‘Harry Potter & The Methods Of Rationality’ Brings An Epic Cliffhanger
The world contains many wonderful things. Fanfic— especially masterful fanfic like Harry Potter & The Methods of Rationality— is on that list. But writer Eliezer Yudkowsky, aka Less Wrong, stands over a cliffside, off which his readers desperately hang. The magnificent son of a bitch has given his readers a pop quiz, and one hell of an ultimatum. [Massive spoilers below.]
Yudkowsky has done the seemingly impossible (not unlike a wizard) by re-writing Harry Potter’s past, playing dice with his first year at Hogwarts, and setting up a chain of events that defy description. Naturally, I will attempt to describe them anyway. [Edit: I tried and failed.]
The Premise
Posit: What if Harry Potter was raised by loving parents, instead of by the hateful Vernon Dursley? It really is that simple. In the backstory, Petunia Evans had a slightly better relationship with her sister, Lily.
Result: Petunia begs her sister for a bit of magical help to improve her looks, and winds up marrying a completely different sort of man than this walking pile of hate. A good man. A man of books and learning. A man of science. Harry’s parents still die as they did in the original timeline, and Potter’s raised with love and guidance, instead of in a cupboard under the damn stairs.
Consequence: This Harry Potter has confidence in himself, a voracious appetite for knowledge, and most importantly, a foundation in the scientific method. Holy hell. So Harry Potter is headed to Hogwarts with a razor-sharp intellect (more on that later) and enough gumption to ask questions about the magic he’s being taught. Questions that lead to innovations and experiments that haven’t been considered in centuries.
Major Changes
According to Yudkowsky’s own First Rule of Fanfiction, “You can’t make Frodo a Jedi unless you give Sauron the Death Star.” Ergo, you can’t make Harry Potter a magic/science prodigy unless you make Voldemort a genius and give him the Evil Overlord List.
Yeah. Let that sink in. Harry’s going to be taking Hogwarts by storm, so his nemesis has to be every bit as dangerous. Here are a couple of tweaks that have shaken out before the story even begins:
- Voldemort still died when he tried to kill Harry, but his power base was significantly stronger before that (and his horcruxes were virtually impossible to recover).
- Dumbledore’s not nearly as reliable in this universe, leaning hard into the Obi-Wan Kenobi school of mentoring: that is, deliberately feeding his followers misinformation, playing the fool far too well, and being so eccentric that almost no one trusts him.
- Snape and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix have been working overtime to prevent Voldemort’s return— including poisoning the remains of Tom Riddle, Sr. to prevent being used in any resurrection spells.
- Simply put, Harry is vastly smarter here than his canon counterpart. It has everything to do with his being a you-know-what-if-you’ve-read-Deathly Hallows.
- Harry and Hermione both wind up in Ravenclaw, and Ron is practically a non-entity in the story proper.
- Harry has a cold, ruthless voice in his head that gives the worst kind of advice.
- Harry and Draco hit it off immediately, becoming fast friends. Yes, really.
I Can’t Cover The Big Beats
So. Harry gets sorted into Ravenclaw and immediately starts questioning just about everything he learns. He’s not trying to be petulant, he just wants to know HOW magic works. As a result, he starts brainstorming in his free time, and discovers how to do partial transfigurations: turning part of an object into something else.
He’s doing things with magic that have never been done, never been tried. This rightly freaks out Professor McGonagall and the others, but they can’t really discourage Harry, either. Wizards have a rule about trying to interfere with magic they can’t understand. Specifically: DON’T DO IT.
Almost from the start, it becomes clear that Less Wrong intends to wrap up the entire 7-book plot of the original series in just one school year. Events begin to accelerate at a seemingly natural pace, but by the time we’re halfway through the story, they’re on their way to spinning out of control.
I tried to break it down into a bullet list of meaningful events, but if you read half of them, you’d call me a liar. They sound preposterous, which fits, because they are preposterous. It all makes sense, but only taken sequentially from A to Z.
Take my word for it, and read the story. It is well worth your time.
Where We Stand Now
Quirrell succeeds in getting a hold of the Philosopher’s Stone, which has a property far more valuable than creating any Elixir of Life (that only extends your lifespan). It has the ability to make transfigurations permanent.
He takes Harry to a graveyard where he conjures up an altar, unearths a massive supply of Voldemort’s blood (saved for just such a purpose), and transfigures it into a new, immortal body for himself. Then he summons 37 Death Eaters.
The Mother of All Cliffhangers (and Pop Quizzes)
So Voldemort’s given Harry an ultimatum: teach Voldemort something he doesn’t know— “The Power Which The Dark Lord Knows Not”— and do it fast, or Harry is dead… and his loved ones will swiftly follow.
The Pop Quiz: Come up with a solution: what Harry can tell Voldemort to spare his life, and the lives of his loved ones. As a cheat sheet, here’s everything Harry knows.
There is no cavalry coming to the rescue. Harry has his wand, and nothing else. If he tries to raise it, the Death Eaters will kill him. If he tries to speak anything but Parseltongue (a language in which it’s impossible to lie), they’ll kill him.
If someone’s able to post a satisfactory response in the latest chapter’s reviews, the story will play out as it’s supposed to, and we get to read it through to the end.
If not? Well. We get “a shorter and sadder ending.”
I, for one, don’t WANT a shorter and sadder ending. I’m wracking my brain to think of a solution, and if you’ve read the story, I advise you to do the same. Quickly, as we have less than 60 hours.
YouTube Kids launches on Android and iOS
As expected, YouTube today launched YouTube Kids for Android and iOS, described as a “family-friendly destination” and “the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind.” You can download the new app for free, available only in the U.S., directly from Google Play and Apple’s App Store.
The app’s main selling point is that it only has content deemed appropriate for kids. In other words, the pitch to parents is very simple: This app will ensure that your kids can watch videos posted online without stumbling on clips you wouldn’t want them to see.
YouTube Kids Screenshot
The Google-owned company explains the app is designed to make it safer and easier for children to find videos on topics they want to explore. It is also a much more simplified and basic app (larger images, bold icons, and built-in voice search for those who have yet to learn how to type or even spell) compared to the main YouTube experience, though it still features videos, channels, and playlists.
There’s also a content focus for early literacy, including science and math tutorials, though YouTube stops short from calling it an educational tool. The parental controls include a timer for watch time (even if the content is filtered, you presumably don’t want your kid watching videos all day), as well as options to turn off background sounds and the search function (limiting viewing to just the pre-selected videos available on the home screen).
YouTube Kids App Icon
If the search is turned off, the main way to find videos is to browse the channels and playlists, which are organized into four categories: Shows, Music, Learning, and Explore. As for the actual content itself, YouTube promises videos from DreamWorks TV, Jim Henson TV, Mother Goose Club, Talking Tom and Friends, National Geographic Kids, Reading Rainbow, and Thomas the Tank Engine.
It’s too early to gauge whether YouTube Kids will take off. YouTube says that “the possibilities are as endless as a child’s curiosity” but at the end of the day, it comes down to what parents think. They have to download the app, block or delete the main YouTube app, and then encourage their kids to use YouTube for Kids.
We’ve heard for a long time that Google is working on apps aimed at children. Indeed, the company not only says that “this is the first step toward reimagining YouTube for families” but that this is “our first building block in tech for tykes.”
In short, you can expect more Google apps and services aimed squarely at the youngest generation. It’s no secret in the tech industry that if you get them while they’re young, they may just use your products for life.
Harry Potter Book Night hailed ‘a success’
HARRY Potter fans flocked to libraries in Risca and Blackwood earlier this month as part of the national Harry Potter Book Night.
More than 650 young readers from across Caerphilly county borough visited their local library for a magical evening of crafts, games and storytelling. The event, on Thursday, February 5, was organised by Bloomsbury Publishing. and saw libraries all over the borough take part.
Youngsters were transported from the cupboard under the stairsto Hogwarts when they stepped through the library doors, greeted by staff dressed as much-loved characters and villains from the books.
Wannabe wizards at Blackwood Library has the chance to watch some authentic magic up close from magician Jase the Ace, a regular visitor to the library.
Cllr Rhianon Passmore, cabinet member for education and lifelong learning, said: “I’m thrilled that the first Harry Potter Book Night has been such an outstanding success for libraries across the county borough.
The hard work of the staff clearly resulted in a magical experience for Harry Potter fans young and old. I’d encourage everybody to take a look at our action packed schedule of events taking place in our libraries throughout the year.”
Watch The Harry Potter Movie We All Secretly Wanted Them To Make!
A YouTube clip which recreates the Harry Potter series into a cheery and chipper teen romance is going viral again – and it’s a movie we’d love to see!
The faux movie trailer chronicles the romantic adventures of Harry and Ron at Hogwarts – and fails to mention any of the whole magic, good/evil, end of the magical world type stuff.
While the internet collectively screams “Make this movie, make this movie!” it seems that the clip actually hit the net in 2009.
Meh. Who cares! Make this movie!
‘Harry Potter’ Series Gives Sick Girl Reason To Live
Arguably one of the greatest fiction series ever written, Harry Potter contains one heartwarming, yet tear-jerking secret: one character in the fourth book is not only based on an actual person, she carries her name as well.
In a moving tribute, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling named a first-year Gryffindor student after Natalie McDonald, a 9-year-old Canadian who was suffering from terminal leukemia. Per Refinery29, in 1999, when Rowling was hard at work writing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, she received correspondence from Anne Kidder, a friend of the sick girl’s family. In said correspondence, she stated that McDonald was a dedicated fan and utilized the Harry Potter books as a means of escape from her harsh reality.
“[Natalie] was obsessed with the ‘Harry Potter’ books. They had been her respite from the hell of leukemia. And because I’m the sort of person who thinks there must be something I can do, I badgered Rowling’s publishers in London, sending them a letter and an e-mail and a fax for her.”
Kidder’s letter to Rowling arrived at Rowling’s home one day after she had left for vacation. According to Buzzfeed, Rowling expressed the sense of urgency she felt upon reading the correspondence.
“When I came back two weeks later and read it, I had a bad feeling I was too late. I tried to phone Annie but she wasn’t in, so I e-mailed both Natalie and her mother, Valerie — because Annie hadn’t told Valerie what she had done.”
In her e-mail to McDonald, Rowling shared plot secrets with the young girl, as well as her most favorite characters.
As the Harry Potter author indicated, McDonald’s mother had not been aware of what Kidder had done for her daughter. However, once she found out, McDonald wrote back to Rowling. The following year, the McDonald family traveled to Britain to meet with the beloved author. By then, the fourth Harry Potter installment had been published. During a ride on London’s tube (subway system), the family discovered that Natalie had been penned into Hogwarts history.
The tribute can be found on page 180 of the American version of The Goblet of Fire, when the ghost, Nearly Headless Nick, voices his concerns of obtaining a suitable incoming class for Gryffindor.
“‘I do hope this year’s batch of Gryffindors are up to scratch,’ said Nearly Headless Nick, applauding as ‘McDonald, Natalie!’ joined the Gryffindor table. ‘We don’t want to break our winning streak, do we?’”
NTT creates two-dimensional pictures that can move: Harry Potter photographs are now real!
One of my favorite things about the Harry Potter universe was the fact that all the photos and paintings of people moved around on their own. Sure it was only a tiny detail, but it was all those little details of how a wizarding world might actually work coming together that made the final product so amazing.
And now, our muggle world has taken one step closer to Harry’s: NTT, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, recently announced that they’ve developed a way to make normal, printed-out two-dimensional pictures look like they’re moving through a bit of magic of their own.
Well, I only have one thing to say: “You’re a wizard, NTT!”
The way NTT accomplishes this is by using a projector to shine a moving light onto a picture. Before we explain any more though, it might be a good idea to just see what the whole thing actually looks like:
NTT calls the above process “HenGenTou” (Deformation Lamps). It might not be the prettiest name, but it gets the point across: a lamp (the projector) is deforming (magic-ifying) a picture.
But how does it work? It’s quite simple actually. All NTT has done is trick our brains with an optical illusion. Whenever we watch a movie or TV, our brain puts together the “color,” “form,” and “motion” we see to make a moving image. NTT has simply split up the process: the “color” and “form” part are given by the two-dimensional picture, and the “motion” is given by the projector shining a moving grayscale version of the picture over the original. Our brain still puts it all together just the same, resulting in what looks like a moving image.
▼ Come on brain, it’s not a fish, it’s not a fish, it’s not a- oh wow! What a cool fish.
NTT has also developed a way of using HenGenTou on three-dimensional objects too. By using the same kind of projector, they can make it look like a three-dimensional object is moving, either with the object standing alone, or behind a transparent screen that the projector would shine on.
But, while that’s all fine and dandy, we have to ask: what are the real-world applications of this new technology?
▼ Well, besides obviously having better souvenir pictures from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
NTT plans on using HenTenGou for advertising (imagine giant moving billboards), interior design (turn your boring old floor into an aquarium, or project a cozy fire onto the wall), and art/entertainment (not quite sure exactly what this one’s going to be, but we can guess it will involve Hatsune Miku).
While the HenTenGou technology is still a long way away from being widely available, it’s still fun to think about all the possibilities it could be used for. Now if we could just somehow convince NTT to make flying brooms or invisibility cloaks their next priority, that would be awesome.
9 times JK Rowling has inspired Harry Potter fans
She may be one of the most successful authors in the world, but the notoriously private JK Rowling also manages to find time to share her innermost thoughts with Harry Potter fans. When she does, it doesn’t take long before the internet finds out, and thousands of people benefit from the Harry Potter author’s wisdom.
Here are some of the occasions Rowling proved as wise as her creation Professor Dumbledore:
1. ‘I know what it is like to be picked on’
When Sacia Flowers was 16, she summoned the courage to write to her favourite author. Harry Potter had given her strength: like him, Sacia’s drug addict parents were murdered when she was very young and she was bullied at school. As Washington newspaper the Herald wrote in 2010, “Both dreamed that they’d wake up one day and realize their misfortune was all a mistake.”
Rowling replied: “I know what it is like to be picked on, as it happened to me, too, throughout my adolescence. I can only wish that you have the same experience that I did, and become happier and more secure the older you get. Being a teenager can be completely horrible, and many of the most successful people I know felt the same way.”
2. ‘She’d be extremely proud’
After Emma Watson made members of the UN chuckle after interrupting her #HeForShe speech with the disclaimer, “You might be thinking who is this Harry Potter girl? And what is she doing up on stage at the UN. It’s a good question and trust me, I have been asking myself the same thing,” Rowling made Hermione’s opinion on the whole thing very clear:
3. ‘Gryffindor for you, my lad…’
Scottish Super fan Johnnie Blue gave Rowling a beautiful notebook with a heartfelt message inside last summer. A few weeks later she responded. Here’s an extract:”What you say about Harry helping you at what was clearly a dreadful time in your life means more to me than I can easily express. I freely confess that I loathe bullying and the way it is still so often ‘handled’ in schools. Your experience is shocking and disturbing and that you have turned out to be a compassionate, moral, highly motivated person is high testimony to your courage. Gryffindor for you, my lad…”
She also added that, as “a connoisseur”, his handwriting was “fantastic”.
4. ‘Happiness can be found even in the darkest times if one only remembers to turn on the light’
15-year-old Cassidy Stay read this line from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban at the memorial for her parents and four siblings after they were murdered by a gunman in Texas.
An online campaign to organise a meeting between Stay and Rowling led to the author writing her a letter, reportedly in the voice of Dumbledore, to whom the quote belongs. Although the contents of the letter remain private, a friend of Stay’s said that she received a care package from Rowling which included a wand, an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, a list of school supplies and a signed copy of the book she quoted.
5. ‘You will be determined’
In 1999, the same year Rowling published her third Harry Potter novel, she found time to respond to a questionnaire written to her shoes by American schoolgirl Emily Waldo. It’s more amusing than inspiring, but definitely worth a read.
Choice quotes include: “I know that her black sandals have met Kirk Douglas’s shoes, Donny Osmond’s shoes and Rosie O’Donnell’s shoes. Naturally, I don’t talk to them anymore.” Rowling also reveals, via her shoes, that her heroine was “writer and human rights activist Jessica Mitford”.
However, Rowling’s boots do offer advice to prospective owners: “You will be determined but also disorganised (a lot of my exercise comes from running back home to fetch things my owner has forgotten.)
6. ‘My truthful answer to you…’
In 2007, Rowling announced what some fans had always speculated: that Dumbledore was gay. In New York’s Carnegie Hall, at a reading of her seventh and final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Rowling said something that “elicited a huge reaction and prolonged ovation”, according to fansite The Leaky Cauldron. Their transcript of her speech reads like this:
“My truthful answer to you… I always thought of Dumbledore as gay. [ovation.] …Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was. To an extent, do we say it excused Dumbledore a little more because falling in love can blind us to an extent? But, he met someone as brilliant as he was, and rather like Bellatrix he was very drawn to this brilliant person, and horribly, terribly let down by him. Yeah, that’s how I always saw Dumbledore. In fact, recently I was in a script read through for the sixth film, and they had Dumbledore saying a line to Harry early in the script saying I knew a girl once, whose hair… [laughter]. I had to write a little note in the margin and slide it along to the scriptwriter, ‘Dumbledore’s gay!’ [laughter] ‘If I’d known it would make you so happy, I would have announced it years ago!'”
7. ‘But of course’
Rowling openly supports homosexual fans – and admonishes homophobic ones. This tweet was in direct response to a fan asking if there were openly LGBT students at Hogwarts. Meanwhile, when a ‘former’ fan accused Rowling of ‘blindsiding’ readers with the revelation that Dumbledore was gay, she responded:
8. ‘The most important thing is to READ as much as you can’ 
In 2004, Snitch Seeker forum user Kim Felton posted a letter JK Rowling had sent her, in which she answered a number of questions about the books and their characters. In answer to Felton’s question, What advice would you give to young writers? Rowling wrote:
“When writing I think a good starting point is what you know – for instance, your own feelings, or subjects you know a lot about. The most important thing is to READ as much as you can. This will teach you to recognise good writing, and by analysing what you like best, you can find out how to improve your own writing.”
9. Writing Natalie McDonald into Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
There is only one character in the Harry Potter books who was named after a real person: Natalie McDonald. Rowling had her sorted into Gryffindor, to the applause of the house ghost Nearly Headless Nick, in The Goblet of Fire after months of correspondence with McDonald’s mother Valerie.
Natalie, who was from Toronto, died aged nine after suffering from leukemia. Before she died, a family friend, Annie Kidder, contacted Rowling’s publisher to tell the author about Natalie and how much she loved the Harry Potter books. After failing to get hold of the family on the phone, Rowling wrote Natalie an email, but it reached the family a day after she died.
According to Kidder, Rowling’s email “didn’t patronise Natalie, or tell her everything was OK; she addressed her as a human being who was going through a hard time. She talked about her books and her characters and which ones she liked best.”
Rowling and Valerie became friends, eventually meeting. But not before the author included McDonald in her fourth novel, something Valerie only discovered when she read the book.
New DVDs feature top performances from Jake Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Renner
This week’s new DVD releases include two films that have top-notch acting performances overlooked by the Academy.
“Nightcrawler,” Grade B+: Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance as a hustler looking for work selling footage to local TV news falls somewhere between Norman Bates and Gordon Gekko in his entrepreneurial efforts.
At times he seems driven by sociopathic tendencies, while other times his work borders on the madness of a great artist. The combination makes Bloom a character to be feared, but also the guy you want wading into the latest carnage to get the story.
Dan Gilroy is fearless in his writing and direction. He never backs off from making his main characters morally bankrupt and overly zealous when it comes to the job. These are not people to like as much as fear and respect for their lack of boundaries.
“Kill the Messenger,” Grade B+: Although the story deals with an important moment in history, the film finds its power in the personal story of those involved — the heralded and eventually crucified San Jose Mercury News reporter Gary Webb (Jeremy Renner).
Renner finds the perfect beat to show the stages of Webb’s rise and fall. At the start, he plays Webb with the kind of optimistic enthusiasm writers have when they latch on to a big story. Just as quickly, Renner shifts to a reserved humbleness after his story becomes a sensation. What makes Renner’s work so masterful is that he’s equally as believable when Webb’s life and career crash.
“Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,” Grade: C+: This movie banks heavily on the natural charms of Steve Carell and the motherly ways of Jennifer Garner to win over an audience.
Just as in movies like “Holes” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” the key is how much moviegoers will like the movie’s central young star. Ed Oxenbould comes across as an average kid, a trait that must make his family happy but is not the best description for the person at the core of a feature film. The audience would be more sympathetic to Alexander if his own bad day was filled with more disasters.
“Laggies,” Grade B-: In lesser hands, “Laggies” would have been little more than an after-school special about the uncertainties highschoolers have about their future, emotional connections and family. That perspective is offered through Annika (Chloe Grace Moretz ), a confused teen living with her divorced father, Craig (Sam Rockwell).
The film never gets overly deep in its examination of generational and parental frustrations. It’s the dependable Moretz, Keira Knightley and Rockwell who get the most out of the script and make this production work.
ALSO NEW ON DVD THIS WEEK
“Addicted”: Sharon Leal portrays a woman who puts her career and family life in jeopardy when she has an affair with a painter.
“We Are Giants”: Filmmaker Greg Barker targets dilemma of justice and freedom through different mediums.
“Love at First Bite/Once Bitten”: Double feature of the George Hamilton and Lauren Hutton comedies.
“Mama’s Family: Season 6”: Vicki Lawrence stars in this spinoff from the “Carol Burnett Show.”
“Turbo Charged Chugger”: The latest release in the “Chuggington” series.
“Poker Night”: Detective is caught in sadistic game. Ron Perlman stars.
“Dora and Friends: Into the City”: Dora and her friends go on adventures.
“Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Complete Series”: Includes 32 episodes of the TV series.
“Nurse Jackie: Season 6”: Jackie (Edie Falco ) enjoys her sobriety.
“Batman: Season 2: Part One”: The Dynamic Duo continue to protect Gotham City.
“Syncopation”: William Dieterle’s 1942 musical feature with Benny Goodman.
“The Song”: Romantic drama inspired by the Song of Solomon.
“Strawberry Shortcake: Snowberry Days”: Playtime is interrupted when someone notices that the squirrels are low on supplies.
“Frankenstein vs. the Mummy”: Two monsters face off in an epic battle.
“Tarzan”: Animated tale of the jungle lord featuring the voice of Kellan Lutz.
“RPG”: Rutger Hauer plays a multimillionaire who faces battle for survival.
“Open Sesame: The Story of Seeds”: Documentary on what can be done to protect the source of nearly all food.
“EARTH A New Wild”: Examination of the way humans are connected to wild animals.
“The Lookalike”: Frantic search starts when the obsession of a drug lord dies.
“Brotherhood of Blades”: Young emperor’s determined to take down a major threat to his people.
“101 Dalmatians Diamond Edition”: The animated tale of Cruella De Vil and all of the puppies has been re-released.
“Kink”: Documentary on sexual extremes.
“Quiero Amarte”: The telenovela is a remake of “Imperio de Cristal.”
“A Mouse Tale”: Magic crystal must be found to stop an attack by evil rodents.
“Transformers Rescue Bots: Jurassic Adventure”: Dino-themed collection of mystery tales.
“Digimon Fusion”: Includes all 30 episodes from the first season.
“Foreclosure”: Family deals with a haunted house. Michael Imperioli stars.
“Walker, Texas Ranger: War Zone”: Walker must deal with the death of a close friend.
“Power Rangers Super Megaforce – The Silver Warrior”: Rangers are joined by an unexpected ally.
“Predestination”: Temporal agent travels through time to stop future killers.
“Olive Kitteridge”: Cable mini-series starring Frances McDormand.
“Why not give Potter a chance?”
Is the ‘Spiderman’ cast announced yet?!….oohh….i was talking about this with one of my friends…………
Tom: “Why can’t they choose actors who the world actually accepted as superheroes…”
Me: ” ….what about ‘Harry Potter’….?”
Tom: “……..ya why not something like that?!!??!!…..”
Me: “….What about Dumbledore……he will be the best one…no competition you know…….hehehaha…”
Athough I was joking……then it dawned upon me how cool the idea really is…!!!…
No….no…not Dumbledore….hehehe…..but why not ‘Daniel Radcliffe’??!!!
I could’nt find anyone else appropriate………what do u think, eh?
And then i search in the internet….well u know…there are many rumours…on it…including Radcliffe taken for the ‘Webslinger’ role by ‘Sony’..i mean can you believe that??!
Daniel Radcliffe.
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe, born on 23 July, 1989, is an English actor who rose to prominance as the title charector in thd ‘Harry Potter’ film’s. He made his acting debut at 10 years of age in BBC’s television film ‘ David Copperfield’. At age of 11, he was cast for ‘Harry Potter’ and starred in the series for ten years until it’s release in 2011. He has won several awards, especially from MTv for the ‘best actor’. – Wikipedia.
This is all i have got to tell you……i believe that radcliffe has enough experience in the ‘superhero world’ to star for ‘Spiderman’……he looks perfect in the suit tooo!!!….i could’nt find anyone else so perfect….but still…i have no right. I just suggested him because i’m a ‘Hardcore Harry Potter fan’…..i know you guyz out there would contradict me saying that spiderman deserves a more better candidate, but still i have the right to say my opinions , have’nt I ?
Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit game to release in U.S. this spring
SnitchSeeker received exclusive word from USAopoly that the Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit game will be released in the United States this April, while attending this weekend’s New York Toy Fair.
USAopoly revealed to SnitchSeeker that the game, seen below, will be the next of their brand-Trivial Pursuit game collection (previous sets include Doctor Who, Power Rangers and World of Warcraft editions. There are 600 questions in the game specific to the Harry Potter film series. Unfortunately no place of purchase, including online is available yet.
Quickfire: Harry Potter star Tom Felton
Tom gives us the low down on his super-sexy yo-yo skills and the art of making relationships work (compromise, boys) – and his dreams of being James Bond
Your guilty pleasure? Wearing my PJs all day. I’d be in them now if a film crew weren’t here.
Career plan B? International rap superstar.
Who would play you in the movie of your life? Leonardo DiCaprio. He may be a bit too expensive, though.
Your most memorable kiss? The first one with my lady [stunt artist Jade Olivia]. It was outside her house with her dad watching out of the window, I’m sure!
Biggest bugbear? People who say ‘like’, after every, like, word that they, like, say. I’m sure I do it too, though.
As a child you wanted to be? James Bond. Still do, really.
Who is your best friend? Um, my mum? No, my girlfriend.
Secret to a happy relationship? Compromise. Mainly on the male side.
Your USP? My inability to say no. It’s not really a selling point but it’s definitely true. It can get me into some pretty sticky situations.
What would be your last meal on earth? My mum’s shepherd’s pie with maybe 15 yorkshire puddings and a pint of gravy. To drink I would have a bottle of nice whisky.
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party? Ricky Gervais and Stephen Fry.
Advice to teenage self? Don’t grow up!
Your big break? Harry Potter, of course [Tom played Draco Malfoy].
Secret skill? I’m really good on the yo-yo. When there was a big trend for yo-yos a few years ago I was king – the girls flocked to see my yo-yo skills in the playground.
On a night off we’d find you… Kicking back, watching movies, having a few beers with the boys.
Starstruck moment? Seeing Pierce Brosnan at Pinewood Studios – he was filming Goldeneye at the time.
Hangover cure? Hair of the dog.
What did you have for breakfast today? A ‘greasy spoon’ fry-up and a large coffee.
Your karaoke song of choice? I murdered ‘Yesterday’ by The Beatles as a kid.
Number one on your bucket list? Open the batting at Lord’s.
What would be your secret superpower? Maybe having a flying broomstick. That would be awesome.
Motto? Don’t take life or yourself too seriously.
Your coffee order? Large mocha, extra shot. Or extra couple of shots. Or a quad-espresso if I’m feeling slow.
Worst job you’ve ever done? I worked at a fishery for 18 months but I actually quite enjoyed it.
First record you bought? Green Day’s Dookie. I’m pretty sure I stole it from my brother rather than buying it, though.
Which Mr Man are you? Mr Grumpy in the morning, and Mr Tickle in the evening.
Signature dance move? The awkward dad bop.
Money or sex? Ideally both.
Optimist or pessimist? I’m optimistically pessimistic.
Style icon? Prince Charles.
Favourite villain? Dr Evil.
Where would you time travel to? Maybe just 100 years ahead. I’d like to know how things work out…
Most loved fairy tale? Jack and the Beanstalk.
Most underrated virtue? Good manners.
Your celebrity crush? Keira Knightley.
- Tom is starring in new US drama Murder in the First, which is on Fridays at 10pm on Fox
Toy Fair 2015: Funko Movies – Harry Potter, The Matrix, Frozen, More
We’ve looked at Funko’s Marvel lineup, and the TV series they’re covering in 2015. Now, it’s time to go to the big screen with a day at the movies.
We won’t repeat the Age of Ultron figures already featured in the Marvel gallery – click the link above to see those – because there are more than enough other images to show you without them.
Frozen is still a juggernaut for Disney, and a Funko rep told me at the show that it “has surprised even us, with how strong all these continue to sell.” Of course, that means there’s a second wave of Frozen POP Vinyls coming, plus the just-debuted mini blind-box vinyls. Funko also told us there are “other waves in development,” and that likely, though they couldn’t confirm, includes figures specifically based off the looks in the new short, Frozen Fever, premiering in front of the new live-action Cinderella (which also gets its first two POP figures, Cinderella and Gus Gus in the glass slipper.
If that cuteness isn’t enough for you, we’ll stop burying the lede here: Harry Potter Vinyls are coming. The ones on display were hand-painted prototypes, something Funko doesn’t usually show the public, let alone allow people to take pictures of, but the company was so excited to announce the new line that they went for it at the show. The first series features the obvious characters: Harry, Ron, Hermione, an over-sized Hagrid, and Professors Dumbledore and Snape. Funko also promised that yes, they have “many” waves of these figures on the way. “Now that we have the license, we’re going to make a lot of these, if I had to guess,” a rep told me.
Pixar’s Inside Out and Cars get their own lines this year. Disney’s Tomorrowland gets not just POP Vinyls, but also the “Reaction” figure line. Those figures are designed, built, and packaged similarly to the classic Kenner action figures, and this property is one of the first new lines in that brand.
The Matrix and the Universal Monsters, plus Domo-style Ghostbuster round out the POP! Vinyl lineup for movies for 2015. There will be new Minions based on their summer film, but no pictures were allowed of those just yet.
Other Reaction figures include Star Trek and Fifth Element. The new Vinyl Idolz line is almost entirely film-focused, with Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, and two thirds of the “Coronetto Trilogy,” Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead all in action.
Finally, the amazing Rocketeer legacy figure shows off Funko’s high-end current action figure chops.
Check out the gallery of film-focused Funko fun here, and start your Funko Fund now!
SPELLBOUND: Youngsters enjoy first ever national Harry Potter Day
Jake Singleton, 10, Tom Young, 10, and Leo Lee, 11
YOUNGSTERS were treated to a spellbinding morning in Oswaldtwistle as part of the first ever national Harry Potter Day.
Budding wizards and witches from St Paul’s CE Primary School took part in the event at the town’s library in Union Road.
The Year 6 children took part in a specially organised treasure hunt as well as being given the chance to design and make their own magical hat.
Members of the library’s reading group read extracts from the series’ first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, to the 17-strong audience.
The morning was finished off with a Harry Potter-themed quiz before the pupils headed back for afternoon lessons.
Abdul Kaeratkar, the library’s manager, said: “It was a fantastic event, all the children had a great time.
“They had fun making their own hats and there were some very creative designs and finished products. It was the first Harry Potter-themed event we have done and it was a real success.
“We will definitely hold it again next year bigger and better, and maybe get another school to attend so that more children can enjoy the experience.
Harry Potter Movie Spin Off ‘Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them’ Soon To Become A Movie; Casting Auditions Underway?
Plans of turning JK Rowling’s Harry Potter spin off book “Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them” into a movie has been announced since last August in 2013. However, recent reports from WhatCulture said that there is an ongoing audition for cast and characters that will join the first movie spin-off.
The media outlet further said that the spin-offs will be produced by Warner Bros in the next-five year period. The trilogy will also be directed by David Yates with David Heyman as the movie producer.
Filming of the movie is said to take place sometime August. Studio filming will take place in Leavesden in the UK with some scenes filmed in New York.
Cinemablend, cited some requirements by the talent agency, Acting-Auditions.org, for those willing to audition. First, they must have the necessary work permit documents to work in London and the U.K. Further, the talent scout also provided more details as to how to contact, Fiona Weir, the one who will be receiving headshots and resumes.
No further details saying what specific roles the auditions are revealed yet. The only information to date is that the film is centered on the world of magizoologist Newt Scamander, the author of the book which three friends–Ron, Harry and Hermione has read. This means, though, that the story will be set seventy years before those three came into being, when Scamander is still 23.
“Although it will be set in the worldwide community of witches and wizards where I was so happy for seventeen years, ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but an extension of the wizarding world. The laws and customs of the hidden magical society will be familiar to anyone who has read the Harry Potter books or seen the films, but Newt’s story will start in New York, seventy years before Harry’s gets underway,” JK Rowling said in a previous interview via iSchoolGuide.
Updates about the script were first released on November saying that it is ‘mostly finished. However, graphic designers Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, recently, hinted that the they are still developing the script, Cinemablend said.
Meanwhile, a report from Snitchsneeker said that the rumors about the casting call are false as announced by Warner Bros and Harry Potter fans will have to wait for more updates.
An Analysis in Grief: 10 Harry Potter Deaths We Did Not Get Over
It’s still a sore subject for many. Even after all this time, the very mention of The Half-Blood Prince or The Deathly Hallows can ignite a twinge of pain for Potterheads around the world. Seven years later (or three years later, depending on how you look at it), we’re still not over the tragic deaths of these characters.
[Editor’s Note: Obviously, spoilers ahead. But seriously, if you haven’t read the books, you’ll want to go do that ASAP anyways. Seriously. Go. Do it.]
10. Cedric Diggory – The Goblet of Fire
From far away, above his head, he heard a high, cold voice say, “Kill the spare.”
A swishing noise and a second voice, which screeched the words to the night:
“Avada Kedavra!”
A blast of green light blazed through Harry’s eyelids, and he heard something heavy fall to the ground beside him; the pain in his scar reached such a pitch that he retched, and then it diminished; terrified of what he was about to see, he opened his stinging eyes.
Cedric was lying spread-eagled on the ground beside him. He was dead.
Cedric wasn’t necessarily a character who was entirely integral to the overarching plot of Harry’s world. In fact, I feel pretty comfortable saying that, other than the fact that he was a noble, outstanding student, he was a pretty unremarkable character to begin with. What was important about Cedric, though, was the circumstances of his death.
The issue of Harry vs. Lord Voldemort has always been a personal one for Harry, for reasons which are painfully obvious. Year after year, we see a myriad of run-ins with Voldemort and his servants; but up until the end of Goblet of Fire, no one in close proximity to Harry (as a young adult) had died. It’s such a shocking moment; the transportation to a graveyard, a command uttered to Wormtail, the shout of a curse. And then just like that, before anyone really knows what is happening, Cedric Diggory ceases to exist.
With Cedric’s death came the responsibility of reinforcing personal conflict once more for Harry, but also for us, the readers. Cedric is the first notable character death that Harry is confronted with up until that point within the series, and the event conveys two things for us: 1) We can pinpoint this precise scene as the moment that that shit gets real for both Harry and the wizarding world as a whole, and as readers, we are now involved on even more of a personal level; and 2) Cedric’s death shows us first-hand the extent of Voldemort’s cruelty and his blatant disregard for human life, which unveils the true dangers of Voldemort’s return.
Up until this point, we were readers in a magical fairytale where the villain is defeated at the end of the book and the heroes emerge unharmed to return to normal life afterward. JK Rowling shocked us all with Cedric’s death because, by the end of Goblet of Fire, he felt like one of our classmates, too.
9. Mad-Eye Moody – The Deathly Hallows
“Oh… thanks, Ron… I’m sorry….” She blew her nose and hiccupped. “It’s just so awf-ful, isn’t it? R-right after Dumbledore… I j-just n-never imagined Mad-Eye dying, somehow, he seemed so tough!”
“Yeah, I know,” said Ron, giving her a squeeze. “But you know what he’d say to us if he was here?”
“‘C-constant vigilance,’” said Hermione, mopping her eyes.
Moody has been around the block and has the scars to prove it. Between the First Wizarding War and his years of service as a ferocious Auror and member of the Order of the Phoenix, Moody is a hardened veteran who has literally sacrificed parts of his body (and probably his mind) in order to stand against the oppressive Dark Arts and those who would choose to wield them. Brendan Gleeson says, “I see him as formidable warrior who is somewhat past his best, but who is battle-hardened and can still be effective. He has learned the hard way that life can be unforgiving and is impatient of namby-pamby half-measures, particularly among the kids. He knows they must be at their best to survive. He’s Mr. Tough Love with a vengeance. I don’t think he was without genuine affection for them, though, He’d never admit it, of course.”
In his time with the Order of the Phoenix during the Second Wizarding War, Moody placed Harry’s safety above all else, and put himself in grave danger to ensure Harry’s preservation – not unlike the rest of the order’s members. Mad-Eye served as a watchful protector to Harry with a curmudgeonous yet authoritative presence during their time together. Mad-Eye knew that might lose his life over his will to protect Harry at any cost, and in the end, he met that cause face-to-face without hesitancy.
8. Hedwig – The Deathly Hallows
“No – HELP!” The broomstick spun too, but he just managed to seize the strap of his rucksack and the top of the cage as the motorbike swung the right way up again. A second’s relief, and then another burst of green light. The owl screeched and fell to the floor of the cage.
“No – NO!”
The motorbike zoomed forward; Harry glimpsed hooded Death Eaters scattering as Hagrid blasted through their circle.
“Hedwig – Hedwig –”
But the owl lay motionless and pathetic as a toy on the floor of her cage.
Given that Harry spent much of his childhood under the Dursley’s stairs, Hedwig was Harry’s first real companion before his full initiation to the wizarding world. This gives her an incredibly important role within Harry’s life, as he never before had a friend, or even a pet, to speak of. Hedwig remained one of Harry’s closest companions until her death during the Battle of the Seven Potters, in which she was struck by The Killing Curse while attempting to protect Harry from swarming Death Eaters.
In an interview with The Leaky Cauldron, JK Rowling said, “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!” It’s safe to say that anyone who has ever experienced the loss of a pet or a close friend understands the turmoil Harry experienced with Hedwig’s death.
Did you know that the most undoubtedly recognizable piece of music within in the Harry Potter soundtrack – commonly referred to as the general Harry Potter theme – is officially called ‘Hedwig’s Theme’?
7 & 6. Nymphadora Tonks & Remus Lupin – The Deathly Hallows
He turned away and ran up the marble staircase. Lupin, Tonks… He yearned not to feel… He wished he could rip out his heart, his innards, everything that was screaming inside him…
Tonks and Lupin’s relationship endures a tumultuous beginning – the subject of love for these two is a difficult one. After months of Tonks pleading with Lupin over her feelings only to be turned away out of the werewolf prejudice he feared the community would unleash on the Tonks family, Remus and Tonks finally get together and really give their relationship a try.
The Lupins are married and finally settle into their own happiness, even with the world falling down around them due to Voldemort’s return. They have a baby named Teddy, in honor of Tonks’ father; but as events turn bleak during Deathly Hallows, Remus does not appear to be himself. In one particularly alarming confrontation with Harry, Remus is compelled to run from his family to aid Harry and The Order, clearly out of concern for his loved ones – but, at this point in Remus’ story, he was also battling with his inner demons, his sense of self-worth, and a fearful adjustment to his new responsibilities. Harry sees this in Lupin, and gives him a most excellent, heart-felt, and alarmingly harsh scolding about his responsibilities to his family, even going so far as to call Lupin a coward. It’s an amazing sort of “teacher turned student” moment, and vice versa, between the two characters, because we all know (including Lupin) that Harry is right – which is why he returns to Tonks. We later hear Lupin in a radio communication between The Order and friends saying that Harry’s instinct is “nearly always right,” which we can very clearly take to mean that he was glad he returned to Tonks.
During the final battle battle at Hogwarts, Tonks is so wrought with worry for Lupin’s well-being that she leaves the baby at home in order to travel to Hogwarts to ensure Lupin’s safety and to fight alongside her husband and friends. Sadly in the course of battle, Lupin and Tonks both meet their deaths, but Tonks’ demise is perhaps the most tragica of all. Her death could have been easily avoided had she stayed with Teddy; but in her death we see that that if she can’t live with Lupin, she can’t live at all.
So why did JK Rowling decide to let the Lupins meet their deaths? The answer is a cruel one:
“I wanted to kill parents,” she said, quickly adding that sounded ‘terrible’ to say. “I wanted there to be an echo of what happened to Harry just to show the absolute evil of what Voldemort’s doing.”
It’s devastating theme that recurs within Harry’s world. Parents die (the Potters) or are incapacitated (the Longbottoms); parental figures disappear (Sirius, Dumbledore); orphans are left in the wake of the destruction of war (Harry, Neville).
“I think one of the most devastating things about war is the children left behind,” Rowling said. “As happened in the first war when Harry’s left behind, I wanted us to see another child left behind. And it made it very poignant that it was their newborn son.”
It isn’t difficult to see why the deaths of The Lupins broke our hearts. Two people battle alongside their friends and loved ones against against the darkest wizard the world has ever seen, leaving a little orphaned boy behind to naught but his godfather. Sounds a bit familiar, doesn’t it?
5. Dobby – The Deathly Hallows
The elf swayed slightly, stars reflected in his wide, shining eyes. Together, he and Harry looked down at the silver hilt of the knife protruding from the elf’s heaving chest. “Dobby – no – HELP!” Harry bellowed toward the cottage, toward the people moving there. “HELP!” He did not know or care whether they were wizards or Muggles, friends or foes; all he cared about was that a dark stain was spreading across Dobby’s front, and that he had stretched out his own arms to Harry with a look of supplication. Harry caught him and laid him sideways on the cool grass.
“Dobby, no, don’t die, don’t die –”
The elf’s eyes found him, and his lips trembled with the effort to form words.
“Harry . . . Potter . . .”
And then with a little shudder the elf became quite still, and his eyes were nothing more than great glassy orbs, sprinkled with light from the stars they could not see.
Let’s all be honest with ourselves: Dobby was a little shit when we first met him. Dropping cakes on visiting ladies, stealing letters from Harry’s friends, blocking entry to Platform 9 3/4, tampering with bludgers to turn them murderous. Oh, Dobby. Even if you had the best of intentions, you perplexed us all with your harmful mischief!
Despite his unusual manner of “helping,” Dobby managed to save Harry and his friends’ lives on numerous occasions. For all his pestilence, we see Dobby come to Harry’s aid in many ways, from providing Harry with Gillyweed, to tracking down Mungungus Fletcher in search of Horcruxes, right down to appearing in the depths of Malfoy Manor in order to rescue the seven captives out of the clutches of communing Death Eaters in a selfless act which ultimately costs him his life.
MTV News quoted JK Rowling addressing Dobby’s death to a group of school children during a Q&A.
“I suppose you could say very prosaically that Dobby had to die so he couldn’t tell Harry who had sent him,” Rowling explained, referencing Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus’s brother who Harry doesn’t learn about until much later on in the novel. “But that’s not why. For me, Dobby’s death woke Harry up to what he was doing.”
“[Dobby was] someone that was very vulnerable and really entirely guiltless in anything concerned with the wizarding world – who wasn’t even a wizard,” Rowling said. “It was another senseless murder in the same way that Cedric Diggory’s death was senseless, purely because they were there. And I think there’s something particularly chilling about entirely innocent victims of violence. It woke Harry up.”
Though Dobby may have been a throwaway character like Cedric, throughout the books we witness his growth in massive ways, such as overcoming obstacles in mistreatment; wrestling with his compelling nature to do the right thing even if it will cause him great physical pain; struggling with belonging to essentially a slave race in the wizarding world; and helping his friends at all costs against what he knows to be wrong. Thus, when Dobby’s death hits us in such an unexpected way, it made it so hard to accept – especially during such an intense, critical part of the story.
Harry’s response to Dobby’s death – digging a grave without magic in order to exercise respect – gave us time to process the event and grieve alongside Harry, but it still wasn’t enough to help us get over it.
4. Fred Weasley – The Deathly Hallows
And Hermione was struggling to her feet in the wreckage, and three redheaded men were grouped on the ground where the wall had blasted apart. Harry grabbed Hermione’s hand as they staggered and stumbled over stone and wood.
“No – no – no!” someone was shouting. “No! Fred! No!”
And Percy was shaking his brother, and Ron was kneeling beside them, and Fred’s eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.
Fred Weasley is a staple character we never thought we’d lose. I think many of us readers thought – or rather hoped – that the entire Weasley family might have had some sort of protective charm around them which would save them all from untimely deaths.
There have been many speculative theories which suggest that a death in the Weasley family has been foreshadowed as early as Ginny Weasley’s encounter with a young Tom Riddle in Chamber of Secrets. In Order of the Phoenix, Harry sees Arthur Weasley being attacked by a snake in his mind and alerts others in time to save Arthur’s life. In that same book, Molly Weasley attempts to battle a boggart, but is unable to cope with the forms of dead Weasley family members that the beast generates, and is ultimately forced to accept help from a fellow Order member to subdue the creature as she sobs from being exposed to such horrific images. In Half-Blood Prince, Harry saves Ron’s life after he has been poisoned, and early in Deathly Hallows, George loses an ear to a Sectumsempra curse cast by Snape, which some fans interpreted as foreshadowing of an even larger loss for George to come. Fred’s death, though outrageously tragic, does however spark an important turn for Percy’s character, particularly in his rebellion against the Ministry and a swift return to the Weasley family after a willful exile throughout the course of several books.
Which brings us to our question, “Why Fred and not George?” JK Rowling addresses this concern for us:
“I always knew it was going to be Fred, and I couldn’t honestly tell you why,” Rowling said.
Rowling guessed most people would have expected George to die before Fred because Fred was the ringleader, George the “gentler” twin. “Fred is normally the funnier but also the crueler of the two. So they might have thought that George would be the more vulnerable one and, therefore, the one to die.”
She didn’t make her decision because it was easier to kill one twin over the other, however. “Either one of them would have been terrible to kill,” she said. “It was awful killing Fred. I hated that.”
She hated it, but doesn’t regret it. “The deaths were all very, very considered,” said Rowling. “I don’t kill even fictional characters lightly.”
James Phelps also had to offer some words on how Fred’s death affected him as the portraying actor. On filming his character’s death scene:
“It was surreal. I feel like a really close friend has died. It was more like a Saving Private Ryan scene than Harry Potter, so it was kind of cool, because every guy wants to be in an action movie and that’s what this is. […] I think that it was an emotional day for everyone when we shot Fred lying there. We did about five takes total, and then Oliver was done because it had emotionally drained him. It’s really hard to put yourself in that position and imagine that kind of thing.”
Throughout our journey with Harry, we come to feel like the Weasley’s are our own adoptive family, taking us in to be tucked under their wing with the warmth and care and love that Harry had never really fully experienced before. From the first time we meet the family as Molly frantically attempts to usher her children through Platform 9 3/4, to Harry being welcomed into The Burrow, to Fred and George bestowing Harry with the Marauder’s Map, to everyone in The Order pledging their lives to ensure Harry’s safety, we have always felt as though we could rely on the Weasleys for comfort, acceptance, and reliability. Any family member missing from the Weasleys would make the family forever incomplete, which was why Fred was such an incredibly difficult loss for us to handle.
3. Sirius Black – The Order of the Phoenix
It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arch.
Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather’s wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind, then fell back into place.
I refused to acknowledge that Sirius was dead. I did not and could not accept such a devastation. I speculated all sorts of methods or spells or enchantments that might be able to bring Sirius back, or to undo the Killing Curse Bellatrix inflicted upon him. Maybe the Time Turner used to save him in Prisoner of Azkaban – couldn’t we just have Hermione fetch it to undo it? Please?
In a string of potential father figures, friends, and adults introduced for Harry to look up to, Sirius stands as a symbol of a life Harry might have known, and in a way, represents that same life partially restored to him. It would never be whole and it would never be what it should have been, but it was something, and that was enough for Harry; it was enough for us readers. It was that second chance at a family that Harry always wanted, even if it wasn’t going to be perfect.
Sirius’s character progression is really quite remarkable. Kept secret until his third year at Hogwarts, we discover first that Sirius is accused of murdering Harry’s parents; second that he may well yet be in pursuit of Harry himself; and third, perhaps that most genius element to the confusion of all, was that Sirius had been named Harry’s godfather before his parents died. We take a journey with Harry from being absolutely frightened of this escaped murderous lunatic to believing the stories he is telling (with aid of Lupin, of course), to becoming incredibly fond and sympathetic to the troubles he has endured because of Wormtail. The journey continues as Prisoner of Azkaban ultimately ends in the salvation of Sirius’ very existence, and Sirius continues to show Harry the love and support of a true godfather from afar, oftentimes risking being caught or discovered in his attempts to make contact with Harry.
In his end, though, Sirius leads himself to his death thanks to both his pride and inclination to oblige risk. Bellatrix Lestrange is a powerful, ruthless witch, which is something that Sirius himself may have known best of all; yet during their final battle, he has an air of egomania as he eggs his villainous cousin on with taunts like, “Come on, you can do better than that!” and laughter as they battle. Perhaps it was those very qualities of his that gave us confidence in his character, those qualities which made us believe that he’d never leave us and that he surely couldn’t die. Apart from Cedric’s death, I would say that the death of Sirius definitely woke Harry up the most to the consequences of Voldemort’s return.
JK Rowling had her reasons for cutting Sirius from the book after reigniting Harry’s hope for some sort of semblance of belonging to a family:
“It is more satisfying I think for the reader if the hero [Harry] has to go on alone and to give him too much support [Sirius] makes his job too easy, sorry.”
It’s a harsh reality, to be certain. But in the end, we trust that Rowling knows Harry best, and, of course, that she knows her stories best. Keeping Sirius alive would have been a little too good to be true for all of the recklessness he imposed and the danger to come, but it would have made Harry a little more whole.
2. Albus Dumbledore – The Half-Blood Prince
Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore.
“Avada Kedavra!”
A jet of green light shot from the end of Snape’s wand and hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest. Harry’s scream of horror never left him; silent and unmoving, he was forced to watch as Dumbledore was blasted into the air: for a split second he seemed to hang suspended beneath the shining skull, and then he fell slowly backwards, like a great rag doll, over the battlements and out of sight.
Oh, Dumbledore. Sweet, charming, kooky, odd, mystery-riddled Dumbledore. You were one of the first wizards we met; you filled us with questions and were selective with your answers. You enabled us to want more, to learn about your half-moon spectacles and your purple robe and your Put-Outer (the same device you later bequeath to Ron!). Where would we be without the kindly and clever wisdom you imparted upon Harry throughout six books, which we in turn borrowed in order to apply to our own lives?
Dumbledore is without a doubt the most unmistakeable father figure within the series. From the moment we meet him, he is awash with care and concern for Harry’s well-being, even if it means making difficult choices and perhaps sacrifices. Under Dumbledore’s own direction, Harry suffered at the hands of the Dursleys for his entire pre-Hogwarts life, which Dumbledore deemed necessary in order to keep Harry away from an otherwise astoundingly pressuring life. We can’t always know the immediate wisdom of Dumbledore’s choices or directives, but as he allows Harry (and the readers) to come to their own conclusions, we grow to trust him in his astute advice throughout the books – just as he trusts Harry to make the right decisions, which is something he stresses even in and after his own demise, as Harry searches for horcruxes to destroy Voldemort.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Dumbledore himself is that, quite shockingly, he has flaws and secrets much darker than Harry could have imagined. The genius surrounding his character is that, while we often question his methods, we trust that he knows what he’s doing and that he is right. But the confrontation Harry has with Aunt Muriel at Bill and Fleur’s wedding about Dumbledore’s past leaves us questioning every conclusion to which Dumbledore has ever led us. Muriel asks Harry, “Honestly, my boy, are you sure you knew him at all?” Those words essentially define the hardships Harry wrestles with throughout the entirety of the Deathly Hallows, as he begins to question Dumbledore’s intentions, true self, and possibly even his own worth in Dumbledore’s eyes. The fact that these doubts occur after Dumbledore’s death make his parting that much more bitter as we, the readers, attempt to assemble the puzzling deeper layers of Albus Dumbledore.
Dumbledore is special in that, even after his death, his presence stays with until the end of the series, as we continue still see the effects and consequences of his actions unravel in Deathly Hallows over the course of Harry’s wild goose chase for horcruxes. Even after all of the questioning through which we rake Dumbledore’s integrity, his is the story that doesn’t end in death. We meet him one final time at King’s Cross Station, when Harry is suspended between worlds in a sort of fabricated Limbo. And once more, Dumbledore imparts worlds of wisdom and knowledge upon Harry, which he uses in order to return and defeat Voldemort in one final act.
In a way, Dumbledore’s death is a bit gentler and easier for us to swallow because we’re given that last little bit of closure from him there at King’s Cross. The same could be said still about other deaths, like as Lupin and Sirius, or even Harry’s parents, as they are produced from the Resurrection Stone and offer Harry words of comfort – but I like to think that Dumbledore’s post-life conversation with Harry is a bit more meaningful. Some fans have been known to regale the King’s Cross chapter as the most beautiful chapter in the entire series, with Dumbledore giving Harry thought-provoking advice with a dash of hope one last time in the most critical moment of all, just has he has done for the duration of his acquaintance with Harry.
1. Severus Snape – The Deathly Hallows
When Snape looked as though there was no blood left in him, his grip on Harry’s robes slackened.
“Look…at….me…” he whispered.
The green eyes found the black, but after a second, something in the depths of the dark pair seemed to vanish, leaving them fixed, blank, and empty. The hand holding Harry thudded to the floor, and Snape moved no more.”
I don’t know about anyone else, but I bawled my eyes out much longer than necessary over the death of this fictional person, both while reading and watching Deathly Hallows. Snape’s death struck me harder than any other death in the series.
Snape unleashed years of humiliation at Harry throughout his education at Hogwarts. Torture. Outright malice. Palpable loathing. Loss of house points, imposed detentions. Snape was literally the thing that Neville feared most, and Neville lost both of his parents to Death Eaters’ abominable methods during the First Wizarding War. Snape is a sly, cunning, oily man who has never given any house outside of Slytherin reason to feel anything but contempt for him. That is, until JK Rowling shocked the hell out of us with revelation of his memories in Dumbledore’s Pensieve just after his death.
Snape is arguably the person who cared for Harry the most. I am certain that a great many fans will object to this, but take a moment to consider a few things. Who else might compete for that esteemed title? Ron and Hermione, putting themselves in harm’s way and danger over and over for him? Hagrid, who made sure to safely deliver and return him to the world he truly belonged to? Dumbledore, the wizened mentor to whom Harry could turn for advice in nearly every problem he found himself in? Any single one of the Order of the Phoenix members who risked their life for Harry? Yes, any one of these people would go to profound lengths in order to rescue or ensure Harry’s protection. Surely, you say to yourself, they must care for him more than Snape does.
The difference between all of these people, to me, is that Snape did all of that and played a multitude of additional parts and roles for years and years and years. Snape literally led a double life as a secret agent for Dumbledore, playing his role well enough so that when the time came, there was little question of him returning as a Death Eater. Snape elevated himself to one of Voldemort’s most trusted advisers, even going so far as to make an Unbreakable Vow to murder Dumbledore, all in the name of Harry’s safety and livelihood.
So why would someone feign contempt and loathing for a student for so many years while acting as a agent for Dumbledore and engaging in all of this behavior to protect Harry? It’s no secret that all of Snape’s behaviors stemmed from Snape’s love for Lily Potter. It must have been a terrible thing for him to turn to the Dark Arts, only to have them become the very cause of Lily’s death. Only by protecting her son with every ounce of himself could he find even a sliver of personal redemption for what he felt was his fault.
Snape’s tale is the most tragic of anyone’s in the Potter saga. Unrequited love which ended first in denial and second in death, necessitating acting the part of a villainous teacher for years; putting himself in extreme danger in acting as a spy for the Order and playing his part so well even after Dumbledore’s death that every single one of us were fooled, including Voldemort himself, twice. Snape gives up any chance at happiness he could have ever had – pursuing his own personal desires, allowing himself to get close to others, making friends or pursuing relationships, or simply even just being himself – all in order to care for Harry in his own subtle way by protecting him in secret for the duration of the books. Without a doubt, it is Snape who experiences the most loss and the most personal sacrifice of any single character, save for Harry’s own mother, who protected him from Voldemort until her last breath and sacrificed her own life for Harry’s sake. Snape did the very same, only instead of lasting only moments such as Lily’s actions did, his sacrifice for Harry lasted a lifetime.
It could also be argued that, aside from Harry’s own importance, Snape was the most essential and integral character to the entire story, and even to Harry’s own life. I believe that Rowling also felt this way, which was why she chose to reveal Snape’s fate to no one but Alan Rickman during the course of production for the films, and has previously mentioned that she plotted both Snape and Dumbledore’s roles even before the first book was written.
Severus Snape is the twist we never saw coming, the ultimate anti-hero who hid in the plain sight until she was ready to share him with us. Within a few handfuls of words, Rowling managed to undo all of the work she had labored over for years, disintegrating Snape’s false image as the Terror of Hogwarts, and, in the same breath, promptly reducing us all to ugly, sobbing messes of tears and torn heartstrings.
She got us all good.
Minecon 2015 Location And Date: Minecraft Convention To Be Held In London On July 2015 Confirmed As Mojang Is Working On A New Installer For The Game!
Good news Minecraft fans as Mojang COO, Vu Bui announced that the Minecon 2015 will be held in London on July 4 to July 5 this year.
Minecon 2015 will be hosted by Mojang it will be held in London for the first time. On Aug. 21, 2014, Vu Bui, COO of Mojang wrote on the company’s official website:
“I’ve been getting a lot of questions about MINECON lately, because before this time last year everyone knew the date and location and ticket info for MINECON 2013. While we don’t have a set date for the next MINECON just yet, I wanted to let everyone know that it won’t be until sometime in 2015. I’m shooting to have it in the spring in London!”
Just two weeks ago on Jan. 22, Bui hinted about Minecon news on Twitter:
“MINECON news is coming soon!”
Bui also revealed the details on when and where will Minecon be in London:
WHEN: July 4-5, 2015
WHERE: ExCeL London Exhibition and Conference Centre
WHO: You, hopefully!
Bui said in the statement, “If you like Minecraft, and you like people who like Minecraft, you’ll probably like MINECON. It’s THE place to see all the cool Mojangstas you fancy, meet people who love Minecraft maybe even as much as you do, and attend panels and events full of YouTube creators and a ton of other talented folks!
This summer we are heading to London, UK to hang out with 10,000 of our closest friends (hint: that’s you!). As usual there will be panels, contests, tournaments, events and a soon-to-be-announced show-of-some-sort for our Saturday night bash.”
Talking about the tickets, Bui said, “they will be released in two batches on the same day, different times, 5,000 tickets in each batch.” He added, “When you buy your ticket you’ll also get access to our discounted hotel pricing, so don’t go booking a hotel room just yet!”
According to The Guardian, Minecon started as an informal gathering of “Minecraft” fans back in 2010 in Bellevue, Washington when Markus “Notch” Persson, the game’s creator, was in town and said he wanted to meet players.
In other news, Mojang developer Nathan “Dinnerbone” Adams announced about the game’s installer on Twitter on Jan. 30.
“Our new installer uses Java 8, so that helps, but we haven’t pushed people to use that – only new players have that right now.”
Witches, wizards and muggles welcomed to Stroud Library for Harry Potter craft day
Faye McCrink, eight, at the Harry Potter themed craft event at Stroud Library
The magical fun was not just for established Potter fans – library staff are hoping the event introduced new readers to J.K. Rowling’s world of Harry Potter.
It was part of Harry Potter Book Night, organised by Bloomsbury Children’s Books.
JK Rowling takes to Twitter to answer 3 important ‘Harry Potter’ questions
London: JK Rowling has solved some of the mysteries from the ‘ Harry Potter’ series, like problems of Horcruxes, 12 Grimmauld Place’s bizarre location and what happened to three-headed dog Fluffy, in a q and a on her Twitter account.
The 49-year-old author responded to this question “How come when Harry gets bitten by the Basilisk in Chamber of Secrets it doesn’t destroy the Horcrux in him?,” by saying “The Horcrux-receptacle has to be destroyed BEYOND REPAIR, so Harry would need to have DIED. #pleaseneveraskmethatoneagain,” the Independent reported.
Rowling was then asked “Where did Hagrid’s beloved Fluffy get to?” to which she said that “He was repatriated to Greece. Dumbledore liked to put Hagrid’s more foolish acquisitions back where they belong – not the forest.”
For the question, “Why is the Black family’s ancestral home in a Muggle neighbourhood?,” she wrote “A Black ancestor coveted the beautiful house, so ‘persuaded’ the Muggle occupant to leave and put the appropriate spells on it.”
She put those wondering about her taste in tea’s minds at rest too by answering that she likes Lancashire tea.
Book Review: ‘Stotan!’ by Chris Crutcher great reading for young boys
STOTAN! Chris Crutcher. This book hooked me on young adult literature and showed me how great it can be, for both teens and adults. I first read it back in my college years, and I’m not saying how many years ago that was. Fortunately it’s still in print, along with many of Crutcher’s other early works.
A Stotan is a cross between a Stoic and a Spartan.
The narrator, Walker Dupree, and his friends are members of the high school swim team, and spend a week living together over the Christmas holidays–Stotan week. Essentially Hell Week. A week of intense swim training, that leaves them drained at the end of each day, but bonds them together even deeper than before.
Together they face racism, broken families and a devastating illness. What hooked me solidly on this was how real it all felt. Of course, any fiction augments things, but the emotions Crutcher pulled from me are all legitimate, I never felt manipulated. Reading Stotan, I felt everything from legitimate friendship to their struggles, and all the way to their commitment to each other. I laughed out loud several times here, and I was frustrated and angry in all the right spots too, and I cheered at the heroism I found here.
All the early works of Crutcher are worth reading (although I always recommend parents read a title first before passing it on to their kids). The best thing for parents is that great YA titles read very fast, because they lack padding. Teens don’t tolerate all the filler that finds its way into most adult novels. They want it straight to the point.
I’d recommend everything beginning with his first books, Running Loose, Stotan, the Crazy Horse Electric Game, Whale Talk, Chinese Handcuffs, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, Ironman, and the short story collection Athletic Shorts. Some of these do have some objectionable parts, but they do reflect–usually–the realities teens face.
However once you get beyond these titles Crutcher becomes an angry scold rather than a gentle guide. These tendencies begin showing up in “Chinese Handcuffs”, “Byrnes”, and “Ironman,” but they’re manageable. But by the time I read, “The Sledding Hill”, “Deadline”, and the next short story collection, “Angry Management,” I realized he’d lost what drew me to him initially. He keeps reliving the past problems without acknowledging that times have changed. And he does it with such anger and vehemence, that I had to finally stop reading him. It’s really a shame, because for years, I looked forward to new Crutcher books. Now, just looking at them tires me.
But still his early work is definitely worth reading and still in print as well as available in electronic formats as well.
Rich welcomes questions and comments from readers. You can contact him at 62rich@gmail.com.
Harry Potter Alliance celebrates 10 years of doing good deeds around the world
Did you realize that there is a major nonprofit activist group that was created around Harry Potter?
The Harry Potter Alliance, formed in 2005, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary of turning “fans into heroes,” around the world. They have more than 300 organized chapters in 45 countries.
The org was started by a touring comedian, Andrew Slack, when he was looking for a way to integrate social purpose into his acts. The Alliance has built libraries, sent cargo planes to Haiti and headed fund-raising efforts to help citizens in Darfur as just a few of its philanthropic efforts.
This is a great story about a nonprofit pulling together likeminded fans to bond over Harry Potter and using stories to “mobilize for social change.” And, yep, even J.K. Rowling has gotten involved, saying she is “humbled” by the Alliance’s good deeds.