Harry's Introduction into Dark Wizardry, Foreshadowing at Work

Wow! A lot has happened since I posted last Saturday, both at Hogwarts and here in Homewood! School has resumed, and time for Harry Potter nightly is dwindling. :-(

Tonight I would like to just say a brief something about Harrys "intro" into the world of Dark Wizardry, as I enter the end of Chamber of Secrets. So we know that Harry had his little encounter with trouble at the end of his first year; Professor Quirell being controlled by Voldemort, and trying to take the Stone. This may have wet Harry's lips of Dark Magic, but this is nothing in comparison to the dark, dark magic he will encounter in his future, when it isnt going to end happily with Gryffindor winning the house cup.

In the Chamber of Secrets, Harry is brutally confronted with these types of forces, the petrifying of Hermione driving it home. He sees what powerful wizards are willing to do, and what types of horrific things exist in the magic world.

Also, we begin to see those subtle signs in Harry that clear up in the Deathly Hallows when Harry discovers part of Voldemort is actually living inside of him. One of these that I LOVE is the sorting hat. I think the sorting hat is the coolest thing; it shows us time and time again its ability to dig so deep into a persons soul that even they are confused upon its judgements. We saw it with Neville, and we see it with Harry. I would be interested to hear Draco Malfoy's session with the sorting hat. Although we obviously know he is in Slytherin, I have always thought that there was something more to Malfoy..... Hm...... I am thinking this could be our next poll.

POLL QUESTION: Do You think the sorting hat saw something more than pure Slytherin in Draco Malfoy?

-Rip

Hermione won the favorite character poll. We will have to have another sometime with different characters.

Snape Evolving: 1

So today I want to mark the beginning of I series that I will spontaneously continue throughout the blog: Snape Evolving. My personal favorite character in HP is Severus Snape. Most's reaction to this is "What?" or "But hes a bad guy!". You could say that Snape has made poor choices throughout his involvement in Harry's life, but I think it is fascinating how J.K. Rowling subtlety develops Snapes character throughout the series, and allows our thoughts of him to go from one pole to the other, but reveals toward the end his deep ties with Harry's life.

The one example that I just read as I finish up the Sorcerer's Stone, is of when Harrys brand new Nimbus 2000 is jinxed and throws him off. Hermione, weary of Snape's intentions, immediately jumps to the conclusion that he is behind it when she sees him performing some sort of magic toward Harry. Later, if we think back on the instance, Snape was actually counteracting a jinx placed by Proffesor Quirrel, who obviously ends up being under the control of Voldemort. This instance is proof of Snape looking out for Harry.

When Rowling announced she would be closing the series with the Deathly Hallows, I was of course disappointed, but very satisfied when I completed the series. I felt every loose end was tied into the conclusion and that it was a very well rounded and complete series. The only thing I would LOVE to see her continue to delve into is the relationship between James Potter, Lily Potter, and Severus Snape. I find Snape's connection to Harry and Snape, himself absolutely fascinating. Also, I feel as if we never get a really really good grasp on the details of what really happened that night when Voldemort made an attempt on Harrys Life. I would like more on that, also.

How am I doing? Thanks to all my readers! Again, bear with me as I experiment with this blog.

-Rip

POLL: Any suggestions for our next question??? :-)