21 February 2013

Harry Potter HFriday - Post the GOBLET OF FIRE!



BOOK FOUR! Goblet of Fire was the first Harry Potter book I waited for, having jumped on the bandwagon after book 3 was published. When it came out, I was assistant stage managing my university’s production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead – which incidentally is a phenomenal play and a truly brilliantly cast movie that I used to watch on repeat with my dad and so have Very Positive Associations with.

Also Gary Oldman was in it, so, topical!



Anyway, I had ONE JOB in the middle of the 3-hour show, which was to make sure the 30-foot steel doors opened so the king and queen could sweep majestically downstage and greet our titular heroes, and I can’t tell you how many times I nearly missed my cue because I was brain-deep in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. 

I got a B in that class.


So you know what’s great about the first ¼ of this book? Pretty much everything except the ACTUAL Quidditch. JK is fleshing out her world nicely, and with as subtle a hand as she can when three-story purple tents with live peacocks are involved.

The gang has settled in to Hogwarts at this point, and Harry gets to see the sorting – did anyone else feel like Rowling rushed this scene even though she knew we hadn’t seen one since book 1? – and the hat gets a new song, which was a charming surprise when I read this the first time and which I skipped every time after.

OH! And as for last week’s discussion on population, I’ve decided that each house has not 10 but 30 new students per year, which would push the student population to somewhere around 800+, which is close enough for Ministry of Magic work to the JK-quoted 1000. And if there are 30 per year per class, then for the purposes of Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins or Herbology with Hufflepuffs, maybe they split each class so they can mix up the houses?

Seriously, I am getting NO sleep until this read-a-long is over.

Ron makes a classic 13-year-old "Uranus" crack that still makes me giggle, and Hermione discovers a nasty wizard secret in the form of house elves – we will argue more about this later! (Kreacherrrrr). The Tri-Wizard takes over Quidditch for the year – even JK must have been bored of writing about it after the World Cup – and the twins are beginning to come into their own.

And Harry has a crush on someone who is NOT GINNY because he is a boy and therefore dumb as a box of hair.

Not that I'm biased.


Comments (15)

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But whyyyyyy did you decide there are 30 new kids each year?

Each of their shared classes continue to mention Seamus, Neville and Dean, so unless there are 15-20 students that are NEVER mentioned, they can't split the class. I just don't think JK thought much about how many she thought were at the school, and how much were being represented with her writing.

On a less stressful note. Oh Gary Oldman, be still my beating heart.
2 replies · active 648 weeks ago
I agree that it's probably just JK's legendary inability to do math. But then again, how many times did you interact with or mention all the kids in your class, y'know?

Plus, more wizard kids mean more wizards, which the world obviously needs more of. :D
Honestly? I was at a school of 1000+ and I knew everyone in my grade, except perhaps the odd people who never came/always skived off. I didn't know them all well, but I knew their name and their face and I feel like they'd come up occassionally if I was discussing my classes.

And someone (who?! Name yourself because I've forgotten!) pointed out a few references of small class sizes in the books, i.e. 20 cauldrons laid out by Snape, 20 broomsticks for Slytherin and Gryffindor. Eh, I don't know. This will be my last mention of class sizes, because it makes my brain hurt.
That Gary Oldman Smiling GIF is the sexiest thing since... er, sliced bread... I think I've mixed my sayings up here. *sails back up post for another look* It's okay to forget how to speak English when Gary Oldman's smiling on the same page, right?
1 reply · active 648 weeks ago
RIGHT? I called it "Hello Gary" in my GIF folder. And Tim Roth isn't so bad himself. Mrowr,.
I love that we get more of the twins in this book, and I think Sarah's on to something about it being (in part, at least) because HRH are old enough now to hang out with the "older" kids. I mean, the difference between an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old is pretty significant, especially in the eyes of older siblings.
I love it that Ron gets the "Uranus" joke. It is particularly funny to me in light of Ron and Lavender's future kissing relationship. (BTW how does anyone in this school ever, ever get laid? Do they go do it in sneaky corners of Hogsmeade or what?)
"and with as subtle a hand as she can when three-story purple tents with live peacocks are involved."

Nice.

Ah yes. I remember being 15 and hating Cho Chang with a white hot passion that threatened to burn up my very being. Or something like that. GINNYYYY! But I was totally more invested in Ron/Hermione at this point, which means that when the Yule Ball happened I was WAY EXCITED.
1 reply · active 648 weeks ago
I think I must have been too young when I first read these because I did not care AT ALL about any of the love stuff!
Before anything else HOORAY for R&G are Dead. I heart both the play's & movie's face off. (I also picture that version of Oldman as Sirius instead of movie version. Or at least somewhere between R&G and Sid Vicious Oldman.)

Wait, how come there are 30 kids per year? Was it in that sorting song, cos I also skipped that.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who pointed out Ron's Uranus joke.
1 reply · active 648 weeks ago
R&G is one of my favorites. There are a zillion quotes from that show that I would tattoo on my body. And YES - maybe with a little Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg thrown in?

I made that number up at some point because I like it. Although I just looked up average secondary school class size in the UK and it's 23.5, so maybe I should revise down a bit. Hmm.
Lookit him and his handsome. Oh, Gary.

I'm liking the "It's 1,000 because it's 1,000 now let's move it along." I am down with that.

I wish Harry would snap to and love Ginny, already. And I wish they'd just tell her about Sirius. Just, basically, more Ginny, is what I'm asking for.
Uranus jokes=always funny.

Also- I am down wit the plight of the House Elves, but they get on my nerves so much that I don't really care? Is that bad..?
I swear, Gary Oldman will still be a fox at 107. That GIF is doing things to me...

Also LOOOOOLLLLL at Uranus! Ron is such a tool but sometimes his tool-ery really gets me.
Gary Oldman is ADORABLE in that gif. I will have to revise my Reasons Snape Is Better Than Sirius, Subsection B: Because Alan Rickman is so much hotter than Gary Oldman.

Also, I will have to watch that R&GAD.

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