Podcasts about bathilda

In this episode, the Pottership Trio discuss the relationship/connections between Bathilda Bagshot and Albus Dumbledore! How connected was Bathilda to the Dumbledore family? Was Bathilda one of Dumbledore's network of people? How much did Bathilda really know about the Ariana situation? Listen and decide!  Don't forget to visit our social medias to answer this episode's Show Host Question: “What would be the big phenomenon character in the wizarding World, equivalent to what Harry Potter is in the muggle world?  *** Spoilers, Adult Language, Adult Themes Music note: All music are excerpts of the Pottership Shanty (Copyright: Darwin Ray and the Pottership Podcast.)  Follow us on Facebook and Instagram! Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or iHeart Radio podcasts! Or send us a message at PottershipPodcast@gmail.com  

Elizabeth returns to discuss Harry & Hermione's tour of Bathilda Bagshot's home. We talk about an action-packed sequence as well as Voldy's memories of a certain Halloween night.

Di horror e momenti emozionanti, di luoghi di memoria e vecchie strambe, di razionalità e connessioni.

Chapter 17 - Bathilda's SecretHarry, stop.” “What's wrong?” They had only just reached the grave of the unknown Abbott. “There's someone there. Someone watching us. I can tell. There, over by the bushes.”Q1 - What do you think of the monuments to the Potters?Was it possible that she had been waiting for them all these long months? That Dumbledore had told her to wait, and that Harry would come in the end? Was it not likely that it was she who had moved in the shadows in the graveyard and had followed them to this spot? Even her ability to sense them suggested some Dumbledore-ish power that he had never encountered before. Q2 - What would you have done in this situation?The dust vanished from the photographs, and he saw at once that half a dozen were missing from the largest and most ornate frames. He wondered whether Bathilda or somebody else had removed them. Then the sight of a photograph near the back of the collection caught his eye, and he snatched it up. It was the golden-haired, merry-faced thief, the young man who had perched on Gregorovitch's windowsill, smiling lazily up at Harry out of the silver frame. And it came to Harry instantly where he had seen the boy before: in The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, arm in arm with the teenage Dumbledore, and that must be where all the missing photographs were: in Rita's book. Q3 - Who is this?Then she closed her eyes and several things happened at once: Harry's scar prickled painfully; the Horcrux twitched so that the front of his sweater actually moved; the dark, fetid room dissolved momentarily. He felt a leap of joy and spoke in a high, cold voice: Hold him! Q4 - How chilling is this?And his scream was Harry's scream, his pain was Harry's pain . . . that it could happen here, where it had happened before . . . here, within sight of that house where he had come so close to knowing what it was to die . . . to die. . . . The pain was so terrible . . . ripped from his body. . . . But if he had no body, why did his head hurt so badly; if he was dead, how could he feel so unbearably, didn't pain cease with death, didn't it go . . . He forced the door open, cast aside the chair and boxes hastily piled against it with one lazy wave of his wand . . . and there she stood, the child in her arms. At the sight of him, she dropped her son into the crib behind her and threw her arms wide, as if this would help, as if in shielding him from sight she hoped to be chosen instead. . . . “Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!” “Stand aside, you silly girl . . . stand aside, now.” “Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead —” “This is my last warning —” “Not Harry! Please . . . have mercy . . . have mercy. . . . Not Harry! Not Harry! Please — I'll do anything —” “Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!” He could have forced her away from the crib, but it seemed more prudent to finish them all. . . .Q5 - Does any of this info give you hints or clues as to what is going on?And then he broke: He was nothing, nothing but pain and terror, and he must hide himself, not here in the rubble of the ruined house, where the child was trapped and screaming, but far away . . . far away. . . . “No,” he moaned. The snake rustled on the filthy, cluttered floor, and he had killed the boy, and yet he was the boy. . . . “No . . .” And now he stood at the broken window of Bathilda's house, immersed in memories of his greatest loss, and at his feet the great snake slithered over broken china and glass. . . . He looked down and saw something . . . something incredible. . . . “No . . .” “Harry, it's all right, you're all right!” He stooped down and picked up the smashed photograph. There he was, the unknown thief, the thief he was seeking. . .Q6 - What is going on here? “You're the one who needs sleep. No offense, but you look terrible. I'm fine. I'll keep watch for a while. Where's my wand?” She did not answer, she merely looked at him. “Where's my wand, Hermione?” She was biting her lip, and tears swam in her eyes. “Harry . . .” “Where's my wand?” She reached down beside the bed and held it out to him. The holly and phoenix wand was nearly severed in two. One fragile strand of phoenix feather kept both pieces hanging together. The wood had splintered apart completely. Harry took it into his hands as though it was a living thing that had suffered a terrible injury. He could not think properly: Everything was a blur of panic and fear. Then he held out the wand to Hermione. “Lumos!” The wand sparked feebly, then went out. Harry pointed it at Hermione. “Expelliarmus!” Hermione's wand gave a little jerk, but did not leave her hand. The feeble attempt at magic was too much for Harry's wand, which split into two again. He stared at it, aghast, unable to take in.Q7 - Do they really stand a chance now?Chapter 18 - The Life and Lies of Albus DumbledoreNever, until this moment, had he felt himself to be fatally weakened, vulnerable, and naked, as though the best part of his magical power had been torn from him.Q1 - Harry has lost the protection of the twin cores…what now?And his fury at Dumbledore broke over him now like lava, scorching him inside, wiping out every other feeling. Out of sheer desperation they had talked themselves into believing that Godric's Hollow held answers, convinced themselves that they were supposed to go back, that it was all part of some secret path laid out for them by Dumbledore; but there was no map, no plan. Dumbledore had left them to grope in the darkness, to wrestle with unknown and undreamed-of terrors, alone and unaided: Nothing was explained, nothing was given freely, they had no sword, and now, Harry had no wand. And he had dropped the photograph of the thief, and it would surely be easy now for Voldemort to find out who he was. . . . Voldemort had all the information now. . . Q2 - Why didn't Dumbledore give them more?Educated at Durmstrang, a school famous even then for its unfortunate tolerance of the Dark Arts, Grindelwald showed himself quite as precociously brilliant as Dumbledore. Rather than channel his abilities into the attainment of awards and prizes, however, Gellert Grindelwald devoted himself to other pursuits. At sixteen years old, even Durmstrang felt it could no longer turn a blind eye to the twisted experiments of Gellert Grindelwald, and he was expelled. Q3 - What did he do to get himself expelled from Durmstrang?Gellert — Your point about Wizard dominance being FOR THE MUGGLES' OWN GOOD — this, I think, is the crucial point. Yes, we have been given power and yes, that power gives us the right to rule, but it also gives us responsibilities over the ruled. We must stress this point, it will be the foundation stone upon which we build. Where we are opposed, as we surely will be, this must be the basis of all our counterarguments. We seize control FOR THE GREATER GOOD. And from this it follows that where we meet resistance, we must use only the force that is necessary and no more. (This was your mistake at Durmstrang! But I do not complain, because if you had not been expelled, we would never have met.) AlbusQ4 - Is Albus really a good wizard?This dreadful coffin-side brawl, known only to those few who attended Ariana Dumbledore's funeral, raises several questions. Why exactly did Aberforth Dumbledore blame Albus for his sister's death? Was it, as “Batty” pretends, a mere effusion of grief? Or could there have been some more concrete reason for his fury? Grindelwald, expelled from Durmstrang for near-fatal attacks upon fellow students, fled the country hours after the girl's death, and Albus (out of shame or fear?) never saw him again, not until forced to do so by the pleas of the Wizarding world. Q5 - Along with all these questions, what do you think Dumbledore saw in the Mirror of Erised?“Harry, I'm sorry, but I think the real reason you're so angry is that Dumbledore never told you any of this himself.” “He loved you,” Hermione whispered. “I know he loved you.” Harry dropped his arms. “I don't know who he loved, Hermione, but it was never me. This isn't love, the mess he's left me in. Q6 - What do we think of Harry and Dumbledore's relationship after this?Chapter 19 - The Silver DoeIt was snowing by the time Hermione took over the watch at midnight. Harry's dreams were confused and disturbing: Nagini wove in and out of them, first through a gigantic, cracked ring, then through a wreath of Christmas roses. He woke repeatedly, panicky, convinced that somebody had called out to him in the distance, imagining that the wind whipping around the tent was footsteps or voices. He had just held up a hand in front of his face to see whether he could make out his fingers when it happened. A bright silver light appeared right ahead of him, moving through the trees. Whatever the source, it was moving soundlessly. The light seemed simply to drift toward him. Q1 - Was Harry dumb to trust this?But instinct, overwhelming instinct, told him that this was not Dark Magic. He set off in pursuit. Q2 - Is Harry's instinct good?His heart skipped into his mouth: He dropped to his knees at the pool's edge and angled the wand so as to flood the bottom of the pool with as much light as possible. A glint of deep red . . . It was a sword with glittering rubies in its hilt. . . . The sword of Gryffindor was lying at the bottom of the forest pool. Q3 - How did the sword get there? Is the Doe and the Sword by the same person? Who?An owl hooted somewhere as he stripped off, and he thought with a pang of Hedwig.Q4 - Was this Hedwig??Every pore of his body screamed in protest: The very air in his lungs seemed to freeze solid as he was submerged to his shoulders in the frozen water. He could hardly breathe; trembling so violently the water lapped over the edges of the pool, he felt for the blade with his numb feet. He only wanted to dive once. Q5 - Ever experienced this kind of cold?“Are — you — mental?” Nothing but the shock of hearing that voice could have given Harry the strength to get up. Shivering violently, he staggered to his feet. There before him stood Ron, fully dressed but drenched to the skin, his hair plastered to his face, the sword of Gryffindor in one hand and the Horcrux dangling from its broken chain in the other….Harry could not answer. The silver doe was nothing, nothing compared with Ron's reappearance; he could not believe it. Q6 - Were you shocked by the return?“I did think I saw something move over there, but I was running to the pool at the time, because you'd gone in and you hadn't come up, so I wasn't going to make a detour to — hey!” Harry was already hurrying to the place Ron had indicated. The two oaks grew close together; there was a gap of only a few inches between the trunks at eye level, an ideal place to see but not be seen.Q7 - Who was it?Ron looked toward him, and Harry thought he saw a trace of scarlet in his eyes. “Ron — ?” The sword flashed, plunged: Harry threw himself out of the way, there was a clang of metal and a long, drawn-out scream.Q8 - What was going on there?“You come back after weeks — weeks — and you think it's all going to be all right if you just say sorry?” “Well, what else can I say?” Ron shouted, and Harry was glad that Ron was fighting back. “Oh, I don't know!” yelled Hermione with awful sarcasm. “Rack your brains, Ron, that should only take a couple of seconds —” Q9 - Is Hermione right to be this mad at Ron?“Yeah,” said Ron. “Could've been worse. Remember those birds she set on me?” “I still haven't ruled it out,” came Hermione's muffled voice from beneath her blankets, but Harry saw Ron smiling slightly as he pulled his maroon pajamas out of his rucksack. Q10 - What do you think of Ron's Dilumenator?Chapter 20 - Xenophilius LovegoodHermione's sulkiness could not mar his buoyant spirits: The sudden upswing in their fortunes, the appearance of the mysterious doe, the recovery of Gryffindor's sword, and above all, Ron's return, made Harry so happy that it was quite difficult to maintain a straight face. “Oh, yeah. Well, it's just a bad habit we've slipped into,” said Harry. “But I haven't got a problem calling him V —” “NO!” roared Ron, causing Harry to jump into the hedge and Hermione (nose buried in a book at the tent entrance) to scowl over at them. “Q1 - What do you think of the tracking of this?Harry did not laugh at Ron, because he understood too well the longing behind the question. The idea that Dumbledore had managed to come back to them, that he was watching over them, would have been inexpressibly comforting. He shook his head. Q2 - Any chance that this Doe could have been Dumbledore?“But don't you think if it was, Dumbledore would have told me about it before he died?” “Maybe . . . maybe it's something you need to find out for yourself,” said Hermione with a faint air of clutching at straws. “Yeah,” said Ron sycophantically, “that makes sense.” “No, it doesn't,” snapped Hermione, “but I still think we ought to talk to Mr. Lovegood. A symbol that links Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and Godric's Hollow? Harry, I'm sure we ought to know about this!” Q3 - Will Hermione and Ron ever reconcile?Q4 - Danny nailed the prediction on Luna not being thereQ5 - What would you have done in Xeno's position?He turned away from the window and his gaze fell upon another peculiar object standing upon the cluttered, curved sideboard: a stone bust of a beautiful but austere-looking witch wearing a most bizarre-looking headdress. Two objects that resembled golden ear trumpets curved out from the sides. A tiny pair of glittering blue wings was stuck to a leather strap that ran over the top of her head, while one of the orange radishes had been stuck to a second strap around her forehead. “Ah, you have spotted my pet invention,” Xeno said, “Modeled, fittingly enough, upon the head of the beautiful Rowena Ravenclaw. ‘Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure!' ” Q6 - Danny you paused at this for a bit, why?

Chapter 9 - A Place to Hide“When you say you've got the Cloak, and clothes . . .” said Harry, frowning at Hermione, who was carrying nothing except her small beaded handbag, in which she was now rummaging. “Yes, they're here,” said Hermione, and to Harry and Ron's utter astonishment, she pulled out a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, some maroon socks, and finally the silvery Invisibility Cloak. Q1 - Is Hermione the greatest or what?Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak around his shoulders and pulled it up over his head, vanishing from sight. He was only just beginning to appreciate what had happened. “The others — everyone at the wedding —”Q2 - You think everyone is safe?After a minute or two, Ron said, “You know, we're not far from the Leaky Cauldron here, it's only in Charing Cross —” “Ron, we can't!” said Hermione at once. “Not to stay there, but to find out what's going on!” “We know what's going on! Voldemort's taken over the Ministry, what else do we need to know?” “Okay, okay, it was just an idea!” They relapsed into a prickly silence. The gum-chewing waitress shuffled over and Hermione ordered two cappuccinos: As Harry was invisible, it would have looked odd to order him one. A pair of burly workmen entered the café and squeezed into the next booth. Hermione dropped her voice to a whisper. Q3 - How did the Death Eaters find them?“What are we going to do with them?” Ron whispered to Harry through the dark; then, even more quietly, “Kill them? They'd kill us. They had a good go just now.” Hermione shuddered and took a step backward. Harry shook his head. “We just need to wipe their memories,” said Harry. “It's better like that, it'll throw them off the scent. If we killed them it'd be obvious we were here.”Q4 - What should they do with these people?“It's no wonder I can't get it out, Hermione, you packed my old jeans, they're tight.” “Oh, I'm so sorry,” hissed Hermione, and as she dragged the waitress out of sight of the windows, Harry heard her mutter a suggestion as to where Ron could stick his wand instead. Q5 - Would you go back to the Burrow for your good pair of jeans?Gingerly Harry took another step forward. Something shifted in the shadows at the end of the hall, and before any of them could say another word, a figure had risen up out of the carpet, tall, dustcolored, and terrible: Hermione screamed and so did Mrs. Black, her curtains flying open; the gray figure was gliding toward them, faster and faster, its waist-length hair and beard streaming behind it, its face sunken, fleshless, with empty eye sockets: Horribly familiar, dreadfully altered, it raised a wasted arm, pointing at Harry. “No!” Harry shouted, and though he had raised his wand no spell occurred to him. “No! It wasn't us! We didn't kill you —” On the word kill, the figure exploded in a great cloud of dust: Coughing, his eyes watering, Harry looked around to see Hermione crouched on the floor by the door with her arms over her head, and Ron, who was shaking from head to foot, patting her clumsily on the shoulder and saying, “It's all r-right. . . . It's g-gone. . . .” Q6 - Are these good defenses?“But then you've got to close your mind!” said Hermione shrilly. “Harry, Dumbledore didn't want you to use that connection, he wanted you to shut it down, that's why you were supposed to use Occlumency! Otherwise Voldemort can plant false images in your mind, remember —” Q7 - Would Voldemort do this again and would Harry be tricked by it again?He turned his back on Ron and Hermione, pretending to examine the old tapestry of the Black family tree on the wall. Then Hermione shrieked: Harry drew his wand again and spun around to see a silver Patronus soar through the drawing room window and land upon the floor in front of them, where it solidified into the weasel that spoke with the voice of Ron's father. “Family safe, do not reply, we are being watched.” Q8 - Can you fake Patronuses?“More, Rowle, or shall we end it and feed you to Nagini? Lord Voldemort is not sure that he will forgive this time. . . . You called me back for this, to tell me that Harry Potter has escaped again? Draco, give Rowle another taste of our displeasure. . . . Do it, or feel my wrath yourself!”Q9 - Do you feel bad for Draco?Chapter 10 - Kreacher's TaleHarry wondered whether they had fallen asleep holding hands. The idea made him feel strangely lonely. The wardrobe doors stood open and the bedclothes had been ripped back. Harry remembered the overturned troll leg downstairs. Somebody had searched the house since the Order had left. Snape? Or perhaps Mundungus, who had pilfered plenty from this house both before and after Sirius died?Q1 - Has someone been looking through Grimmauld Place?Thank you, thank you, for Harry's birthday present! It was his favorite by far. One year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself, I'm enclosing a picture so you can see. You know it only rises about two feet off the ground, but he nearly killed the cat and he smashed a horrible vase Petunia sent me for Christmas (no complaints there). Q2 - Was there something behind Petunia's gift?Bathilda drops in most days, she's a fascinating old thing with the most amazing stories about Dumbledore, I'm not sure he'd be pleased if he knew! I don't know how much to believe, actually, because it seems incredible that Dumbledore…Q3 - What was this going to say? And why was Dumbledore using the cloak?He read the letter again, but could not take in any more meaning than he had done the first time, and was reduced to staring at the handwriting itself. She had made her “g”s the same way he did: He searched through the letter for every one of them, and each felt like a friendly little wave glimpsed from behind a veil. The letter was an incredible treasure, proof that Lily Potter had lived, really lived, that her warm hand had once moved across this parchment, tracing ink into these letters, these words, words about him, Harry, her son.They had had a cat . . . perhaps it had perished, like his parents, at Godric's Hollow Q4 - Is this cat Crookshanks?His parents had known Bathilda Bagshot; had Dumbledore introduced them? Dumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak . . . There was something funny there. . . .“Harry, do you really think you'll get the truth from a malicious old woman like Muriel, or from Rita Skeeter? How can you believe them? You knew Dumbledore!” “I thought I did,” he muttered. “But you know how much truth there was in everything Rita wrote about you! Doge is right, how can you let these people tarnish your memories of Dumbledore?” He looked away, trying not to betray the resentment he felt. There it was again: Choose what to believe. He wanted the truth. Why was everybody so determined that he should not get it? Q5 - What is the truth here?This, then, was how Voldemort had tested the defenses surrounding the Horcrux: by borrowing a disposable creature, a house-elf . . . “There was a b-basin full of potion on the island. The D-Dark Lord made Kreacher drink it. . . .” The elf quaked from head to foot. “Kreacher drank, and as he drank, he saw terrible things. . . . Kreacher's insides burned. . . . Kreacher cried for Master Regulus to save him, he cried for his Mistress Black, but the Dark Lord only laughed. . . . He made Kreacher drink all the potion. . . . He dropped a locket into the empty basin. . . . He filled it with more potion. Q6 - How much pity do you have for Kreacher?Kreacher knew how to open the concealed entrance to the underground cavern, knew how to raise the tiny boat; this time it was his beloved Regulus who sailed with him to the island with its basin of poison. . . . “And he made you drink the potion?” said Harry, disgusted. But Kreacher shook his head and wept. Hermione's hands leapt to her mouth: She seemed to have understood something. “M-Master Regulus took from his pocket a locket like the one the Dark Lord had,” said Kreacher, tears pouring down either side of his snoutlike nose. “And he told Kreacher to take it and, when the basin was empty, to switch the lockets. . . .”Q7 - What do you think of Kreacher's Tale?“Kreacher, I want you, please, to go and find Mundungus Fletcher. We need to find out where the locket — where Master Regulus's locket is. It's really important. We want to finish the work Master Regulus started, we want to — er — ensure that he didn't die in vain.” Kreacher dropped his fists and looked up at Harry. “Find Mundungus Fletcher?” he croaked. “And bring him here, to Grimmauld Place,” said Harry. “Do you think you could do that for us?” As Kreacher nodded and got to his feet, Harry had a sudden inspiration. He pulled out Hagrid's purse and took out the fake Horcrux, the substitute locket in which Regulus had placed the note to Voldemort. Q8 - How will they open the locket?Chapter 11 - The Bribe“Will you stop it!” she cried on the third evening of Kreacher's absence, as all light was sucked from the drawing room yet again. “Sorry, sorry!” said Ron, clicking the Deluminator and restoring the lights. “I don't know I'm doing it!” “Well, can't you find something useful to occupy yourself?” “What, like reading kids' stories?” “Dumbledore left me this book, Ron —” “— and he left me the Deluminator, maybe I'm supposed to use it!” Q1 - Any further theories on why Dumbledore left them these objects?“I had to Apparate very precisely onto the top step outside the front door to be sure that they would not see me. They can't know you're in here or I'm sure they'd have more people out there; they're staking out everywhere that's got any connection with you, Harry. Let's go downstairs, there's a lot to tell you, and I want to know what happened after you left the Burrow.”Q2 - How does the Fidelius Charm actually work?“So, you came straight here after the wedding?” “No,” said Harry, “only after we ran into a couple of Death Eaters in a café on Tottenham Court Road.” Lupin slopped most of his butterbeer down his front. “What?” They explained what had happened; when they had finished, Lupin looked aghast. “But how did they find you so quickly? It's impossible to track anyone who Apparates, unless you grab hold of them as they disappear!”Q3 - How did the Death Eaters find him?“There were about a dozen of them, but they didn't know you were there, Harry. Arthur heard a rumor that they tried to torture your whereabouts out of Scrimgeour before they killed him; if it's true, he didn't give you away.” Q4 - Does this make you think highly of Scrimgeour?Q5 - What do you think of the Muggle Born Registration Committee?“I know,” said Lupin. “Nevertheless, unless you can prove that you have at least one close Wizarding relative, you are now deemed to have obtained your magical power illegally and must suffer the punishment.” Ron glanced at Hermione, then said, “What if purebloods and half-bloods swear a Muggle-born's part of their family? I'll tell everyone Hermione's my cousin —” Q6 - How cute is Ron here? “I'll understand if you can't confirm this, Harry, but the Order is under the impression that Dumbledore left you a mission.” “He did,” Harry replied, “and Ron and Hermione are in on it and they're coming with me.” “Can you confide in me what the mission is?” Harry looked into the prematurely lined face, framed in thick but graying hair, and wished that he could return a different answer. “I can't, Remus, I'm sorry. If Dumbledore didn't tell you I don't think I can.” Q7 - Danny during the liveread you said “Don't do it.” Why?“Remus,” said Hermione tentatively, “is everything all right . . . you know . . . between you and —” “Everything is fine, thank you,” said Lupin pointedly. Hermione turned pink. There was another pause, an awkward and embarrassed one, and then Lupin said, with an air of forcing himself to admit something unpleasant, “Tonks is going to have a baby.” “Oh, how wonderful!” squealed Hermione. “Excellent!” said Ron enthusiastically. “Congratulations,” said Harry. Q8 - How'd ya guess that Jenn?“You don't understand,” said Lupin at last. “Explain, then,” said Harry. Lupin swallowed. “I — I made a grave mistake in marrying Tonks. I did it against my better judgment and I have regretted it very much ever since.” “I see,” said Harry, “so you're just going to dump her and the kid and run off with us?” Lupin sprang to his feet: His chair toppled over backward, and he glared at them so fiercely that Harry saw, for the first time ever, the shadow of the wolf upon his human face. “Don't you understand what I've done to my wife and my unborn child? I should never have married her, I've made her an outcast!”Q9 - Should Lupin have married Tonks?“Remus!” whispered Hermione, tears in her eyes. “Don't say that — how could any child be ashamed of you?” “Oh, I don't know, Hermione,” said Harry. “I'd be pretty ashamed of him.” Harry did not know where his rage was coming from, but it had propelled him to his feet too. Lupin looked as though Harry had hit himQ10 - How did Harry handle this whole situation?Q11 - What do you think was the truth about Ariana Dumledore?There was the sound of pattering feet, a blaze of shining copper, an echoing clang, and a shriek of agony: Kreacher had taken a run at Mundungus and hit him over the head with a saucepan. “Call 'im off, call 'im off, 'e should be locked up!” screamed Mundungus, cowering as Kreacher raised the heavy-bottomed pan again. “Kreacher, no!” shouted Harry. Kreacher's thin arms trembled with the weight of the pan, still held aloft. “Perhaps just one more, Master Harry, for luck?” Ron laughed. “We need him conscious, Kreacher, but if he needs persuading you can do the honors,” said Harry. “Thank you very much, Master,” said Kreacher with a bow, and he retreated a short distance, his great pale eyes still fixed upon Mundungus with loathing.Q12 - Isn't is crazy how you can go from hating a character so quick to loving him?Chapter 12 - Magic is MightA large picture of a familiar, hook-nosed, black-haired man stared up at them all, beneath a headline that read: SEVERUS SNAPE CONFIRMED AS HOGWARTS HEADMASTER Q1 - What do you think of this?“Phineas Nigellus,” Hermione explained as she threw the bag onto the kitchen table with the usual sonorous, clanking crash. “Sorry?” said Ron, but Harry understood. The painted image of Phineas Nigellus Black was able to flit between his portrait in Grimmauld Place and the one that hung in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts: the circular tower-top room where Snape was no doubt sitting right now, in triumphant possession of Dumbledore's collection of delicate, silver magical instruments, the stone Pensieve, the Sorting Hat and, unless it had been moved elsewhere, the sword of Gryffindor.Q2 - Do you think Snape had ever spied on them using that before?Q3 - They are going to storm the ministry? Should they be doing this? The door opened: A laughing woman stood there. Her face fell as she looked into Harry's face: humor gone, terror replacing it. . . . “Gregorovitch?” said a high, cold voice. She shook her head: She was trying to close the door. A white hand held it steady, prevented her shutting him out. . . . “I want Gregorovitch.” “I hate it, I hate the fact that he can get inside me, that I have to watch him when he's most dangerous. But I'm going to use it.” “Dumbledore —” “Forget Dumbledore. This is my choice, nobody else's. I want to know why he's after Gregorovitch.” Q4 - Is Harry foolish to try this?Q5 - How is their plan to get into the ministry?Harry looked more closely and realized that what he had thought were decoratively carved thrones were actually mounds of carved humans: hundreds and hundreds of naked bodies, men, women, and children, all with rather stupid, ugly faces, twisted and pressed together to support the weight of the handsomely robed wizards. The golden grilles slid apart again and Hermione gasped. Four people stood before them, two of them deep in conversation: a longhaired wizard wearing magnificent robes of black and gold, and a squat, toadlike witch wearing a velvet bow in her short hair and clutching a clipboard to her chest.

Chapter 5 - Fallen WarriorQ1 - How convinced were you that this was Hagrid?No sooner had Mrs. Weasley bent over her son than Lupin grabbed Harry by the upper arm and dragged him, none too gently, back into the kitchen, where Hagrid was still attempting to ease his bulk through the back door. “Oi!” said Hagrid indignantly. “Le' go of him! Le' go of Harry!” Lupin ignored him. “What creature sat in the corner the first time that Harry Potter visited my office at Hogwarts?” he said, giving Harry a small shake. “Answer me!” “A — a grindylow in a tank, wasn't it?” Lupin released Harry and fell back against a kitchen cupboard. “Wha' was tha' about?” roared Hagrid. “I'm sorry, Harry, but I had to check,” said Lupin tersely. “We've been betrayed. Voldemort knew that you were being moved tonight and the only people who could have told him were directly involved in the plan. You might have been an impostor.”Q1 - Who was the betrayer?“So you think I should have killed Stan Shunpike?” said Harry angrily. “Of course not,” said Lupin, “but the Death Eaters — frankly, most people! — would have expected you to attack back! Expelliarmus is a useful spell, Harry, but the Death Eaters seem to think it is your signature move, and I urge you not to let it become so!” Q2 - Why is Harry so defensive of Stan?“The last words Albus Dumbledore spoke to the pair of us?” “ ‘Harry is the best hope we have. Trust him,' ” said Lupin calmly. Q3 - What does Dumbledore mean by this?Perhaps roused by the sound of Fred and their father's arrival, George stirred. “How do you feel, Georgie?” whispered Mrs. Weasley. George's fingers groped for the side of his head. “Saintlike,” he murmured. “What's wrong with him?” croaked Fred, looking terrified. “Is his mind affected?” “Saintlike,” repeated George, opening his eyes and looking up at his brother. “You see . . . I'm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?” “Ron was great,” said Tonks warmly, relinquishing her hold on Lupin. “Wonderful. Stunned one of the Death Eaters, straight to the head, and when you're aiming at a moving target from a flying broom —” “You did?” said Hermione, gazing up at Ron with her arms still around his neck. “Always the tone of surprise,” he said a little grumpily, breaking free. “Are we the last back?” Q4 - Did Ron kill someone?Lupin nodded. With a wave to the others, Kingsley walked away into the darkness toward the gate. Harry thought he heard the faintest pop as Kingsley Disapparated just beyond the Burrow's boundaries. Q5 - Confirmation Kingsley's got a small butt?Mrs. Weasley ran forward, but the hug Bill bestowed upon her was perfunctory. Looking directly at his father, he said, “Mad-Eye's dead.” Q6 - What are your thoughts on Mad-Eye's death?She glared around at them all, tear tracks still etched on her beautiful face, silently daring any of them to contradict her. Nobody did. The only sound to break the silence was that of Hagrid hiccuping from behind his handkerchief. Harry glanced at Hagrid, who had just risked his own life to save Harry's — Hagrid, whom he loved, whom he trusted, who had once been tricked into giving Voldemort crucial information in exchange for a dragon's egg. . . . “No,” Harry said aloud, and they all looked at him, surprised: The firewhisky seemed to have amplified his voice. “I mean . . . if somebody made a mistake,” Harry went on, “and let something slip, I know they didn't mean to do it. It's not their fault,” he repeated, again a little louder than he would usually have spoken. “We've got to trust each other. I trust all of you, I don't think anyone in this room would ever sell me to Voldemort.” Q7 - Is Harry foolish to be saying this?The rest of them now dropped into chairs, all except for Harry, who remained standing. The suddenness and completeness of death was with them like a presence. “I've got to go too,” said Harry. Ten pairs of startled eyes looked at him. “Don't be silly, Harry,” said Mrs. Weasley. “What are you talking about?” Q8 - Is Harry and idiot?“No,” said Harry. “The bike was falling, I couldn't have told you where Voldemort was, but my wand spun in my hand and found him and shot a spell at him, and it wasn't even a spell I recognized. I've never made gold flames appear before.” Q9 - What spell did Harry perform?And then, out of nowhere, the pain in his scar peaked. As he clutched his forehead and closed his eyes, a voice screamed inside his head. “You told me the problem would be solved by using another's wand!” And into his mind burst the vision of an emaciated old man lying in rags upon a stone floor, screaming, a horrible, drawn-out scream, a scream of unendurable agony. . . . “No! No! I beg you, I beg you. . . .” “You lied to Lord Voldemort, Ollivander!” “I did not. . . . I swear I did not. . . .” “You sought to help Potter, to help him escape me!” “I swear I did not. . . . I believed a different wand would work. . . .” “Explain, then, what happened. Lucius's wand is destroyed!” “I cannot understand. . . . The connection . . . exists only . . . between your two wands. . . .” “Lies!” “Please . . . I beg you. . . .” And Harry saw the white hand raise its wand and felt Voldemort's surge of vicious anger, saw the frail old man on the floor writhe in agony — “Harry?” It was over as quickly as it had come: Q10 - What is going on here? Is Olivander lying?“But it was supposed to have stopped! Your scar — it wasn't supposed to do this anymore! You mustn't let that connection open up again — Dumbledore wanted you to close your mind!” When he did not reply, she gripped his arm. “Harry, he's taking over the Ministry and the newspapers and half the Wizarding world! Don't let him inside your head too!” Q11 - Did Voldemort want Harry to see this?Chapter 6 - The Ghoul in Pajamas“Well, you can't do anything about the” — Ron mouthed the word Horcruxes — “till you're seventeen. You've still got the Trace on you. And we can plan here as well as anywhere, can't we? Or,” he dropped his voice to a whisper, “d'you reckon you already know where the You-Know-Whats are?” “No,” Harry admitted. Q1 - Where are the Horcruxes?Harry understood “they” to mean Fleur and Mrs. Weasley. “It's one extra day,” said Ron, when Harry looked mutinous. “Don't they realize how important — ?” “ 'Course they don't,” said Ron. “They haven't got a clue. And now you mention it, I wanted to talk to you about that.”“Ron and Hermione seem to think that the three of you are dropping out of Hogwarts,” she began in a light, casual tone. “Oh,” said Harry. “Well, yeah. We are.”Q2 - Do you find it shocking that Mrs Weasley is still sending Ginny to Hogwarts?“Now, Ron, have you cleaned out your room yet?” “Why?” exclaimed Ron, slamming his spoon down and glaring at his mother. “Why does my room have to be cleaned out? Harry and I are fine with it the way it is!” “We are holding your brother's wedding here in a few days' time, young man —” “And are they getting married in my bedroom?” asked Ron furiously. “No! So why in the name of Merlin's saggy left —” “Don't talk to your mother like that,” said Mr. Weasley firmly. “And do as you're told.” “We were just talking about Mad-Eye,” Ron told Harry. “I reckon he might have survived.” “But Bill saw him hit by the Killing Curse,” said Harry. “Yeah, but Bill was under attack too,” said Ron. “How can he be sure what he saw?” “Even if the Killing Curse missed, Mad-Eye still fell about a thousand feet,” said Hermione, now weighing Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland in her hand. “He could have used a Shield Charm —” “Fleur said his wand was blasted out of his hand,” said Harry. “Well, all right, if you want him to be dead,” said Ron grumpily, punching his pillow into a more comfortable shape. Q3 - Do you think Ron could be right?“What are you doing with all those books anyway?” Ron asked, limping back to his bed. “Just trying to decide which ones to take with us,” said Hermione. “When we're looking for the Horcruxes.” “Oh, of course,” said Ron, clapping a hand to his forehead. “I forgot we'll be hunting down Voldemort in a mobile library.” “Ha ha,” said Hermione, looking down at Spellman's Syllabary. “I wonder . . . will we need to translate runes? It's possible. . . . I think we'd better take it, to be safe.” Q4 - If you were hunting Voldemort, what 5 items would you bring?“Listen,” said Harry. He had sat up straight. Ron and Hermione looked at him with similar mixtures of resignation and defiance. “I know you said after Dumbledore's funeral that you wanted to come with me,” Harry began. “Here he goes,” Ron said to Hermione, rolling his eyes. “As we knew he would,” she sighed, turning back to the books. “You know, I think I will take Hogwarts, A History. Even if we're not going back there, I don't think I'd feel right if I didn't have it with —” “Listen!” said Harry again. “No, Harry, you listen,” said Hermione. “We're coming with you. That was decided months ago — years, really.” “But —” “Shut up,” Ron advised him. “I've also modified my parents' memories so that they're convinced they're really called Wendell and Monica Wilkins, and that their life's ambition is to move to Australia, which they have now done. That's to make it more difficult for Voldemort to track them down and interrogate them about me — or you, because unfortunately, I've told them quite a bit about you. “Assuming I survive our hunt for the Horcruxes, I'll find Mum and Dad and lift the enchantment. If I don't — well, I think I've cast a good enough charm to keep them safe and happy. Wendell and Monica Wilkins don't know that they've got a daughter, you see. Q5 - Will Hermione's plan work?There was silence in the room, broken only by gentle thuds as Hermione continued to throw books onto one pile or the other. Ron sat watching her, and Harry looked from one to the other, unable to say anything. The measures they had taken to protect their families made him realize, more than anything else could have done, that they really were going to come with him and that they knew exactly how dangerous that would be. He wanted to tell them what that meant to him, but he simply could not find words important enough. Harry, who did not believe that Hermione really understood his desire to return to Godric's Hollow. His parents' graves were only part of the attraction: He had a strong, though inexplicable, feeling that the place held answers for him. Perhaps it was simply because it was there that he had survived Voldemort's Killing Curse; now that he was facing the challenge of repeating the feat, Harry was drawn to the place where it had happened, wanting to understand. Q6 - What answers will Godric's Hollow have?“And the more I've read about them,” said Hermione, “the more horrible they seem, and the less I can believe that he actually made six. It warns in this book how unstable you make the rest of your soul by ripping it, and that's just by making one Horcrux!” Harry remembered what Dumbledore had said about Voldemort moving beyond “usual evil.” “Isn't there any way of putting yourself back together?” Ron asked. “Yes,” said Hermione with a hollow smile, “but it would be excruciatingly painful.” “Why? How do you do it?” asked Harry. “Remorse,” said Hermione. “You've got to really feel what you've done. There's a footnote. Apparently the pain of it can destroy you. I can't see Voldemort attempting it somehow, can you?” Q7 - Do you think he'd ever experience remorse for what he's done?“It has to be something so destructive that the Horcrux can't repair itself. Basilisk venom only has one antidote, and it's incredibly rare —”Q8 - What else do you think can kill a Horcrux?“Hang on,” said Ron, frowning. “The bit of soul in that diary was possessing Ginny, wasn't it? How does that work, then?” “While the magical container is still intact, the bit of soul inside it can flit in and out of someone if they get too close to the object. I don't mean holding it for too long, it's nothing to do with touching it,” she added before Ron could speak. “I mean close emotionally. Ginny poured her heart out into that diary, she made herself incredibly vulnerable. You're in trouble if you get too fond of or dependent on the Horcrux.” “I wonder how Dumbledore destroyed the ring?” said Harry. “Why didn't I ask him? I never really . . .” Q9 - Will any of them become possessed by Voldemort's soul?Q10 - How did Dumbledore kill the Horcrux?Chapter 7 - The Will of Albus DumbledoreHe was walking along a mountain road in the cool blue light of dawn. Far below, swathed in mist, was the shadow of a small town. Was the man he sought down there, the man he needed so badly he could think of little else, the man who held the answer, the answer to his problem . . . ?Q1 - What is going on?Q2 - Who's Gregorovitch?Harry seized the wand lying beside his camp bed, pointed it at the cluttered desk where he had left his glasses, and said, “Accio Glasses!” Although they were only around a foot away, there was something immensely satisfying about seeing them zoom toward him, at least until they poked him in the eye.  Q3 - What was your most memorable “18” or “21” story?“This isn't your average book,” said Ron. “It's pure gold: Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches. Explains everything you need to know about girls. If only I'd had this last year I'd have known exactly how to get rid of Lavender and I would've known how to get going with . . . Well, Fred and George gave me a copy, and I've learned a lot. You'd be surprised, it's not all about wandwork, either.” Harry sat down, took the square parcel she had indicated, and unwrapped it. Inside was a watch very like the one Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had given Ron for his seventeenth; it was gold, with stars circling around the face instead of hands. “It's traditional to give a wizard a watch when he comes of age,” said Mrs. Weasley, watching him anxiously from beside the cooker. “I'm afraid that one isn't new like Ron's, it was actually my brother Fabian's and he wasn't terribly careful with his possessions, it's a bit dented on the back, but —” The rest of her speech was lost; Harry had got up and hugged her. He tried to put a lot of unsaid things into the hug and perhaps she understood them, because she patted his cheek clumsily when he released her, then waved her wand in a slightly random way, causing half a pack of bacon to flop out of the frying pan onto the floor. Q4 - Do you remember who Fabian Pruitt is?“The Prewetts, Gideon and Fabian. It took five Death eaters to bring them down, they fought like heroes.”  (GOBLET OF FIRE)Although Lupin smiled as he shook Harry's hand, Harry thought he looked rather unhappy. It was all very odd; Tonks, beside him, looked simply radiant. Q5 - What's going on between them?“The Minister — but why — ? I don't understand —” But there was no time to discuss the matter; a second later, Mr. Weasley had appeared out of thin air at the gate, accompanied by Rufus Scrimgeour, instantly recognizable by his mane of grizzled hair. Q6 - What do you think of the Minister for Magic?“That law was created to stop wizards passing on Dark artifacts,” said Hermione, “and the Ministry is supposed to have powerful evidence that the deceased's possessions are illegal before seizing them! Are you telling me that you thought Dumbledore was trying to pass us something cursed?” “Are you planning to follow a career in Magical Law, Miss Granger?” asked Scrimgeour.Q7 - Do you think Ministry members think Dumbledore was evil?However, Scrimgeour did not seem to be listening. He put his hand inside his cloak and drew out a drawstring pouch much larger than the one Hagrid had given Harry. From it, he removed a scroll of parchment which he unrolled and read aloud. “ ‘The Last Will and Testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore' . . . Yes, here we are. . . . ‘To Ronald Bilius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, in the hope that he will remember me when he uses it.' ” Scrimgeour took from the bag an object that Harry had seen before: It looked something like a silver cigarette lighter, but it had, he knew, the power to suck all light from a place, and restore it, with a simple click. Scrimgeour leaned forward and passed the Deluminator to Ron, who took it and turned it over in his fingers, looking stunned. “That is a valuable object,” said Scrimgeour, watching Ron. “It may even be unique. Certainly it is of Dumbledore's own design. Why would he have left you an item so rare?” Q8 - Why did he leave this to Ron?“ ‘To Miss Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in the hope that she will find it entertaining and instructive.' ” Scrimgeour now pulled out of the bag a small book that looked as ancient as the copy of Secrets of the Darkest Art upstairs. Its binding was stained and peeling in places. Hermione took it from Scrimgeour without a word. She held the book in her lap and gazed at it. Harry saw that the title was in runes; he had never learned to read them. As he looked, a tear splashed onto the embossed symbols. “Why do you think Dumbledore left you that book, Miss Granger?” asked Scrimgeour.Q9 - Why did he leave this to Hermione?“ ‘To Harry James Potter,' ” he read, and Harry's insides contracted with a sudden excitement, “ ‘I leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill.' ” As Scrimgeour pulled out the tiny, walnut-sized golden ball, its silver wings fluttered rather feebly, and Harry could not help feeling a definite sense of anticlimax. “Why did Dumbledore leave you this Snitch?” asked Scrimgeour.Q10 - Why did he leave this to Harry?“Dumbledore left you a second bequest, Potter.” “What is it?” asked Harry, excitement rekindling. Scrimgeour did not bother to read from the will this time. “The sword of Godric Gryffindor,” he said. Q11 - Why did he leave this to Harry?“It — it was nothing,” he growled. “I . . . regret your attitude,” he said, looking Harry full in the face once more. “You seem to think that the Ministry does not desire what you — what Dumbledore — desired. We ought to be working together.” He nearly dropped the Snitch in surprise and excitement. Hermione was quite right. Engraved upon the smooth golden surface, where seconds before there had been nothing, were five words written in the thin, slanting handwriting that Harry recognized as Dumbledore's: I open at the close. Q12 - What does this mean?“Ron, you know full well Harry and I were brought up by Muggles!” said Hermione. “We didn't hear stories like that when we were little, we heard ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' and ‘Cinderella' —” “What's that, an illness?” asked Ron.Chapter 8 - The WeddingHarry had taken a large dose of Polyjuice Potion and was now the double of a redheaded Muggle boy from the local village, Ottery St. Catchpole, from whom Fred had stolen hairs using a Summoning Charm.Q1 - How do you feel about this identity theft?“When I get married,” said Fred, tugging at the collar of his own robes, “I won't be bothering with any of this nonsense. You can all wear what you like, and I'll put a full Body-Bind Curse on Mum until it's all over.” Q2 - Who do you think Fred and George are going to marry?An odd symbol, rather like a triangular eye, glistened from a golden chain around his neck. “Sign?” said Harry, looking over at Xenophilius too. The strange triangular eye was gleaming on his chest. “Why? What's wrong with it?” “Grindelvald. That is Grindelvald's sign.” “Grindelwald . . . the Dark wizard Dumbledore defeated?” “Exactly.” Krum's jaw muscles worked as if he were chewing, then he said, “Grindelvald killed many people, my grandfather, for instance. Of course, he vos never poverful in this country, they said he feared Dumbledore — and rightly, seeing how he vos finished. But this” — he pointed a finger at Xenophilius — “this is his symbol, I recognized it at vunce: Grindelvald carved it into a vall at Durmstrang ven he vos a pupil there. Some idiots copied it onto their books and clothes, thinking to shock, make themselves impressive — until those of us who had lost family members to Grindelvald taught them better.” Krum cracked his knuckles menacingly and glowered at Xenophilius. Harry felt perplexed. It seemed incredibly unlikely that Luna's father was a supporter of the Dark Arts, and nobody else in the tent seemed to have recognized the triangular, runelike shape. Q3 - Victor nearly fights him because of this symbol…what is it?“Hello, Harry!” she said. “Er — my name's Barny,” said Harry, flummoxed. “Oh, have you changed that too?” she asked brightly. “How did you know — ?” “Oh, just your expression,” she said. “Hmm. Made an excuse, did he? Not as gormless as he looks in press photographs, then. I've just been instructing the bride on how best to wear my tiara,” she shouted at Harry. “Goblin-made, you know, and been in my family for centuries. She's a good-looking girl, but still — French. Well, well, find me a good seat, Ronald, I am a hundred and seven and I ought not to be on my feet too long.” Q4 - Is this tiara anything special?Harry did not answer. He pretended to watch the dancers, like Krum, but he was thinking hard. So Voldemort was looking for a celebrated wandmaker, and Harry did not have to search far for a reason: It was surely because of what Harry's wand had done on the night that Voldemort had pursued him across the skies. The holly and phoenix feather wand had conquered the borrowed wand, something that Ollivander had not anticipated or understood. Would Gregorovitch know better? Was he truly more skilled than Ollivander, did he know secrets of wands that Ollivander did not? Q5 - Does Gregorivitch know secrets of wandlore that Olivander doesn't?“Well, in that interview,” Harry went on, “Rita Skeeter hinted that Professor Dumbledore was involved in the Dark Arts when he was young.” “Don't believe a word of it!” said Doge at once. “Not a word, Harry! Let nothing tarnish your memories of Albus Dumbledore!” Q6 - What's the truth here?“Why did nobody ever see her, Elphias?” squawked Muriel. “Why did half of us never even know she existed, until they carried the coffin out of the house and held a funeral for her? Where was saintly Albus while Ariana was locked in the cellar? Off being brilliant at Hogwarts, and never mind what was going on in his own house!” “What d'you mean, locked in the cellar?” asked Harry. “What is this?” Doge looked wretched. Auntie Muriel cackled again and answered Harry. Doge looked to be on the verge of tears. Auntie Muriel, who seemed to be enjoying herself hugely, snapped her fingers for more champagne. Numbly Harry thought of how the Dursleys had once shut him up, locked him away, kept him out of sight, all for the crime of being a wizard. Had Dumbledore's sister suffered the same fate in reverse: imprisoned for her lack of magic? And had Dumbledore truly left her to her fate while he went off to Hogwarts, to prove himself brilliant and talented?Q7 - Could this be true?“And I'll tell you something else,” Muriel said, hiccuping slightly as she lowered her goblet. “I think Bathilda has spilled the beans to Rita Skeeter. All those hints in Skeeter's interview about an important source close to the Dumbledores — goodness knows she was there all through the Ariana business, and it would fit!” Q8 - Is Bathilda Bagshot the source?“Bathilda Bagshot lives in Godric's Hollow?” “Oh yes, she's been there forever! The Dumbledores moved there after Percival was imprisoned, and she was their neighbor.” “The Dumbledores lived in Godric's Hollow?” “Yes, Barry, that's what I just said,” said Auntie Muriel testily. Harry felt drained, empty. Never once, in six years, had Dumbledore told Harry that they had both lived and lost loved ones in Godric's Hollow. Why? Were Lily and James buried close to Dumbledore's mother and sister? Had Dumbledore visited their graves, perhaps walked past Lily's and James's to do so? And he had never once told Harry . . . never bothered to say . . . Q9 - Is Dumbledore a good person?Harry did not know where to begin, but it did not matter. At that moment, something large and silver came falling through the canopy over the dance floor. Graceful and gleaming, the lynx landed lightly in the middle of the astonished dancers. Heads turned, as those nearest it froze absurdly in mid-dance. Then the Patronus's mouth opened wide and it spoke in the loud, deep, slow voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt. “The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming.” 

In which the aforementioned Bathilda's secret is that she's a snake doing weekend at Bernie's Email us at restrictedsectionpod@gmail.com to tell us what you thought of Bathilda's Secret or even what you think of us! We'd love to read your email on the show. Be sure to subscribe to know right away about new episodes, and rate and review! SUPPORT US ON OUR PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/therestrictedsection THANK YOU LOVE YOU BUY OUR MERCH: https://www.teepublic.com/user/restricted-section-podcast THANK YOU LOVE YOU IG: https://www.instagram.com/restrictedsectionpod/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rspoddetentioncrew/   Check out our other amazing Deus Ex Media podcasts! www.deusexmedia.org   This episode featured: Josh from Super Scary! https://www.deusexmedia.org/superscary   Josh plugged Baldur's Gate 3 https://baldursgate3.game/ Christina Kann https://linktr.ee/christinakann Christina plugged How to Protect Bookstores and Why by Danny Caine https://bookshop.org/a/97181/9781648411632 Also Pennies & Cigarettes by Shift Meal https://open.spotify.com/album/12Huuqq5Ldh3J0gQkUVmHq?si=GkwjPG_JSN63kQj0URq_bA&nd=1&dlsi=e0c1317204b44678 Lelia Hilton IG @leelz4realz http://instagram.com/leelz4realz Lelia plugged The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week https://www.popsci.com/category/weirdest-thing-i-learned-this-week/

Send us a Text Message.In this episode, we discuss Harry's worst eyebrow raising decisions. Enjoy!Topics/Summary:·      2:01 Harry forgetting the invisibility cloak after handing off Norbert. Moving the plot forward is important, but this was a ridiculous mistake. It was the only thing he couldn't forget being the sole barrier between him and a lot of trouble which he eventually finds himself in. ·      8:14 Harry attacking Umbridge to get the locket. Yes, he had to take is by force eventually but this was perhaps the worst way to do it. He does it in front of everyone and then has to fight his way out of the entire ministry from the very deepest point. He couldn't have somehow gotten her alone and then taken in much more quietly?·      14:20 Not preparing for the second task. It is the one thing he has to do! There are no other responsibilities on his shoulders than to prepare for the Tri-Wizard Tournament and his just doesn't. He deserves to have some rest after the first task, but after weeks of doing nothing we have to start asking. ·      18:30 Going to the ministry to save Sirius. He went for a good reason except for the fact that it was a complete lie. He even goes as far as to acknowledge that it is possible that he is walking into a trap, but should he tell anyone or get backup? No.·      21:54 Not taking occlumency seriously. Voldemort uses Harry's vulnerable mind to put memories and thoughts and vision that can manipulate him. Occlumency is the perfect way to try and repel it, but with Snape teaching it Harry was doomed to fail. The first time Snape pushed too far and Harry fought back, they were done.·      25:02 Returning to Godric's Hallow. It is a perfectly reasonable thing for him to assume that the sword is there, but the reason why it is on this list is because he didn't recognize the signs. There were so many things before Nagini showed up that could have been a red alarm blaring tip off to Harry that something was wrong, but he ignored it. It was only when Bathilda started turning into a snake that he thought to do something. Having anything you want to hear or say? Click here for a voice submission or here for text. ThePotterDiscussion@gmail.com@thepotterdiscussion on InstagramSign up for The Quill and Ink Newsletterthepotterdiscussion.com

Chapter 16 - Godric's HollowThey did not discuss Ron at all over the next few days. Harry was determined never to mention his name again, and Hermione seemed to know that it was no use forcing the issue, although sometimes at night when she thought he was sleeping, he would hear her crying. Q1 - Is Harry being too hard here?By day, they devoted themselves to trying to determine the possible locations of Gryffindor's sword, but the more they talked about the places in which Dumbledore might have hidden it, the more desperate and far-fetched their speculation became. Q2 - Where do you think the sword is?They were spending many evenings in near silence, and Hermione took to bringing out Phineas Nigellus's portrait and propping it up in a chair, as though he might fill part of the gaping hole left by Ron's departure… Indeed, Phineas Nigellus inadvertently emphasized this fact by slipping in leading questions about Harry and Hermione's whereabouts.Q3 - Is Hermione actually crazy to do this?Apparently she had not been listening to him. She leaned forward and held out The Tales of Beedle the Bard. “Look at that symbol,” she said, pointing to the top of a page. Above what Harry assumed was the title of the story (being unable to read runes, he could not be sure), there was a picture of what looked like a triangular eye, its pupil crossed with a vertical line. “I never took Ancient Runes, Hermione.” “I know that, but it isn't a rune and it's not in the syllabary, either. All along I thought it was a picture of an eye, but I don't think it is! It's been inked in, look, somebody's drawn it there, it isn't really part of the book. Think, have you ever seen it before?” “No . . . No, wait a moment.” Harry looked closer. “Isn't it the same symbol Luna's dad was wearing round his neck?” “Well, that's what I thought too!” “Then it's Grindelwald's mark.” Q4 - What does this all mean for the story?She pointed to the dark stone. Harry stooped down and saw, upon the frozen, lichen-spotted granite, the words Kendra Dumbledore and, a short way below her dates of birth and death, and Her Daughter Ariana. There was also a quotation: Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Q5 - What do you make of that quote?“Here!” cried Hermione again a few moments later from out of the darkness. “Oh no, sorry! I thought it said Potter.” She was rubbing at a crumbling, mossy stone, gazing down at it, a little frown on her face. “Harry, come back a moment.” He did not want to be sidetracked again, and only grudgingly made his way back through the snow toward her. “What?” “Look at this!” The grave was extremely old, weathered so that Harry could hardly make out the name. Hermione showed him the symbol beneath it. “Harry, that's the mark in the book!” Q6 - Is this mark different?The headstone was only two rows behind Kendra and Ariana's. It was made of white marble, just like Dumbledore's tomb, and this made it easy to read, as it seemed to shine in the dark. Harry did not need to kneel or even approach very close to it to make out the words engraved upon it. James Potter Born 27 March 1960 Died October 31 1981 Lily Potter, born January 30, 1960 Died October 31, 1981. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. Q7 - Why are these words on the gravestone?But they were not living, thought Harry: They were gone. The empty words could not disguise the fact that his parents' moldering remains lay beneath snow and stone, indifferent, unknowing. And tears came before he could stop them, boiling hot then instantly freezing on his face, and what was the point in wiping them off or pretending? He let them fall, his lips pressed hard together, looking down at the thick snow hiding from his eyes the place where the last of Lily and James lay, bones now, surely, or dust, not knowing or caring that their living son stood so near, his heart still beating, alive because of their sacrifice and close to wishing, at this moment, that he was sleeping under the snow with them.Chapter 17 - Bathilda's SecretHarry, stop.” “What's wrong?” They had only just reached the grave of the unknown Abbott. “There's someone there. Someone watching us. I can tell. There, over by the bushes.”Q1 - What do you think of the monuments to the Potters?Was it possible that she had been waiting for them all these long months? That Dumbledore had told her to wait, and that Harry would come in the end? Was it not likely that it was she who had moved in the shadows in the graveyard and had followed them to this spot? Even her ability to sense them suggested some Dumbledore-ish power that he had never encountered before. Q2 - What would you have done in this situation?The dust vanished from the photographs, and he saw at once that half a dozen were missing from the largest and most ornate frames. He wondered whether Bathilda or somebody else had removed them. Then the sight of a photograph near the back of the collection caught his eye, and he snatched it up. It was the golden-haired, merry-faced thief, the young man who had perched on Gregorovitch's windowsill, smiling lazily up at Harry out of the silver frame. And it came to Harry instantly where he had seen the boy before: in The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, arm in arm with the teenage Dumbledore, and that must be where all the missing photographs were: in Rita's book. Q3 - Who is this?Then she closed her eyes and several things happened at once: Harry's scar prickled painfully; the Horcrux twitched so that the front of his sweater actually moved; the dark, fetid room dissolved momentarily. He felt a leap of joy and spoke in a high, cold voice: Hold him! Q4 - How chilling is this?And his scream was Harry's scream, his pain was Harry's pain . . . that it could happen here, where it had happened before . . . here, within sight of that house where he had come so close to knowing what it was to die . . . to die. . . . The pain was so terrible . . . ripped from his body. . . . But if he had no body, why did his head hurt so badly; if he was dead, how could he feel so unbearably, didn't pain cease with death, didn't it go . . . He forced the door open, cast aside the chair and boxes hastily piled against it with one lazy wave of his wand . . . and there she stood, the child in her arms. At the sight of him, she dropped her son into the crib behind her and threw her arms wide, as if this would help, as if in shielding him from sight she hoped to be chosen instead. . . . “Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!” “Stand aside, you silly girl . . . stand aside, now.” “Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead —” “This is my last warning —” “Not Harry! Please . . . have mercy . . . have mercy. . . . Not Harry! Not Harry! Please — I'll do anything —” “Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!” He could have forced her away from the crib, but it seemed more prudent to finish them all. . . .Q5 - Does any of this info give you hints or clues as to what is going on?And then he broke: He was nothing, nothing but pain and terror, and he must hide himself, not here in the rubble of the ruined house, where the child was trapped and screaming, but far away . . . far away. . . . “No,” he moaned. The snake rustled on the filthy, cluttered floor, and he had killed the boy, and yet he was the boy. . . . “No . . .” And now he stood at the broken window of Bathilda's house, immersed in memories of his greatest loss, and at his feet the great snake slithered over broken china and glass. . . . He looked down and saw something . . . something incredible. . . . “No . . .” “Harry, it's all right, you're all right!” He stooped down and picked up the smashed photograph. There he was, the unknown thief, the thief he was seeking. . .Q6 - What is going on here? “You're the one who needs sleep. No offense, but you look terrible. I'm fine. I'll keep watch for a while. Where's my wand?” She did not answer, she merely looked at him. “Where's my wand, Hermione?” She was biting her lip, and tears swam in her eyes. “Harry . . .” “Where's my wand?” She reached down beside the bed and held it out to him. The holly and phoenix wand was nearly severed in two. One fragile strand of phoenix feather kept both pieces hanging together. The wood had splintered apart completely. Harry took it into his hands as though it was a living thing that had suffered a terrible injury. He could not think properly: Everything was a blur of panic and fear. Then he held out the wand to Hermione. “Lumos!” The wand sparked feebly, then went out. Harry pointed it at Hermione. “Expelliarmus!” Hermione's wand gave a little jerk, but did not leave her hand. The feeble attempt at magic was too much for Harry's wand, which split into two again. He stared at it, aghast, unable to take in.Q7 - Do they really stand a chance now?

We're starting off the companion episodes to our new book with the dark side of Harry Potter. Dr. Beatrice Groves (Oxford University and Bathilda's Notebook) and Dr. Amy Strugis (Lenoir-Rhyne University and Signum University) join us to discuss their chapters "Good Men and Monsters: The Influence of Bram Stoker's Dracula on Harry Potter" and "Dark Arts and Secret Histories: Investigating Dark Academia." They talk about what drew them to the more disturbing and Gothic aspects of the series. Amy explains the difference between the Dark Academia aesthetic and the literary genre. The latter generally involves a school or university setting, elements of mystery and death, concern with the past, and social critique, especially of power dynamics that exist in the wider world and are concentrated in an academic institution - all of which are present in Potter. It might seem like heavy material for young readers, but adolescents can experience bullying, injustice, and grief and can relate to and learn from fiction. The aesthetic that has been popularized online tends to focus purely on style, romanticizing some of what the genre criticizes. Harry Potter engages with dark and Gothic traditions but also breaks from them. Bea sees Mina Harker in Dracula as a parallel for Harry, both marked by evil, but the works ultimately seem to have different attitudes toward the nature of evil - while Dracula's influence can turn innocent Mina into a monster, Harry maintains his inherent goodness and the power to resist Voldemort. What problems does knowledge of the Dark Arts pose? Going back to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, danger lies in how people use such knowledge more than the knowledge itself. Knowledge is power, so keeping secrets and controlling access to knowledge are issues in Dark Academia - a genre that has only become more popular since the success of Potter.

Chapter 17: Bathilda's Secret- Spoiler: SHE A SNAKE!

Chapter 10 - Kreacher's TaleHarry wondered whether they had fallen asleep holding hands. The idea made him feel strangely lonely. The wardrobe doors stood open and the bedclothes had been ripped back. Harry remembered the overturned troll leg downstairs. Somebody had searched the house since the Order had left. Snape? Or perhaps Mundungus, who had pilfered plenty from this house both before and after Sirius died?Q1 - Has someone been looking through Grimmauld Place?Thank you, thank you, for Harry's birthday present! It was his favorite by far. One year old and already zooming along on a toy broomstick, he looked so pleased with himself, I'm enclosing a picture so you can see. You know it only rises about two feet off the ground, but he nearly killed the cat and he smashed a horrible vase Petunia sent me for Christmas (no complaints there). Q2 - Was there something behind Petunia's gift?Bathilda drops in most days, she's a fascinating old thing with the most amazing stories about Dumbledore, I'm not sure he'd be pleased if he knew! I don't know how much to believe, actually, because it seems incredible that Dumbledore…Q3 - What was this going to say? And why was Dumbledore using the cloak?He read the letter again, but could not take in any more meaning than he had done the first time, and was reduced to staring at the handwriting itself. She had made her “g”s the same way he did: He searched through the letter for every one of them, and each felt like a friendly little wave glimpsed from behind a veil. The letter was an incredible treasure, proof that Lily Potter had lived, really lived, that her warm hand had once moved across this parchment, tracing ink into these letters, these words, words about him, Harry, her son.They had had a cat . . . perhaps it had perished, like his parents, at Godric's Hollow Q4 - Is this cat Crookshanks?His parents had known Bathilda Bagshot; had Dumbledore introduced them? Dumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak . . . There was something funny there. . . .“Harry, do you really think you'll get the truth from a malicious old woman like Muriel, or from Rita Skeeter? How can you believe them? You knew Dumbledore!” “I thought I did,” he muttered. “But you know how much truth there was in everything Rita wrote about you! Doge is right, how can you let these people tarnish your memories of Dumbledore?” He looked away, trying not to betray the resentment he felt. There it was again: Choose what to believe. He wanted the truth. Why was everybody so determined that he should not get it? Q5 - What is the truth here?This, then, was how Voldemort had tested the defenses surrounding the Horcrux: by borrowing a disposable creature, a house-elf . . . “There was a b-basin full of potion on the island. The D-Dark Lord made Kreacher drink it. . . .” The elf quaked from head to foot. “Kreacher drank, and as he drank, he saw terrible things. . . . Kreacher's insides burned. . . . Kreacher cried for Master Regulus to save him, he cried for his Mistress Black, but the Dark Lord only laughed. . . . He made Kreacher drink all the potion. . . . He dropped a locket into the empty basin. . . . He filled it with more potion. Q6 - How much pity do you have for Kreacher?Kreacher knew how to open the concealed entrance to the underground cavern, knew how to raise the tiny boat; this time it was his beloved Regulus who sailed with him to the island with its basin of poison. . . . “And he made you drink the potion?” said Harry, disgusted. But Kreacher shook his head and wept. Hermione's hands leapt to her mouth: She seemed to have understood something. “M-Master Regulus took from his pocket a locket like the one the Dark Lord had,” said Kreacher, tears pouring down either side of his snoutlike nose. “And he told Kreacher to take it and, when the basin was empty, to switch the lockets. . . .”Q7 - What do you think of Kreacher's Tale?“Kreacher, I want you, please, to go and find Mundungus Fletcher. We need to find out where the locket — where Master Regulus's locket is. It's really important. We want to finish the work Master Regulus started, we want to — er — ensure that he didn't die in vain.” Kreacher dropped his fists and looked up at Harry. “Find Mundungus Fletcher?” he croaked. “And bring him here, to Grimmauld Place,” said Harry. “Do you think you could do that for us?” As Kreacher nodded and got to his feet, Harry had a sudden inspiration. He pulled out Hagrid's purse and took out the fake Horcrux, the substitute locket in which Regulus had placed the note to Voldemort. Q8 - How will they open the locket?Chapter 11 - The Bribe“Will you stop it!” she cried on the third evening of Kreacher's absence, as all light was sucked from the drawing room yet again. “Sorry, sorry!” said Ron, clicking the Deluminator and restoring the lights. “I don't know I'm doing it!” “Well, can't you find something useful to occupy yourself?” “What, like reading kids' stories?” “Dumbledore left me this book, Ron —” “— and he left me the Deluminator, maybe I'm supposed to use it!” Q1 - Any further theories on why Dumbledore left them these objects?“I had to Apparate very precisely onto the top step outside the front door to be sure that they would not see me. They can't know you're in here or I'm sure they'd have more people out there; they're staking out everywhere that's got any connection with you, Harry. Let's go downstairs, there's a lot to tell you, and I want to know what happened after you left the Burrow.”Q2 - How does the Fidelius Charm actually work?“So, you came straight here after the wedding?” “No,” said Harry, “only after we ran into a couple of Death Eaters in a café on Tottenham Court Road.” Lupin slopped most of his butterbeer down his front. “What?” They explained what had happened; when they had finished, Lupin looked aghast. “But how did they find you so quickly? It's impossible to track anyone who Apparates, unless you grab hold of them as they disappear!”Q3 - How did the Death Eaters find him?“There were about a dozen of them, but they didn't know you were there, Harry. Arthur heard a rumor that they tried to torture your whereabouts out of Scrimgeour before they killed him; if it's true, he didn't give you away.” Q4 - Does this make you think highly of Scrimgeour?Q5 - What do you think of the Muggle Born Registration Committee?“I know,” said Lupin. “Nevertheless, unless you can prove that you have at least one close Wizarding relative, you are now deemed to have obtained your magical power illegally and must suffer the punishment.” Ron glanced at Hermione, then said, “What if purebloods and half-bloods swear a Muggle-born's part of their family? I'll tell everyone Hermione's my cousin —” Q6 - How cute is Ron here? “I'll understand if you can't confirm this, Harry, but the Order is under the impression that Dumbledore left you a mission.” “He did,” Harry replied, “and Ron and Hermione are in on it and they're coming with me.” “Can you confide in me what the mission is?” Harry looked into the prematurely lined face, framed in thick but graying hair, and wished that he could return a different answer. “I can't, Remus, I'm sorry. If Dumbledore didn't tell you I don't think I can.” Q7 - Danny during the liveread you said “Don't do it.” Why?“Remus,” said Hermione tentatively, “is everything all right . . . you know . . . between you and —” “Everything is fine, thank you,” said Lupin pointedly. Hermione turned pink. There was another pause, an awkward and embarrassed one, and then Lupin said, with an air of forcing himself to admit something unpleasant, “Tonks is going to have a baby.” “Oh, how wonderful!” squealed Hermione. “Excellent!” said Ron enthusiastically. “Congratulations,” said Harry. Q8 - How'd ya guess that Jenn?“You don't understand,” said Lupin at last. “Explain, then,” said Harry. Lupin swallowed. “I — I made a grave mistake in marrying Tonks. I did it against my better judgment and I have regretted it very much ever since.” “I see,” said Harry, “so you're just going to dump her and the kid and run off with us?” Lupin sprang to his feet: His chair toppled over backward, and he glared at them so fiercely that Harry saw, for the first time ever, the shadow of the wolf upon his human face. “Don't you understand what I've done to my wife and my unborn child? I should never have married her, I've made her an outcast!”Q9 - Should Lupin have married Tonks?“Remus!” whispered Hermione, tears in her eyes. “Don't say that — how could any child be ashamed of you?” “Oh, I don't know, Hermione,” said Harry. “I'd be pretty ashamed of him.” Harry did not know where his rage was coming from, but it had propelled him to his feet too. Lupin looked as though Harry had hit himQ10 - How did Harry handle this whole situation?Q11 - What do you think was the truth about Ariana Dumledore?There was the sound of pattering feet, a blaze of shining copper, an echoing clang, and a shriek of agony: Kreacher had taken a run at Mundungus and hit him over the head with a saucepan. “Call 'im off, call 'im off, 'e should be locked up!” screamed Mundungus, cowering as Kreacher raised the heavy-bottomed pan again. “Kreacher, no!” shouted Harry. Kreacher's thin arms trembled with the weight of the pan, still held aloft. “Perhaps just one more, Master Harry, for luck?” Ron laughed. “We need him conscious, Kreacher, but if he needs persuading you can do the honors,” said Harry. “Thank you very much, Master,” said Kreacher with a bow, and he retreated a short distance, his great pale eyes still fixed upon Mundungus with loathing.Q12 - Isn't is crazy how you can go from hating a character so quick to loving him?

Chapter 8 - The WeddingHarry had taken a large dose of Polyjuice Potion and was now the double of a redheaded Muggle boy from the local village, Ottery St. Catchpole, from whom Fred had stolen hairs using a Summoning Charm.Q1 - How do you feel about this identity theft?“When I get married,” said Fred, tugging at the collar of his own robes, “I won't be bothering with any of this nonsense. You can all wear what you like, and I'll put a full Body-Bind Curse on Mum until it's all over.” Q2 - Who do you think Fred and George are going to marry?An odd symbol, rather like a triangular eye, glistened from a golden chain around his neck. “Sign?” said Harry, looking over at Xenophilius too. The strange triangular eye was gleaming on his chest. “Why? What's wrong with it?” “Grindelvald. That is Grindelvald's sign.” “Grindelwald . . . the Dark wizard Dumbledore defeated?” “Exactly.” Krum's jaw muscles worked as if he were chewing, then he said, “Grindelvald killed many people, my grandfather, for instance. Of course, he vos never poverful in this country, they said he feared Dumbledore — and rightly, seeing how he vos finished. But this” — he pointed a finger at Xenophilius — “this is his symbol, I recognized it at vunce: Grindelvald carved it into a vall at Durmstrang ven he vos a pupil there. Some idiots copied it onto their books and clothes, thinking to shock, make themselves impressive — until those of us who had lost family members to Grindelvald taught them better.” Krum cracked his knuckles menacingly and glowered at Xenophilius. Harry felt perplexed. It seemed incredibly unlikely that Luna's father was a supporter of the Dark Arts, and nobody else in the tent seemed to have recognized the triangular, runelike shape. Q3 - Victor nearly fights him because of this symbol…what is it?“Hello, Harry!” she said. “Er — my name's Barny,” said Harry, flummoxed. “Oh, have you changed that too?” she asked brightly. “How did you know — ?” “Oh, just your expression,” she said. “Hmm. Made an excuse, did he? Not as gormless as he looks in press photographs, then. I've just been instructing the bride on how best to wear my tiara,” she shouted at Harry. “Goblin-made, you know, and been in my family for centuries. She's a good-looking girl, but still — French. Well, well, find me a good seat, Ronald, I am a hundred and seven and I ought not to be on my feet too long.” Q4 - Is this tiara anything special?Harry did not answer. He pretended to watch the dancers, like Krum, but he was thinking hard. So Voldemort was looking for a celebrated wandmaker, and Harry did not have to search far for a reason: It was surely because of what Harry's wand had done on the night that Voldemort had pursued him across the skies. The holly and phoenix feather wand had conquered the borrowed wand, something that Ollivander had not anticipated or understood. Would Gregorovitch know better? Was he truly more skilled than Ollivander, did he know secrets of wands that Ollivander did not? Q5 - Does Gregorivitch know secrets of wandlore that Olivander doesn't?“Well, in that interview,” Harry went on, “Rita Skeeter hinted that Professor Dumbledore was involved in the Dark Arts when he was young.” “Don't believe a word of it!” said Doge at once. “Not a word, Harry! Let nothing tarnish your memories of Albus Dumbledore!” Q6 - What's the truth here?“Why did nobody ever see her, Elphias?” squawked Muriel. “Why did half of us never even know she existed, until they carried the coffin out of the house and held a funeral for her? Where was saintly Albus while Ariana was locked in the cellar? Off being brilliant at Hogwarts, and never mind what was going on in his own house!” “What d'you mean, locked in the cellar?” asked Harry. “What is this?” Doge looked wretched. Auntie Muriel cackled again and answered Harry. Doge looked to be on the verge of tears. Auntie Muriel, who seemed to be enjoying herself hugely, snapped her fingers for more champagne. Numbly Harry thought of how the Dursleys had once shut him up, locked him away, kept him out of sight, all for the crime of being a wizard. Had Dumbledore's sister suffered the same fate in reverse: imprisoned for her lack of magic? And had Dumbledore truly left her to her fate while he went off to Hogwarts, to prove himself brilliant and talented?Q7 - Could this be true?“And I'll tell you something else,” Muriel said, hiccuping slightly as she lowered her goblet. “I think Bathilda has spilled the beans to Rita Skeeter. All those hints in Skeeter's interview about an important source close to the Dumbledores — goodness knows she was there all through the Ariana business, and it would fit!” Q8 - Is Bathilda Bagshot the source?“Bathilda Bagshot lives in Godric's Hollow?” “Oh yes, she's been there forever! The Dumbledores moved there after Percival was imprisoned, and she was their neighbor.” “The Dumbledores lived in Godric's Hollow?” “Yes, Barry, that's what I just said,” said Auntie Muriel testily. Harry felt drained, empty. Never once, in six years, had Dumbledore told Harry that they had both lived and lost loved ones in Godric's Hollow. Why? Were Lily and James buried close to Dumbledore's mother and sister? Had Dumbledore visited their graves, perhaps walked past Lily's and James's to do so? And he had never once told Harry . . . never bothered to say . . . Q9 - Is Dumbledore a good person?Harry did not know where to begin, but it did not matter. At that moment, something large and silver came falling through the canopy over the dance floor. Graceful and gleaming, the lynx landed lightly in the middle of the astonished dancers. Heads turned, as those nearest it froze absurdly in mid-dance. Then the Patronus's mouth opened wide and it spoke in the loud, deep, slow voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt. “The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming.” Chapter 9 - A Place to Hide“When you say you've got the Cloak, and clothes . . .” said Harry, frowning at Hermione, who was carrying nothing except her small beaded handbag, in which she was now rummaging. “Yes, they're here,” said Hermione, and to Harry and Ron's utter astonishment, she pulled out a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, some maroon socks, and finally the silvery Invisibility Cloak. Q1 - Is Hermione the greatest or what?Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak around his shoulders and pulled it up over his head, vanishing from sight. He was only just beginning to appreciate what had happened. “The others — everyone at the wedding —”Q2 - You think everyone is safe?After a minute or two, Ron said, “You know, we're not far from the Leaky Cauldron here, it's only in Charing Cross —” “Ron, we can't!” said Hermione at once. “Not to stay there, but to find out what's going on!” “We know what's going on! Voldemort's taken over the Ministry, what else do we need to know?” “Okay, okay, it was just an idea!” They relapsed into a prickly silence. The gum-chewing waitress shuffled over and Hermione ordered two cappuccinos: As Harry was invisible, it would have looked odd to order him one. A pair of burly workmen entered the café and squeezed into the next booth. Hermione dropped her voice to a whisper. Q3 - How did the Death Eaters find them?“What are we going to do with them?” Ron whispered to Harry through the dark; then, even more quietly, “Kill them? They'd kill us. They had a good go just now.” Hermione shuddered and took a step backward. Harry shook his head. “We just need to wipe their memories,” said Harry. “It's better like that, it'll throw them off the scent. If we killed them it'd be obvious we were here.”Q4 - What should they do with these people?“It's no wonder I can't get it out, Hermione, you packed my old jeans, they're tight.” “Oh, I'm so sorry,” hissed Hermione, and as she dragged the waitress out of sight of the windows, Harry heard her mutter a suggestion as to where Ron could stick his wand instead. Q5 - Would you go back to the Burrow for your good pair of jeans?Gingerly Harry took another step forward. Something shifted in the shadows at the end of the hall, and before any of them could say another word, a figure had risen up out of the carpet, tall, dustcolored, and terrible: Hermione screamed and so did Mrs. Black, her curtains flying open; the gray figure was gliding toward them, faster and faster, its waist-length hair and beard streaming behind it, its face sunken, fleshless, with empty eye sockets: Horribly familiar, dreadfully altered, it raised a wasted arm, pointing at Harry. “No!” Harry shouted, and though he had raised his wand no spell occurred to him. “No! It wasn't us! We didn't kill you —” On the word kill, the figure exploded in a great cloud of dust: Coughing, his eyes watering, Harry looked around to see Hermione crouched on the floor by the door with her arms over her head, and Ron, who was shaking from head to foot, patting her clumsily on the shoulder and saying, “It's all r-right. . . . It's g-gone. . . .” Q6 - Are these good defenses?“But then you've got to close your mind!” said Hermione shrilly. “Harry, Dumbledore didn't want you to use that connection, he wanted you to shut it down, that's why you were supposed to use Occlumency! Otherwise Voldemort can plant false images in your mind, remember —” Q7 - Would Voldemort do this again and would Harry be tricked by it again?He turned his back on Ron and Hermione, pretending to examine the old tapestry of the Black family tree on the wall. Then Hermione shrieked: Harry drew his wand again and spun around to see a silver Patronus soar through the drawing room window and land upon the floor in front of them, where it solidified into the weasel that spoke with the voice of Ron's father. “Family safe, do not reply, we are being watched.” Q8 - Can you fake Patronuses?“More, Rowle, or shall we end it and feed you to Nagini? Lord Voldemort is not sure that he will forgive this time. . . . You called me back for this, to tell me that Harry Potter has escaped again? Draco, give Rowle another taste of our displeasure. . . . Do it, or feel my wrath yourself!”Q9 - Do you feel bad for Draco?

Explore connections between the works of Jane Austen and Harry Potter. Katy and Emily compare Austen's novels to the Potter series with Dr. Beatrice Groves (Trinity College, Oxford University), author of Literary Allusion in Harry Potter and columnist at Bathilda's Notebook. Bea first noticed a connection when she realized that Filch's cat shared a name with Mrs. Norris from Mansfield Park, and the similarities only continue from there. The hero serves as a focalizing point for the narrative of Austen's books and the Potter books, using a third-person limited perspective that gives the reader a sense of having an omniscient view even though just one character's point of view is expressed. Emma seems to bear the strongest similarity to Potter in this sense. Austen and Potter also both explore riddles and the act of interpreting them, gossip and its pitfalls, and fame or notoriety. Bea discusses her chapter in the recent anthology Open at the Close about communities of interpretation in Austen's works and Harry Potter. Reading creates communities among readers who have read the same work but also a dialogue between the reader and the writer when the reader recognizes allusions to texts they have also read. Writing generated by artificial intelligence would lack this particular human quality that allows us to feel connected to a writer when we know we have read the same books. Reading also allows us to use our imaginations in a way that a film adaptation does not, which provides an interpretation of the text. Finally, Bea reveals an interesting parallel between Jane Austen's life and the backstory of a Potter character.

Episode 9 (Minutes 1:24:54 to 1:35:07): This week slithers us through the trip to Godric's Hollow where we are very pleased NOT to see the form of Nagini erupting out of a dead body. We have so many questions here about the home of Bathilda and how exactly Harry knew which house belonged to him? Also, WHAT IS THIS NURSERY?! Join us next week for minutes 1:35:07 to 1:45:29! (Scene Marker: This chunk ends with HP saying “I'll take the locket as well.”)

Our story comes to a conclusion. Raner and his friends go their separate ways, and we get to learn a bit about how each of their stories end. Trouble, Abiil, Rhaesh, and Katrina all head back to The Gate. Things are a mess there, which creates lots of opportunities for them. Grorg and Eloise go to free Bathilda and reunite with the rest of her family. Leroy and Jonathan stop by Golden, thinking of Quis' legacy. And Raner goes back to the home where this whole adventure started. This is the last part of the season 3 finale, and the end to the Song of the Hero. Thank you for listening. Visit us at kqpodcast.com Support us at patreon.com/kqpodcast Email us at knights.quest10@gmail.com

- In Chapter 17 of Deathly Hallows, Harry and Hermione are lured into a trap. Nagini, disguised as Bathilda Bagshot, attempts to kill Harry, and while the friends escape, Harry's wand is broken in the process.- Today's prompt is: If the trio went to Godric's Hollow first as Harry wanted, how would events have unfolded differently?- This episode is hosted by Rex Hadden.- Join in the conversation on MuggleNet's social media channels by using #PromptlyPotter

Is Bathilda Bagshot A Student In Hogwarts Legacy!? We think so! Find out why! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/hogwarts-legacy-podcast/support

Harry Potter

Join us for our deep dive into Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore and its literary allusions, beastly lore, and continuation of the plot points in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. NOTE: This episode contains spoilers! Dr. Beatrice Groves (Trinity College, Oxford) joins Katy and Emily to decode the symbolic elements of this story and help us understand where it fits within the Harry Potter series. Find out about Bea's prediction-come-true and hear about how the central beasts in the film reference medieval mythological creatures featured in various bestiaries that Bea has kindly read for us so she can share her knowledge. From the Qilin to the Obscurus, Bea explains the importance of making beasts central to Grindelwald's plan, which unites the Dumbledore plot with Newt Scamander's. Grindelwald uses beasts for his own ends instead of appreciating them as they are, as Newt does, and this provides us key insights about his character – and echoes similar problematic aspects of Voldemort's character. You can read about some of these theories in Bea's column, Bathilda's Notebook. Bea connects the beasts to T.H. White's The Once and Future King and The Book of Beasts – both strong influences on the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series – as well as the work of Neil Gaiman and Lev Grossman. The Fantastic Beasts films also draw from P.G. Wodehouse and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The prison (and its beasts) in Secrets of Dumbledore evokes mythology and other sources, layering stories upon stories to create rich intertextual meaning. We talk about Rappaport's Law banning Wizard/No-Maj marriages, seemingly abandoned at the end of the film, and the Dumbledore-Grindelwald blood troth and its significance. How does this story inform our understanding of Albus Dumbledore's youth and the whole Dumbledore family? Bea points out clever inversions of the Aberforth-Albus-Ariana scene in the last Harry Potter book and the revelations about Albus and Gellert's relationship in the film – and whether those feelings continue. You'll also hear much of interest about the mirror dimension experienced by Albus, Gellert, and Credence and additional functions of the Deluminator that echo Deathly Hallows moments. Secrets abound in this story and among the Dumbledores themselves, and their revelation drives the plot of the film.  

This week Tabby reads "it's time to find your wings again" by we_are_the_same. The first reports are dismissed, as tall tales or folklore. As mental illness, poor Bathilda, she'd gone loopy. As people simply getting scared in the dark woods and seeing things, making things up. Magic isn't real. Mythological creatures aren't real. But then the first one is caught. A faun, that little Meg from around the corner swears has attacked her in the woods, and everyone comes to the marketplace to see the faun be hanged for its crimes. Louis doesn't want to go, but at the same time, he finds himself unable to stay away. Not when this proves what he's wanted to believe all along, that magic is real. * Louis is twenty when he starts working at the prison. His fascination for supernatural creatures had turned into something most closely resembling loathing over the years, due to the many stories of their evildoing, and although he still doesn't believe in hanging them for their crimes, he does believe in keeping the town safe. In making sure that his siblings get to grow up without fear of being kidnapped or hurt. As the oldest son, it feels like his duty to make sure that no creature in the wide area will ever pose a threat to anyone.

We're back this week for a special bonus episode, this time covering something either you love, or you hate...epigraphs in the Strike series. In this episode, we discuss all aspects of the epigraphs, including why they're important, what they add to the text, and even a few predictions for what we might be able to expect in The Ink Black Heart. Our special guests today are Dr Beatrice Groves and Nick Jeffery, both of whom have written extensively online Hogwarts Professor. Dr. Beatrice Groves teaches Shakespeare and Renaissance English Literature at Oxford University and is the author of Literary Allusion in Harry Potter. She also has a blog over at MuggleNet called Bathilda's Notebook, at which she discusses aspects of all of Rowling's works. Nick Jeffery is an engineer living in Wales who recently rekindled his love of reading through Jo's works, and was the person who, through clever online sleuthing, discovered the sixth Strike novel's title before its reveal. Links: www.twitter.com/thesefilespod https://www.mugglenet.com/category/the-quibbler/bathildas-notebook/ https://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/beatrice-groves-and-kurt-schreyer-the-mystery-of-the-ink-black-heart/ https://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/is-strike6s-title-the-ink-black-heart/#more-24027 https://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/title-of-strike-6-the-last-cries-of-men-possibly/

At long last – no matter which way you're reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Harry and Hermione visit Godric's Hollow: birthplace of both Godric Gryffindor and Harry Potter, hometown of Albus Dumbledore, and place where the Golden Snitch was first forged. No matter how you slice it, ol' Goddy's place is pretty darn important to the magical world – and perhaps even more so for Harry himself. In this episode, we discuss two chapters, Bathilda's Secret (ch. 17) and Godric's Hollow (ch. 16), continuing our examination of loss, love, death, and magic for Harry, Hermione, and Ron (despite his absence from these chapters - spoiler alert!).

For the second week in a row, The Wilsons are tackling two chapters! But this time, instead of Bathilda's gross house, graveyards, and horrifying snake fights, it's some overdue bro love, the lovely silver doe, and some light reading in the form of Dumbledore's early days as a fascist. Join us?Support the show (http://patreon.com/thefoxandthefoxhound)

ITS A SPOOKY CHAPTER! Chapter 17, Bathilda's Secret. We have questions about how we got here. We also have a new fan theory about ya boi - V-Mort!

Explore the many dark connections between Harry Potter and Dracula, two stories of love, death, and the conquest of evil.In this episode, Katy and Emily talk with Dr. Beatrice Groves (Literary Allusions in Harry Potter, Bathilda’s Notebook) about the many parallels between Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the Harry Potter series. Hogwarts evokes Count Dracula’s castle, and J.K. Rowling and Stoker evoke similar impressions of eastern Europe as a place where dark magic dwells. Despite the scarcity of actual vampires in Harry Potter, Rowling evokes vampiric imagery with both Voldemort and Snape. Rowling even drew early images of Snape where he looks like the Count. Does Quirrell have a parallel in Dracula? Harry parallels Dracula’s heroine, Mina Harker, especially in having a traumatic experience with the villain that creates a continuing psychic connection. Ideas about blood and the transfer of blood exist in both works, creating similar questions about purity and power. Dracula also has objects that keep him alive - boxes of soil - much like Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Defeating Dracula and defeating Voldemort follow similar plot paths, including the way they die. Bea reveals a fascinating association between the Horcrux locket’s destruction and Dracula that you will not want to miss. Albus Dumbledore’s parallel in Stoker’s novel is the famous vampire hunter Van Helsing. Both, Bea explains, represent the author’s voice and perspective. Other fascinating links abound as well, so tune in!  Feeling thirsty? In our special segment, return to the Three Broomsticks where Emily explains how to make Sanguini Martinis and the Sanguini Sangria Surprise! 

This week we're going to run through four kings in short order. Up until this point we have been able to see most of the rois fainéants for what they were: well-meaning young kings who, by dint of having taken power at an exceptionally young age, were rarely out of their majority for long enough to make a large historical difference. A combination of bad health and bad luck led to most of them failing to live out their 20s; Chlothar II was the most recent ruler to see his 40s, dying in 629, and it would be over 80 years before another Frankish monarch could lay claim to having attained such an “ancient” age.   With that said, let me introduce you to the four kings we'll be discussing this week: Chlothar III, King of Neustria (oldest son of Clovis II and Bathilda), Childeric II, King of Austrasia (second oldest son of Clovis II and Bathilda), Clovis III, King of Austrasia (illegitimate son of Chlothar III), and Theuderic III, King of Neustria (youngest son of Clovis II and Bathilda). Altogether, these kings had a short tenure in power and were completely outmatched and overpowered by their Mayors of the Palace. When someone uses the term roi fainéant, whether they know it or not, these are the kings they're alluding to.   * * *   Links to social media and the website: That's Not Canon: https://thatsnotcanon.com/home   Site: https://www.thugsandmiracles.com/ Email: thugsandmiracles@gmail.com Twitter: @thugsandmiracle (with no “s” on the end) Facebook: @ThugsAndMiracles Instagram: @ThugsAndMiracles Patreon (Who I Support): https://www.patreon.com/user/creators?u=47488268

This week we're finishing the trilogy that began back in Episode Nine when Grimoald rode out into a field following the death of King Sigisbert III, collected up two boys - his son, Childebert, and the Crown Prince, Dagobert II - then sent the latter into exile while placing the former onto the throne of Austrasia. This coup almost worked; however, unlike horseshoes and hand grenades, where “almost” is good enough, well… as we've seen, it wasn't good enough to keep Grimoald from likely being tortured and executed, and it wasn't good enough to keep Childebert III (a.k.a. Childebert the Adopted) on the throne.   Now, just because the coup didn't succeed doesn't mean there were no aftershocks. And the person who gained the most from these was Queen (and eventual Saint) Bathilda. Her son Chlothar III would end up ruling in Paris, while the second oldest, Childeric II, would head to the throne of Austrasia in 660. The third child, Theuderic, had been born near to the time of his father's death, and was still very young, but would get his chance at a crown in due course. Altogether, these boys ensured that all parts of France were tied to Bathilda and her benevolence. She was Queen Dowager, Queen Mother and Queen Regent, positions she Usinnot have held if not for the Austrasian coup. She used the power available to her unique position to advocate for causes near to her heart: she ended unbearable taxes that led people to sell their children into bondage, or worse yet, to end the lives of infants that parents couldn't sustain. These same taxes restrained many from marrying, and the good Queen discharged her people from these burdens, earning their love and devotion. Past all of this, she worked to put an end to slavery; not too bad for a woman who arrived to Francia in chains...   So come along as we see the notion of unintended consequences in action in this, the final episode of our Coup d'État trilogy!   * * *   Links to social media and the website: The Paranoid Strain: https://play.acast.com/s/the-paranoid-strain   Site: https://www.thugsandmiracles.com/ Email: thugsandmiracles@gmail.com Twitter: @thugsandmiracle (with no “s” on the end) Facebook: @ThugsAndMiracles Instagram: @ThugsAndMiracles Patreon (Who I Support): https://www.patreon.com/user/creators?u=47488268

Harry potter y las reliquias de la muerte audiolibro narrado por Carlos Ponce.

This week we're switching our attention away from Dagobert I and toward his sons, Clovis II and Sigibert III. Of these two Kings, Sigibert was actually the older, having been sired from a relationship between Dagobert and his concubine Ragnatrude. Clovis was actually a “legitimate” child, having been born to Dagobert's wife Nanthilde after Dagobert returned to their marital bed after having taken a long enough break from it to sire Sigibert. Now, nowhere in the research I conducted was I ever able to find any telling information about how these two Kings felt about one another. They were half-brothers, but Sigibert was sent off when he was still only a toddler to rule over Austrasia, before Clovis was even born.   Meanwhile, Bathilda was actually a few years older than the royal boys, and her story was definitely much more unlikely. According to Joy Mosbarger's, who wrote about the Queen in a 2015 article entitled, “From Slave to Queen to Nun”"Bathild's first occupation was that of slave. She was an Anglo-Saxon captive sold to Erchinoald, mayor of the palace for Frankish king Clovis II. Bathild distinguished herself in Erchinoald's household by serving him kindly, humbly, and faithfully. In addition, she served her elders by cheerfully and gladly washing their feet, bringing them water to wash themselves, and preparing their clothing. Though she found herself an enslaved captive, Bathild was committed to joyfully serving others. Bathild's service brought her to the attention of Clovis II, king of Neustria and Burgundy, who married her in spite of her status as a slave.Bathild's first occupation was that of slave. She was an Anglo-Saxon captive sold to Erchinoald, mayor of the palace for Frankish king Clovis II. Bathild distinguished herself in Erchinoald's household by serving him kindly, humbly, and faithfully. In addition, she served her elders by cheerfully and gladly washing their feet, bringing them water to wash themselves, and preparing their clothing. Though she found herself an enslaved captive, Bathild was committed to joyfully serving others. Bathild's service brought her to the attention of Clovis II, king of Neustria and Burgundy, who married her in spite of her status as a slave."   * * *   Links to social media and the website: 20 Minute History: https://play.acast.com/s/20-minute-history   Site: https://www.thugsandmiracles.com/ Email: thugsandmiracles@gmail.com Twitter: @thugsandmiracle (with no “s” on the end) Facebook: @ThugsAndMiracles Instagram: @ThugsAndMiracles Patreon (Who I Support): https://www.patreon.com/user/creators?u=47488268

Uncover the meaning of Christmas in the Harry Potter novels.  On this episode, Katy and Emily talk with Dr. Beatrice Groves (author of Literary Allusion in Harry Potter and blogger at Bathilda’s Notebook) about the Christmases at Hogwarts and how they culminate in the final book’s graveyard scene at Godric’s Hollow. Emily points out that J.K. Rowling uses Christmas as a way to highlight the magic of the world she created, the particular magic of the season special even in a magical realm. Bea explains the significance of Harry choosing to stay at Hogwarts for most of his holiday breaks - and Ron, too!   One of the most important elements of Hogwarts Christmas, Bea points out, is its communal nature - sitting at a communal table, the Hogwarts faculty letting their hair down, and the merrymaking and gift exchanges that strengthen ties of fellowship. Important events happen on Christmas at Hogwarts that have larger symbolic relevance: Harry getting the Invisibility Cloak and the Firebolt as gifts, his discovery of the Mirror of Erised, and the trio taking Polyjuice Potion (which Bea likens to the “incarnational ideal”). Bea explains the surprising significance of roosters to the Christmas season. We investigate the religious themes that come through even rather secular descriptions of Christmas practices at Hogwarts.  From our view of Neville’s Christmas in Book 5, we contemplate the strength of Neville’s character displayed at St. Mungo’s and the religious significance of the parallel between Neville and Harry. Rowling often buries important themes in jokes or humor, but these have deeper resonance later in the series. Bea connects Christmas carols (like “In the Bleak Midwinter”) and Christmas fairy tales to the Christmas rose, or hellebore, which helps explain the last Christmas scene, in which Harry and Hermione visit Harry’s parents’ graves. That scene realizes the symbolic depths of the earlier Christmases and British religious culture represented in the series. How does one show love with empty hands but a full heart? Join us on a visit through the different Christmases of the Harry Potter books and rediscover the magic of the season.  Our special segment this week takes you to Happy Hour at the Three Broomsticks for a special holiday wizard cocktail! As the days grow colder, we hope that this potion and this episode will warm your heart. 

Bathilda's Secret. Recorded 14 Sep 2020.

It's our annual Halloween episode and we discuss the scariest moments in the Harry Potter series! Some our favorite past Halloween episodes have included Episode 61: Ghosts (https://www.mugglecast.com/episode-61/) in Harry Potter and Episode 343: Halloween Happening (https://www.mugglecast.com/episode-343-fantastic-beasts-not-2/) ! In Sorcerer's Stone: Fluffy and Professor Quirrell's death are just two of the most terrifying moments for 11-year-old Harry. Aragog, the Baslisk, Tom Riddle's possession of Ginny and Gilderoy Lockhart - could Chamber of Secrets be the scariest book in the series? With werewolves, mass murderers, death omens and dementors, Prisoner of Azkaban certainly holds its own! Goblet of Fire gave us Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup, the madness of Mr. Crouch, an impostor professor and the return of Voldemort! Terrifying gets taken to new level with Dolores Umbridge in Order of the Phoenix! Did Inferi, Horcruxes, Dumbledore reliving his worst memory or Katie Bell's attack give us the biggest scare in Half-Blood Prince? We can't conclude the discussion without mentioning Bathilda "Nagini" Bagshot and Bellatrix's torture of Hermione in Deathly Hallows! Acromantulas, Lethifolds, Kelpies and more! The hosts muster up their best Halloween voices to describe some of the creepiest beasts in the Harry Potter series! Quizzitch: How many Muggles did the Opal Necklace reportedly kill? PSA for the USA: Many voter registration deadlines are approaching in the United States. Please make sure you are registered to vote in your state right now by visiting IWillVote.com (http://www.iwillvote.com) . You can also find out great ballot information at BallotReady.org (http://www.ballotready.org) and sign up to be a poll worker at PowerThePolls.org (http://www.powerthepolls.org) . This week's episode is sponsored by Peacock TV (watch the Harry Potter movies for free, all October long!) and Quip  (Visit GetQuip.com/Muggle (http://getquip.com/Muggle) and get your first refill free)! Support us on Patreon and receive magical benefits, like Bonus MuggleCast, where this week, in celebration of Halloween, the hosts share their Boggarts!

Bathilda's Secret. It has been a very moving visit to the cemetery of Godric's Hollow but as they leave Harry and Hermione get the feeling like they are being watched. In this episode of Owl Post: A Harry Potter Podcast hosts Andrea Coffman and Matthew Rushing talk about the seventeenth chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We discuss being watched, magical graffiti, following Bathilda, all heck breaks loose, the fateful night, a shared experience and a broken wand. Hosts Andrea Coffman and Matthew Rushing Send us your feedback! Twitter: @JoinNerdParty Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thenerdparty Email: http://www.thenerdparty.com/contact Subscribe in Apple Podcasts

Bathilda's Secret.It has been a very moving visit to the cemetery of Godric's Hollow but as they leave Harry and Hermione get the feeling like they are being watched. In this episode of Owl Post: A Harry Potter Podcast hosts Andrea Coffman and Matthew Rushing talk about the seventeenth chapter of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We discuss being watched, magical graffiti, following Bathilda, all heck breaks loose, the fateful night, a shared experience and a broken wand. HostsAndrea Coffman and Matthew RushingSend us your feedback!Twitter: @JoinNerdPartyFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thenerdpartyEmail: http://www.thenerdparty.com/contactSubscribe in Apple Podcasts

Casper and Matt Potts explore the theme of Faith in chapter seventeen of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This week we discuss singing as a sacred practice, the locket as a metaphor for trauma, and the sign in front of Potter Cottage. Throughout the episode we consider the question: How can we build faith in each other rather than in facts? Thanks to Bronwyn for this week's voicemail! Next week Vanessa’s back and we’ll be reading Chapter 18, The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, through the theme of Youth. --It’s two sickles to join S.P.E.W., and only two dollars to join our Patreon for extra bloopers every week! Please consider helping us fill our Gringotts vault so we can continue to make this show. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

CW: Because of the plot of this chapter, Vanessa and Casper spend a lot of time talking about grief, death, and trauma. The chapter includes some suicidal ideation and Casper and Vanessa very briefly touch on that as well. Vanessa and Casper explore the theme of Peace in chapter sixteen of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. This week we discuss Harry’s visit to Lily and James’ graves, why Dumbledore is so frustrating, and the joy (and disappointment) of Christmas. Throughout the episode we consider the question: How can we define ‘peace’ outside of the context of war? Thanks to Tristan for this week's voicemail! Next week Matt and Casper are reading Chapter 17, Bathilda’s Secret, through the theme of Faith. --It’s two sickles to join S.P.E.W., and only two dollars to join our Patreon for extra bloopers every week! Please consider helping us fill our Gringotts vault so we can continue to make this show. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

**This episode is dedicated to our friends in Australia, including our fabulous editor Emma Nicholson, who are still dealing with the aftermath of the recent fires. Our hearts are with you.** Whether you love or hate - or love to hate - Draco Malfoy, you will thoroughly enjoy our deep dive into this controversial bad boy of the Harry Potter series. In this month’s episode, John and Katy talk with “Hogwarts Professor” Louise Freeman (Mary Baldwin University) and “Bathilda’s Notebook (https://www.mugglenet.com/the-quibbler/bathildas-notebook/) ” author Beatrice Groves (Oxford University) about the many facets of Draco Malfoy. We consider his literary and film predecessors, whether he’s the cool kid or not, and whether he breaks out of the cardboard villain stereotype. What does J.K. Rowling want us to think about him? Bea reveals surprising connections to both Kipling and the movie The Young Sherlock Holmes. We also parallel Draco and other villainous characters in the series, like Dudley, to see how they compare as bullies and whether they have redemptive experiences. How do their relationships with their parents affect them? Both have life-changing experiences with evil that influence their actions at the end of the series. Louise explains the importance of parental influence and we consider the degree to which Dudley and Draco both operate as extensions of their larger families. Harry, as an orphan and a stranger to the magical world, has an ability to act independently that his antagonists do not. We look at the arc of the two characters over the whole course of the series and what events have the most profound influence on them. Particularly, Malfoy’s moment in "The Lightning-Struck Tower" gets our full attention, complete with Biblical and Shakespearean allusions. Is the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child version of Draco the same character? We consider how the parenting, bullying, and friendship themes are carried into the play, and how it influences our understanding of Draco as a character. The Albus and Scorpius friendship might be a reimagining of Harry and Draco’s relationship, with Rose as perhaps the prejudiced bully character. Draco also functions as a symbol - with his cratylic name and dragon/snake references - which we explore in relation to literary allusions as well as the larger themes in the series. Harry’s ability to communicate with snakes, and his use of the Slytherin spell Sectumsempra against Draco, reflect his own ambivalence as his relationship with Draco develops. Should we feel pity for Malfoy, especially during that last year stuck in Malfoy Manor with the Dark Lord? Does Draco demonstrate any regret at the end? You do not want to miss this debate! Please join the conversation via email (ReadingWritingRowling@gmail.com (mailto:ReadingWritingRowling@gmail.com) ), Twitter (ReadWriteRowl (https://twitter.com/ReadWriteRowl) ), or our Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ReadingWritingRowling/) page! We’d love to hear from you.

In a book full of horrors, we have come to the most horrifying of them all: Snake Corpse. Like Cat Wife, but well, the {Jean Ralphio voice} wooooorst. This week, a snake lives inside a corpse. That's it. That's what happens. Also we have a truly deranged and off-topic debate that will probably become a question that claws at you in the dead of night for years to come. You'll see. Plus: No, really, it's just a snake corpse. This week's chapter: Bathilda's Secret Next week's chapter: The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore

We have reached the nadir of Ron Weasley, and Heather is, naturally, in fine form. This week, Harry learns to fish; Hermione reads The Feminine Mystique; Griphook bristles; Dirk Cresswell is kind of a dick; the Potters are dead, to begin with; and Ron is definitely, definitely the worst. Plus: #mealplanning #keto #eatclean #elementaltransfiguration This week's chapters: The Goblin's Revenge & Godric's Hollow Next week's chapters: Bathilda's Secret & The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore

On this episode of #WizardTeam, Bayana and Robyn discuss chapter 17 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, “Bathilda’s Secret.” Join us and let us know who you think is the Real MVP and who is benched for the chapter. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wizardteam/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/wizardteam/support

FYI: Fangasm was previously known as The Potterotica Podcast | Back at Hogwarts, Albus spills the tea (err, Dragon Barrel Brandy) to Bathilda about what went down between he and the Maitre at the sex club and let's just say Mistress Beebee has some concerns about Albus' blue eyed dom. Will he go through with his meetup? Bonus: we finally learn the true identity of Maître de la Petite Mort. | Get wet and wild with us in our free, private FB group—The Fanny Pack: https://www.facebook.com/groups/jointhefannypack —OR— If you're extra horny and want more steamy content, join our Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/fangasm

Godric's Hollow, Bathilda's Secret

The Chapter Titles Were So Good 7.17 - Bathilda’s Secret In which Peter doesn’t know if a snake can do that, and Harry reads the comments. iTunes (subscribe, rate, and review) RSS feed (if you’re some kind of fancypants) Support us on Patreon