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slowfoxHaving boldly asserted that I'd kick off the re-read at 9pm this evening, I find that I've got to revise the schedule, because of work and cinema and dog-walking and stuff.
So, I'm posting this now, but in general chapter updates are going to be in the evenings from Monday onwards, generally some time around 9ish.
So, in this chapter we learn that Harry's been trapped at the Dursleys' for at least four weeks, and that we've missed his birthday.
Some hints of CAPSLOCK!Harry are evident in his confrontation with the Dursleys after he's cracked his head on the windowframe whilst attempting to listen to the evening news, and also with
In the past, his scar hurting had warned that Voldemort was getting stronger again, but now that Voldemort was back they would probably remind him that its regular irritation was only to be expected ... nothing to worry about ... old news ...
The injustice of it all welled up inside him so that he wanted to yell with fury.
This is, I think, a marked change to the Harry of the first four books, who, with hindsight, gets put into a lot of difficult situations, but comes out more or less unscathed each time. Also apparent in this chapter is the fact that he's not pleased with the idea that his so-called-best-mates are having lots of fun at the Burrow without him, and it pleases me that he doesn't immediately forgive them when they do all finally get together.
Some things stay the same, though, and I do like Harry's dry wit:
"Yes - yes, good point, Petunia! What were you doing under our window, boy?"
"Listening to the news," said Harry in a resigned voice.
His aunt and uncle exchanged looks of outrage.
"Listening to the news! Again?"
"Well, it changes every day, you see," said Harry.
and
"Not this brave at night, are you?" sneered Dudley.
"This is night, Diddykins. That's what we call it when it goes all dark like this."
Not that we know it at this point in the story, but we do get a hint as to what's coming up:
In the meantime, he had nothing to look forward to but another restless, disturbed night, because even when he escaped the nightmares about Cedric he had unsettling dreams about long dark corridors, all finishing in dead ends and locked doors, which he supposed had something to do with the trapped feeling he had when he was awake.
I had high hopes for the meaning of the moment where Harry casts Lumos without his wand and it works: I sort of assumed that this was some foreshadowing of wandless magic to come, but we seem to forget all about that as the story unfurls.
I do wonder how Mrs Figg knew there were two Dementors, since, being a Squib, she can't see them, and it seems she was out of sight for Prongs' defence.
So, I'm posting this now, but in general chapter updates are going to be in the evenings from Monday onwards, generally some time around 9ish.
So, in this chapter we learn that Harry's been trapped at the Dursleys' for at least four weeks, and that we've missed his birthday.
Some hints of CAPSLOCK!Harry are evident in his confrontation with the Dursleys after he's cracked his head on the windowframe whilst attempting to listen to the evening news, and also with
In the past, his scar hurting had warned that Voldemort was getting stronger again, but now that Voldemort was back they would probably remind him that its regular irritation was only to be expected ... nothing to worry about ... old news ...
The injustice of it all welled up inside him so that he wanted to yell with fury.
This is, I think, a marked change to the Harry of the first four books, who, with hindsight, gets put into a lot of difficult situations, but comes out more or less unscathed each time. Also apparent in this chapter is the fact that he's not pleased with the idea that his so-called-best-mates are having lots of fun at the Burrow without him, and it pleases me that he doesn't immediately forgive them when they do all finally get together.
Some things stay the same, though, and I do like Harry's dry wit:
"Yes - yes, good point, Petunia! What were you doing under our window, boy?"
"Listening to the news," said Harry in a resigned voice.
His aunt and uncle exchanged looks of outrage.
"Listening to the news! Again?"
"Well, it changes every day, you see," said Harry.
and
"Not this brave at night, are you?" sneered Dudley.
"This is night, Diddykins. That's what we call it when it goes all dark like this."
Not that we know it at this point in the story, but we do get a hint as to what's coming up:
In the meantime, he had nothing to look forward to but another restless, disturbed night, because even when he escaped the nightmares about Cedric he had unsettling dreams about long dark corridors, all finishing in dead ends and locked doors, which he supposed had something to do with the trapped feeling he had when he was awake.
I had high hopes for the meaning of the moment where Harry casts Lumos without his wand and it works: I sort of assumed that this was some foreshadowing of wandless magic to come, but we seem to forget all about that as the story unfurls.
I do wonder how Mrs Figg knew there were two Dementors, since, being a Squib, she can't see them, and it seems she was out of sight for Prongs' defence.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-25 12:10 am (UTC)Also, Harry begins showing some spine against the Dursleys in PoA, where he leverages his good behavior with Marge (plus sticking to the St Brutus' story) against getting his permission slip signed. In GoF, he refuses to let Vernon cow him in the apoplexy over the over-stamped envelope and invitation to the World Cup. So, his attitude toward the Dursleys at the beginning of OotP, while stepped up a notch, is not new. It also better reflects, I think, the way many teenagers feel - resentful toward their elders (particularly if those elders are treating them like youngsters, not like young adults) and feeling they know better than anyone. And he's got to have some PTSD going as well.
I never did have a problem with CAPSLOCK!Harry in this book. Yes, I missed the innocence of earlier stories, but I felt it was well-suited to Harry's age, the events of the past, and the way people treated him in this book. I would probably have been angry, too.
I do love the witty comments, though - about the news, night, etc. It did definitely help break up the more painful bits.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-25 07:16 am (UTC), his attitude toward the Dursleys at the beginning of OotP, while stepped up a notch, is not new.
I s'pose so... although it still feels like something of a step-change, but there again, Voldemort's risen anew, Cedric's been killed, and he's being deliberately kept out of the loop by all his so-called friends and mentors, so you can see how this might get to him...