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.

Busting out

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapter 33

Does this mean The Dunderheaded Secretary and High Instigator is out of the story? Has she been carried off to Centaur-land forever? We can only hope. Although, I do enjoy musing about her.

Props to Hermione for leading Umbridge into the forest. My first thought was that she was headed to Grawp. I was kind of half right because his appearance allowed them to break free. Now it's time to fly to the Department of Mysteries and save Sirius.

That is the next question. Can this top-ranking platoon of the DA save Padfoot from Voldemort? I have no idea. I've heard some characters begin to die. Is this the beginning of that? Or does Sirius survive?

I do suggest getting out of the forest and staying out. The Centaurs (I'm even afraid to call them half-breeds) would not be happy to see them.

So from here, it's save Sirius, reassemble the Order and, I suppose, find a way to convince the Ministry that Voldemort is alive. I'm guessing at some point that will happen and all magical people not aligned with Voldemort will live in fear again.

Enjoy the flight.

In the words of George ...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapter 29

If I had the displeasure of introducing Dolores Umbridge to a crowd, it might go something like this:

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Dolores Umbridge, the most hated headmistress in the history of Hogwarts.

Or, Dolores Umbridge, the wicked witch of the Ministry of the Magic.

But I think I would most like to introduce her in the words of George Weasley: Dolores Umbridge, the old bat.

Yes, that would give me pleasure.

As readers we, of course, side with Harry and all his friends. And we root against their opposition. And Dolores is definitely the opposition. I hope Harry gets to be an auror, especially after her display in the career counseling session. Talk about your micro-managers. Oh, and good for McGonagall standing up to the boss.

Harry's talk with Sirius and Lupin should calm him down about his dad. Their insistence on resuming his Occlumency lessons was revealing. Everyone believes this is serious business, but they won't tell Harry exactly why. Tell the boy already. Don't you know by now that this approach doesn't work with Harry. He will just go off in another direction if he doesn't understand why.

And then there's Snape. He needs to grow up and forget the past. Move on. Let it go. And just take one for the Order.

Too many foes

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Chapter 12

Help me here.

Is it worse for a teenager to deal with evil dark lords or politics?

My answer for now is politics. Luke Skywalker, I think, had it easier than Harry Potter. Luke knew who the enemy was. His battles were mostly one on one with the straight-up bad guys. Harry, however, has to dance with Dolores Umbridge and the entire Ministry of Magic. He knows Voldemort is the real bad guy, but he also has to fight against either ignorance or corruption in the ministry.

It's hard for a 15-year-old to sit on the truth and be politically correct. It's too bad that living the other way becomes easier as adults, but then Harry has had to live like an adult for a long time. So Harry has to sit and take it from Umbridge in detention and class and anywhere else they might meet. I'm sure she was the good spy and sent off a note to Fudge right after class reporting about Harry's outburst.

I assume Umbridge will be a battle this entire school year. Only a run-in with Voldemort himself is likely to make her believe that the dark side is back in business. Unless she's part of the conspiracy. At this point, who knows.

"Bring 'em on, I'd prefer a straight fight to all this sneaking around." (Extra credit if you can tell me who said that.)

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."

Clueless people

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Chapter 9

Wizards being scared by other wizards in a muggle campground. Is no safe place anymore.

What these magic folk need is a wizard who can truly do battle with the dark arts on a large scale. Not some dimwit like Gilderoy Lockhart or one like Lupin who can't gain trust because he's a werewolf.

Somebody's got to rise up and take the bad guys' wands and snap them over his knee. Obviously, no one like that exists yet or they wouldn't be so scared by the Dark Mark and clueless what to do about it.

Someone needs to infiltrate Voldemort's ranks or call him out into the street for a showdown ... wand against wand.

All these Ministry of Magic dudes seem like political appointments. When real problems come along all they point are their fingers at pathetic house elves.

After a night in the woods that makes headlines, only Harry might have a clue. His burning scar, then the Dark Mark appearance. Harry ponders: What did these things mean?

Indeed, what do they mean.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Chapter 10

Like I said, nobody knows what to do. Mr. Weasley said he's just putting out fires. No doubt that's what everybody else is doing. The ministry is in damage control mode.

These magical people do have some of the coolest ways though. Talking to a head floating in a fire has just been added to my bucket list.

Harry is on top of things, which I would expect because his name is in the title of every book. Goofy old Telawney's prediction that Voldemort would rise up more powerful than before certainly has Harry's attention.

Harry is hoping for answers from Sirius, but whatever it is will only be something to help in the next step. There is no magic answer to the problem of Voldemort. It's like how one clue leads to another clue in "National Treasure."

In answer to what I said in Chapter 9 above, form a committee of Harry, Sirius, Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione and maybe even Mr. Weasley. And send a spy.