Harry Potter Geek Out

SPOILERS (if you haven't read all of the Harry Potter series or haven't see the latest film)

I just finished a partial re-read of the Harry Potter series. I wouldn't recommend my method though. After seeing HP 6 in the theatre, I cracked open Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and read it from the halfway point to the end. Then, for completeness sake, I went back to the beginning of the book and read to the midway point. Then, I re-read bits of Book 7 because I couldn't remember the fate of the locket. This was not a good idea, because I got even more confused, so I read it from front to back. I had forgotten a lot of book 7, and so got upset all over again when Hedwig died, and then when Dobby died, and so forth. The Serene One looked on with a slightly concerned expression.

After I finished 7, I read the back half of 5, to get some more background on Sirius. Then skipped back to book 3, which I read from front to back. It was great to read the scene again where Dumbledore says that Scabbers is in debt to Harry and to know that in book 7 Peter Pettigrew's debt is paid in full: he hesitates to raise the alarm about the escaping kids and his own silver hand strangles him.

Then I leapfrogged to book 1. Amazing how much the movies dominate my memory of the earlier books. For example, I had forgotten that Neville had been with Harry, Ron, and Hermione when they first ran into the three-headed dog.

Anyway, JK Rowling is freaking awesome. Back at the beginning of Book 5, after Harry and Dudley are attacked by dementors, Aunt Petunia reveals that she knows about them and Azkaban. She says she heard "that awful boy--telling her about them--years ago" For the next two and a half books, you think she was talking about Harry's father. But no, she was talking about Severus Snape, as revealed at the end of Book 7.

In the middle of my re-reading frenzy, I was able to watch "JK Rowling: A Year in the Life." It was inspiring and humbling how she toughed it out --living on welfare, caring for her daughter and following her dream. I also got a kick out of seeing her handwritten family tree of the Weasley family. If I read it correctly, Fred marries Angelina!

As for the film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was really good. My favorite scene:

Harry sees Romilda Vane staring at him
Hermione Granger: [snaps her fingers] Hey! She's only interested in you because she thinks you're the Chosen One.
Harry Potter: [Smiling] But I *am* the Chosen One.
[Hermione smacks him on the head with the newspaper]
Harry Potter: Sorry... kidding!

My biggest beef was the end. They cut the big battle from the top of the tower all the way down to the forest. Instead the entire retreat was played out in an eerie silence. This was actually okay with me. *But.* The confrontation between Harry and Severus Snape should have been more meaty and satisfying. I was dying to hear Alan Rickman say "You dare to use my own spells against me, Potter?"

Still, the movie was worthy of the canon. Looking forward to the next installment!