Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 17
Hogwarts sure is turning into a zoo.
Sirius Black can turn himself into a big dog, as I made reference to in earlier posts. Peter Pettigrew is a rat. Crookshanks ... I keep waiting for him to be somebody, but so far he's just a plain old cat. Seriously, who besides McGonagall would want to use their magical powers to morph into a cat? And Lupin is a werewolf.
I saw that coming. With a name like Lupin it made sense, because the latin word for wolf is lupus.
So two and a half of the trio (Ron has a broken leg you know) take out the vaunted Sirius Black? Didn't see that coming.
It also made sense that Lupin found his way to the Shrieking Shack. Harry needed help against the dark arts and Lupin is the first competent prof he's had. Plus, Lupin had taken an obvious interest in Harry.
And is there anything happening at Hogwarts that Lupin doesn't know about?
Rats, cats and dogs ... and werewolves ... Oh, my!
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 18
Lupin continues to make a short story long, but the others don't help as they argue about the revelation that Scabbers is Pettigrew.
It's all very interesting to learn about Lupin's werewolfing and how Black, Pettigrew and James Potter tried to turn Hogwarts into Animal House. But even Black gets impatient.
Enter Snape, who can add eavesdropper to his resume the next time he tries for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.
Snape, he just never gets along with the popular kids. Time for me to turn the page and see what part he will play and if Black gets to satisfy his murderous desires.
Showing posts with label Crookshanks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crookshanks. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Triumph and tragedy
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 15
So the end is near for Buckbeak. Is there no justice for framed hippogriffs? More on this later.
Hermione is obviously ready for summer vacation. I don't condone violence, but I sure hope her face-slapping of Malfoy is in the movie. Next time she should wave her wand in his general direction and say something like, "Off with your tongue!"
Next, she forgets to go to Charms class, then walks out of Divination. Somebody buy her an ice cream cone. That's always the best chill pill.
Not sure what seeing Crookshanks and a big hairy dog is all about for Harry, but I've been keeping a watchful eye on that cat since it entered the story. You can't be too careful with cats.
And you can't be too careful when playing Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup. No surprise they chose dirty tactics over relying on skill. It was like they put all the goons on the ice at once. But fair play and talent won out.
When Malfoy grabbed Harry's broom I decided that Malfoy and Dudley must have been separated at birth.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 16
Finals week is always a mix of anxiety and anticipation. And if your name is Harry Potter there is always the unexpected.
When Trelawney is channeling Voldemort - knowingly or not - questions are raised. Why is he telling Harry? And what is Black breaking free from? Is he trapped inside Hogwarts somewhere? Has it been not that he can't get in past the dementors, but that he can't get past them to get out?
More likely, it's something I haven't thought of, but it's fun to speculate.
Two things we don't have to speculate on anymore is what happened to Scabbers and will Hagrid win the appeal for Buckbeak?
Scabbers lives - and by the way he was acting there seems to be some purpose to his disappearance - and Beaky dies. Chalk one up for the Malfoys. It's unclear why they cared, but I don't think they need a reason to be mean.
So the end is near for Buckbeak. Is there no justice for framed hippogriffs? More on this later.
Hermione is obviously ready for summer vacation. I don't condone violence, but I sure hope her face-slapping of Malfoy is in the movie. Next time she should wave her wand in his general direction and say something like, "Off with your tongue!"
Next, she forgets to go to Charms class, then walks out of Divination. Somebody buy her an ice cream cone. That's always the best chill pill.
Not sure what seeing Crookshanks and a big hairy dog is all about for Harry, but I've been keeping a watchful eye on that cat since it entered the story. You can't be too careful with cats.
And you can't be too careful when playing Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup. No surprise they chose dirty tactics over relying on skill. It was like they put all the goons on the ice at once. But fair play and talent won out.
When Malfoy grabbed Harry's broom I decided that Malfoy and Dudley must have been separated at birth.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 16
Finals week is always a mix of anxiety and anticipation. And if your name is Harry Potter there is always the unexpected.
When Trelawney is channeling Voldemort - knowingly or not - questions are raised. Why is he telling Harry? And what is Black breaking free from? Is he trapped inside Hogwarts somewhere? Has it been not that he can't get in past the dementors, but that he can't get past them to get out?
More likely, it's something I haven't thought of, but it's fun to speculate.
Two things we don't have to speculate on anymore is what happened to Scabbers and will Hagrid win the appeal for Buckbeak?
Scabbers lives - and by the way he was acting there seems to be some purpose to his disappearance - and Beaky dies. Chalk one up for the Malfoys. It's unclear why they cared, but I don't think they need a reason to be mean.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Preparing for more trouble
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 11
We open with Harry feeling sad about never knowing his parents and angry about Sirius Black's betrayal. And you do get the same feeling like Hermione has that Harry - emboldened by his heroism in the first two books - wants to go looking for Black. Her book sense and common sense are coming together as she warns Harry not to play dog catcher.
Harry does get distracted a bit by Hagrid's wailing about the possible fate of Buckbeak. With the Malfoys rearing their ugly heads in conspiracy against Hagrid, our precocious detectives become lawyers as they dig through dusty books looking for precedent. With all the dust, that library would be no place for me. I would have a perpetually stuffy head, always feeling like I had just gotten out of bed in the morning.
Christmas morning is often full of surprises, but a Firebolt sure beats all. It would be like finding a Porsche in the driveway. Of course, Crookshanks ruins the party with another assassination attempt on Scabbers.
There are many things to appreciate about Dumbledore, but his appreciation of a good feast is high on the list. Of all the places I would want to see and experience at Hogwarts, it would be a feast in the Great Hall.
At least Harry got a good meal before the news that comes at the end of the chapter: The Firebolt is confiscated. It's for his own good, but nonetheless a bad ending to the day.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 12
Professor Lupin has turned out to be quite the friend and mentor to Harry. I hope he doesn't become a betrayer. At least he's not completely incompetent like his predecessor.
This boggart-dementor-Patronus thing that Harry is working on sounds quite exhausting. Finding a happy memory is not easy for Harry, and it seems like it takes an happy memory of lasting importance to make this work, not merely a pleasant and fleeting one.
So will a Dementor's Kiss end this business with Sirius Black? Will the Firebolt, now that we know it's clean of jinxes, lead Gryffindor to the elusive Quidditch Cup? And has Scabbers finally succumbed to the clutches of Crookshanks? Can't wait to find out.
We open with Harry feeling sad about never knowing his parents and angry about Sirius Black's betrayal. And you do get the same feeling like Hermione has that Harry - emboldened by his heroism in the first two books - wants to go looking for Black. Her book sense and common sense are coming together as she warns Harry not to play dog catcher.
Harry does get distracted a bit by Hagrid's wailing about the possible fate of Buckbeak. With the Malfoys rearing their ugly heads in conspiracy against Hagrid, our precocious detectives become lawyers as they dig through dusty books looking for precedent. With all the dust, that library would be no place for me. I would have a perpetually stuffy head, always feeling like I had just gotten out of bed in the morning.
Christmas morning is often full of surprises, but a Firebolt sure beats all. It would be like finding a Porsche in the driveway. Of course, Crookshanks ruins the party with another assassination attempt on Scabbers.
There are many things to appreciate about Dumbledore, but his appreciation of a good feast is high on the list. Of all the places I would want to see and experience at Hogwarts, it would be a feast in the Great Hall.
At least Harry got a good meal before the news that comes at the end of the chapter: The Firebolt is confiscated. It's for his own good, but nonetheless a bad ending to the day.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 12
Professor Lupin has turned out to be quite the friend and mentor to Harry. I hope he doesn't become a betrayer. At least he's not completely incompetent like his predecessor.
This boggart-dementor-Patronus thing that Harry is working on sounds quite exhausting. Finding a happy memory is not easy for Harry, and it seems like it takes an happy memory of lasting importance to make this work, not merely a pleasant and fleeting one.
So will a Dementor's Kiss end this business with Sirius Black? Will the Firebolt, now that we know it's clean of jinxes, lead Gryffindor to the elusive Quidditch Cup? And has Scabbers finally succumbed to the clutches of Crookshanks? Can't wait to find out.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Is any place safe?
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 8
The chapter opens with Malfoy's critique of Lupin's fashion sense, and if we hadn't figured it out yet, we see Malfoy's upside-down view of people. It's a view he no doubt learned from his arrogant father. But enough about Malfoy. He's hardly worth the breath.
Speaking of irritants, what about this Crookshanks creature. I'm not sure why anyone would want a good-for-nothing rat, but I'm with Ron on this one. Twice Ron calls it "that cat." I understand the sentiment. When Hermione defends the cat attack by saying, "Crookshanks doesn't understand it's wrong!" she displays a naive notion for the first time since she thought Lockhart knew what he was doing. That cat knows it's wrong. I know these things. I can't talk with them like Harry talks with snakes, but you can see it in their eyes and by the way they swish their tail. They know all right.
OK, OK, enough about cats.
The real question in this chapter is what became of the Fat Lady. It's never over till she sings, so she must be somewhere.
Is Peeves telling the truth about Sirius Black? He doesn't seem above lying, but I'm sure if he had news like this he would delight in telling Dumbledore.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 9
The subject of werewolves keeps coming up. Harry saw something dog-like just before the Knight Bus arrived. He saw something like it in the stands just before falling off his broom.
Astronomers know Sirius as the Dog Star in the constellation Canis Major. It is the brightest star in the heavens. Not sure if that relates at all, but names can mean things.
So poor Wood suffers a Quidditch loss, poor Harry ends up in the infirmary again and Harry's Nimbus 2000 is reduced to firewood.
The questions are mounting and adding to the confusion. Where is Sirius Black? Is Harry seeing a werewolf? What role does Lupin play?
And how soon before Crookshanks catches up to Scabbers?
The chapter opens with Malfoy's critique of Lupin's fashion sense, and if we hadn't figured it out yet, we see Malfoy's upside-down view of people. It's a view he no doubt learned from his arrogant father. But enough about Malfoy. He's hardly worth the breath.
Speaking of irritants, what about this Crookshanks creature. I'm not sure why anyone would want a good-for-nothing rat, but I'm with Ron on this one. Twice Ron calls it "that cat." I understand the sentiment. When Hermione defends the cat attack by saying, "Crookshanks doesn't understand it's wrong!" she displays a naive notion for the first time since she thought Lockhart knew what he was doing. That cat knows it's wrong. I know these things. I can't talk with them like Harry talks with snakes, but you can see it in their eyes and by the way they swish their tail. They know all right.
OK, OK, enough about cats.
The real question in this chapter is what became of the Fat Lady. It's never over till she sings, so she must be somewhere.
Is Peeves telling the truth about Sirius Black? He doesn't seem above lying, but I'm sure if he had news like this he would delight in telling Dumbledore.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 9
The subject of werewolves keeps coming up. Harry saw something dog-like just before the Knight Bus arrived. He saw something like it in the stands just before falling off his broom.
Astronomers know Sirius as the Dog Star in the constellation Canis Major. It is the brightest star in the heavens. Not sure if that relates at all, but names can mean things.
So poor Wood suffers a Quidditch loss, poor Harry ends up in the infirmary again and Harry's Nimbus 2000 is reduced to firewood.
The questions are mounting and adding to the confusion. Where is Sirius Black? Is Harry seeing a werewolf? What role does Lupin play?
And how soon before Crookshanks catches up to Scabbers?
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