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"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" by JK Rowling: Chapters 1 - 4
40 Plays30 days ago
Join us this week as we discuss chapters 1 through 4 of “Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets” 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
Arrival at the Burrow & Podcast Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
They arrived to the borough to a furious Mrs. I was literally quoting that the whole time I was reading this dynamic.
00:00:50
Speaker
Hello everyone and welcome back to Family Fiction with Hallie and Carmen. And today we are going to be doing chapters one through four of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Yes. I'm very excited Hallie is leading our discussion today. We're starting off.
Spoiler Alert & Current Reads
00:01:07
Speaker
Yes.
00:01:08
Speaker
um but before we get any further i just want to throw out some a spoiler alert for this book as well as the rest of the series so if you do not want to be spoiled then i would recommend to stop listening right here go read these books and then come back and join us later yes there will be lots and lots of spoilers for this book especially in these chapters because there's so much foreshadowing to what happens in the book oh yeah um but before we get into the discussion we are going to do our currently readings. So my current read is After We Collided by Anna Todd. I have decided I'm gonna like all right we're gonna get back into these after books because I read the first one when we were on vacation last year and um it tore me to pieces because I didn't have the second one. So they'll continue to tear you to pieces even though you have the rest of the books they're gonna tear you right on up.
00:02:06
Speaker
It's a good time. Oh, yeah. um I'm super excited about that.
Reading Slumps & Media Distractions
00:02:11
Speaker
Carmen, what are you currently reading? Well, I'm still in a reading rut and I ended up giving up trying to read Carnage.
00:02:22
Speaker
Yes, Cornidge by Chantel Tessier. Not that I don't want to read it because I really do. I think I was just trying to find anything that seemed to pique my interest fully that I like would make me read. And so my current read is A Rising Throne by Cave and Hearing. I have not started it because the reading slump continues. But my goal is to really get into reading this week because Onyx Storm comes out and I got the notification today that my copy has been shipped and will be here Thursday.
Birthday Plans & Book Acquisition
00:02:57
Speaker
So I've got to get this book read and I if I sit down and read I can do it and I'm off tomorrow so I think I can get done. I wish I was off tomorrow but I have a strategy so Tuesday I think we're gonna go out to eat for
00:03:11
Speaker
my mom's birthday, so I'm gonna try Target and if it's not there, I may try Barnes and Noble, but if not, I'll just order it and just stay off social media. Why don't you just pre-order it? You can pre-order it and pick it up at Target. I might do that. um But yeah, I apologize for the person. I've been seeing all the reels of people being like, this will be us whenever she leaves us on a cliffhanger, which I know will happen.
Harry's Worst Birthday
00:03:36
Speaker
You should just sit in there like,
00:03:38
Speaker
as long as it's not as bad as Iron Flame. Iron Flame tore me to pieces with that ending. ah You know Rebecca's done a remarkable thing that in both of her books so far I have ah there's a tear stain on at least one page. I've cried in both books and that doesn't happen very often so because it's always characters that I'm really like attached to the one for the second book ended up being because I um was very attached. I'm very attached to Riddick. And I thought he was going to die. And I was crying, but it was, you know, a good time. Um, but yeah, my hope and goal is to read a rising throne this week so I can be ready for onyx storm. Um, like I said, I'm off tomorrow for the MLK day. My work's closed. So maybe I'll read tomorrow. Probably not. Honestly, if I haven't started a rising throne by Tuesday,
00:04:38
Speaker
I'll just wait and start Onyx Storm um because I will read Onyx
Life with the Dursleys & Hogwarts Longing
00:04:42
Speaker
Storm when it comes out. Oh yeah. And that will get me out of my rut. The problem is I discovered that I really like watching Smosh videos on YouTube. I've never watched any of their videos before. I started watching them and that's where the main issue lies because I would rather just brain rot with Smosh than sit and read my book. It's a problem.
00:05:07
Speaker
Plus I'm doing the Teen Wolf rewatch. We're on the season 4 finale. It's a good time. You want to know what's funny is about this time last year is when I got into a really bad reading slump that lasted for about two months and it's so funny that you're in one now around the same time. I always like once a year i get into a reading slump it either happens in the middle of the year or it happens at the beginning of the year it happens every single year and so it just happened up in january this year but last year i think it was like june and july i didn't read anything it just depends but yeah it also depends on if i found a show that i'm watching whether that's what i want to do with my free time or not but um finding smosh has really been
00:05:55
Speaker
Decorating to my killer to my reading. Yeah moments. Well, we'll get there. All right, so Steering back on topic after our little Ted talk So we're gonna go ahead and start with chapter one the worst birthday Yay! So we're already off to a not so fantastic start as we are back at 4 Privet Drive and we have probably one of many arguments that goes on in the Dursley House. So basically what started this argument is Vernon is livid because Harry's owl Hedwig is causing such a ruckus and it's driving all the family crazy
00:06:43
Speaker
and Harry is trying to explain that she is bored and if you would just let her fly outside we wouldn't have this problem but Vernon is not having any of it and to kind of
00:06:59
Speaker
I'm having a stroke, hello. Um then we get an interruption from Dudley who's wanting more bacon because you know he never quits eating and we get a lot of um I just love the description. Dudley with who was so large his bottom drooped over either side of the kitchen chair.
00:07:16
Speaker
it's like he gets fatter and fatter as each book goes she really goes out of her way to like make sure that you understand what these people look like this dad and this son are fat fat fat with a ph Um and anyways Dudley is begging for more bacon and we get our first round of Harry sass in this chapter with him saying you've forgotten the magic word and this causes the entire Dursley family to go into a tiz because he said the M word magic which is not allowed because we know that the Dursleys want nothing to do with magic they don't want to even hear the word magic
00:08:02
Speaker
um and they keep talking about how dare you threaten Dudley and how we will not tolerate your abnormality under this roof and I just and then Harry just kind of gives up he's like okay whatever I'm just I'm just trying to make it until I go back to school she's trying to survive um but um Harry then kind of starts to reminisce about missing Hogwarts, um how he misses the castle and all its secret passageways and all his classes, except for Snape's class.
00:08:43
Speaker
We gotta throw in that little dig. I love that he like found out the reason that Snape's so hateful towards him and still has, is like, nope, still don't like him. I don't care. My mind is unchanged. And how he especially misses Quidditch. And then we find out that all of Harry's spell books, his wand, basically anything that he that shows that he is a wizard has been locked in the cupboard under the stairs bye Vernon. Which would that even stop Harry? I mean yeah yeah he doesn't know how to get to it. Yeah that's true but um he doesn't have a key. A see a key.
00:09:28
Speaker
um and we kind of one thing that I did notice about this chapter is we kind of get a little bit of a recap about the story so far um which I think is kind of nice to kind of use as a refresh of your brain with how Harry is a wizard and all that stuff how he came across Voldemort how he got the scar and a little bit of a recap of the last book kind of gives a refresher I did like that um And then we find out that it is Harry's 12th birthday and the Dursleys are completely ignoring it. Poor Harry. As usual. I don't think that's anything new. It just... but he does not even surprise. Um...
00:10:15
Speaker
There's a paragraph that says, the dursleys hatn't even remembered that today happened to be harry's twelfth birthday Of course, his hopes hadn't been high. Go figure. They'd never given him a real present, let alone a cake, but to ignore it completely.
00:10:29
Speaker
Bless him. I think he's just used it at this point. He's 12. He's, he's John. Mm-hmm. And Vernon is then proceeds to talk about how today is a very important day, which we all know at this point he is not talking about how it's Harry's 12th birthday, but the fact that there is a very important dinner coming up and I'm like squinting to see the computer.
00:10:53
Speaker
um how it is a very big dinner and Petunia and Dudley and Vernon all start to kind of like rehearse as to what they're gonna do. They have this whole thing planned out to a tee which is so baffling but also it makes sense. Thank you so much for zooming that in um and while they're talking about what they're gonna do they keep going back to Harry And he repeats over and over again, I'll be in my bedroom making no noise and pretending I'm not there. Another round of Harry sass in the flesh. So um Harry then proceeds to go outside after breakfast and he's kind of sad that he hasn't heard from Ron or Hermione at all over the summer.
00:11:46
Speaker
But he's reminiscing about how he is missing Ron and Hermione, which I would too. If I hadn't heard from my friends all summer, I'd be like, what's going on? Don't be fair. I don't- Yeah, he's only been gone a couple weeks, but maybe he feels like, you know, I've never had anybody write to. I think he's just more excited than anything. feel like has my right to yeah He probably is like, Lord, Ron, please write and tell me you want me to come stay so I can get out of this place. Get me out of this prison. That is not really a home.
Dobby's Warnings & Interventions
00:12:21
Speaker
um But anyways, Harry is kinda just absent-mindedly just staring around when all of a sudden he notices a pair of giant eyes staring back at him from a bush.
00:12:36
Speaker
not creepy at all enters one of my favorite characters yes and he's kind of pulled out of this little staring contest with Dudley who proceeds to walk over and pester Harry more and we have multiple rounds of Harry sass where Dudley says I know what day it is and Harry goes well done so you finally learned the days of the week we love and then He keeps trying to pester Harry, but then Harry finally just has enough and kind of starts to threaten him by start saying random words and pretending like he's doing magic. And of course, Dudley starts crying like the little wuss he is.
00:13:19
Speaker
which then proceeds to get Harry punished by going to do work around the house. And this list of work that he has to do is he has to clean the windows, wash the car, mow the lawn, trim the flower beds, prune and watered the roses, and repainted the garden bench. Cinderella, Cinderella. Night and day it's Cinderella.
00:13:42
Speaker
I'm just like... this point, might as well pay him, yeah, for doing all this housework. And after he's done with all this, he heads back in for dinner, which they give him a literal piece of bread.
00:13:57
Speaker
They give him two pieces of bread and a block of cheese. Prison food. And they send him upstairs. And as he's going to collapse on his bed, he is shocked to see that someone else is already sitting on the bed. And that is how the chapter ends. We love. And we get to see probably one of the most adorable characters. He's my favorite. and Known to man.
00:14:25
Speaker
So moving on to chapter two, Dobby's Warning. and I literally have the notes, Dobby with three exclamation points. So I just love this, here's the description of Dobby.
00:14:41
Speaker
um the little creature on the bed had large bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls. Harry knew instantly that this is what had been watching him out of the garden hedge that morning." So um the dinner's going on downstairs and Harry's realizing that this is in fact the creature that was staring at him in the bushes earlier.
00:15:05
Speaker
and um they greet each other and Dobby starts to fangirl over Harry Potter as literally everyone else does in the Wizarding World um he introduces introduces himself as Dobby just Dobby, Dobby the house elf and they start to talk and Harry kind of tells him you can sit down and well first of all Harry asks him why he's here and Dobby wants to tell him but he doesn't quite know where to start so Harry tells him to sit down which then causes Dobby to bust into tears because he is never been treated like an equal by a wizard and which none of the elves are Dobby's just so unique because he's the only elf that cares the other elves are like please treat me poorly
00:16:01
Speaker
Um, and Harry's trying to quiet him down because After all, the dinner's going on downstairs and Harry was instructed to not make a sound, pretend like he doesn't exist. um And Harry talks about how he hasn't really must not have met any decent many decent wizards. And then, Dobby- I haven't. ah I love that part of the movie. And then, without warning, Dobby proceeds to start banging his head on the window and like punishing himself. And I'm just like, why would you do that to yourself?
00:16:37
Speaker
that's what they're trained to do and Harry is like mortified at this and Dobby explains that he has to punish himself because he almost spoke ill of his family. Could you imagine like first of all you just found out about house elves you just met one in person and now he's literally using objects to bash his head in and it would just be like What? Where am I? um And he talks and Dobby talks about how he serves a wizarding family and how he is bound to serve one house only for all eternity.
00:17:18
Speaker
and foreshadowing
00:17:23
Speaker
but That's gonna be my foreshadowing song for now. Your foreshadowing song? Yes. Um and he talks about, first of all I just want to point out this one punishment. Um so Harry asks do they know you're here? Dobby shuttered. Oh no sir. No Dobby will have to punish himself most grievously for coming to see you sir. Dobby will have to shut his ears in the oven door for this if they ever knew sir. da But won't they notice if you shut your ears in the oven door?
00:17:52
Speaker
Dobby doubts it, sir. Dobby is always having to punish himself for something, sir. They let Stobby get on with it, sir. Sometimes they remind me to do extra punishments. You deserve prison but you won't get time. We have wizard slavery.
00:18:13
Speaker
oh um But, so anyways. Harry asks him why he's here and, um, Dobby is here because he is trying to prevent Harry from going back to Hogwarts as there is danger looming at Hogwarts. LOL. That's not new information, Dobby.
00:18:37
Speaker
I think what's crazy here is if we knew that he was serving the Malfoy's, I think a lot of the this book could have been solved sooner. Oh yeah. Because Dobby says there is a plot, Harry Potter. A plot to make most terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this year, whispered Dobby, suddenly trembling all over. Dobby has known it for months, sir. Harry Potter must not put himself in peril. He is too important, sir. So like, if we would have known that like, that's the family that he'd served,
00:19:09
Speaker
we could have put the pieces together way sooner this book would have been half of would have been half the length lovely still gotta figure out who's opening the chamber of secrets but yes um but i think if we would have known that he served the mouth was it would have been a lot quicker even with figuring out who opened the chamber of secrets and all that nonsense it would have been a lot quicker but anyways dobby is very persistent like harry is not to go back to hogwarts harry is protesting because he he's like listen i have to go to hogwarts i i can't stay here for the rest of my life no jimmy protested sorry that was a one direction reference i apologize um but he continues to inflict more pain on himself which bless his heart because he and how he does this is he proceeds to beat himself around the head with harry's desk lamp i'm like
00:20:07
Speaker
You know, sometimes I feel the same way. I also would want to beat myself with a lamp. Sometimes Harry makes me want to beat myself with a lamp. The decision process behind some things. Well, there's an instance with Harry that makes you want to beat your head with a lamp, which we'll get to that later. my um But because of all the ruckus that's going on, Vernon starts to storm upstairs, which then causes Harry to shove Dobby in the closet.
00:20:38
Speaker
and um Vernon proceeds to scold Harry for making a lot of noise and then goes back downstairs um once he's gone Harry lets Dobby out of the closet and is literally like do you see what I have to live with? I have to go back to Hogwarts. I cannot stay here and um he talks about how like it's the only place he has he has friends and then Dobby kind of slyly says friends who don't even write to Harry Potter and it is then at this moment when Harry realizes that Dobby has been swiping Ron and Hermione's letters to deter him from going back to Hogwarts. I've been committing mail fraud. Literally. You sneaky little thing. Settle mail fraud.
00:21:31
Speaker
This causes Harry to be absolutely furious and he tries to make a grab for the letters, but Dobby is very slick with it and will not let him have them. And he's like begging him, please give me back the letters. Dobby's like, no. And then Dobby proceeds to go out of the room and go downstairs.
00:21:53
Speaker
this is where the chaos starts to happen um Dolby then goes downstairs and he enchants um the dinner pretty much and causes yep and he causes it to levitate and crash to the ground her footing yep
00:22:15
Speaker
and this causes the dinner to go into an uproar and as soon as this happens we have an owl that drops a letter in that basically um and everybody the dinner is chaotic Vernon then proceeds to get the letter and starts to read it to Harry or Harry reads it I can't um and basically it is a letter from the Ministry of Magic that they found out that Harry, that there was magic at the house and is a reminder that underage wizards are not allowed to perform magic. I just have a really quick question. How did they find out so quickly that magic was used? was it there's a trace so when kids are below 17 there's like a magical trace on them and there's like a thing there's a person at the ministry that's in charge of keeping track so if a um underage wizard uses magic it like basically sends up an alert tone at the ministry okay that makes sense because i forgot about that i was like i was like they're I know there's a way for them to figure it
Harry's Powerlessness & Rescue
00:23:21
Speaker
out. I just couldn't remember when. There's more specifics than what I remember. But that's the gist of it. So it's then that Vernon and the rest of the Dursleys find out that Harry's actually not allowed to use magic outside of school. So pretty much all of Harry's time with threatening them with magic has went up in flames. Love it. Dang it.
00:23:46
Speaker
And as punishment, Harry is then locked in his room like a like a prisoner, which he already is pretty much a prisoner, but this just makes it even worse. And they drag him back upstairs, they put bars on the window. This is a little extreme. Like crazy the the Dursleys will stop at nothing to make sure that Harry hates his life. Yep, pretty much.
00:24:16
Speaker
Um, and to make it even worse, they feed him through a flap door. Like a cat door. Like a cat door. I'm like... It's so sad. It's like... Poor Harold. Like, I thought, you know, I originally thought like, okay, Percy Jackson had a bad life? No. Harry takes the cake on this one. Yeah. He is literally a slave and a prisoner rolled in one. Um...
00:24:45
Speaker
So, Harry is falling into an uneasy sleep. He starts to dream that he is in a literal cage and that Dobby is outside his the bars.
00:25:01
Speaker
we love Harry is like, leave me alone. But then he opens his eyes because he dreams of the bars being rattled. And lo and behold, we see Ron Weasley outside his window. And that's how the chapter ends. Literally to be like, get in loser. We're going shopping. Exactly. Get in loser. We're going to Hogwarts. We're going to the bedroom. Yep.
00:25:29
Speaker
All right, so moving on to chapter three the burrow my favorite location this family This chapter is probably my favorite by far because so much crap happens in this first few pages. Honestly, there's literally a whole breakout. Yes. I just also like the borough is one of my favorite locations in the Wizarding World. Like there's those tests and stuff where it's like where would you rather go and there's all the different Wizarding World location spots.
00:26:01
Speaker
And I always really struggle picking between the burrow and Hogwarts. like Hogwarts always wins, but the burrow just sounds like it would just be so much fun. yeah Everything's like spelled and magic. like There's crochet needles knitting in the corner by themselves. like It just sounds like such a little cozy environment. It's a good time.
00:26:23
Speaker
All right so we start out the chapter with Harry seeing Ron outside the window in a floating car with my two favorite characters of all time Fred and George. Ready Fred? Ready George. Bottoms up. All right so Harry is reeling from the fact that there's a literal floating car outside his window um and Ron is basically like, why haven't you been answering my letters? Been leaving me all red. Exactly. Been ghosting me. Yep. And he even talks about how, like, how, why haven't you been reading the letters? We even got a notification that you used that there was magic. Like, what's going on, buddy? Yeah. Because his dad got the, his dad knew about it via the ministry. Arthur Weasley. He knows all. I love him.
00:27:16
Speaker
Um, I just love they're like, Ron's like, you know, we're not supposed to do spells outside of school. And here he goes, you should talk. Just staring at the floating car. It's fine. Petal meat. In the words, what we say, petal meat caught. Yes. Um, but basically they're like, there's no more time to chit chat, we've come to rescue you. um And Harry's like, well, you can't magic me out of here. And Ron goes, we don't need to. You forget who I've got with me. They're creative. Yes. And then Fred and George proceed to tie a rope around the bars and pull the bars off the window with the car. Like
00:28:04
Speaker
Way to be creative, fellas. They love. They're literal burglars. It's like an all along situation. They're burglars. Like a thief in the night? Yep. And um once they get the bars off, Harry then tells them like, I don't have any of my stuff. And so Fred and George climb through the window and then proceed to pick the lock to the bedroom door. And they sneak down and get all of Harry's things.
00:28:35
Speaker
literal barklers I forgot about this stuff like I forgot about them like picking the lock and all that stuff and I think it's fun where Fred points out like a lot of wizards think it's a waste of time knowing this sort of muggle trick but we feel their skills their skills worth learning even if they're a bit slow we love um literally if I 100 believe Fred and George weren't wizards they would be barklers I think they would just be,
Return to the Burrow & Family Dynamics
00:29:07
Speaker
I don't know, prank, like ultimate pranksters. Oh yeah. Um, but anyways, they get all of his stuff upstairs and right as they're about to get Harry into the car, he realizes that he forgot Hedwig. Which makes me so mad. Hedwig's like, hello. He literally starts screeching like, hello? What am I? Chop liver?
00:29:32
Speaker
and this wakes up Vernon and he proceeds to storm upstairs. This is the moment I want to point out because could you imagine Vernon's POV? You walk in and Harry's like halfway off the window, freeze frame, Ron's in the trunk of the car waiting for him and there's a flying car at the window with Fred and George driving it and Harry's just freeze frame like halfway out the window with his bird like that's hilarious I cannot like because it says like when burden walks in he's like what the heck like it's flabbergasted over the scene in front of him and I'm like I would be too like that's a crazy scene you'd be like am I dreaming like is this a dream are you kidding me um
00:30:16
Speaker
Vernon then proceeds to storm over there and grab Harry by the legs, while Ron, Fred, and George have him by the arms, and we have a tug-of-war battle for the chosen one. Um, but ultimately, the Weasley trio wins, they pull him into the car, and they drive away. Um, I just like, Ron's like, put your foot down, Fred! I can't put the pedal to the metal. Oh.
00:30:47
Speaker
um but anyways they drive off into the night but not without Harry yelling out the window see you next summer yes well which i would all but there'd be a part of me that like i wouldn't even want to see y'all next summer i'd be like see you have a choice right now but i'd be like see you never i'm staying at the burrow for the rest of my life well that yeah yeah that gets fickle yeah So, once they're away, Ron kind of asks Harry what's been going on and Harry tells them about Dobby, the warning that Dobby had given Harry, and the whole situation with the pudding. Um, and friend George kind of put their detective caps on. And um,
00:31:41
Speaker
they're trying to figure out um who Dobby works for because whoever it is probably whoever he works for probably has a grudge against you and they're like can you think of anybody and Harry and Ron are immediately like yes and then Harry goes with Draco Malfoy he hates me yeah um and then we kind of get into about Lucius Malfoy, how that strike goes farther, and um how Lucius was a big supporter of You Know Who aka Voldemort. And then Fred talks about how when Voldemort disappeared, Lucius Malfoy came around saying he had never meant any of it, how it was a load of crap. He
00:32:29
Speaker
Okay, here's my thing with Lucius Malfoy. This is what really bothers me. the death eat too So Draco really, you know, he's always talking a big talk, but then when somebody comes back at him, he runs away scared and he's, my father will hear about this. And Lucius sees him as weak, but Lucius is the same freaking way. in the The moment trouble starts in Order of the Phoenix,
00:32:56
Speaker
Bye-bye Lucius, the moment the order shows up. And then same with like Arthur, you know, he's running scared, hoping that the ministry doesn't get him. And it's just like, bro, the moment he thinks he's going to be held captive because he was helping Voldemort, he's like, I wasn't doing it. I was under a spell. I was doing it against my wheel. Like, bro.
00:33:25
Speaker
own up to your own errors. he's It makes me so mad because he gets so disappointed in Draco for acting the same way he does. In the words of Van Montgomery, the oak tree doesn't grow far from the place where the acorn fell from. I cannot. But they're talking about how Arthur note reckons he was right in, you know, who's in her circle and that's and harryta bush and oh
00:33:57
Speaker
yeah And Harry talks about how Malfoy makes Dudley look like a kind, thoughtful, and sensitive boy. That is true. I mean, Dudley's not like cruel. He's just a bully. Malfoy's like saying whatever he can say to cut to the quick, man. Literally.
00:34:19
Speaker
Um, but they're kind of- Would love to see Malfoy and deadly square up. They both run away crying. Um, but Harry is kind of like, I don't know if they would own a house elf and Fred's like, basically any powerful wizarding family that's rich, nine times out of ten they're gonna own a house elf, probably. Um, but...
00:34:46
Speaker
then um they proceed to talk about um Arthur Weasley and Harry kind of ask what does what does your dad do with the Ministry of Magic um and we talk and Ron talks about how he works in the misuse of muggle artifacts office where basically um things that were muggle things that were in bewitched that's what he deals with on a daily basis um and then we talk about the car and how he kind of tinkers with the car and that's how it flies um he takes regular muggle artifacts takes them apart puts a spell on them and puts them back together and that's be how he did the car
00:35:38
Speaker
That could be a fun job. Yeah, but that's not his job. I know. He's operating against the ministry and doing that. He's actually, he wrote the law so that he could do that. I'd love him. Weasleys. um But yeah, they talk about how um their dad is ah obsessed with muggle stuff and exhibit A with the floating car.
00:36:08
Speaker
um but anyways they get they're super close to the burrow and they're trying to figure out how to sneak into the house without Mrs. Weasley noticing.
00:36:21
Speaker
um But that doesn't work because they arrived to the borough to a furious Mrs. Weasley. Where have you been? No, no. No, no. Car gone. You could have died. You could have been seen. They were starving in one.
00:36:43
Speaker
Literally, they were starving him. You could have died. I was literally quoting that the whole time I was reading this dynamic. um But she goes from immediately scolding them to going, hi Harry, it's so nice to see you. Lovely to see you, Harry. dear The switch.
00:37:04
Speaker
um And so they are punished with, because of doing this with the floating car, They are sent to de-nome the garden. Yes. Basically taking all the gnomes out of the garden and chucking them. That's literally all they do. um but
00:37:31
Speaker
But... Oh, I just read that they were starving in mom. oh
00:37:40
Speaker
but they're punished with Denome in the garden. Harry decides that he wants to go um but not before see looking at all of Mrs. Weasley books where she has the gilderoy one of gilderoy Lockhart's books yes oh gilderoy Lockhart and they kind of talk about how um Mrs. Weasley fancies him and literally every wizard person ever. no Another foreshadowing moment is Ginny having her little crush on Harry. so for shadow wing b blessso um But anyways, the boys go outside to denom the garden.
00:38:30
Speaker
and Harry kind of picks one up kind of gently um but then the gnome proceeds to bite him and then Harry says says forget it and chucks it along with the rest of them and they have like a almost like a competition like who could throw out the farthest um
00:38:51
Speaker
But they also talk about um Percy being held up in his room all summer and how they haven't seen him much. And he ah normally is bragging about everything and he wasn't bragging about things. And um like knowing what, you know, it's just he's over there fangirling about Cornelius fudge and for they'll be clear water just held up in his room.
00:39:20
Speaker
But later that day, Mr. Weasley returns home and um Mrs. Weasley immediately rips into him about the car and he is kind of guilty about it. um But he also wants to hear about the car endeavors. like What was it like? He goes, did you really? sir How was it? He talks about for work. He talks about the work and the core.
00:39:50
Speaker
um
00:39:53
Speaker
And then he talks about the raids that they've been doing at the ministry, which is a little bit of foreshadowing as to why Lucius is wanting to get rid of all of his things because they're doing raids to make sure that nobody's owning enchanted wizard art facts that they shouldn't be.
00:40:11
Speaker
Guess I'm gonna have Mr. Malfoy. oh But Ron then proceeds to take Harry upstairs and they come across Ginny. Sweet little Ginny who's just blushing away. She's so stinking cute. She's in love with Whittle Harry. Yes.
00:40:32
Speaker
and he takes him upstairs to Ron's room and Ron is kind of insecure about his room just a little bit but Harry is just thrilled by all of it which and that's kind of how the chapter ends um but Harry's like this is the best house I've ever been in same Harry I love the bro um Yeah, I just feel like I would feel more at home in the borough. i would Of course I would feel home at Hogwarts, but the borough would just be like cozy. It's a mess, but it's like a cozy mess. Yes. It's lived in. Yes. um But that is how the chapter ends. And we are moving on to chapter four at Flourish and Blots. And I just put in Flourish and Bots. It's fine. Whoops.
00:41:23
Speaker
um so Harry is enjoying his weeks at the borough um and Harry kind of talks about how the Dursleys they liked everything neat and clean and ordered whereas the Weasley's house is very strange and unexpected and he's just living his best life um and while he's here at the borough Mr. Weasley is constantly interrogating him about the muggle life wanting to know every little detail. It's not long after that when the letters arrive from school with all of their school supplies for their second year and for Ginny's first year because Ginny's going to be joining them.
00:42:09
Speaker
Bless her. No. Going to a dangerous school will be. But they do get a letter from Hermione and she's already busy with schoolwork. Is she getting ahead? of Sounds about right. Yep. I also would be kind of like her in some aspect. I would be her. 100%. Getting ahead and wanting to learn everything.
00:42:36
Speaker
um So the boys kind of go out and they kind of play around with Quidditch for a little bit and um kind of just doing their thing. Um they talk about the owls for a little bit um which is basically I call it the wizarding version of TCAP test. Yeah. Pretty much that's what it is. Ordinary wizarding level exams.
Misadventures with Floo Powder
00:43:12
Speaker
you have to swing it over there
00:43:15
Speaker
um ah So it's the following day and Mrs. Weasley wakes them up all early so that they can go get their school supplies and Mrs. Weasley talks about how they're running low on money and how they're really not going to be able to afford all the robes and all the school supplies and you can kind of see Harry kind of feel bad a little bit because he literally has a vault of money in Gringotts he's rolling in it just Sitting there, which I think it's odd. He never offers anything which I know like they wouldn't take it But it is kind of odd that he never tries to like Secretly give them money somehow. Yeah um But then we cut we get our first introduction to flu powder and
00:44:08
Speaker
Flute powder power. Flute powder power. I have that in my notes. Flute powder Flute powder power. Flute powder power. And we're gonna get our first instance of Harry being stupid. They give him explicit instructions to be sure to pronounce Diagon Alley. She literally says you must speak clearly. And and he does not.
00:44:37
Speaker
Nope. Because what happens, he gets inside the fireplace ah gets inside the fireplace and he gets choked on some hot ash and coughs out diagonally diagonally and it goes very wrong and he winds up in a creepy store which we know is Morgan and Burks.
00:45:03
Speaker
Yes. dataon He's in Nocturne Alley, which he finds out later. um He is looking around at all of this creepy stuff about there's like bones and hands and all sorts of creepy stuff, creepy masks. And he then proceeds, he is fixin' a leaf, but then he sees Draco Malfoy start to walk in the store and then proceeds to hide in a cabinet. Which I wonder if it's the vanishing cabinet that he hides in. Cause it never explicitly says it just has a cabinet. Well, and they wouldn't know what the vanishing cabinet is at that point, but, no and it could be a regular cabinet, but I wonder if it's the vanishing cabinet, which would you be kind of funny because he could hide in it and not vanish because nobody said those spell. So it'd be kind of funny that he's been hiding in that thing.
00:46:00
Speaker
um but anyways we get our first introduction to Lucius Malfoy and the drama queen he is he literally is um touch nothing Draco um and we Draco kind of starts to complain about Harry, how everybody loves him and Lucius kind of talks about like, um if I were you, I wouldn't appear less than fond of Harry Potter because a lot of people, a lot of our wizard kind regard him as a hero who made the Dark Lord disappear. um And we kind of get
00:46:46
Speaker
We get in the instance where Lucius talks about how he has a few items at home that he needs to sell with all the ministry raids going on. um and the reason for this is because there's a rumor going around about a muggle protection act um and he's like of course i'm pretty sure arthur weasleys behind all of this because you know they hate each other's guts um which is gonna become very evident later in this chapter um and he's talking about how i need to get rid of these poisons i know like why he just got that stuff in the room
00:47:24
Speaker
I'm like, just have that stuff lying around your ass. Okay, Lucius, whatever. He talks, so um, then we get some Hermione slander, which is not appreciated at all. Um, and Mr. Malfoy's like, you should be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam. I'm like, I guess just projecting his love for Hermione.
00:47:48
Speaker
lol oh enemy still lovers but um but we talk we kind of get our instance of ah what i like to call wizard racism because yeah basically the word mudblood is the wizarding version of the n-word, which, phew. And Lucius goes on and on about how wizard blood should mean everything. Pure wizard blood, blah, blah, blah. Get over yourself.
00:48:28
Speaker
oh But they they leave and first, oh, Lucius says, I'm in something of a hurry, Borgen. I have important business elsewhere today.
00:48:43
Speaker
for shadowing. I love it. He's on a mission. and Man on a mission, he gonna shase his way to his next mission. Again, he's a drama queen in these books, but ever since I watched our kid, it just makes it worse. Ruined Lucius for me. Calm yourself, yeah actually.
00:49:10
Speaker
um But anyways they leave Borgen and Barks and Harry manages to sneak his way out. um And once again I just realized Harry has broken his glasses.
00:49:23
Speaker
He breaks them all the time. He needs context. Literally. um But he manages to get outside and he sees an old wooden sign that says he is in Nocturne Alley, which if you've been to Universal Studios, you can walk down Nocturne Alley. We love. It is so dark through there. I'll never forget that you watch where you step half the time.
00:49:51
Speaker
um He sees a bunch of creepy creepy people but then eventually he runs into Hagrid who manages to- who takes him back to Ron and the others and Hermione's there as well. I just love how He was like, where did you, Ron's like, where did you come from? And Haggard's nocturnality and Fred and George are like, excellent. They're like, gee, we want to kind and ah go.
Lockhart's Introduction & Malfoy Confrontation
00:50:18
Speaker
Um, but they walk around for a little bit, um, getting different supplies before they head into the Flourish and Blots to get books. Um,
00:50:32
Speaker
Oh, but not before. I forgot to mention this. Um, Mr. Weasley, Harry tells him that he saw Malfoy and his family, or Malfoy and his father, and Morgan and Burks, and Mr. Weasley immediately, like, did Lucius buy anything? Yeah. Sussy man.
00:50:51
Speaker
And Harry tells him that no, he was selling stuff, and so, lu Lucius... Arthur is like so he's so he's worried and he's like oh I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something. They are just at each other. It is so hilarious. It's hilarious. And Arthur's so dumb too to the point of like the retaliation of Lucius if he tried to get Lucius on something. That's why I'm always like please don't meddle. Please stay out of it.
00:51:28
Speaker
No. Um, but they get into flourishing blots where they see a sign that was like Gilderoy Lockhart will be signing copies of his autobiography, Magical Me. That's what my new, that's what my autobiography is gonna be called today. Magical Me. Magical Me. Um.
00:51:54
Speaker
but they go inside and they see Gilderoy just signing away and Ron's just like, well, the person's like out of my way. This shot's for the daily profit and Ron's like, whatever. Gilderoy hears this and he manages to see Ron, but then also he sees Harry and then proceeds to fangirl over Harry and demands a photo.
00:52:23
Speaker
I don't know if it's so much fangirling I think it was just like because he says you and I will make the front page he's just doing anything he could do for clout yeah if that means getting a picture with harry potter so be it um and then gilderoy proceeds to announce that he will be taking up the position of defense against the dark arts teacher hogwarts okay we'll see how well that goes not well at all thank you um and then um once again draco makes his wonderful appearance um proceeds to make snider marks about harry um but you love that didn't you potter famous harry potter can't even go to a bookshop about making the front page
00:53:19
Speaker
Um, Ginny comes to his defense, which... Oh, foreshadowing. Look at that, Potter. Got yourself a girlfriend. Go away. Yes, he does. Leave him alone. Mm-hmm. And then, um, makes snide remarks about the Weasley's. And then, um, here we get Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley.
00:53:50
Speaker
in the same area yes this isn't gonna go well um they get into well lucious starts making snider marks because you know he can't keep his mouth shut And then we wait before they get into a fight, we have more foreshadowing. Um, let's just reach this into Jenny's cauldron and it extracts from amid the glossy lock cart books. A very old, very battered copy of beginner's guide to transfiguration. Keep that in mind as you continue. Okay. Um,
00:54:27
Speaker
And while this, after this happened, Lucius just keeps going and then ultimately winds up with Mr. Weasley literally throwing himself at Mr. Malfoy and getting into a fist fight pretty much. Yes. Which, you know, he asked for it. He really asked for it.
00:54:48
Speaker
Um, they eventually get separated, um, by Hagrid. Lucius throws her copy back at her. Perhaps with an additional book attached to it. Wow. But show we but they managed to get separated away from each other. And Hagrid's like, you want to be a ashamed of yourself? What you getting into fist fights for?
00:55:17
Speaker
That's the only time that I can remember, too, that anybody gets into a physical altercation. The rest of the time it's pulling wands out. There might be something with Hermione and one of the other girls. In Goblet of Fire. I can't remember. Oh. Um. But, um.
Preview: Next Chapter Discussion
00:55:40
Speaker
The Weasleys and Harry say their goodbyes to Hermione. Um.
00:55:46
Speaker
and managed to head back to the burrow and that's how the chapter ends yes and they prepare to leave for right that wraps up our discussion um so we do have some first impressions to discuss um since this is the start of a new book we have some new characters being introduced uh the first one being Dobby uh my first impression is he Oh, Dobby, like he's so misunderstood.
00:56:23
Speaker
He is trying to do the right thing, even though it's gonna get him punished. He is not in a good space where he's at. um So first impressions, I, I don't know, I i think even knowing what you know, I could see him as a trustworthy character. I know Harry is skeptical because of thinking that he works for the Malfoy's and it could be a setup. But i I don't know something about his cuteness. You just want to trust him. Oh, yeah. And he has like
00:56:59
Speaker
good interest at heart like he wants to protect Harry um even though he's going in a way that's probably not the greatest idea yeah but he has a good little heart yes um Arthur Weasley man child yep in a good way like thank joey from full house yes I would hang I think it'd be fun to hang around Arthur I think he's just a curious man. Curious mind. With a childish mindset. And not in a bad way. No. It's in a good way. Lucius Malfoy. Man child in a bad way. Yep. Drama queen. Suspicious. Coward. There you go. That, that, yeah. I would say coward. Gilderoy Lockhart. Charmer. Full of himself. Charmer.
00:57:57
Speaker
Yeah, charmer. He can own a room. He does, in fact, do that. And he's just very um flamboyant. We don't really know much about him right now. No. um But just from this first instance of him, he's very charming, very flamboyant, um knows how to work a crowd. Yes.
00:58:19
Speaker
He would be an influencer in today's time. Oh, yeah, and then we have Jenny Um sweet little baby Jenny like she's just you know a little girl with a crush Mm-hmm. She's trying to live her life. Yes, that's what we got so far. her Oh, yeah, we'll have a we need to discuss her and gilderoy Later on again too because they'll be kind of different stages. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I Um, all right, chapter themes for me. Um, I just kind of saw these chapters as like Harry on his fresh new start. Yep. He's discovering a little bit more about the wizarding world. Um, and just kind of kicking off things for his trip to Hogwarts for second year. Yeah, I would agree with that.
00:59:10
Speaker
And then, all right, so on to our question of the week. So, what was your first impression of the Weasley's and the borough? My first impression of the borough is very, it's very whimsical. It's like, literally, but to them it's like, eh, it's just,
00:59:32
Speaker
It's just the burrow. But to an outsider perspective, you're like, this place is awesome. And Harry is just like thrilled by it all. Like it's very like, it's a mess, but it's home. Like it feels very cozy, very homey. Like I would, I would live there and be fine with it.
00:59:51
Speaker
yeah and i think for harry too like if he thinks of a family he thinks of the weasleys because he doesn't know any other sort of family so he's gonna always think of the weasleys as his extended family and as what a family should be and dysfunctional but they're a family i think it's a family full uh earth that the burrow is a place full of family and friendship and happiness and chaos and just everything that a like family home should be. Um, I just, it's very whimsical. I love the, just the fact that Harry's walking around looking around, there's, um, needles knitting by themselves, just different things like that. Like it's a traditional wizard home. Yeah.
01:00:43
Speaker
All right, um so to wrap things up, we do have the Hogwarts House poll. We have received a couple more votes since we last discussed. We now have three Apple Buff, two Gryffindor, two Ravenclaw, and one Slytherin. So the Slytherins are running a little bit behind, as they should. Apple Buff is in first, as they should. And Gryffindor is losing to Apple Buff, as they should. Thank you.
01:01:09
Speaker
ah from Next week we are going to be discussing chapters five through seven. Um, this will kind of lead us up to the first, um,
01:01:21
Speaker
like petrification, if you will. Um, that happens when the chamber of secrets is open. So this will just kind of be, um, life back at Hogwarts kind of chapters. So I'm excited to discuss this next week.
01:01:34
Speaker
Alright, so be sure to follow the podcast and rate us five stars. Also, be sure to follow us on Instagram at Family Fiction Pod where you can vote for your house and the house poll as well as answer our question of the week in the comments. Alright, so that wraps everything up. Thank you guys so much for listening and we will see you guys next week with chapters five through seven of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Bye!
01:02:05
Speaker
Is it his family fiction?