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"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by JK Rowling: Chapters 1 - 5
19 Plays1 month ago
Join us this week as we discuss chapters 1-5 of “Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone” by JK Rowling. Don't forget to answer our "Question of the Week" on our Instagram!
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Instagram: @familyfictionpod
Karmen’s Bookstagram: @karmensreadingcorner
Hallie’s BookTok: @hallie_br00kes_n00k
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Transcript
Zoo Incident and Podcast Intro
00:00:00
Speaker
Dudley comes running over and as Pierce and Dudley are leaning up against the glass, surprise, surprise, the glass disappears and the snake comes out of it. Now, I would quite literally be peeing all over myself if this happened. So props to Dudley for holding it together better than I would have.
00:00:25
Speaker
Um, also, the snake comes out and tells Harry thanks, amigo, and we get our first clue at Reputation, Taylor's version.
00:01:01
Speaker
Alright, so hello everyone and welcome back to Family Fiction with Hallie and And to today we are going to be doing the start of our new series of rereads, read-throughs.
00:01:18
Speaker
and we decided that we are going to start since it is the holiday season with Harry Potter. Yes, so if you saw our Instagram story then I had put up a poll of what you guys think we were going to be reading next and if you voted for Harry Potter the Sorcerer's Stone congratulations you were correct. There is no prize other than the filling of victory. Okay.
Discussion Format and Themes
00:01:45
Speaker
so welcome um like Kelly said we're doing the first five chapters of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling um the weirdest part about these chapters so far we just talked about it is that we go through the first five chapters and we're gonna do this whole discussion and we won't have even met Hermione and Ron yet that's what's crazy it is weird so Anyways, so basically, just to kind of describe, since this is our first read through, this is kind of how things are going to go. We're going to do chapter by chapter, this is what happened. And as we go along, we'll have certain topics to bring up and
00:02:26
Speaker
notes on certain things that happened. um And then we're gonna do first impressions of any characters that we meet along the way at the end of the chapter discussions. And we are also going to have a theme discussion of what was the theme of these five chapters. And we will do a question of the week and that will be centered around the five chapters we read that week. This will be for every read through that we do. Harry Potter other books whatever um so these will be pretty frequent segments so just a heads up on what's gonna happen. But before we get started on our discussion let's start with our currently reading. Hallie what are you currently reading? So my current read um I I would think I said in last week's I was reading what happened on Hicks Road but unfortunately I DNF'd it um but so now I am switching over to The Bone Ships
00:03:23
Speaker
by RJ Barker.
Current Reads and Spoiler Warning
00:03:25
Speaker
This is a fantasy book, and basically it's Pirates of the Caribbean and Dragons. It'll be interesting. My current read is Broken Harbor by Catherine Cowles. Quite literally couldn't wait until this book come out, so I'm reading it right now. If it wasn't for work, I would have been done with it already because it's amazing. Fantastic. My favorite one of the series so far. So good. I just need her to come out with Fallon and Kai's story. Please, your goodness, write it, Catherine.
00:03:51
Speaker
We just do want to add in a quick note here um letting everyone know that this discussion will contain spoilers for the rest of the series as well as further on in this book. So if you have not read the Harry Potter series in its entirety and you would like to go through with no spoilers, we suggest you read the series and then come back and listen to the episode because there will be multiple foreshadowing discussions to other books in the series.
00:04:20
Speaker
I guess let's just jump into it. Yeah, let's do it. Ready to go?
Chapter One Analysis: Dursleys and Dumbledore
00:04:24
Speaker
Okay, so we open up with chapter one, The Boy Who Lived. This opens up on number four, Privet Drive, and Already we're having incredible descriptions of characters that we are meeting in the second paragraph of the chapter as we are introduced to the essence of the Dursleys. And to quote on page one, literally second paragraph,
00:04:54
Speaker
He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences spying on the neighbors. So immediately we know exactly who these people are. We know exactly who Vernon is. We know exactly who Petunia is. We know exactly what they look like, the type of personalities they have.
00:05:22
Speaker
and I just think already like descriptions are just so high key and that's what these books do best is like you feel like you're there. Oh yeah and definitely when you have these descriptions like Carmen just read off it kind of gives you a feel as to like who they are as a person and right away we can tell like just from these descriptions like man these people are probably going to be awful human beings.
00:05:43
Speaker
they're nosy they're prudish stuck up yes you can already kind of gather that um so after we kind of get that little introduction introduction i'm sorry we are one thing to note is that we are introduced to the dursley's point of view of the potters um and right off the bat as a reader like we don't know who the Potters are, so our view of them is the Dares Leats view in that they are weirdos, they are family members that they don't talk to, um want nothing to do with, they are ostracized from their family, they don't want anything to do with that weird family, they have a son but they don't know what it looks like, they don't know who he is, they don't want anything to do with him.
00:06:30
Speaker
Now the way it's described you do kind of get the Dursleys point of view so you know that like their point of view is probably a little bit skewed because the way that it's described you can kind of tell like they're prudish again and don't like them but this is your first view of the potters. Yeah it's very biased. Yes.
00:06:50
Speaker
um they are described by the Dursleys point of view in standards so you kind of see that they um they don't agree with the way that the putters live kind of thing. um The next thing we see is a cat reading a map and one thing I wanted to point out with this was why does Vernon automatically assume the cat's reading the sign?
00:07:14
Speaker
like what I would you know driving down the street just be like oh look at that cat that's all I would see but knowing who the potters are he sees that there could be something weird about it yeah and so he automatically already sees a magical world which is kind of crazy because like if you're reading these books for the first time know nothing about Harry Potter like you might also think why would that automatically be his first thought because you don't know about this world you don't know that you know what he knows so it's kind of ah just a crazy plot point
00:07:48
Speaker
Yeah, that is weird. I didn't realize that. Why does he automatically assume the cat is reading the sign? Yeah, because it's just like, like you said, any normal person be like, oh, it's a cat. It's cute. But in his version, he's like, that cat's reading that. Oh, no. This is weird.
00:08:03
Speaker
that that can't be true this is weird um and so like you know is that typical for them to always be on the lookout for magic like are they so scarred by the potters that they're just constantly looking out for like when's the next ball gonna drop shoe gonna drop whatever you want to call it ball drop it's new year's eve hello um and so kind of gives you a glimpse into them as well like they're always on the lookout for like what's weird and who can we avoid Oh yeah. but That's just their prudish nature. Who can we avoid? um As Vernon is driving to work he notices people whispering about the potters and is immediately traumatized and just wants nothing to do with it. um And you know they're saying you know who is gone and I just imagine like Vernon's point of view of like
00:08:55
Speaker
Oh God, they're, they're breaching into our lives. It's happening. We try to avoid them and it's coming our way. Because they're all like walking around and they're like celebrating. And they keep talking about you know who he's like, I want nothing to do with this world. Yes, leave me alone. Let me out of it. um And I love the way this chapter is written in that like,
00:09:16
Speaker
when you're with Vernon and you know about these people walking around on the streets and all these things happening like it's noted that it's it's happening while he's facing his desk away from the window which already tells you a lot about Vernon in and of itself like he faces away from distraction he doesn't want to be distracted by nincon loops outside his office so it's interesting to kind of see like you're not really in Vernon's point of view you're kind of outside Vernon's point of view and seeing people down the on the street talking about it um and so after work Vernon comes home and he's heard all these things about the potters
00:09:56
Speaker
and he asks Petunia about them um because he had heard Harry's name mentioned and wants to know what what was their son's name again and you know Petunia goes into it's a very mundane name Harry um and this sorry no go ahead she's immediate it's great it is funny though because when in he barely mentions the potters and petunia just immediately goes into a spiral yes because immediately shuts down oh yeah because when is it mentioned about the relation to them is it in this chapter yes okay yeah that's what i figured or not no no no this chapter it's when haggard comes oh that's right then she says my sister
00:10:39
Speaker
she kind of does go into a little bit and you kind of get the gist of like knowing like they're related um but you don't really know the full story yet until Hagrid's chapter um and you know something about this chapter just really made me wonder too like and and them talking about it i would be kind of interested if JK Rowling would just give us like one chapter like i don't need a novella don't need a spin-off i just want to know how did they meet and at what point did Petunia tell Vernon about Lily? Oh. And how did that interaction go down? That would be interesting. I would be so curious because it almost gives the feeling as if Vernon's never met Lily, never met James because he even like goes under saying like what's the boy's name and it just feels like Vernon has
00:11:36
Speaker
it gives a vibe of like he's probably never actually met them he knows them through Petunia's point of view of them because he never outright speaks about anything they did to him he never says anything about the magic they did around him or about Lily like he just mentions through Petunia's point of view of Lily yeah so I would be interested to know like did they ever meet that would be interesting I don't know That's something to think about. It would be really funny if they, like, had never met, but if they had actually met, Verna would be like, they're not that bad. Yeah. It's fine. Everything's fine. But she literally found her other... I will give it to them. They found each other's other half because they're both perdish and hate anything to do with magic. And so they did find props to them. Yeah. So yes.
Wizarding World Reactions and Harry's Future
00:12:27
Speaker
um After...
00:12:29
Speaker
asking Petunia about the potters. um We do kind of get the news report of some shooting stars happening and just some craziness going on with the weather. um And the shooting stars were interesting for me. Every time I read these books, that part always jumps out to me because I just feel like, and I could be wrong. Somebody tell me in the comments if I'm wrong. I don't I don't know that shoot it wizards being able to make shooting stars happen is ever done again or even mentioned that it could be done. no So that just always jumps out to me of like that's an interesting way to introduce magic.
00:13:09
Speaker
into this book. And like the owls flying around. Yeah. There's like a bunch of those. Yeah. And it was funny that the weather people just kept commenting on like the owls flying around. Yes. Well, because then I started thinking about like when all those letters start coming and owls keep coming. Like it's a wonder that they they didn't end up on the news of like, well, the owl population we've been talking about, well, it's at number four perfect jive now. So if you want to see it there, it's over there. um So it's interesting that that never Yeah, I don't know if that ever gets brought up again. Yeah, the shooting stars are just interesting. And, you know, I'm a nervous this then say, you know, as dead a list diggle, which I think he's bit of a a lost the word in my hand.
00:13:54
Speaker
cooke yeah i think that's probably a good way to describe it i think he's a bit of a um eccentric person so maybe that's just a charm that he's well known for obviously it might be a charm he's well known for if Minerva's immediately like i bet it was dead list tickle so she's already got a bone to pick um so after that we do have the very first appearance of a new character of which i have mixed emotions about and his name is albus dumbledore
00:14:30
Speaker
Um, to quote, a man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he just popped out of the ground. And then, and later in the paragraph, this man's name was Albus Dumbledore. Um, first question, how, so later on when apparition is discussed in the books, there is an audible snap whenever they operate.
00:15:02
Speaker
Why is Dumbledore already so special that he appears silently? How did Humboy get there? Did he apparate or did he apparate further down the street and all of a sudden he just emerges from the shadows? That just really stood out to me because like I assume he apparated there, but how did he do it silently? I don't know. That's just the flare of Albus, let's be honest. Oh, yeah. So that was a question I had. I mean that may be me.
00:15:28
Speaker
picking at threads but and honestly like this is probably before obviously she doesn't say that he operated so this is probably before she even thought of apparition when she was writing the book so yeah it could be a tiny fluke tiny fluke um oh one other thing i did like so the wizards being just out and about why are they just out and about just like you know we have a ministry of magic that wants to keep our world secret but yeah Today's the day. Today's the day we tell everyone. You know who was gone. We can finally just say forget it. Let's just show ourselves to the public. Which it's funny because the whole point of like Voldemort's thing was when he wanted to take over the world and control muggles and you know one of the big fights against him not only to fight evil but was to like we gotta he's gonna reveal our world.
00:16:22
Speaker
Meanwhile, they get rid of him and then the first thing they do is reveal their world. It's like, okay, all right, wrangle them back in. Yeah, um that is weird. Because I'm trying to think, like, the wizarding world has kept such a secret, but I don't know if they would immediately assume like, oh, it's wizards. They were just like, these are just some weird people. Well, they'd be walking around in cloaks and top hats. Like, no I don't know.
00:16:52
Speaker
Where's the convention? What convention am I missing? Anyways, so we get introduced to Albus Dumbledore and then in the process get introduced to Professor Minerva McGonagall. We love R.I.P. Maggie Smith. I'm about to cry right now.
00:17:14
Speaker
I love that lady. um Yes, we are introduced to her. um But before we get officially introduced to her, there is a little bit of a foreshadowing moment in the book. um And that is to quote, it seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop.
00:17:35
Speaker
um and then it's mentioned later that it's the put outer which we later know it in the deathly hallows as the deluminator that ron gets and albus's will so fun times that's where i'm saying like there's clearly a lot of things that she you know hadn't quite put a name to yet and so like because it's mentioned several times in this chapter as the put outer and that is not what it is so interesting um but yes then we are introduced by professor McGonagall stop me if you have notes at any point it's okay you're okay i just keep talking um so then um in this process of double door talking to Minerva
00:18:19
Speaker
we do get a glimpse into kind of what's been going down and who you know who is um and Dumbledore mentions you know um that his name is Voldemort and we get a glimpse into his reign um he did reign for 11 years so to give a little bit of some insight on that um Lily and James died at the age of 21 so Voldemort reigned from the ages of 10 to 21 so their entirety of being at Hogwarts, Voldemort is happening. That's so weird to think about. Yes so and I don't think I'd ever put it into like that much perspective but quite literally the year before they were set to go to Hogwarts because you go to 11
00:19:06
Speaker
he started writing and then you know you go until i don't know exactly what age it stops but um so well into their adult the beginnings of their adulthood So their entire young adult life, of all the more, is alive and thriving. Yay. So, just an interesting thing to put into perspective, what was going down. um And also Dumbledore, here's my first Dumbledore
Hagrid's Arrival and Harry's Early Life
00:19:32
Speaker
red flag. Welcome to Carmen's Dumbledore rant. He does mention, McGonagall asks him how Harry survived, and Dumbledore says, we can only guess, we may never know.
00:19:47
Speaker
Boy don't act like you don't know. You could give some context. He's so elusive. Yeah. Like, we can only guess. Like, I think I know the answer. I'm pretty positive I know why, but I'm not gonna tell ya.
00:20:03
Speaker
It's like just stay on you would ask you try to ask him a question and he answers, but it's very elusive and it just leaves you with more questions. You're like, well, then what was the point of me asking you the question? He'd be doing this all the time. He's trying to play Yoda. We don't need a Yoda. We just need straight answers. Thank you. um He also mentions to Minerva to say, go ahead and say the name Voldemort. He's gone. People shouldn't be afraid of the name. And then he mentions that he has been trying to get people to not be afraid of the name for years. And we find out later that Voldemort was using that when people said his name, it was a way for him to track those people.
00:20:41
Speaker
if they said his name and that's why they started saying you know who mm-hmm because he you could be tracked if you said his name so the fact that double doors just like you know what screw it say his name i don't care if y'all get tracked just say his name which maybe in theory he thought it would just like overload the system and like show Voldemort we're not afraid of you yeah but i can see that but still i feel like it's giving the opposite effect like don't be afraid say his name and then meanwhile here he comes to kill us all thanks thanks a lot Dumbledore anyways this might be a very skewed view because I just don't like Dumbledore so you know feel free to disagree um I have in my notes Dumbledore forever shady
00:21:29
Speaker
Yeah. um So, um you know, we learned that Lily and James are dead and that they were found at Godric's Hollow and that um Harry had defeated Voldemort at the ripe old age of one years old. And so you're kind of starting out with this mystery of, okay, how did a baby defeat the dark lord. it's very much like setting the stage for the story to unfold yeah because you're you're introduced in this world you have so many questions about this world and then this happens we're like how did a one-year-old child that has barely been alive defeat this very powerful dark wizard and it's just like
00:22:13
Speaker
It keeps you wanting to learn more. Yes. I will say, so this is probably the most notes I had on a chapter was this chapter because you're just getting introduced to so many things and it really is setting the tone for the rest of the series. I mean, she does so much world building in one chapter with so effortlessly. You're not having to fight to understand the world. It's pretty simple.
00:22:39
Speaker
um We then get introduced to Hagrid as he brings Harry um and we know that he borrowed it from young Sirius Black. I love Sirius Black! And this is a partial foreshadowing as we later learn that Sirius gave him the motorcycle so he could get away because he knew they were coming after him. um And he wanted to take Harry but couldn't.
00:23:07
Speaker
and I think I might be wrong I almost think Dumbledore comes and tells him he can't have Harry oh shoot I can't remember I almost think he does so Dumbledore already be knowing I tell you what if that's true I can't remember it's been a minute um so then we have some more double door shade i'm so sorry i i just really don't like double door so you're gonna get a lot of double door shade for me um when Minerva asks him if he could do something about the scar and he says even if i could i wouldn't scars can come in handy which is kind of
00:23:44
Speaker
oh It is because I mean Harry's scar hurting alerts him anytime Voldemort is you near and I'm pretty positive anytime like a death eater would be near too he can kind of feel that. gee i wonder why he can feel that energy because then we have whenever the guy um when bardie crouch junior summons the um the dark lord symbol in the sky and go and gobble to fire harry's score hurts yeah so it's anytime that like that energy is evoked his score hurts and so he already knows this
00:24:24
Speaker
he has to know this Dumbledore oh man stop it um and then as the chapter closes out um we are left with Dumbledore Minerva and Hagrid leaving Harry on the Dursleys doorstep um mongonagal confesses that she thinks that they're awful people please don't leave him here and Dumbledore's like it's gonna be good for the boy um he won't know that he's famous it will be good for him in the long run which to be fair give Dumbledore that credit I think he was right on that I think we would have had a Draco Jr. oh no um I think
00:25:08
Speaker
now I don't know maybe you know his um nature and like his parents being who they were those like genes being passed down he might have been okay I think he would have ended up like James yeah because James was cocky James was not a great person. Love him with all my heart but he was kind of a jerk to people. um He was very cocky was the best word to describe him and I think Harry would have ended up a lot like James. Mm-hmm. And in retrospect I think he ended up a good mix of the both because we obviously get the Harry sass. We love the Harry sass but I think we get Lily's good nature in him and being raised in poverty.
00:25:59
Speaker
um So as the chapter closes out we are introduced to Harry Potter, the boy who lived.
00:26:08
Speaker
um And I would like my last and final note for chapter one, to note this is the only chapter that does not follow Harry's point of view. Yeah. Because even though the book continues, the books continue in third person, we always revolve around Harry. Mm-hmm. What? No, it's not the only chapter. I spoke false. There's a couple other chapters where it's like, well, I don't know. Because like, um, gallbladifier opens up with the the old man discovering Voldemort, but then Harry wakes up from the dream.
00:26:44
Speaker
yeah so i don't know is that harry's point of view or interesting that's a good that's a good discussion to have later on aar okay um moving on we have chapter two the vanishing glass did you have any other notes for chapter one no okay just knock me on the head if you need to um chapter two the vanishing glass um this chapter opens up and we know that it's 10 years later and it's Dudley's birthday you um yeah already not good um and we know that Harry is living in the cupboard under the stairs and my first red flag for Harry James Potter is that he is quoted saying that he is you used to spiders
00:27:32
Speaker
No. That's my first red flag for you, Harold. Well, there was, I don't know if it's in this scene or if it's in one of the later chapters where he pulls out a sock and there's a spider. It's this scene. Oh, it's this one? Because he pulls out a sock. There's a spider on it and he just pulls the spider off because he's used to spiders. Heck no. I don't care how long I've been living with him. I'll never be used to spiders. No, thank you. It's honestly a red flag.
00:28:00
Speaker
Yeah, that's your first red flag. It's like, man, Harry's life sucks. It's toxic trait. So um we get told later in the chapter as Petunia tells Harry that his parents had died in a car crash.
00:28:20
Speaker
And if you're following A Very Potter Musical, they would tell you that his parents died in a car crash and then an alligator took out a knife and killed them. I i can't. I can't. We're gonna have a lot of A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel references throughout the series, so just prepare thyself.
00:28:41
Speaker
it's coming later not so much this chapter um yeah so um we get our first round of Harry sass as the quote says Aunt Petunia often said that deadly looked like a baby angel Harry often said that deadly looked like a pig in a wig this is our first round of Harry sass welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Harry's world One of my favorite lines is coming in the next chapter. It's one of my favorite Harry Potter lines. So ah we get revealed that Harry's parents have died in the car crash and that um Mrs. Fig cannot babysit and if you've read later books then you know who Mrs. Fig is and I think this is
00:29:30
Speaker
kind of a little bit of foreshadowing and I had a question with it. Mrs. Figg's broken her leg, she can't take him, Petunia says. um And then later on you hear, every year Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. And so you're kind of getting since he's left with her every year this is who always babysits him we learn in later books that Dumbledore placed her there to keep an eye on Harry and that she's actually a um what's it called squib squib
00:30:06
Speaker
I believe, again, I could be wrong. It's been a long time since I read these books, guys. So don't take my word for all of it. But um she is a, I believe a squib, but she we learned that she was put there by Dumbledore to um keep an eye on Harry. And so interesting that she, you know, we kind of already get introduced to her, but we don't really know who she is yet. um But she serves a purpose. And so then I had a question.
00:30:36
Speaker
Did Mrs. Fig really break her leg? Or was this meant to set into motion some things so that he'd have to go to the zoo? Um, but I don't know that she would have known that that's gonna, she wouldn't have known that was gonna happen. Well Harry was fixing to turn 11. Yes.
00:30:57
Speaker
So, which means he's probably going to get letters from Hogwarts soon. Yes. But I don't know if that kind of like, we need to start setting stuff in motion. Yeah, I don't know if it is or not. It's just something to kind of think about. Like, or, you know, did she really break her leg or was she like, the boy deserves some fun. Let him go to the freakin zoo. I broke my leg. You know, yeah, just something. It's something to think about knowing who she is. Yeah.
00:31:26
Speaker
So anyways, we found out Mrs. Fig can't babysit and then we are off to the zoo as Harry gets to go with Dudley and his Fran Pierce, who is also awful.
00:31:41
Speaker
ah ra Anybody associated with the Dursleys is awful. Let's just put it that way. um As we get to the zoo, strange things, we learn that strange things always happen to Harry, um such as him running from Dudley and his gang and trying to crouch behind a trash can but he ends up on a roof.
00:32:00
Speaker
I forgot about that. air wasnt another one Petunia had cut his hair really short one day and when he woke up the next morning it was back to the way it was. Petunia was trying to give him one of Dudley's hand-me-down sweaters that was awful looking and the more she tried to squeeze it over his head the smaller it got.
00:32:21
Speaker
um so we just kind of get ah an inkling into strange things are always having a hairy you're kind of already getting the gist that like homeboy's a wizard like we get it um but it just kind of sets more things into motion and kind of gives you a little bit more background on hairy here um they are at the zoo and as Dudley and his friend Pierce are looking at the snake they get bored with it and walk away um Harry is left talking to the snake um learns that it is bred in captivity and he relates to the snake because it's lonely and it's bored and
00:32:58
Speaker
it doesn't know where it's from, that kind of thing. It's kind of gives like the, he bonds with the snake in a way. And is this like the, I like to see this as the first evidence of like Harry can speak to snakes. Yes. And it's described as the snake looks at me as if to say I get that all the time, but but in reality, he's speaking to it. and it you know You don't really figure it out until a Chamber of Secrets that he is speaking to snakes, and so it's kind of funny just to think that all this time he's thinking, like that's just you know what it looks like he's saying. I don't know that he's actually speaking to me. And spoiler alert, that's what it's saying. Homeboy's speaking a whole other language. Surprise.
00:33:46
Speaker
Um, so as he's speaking to the snake, Dudley notices, um, or sorry, Pierce notices and Dudley comes running over and as Pierce and Dudley are leaning up against the glass, surprise, surprise, the glass disappears and the snake comes out of it. Now,
00:34:09
Speaker
I would quite literally be peeing all over myself if this happened. So props to Dudley for holding it together better than I would have. Um, also the snake comes out and tells Harry thanks, amigo. And we get our first clue at reputation, Taylor's first.
00:34:33
Speaker
ah Anyways, Easter egg. little, little swifty for you. So the snake leaves and they go home from the zoo. Now, um there was for a long time a theory circulating that the snake that he let out of the glass was Nagini. That did get disproven yeah and it is not in fact true, but I've always thought that was an interesting theory but be and would be hilarious and if like, surprise,
00:35:05
Speaker
you quite literally let another horcrux out would have been kept in a glass ready to for you to kill if not but i just think it's fine that's funny so um as they're on their way home um we kind of get a background into Harry's life with the Dursleys for the past 10 years um 10 miserable years um ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash is what is mentioned so you know kind of get the ah another rendition of his parents dying in the car crash um he doesn't remember being in the car but he remembers a bright flash of green light and a burning sensation on his forehead
00:35:47
Speaker
We all know what that is. What kind of car crash is that, Harry? At some point, homeboy needs some common sense. Like, come on, boy. A little car crash? Of course, how would I know? That's what he's been told. And we also kind of get a little insight into, you know, strangers have noticed him for years. Some guy bowed to him in the supermarket. Could you imagine just being out on your day and just like,
00:36:13
Speaker
Oh, Harry. And just somebody bows to you? I don't know. I'd be like, they said, it and it says that Petunia rushed him out of the supermarket. No, I would have been like, Petunia, it's time to go. That's some weirdos up in the supermarket. So then my question for that was, how did the strangers know that it's him? I assume he probably was in the Daily Prophet at some point. yeah and But how did they, did they have pictures of him?
00:36:41
Speaker
that or maybe by some chance they noticed a scar on his head and they were like oh my gosh that's harry potter. oh facts i didn't think about that that would make sense because i'm like they can't know what he looks like as a kid and unless somebody be tracking him and taking pictures of him. Which could be a thing I guess. So yeah on the score that makes sense I didn't think about that. Yeah because I think in later chapters when they get to chapter five and they go to like Diagon Alley and all that stuff. Yes. They they see the score and they're like oh my gosh it's Harry Potter. Right true. True true
Hogwarts Letter and Magical Identity
00:37:17
Speaker
true. And he was probably having a really crazy hair day as it's described that he has crazy hair days.
00:37:23
Speaker
Um, so he just kind of clothes out on, um, you know, Harry's lonely. That's kind of how the chapter ends. His baggy clothes and broken glasses. Nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang. Um, so you kind of just going to end, uh, this chapter kind of gives you just like a little look into Harry's life with the Dursleys and, you know, he's bullied by Dudley and his gang. He doesn't do well in school. Petunia and Vernon hate him.
00:37:53
Speaker
His life sucks. Welcome. and Chapter three, the letters from no one. um So this chapter opens up and we know that it's summertime, it's July and Harry will be starting Stonewall High and Dudley will be going to Smelting's Prep. That sounds like a horrible school. They both really give me like um almost like corpse bride tim burton vibes like they're grayed out grayscale uniforms i can't like harry's is don't want oh hi is jumping gates and all that yeah
00:38:36
Speaker
Stonewall High almost gives me the school Nevermore from Wednesday. yeah It gives me that vibe. um Smeltings, he wears like a bright orange uniform or something. It's just weird. It almost gives, um it just gives Tim Burton vibes. I don't know. That's all I got. um And then Harry's got mail.
00:38:59
Speaker
hello um we do get another round of Harry's sass as Dudley says they stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall he told Harry want to come upstairs and practice no thanks said Harry the poor toilets never had anything as horrible as your head down it it might get sick then he ran before Dudley could work out what he'd said I love that line. We love some hairy sauce. Um, here he goes to get the mail then and sees that he's got a letter, but the Dursleys won't let him see it. We just got a letter. Yeah. We just got a letter. We just got a letter.
00:39:41
Speaker
I wonder who it's from. We'll have to close on this household. The letter is addressed to Mr. H. Potter, the cupboard under the stairs, number four perfect drive, little Wenjing Suri. Now.
00:39:57
Speaker
One of the biggest beefs that I have with Harry James Potter. Why did you not throw it in your little cupboard under the stairs before you went back into the kitchen? You've been with these people for almost 11 years. You should know by now they're not gonna let you read that letter. I don't care if it was from Aunt Marge.
00:40:21
Speaker
you They're not letting you read that letter. I would burn that letter. Me too. But they're not letting you read that letter. Why did you not throw it in your room? Or stuff it in your pocket? I just don't understand.
00:40:37
Speaker
That has always bothered me, which, you know, he's not thinking about that at the time. He's like, somebody wrote me a freaking letter. Somebody knows who I am. Um, help. Um, but that's always bothering me anyways. Um, after the Dursleys won't let him see it, we do notice that, um, Petunia and Vernon began to panic and Vernon then moves, um, Harry into the spare bedroom.
00:41:06
Speaker
Which is not any better. No, but would be kind of funny if Harry like had set up the letter all along just to get the spare bedroom. That would be funny. Anyways, um, in this process, I realized that Dudley is actually the real bad guy here because quite frankly, He runs this household. Oh yeah. He runs this household. After they move him into the spare bedroom, they um get some backlash from Dudley. He doesn't want him to have the spare bedroom. At one point it's noted that he is hitting his father with his smelting's walking stick and he's kicking his mother in the shins.
00:41:47
Speaker
And they're not doing anything about it. They were the first gentle parenting masters. That's what I was fixing to say. they were the first That's gentle parenting at its finest. They were the original gentle parenting masters. I just don't understand it. like Dudley is running this household and they're not doing nothing about it.
00:42:06
Speaker
Nobody's got no backbone, so really the problem's been deadly all this time. yeah um After Harry gets moved to the spare bedroom, um more letters keep coming and Vernon keeps trying to keep Harry from getting them. At one point, Harry sneaks downstairs in the middle of the night to get the mail, well first thing in the morning, and Vernon is tucked up on the welcome mat in front of the door.
00:42:33
Speaker
surprise surprise and then comes Sunday and we get the very quotable line no post on Sundays which is very popular for the movies and Vernon's very happy you know this is gonna be the one day of the week that we're not gonna get some letters from Hogwarts but hey guess what they're coming down the chimney instead um letters start flying through the chimney and as Harry's trying to grab them Vernon bustles them all out of the living room he burns all the letters and then has the family pack for an impromptu family vacay um they go to a hotel and the letter comes addressed to the hotel room and then
00:43:20
Speaker
Vernon truly loses it as they go to a shack on a rock in the middle of the ocean Vernon has lost his mind officially. He's sitting in the front seat going shake him off, shake him off. At that point I would just be like you know what just take him to Hogwarts. I'm sick of getting letters. I truly just imagine him sitting there like Vernon sitting in the front seat the driver's seat just like shaking, tweaking for real. He's about to in today's terms he's about to crash out. Help us um
00:43:54
Speaker
As they're at the shack in the middle of nowhere, um, letters cannot get to them, according to Verdon. However, something else does. We learn that it's Harry's birthday. Um, and at midnight on the strike of midnight, when it's time for his birthday, you hear the whole shack shiver. Um, as a large boom hits the door and someone's at the door. Dun, dun, dun.
00:44:25
Speaker
Moving to chapter four, um, we finally meet Rubius Hagrid. R.I.P. Our gentle giant, yeah. Poor Robbie Coltrane, I'm telling you this is gonna be a really sad re-read. Um, we do immediately get introduced to Hagrid as being a giant of a man was standing in the doorway, his face was almost completely hidden by a long shaggy mane of hair,
00:44:49
Speaker
and a wild tangled beard but you can make out his eyes glinting like back black beetles like beetles in the city um under all the hair anyone who graduated around the year of 2016 will understand that reference thank you um as soon as Hagrid enters the door he's already Very, um, what am I trying to say? Sweet. No. Um, so impressive. That's not the word I'm looking for. Intimidating. He's already very intimidating. Um, but immediately says, couldn't make us a cup of tea. Could you? It's not been an easy journey. Like we're already given this man's stature and then this follow-up question of like the first thing he says, and you just kind of already get the, the gentle giant.
00:45:43
Speaker
um He gives Harry a birthday cake for his birthday um and then proceeds to tell him all about Hogwarts as he introduces himself as Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of keys and greens green keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts.
00:46:01
Speaker
um And then goes on to say, you'll know all about Hogwarts, of course. Harry says, uh, no. Hagar goes on to say, did you never wonder where your parents learned it all? Harry says, all of what? um And then we get one of my all time favorite Harry Potter quotes is, I know some things I can, you know, do math and stuff.
00:46:28
Speaker
I just love it. I love it. And it really like, Harry's life is so sad. I can do math and stuff. I'm like, God bless him. I can do something. Hello. Thank you. Um, Hagrid gets basically into a verbal fist fight with Petunia and Vernon, which we love, asking them why they never told him about where he came from. Um, and then goes on to tell Harry, Harry, you're a wizard.
00:46:56
Speaker
Or a wizard, Harry. And Harry says, I'm a what? And Hagrid says, a wizard, of course, and a thump and good and odd wager.
00:47:07
Speaker
Oh, that's from the movie, I'm sorry. A wizard, of course, and a thumping good one, I'd say. Once you've been trained up a bit with a mom and dad like yours, what else would you be? And I reckon it's about time you read your letter. And then we get the first look at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry letter. Had Master Albus Dumbledore with all of his many animations and then we get the letter telling Harry that he has been accepted to the Hogwarts School of Wig- I can't speak Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry um and that they'll need a owl sent back with his RSVP and it's coming from whenever McGonagall Harry
00:48:00
Speaker
appropriately has a lot of questions. Me too. Um, and Hagrid sends off a letter to Dumbledore letting him know that he's got Harry and is on his way. Um, in this process, Hagrid gets into another verbal fistfight with Petunia and Vernon and gets to learn about what actually happened with his parents. And we get this quote from Petunia.
00:48:28
Speaker
Of course we knew. How could you not be? My dreaded sister being what she was. Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that that school and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was, a freak. But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that. They were proud of having a witch in the family.
00:48:57
Speaker
Harry learns that his parents did not in fact die in a car crash and they were blown up. Which is a wild way to put that to your child that you're in charge of now. My, your parents, they went and killed Lily. Sorry. Um, Hagrid gets very upset when he learns that they haven't told them about told him about anything where he comes from, including lying about what killed Lily and James Potter.
Diagon Alley Visit and Wand Connection
00:49:23
Speaker
um and then proceeds to tell him more about his parents and how they tried to fight off you know who and lost and when Voldemort tried to kill Harry somehow he survived it and this was on halloween 10 years ago that gives the vibe of somehow he survived it gives the vibe of ryse discover somehow Palpatine returned we don't know why facts um so he learns all about his parents and um a little bit about what was going on with Voldemort with old Boldy um and then right before they're about to leave Hagrid gives um a Deathly a pig's tail which is fitting.
00:50:07
Speaker
Um, he tries to turn him into a pig, but it doesn't work fully he and he only gets the tail. And Hagrid then lets Harry know that he's not allowed to do magic outside of school. And we get a little bit of a foreshadowing when Harry says, why aren't you supposed to do magic? Asked Harry. Oh, well, I was at Hogwarts myself, but I, uh, got expelled to tell you the truth.
00:50:31
Speaker
In my third year, they snapped me one and half and everything, but Dumbledore let me stay on as Gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore. And of course, if you've read the series, you know why Hagrid was expelled.
00:50:44
Speaker
then it definitely comes in into play in the next book yes um and so we leave that on hagrid not being allowed to do magic he was expelled harry has some questions but um gives harry haggard gives harry his jacket and they pop off to bed for the night
00:51:07
Speaker
any other notes for chapter four? um good good man dumbledore yeah yes um one thing this always makes me this chapter really did make me what was the marauders i just want to even worse like i just want to know so much about lily and james and remus and serious like that would be and like basically i just want the waters and just like snippets of that first wizarding war yes i would love it the um i think it's half-blood prince yeah when harry gets to go into snape's memories and half-blood prince and like see his dad and stuff those little scenes just make me want the marauders so much worse oh love it
00:51:57
Speaker
Okay, moving on to our final chapter of this discussion. Chapter five, Diagon Alley. Harry wakes up and realizes Diagon Alley. I want to punch him in the face sometimes. He's so stupid. um Harry wakes up and finds out it was not a dream. Everything was true. He lets in an owl that's bringing the daily profit and we get a glimpse at the money system in the magical world.
00:52:21
Speaker
As he pays the owl, um Hagrid then goes on to tell him all about Gringotts. When Harry asks, wizards have banks, Hagrid says just the one Gringotts run by goblins. Goblins? Yeah.
00:52:36
Speaker
So you'd be mad to try and rob them, I'll tell you that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Greengots is the safest place in the world for anything you want to keep safe. Except maybe Hogwarts. As a matter of fact, I gotta visit Greengots anyway. For Dumbledore, Hogwarts business.
00:52:54
Speaker
So we get introduced to Gringotts and the magical system already. This is what I'm saying. So she does a great job of like chapter by chapter getting you into this world without overwhelming you. Quite literally exposition dumping on you.
00:53:09
Speaker
um We then do get a little bit of some foreshadowing when Hagrid goes on to tell him about Gringotts and says they say there's dragons guarding the high security vaults and then you got to find your way out. Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see, deep under the underground. you' yeah You die of hunger trying to get out even if you did manage to get your hands on something. So that's a little bit of foreshadowing into the house.
00:53:34
Speaker
Um Harry then leaves with Hagrid and on their way we learn about the Ministry of Magic which is put in place to kind of be the law of the wizarding world and One thing I did think about with this, um how would the so their main reason for keeping the Wizarding World secret, Hagrid gives the reasoning that people would want magic to solve all their problems if they knew about the Wizarding World. yeah But i almost like it makes me wonder, like how would the story change if the world knew about the Wizards? How would Harry's story be different?
00:54:17
Speaker
if he was told he was a wizard but the world knew about wizards. I think it would take some magic out of the story itself because it's almost nice to know that like it's a secret world and he gets to escape the real world when he goes to Hogwarts. Yeah. And I don't think that would be there.
00:54:39
Speaker
It would be different. Um, also the fact that Harry just went with Hagrid, no questions asked. The London. I mean if I lived in that, I mean if I was in that situation where I had horrible family life, I'd be like, all right, ah I don't know you at all, but I'll go with you anything to get me out of this place. I'm on my way. They set off for London and arrive at the Leaky Cauldron, which is a little wizarding pub. um Everyone in the pub seems to know him and we meet Professor Quero.
00:55:13
Speaker
Quirrell. That is a very part of musical reference. Thank you. um He is introduced as a pale young man, made his way forward very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching. Professor Quirrell said Hagrid. Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts.
00:55:29
Speaker
We get some foreshadowing when Kroll says I've got to pick up a new book on vampires myself. He looked terrified at the very thought. Later says they say he met, Hagrid's telling him about Kroll and he says they say he met vampires in the Black Forest and there was a nasty bit of trouble with a hag. Never been the same since. He's scared of his own subject. Which can you imagine you've got Voldemort attached to the back of your head and you're literally telling people how to defeat dark wizards.
00:55:59
Speaker
That's funny. That's a bit. I need to see that skit. Star kid, where you at? And then after you're meeting with Professor Quirrell, we do get to go into Diagon Alley diagonally diagonally um and immediately we're immersed within the wizarding world as Harry sees tons of shops with different cauldron stacks and spell books and the new Nimbus 2000 which is a bit of a foreshadowing the later in the book um and they make their way up to Gringotts
00:56:36
Speaker
It's more foreshadowing as um we get introduced to grip hook, and grip hook is introduced as yet another goblin, but grip hook does come back into play in Deathly Hallows.
00:56:50
Speaker
um We do get some more insight on the magical coin system as Hagrid tells him that the gold ones are galleons, 17 silver sickles to a galleon, and 29 nuts to a sickle. Not doing that math, sorry.
00:57:04
Speaker
um we get to go to Harry's vault where he has ugle's amount of money um and then we get to go to vault hundred number 713 and this is the very first reference that we get to a seven so in the Harry Potter series the number seven comes into play a lot oh yeah um and so i don't know if this one was on purpose or not but you know we get 713 by golly that starts with a seven i'm taking it as a win Um Hagrid then takes Harry to get his uniform where we meet Draco Malfoy. My name is Draco Malfoy. There will be lots of Starkid references you can't already tell. Poor, poor Starkid. I didn't, I had completely forgotten that this is the first time we meet Draco and when I was going back and reading it I was like oh I forgot. Yeah honestly it's a lot of fun.
00:58:01
Speaker
um We meet Draco and he kind of introduces Harry into the Wizarding World of Hogwarts a little bit as he gives his very biased viewpoint on Hogwarts systems um and mentions Quidditch to which point Harry does ask Hagrid about Quidditch and Hagrid gives a very vague response about it being a game you play in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls and it's very hard to explain.
00:58:28
Speaker
um We also get introduced to the school houses through Draco and Hagrid. um Draco mentions Hufflepuff being the worst of the lot, which I just think is very rude.
00:58:41
Speaker
and I want to punch him in the face. I literally wrote rude in my book because he says that Hufflepuff's, if he was picked as a Hufflepuff, he would leave the school. You know what? Screw you. Um, so then Hagrid goes on to tell him all about the houses. Not every house. He really only mentions Hufflepuff and Slytherin. um Harry says, in a defeated manner, I bet I'm Hufflepuff. You know what, Harry? I don't need your shade, okay? I don't need your shade. um And Hagrid goes on to this ah explain that Voldemort was in Slytherin and it would be better to be in Hufflepuff than Slytherin.
00:59:22
Speaker
I'm in. That's honestly true. um As Harry is looking at a curse book, he wants to buy it so he can try curses out on Dudley. Hagrid tells him that he can't use magic outside of school um and that he would have to have a lot more skill to use those curses anyways.
00:59:41
Speaker
To be fair, is Gryffindor any better? Because Gryffindor, I feel like attracts all sorts of trouble. Just looks the best because they're cocky. I can't tell Holly. I'm Gryffindor. Because they thank the world of themselves, Holly. Get off my back. Um, so... um hagrid explains that they can't use magic outside of school which kind of comes into play a little bit later when harry quite literally threatens his aunt and uncle with using magic and they don't know that he but to be honest i would too in that situation
01:00:15
Speaker
um While out shopping, they Hagrid takes him to get his birthday present, which is Hedwig, his owl that he'll be taking with him to Hogwarts. We love Hedwig. R.I.P. He then goes to Ollivander's where we learn about wand lore. As Ollivander says, every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs to Phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. not No two olivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, and or phoenixes are the are quite the same. I cannot read. And of course you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." Which is really interesting. They really
01:01:03
Speaker
the wand lore of these books goes so over my head I almost wish they would give another book on that um because it is kind of crazy like the wands do choose the wizard yeah and if he tries to use another wizard's wand it'll work it's just not gonna do everything that his wand would do Mm-hmm. I I almost would go so far as like when they later learn that they can do spells without speaking them if you used a new wand I think you'd have to do some adjustments before you could go without speaking Mm-hmm. I think you'd have to work with it a little bit. Yeah, cuz I think Dumbledore doesn't really Dumbledore doesn't speak when he does magic. No as you become more skilled
01:01:47
Speaker
you don't have to speak um and they they get to do that later in the books um here he does try out some wands which don't work um and he officially eventually gets a wand that is made of holly and phoenix feather 11 inches nice and supple um and then that wand quite literally comes to life in his hand and that is the wand that chooses him we then get told by olivander that it so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand gave another feather just one other it is very curious indeed that you should be distant for this wand when its brother why its brother gave you that scar
01:02:30
Speaker
That is so interesting. I love that line. It's already so eerie. um So we learned that Voldemort had the same core Phoenix feather in his wand that Harry now has. And that's the only two wands to ever have that Phoenix's tail feather in it. Shake a table.
01:02:51
Speaker
Um, Harry gets swan and, um, Hagrid takes him, puts him on the train back to number four per bit drive where he will wait until Hagrid comes or no, where he will wait. That's the movie. I'm sorry. Um, where he wait till it's time to get on the Hogwarts express platform nine and three quarters at King's cross station.
01:03:15
Speaker
I gotta get back to Hogwarts. I gotta get back to school. Um, so we leave chapter five with Harry heading back to the Dursleys. Sad day. Um, that's all the notes I had. That's all the notes I had. Okay. So a good first five chapters. I do think it's kind of crazy to not be introduced to Hermione and Ron yet.
01:03:44
Speaker
I just think it's... I thought they were introduced in the first five chapters and I was clearly very wrong. she he does it she He doesn't meet them until he's on the train. Yeah. So that's when she comes. I'm Heidi Granger and you are Ron Weasley. Pleasure. um So yeah, that is the synopsis of the first five chapters in our notes along the way. um Our next segment we're going to do is first impressions. My nose has stopped up.
01:04:17
Speaker
Okay first impression of Vernon. Okay um so I think with Vernon it's just very irritating and he doesn't know when to shut up. That part. I think first impressions of him right off the bat is just this stodgy old man who thinks they're better than everybody. Who does but he also like He's a very driven guy. Yeah. He quite literally sits with his back to the window so he won't be distracted by what's going on outside. I wish I could do that. That is not me. We're currently filming this podcast facing a window. That's not me. First impressions of Petunia.
01:05:05
Speaker
I think right off the bat just the way she described nosy person who needs to keep her words to herself because I mean she's immediately described as having a long neck that's good for craning over the fence to look at neighbors. Yeah but I think it's really interesting to point out that back when she was telling about Lily and how when her parents found out that she was a wizard that they were immediately like Lily this Lily that you can tell that she was still kind of I guess she was a little bit jealous of Lily.
01:05:34
Speaker
because she got all of the attention and she was pushed to the side. She almost has middle child syndrome. Yes. But she's not the middle child. She's Jan Brady. But she's not the middle child. No. She's Jan Brady syndrome. I don't know if it's Lily's younger or older actually. It's Lily, Lily, Lily. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. I think Lily's younger.
01:05:51
Speaker
Yeah, she is younger. So, interesting. Dumbledore. I think he's a very, first impressions, he's a very eccentric man. Yes, I mean, he literally walks around and like, a it's described, he's in like robes and a cloak and silver buckled shoes and glad he has like, the half his beard is long and you're immediately like, oh, this guy's a wizard. Yeah.
01:06:19
Speaker
He gives off wizard energy, man. Yes, and but he's also like big quiz energy. Yeah, but I know you said he's kind of like Master Yoda where he doesn't really answer questions, but I think Yoda is better at explaining things. Double Georgia doesn't explain anything.
01:06:40
Speaker
He really doesn't. I think just right off the bat he does give a first impression of being a very eccentric man that knows more than he's letting on. Oh yeah. Because everything he says has like a like a riddle to it. Mm-hmm.
01:06:55
Speaker
And it's pointed out I think several times in those first few chapters, I can't really remember, that he is the only wizard that Voldemort was ever afraid of. Yes. So you know that he's powerful. He's effortless, I think. He's very graceful. That part. First impressions of Minerva. She's an icon.
01:07:15
Speaker
she is's the moment She literally walks around as a cat, I wish. She, immediately you can get, you get you don't get a very, like don't get a good enough and amount of time to get a good impression of her, but you immediately get that she like... is like the mother hen. She's very protective immediately. Yeah. Cause she's like, I don't want to leave him with these people. She's already immediately protective and she has her morals. You can tell cause she's like kinda, I mean, nose up in the air a little bit.
01:07:51
Speaker
Yeah, I think she was she was really protective of Harry because I feel like she was also really protective with James and Lily because she's the head of Gryffindor House and they were both in Gryffindor so I think she she was the mother hen to all of Gryffindor and so I think she would have really preferred if Harry went with someone else. Yeah. Which I don't know if she was head of Gryffindor House at the time. I don't know if she would have been or not.
01:08:16
Speaker
No, I don't know if she would have been or not. I don't she would definitely have been their professor either way. Yeah. Especially since they've been Dumbledore. They said that. um No, because he was. Oh, no, he was a master. um They ah it's mentioned that James's wand was really good for transfiguration spells. So she probably really has started deadly.
01:08:44
Speaker
Manipulative. Spoiled little brat. Manipulative. Gaslight extraordinaire. Every time we, I'd flip a page, every other page he was crying about something. I'm like, it's like what we said with Will in Stranger Things, computer pansy. He's a gaslighter extraordinaire.
01:09:03
Speaker
um Hagrid um well I would definitely say Hagrid is very loyal to a fault because there's a moment where I guess it's Vernon and them were trash talking Dumbledore and he literally cornered him against wall and says do not say a word about Dumbledore so he's very loyal and that definitely comes through within other books I believe yeah and he's just very caring and very sweet like I would hang out with Hagrid all day I think the gentle giant yes i would hang out with him all day gentle giant is what i vibe squirrel sketchy sketchy that's the best word to describe him right now because whenever they were talking about like something's weird he's very very jumpy and very like he's tweaked um doesn't really like
01:09:54
Speaker
He talks and he like skips around a lot of stuff and you're just like, okay, this guy is sketchy right off the bat. I don't... going down That's how you know you've read enough books. You can barely interact with a character and you're like, you're already sketchy.
01:10:04
Speaker
see Red flag. Well, especially so this already speaks wonders to Dumbledore's hiring skills. Yeah. The fact that Hagrid quite literally says the man's not been right in the head since he got attacked by vampires, but he's your defense against the dark arts professor. Don't worry. What do you mean? So already putting them in peril. Um, Draco. Stuck up. Yeah. Privileged. Prideful child. And know it all.
01:10:34
Speaker
Once you meet his parents you will immediately see what may specifically his father which it's funny that Draco does give the first know-it-all energy yeah before Hermione and then yeah he hates Hermione so much like bro she just gave you a run for your money. Um, Ollivander. Creepy. But wise.
01:10:54
Speaker
Thank you, creepy. Cause Harry even says like he's creeped out by him because when he says like, he's telling him Harry, like he was a very powerful wizard. Um, he was evil in every sort of way, but he was very powerful in the way he says it is just very like, okay. All right. Take a step back. mag yeah Um, finally, Harry.
01:11:22
Speaker
i feel for this child i think he he has a good head on his shoulders he has a good backbone he's not gonna take it lying down yeah i know and i think that definitely goes that definitely shows up too in uh the third book especially when we're back with the dursleys yeah no he um he he doesn't take their their bullying completely like he does stand up for himself quite a bit so that's already intriguing and i think he's just an innocent little child
01:11:58
Speaker
lol um so overall chapter theme of the first five chapters i would just say the daresleys suck yeah i would definitely say they suck but my thing is like especially it was really apparent in like chapters two and three Harry is lonely. I feel like he he doesn't really they always bonded with a boa constrictor. Yeah, that's just He's really lonely. He really did. I feel like He one of the reasons he's lonely is he really doesn't know who he is and where he fits in life and And I think, and yeah it's really apparent when the letters start showing up and he's like, oh, they're addressed to me. And it's the one thing that when the Dursleys take it away from him, he really like gets upset and like, I want my letter. Yeah. Because he doesn't know who it's from. Yeah. He wants to know. I would also be curious if somebody quite literally had down to like where I slept at night on a letter, I'd be like, all right.
01:13:04
Speaker
Who are you? really Now, we have a ending question we're going to do each week for the podcast for whatever five chapters we read. We're going to have a themed question that you'll be able to answer on our Instagram.
01:13:21
Speaker
um But Hallie, would you like to give us our question? So our very first question of the week is, what are your thoughts on Harry being left with the Dursleys?
01:13:34
Speaker
um part of me wants to say like i don't like why would you leave him with such horrible people but there's also a part of me and that kind of agrees with Dumbledore i hate to say this but um i think it was good for him because he truly was hidden away from the wizarding world somewhat and he was allowed to live I don't know if I want to say somewhat of a normal life because the life he lives is not normal because he lives in a cupboard under some stairs. Yeah. I just almost wish that my viewpoint on it is I think that obviously Dumbledore knows who Harry is. Yes. He knows about a lot of things that are gonna come in Harry's life and I don't disagree with him being left in the dark in that he won't grow up with a big head.
01:14:29
Speaker
But i I do kind of wish like every once in a while, pop in and do like a ah health check on my boy. Like, I mean, I feel like he could have enforced Because we later learned that he does have an agreement with Petunia that was in the original letter that he left with Harry at the doorstep about protecting Harry. But she, they could have treated him better. Like they could have still kept up that end of the bargain, but treated him better. And I think that that maybe could have fell on Dumbledore a little bit of like, do a little house call every once in a while and just see how things are going.
01:15:10
Speaker
i Yeah. Do a house call and say, can we please move him out from under the stairs? I mean, come on. Yeah, I think the only reason that they kind of left him with the Dursleys is because they probably knew that he wasn't ready to fully understand who he is in his story. Right. But I mean, he could have popped in for a visit without Harry knowing.
01:15:31
Speaker
How'd McGonagall go? Because she cares about the kid. Literally anybody. You got Mrs. Fig planted. Use her! Harry went and thanked twice about her being there. Dumbledore sent a freaking letter. You don't even have to show him the person. Threaten him with the letter. I don't know. Not his style I guess. But I just, I do think it was good for Harry to be left there. I think he would have ended up like Draco. I just go back on what I said. I think it would end up like James.
01:15:59
Speaker
yeah And I think he would have gotten a little bit of a big head. um So I agree that it, you know, he needed to grow up in a so more stable environment, but I don't know. I think it just sets it really, I think it was a lose-lose situation. Cause then it sets forth the path of Harry being really like depressed and bummed about not getting to be raised by Sirius. And like, I just think that that sets all that in motion and That could have been avoided, but also then he would have maybe grown up a little cocky. So I don't know. Definitely if he would have been raised by Sirius. Sweet Jesus. I love that man, but he has reckless death all. I was your father's best, your father's best friend. Like cert you mean Sirius Black?
01:16:48
Speaker
um So yeah, that's our question of the week. We will have that posted on our Instagram. So be sure and check that out so you can um Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. um I think that pretty much wraps up our full discussion. Yeah, this was fun! I feel like what we had currently reading was a little bit random so we might move it to the beginning of next episode so yeah just an FYI. Felt like I broke up the discussion a little bit but yeah.
01:17:19
Speaker
It was a good first five chapters. I'm excited to see what happens next. um So be sure and follow the podcast and rate us five stars and let us know your thoughts on how we did for our first five chapter recap. And if you'd like to see a certain segment added, let us know.
01:17:39
Speaker
Also, be sure to follow us on our Instagram at Family Fiction Pod. We post our content on there. And also, don't forget, our question of the week will also be on our Instagram, so be sure to check that out. Yes. And we will see you guys next week when we do chapters 6 through 10. And yeah, we'll jump right back in into the magic. So thanks so much for listening, and we will see you next week. Bye!
01:18:12
Speaker
Fixing