Why I Want To Be A Writer

Ever since I was a little kid, I was writing stories. Most people who want to be writers will tell you that. It is a rather trite thing to say at this point and, truthfully, it doesn't come close to answering why you want to write. Do you want to write because you've been writing ever since you were little?

Sometime yesterday, I said to a friend, "You know, I really miss the Harry Potter books."

I didn't mean I want there to be more of them. I'm certainly not looking for HP8 (heresy, I know, but the series feels over to me). "Over vacation, I want to go back and read Book One," I said. Because that is what I miss. I miss the magic.

The magic in Harry Potter exists not only in the world of Hogwarts. It exists in the way the words travel around your senses and pinch your imagination in little sparks, nudging you here, then over there, then a little to the left, to the right, until you are in love. You don't even know what you are in love with, but you are in love. You want nothing to exist in the world except you and the book you are reading. What's more - it is your book. You don't want to share it with millions of fans. You want it to be yours and yours alone. You want to sit cross-legged on your bed with your hair falling over your face as you read avidly, devouring the book 'til the very end, when you can turn right back to the beginning and devour it again.

But as you sit there on your bed alone in the absolutely lovely world your imagination has created, millions of other children are sitting in the same exact position, equally stirred by the same exact words. If a giant were to stand on our planet and look down at the world, it would see millions of children engrossed in books. And not just children. Teenagers. Adults. People who have sworn off reading long ago. Children who can't be paid to read for school. Everyone.

Reading.

That sight must be one of the most glorious sights in the world. Just imagine every being on this planet pausing in work, in games, in war, in fights, in stress, in time and together stepping through a portal to another world, to a world which hugs you and shows you that evil truly is evil and good is quite good indeed. That it is not the power we have but the choices we make that matter.

"It is our choices, Harry, that show us who we truly are, far more than our abilities," says Dumbledore.

Imagine making the choice to write a book about making good choices. A book about friendship. A book about family. A book about love. About courage. About strength. About never giving up.

In a documentary, J.K. Rowling was asked, "How do you want to be remembered?"

"As someone who did the best she could with the talent she had," she said.

You can watch that part of the documentary here, though I would recommend started from part one if you have time:



We never know what is going to happen to us in our lives. For me, I'm at a significant turning point. I have a little over a month and a half left of college and then...that's it. Then I'm on my own. I don't know what that will come to mean and I don't even know how much I'm looking forward to it, but I also know that by not looking forward to it, I am betraying my more adventurous side. I am suppressing the magic of possibility.

In The Once and Future King, King Arthur, when he is a little boy, gets turned into various animals by Merlin as part of his education. He turns into a fish, a hawk, a goose, even an ant. Later, when he has already become king, Merlin asks him, "Do you remember anything about the magic you had when you were small?"

"No. Did I have some magic? I can remember that I was interested in birds and beasts. Indeed, that is why I still keep my menagerie at the Tower. But I don't remember about magic."

"People don't remember," said Merlin.

When I read that passage, I was overcome by a profound sadness. Only children can experience magic because only their minds allow for that possibility. As they get older, they enter "reality" and all possibility for magic vanishes.

What J.K. Rowling did was reignite the spark of imagination. There don't have to be spells and witches and flying broomsticks in order for magic to exist. Magic lives in the imagination and imagination is what helps us see possibilities in this world.

Writing brings the world to life and that's why I want to write. I want to be involved in the world. I want to be part of the magic. I want to speak to people, but not on a platform. I don't want to be famous like J.K. Rowling. I just want people to pick up something I've written and feel like I've written it specifically for them. I want to explore my world and then share it. I want to make a difference to someone.

I want to bring out the magic.

Most importantly, though, I want to look back on my life and say, "I did the best with the talent I had."

Forbear! Which here means, don't continue reading this post if you are looking for something cheerfully remniscent of a novel by the PT

Today we had our last Gothic Novel class! This makes me very sad. I really learned a lot in that class and, oddly, I've become less afraid of certain things. I think the more you understand something, the less scary it becomes. So a book which may have seemed terrifying to me under normal circumstances became a lot less scary when I understood all the Gothic elements it was using. The class also forced me to face certain things like Dracula and Wieland and Turn of the Screw which I never would have readily faced on my own. I'm glad I did.

As I was walking back from class, I randomly started to compare Voldemort and Dracula in my head. They really are quite similar.

1. They are both somewhat dead but undead and require the destruction of certain items in order to be defeated
2. They both have a psychic link to one of their victims
3. They each are the direct cause of a scar on a victim's forehead, and that scar symbolizes the victim's connection with impurity/evil
4. RED EYES. That's a big one. They're both described as having "gleaming red eyes," a feature their victims take instant notice of
5. Voldemort needs Harry's blood to be revived. Dracula also needs blood to be revived.
6. There is a huge buildup to the final confrontation with each, and then each becomes much too easy to defeat

Anyway, I'm sure there are more similarities, but that's all I can think of for right now.

I suppose this post was not as dismal as I made it out to seem from the title. At least, not until now. But here is where it gets really awful. I'm serious. Don't say I didn't warn you. In fact, you know what, I don't trust you not to read ahead at all. I know you will, so I'm going to write it out in code and then bury it away so only the extraordinarily brave and extremely lucky shall be able to find it.

HAHA MADE YOU LOOK! Nuthing lik a gud jok in invizabil inc! :D

There.

I hope you're satisfied now.

Quidditch for Muggles

Oh my. I found this online today. Quidditch for Muggles. Apparently, quidditch is being played in various colleges across the US. Will this take off as an actual sport? I guess we'll all have to wait and see!

As much criticism as there is on J.K. Rowling, I think it's mindblowing the amount of influence she's had and is having on our society. A hundred years from now, I bet you she'll be standard for study in Universities about the culture of the late 20th, early 21st centuries.

Oh boy

So first of all, the bad luck sort of continues...so besides for internet still not working anywhere besides for this particular computer (which is not the one with my assignments on it, I think I'm going to have to bring my laptop down and retype the various assignments I need to send in this weekend or something), about an hour before shabbat we found a HUGE leak in the basement. So now my parents are working on that.

The other "oh boy" thing is that I saw this on aol.com (this is only a segment):

J.K. Rowling Outs Hogwarts Character

By HILLEL ITALIE,

AP

Posted: 2007-10-20 18:50:28

NEW YORK (Oct. 20) - Harry Potter fans, the rumors are true: Albus Dumbledore, master wizard and Headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay. J.K. Rowling, author of the mega-selling fantasy series that ended last summer, outed the beloved character Friday night while appearing before a full house at Carnegie Hall.

After reading briefly from the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," she took questions from audience members.

She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds "true love."

"Dumbledore is gay," the author responded to gasps and applause.

She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down."

Dumbledore's love, she observed, was his "great tragedy."

"Oh, my god," Rowling concluded with a laugh, "the fan fiction."

Wow...I just...I don't think that's necessary in a series of books meant for children, or even young adults. It makes me sort of sad to think that this issue has entered the safe world of Harry Potter. And yeah, I do think Harry Potter is a safe place. Sure it deals with good and evil and that whole epic battle, and it deals with some shades of gray in between, but...somehow, this seems a bit...odd. I almost thought this was a scam article when I first read it, but it doesn't seem like it's a scam, does it?

A rude goodbye

This is just wrong (link is here):

Headteacher ruins Harry Potter book for pupils by reading out last page

By ANDREW LEVY

It is the book that millions of children have been desperately waiting to read over the school holidays.

But for 400 furious pupils, finding out what happens to Harry Potter, his friends and enemies in the seventh and final book of the series came sooner than expected.

At the final assembly of the term last Friday, their headmistress picked up the 607-page book - and read from the last page to her astonished captive audience.

Pupils at St John's C of E School in Midsomer Norton, Somerset, who had been looking forward to getting stuck in to Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, were yesterday bitter in their criticism of head Carolyn Banfield.

Louie Swift, nine, said: "I don't know why she read it. She's not usually a spoilsport. She didn't even mention she had the book.

"She just picked it up and started reading it to us."

Jordan Ashton, ten, complained: "It has spoiled the book for me."

An 11-year-old boy said: "Lots of my friends complained about it. I put my hands over my ears and squeezed my eyes closed because I didn't want to know about it."

Parents were also fuming over the incident. Maria Travers, whose son Travis, eight, goes to the school, said: "He's read the last three books but there's no point reading this one now."

Another mother, who declined to be named, said: "It's appalling. My son was going to read a book instead of playing on his computer and I was going to have some peace and quiet.

"Now that's ruined. What was she thinking of?"

The climax of Harry Potter's clashes with Lord Voldemort was the subject of intense debate among fans, both young and old, before its release at midnight on July 21.

It became Britain's fastest-selling book ever, shifting three million copies in two days.

Mrs Banfield was away on holiday yesterday and unavailable for comment.

A school spokesman said: "The school was saying goodbye to the children and staff who were leaving.

"A very small passage was chosen to reflect the theme of saying goodbye. The school felt this reading would not spoil the children's enjoyment of the book and its plot.

"Many of the children and staff at the school are fans of the Harry Potter series and we used the text as a way of illustrating how uncertainty can sometimes accompany new beginnings."

Les Martindale, church warden of St John's Church in Midsomer Norton, which the pupils visit for services, said: "I'd imagine that if this did happen it was done in all innocence - an error of judgment.

"Carolyn has been a superb headmistress since she took over about eight years ago. She is very highly regarded and has done an awful lot of good work."

But education experts were less forgiving.

Margaret Morrissey, of the National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations, said: "It was unforgivable. It's one of the cruellest things she could have done, even if she didn't mean it.

"Whether you approve of the Harry Potter phenomenon or not, it has encouraged children to read.

"This act will probably stop all those children reading the book."

Happy Birthday, J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter

WARNING: This post contains Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows spoilers.

In honor of today being both J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter's birthdays, I figured I'd post a transcript (found on mugglenet.com) of the live chat J.K. Rowling had with her fans yesterday morning. It has plenty of spoilers in it and lots of fun answers you probably always wanted to know, like the muggle song played at Dumbledore's funeral and so on. I still must write my review of Deathly Hallows, but for now, this will do. Have fun!

J.K. Rowling: I'm here and I can't wait! Bring on the questions!
Leaky Cauldron: What, if anything, did the wizarding world learn, and how did society change, as a direct result of the war with voldemort? (i.E., not as a result of harry, ron and hermione's future careers.)
J.K. Rowling: The Ministry of Magic was de-corrupted, and with Kingsley at the helm the discrimination that was always latent there was eradicated.
J.K. Rowling: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny et al would of course play a significant part in the re-building of wizarding society through their future careers.
Ryan Love: From your fans at thesnitch.Co.Uk. Weren't we supposed to see ginny display powerful magical abilities in “deathly hallows” and find out why it's significant that she's the seventh child? Was her main role in the books only to be harry's love interest?
J.K. Rowling: Hi Ryan! Well, I think Ginny demonstrated powerful magic in the final battle, and that for a sixteen year old witch she acquitted herself pretty well. I don't remember ever saying that her 'seventh child' status would prove particularly
J.K. Rowling: important in the last book, though - are you sure I said that?!
Georgina: Did lucius malfoy, and all the other escaped death eaters, go back to azkaban
J.K. Rowling: No, the Malfoys weaseled their way out of trouble (again) due to the fact that they colluded (albeit out of self-interest) with Harry at the end of the battle.
Elisabeth: In the chapter of kings cross, are they behind the veil or in some world between the real world and the veil?
J.K. Rowling: You can make up your own mind on this, but I think that Harry entered a kind of limbo between life and death.
Renee: From reading about the original owners of the deathly hallows, the peverell brothers, i'm wondering if harry and voldermort are distantly related voldermorts grandfather ended up with the resurrection stone ring ?
J.K. Rowling: Yes, Harry and Voldemort are distantly related through the Peverells.
J.K. Rowling: Of course, nearly all wizarding families are related if you trace them back through the centuries. As was made clear in 'Deathly hallows', Peverell blood would run through many wizarding families.
Fomy: What did you feel when you finally wrote the kiss, awaited so much by the fans, of ron and hermione
J.K. Rowling: I loved writing it, and I loved the fact that Hermione took the initiative!
J.K. Rowling: Ron had finally got SPEW and earned himself a snog!
Angela Morrissey: Why is it that albus dumbledore can see harry under his invisibility cloak at certain moments? (during the series is the cloak only infallible to those who do not own a deathly hallow).
J.K. Rowling: Dumbledore, who could perform magic without needing to say the incantation aloud, was using 'homenum revelio' -
J.K. Rowling: - the human-presence-revealing spell Hermione makes use of in Deathly Hallows.
Jamie Lewis: What ever happened to winky
J.K. Rowling: She's still at Hogwarts, and she was one of the oncoming house-elves who attacked the Death Eaters in the final battle.
Katieleigh: Does hermione still continue to do work with spew and is life any better for house elves!
J.K. Rowling: Hermione began her post-Hogwarts career at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures
J.K. Rowling: where she was instrumental in greatly improving life for house-elves and their ilk. She then moved (despite her jibe to Scrimgeour) to the Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement
J.K. Rowling: After a few years as a celebrated player for the Holyhead Harpies, Ginny retired to have her family and to become the Senior Quidditch correspondent at the Daily Prophet!
Camille: What or who is peeves exactly, is he linked with the blood barons story?
J.K. Rowling: No, Peeves is not linked to the bloody Baron's story.
J.K. Rowling: He is a spirit of chaos that entered the building long ago and has proved impossible to eradicate!
Jessie : Were the deathly hallows based on any realworld myth or faerie tale
J.K. Rowling: Perhaps 'the Pardoner's Tale', by Chaucer.
Alicepie : What happend to luna, did she get married who to?
J.K. Rowling: Luna became a very famous wizarding naturalist who discovered and classified many new species of animals (though, alas, she never did find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack and had, finally, to accept that her father might have made that one up).
J.K. Rowling: She ended up marrying (rather later than Harry & co) a fellow naturalist and grandson of the great Newt Scamander (Rolf)!
Rosi: What does in essence divided mean?
J.K. Rowlin : Dumbledore suspected that the snake's essence was divided - that it contained part of Voldemort's soul, and that was why it was so very adept at doing his bidding.
J.K. Rowling: This also explained why Harry, the last and unintended Horcrux, could see so clearly through the snake's eyes, just as he regularly sees through Voldemort's.
J.K. Rowling: Dumbledore is thinking aloud here, edging towards the truth with the help of the Pensieve.
Superhans: What was duldeys worst memory?
J.K. Rowling: I think that when Dudley was attacked by the Dementors he saw himself, for the first time, as he really was. This was an extremely painful, but ultimately salutory lesson, and began the transformation in him.
Casey Kunze: Who killed remus and tonks I think if I knew this, I would get some closure over the very sad, but understandable, death of two of my favorite characters
J.K. Rowling: I'm so sorry! I met a couple on launch night who had come dressed as Lupin and Tonks, and I felt dreadfully guilty as I signed their books!
J.K. Rowling: Remus was killed by Dolohov and Tonks by Bellatrix.
Laura Trego: Was the absence of snapes portrait in the headmasters office in the last scene innocent or deliberate
J.K. Rowling: It was deliberate. Snape had effectively abandoned his post before dying, so he had not merited inclusion in these august circles.
J.K. Rowling: However, I like to think that Harry would be instrumental in ensuring that Snape's portrait would appear there in due course.
Stephanie: If the wand chooses the wizard, then why do wands work when passed down from father to son eg neville had his fathers wand
J.K. Rowling : As established by Ollivander, a wizard can use almost any wand, it is simply that a wand that chooses him/her will work best. Where there is a family connection, a wand will work a little better than a wand chosen at random, I think.
James Farrell: How did umbridge manage to conjure a patronus while wearing the locket when harry wasnt able to
J.K. Rowling: Because she is a very nasty piece of work. She has an affinity for this horrible object, which would help rather than hinder her.
Tineke: What happened to percy did he return to his job at the ministry
J.K. Rowling: Yes, the new improved Percy ended up as a high-ranking official under Kingsley.
Su: How did neville get the gryfindor sword, is there a link to the hat
J.K. Rowling: Yes, there is very definitely a link to the hat!
J.K. Rowling: Neville, most worthy Gryffindor, asked for help just as Harry did in the Chamber of secrets, and Gryffindor's sword was transported into Gryffindor's old hat -
J.K. Rowling: - the Sorting Hat was Gryffindor's initially, as you know.
J.K. Rowling: Griphook was wrong - Gryffindor did not 'steal' the sword, not unless you are a goblin fanatic and believe that all goblin-made objects really belong to the maker.
Steph: Will azkaban still use dementors?
J.K. Rowling: No, definitely not. Kingsley would see to that. The use of Dementors was always a mark of the underlying corruption of the Ministry, as Dumbledore constantly maintained.
Smallbutpowerful: On behalf of all harry potter fans who consider themselves to be hufflepuffs could you please describe the hufflepuff common room as it is the only common room harry hasn’t visited
J.K. Rowling: The Hufflepuff common room is accessed through a portrait near the kitchens, as I am sure you have deduced.
J.K. Rowling: Sorry - I should say 'painting' rather than portrait, because it is a still-life.
J.K. Rowling: It is a very cosy and welcoming place, as dissimilar as possible from Snape's dungeon. Lots of yellow hangings, and fat armchairs, and little underground tunnels leading to the dormitories, all of which have perfectly round doors, like barrel tops.
Camille: How is george getting along without his twin
J.K. Rowling: Well, I don't think that George would ever get over losing Fred, which makes me feel so sad. However, he names his first child and son Fred, and he goes on to have a very successful career, helped by good old Ron.
Jessica Lynn: Did hagrid have to be able to see thestrals in order to train them if so, whose death did hagrid witness
J.K. Rowling: Hagrid has seen many deaths in quite a long life, so yes, he can see Thestrals.
Allie: What did dumbledore truly see in the mirror of erised
J.K. Rowling: He saw his family alive, whole and happy - Ariana, Percival and Kendra all returned to him, and Aberforth reconciled to him.
Snapedinhalf: You promised that someone will do magic late in life in book 7. I've now read it three times but cant work out who it might have been! Please help!!
J.K. Rowling: I'm sorry about this, but I changed my mind!
J.K. Rowling: My very earliest plan for the story involved somebody managing to get to Hogwarts when they had never done magic before, but I had changed my mind by the time I'd written the third book.
Christiana: How did voldemort get his wand back after he was in was exile
J.K. Rowling: Wormtail, desperate to curry favour, salvaged it from the place it had fallen and carried it to him. I admit that would have been a bit of a feat for a rat, but they are highly intelligent creatures!
Amanda: Hiya, ive grown up with harry and the gang, did any of the characters change in any unexpected ways as they grew up
J.K. Rowling: They all became pretty much what I expected/planned them to become.
J.K. Rowling: Of course they changed as I wrote, but nobody surprised me very much!
Ravleen: How much does the fact that voldemort was conceived under a love potion have to do with his nonability to understand love is it more symbolic
J.K. Rowling: It was a symbolic way of showing that he came from a loveless union - but of course, everything would have changed if Merope had survived and raised him herself and loved him.
Michael: Why didnt fawkes come back to help harry I would have thought that since harry was so loyal to dumbledore, fawkes would have been harrys new pet
J.K. Rowling: the Ministry no longer used them to torment its opponents.
J.K. Rowling: You cannot destroy Dementors, though you can limit their numbers if you eradicate the conditions in which they multiply, ie, despair and degradation. As I've already said, though,
J.K. Rowling: The enchantment under which Tom Riddle fathered Voldemort is important because it shows coercion, and there can't be many more prejudicial ways to enter the world than as the result of such a union.
Lechicaneuronline: Do you think snape is a hero
J.K. Rowling: Yes, I do; though a very flawed hero. An anti-hero, perhaps. He is not a particularly likeable man in many ways. He remains rather cruel, a bully, riddled with bitterness and insecurity - and yet he loved, and showed loyalty to that love
J.K. Rowling: and, ultimately, laid down his life because of it. That's pretty heroic!
James Farrell: Voldemort never told anyone about his horcruxes, so how on earth did regulus black discover his secret
J.K. Rowling: Horcrux magic was not Voldemort's own invention; as is established in the story, other wizards had done it, though never gone as far as to make six.
J.K. Rowling: Voldemort dropped oblique hints; in his arrogance, he did not believe anybody would be clever enough to understand them.
J.K. Rowling: (He does so in the graveyard of Little Hangleton, in front of Harry). He did this before Regulus and Regulus guessed, correctly, what it was that made Voldemort so convinced he could not die.
Jaclyn: Did lily ever have feelings back for snape
J.K. Rowling: Yes. She might even have grown to love him romantically (she certainly loved him as a friend) if he had not loved Dark Magic so much, and been drawn to such loathesome people and acts.
Boggo: Would you choose the hallow that is the cloak, like youre supposed to, and would you be tempted to use the others
J.K. Rowling: My temptation would be Harry's, ie, the Stone. But I believe, as does Harry ultimately, that the greatest wisdom is in accepting that we must all die, and moving on.

Cornersoul: So what happens to all the dementors where will they go will they be destroyed if so, how
J.K. Rowling: You cannot destroy Dementors, though you can limit their numbers if you eradicate the conditions in which they multiply, ie, despair and degradation. As I've already said, though,
J.K. Rowling: the Ministry no longer used them to torment its opponents.
Michael: Why didnt fawkes come back to help harry I would have thought that since harry was so loyal to dumbledore, fawkes would have been harrys new pet
J.K. Rowling: Something had to leave the school for good when Dumbledore died, and I decided that would be Fawkes. Dumbledore was a very great and irreplacable man, and the loss of Fawkes (and the fact that he was 'non-transferable'!) expresses this symbolically
Roseweasley: Why was colin creavey still a student at hogwarts when he was muggleborn surely he would have been locked up and interogated, not allowed back to school therefore, he shouldnt have died
J.K. Rowling: Colin wasn't a student. He sneaked back with the rest of the DA, along with Fred, George and the rest. He ought not to have stayed behind when McGonagall told him to leave, but alas - he did.
Delailah: How does dumbledore understand parseltongue?
J.K. Rowling: Dumbledore understood Mermish, Gobbledegook and Parseltongue. The man was brilliant.
Jessie: Will lockhart ever recover?
J.K. Rowling: No. Nor would I want him to. He's happy where he is, and I'm happier without him!
Annie: Does the wizarding world now know that snape was dumbledores man, or do they still think he did a bunk
J.K. Rowling: Harry would ensure that Snape's heroism was known.
J.K. Rowling: Of course, that would not stop Rita Skeeter writing 'Snape: Scoundrel or Saint?'
Vio91: Is teddy lupin a werewolf
J.K. Rowling: No, he's a Metamorphmagus like his mother.
Nippy23: We see socks a lot throughout the series, such as dobby’s love for them and dumbledore’s claim to see them in the mirror of erised, what’s the reason behind all the socks
J.K. Rowling: Nothing deep and significant, I'm afraid. They're just a comedy item.
Lady Bella: Whose murders did voldemor use to create each of the horcruxes
J.K. Rowling: The diary - Moaning Myrtle. The cup - Hepzibah Smith, the previous owner. The locket - a Muggle tramp. Nagini - Bertha Jorkins (Voldemort could use a wand once he regained a rudimentary body, as long as the victim was subdued).
J.K. Rowling: The diadem - an Albanian peasant. The ring - Tom Riddle snr.
Sampotterish: Why did dumbledore want ron to keep his deluminator
J.K. Rowling: Because he knew that Ron might need a little more guidance than the other two.
J.K. Rowling: Dumbledore understood Ron's importance in the trio. He wasn't the most skilled, or the most intelligent, but he held them together; his humour and his good heart were essential.
Carol: Do dementors have souls
J.K. Rowling: No, that's what makes them frightening!
Jess Mac: What was the third smell that hermione smelt in the amortentia potion in hbp (ie the particular essence of ron)
J.K. Rowling: I think it was his hair. Every individual has very distinctive-smelling hair, don't you find?
Natalie: Are house divisions as prevalaent in harry’s children’s hogwarts as in the previous generations
J.K. Rowling: Slytherin has become diluted. It is no longer the pureblood bastion it once was. Nevertheless, its dark reputation lingers, hence Albus Potter's fears.
Nithya: Lily detested mulciber,averyif snape really loved her,why didnt he sacrifice their company for her sake
J.K. Rowling: Well, that is Snape's tragedy. Given his time over again he would not have become a Death Eater, but like many insecure, vulnerable people (like Wormtail) he craved membership of something big and powerful, something impressive.
J.K. Rowling: He wanted Lily and he wanted Mulciber too. He never really understood Lily's aversion; he was so blinded by his attraction to the dark side he thought she would find him impressive if he became a real Death Eater.
Alborz: What does it mean to be the master of death
J.K. Rowling: As Dumbledore explains, the real master of Death accepts that he must die, and that there are much worse things in the world of the living.
J.K. Rowling:
J.K. Rowling: It is not about striving for immortality, but about accepting mortality.
Barbara: I was very disappointed to see harry use crucio and seem to enjoy it his failure to perform that kind of curse in the past has been a credit to his character why the change, and did harry later regret having enjoyed deliberately causing pain
J.K. Rowling: Harry is not, and never has been, a saint. Like Snape, he is flawed and mortal.
J.K. Rowling: Harry's faults are primarily anger and occasional arrogance.
J.K. Rowling: On this occasion, he is very angry and acts accordingly. He is also in an extreme situation, and attempting to defend somebody very good against a violent and murderous opponent.
Nicole: What do you think is the funniest moment you have written in the series
J.K. Rowling: It sounds very vain to answer this! My favourite in this book is probably that line of Ron's 'really captures the scope and tragedy of the thing, doesn't it?'
Courtney: What child did harry give the marauders map to if any
J.K. Rowling: I've got a feeling he didn't give it to any of them, but that James sneaked it out of his father's desk one day.
Karin: What did petunia wanted to say to hary at the end of the dursleys departing
J.K. Rowling: I think that for one moment she trembled on the verge of wishing Harry luck; that she almost acknowledged that her loathing of his world, and of him, was born out of jealousy.
J.K. Rowling: But she couldn't do it; years of pretending that 'normal' was best had hardened her too much.
Leaky Cauldron: Please pose and answer the question you'd most like to address about the series! (a ha, turned it back on you.)
: Oooo, you're tough.
J.K. Rowling: I must admit, I always wondered why nobody ever asked me what Dumbledore's wand was made of!
J.K. Rowling: And I couldn't say that, even when asked 'what do you wish you'd been asked...' because it would have sign-posted just how significant that wand would become!
Nora: Is auntie muriels tiara important
J.K. Rowling : No, sorry... except to illustrate what an old bat she is.
Nigel: Can harry speak parseltongue when he is no longer a horcrux?
J.K. Rowling : No, he loses the ability, and is very glad to do so.
Nikki: How did sirius twoway mirror end up with aberforth or is it another twoway mirror
J.K. Rowling: You see Aberforth meeting Mundungus in Hogsmeade. That was the occasion on which Dung, who had taken Sirius's mirror from Grimmauld Place, sold it to Aberforth.
Tierney Roth: If moody got a magic eye, and wormtail got a magic hand, couldnt there be some way to form a magical ear, if only to cover up the hole and make george look more symmetrical
J.K. Rowling: Yes, he could wear a false ear (I'm starting to giggle at the thought. Perhaps he's better off with the hole!)
Lucy: What is dumbledores boggart?
J.K. Rowling: The corpse of his sister.
Pablo: What is toadface umbridge doing now
J.K. Rowling: Glad to see you like her as much as I do!
J.K. Rowling: She was arrested, interrogated and imprisoned for crimes against Muggleborns.
Tina: Do the muggles notice that there arent any weird things going on now that voldemorts gone
J.K. Rowling: Yes, the world seems a much sunnier place (literally - with the Dementors gone the weather gets better!)
J.K. Rowling: We are having a heavily Dementor-influenced summer here in the UK.
Katie Mosher: How exactly do muggleborns receive magical ability
J.K. Rowling: Muggle-borns will have a witch or wizard somewhere on their family tree, in some cases many, many generations back. The gene re-surfaces in some unexpected places.
Maggie: Is rita skeeter still reporting
J.K. Rowling: Naturally, what could stop Rita? I imagine she immediately dashed off a biography of Harry after he defeated Voldemort. One quarter truth to three quarters rubbish.
Maggie Keir: Was hermione able to find her parents and undo the memory damage
J.K. Rowling: Yes, she brought them home straight away.
Lola Victorpujebet: Was minerva in love with albus
J.K. Rowling: No! Not everybody falls in love with everybody else...
Rachel Nell: Jkr, thank you for such amazing books! I would like to know how come noone seemed to know that lily and snape were friends in school they were obviously meeting for chats, etc didnt james know their past
J.K. Rowling: Thank you for your thank you!
J.K. Rowling: Yes, it was known that they were friendly and then stopped being friends. Nothing more than that would be widely known.
J.K. Rowling: James always suspected Snape harboured deeper feelings for Lily, which was a factor in James' behaviour to Snape.
Abbey: Will the chuddley cannons ever win the quidditch world cup
J.K. Rowling: Bless them, perhaps. But they'd need to replace the entire team and down several cauldrons of Felix Felicitas.
Hayleyhaha: Why did regulus have a change of heart
J.K. Rowling: He was not prepared for the reality of life as a Death Eater. It was Voldemort's attempted murder of Kreacher that really turned him.
J.K. Rowling: Scorpius has a lot going against him, not least that name. However, I think Scorpius would be an improvement on his father, whom misfortune has sobered!
Stephval: Is scorpius as misguided as his father, or has draco improved and taught his child(ren) better
J.K. Rowling: Sorry, technical hitch - just answered a question before seeing it!
J.K. Rowling: I am clearly getting better at Legilimency.
Lona: Did draco and harry lose their animosity towards eachother when voldemort died
J.K. Rowling: Not really. There would be a kind of rapprochement, in that Harry knows Draco hated being a Death Eater, and would not have killed Dumbledore; similarly, Draco would feel a grudging gratitude towards Harry for saving his life.
J.K. Rowling: Real friendship would be out of the question, though. Too much had happened prior to the final battle.
Hannah: Why was snape so badly groomed
J.K. Rowling: Hmm. Good question. Poor eyesight? Did he look in the mirror and believe he was gorgeous as he was?
J.K. Rowling: I think it more likely that he valued other qualities in himself!
Ea : Will the stone ever be found, since it was left just sitting on the forest floor
J.K. Rowling: I think not. I imagine that it was squashed into the ground by a centaur's hoof as the centaurs dashed to the aid of the Hogwarts fighters, and thereafter became buried.
Adwait313: Has the jinx on the dada teaching post at hogwarts been lifted
J.K. Rowling: Yes, at last! Incidentally, I know some have asked about Quirrell with regard to this question.
J.K. Rowling: He was teaching at Hogwarts for more than a year, but NOT in the post of D.A.D.A. teacher. He was previously Muggle Studies professor.
Emily: What ever happened to aberforth
J.K. Rowling: He is still there, at the Hog's Head, playing with his goats.
Lee: I recently purchsed nimbus twothousand it has a terrible knack of veering left is their anything I can do (wihout the use of a wand it was broken by a hippogriff) to repair it back to it original straight flying state
J.K. Rowling: Hm. I would advise a trip to Arkie Alderton's Kwik-Repair Shop. Never attempt to mend a broom at home, the consequences can be disastrous.
Abjoppotter: Is narcissa malfoy really a death eater
J.K. Rowling: No, she never had the Dark Mark and was never a fully paid-up member. However, her views were identical to those of her husband until Voldemort planned the death of her son.
Emzzy: Did mr weasley ever get around to fixing sirius motorbike
J.K. Rowling: Of course, and it ended up in Harry's possession.
Lulu: Do you think dumbledore was a little more fond of ron than either ron or harry believed
J.K. Rowling: Yes, I do. Through Harry's account of Ron, and from reports of the professors who taught Ron, Dumbledore understood Ron better than Ron ever knew, and liked him, too.
Chelatina: Was firenze ever welcomed back into the herd
J.K. Rowling: Yes, the rest of the herd was forced to acknowledge that Firenze's pro-human leanings were not shameful, but honourable.
Kristy: What was your favorite scene to write in deathly hallows?
J.K. Rowling: Chapter 34: The Forest Again.
Chely: James patronus is a stag and lilys a doe is that a coincidence?
J.K. Rowling: No, the Patronus often mutates to take the image of the love of one's life (because they so often become the 'happy thought' that generates a Patronus).
Jon: Since voldemort was afraid of death, did he choose to be a ghost if so where does he haunt or is this not possible due to his horcruxes
J.K. Rowling: No, he is not a ghost. He is forced to exist in the stunted form we witnessed in King's Cross.
Angela Morrissey: Were there seven horcruxes not six as dumbledore intimated to harry if so, does this mean that voldemort had an 8 part soul not a 7
J.K. Rowling: Yes, Voldemort accidentally broke his soul into eight parts, not seven.
Laura Trego: Did hermione really put a memory charm on her parents she says she did but then about 50 pages later tells ron shes never done a memory charm
J.K. Rowling: They are two different charms. She has not wiped her parents' memories (as she later does to Dolohov and Rowle); she has bewitched them to make them believe that they are different people.
Maura: How come voldemort was no longer employing occlumency against harry, as he was in the 6th book
J.K. Rowling: He is losing control, and unable to prevent Harry seeing into his mind. The connection between them is never fully understood by Voldemort, who does not know that Harry is a Horcrux.
Gandalfxj9: Did krum ever find love
J.K. Rowling: Of course, though he had to go back to his native Bulgaria to do so.
Twinkletoes: Why did you feel that hedwigs death was necessary
J.K. Rowling: The loss of Hedwig represented a loss of innocence and security. She has been almost like a cuddly toy to Harry at times. Voldemort killing her marked the end of childhood. I'm sorry... I know that death upset a LOT of people!
Lecanard: Will we see harry and his friends having their own history on chocolate frogs cards
J.K. Rowling: Definitely, and Ron will describe this as his finest hour.
J.K. Rowling: I cannot possibly tell you. Some things are better left unsaid.
Samantha: Was snape the only death eater who could produce a full patronus
J.K. Rowling: Yes, because a Patronus is used against things that the Death Eaters generally generate, or fight alongside. They would not need Patronuses.
Jess: How did nagini could see harry and hermione if they were under the invisibility cloak
J.K. Rowling: Snakes' sense are very different from human ones. They can detect heat and movement in a way that we can't.
Chucky: Have you had another alternatives as book title apart from deathly hallows
J.K. Rowling: The two other possibilities were 'the Elder Wand' (used instead as a chapter title) and 'the Peverell Quest', which I decided against quite quickly. I think the word 'Quest' is a bit corny!
Iglooanne: What would your patronus be
J.K. Rowling: I'd like an otter, like Hermione, but I've got a feeling it might be a large dog.
The Stoic Cycle: Why is it that voldemort is unaware that the gaunt ring is a hallow, when he has worn it (such as in the memory the diary shows harry in book 2)
J.K. Rowling: Wearing the ring would not make the stone work. The stone existed outside the ring originally, and to use it you had to turn it three times in your hand.
Finchburg: Does the dark mark remain on those that voldemort has branded after his death or does the tattoo dissapear now he is gone thanks for considering my question!
J.K. Rowling: My pleasure, Finchburg! The Dark Mark would fade to a scar, not dissimilar to the lightning scar on Harry's forehead.
J.K. Rowling: Like Harry's, these scars would no longer burn or hurt.
Katie Mosher: How is the quibbler doing these days
J.K. Rowling: Pretty well, actually. It has returned to its usual condition of advanced lunacy, and is appreciated for its unintentional humour.
Camille: Dear mrs rowling, while im here I want to thank you for making me laugh, cry (a lot! Most of all for sirius!) since im 11 quite a long time for me as im 20 harrys magic and yours will be with me forever! Thanks!
J.K. Rowling: Thank you very much, Camille, and I'm sorry about Sirius. That man's got a lot of fans.
J.K. Rowling: Mostly female, I might add.
Nicofr: Does winky still drink a lot of butterbear
J.K. Rowling: She's dried out a bit now.
Isabel: Did bellatrix ever love her husband, or did she have love only for voldemort
J.K. Rowling: She took a pureblood husband, because that was what was expected of her, but her true love was always Voldemort.
jenny: How did snape keep his patronus secret from the rest of the order?
J.K. Rowling: He was careful not to use the talking Patronus means of communication with them. This was not difficult, as his particular job within the Order, ie, as spy, meant that sending a Patronus to any of them might have given away his true allegiance.
Darchey: Did voldemort ever love a girl
J.K. Rowling: No, he loved only power, and himself. He valued people whom he could use to advance his own objectives.
Leo: What would your wand be made of
J.K. Rowling: I'd like Harry's wand - holly and phoenix feather.
Brian: Did the da keep the coins?
J.K. Rowling: Naturally. They would be like badges or medals of honour - proof that the owner had been at the heart of the fight against Voldemort from the start! I like to imagine Neville showing his to his admiring pupils.
Tracie: How relieved are you that you can finally talk about the series no more secretkeeping!
J.K. Rowling: I'm elated! It is great to be able to do this at last, I've looked forward to it for so long!
Lou: How did snape get into grimmauld place to get the second half of the letter, if there were protection spells on the house stopping snape getting in
J.K. Rowling: Snape entered the house immediately after Dumbledore's death, before Moody put up the spells against him.
Koen Van Der Voort: Why is the scar on harrys forehead lightning shaped
J.K. Rowling: To be honest, because it's a cool shape. I couldn't have my hero sport a doughnut-shaped scar.
Louie: Did mariettas pimply formation ever fade
J.K. Rowling: Eventually, but it left a few scars. I loathe a traitor!
Katie B: Why was kings cross the place harry went to when he died
J.K. Rowling: For many reasons. The name works rather well, and it has been established in the books as the gateway between two worlds, and Harry would associate it with moving on between two worlds (don't forget that it is Harry's image we see, not necessarily
J.K. Rowling: what is really there.
J.K. Rowling: We seem to have over-run. We've had over 120,000 questions, I've been told!
J.K. Rowling: What can I say? Thank you so much for sticking with me, and with Harry, for so long. You have made this an incredible journey for Harry's author.
J.K. Rowling: I like this question, so I'll take it for my last.
Tess: What muggle song do you imagine would be played at dumbledores funeral
J.K. Rowling: Surely 'I did it my way' by Frank Sinatra.
J.K. Rowling: I'm very aware I haven't answered everything... keep an eye on my website, and I'll try and answer some more questions in due course!
J.K. Rowling: Thanks very much everybody, I've had a great time, and I hope I've covered some of the outstanding questions (I hear a distant roar of 'YOU DIDN'T GET TO MINE!')
J.K. Rowling: That's it... I'm Disapparating. Bye!

It's got to be a pretty boring life, hasn't it, being a hat?

This is not a spoiler post.

Dealth Hallows was amazing. But for right now, I'd not like to talk about it. I'd like to talk, instead, about Sorting.

Do you think that Sorting is part of the problem with the wizarding world...and with our world? Labels, names, isn't that all part of it? Judging people before you know them based on what House they're in, what ethnicity they're part of, what race? Based on blood? All that pureblood/mudblood nonsense - isn't that like racism? And doesn't that stem from, early on, being Sorted based on your abilities? Based on your heritage? Your personality? Your talents that you can't even help having or not having?

But then, it isn't. Because Harry was able to choose. He chose NOT to be in Slytherin. And it is that element of choice that sort of makes the Sorting not all that terrible. No one is forcing anyone anywhere. It is up to you to decide. Up to you to choose where your allegiance lies.

But still, it's a debate inside me.

So let's all play Sorting hat. It is your first day of Hogwarts. You are being Sorted. Where do you think you would be Sorted? Would you accept that or would you ask the Sorting hat to put you somewhere else, like Harry did? Where would you put yourself? Why?

If you're feeling really creative, you may also come up with your own Sorting song, but for now, we'll stick with this one:

Oh you may not think me pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

Comfort can be found in the oddest places

It's strange, but I found the beginning of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows oddly comforting. This is not really a spoiler, unless you haven't read book 6, but in book 7 Harry thinks about his feelings over Dumbledore's death. This sort of had an impact on me after losing a teacher of my own who I was close with just two weeks ago. The fact that Harry felt so much grief and regret about a professor who he realized he actually knew very little about mirrors exactly what I am feeling now. All the questions that were never asked, the slight guilt that you feel so sad when you hardly even knew who the person really was in the end, when everything used to be about you, about what you are learning, about the issues that you have, but never about the teacher. That part of the book just made me feel better, maybe because it hit so close to home. It's strange where you can find comfort when you seek it.

An update or two

Just as a warning to all my fellow Harry Potter fans out there (or, at least, the ones who read this blog), apparently there was a book review in the NY Times about Harry Potter 7. I don't know how many spoilers were in there and I heard that, though there were a few, they were minor, but if you don't want to be spoiled at ALL, I recommend staying away from it. Or keeping it until after you've read the book.

BOOK IS OUT IN TWO DAYS.

In other news, I meant to post this a while ago but, due to all that's happened this week, never did. HOWEVER, this past Sunday it was visiting day in Camp Mesorah and...and...I DROVE ALL THE WAY THERE. FOUR WHOLE HOURS. YES.

[For anyone new to my blog, I am terrified of driving. See this post for details.]

I am still patting myself on the back.

The Curse of the Contest

So a while ago ABE books was holding a Harry Potter poetry contest and you could win a bookshelf made out of Harry Potter books. So I wrote a poem and, of course, being myself, never sent it in. The deadline already passed but I figured I might as well post it here:

The Curse

With much brAVADo entered he who found
At Hollow’s plAce, a secret once unsaid
Until Rat spoKe betrayal good and sound
And thus ensurED his friends would soon be dead.
But once that dArk one sent them to the ground
He went to waVe his wand at Harry’s head
Thus quickly Realized he would not get far
Vanquished And leaving Harry just a scar.

So...anyone want to comment with Harry Potter poems of their own?

Powers

It's funny. When I first decided to write this entry, I was going to write about J.K. Rowling and how, even if she isn't the best author there is out there, she still has incredible power to touch people and inspire them. I mean, there are countless stories of kids, especially boys, I think, who hated reading and then read Harry Potter and decided that reading wasn't so bad after all. And they didn't just stop there, they went on to read other books, too. I know there are so many people out there who are bitter about the fact that there are tons of much better fantasy authors who didn't get the recognition J.K. got. There are people who are annoyed that J.K. has taken ideas from other authors and stories without giving them credit. But at the same time, there was something about Harry Potter that kept it up high on the bestseller list. There was something about it that reached out to so many people and, somehow, all those other books did not. Not to this extreme, anyway.

What I'm trying to say is, I saw this movie on The Leaky Cauldron where J.K. Rowling was reading The Half-Blood Prince to a large crowd of kids. I felt this complete and utter awe at the fact that so many people were so, so excited about a book. We might be used to the Harry Potter world or we're sucked in to the worlds of whatever other books we read and may not realize how many people out there just don't read. To see so many people excited, not about a movie, not about a singer, but about a book -- was amazing. Truly amazing.

In one interview I watched, also on The Leaky Cauldron, J.K. Rowling mentioned that it is incredible to see so many fans holding books. Books. If there's one thing J.K. Rowling has given to this world, it is the love of reading. Not many other authors have done the same. And I think that's much more important than how original she is. She hasn't done outright plagiarism, she's just used ideas from books she probably read as a child. And, to be honest, most of her ideas that people accuse her of stealing, she actually took from mythology and much older stories which belong to everyone to use.

To turn this discussion around completely, I am in the middle of watching Matilda on TV and I noticed that Matilda and her family remind me an awful lot of Harry and the Dursleys. Harry is a boy living with his uncle, aunt, and obnoxious cousin, none of whom appreciate him for who he is and for the extraordinary gifts and talents he possesses. Matilda is much the same way. She lives with her father, mother, and obnoxious brother, none of whom appreciate her for who she is and for the extraordinary gifts and talents she possesses.

While living with the Dursleys, Harry discovers he actually has magical powers. Matilda discovers the same thing about herself. The Dursleys punish Harry when he does magic. The Wormwoods punish Matilda when she acts smart. Both families try to squash their gifted member out of their talents. Granted, the rest of the stories are completely different, but the similarities are there - enough to make me wonder if J.K. had Matilda in the back of her mind when creating the Dursleys.

Anyway, I have a feeling this post came off sort of rambly and a bit schizophrenic, but make of it what you will.

Snape, Snape, Severus Snape

The subject line came from this movie:



Aaaaanyway, today was my first day as a newspaper intern! So now three days a week I'm working for a paper and two days a week I'm working for a medical publishing house. Busy girl, me! And I got an actual story to write for the paper! I have to call people and interview them and everything!

And on a totally different note, not only do I now hope Snape is innocent, I believe it, too. I found two solid proofs of his innocence in the sixth book. NO, THIS IS NOT A SPOILER. It is merely careful reading.

1.

"Hagrid, why is Dumbledore angry with Snape?" Harry asked loudly.
"Shhh!" said Hagrid, looking both nervous and angry [.....] "Well--I just' heard Snape sayin' Dumbledore took too much fer granted an' maybe he--Snape--didn' wan' ter do it anymore--"
"Do what?"
"I dunno, Harry, it sounded like Snape was feelin' a bit overworked, tha's all--anyway, Dumbledore told him flat out he'd agreed ter do it an' that was all there was to it. Pretty firm with him." (pgs. 405-406 of the hardcover HBP)

2.

"Kill me then," panted Harry, who felt no fear at all, but only rage and contempt. "Kill me like you killed him, you coward--"
"DON'T--" screamed Snape, and his face was suddenly demented, inhuman, as though he was in as much pain as the yelping, howling dog stuck in the burning house behind them-- "CALL ME COWARD!" (pg. 604 of the hardcover HBP)

Those two definitely prove it to me. Especially that last one. I mean, yelling is not Snape's style. He's more soft and quiet in his anger, preferring twisted comments and sneers to shouting and all. He was clearly, clearly extremely touchy about being called a coward, perhaps because he had just done one of the most difficult things in his life by killing Dumbledore, and perhaps because he has to play double agent and is sick and tired of it. Who knows for sure? But it's pretty clear proof to me, anyway.

Self-Evaluation: Harry Potter style

Harry Potter = Lord of the Rings?

This is a topic I feel I must address. There are those who suggest that Harry Potter is a plagiarism of Lord of the Rings. That's...I think it's simply outrageous. If there was actual, actual plagiarism of ideas that belong solely to J.R.R. Tolkien, then perhaps, yes, Harry Potter could be a hidden version of Lord of the Rings. But the comparisons I read here suggest nothing of the kind.

1. Dark Lord fearfully named, attempting to return to power, who placed part of his soul in a ring.

Okay, you have to understand, first, that there is no way - at all - that Tolkien owns dark lords. So anyone who says, "oh, look, Harry Potter has a dark lord and Lord of the Rings has a dark lord! They must be the same thing!" is ignoring the fact that a dark lord, a personification of evil, is universal. Whether it be an actual dark lord, a witch, a wizard, an ogre, a giant, a troll, an evil spirit, an---ANYTHING. They all serve the same role within the story and they are ALL trying to return to power/take over the world/destroy Good.

This is my own addition but when I was learning Beowulf first semester of this past school year, we learned about the importance of cups and other objects being passed around for the more treasure a person has, the more importance the person has. Figures lived on through the treasure they left behind. This could be why Tolkien, and then Rowling, give an importance to a piece of treasure, a ring. Also, Voldemort's ring did not play a significant enough part in the Harry Potter books that I would think Rowling was trying to recreate Lord of the Rings. A ring is so convenient as a thing of power or to hide one's soul in because it is small, unnoticeable, and can be worn on your person. It isn't like Harry Potter was walking around with the ring and used it to become invisible, nor do the Harry Potter books center around the ring in any way like Lord of the Rings does.

2. Concept the Dark Lord cannot understand, ultimately used against him

Again, how can you say Tolkien owns that? That's used all over the place.

3. A birthday sets events in motion

Again, not owned by Tolkien. In my myth and folklore class, we learned about how the hero is often an adolescent and that his adventures symbolize his growth and maturity. Birthdays are used all the time in fairy tales as symbolic days (Sleeping Beauty - on her sixteenth birthday she will prick her finger, Beauty and the Beast - often an age is given for how long the Beast has in order to turn back into a person). Also, the only reason why Harry's birthday sets things in motion is because he is born in July and you have to be eleven to go to Hogwarts. ALL the Hogwarts students began to receive their acceptance letters the summer they were eleven, whether their birthday was earlier or that summer. If Rowling chose to have Harry's birthday in July, you can't say she is copying Lord of the Rings just because LotR opens with a birthday as well. And it isn't as though it opened with a party like LotR did. If it had, that would be one thing. But if it wasn't Harry's birthday that particular day, it still would have been almost exactly the same. He still would have been eleven, old enough to attend Hogwarts.

4. Wizened old wizard

Oh please. Old ones, Elders, Wise ones, that concept is universal as well and was definitely around waaaaay before LotR was.

5. Strong non-parental connection

Can anyone say...Fairy Godmother? That's a Cinderella-type story, not a LotR one. And Bilbo's role in LotR is completely different with Sirius's role in Harry Potter.

6. Annoying relatives

a. Tolkien definitely doesn't own that
b. The Sackville-Bagginses and the Dursleys are very different

7. Scar that won't heal

Okay, here I could say she was bordering on taking that idea from LotR, except that the scars are quite different and have different roles. Harry's scar definitely has more significance. And, anyway, she's allowed to have her character have an important scar. I wouldn't jump down her throat just on that.

8. Inherited invisibility device

Yes, but, again, they are very, very different. Harry's isn't something dark and evil that he must destroy.

9. Eerie prison controlled by dark forces

Okay, perhaps.

10. Treasure Hoarding Goblins

Oh, please. That's taken from the treasure hoarding dragon in Beowulf. Tolkien didn't come up with it.

Alright, this is taking much longer than I expected and I have to go get ready for Shabbat, but maybe I'll continue in another entry. However, my point is, a heck of a lot that people are holding against J.K. Rowling is really nitpicky and extreme, considering most of it Tolkien didn't actually originate.

Tolkien took a lot of his stuff from Beowulf and the Saga of the Volsungs (this includes special swords, rings of power, etc. Look here and here). And anyway, the first place I'd think of that uses important swords is King Arthur, which was around ages before Lord of the Rings.

Every author uses things from other authors, if you look hard enough, but if you want to compare Harry Potter to anything, it should be this: a book and movie that I read/saw AGES ago, long before Harry Potter.

The thing that really bothers me about Harry Potter is, supposedly Harry had love protecting him and that's why Voldemort was unable to kill him. But what I want to know is, how was that situation so unusual? If Voldemort was going around terrorizing and murdering families, friends, lovers...no one else ever died for their loved one before? In his whole reign? It doesn't make sense. Lily Potter was the only mother who died for her son out of love?

Anyway, everyone have a Shabbat Shalom!

Laitnetop ta ergru oyt ube risedru oyt on wohsi

Instead of being productive this morning and unpacking from Stern, I decided to idly read some blogs that I don't normally read. You know, to broaden my JBlogosphere horizen. Somehow, through a series of links, I ended up on a blog called HarryPotterTorah. This excited me very greatly because, of course, I love Harry Potter, and I love Torah, so therefore...I just know I'll love Harry Potter Torah! It excited me so much that I am actually devoting an entire post to it! How did I not come across this blog before? This I do not know. But, seeing as Shavuot is tomorrow night, I decided to link to the Harry Potter Torah entry on Shavuot and the mirror of LAITNETOP.

Now, if only I actually liked cheesecake, I'd be all set. Think I can learn to like it by tomorrow night?

....Nah. Oh well. There's always ice cream! Yum!

Harry Potter and the Last Hurrah

This summer, the seventh and final Harry Potter book is coming out (for a countdown to both the book and the fifth movie, see the side of my blog). I have been a Harry Potter fan ever since I was twelve, I think the first three books were already out, or the third one was just coming out then. Something like that. In any case, it has been eight years since then - eight years where I have been so invested in this series. I used to write fanfiction, I used to play Harry Potter roleplaying games. In eighth grade, I wrote an essay at a high school interview about Ron. I still get into debates over what's going to happen in the future of the books. But in about two months, there will be no more wondering, no more supposing, no more debates. It will be over. The Harry Potter saga will be at an end.

I have toyed with how I feel about that. On the one hand, it's sad. It will be time to move on from Harry Potter (well, except for the movies, of course). But as sad as it is, I think I'm ready for Harry Potter to be over. It's been a good run but it's also been a very long time. Harry Potter, luckily, is still hot. For something to be that popular for the amount of time it takes to put out seven novels is quite an accomplishment. However, as the saying goes, it's always good to quit while you're ahead. I have in mind a particular series of books called The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. I heard they were amazing so I borrowed the first few books from a friend. Even though the first book starts off in a very similar fashion to Lord of the Rings, I gave the series a chance and I got as far as the middle of the fifth book. Then I had to stop. It had gotten to the point where I was gaining nothing new from reading further in the series. I had stopped liking the protagonist, which is never a good thing, and all the women had the same personality (stubborn as a mule, they sniff, tug on their hair, and have low necklines). I was investing so much time in a series that didn't end. The tenth book had come out by then and Robert Jordan still hadn't wrapped things up. Not to mention, mind you, that each book was around a thousand pages. I just didn't have the energy nor did I care about the characters enough to keep up.

That is why it is amazing that J.K. Rowling managed to write a stellar series which kept readers hooked in during the entire ride. That is also why I feel the series needs to at last come to a close. Something as great as Harry Potter - and as much as Rowling borrowed from various other authors, who doesn't? I still believe Harry Potter is great - needs to end on a high, so that people remember it only for the good that it was. If it went on for much longer, if there was even an eighth book, I feel the public would have gotten sick of all the hype. There may not have been as much interest. Harry Potter may have slunk out of style instead of going out with a bang.

And for this reason, I also hope the seventh book lives up to the expectations of the fans. I hope I'm not disappointed because of all the hype. Rowling usually pulls through for her readers, but for this last book, this last hurrah, she'll need to pull through double the amount.

Wouldn't it be so awful if the book ended with Harry killing Voldemort but losing his powers because he was really a squib and only had powers in the first place because Voldemort's rebounded into him?

Pleasedon'tendlikethatPleasedon'tendlikethatPleasedon'tendlikethatPleasedon'tendlikethat

Blog Makeover!

As I was sitting, pondering ways to further procrastinate my studying and Latin homework (last Latin homework of the year! Besides for the final, of course, which is take-home), I decided to give my blog a makeover. I realized that it was a very boring looking blog and I really wanted to make it someplace I would feel happy posting to. So I found this awesome template called "harbor" which I really like a lot, especially since I love oceans and seas and pirates and ships and all that. So a harbor just sounds very nice.

Then, I decided I was going to change the name from simply "Nowhere" to "Up The Beanstalk To Nowhere." You see, I couldn't get rid of "Nowhere" completely, since it sort of just stuck and I like the concept behind it, but I also really like the name "Up The Beanstalk" because it implies all sorts of adventure and funness that one can find after planting some magic beans and climbing the plant that sprouts from them all the way up to the sky. But then I realized, the place Jack went to when he climbed the beanstalk MUST have been a sort of Nowhere! Inspiration! Yes!

Hence the new name, "Up The Beanstalk To Nowhere."

I hope you all like this new layout just as much as I do. I'm really very excited about it! I especially love the picture of Jack and the Beanstalk that I found. I wanted it big like that, because it is so very pretty, but because it's big, a chunk of the original picture doesn't show. However, the important chunk does, and that is, of course, the part with the beanstalk and Jack running down it carrying the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Hmm, my blog seems to be getting more and more of a fairy tale theme to it, since I've also got Little Red Riding Hood next to my username, but I suppose that's because I love fairy tales. So there you go!

You will also notice, under the part with my username on the side of this blog, I put a countdown to both Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie AND Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - the last Harry Potter book EVER. My thoughts, impressions, and possible predictions for the seventh book will probably appear in a later post, but I figured a count down would be fun! I got it from a site called Mugglenet.com, which is the place where you can find everything Harry Potter! Of course, I only suggest going there if you have a lot of time to spare (or waste instead of doing schoolwork) on your hands, as you will get sucked in and not reappear for air for quite a while later. So. Yes. But it's a fun place. Ooh, and they have a caption contest there where they post a picture from one of the Harry Potter movies (sometimes tampered with using Photoshop, sometimes not) and people submit funny captions for it, and a week later they post the winners, so one week someone won with the username TheChosenOne613. I found that delightfully amusing!

So anyway, welcome to the new and improved blog of Erachet! I hope you like!

And now, off to studying. *Mutter*