Of Light and Magic...

"Albus Dumbledore found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again - the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him."

I must admit that when I started reading Harry Potter it read like any fantasy book I had read before. Even the owls flying like mad or the cat reading a map didn't make me click.

The first signal was given by the weird man in the long robes stealing the light from the streetlamps – there was something there. Stealing light was a godlike (or demon-like…) action. Only Gods and Demons were capable of doing so.

I was captured.

I remember reading the book in a wink - after all it was just a children’s book - but it had put a definite spell on me.

I know it had all the necessary ingredients to be accepted – the orphan child, the wicked family with whom he lived in servitude, the kind heart despite all the hatred, the enchanting castle and the brotherhood of friends, the enemies and the bullying, the loneliness, the loss, the death, but also the shared happiness, the self discovery and the hint of hope, the final recognition (“…mirror, mirror on the wall…”) and victory over evil. Over death.

These same signals are present in every story we read or were told when we were children – Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty (no, they were not written or invented by Walt Disney!)… - as well as in complex sagas like The Lord of the Rings.

Nothing new? Obviously not.

But it works. It tells about values like friendship or loyalty, or love being a powerful shield against whatever might strike us through life. It tells of hope and dreams, of life and the inevitable death. It tells of grief and pain, of joy and tenderness, of suffering and sacrifice.

Nothing new. Obviously not.

These are the things why Harry Potter must be cherished – because it brought to light those values sometimes forgotten in the mayhem of modern life where virtual friends are at hand and families are estranged…

It tells of things that kept us going along centuries, preserved our life and made us different.

To that awesome difference we called Humanity.

And that was the real magic of Harry Potter.

Re-Fredding de-Fredded Fred

Sometime ago I saw this piece of fanfiction on Tumblr. There were lots of people saying that you should read it, so I decided to give it a try. It really caught my attention and I must say that the story itself it quite consistent with the books, and I thought it would be a good idea to share it.

 

This is a story about Fred’s de-Fredding and re-Fredding. So, if you want to read an alternative ending to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, go ahead, it is just a click away

 

Fox Ears, by The Starhorse

 

If you didn’t understand already what all that de- and re-Fredding means, just read the story and you will know of what I am talking about.

Pottermore: A Magical Experience

It is a new addition to the daily routine. Every morning I check my email to see if something important came up and after that I log in to Pottermore to see how many students are now at Hogwarts and what house has more house points.

Pottermore is definitely not Hogwarts, but it is a very good approximation. Everyone seems to fear which house he or she is going to be sorted. And if you look well into it, you can see several patterns in the people that are chosen to which houses.

But the purpose of this post is not analysing nor discussing the people that constitute each one of the four Hogwarts houses. The purpose of this post is to discuss the people on Pottermore in general.

All the people on Pottermore right now had to enter through the Magical Quill challenge, and many of them stood many nights woken up so that they could get in. So, if they are on Pottermore is because they really like Harry Potter, and are there to live the books again and see how it would be to be at Hogwarts.

When finally my account was activated and I could get into the site, I was sorted in Ravenclaw. And every morning since that day, when I check the house points, Ravenclaw has been in the lead. Except for a couple of days ago, when Slytherin started to catch up. Apparently, everyone on the Slytherin house seems to be really strong minded and they work day and night to win more house points. When turn the computer off at night Ravenclaw is winning, and in the morning, when I turn it on, Slytherin is winning.

So, I’m writing this as I am waiting for a potion to brew. It takes some time, between one and three hours. When you brew a potion correctly, you win five house points. The Wizard Duels are down right now, so the only way to win house points is to brew potions.

Taking a quick look at the comments panel in the Ravenclaw common room, we can see many people asking for ingredients for their potions and many people giving support. Reading those comments, writing comments back and getting replies (even if the most common form of reply is a “like”) makes me feel part of a real team, a real Ravenclaw team, where everyone is making efforts to not let Slytherin win the house cup. Everyone is brewing potions, and it is almost possible to feel the rush of the people working as a team to win more house points. It is absolutely fascinating. On the other hand it is also possible to see the efforts of the Slytherin people to win points, because each time Ravenclaw is on the lead, minutes later, Slytherin is already there…

It is completely amazing to see people from all around the world working together to achieve an end, even if it is something as simple as winning house points… and somehow, in the middle of all that, Hogwarts is there, and it exists. And at night, everyone wonders what the four hourglasses in the Great Hall will mark in the morning.

It’s amazing to see that, in spite of everything, Hogwarts is really there. It exists in the will of everyone to make it real…

Do you need to tell me something?

I’ve recently entered the world of Tumblr and found out that there are many people who make different Harry Potter related graphics each day. Most of them are really good, and even between the ones that I find uninteresting there is none that I found really bad.

In the middle of everything I found a curious blog called Harry Potter confessions. Apparently there are several “something confessions” blogs (Castle confessions, Bones confessions, Merlin confessions, and so on…) but I must say that by far, the Harry Potter one is the most interesting.

So, what is this blog about after all? Well, as the tiltle says it, it is a place where you can confess something about Harry Potter, wether it is something you like, or that you don’t like, wether it is about the films or the books. It’s something personal you have to say about Harry Potter. Then, you can submit to the site and the authors will choose a picture of the films and make graphics of it. And don’t worry, all of the confessions are completely anonimous.

 

I actually found out that I related to many of the so called “confessions” said by many people around the world. I think that most of all you can see that you are not alone in your way of thinking.

 

So, here are some of my personal favourites:

 

 

I can’t say I relate very much to this one, but I really like it. I find really interesting that people can look at Hermione and try to be like her. I wish I could as well…

 

 

Not every confession is as personal as the first one I posted here, and many of them are about the way the story took in the books or films. I can’t help but agree with this one, even if I think that the killing of Bellatrix by Mrs. Weasley is perfect…

 

 

I completely agree with this one, although it doesn’t exacly “break my heart”. That’s a bit exagerated…

 

Well, and then there’s the funny ones…

 

 

I couldn’t help but laughing at this one… but I wouldn’t actually mind eat at Hogwarts… both the books and the films state that the food is wonderful… oh, and Ron also makes it appear that way…

 

And then there are the ones that love Voldemort…

 

Not that I agree with this one…

 

And then, there’s the eternal battle between those who think that Ron and Hermione were meant to be together since the very beginning and those who think that Hermione was meant for Harry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A battle in which I won’t take any sides… For me any of the versions makes some sense…

There are also the same kind of “confessions” about Harry and Ginny… Lily and James or even Lily and Snape.

 

Then there’s Fred. There are a lot of things written about Fred. Most of them are wishes or reactions (and then, the wrong ones – the one on the right, for example).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really think this to be an interesting project, and submissions are already closed due to the high volume of “confections” that are getting their way into the site everyday.

 

I’m now ending this post with two “confections” that I really identify with

 

 

 

and the one “confection” that surprised me the most

 

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time.
These were the magical words that opened most of my favorite stories when I was a child.
They had the power to open the "realms of magic" that I dreamt someday would open so I could live there happily ever after.
I didn't have dreams of knights or charming princes. Instead I dreamt of magic creatures, of fairies and witches and wizards and dragons, of places where I could have a wand and be free. When in my teenagehood I discovered Bilbo and his companion hobbits I could understand their fascination for the Elves "who left a trail of stars on the grass" when they walked across the woods.

But slowly the "realms of magic" vanished from children's stories, and authors told that the most magical feat they could perform would be going to the grocers for two pounds of sugar, going for a ride with a group of friends, playing with their cat or running with their dog. The cat would never be a witch and the dog would not have three heads. Those were myths. Children and youngsters need reality.

And suddenly something changed.
I remember reading some piece of news about a book that was bringing magic back to life. I found it piled on a shelf, still unnoticed, waiting to be opened. I didn't buy it straight away but it found its way into my house, into my life, into my family, into my heart.

At the end of the first chapter I was sure I had awaken the magic I had kept slumbering in a secret spot on my way to adulthood. At the end of the first book I wanted more. At the end of the second I dreamt of this world where friendship and loyalty were prized, where love was an invisible defense against enemies and extended beyond death, where you were supposed to be valued for your actions and not your riches.
I shared it with my daughter, discussed it with my students, teenagers asking questions about life and death, love and being loved.
Teenagers like the one Harry Potter was turning into ten years after that first chapter:

"A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley... He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter -- the boy who lived!"."


And I still hold up my glass to Harry Potter and the magic he brought into our life.


"To Harry Potter - the boy who will live forever!"

I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

Mr and Mrs Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.

Hello everyone!

This is an attempt at making a Harry Potter blog. And when I mean a Harry Potter blog, I mean that it is a blog only about Harry Potter and only with Harry Potter related stuff, whether they are quotes, pictures, news, reviews, analysis, stories, anything...

The paragraph you can read above is the first paragraph of the first book - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I thought, as this is the first post, it would be appropriate to have the first words of Harry Potter in this post...

I don't know how this will turn out in the end, but I hope you all like it!

See you soon, then!

Mischief Managed