The Great Escape

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Chapter 9

Suddenly the story is in action-movie mode.

Subbing for the car chase through tight European streets and alleys: A quick now-you-see-them-now-you-don't getaway thanks to Hermione's quick thinking and forward thinking to have the go bag of all go bags ready.

Subbing for the fight in a crowded street market: The cafe brawl with Death Eaters, and the "Men In Black" style memory wipes.

Subbing for the GPS tracker stealthily placed on someone's collar: The Death Eaters have a magical way of tracing Harry's movements. That mystery remains unsolved.

Subbing for the deserted warehouse or the cabin in the woods hideout: Grimmauld Place with the requisite amount of dust and creep factor.

Some good news comes through Arthur's patronus that all is well back at the Burrow. But Harry's scar is inflamed. He's seeing Draco being made to serve Voldemort's evil plans. More of these episodes to come.

What's next?

I can't see them sticking around the Black homestead for long. There are bad guys to stop and horcruxes to find. I don't think they'll all toddle around under the invisibility cloak together. But they do need to be able to move without being seen or traced.

Someone will figure something out. They always do.

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.