The Not a Book Club Club discussion

Discuss Chapter 30 - Chapter 38

NOTE: While this section is meant to focus on the specified chapters of this book, this read is meant for people who have already read the entire series.

As a result, unlike most of our group reads, full spoilers for the series will be allowed without spoiler tags in every discussion post.

If you haven't read some/all of the books (What's wrong with you?) proceed at your own peril.

Finished today. I have notes that I'll post later. I might dive straight into HBP.

I always race through HPB after reading Phoenix.

I like Dumbledore at least gives Harry an explanation as to why he's been ghosting him all year and lets him get out his frustrations. It's like this huge release after everything that goes down at the ministry.

And no matter how disappointed with Sirius I was, I always hate reading that part and knowing how destroyed Harry is.

Ch. 30
-Peeves causing so much mayhem is great. Even better is the teacher's indifference.

-I'm not really a fan of the Grawp storyline.

-Ron kicked some ass at Quidditch. Yay!

Ch. 31
-Exams are no fun at all.

-McGonagall could have died. Four stunners to the chest? Damn.

Ch. 32
-Hermione sees Harry's vision for what it is: a trick of Voldemort's. Harry won't hear reason.

-Clues! Kreacher's hands are heavily bandaged.

-Some quick thinking by Hermione gets herself and Harry out of Umbridge's office.

Ch. 33
-...but her plan isn't thought out too well. The centaurs aren't exactly pleased.

-So long, Umbridge.

-Thestrals are pretty neat.

Ch. 34
-So much cool stuff in the Department of Mysteries. The Time Room, the crystal ball, the Death Chamber, brains...

-Harry does have a saving-people-thing, as Hermione said, but it comes from a good place. He just needs to think sometimes. And listen to Hermione.

Ch. 35
-From what Lucius says to Harry, only the subjects of the prophecy can retrieve them from the Hall of Prophecy. So if Harry knew about it, could Harry have requested it legally and got it during business hours? If so, why didn't Dumbledore have him do that and then destroy it?

-Good to know Rowling is never above making a Uranus joke.

-Rowling writes action so well.

-RIP, Sirius.

Ch. 36
-Impressive magic! This scene was done really well in the movie, until the Harry possession part. It got too ''LOVE IS THE REAL MAGIC'' for me.

Ch. 37
-Don't hold back, Harry.

-So much info in this chapter. Dumbeldore finally tells Harry about the prophecy and why he's been so distant. Talk about major blunders.

-Kreacher has been taking orders from Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange. He injured Buckbeak to keep Sirius out of the way and to get Harry to go to the Department of Mysteries. If only Sirius had been kind to him, things may have been different.

-Harry insists Dumbledore has no idea how he feels. Dumbledore has some idea, Harry. He probably felt the same after Ariana died.

-Dumbledore didn't make Harry prefect because he thought Harry had enough to deal with.

Ch. 38
-Hermione supports Luna's trip to find Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.

-Luna's stuff is stolen by the students. Cruel.

-I love the sight of the Order waiting for Harry and telling the Durlseys off.

Forgot to mention the kick ass Dumbledore-Voldy showdown. Always love that Dumbledore refuses to call him anything but his given name when they meet.

Me too. It shows that Dumbledore isn't afraid of him and knows who he really is.

Random thoughts in no particular order (hard to take notes doing audio)

I agree with Dara that the teacher's indifference towards Peeves is great. Or how they won't do anything to help for "fear of overstepping their authority".

I'm annoyed we miss Ron's Quidditch glory for Grawp.

Hagrid is a gentle giant..until he's not. Don't mess with him.

That attack on Mcgonagall is disgusting.

I can't believe I ever considered Umbridge an interesting villain. She's just pure evil. Not just the dementors, but now she's going to use the Crutious curse on Harry to make him talk? Not to mention the people she picks to be her Inquisitors. It just all seems a bit too cartoon evil for me. I think she could be just as horrible without being evil, and that would make her a better antagonist. But I guess this is aimed at younger audiences and maybe she felt that kind of subtlety would be lost on them? Or maybe it would be too much like Fudge?

Like Dumbledore, we see Hermoine makes mistakes too. Why she didn't simply say Umbridge forced them into the forest against their wills instead of "we hoped you would take care of her" is beyond me. I know she's probably panicking, but she wasn't before taking them to the forest.

Ginny really becomes my favorite here. She refuses to back down and is very capable. And kudos for Neville too. I think both characters take great steps forward.

Harry really pisses me off this whole book. "He wouldn't have picked Neville, Luna, or Ginny." You'd be hard pressed to find 3 more loyal friends apart from Ron & Hermoine. And Ginny is very capable even if the other two aren't as much.

Oh and I think some of the best moments of this book are when they are just in school. I liked the stuff with exams a lot. And the career advice.

I'd bet you could write a decent Hogwarts book without all the drama of evil wizards trying to kill people.

Rob wrote: "I'd bet you could write a decent Hogwarts book without all the drama of evil wizards trying to kill people. "

I agree. That's what makes me vaguely curious to read the Colin Creevy books she's writing.

I was not a fan of this book in general. :/

Like Kaora said I hate that the adults are keeping so many secrets. It just doesn't make sense. Harry has proven that he can deal with pretty awful stuff, what's the point in treating him like a child now? Particularly Mrs. Weasley, I think I dislike her character most of all...

And Hermione acts too much like a grown up. I wish she would be impulsive from time to time...

And I was so so sad about Sirius' death. :( I don't care if he was reckless, or was living vicariously through Harry. I loved that character and watching him die again broke my heart.

Alexa wrote: "And Hermione acts too much like a grown up. I wish she would be impulsive from time to time..."

I don't. She's the one I identify with most. I acted very much like her at that age too. Or like to think I did at any rate..

Actually she's the one I identified with too. Mostly for the girl part. And the unruly hair part! And of course, the bookworm part.

So maybe I'm trying to project on her because she's the one I identify with? :)

I identified with her for the following the rules and always being uptight. I still have that problem.

You can set your watch by me most of the time.

I normally work 6am-10am on Fridays, and anytime I'm here after 10am people give me crap about it. But now that we're into holidays time, I've been working until 12pm all month, and will be for the next 3 months. So I have 3 months worth of razzing over my being here outside of my normally rigid schedule.

My family makes fun of me because I do my laundry every Monday night. They call me Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory.

I do my laundry every other Sat. Grocery Shopping every Sat morning. My daily routine is almost always the same

4:45 Up/Get Ready
5:35 leave
6-3: Work
3:30-5: Bike Ride/Shower
5: Dinner
6: Read book
7 or 8: Game/Watch TV
9: TV
10-11: Bed

How much reading and TV varies a bit from day to day (like when a Netflix DVD comes) and if I'm gaming or not (which has been mostly not this year), and how into my book I am.

But that's been my schedule for at least 3 years, and if you get rid of the bike riding and reading and replace it with more gaming that's been my schedule for like 10 years..

I'm pretty set in my ways as well, Rob. Things just change depending on when my boyfriend and I hang out.

This weekend when I go home everything goes out the window. I have people I need/want to see, and a few loose commitments, and 1 firm commitment (well sort of, I don't think we have tickets yet, but we will) but the rest of the weekend is totally going to be add-lib.

It drives me crazy, but trying to make a schedule to follow would make me crazier because it would be broken almost immediately. lol.

Gah, me too. I need a week's notice for anything interrupting my routine.

Unfortunately my entire family tends to ring up randomly and say something along the lines of "We're going to have a tea party after work, can you make it? Tonight?"

No, no I can't make it. I can make it next week, but only if you tell me now.