Minor parts of the story that alarm or surprise you.

[magentastorm]

Originally Posted by Dedalus Diggle

Most of England is well-warmed by the Gulf Stream throughout the winter so that freezes are relatively rare, compared to the USA, for instance, particularly as far south as Surrey. This was not even winter, too, as it was November 1, barely over a month into fall. Presumably, Dumbledore would have taken precautions if the weather had been harsh.

Ah, I see. I thought November was the last month of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, but evidently I worked it out incorrectly. I also just assumed that November was still quite cold, as there is hardly any difference between autumn and winter and spring and summer where I live.

[Nnylarak]

Originally Posted by Dedalus Diggle

However, I am more bothered by the fact that Harry was not really a baby at that point. At 15 months, he was almost certainly well capable of wandering off. Maybe Hagrid or McGonnagal hung around and kept an eye on Harry until he was taken in.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone waited until Harry was discovered by the Dursleys. I would assume it would be McGonagall, since she had been watching the house all day. And, we see guards stationed at Privet Drive at other points in the stories, so it wouldn't be unusual.

[Goddess_Clio]

Sorry if this has already been covered in this thread but I was just rereading the beginnin of GOF and was thinking about Hermione. She sure doesn't spend a lot of time with her family! Do we even ever see them dropping her off for the train? I can only remember one instance of them being mentioned as standing with the Weasleys looking and looking around Platform 9 3/4. Hermione spends several of her holidays at Hogwarts simply to keep Harry company, ditches her family holiday to return to Hogwarts over break and often runs off to the Weasley's over summer break.

What's the deal, Hermione?

[yorkiedoodle]

Originally Posted by magentastorm

Ah, I see. I thought November was the last month of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, but evidently I worked it out incorrectly. I also just assumed that November was still quite cold, as there is hardly any difference between autumn and winter and spring and summer where I live.

The weather in the UK can be erratic - November can sometimes feel mild or it can feel very cold indeed!

I prefer to think that someone stayed until Harry was taken in.... and perhaps that maybe Dumbledore rang the doorbell or knocked on the door before they left.

[acciowinter]

Originally Posted by Goddess_Clio

Sorry if this has already been covered in this thread but I was just rereading the beginnin of GOF and was thinking about Hermione. She sure doesn't spend a lot of time with her family! Do we even ever see them dropping her off for the train? I can only remember one instance of them being mentioned as standing with the Weasleys looking and looking around Platform 9 3/4. Hermione spends several of her holidays at Hogwarts simply to keep Harry company, ditches her family holiday to return to Hogwarts over break and often runs off to the Weasley's over summer break.

What's the deal, Hermione?

never really thought about this either but i have a couple of points to make:
a) they are muggles I am not sure if muggles can get on platform 9 3/4 but they probably can. but they might not even live in London. do we know where Hermione lives? (googled it and it couldn't give me a proper answer) and a journey to London might be far especially using muggle transportation (I expect you to be familiar with that yeah I am extremely funny I know)
b) they are dentist and probably work a lot. idk the regular amount of days people in england get off work for a year but probably not that many days and if they get off they usually spend their time with Hermione in France and skiing.
c) again they are muggles so Hermione usually spends the last weeks of summer at the Burrow because the Weasleys will go to Kings Cross on Sept 1st anyway. This is most convenient for everyone involving really.
d) Summer is a good time to spend with your friends and since Harry always joins the Weasleys at the Burrow Hermione can be there too and the trio can hang (:
e) her parents probably approve of her being a good friend to Harry and think it's okay if she spends time with him. Like I said before they probably don't get off a lot of days so I don't think it matters that much


none of my points really make sense.

[Goddess_Clio]

Originally Posted by acciowinter

none of my points really make sense.

LOL, yeah they do.

a) they are muggles I am not sure if muggles can get on platform 9 3/4 but they probably can. but they might not even live in London. do we know where Hermione lives? (googled it and it couldn't give me a proper answer) and a journey to London might be far especially using muggle transportation (I expect you to be familiar with that yeah I am extremely funny I know)

My memory of the only time we see Hermione's parents is picking her up from the train so they would have been on platform 9 3/4... but maybe i'm remembering wrong? Anyway, I think you're right that muggles can't get on the platform but maybe there's an exception for muggle parents of muggleborns.

b) they are dentist and probably work a lot. idk the regular amount of days people in england get off work for a year but probably not that many days and if they get off they usually spend their time with Hermione in France and skiing.

I imagine that they could just take the day off to drop her off. I'm sure they're not the only dentists in england... (isudden mental mage of Austin Powers)--no, no, let that one go... lol

but as we see in ... one of the books, Hermione DOES leave to go skiing but also abandons her parents on the slopes to return to school because "she's not a good skier" - I'm not a good skier either but I'd still like to stay in the mountains at a resort and have a vacation. I'm sure skiing wasn't the only possible activity where she was. Just seems strange me. Even stranger that her parents - who already rarely see her - let her go back to school after just a couple days with them.

c) again they are muggles so Hermione usually spends the last weeks of summer at the Burrow because the Weasleys will go to Kings Cross on Sept 1st anyway. This is most convenient for everyone involving really.

This is your best point. My only rebuttle is what seems to be the extended stay at Grimmauld Place which, to me, seems like weeks. How much did her parents get to see her that summer?

d) Summer is a good time to spend with your friends and since Harry always joins the Weasleys at the Burrow Hermione can be there too and the trio can hang (:

Yes, summer is a good time to hang with friends. But for weeks at a time? I repeatedly get the impression Hermione spends more time with the Weasleys than with her own family.

e) her parents probably approve of her being a good friend to Harry and think it's okay if she spends time with him. Like I said before they probably don't get off a lot of days so I don't think it matters that much

Also, everyone gets vacation time and i'm sure that her parents would have had no qualms about taking time off work to be with their only daughter who they only see for a couple weeks in the summer. (I'm sure Hermione writes, though it's never mentioned in the books) And while approving of her being a good friend is one thing, sending her away to school for 10 months of year and then having at least another several weeks spent at the Burrow every summer plus the christmas holidays spent at school to keep Harry company... It's a wonder Hermione ever sees her parents!

[LuMac]

- I find DD's family history(Ariana) unbelievably dark. I was surprised JKR went there. I skip the whole chapter where Aberforth talks about what happened whenever I reread DH. Too depressing.

- It annoys me that Harry never legitimately lost a Quidditch game in 6 years at Hogwarts. The 1 time he did lose(PoA), it was because of the dementors. Would it have killed JKR to have Gryffindor/Harry outplayed once in a while? I mean, who's even that invested in the outcome of these games while reading? I personally think there's nothing more boring to read/watch than a fake game. I always skip Quidditch matches when I reread the series. The best thing to do with Quidditch(a sport with AWFUL rules, IMO) in the series is Oliver Wood.

- The level of cruelty Harry experienced at Privet Drive. One particular scene that sticks out is Pentunia throwing a frying pan at Harry's head in CoS after Dudley blabbed something about Harry using magic. Just picture that scene for a second. The fact that Harry grew up to be so normal is unrealistic to say the least.

[Taquiq]

The part that alarmed me the most was in CoS, Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber for ever. Reading sends chills to my spine and makes me think alot!

Originally Posted by LuMac

- It annoys me that Harry never legitimately lost a Quidditch game in 6 years at Hogwarts. The 1 time he did lose(PoA), it was because of the dementors. Would it have killed JKR to have Gryffindor/Harry outplayed once in a while? I mean, who's even that invested in the outcome of these games while reading? I personally think there's nothing more boring to read/watch than a fake game. I always skip Quidditch matches when I reread the series. The best thing to do with Quidditch(a sport with AWFUL rules, IMO) in the series is Oliver Wood.

I somewhat agree. The snitch shouldn't be worth 150 points as stated numerous times. And it is strange that in six years, Harry "lost" one match. I think it is an interesting read, but was very predictable the first time I read it.

[merrymarge]

Hermione and her parents are seen in Flouish and Blotts book store in COS. They were quite alarmed when Arthur and Lucius started fighting in the store. As for spending a lot of time at Hogwarts or the Burrow, I think Hermione told her parents why she didn't always want to come home.
When Lily was going to Hogwarts, we see her with her family on the Platform near the Hogwarts Express, her parents were looking around in delight. So, parents of Muggleborn children were able to get onto the Platform.
Aunt Petunia didn't throw a frying pan at harry. she tried to hit him with it. it's true Harry was an unusual child and the fact that he turned out normal says a lot for him.

[LuMac]

Originally Posted by merrymarge

Aunt Petunia didn't throw a frying pan at harry. she tried to hit him with it.

Err....what's the difference?

[merrymarge]

throwing a frying pan is a lot different than trying to hit someone. anyway, Harry ducked. If he had been hurt, I wonder what the Dursleys would have done? And would anyone at Hogwarts find out?

[snugglepot]

- It annoys me that Harry never legitimately lost a Quidditch game in 6 years at Hogwarts. The 1 time he did lose(PoA), it was because of the dementors. Would it have killed JKR to have Gryffindor/Harry outplayed once in a while? I mean, who's even that invested in the outcome of these games while reading? I personally think there's nothing more boring to read/watch than a fake game. I always skip Quidditch matches when I reread the series. The best thing to do with Quidditch(a sport with AWFUL rules, IMO) in the series is Oliver Wood.

Harry lost two Quiddich games.
You are forgetting about the game in his 6th year when Ron was in hospital and Cormac had to play and he hit Harry with a Bludger and Gryffindor lost.

[inthebreeze]

Throughout the first five books, Lee Jordan does the Quidditch commentary. And so, it's always with a pro-Gryffindor bias, which is fine, but at no point does Harry or anyone else ever seem to care what the other houses might think of what Lee says during the commentary. Harry has five years (alright, four, with the Cup cancelled in GoF) of never hearing a single bad word about him or his team during the commentary - he even uses the commentary to his advantage, making sure to listen to it as it occasionally helps him.

And then in Half-Blood Prince, for one or two matches, Zacharias Smith does the commentary, and the Gryffindors go kind of crazy. Smith never said anything particularly bad about Gryffindor, and nothing worse than several things Lee came out with, but our brave and noble heroes handle the situation like a bunch of 10-year olds. Ginny flies into Smith, attempting to injure him (and possibly her own Head of House in the process), Harry gets angry and wound up by Smith over pretty much nothing. The rest of the team is angry at Smith and if I remember correctly they looked forward to hammering Smith when they played Hufflepuff later (the match Luna commentated on).

Just thought it was interesting. They had favorable commentary that was even useful towards helping them win for five years, and in their first taste of what it felt like to be one of the other houses for the last five years they revert back to childishness in about five seconds.

[leafbreeze]

I have to admit, I was rather disturbed by the idea that the class practiced Vanishing spells on animals like rats, iguanas, and kittens. And when the animal doesn't vanish completely . . . I forget which book, but there was one time Ron vanished all of a rat but its tail, and the tail was still wriggling. Silly as it may sound, I found that disturbing.

[GrimeldaDursley]

Originally Posted by leafbreeze

I have to admit, I was rather disturbed by the idea that the class practiced Vanishing spells on animals like rats, iguanas, and kittens. And when the animal doesn't vanish completely . . . I forget which book, but there was one time Ron vanished all of a rat but its tail, and the tail was still wriggling. Silly as it may sound, I found that disturbing.

So was nothing left but the tail, or was the rest of the rat invisible? They seem to reuse the rats, as McGonagal had someone collect them at the end of class. I have to say I found it disturbing also, I found it rather cruel.

[NightWhisper7]

Probably the biggest thing that bothered me was the fact that the students of Slytherin House are all painted in the most negative light. I think Slughorn is the only Slytherin professor who doesn't seem like an evil person, and even then he's shown to have flaws.

Slytherin members are known to be cunning and ambitious. Ambition itself is not evil. I understand that it's a children's book, but it would have been nice to have some good Slytherin students, just as Gryffindor had its share of obnoxious (Lavender Brown) or even evil (Peter Pettigrew) students.

I pretty much agree with everything else people have posted.

[Alfine]

I didn't read many if the comments above me right now, so sorry if I just repeat what already has been said.

What first came into my mind when I read the title was a scene from DH; when Harry and Luna go to the Ravenclaw common room, there is Alecto, who gets attacked and stupefied.
After that, Amycus and Professor McGonagall enter the common room and get into an argument, I can't exactly remeber what it is about; then Amycus spits at Professor McGonagall and after that Harry shows himself and curses Amycus with the Cruciates Curse, which I find really...shocking. But then, even more shocking to me ist that McGonagall isn't actually shocked by him using it.
It kind of freaked me out how often the Unforgivable Curses are used in DH by the "good ones", but especially this use of the Cruciatus Curse was just too much for me then xD

What I also strongly dislike is the complete negative view on the Slytherins.
And on "evil" characters in general; Peter Pettigrew for example is always described as someone who wouldn't have gotten along without Sirius and James. That may or be not be entirely true, but I don't like that he is portrayed as a guy who was less talented when he was younger and just went along with the "cool guys" (which is not what I want to call them actually, but I do not have a better word to describe it).
Although I don't think this is unrealistic, since there are sometimes less talented or less smart guys who belong into a group that doesn't really seem to fit, I dislike how Lupin for example talks about him, and I guess McGonagall as well - they talk about Peter as if he wasn't of any worth, as if they didn't really like him.
But when he was still a child, perhaps he was just as clumsy as...Neville, perhaps.
It's just that he has chosen the wrong path after his childhood, but that doesn't make him a bad child before that.

I guess that are the main points that I am not really fine with.

[Basilisk37]

Originally Posted by GrimeldaDursley

So was nothing left but the tail, or was the rest of the rat invisible? They seem to reuse the rats, as McGonagal had someone collect them at the end of class. I have to say I found it disturbing also, I found it rather cruel.

She collects them yes, but does she really give them back? Remember, she can turn into a cat.

[GrimeldaDursley]

Originally Posted by Basilisk37

She collects them yes, but does she really give them back? Remember, she can turn into a cat.

Oh yum.

[SilverQueen]

Originally Posted by inthebreeze

Throughout the first five books, Lee Jordan does the Quidditch commentary. And so, it's always with a pro-Gryffindor bias, which is fine, but at no point does Harry or anyone else ever seem to care what the other houses might think of what Lee says during the commentary. Harry has five years (alright, four, with the Cup cancelled in GoF) of never hearing a single bad word about him or his team during the commentary - he even uses the commentary to his advantage, making sure to listen to it as it occasionally helps him.

And then in Half-Blood Prince, for one or two matches, Zacharias Smith does the commentary, and the Gryffindors go kind of crazy. Smith never said anything particularly bad about Gryffindor, and nothing worse than several things Lee came out with, but our brave and noble heroes handle the situation like a bunch of 10-year olds. Ginny flies into Smith, attempting to injure him (and possibly her own Head of House in the process), Harry gets angry and wound up by Smith over pretty much nothing. The rest of the team is angry at Smith and if I remember correctly they looked forward to hammering Smith when they played Hufflepuff later (the match Luna commentated on).

Just thought it was interesting. They had favorable commentary that was even useful towards helping them win for five years, and in their first taste of what it felt like to be one of the other houses for the last five years they revert back to childishness in about five seconds.

I'm not sure anything brings out childishness as much as sports, especially school sports. It's just lucky the parents weren't there, or they might have started dueling each other. The Gryffindors aren't behaving admirably, but they are behaving realistically, and considering some of the comments that Hermione makes about Quidditch being "just a game," I don't think JK necessarily expects us to condone their actions.

One interesting aspect of the house rivalry is that while Slytherins are painted very negatively, all the other houses are depicted as possessing a mixture of traits- including Gryffindor, as the Quidditch epoisode shows. And sometimes, as when Cedric and Harry are both chosen for the Triwizard Tournament, another house's grievances are shown to be partially justified. There's more shades of grey in the inter-house relationships than might first appear.