. This was his trap, the trap of knowledge, and Harry�s main challenge in this book. Harry wants to know it all, as if by having all the answers, he will somehow be able to rest, to deal with his situation, confront his problems, and attain salvation. In the end he learns that no matter how much he tries to understand, to uncover the mysteries of the world, there will still be things hidden from him. But his view of the world will be forever changed when he learns the truth of who he is, and what he must do.

Dumbledore tries to hide the truth from Harry to save him from anguish, to simplify the world for him so as not to cause him pain. But Harry learns the truth, and his two worlds collide, leaving Harry angry and resentful. He lashes out at Dumbledore, accusing him of misleading him. Dumbledore, earnestly repentant, realizes his error, and begs Harry�s forgiveness, insisting on his good intentions. But all the forgiveness in the world can not change the fact that Harry�s view of the world is forever changed now. He sees the world through new eyes, all that was once true now crumbling around him.

I think the best way to understand the conversation between Dumbledore and Harry is to imagine God appearing to Modern Man, tears in His eyes, begging forgiveness from His children for the conflict He has put them in. The Western World has systematically uncovered mystery after mystery of the world through science, exposing the order beneath nature, removing God from the process. Man has come to believe with utter faith in this science. But ultimately, man comes face to face with his destiny and finds he can not understand everything, cannot remove the mystery from all aspects of life. Death, Time and Love all stare Man in the face, insolently mocking his attempts to expose their dark secrets. Never the less, Man's relationship with God is forever changed, nothing the same as it was before. He needs to rebuild the relationship, to find a new way to believe, to know.

Harry learns the truth from Dumbledore, but it is not easy to accept. It comes with much pain, the knowledge that Harry must either become a killer or be killed. It is the pain that comes with realizing that the world you thought you knew was false, and that the real world has different, more exacting demands of you. It is the pain that comes with realizing that no matter how hard you strive, you will never have all the answers. At heart, it is the story of the consciousness of Modern Man (maybe all Man?), facing up to his existential situation. Had he left well enough alone, things would be different. But he didn�t. He ate from the fruit of that tree, and now must pay the price.

Harry concludes the book by making one last chance at crossing that boundary, of uncovering the mystery. In his anguish, he tries to get in touch with Sirius after his death. He speaks to a few different people, but the one who is closest to helping him understand is Luna Lovegood (my favorite character from the book � for this reason). Luna, who lives in mystery, blissfully ignorant of modern science, modern opinions, offers Harry the most hope in reaching Sirius. Luna knows, don�t ask her how, but she knows, that those we love most are still out there. She can hear them, just beyond the veil. It is that clear, and that obvious to her, mostly because she senses the mystery, the unknowable-ness of it all. She doesn�t try to understand, but she believes.

So Harry learns the perils of truth and knowledge. Harry finds that the truth will not set him free. He learns that there are some mysteries that are better off left unknown, and that by uncovering them, they become cheapened in our eyes. Harry learns that having all the answers will not complete you.

This theme, by the way, is pretty popular. I would like to think that it is one of the main themes of the Old Testament (it is rampant through out the Five Books of Moses, and prevalent in Prophets and Writings, Ecclesiastes particularly), as well as a fair explanation of the motivations behind Christianity (I am Jewish, so I have a somewhat limited understanding of Christianity, but I think this is a compelling explanation; email me for details). Philosophy has struggled with these topics since the beginning. Major contributors (this is by no means an exhaustive list) include Maimonides (in The Guide of the Perplexed), Descartes, Nietzsche (who has a great quote which I cant find right now; in the mean time, here is another good one: �Truths are illusions which we have forgotten are illusions�they are metaphors that have become worn out and have been drained of sensuous force, coins which have lost their embossing and are now considered as metal and no longer as coins�) and others. Shakespeare wrote about this, particularly in Hamlet (�There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.�). Rabbis Joseph D. Soloveitchik, and Abraham Joshua Heschel both discuss these themes, in �The Lonely Man of Faith� and �God in Search of Man.� Others that touch on these themes include Orwell�s 1984, Stephen King�s From a Buick 8, and the Coen Brother�s The Big Lebowski. Please add to the comments with any other texts that explore these themes.

Next time, we will take a look at the supporting cast, and how they fit in with the theme of knowledge and truth, in Book 5.

Wow?!?

2003-07-08T23:13:00.000-04:00

Wow - where are you all coming from? Whoever is sending you my way - thanks!

And welcome to all the newcomers. I hope you enjoy the site. Major post coming tommorrow. Hope you like it!

The Sorting Hat's Song

2003-07-03T19:51:00.000-04:00

I know I am supposed to be posting about Book 5, and not about things in Book 6 and 7, but little things keep popping into my head. I had another thought for something we will have to see in the later books. Remember the Sorting Hat's song (I dont have my copy handy, so I cant transcribe it)? The basic gist was that all the different houses of Hogwarts need to work together. If you noticed in Book 5, the people in the D.A. were from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. No Slytherins. Before the end of the series, we are going to have to see some Slytherins teaming up with the D.A. (in whatever form it takes). More support for the Draco Malfoy prognostication.

Themes for Books 6 and 7

2003-07-01T10:31:00.000-04:00

Back to Book 5 shortly, but first, I was thinking a bit about what we learned in Book 5, and what is left unknown, and will presumably be covered in Book 6 and 7. As we said before, love is definetly going to rear its head at some point, probably Book 7, as it seems to be integral to the defeat of Lord Voldemort.

One of the big unknowns that we still havent resolved is the source of Harry's fortune, left to him by his parents, quietly earning interest in Gringott's Bank. It is pretty clear that this is an unusually large stash that Harry has, and it seems key to Harry's parents relationship to Voldemort. The Evans family doesnt seem to come from extraordinary means, so either this money came from the Potter family (in which case there are no other Potters, which seems odd, since all pureblood families of significant wealth seem to be related in some way or another - c.f. Sirius Black's family tapestry) or the money came to the Potters in the course of their post-Hogwarts endeavors. I am going to guess that the money is connected in some way with the Potter's three-time defiance of Voldemort, and that in Book 6 we are going to see some machinations by the bad guys to reclaim the lost booty. Not sure how this will play a role in Voldemort's war, but it would fit nicely with another theme which would be an obvious one for JK Rowling to touch upon before the saga is over - wealth.

There are many story lines that seem to converge on this theme. On the one hand, we have the Weasley family's financial situation, as well as Ron's disdain for his poverty. Combine this with Bill Weasley, who works in a wizard bank, and Fred and George, who at the end of Book 6 seem flush with cash (sporting some fancy dragon-hide bling-bling) from their business venture. The Malfoy's may be thrown into financial distress now that their family is discredited and Lucius went and got himself arrested, which would turn the tables as far as Harry and Ron vs. Draco is concerned. And of course the Dursley's fit nicely into this theme. Throw in a plot to steal Harry's gold to finance some evil master plan, and you have yourself a novel.

The only other theme that I think would come as a challenge to this would be death and loss. Most prominent in Book 5, but present throughout the series, this would make a much better theme than wealth. I am thinking that Book 7 will really feature both love and death/loss, and show the conceptual connection between the two. We have already seen these two concepts posited against each other, most recently at the end of Book 5.

I have been re-reading, this time a bit more slowly, Book 5, so I hope to start my comments on that soon. Any ideas as to what else we have left unresolved? Email or leave comments!

2003-06-27T13:19:00.000-04:00

In Book 5, Harry Potter is entering that wonderful and, let's face it, horrible, time of life known as the mid-teens. At fifteen years old, kids begin to look at the world in new ways, and most of what they thought to know and be true seems inapplicable and out of date. Harry is faced with the same dilema, not only in his personal life, but also by the fact that a psycho death-fearing evil super-wizard has just returned to power and is about to destroy his society as it has been come to be known. And you thought making junior varsity basketball was a lot to deal with?

Harry is confronted with issues of trust, in various forms. Beginning with the Dursley's, Harry's every action is suspect of some nefarious motivation. They dont trust him any further than they can throw him. On top of this, Harry receives no end of mysterious letters from his best friends, cryptic and unrevealing as to what is going on in the world. Ron and Hermione insist that they would tell him more, but they are not allowed. This is deemed to be for Harry's own good. Even Sirius, whom Harry trusts and relies on above all others, wont fill Harry in on what is going on in the world. Harry feels that no one trusts him with anything important, yet he knows he has a major part to play in the coming battle. Sound familiar? Its called being a teenager.

Harry's response to this is readily apparent. The overall comment that people have had to Book 5 is that Harry is angry. This anger stems from his situation, and is common in all teenagers - the angst created by wanting to be a part of the action, but having little-to-no experience. He wants to understand, he wants to be a part of things, he wants people to trust him.

So begins the fifth year of the adventures of Harry Potter. Along the way, we touch on many different facets of this theme of trust, truth and knowledge. We will see Hogwarts turned into an Oceania-like dictatorship, where true knowledge is suppresed, and truth is taken hold of by those that would prefer it not be learned. Harry must learn what it is to be slandered, to be cast as a liar, as one who purveys the opposite of truth, and how to exist in a world where no one believes a word that you say. We meet characters who have different systems of truth than the mainstream, and we see how belief in those truths helps one to deal with loss. We visit the Department of Mysteries, the Wizarding World's closest replacement for a scientific research institute, where they study and try and uncover the secret truths of the deepest mysteries of man's situation: love, death, time. We see how experience shapes your knowledge and understanding, that certain things are true only to those who have had certain experiences, and thus "see" things in a different light (thestrals, for example). Finally, we learn that you cant trust everything you see, that sometimes memories can be false or others recollections misleading, and that we dont always know the truth about those that we love and hold most dear.

Basically, we learn, as Dumbledore said in Book 1, that

"The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution."

We tend to think that truth is good, and that it will set us free. As we learn from Book 5, sometimes, the truth hurts. A lot. This is a hard lesson to learn, but especially hard for teenagers, whose view of the world is changing drastically, all that they thought they knew about the world proving to be unreliable.

Next time, we will follow Harry through Book 5 and examine his interaction with this theme. After that, we will take a look at the supporting characters connection to the main theme. I will just add that, while I found Book 5 to be slow, and not as intriguing as past books, the exploration of the theme is very deep, perhaps even more so than in Book 4.

2003-06-24T22:40:00.000-04:00

I am almost totally, 100% convinced that love will be the main theme of Book 7.

JKR seemed to be pushing off Harry, Ron and Hermione confronting their feelings in an open manner (Ron and Hermione in particular). I am guessing that Book 7, being the end, will teach us about love and hate, in all its various forms. I think that is when Ron and Hermy will finally get together, Harry will either fall in love (looks like it wont be with Cho; what a big, fat, and particularly red herring that was) or die (honestly, I could go either way on this at this point, after reading that interview). Notice that Dumbledore tells Harry at the end of Book 5 that Harry has love, and this is what makes him different than Voldemort. Plus, we now have Nymphadora Tonks, whose name and character scream out for some sort of romantic activity.

2003-06-23T21:33:00.000-04:00

Whoah.

I just finished Book 5. The mailman tortured me and didnt deliver until 7:45 PM on Saturday. But I managed to squeeze in a few spare moments over the rest of the weekend, and now, am done.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Besides the fact that the book was way too long (it could have been 300 pages, and still worked), and was not as much as a page-turner as the last ones (you dont really start page-turning till somewhere in 600's, which is a little bit too long), I still liked it. It wouldn't be at the top of my list of favorite Potter books, but that's fine.

But of course, we need to analyze the main theme of this book. Truth is, our previous prognostication was almost spot on (I have inexplicably been using words like nutters and skiving in the last few days...weird). As we said before, the theme of the book was going to be about trust - and it was!

Harry begins Book 5 unsure as to what is going on in the wizarding world, and questions the Order of the Phoenix's trust in him. He isnt told anything about their plans, or even the fact that they are watching him. We see motifs on this theme throughout the story, from the wizarding worlds identification of Harry as a liar, and untrustworthy individual, right up to Dumbledore's grave error in not trusting Harry with the details of the prophecy. I can't write more now, mostly because I am exhausted, but if you get a chance, peruse through the book and notice how many times the ideas of lying, liars, truth and trust are mentioned. You'll find it quite prevelant.

There were some other themes as well in this book, but the trust theme was the main one.

We also have a unique opportunity to check back over our prognostications, and see how many were right (the rest, of course, either being wrong or inconclusive!). To begin with, check out the Harry Potter Part 2 prog. Here is a quote:

Harry�s love, not his hate, will enable him to defeat Voldemort, similar to how Lily�s love of Harry prevented his death. To pin Harry�s fortune to some outside event like a prophecy or lineage completely contradicts the essence of who Harry is and all that he stands for.

As we saw, Harry was never predestined to be the Champion of Good. It didnt have to be him, it could have been another. But it is him, and so it is his burden to carry. And so, Harry must now face his destiny, but he is not bound to a particular fate.

Other good ones include the Susan Bones prediction, the Ron/Hermione one is not far off, and if you look at the end of the Lucius Malfoy post, there is a hint to a Snape prog that never made it to print that seems to be correct. The rest...well, some are definetly wrong, like that rubbish about the guys falling for the new DADA teacher (as if), but others remain to be proven.

Time will tell.

I will try and gather my thoughts a bit more over the next few days...now, I need to sleep.

2003-06-20T18:20:00.000-04:00

Its almost time.

I am hopefully getting my copy on Saturday at some time, and hope to have finished by the end of the weekend (how ridiculous - we wait 3 years for the next installment, and finish it in a day. Its like we have a penchant for punishment!). I will do my best to get something together early next week. Remember, this site will be spoiler-FULL, so dont come back till you've read the book!

Enjoy!

2003-06-20T17:12:00.000-04:00

In Book 4, we begin from a strange perspective - one other than Harry's. Until now, the books were all told from Harry's perspective, he being present in every scene. Now, we begin from someone else's perspective, seeing the events that take place from different eyes. And at the end of the first chapter, we find out, it was all a dream, taking place within Harry's own head. Just a dream - or was it?

Harry awakes from the dream in pain, his scar burning in his head. What a strange occurence. What would you do? Now granted, most of us dont have nasty curse scars given to us by dark wizards emblazoned on our foreheads, but imagine, for a minute, what your response would be. Or consider what you normally do when something is out of place: a bad headache, upset stomach, ringing in the ears. Most of us would go to a doctor. We would ask for help.

Harry has the same gut reaction. Only for him, things are a bit more complicated. Harry is somewhat nervous as to what the pain might mean, what it might portend. He is concerned that Sirius or Dumbledore will make a fuss, be concerned for him, think him in need of help. This is very hard for young Harry. Harry is very proud.

And so we stumble upon our theme for Book 4. Pride is an important thing. It is important to have pride in your work, your country (or your countries Quiddich team), your school and most importantly, in yourself. But pride can be dangerous, leading one to think that he is it, and that he doesnt need others help. Pride leads those who follow it too far into believing that theirs is the only point of view worth seeing, the only perspective that matters. Harry has too much pride, which ultimately causes him no end of troubles, including the rebirth of his arch-nemesis.

How fitting then, that we start Book 4 from a new, different perspective. And how ironic, that in the end, it turns out to have all been Harry. So begine Book 4, where we explore the theme of pride and all of its pitfalls. Stay tuned!

2003-06-19T17:35:00.000-04:00

Quick Book 5 elaboration: the "poisned honey" description of the new DADA teacher - who will be a woman. I am guessing we are going to see a female equivalent of Gilderoy Lockhart - in other words, the guys are going to fall head-over-heels in love with the new DADA teacher. Expect to see the boys backstabbing each other for her affection, and our poisned honey to play each of them off each other for her own benefit or amusement. The theme is shaping up to be about trust, and we are going to see that even those you think you can trust, in certain circumstances, will betray you. Everyone has a price, its just a matter of finding it.

In regards to Harry and Cho Chang - we dont know much about Cho, but I am thinking there are going to be some trust issues there as well. Granted, this is not much, but I am thinking more and more that Cho is a red herring, and something is going to happen to cause Harry to lose interest in her (thanks to reader Nancy for getting me thinking about this!).

Of course, we are going to see Fudge drop the ball. This is in line with the theme of trust, and how those that we place our trust in sometimes dont live up to our expectations.

Those are a few short thoughts. In 2 days, we will know the answer!

2003-06-18T20:46:00.000-04:00

Book 3 begins, once again, at the Dursley's. This year Harry gets the worst birthday present he could possibly imagine: a visit from Aunt Marge. Aunt Marge has it in for Harry in a bad way, constantly berating him, putting him and his family down. Needless to say, she brings out the worst in Harry. While suffering through a barrage of unfounded insults to him and his parents, Harry cracks. He lets loose with all of his anger, and Aunt Marge takes it on the chin. Ah well, she had it coming.

The point here is that Harry begins the book with a challenge to his emotions. He is overcome by his anger, which manifests itself as an attack of rage on Aunt Marge. There is no question that she desered it; the question is for Harry, as to how he should react in such a situation. Harry gives in to his anger, unleashing the full force of his magical power directly at Aunt Marge.

Once leaving the Dursley's for the cold dark streets of Surrey, Harry experiences another emotion: panic. He is overcome by his sudden circumstances, being all alone with nowhere to go. And of course, there is fear, the signt of the Grim causing him to fear the worst.

So begins Book 3, and sets the stage for the theme of Harry's next adventure. As we will see in Book 3, Harry learns to confront and control his emotions. He is shown this by various different people, some who succeed, and some who fail. Next time we will take a closer look at Harry's challenge, and after that examine the other characters and how they relate to the central theme of emotions.

I am going to try and do the introduction (I have sort of settled on a pattern for these entries about the books; first post introduces the theme at the Dursley's, second post details Harry's experience with the theme, and the third details other characters) for Book 4 before the weekend. I am not sure if I will be able to get the whole thing out before Book 5, but once the introductions are done, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out some examples from the books. This, of course, leads us to Book 5. I have some new ideas about what we are going to see from the new DADA teacher, and a wild guess about what will happen between Harry and Cho Chang. Maybe tomorrow!

Also: A big thanks to the people over at Wizarding World's HP Slueths for their linkage to HPProgs. As the stats show, readership has increased dramatically. Thanks! And of course, thanks to all of you reading for, well, reading! And especially those of you who email.

2003-06-13T17:46:00.000-04:00

The final loose thread for Book 2 involves the same question of identity. The various victims of the Heir of Slytherin all relate in some way to Harry and his search for identity. Their petrification is more than random; in some way, the each represent a misguided approach to identity, usually focused around Harry, which seems to be the cause of their "punishment." Let's break it down.

The first unlucky victim is Mrs. Norris. Recall that this episode takes place soon after Filch accosts Harry in the hallway, and begins to write him up a citation. Notice what Filch says:

"Dung," he muttered furiously, "great sizzling dragon bogies, frog brains, rat intestines. I've had enough of it, make an example, where's the form. yes."

One important prognostication tip is this: JKR uses italics for important words and phrases. Space does not permit me to document this here, and it is by no means a concrete rule, but often important words or phrases are in italics. The key word here is "example". Filch intended to make an example of Harry Potter, to show he is willing to punish even the most popular students. He uses Harry's identity as a tool to prop up his own agenda.

This might be pushing it a bit, so just in case, we have further justification for Filch being punished with the petrification of Mrs. Norris. Harry escapes punishment with help from Nearly Headless Nick, as well as by stumbling upon Filch's dark secret - he is a Squib. His lack of ability causes him to lose confidence in himself, to see himself as less of a person (or wizard) because of it. Filch puts too much stock in ability, and not enough in personal growth and choice. For this, Mrs. Norris gets it.

Next in line is Colin Creevey. I think Colin's sin is obvious; he worships Harry, following him around like a sick puppy, snapping photos and asking for autographs. He fosters the celebrity image that Harry is confronting, frustrating him to no end. Because of people like Colin, innocent though they may be, we have the Lockharts of the world in positions of power and authority.

Next, we have Justin Finch-Fletchly. I will admit, I need to go back and freshen up on the chronology of Justin's involvement with Harry (the movie has addled my mind), but suffice it to say, Justin perpetuates the negative stereotype cast on Harry as the Heir of Slytherin. Justin and Co. treat Harry based on his past, not his present. Harry's present actions are interpreted based on his abilities (parseltoungue) rather than on his explanations.

Along with Justin goes Nearly Headless Nick (incidentally, some might argue that the real reason all these people were petrified is that they were Muggles or Squibs - but this is not true in two cases: Nearly Headless Nick and Penelope Clearwater. One might argue that they were accidental casualties, the main targets being Justin and Hermione, but it still leaves open the question as to why they were affected at all). Nick saves Harry from Filch's clutches, and in return asks Harry to speak up on his behalf to the Headless Hunt. Nick is using Harry's name, his his noteworthiness in the Wizarding World, to try and curry favor to get him "in." Needless to say, this abuse of Harry as a person deserves some sort of payback.

Moving right along, next we have Penelope Clearwater and Hermione Granger. Starting with Penelope, the reason for her petrification is not so much personal as it is directed at her status - as a prefect. Percy tells Ron and Harry (while they are disguised as Crabbe and Goyle):

"I," said Percy, drawing himself up, "am a prefect. Nothing's about to attack me.",/p>

Wrong again, old chap. Penny gets it to show that no matter your external identity, you are vulnerable. As Corin Tucker says,

"When the moment strikes
it takes you by surprise and
leaves you naked in the face of death and life
there is no righteousness in your darkest moment
We're all equal in the face of what we're most afraid of."

The point is that our titles and positions will not save us from evil. Percy's belief in his status as a prefect is pompous, and Penny's pertrification proves the folly of his belief.

And that leaves us with Hermione. I have to admit, I am struggling with this one. I have not come up with a satisfying answer. Hermione, who always represents the rational approach to a situation, which turns out to be somewhat misguided, definitely has her moments in Book 2. It is her knowledge of the arcane that starts the trio on the path to making the Polyjuice Potion. What a wonderful trick! A potion that allows you to change your external identity! The gang thought this would be the key to unlocking the secret of Slytherin's heir, but it turned out to not help. If anything, the experience proved to them that, no matter what you change on the outside, it is much harder to change who you are on the inside. Even will masked as Crabbe and Goyle, Harry and Ron betray their true feelings over and over again. Draco is duped, but just barely. The Polyjuice Potion was basically a failure. I am tempted to say that Hermiones belief that they could manipulate others by changing their external identities was just cause for her petrification. But it doesnt fit right; she did turn into Millicent Bullstrode's cat, after all - which is just punishment enough. Here is a chance for those of you out there to shine - send me your theories, or leave comments.

One thing to notice here is the deft artistry that JK Rowling uses in incorporating magic into her stories. So far we have seen that the invisibility cloak and the Polyjuice Potion, rather than simple plot devices, serve to illustrate a key element of the moral theme of the books.

In summation, I think we can understand the basic criteria for petrification: treating others like objects. All those above were guilty in some form or another of objectifying another person, making them into a thing as opposed to a subject, a living, breathing human being. In return, they themselves were objectified, literally, by being pertrified into stone idols, mirroring the idols they created by objectifying others.

2003-06-11T11:04:00.000-04:00

Back to Book 2�.

After suffering a summer of nothingness (see Book 2, Part 1), Harry is more than happy to be heading back to Hogwarts, where he knows who he is. At Hogwarts, Harry is Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived; he finds it easy to be that person that everyone thinks of as the boy hero who defeated the Dark Lord. Harry fits into this identity, which is defined for him by others, with no hesitation, easily accepting this persona for the obvious privileges associated with it. Harry is a good guy, a hero, so what could be worse? Unfortunately for Harry, life is not so simple.

Throughout the course of the year, Harry learns how to define himself in context to his past, present and future. Harry has a past, which contributes to how others identify him; he is a brave hero who defeated Voldemort not once, but twice, so far. His future is pregnant with possibilities; the expectations on Harry to become something great are tremendous. And his present is, well, present. It is here that Harry must confront the forces that are shaping him, based on his past and geared towards his future.

The most obvious player in this realm is Gilderoy Lockhart. From the beginning Lockhart singles out Harry as his prodigal son, seeing in him all qualities necessary for celebrity stardom. Lockhart guides (or misguides) Harry as to how to capitalize on his identity, how to create a persona that lives beyond ones actual deeds. As we see in the end, Lockhart�s stratagems are repudiated by Harry, and Lockhart himself ends up exposed, an identity-less moron with no sense of self. A fitting end for such a knave.

But the main challenge for Harry comes not from Lockhart (indeed, Harry is skeptical from the start as to the value of Lockhart�s guidance), but from within himself, when Harry is exposed as a Parselmouth. With the identity of the Heir of Slytherin unknown, the revelation of Harry�s dark talent casts a pale on the squeaky-clean persona Harry had learned to live in. Suddenly, Harry�s past presented him with a negative sterotype, making him not a hero, but a villain. This leads Harry to question his very essence. Perhaps he is not the good person he thinks he is, simply because he defeated Lord Voldemort oh-so-many years ago. Perhaps his real power lies in the fact that he is evil, even more so than Voldemort? Talk about an identity crisis.

So begins the real moral thrust of the book, as Harry strives to live above his past, his connection with evil. As we know, Harry is able to do this in the end, by choosing to be good, rather then letting his past define him. This is conveyed through Harry�s questioning of the Sorting Hat�s ominous suggestion that he consider Slytherin House:

Harry lay awake for hours that night. Through a gap in the curtains around his four-poster he watched snow starting to drift past the tower window and wondered.
Could he be a descendant of Salazar Slytherin? He didn�t know anything about his father�s family, after all. The Dursleys had always forbidden questions about his
wizarding relatives.
Quietly, Harry tried to say something in Parseltongue. The words wouldn�t come.
It seemed he had to be face-to-face with a snake to do it.
But I�m in Gryffindor, Harry thought. The Sorting Hat wouldn't have put me in here if I had Slytherin blood.
Ah, said a nasty little voice in his brain, but the Sorting Hat wanted to put you in
Slytherin, don't you remember?

At this point, Harry is convinced that he can not escape his past, that his connection to Slytherin is absolute, and defines him. This is the challenge put to Harry by Tom Riddle in The Chamber of Secrets:

"Now, Harry, I'm going to teach you a little lesson. Let's match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against famous Harry Potter, and the best weapons Dumbledore can give him."

Tom Riddle, who resembles Harry is so many ways; in appearance, in family structure, and in abilities. Tom Riddle is a parallel of what Harry could be, should he choose to follow the Dark Side. Harry is overcome by the similarities, and almost doesn�t notice that he chooses to be different than Tom.

If Harry believes only in the identity given him by his past, he would fight on his own, relying on his own identity to provide him the strength to combat Riddle. But Harry does not stumble here. He chooses to create himself anew, not relying on his past, but on his present to call upon Dumbledore to aid him. His loyalty to Dumbledore provides him with the means to fight and conquer the powers of Salazar Slytherin, to slay the beast that lives within himself, within his past. Only by creating himself with his choices does Harry become Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lives.

Of course, Harry hardly realizes the battle that he has won, until Dumbledore explains the whole thing to him.

"It only put me in Gryffindor," said Harry in a defeated voice, "because I asked not to go in Slytherin."
`Exactly, "said Dumbledore, beaming once more. "Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." Harry sat motionless in his chair, stunned.

Most would relate this quote to the theme of Muggles vs. Purebloods; that the battle between good and evil is about not judging people based on their race, religion, etc., but about seeing people as they are. But it is more than that; Book 2 conveys to us not only the �what� of prejudice, but the �why� and �how� as well. The more we depend on others to define our identity, to make us think of ourselves as white, black, German, Jewish, whatever, the further we are from creating ourselves into the people that we are, and the more we are prone to view others likewise. We must create ourselves, and in so doing leave behind the definitions of our past, creating future selves by choosing to live in the present.

So far so good, but we still have significant portions of Book 2 left unexplained. I will leave you here for now, but when we return (and I promise it will be before the weekend!) we will take a look at the rest of Book 2, specifically the victims of the evil of Slytherin, and how their actions, in some way or another, contributed to their plight. Each one (Flich/Norris, Creevy, Sir Nicholas, Justin Finch-Flecthley, Penelope Clearwater and Hermione Granger) serve to illustrate some trappings of identity. Their foibles lead them to disaster, but thanks to Harry, the day is saved. More, next time!

2003-06-08T23:42:00.000-04:00

Hi! There has been a lot of activity in the server logs, so I am here to say hello to all the visitors. Welcome! I sincerely apologize for my absence, but I am back, and this time with plenty of juicy HP meat for you to chew on. Bon Appetite!

First off, I had a sort of epiphany tonight, and I am here to blog it, along with...a prognostication for Book 5! That's right, and it 100% guarunteed, or your money back. Here it is.

We have spoken before about the themes of each of the books. In short, Book 1=power, Book 2=identity, 3=emotions, 4=pride. In each book, Harry confronts and learns to master the challenges of the theme presented. These are all "dark arts," so to speak. If we look back, we realize that the professor for that class we all love, "Defense Against the Dark Arts" is intimately connected with that theme. Just as an illustration, in Book 1, Prof. Quirrell lusts after power, to the point where he becomes completely corrupted by it. Book 2, Lockhart's thirst for the spotlight consumes his identity, causing him to commit grievous acts of memory erasure to ensure his celebrity status (and Harry confronts this same aspect of his fame). Book 3, Lupin, who is not a bad character, none-the-less teaches Harry what incredible will power it takes to control our primal emotions and urges, and that sometimes, we cant. And of course, in Book 4, Moody/Crouch is the epitome of pride, thirsting for his master's approval, and proud of his part in restoring him to power.

That is just a quick rundown (more to come in the next 2 weeks!). On to book 5. What do we know so far? We know, from Scholastic's page on Book 5, that Harry is going to encounter "A Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a personality like poisoned honey." This is a key clue for us, especially since we now understand the nature of the role of a DADA teacher.

Poisoned Honey looks sweet, inviting, but in the actuality, it is death. It puts up a false front to lure in the unsuspecting. Looks can be deceiving, and all that which we believe in could be a lie (this is not the place to discuss the Matrix...). I believe that this is the next major theme Harry will face in Book 5. Who do you trust? Scholastic also tells us that "Harry Potter confronts the unreliability of the very government of the magical world, and the impotence of the authorities at Hogwarts." This fits nicely with our theme. If you recall our discussions on Cornelius Fudge, we know that the Ministry is going to fail the wizarding world by not standing up the threat presented by the newly arisen Lord Voldemort. The whole wizarding world, as well as Harry, is going to have to learn to deal with the realization that the Ministry is unable to help them despite their trust in it. Ultimately, they will learn that inner strength and friendship is all they can rely on in the face of great evil. Apparently, Harry will face this within Hogwarts itself, as well. Perhaps the "venomous, disgruntled house-elf" has a part to play in this (no doubt it is related to Dobby and Winky).

Anyway, this is my prognostication, so we will see how it turns out. It isnt much, but there you go.

One last note: my mother always taught me never to make a promise I cant keep, so I cant promise you this, but here is the plan. I have been working on more "Patterns in Potter" posts, for Books 2, 3 and 4, and hope to post them here in the next two weeks. This should get us all set for the release of OotP, which I plan to read just as soon as I possibly can (I have a copy shipping to me from Amazon - almost as good as Owl Post!). I'll try my very best to get a first-glance review/interpretation up as soon as possible (all posts will be spoiler-filled - so what until you finish the book before reading!).

In the mean time enjoy, and keep prognosticating!

2003-04-15T14:09:00.000-04:00

Following the usual format, we begin Book 2 at the Dursley's. As you recall, our hypothesis is that whatever happens to Harry at the Dursley's in the beginning of each book sets the tone for the prevailing theme for the rest of the story. So let's take a look at what turmoil Harry is subjected to this year.

It is once again Harry's birthday, and Harry is feeling as if nothing in his life has changed. Despite his first year at Hogwarts ending only a short time before, Harry has not heard from his friends the entire summer. He is feeling alone, missing his friends and missing Hogwarts, where he is somebody. At Hogwarts, in the wizarding world, he is Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived and most recently, The Boy Who Defeated Professor Quirrell and Saved the Philosopher's Stone. At the Dursley's, he is Harry Potter, barely noticed and certainly not-cared-for nephew, who, incidentally, will be spending the evening pretending not to exist. It is safe to say that Harry is feeling pretty down, stemming from the fact that he is made to feel like a nobody. His sense of self is at an all-time low. At least, he thinks, he will soon be back at Hogwarts, where everyone knows him, and he is a Somebody.

And then along comes Dobby, with the request which Harry cannot possible entertain. Dobby begs Harry not to return to Hogwarts. For Harry, this is an impossible thought:

"See what it's like here?" he said. "See why I've got to go back to Hogwarts? It's the only place I've got -well, I think I've got friends."

Returning to Hogwarts is so important to Harry, that he disregards Dobby's pleas, causing Dobby to do his worst. This, of course, lands Harry in an even worse predicament. This raises the question, what should Harry have done? He hates life at the Dursley's, treated like a nobody, unable to do magic, play Quidditch and do all the other things that he enjoys at school. On the other hand, according to Dobby, returning to school will put him in great peril. In this case, Harry craves the environment where he is recognized over the possibility of danger. It is hard to say what the right choice is, but the fact is that Harry is confronted with the demands of popularity, self-image and recognition. How can he be destined to live out his days as a nobody, when people think so much of him? Surely the risk of danger is worth the life of recognition?

This sets the stage for Book 2, where Harry confronts head on (or face-to-face) the challenges presented to us by identity, popularity, celebrity and fame.

Next time, we will discuss Harry's grand entrance to the school, and how his identity shapes his relationship with three important characters: Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape (Professor Snape, that is) and, of course, Gilderoy Lockhart.

Stay tuned!

P.S. - Thanks to those of you who wrote me emails and comments; I get precious little feedback, but it is nice to know you are out there. Let's have a little roll call here - let me know your thoughts either through comments or email. At the very least, let's see if there are more than 12 regular readers of this page ;)

And I read at HPANA that JK Rowling sometimes reads and comments on HP websites. This is an open invitation to JK Rowling to send me your thoughts. Dont be shy, now.

Update: Did you hear that sound? That was the sound of me hitting myself in the head with a board! Hermione Granger pointed out to me that a few people have been leaving comments all over the site for a while...I didnt even notice! I feel so bad, I apologize. I will be a better comment-reader in the future. Thanks to everyone!

2003-04-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. My sincere and contrite apologies. I have been, in a word, neglectful. I apologize. Just so you know, it was not all in vain. I have been working on a project which I call Blogdigger. It is an RSS Search Engine, which, if you are not familiar with, allows you to search on content from blogs that publish in RSS (HPProgs, ironically, does not. I am looking into this). RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an markup language (similar to HTML, but different) that allows automatic programs to read your content. As a Harry Potter example, the Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator uses RSS to collect all the Harry Potter info and display it.

Anyway, what does this mean for Harry Potter people (other than an obvious and blatant attemp at driving the 12-odd people who visit this page semi-regularly to go to Blogdigger and try it out)? It means that you can get all of your Harry Potter news using Blogdigger. Here is an example. You can go to blog digger and search for "harry potter" and you will get back of the most recent blog posting that Blogdigger has indexed that contain the phrase Harry Potter. You can do any sort of combination of terms or phrases, and see what you get (if you find out anything cool, send it to me!).

If you normally read your news in a news aggregator, click on the little orange XML icon in the top corner, and copy the URL into your aggregator. You will now get all the search results delivered to your news aggregator!

Right now, blogdigger only searchs about 1800 sites, but in the near future, that number should increase. Let me know what you think.

And I sort of promise to get back with some Book 2 commentary in the near future. ;)

2003-02-28T12:43:00.000-05:00

Previously, we noted that the major theme of Book 1 is power. Harry learns about the nature of good and evil as it relates to power, and what it will take to be a force for Good. Another aspect of power that is related in the book has to do with the desire and use of power. This idea begins at Christmas time, when Harry finds an unmarked package bearing a strange gift: an Invisibility Cloak. Along with this powerful gift, comes a message:

Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well.

Harry has been given a new and liberating power (philosophy buffs will note the similarity to Glaucon's story of Gyges' Ring, from Plato's Republic). Essentially, he is beyond the system of rules that govern the other students. With his new power, he need not worry about the moral nature of his actions; he can never be held responsible. In essence, Harry can now do what ever he wants to!

This presents a great challenge to Harry. As Glaucon tells the story of Gyges (who, by the way, used his power to seduce the Queen, assassinate the king, and take over the kingdom):

Suppose now that there were two such magic rings, and the just put on one of them and the unjust the other; no man can be imagined to be of such an iron nature that he would stand fast in justice. No man would keep his hands off what was not his own when he could safely take what he liked out of the market, or go into houses and lie with any one at his pleasure, or kill or release from prison whom he would, and in all respects be like a God among men. Then the actions of the just would be as the actions of the unjust; they would both come at last to the same point. And this we may truly affirm to be a great proof that a man is just, not willingly or because he thinks that justice is any good to him individually, but of necessity, for wherever any one thinks that he can safely be unjust, there he is unjust. For all men believe in their hearts that injustice is far more profitable to the individual than justice, and he who argues as I have been supposing, will say that they are right.

Now, Glaucon's point is that morality, in and of it self, is not Good, and that the only reason people act justly is that they fear punishment. If we would give them the power to escape punishment, they would show their true colors, "for all men believe in their hearts that injustice is far more profitable to the individual than justice."

Such is the situation that Harry is presented with. How does he respond?

The story of the Mirror of Erised is tied directly to Harry's receiving of the cloak. Harry finds the mirror on his first visit out with the Invisibility Cloak. As we all know, the Mirror shows Harry's deepest desire: to be reunited with his parents. He becomes obsessed with his desire, letting it eclipse everything in his life. We get the feeling that Harry would do whatever was in his power to see his parents again (he uses the cloak to allow him at least the momentary pleasure of seeing them in the mirror). Ron tries to snap him out of it, but to no avail. Finally, Dumbledore steps in.

"Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?"
Harry shook his head.
"Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of
Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"
Harry thought. Then he said slowly, "It shows us what we want. Whatever we want."
"Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you..However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible.
The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don"t you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?"

Nothing, not all the power in the world, will bring back Harry's parents. Facing this loss, and accepting the fact that there is nothing he can do about it, is essential to Harry's development. The mad pursuit of desire, trampling anyone and anything in one's path, is the recipe for Evil. Harry must learn to control his desire, to control the power that he has to follow those desires, and live, like the happiest man on earth, "exactly as he is."

Contrast Harry to Voldemort. In French, "vol de mort" means "flight of death." In Book 1, Voldemort is indeed fleeing death. We learn later (in Book 4) that Voldemort's main occupation (probably between his time at Hogwarts and his rise to power as the Dark Lord) was perfecting his process of insuring his immortality. With his lackey Quirrell, Voldemort is now pursuing the Philosopher's Stone, which grants eternal life and infinite wealth. Voldemort seems to be more interested in the eternal life aspect, but others might see wealth as the answer to all their problems (and, need I point out, that the Modern World seems to be obsessed with these two very things). Voldemort seems to be almost possessed by his blind desire for immortal life, for power, and he will stop at nothing to get it. One wonders what Voldemort would see looking into the Mirror of Erised.

Fast forward to the conclusion of the book. Quirrell/Voldemort are unable to get the stone out of the Mirror, precisely because their desire has blinded them to the truth. Harry, of course, sees the truth immediately, and is able to retrieve the Stone:

"This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell murmured, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this...I see the Stone. I'm presenting it to my master. But where is it?"
Quirrell cursed under his breath.
"I don't understand. Is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it?"
Harry's mind was racing.
What I want more than anything else in the world at the moment, he thought, is to find the Stone before Quirrell does. So if I look in the mirror, I should see myself finding it -- which means I'll see where it's hidden! But how can I look without Quirrell realizing what I'm up to?

Unlike Quirrell, who is ruled by his desire, Harry knows the secret of Mirror of Erised. Harry has learned to control his desire, and direct it where he wishes, not follow it blindly. The lesson is clear: learning to control our desire is the key to success. If we become slaves to our desire, we lose control, and become servants of the Dark Side. Such is the fate of Voldemort, but not Harry.

And here we come full circle. We began Book 1 with Harry living in the non-Wizarding, Modern Muggle world with his industrial uncle and technophile cousin, subjugated by their power. Harry's first year at Hogwarts has taught what he needs to know to survive in this world, now that he is coming into his own power and identity. Even more than that, Harry learns how to survive in a world that is obsessed with the pursuit of wealth and power. Harry has learned to oppose evil and control his desire, in order to be a force for Good.

Next time, we join Harry for his second year of learning, when he begins to delve into his identity. What makes Harry, "Harry?" Find out next time (or just read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!)

2003-02-10T16:58:00.000-05:00

As we noted last time, Harry is thrown from a world in which he is penniless and unknown, into a world where he has power, in wealth, name and ability. By the end of Chapter 5, Harry is a different person. A change so sudden would wreak havoc on the sensibilities of any normal boy; Harry is no exception. His year at Hogwarts is a lesson (mostly orchestrated by Dumbledore) to teach Harry the proper place, use and limits of his newfound power.

Once at Hogwarts, Harry is sorted into his house, and the year begins. The rules are laid down from the beginning. Do good things, and your house will receive points; do bad, and your house will lose points. Seems simple enough, right?

Not so fast. Harry first encounters the Potions Master, Severus Snape, and all logic goes out the window:

�You -- Potter -- why didn�t you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he�d make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That�s another point you�ve lost for Gryffindor.�
This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron.

All of a sudden, there is much more to it. Snape hates Harry, we don�t know why, and Gryffindor suffers. There is no explanation for this other than the fact that Snape is teacher, and therefore, he can get away with it.

We continue on to Harry�s first flying lesson. When Harry is caught blatantly disobeying Madame Hooch�s no-fly rule (albeit for noble reasons), he is ready to pack his bags and head back to the Dursley�s. Once again, however, the tables are turned, this time in Harry (and Gryffindor�s) favor. Professor McGonagall, far from being upset, promises to try and bend a few more rules to get him a broom to play Quidditch. The world of Hogwarts is turning into a very strange place, indeed.

We continue on to the Midnight Duel, where Harry and Ron break school rules and venture forth from their dormitories after hours. Enter Hermione Granger, who tries to prevent the two from perpetrating any mischief. Hermione�s principles are firmly grounded in logic: what Harry and Ron are doing (sneaking out) is against the rules, and therefore wrong. If it is wrong, the powers that be will find out, exact punishment, causing Gryffindor to lose points; ergo, it should not be done. Of course, in her zeal to convince them of this, Hermione ends up along for the ride, and the ensuing adventure seems to prove to Harry and Ron the capriciousness of the justice system at Hogwarts.

And finally we arrive at Halloween. When Harry and Ron break the rules yet again, this time saving Hermione�s life, she has a change of heart, realizing that you can�t always follow the rules, and expect things to work out fairly and properly.

Hogwarts, at first, appears to be a world of clearly defined rules and rewards; if you play fair and follow the guidelines you are assured success. Unfortunately, this is not the way things are in the �real world.� Evil is as evil does, or more precisely, Evil does whatever it wants to. If the Good want to sit back, follow the rules, and let things play themselves out, Evil will win, and tough luck, �cause life ain�t fair. As much as we search for meaning in everyday experience, it is impossible for us to discern a causal response to our actions; sometimes the good win and the evil lose, and sometimes, the other way around (one of man�s oldest questions is, �Why do bad things happen to good people?�). This is what we see in the first part of the book: that Snape will find a reason to take points of Gryffindor even if they follow the rules, that Malfoy will bully Neville if no one stands up to him, and that Hermione would have died if Harry and Ron hadn�t stuck out their necks. Sometimes, the rules must be broken if Evil is to be thwarted.

Far from moral relativism, which some say Rowling espouses, this is a fact of life; to avoid it and posit your characters in a system of pure justice has no applicability to the real world (and would teach Harry and us nothing). In a world of pure justice, the only response to the death of Harry�s parents is, �Sorry kid, they must have done something wrong.� To take this attitude to real life is preposterous, disingenuous, haughty and reproachful. Harry has experienced real loss, and will have to confront real evil. Having a na�ve and simplistic approach to life will not help him cope or confront these demons.

This approach is reiterated in the Forbidden Forest, with the unicorn (JK Rowling likes to convey messages by using mythical creatures as symbols; more of that later). The unicorn is an innocent, pure beast. Those that slay it and drink its blood can live on, but they are cursed. The analogy to real life is clear: Evil will prey upon the innocent, drink their blood, and leave them for dead; no matter that this �curses� them, they have decided to remove themselves from the community of Man by betraying the trust they have been given to achieve their own ends. The only thing that can stop Evil is that which stands up to Evil (in this case, Firenze), even if this pits them against the rules of the universe (fate, or the stars, in this case). Bane is angered by Firenze�s disregard for the rules of fate, and chastises him. Firenze replies with the heroic statement of self-sacrifice that Harry eventually learns as the only thing that can stop Evil:

�What have you been telling him?� growled Bane. �Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?�
Ronan pawed the ground nervously. �I�m sure Firenze thought he was acting for the best, � he said in his gloomy voice.
Bane kicked his back legs in anger.
�For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!�
Firenze suddenly reared on to his hind legs in anger, so that Harry had to grab his shoulders to stay on.
�Do you not see that unicorn?� Firenze bellowed at Bane. �Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must.�

Bane does not understand, but Harry does. If someone does not oppose the will to power of Voldemort, of Evil, then all will be lost. It will do no good (or, more precisely, no Good will be done) to sit back in moral rectitude and rely on higher powers to even the playing field. Man must create Good, not have it bestowed upon him. Harry later makes this realization:

�I�m going out of here tonight and I�m going to try and get to the Stone first.�
�You�re mad!� said Ron.
�You can�t!� said Hermione. �After what McGonagall and Snape have said?
You�ll be expelled!�
�SO WHAT� Harry shouted. �Don�t you understand? If Snape gets hold of the
Stone, Voldemort�s coming back! Haven�t you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won�t be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He�ll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn�t matter anymore, can�t you see?
D�you think he�ll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the house cup? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I�ll have to go back to the Dursley�s and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it�s only dying a bit later than I would have, because
I�m never going over to the Dark Side! I�m going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?�

I think we have expounded this theme sufficiently, but there is one more facet that I want to bring up before we close. After Harry defeats Quirell/Voldemort, he gets the debriefing from Dumbledore in which he learns why Quirell was unable to touch him:

�But why couldn�t Quirrell touch me?�
�Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn�t realize that love as powerful as your mother�s for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign. To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good.�

Lily�s sacrifice to oppose Evil, motivated by her love of another, is what saves Harry from Voldemort. Here we learn the ultimate source of Good, which must come forth to combat Evil. Love for another, sacrifice for another is what is needed to defeat Evil. The Good done by Lily eleven years earlier comes back and defeats Evil and saves Harry yet again. This is the only thing that can oppose the Will to Power that is Evil.

Next time, we will touch on the other facet of this theme, which is controlling your desire and power. With that, we will conclude our analysis of Book 1 and move on to Book 2.

2003-02-06T16:34:00.000-05:00

Before we continue with our analysis of Book 1, I would like to take a step back and outline my general approach to the Harry Potter series.

Each book focuses on a specific theme or idea. This idea always begins with Harry himself, usually at the Dursley�s. We then follow Harry to Hogwarts, where he is confronted with real-life challenges based on this theme, often through the behind-the-scenes orchestrations of Dumbledore. The new characters in each book are designed to highlight a particular facet of this theme. Some recurring characters (Draco and Snape, for example) are in general used as examples of the wrong way of approaching a theme. Others (Hermione and Neville) are always shown approaching the theme from a redemptive perspective.

We have already begun discussing the theme of Book 1. The whole book, rather than a conglomeration of colorful anecdotes, is a constant re-visitation of the same theme; the power we are given, and how we use it. We will continue our analysis forthwith, but I wanted to lay down the general structure of all the books for you. Let�s briefly highlight the themes from the rest of the books (for the basic outline of Book 1, see the previous post):

In Chamber of Secrets, Harry begins life at the Dursley�s alone and feeling dejected. All of his friends seem to have forgotten that he exists. He is forced to spend the evening of the Mason�s visit in his room, �making no noise and pretending I�m not there.� In short, Harry is confounded by his lack of identity. He longs for Hogwarts, where he is known, where he is famous.

Once at Hogwarts, Harry must confront the perils of identity, how we define ourselves, and what we do with those definitions. We will look at this more in depth later, but if you read through Chamber of Secrets carefully, you find this theme explored not only repeatedly, but exhaustively.

Prisoner of Azkaban (I am still working through this one, so bear with me) is about controlling our emotions, specifically anger and fear. We begin with Harry losing control and inflating Aunt Marge. We end with Harry conquering his anger and turning towards mercy in sparing Pettigrew. In between, we explore how the characters handle their emotions, including Dumbledore, Hermione, Snape and Lupin. Harry must learn to handle his emotions, and not be ruled by them. By the end of the book, mission accomplished.

Goblet of Fire is really the best example yet. We begin with Harry ashamed of his burning scar, unwilling to admit his weakness. In a word, pride. We are then immersed in a set of situation all exploring pride and the weaknesses that result from it, when it is good, and when it is bad. More generally, this book is about how we deal with the weaknesses that we have, and what we can do to make ourselves stronger.

As I said before, we will explore each one of these ideas further. It is important to understand this context when approaching the Harry Potter series and trying to discern an overall impression of what is good and what is evil. Without the context of the particular theme, the characters actions can seem somewhat arbitrary and not make sense. Within the greater theme, they can be viewed as exploring the various facets of the idea under discussion. Certain characters we think of as bad; when Draco complains of the �famous Harry Potter,� we understand it as jealously of Harry�s identity, and subsequently as evil. When Hermione stands up for house-elf pride, we understand it as a rational position, albeit lacking in a certain connection to reality (this approach IS Hermione, by the way; more later).

We will continue with our analysis of Book 1.

2003-01-30T13:11:00.000-05:00

To date, our analysis has been focused on the characters of the Harry Potter novels. I would like to change things a bit, and focus more on the overall themes of the books. I have taken to re-reading the books, and I think there is much to be gained from attempting an analysis of the story as a whole, rather than in pieces. In doing this, we will be looking for pervasive themes in each of the books, by examining the story for patterns. We will start at the beginning, with Harry Potter and The Sorcerer�s Stone.

We begin in the past, as the orphan Harry is deposited on the doorstep of his Muggle relatives, the Dursleys. Immediately, we are presented with the contrast between two worlds; the Wizarding World, and the Muggle World. The major difference between the two is that the Muggle world relies on technology (or science), while the Wizarding World relies on magic. Both serve essentially the same purpose in their respective worlds. Dumbledore thinks it is best that Harry be brought up in the Muggle world, due to his abundance of inherent power in the Wizarding World. When Professor McGonagall learns of his plans, she vehemently objects:

�These people will never understand him! He�ll be famous -- a legend -- I wouldn�t be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future -- there will be books written about Harry --every child in our world will know his name!�
�Exactly,� said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. �It would be enough to turn any boy�s head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won�t even remember! Can�t you see how much better off he�ll be, growing up away from all that until he�s ready to take it?�

Dumbledore feels differently. The power that Harry holds in the Wizarding World is too much for a young boy to handle. Best wait until he is older to confront it. The important fact to note is that we see from the beginning that Dumbledore is guiding Harry; he has taken it upon himself to try, without being noticed, to educate Harry. This idea is important for understanding the rest of Book 1.

Let us move on. Harry is now unhappily growing up with his relatives, the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon sells drills, symbol of the industrial side of the Modern/scientific world, and has plenty of money. Dudley, his son, is a bully and technophile. They represent power in the Muggle world, as realized through wealth, living space and body girth. Harry, of course, has none of this. He lives in a cupboard (British for closet) under the stairs, has no money and no cool toys.

Suddenly, Harry is catapulted out of the Muggle world, into the Wizarding World, where the tables are turned. Harry is no longer poor; his parents left him a room full of gold, and he is no longer anonymous; he is the most famous boy in his school. He has power, the power he was denied in the Muggle world. How will he use it?

So begins the Sorcerer�s Stone, and Harry�s first lesson.

We will continue our analysis in future posts. I would like to point a few things before we go, though. First, the Sorcerer�s Stone is really the Philosopher�s Stone. And JK Rowling did not invent Nicholas Flamel; historically there is an account of an alchemist named Nicholas Flamel who sought to discover the secret of the Philosopher�s Stone, which turned ordinary lead into gold. This was in a time before science, before the rational world the West dispelled the myths of magic in our society, and technology took its place. It is interesting that the object of the quest here is the one thing in the Wizarding World that will give you Muggle-world power.

2003-01-16T11:04:00.000-05:00

To prove that Harry Potter Prognostications is not a fascist regime, today�s prognostication will not be my own (I will write it, but it is not mine). This prognostication comes from HPProgs� #1 fan, Peninah. The subject of the prognostication is none other than Neville Longbottom.

Mr. Longbottom has proven completely hopeless, not only in magic, but also in general. He would use his Remembrall to remember what he has forgotten, but he seems to have forgotten that as well. Students and teachers constantly ridicule him for his ineptitude at things requiring just basic skills. In short, he is a lovable buffoon. We might group him with Harry and Ron�s other roommates, Seamus and Dean, whom we think will have little in the way of a major role to play in the future of the Battle Against Voldemort. But we would be wrong.

In Book 4, Harry learns of Neville�s heartrending past, of the story of his parents� torture and subsequent incapacitation at the hands of Barty Crouch, Jr. and company. Harry learns that the Longbottoms were Aurors, and were very popular (similar to the way Harry is popular now). Harry is ashamed at not knowing this, of never asking Neville the obvious question, �Why do you live with your grandmother? Where are your parents?�

Rumors on the Net predict that Neville�s memory problems are the result of a particularly potent dose of memory modification, applied to help young Neville forget the horrors he witnessed (according to the buzz, he was present for his parents torture and inquisition; I have found no evidence of this in the canonical texts). While I am somewhat skeptical of this exact explanation, there is something to the connection between Neville�s personality and his past. As Harry observes, there is one person responsible for this:

It was Voldemort, Harry thought, staring up at the canopy of his bed in the darkness, it all came back to Voldemort. He was the one who had torn these families apart, who had ruined all these lives.

What will become of young Neville? Peninah is certain he will become a hero, rising to the occasion at some future moment when victory is on the line. In doing so, Neville will conquer his fears and restore his families legacy. I think that it might be something subtler. Harry shows incredible pathos when contemplating Neville�s experience:

As Harry took off his glasses and climbed into his four-poster, he imagined how it must feel to have parents still living but unable to recognize you. He often got sympathy from strangers for being an orphan, but as he listened to Neville�s snores, he thought that Neville deserved it more than he did.

Perhaps, at the right moment, Harry will step aside and let Neville take the glory. As with Cedric, it would still be a �Hogwart�s victory.� But in allowing Neville to combat his fears, it will also become a victory for Neville, over his demons and his past, and allow him to rebuild that which was destroyed.

Who knows? In the end, I would simply be happy to see Neville beat Snape at a game of one-on-one Quidditch.

2003-01-15T13:48:00.000-05:00

I just pre-ordered Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix.

We live in a sick, sick world.

2003-01-15T12:12:00.000-05:00

Boo.

Sorry, didn�t mean to scare you.

First off, apologies to the 4 or so people who seem to check this site regularly. Allow me to explain.

A few days after the last prognostication (Cornelius Fudge), I saw Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the Movie. I was, in a word, disappointed. Somehow I thought it would be better, that it would enthrall me in some way that the book was not able to. It wasn�t. And so, faced with the gaping nothingness of what Harry Potter had come to be for me, I withdrew (I was also working on an article about the religious symbolism in The Big Lebowski).

I think I just needed a break. The news today that Book 5 has been published seemed sufficient motivation for me to break the silence (I have to get all those prognostications in before the book comes out!). I have commented in the past about the differences between Harry Potter the Books, and Harry Potter the Movies. Suffice it to say, I am a fan of the books. So here I am, back again. Look for a new prog later today or this week.

On another note, you may have noticed the new email address harrypotterprogs@yahoo.com. I have had this email address for about a month, and to date have received 1 email. Granted, the site gets an average of 15 page views a day, so that probably is about right. But I would like to invite you all to take a moment and drop me a line and let me know what you think of the site, which is your favorite prog, if there is anything you would like to see, etc.

A bit of news: the book, �The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter� has been published. You can purchase it at Amazon, if you like. There is an article here describing it in a bit of detail. If anyone has read it (the book, not the article), let me know what you think.

The last item is a new site I just found, The Harry Potter Automatic News Aggregator. This site is pretty crazy. I don't think I am going to submit HPProgs, simply because it is not a news site. Also, I don't update nearly as often as those other sites. Anyway, HPANA is pretty interesting, and should be able to provide more news about the availability of Book 5. Look out, Leaky Cauldron, there�s a new kid on the block.

2003-01-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

�Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."

2002-12-04T16:30:00.000-05:00

I think the time is right to discuss one of the characters in the books that people most dislike, for obvious reasons. That character is Cornelius Fudge.

It is obvious to us all why Fudge is such a distasteful character. He is a sly devil, a politician, always looking out for No. 1. There is no question that Fudge is concerned more with what looks good than what is good. His cowardice and pandering lead him to sanction a slew of evils, from the condemnation of an innocent Hippogriff, to sentencing a man to death without a trial. His continued indolence in the face of obvious peril makes him even more dangerous to those whose trust he has been given.

Some people have tried to cast Fudge in an evil light; they see him as an ally of Voldemort, intentionally dragging his feet in order to give Voldie a running start. I don�t think that is the case. I think that Fudge falls into the category of so many other men confronted with the same problem. Dumbledore sums it up nicely:

�You - you cannot be serious!� Fudge gasped, shaking his head and retreating further from Dumbledore. �If the magical community got wind that I had approached the giants - people hate them, Dumbledore - end of my career -�
�You are blinded,� said Dumbledore��by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius�I tell you now- take the steps I have suggested, and you will be remembered, in office or out, as one of the bravest and greatest Ministers of Magic we have ever known. Fail to act � and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild!�

In British history, Fudge has an obvious counterpart. That would be Neville Chamberlain, whose doomed policy of appeasement sentenced millions of people to death. Instead of confronting the evil staring him in the face, he allowed a madman to continue to pursue his quest for world domination unchecked. And in return for what? Less than a year later, as Hitler invaded Poland, civilians were evacuated from London. How ironic, that Chamberlain had said, just a year earlier:

"My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honor. I believe it is peace for our time...Go home and get a nice quiet sleep."

As we know, it would be many years before anyone in Britain had a peaceful night�s sleep. Not to mention those in Europe, whose sleep was filled with unimaginable horrors.

Chamberlain is to be admired for his quest for peace. No question, it is a valiant and worthy cause. But when evil reaches a certain point, it is no longer to be trifled with, to be appeased. There comes a time for action. I do not mean to judge Chamberlain, but it is obvious from history he made a grave error.

Fudge makes the same mistake. He remains hopeful of the impossible, that Evil will play by the rules of good and true men. Of course, Evil will play by its own rules, taking anything it can, by any means. For Fudge, the choice is clear, the right decision obvious. It will mean that his sleep will not be quiet, but perhaps the sleep of his children will be. Instead, he chooses to reserve for himself a few more nights of sound sleep in exchange for endless nightmares for those who succeed him. Ultimately, Fudge will be rendered irrelevant by his choices, and others will have to pick up the pieces.

We are faced with a similar situation in our time. I do not know what is the right choice in our situation, but we must be ever cognizant of the lessons of history, lest we be doomed to repeat them. When it comes time to make a choice, we should follow the guidance of Dumbledore:

Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort.

2002-11-27T09:46:00.000-05:00

It�s that time again. That�s right. Prognostication time. Today we are going to revisit a character that we briefly discussed in the past. That is everyone�s favorite fop, the pungent professor and dubious doer of daring deeds, Gilderoy Lockhart.

You may remember a few weeks ago, I prognosticated that Gilderoy was finished. I still stand by that prediction, but I would like to offer a little insight into why. In order to do this, we need to take a general look at Lockhart�s relationship with Harry Potter.

Lockhart is Harry�s professor, his teacher. If we wanted to characterize Lockhart�s teaching methodology (if one could call it that), we would have to say his basic philosophy could be summed up by the phrase, �Look at me, aren�t I great?� From the books that he teaches from (all his own, not an uncommon practice in the academic world of the non-wizards) to the questions on his quiz, we are focused on one thing. Lockhart, Lockhart, Lockhart. It is clear that Lockhart�s goal, as a teacher, is to teach his students one thing: I am perfect, so be like me. Nothing would please Lockhart more than to have a world full of wizards all looking up to him, modeling their lives after his, following his lead like a pack of poor, hungry dogs. He is the ultimate celebrity.

Lockhart sees in Harry the potential for the same celebrity status. Harry has all the basic qualities: good looks, popularity and name recognition. Lockhart�s goal is to guide Harry into becoming the next Lockhart, not into becoming himself, Harry Potter. Take, by contrast, Harry�s true mentor and teacher, Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore never gives Harry advice on how to do things. He is always there, as a teacher, mentor and friend, and when Harry needs help or assistance, Dumbledore is the first one to provide answers. But Dumbledore works at encouraging Harry to be Harry, and not to model himself after someone else.

One of the major themes of Book 2 is Harry coming to grips with his celebrity status. Will he choose to set himself up, as Lockhart has, for all to worship and admire? Or will he try and develop as an individual, and spurn the fame that, through absolutely no work of his own (similar to Lockhart�s, by the way), he has been granted? We know the answer; in the end Harry shows loyalty to Albus Dumbledore, which saves his life from the deadly gaze of the basilisk, which would turn him into the very stone idol that Lockhart would make him into.

This is why Lockhart has to go away at the end of the book. Harry has defeated the temptation of fame, to take glory in your work, even if none is really justified. Harry has chosen to develop himself as an individual, not as a public personality for the edification and worship of the masses. That is why Lockhart is reduced to a man without even his own identity, a man who cannot even remember who he is. And that is why Dumbledore, even after his eventual death (and he will die, as we prognosticated), will continue to assist and guide Harry. The teachers who guide us to becoming ourselves, rather than carbon-copy images of themselves, are the ones whose presence will be felt our entire lives, even after they have physically left us.

It is a shame that we have so few Dumbledores, and so many, many Lockharts.

2002-11-14T17:06:00.000-05:00

It's movie week, so I thought I would give you bit of prognostication based on the movie. Actually, I am going to let you in on a little secret (a prognostication secret, that is). You see, we prognosticators have many secret devices we use to discern future events. One of those involves the movie versions of Harry Potter. Since the new movie opens this week, I expect you all to apply your new knowledge at the theaters (if you plan on going to see it this weekend, with thousands of screaming children, that is).

You may have noticed that most of the lines in the movie are not taken from the book. The author of the screenplay took great liberties in concocting the dialogue for the film. As well he should have, since a story is not so much the dialogue of the characters, but the overall plot. But you will notice, if you watch the movie version of Book 1, that certain snippets of dialogue are taken verbatim (a word here which means, taken exactly as it appears, without alteration; yes, I have been reading Lemony Snicket) from the book. This is a clue, my friends, that these lines are important, even crucial to the overarching plot of the Harry Potter saga. I will give you a brief example.

The Sorting scene in the movie is much different than in the book (why would they not go in alphabetical order? It makes no sense!). But when Harry sits down and dons the sorting hat, the lines are exactly the same as in the book. And I quote:

�Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage,
I see. Not a bad mind either. There�s talent, A my goodness, yes -- and a nice thirst to
prove yourself, now that�s interesting. So where shall I put you?�

Admittedly, there are a few articles out of place, but overall, the exact same words are presented. If we remember back to the Sorting Hat's song, we know the different characteristics of each house at Hogwarts, and we see, strikingly, that the Sorting Hat sees in Harry qualities exemplary of each and every Hogwarts House! Courage - for Gryffindor; Mind - for Ravenclaw; Talent - for Hufflepuff and A Thirst to Prove Yourself - Slytherin.

But what does this tell us? The big question that everyone wants to know the answer to is, �What is so darned special about Harry Potter?� Why did Voldemort go after him, and what role does Harry have to play in the battle against him? Some would speculate that Harry comes from a specific and rare lineage, perhaps a joining of the bloodlines of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Others think he is the fulfillment of a long-forgotten prophecy. But those answers are missing the key element that defines the essence of Harry Potter the boy and Harry Potter the saga.

Voldemort is all about prejudice and segregation, about inherent differences that make someone better or worse than someone else (one might say, everything wrong that the Modern world inherited from Medieval times). Dumbledore, and Harry after him, represent the exact opposite, namely that you should judge others, not by their race, sex, creed or appearance, but by their actions. Dumbledore tells this to Harry over and over again.

�So I should be in Slytherin,� Harry said, looking desperately into Dumbledore�s
face. �The Sorting Hat could see Slytherin�s power in me, and it --�
�Put you in Gryffindor,� said Dumbledore calmly. �Listen to me, Harry. You
happen to have many qualities Salazar Slytherin prized in his hand- picked students. His
own very rare gift, Parseltongue - resourcefulness - determination -- a certain disregard
for rules,� he added, his mustache quivering again. �Yet the Sorting Hat placed you in
Gryffindor. You know why that was. Think.�
�It only put me in Gryffindor,� said Harry in a defeated voice, �because I asked
not to go in Slytherin.�
`Exactly, �said Dumbledore, beaming once more. �Which makes you very
different from Tom Riddle. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more
than our abilities.�

Harry surrounds himself with purebloods, mudbloods (excuse my language), half-giants, house-elves and social outcasts. He is the complete antithesis of everything that Voldemort stands for. I suspect this stems from his �everyman� qualities, the fact that the Sorting Hat saw in Harry a universality that was needed for this type of approach, a level of identification with all kinds of people. Harry�s love, not his hate, will enable him to defeat Voldemort, similar to how Lily�s love of Harry prevented his death. To pin Harry�s fortune to some outside event like a prophecy or lineage completely contradicts the essence of who Harry is and all that he stands for.

So that is the today�s prognostication trick. I expect you all to report in with your findings after the movie. I hope you can hear all the lines, and are not disturbed by a pack of noisy Muggles!

2002-11-06T16:05:00.000-05:00

There has been an increase in traffic lately, mostly due to the site�s listing on Google becoming established. As such, I should probably try and update a bit more frequently. I will do my best.

So back the prognostications. We have a few loose ends that need tying up. I have dropped some hints in the past regarding the eventual fates of a few characters, namely Snape, Neville and, of course Harry. So we could examine any one of those characters. But I think today we will take a less serious, more romantic diversion and discuss the intertwining fates of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

There are many theories floating around as to who will �end up� with whom. COME ON PEOPLE!?!? I have never, ever in my life seen a more blatant foreshadowing of future romance than what goes on between Ron and Hermione. It isn�t like this started recently; from the moment these two met, they were destined for each other.

He [Ron] turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"
"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there.��said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"
Ron glared at her as she left.

Throughout the first book, these two are at each other�s throats.

Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.
"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."
"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.
. . . Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of class.

As the series continues, we catch glimpses of Ron�s true feelings; questioning Hermione as to why she has doodled hearts on here schedule of Lockhart�s class, protecting her when Malfoy insults her and of course, becoming insanely jealous of Viktor Krum. Hermione as well reveals her feelings for Ron, which culminates in the Yule Ball debacle.

A great man once said, �The course of true love never did run smooth.� And so it is with Ron and Hermione. There are many types of love, and there is no formula that predicts or determines one�s true partner. But one thing seems to hold true: couples that engage in dialogue, discuss issues, while maintaining a level of respect for one another, do well. A relationship where everyone agrees, where there are never any arguments, is often symptomatic of one party repressing the other. Likewise, relationships with outright hostility and violence signal an irreparable incompatibility (and often points to severe social problems in one or both of the parties). But a healthy relationship where people are allowed to express themselves, to contribute and be who they are, not who the other molds them to be, is where the individual flourishes and blossoms forth as a conscious presence. These presences form a bond, and that connection is the love that one feels to another who makes them more than they were before. How natural, then, for two people who are so often at odds, to fall in love. Their arguments are expressions of individuality, not subjugation or repression. They will always return together to form a whole, no matter the content of the argument.

Ron and Hermione are following in the footsteps of other famous lovers (I can think of about a dozen, but the only ones worth mentioning are, of course, Han Solo and Princess Leia). They will never let another person deny them the dignity of their individuality; yet they have the necessary humility to share their life with another. This can only be called true love.

So to all you out there who think Ron and Hermione aren�t destined for each other, wake up. It is as clear as day.

As a closing note, I would like to dedicate this prognostication to Peninah, my own personal Hermione. Think of it as a replacement for your birthday card. I work hard, and you can�t expect me to�oh never mind.

2002-11-01T14:18:00.000-05:00

Hello again. Sorry it has been so long since I have updated this site; things have been somewhat busy. I did want to post a link to an interesting article I found. To sum up, a bunch of academics have composed a book of essays about Harry Potter (they call it The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter). See the full article here.

A quick search at Amazon.com (see associated books) turns up a few new titles of similar vein. Interesting, and good to see that others are taking Harry Potter seriously. Of course, only time will tell if Harry Potter is in fact classic literature, or nothing more than a passing fad (the folks at Warner Bros. are certainly taking the latter approach, and doing their best to convince of it as well).

But really, what does it matter? When you are sitting up late at nights, straining to keep your eyes open, reading just one more chapter before shutting the light, do we really care if we are reading Shakespeare, Tolkein, Rowling, Archer, Clancy, Homer or Jonathan Kellerman (Jonathan Kellerman?)? Do we care if the book is a classic? No. A good book doesnt have to be a "classic" to enthrall us with the adventures of the characters, be they Prospero, Frodo Baggins or Milo Sturgis (Milo Sturgis?).

So who cares if Harry Potter is a classic? I just want to find out if Harry is going to hook up with Cho Chang. I think I'll keep reading to find out.

2002-10-18T11:01:00.000-04:00

No prognostications this week. I am very sorry. I have a paper due for class and work is heavy. If you are really desperate for some HP goods, check out The Leaky Cauldron. If you have a fast connection, they have a link to the new trailer for Chamber of Secrets, which looks great. They also have a link to a clip from the movie featuring Gilderoy Lockhart...speaking of, Gilderoy is a vegetable and probably wont be in any more books. There you go, a prognostications after all!

2002-10-10T13:49:00.000-04:00

Harry Potter. That�s right, Harry Potter. You heard me right, it�s about that time. Of course, it would be impossible to cover all of The Future of Harry in one post. I would like to focus on one specific facet of Harry that I think is indicative of a lot of what the future holds in store for him. But enough jibba-jabba, let�s get on with it.

Harry has created controversy not only in the wizarding world, but in the real world as well (for those of you unable to tell the difference, the wizarding world is where owls deliver the mail and kids walk through walls to catch the train to their school. The real world is where humans deliver the mail, and kids that try to walk through walls to get to a train end up in the hospital). It seems that certain groups of people feel that Harry is dangerous, not because of his wicked Expelliarmus charm, but because he introduces our children to Witchcraft and Wizardry, which will eventually lead them to pagan and Satan worship. The claim is that children are unable to distinguish between the real world and the wizarding world. Harry lives in London, attends a school in the UK and rides the Underground, just like you and me. Frodo and Aslan live in completely fictional worlds, with fictional geographies, no subway system, completely and temporally isolated from us in every way. Ergo, children are not in danger of picking up bad pagan habits from Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia, but Harry Potter opens the door to all sorts of evil ideas (I am leaving out, for simplicities sake, the Magic Yarmulke argument. Email me for details).

I don�t want to get into the argument in depth here. I happen to think that there are more pagans in existence today because of Lord of the Rings, even if it does have Christian themes. Again, that isn�t necessarily the issue. The clear thing is that our society encourages children to use their imagination. Barney, Teletubbies, Sponge-Bob; you name it. Kids have plenty of practice distinguishing what is real and what isn�t. If your question is whether or not kids should learn ethics and morals from contemporary fiction as opposed to the Bible or other canonical religious texts, that is a different argument, and you might as well throw out the K�tonton and Magic Yarmulke books while you are at it.

If you have read any of the Harry Potter books, you know that there is not a deep delving into the occult anywhere in the story. Magic is used as a set piece, not as a topic in and of itself. We never have an in-depth exposition of complex rituals or exploration into hidden magical secrets. On the contrary, magic as JK Rowling portrays it at its deepest sense, is not occult and mystical, but very real. When Dumbledore informs Harry that the mercy he showed towards Peter Pettigrew created a �bond� between them, Harry recoils in horror:

"Pettigrew owes his life to you. You have sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt...When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them... and I'm much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter."
"I don't want a connection with Pettigrew!" said Harry. "He betrayed my parents!"
"This is magic at its deepest, its most impenetrable, Harry. But trust me... the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew's life."

Dumbledore is telling Harry is that magic is multi-faceted. Yes, there are the Expelliarmuses and Alohomoras, but deep down, magic is about the relationships created between people. This is the same magic that exists in the real world, which takes its form in society and culture, in interpersonal relationships and personal self-consciousness. Rowling may use magic as backdrop to the story, but the real message is much more profound and universal.

Take Harry, for example. Everyone in the wizarding world looks at Harry as a powerful wizard, due mainly to the fact that Voldemort met defeat at his hands. But what really happened? We know that Harry�s protection from Voldemort had absolutely nothing to do with anything special or magical about himself (magically speaking, it was Lily Potter�s sacrifice which saved him). Dumbledore explains that some of Voldemort�s power transferred to Harry, which explains Harry�s ability to speak Parseltounge. Voldemort�s inability to harm Harry (before the �rebirth�) stems not from some inherent magical power that Harry posses, but simply as a result of the protection provided by his mother.

What�s the point? The point is this; Harry is special, not because he is a great wizard, but because he is a great person. He is brave, courageous, caring and all that other good stuff. In the end (and here is the prognostication), in order to defeat Voldemort, Harry will give up all his magical powers, leaving him as much a Muggle as the Cousin Dudley. He will have to make a choice; between giving up the power that transformed him from an unloved orphan to a wizarding-hero overnight, and living in a world ruled by evil. And precisely because of who he is, Harry will make the right choice, even if it means losing what he felt made him special. But that�s the catch; it doesn�t matter one bit, because Harry will still be the greatest of all wizards:

Being a great wizard has nothing to do with magic. Not occult magic, anyway.

2002-09-26T16:44:00.000-04:00

OK, so we all need to remember The Second Rule of Prognostication (the First being, never try and wake someone in the middle of a Prognostication, this could have a profound effect on their mental health). The Second Rule is, don�t try and Prognosticate for the sake of Prognostication. It has to come to you. So I apologize for the lack of recent activity. But, you see, there is nothing I can do about that.

Anyway, today I thought we would take a somewhat leisurely tour through the Harry Potter world, and prognosticate on a bunch of characters, whom all have one thing in common: they all will not play a significant role in the rest of the series. That�s right, today we are going to bask in our mediocrity, and salute those supporting cast members who, while not being entirely significant in any way, are still part of the crazy world we know and love. Right, on with it.

Madam Pompfrey - I am sorry to say that we won�t see any major events for Poppie. She will continue to head up the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, and scowling upon all those who wish to disturb the peace and quiet of her patients. Don�t despair, however, Harry and friends will still be making plenty of trips to the Hospital Wing. I don�t expect things to get any less exciting at Hogwarts in the next few books.

Argus Filch - Everyone�s favorite filthy groundskeeper will also not play any major role. Filch is solely a distraction character. At one point I think JK Rowling had greater plans for him, but how he will remain that annoying set piece that gets in the way every time something much more important needs to be done. Same goes for Mrs. Norris, although I personally refuse to give up the Mrs. Norris-is-really-Lord-Voldemort-disgusied-as-an-Animgus-via-PolyJuice-Potion-and-will-teach-Defense-Against-the-Dark-Arts-in-Book-6 theory.

Professor Binns - Even death cant stop Professor Binns, the ghost who teaches History of Magic. Look for him to continue to not care a bit about the real world, and for the real world to continue to ignore him.

Milicent Bulstrode - She�s no pixie; and we wont see much of her, either. Thank goodness.

Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas - Harry�s roommates, great friends that they are, are not really going to play a huge part. Think of them as the Fatty Bolgers of the Harry Potter World, supporting cast members who are so close, and yet so far from the action. Major characters, yes, but not anyone who will make a real difference. Mr. Longbottom, on the other hand, well, that is a different story...

And last, but certainly not least, Susan Bones. Who? If you have never heard of Susan Bones, then you are missing the whole thing. Actually, if you haven�t seen the movie (or more precisely, if you haven�t seen the movie a million times), you may not recognize the enigmatic character that is Susan Bones. Susan is one of the students in Harry�s class, who is sorted into Hufflepuff in Book 1. She is not mentioned again, at all. But in the movie, Susan Bones is everywhere. She is in the boats, at the Sorting, in class next to Hermione. I have seen pictures of her in the new Chamber of Secrets movie. Strangely enough, it turns out that Susan was portrayed by Chris Columbus� daughter, which explains her prominence in the film. As far as the books go, Susan is basically done. But I wouldn�t be surprised if JK Rowling pulls an Oliver Wood, and Susan makes her way back into the story, albeit in a minor way.

That is enough for today. JK Rowling has created an intriguing world in her Harry Potter books. That is due, in no small part, to the richness and personality in the supporting cast. Even if they don�t play a major part in the defeat of evil, without them, Hogwarts just wouldn�t be the same.

Next week we will get some more real prognostications up, I promise. Until then, SUSAN BONES RULES!!!

2002-09-19T14:42:00.000-04:00

My prognosticating premonitions are coming in spurts these days. We might as well start what will most likely be a multi-part prognostication. That�s right, a major character. But not Harry, Ron or Hermione. No, much worse. That�s right; Draco Malfoy.

I think it is appropriate that we point out this part of Draco�s future now, as we just covered the eventual fate of Draco�s devious and disgusting dad, Lucius Malfoy. As you may remember, things don�t look great for Malfoy Sr. towards the end of the series. His bullying days will come to end, when Lord Voldemort finally betrays him and ruins the reputation of the Malfoy family.

The Betrayal of Lucius will have a profound effect on young Draco, as we mentioned previously. He will see Lord Voldemort in a new light, as a rebel without a cause, loyal to no one, and willing to bring down even his closest supporters if it furthers his goals. But what will Young Draco do?

I think the answer is obvious, and has been hinted at already in the relationship between Severus Snape and Sirius Black. That�s right, Draco is going to team up with our favorite Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. Draco will be disillusioned with Lord Voldemort, and see that the only way he can escape from the situation is if he is brought down. If he stays on with Voldemort, he will suffer the eventual fate of his father. Don�t expect Draco to change much; he will still hate Harry, still be repulsed by Ron and continue to taunt Hermione. But he will realize that in order for him to stay afloat, he must at least learn to tolerate those that he hates.

I wouldn�t be surprised if we find a similar explanation for the turn coating of Severus Snape. Snape is a nasty character, no question about that. We should not be lulled into thinking that Snape is a good guy now. He is not; no good guy would tease a 12-year-old girl about the size of her teeth in front of a whole class. But something larger must have convinced that the path he was on would lead him to oblivion (more on Snape some other time!).

And, of course, this speaks loads of Harry�s character as well. Much like Frodo Baggins teaming up with Gollum in order to accomplish the destruction of the One Ring, Harry will show mercy and compassion that can only come from one of a truly good and pure heart. That is the difference here between Good and Evil, and representative of all that Harry stands for. But I digress, more on that later.

So for now, we are left with the fact that Draco will switch sides, if not for the greater good, at least to save his own skin.

Of course, there is the slight possibility that Draco will be transfigured into a small white ferret and live out his days in the Forbidden Forest. Oh well, we can still dream.

2002-09-11T17:11:00.000-04:00

Note: This is a new Lucius Malfoy post. I wasn't happy with the old one, and I am not sure I like this one much either. Oh well. Enjoy

Lucius Malfoy, the man we all love to hate, what to the Fates portend for thee?

To understand what is going to happen to Lucius, we need to run through the facts that we know about him. We first met Draco�s dastardly dad in Book 2, in a Dark Magic shop in Knockturn Alley. We learned all about the Malfoy�s, one of the oldest and wealthiest pureblood Wizarding families in all of Britain. There is no question as to where the Malfoy�s sympathies lie; they are outspoken in their hatred of Muggles and Muggle-born witches or wizards. Lucius is always keen to indulge in a bit of Muggle-torture; he was basically responsible for the opening of the Chamber of Secrets in Book 2, which nearly caused the closing of Hogwarts (and the ousting of that Muggle-loving fool, Albus Dumbledore). At the Quiddich World Cup, Lucius donned a mask and had a bit of sport with some Muggles there. Draco, Harry�s other arch-nemesis, has taught us some of the nastier words in the wizarding world, all of which he no doubt learned from his father.

Basically, Lucius is a well-off bigot, reminiscent of basically any affluent racist class in history (British Imperialists, American plantation owners, Nazis). Lucius uses his wealth and power to allow himself the freedom to indulge his bigotry whenever he pleases. He shamelessly expresses his heartfelt opinion that purebloods are infinitely superior to Muggles and Muggle-born wizards.

So it came as no surprise when we learned that Lucius was in fact a Death Eater, a supporter of Lord Voldemort. The job of Death Eater no doubt afforded Lucius ample time to engage in anti-Muggle activities.

Yet we find something strange in Book 4. When Lord Voldemort is returned to his body, and calls his Death Eaters to him for the first time in thirteen years, he chastises them, Lucius in particular, that they did not seek him out, that they did not search for him to try and return him to power. After Lord Voldemort scolds Lucius for not trying to find him, Lucius assures his he was always on the look out, and at the first sign he would have been ready. Yet we all know Lucius didn�t mean it; in some ways he was happier without Lord Voldemort. Why?

True, in the service of Lord Voldemort, Lucius was able to pander to his bad self. But after a while, for someone like Lucius, serving Lord Voldemort probably got very inconvenient. Lucius wasn�t out for power or fame; he had all the money he would ever need, and he could buy his way into any position he so desired. The only thing he lacked was an acceptable outlet for his racist tendencies. So he became a Death Eater, and his desire was sated. But Lord Voldemort demands more than just fun and games. No doubt, as one of the wealthiest Death Eaters, Lucius was called upon to finance Voldie�s operations. The financial strain, along with the fact that Lord Voldemort demands complete subservience, probably made being a Death Eater a little less convenient for him.

After his disappearance, Lucius abandoned Voldemort because serving him was too much trouble. Let�s be fair; Lucius is not a power-hungry evil genius. He is more like, well like a grown up version of Draco. He likes to push people around because it makes him feel good about himself (a psychiatrist would say that he has low self-esteem). He is the big bully on the playground, the rich kid who will pay you off to get you to like him. He is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Enough about the past, let�s get to the future. With this understanding, it is pretty clear to see what is going to happen to Lucius. At some point, Lord Voldemort will betray Lucius, he will use him for his own purposes, causing Lucius� downfall (either his death or his disgrace in the eyes of the Wizarding World). Voldie will do this simply because he knows Lucius will not stick around when push comes to shove. Probably this will involve a significant portion of the Malfoy�s wealth to be transferred to Voldie control, thus killing two proverbial birds with one proverbial stone.

The Betrayal of Lucius will have a profound affect on young Draco, but we should save that for a Draco Malfoy prognostication (as if you don�t see where it�s going by now anyway; I would expect as much from a good prognosticator!). And Lucius has some interesting connections that we need to flesh out in further posts. The main one is his connection to Potions Master Severus Snape. At the end of Book 4, when Harry lists off the Death Eaters he saw, Snape has an unusual reaction to Lucius Malfoy�s name. I�ll leave that one as homework for you to look up, but suffice it to say, �Where there�s smoke, there�s fire�. Until next time, don�t count your chickens until their hatched, and a stitch in time saves nine. Nudge nudge, wink wink.

2002-09-09T13:07:00.000-04:00

Ok, a not-so-big-deal type of prediction today. The big question on everyone's mind (at least women aged 14-32) is; what is to become of Oliver Wood?

Wood is, sadly, a minor character. I don�t foresee much for him in the future. After Book 3, he left Hogwarts, and signed with Puddlemere United Reserve Quiddich Team. He made a brief appearance in Book 4 at the Quiddich World Cup, but has not made his way back to Hogwarts. In terms of playing a part in the big showdown with Voldemort, Wood's prospects don�t look too good.

Oliver's future, however, in some ways looks very bright. Due to Sean Biggerstaff's portrayal (actually, his portrayal had nothing to do with it, I think it was mostly his looks) of Oliver Wood in the Sorcerer's Stone movie, he is almost guaranteed to make his way back to Hogwarts (and, hence, into future theatrical releases). Look for Wood to become the Quiddich coach for Gryffindor or perhaps take over for Madam Hooch after a freak accident that, for some inexplicable reason, Madam Pomfrey is unable to heal (ever wonder why Mad-Eye Moody couldn't have just downed a draught of Skel-e-Grow and got rid of that nasty missing-leg problem?). Biggerstaff�s comely countenance has assured Wood a place at Hogwarts.

I think it is worth it to take a minute and think about this weird sort of mixing between marketing and literature. Had a less eye-catching actor portrayed Wood, he probably would have dropped out of the series for good (not that we would have been sorry to see him go; by the end of Book 3, he was a bit too neurotic to take). By producing the movies before the completion of the actually stories, JK Rowling has thrown us into a whole new situation. The public has fallen in love with Wood, and casting him out now would seem almost suicidal from a marketing perspective (even if he is in one small scene per movie, that�s one more school notebook or lunchbox that his face can grace). I would be surprised if we don�t see some �revisionist� characterization of Wood in Book 3, softening his obsessive-compulsive image to make him more �sellable� to the public. I even would go so far to say that my prediction could be wrong, and Wood will end up playing an integral role in the battle against the Dark Lord. If Warner Bros. wants to sell more calendars, far be it from JK Rowling to put up any resistance.

Admittedly, whether or not Wood�s future changes based on the popularity of his on-screen persona is somewhat minor. But who knows how else the movie-version of the series will subtly influence the progression of the story? The character of Harry Potter, as he lived in the mind of JK Rowling for Books 1-4, might have approached some situation a certain way. Now that our collective perception of Harry Potter is Daniel Radcliffe, we have to be able to envision Daniel approaching a situation in a certain way. What if it doesn�t work? Does that change Harry Potter? Who does JK Rowling think of when she writes about Harry Potter? Harry or Daniel?

When you read, your mind fills in a lot of the little details (and intentionally ignores others), which makes for a completely personal experience of a story. There is as much of you in the experience as there is of JK Rowling. And when you write, you aren�t painting a complete picture, so much as outlining a framework for the reader to impress their perception of the characters into. But when you watch a movie, it is all passive (well, not all movies; Coen-brothers films are far from passive. But Chris Columbus films are way passive). Everything from the color of Harry�s eyes to the scowl on Snape�s face is right there in front of your eyes. You just absorb it all.

As far as I know, this is uncharted territory as far as parallel development of story/movie. I wonder if JK Rowling has any thoughts about how this has affected her writing (my own private theory is that this is exactly why it is taking her so long to come out with Book 5. She doesn�t know her characters anymore). There will be no sure way to tell if things changed because of this or that, but it would be interesting, in the end to talk to her and see what she has to say.

Back to the prediction, if we go by the books, Wood has all but turned in his Quiddich robes. But who knows what will be in this weird world JK Rowling has thrown us into.

In the meantime, check out the Sean Biggerstaff Official Home Page. He sure is cute.

2002-09-06T13:33:00.000-04:00

First, an editorial note: I have had a complaint that I ruined Book 4 for someone (you know who you are). I want to state unequivocally, I am assuming you have read all four books. If you haven�t, you may get some spoilers, so be careful, and go and read the rest of the books, NOW!

So far we have prognosticated the futures of two Good Guys. Time to get down with our bad selves�

As I look into my crystal ball, I see a strange shape, not quite a man, more like a�rat�ahh, Peter Pettigrew, also known as Wormtail, and for a while, Scabbers.

No matter how many times I read or listen to the end of Book 3, I still wish, somehow, some way, Harry will find Scabbers on the grass and smoosh him. Alas, we cannot change the past, but we can predict the future (or try).

What do we know about Peter Pettigrew that can help us deduce his fate? Dumbledore gave the most obvious piece of information to us, after Pettigrew escapes at the end of Book 3.

So it is pretty clear that Peter will end up in some situation where he will have to make a choice between serving Voldemort and saving Harry.

It is important here to point out something about the nature of Evil. Evil is motivated by self-interest, of a need to get more for oneself, contrary to the rules of the system. By definition, engaging in Evil has an alienating effect, essentially isolating the perpetrator from those around him (for a perfect example of this, see the move �The Talented Mr. Ripley,� specifically the last 3 minutes). There may be those that are allied with Evil, but ultimately it is for their own purposes. Peter is Evil, yes, but he is not in it to see Voldemort become Ruler of the World. Peter is in it for Peter. And similarly, Voldemort is in it for Voldemort, and most certainly not Peter. There will come a time when Peter will realize this. Voldemort will be revealed to Peter as a rebel without a cause, more than willing to destroy those around him in his own downfall. At this crucial moment, Peter will have to make a choice, and he will finally understand that his Evil has left him with nowhere to go. If he sides with Voldemort, he will continue to suffer more degradation and eventually be disposed of, and if he sides with Potter, he will successfully spite Voldemort, but most certainly forfeit his own life.

And so will be the end of Peter Pettigrew. He will choose Harry, and this will prevent Voldemort from attaining what looked to be certain victory. It will be his redemption, but also his undoing. Such is the price that Evil exacts from its practitioners; it may be easier, but in the end, it leaves you all alone with no place to hide. And then it gobbles you up.

As a final note, there are many literary parallels to the plight of Peter Pettigrew. A few examples are Darth Vader (and his eventual return from the Dark Side), Gollum (who was consumed with the Evil of The Ring, and it led to his Doom). Probably the most apt comparison is that of Grima Wormtounge, who is so similar to Wormtail in more than just name (JK Rowling definitely had more than subtle inspiration from Tolkein; Lotho Baggins = Ludo Bagman). Here the theme of Evil and betrayal is especially salient. As for the rebel without a cause symptom of Evil, just read Exodus 6:2-9:35 (also known as Parshas Va�era) and observe Pharaoh�s arguments throughout. By the way, I promise to start bringing comparisons from things besides Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.

2002-09-04T10:10:00.000-04:00

Arthur Weasley

"They run off eckeltricity, do they? Ah yes, I can see the plugs. I collect plugs. And batteries. Got a very large collection of batteries. My wife thinks I'm mad, but there you are."

Ron�s Dad, ardent aficionado of all things muggle and all-around nice guy, what does the future hold in store for you?

When we are first introduced to Mr. Weasley, he is somewhat of a comic character, often bumbling around the house and going soft on Fred and George. In Book 4, however, we begin to see Arthur in a new light. First of all, we come to realize how well liked and respected he is at the Ministry of Magic. He is close with Barty Crouch, Ludo Bagman and the Minister of Magic himself, Cornelius Fudge. Almost every wizard at the Quiddich World Cup knows him by name. At the end of Book 4, Molly and Arthur are enlisted by Dumbledore to work secretly against the newly rejuvenated Lord Voldemort, specifically because of Arthur�s position within the Ministry.

I think I should take a minute to set the stage, so to speak. The major point of contention, as far as we know so far, between Dumbledore and Voldemort (and, incidentally, between Gryffindor and Slytherin) is the status of Muggles. Voldemort�s plan is still not completely clear, but what it probably consisted of taking control of the wizarding world, and using his supreme Dark Magic to enslave the Muggles. He would then rule with an iron fist, and all would bow to him, a la other evil despots such as Hitler, Sauron and of course, The Emperor. No doubt, after his triumphant resurrection, Voldemort will pick up where he left off, and continue his crusade for power.

Now, we know the series is going to end with the good guys winning. No question about that. We also know that Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister of Magic, is already showing signs of weakness in the face of evil (more on Fudge some other time, suffice it to say, I don�t trust the slimy beggar any further than I could throw him). We will need a new Minister of Magic, when the dust has settled and the Good Guys have won. That Minister will be none other than Arthur Weasley. His good disposition and prominent position at the Ministry, along with his overt and well known affection for Muggles, will make him the perfect man for the job in an era where the Wizarding World will need to be extra-careful to prevent another debacle of Voldemortian proportions.

In short, Arthur Weasley is the perfect man to head up the Ministry of Magic after the inevitable defeat of Lord Voldemort.

My crystal ball is getting foggy again, and so I must leave you for now. Until next time!

2002-09-03T09:58:00.000-04:00

Professor Albus Dumbledore

"Mad? He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes." -- Percy Weasley re. Dumbledore

Headmaster of Hogwarts and erstwhile advisor to our hero...what do we see in your future?

Sad to say, Dumbledore will not see the end of the HP saga. Details are sketchy, but one thing is clear: Albus will take his final bow sometime in Book 5 or 6. Most likely, Harry will witness this act, no doubt perpetrated by none other than Lord Voldemort himself. In the heroic tradition of wise, powerful (and old) leaders such as Moses, Gandalf and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Dumbledore will sacrifice himself to save Harry and the gang from certain disaster. Harry and the others will live on to fight another day, despite the tremendous loss of Dumbledore.

I believe there is a basis for this in the book. We all remember Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog Card, which was instrumental in helping Harry, Ron and Hermione solve the mystery of the Sorcerer's (or Philosopher's; I am from the US) Stone. That card was chock full of information, including this important tidbit:

"Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945."

How is this important? A quick check of the Harry Potter timeline puts 1945 about the time when Tom Riddle was at Hogwarts, or was to have graduated. Dumbledore at the time was teaching at the school, under the able administration of Professor Dippet. This means that, while still a young wizard, Dumbledore defeated a presumably powerful evil wizard. No wonder Dumbledore is the only wizard that Voldemort is afraid of! But my point is this: Dumbledore has had his time, fought his battles and won his wars. He is now older, and it is time to pass on to the next generation the burden of protecting the world from evil. Dumbledore's (like Gandalf's after the destruction of the Ring) time has passed. It is time for a new hero to emerge, or for all to be lost.

Of course, just because he is dead, doesnt mean he wont help out at all. I think that we will see some posthumous pointers from a spirit version of Dumbledore, a la Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Another hint: Hagrid, at the end of Book 4 says, "Great man, Dumbledore. �S long as we�ve got him, I�m not too worried.� Could it be any clearer than that? You can kiss your Dumbledore goodbye.

So say the signs! We shall see!

2002-09-01T10:46:00.000-04:00

One of the most frustrating things as a reader is getting into a good series of novels that is halfway through publication, and having to anxiously await the remaining installments. I have been through this many times with many different authors and series, and know the feeling well. In order to vent, I have created this weblog, Harry Potter Prognostications. Here I will post semi-frequently with my predictions as to the futures that JK Rowling has in store for some of our favorite characters. As we all know from Professor Trelawny's class, divination is, to say the least, not an exact science, and I hope that you find my predictions if not probable than at least a good way to pass the time until the next book comes out.

I should note that these predictions are my own. I claim no inside knowledge or extra sensory perception. They are based on my feeling of where the series is going and on other literature and literary patterns. Another element used in making the predictions is interpretations of clues left by JK Rowling throughout the books. We all know how much she loves to re-use plot pieces (a few examples are the Dumbledore Chocolate Frog Card, Polyjuice Potion, and Scabbers) as major elements later on. A good prediction will also have a source in the texts, and so are not completely unfounded.

With that I will leave you for now, I will hopefully post the first prognostications later this week, with maybe a few more words of introduction. Until them, keep reading!