Another Harry situation

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapter 36

Another action-packed chapter for us to digest and consider the outcomes.

We know Dumbledore can stand toe-to-toe with Voldemort.

We know how utterly scared Voldemort's minions are of him.

We know Harry is this nemesis of Voldemort's that he just can't conquer.

And we know Voldemort is positively angry over what transpired at the Ministry of Magic.

• He didn't get the prophecy.
• He knows the opposition is committed to his demise.
• And he knows his return is no longer a secret.

What's a mean, old, Grinch-of-a-wizard to do?

Retreat, regroup and adjust to the new reality. The full force of the Ministry will be against him. Hopefully his spies will all be rooted out and sent to Azkaban or into hiding.

For the Order, they will mourn Sirius, wonder about the prophecy and also adjust to the new reality. At least Dumbledore, Harry, the Order and the DA will have Hogwarts as a safehouse.

And while Fudge still has the title, it's clear Dumbledore is in charge of the good guys. And Umbridge will get stuck behind a desk somewhere out of the way. It was a pretty good day when you think about it.

More than expected

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapter 35

Reporting back as promised.

So Dumbledore reappears and Sirius disappears (Lupin says he's dead) in the span of seven paragraphs? Are you kidding me? I read 805 pages that build to those two big-dealios on the same page?

Good stuff.

If Sirius is truly gone and not protected by some charm or spell, all the Death Eaters have accomplished is to make the Order really angry. It's no-spells-barred time.

So what happens next? The Order can't exactly report this to the Ministry. Fudge, etc., would only charge them with harboring a fugitive and maybe more. And they don't seem ready to believe (or admit) the Death Eaters are active. Time to call in the crime scene unit to the Department of Mysteries and gather forensic evidence. Wait, they probably don't do that there. Guess it will remain a mystery (pun intended).

Backing up, I was surprised to learn that this was all about a prophecy. Didn't see that coming (another pun intended). Of all the names, however, that ran through my head at the end of the previous chapter, Lucius Malfoy was near the top of the list.

And now it's clear why the Order wanted the Occlumency lessons for Harry to continue. He was being played by Voldemort all along. I still say they should have told him why. All are at fault.

To top it off, the prophecy was given and no one heard it as far as we know.

Here's my prophecy: This battle of wands and spells was only a warmup. An all-out war is coming. But you probably know that.

Time to be close-minded, I think

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapter 28

Didn't take long for the High Instigator to become the Headmistress. We have as many educational decrees as we have chapters in this book. Time to order a new ream of parchment and another batch of quills.

And while it's illegal for students to form the DA, it's OK for Her Majesty to form the Inquisitorial Squad, which is just a fancy name for tattletales. Fortunately, Fred and George are roaming the castle spreading their special brand of mayhem. They are quite clever, and now that they don't care if they get in trouble ... a distinct advantage for the good guys.

What a terrible and obvious interrogator the inquisitor/instigator is. Could she have been more obvious with the tea, no doubt laced with some sort of truth serum, and her impatient and direct questions. Seems old Mad-Eye's influence on Harry had some purpose. I think Fudge will one day regret sending Umbridge to Hogwarts. She is devious but ultimately not smart enough for those of the Order.

Not sure what to make of Harry's trip into Snape's Pensieve. We already knew that Snape didn't like Harry and that James Potter had something to do with it. Now we know why. It served to get Harry out of Occlumency lessons. Will that be good or bad? No doubt Harry's dreams and the Voldemort factor in them will continue. Is that good or bad?

As Dumbledore left at the end of the previous chapter he warned Harry to close his mind. "You will understand," were his last words to Harry.

Dumbledore is probably right. He always is.

The Office (Season 10, Episode 1): The SNEAK

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapter 27

I suppose the Firenze-Hagrid business will be revealed and be of some consequence, but let's move on to the more sensational happenings of the gotcha crew and Harry in Dumbledore's office.

Memo to Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic aka Counselor of Corruption, and Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor aka High Instigator and soon to be, I'm sure, Headmaster of Hogwarts:

You got played.

Dumbledore outwits you at every step. He's got stealth skills, defense-attorney skills, make-things-go-poof skills and flair skills.

You probably think you won by pushing Dumbledore out of the Headmaster's lair. But Dumbledore is like a great coach. He doesn't wait to till halftime to make all of his adjustments, he makes them at timeouts when he needs them, not when it's too late. He's been two steps ahead of you from the beginning.

He's got vision. You're wearing blinders.

He's got an army of believers in the cause. You've got minions only believing in avoiding your wrath.

Really, it's not a fair fight. But keep trying with your educational decrees, your traps, your overconfidence and your corruption.

Your reign has the shelf life of a tomato. Sooner or later it will rot.

Signed: A Muggle Meddling in Magic

Dolores and Percy: A troublesome combination

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapter 13

Well, ain't she an evil one.

I did a couple turns in detention in my day, and had to write on the chalkboard a couple times too. But nothing ever as malevolent as what Dolores made Harry do. Gracious.

It's clear she's not there to teach or even cares about education, making Harry miss all of that homework time. But Harry did well to not let her see him sweat. In this case, the pen is mightier than the sword.

And what about her taste for tackiness? Of course, that is a trait with a lot of magic folk. Look at Fudge, if you can. Maybe dressing like that is how you rise in the ranks at the ministry.

The good news in this chapter is that Ron made the quidditch team as keeper. He had a rough first day of practice, but haven't we all been there. Finally, I have something about Ron to root for.

Maybe they can get Dolores on the pitch and fire the bludger at her.


Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapter 14

Percy, Percy, Percy ... will you ever learn?

Probably not as long as he is blinded by his own ambition. I'm certain he has eyes on the minister's office one day. His letter, while full of heartfelt concern for his little bro (yeah, right), is surely another attempt to score points with Fudge. The more people Fudge can get on his side, no matter how lowly their leadership position, the easier his planned coup against Dumbledore will be. At least that's what Percy Weasel thinks.

Fudge is a fool and his magic can't begin to stand up to Dumbledore's and the combined strength of the Order of the Phoenix. At least that's my take anyway.

It was good for Harry to see Sirius, I think. It always seems to calm him down. And Sirius confirmed for us how truly paranoid Fudge is about Dumbledore. Of course, he couldn't be more wrong about Dumbledore. They're really fighting the same enemy, only Fudge is too stupid or cursed to see it. Or he's corrupt.

Now who's getting paranoid.  But it is getting so you can't trust anyone these days. Why I wouldn't even trust Jack Bauer if showed up in the next chapter.

Reading the book, not going to the movie

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapters 6, 7 and 8

I just dropped off my three daughters at the theater for the midnight showing of "The Deathly Hallows, Part 2." I was hoping to be all the way through the books so that I could watch with them, but I've been under a non-reading spell lately. I had to drop them off early because of the long line. I thought about just having them apparate there and back to save me the two trips, but I looked on my iPad and there wasn't an app for that.

It has been my practice to write about each chapter, but I am leaving that path at least for this post. These three chapters could have been one long one leading up to Harry's hearing.

We learned lots about the House of Black how lots of magic people are related. All very interesting, but not much action other than Fred and George apparating and the cleaning of doxies out of the curtains.

Then we get a tour of the Ministry of Magic in the next chapter. I kept wondering what floor the sporting goods were on.

The hearing was peculiar. Fudge, of course, trying to keep the Voldemort thing quiet tried his best to run a kangaroo court and convict Harry. But Dumbledore is about 10 times smarter than Fudge, and the other members of the Wizengamot were obviously not intimidated by Fudge.

So Harry is free to return to Hogwarts and see what kind of trouble he can get into. Not sure what kind of showdown is coming with Voldemort or his minions in this book, but I'll keep trying to push ahead this next couple weeks and finish it up.

Meanwhile, I need to rest up to go get the moviegoers who are undoubtedly witnessing the magic world's version of "The Gunfight at the OK Corral."

A timely finish

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 21

Shame on Cornelius Fudge for looking for the politically expedient way out of this Sirius Black public relations nightmare. Just send him back to Azkaban no questions asked? How did he get this Minister of Magic job anyway?

Dumbledore, however, always knows what's really going on and is a man with a plan. The time travel rescue operation - a move that could have cost the headmaster his job - was some of the best sleight of hand you could imagine.

I said I wouldn't guess who Harry saw across the lake, but I did figure he thought he saw his dad. But I also figured that wasn't who he saw. I didn't realize it until he did. You would think after seeing the "Back to The Future" series more than once and various other shows and movies that incorporate time travel that I would have figured it out. I'm very disappointed in myself.

The time travel thing is one of the best sequences of the series so far. No wonder Hermione was so tired during the school year living 24-plus hours a day. Jack Bauer could have used that hourglass, then he wouldn't have always been "running out of time."

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 22

Snape for once is right, but he can't prove it. I would say poor guy, but he's really getting on my nerves.

He jumps to conclusions, yells at everyone and is always late to the party. And what's with this calling the students by their last names? Snape isn't the only one who does it. They're kids. Call them by their first names.

As prescient as Dumbledore always is, I'm sure that his telling Harry that the day will come whem he will be glad he saved Pettigrew's life will come true.

Harry's letter from Black and an owl for Ron was a nice spirit lifter at the end. Overall, not a happy ending, but something to hope for.

The climax to this story was a lot to digest, but it was a rewarding finish to a book that at times moved a bit slow. But apparently there is purpose in everything that happens at Hogwarts.

Now it's time to drink from "The Goblet of Fire."

The boys are on their own

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Chapter 14

Too bad Hermione didn't take time to tell Harry and Ron what she had just figured out before running off to the library and getting herself petrified. It's not like her to not share her knowledge.

The mirror that was found must mean something, but what about a voice that only Harry can hear. We already know Harry hears snakes, and as far as we know no one else in Hogwarts has that ability. Maybe a snake has something to do with this. It would make sense, so I'm probably wrong.

The invisibility cloak sure is getting a workout. Harry and Ron are like the proverbial fly on the wall every place they go. Too bad for Hagrid and Dumbledore that they wouldn't fit under the cloak when magic-school politics erupted in Hagrid's house.

There are two kinds of politicians: those who react and make poor decisions, and those who act decisively to gain control of the ones who react. Cornelius Fudge is the former, Lucius Malfoy is the latter. It can't be good for any of the good-guy characters that Malfoy has shown himself to be most powerful.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Chapter 15

As big and creepy-crawly as Aragog and family are, I could handle that a lot better than a room full of you-know-what. That was quite an adventure Harry and Ron took into the forest even if Ron feels the same way about spiders as Indiana Jones does about snakes.

Now they know where the car is in case they need it again, they know Hagrid didn't open the Chamber (but they still don't know who did) and now they have a witness - good old Moaning Myrtle.

I wonder how soon Hermione will be able to rejoin the case. Maybe Professor Gilderoy Lockhart and his award-winning smile could help. Then again he'd be about as much help as Dobby.