Minor parts of the story that alarm or surprise you.

[abl385]

What really happens to Umbridge in the forest when she is taken off by the centaurs?

[PhoenixGryffin]

Originally Posted by abl385

What really happens to Umbridge in the forest when she is taken off by the centaurs?

O.o good point.

Here are a few other things that disturb me....

Polyjuice Potion-This always creeped me out because then how can you tell if your friend is really your friend, or just some creeper who took Polyjuice Potion? And for second years to be able to brew it too...Scary.

Portkeys. Anything you touch could basically transport you anywhere. If I were Harry after GoF, I'd just shut myself in my bedroom, terrified that if I walked outside, a newspaper or something could be a Portkey. So I think he handled that rather well.

Also in GoF, the whole graveyard scene was disturbing, but one of the things that really alarmed me was the Death Eaters laughing. Laughing as a fourteen-year-old gets tortured. Laughing, even though quite a few of them have children the same age. I just found that emotionally difficult to read.

The veil in the Department of Mysteries. Basically you would...disintegrate? Spontaneously combust? Cease to exist? Something like that, and just through walking through a harmless-looking archway.

Dementors and Lethifolds. Also Nagini possessing Bathilda.

Also, the transfiguration of animals had me a bit weirded out as well...

[RiverNight]

-The scene with the basilisk from CoS. I thought it was kind of a dark turn for the 2nd book.

-The Dementors. Just their very nature is pretty disturbing.

-Voldermort's re-birth in GoF

-The veil in OotP. When I first read it, I didn't even know that Sirus had died. I had to re-read it a few times and just the whole idea of the veil is just so scary.

[Pokota]

Polyjuice Potion-This always creeped me out because then how can you tell if your friend is really your friend, or just some creeper who took Polyjuice Potion? And for second years to be able to brew it too...Scary.

I can get behind the creepiness, but as for the second years brewing it... bear in mind three things. (1) The potion is at least OWL Theory, if not NEWT Practical. (2) It's Hermione doing the brewing; I'd bet my bottom dollar that if Snape hadn't screwed up with Lily then Hermione would have been called 'the best Potioneer that Hogwarts has seen since myself', and (3) Harry, Ron and Hermione broke about a hundred rules and laws, including BREAKING AND ENTERING, to brew the potion in the first place, not to mention criminal mischief as well as the subsequent drugged-and-impersonated sequence.

...yeah. In a way, Harry was a criminal long before the Daily Prophet started condemning him, the main difference is that he could pretty much have gotten away with murder when he first showed up at Hogwarts. He was just never convicted of anything.

Portkeys. Anything you touch could basically transport you anywhere. If I were Harry after GoF, I'd just shut myself in my bedroom, terrified that if I walked outside, a newspaper or something could be a Portkey. So I think he handled that rather well.

The thing with Portkeys, though, is that they seem to lose their power once they're used once. With the Triwizard Cup as an exception, we never see a portkey being used more than once, and it's implied that the Triwizard Cup worked that way because of layered spells. Though quite honestly, we only ever see portkeys in action during the fourth and fifth books. Unless there's something I've forgotten.

Also in GoF, the whole graveyard scene was disturbing, but one of the things that really alarmed me was the Death Eaters laughing. Laughing as a fourteen-year-old gets tortured. Laughing, even though quite a few of them have children the same age. I just found that emotionally difficult to read.

From the standpoint of an author, this behavior is specifically to mark the characters subsequently named as being irredeemably evil. And quite honestly, not one of those Death Eaters ever thought that it would happen to anybody they cared about.

The veil in the Department of Mysteries. Basically you would...disintegrate? Spontaneously combust? Cease to exist? Something like that, and just through walking through a harmless-looking archway.

Physically, cease to exist. However, take a moment to remember what Luna and Harry (and maybe Neville?) heard while at the Veil. It's like Thestrals in that respect, and we know that there is some sort of spiritual component to people in the Harry Potter universe, between Ghosts, Dementors, and the Veil.

[14snitch14]

Sorry if this has been mentioned (but there are 19 pages!), how has Hagrid got a job at the school. He was expelled for allegedly killing a girl at that school, yet he's allowed to continue living and even working there.
Even if it was assumed he didnt open it, then why was he not allowed to use magic and was arrested when opened again?

[wolfbrother]

Originally Posted by 14snitch14

Sorry if this has been mentioned (but there are 19 pages!), how has Hagrid got a job at the school. He was expelled for allegedly killing a girl at that school, yet he's allowed to continue living and even working there.
Even if it was assumed he didnt open it, then why was he not allowed to use magic and was arrested when opened again?

Dumbledore did not believe Hagrid was guilty and therefore stood up for him. I assume that after his innocence was proved, he would have been able to perform magic again. In Hagrid's particular case, since he wasn't very good at magic to begin with, I don't think it made that much of a difference whether he could do magic or not.

[GemmaBlack]

I always thought it was strange that after winning the Wizard Gold in PoA, the Weasleys practically blew it all on a summer in Egypt. I know Bill is there,but he could have visited them or they could have gone for a shorter amount of time. The only new thing Ron gets for Hogwarts is a wand. I just think, if it were me, I'd provide more for my children, only after that would I go on holiday.

[slytherin001]

Originally Posted by abl385

What really happens to Umbridge in the forest when she is taken off by the centaurs?

I don't think there's any real explicit info coming from canon, so it's untelling. BUT, if I'm not mistaken, part of the centaurs mythology is that they would rape women. But I doubt that's what's JKR's implication was. Hopefully.

As for alarming minor parts of the story, I remember the way the death eaters toyed with the muggles like they were puppets at the Quidditch World Cup in GoF. Always creeped me out.

Also, when Fred and George are skiving off at Hogwarts in OotP and they give Peeves orders, and Peeves actually saluted them (IIRC). I never expected it, but it does make sense.

And Snape's reaction to Sirius' escape at the end of PoA. I don't know if that would technically be classified as a minor moment or what, but I'm pretty sure that was the first time in the series that Snape just flipped his, well, you know. Re-reading it still shocks me. Just dude.

That's all that really comes to mind right now, but I'll rack my brains for more.

[Pokota]

With Snape's freakout at the end of PoA, it makes some degree of sense.

1) Snape was unconscious for the entire time Peter was on-page, so he has reason to believe that Black really did make it all up. He barely tolerates Sirius during Order of the Phoenix, and that's only after he had seen for himself that Pettigrew is back in Death Eater robes.
2) Sirius was directly responsible for Snape very nearly getting attacked by Remus during their school days, and Snape doesn't let things go very easily.
3) Snape just lost out on having his own Order of Merlin, First Class. I've always understood that to be the single most impressive award that a wizard can receive without it being a posthumous award.
4) It actually is Harry's fault that Sirius got away, the only thing Snape is lacking here is cold hard evidence.

[slytherin001]

Originally Posted by Pokota

With Snape's freakout at the end of PoA, it makes some degree of sense.

1) Snape was unconscious for the entire time Peter was on-page, so he has reason to believe that Black really did make it all up. He barely tolerates Sirius during Order of the Phoenix, and that's only after he had seen for himself that Pettigrew is back in Death Eater robes.
2) Sirius was directly responsible for Snape very nearly getting attacked by Remus during their school days, and Snape doesn't let things go very easily.
3) Snape just lost out on having his own Order of Merlin, First Class. I've always understood that to be the single most impressive award that a wizard can receive without it being a posthumous award.
4) It actually is Harry's fault that Sirius got away, the only thing Snape is lacking here is cold hard evidence.

Sure, I suppose (though I'm more inclined to believe Snape lost his stuff because of the simple fact he wanted Sirius to pay for his actions against Snape. But that topic isn't for the thread, I'm afraid), but I was actually just referring to the sheer shock of not only seeing Snape out of his customary cool and collected, but acting quite deranged. I remember first reading the books, and never thinking Snape would be capable of such expressive emotions. Boy, how I was wrong.

[m14ka]

I want to ask, is all the photograph can think like like the real one, why harry potter didn't ask dumbledore in his photograph after dumbledore is dead?

[snapes_witch]

Originally Posted by m14ka

I want to ask, is all the photograph can think like like the real one, why harry potter didn't ask dumbledore in his photograph after dumbledore is dead?

Magic photographs don't talk; they just move. Or did you mean Dumbledore's headmaster portrait? It was asleep at the end of HBP and didn't wake up (as far as we know) until Snape became headmaster and by that time Harry wasn't at Hogwarts any more.

[m14ka]

Originally Posted by snapes_witch

Magic photographs don't talk; they just move. Or did you mean Dumbledore's headmaster portrait? It was asleep at the end of HBP and didn't wake up (as far as we know) until Snape became headmaster and by that time Harry wasn't at Hogwarts any more.

Thnak you...but why was it asleep? can we wake it up? is it think like the real one? why harry potter didn't make sirius n harry potter's parent portrait so he doesnt feel lonely n can talk to them everyday...

[snapes_witch]

Originally Posted by m14ka

Thnak you...but why was it asleep? can we wake it up? is it think like the real one? why harry potter didn't make sirius n harry potter's parent portrait so he doesnt feel lonely n can talk to them everyday...

I suspect Dumbledore's portrait may have been faking those first days! And JKR didn't want him to give anything away until the next book! JKR said that Magic portraits are just a faint copy of the real person.

Harry wouldn't know how to make a magic portrait. Hagrid did collect some magic snapshots of the Potters for an album so Harry did have those to keep him company.

[HufflePuff137]

I think (for Harry) talking to a magic portrait would be a little like the Mirror of Erised. Of course the portrait isn't Dumbledore...(no would it be Lily, Sirius, etc.) It would only be "acting" as subject might have acted (spoken) in real life. If Harry wasn't careful he would end up in a situation like with the mirror--tricking himself into believing it was real.

[lucky charms]

I hope this isn't off-topic, but this thread makes me realize how extremely biased Harry's POV is. There are so many disturbing things done by the "good guys" that are either depicted as justified (attacking Zacharias, Harry using the Cruciatus Curse), funny (the Weasley twins' bullying), or not that big of a deal/just being "hot-headed" (Sirius trying to literally get Snape KILLED, and for what? Being snivelly? Having greasy hair?), when similar things done by the "bad guys" would have been zomgevil. I wonder how many of these things were intended by Jo as part of her "the world isn't divided into good people and Death Eaters" theme (Sirius's prank, Harry's Cruciatus probably fall into this category) and how many were actually things she expected us to sympathize with (the Weasley's bullying, Dumbledore's last-minute "jk every1, gryffindor wins lolol" probably fit in here). How many disturbing moments do you think were intentionally disturbing, and how many do you think were oversights?

[snapes_witch]

Originally Posted by HufflePuff137

I think (for Harry) talking to a magic portrait would be a little like the Mirror of Erised. Of course the portrait isn't Dumbledore...(no would it be Lily, Sirius, etc.) It would only be "acting" as subject might have acted (spoken) in real life. If Harry wasn't careful he would end up in a situation like with the mirror--tricking himself into believing it was real.

There appeared to be more to Dumbledore's portrait than we were led to expect from JKR's comments about magical portraits. It almost seemed like the portrait was ordering Headmaster Snape around IMO!!

[SirDobster]

Sometimes it's funny, but sometimes it's actually quite sad, when Harry and Ron and Hermione chat about avoiding Hagrid or things related to him, like his classes. Poor Hagrid has good intentions and a good heart.

[snaperunner]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before, but at the Qudditch World Cup when those Muggles kept getting their memories erased (and these were the good guys). Seriously, wouldn't that do severe damage to them? And what happens if the memories start to return?
I also have a bit of an issue with the term "Muggle" to describe non-magical humans. To me that has a connotation like it the Deep South during the Civil Rights era calling the African-Americans an ugly name simply because of their skin color.

[Sereena]

Originally Posted by lucky charms

I hope this isn't off-topic, but this thread makes me realize how extremely biased Harry's POV is. There are so many disturbing things done by the "good guys" that are either depicted as justified (attacking Zacharias, Harry using the Cruciatus Curse), funny (the Weasley twins' bullying), or not that big of a deal/just being "hot-headed" (Sirius trying to literally get Snape KILLED, and for what? Being snivelly? Having greasy hair?), when similar things done by the "bad guys" would have been zomgevil. I wonder how many of these things were intended by Jo as part of her "the world isn't divided into good people and Death Eaters" theme (Sirius's prank, Harry's Cruciatus probably fall into this category) and how many were actually things she expected us to sympathize with (the Weasley's bullying, Dumbledore's last-minute "jk every1, gryffindor wins lolol" probably fit in here). How many disturbing moments do you think were intentionally disturbing, and how many do you think were oversights?

I don't think they were intentionally disturbing but I do think they were disturbing. I was surprised not only at Harry's rather unnecessary use of the Cruciatus Curse in DH but also at his quoting Bellatrix afterwards, after he had just witnessed one of his best friends being tortured by her and knew she had tortured Neville's parents. I thought that remark of his was in very bad taste considering the circumstances and Minerva not reacting in a negative manner to what Harry just did is an indication of like you said, bias in favor of Gryffindors.