The Half Blood Prince is my favorite Harry Potter novel. It’s the book that sets up the massive battle at Hogwarts and reveals how Voldemort has survived all these years. When my dad read the book to me, I was able to connect all the details established in earlier books. This is one of the reasons I adore the series because of how each book builds upon it’s predecessor. As always, I wanted to share all the details I had forgotten about as I re-read this book.

• The Half Blood Prince book opens with the current British Prime Minister speaking to Fudge through a permanent portrait stuck on the wall.
• Fudge has been updating the Prime Minister about the tragedies throughout the books including Black’s Prison Break, the Triwizard Cup and Voldemort’s Return.
• Fudge does address Black’s death not being regretful, but knowing he made a mistake… GROSS.
• Dementors are reproducing which is causing all the mist in Britain. I wonder how Dementor’s reproduce..?
• Fudge was blackmailed by Voldemort to not interfere with the bridge collapsing. Definitely forgot about this small detail.
• As Bellatrix and Narcissa go to Snape’s, Bellatrix kills a fox because she’s evil.
• Dumbledore picks Harry up at Privet Drive versus at the train station in the movies.
• Voldemort is practicing Occlumency against Harry, so he isn’t having any bad dreams.
• Most wizard homes are protected against unwanted apparators.
• Arthur got a promotion at the Ministry, he’s now the head of the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects.
• Hermione, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley aren’t hugely fond of Fleur and Bill’s relationship at first.
• Hearing how Harry feels after he tells Hermione and Ron about the prophecy and how they will stand by him is heartwarming.
• Both Ollivander and Florean who sold ice cream in Diagon Alley were kidnapped.
• Diagon Alley isn’t as colorful and everyone shopping there seemed very anxious.
• Fred and George made shield spell clothing that even the Ministry bought for protection.
• Ginny bought a pygmy puff and named it Arnold, how cute.
• Tonks is the first one who finds Harry and not Luna like in the movie. This is after Draco curses Harry on the Hogwarts Express. Both Tonks and Harry have to leap off the moving train back onto Hogwarts property.
• Quote from McGonagall, “it’s high time your grandmother learned to be proud of the grandson she’s got, rather than the one she thinks she ought to have.” YESSS!
• I love that Dumbledore’s passwords are all candy. Acid Pops.
• The first memory they look at is from Bob Ogden, an employee at the Magical Law Enforcement office at the Ministry of Magic. Tracked down by Dumbledore, he received Bob’s memories.
• Ogden is attacked by Morfin, where his father, Mr. Gaunt, comes out and tells his son via parsel tongue to go back into the home.
• Merlope is the daughter and she’s consistently abused by her father. She’s also a squib.
• Gaunt shows Ogden a family ring referencing the Peverell coat (Deathly Hallows foreshadowing?) (Tales of Beetle and the Bard).
• Gaunt is the last living relatives of Salazar Slytherin.
• Morfin cast a spell on a muggle which caused painful hives on his skin.
• Merlope likes the man named Tom, that’s why Morfin cursed that particular muggle.
• Marvolo was Voldemort’s grandfather. Both Marvolo and Morfin spent time in Azkaban for the muggle attack and fighting the Ministry as they were being arrested.
• Merlope gave a love potion to Tom Riddle, became pregnant with his child and then stopped giving him the love potion. Tom left her never to be seen by Merope again.
• Marvolo was never the same after Azkaban and died after being released.
• Stan Shunpike was arrested after being suspected as a Death Eater (this might be Rufus Scrimgeour’s idea of trying to attempt to fix the situation, Stan may not be a Death Eater).
• Harry accidentally casts Levicorpus non-verbally on Ron which caused him to lift Ron upside down in the air.
• Ron is insecure in his lack of experience with girls. I think it’s interesting as he’s only 16 in this book and how these stereotypes are presented in Wizarding society.
• Ron became aggressive to Hermione because of knowing that she had experience with Krum. This might be good social commentary about how when women “have experience” they are ostracized for it even from Ron.
• Hermione sent her “birds” after Ron which actually left Ron injured with cuts and bruises.
• Ron did a really cruel impression of Hermione in front of their Transfiguration class. I have to say book Ron is a huge jerk.
• Hermione saying she’s taking Cormac to Slughorn’s party. She says she dates good Quidditch players. SAVAGE.
• Rufus Scrimgeour is a vampire apparently? Luna tells Harry this before Slughorn’s party.
• Lupin was bitten by Greyback after his father offended Greyback.
• Lupin is undercover with werewolves to try and get them on the side of the Order.
• Kreacher gives Harry maggots for Christmas.
• Scrimgeour wants Harry wandering around the Ministry so everyone can see that he’s on their side. As an exchange, Harry could meet Gawain Robards, the head of the Auror office. How rich.
• Harry is so salty with his convo page 346.
• When Tom Riddle came to Hogwarts, the staff was impressed by him. He was talented, eager for knowledge and he seemed polite.
• Dumbledore always mistrusted Tom (this can be seen by the diary Tom kept).
• Riddle’s friends at Hogwarts were the first Death Eaters in his command.
• Tom tried to find more of his family, but as he searched the trophy room, there was no record of his father. This allowed him to find out that his father was never a wizard. He also tried to trace his relatives through his Marvolo name given by the orphanage through Merlope Gaunt.
• As Voldemort found Morfin, he took Morfin’s wand to kill the Riddle Family including Tom Riddle senior (Voldemort’s father and grand parents).
• Morfin was accused of the crime and confessed to it. Morfin died in Azkaban mourning the loss of his father’s ring.
• Dumbledore believes Tom planted a false memory in Morfin’s mind to make him believe he killed the family.
• The Ministry can detect underage magic, but not the perpetrator.
• If Slughorn’s memory of talking with Riddle, he’s already wearing the ring. Meaning he committed those murders while attending Hogwarts.
• Tom Riddle was a prefect at Hogwarts.
• Ron’s birthday is March 1^st.
• Harry falls off his broom during the Hufflepuff game (isn’t this the 2^nd loss to Hufflepuff the first time being in the third book) Cormac kept shouting orders and taking the beaters bat to hit a bludger… what a jack ass.
• Harry calls for Kreacher to spy on Malfoy. When he calls for him, Dobby appears. When Kreacher insults Harry, Dobby punches him. Dobby is much more vital in the books than the movies.
• Voldemort after completing his 7^th year at Hogwarts began working at Borgin & Burkes.
• Voldemort wanted to teach at Hogwarts because it was his home, although there was magic along with influence among the staff.
• As an employee of Borgin and Burkes, this allowed Voldemort to find Helga Hufflepuff’s goblet.
• Voldemort also gets Salazar Slytherin’s locket from Hepzibah Smith (an old witch lady)
• Two days after Voldemort met with Smith, she was found dead. The house elf, Hokey was accused of the crime.
• By the time Voldemort appeared before Dumbledore for the job interview, Voldemort already had a sickly appearance, not quite snake like and he abandoned his muggle name.
• Ron is the one who thinks Harry should use Felix on Slughorn.
• Fenir Greyback is attacking more kids especially if their parents don’t help the Death Eaters. This happened to the Montgomery family, their little brother died after the attack.
• Hermione passed her apparition test while Ron failed because he left half an eyebrow behind.
• During the burial of Aragog, Slughorn brings down booze to drink. He had house elves taste it first to make sure it wasn’t poison.
• The careless act of not concealing the diary showed to Dumbledore that Voldemort had created more than one horcrux. If he hadn’t he would have protected the diary better.
• When counting horcruxes, Voldemort has 6 with the 7^th being his soul in his body.
• Dumbledore believes Voldemort wanted a position at the school for recruitment, but also to find more horcruxes.
• Throughout the memories, Harry feels the locket and the goblet are horcruxes while Dumbledore gives Harry the impression Nagini is a horcrux too.
• Voldemort was going to use the murder of Harry and his family as a horcrux.
• Lucius, believing Voldemort to be dead, used the diary for his own political gain. He didn’t recognize that he was holding a part of his master’s soul. It’s also why in the later movies, Voldemort seems to be consistently punishing Lucius because of his failure at the ministry, but for also allowing his diary to be destroyed so mercilessly.
• Voldemort singled out Harry because of the prophecy, but if he would have done nothing, the prophecy wouldn’t have come true.
• The reason Voldemort couldn’t possess Harry is because of his love inflicted by his mother when she died to save him.
• As Harry understands the prophecy, Harry realizes he doesn’t have to kill Voldemort. It’s because Voldemort will stop at nothing to kill Harry that if Harry wants to live, he has to stop Voldemort in the end.
• Malfoy is seen crying in Myrtle’s Bathroom fear of failing Voldemort.
• Harry was forced to copy records of old Hogwarts punishments which included transgressions from James and Sirius while they were at Hogwarts.
• Harry and Ginny’s first kiss was after Gryffindor won the house cup with Ginny playing as seeker. Score was 450 to 140.
• The night Dumbledore hired Trelawny was the night she made the prophecy regarding Harry.
• On the night Snape heard Trelawny, he told Voldemort originally about the prophecy. Snape had no idea that it would be Harry and his parents who were being targeted.
• “It’s the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.” Page 566.
• The liquid potion is emerald in the books versus in the movie it’s clear.
• In the book, Dumbledore responds to the Inferi rather quickly where Harry isn’t pulled into the water versus in the movie, Harry is dragged into the water.
• Harry apparated Dumbledore back, that’s quite an achievement.
• The Dark Mark appears in the sky when Harry gets back with Dumbledore.
• Dumbledore tells Malfoy to not use the term mud blood, Go Dumbledore fighting against slurs.
• Dumbledore never approached Malfoy, because if he did Malfoy would have failed and Voldemort would have killed him (regarding Malfoy’s involvement in the necklace and for giving the poison to Ron accidentally). Also since Voldemort is great at Legilimency, he would have been able to tell Malfoy was lying.
• Dumbledore offers Malfoy and his mother protection if Draco comes to the Order.
• Draco is surprised Greyback came. It seems Malfoy has empathy and didn’t want to bring Greyback with.
• Greyback, Amycus, Alecto and Malfoy are with Dumbledore that night.
• As Harry leaves the tower, he stuns two Death Eaters one was Greyback. The other was unnamed.
• Ginny was dueling Amycus, the brother when Harry stuns him.
• McGonagal causes Alecto to run off.
• Buckbeak attacks Snape in the book, why wasn’t this included in the movie???????
• Harry straightens Dumbledore’s spectacles on his nostrils when he approaches his body after it fell off the tower.
• The body referenced by Malfoy (in the tower Malfoy says someone died), is Bill Weasley as this was the moment he was attacked by Greyback.
• THEY USED THE LAST OF THE FELIX POTION IN THE FIGHT!? Why is this not in the movie.
• Harry tells everyone what he knows about Snape and how he told Voldemort about the prophecy.
• Hermione and Luna were outside Snape’s door when Snape urged them to check on Flitwick because he collapsed when in actuality he jinxed him.
• Almost immediately, Dumbledore appeared in his own portrait in his old office.
• Dumbledore’s death is hitting me more than I thought, “The phoenix had gone, had left Hogwarts for good, just as Dumbledore had left the school, the world. . . had left Harry” 😦 😦 😦 😦 😦 😦
• EWWW Umbridge is at Dumbledore’s funeral.
• Ginny always loved Harry, but she dated other people to get away from him.

One of my favorite facts I wrote in this list is the one I made bold. During the battle near the tower, I believe it’s Ginny who mentions the reason they’re all alive is because they took the rest of Harry’s Felix potion. This isn’t mentioned at all in the movie, but I feel this allows Harry’s main group of friends to survive and fight at the tower.

My Harry Potter re-read is coming to a close. Onto The Deathly Hallows.

I thought I had already written this post, but I hadn’t! I finished Order of the Phoenix a month ago and forgot how much was left out of the movie. I thought Order of the Phoenix would be a pain to read due to its length, but it was more enjoyable than I remember, despite Umbridge being a main character. Here is everything I forgot from Order of the Phoenix.

• Poor Dudley puked on the floor from the Dementor encounter.
• Aunt Petunia knew what Dementors were.
• Uncle Vernon recognizes Lore Voldemort’s name and how he was gone. When Harry tells Vernon that Voldemort is back, Vernon actually looks scared.
• “Remember My Last Petunia.” That was a great Howler.
• Tonks sent a letter to the Dursleys, saying they won “best kept lawn.” The Dursleys cash in on their prize, leaving Harry home alone.
• Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Emmeline Vance, Sturgis Podmore, and Hestia Jones are all witches and wizards who show up to escort Harry out of the Dursleys’ home.
• Tonks got top marks as an Auror for her ability to change her appearance. It was the “conceal & disguise” test as an Auror. She just passed this test recently.
• Metamorphmagus are born, not made. Very rare.
• Harry became “disillusioned” when he flew to 12 Grimmauld Place. This meant Harry became a human chameleon.
• Percy was hired up into the Ministry to be a spy for Arthur, since Arthur is working with Dumbledore. This is punishment for Percy because he couldn’t see that Barty Crouch was under the Imperius Curse. Percy moves out and doesn’t speak to his family.
• Evanesco makes things disappear. Used in the Order of the Phoenix’s plans to make them disappear so Harry couldn’t see them.
• Sirius is stuck in Grimmauld Place because Wormtail revealed Voldemort’s return and told the Ministry that Sirius is an animagus. The ministry would be looking for a Black Dog wandering around.
• Sirius and Molly debate whether Harry should know what the Order is discussing. Molly says Sirius isn’t a great role model and wants to protect Harry. Sirius reminds Molly that Harry isn’t her biological son.
• Molly makes a good point. Harry isn’t an adult. He is only 15 years old. Being older, reading this book, Sirius does come across as a bit immature.
• Kingsley Shacklebolt has been feeding false information to the Ministry, such as strange places Sirius Black has been spotted.
• Dumbledore’s been demoted from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot because he announces Voldemort’s return. They also debated taking away his Order of Merlin, First Class.
• Didn’t know “breakfasted” was a word. Harry and his friends “breakfasted” rather quickly. Page 101
• Buckbeak is hiding out at 12 Grimmauld Place upstairs in Sirius’s mom’s bedroom.
• Sirius was a disappointment to his mom, “broke her heart”. According to Kreacher.
• Sirius can’t “release” Kreacher because he knows too much about the Order.
• Sirius’s Uncle Alphard left him gold. Helped him get his own place at age 17 and allowed him to escape his insufferable family.
• Sirius’s family suffered from “pure-blood mania,” where they wouldn’t look at a person who wasn’t “pure-blood.” The Black family thought they were royalty.
• Regulus became a Death Eater (first mention of his brother) and was killed by Voldemort (we find out that’s not entirely accurate).
• Sirius’s family originally supported Voldemort’s ideology. Once they realized what Voldemort would do to get that power, his family started to fear him.
• Nigellus was Sirius Black’s great-great-grandfather, who was the most hated head master at Hogwarts.
• Araminta Meliflua was a relative who wanted Muggle Hunting legalized.
• Aunt Elladora would behead her house elves when they couldn’t lift tea anymore.
• Tonks is related to Sirius, and she’s also a half blood, her mom being a witch and her dad being a Muggle named Ted.
• Sirius is technically related to the Weasleys and Draco Malfoy.
• Sirius yells at Harry when Harry says Sirius didn’t mention he was related to Bellatrix.
• 12 Grimmauld Place is unplottable (mentioned in the Goblet of Fire) and can’t be located on a map.
• Kreacher actually cried when Sirius threw out a golden ring with the family crest on it.
• Dumbledore ordered Sirius to stay at the Order while Harry went to his trial (much to Sirius’s chagrin)
• Sirius seems angrier in the book than in the movie. Being stuck in his house and not being able to go outside is taking a toll on him.
• Harry and Mr. Weasley entered through a red telephone booth. I can’t remember if that happened in the movie or not.
• Harry is on level #2 in the Ministry of Magic, that’s one of the top floors, I believe. In the movie, it makes it seem like Harry is going underground.
• Harry enters the same courtroom used in Dumbledore’s memories with Barty Crouch Jr.
• Fudge keeps saying he “wants this over with.” Meaning Fudge wants to quickly expel Harry because of what he’s been saying about Voldemort’s return. That’s really gross.
• Harry donates his galleons to Mungo’s after being cleared of all charges.
• Hermione makes a comment about how Sirius isn’t sure if Harry is Harry or James. Imagine how Sirius must feel. His best friend is murdered, he’s imprisoned wrongly, and he sees his best friend’s son, who looks exactly like him. That must be tough for him.
• Ron becomes a prefect and Mrs. Weasley is so excited.
• Harry felt he should have gotten the prefect badge because of everything he’s done. For once, Ron has beaten Harry in something, and it makes Harry say some awful comments. This is definitely a toxic side to Harry.
• Lupin was the prefect when James and Sirius were in school.
• Moody gives Harry the picture of the original Order of the Phoenix.
• Marlene McKinnon is a witch in the picture, and her whole family was murdered two weeks after the picture was taken.
• Benjy Fenwick is a wizard in the Order of the Phoenix who was also killed after the photo was taken.
• Edgar Bones was also killed after the photo was taken.
• Caradoc Dearborn vanished 6 months later, never to be seen again
• Hagrid was also in the Order of the Phoenix
• It took 5 Death Eaters to kill Gideon Prewett and his brother Fabian
• Aberforth Dumbledore was also in the Order of the Phoenix
• Dorcas Meadowes was murdered by Voldemort himself
• Harry found the photograph to be disturbing, and after Moody shows it to Harry, he runs off. Their happy faces in the picture without knowing their demise. I feel for Harry, as I would probably be disturbed looking at this photograph as well.
• Molly, seeing her dead family members as her boggart, was really sad.
• Seeing the photograph, Harry was forced to grow up. This is what Molly was referring to; he is still a 15-year-old kid.
• Luna is a 4th-year. I assumed she was in the same year as Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
• Neville brings his Mimbulus Mimbletonia on the Hogwarts Express. It squirts dark green liquid that smells terrible. Poor Harry gets a face full of it.
• Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson are the prefects for Slytherin house.
• Ron and Hermione initially don’t know that Harry gave the twins his Triwizard Tournament money.
• Ron wants to be an auror!
• Draught of Peace is a potion that’s supposed to decrease anxiety. It’s super complicated to make.
• Ron and Hermione call Harry out for his rude behavior. (Harry is constantly yelling at Ron and Hermione)
• I can sympathize with Harry. He’s sent to McGonagall’s office, and she tells him to keep his temper under control.
• Bowtruckles are taught in their lesson.
• Hermione is initially super rude to Luna, and Harry puts her in her place.
• Sturgis Podmore (member of the Order of the Phoenix & who picked up Harry in the beginning) was arrested and sentenced to Azkaban for 6 months. He was convicted of stealing from the Ministry of Magic. Was this a lure by the Ministry to take down allies of Dumbledore?
• Fred & George accidentally gave Katie Bell a blood blisterpod, and now she has to go to the hospital wing.
• Percy writes to Ron letting him know he should cut ties with Harry. What an idiot.
• Umbridge is proposing policies to discriminate against werewolves and merpeople. It’s also made it difficult for Remus to get a job.
• Sirius made a comment, “You’re less like your father than I thought.” As far as Sirius risking his safety to see Harry. It’s not Harry’s responsibility to be exactly like his father. That’s an unfair statement for Sirius to make.
• Hog’s Head is where Harry meets the soon-to-be members of Dumbledore’s Army. It’s also the same place where Hagrid won Norbert.
• The people who showed up were. . .
  • Neville
  • Dean Thomas
  • Lavender Brown
  • Parvati and Padma Patil
  • Cho & one of her friends
  • Luna
  • Katie Bell
  • Alicia Spinnet
  • Angelina Johnson
  • Colin Creevy & his brother Dennis
  • Ernie Macmillian
  • Justin Finch Fletchley
  • Hannah Abbott
  • Random Ravenclaw students
  • Fred & George Weasley
  • Lee Jordan
  • Ginny Weasley
• Foreshadowing! Cho’s friend shows up, and she doesn’t look happy to be there. This is the same friend who rats out Dumbledore’s army to Umbridge
• Susan Bones, a Hufflepuff student whose aunt served on Harry’s trial, also showed up at Hog’s Head.
• Random fact: if a boy goes up to the girls’ dormitory, the stairs turn into a slide.
• Umbridge’s rule of “no clubs.” Also includes Quidditch. The Gryffindor team had to reapply to be able to play Quidditch. What an evil person.
• Sirius finds out about Dumbledore’s Army from Mundungus, who was in the Hog’s Head listening and following Harry. Sirius feels a sense of pride with Harry acting more like James.
• Sirius contacts Harry through the flames, and Umbridge’s hand arises from the ashes to squish out the flames. Another reason why she sucks.
• Dobby is the one who tells Harry about the Room of Requirement in the book.
• Dumbledore’s Army completes their first lesson on practicing Expelliarmus.
• Hermione gives all the members of the Army a coin that’s been put under the Protean Charm. Any time Harry changes the meeting, the coins grow hot and change to the date on the other member’s coins. That’s awesome.
• Crabbe & Goyle are Slytherin Beaters this year.
• Harry beats Malfoy AGAIN in Quidditch. Unfortunately, Ron let in most of the goals as the Keeper.
• Umbridge gives Harry and George a lifetime ban from playing Quidditch after Fred & George pummel Malfoy after he throws insults about their mom.
• Hagrid goes to find the giants with Madame Maxine, unlike in the movie, but it appears he goes by himself.
• Hagrid was negotiating with a giant named Karkus, except he was killed by another giant named Golgomath. Gologomath was the giant who injured Hagrid. Hagrid saw the Death Eaters approaching the giants.
• Hagrid teaches about thestrals in his first lesson back at Hogwarts. Meanwhile, Umbridge is super racist and rudely asks students if they can hear him because he’s a giant.
• Umbridge announces that thestrals are classified by the Ministry as dangerous. The Ministry of Magic is a corrupt government society.
• Dobby decorated the Room of Requirement for Christmas. How cute.
• Ginny replaces Harry as the Gryffindor seeker.
• Dumbledore’s headmaster portraits are displayed in other areas, so they can go to and from the Ministry and St. Mungo’s as needed.
• Dumbledore starts ordering Phineas to send a message to the Order. This is the same Phineas who is related to Sirius Black, who was also one of the worst Headmasters in Hogwarts’ history.
• Immediately after meeting with Dumbledore, Harry & the Weasleys use a portkey to go back to Grimmauld Place. McGonagall has to distract Umbridge from finding out the boys were walking around Hogwarts late at night.
• There’s an argument about whether or not the Weasley kids can go see their father. The Order doesn’t want the Ministry to know Harry is having visions. It would look rather suspicious if they showed up at the hospital without anyone telling them about Arthur’s attack.
• Mungo’s is disguised as a red brick building titled Purge and Dowse Ltd.
• The logo of St. Mungo’s was a wand and a bone crossed together.
• Dilys Derwint was a former healer (not doctor), and she was one of the headmaster’s portraits in Dumbledore’s office.
• The floors of St. Mungo’s are as follows:
  • Ground Floor – Artifact Accidents (wand backfiring, broom crashes)
  • First Floor – Creature-Induced Injuries
  • Second Floor – Magical Bugs (Dragon Pox or Scrofungulus)
  • Third Floor – Potions (rashes, uncontrollable giggling)
  • Fourth Floor – Spell Damage (jinxes, hexes, etc.)
  • Fifth Floor – Visitor’s Tea Room and Hospital Gift Shop
• Arthur says every time they take off his bandages, he keeps bleeding. It must be the snake’s poison that’s preventing him from being able to stop the bleeding.
• Next to Arthur is a man who was bitten by a werewolf, and there’s no cure for that.
• Harry thinks about leaving Grimmauld Place after hearing about how he could be possessed by Voldemort.
• Phineas Nigellus tells Harry a message from Dumbledore instructing him not to leave Grimmauld Place.
• Ginny is much better in the books than in the movies. Ginny reminds Harry that she knows what it’s like to be possessed by Voldemort. Ginny couldn’t remember where she was when she was possessed by Voldemort. Since Harry has been in control of his thoughts, it’s clear he isn’t being possessed.
• Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny see Professor Lockhart, and the healer accompanying him is impressed that he has “visitors.” Apparently, no one has visited Lockhart since being admitted to St. Mungo’s.
• I forgot how terrible Neville’s grandmother is. She says that Neville doesn’t have his father’s talents.
• Neville’s grandmother accuses Neville of being ashamed of his parents. She proceeds to tell the group how they were Aurors and they were tortured.
• Alice Longbottom gives Neville one of her bubble gum wrappers, to which Neville sadly puts the wrapper in his pocket.
• Sirius and Snape have a huge fight, which leads to Sirius pulling out his wand and Harry getting in the middle. It’s rather immature that a fifteen-year-old boy has to get between them.
• Legilimency is the ability to extract feelings and memories from another person’s mind. Occlumency helps protect someone from that.
• Being skilled in legilimency doesn’t mean someone can read minds, but rather know if someone is lying to them.
• Someone usually has to make eye contact with them to use Legilimency.
• Hogwarts has protections that protect students’ minds from outside sources.
• Resisting Legilimency is similar to resisting the Imperius Curse.
• The spell is Legilimens.
• Harry starts randomly laughing as he is on his way to his bed. It’s because Voldemort is really happy, and it caused Harry to feel that way too.
• There was the murder of Broderick Bode. He was injured at the Department of Mysteries, and someone delivered Devil’s Snare to his bedside, where it strangled him. Harry met him talking to Arthur Weasley, and Ron remembers his dad talking about him.
• The prisoners breaking out of Azkaban have shaped how people view Harry’s story of Voldemort’s return. The Ministry seems unorganized in how they are dealing with the prison breakout.
• The breakout motivates Neville to improve on his spells. He is the one who learns the spells the quickest, aside from Hermione.
• Wood was recruited into professional Quidditch by Puddlemere United.
• Cho always wants to talk about Cedric, and she asks Harry about whether he asked about her before he died.
• Hermione writes to Rita Skeeter and brings Luna with her. They plan on writing Harry’s side of the story in the Quibbler (I forgot about that.)
• Ginny would steal Fred and George’s brooms when she was six.
• Ginny caught the snitch in their game against Hufflepuff, but they still lost because Ron let in so many goals. Angelina was hit in the mouth with a bludger.
• Harry in the Quibbler article named Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle’s fathers as current Death Eaters.
• Bode (the man who was murdered from St. Mungo’s was under the Imperius Curse by Lucius Malfoy (I believe he learns this from a dream by Voldemort)
• Dumbledore hires Firenze, a centaur, to replace Trelawny after she’s sacked by Umbridge.
• Dobby warns Harry that Umbridge knows about Dumbledore’s Army. In the book, only Harry is caught instead of the whole DA.
• Marietta was the victim, and she was horribly disfigured by these purple pus-filled blemishes on her skin.
• Umbridge grabs Marietta and shakes her, which prompts Dumbledore to pull out his wand. Go Dumbledore.
• Dumbledore gloating at Fudge, “I could break out, of course, but what a waste of time.” This is a reference to being put away in Azkaban.
• I wish in the movie they kept the part where Dumbledore hexed Fudge and Umbridge.
• Umbridge invites Harry up to her office to ask about Sirius Black. She makes it very clear that he knows where he is.
• Harry makes it clear to Cho that he doesn’t have any sympathy for Marietta, and what Hermione did was justified.
• When James Potter cursed Snape, Snape cursed back at James, causing a huge gash to leak blood.
• James says he will stop bullying Snape if Lily goes out with him (which is really gross manipulation).
• Snape calls Lily a Mudblood after she defends him.
• Harry uses Umbridge’s floo powder fireplace after Fred and George cause a distraction. This allows Harry to talk to Sirius and Lupin about his father.
• Lily dated James in their seventh year.
• Both Lupin and Sirius are upset that Snape discontinued Occlumency lessons.
• Fred and George were going to be whipped by Umbridge, and this was the moment they left school (not during exams like in the movie).
• OMG, someone let a hairy sprouted Niffler into Umbridge’s office where it tried to eat her rings.
• Students would use Fred and George’s stuff to vomit to get out of Umbridge’s classroom.
• Peeves even starts wreaking havoc, and the professors do nothing to stop him.
• Harry (after Fred and George leave Hogwarts) admits to Ron and Hermione that he gave them the gold to open the shop.
• During the Quidditch match between Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor, Hagrid allows Harry and Hermione to meet Grawp.
• Umbridge thinks Hagrid put the Niffler in her office (which he didn’t).
• Hagrid ended up saving Firenze’s life from the other centaurs; therefore, he is not welcome in the Forbidden Forest.
• Ron won the Gryffindor Quidditch Cup in their fifth year.
• A second niffler was let into Umbridge’s office, lovely.
• While taking their astronomy exam, Umbridge brings people to Hagrid’s cabin where they attempt to hex him. They also hex Fang. When McGonagall comes to Hagrid’s aid, they hex her too.
• A Giant’s blood makes it tough to stun them.
• Lee Jordan admits he was the one who put the Nifflers in Umbridge’s office (not Hagrid). He admits it because he felt bad that Hagrid took the fall for that.
• After Harry’s first Sirius dream, he tries to find Professor McGonagall, but she is at St. Mungo’s recovering from the stunning spells she received trying to come to Hagrid’s aid.
• Before they go to the Department of Mysteries, they attempt to contact Sirius in Umbridge’s office.
• When they get in trouble in the book, it’s because Harry tries to contact Sirius. In the movie, it’s when they are all caught after Dumbledore’s Army meeting.
• Umbridge puts Snape on probation because he doesn’t have any more Veritaserum.
• Umbridge called the Dementors to Harry’s place at the Dursleys
• Incarcerous is the spell Umbridge uses to tie up one of the centaurs. As an added slap in the face, they break her wand, too.
• In the book, Grawp rescues Harry and Hermione from the centaurs, not from Umbridge. In the book, Grawp is injured as one of his blood droplets drops on Harry.
• The thestrals come to their aid because they smell the giant’s blood on Harry and partially on Hermione.
• When the group entered the Ministry of Magic, there was no security person to scan their wands.
• When they enter the Department of Mysteries, the doors rotate, so they have no idea which door they entered from.
• In one room, they find a tank filled with brains (becomes important later).
• Harry discovers the archway in a pit similar to an amphitheater. This is where one of the main battles takes place.
• The Death Eaters who come to the Department of Mysteries include:
  • Nott * stunned by Hermione early on in the battle*
  • Jugson
  • Bellatrix – Tortures Neville, Stuns Tonks, Kills Sirius, Injures Kingsley, later escapes with Voldemort.
  • Rodolphus
  • Crabbe
  • Rabastian
  • Dolohov injures Hermione, Hermione also removes his speech, so they can’t give away their position. Also kicks Neville in the face and breaks his wand. Stunned by Harry. Revives himself, injuring Moody, causing his eye to roll around in the amphitheater with the arch. Sirius begins dueling with Dolohov after he tries yet again to go after Harry.
  • MacNair attempts to strangle Harry. Poked in the eye by Neville, where Harry can stun him.
  • Avery
  • Rookwood
  • Mulciber
  • Lucius Malfoy – attempts to steal the prophecy from Harry, is stunned by Harry, and duels with Lupin.
• One unnamed Death Eater was stunned by Harry.
• There’s a Death Eater who puts his head in a jar, and it turns into a baby’s head. This Death Eater is also unnamed.
• Dolohov releases purple flame across Hermione’s chest, which causes her to fall unconscious.
• Neville’s wand, that broke (caused by Dolohov) was his father’s old wand. To be fair, his dad would be so proud that Neville came to the Department of Mysteries and he partook in a battle that his father started.
• The room with time was where all the Time Turners were kept.
• Ron was hit with a curse that makes him laugh, whereas Ginny’s ankle is broken after Luna uses a curse nearby her.
• Luna was hit with a stunning spell after trying to seal the doors they’re in.
• Ginny shouts a warning to Harry, but is stunned immediately after.
• Harry trips and falls into the room with the arch.
• Neville tries to come to his aid, but he’s tortured by Bellatrix with the Crucio Curse. This is so infuriating to me.
• As Harry begins to hand over the prophecy to Malfoy, this is when the Order shows up.
• Lucius Malfoy attempts to steal the prophecy from Harry, but after throwing the prophecy to Neville, he stuns Lucius.
• Lupin jumps in between them to duel with Lucius.
• The prophecy finally breaks after Neville drops it as they try to escape.
• Dumbledore arrives looking “white and furious.” Dumbledore is mad as hell, and I’m here for it.
• Sirius is killed when he battles Bellatrix after making fun of her. His death scene in the book is quicker than I expected. I thought I would be more emotional reading about it, but honestly, I was angrier at Bellatrix and what she is capable of with dark magic.
• Kingsley continues to duel with Bellatrix.
• Dumbledore groups the other Death Eaters with white ropes.
• As Harry is dueling Bellatrix, Harry taunts her about the prophecy breaking and how Voldemort will be angry. Bellatrix begs Voldemort not to punish her.
• As Voldemort attempts to kill Harry, the statue in the fountain springs to life and wraps itself around Harry and dragging him away from the battle.
• One statue goes after Bellatrix and pins her to the floor.
• Fawkes comes to Dumbledore’s aid and swallows one of Voldemort’s killing spells, killing the phoenix.
• Portus is the spell used to create a portkey
• The real reason Dumbledore didn’t speak to Harry was his fear of Voldemort using Harry to spy on him.
• Kreacher lied to Harry about Sirius being at home when he originally contacted him. Kreacher purposefully injured Buckbeak, which caused Sirius to come to his aid. Kreacher left after Sirius told him to “get out” during the Holiday break. There, he traveled to Narcissa Malfoy’s home, where he revealed how Harry would do anything to protect Sirius if he were to be “in danger.”
• Snape became worried when Harry and Hermione didn’t come back to the school, so he called the Order. Snape knew about Sirius being at the Department of Mysteries because Harry had told Snape earlier.
• The reason Harry is protected at the Dursleys is because of his Aunt Petunia’s blood bond to Lily. This is the same magic that protected Harry from Voldemort as a baby.
• Hermione had to take ten different potions to recover from Dolohov’s magic.
• Dumbledore rescues Umbridge by himself from the centaurs.
• Towards the end of the book, Moody, Tonks, Lupin, and Mr. Weasley basically threaten the Dursleys to take care of Harry this summer. Moody even shows them his eye to properly scare them. What a way to end the book.

As I mentioned, the Order of the Phoenix has many details that are important to the story, but are left out of the movie. For example, when Harry has his dream with Sirius in the Department of Mysteries, he tries to go to McGonagall, except she’s hexed by Umbridge and is in St. Mungo’s. Harry can’t go to Dumbledore as he’s been banished. Harry even uses Floo powder to go to Sirius at 12 Grimmauld Place, except he can’t find him before he’s caught by Umbridge. Harry isn’t as impulsive as the movie would make him seem.

Another point I wanted to make about the Order of the Phoenix is the deterioration of Sirius Black’s mental health. Sirius wants Harry to be like James, so that it becomes unhealthy. Molly is right when she argues with Sirius, especially about whether to give Harry the original “Order of the Phoenix” photograph. Harry becomes revolted as Moody reveals that many of those members were murdered shortly thereafter. Harry is only fifteen years old; he’s still a child. 

The Order of the Phoenix is one of my least favorite books because of Umbridge’s presence. I’m glad I can move on read my favorite Harry Potter book and that’s The Half Blood Prince. 

After reading the last page in Prodigy, I felt my heart being ripped open and stomped on. Any reader can empathize with this feeling of reading a book with a heart-wrenching cliff hanger. Thanks to Marie Lu for putting me in a state of despair after reading Prodigy. As much as I loved Prodigy, I did feel the book moved a bit slower than I anticipated. There was a lot of build up to the plot, but it was somewhat boring to read about. Once I was about halfway through the book, I became entranced with seeing the events unfold. I’m hoping to finish this series this year.

Prodigy picks up immediately after Legend with June and Day wandering through Las Vegas after escaping the Republic. Day is still injured as June is trying her best to drag him along to seek shelter. They’re picked up by the Patriots, a rebel group with aims to protest against the Republic. The Patriots give June and Day a deal: help the Patriots successfully assassinate the new elector and the Patriots will personally see to Eden (Day’s brother) being released from the Republic. Day’s leg is patched up and June is sent into the Republic to initiate the assassination attempt.

The beauty in Marie Lu’s writing is the way she writes her action sequences. As I’m reading the action-packed paragraphs, it reminds me of the Bourne movies. Day’s ability to climb balconies and leap across buildings reminds me of something Jason Bourne could do. June’s skill in hand-to-hand combat is also exciting to read about considering without June, Day probably wouldn’t have made it far in his quest to free his brother.

One disappointment I had with this book is how a certain character’s death is treated. I won’t say who they are because I don’t want to provide spoilers, but I felt it wasn’t seen as being a big deal. I wish they would have shown a proper funeral. Another possible scene I would have liked to see in the book, is how this character death would have impacted June and Day. This character’s death scene felt quick and undeserving.

Honestly, I did prefer Legend to Prodigy. Part of this is due to the cliff hanger appearing in the last couple pages of Prodigy. The series went in a direction I wasn’t expecting. I feel for Day because of everything he went through, I wanted him to have a happy ending. I’m not sure if this will be the case, but I can’t quit the series now.

Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire is the pivotal book in the series where everything becomes much darker. This may still be a “children’s” book, but the adult themes become more present. Voldemort arises out of the mist ready to take over the Wizarding World with his bigotry towards Mudbloods. As an adult, I find re-reading the Harry Potter book series to be different than when I read it as a child. It’s the same material, but I pick up on themes that are relevant to today’s society. As always, I’m going to post details I completely forgot about from The Goblet of Fire:

• The difference between Wormtail in the book versus the movie is vastly different. In the book, Voldemort makes numerous comments about Wormtail’s devotion due to his endless fear. In the movie, Wormtail is seen as a normal follower willing to do Voldemort’s bidding.
• I wish we would have seen Dudley’s tongue turn purple and grow a foot in length. Instead, the movie starts right at the Quidditch World Cup.
• Apparation requires passing a highly challenging test. This is also the first reference to “splinching” which becomes important later in the series.
• Portkeys need to be objects a “muggle” wouldn’t touch. An example would be litter.
• Ways in which Amos Diggory is such a jerk: He talks about how Cedric beat Harry in the Quidditch match last year EVEN THOUGH Harry fell off his broom due to the Dementor’s presence. Amos Diggory also accused Harry of conjuring the Dark Mark during the World Cup.
• The Quidditch World Cup seats 100,000 people.
• Veelas were women who put men into a trance. They performed at the Quidditch World Cup which almost prompted Harry to dive out of his seat. Fleur is part veela which is why she’s seen as irresistible.
• A break-in is reported at Mad Eye Moody’s house which Arthur Weasley investigates. More excellent foreshadowing by J.K. Rowling.
• Professor Snape forces Neville to disembowel toads as punishment. That’s extremely messed up.
• During the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Professor Moody, he puts everyone under the Imperius Curse and Harry is the only one to fight it off. This becomes extremely important later on as Harry can resist Voldemort’s Imperius Curse during their battle after the third task.
• Triwizard Champions are exempt from end-of-year tests.
• Sirius Black has such an important role in the book. He’s the one who informs Harry about Karkaroff’s past as a Death Eater and about Barty Crouch Sr.’s ruthless ways of punishing the Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War.
• In the book, Harry stays near the arena while fighting the dragon. The whole Hogwarts castle showdown with the dragon is purely made to make the sequence more thrilling.
• DOBBY MADE HARRY QUIDDITCH SOCKS! How cute 🙂
• Moody mentions to Harry about how he would make a good Auror.
• “If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors not his equals.” This quote from Sirius is spot on.
• Sirius was sentenced to Azkaban without a proper trial, all thanks to Barty Crouch Sr.
• During Moody’s time as an Auror, he never tried to kill Death Eaters if he didn’t have to. Barty Crouch Sr. gave him special permission to use the three unforgivable curses, but he still avoided using them.
• In Hagrid’s class, they studied Niffler’s! They even had a contest with the Nifflers to see which Niffler would find the most coins. Ron ended up winning. Harry even describes the Nifflers as being cute.
• During a divination lesson, Harry dreams Voldemort tortures Wormtail after he makes a mistake. This further describes Voldemort and Wormtail’s volatile relationship which wasn’t in the movies.
• Ludo Bagman was on trial for giving information to Rookwood [Rookwood was convicted of being a Death Eater].
• The torture of the Longbottom’s shocked the Wizarding World. Frank was a popular Auror and the timing happened right after Voldemort fell from power. This means that Harry’s parents were killed in July and the Longbottom’s were tortured shortly after that.
• Imagine being in Neville’s position: leading the legacy of his parents who have no idea who he is. This is compounded by the fact that his true strength is in Herbology and not necessarily in other forms of magic like his parents. That’s a lot of pressure for Neville.
• A phoenix song plays when Harry and Voldemort’s wands connect. They are also raised in the air and float over the Death Eaters.
• Bertha Jorkins is released from Voldemort’s wand encouraging Harry to keep their wands connected.
• Fawkes heals Harry after the battle with Voldemort. This is after Barty Crouch Jr. is apprehended.
• Fudge doesn’t believe Voldemort’s rise to power due to Harry’s apparent “mental instability” which was written about by Rita Skeeter. In this article, it’s revealed Harry can talk to snakes which was unknown to Fudge. It’s one reason why Fudge launches a smear campaign against Harry and Dumbledore.
• During the argument between Fudge and Dumbledore, Professor Snape reveals his “dark mark” to everyone saying how his mark is darker on his arm. Snape is a lot of things, but he at least believes Harry’s account of Voldemort’s return.
• Towards the end of Goblet of Fire, it’s revealed that Sirius is the black dog that’s been following Harry around. Dumbledore insists Sirius and Snape need to work together. This is the beginning of the formation of the Order of the Phoenix.
• Dumbledore makes a comment to Snape, “You know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready . . . if you are prepared . . . then good luck.” I wonder if this was the moment that Snape contacted Voldemort to become his double agent.
• Ron in the end got an autograph from Krum
• The last sentence in Goblet of Fire is fitting to what happens in the series. It is, “What would come, would come. . . and he would have to meet it when it did.” This is written from Harry’s view and how Harry has accepted Voldemort’s return.

These aren’t even all the comments I wrote about Goblet of Fire. I’m writing a Word document of every little detail I find interesting as I re-read the books. I’m already at 13 pages of little tidbits from the series I had forgotten. Re-reading Goblet of Fire brought out more emotion than I had prepared for. It means I’m one book closer to reading The Deathly Hallows and all the character deaths occur in the Battle of Hogwarts. I’m still looking forward to reading the other three books and hope to start Order of the Phoenix sometime this week.

When I read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, I was a junior in college. Reading Fangirl allowed me to reflect on my college experience. My freshman year was an intimidating experience where I had to make new friends from scratch. I related to Cath in her devotion to Simon & Bazz. I have the same devotion to other fandoms. When I found out Rainbow Rowell was transitioning into writing comics, I was invested in whatever property she became attached to. Runaways: Find Your Way Home is an adventure story centered on the relationships between friends.

Before reading Runaways, I never knew the premise behind the team. The Runaways is a comic series published by Marvel that debuted in 2003. The series stars a group of teenagers who interact with each other every time their parents have a dinner party. The teenagers discover the dinner parties are a front for their parent’s criminal undertakings. The parents are part of a group titled “The Pride” with the ultimate goal of wiping out the planet and starting fresh. The teenagers are forced to team up and go against authority and stop “The Pride” from unleashing hell on Earth. As I researched The Runaways, I learned that they were created by Brian K. Vaughn. This name may sound familiar because he is the main creator of Paper Girls which is one of my favorite comic series. Vaughn worked on Runaways until the series was canceled in 2009.

Rainbow Rowell’s Runaways: Find Your Way Home is set after the teenagers learn about their parent’s background. What I like about Runaways: Find Your Way Home is how it hints at the original story, but I don’t need prior knowledge of The Runaways to comprehend the story. The protagonists of the story are: Nico Minoru, Chase Stein, Gertrude Yorkes, Karolina Dean, Molly Hayes, and Alex Wilder. Each teenager has special abilities that contribute to how The Runaways team up in battle. One of the positive attributes of Runaways: Find Your Way Home is the diversity between the characters. This doesn’t include race, but also diversity in body type. Gertrude is one of my favorite teenagers because of her sassy personality, but she’s also drawn as being plus-size. In comics, women are often super thin, curvy, and muscular all at the same time. As someone whose body type doesn’t fit that mold, I’m happy to see characters in comics with a variety of body types.

As I mentioned, Gertrude is one of my favorite characters because I think her character arc is interesting to read. Without giving spoilers, she has to contemplate how The Runaways have grown apart since she felt they would always be together. Also Gertrude has a pet dinosaur named Old Lace who’s her partner in crime. I’m also intrigued by Nico’s magical abilities since she can’t create the same spell twice. I would hate to have this ability because I wouldn’t be creative enough to come up with different spell names every time.

I can’t talk about Runaways: Find Your Way Home without referencing Kris Anka. Kris Anka has worked on many of Marvel’s properties including X-Men, Captain Marvel, and the redesign of Spider-Woman. Kris Anka’s art makes this story shine. He is perfect for Rainbow Rowell since her writing is lighthearted and clever.

As I typed this review, I didn’t realize I would have so much to say. I highly recommend this series because of the story. You don’t have to know anything about the original Runaways to start this series. Go to your local comic book store and pick up Runaways: Find Your Way Home, you won’t be disappointed.

As a consumer, I try to support local businesses when I can. There’s a bookstore about ten minutes away from my apartment that serves local beer on tap along with black coffee. I’m planning on purchasing more of my books there versus Barnes & Noble, however, I had two Barnes & Noble gift cards to use up from the past holiday season. I made my purchases and wanted to share what’s next on my reading list.

Prodigy by Marie Lu

This is the second book in the Legend trilogy. I wrote a book review of Legend a couple of blog posts ago. The main reason I avoided reading this series was because I needed a break from the dystopian genre. I’m only about fifty pages into Prodigy, but so far it’s been pretty fast-paced.

My Hero Academia by Kohei Horikoshi

I have been trying to get into reading more manga and watching anime, but I haven’t found a series that clicks with me. My Hero Academia is a top-rated manga and anime series about a young boy who’s obsessed with superpowers even though he isn’t powered himself. Eventually, he gets into contact with a superhero which may help him become the hero he’s always wanted to be. I’m looking forward to diving into this.

Comics Will Break Your Heart by Faith Erin Hicks

This book is a contemporary novel combining romance and comics together. Miriam’s grandfather created a successful comic series in the 1960s but sold it to his co-creator. Now, the series is worth millions and Miriam’s family is left with nothing of that legacy. The guy she falls in love with just so happens to be related to the co-creator who robbed Miriam’s grandfather of a successful comics career. Comics plus romance automatically make this a must-read for me.

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

I must confess I have never read any book by either of these two authors. I know that’s a travesty, but this will be my first dip into both of these science fiction/fantasy authors. I’m also looking forward to the TV series with David Tennant & Michael Sheen. I want to have prior knowledge of the show which led me to purchase the book.

Wildcard by Marie Lu

After I finish reading Prodigy, I will read this one next. Warcross was one of my favorite books I read last year and as a gamer, I connected with Emika Chen more than I ever have with any other character in books. I wish I was as skilled with technology as she is. I have read some book reviews saying Wildcard isn’t as good as Warcross which makes me slightly anxious. I will write my own review once I finish Wildcard. 

My latest book haul has made me excited for what I’m reading. Everything in this pile is something I’m excited to read which means I have been reading books at a faster rate than I have in the past. My Goodreads goal is 40 books this year which seems attainable based on the books I’m reading. Let me know what books you recently purchased in the comments below.

My goal for 2019 is to re-read the whole Harry Potter series. I’m making good progress as I’m on the Goblet of Fire now. However, the Goblet of Fire is the first Harry Potter book with more than 500 pages. The length of the Harry Potter books isn’t intimidating to me because I’m infatuated with the series. The Prisoner of Azkaban is a pivotal book in the series because of what’s revealed regarding Harry’s parents, but also how Harry’s parents were left vulnerable to Voldemort. Here are the notes I wrote regarding Prisoner of Azkaban: 

• Ron yells into the telephone when calling Harry over the summer.
• Harry is gifted a sneakascope from Ron. Goes off constantly when Scabbers is with Ron. Wonder why.
• The Firebolt can go 150 MPH in 10 seconds.
• Hermione’s birthday is in September.
• Neville and Ginny were also in the cart when Harry was first attacked by the Dementor. This isn’t shown in the movie
• Hagrid had more than one hippogriff in his class. He had a bronze, pink, chestnut, and black hippogriff beside Buckbeak.
• Snape completely humiliates Neville in the book. He feeds his potion to Trevor hoping to kill it. He also tells Lupin in their first lesson how it’s a pity that Neville is in his class. However, Lupin being the heartwarming character that he is, has Neville go first with the Boggart. Neville also teams up with Lupin to capture it in the chest. Lupin must identify with Neville because of the isolation Lupin feels about his identity.
• Red Caps are goblin-like creatures lurking where bloodshed occurs
• Kappas are water dwellers who try to strangle people.
• The Grindylow is mentioned in Lupin’s class. Nice foreshadowing of what’s to come
• You can’t apparate in and out of Hogwarts. Comes up when trying to deduce how Sirius Black is getting into the castle.
• Cedric Diggory is the current Hufflepuff seeker… 😦
• Impervius is the spell Hermione uses on Harry’s glasses to repel water.
• Sirius Black was James Potter’s best man.
• Dumbledore long suspected there was a spy in the Order of the Phoenix, but couldn’t prove who it was.
• Within a week of the Fidelius charm / secret keeper being cast, James and Lily were murdered by Voldemort. That’s depressing.
• In the book, Hagrid is with the professors in Hogsmeade where Harry overhears his parent’s history with Sirius Black. This makes Harry distrustful of Hagrid.
• Harry receives the Firebolt in the Gryffindor Common Room versus the Great Hall in the movie. This leads to McGonagall confiscating the Firebolt because there might be jinxes attached to it.
• I didn’t realize Dementors actually use their mouths to clamp onto their victims to deliver the kiss. In the movie, it looks like the Dementors just suck the soul out of the person without having to actually be attached to them.
• Cho Chang is referenced as the Ravenclaw seeker.
• The Slytherin match where Harry helps to win the Quidditch Cup is dirty. The Slytherin players were deliberately trying to take out all the Gryffindor players.
• Animagus have to register with the Ministry of Magic including their distinct markings.
• All the Maurder’s Map friends were unregistered animagi which explains why no one knew how Sirius was getting into Hogwarts.
• The Wolfsbane potion allows a werewolf to keep their mind during the transformation.
• Pettigrew was passing secrets to Voldemort for a full year before the murder of the Potters. The movie seems to play it off like Pettigrew was forced into working with Voldemort. In the book, it’s much more clear how deep the betrayal was between Pettigrew and the Potter family.
• Pettigrew is actually in danger because of the repercussions from former death eaters. Pettigrew’s information of the Potter’s location is what allowed Voldemort to become powerless. His death eaters have reason to want to kill him.
• Walden Macnair (the man who executed Buckbeak) is referenced as a former Death Eater.

I wanted to share one of my favorite parts of this book. I completely forgot this part exists, but it’s towards the end with Harry and Dumbledore having a conversation after Lupin leaves Hogwarts. Harry expresses that he regrets saving Pettigrew’s life, and Dumbledore responds, “The time may come when you will be glad you saved Pettigrew’s life.” IF THIS ISN’T FORESHADOWING I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS. I CAN’T EVEN.

Re-reading the Harry Potter books has been eye-opening for me. I’m probably enjoying them more as an adult because of the little details I missed as a kid. The different ways Rowling foreshadows future events are well done. Hopefully, you all are enjoying these recaps as much as I enjoy writing them. I will post my Goblet of Fire one as soon as I finish reading all 734 pages.

One of my favorite authors right now is Marie Lu. The first book I read of hers was Warcross which I discovered after watching Super Space Chick. I became entranced by the mixture of a digitally advanced city and this virtual reality, World of Warcraft-inspired game. Marie Lu has many other successful series out now which is the reason why I purchased Legend. Legend was SO good. I finished the book earlier this week and immediately drove to Barnes & Noble to purchase Prodigy the second book in the series. I plan to finish reading the trilogy this year.

Legend describes a dystopian United States where the Republic forces young kids to participate in a test called “The Trials”. If they pass, they will receive the best jobs, education, and living situations. However, if they fail, they’re sent to work in the mines or another undesirable career option. Fifteen-year-old June was born into a privileged family with her father being a scientist and her brother Metias working in the Republic’s military. Day, however, was born into poverty where he is seen as the “Robin Hood” in the story. His crimes include stealing medical supplies or disabling Republic military-style vehicles. June and Day are brought together when Day is accused of murdering Metias in a medical operation gone wrong. June’s relationship with Day tests her knowledge of the Republic and whether or not she’s on the right side in this society.

One reason why I adored this book is all the themes being brought up in this society. First, is the “psychology of dictatorship”. One such example includes Thomas (a friend of her brother Metias) and how he blatantly kills people because of his orders. This upsets June. June is forced to rethink her position in the Republic and witnessing the deaths of these civilians allows her to start thinking for herself. Meeting Day was the force June needed to confront her abusive government.

Another theme I uncovered in this book is the prevalence of men asserting their wants on women. For example, June is in her room when Thomas tries to force himself on her. June rebukes his advances and Thomas’s “ego” is hurt. He is mad at her for a couple days until he gets over it. This scene is realistic to today’s society. If a woman doesn’t want to date a man or be intimate with him, she doesn’t owe anything to him. Vice versa, if a man doesn’t want physical advances from a woman, that’s also valid. June doesn’t owe Thomas anything and I’m glad she pushed him away and stood up for herself instead of letting Thomas get what he wants.

I could keep going about why I appreciated the themes in Legend, but if you haven’t read this series yet, I highly encourage you to read it. After I’m finished with Prodigy, I’m going to take a break and read the 2nd book in the Warcross series. Marie Lu’s writing is fantastic and I will purchase any book she writes.

I was introduced to comics in 2012, which means I have some catching up to do. One graphic novel I have been wanting to read was Watchmen. My friend sold their copy through Facebook and I jumped at the chance to be able to read this. I was blown away by the level of story building that both Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons created. They developed an alternative universe of how superheroes have existed combined with how the world has treated them. Watchmen is a story I truly enjoyed from start to finish.

Watchmen begins with the brutal murder of The Comedian, who was a costumed superhero based in New York. This leads to a mysterious vigilante named Rorschach (named after the Rorschach ink blot test) to investigate his murder. Rorschach believes someone is targeting former costumed crusaders and he contacts Night Owl, Doctor Manhattan, and the Silk Spectre II to warn them of the threat. In the meantime, Doctor Manhattan is forced to isolate himself on Mars after his acquaintances come forward with their cancer diagnoses blaming Dr. Manhattan for their doom. This furthers Rorschach’s theory of someone targeting them. Additionally, Watchmen flashes back to the 1940s with the Minutemen and how they influenced the current era of superheroes. The Comedian was a part of the Minutemen and we get to learn how awful he was.

The artwork in Watchmen is flawless. The first word I would use to describe the art in this graphic novel would be gritty. The use of shading allows the reader to truly believe they were in the world of New York during the Cold War. This plays well into Rorschach’s character because of his violent vigilante crimes. It makes the reader fear Rorschach in a way I didn’t feel if I was reading a Batman comic.

I also really connected with the characters in the story. Silk Spectre II is one of my favorite characters, but I also like her relationship with Night Owl and Doctor Manhattan. I can sympathize with Doctor Manhattan as his accident with radiation makes it more difficult to connect with people since he isn’t aging. This tarnishes his romantic relationships as he’s stuck in a time when his partners are aging.

After finishing Watchmen, I decided to give the movie a shot. It’s available on Netflix, but it’s close to three hours. This is probably the most realistic graphic novel adaptation I have ever watched. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is the best and only actor who could have played The Comedian. Patrick Wilson is a babe as the Night Owl and Malin Ackerman is exactly who I pictured as the Silk Spectre II. It’s worth watching especially right after reading Watchmen. 

Watchmen is a classic especially all these years later. I’m happy I gave Watchmen a chance. The next graphic novels on my list to read are Hellboy and Judge Dredd.