Transcript – Episode 124
[Show music begins]
Michael Harle: This is Episode 124 of Alohomora! for February 14, 2015.
[Show music continues]
Michael: Hey there, listeners. Welcome back to Alohomora!, MuggleNet.com’s global reread of Harry Potter. And happy Valentine’s Day from all of us. I’m Michael Harle. [makes smooching noise]
[Alison laughs]
Kat Miller: I’m Kat Miller.
Alison Siggard: And I’m Alison Siggard. And this week’s guest is going to be a very familiar voice for all of you: it’s our very own Laura Reilly. Welcome back, Laura.
Alison, Kat, and Michael: Yay!
Laura Reilly: I couldn’t keep too long away from it, especially now with the chapter that we’re doing now. Just needed to come back.
Kat: Ah yes, the Weasleys.
Michael: Best Valentine’s surprise ever.
Laura: Yeah. I needed to say hi to my Valentine, so you know…
[Michael laughs]
Alison: All right. And this week, before we get started, we just want to remind everyone to listen to or read Chapter 6 of Half-Blood Prince, “Draco’s Detour.”
Michael: But before we get to Chapter 6 of Half-Blood Prince, we’re going to rewind to Chapter 5 and some of your responses from last week’s episode. There were a lot of comments about this first particular topic. I chose one from Hufflepug, and it’s about the grading in the wizarding world and the teaching in the wizarding world. And Hufflepug said,
“Harry’s E in Potions shows how a horrible teacher can affect a student’s grades. Remember how Snape would give him the worst grades in the class during Order of the Phoenix? When you think about how Harry had to study Potions on his own to prepare for the OWL while still dealing with the stress that came at the end of his fifth year, the fact that he pulled off an E shows that he was far more competent at Potions than we thought; Snape has just been so hard on him that it diminished his confidence in the subject. If Snape had administered the OWL, we might have expected Harry to get a P or even a D. Some people should just not be teachers – almost everyone has known a teacher who should probably have picked another career.”
And I had to use this comment not only because yay! More Snape bashing. Hallelujah! But…
[Laura and Michael laugh]
Michael: … also in relation to the fact, as I’m sure many of our listeners know, there is a video that has gone viral of Snape’s moments…
Alison and Kat: Ugh!
Michael: … from the Harry Potter films that have been edited in chronological order and has once again really risen the debate beyond the fandom into the general public of Snape’s behavior and whether some of his actions were okay. And I thought this was an excellent counterexample to that particular video.
Kat: Yeah. And that video is so old.
Michael: Yeah, that’s the funny part.
Kat: It’s from 2013 or something.
Michael: Mhm. So old!
Kat: I know, it’s so old. That was so two years ago.
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Kat: But I just mean, how does that happen? How does a video that hasn’t been around…
Alison: I don’t know.
Kat: … for a year and a half suddenly… [rolls tongue]
Michael: Poof.
Laura: I’m guessing that another thing I didn’t understand about that video is just… his story isn’t told non-chronologically in the…
Alison: Yeah.
Michael: In the movies?
Alison: It’s not like they’re not put together already.
Laura: They’re told completely chronologically, and then the flashback…
[Michael laughs]
Laura: … is told chronologically within the flashback. So then, all you did…
Alison: Yeah.
[Michael laughs]
Laura: … was just splice that.
Kat: You’re right. Pretty much.
Laura: And then you expect me to be overcome with emotion and I was like, this is just the film!
[Alison, Kat, and Michael laugh]
Kat: Pretty much.
Laura: Congrats on going viral.
Alison: For my whole thoughts on that, see my Twitter rant.
Michael: But yeah, in relation to this comment, I thought it was a pretty excellent example – pretty excellent proof, actually – of Harry’s competency in this particular class. Because as we saw… of course, the OWL grades are based pretty strictly on their exams and nothing else. And so for Harry to pass with an E – Exceeds Expectations, I thought myself when I first read it was pretty astonishing, considering what he’s gone through in the past years.
Kat: Didn’t he technically get an EE, not an E?
Michael: An E, an EE, however you want to say it. Everybody knows what I’m talking about. [laughs]
Kat: Sorry. I’m a Ravenclaw.
Michael: You are a Ravenclaw.
Laura: [laughs] I do think it’s shocking, just because I feel like even if you have a bad teacher, even if you would be good at the subject, I think it puts a mental block of you wanting to learn the subject.
Alison: I agree as well.
Laura: Like I believe there was a time in my life where I liked math…
[Michael laughs]
Laura: I can’t confirm that, but it’s a distant suppressed memory. But then I had a terrible teacher in 7th grade, and I have not looked back since on the full math hatred train.
Michael: Mhm.
Laura: So I feel like it is really impressive that he has overcome that, because what incentive did he really have? He only really decided he wanted to be an Auror like a month ago.
Kat: And I mean, since none of us are wizards… Rosie is not here, so we can’t ask her.
[Michael laughs]
Kat: Maybe this is just my ignorance, but how hard do we think Potions is? Is it like baking?
Laura: It’s like cooking.
[Michael laughs]
Kat: Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. It’s like baking.
Laura: It’s also supposed to be really good.
Michael: I’d equate it more to…
Alison: I think it’s supposed to be to chemistry.
Michael: Yeah. That’s what I was going to say.
Laura: Oh, never mind.
Kat: I meant like, if you can follow the instructions, you can make brownies.
[Laura and Michael laugh]
Kat: They might not be as amazing as somebody who is a master baker, but…
Michael: Well, I think Potions have a few more potential to do horrible things if they go wrong than brownies.
Alison: Yeah. [laughs]
Kat: Right, but… I understand that…
Laura: Well, I suppose, Kat – I am on your side of this – I have always equated Potions with cooking. But at the same time now as Alison just said with chemistry, the argument can be made that you can…
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Laura: You know in Breaking Bad where they’re making meth? They’re just following his recipe…
Kat: Right!
Laura: … and the whole point of it is that anyone can do it if they’re just following the recipe, but he’s the master so his is particularly better. That’s essentially kind of the same thing.
Kat: Right. So I’m not super surprised by…
Laura: Can I talk about meth on the podcast?
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Kat: I’m not super surprised by this grade because I feel like if you can follow the instructions you can pass. And Harry is smart so he probably followed the instructions better because Snape isn’t the toolbox kneeling over him the whole time.
[Alison laughs]
Michael: Yeah.
Kat: So this doesn’t really surprise me. It would’ve surprised me if he got an O…
[Michael laughs]
Laura: Yeah.
Kat: … but Harry gets O’s in only one thing.
Michael: See, I used to think Potions would be kind of easy, but then I started doing the potions on Pottermore and melting a bunch of my cauldrons. [laughs]
Alison: Oh my gosh, I know! [laughs]
Kat: I am super good at those, by the way. I would rock it in Potions. But I’m also a very good baker, so there you go.
Michael: See, there you go. Speaking of grades, there was a lot more discussion on that, and there was another comment on that from ScarletGhost, which was added to by ChocolateFrogRavenclaw, TheEmotionalRangeofMcgonagall, Sharona Lumos, and SlytherinKnight. They were all great comments, but I chose ScarletGhost because I thought it was a particularly pertinent one. And ScarletGhost said,
“Teachers seem to be allowed to pick and choose the grades that students can be admitted into their classes with; we see Harry’s hopes and dreams get crushed because Snape won’t let him in the class without an Outstanding OWL, but we later learn Slughorn will allow anyone with an Exceeds Expectations or up in. This isn’t fair to students who have gone on not being able to take the class because Snape was teaching, but now Slughorn is, that means they could’ve taken the class and now it’s too late. That also brings me to the kids who were planning on taking Defense Against the Dark Arts but they only got an Exceeds Expectations and now Snape is teaching he requires an Outstanding. I guess my general point would be: is there even a curriculum at this school or do teachers just get to teach what they want willy-nilly without any supervision guidance?”
First, I did want to note that as far as… and a few commenters brought this up. I believe that Snape does not hold his Defense Against the Dark Arts students to an Outstanding.
Laura: Yeah. Because Hermione gets in.
Michael: Yeah. Hermione and Ron both take Defense Against the Dark Arts, so that’s not true. Which is also weird to note because Snape apparently lowers his expectations for Defense Against the Dark Arts when he changes positions.
Kat: Maybe because he knows nobody is as good as Harry.
Michael: Oho.
Alison: Maybe.
[Michael laughs]
Kat: I mean, I doubt that. I was just trying to make a connection.
Michael: Well, it could be! Because then he would pretty much only be stuck with Harry for the year, right?
Kat: Right!
Alison: Oh, gosh.
Kat: And that’s it. He doesn’t want to be alone with Harry Potter.
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Michael: But this does seem sort of unfair, right?
Alison: Yeah. Yeah, I’m always… I don’t necessarily understand everything about the British school system, so maybe it’s my ignorance. But I’ve always thought of these OWLs as the equal of America’s standardized testing in schools.
Michael: Mhm.
Kat: Yeah, like the MCAS or whatever.
Alison: Kind of.
Kat: Oh.
Alison: Yeah. Yeah, like the SAT, kind of.
Kat: Wait, other states have those, right? No. That’s a Massachusetts test. Never mind!
[Michael laughs]
Alison: Yeah. Well, they have similar ones. I’m going into education; I know far too much about this. So that’s where I’ve always put it and it’s… there’s certain guidelines that the state has set that you have to meet before you can move on.
Michael: Mhm.
Alison: So I never thought about that, but why do the Hogwarts professors get to decide? Especially if it’s a Ministry administered test.
Michael: Mhm.
Alison: Why do the teachers get to decide what gets you into the next level and what doesn’t?
Michael: All right. So our last comment comes from Healer In Training, and rather than about grades, this one is about some of the magic in the wizarding world, in particular the Weasleys’ clock. And Healer In Training asks,
“I was intrigued by the Weasley family clock, but not simply because all the hands point to ‘Mortal Peril.’ I noticed during my read that the hand of Mr. Weasley moves to traveling while Apparating; is Mr. Weasley no longer in danger because he is in essence inaccessible during Apparition? Also, I was curious as to when the hands all moved to this position.”
Kat: Hmm…
Alison: Ooh.
Michael: Which is something I’ve always wondered because I feel like for the clock to be constantly in “mortal peril” seems a bit, in a way, misleading.
Kat: I’m going to venture out and say that… I bet when the kids go to school it probably changes to “school” because Hogwarts is safe.
Alison: Yeah.
Kat: “Safe”?
Michael: Oh, you think? Oh, that’s interesting. [laughs] Until the last few chapters when they all change back to “mortal peril,” right? [laughs]
Kat: Right. So then I would say that yes, part of it I think is that the clock still works, and so when he’s traveling he’s traveling, but maybe it changes because he is indeed inaccessible. That would make sense. That’d be cool if you could just…
Laura: Yeah.
Kat: … continually Apparate forever and not die.
Michael: Well, I guess that would be the idea behind a Vanishing Cabinet, right? Because it’s kind of its own form of Apparition that puts you… depending on if it’s working or not, it kind of puts you in between places or leads you somewhere else.
Kat: Right.
Michael: So I guess that could be considered a form of… I guess if you were in a properly working Vanishing Cabinet, you wouldn’t be in mortal peril on the clock. So I don’t know where you would be, but…
Laura: I don’t know, I kind of disagree… I mean, I agree with the “in transit” thing, like if he’s Apparating, him being potentially untouchable…
Michael: Uh-huh.
Laura: … but I do think that it’s probably still at “mortal peril” regardless of… because it doesn’t switch Arthur to “work” as far as I know when he’s at work, which granted is more dangerous than school. But I don’t know, I feel like it would still be at school. The thing I’m not sure about is why that would have changed after Order of the Phoenix, because the Dark Lord’s been around since Goblet of Fire.
Kat: Right. The thing that’s always bothered me about the clock, as much as I love it, is the fact that this “mortal peril” even exists, because the rest of the things are locations.
Michael: Yeah.
Kat: “School,” “home,” “work,” “traveling”… I don’t know what the rest are. But why is “mortal peril” on there?
[Laura and Michael laugh]
Kat: Because that’s a state of being and not a location.
Michael: Yeah. That’s true.
Kat: That always bothered me about that clock. As much as I love it and want that in my house, it bothers me.
Michael: Well, if you put forth the suggestion perhaps that “mortal peril” is there because all the other ones are also ways to keep tabs or keep track of the individuals in your family whether they need help, having it… if we’re in a time of war and everybody’s hands are constantly pointed to “mortal peril,” that doesn’t do anybody any good.
Kat: Right.
Michael: [laughs] So then it’s pointless to have a “mortal peril” section on your clock if it’s just going to be there all the time.
Kat: Is Percy’s still on there or did his break off or something?
Laura: I think it’s still on there.
Michael: I think it’s still on there, yeah… as far as I know. Well, and that’s the other thing, too – and I guess we won’t go too far into this for certain reasons – but when people die, do their hands just disappear off the clock?
Kat: [laughs] Aww.
Michael: Where does the hand go?
Kat: I’m not prepared for that yet, so I’m not going to talk about that right now.
[Michael laughs]
Kat: I’m not prepared.
Michael: Fair enough, but…
Kat: Oh wait, I was just channeling Noah briefly. No, I’m not going to ask if it’s alive.
[Laura laughs]
Michael: Is the clock alive?
Kat: But I was thinking about when the hands changed, do you think that the clock knows? Like was [it] reading the Daily Prophet and on the Ministry’s side, and once the truth came out the clock was like, “Oops, I guess Harry was right; now we’re all in mortal peril”? Do you know what I’m saying?
[Michael laughs]
Laura: He’s more full-forced. Even in comparing the movies, it’s still very much lurking in the shadows in Order of the Phoenix. But then you see Half-Blood Prince opens with London Bridge falling down or whatever. So it’s…
[Michael laughs]
Kat: Because it’s…
Laura: It’s more like a present danger.
Kat: Yeah, because if it had been gauged off of the household, then it definitely would’ve been in mortal peril long before, because they obviously all believed Harry, so…
Alison: What if it gauges off…
Michael: Well, yeah, because…
Alison: … the way they’re feeling?
Kat: Oh.
Alison: So, it’s all somehow connected to each member of the family, and so it’s… because it would have to be somehow, right? To know where they are?
Laura: I kind of doubt that, just because I don’t feel like Fred and George in particular are really feeling any sense of peril, just being in Diagon Alley and totally not caring about anything – being totally not caring about what the Death Eaters have to say, clearly by their merchandise. I don’t imagine them inherently feeling mortal peril enough to warrant that.
Alison: Maybe it’s just connected to Molly then.
Kat: I was just going to say that!
Michael: I was going to say that, too. Because when you think about it, the clock is a very maternal concept…
Laura Yeah.
Michael: … in that it’s constantly keeping track… It’s very, at least if not parental, definitely maternal because it’s very much keeping track of your children, and Molly reflects that…
Laura Yeah.
Michael: … I would say, probably the most out of the Weasleys. So that’s defintely a possibility, that it’s a reflection of one individual’s emotions and feelings.
Alison Especially since she’s been carrying it around constantly.
Laura That’s the problem. That makes sense for mortal peril, but for the other ones… she refers to the clock and being like, “Oh, he’s travelling back from work.” The clock’s informing her.
Kat: Right. Yeah, see…
Laura So it’s not stuff she necessarily knows.
Kat: There [are] issues with the clock.
Michael: Well, yeah. I was going to say, if the clock just… like Kat was saying, if it either took in just a social consciousness of what the general wizarding world is feeling, or if it is flat out telling the truth by its own judgement…
Kat: Right.
Michael: … then if they had all gone to “mortal peril” after fourth year, the clock could technically be used as some kind of proof that Voldemort’s back.
Laura Yeah.
Kat: It’s alive!
[Everyone laughs]
Michael: So it is alive.
Kat: Noah, 1. Everybody else, 3 million. You get that one, buddy.
Michael: So the debate on the Weasley family clock continues. And there were lots of other great discussions in the comments this week. I couldn’t highlight all of you because there were tons of comments this week, but I did want to shout out to a few of you: Slytherin Knight, ChocolateFrogRavenclaw, and Frodo Weasley, you all had a great discussion about Hermione and the Weasleys’ treatment of Fleur during the last chapter. Hufflepug started a great conversation with Waffles and RebeccaTheRavenclaw about how many OWLs Hermione received in different editions of Half-Blood Prince. They’ve Taken My Wheezy! and Healer In Training broke down the reasons for their waning enthusiasm levels for Half-Blood Prince, which was actually really interesting to read. Outspoken1 discussed Dumbledore’s revised plan in very great detail, and FizzTheWhizzbee and Hufflepuffskein, you both sent in some great audioBooms. We unfortunately couldn’t use them this week. A few of them were a little too long, but they were some great points. And if you guys, the listeners, would like to continue the discussion on previous chapters, feel free to visit the Alohomora! website and join in the discussion.
Kat: And I think if you click the little link on the left side for the notice board or the owlery, you can listen to those audioBooms from other people because we get a lot of audioBooms, and we don’t play them all, so definitely head over and check those out because even the ones we don’t play on the show are brilliant. They’re usually just, like, four minutes long, Hufflepuffskein, so…
[Everyone laughs]
Kat: … just saying. Yeah, and with that, we’re going to move into our Podcast Question of the Week responses from last week. This lovely question, asked by Kristen… I will read it to remind you all of its loveliness. It says, “In this chapter, thanks to Dumbledore’s encouragement, Harry confides in Ron and Hermione about what the prophecy actually stated. What would have happened to Harry’s progress had he kept them in the dark? What qualities does Dumbledore see in both Ron and Hermione that he feels would aid Harry in his quest?” So we had a long discussion on this. It got cut out of the episode last week, which is good because we wanted to use it for the Question of the Week, so I was really excited to see the responses, and I picked two this week because I have a feeling they’re going to sprout some pretty good debate. So our first one here comes from… I don’t know how to pronounce this, so I’m going to spell it… Mrs. S-L-R-K-L-S. Anyone want to…?
Michael: Mrs. Slrkls… is that an L or an I? [laughs]
Kat: I think it’s an L because when I looked on Twitter, I think it was Ls.
Michael: Okay.
Kat: Her real name is Katie, so… putting that out there. Okay, the comment says,
“Ultimately, he…”
(as in Dumbledore)
“… encouraged him to share this with the two of them not only so that Ron and Hermione knew what they were getting into by continuing to support Harry [(]i.e., they would lose him in the end[)], but he also knew from his own mistakes that keeping secrets causes pain and sadness to the ones you love. I don’t think Dumbledore could bear to have Harry live with that burden like he (Dumbledore) did until the day he died. He knew that Ron would be a constant reminder of family, love, and laughter and [that] those are all the good things in the world that are worth dying for. He was certain that Harry would need Hermione to keep him focused and grounded rather than react to his instinct to always ‘play the hero’.”
So I don’t want to weigh in too much on this. I want to hear what you guys think because, like I said, we had a really big debate on this last week. What are your thoughts?
Michael: This is one of the portions of the book – more than any other – where Dumbledore – as far as his grand plan – seemed very, very aware of what was going to happen. Especially with the Deluminator because he was like, “[as Dumbledore] Ron is going to abandon you at this very specific time, and he’s going to need this to get back.” And also, he seemed to be just as aware that not only would Harry need Hermione to ground him, but Hermione would [also] require Harry to figure out the Deathly Hallows puzzle because she doesn’t think that way. She thinks very literally, and she doesn’t think in terms of legends and fantasies being possibly real, which was her problem. So really, he knew that all three of them were very strongly tied to each other. What was that joke a few episodes ago? I think it was our guest, who on whichever episode that was… it was one of our authors who guessed it, and she said, “And Ron is around so that he can play chess if Harry ever needs to play chess.” [laughs]
Kat: Yes. That’s true.
Michael: Well, and which was funny because traditionally, chess is usually marked as somebody who has a great strategic mind, especially for battle, which never really comes to light from Ron, so…
Kat: I don’t know. Ron has good ideas.
Michael: He has good ideas, but not perhaps strategic ideas for war.
Laura: I dare you to name a good idea Ron had prior to the Chamber of Secrets.
Alison: The [candy] at the end of Order of the Phoenix, where he says something, and he distracts Malfoy. I think the [candy] is the movie. But he has something in the book. He initiates that plan in the book, too.
[Michael laughs]
Kat: Yeah. Take that, Laura.
Laura: I think that Harry would not have been able to do it, particularly, without Hermione. Ron is there, I guess I would say, for moral support, but Ron offered the least amount of moral support at a certain point in his journey, so I don’t know. I love Ron. I’m not saying I don’t. I’m just questioning his values lately. But yeah, no, I agree that Dumbledore saw at least these qualities in both of them and deemed them important and wasn’t at least putting it all on Harry.
Alison: I agree with the part that he needs to let Ron and Hermione know that there’s a good chance he could die because you can’t just pop that out on them when it happens when Harry knew. He needs to give them a chance to work through this and accept that possibility so that they’ll be okay.
Michael: Yeah, I think that was actually the… because I forgot that Dumbledore and Harry have their discussion in the broomshed before Harry goes to Burrow – since I haven’t read the book in a while – and I think that is definitely a very important element of this when Dumbledore says, “[as Dumbledore] You need to tell Ron and Hermione about the prophecy because that’s being unfair to them. And it’s also good for your morale as well. Take something off of your shoulders.”
Laura: I just thought of this now, but I think it also validates Harry’s need to follow down this journey because I think it’s easy, particularly for Hermione, to say, “Don’t get involved. This is Dumbledore’s war” or whatever. Just something being like, “Oh, you’re young. Don’t be the hero,” but him being specifically implied in the prophecy makes it almost seem like the cosmology is forcing him to go down this path, and they can’t do anything to stop him. It’s validating it.
Kat: I just thought of one!
[Michael laughs]
Kat: He reminds Hermione that she’s a witch, and she can use spells and make fire with her wand.
Alison: That’s important.
Kat: I’m going to come up with another one.
[Alison laughs]
Michael: I was going to say, “His greatest moments are in Sorcerer’s Stone.” [laughs] He was on point in first year, Ron. Good job, Ron.
Kat: Okay, our next comment here comes from FizzTheWhizzbee. It says,
“Dumbledore could have been using Harry’s past dealings with stress as the reason for giving him this advice. In the past, whenever Harry has been faced with difficult situations, he has internalized them.”
Yep.
“Cedric’s death, Umbridge’s treatment of him, and the dreams from Voldemort are all instances in which Harry has hidden things or not shared things with his friends. None of these times had positive outcomes. Dumbledore could be thinking about his family problems and how destructive keeping secrets from your friends/family can be. If you add the fact that without Ron’s support and loyalty, and Herm[io]ne’s intelligence and skill, he would probably have died.”
Let’s be honest.
“Even before the Horcrux search. Harry would have died without them in the first book trying to get to Quirrell.”
Yep. That sums it up, I think.
Michael: Yeah, well, I think, in a way, perhaps Dumbledore’s thinking goes all the way back to that excellent example from Sorcerer’s Stone, where those challenges did seem to be so perfectly set up for those three. And they all proved their mettle in different ways in different types of challenges. So it’s funny, too, how Dumbledore has been keeping such a close eye on Hermione and Ron without really having ever interacted with them.
Kat: Yeah, they’ve had, like, two conversations over the five years…
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Michael: Yeah, it’s funny when you realize that.
Kat: If that. Wait, has Hermione even been in a room with Dumbledore alone?
Alison and Michael: I don’t think so.
Kat: No. I know Ron has.
Michael: Yeah, but no, Hermione hasn’t.
Kat: No, so he probably gets all of his information on Hermione from McGonagall.
Laura: We don’t know what interactions they had regarding the Time-Turner.
Kat: That’s true. I think…
Michael: But I think the book implied that those were facilitated by McGonagall, though. But I think anything beyond perhaps academic stuff hasn’t really been discussed much with them from Dumbledore. So yeah. It is a funny thing when you think about it.
Alison: I think these points that FizzTheWhizzbee brings up about Cedric’s death and Umbridge’s treatment of Harry are very interesting because we see that when Harry internalizes those, things only get worse. But it’s when he talks to Ron and Hermione about them that things get better. For example, when his hand is getting sliced open. When he finally tells them, Hermione finds that thing that heals it. That was just the first example I could think of. So really though, they… he can’t hold it all in. He has to tell them to make it work.
Michael: Well, and as we see in Deathly Hallows with other interactions that Harry has, he probably would have kept it from them if Dumbledore hadn’t told him not to because he doesn’t tell anybody else – very adamantly – about what he’s up to, even people [whom] he trusts pretty much thoroughly – like McGonagall or Lupin he won’t tell. So yeah.
Kat: That is discipline. I’ll tell you. Really, I don’t do this with the big secrets, but the trivial ones where my friend’s like, “Oh my God, don’t tell so-and-so that I borrowed – took – five dollars from her wallet.” I’ll be like, “Oh my God, she totally took five dollars.”
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Kat: So I have no… that’s not true. Big secrets I could do, but…
Michael: Petty secrets?
Kat: Yeah. This is a big secret, so kudos to Harry on that. Those are difficult to keep, especially when basically your entire life and fate is tied to it.
Alison: Yeah.
Michael: Who needs a Secret-Keeper when you have Harry Potter around?
[Alison laughs]
Kat: Yeah. So I think that wraps up our Podcast Question of the Week responses. There [were] a bajillion and a half more that I counted.
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Kat: So definitely go check them out at alohomora.mugglenet.com.
Alison: Okay, well, now it’s time for our chapter discussion on Chapter 6.
[Half-Blood Prince Chapter 6 intro begins]
[Sounds of slide whistle, bubbles, laughter]
Fred and George: Chapter 6.
[Sounds of a bell dinging and a door opening and slamming shut, footsteps that speed up as they recede]
Fred and George: “Draco’s Detour.”
[Half-Blood Prince Chapter 6 intro ends]
Alison: So in this chapter, our chapter summary. As Harry’s birthday passes, it’s time to start getting ready to go back to Hogwarts with a trip to Diagon Alley. Mrs. Weasley is more nervous, and the trip is not nearly as fun as we’ve come to know them. Draco and his mother show up to be nasty, but the day gets monumentally better when the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione head to Fred and George’s new store, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. However, Draco is up to no good, and after following him to Borgin and Burkes, Harry is determined to find out what his archrival is up to. So the first thing that happens in this chapter is Harry’s birthday dinner. We get all of these mentions of mysterious disappearances. A lot of them are characters we’ve heard before that are just really high profile. So the first one we get mentioned is Karkaroff, who we learn has been killed. This mention also includes a mention of Regulus Black, and is this our first mention of Regulus, or did we hear about him in Order of the Phoenix?
Michael: I think we actually heard about him in this book with Slughorn. Right?
Alison: Oh, that’s right.
Michael: I believe Slughorn mentioned that he wanted the set of Blacks, right?
Laura: I think someone would have… I feel like that would have come up with Sirius, when he was talking about his background of being in Gryffindor. That seems likely to [have] come up.
Kat: The tapestry.
Alison: That’s right.
Michael: Yeah, that’s right, he’s mentioned on the tapestry.
Alison: In any case, Regulus is getting a lot of mention in this book for… reasons.
Michael: [laughs] I wonder why.
Kat: Obvious reasons.
Michael: Probably the least mysterious thing in all of the Harry Potter series that every fan guessed.
Alison: Anyway. We also find out that Florean Fortescue, the ice cream shop owner, has disappeared.
Kat: Aww. That’s so sad.
Alison: And we actually got some very interesting and sad information about this on Pottermore, where J.K. Rowling said this was the only death she really feels guilty about, because it’s all her fault. Which is very sad.
[Everyone laughs]
Kat: Yeah, it is her fault.
Michael: I was really excited about that information, though, because that actually… right after we theorized that, that pretty much confirmed the theory. Her post that Florean was meant to be captured to give some historical information to Harry about the Hallows and Hogwarts because he has a relative who was a Hogwarts headmaster, and that was where the set-up came from. Yeah, it is a shame that it was lost because it was very well set up.
Laura: I didn’t know this. [laughs]
Kat: That’s because you don’t go on Pottermore!
Laura: I know. I forgot my password.
[Michael laughs]
Kat: That is so sad.
Laura: But that’s actually devastating. I never for once thought that he actually died. I thought he just got saved. I don’t know. I never thought too hard about it. I just assumed he came back and made ice cream. [laughs]
Kat: You know what makes me the saddest? Is the fact that now where do people go to get butterbeer ice cream?
Alison: Of course, the one that will become the most important disappearance is that of Ollivander. Who has disappeared.
Michael: Yeah. Well, it actually works, in a way, that she didn’t end up using Florean, because she would have had how many sources from Diagon Alley? Just random shop owners who knew lots and lots of stuff. [laughs] So in a way, that works better that Florean didn’t end up being a bearer of information for that, because Ollivander, I think, is more cut out than Florean probably was, anyway.
Kat: So Florean was probably going to be the one to help with the Ravenclaw thing, I imagine.
Michael: Yeah, that’s what I would assume, because he would have knowledge about Hogwarts, probably.
Kat: Yeah, well, and the Room of Requirement and Rowena probably. Right? That’s what I would assume. The founders things. Right. That makes sense. Yeah, it would have been a little too…
Michael: Too much?
Kat: … convenient.
Kat: Yeah.
Michael: Too much.
Kat: I didn’t mourn Karkaroff at all, though. Peace out, brother.
Michael: Yeah, bye-bye.
Alison: Oh, who did?
Michael: [laughs] I don’t think his students even mourned him, so…
Kat: Yeah, I know.
Alison: Anyway, speaking of Diagon Alley shopkeepers, our next place is Diagon Alley, of course, where they go to get their school supplies, finally. And so my one question I found here was… we kind of talked about this earlier, but is Molly so panicked in this book, as opposed to Order of the Phoenix? I mean, she went to Diagon Alley herself last year. She’s never really had a problem with it. Is it just, Voldemort is now in the open?
Kat: The thing that always got me too is that Molly always believed Harry. So suddenly… I mean, I get it. He’s bigger now, and he’s actually doing things in the world, like the troll or the giants, whatever, and the bridge thing and stealing people, but she should have been panicked all along, really.
Michael: I am surprised based on Molly’s usual protectiveness of her family, perhaps, but at the same time, Molly was very in with the Order of the Phoenix and knowing what was going on as far as Voldemort’s actions, and from what’s implied from Order, since we don’t go to Diagon Alley, the implication is that it’s not quite as overrun with back alley deals and such yet in Order of the Phoenix. It’s running rampant in Half-Blood Prince. Versus, I think, Order, where it’s still fairly normal. It’s still normal becauses since the Alley, as we’ve seen before, tends to take cues from the Ministry, if the Ministry didn’t believe Voldemort was back, then Diagon Alley wouldn’t be behaving like he was back. And there certainly wouldn’t be Death Eaters out doing their thing out in the open. But anyway… So I could see, in some ways, why she wouldn’t have seen it as much as a threat. But she went by herself to go pick up the stuff, so she didn’t go with them.
Kat: Yeah, but the clock wasn’t on “mortal peril,” that’s why.
[Laura and Michael laugh]
Michael: It could have been. They weren’t at the Burrow then, so…
Alison: That’s true. They didn’t have a clock. Anyway, speaking though – thank you, Michael – of these black market things, we get this interaction with this amulet seller, and it made me think of this discussion last week that there seem to be these indications in this book that the larger wizarding world is not as competent in some things, like defensive magic, as the characters we follow are. Is this one of those… is that what Jo is going toward, I guess is what I’m going for, with these mentions.
Laura: I mean, I think it’s not so much that they aren’t as competent as their lives haven’t required them to do extraordinary things in that regard, particularly Defense Against the Dark Arts, because you think of even all the people [who] are at Hogwarts, all of the nameless people [who] have never gotten into trouble, never had to go through all these things, and they come when they’re 11, [and] then they leave when they’re 17, and they get some job at the Ministry, and they’ve never really had to deal with these extreme things, but now that something extreme is entering their [lives], it’s almost like, “Oh, well, I never really took that that seriously because I was never given this pressure to,” whereas Harry does, so he has taken it very seriously. So I think it’s not that they’re bumbling idiots. I just think their lives haven’t really given them much of a reason to act that serious about that sort of thing.
Michael: Well, and wizards seek out convenience. Their lives are pretty much based on convenience, so I think they can be more easily taken in by scams because they look for that. And Pottermore has discussed this too, but they almost completely depend on and trust the Ministry for everything. [laughs] And when that lets them down, they’ll seek other means out of desperation. There’s a smaller-scale version of this that occurs in various years at Hogwarts, like when the Chamber of Secrets is opened, and then there’s this crazy trade in amulets, and people believe it, so I think that’s just the nature of wizards, is to buy into those things, but they’re always looking for whatever’s easy. Especially because like you said, Alison, I think it is true that the more the books have gone on, the more we’ve discovered that wizards actually aren’t very good at defensive magic.
[Alison laughs]
Michael: Harry is just praised as being an expert at Defense Against the Dark Arts. So I think that is true, and maybe that also has to do with having been in a state of peace for a very long time, that wizards just don’t really see the value in defensive magic. Because that happens in the real world too.
Alison: Yeah. Well, while in Diagon Alley, Harry, Ron, and Hermione end up going to Madam Malkin’s, where we run into a certain someone. And the first thing I’ve got to say is just, “Draco is such a jerk in this scene.”
[Michael laughs]
Alison: Oh my gosh.
Kat: Yeah, his ego is sky high, size of China right now. He’s…
Laura: It’s also… in the same way, we were talking about this viral video going on with Snape, because he had one redeeming – slightly – moment at the end.
[Michael laughs]
Laura: I’ve always felt the same way with Draco. Everyone’s like, “No, Draco is…” Obviously, he’s very much a product of his environment, blah, blah, blah. I’m like, “At the same, time he’s an inexcusable jerk, and there'[re] reasons like this where I don’t understand.” In the same way, J.K. Rowling recently said, “It worries me that girls [laughs] identify with him.”
[Michael laughs]
Laura: Because she’s given you very few reasons to feel that way, and even with Narcissa, Narcissa is acting like a terrible human here because she is one. Just because she had one moment of help for Harry for her own reasons, everyone glorifies her, but no, she’s a terrible person!
[Laura and Michael laugh]
Kat: Okay, I will agree with you on Snape. I disagree with you on Draco for a lot of reasons, that if I got into them, it would take hours and…
Michael: And Kat has a cat named Narcissa, so…
Alison: That’s true.
Kat: Well, and I also…
[Michael laughs]
Laura: You also have a cat named Bellatrix or something.
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Kat: No, I don’t!
Laura: I thought you had a Bella, right? No? Is that someone else?
Kat: No, Tibby is the other one. Totally non-Harry Potter name.
[Michael laughs]
Kat: Also, I do… Narcissa is one of my favorite adult characters. I don’t necessarily think that she’s redeemable, but I think she’s an amazing character. I like her more than Snape; I think she has more redeeming qualities than Snape. Yeah, I think Draco… I don’t look up to him, and I do think he’s a jerk.
Alison: I think Draco has potential for improvement.
Kat: Yeah, I don’t equate him with Snape, really at all. I think, if anybody who’s a baddie who has a redeeming quality and deserves to be “glorified,” it’s Draco, so…
Laura: Okay. I’ll say that I give him a pass in the sense that I don’t know what he does 18 and older. Say he’s a fully grown man, and obviously, Draco is a child who;s going through all this, but I’m saying, “In the context that we’re given of Draco, no, I don’t really think he has that many redeeming moments.” I give him the benefit of the doubt that he becomes a better person in the rest of his life, but in the context of our seven stories that we have, to me, what happens in Deathly Hallows is not enough to make up for him being the jerk in these specific scenes. Even just superficially a jerk, not him trying to kill Dumbledore and whatnot but just plain old…
[Michael laughs]
Alison: “Who blackened your eye, Granger? I want to send them flowers.” Who says that?
Kat: Come on, he’s showing off for his mother!
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Kat: I mean, yes, he’s a jerk. But listen: He never got anybody murdered. Okay, almost Katie Bell, but he didn’t kill her. And he didn’t actually ever want to kill her.
Alison: Ron.
Laura: Is “not killing people” what we’re judging as a basis of character?
[Michael laughs]
Kat: If we’re comparing him to Snape, yes. That is a fair level of judgment if we’re comparing him to Snape and their level of redeemability. Because Snape legitimately got a lot of people killed because of his qualities.
Laura: I’m not saying he’s worse than Snape. I just made the…
Kat: But you’re saying it’s on the same level.
Laura: I’m not saying it’s on the same level. I was just saying, “What was a similar conversation to what we were having earlier,” but it’s not the exact same level because once again, Draco is a teenager versus Snape is a fully grown man. Snape is definitely worse.
Michael: Yeah. Well, yeah, because… And the thing is, saying since we don’t really know – and the information we do get on Malfoy afterward is a bit scant – pretty much the most rebellious thing he does is that he marries Astoria Greengrass, and she doesn’t sympathize with Death Eater tendencies, which is disappointing to Malfoy’s family. And that’s the most rebellious thing he does. He’s not exactly tolerant anymore; he doesn’t become tolerant, perhaps, but he’s changing slightly, so there is that benefit of the doubt, like you said, Laura. But yeah, and we’ll get into this in a little more detail later, but I do have feelings about Draco and his attempted murders because, quite honestly, while everybody’s like, “Well, he didn’t try that hard,” I’m like, “Well, yeah, but he still tried to kill people.”
Kat: Yeah. No, it’s true.
Michael: So… And they survive through no fault of Draco; it was luck on their part that they didn’t die, so…
Kat: We should do a special episode on Draco.
Michael: We probably should, with all the information that came out about him. But yeah, there’s definitely… I think he’s a little bit more worthy of debate than Snape.
Kat: Oh God, yeah. Snape is not redeemable; you suck!
[Alison laughs]
Laura: I wasn’t meaning to say, “Put them on the same plane” in that regard; I was just saying, “It was a similar conversation to what we were having earlier” of people glorifying a villain when scenes like this just remind me, “Oh, wait, this person is a jerk, is actually just very rude to people.” And that’s what I was saying with Narcissa even. This isn’t the time to have the Narcissa debate, but she’s being really rude to Madam Malkin and innocent children and whatnot.
Michael: Yeah, yeah. Absolutely.
[Laura and Michael laugh]
Laura: And it’s like, “Oh, but she loves her children,” and it’s like, “Yeah, you can say the same thing about Cersei Lannister, but I’m not going to say she’s a good person.”
Laura: So I don’t know. That’s what I’m saying, is just that I feel like we get caught up in being like, “Oh, no, they’re such great people,” but they’re not.
Kat: Well, I would just say, since you used the word “villain,” I don’t think Draco is a villain, and then I’ll leave it there.
Alison: Well, speaking of Narcissa, she’s the next topic. She has this quote where she says, “Dumbledore won’t always be there to protect you,” and it just came across to me as she’s very assured that this plan is going to go through. So does she really have that much faith in Snape or is she just trying to convince herself, Draco, everyone, that this is going to work?
Michael: I think she’s genuine because Snape took the Unbreakable Vow. She’s pretty rest assured, I think, after that point, so… which brought back some of her haughtiness and confidence in why she’s behaving so horribly right now.
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Michael: So I mean, granted, Harry is also punching below the belt. He was like, “I put your dad in prison.”
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Michael: But it’s valid, because he did, and Lucius deserves to be in prison. So it’s an equal footing from both of their perspectives, I guess.
Alison: Yeah. But is Narcissa right, then? Does Harry have a little bit of false confidence because Dumbledore is around?
Kat: Well, I mean, he doesn’t know what she does.
Alison: Hmm. That’s true.
Kat: So I mean, no, I don’t think it’s false confidence, because in his eyes, it’s not false. I actually love snarky Harry, where he’s like, “Haha, well, here’s not here. Come at me, woman.”
[Michael laughs]
Kat: “Let’s do this.” It’s just… I don’t know.
Michael: No, I think it’s… Like you said, Kat, to Harry it’s not false because I think we get the sense by the time the book’s over that Harry never really thought Dumbledore was ever going to die, so… Or at least would be around for the length of this battle. So I think… and perhaps it’s misplaced confidence, but not false. But poor Madam Malkin, right? That woman, bless her.
[Laura laughs]
Kat: “Oh, I think the sleeve needs to come up a little bit more.”
[Michael laughs]
Kat: Oh, gosh.
Michael: I feel bad for her. I think, too, that the neat thing about this scene, [which] a lot of people, I think, forget because of the movie as well, while Harry and Malfoy formerly meet on the [Hogwarts] Express, they actually see each other for the first time in Madam Malkin’s, so… And they have such a nasty encounter with each other then as well. So the tradition continues, but I don’t think they’ll be going to Madam Malkin’s anymore. [laughs]
Alison: Yeah. [laughs] Well, anyway, moving from [laughs] one store to the next, we now get to one of the greatest things in the series, which is Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.
[Kat and Michael laugh]
Laura: Yay!
Alison: It’s just fabulous. First of all…
Michael: Bang, boom, magic.
Alison: [laughs] Fred and George are borderline genius with some of these products. Some of the ones I picked out were U-No-Poo…
[Michael laughs]
Kat: Which, why?
[Alison laughs]
Kat: Why?
Michael: Why not?
Kat: That’s my question: Why?
[Alison laughs]
Kat: Why not? Do you want to be constipated?
[Alison laughs]
Laura: No, but I think it’s meant as a prank to make someone else [constipated]. That would make more sense.
Kat: That’s so mean.
[Alison laughs]
Michael: Oh, these pranks are very mean. Fred and George have devised some pretty horrific things to do to people. [laughs]
Kat: And did they test those out on each other?
Michael: They did. They claimed in the last book that they were their own test subjects for quite a while until they got to Hogwarts.
Alison: Yeah. They talked about that in their…
Kat: “Hey, Georgie, I want to make you constipated today, you ready?”
[Alison, Kat, and Michael laugh]
Michael: [as George] “Yeah, sure. Sounds great.”
Alison: All right, we’ve got patented Daydream Charms.
Michael: I want one.
Alison: Which are part of their… [laughs]
Michael: I want one. Those sound awesome. I want one so bad.
Kat: I, yeah, currently hate my Muggle job, so can I get an eight-hour charm, please? Drool. I don’t care. It’s cool. I’m down.
Alison: Their Wonder Witch products… they seem to have a lot focused for girls.
Laura: Well, I think it’s really just… I mean, I know they’re obviously good-looking in person, but I’ve always even just gotten the vibe that girls like them within Hogwarts. I think they have the demographic of boys [who] are messing around with stuff like the U-No-Poo, but a girl’s going to be less likely to do that, but then they’re pulling them in with this and making it seem… so theye’re going, and they’re seeing the handsome Weasley twins, and they’re getting the love potions and stuff. They’re just really, yeah, like you said, borderline genius, so…
Kat: They’ve clearly done their market research.
Laura: Yeah. They’ve got all grounds covered, even with the Muggle stuff that they have. They truly have everything covered.
Michael: Well, and the Wonder Witch products, specifically the love spell potion thing, is a nice hint of where we’re going to be about Amortentia throughout this book. Amortentia is going to be really important, but it’s nicely just dropped here.
Alison: And they even have created a new species with the Pygmy Puffs.
Kat: Which… isn’t that illegal?
[Alison laughs]
Michael: Yes. [laughs]
Kat: Okay, and so they’re selling illegal animals? Do they have a pet license?
Michael: Maybe they got a permit from the Ministry to do that.
Kat: Yeah right. I mean, maybe.
Alison: I don’t know if they’d be illegal, because…
Kat: Breeding is illegal.
Michael: Yeah, Fantastic Beasts pretty much explicitly says that you can’t do that. [laughs]
Alison: That’s true. I was thinking more… in the Muggle world, you can breed different things like dogs and cats and rabbits…
Kat: A dog and a cat?
Alison: No, not a dog and a cat.
[Michael laughs]
Alison: But you could breed different breeds of dogs to make miniature versions of…
Kat: Yeah, but that’s not cross-species.
Alison: Are Pygmy Puffs cross-species?
Michael: Now, what did they combine?
Alison: I think they were just miniature [Puffskeins].
Michael: They were Puffskeins, but they’ve been miniaturized.
Alison: Speaking of potential sketchy motivations, later, George is talking about their shield cloaks, hats, whatever, and he says, “We thought we’d get into the whole area of Defense Against the Dark Arts, because it’s such a money spinner.” So normally, we would assume that one of these good guys would be doing this for a more noble purpose, and obviously, we’ve seen that Fred and George are very good at their business practice, but could this be a darker side of them? Sorry to ruin your image, Laura.
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Alison: But could this potentially be a darker side that that’s what they’re more concerned about and the reason they start it, or am I reading too much?
Kat: There’s no such thing as reading too much in this show.
[Alison laughs]
Michael: I mean, lots of people profit from war in worse ways than others, and as we’ve seen on the street in Diagon Alley, there'[re] a lot of people who are doing that in a very negative way.
Kat: But they way I loo, at it, and sorry if I interrupted you, Michael…
Michael: No, not at all.
Kat: … is that Fred and George are doing their part to protect the population. Yes, they’re making money off it because the Ministry sucks. And they feel like, if the Ministry wants to buy them, then we’re going to charge them. And at least Fred and George are helping people, and they’re not making evil objects, although I mean, U-No-Poo.
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Michael: … is a truly evil object. No, I think you’re right, Kat, in that Fred and George also are very aware of how the Ministry treated not only Harry but [also] their father and so to profit off of the Ministry I’m sure is very… I think that’s [a] pretty minor comeback for them, considering what they could do. So I mean, yeah, they’re not going to just make free products for the war. That’s not practical. I mean, even in wartime, that doesn’t happen. Back in World War II, it was like, “Bonds! Bonds for the war! Buy bonds! So many bonds!” So it’s kind of like that. Everybody makes money off of war.
Alison: But what about the motivation behind it?
Kat: I think it’s…
Michael: Well, they didn’t… go ahead, Kat.
Laura: They didn’t have one. They just made it.
Michael: Well, yeah, because they were initially made as just tricks, and then they ended up realizing that they could be…
Laura: They didn’t even really realize, then. It was the Ministry that came to them, and they were the ones…
Michael: That’s true.
Laura: … that said something. And then there was “Oh yeah, those are [unintelligible].” So…
Kat: Regardless, I still see them as a non-issue for me because Fred and George are ultimately good guys. So RIP.
Michael: I mean, all things considered, they’ve been impressively tempered down by owning this store. [laughs]
[Alison laughs]
Michael: It’s done a lot of good for the two of them.
Alison: Well, it’s true. [laughs] Anyway, so as we are wrapping up our trip to Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, I just want to throw this out there: We get some really great Ginny moments as they discuss her ex-boyfriends [and] her current boyfriend. We’re finally starting to get this more rounded Ginny because Harry is finally paying attention. [laughs]
Laura: She’s taking off her glasses.
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Michael: Let down her hair, and now she is Princess Mia Thermopolis of Genovia.
[Alison and Laura laugh]
Kat: That was such a good reference, Michael. That was so good.
[Alison laughs]
Michael: Laura led me there. [laughs]
Kat: So good.
Michael: With the glasses.
Laura: Not intentional.
Michael: [laughs] But this is an interesting point because we’ve had a lot of listeners comment back to us about our discussions about not only Ginny but [also] all the females in Harry Potter and how they’re treated narratively and why we find them frustrating because I know, in the past, we’ve all expressed frustrations with Ginny but not necessarily at Ginny’s fault. It’s almost the way she’s written or the way she’s treated by the narration. And I’ve always had frustrations with this scene because what Fred and George are doing to Ginny is really inappropriate: grilling her on her love life that really they have no business judging her about.
Alison: But they’re her brothers.
Kat: Yeah, I don’t think that they’re grilling her. I think that they have a…
Michael: I think they are.
Kat: Well, I mean, I don’t think that they’re doing it in the sense of they’re doing it…
Laura: They’re not shaming her. They’re just…
Kat: Yeah, they’re not. Yeah, we’ve talked before about how we think that Fred and George and Ginny are the closest in that family, how they have a very special relationship, and I think that if anybody could get away with this – what they’re doing to her – it’s them. If Ron tried to do this, she’d slap him.
Michael: Well, he does.
Laura: Because it’s all in good fun, essentially, with them.
Alison: Yeah. They’re just being protective, I think.
Michael: That’s really interesting because I’ve heard from listeners, and I myself don’t necessarily see it that way – maybe it’s because I don’t have a sister so… and my brother won’t be dating anytime soon – so I don’t quite have that relationship dynamic with anybody, but I don’t know. It’s funny because Ginny really pushes back on them when they question her about this. She really doesn’t seem to like them hounding her about it. And like you said, if Ron tried this, he’d get in big trouble with her, and he does. Ron kind of takes his model from Fred and George and does a horrible job of it at school.
Laura: But I disagree that even she’s upset because the tone that I get is all just very joking around of her being like, “Oh, who’s it to you? It’s none of your business.”
Kat: “Last I heard, he was one boy, not five.”
[Alison laughs]
Laura: Yeah, it’s all joking. I don’t know, I feel like I do the same thing to my sister and vice versa and not actually being like, “Oh my God, how dare you?” but the tone Ron would take is very abrasive and accusatory rather than this teasing like, “Oh, you have a boyfriend,” so…
Michael: Well, and I guess in some ways that’s a fair point because she actually ends up seemingly realizing that Ron is the one who tipped Fred and George off about all of this anyway, so… because she turns to Ron and tells him off, so I don’t know, and we’ll get to this… I actually, in my reread of the whole book, pinpointed exactly where I feel that the development of the Harry-Ginny relationship fails. There’s an exact moment for me, and it’s way f[u]rther down the line, but I think it is nice that it’s… since we’re getting it narratively – like you said, Alison, – that means that Harry is taking notice. So took him long enough.
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Kat: Yeah, and then he laughs at her early in the chapter, too, and he chokes on his Corn Flakes which is so cute, and then Ron belts him on the back. Yeah, it’s adorbs. Totes adorbs.
Alison: Okay, and then we end out the chapter by going down Knockturn Alley to Borgin and Burkes following Malfoy. So we know the plan that Draco is referring to in retrospect, but did anyone catch hints about this on the first read?
Kat: No, and there are so many!
Laura: Nope.
Kat: I already told you: bad at riddles, right here. I’d be stuck outside the Ravenclaw common room all night.
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Michael: No it’s… well, because I highlighted that a few chapters ago, how well the set-up is done specifically what Rowling sets up, and really looking back on it now with the concepts of circle theory, if you look back to this book’s twin, which is Chamber of Secrets, of course all the giveaways are right there. So it’s very well set up, how she doesn’t really… he goes to the store. We can’t see what he’s pointing at, but we know it’s in Borgin and Burkes. We know…
Alison: It even says he was behind the cabinet.
Kat: Yeah, it says that Draco stood there with [his] back to them, just visible beyond the same very large black cabinet in which Harry had hidden before. It’s mentioned three times in six pages.
Michael: Well, and then… but right after that, she gives us the red herring of the necklace, which, while important, is not the ultimate item. So it’s…
Laura: I love Hermione in that scene.
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Kat: Can I…? Oh, I wish that Emma Watson had a chance to do that, because I just think she would have nailed it.
Alison: Yes! So funny.
Kat: It would have been so funny.
Michael: I would have liked to have seen that because that’s one of Hermione’s weak points, that she’s really a bad actress. [laughs] We get that a little bit in the Deathly Hallows movie, which was nice, and excellently done by Helena Bonham Carter.
Alison and Kat: Yes.
Kat: “Good morning!”
[Kat and Michael laugh]
Michael: “Good morning?!” But yeah, this scene would have been fun to watch.
Kat: Brilliant. Absolutely.
Michael: I do love Ron, too, his reaction afterwards, like, “Wow.”
Laura: Killed it. Crushed it.
Michael: Nailed it!
[Laura and Michael laugh]
Kat: Yeah, Master of Mystery. Oh, God.
[Michael laughs]
Kat: Those two are so hot for each other. It’s so obvious. It’s so obvious.
Alison: Yes. Perfect. So the other thing I was wondering about is Borgin is very hesitant to offer Malfoy any advice; any real answers. Do we think he’s avoiding helping Malfoy?
Laura: I would say that it’s not so much that he has anything against Malfoy, even if he is all Death Eater supporter and touter of Dark Arts and stuff. I think in watching Diagon Alley fall apart around him, I think he’s nervous to play any central role in anything. In the same way with Gregorovitch; how he ends up getting killed just because he couldn’t fulfill Voldemort’s wishes. He’s like, “Okay, I’m putting this plan in the hands of this kid who is clearly going to fail at this. Does that mean it’s going to result in me dying?”
Alison: That’s a good point.
Laura: I don’t think it’s anything personal against Draco.
Kat: Yeah, he just has no interest in taking part at all. It doesn’t matter who it is or what it is or the outcome or who it’s for.
Laura: He’s saving his own skin, but is also not strong enough to actually stand up.
Kat: Yeah.
Michael: And remind me, but I’m pretty sure the book specifically says this… which is funny because there has still been debate, oddly enough, in the fandom about whether this is true or not. But this pretty much confirms it, right? Malfoy shows him a Dark Mark on his arm.
Alison, Kat, and Laura: Yeah.
Michael: And there have still been people in the fandom who are like, “Malfoy doesn’t have a Dark Mark.” And I’m like, [laughs] “No, he does.”
Kat: Yeah, he does. He does.
Laura: There’s nothing to even debate.
Michael: He’s not showing him his blank forearm like, “I shave!”
[Alison and Laura laugh]
Kat: Although it doesn’t say that, but we know…
Michael: No.
Laura: What else could it be? And that’s what changes his mind. That’s what silences him and makes him go along with it even more because it’s almost like an order from Voldemort at that point.
Kat: Because he shows it off later.
Alison and Laura: Yeah.
Michael: I think in the movie he explicitly shows it to Dumbledore but in the book he does not. So he never…
Kat: Oh, right, Mr. Read Ahead, I forgot you already finished the entire book.
Michael: Well, isn’t it helping us right now? [laughs]
Kat: No… yes.
Michael: But yeah, no, I think you guys are right. After being shown a Dark Mark, I think that’s definitive; Borgin is like, “I’m not going to play any role in this.
Laura: This is essentially the same concept as being held up in a convenience store almost; those sort of things, where it’s like, “Not going to listen,” and then once you present that it’s basically death on your forearm, as a threat. It’s like, “Do what I’m asking and then I’ll put my Dark Mark away and walk out of here.”
[Kat and Michael laugh]
Laura: It’s almost the same thing.
Alison: Now that we know Malfoy is up to something, that will carry us through to our next chapters. So listeners, we look forward to hearing all of your comments on everything we discussed.
Kat: It’s a good chapter. I like that chapter.
Alison: It is a good chapter.
Laura: Yeah, I was pleased because I’ve been having to read a thousand and a half pages for school and it was just so nice to have on my reading list last night: Harry Potter.
[Michael laughs]
Laura: I’ll get to this one last, right before bed. [laughs] So nice.
Kat: You’re welcome.
Michael: This chapter continues, I think, the trend of the book where it very nicely balances the seriousness and the gravitas of the situation with the humor.
Kat and Laura: Yeah.
Michael: Fred and George are just rejected almost right in the middle of the chapter to liven up the proceedings. But there’s still some really dark stuff going on in this book. But it’s nicely done as an undertone.
Kat: Okay, so now we are going to move into this week’s Podcast Question of the Week and we just had a twenty minute discussion about this. No joke.
[Alison and Laura laugh]
Kat: And we considered a lot of topics, and we think that we came up with a really good one for you guys. So it’s a two parter. The first question is, “Who is the true Master of Mystery?” Also, “What should Hermione really get Draco for his birthday?” You know what to do. Answer the question at alohomora.mugglenet.com or send us an audioBoom and you might just hear your response on next week’s episode. And yes…
Laura: Really sleep hard on this one.
Kat: Yeah, we are not kidding. This is the actual Podcast Question of the Week because you know what? This book is very lighthearted and it’s fun and we’ve had an amazing two hour talk…
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Kat: … you guys will get to hear a lot of it in the bloopers, I think. So we decided – I decided – to go light and… so there it is, your Podcast Question of the Week.
Michael: The amazing thing is I think we’re going to get some really good responses.
[Everyone laughs]
Kat: Yeah, we’re going to get some awesome responses from this, so…
[Alison laughs]
Michael: There are a lot of options to choose from for who is the true Master of Mystery in Harry Potter, so…
Kat: That’s right. We are counting on you, listeners. Make us proud.
Michael: But one true Master of Mystery who we have to thank is Laura for coming on the show today because…
Laura: Thanks.
[Everyone laughs]
Kat: She’s feeling really good about the fact that she has no responsibility for that Question of the Week whatsoever.
Laura: I’m not going to be in this text chain at all inevitably complaining about this.
[Everyone laughs]
Kat: Yep.
Michael: But we were very glad to have you back, Laura, for this show, especially so perfectly and coincidentally for the Fred and George chapter.
Laura: Yeah, it was very exciting. Everything worked out. Yeah, thank you so much, guys, for having me back. It’s really nice to check in every once and a while. I’m sure we’ll… I’m still around. You can still follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @reilly_laura and @laurareilly5. I’m always posting stuff about Harry Potter-related things and my general nerdy life. You can follow me on my blog, too, which is The Great Wide Somewhere, which all those links are on my social media. So I’m still around. Don’t forget about me.
Kat: And you’ll be back for Deathly Hallows because that’s your favorite, so…
Laura: Yeah, I know. Exactly, yeah. I’m going to be there. [laughs] So thank you so much, guys. This was a lot of fun; it brought back all the memories. I’ve missed it.
Kat: All the crazy.
Laura: Yeah.
Alison: And if you would like to be on the show, make sure to go to our “Be on the Show” page at alohomora.mugglenet.com. If you have a set of Apple headphones you’re all set; you don’t need any fancy equipment. While you’re there, make sure you download our ringtone for free on the page.
Kat: And in the meantime, if you just want to keep in touch with us, you can find us on Twitter at @AlohomoraMN, facebook.com/openthedumbledore, and Tumblr at mnalohomorapodcast. Of course, our phone number is 206-GO-ALBUS. That’s 206-462-5287. And of course the audioBoom! You can leave that for free. All you need is an Internet connection and a microphone. Go over to alohomora.mugglenet.com, press the little green button in the right-hand column and keep it under 60 seconds – Hufflepuffskein – and we’ll be able to play it on the show.
[Alison and Michael laugh]
Michael: And despite how business is doing in Diagon Alley, the Alohomora! store is still open for business. Come on in; we’ve got House shirts, the Desk!Pig shirts, Mandrake Liberation Front shirts, Minerva Is My Homegirl… so many more themed shirts, products to choose from, and you can find them from…
Laura: We haven’t been murdered.
Michael: [laughs] We have not been murdered, spirited away by Voldemort, or killed by J.K. Rowling’s pen. [laughs] So visit alohomora.mugglenet.com to stop by our store.
Kat: Personally, I just want to say it would be a honor to be killed by her pen. Just saying.
Michael: [laughs] That’s very Stranger than Fiction of you.
Alison: And make sure to also check out our smartphone app, which is available on this side of the pond and the other. Prices vary. It includes things like transcripts, bloopers, alternate endings, probably half of this two hour conversation we’ve had…
[Everyone laughs]
Alison: … host vlogs and more.
Kat: And I will say that if you guys have the smartphone app, definitely watch last week’s special feature because it was of Eric and Kristen dueling at the Wizarding World, or as Eric did, dancing mostly. And then the one we will probably use next week since we have so many bloopers is me being super overly serious like I generally am, dueling at that exact same thing. So they’re both pretty hilarious and there’s a lot of good stuff on the app so totally check it out. But that’s it. That’s the end of Episode 124 and I’m Kat Miller.
Michael: I’m Michael Harle.
Alison: And I’m Alison Siggard. Thank you for listening to Episode 124 of Alohomora!
[Show music begins]
Fred: Open the U-No-Poo!
George: No, no, Fred. Open the Dumbledore.
Fred: Oh yeah, that’s right. Open the Dumbledore. And come by Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, too.
[Show music continues]
Michael: Out of all the characters in the series who is the true Master of Mystery?
[Everyone laughs]
Kat: Oh my God. Can I please ask that question?
[Everyone laughs]
Laura: What should have Hermione have gotten Malfoy for his birthday?
[Everyone laughs]
Kat: The first question is, “Who is the true…?”
[Everyone laughs]
Alison: I’m sorry!
Kat: Okay, okay. Alison, you have to mute yourself. You’re killing me.
Michael: I was going to say, Alison, you have to go on mute.
Alison: Okay, okay, okay.
Kat: Killing me. All right, “Who is the true…?” Wait, why is it crossed out?
Michael: [laughs] The doc is like, “No, don’t do that question.”
[Everyone laughs]
Kat: Look! Why is it crossed out? Why is it doing that?
Laura: Is it a sign?
Kat: Why is it doing that? There we go. “Who is the true Master of Mystery?” That’s it, right? That’s what she says to him, right?
Michael: Yes.
[Everyone laughs]
Michael: Ooh, God…
Kat: Wait, should I amend it? [laughs] Also, “What should Hermione really get him?”
[Alison laughs]
