Observations:
1. The Dursleys really were terrible horrible caregivers to Harry. I couldn’t imagine someone treating their nephew so poorly. It really is so sad for Harry.
2. The movies did a much better job of following the book this time.
3. Peeves is the reason the vanishing cabinet needed repairing before Malfoy could use it later in the series. Now that’s planning ahead!
4. A lot of the great lines of Hermione from this movie were actually said by Ron. It’s Ron who does all the explaining of new wizard things to Harry throughout the book.
5. Between the almost two months out for being transfigured into a cat person and the time she was petrified, Hermione missed so much of her second year and still managed to do better than the boys.
6. The chapters are really long. I usually had to read one in two sittings.
Things I forgot about:
1. The de-gnoming at Ron’s house! It’s such a small part of the story but I loved it and wish it made it into the movie somehow. I can just see them lassoing these gnomes over their heads and throwing them! I’m reading the illustrated version and Jim Kay did a great job of bringing these little potato looking beings to life for me.
2. I drew a little inspiration from Sir Nicholas’s death day party when I wrote Hunted Angel and Kamlyn went to the ghostly civil ball in the Boston Common park. There are similarities, though mine was more magical and sparkly. Not so black tapers and screechy music.
3. Hermione was in the hospital wing for two months almost for turning into a cat! Went in at Christmas, came out sometime in February before Valentine’s Day.
4. Dumbledore was the Transfiguration professor before becoming headmaster.
What I notice now that I didn’t when I was younger:
1. How did no one in the ministry of magic ever realize Hagrid had his broken wand and was still performing magic with it? Why was he allowed to keep his broken wand? And what is the point of breaking a wizard’s wand once expelled if it still works?
2. Harry throughout the series keeps getting in trouble for using magic outside of school but in the first book he didn’t get in trouble for his accidental python incident and Hermione said she practiced spells before getting to Hogwarts. What exactly does the ministry keep track of and punish for?
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