The Order of the Phoenix Re-Read: Chapter 14

[slowfox]

For an unrehearsed and uncoordinated attempt at a coded letter, Harry's missive to Snuffles isn't bad - I particularly liked the allusion that Umbridge was nearly as nice as Sirius' mum :-)

Always pleased to see some Harry/Cho interaction - a bit puzzled by Filch's insistence that our Hero was ordering a massive stock of Dungbombs, though. Of all the pretexts to intercept mail, that's got to be a pretty weak one.

Interesting to read of Sturgis Podmore's situation, which ties up the loose end that was Moody being unhappy that Podmore hadn't been there to provide Harry's guard to Kings Cross.

Pure, classic Ron as he and Harry head off to the Quidditch pitch early, rather than joining Hermione with their homework:

"I mean, we can do it tonight," said Ron, as he and Harry walked down the sloping lawns towards the Quidditch pitch, their broomsticks over their shoulders, and with Hermione's dire warnings that they would fail their OWLs still ringing in their ears.

As we know, Quidditch practice didn't go swimmingly, and it's testament to just how bad it was that the Twins refrain from badgering Ron. He's probably aware of this himself, and Hermione's attempts at consolation backfire too.

Anyway, Hermes eventually arrives to distract us from Ron's confidence issues, with possibly the smarmiest letter ever from dear old Perce.

The seeds for the DA are sown in the conversation with Sirius:

"All we do is read the stupid textbook," said Ron.

"Ah, well, that figures," said Sirius. "Our information from inside the Ministry is that Fudge doesn'twant you trained in combat."

"Trained in combat!" repeated Harry incredulously. "What does he think we're doing here, forming some sort of wizard army?"

It's a shame that the chapter ends on such a note of disappointment, though, with Sirius clearly unimpressed by Harry's caution:

"Well, I'd better get going, I can hear Kreacher coming down the stairs," said Sirius, but Harry was sure he was lying. "I'll write to tell you a time I can make it back into the fire, then, shall I? If you can stand to risk it?"

There was a tiny pop, and the place where Sirius's head had been was flickering flame once more.

Going by page numbers alone, we're just about 1/3 of the way through the book at the end of this chapter, and it's still not wholly clear what the actual 'adventure' this time round is going to be. I concede that I'm reading this deliberately slowly, but even so, I definitely feel that OotP takes its time to kick into gear.

Comments

[aome]

I guess I don't really feel like OotP took any more time to kick into gear than GoF did. GoF has the advantage of having a clear premise fairly early on, with, y'know, the whole tournament, and while PoA had "Sirius is after me ... or not" thing, OotP has the recurring dreams, which clearly point to something, as well as Harry's ability to see more and more into Voldemort's mind. So, I think those things point just as much to the way things are going as Sirius' escape in PoA, or the various clues and cues of events in CoS. Did you really find it slow the first time you read? I didn't, but then, the only times I felt things got a bit slow in the series were the start of GoF and the Horcrux-hunting in DH.

As for the actual content ... a big ol' BLARGH to Percy, particularly for suggesting that Ron abandon Harry, lest he be "tainted," too. As for the pretext to intercept mail - it might be lame, but it's one that would CERTAINLY get Filch's *immediate* attention, given how he feels about Dungbombs.

Given how many post-Hogwarts fics have portrayed Harry as imminently responsible, it's a wonder how people derived that, given how easily and frequently he blew stuff off (with Ron) during his school days. On the other hand, he never shirked from hard work where it truly counted so ... I suppose, he just has non-academic priorities at heart. :P

[slowfox]

I dunno - GoF had a lot more excitement early on, with the Quidditch World Cup, the Death Eaters there, and a clear indication of the plot from the outset.

The first time I read it, it was through the night after the midnight opening, and with the knowledge that someone died later on, but we didn't know who. So I was absorbed, and reading pretty intently. Given that I'm deliberately reading a single chapter a day, and then re-reading to type up the post, it's possibly not unsurprising if I think that the tale's not speeding along as quickly as I might have thought...

[cynthia_black]

The bit that struck me most in this chapter was Sirius's coolness to Harry at the end, and his comment, "You're less like your father than I thought" - Hermione was right in what she said in the earlier chapter.

[slowfox]

Yes, and Molly was telling Sirius that Harry wasn't James back at Grimmauld Place, too. I try to take a more charitable view of Sirius, and he's not exactly had a good life, but I do have to reluctantly agree that Sirius was probably more in favour of the means rather than the ends when it came to the establishment of the DA.

One thing I meant to mention: if Mundungus was tailing Harry around Hogsmeade, how come he was already in the Hog's Head when the Trio arrived?