Harry Potter Read-Along Update
Maxwell Shadow
January 2017
It seems like a very long time since I wrote the last article for the SerpenTimes about the ongoing Read-Along, taking place in the Dungeons, and unbelievably we have almost finished reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I've had a great time re-reading the book along with members of HOL and wanted to share with you a little of what we got up to during each chapter. In the last article we had reached chapter 9, so I guess I'd better dive straight in with chapter 10...!
Chapter 10 – The Marauder's Map
During this chapter we learnt about some of the other secret passageways that were on the map, but not talked about during the book. Tarma's description of how to get from the Quidditch pitch into one of the Hogsmeade shops was so easy to follow I fear many students will be trying it out! If you've got an adventurous side, I recommend checking out some of the drink ideas suggested in the second task for this chapter. Whilst not all the creations involved alcohol, some of them sounded pretty potent!
Chapter 11 – The Firebolt
Christmas came early in the Dungeons for this chapter, with colourful displays of some of the Hogwarts decorations. I would be a little wary of accepting Arianna's crackers, but I'd take them any day over Tarma's tripe!
Chapter 12 – The Patronus
This chapter provided the perfect excuse for us to show off our Patronuses, discovered on the recently released Pottermore test. We are a varied bunch too with many animals on display, including Arianna's Thestral, Tarma's Little Owl, Scarlet's Mountain Hare and Polaris' White Swan. I got a fox, which I'm pretty pleased with!
Chapter 13 – Gryffindor Versus Ravenclaw
It was time for Quidditch again in the story and we had some interesting suggestions for what Cho could have done differently during the match, rather than simply tailing Harry and deliberately blocking him from reaching the snitch. However, it was the other task that I enjoyed reading the most. If you've ever wondered how the conversation between Sirius Black and Sir Cadogan went down, make sure you check out task 2 in our archives. Only for the brave of heart!
Chapter 14 – Snape's Grudge
Harry suggests to Professor Snape, during this chapter, that Malfoy had been hallucinating when he thought he had (correctly) seen him in Hogsmeade. I thought that Harry should have instead suggested Malfoy was drunk, whereas Polaris thought a better plan would have been for Harry to say he saw Malfoy's head in the Great Hall at around the same time and obviously Malfoy couldn't be in two places at the same time. All pretty risky options, but fun to muse over!
Chapter 15 – The Quiddich Final
An important match in the Quidditch calendar, no doubt, but also an incredibly rough one. It was hard for us to decide which foul was the worst, but we gave it a good go during this week. We even admitted to being impressed by a few of the moves during the game, but for their great tactics rather than the dirtiness of the moves.
Chapter 16 – Professor Trelawney's Prediction
Exam season is in full swing in this chapter, so naturally our discussions focused on this - namely, which exam would people have done the best in and which the worst. Aurelia, with her excellent instruction-following skills and love of science, thought she would have done well in the Potions exam and she wasn't the only one. Myself, Tarma and Polaris agreed with her and also thought we would have done well in the Potions exam. Divination and History of Magic got the most thumbs down, which isn't really all that surprising!
Chapter 17 – Cat, Rat and Dog
Finally we reached the part where I could ask about what Animagus people would transform into if they mastered this difficult skill. Whilst many people decided that their Patronus and Animagus form would actually be the same, my favourite response came from Tarma. After a few rambling paragraphs naming a whole host of possible animals, she totally abandoned her thread, crossed it all out and added the following six words: "A mongoose. I'd be a mongoose." <3
Chapter 18 – Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs
Discussions here dealt with the differences that might have occurred in the year's events if Lupin had told Dumbledore earlier that Black was an unregistered Animagus. Most of us seemed to agree that Dumbledore must have already known, although now we've reached the final chapter it's clear that actually he didn't know - he admits as much to Harry in their conversation in Lupin's office! Clearly we gave him a little more credit on this occasion than he deserved.
Chapter 19 – The Servant of Lord Voldemort
A very dialogue-heavy chapter deserved a task devoted to exactly this and so that's what Scarlet provided for us. There really are some wonderful quotes to enjoy from Snape's triumphant: "They'll be very pleased to see you, Black...pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay...." to Hermione's hesitant and respectful: "Er -- Mr. Black -- Sirius?" Although my favourite quotes come from Lupin (who is awesome). He definitely has a good point when he says: “I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat.”
Chapter 20 – The Dementor's Kiss
To celebrate Sirius offering Harry a happy home, away from the Dursleys', we had a think about who we'd like to live with and where. Whilst the 'who' was a little difficult to pin down, some of the 'where' suggestions were great. I'd definitely go and join Scarlet somewhere near a waterfall, or Tarma in her cabin in the mountains, assuming I would be invited, of course!
Chapter 21 – Hermione's Secret
If you were a smarty pants who spotted all of Hermione's Time-Turner uses on your first read through the book then this task was for you. For the rest of us, who only had the 'oh yeah' moment after reading this chapter, it was an opportunity to share our knowledge free from judgement! As you re-read the book some of these moments are pretty obvious and I always wonder how I missed what was going on until the reveal. But then, we didn't know such things as Time-Turners existed until we reached this chapter, so maybe we should go a little easier on ourselves!
Chapter 22 – Owl Post Again
We've done it, we've reached the end of a fabulous book. There's still time to share pictures of your pets and share some interesting stories or facts about them. Or, if cute cats and other animals aren't your thing, maybe you want to set about making changes at the Ministry of Magic, just like Percy. All suggestions are welcomed although we can't guarantee to pass them on to the Minister.
I'm sure the Read-Along will be back soon, but until then, thanks to everyone who has made this experience so enjoyable. I have read every single post made in the forum and loved getting your messages with trivia answers, pictures and information about your dodgy pdf versions. Until next time, keep reading!
It seems like a very long time since I wrote the last article for the SerpenTimes about the ongoing Read-Along, taking place in the Dungeons, and unbelievably we have almost finished reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I've had a great time re-reading the book along with members of HOL and wanted to share with you a little of what we got up to during each chapter. In the last article we had reached chapter 9, so I guess I'd better dive straight in with chapter 10...!
Chapter 10 – The Marauder's Map
During this chapter we learnt about some of the other secret passageways that were on the map, but not talked about during the book. Tarma's description of how to get from the Quidditch pitch into one of the Hogsmeade shops was so easy to follow I fear many students will be trying it out! If you've got an adventurous side, I recommend checking out some of the drink ideas suggested in the second task for this chapter. Whilst not all the creations involved alcohol, some of them sounded pretty potent!
Chapter 11 – The Firebolt
Christmas came early in the Dungeons for this chapter, with colourful displays of some of the Hogwarts decorations. I would be a little wary of accepting Arianna's crackers, but I'd take them any day over Tarma's tripe!
Chapter 12 – The Patronus
This chapter provided the perfect excuse for us to show off our Patronuses, discovered on the recently released Pottermore test. We are a varied bunch too with many animals on display, including Arianna's Thestral, Tarma's Little Owl, Scarlet's Mountain Hare and Polaris' White Swan. I got a fox, which I'm pretty pleased with!
Chapter 13 – Gryffindor Versus Ravenclaw
It was time for Quidditch again in the story and we had some interesting suggestions for what Cho could have done differently during the match, rather than simply tailing Harry and deliberately blocking him from reaching the snitch. However, it was the other task that I enjoyed reading the most. If you've ever wondered how the conversation between Sirius Black and Sir Cadogan went down, make sure you check out task 2 in our archives. Only for the brave of heart!
Chapter 14 – Snape's Grudge
Harry suggests to Professor Snape, during this chapter, that Malfoy had been hallucinating when he thought he had (correctly) seen him in Hogsmeade. I thought that Harry should have instead suggested Malfoy was drunk, whereas Polaris thought a better plan would have been for Harry to say he saw Malfoy's head in the Great Hall at around the same time and obviously Malfoy couldn't be in two places at the same time. All pretty risky options, but fun to muse over!
Chapter 15 – The Quiddich Final
An important match in the Quidditch calendar, no doubt, but also an incredibly rough one. It was hard for us to decide which foul was the worst, but we gave it a good go during this week. We even admitted to being impressed by a few of the moves during the game, but for their great tactics rather than the dirtiness of the moves.
Chapter 16 – Professor Trelawney's Prediction
Exam season is in full swing in this chapter, so naturally our discussions focused on this - namely, which exam would people have done the best in and which the worst. Aurelia, with her excellent instruction-following skills and love of science, thought she would have done well in the Potions exam and she wasn't the only one. Myself, Tarma and Polaris agreed with her and also thought we would have done well in the Potions exam. Divination and History of Magic got the most thumbs down, which isn't really all that surprising!
Chapter 17 – Cat, Rat and Dog
Finally we reached the part where I could ask about what Animagus people would transform into if they mastered this difficult skill. Whilst many people decided that their Patronus and Animagus form would actually be the same, my favourite response came from Tarma. After a few rambling paragraphs naming a whole host of possible animals, she totally abandoned her thread, crossed it all out and added the following six words: "A mongoose. I'd be a mongoose." <3
Chapter 18 – Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs
Discussions here dealt with the differences that might have occurred in the year's events if Lupin had told Dumbledore earlier that Black was an unregistered Animagus. Most of us seemed to agree that Dumbledore must have already known, although now we've reached the final chapter it's clear that actually he didn't know - he admits as much to Harry in their conversation in Lupin's office! Clearly we gave him a little more credit on this occasion than he deserved.
Chapter 19 – The Servant of Lord Voldemort
A very dialogue-heavy chapter deserved a task devoted to exactly this and so that's what Scarlet provided for us. There really are some wonderful quotes to enjoy from Snape's triumphant: "They'll be very pleased to see you, Black...pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay...." to Hermione's hesitant and respectful: "Er -- Mr. Black -- Sirius?" Although my favourite quotes come from Lupin (who is awesome). He definitely has a good point when he says: “I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat.”
Chapter 20 – The Dementor's Kiss
To celebrate Sirius offering Harry a happy home, away from the Dursleys', we had a think about who we'd like to live with and where. Whilst the 'who' was a little difficult to pin down, some of the 'where' suggestions were great. I'd definitely go and join Scarlet somewhere near a waterfall, or Tarma in her cabin in the mountains, assuming I would be invited, of course!
Chapter 21 – Hermione's Secret
If you were a smarty pants who spotted all of Hermione's Time-Turner uses on your first read through the book then this task was for you. For the rest of us, who only had the 'oh yeah' moment after reading this chapter, it was an opportunity to share our knowledge free from judgement! As you re-read the book some of these moments are pretty obvious and I always wonder how I missed what was going on until the reveal. But then, we didn't know such things as Time-Turners existed until we reached this chapter, so maybe we should go a little easier on ourselves!
Chapter 22 – Owl Post Again
We've done it, we've reached the end of a fabulous book. There's still time to share pictures of your pets and share some interesting stories or facts about them. Or, if cute cats and other animals aren't your thing, maybe you want to set about making changes at the Ministry of Magic, just like Percy. All suggestions are welcomed although we can't guarantee to pass them on to the Minister.
I'm sure the Read-Along will be back soon, but until then, thanks to everyone who has made this experience so enjoyable. I have read every single post made in the forum and loved getting your messages with trivia answers, pictures and information about your dodgy pdf versions. Until next time, keep reading!