Harry Potter Time.

[C is for]

Well, since it's Harry Potter Day (or is it tomorrow...midnights give me a headache) I thought I'd do some bragging and show off what I've done in my Book 7 class lately. Because some of them I'm really proud of (they're kind of long, though, so you might want to tl;dr). And we can have a good discussion over here too. I'm always up for that, whether or not it's movie release day.

We know Dean was on the run, and the Creeveys stayed hidden, but what happened to Justin?

It would help if we knew what happened to the Muggleborn students. Did they have to go into hiding or could they just say, "Hey, I'm not going to do magic anymore, here's my wand." ? Or bury their wand or something.

JK Rowling never mentions Justin at all in the 7th book; Harry doesn't see him in the Room of Requirement. But ... that doesn't mean he didn't show up for the Battle.

I'm wondering, though, if Justin was killed or something. Attacks were happening all the time. As a good-standing member of the DA, he probably would've joined the Battle if he could, and we'd have heard of it. Maybe he renounced magic and went to Oxford.

How did the Creeveys stay hidden? I can't see them on the run. I do know how he got to Hogwarts, though:
Lessee. I don't think I'm allowed to post links to other sites here, but I read this question-and-answer forum where one writer was asked the specific question "How did Colin get to Hogwarts?" It's a lot the same as what you guys have said, but I'll go ahead and copy-paste the answer here (it's actually where I got what JKR said about Colin coming back):

Dear Niffler

As you point out, Colin would not have been attending school prior to the final battle. First let's see what Rowling has said on the matter:

Colin wasn’t a student. He sneaked back with the rest of the DA, along with Fred, George and the rest. He ought not to have stayed behind when McGonagall told him to leave, but alas — he did.

However, this doesn't really clear up the wrinkle you have pointed out, Colin couldn't Apparate, so how did he get to the Hog's Head to take the secret path into Hogwart's? Well, we know that after the fall of the Ministry Muggleborns were being rounded up by the Ministry and hunted by Death Eaters. In The Deathly Hallows Harry discovers that Dean Thomas, a Muggleborn wizard, has gone on the run to avoid the Ministry, who is sending Muggleborns to Azkaban. Dean ended up with others who were on the run: Ted Tonks, Dirk Cresswell, Griphook, and Gornut.

I would speculate that Colin and his brother Dennis also went on the run during the events of The Deathly Hallows. Like Dean, they eventually met up with several other Muggleborn witches or wizards who were on the run and traveled with them. In any event, when Colin received the message to join the D.A. for the final battle, Colin convinced a witch or wizard in his group who could Apparate to take him to the Hog's Head. This witch or wizard may have been a member of the D.A., and thus also participated in the battle. Or, they could simply have been willing to fight in the battle because of their hatred of Voldemort, and thus joined the battle. Or, if they were not going to fight, they may have aided Colin in traveling to the Hog's Head out of respect for Colin's wish to fight...or as a way to stop having to travel with him if Colin greatly annoyed them.

-Humble Master

I personally subscribe to the idea that less-than-majority wizards weren't sent to Azkaban for their "crime" of "stealing magic," just had their wands confiscated and told to live a Muggle life. Clever students could hide their wands to avoid confiscation, which is how Colin could actually participate in the battle (and while I'm at it, Justin Finch-Fletchley! I worry about him). Does that sound plausible?

Considering what we know about Hagrid, how did Snape get away with setting a ‘soft’ punishment for Neville, Ginny and Luna? What would the Carrows' opinion have been?

I think the Carrows just considered Hagrid a complete oaf that wouldn't be able to protect the students from whatever horrors they would encounter in the Forbidden Forest. It was really very clever of Snape to devise such a punishment, because it's easy to make it sound bad. (Someone, I think one of the goblins on the run, said that they were punished "cruelly," so rumors of that sort seem to have gotten around.)

How do you think Ginny felt when she didn’t return to Hogwarts? What does Neville think?
I think Ginny fought the idea up until the Hogwarts Express left without her. Her mother probably locked the door with an unbreakable charm to keep her from getting out and flying to Kings Cross on a broomstick. She would want to be there with her team, as Alyssa said. Especially with Luna captured, she would feel the need to present a strong front against the Carrows' tyranny. And it would kill her that she couldn't. (As a side note, I would be so mad at Harry if he told me I couldn't fight, after being a leader of the DA all year! I don't blame her at all for sneaking away.)

So while she isn't going to like it any, I suppose I see her gritting her teeth and sticking with the Weasleys. Am I off-base here?

You know, you could be right. I was imagining how she'd react if she were told at the end of the holiday that she couldn't return; I really doubt she'd accept that. But then I remembered that people don't usually go home for the Easter holidays, since they're too busy getting ready for end-of-year exams. So Ginny probably knew, somehow, that she'd be going home and not coming back, and had time to prepare the DA and Neville for her departure and accept her home living with more maturity and grace. Because she would agree that being home was important, though it would be a struggle for her to balance her loyalties.

And even if she was blindsided with not returning to Hogwarts, I think that once she realized that she couldn't go back she would calm down, face the reality, and be content at home. Though you can be sure that no matter what she definitely checked her DA coin all the time.

And Neville, sigh. He really grew into his role as leader this year! I can imagine how very hard it would be to carry on alone, with all the enemies focused on him as the clear ringleader. It was not long after Ginny didn't come back that they went after Gran and then went after Neville himself. But I think the hope that he carried within him that Harry was still alive, and the determination that he was doing the right thing, helped him carry on. Not to mention everyone in the school was looking to him as an example.

As for what Snape thought about their disappearance, I agree with ron lover that he had an idea where they were (he doesn't seem the type to have discovered the Room of Requirement on his own, but the original DA's headquarters would've been made known among the staff in the 5th book) but blamed the Carrows instead of offering any information.

And I think we know that the Carrows were immensely frustrated by the situation by how quickly the rest of the DA felt they had to go into hiding as well; it was clear that they didn't care about the facade of a school any longer and just went for whomever they suspected.

How do you think the pupils kept going? Would it all have been doom and gloom?

I somewhat agree with h_vic, life goes on no matter the dark times. Neville delivered the dire news about the year in Hogwarts in a matter-of-fact tone, while the Trio were just horrified. But they had to deal with it, so they did.

Neville did mention that there was hope when people stood up to the Death Eaters, but that seems to me a small consolation. A bright spot would've been clandestinely listening to Potterwatch and maybe the freedom to talk in their own common rooms (I am not sure how vigilant the Carrows would have been at monitoring those, but it seems like it would've been a good idea, especially in Gryffindor). I think the professors also did their best to make the students' lives easier; for the most part they seem like a very caring set and clever enough to make fun in their classrooms without being too conspicuous. (And, of course, none of them pandered to the Carrows if they could help it.)

Here's another couple last-minute TQs:
Neville mentioned that the only people in real danger are those whose friends and relatives on the outside are giving trouble. (For example, Luna.) What other students do you think those could've been, and why?

Luna managed to get a message to Neville through the DA Galleon. Do you think they somehow altered the Protean Charm so you could send private messages, or do you think everyone got every communication?

I know what I think about the last one, but I'd like to hear other thoughts too.

Who had the initial idea?
Definitely not Ginny. It's sometimes easy to forget that DH occurs after HBP (maybe that's just me), where the DA wasn't "in session," as it were. But during that year, Neville and Luna still had their coins handy. They missed it in a way Ginny didn't, since she was involved in things like Quidditch and being various people's love interests. So they would be the ones to want to restart it.

I can see arguments for either Luna or Neville being the one who had the initial idea. In my mind's eye I see Neville pensively during his coin over in his hands, wondering what Harry would do if he were there, and resolving to do something about it. But I also like that Luna makes a comment that could be off-the-wall, but really sets everything in motion.

Even though it wouldn't have been Ginny's idea, I think that she was still instrumental in getting the DA going again. She likely has her mother's sense of organization with her brothers' sense of the dangerous (insert any applicable brother there, though if you think about her legacy from Fred and George she could certainly be formidable). She could also have the "mascot" appeal -- look, it's Potter's old girlfriend, carrying on his fight.

I think their leadership evolved from being slightly Ginny-oriented, to being a triumvirate, to being Neville-oriented. People would trust Neville more. I think Ginny's "fiery" personality might actually work against them sometimes when they're trying to get up the courage to do raids. Neville's quiet resolve would be more comforting, I think.

If the DA did indeed teach defensive magic, Luna would be a good teacher. She's clearly skilled in spell-work. It might be hard for the other students to get used to her as a leader. But in time they would accept her, I think.

Recruitment
I think first they went for those who had been members of the DA before, and already had the coins: Terry Boot, Ernie Macmillan, etc. Some (like Zacharias, I'm sure) declined. But those they could get would be a good start, and then as word got around they would let others in. But I think it was a fairly small army to start with. And they were probably pretty careful about letting the younger children join, because of the element of danger. I think they'd have to be pretty persuasive.

And someone (probably Terry, yeah?) had to make new coins for all the new recruits. The people that were in the DA that graduated still had their coins, though many of them probably didn't check them anymore (Cho did at least often enough to get the message about Harry being at Hogwarts). Because of the secret nature of the DA coins, I think they'd have to be pretty sure about someone before they gave them a coin.

Gryffindors
I think some of them were scared, but they wanted to take a stand anyway. There might have been a little peer pressure involved (everyone else is staying to fight, what would they think if I didn't) but I think both the personalities that tend to be Sorted into Gryffindor and the influence of Ginny and Neville on the way they thought contributed to their decision to stay.

I felt bad for Ginny (and Colin) -- they were so close to being of age but a few months made the difference to being allowed. Didn't really matter, as they both ended up fighting (and maybe even Peakes, who also struck me as a sixth-year and who McGonagall chivvied on his way).

Hufflepuffs
The reason more of them stayed behind, I think, is because of their loyalty. Like Neville, the Hufflepuffs seem to have truly grown into their House standards. (Standards is not quite the correct word, but couldn't think of a better one.) If Ernie is any clue, they grew staunch in the face of opposition. Except for Zacharias Smith. For some reason he retained the skepticism he employed when first we met him, and it makes me think if he also asked the Sorting Hat not to be put in a certain House, even if it was the best fit for him.

Ravenclaws
It seems to me that "almost at the same moment" is hardly worth mentioning, which is how much longer it took the Ravenclaws to stand up to defend Harry against Pansy than the Hufflepuffs. To use stereotypes, we could assume that the Hufflepuffs stood up out of pure loyalty, without hardly thinking about it -- a gut reaction? Why am I having so much trouble with the right words today? The Ravenclaws had to assess the situation first, but were right on the money as well. Instead of the deep-seated feelings of loyalty, they had to see what was going on: "Support Harry, yes, stand up." It definitely wasn't because they saw that everyone was standing but them and the Slytherins.

They would've been as opposed as the rest of the school to the tyrannical regime in the school and reign of terror in the rest of the country. There are a number of Ravenclaws holed up in the Room of Requirement, so some of them clearly thought it necessary to fight.

But not all of them felt that way; it wouldn't be logical to undermine the whole House by everyone going in hiding, or having people that weren't as strong fighters stay behind. That's probably why fewer Ravenclaws stayed behind than Hufflepuffs. They recognized the need for older students to keep order, they didn't think poor fighters need join, etc. I also expect that they were behind sending messages to the family members and friends of the Hogwarts students, letting them know what was up, and those that wanted to fight probably came in with the second wave (after Harry was "dead").

Slytherins
I don't know what is meant by "bringing reinforcements". Do you mean like I said above that the Ravenclaws got grown-ups to come with them? I could imagine Slytherins doing that as well -- no point in using students to fight when you can have fully qualified wizards on your side to help the cause, right? I can see that train of thinking.

Also that makes me feel better about having the Slytherin table totally empty. That always made me sad. Not sure who would've stayed behind, or come back with reinforcements. Blaise? Graham Pritchard?

Unidentified Girl
It couldn't have been a seventh-year (unless it was someone like Sally-Anne Perks, or the mysterious Moon that was sorted and never heard from again), because Harry didn't recognize her. She doesn't seem like too young of a girl, though. I'd guess 5th or 6th year, who either got caught up in the adrenaline and snuck back in with Colin &co, or mistakenly stayed behind, then changed her mind when she got injured.

Even though I liked Hannah's story, I don't think she died. I think she was taken inside to be taken care of, and maybe her mother came in the second wave and they were reunited.

If I had to guess a House, I'd say Gryffindor.

Miscellaneous
One thing I noticed this time that I hadn't before was how organized it all was. In the time it took all the students to get from their beds to the Great Hall, the Order and the faculty had come up with a plan for defending Hogwarts. Either they are really great tacticians (which is probably true) or they'd been secretly planning for such a contingency all along. None of the teachers had to say, "Oh, let me look in my book of spells to find some good ones." They saw Snape was gone, got those spells going, and organized the students into battle.

It did devolve into a melee before too long, but at least they were prepared to start.

There have been two other weeks (one on the Slytherins, one on the Staff), but I wasn't very inspired in those discussions so I don't feel like showing them off. If you want the questions, I can get them to talk about though.

[Dragon Lady]

Oh my goodness. I need to read this more thoroughly and comment, but I'm about to walk out the door. I promise to get back to this.

[TheAnswerIs42]

Wow, that's a lot of discussion there. I don't think I have too much to add, actually.

Except that I'm going to see the movie in 4 hours. My husband's company rented out a theater for a "pre-showing".

[Dragon Lady]

Ok, I got partway through and I'm a little confused… what is this a quote of? What is this Harry Potter class?

And 42, I expect you to come back and tell me about this nude scene I keep hearing about. I want to know how angry to feel. Any other spoilers you want to tell me about would be great, too. I'd rather hear about all the things I'm gonna hate and have a month or two to get over it before I decide if I'm going to watch it myself. That's how I ended up liking movie #6.

[C is for]

It's a quote of me! Talking! About the quoted ...thing. For example, the super long one that I need to figure out how to shorten is me, talking about the Canon Timeline in Book 7. Bolded things are usually questions, that I then answered. Like I said, I was just really pleased with some of my work and decided to show off. Spectacularly.

Harry Potter class. Well, on the fanfiction site I have somehow found myself frequenting again, they have classes where you discuss things like this. I'm also in a Marauder-Era class. There are also bannermaking classes, how to write dark fanfiction (not into that), and stuff like that. I get points for my House (Hufflepuff o'course) for participating. And it's fun. Ta-da, harry potter class.

[Dragon Lady]

Well, I got the general gist, but I felt like I was missing things. Like they were quotes pulled out of context. Which it probably was. So sometimes things were said that I was like, "What in the world is she talking about?" But I'd get the general gist.

It sounds like you're having fun! Not something I'd have time nor energy for right now, but I'm glad there are people loving the HP world.

[mic0]

Wow, that's a lot of discussion there. I don't think I have too much to add, actually.

Except that I'm going to see the movie in 4 hours. My husband's company rented out a theater for a "pre-showing".

Are you involved with... ITEA?

[TheAnswerIs42]

Nope. [url=http://www.facebook.com/digicert] Digicert. /url]

Dragon Lady: You have nothing to worry about, I say. I think the whole thing was overblown. Nothing is shown that you wouldn't see with swimsuits on. Plus, since it is the "figures coming out of a Horcrux" scene, they look sort of glowy, CGI weird anyway, and so they don't really seem like real people.

MOVIE SPOILER ALERT:
I think on a "true to the book" scale on 1 to 10, I'd give this an 8.5 or 9. I mean, sometimes they books bear no resemblance to the movies, but this was like watching the book. I don't know if that is a good thing, in some ways. This was a rather boring part of the book, and books tend to flow differently than movies. But my husband who has never read a single book still enjoyed it and understood it, so that is good.

Most of the changes from the book made me just pause and say "oh, well, actually, I guess it is easier to just do that and condense things. Okay." EXCEPT one scene. After Ron leaves, it should be Harry and Hermione moping in a tent, barely speaking to each other, right? Well, they had the radio listening thing going the whole time they were on the run, so they are sitting in the tent moping when a weird song comes on, and Harry goes over and drags Hermione up to dance with him. Except, Dan Radcliffe is a terrible dancer (you could tell he was trying, but it looked really awkward and awful) and our theater started chuckling awkwardly (as in, is this supposed to be funny, or are we supposed to actually believe they are happy and swing dancing in the tent right now?) I wasn't a fan of that scene. They had been doing some Harry/Hermione moments for Ron to misinterpret up until then, to give logic to why the Horcrux torments him later, but at that moment I just wondered: wait, who are they trying to prove this to now?

The bummer was that my husband forgot to mention to me that we actually had two extra tickets and could have invited friends. So if I had known how, I could have invited somebody. Oh well, he was kinda in charge of tonight and had a lot on his mind.

My favorite part of the night: walking out at 10pm and seeing everybody still outside waiting to get in, with camping gear and crazy outfits. Ta-ta, everybody! I enjoyed the movie, and now I'm going to sleep!

[Dragon Lady]

CONTINUED SPOILER
42, Thanks for your spoiler! In general, I hate spoilers. Avoid them like the plague. But I've determined that this is the best way for me to actually enjoy the movies. Sadly.

I think the things I've heard up until now make more sense. Mostly I'd heard there's a nude scene with Harry and Hermione dancing. But maybe the two were combined in description when they were really two different scenes. 1) There was nudity (in the Horcrux scene) and 2) Harry and Hermione dance. The two together really make absolutely no sense. Until put in the horcrux scene. That makes much more sense. Heck, even the dancing would make sense as part of the Horcrux Harry and Hermione.

You just relieved much of my annoyance. Thank ya muchly!

[TheAnswerIs42]

Yup, the dancing scene is quite far apart from the nakedness in the movie, but I guess both are upsetting to some (for different reasons). I was more bothered by the dancing, but that's probably because I was warned about "NUDITY!" and thought "really? That's what everyone was complaining about?" when I saw it.

Also, two more things: When you do watch it, Dragon Lady, you have to watch for a scene that made me chuckle. There is one part where, as soon as they start the scene, the canon bookworm in my head said "wait! You aren't supposed to do this like _y__, you need to do _x__!" And just as I said that in my head, Hermione says "I still say we should have done __x__" and Harry explains why they didn't do what they did in the book. I thought that was funny.

I was also bothered by the fact that, after Ron kills the Horcrux, Harry doesn't have his "she's like my sister . . . I thought you knew" line comforting Ron. He doesn't say anything to Ron at all. They just lay there and breathe heavily for a minute. Again, is someone behind the movie pushing a Harry/Hermione relationship or something? I mean, he did have a Ginny scene before they left the Burrow, but . . . huh. It was just a bunch of random lines that made me scratch my head. Oh well.

[Dragon Lady]

Yeah, I watched the last part of movie 6 the other night and at the end when they're on the tower, Harry and Hermione are talking and Ron is back in the back like he's all mad or something and it makes it look like Harry and Hermione are a couple, even though we've been watching Harry and Ginny for the whole movie. It's really… odd. Weirdos.

And I'll watch for that scene. But I can't promise that it'll be anytime soon. It may not be until the DVD comes out. That's what I did with #6. But enough people have told me a bit about it that I may end up caving and going to the theater. I'm cautiously hopeful.

[Humble Master]

Nope. [url=http://www.facebook.com/digicert] Digicert. /url] After Ron leaves, it should be Harry and Hermione moping in a tent, barely speaking to each other, right? Well, they had the radio listening thing going the whole time they were on the run, so they are sitting in the tent moping when a weird song comes on, and Harry goes over and drags Hermione up to dance with him. Except, Dan Radcliffe is a terrible dancer (you could tell he was trying, but it looked really awkward and awful) and our theater started chuckling awkwardly (as in, is this supposed to be funny, or are we supposed to actually believe they are happy and swing dancing in the tent right now?) I wasn't a fan of that scene.

I viewed the scene as an awkward attempt to lighten the mood. And I thought Radcliffe was dancing poorly on purpose, just embracing that Harry has never bothered to learn to dance well but wants to distract his friend. I read an interview with the actors where they said they did not play it romantically, but just as friends who are resigning themselves to a tough lot in life but don't want to think about it right away.

[Dragon Lady]

Dear Humble Master ~

I would like you to give me a review of the 7th movie as you did with the 6th. Tell me all the things I will hate. And those you can, tell me why they did them so that I will hate them less. You may do this in an email or over chat if you'd rather.

~ Dragon Lady

[Humble Master]

Something I was wondering about the seventh book (not the film, as it didn't make the cut). After Harry returns to Grimauld Place, he finds a letter from his Mom to Sirius in Sirius's old room. When did that letter get there? Obviously it was sent after Sirius moved out from his parents' house, and before he was arrested. So it wouldn't have been stored there when he was in prison. But I also struggle to imagine Sirius grabbing his personal affects on his way out from Azkaban. Thoughts?

[TheAnswerIs42]

Well, let's assume that Sirius lived in a random flat somewhere when he was arrested. When he was sent to prison with no hope of ever coming out, I would assume that his belongings of said flat were sent to his mother, who was alive in Grimmauld Place and not a portrait at the time. And she wasn't a fan of Sirius, so I can see her shoving everything in his old room and never opening the door again. It would have been a large pile, but Sirius spent time at the house before Harry saw it, so he had time to spread his stuff out again and sort through it.

Does that work?