Podcasts about professor snape

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Best podcasts about professor snape

Latest podcast episodes about professor snape

Sleepy Cat Meditations
‘Yer a Wizard' Episode 13: Potions Class & Shrieking Shack - Harry Potter Inspired Sleep Story

Sleepy Cat Meditations

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2025 60:00


Welcome to the thirteenth episode of ‘Yer a Wizard', a Harry Potter Sleep Saga where you are the main character.  Potions at Hogwarts! In tonight's episode you undertake a complicated and trying potions lesson, under the monotonous guidance of Professor Snape, before discovering the hidden magic of the Whomping Willow, and the Shrieking Shack, guided by your lovely House Elf Daphne. If you would like to enjoy ad-free content, exclusive sleep stories, live readings and more, then you can join our wonderful Patreon community here: https://www.patreon.com/sleepycatmeditations   Note: There is no intentional copyright infringement in this meditation. This is an original sleep story, based loosely on the fictional world of Harry Potter created by JK Rowling.

MuggleCast: the Harry Potter podcast
Snape's True Colors (OOTP Chapter 24, Occlumency)

MuggleCast: the Harry Potter podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2025 70:34


Help MuggleCast grow! Become a MuggleCast Member and get great benefits like Bonus MuggleCast! On this week's edition we discuss the best use of 8 hours to tell the story of the first season of the upcoming TV show! Patreon.com/MuggleCast  Grab official merch! MuggleCastMerch.com Pick up overstock merch from years past, including our 19th Anniversary Shirt! MuggleMillennial.Etsy.com On this week's episode, clear your minds because you don't want Professor Snape seeing *that* memory! Am I right? Join Andrew, Micah, Laura and Nicole as they say goodbye to Sirius, ride The Knight Bus back to Hogwarts and endure one of Harry's most grueling lessons in the entire Potter series. Welcome Slug Club member, Nicole! Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 24: Occlumency. MuggleCast last discussed this chapter on Episode 461! For the first time ever, Harry is not looking forward to going back to Hogwarts. And he's about to get another reason to dread it even more! Harry seems to have a sixth sense as it relates to Kreacher. Should he have shared his suspicions with someone else in the Order? Showdown at Grimmauld Place: Snape and Sirius are bickering like exes! Why does Sirius refer to Snape as Lucius' lapdog? Foreshadow Alert: Sirius' Grim Goodbye & The Two-Way Mirror We discuss how there is SO MUCH wrong with Harry's Occlumency lessons! Given that Snape has spent years closing off his mind to Voldemort, is he the most qualified to teach Harry Occlumency? Should there have been a third party mediator? Ruh Roh! What if Voldemort penetrated Harry's mind and saw Snape teaching him Occlumency? Exactly which memories does Snape removing from his mind? Do these lessons actually weaken Harry's mental and physical state of being? We compare the mental capacity needed to cast a Patronus to that required to perform Occlumency The Big Snape Reveal: did he just show the reader his true colors? What does Voldemort actually know about his connection Harry? Odds & Ends cover Connecting The Threads between Prisoner of Azkaban and Order of the Phoenix, The Knight Bus, Madam Marsh, the Department of Mysteries and more! Most Impressive Dig of the Week: Snape or Sirius? Lynx Line: What could possibly make Voldemort the happiest he's ever been? Wrong answers only. Quizzitch: What part of the human brain, in addition to aiding cognitive functions like attention and planning, is also involved with the storing of long-term memories?  On Bonus MuggleCast, it's time to MAX THAT! The hosts deep dive into some of the scenes they'd most like to see adapted for the new TV show that didn't make it into the Order of the Phoenix movie! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

MuggleCast: the Harry Potter podcast
Kierra Lewis Returns, and MuggleMail (Are We Too Hard on Draco?)

MuggleCast: the Harry Potter podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2025 90:58


On this week's episode of MuggleCast, we celebrate 700 episodes of Potter podcasting! Thanks to everyone who has been with us on this magical journey! Having recently finished the Harry Potter series herself, we welcome back friend of the show, Kierra Lewis! Plus, we bust open the Muggle Mailbag to hear directly from you on all things Order of the Phoenix! We're older than Nicolas Flamel! Cheers to 700 episodes of MuggleCast! Who Said It?! How good are the hosts at recalling the things they've said over the last 699 episodes? Welcome back, Kierra Lewis! Having recently finished the Harry Potter series, Kierra joins MuggleCast to discuss her favorite Potter book, if her perspective has changed on characters like Dumbledore and Snape, what it was like visiting the Wizarding World in Orlando and if she's ever gotten a noise complaint! You can find Kierra on TikTok at @kierralewis75 and on Instagram at @kierra_lewis1. MuggleMail covers Being Too Hard on Draco, Hermione The Ravenclaw, The Floo Network And How To Use It, Alternate Professions for Professor Snape, Pumping the Breaks on All The Hogwarts Professor Hate and more! Chicken Soup For The MuggleCast Soul returns with a special note from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Our patrons chimed in on the Lynx Line to answer the question: How  should MuggleCast celebrate 700 episodes in the Wizarding World? Quizzitch: What is the nearest prime number to 700? Don't forget you can help MuggleCast grow! Become a MuggleCast Member and get great benefits like Bonus MuggleCast! Patreon.com/MuggleCast  Grab official merch! MuggleCastMerch.com Pick up overstock merch from years past, including the most recently added Nineteen Years Later t-shirt! MuggleMillennial.Etsy.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Express Truth Podcast
Snape Recasting, Women-Only Gym Backlash & Dutchavelli Speaks Out #Unfiltered

The Express Truth Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2025 44:53


In this week's Unfiltered episode, we kick things off by discussing the casting of a Black actor to play Professor Snape in the upcoming Harry Potter venture. Is this change necessary, or is it simply a diversity hire? In the second part of the show, we discuss fitness influencer Natalie Barnett, who is facing backlash over her women-only gym. During her initial fundraiser, she stated that trans women would be included, but after changing this stance, she has been met with criticism. Lastly, we look at rapper Dutchavelli's recent public response to allegations made against him years ago. Is it too little, too late, or does his explanation hold weight?To Support our channel join us on Patreon now starting from £1.00 per month for exclusive content every week plus loads of behind the scenes contenthttps://www.patreon.com/TheexpresstruthshowCall in number: 0121 318 2640Instagram: @expresstruthshowMark Hamilton Instagram: @Seamoorecake87Steven Brown Instagram: @Supermn91Theme Song video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL5FYsZRgGY

The Dana Show with Dana Loesch
A Looming Shutdown, X Crashes, & UFC Handshake Drama

The Dana Show with Dana Loesch

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2025 109:20


Trump tries to message his tariff implementation. The Trump Administration repurposes the controversial CBP One app to encourage self-deportations. Twitter/X goes down for millions of users Monday. Dana thinks the invention of the Internet has made people more hateful and absolutely stupid. Syrian government loyalists are accused of executing civilians as violence erupts. Congress continues to debate a new CR full of reckless spending in order to prevent a government shutdown on Friday. HBO's new Harry Potter series features a DEI cast including Black actor Paapa Essiedu, as Professor Snape. Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser orders the removal of Black Lives Matter Plaza. Conservative's criticize UFC's Dana White for shaking hands with controversial influence Andrew Tate. Randi Weingarten freaks out over Trump's plan to end the US Department of Education. Dana explains how making Trump's tax cuts permanent must be Republicans' number one priority. Stephen Yates from Heritage joins us to discuss US Army Soldiers arrested for selling secrets to China.Thank you for supporting our sponsors that make The Dana Show possible…Relief Factorhttps://relieffactor.comTurn the clock back on pain with Relief Factor. Get their 3-week Relief Factor Quick Start for only $19.95 today! Goldcohttps://DanaLikesGold.com My personal gold company - get your GoldCo 2025 Gold & Silver Kit. PLUS, you could qualify for up to 10% in BONUS silverAll Family Pharmacyhttps://AllFamilyPharmacy.com/DanaCode Dana10 for 10% off your entire orderByrnahttps://byrna.com/danaDon't leave yourself or your loved ones without options. Visit Byrna.com/Dana receive 10% off Patriot Mobilehttps://patriotmobile.com/DanaDana's personal cell phone provider is Patriot Mobile. Get a FREE MONTH of service code DANAHumanNhttps://humann.comSupport your metabolism and healthy blood sugar levels with Superberine by HumanN. Find it now at your local Sam's Club next to SuperBeets Heart Chews.  Tax Network USAhttps://TNUSA.com/DANADon't let the IRS's aggressive tactics control your life empower yourself with Tax Network USA's support.  Reach a USA based agent @ 1(800) 958-1000 - Don't fight the IRS aloneKelTechttps://KelTecWeapons.comSee the NEW PS57 - Keltec Innovation & Performance at its bestPreBornhttps://Preborn.com/DanaDonate by dialing #250 and saying “BABY” or give securely at Preborn.com/Dana.

The Dana Show with Dana Loesch
Absurd Truth: Harry DEI Potter

The Dana Show with Dana Loesch

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2025 19:07


Dana reacts to HBO's new Harry Potter series features a DEI cast including Black actor Paapa Essiedu, as Professor Snape. Meanwhile, as Twitter/X goes down for millions of users Monday, Dana thinks the invention of the Internet has made people more hateful and absolutely stupid.Thank you for supporting our sponsors that make The Dana Show possible…Relief Factorhttps://relieffactor.comTurn the clock back on pain with Relief Factor. Get their 3-week Relief Factor Quick Start for only $19.95 today! Goldcohttps://DanaLikesGold.com My personal gold company - get your GoldCo 2025 Gold & Silver Kit. PLUS, you could qualify for up to 10% in BONUS silverAll Family Pharmacyhttps://AllFamilyPharmacy.com/DanaCode Dana10 for 10% off your entire orderByrnahttps://byrna.com/danaDon't leave yourself or your loved ones without options. Visit Byrna.com/Dana receive 10% off Patriot Mobilehttps://patriotmobile.com/DanaDana's personal cell phone provider is Patriot Mobile. Get a FREE MONTH of service code DANAHumanNhttps://humann.comSupport your metabolism and healthy blood sugar levels with Superberine by HumanN. Find it now at your local Sam's Club next to SuperBeets Heart Chews.  Tax Network USAhttps://TNUSA.com/DANADon't let the IRS's aggressive tactics control your life empower yourself with Tax Network USA's support.  Reach a USA based agent @ 1(800) 958-1000 - Don't fight the IRS aloneKelTechttps://KelTecWeapons.comSee the NEW PS57 - Keltec Innovation & Performance at its bestPreBornhttps://Preborn.com/DanaDonate by dialing #250 and saying “BABY” or give securely at Preborn.com/Dana.

TwiNSYNC
Episode 37: Top 5 Harry Potter Characters

TwiNSYNC

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2025 88:34


Send us a textThis week Erin and Kelsey's friend Emily joins them as they discuss their love of Harry Potter and their top 5 favorite characters from the books and films. Check out some of these links for some of the things they discussed in this week's episode:House sorting quiz: https://www.buzzfeed.com/eleanorbate/accurate-af-sorting-quizJustin Timberlake's Halloween pics:https://people.com/parents/jessica-biel-justin-timberlake-sons-harry-potter-halloween-photos/JC Chasez as Professor Snape:https://www.marieclaire.com/beauty/a20112095/jc-chavez-nsync-snape-hair-2018/Don't forget to follow them on TikTok and Instagram @twinsync.com

BS Commentaries
Die Hard

BS Commentaries

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 26, 2024 134:46


Yippe-Ki-Yay mother f***ers! And yes, this is a Christmas movie! We see Bruce Willis starring as police detective John McClain. We also see Professor Snape, Alan Rickman, playing the lead terrorist in this action Christmas movie!

Do Not Worry
Is Trisha Paytas a Zionist + Black Professor Snape Breaks Internet - DO NOT WORRY #156

Do Not Worry

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2024 107:16


This week on the pod, Anthony is joined by Nour to discuss the recent events in Syria, Trisha Paytas drama, new Snape casting in the Harry Potter series, Luigi Mangione, and Maestro's dark chocolate containing lead!

ExplicitNovels
Cáel and the Manhattan Amazons: Part 25

ExplicitNovels

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 25, 2024


Promises To Keep. In 25 parts, edited from the works of FinalStand. Listen and subscribe to the ► Podcast at Connected.. Note to readers: There is a bit of mangling of the Iliad going on. My apologies to Homer and the countless singers before him who carried the Iliad down through the dark centuries until the Greeks figured out how writing works. “Never judge a friend by what they give, but of how much of themselves they give.” (From the floor of Katrina's office) First thoughts,  I was on the floor where I had fallen, surrounded and being manhandled in the tenderest way. That was a romantic means of relating to my mummification. Those little Band-Aids that had been applied when I woke up from my coma had failed the 'Cáel is a Smeckle-head' test. All the crud they had pumped into my system and amperage they had channeled through my muscles was not the same as eating and exercise. Having a sexual romp with two ladies? My Goddess made plans for my body that my caloric bank account couldn't afford, thus me passing out. Unlike my time with Miyako and Estere, I had a feeling my two sofa-buddies were ovulating. Fatherhood was on the way. How my infant would survive the continuous poisonous assault on the augur's lymphatic system was beyond me. Her guardian, let's just say I dealt with sneaky bitches/Dot on a regular basis and leave it at that. "He is awake," Tadêfi alerted the room. "You must leave so I can deliver my message to him in the privacy he requested." "I am almost done," a different Amazon voice stated. She was the medico dealing with my wounds. By the aroma, she had slathered on two coats of the healing goo that was becoming as comfortable to my nostrils as my soap-on-a-rope. A few more rounds of adhesive tape and the exodus from the room began. I hadn't opened my eyes because I was unprepared for the looks of anger, disappointment and concern surely leveled my way. The door shut and my eyes opened. "The Conqueror, the Champion, the Friendless and the Foe have all escaped the Land of the Endless Black Sands and returned to the Sunlit Realm," Tadêfi whispered upon my lips. Huh? That was it? Seriously, four freaking titles without, And here came the rest, faces. Faces with eyes and eyes with a purpose. Names, not names I wanted to hear at the moment. Bad fucking news all around. It couldn't be something helpful like the identity of the next High Priestess, No, that would be good fucking news. Okay, time to turn this frown upside down. I could make this work for me. How, I wasn't sure. "Thank you," I responded to Tadêfi's plea of understanding. Outside of having impregnating sex with me, the Sex-Master, Timothy was going to Nerf-shoot me for that, she'd endured spiritual, mental and physical grief and torment to be with me here today. She waited, kneeling beside my head. "Kiss me," I requested. It was a moist act, full of compassion and understanding. I racked my mind for the names and their importance. "Who was Shammuramat?" "I don't know, but this helps, right?" Tadêfi expressed her need to make the reward for the sacrifices to make sense. Five dead sister-augurs. They had to find that son-of-a-bitch! "Tadêfi, we are back in the fight," I grinned. "You and your sisters have given the Host a mighty weapon in the upcoming struggle." I knew that to be true because I knew who and where the Conqueror was, I knew he wasn't ready to be revealed, his enemies were closing in and he was ignorant of that fact. I was going to have to rain on his parade to save his life. The five augurs hadn't died futilely. The Weave of Fate had shielded the man and it took the augers' fanatical devotion to cut the threads and expose the truth the Host needed most. The Champion, hell, I knew who he was. I chuckled. Tadêfi was confused. The Champion was coming to kill me, me and a bunch of other Amazons, because blood feuds tend to run both ways. The Foe. He was easy enough. Granddad. The Bastard just wouldn't stay dead. I had a clue to what was going on now. I wasn't sure how useful that knowledge would be. Still, knowledge is knowledge. That thing crawling around inside my brain? No help there. That left Shammuramat. That name was familiar. Even when I finally placed it, I didn't understand her role in things. Why her? "Krasimira," I called out. I struggled to sit up and with Tadêfi's help, I did so. The Keeper and two guardians entered as well. One, Sikia, hovered over her companion/augur. "What is the link between Shammuramat and the Host?" I inquired. I saw no recognition in the Keeper's eyes. "She was the first ever "independent" queen of a nation-state, Assyria." Krasimira sat on the sofa and retrieved her tablet from inside her robes. She began working with the electronic history of the Amazon race. "9th Century BCE," I added. Slowly others migrated back into the room. Buffy, Katrina (not good and not happy), Elsa (really not good) and Desiree. Pamela leaned against the door sill, neither in nor out. Katrina sat behind her desk. The phone came out and whispered conversations began in earnest. I had shoved us straight into a war which looked like a free for all at the moment. No one trusted anyone. No one could afford to. I had to change that. The only saving grace was that it appeared no Secret Society had planned for the Protocols to abruptly end a week and a half ago. "Ah, I found it," Krasimira spoke up. Because I'm me, it was at that moment I finally realized that someone had put me in my biking shorts in an effort to provide me a modicum of modesty, with the benefit of blood being smeared on the inside. "She abandoned the Host, she was put under a death sentence for killing her twin sister who was chosen to lead House Anat over her." "Anat?" I queried. "The other dead First House," Krasimira sighed. "They were renowned for their berserkers. Some would drape themselves in the entrails of their enemies in the midst of battle to increase their ferocious appearance." "Oh, how sweet, what was Ishara known for?" I was surprised I'd never asked. "Ishara were the emissaries of the Host," Krasimira informed me. With the Amazon practice of killing embassies sent their way, the extinction of my house made much more sense. "What does this mean?" Desiree took charge of matters since Katrina was still busy on the phone. In a few short weeks, Desiree's prestige had definitely increased. Katrina was her sister in more than name now. "Where to begin,  Fine, why don't we refer to the Mycenaeans by their proper Amazon name?" Everyone but Buffy was glancing about nervously. "You used the name, didn't you?" Elsa rubbed the bridge of her nose, dreading the response. "Yes, " I answered. "Because no one warns him of shit," Pamela huffed. "You assume an Amazon education with no basis in reality. You act like he grew up with our fairy tales and phantasmal histories. Everyone in this room, but Buffy," she acknowledge my First, "knew he spoke our language and the accompanying risk. Still, no one warned him." "You didn't warn him," Desiree skewered Pamela with a glance. "Not my job, Buttons," Pamela chuckled. "I relish the rest of you being made to look like idiots too much to be useful to Cáel unless it really matters. So he invoked an ancient malediction. What is the worst that could happen?" "I'm going to make a huge deductive leap, am I the reason the Achaean hero Ajax and his boys are back from the dead and coming after us for some Ako-level vengeance?" I groaned. (That's the 47 Ronin for us Westerners) Silence. "That's not your fault, Sport," Pamela snorted. "Mano-man, was I a dumbass for doing nothing. I'll take the blame for that one ladies. Damn Cáel, you would have to pick the Unconquered One, wouldn't you?" "Who is this guy and why does he hate us?" Buffy interjected. Pause. "Our ancestors poisoned his wine so that, in his angry haze, he mistook his own men for his enemies and slaughtered them all, back during the Trojan War. Afterwards, he committed suicide in anguish over his crime, Death opened his eyes at the last, he saw our treachery and managed to curse us as he died," Krasimira informed the lot of us. "And my using that word brought him back? That sounds, weak," I grunted. "The word would not have been enough," Tadêfi comforted me. "There must have been some sort of rift in the curtain of Reality that allowed the others to slip through. I don't understand how, oh no," she gasped as the pieces came together. "I'm willing to believe that was the price of doing business," I petted Tadêfi's cheek. "Please enlighten us," Elsa grumbled. "I need to find the Earth  and  Sky ambassador and set up a new meeting. Using what Tadêfi has gifted me with and the sacrifice of her fellow augurs, I can secure an alliance for us if only I can make up for the whole stunt Troika played," I grinned. "Any ideas?" "We could call them," Pamela produced my phone. "Seems some lady named Hana Sulkanen has been trying for days to get in touch with you. She hunted down the owner of the necklace, they talked about your current physical state, courtesy of Odette, and the owner of the necklace has expressed a continued interest in meeting you, and only you. It would appear that they really don't trust the rest of our merry little band since your first disappearance." Hana, and here I had killed her step-brother, the one she despised. An unexpected benefit of civil discourse, my People's chance of survival had doubled. Pamela lobbed my phone and I caught it. "What of the other two?" Tadêfi pushed down on my euphoria. "Was the Foe dead as well?" A quick look at Pamela told me she knew the answer to that. "The Foe is complicated," I lied. "His return was an inevitability, so we count that as a draw. The Champion, bad news. Let's put Shammy in the 'maybe' column and the Conqueror is a win for our side." A Berserker Queen, fresh from the Underworld, who we were honor-bound to kill,  or the 'other lost heir to a dead House' that was going to make us cobble together some nonsense to bring her back into the fold. If I wasn't the male leader of a spiritually significant All-Girls social club/paramilitary outfit, I might have been daunted by my prospects of achieving the latter. "The thing going on inside your head?" Elsa asked. That explained her presence. My mental capacity was still suspect. Was I still me? Could I flip out with no warning? "It is still there. I still have no idea what happened to me, or what the results might be. This means I'm going into battle wounded and that's that," I stated. "Are you acting in the best interest of the Host," Elsa studied me. "I am not sure," I confessed after half a minute's introspection. "So many of you are fuck-nuts; I'm not sure what acting responsible is for this set," I added jokingly. "As it stand, you lack the authority to pass judgment on me, Elsa. I promise you that if I feel I'm losing control, I will turn myself in." "Saint Marie would feel better if you stayed here," Elsa insisted. "Is the SD declaring war on House Ishara?" Buffy rose to the challenge. "We (by that she meant my fellow Isharans) have discussed the matter and talked to our best neuroscientist. She cannot definitively tell us Cáel isn't Cáel, so there is no reason to constrain him." Whoa. In our best prospect's educated opinion I was not-not me. Legions of English teachers weren't going to like that. "I have the answer for that," Katrina spoke up. "I owe Cáel and I would pay that debt now. He expressed a desire to see my niece, Aya. Do you still wish that Cáel Ishara?" "More than ever, but the Council is meeting," I sighed. "Buffy is your (dead word spoken), your apprentice," Katrina suggested. "Appoint someone to stand with her." That was more than good advice. Buffy was a woman and, to those who knew of her, as fierce an Amazon as ever lived. That was what Katrina was telling me without telling me. "I choose Daphne Pile, if she will accept, to stand by Buffy's side," I announced. Buffy would need someone who was passionate for my cause and who spoke Old Kingdom Hittite. Buffy still didn't, and the chance of the Council speaking English on her behalf was non-existent. "That is Daphne of House Cotyttia," Pamela corrected me. Who Cotyttia was? I had no idea. I was stupid to think Daphne's actual Amazon surname was Pile. Daphne wasn't even around. Executive Services was functioning fine without me and that meant Daphne had a work queue. "The Thracian Goddess of Sex, Orgies, War and Slaughter," Krasimira gracefully filled in my ignorance. Another whoa, why wasn't she my matron goddess? Tadêfi hauled off and slapped me. The action seemed to take everyone, Tadêfi included, by surprise. "I don't know why I did that," Tadêfi wailed out in despair. I did. It didn't take telepathy to figure out what I had been thinking. To prove my point, Pamela laughed. I cupped Tadêfi's jaw. "Worry not," I cooed. "I had that coming, Dot Ishara," I dodged another one, "isn't happy with me right now." Recall, Tadêfi was hooked up to an old-fashioned party line with the Beyond. "Animaniacs," Pamela snorted. "I so love you. It is my deep and abiding pleasure to have you as my Grandson." "I'm not your grandson," I countered. "Well, I say you are. Now be quiet and accept the shame," Pamela's eyes danced with amusement. "That makes me, Daphne and Brielle incest," I pointed out. "Amazons don't have an incest taboo," Pamela retorted. Duh. They are all women, no chance of seven fingered, Cyclops babies. "Ah, women, misunderstanding and pain, Buffy, would you check out Quebec and see if I'm still wanted in that province for bestiality. It could be important later," I commanded. "Bestiality?" only one woman failed to mutter, sputter or exclaimed. "The complainant in question is not that pissed at you anymore," Katrina's rolodex mind kicked in. "I believe she expressed a desire to question you about some missing accoutrements though." My splitting headache meant I had to think about that, ah yes, her dress uniform. It was/had been Canada Day, thus her having an official function and thus me cheating with the girl from across the hall in the Mountie's bed. I'm an idiot alright and my ability to keep an eye on the clock needs improvement. My last image of her, frothing at the mouth (she was a tad more possessive than I had anticipated) as she screamed out insults in Quebecois French concerning my lineage, personality failings and the treasured parts of my anatomy. She punctuated various parts of that deranged episode by hurling articles of her clothing over the border at me as I turned (once I had good Ole US soil/pavement under my feet) and tried to get us back together. Yes, I had them, just not in my Box of Failed Romances. Acting on hopes of reconciliation, I had the uniform dry cleaned, placed in a dress bag, and the boots polished; both currently occupying space in my closet. At least the Alburgh-Noyan Crossing guards (it is a dual Canadian-American post) appreciated me evading/begging forgiveness long enough for them to see her in only her bra and panties. I imagine they didn't normally get much excitement there. "Katrina, " I began. "Yes, Maya forgives you too, though she scored an 'At Risk' for reliability. Anais sounded genuine," Katrina related. Anais was the Mountie. Maya was the Guyane Française university student from across the hall, the one I was caught cheating with. I had told her I was Anais's brother. Maya was also a super-exceptional cook. "Cáel Ishara, who are these women we are talking about?" Sikia demanded. 'We', that didn't take long. We were now a 'we', which in Amazon meant 'male, you're my property'. "I have a sideline job as an Amway distributor," I replied. "I give crappy customer service." "You give awesome customer service," Katrina riposted. "That's the problem." "Sikia, you are not the first Amazon Cáel has stuck his dick into. You are probably not the tenth," Elsa dripped with frustration. Quick count: Rhada, Buffy, Oneida and Gael, I was only going to count the penile-vaginal penetrations. "They are only numbers five and six, thank you very much," I defended myself. "So much for your 'intern, no sex' policy," Desiree muttered. "Cut me some slack, I work with stone-cold, Olympic level athlete foxes 24/7," I griped. "I am a sexual being too, I have needs." "What about the 'End of Internship' hunting shindig?" Desiree pulled a flawless 'Katrina'. "Oh, it is still on. With my 'do or die' learning curve, it is going to be so much more fun," I grinned. "And, okay, no more Amazon sex until then, sorry Rachel." "Except for house members," Buffy insisted. "No exceptions," Elsa demanded. "I'll keep an eye on him," Pamela resolved the issue. "No more Amazon boinking for him." She was such a liar. She was also a highly accomplished liar because everyone bought it. On with my life. Stage one: exit Katrina's office. Done deal, no problems. Stage two: set up meeting with the Earth  and  Sky. They wanted to meet on their ground. Since I was the uncertain factor in these negotiations, I agreed. I was bringing one, Pamela raised four fingers, four people with me. Who? Outside of Pamela, I had no idea. Stage three: going to medical and putting on my business suit, it was a new one and very, very nice. I was moving up into serious majestic magnate territory. I also picked up buddy number two, FBI Special Agent Virginia Maddox. Why had I chosen a federal agent to accompany me to a meeting between two secret societies? I hadn't a clue. Sometimes you have to roll with these things. In the lobby, I picked up number three, Delilah, Mom's MI-6 operative/baby-sitter. Compassionate, caring people were surrounding me all the time. It gave me this sensation of a 'down home' environment no matter where I went, if down home was Gaza, or Donetsk. I think my entourage/lifestyle observation teams had grown to encompass six cars. I was in no condition for riding my bike, so that recourse was denied me. Taxi? One, most were hard-working stiffs like my family who didn't deserve to be caught in a noontime, drive-by assassination attempt. Besides, with my luck I'd meet the guy from Qatar again, the one with the sister with cute eyes. That reminded me, I gave Nicole a call. "How are you doing?" she quickly inquired. "Good," I lied to a past master of shattering perjury. Pause. "I'm surrounded by girls with guns, tailed by your clients, some part of a Federal Task force and some people who I don't know yet. Hold on." I put my hand over my phone. "Delilah, are you packing heat?" I asked softly. She opened her jacket revealing paired revolvers in shoulder holsters. I didn't recognize them so the Brit gave me the 4-1-1. "Ruger Alaskans," she grinned. Bing! Now I recalled them. The girl who taught me to shoot once read some reviews of that beast on her laptop while I gave her a slow, passionate screw from behind. She became all hot and bothered, wiggling, squirming and generally having a grandiose time with my cock deep within. I repeat, this girl really loved guns, a huge cerebral G-spot for her. Oh yeah, the Ruger Alaskan is what you get if you are worried about Grizzly bears popping their heads through the tent flaps late at night. Delilah was probably packing 4 80's. Her guns would turn 250 kilograms of pissed off ursine into an excellent throw-rug in about two shots. In an urban environment,  well, maybe she thought the New York Giants were actually giants, or something like that. Two were overkill, unless you expected someone needing to borrow one. "Just checked. I remain the only one unarmed in my personal carnival of carnage, " my words trailed up to an unintelligible mumble. I was mumbling because suddenly four handguns were casually offered up for my use (Tiger Lily was holding one over her shoulder as she drove), in the same way you'd offer up some Nicorette to a man jonesing for a smoke. Rachel was kind enough to hand me my familiar Glock-22 and Ruger 38 caliber with their accompanying holsters. Two spare clips followed, then I stashed the lot. I scratched my calf. It took me a second to realize I was reaching for my pistol. No, not the one at my hip, or my ankle, but the one, in my boot? "Now that you've been handed firearms of dubious origin, can I get back to questioning you," the FBI agent intruded upon my ruminations. "We were discussing that list of people that are visiting a morgue instead of a court room. What can you tell me?" "Bye Nicole. Miss you. Being interrogated by a blonde FBI lady with a whips scar on her eyebrow and eyes that could scare a badger back into its hole. Later," I cut of my lawyer's fierce demand that I keep my mouth shut. "Nothing useful that wouldn't implicate myself and others in a criminal conspiracy," I answered her. "There is no way I'd name anyone else I suspect of involvement. I feel no guilt over what has happened, so no remorseful confession, and that is based on my belief that cosmic justice has been achieved." "You can't create lists of people for execution," Maddox persisted. "That negates the whole justice system and the principle of innocent until proven guilty." Wow! Except for the two of us, every other person in the car snorted their derision of Maddox's presumptive naiveté. "Do you even believe the tripe spilling from your pie-hole?" Delilah mocked Maddox. "I'm in law enforcement. That means I enforce the laws, not interpret them, or choose which ones I want to obey and which ones to ignore," Virginia fought back. "Love, that's crap and you know it. You are an agent of the US government. You bomb, drone-strike, overthrow lawfully elected governments and assassinate in your nation's best interests," Delilah countered. "You selectively enforce your Constitution when it suits you." "I'm law enforcement, not the military or foreign affairs. Know the difference," Maddox glared. "The pay master is the same,  you willingly collect your thirty pieces of silver; get off your high horse because you are in the shat now, Agent Maddox. I haven't known this crowd an hour and I know for a fact that you are the only US citizen onboard," Delilah chortled. "I don't know their bleeding nationality, but I doubt it is on the UN Charter." Maddox turned to me. "That was succinct and rather accurate," I murmured. "Special Agent Maddox, I have the sneaking suspicion that you are with us because FP (federal prosecutor) Castello feels you can handle this, Umm, unusual set of circumstance. I promise you this, it is going to get worse." "Why don't we test this quaint theory?" FBI Lass challenged us. "Jail, bail, and I'm waking up in Rio de Janeiro in two days," I sighed. "I have a few thousand in the bank, live in a hole and own my father's home, when it clears probate. Only you know I'm flight risk. A dozen people will vouch/lie about my character and that's that. All you've succeeding in doing is making enemies when you need friends." "There is still a matter of multiple people dead under suspicious circumstance," she said. "Imagine for a second that Cáel admits to creating a hit list," Pamela began. "He would never give up the names of the other people involved. He didn't kill anyone, or say 'kill them'. Now what? You still have an abysmal case to put before a judge. Add to that, the mitigating factor of a raped girl. You get to break her down until she's a cooperating witness because she's the only one who can provide you with Cáel's motive," my mentor continued. "Good for you and your team. She gets to betray the man who tried to save her. Cáel promised horrific retribution if any of those in the now-dead crowd hurt her. That is rather unlike him, he normally forgives when given the least excuse. I don't give a damn about women's rights, or the rights of rape victims. I really could give a shit about human rights for that matter. Wronging me is the surest way to early retirement. It is not a matter of strong versus weak, or right versus wrong. What matters to me is who I can trust. I don't know you, thus I don't trust you. I trust your government to be so much chicken shit. I base this on the lack of public torture and execution. I want the families of dying criminals paraded in front of those cock-suckers before the condemned finally perish in agony. I want to see thieves get their forearms hacked off, trial by combat, and respect for your elders. I want to see public officials being sacrificed upon the altar of Jehovah when they leave office. I want to see a system of justice with a soul, not law books thicker than an aircraft carrier's hull. A government 'of the People, by the People, for the People' should be the sole guiding force for your culture and we both know that's never going to happen. I admire your soldiers; not because they are brave and combat effective, they are. I admire them because they are fighting and dying for elected officials and a population that can't locate Afghanistan, or Iraq on a map, can't tell the difference between a Sikh and a Muslim, and thinks 'Pashtun' is an exotic piece of furniture. I admire them because they are better human beings despite you, not because of you," Pamela was coming to her crescendo. "Basically you people, by that I mean most of the human race, are dangerous in your idiocy, arrogance and pride in your ignorance. Not one of you should be allowed to use weapons, or play with fire. For you, unrestricted voting is a crime right up there with inventing, disease prevention, bilingualism and anything that perpetuates your educational system." "Lady, why are you so angry with the world?" Maddox studied Pamela intensely. I wished her luck with divining and then unwrapping that lady's mind. "I hold dear to my heart anyone's hunger to learn, honesty when it hurts and love no matter what the cost, so I find myself alone most of the time," Pamela grinned. "Above even those, I adore humor in the face of ridicule, condemnation and adversity. You can dodge bullets and parry knives. Humor always strikes home," she finished. "It is the perfect weapon." "Liar," I smiled. "You like high performance automobiles too." Did she? I didn't know. "Only with a 2X4 pressing the accelerator as it races toward the lip of a canyon," Pamela bantered back, "with Ursula K. Le Guin strapped in the back seat." "Who?" I inquired. "She's an author. I take exception to some of her work and unwillingness to appreciate the fusion of exceptional feminine characteristics with power positions," Pamela answered. "And your critique of her life's work is an exploding car at the bottom of a cliff?" I smiled. "Starting uncontrolled wildfires and littering, two of my favorite activities," she laughed. "I'll stick with blondes and brunettes, and red- and raven-haired, bald has its own appeal, green and purple have their own kink going on, " I joked. "Wait! We were talking about people being murdered and you two are cracking jokes?" Maddox rumbled. "I had a dream about tying them together with nylon cord and tossing them off the back ramp of a transport aircraft, and watching them fall, and fall," Rachel sighed dreamily. "Atta girl," I play-punched Rachel's shoulder. "What is your part in all of this?" Maddox turned to Rachel. "I'm the head of his bodyguard detail," Rachel gave her confession of the damned. "And you want to kill him, " Virginia struggled to keep up. "Given time, you will too," Rachel promised. "According to his pre-employment records, only one woman he's had a sexual relationship with hasn't wanted to at least hurt him," glaring at me, "badly." "The nun doesn't want me dead!" I vocally protested. "It is so wrong that you are proud that of over 200 women you've slept with, TWO have not, at some point in knowing you, wanted to maul you and one of those is in the 'forgiving' business," Rachel chastised me. Virginia had an answer for my madness. Her phone came out and she hit speed-dial, work. "Ms. Castello, this is Special Agent Maddox, do you have a moment?" Virginia calmly asked when she finally wrangled my current-favorite fed's attention. "You do now? Thank you. I'd like to know what the fuck have you done to me? This assignment is nuts. Either I'm part of some elaborate prank, or I'm in an S U V with escapees from the looney bin." Ten seconds later Maddox gave me the phone. "Stop it. I've upheld my end of the bargain, so behave," Javiera ordered. Man, she'd shot me straight to the core and we hadn't even slept together yet. Clever, clever girl. "Yes Ma'am," I swore. "I'll do my best to buffer Special Agent Maddox from the truth." "I'll have to accept that," Javiera conceded. "Give Maddox the phone back." A brief conversation later and Maddox was no better off than when she started. Thankfully we parked in front of the Kazakhstan Consulate in New York, giving us all an excuse to face facts. Maddox was feeling compelled to ask questions she didn't want the answers to, and that we didn't want to answer. Saved by work. "Kazakhstan Consulate? Why are we here?" both Virginia and Rachel asked. "Oh! This is going to be good," Pamela leaned forward excitedly. "Change the course of human history," I answered with a great deal of confidence I didn't feel. See, I had knowledge critical to the Earth  and  Sky. That knowledge was also something they wanted kept compartmentalized, so they might take exception to it being possessed by an outsider. Oh,  so that's why Pamela earlier insisted on four ladies being with me, so we could shoot our way out if things turned ugly. I hugged my mentor. "Thank you, Pamela." "You are coming along nicely, Mr. Potter," Pamela patted my cheek. "Your praise leaves me suspicious, Professor Snape. Besides, if I'm going to die, it helps me to know you'll go first ." "That was uncalled for," Pamela chided me. It was the 'Snape' role she rejected. "Snape gave up his life for Harry, Dumbledore died for Draco," I countered. "Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that," Pamela shone with joy and pride. "You act like I have a choice," I sighed. "Touché," Pamela nodded. "I see what you mean about these two," Maddox addressed Rachel. "Oh my God," Delilah laughed. "You wove Harry Potter into a life and death conversation and it made sense. I am probably going to die, but I'll die knowing I have lived." "Not you too?" Maddox glared at Delilah. Rachel just shook her head. We exited the car, settled ourselves out. Rachel took point, Delilah took one flank while Pamela took the other. By happenstance, I ended up in the middle, yeah right, with Virginia covering my back. "You stay here," Pamela put a hand on Rachel's shoulder. "You'll need to lead the team in if someone 'pumps up the volume'." Interesting euphemism for 'when people start killing people'. "What are we doing today?" Miyako 'appeared'. She'd been walking down the sidewalk toward us, the Kazak Consulate was a townhouse, but her presence hadn't registered. "I require your pledge of silence on what is to transpire. No death is intended," I stated calmly to Miyako. "I didn't know you were versed in ninja contracts, much less spoke Japanese?" Miyako responded. Blink. "I didn't know I spoke it either, " I mumbled. "No sweat," Pamela tried to hustle us along. "He's a quick study." Yeah. I didn't feel it apropos to point out I hadn't heard myself speaking Japanese, or understood that my words had some secret meaning. "How important is this to my people?" Miyako asked. Now that I was paying attention to it, I could make out that she was speaking in her native tongue. "If they don't think we can be trusted to not speak of what is to transpire for a week, they are going to kill us," I related my suspicions. "My mind and heart are joined in this decision." "I give you my pledge," Miyako nodded. She looped her arm in mine. "Does anyone care to enlighten me?" Maddox prodded. Whoa. It seemed that, beside me and Miyako, only Pamela spoke Japanese. "Special Agent Maddox, no matter what, don't give up your gun, when we say run, run, and shoot to kill because they will be trying to kill us," I informed her. "Does the term 'extraterritoriality' mean anything to anyone here?" Maddox snapped. Her nervousness was totally understandable. I stopped at the top of the steps, looking over my shoulder. I nodded. Pamela, Delilah and Miyako nodded as well. "Hold on, I can't believe I'm saying this. Does anyone have a back-up I can use?" Maddox groaned. Rachel quick-stepped forward and handed over a 22 automatic pistol then a spare clip with a smooth, practiced motion that suggested that SD swapped weapons all the time. Maddox didn't miss the casualness of the gesture. The firearm and magazine disappeared. "Fine, we will never discuss the laws we just butchered, ever, and if I die and any of you make it out alive, I will seek revenge at whatever cost FROM WHEREVER I AM," FBI girl growled. "One of us," Pamela smirked at me as I touched the doorbell. It opened promptly. We weren't on a crowded street, we were on their stoop and a security camera was pointed right at us. We were invited in and two rather Caucasian-looking gentlemen (Kazaks are a mixed bag of Turks and Cumans) were waiting with the doorman. They looked tough in that they took personality lessons from saddle leather. "You will place your weapons there," the more charismatic of the two spoke up. He was pointing to a side table that looked large enough for the task. "No," was the most courteous response I could muster. He didn't look surprised. He didn't look much like he was breathing, or blinking either. "Go," he pointed to the door. I looked to Pamela. "Well, that didn't take long," I grinned. I felt out the necklace under my shirt and pulled it over my head. "Please return this to its owner in the spirit it was given." He took it. The doorman opened the door and out we went. Rachel was back in our GL550, using the door as possible cover. She said we could take our seats and away we rolled. Maddox looked apoplectic. She had prepared herself for the Wild, Wild West, not a doe-see-doe at the door. In her mind, I had wound her up for nothing. My phone rang. "Cáel Ishara, there seems to have been a diplomatic miscommunication," a male native Turkish-speaker said in heavily accented English. "The person you are meeting must be approached in the spirit of peace." "No, I understood you perfectly," I assured him. "We aren't the Brownies, or the Girl Scouts, Buddy. I don't know, or trust you and you don't know, or trust me, yet. I will compromise though. I will respect your traditions. I will enter your home unarmed. In turn, everyone in the building will line up outside on the street except for the person I'm supposed to meet. Is that acceptable?" Pause. "Do you hate these people, or like them?" Maddox grumbled. "With you, I can't quite tell." "That would not be acceptable," the man finally responded. "Perhaps an alternative. You come in, alone yet armed." "Nope. Due to the efforts of people far smarter than me, I know pretty much who I am meeting, so I am either very rude, insane, or bear a message that is worth my life," I countered. "Your personal safety is guaranteed," was the counter-offer. "That is a false promise, not because you lack honor, or respect for me, but because you are from a wise and noble lineage with a historical propensity of cutting to the heart of any problem." By that, I meant they'd cut my heart out. "What I expect is for every one of you to hold the future of the Earth  and  Sky above any such concepts as personal promises, hospitality, and honor. I am even putting my faith in your willingness to put the survival of the Earth  and  Sky over your own well-being," I riposted. "If the message is so crucial, you should be willing to come alone," back at me. "It isn't important to me," I stated. "Listen, a war is about to break out. Unless we both want to be found all alone in the outhouse masturbating when the headsman comes, one of us has to blink. Today, it is you. Tomorrow you may be able to return the favor and mess with my head." Pause. "Your koumiss is getting warm." "We'll be right there. We apologize for the delay. Traffic is murder these days, or a close facsimile thereof," I gave a little back in the humility department. "Tiger Lily, " "On it, Ishara, Wakko Ishara. I've been circling the block," Tiger Lily had anticipated my antics. Sure, I acted like I had no game plan, but I never wasted people's time. Maybe if I developed an actual game plan I could do even better. "Wakko Ishara?" it was Delilah's and Maddox's turn to share a 'what the?' moment. "May I explain the sacred names?" Rachel requested of me. "I have a feeling these two might become a fixture." "By all means, Rachel. Our trust runs deep," I trusted Rachel with more than my life; I trusted her with my future. "Wakko, as in you're the nutty one?" Delilah made a stab at our arcane nomenclature. If you use small words does that make it gnomenclature? Pamela winked at me, psychic twin grandmother powers activate! "We need complementary rings," Pamela remarked. Sweet! "Cáel Ishara is differentiated as Wakko Ishara, Ishara, first of House Ishara, is Yakko Ishara, and, " Rachel began. "The Animaniacs? Your code names are the Warner Brothers and their sister Dot?" Maddox gasped. "You are beyond nuts." "And the Goddess Ishara is named, by House Ishara and House Ishara alone," Rachel made some warding appeal against divine punishment, "as Dot Ishara." Maddox's face shown with disbelief. "Following Cáel Ishara into battle has been one of my greatest pleasures," Rachel stared at Maddox. "I never knew insanity could be so liberating, or that laughing at death could be such an aphrodisiac." "When did you two go into battle?" Delilah wondered. "In a morgue, fighting to retrieve the body of his fallen father so that our enemies could not desecrate it," Rachel explained. Ah, the walls of Troy, fighting over the spoils of the dead. "You mean when I face-planted?" I grinned at Rachel. "Even without a weapon, your instincts were good, forcing our enemy to commit to multiple angles of coverage even though your efforts were foiled by a footing failure. Your rushing their leader was even more heroic in that you were unarmed and using your body as a decoy, knowing your enemy's superior skill would stop him from shooting you," Rachel smiled my way, sex. "Let me get this straight," Miyako finally spoke up. "You charged an enemy unarmed then stumbled and failed. They were armed?" "Yes, with a 3 57 Magnum revolver and a 10 gauge sawed-off automatic shotgun, in tight confines and close range, oh, and no cover." Maddox replied, then to me, "I read the report." "Then you repeated the action a few minutes," Miyako. "Less than a minute later," Maddox clarified. "A minute later, wow! You are as fearless as we've heard. Please don't die before we have a baby," Miyako gave me a quick hug. If you cover a zeppelin with uranium paint, can it still fly, or does it sink to the center of the Earth? Ninja babies, We had returned to the stairs at the Consulate. This time the door swung open upon our approach. "Is there some drug you are all taking to bask in this shared fantasy life?" Maddox mumbled. "One of us," Pamela retorted. "One of us." "One of us," I joined in. It helped cut the tension. The bodyguards were present right where we'd them last time. They ushered us up the stairs to a second floor sitting room that ate up half the floor. There were two men there; radiating that subtle assurance that a half-dozen killers were close by. The man standing was Iskender, the E and S emissary from Dad's funeral. I broke all decorum, strode to the man, locked arms, hugged him tight and patted him on the back. "Thank the spirits you are here," I whispered, "all this lack of dick is making me a bit stir-crazy." "Ah, yes, it is good to see you again too," Iskender imparted as we broke our embrace. His boss, the guy on the sofa, shot me and my Kyrgyz buddy a sharp look. The Main Man was clearly Mongolian and must have thought blank, white walls exhibited too much empathy. "Koumiss," the boss offered. I sipped it from a simple, yet regal drinking mug that probably hit the kiln 200 years ago. "Mare, or yak?" I inquired as I handed the cup around. Iskender came first, but it was clearly my intention that we all partake. It was more a matter of the host's pledge of sanctuary than me wanting to share the koumiss. It tasted like thin, lightly chilled, bitter beer with a vanilla-almond milk shake-chaser. "Mare, of course. Please sit," he offered. He defined the suggestion by slipping off the sofa onto the layered carpet rug. He was semi-reclined, so we followed suit. "We should pray for the protection of the spirits," was the suggestion that wasn't a suggestion. It was his itinerary. He clapped his hands and from beyond a curtained partition came this really sensual Mongolian chick carrying a large brass bowl. She flicked her eyes at me and an instant connection was formed. She liked to bark like a dog under the full moon, okay, I'm not sure where that came from. "Nice woman," I told the leader. "She looks like she has seen many winters." Whoa! Where the fuck did that come from? I got a shocked reaction from Iskender. The Leader looked pissed, if a flake of paint on the white wall indicated anger. The girl blushed like what I said was an incredible turn on. "She is my daughter," the Leader pointed out. Way past swallowing my foot. My ankle was tasty. "My name is Oyuun Tömörbaatar. My faithful Iskender, you know. This is my daughter T. Sarangerel. She is studying at N Y U and is not entertaining marriage proposals at this time," he slapped down his boundaries. Somehow 'I only want to sleep with her' didn't sound like the right response. Wait! Saying his 'daughter had many winters' was a marriage bargaining opening move. What the fuck! "What I meant was that surely many men have died trying to come before you," I back-pedaled. More happy looks from the daughter. More paint peeling from the dad. Pamela made sure more koumiss was going around. Getting drunk could hardly hurt at this juncture. Sarangeral placed the bowl between us. It was filled with clear, cold water undoubtedly collected from a mountain-fed glacier. "Let us cleanse our hands in the water so that we may speak with clarity," O. Tömörbaatar said. We dipped our fingers and, for a second, I saw him. Not 'O', but HIM. "It is good to finally meet you Ferko Ishara Cáel Nyilas," the man said. My Spidey senses told me he was feeling less 'good' about this meeting every second. "How can your people and mine better get along?" 'Let me impregnate your daughter', would probably get my skull split open. "No time for that," I replied. "I know where HE is. The Seven Pillars have found a way to search the Weave and are closing in. You must act with haste." Whether it was disbelief, or old schooled Ku Chun in the art of gambling, the older man gave no outward reaction. "Where is he?" O. Tömörbaatar asked in a gentle tone. "I can do you one better," I steeled myself for the unknown forces I was invoking. I put my hands on the bowl's lip and looked in. Several seconds later, he did as well. For a moment, nothing. It was like a ripple in reverse. The first earth tremor I barely noticed. The ripples grew and grew until I felt the whole row of townhouses would come crashing down. Wind snapped the locks on the windows, flinging them wide open and tearing at the curtains like streamers in a hurricane. Then we saw HIM clearly. HE stopped driving this old, beat-up Peugeot and was pulling to the side of a desolate stretch of highway. HE could sense something yet couldn't pinpoint the source of his unease. We definitely got the impression this wasn't his first taste of this experience, the Seven Pillars. He was young, maybe my age. He looked like an educated man turned vagabond/boundless traveler. HIS eyes, his eyes had a depth that were a microcosm of what I'd glimpsed in Ishara, Dot Ishara's unshielded glance when we first met. All lingering doubts vanished in my mind. "I know that place," O T muttered, his eyes fixated on the only feature in the vacant expanse, a road sign, in Chinese. Yikes. "I know that place." The image faded. Our meeting venue was intact. Whatever I felt transpire, I had shared with O. Tömörbaatar alone. "You have work to do," I stated as I cleared my throat. "I will leave you to it." I stood. "What do you wish for this gift?" O T reached out and touched my sleeve. "When the time comes, maybe you can help us," I replied. "A man who asks for nothing can expect anything," O T smiled for the first time. "Go." I did not take a fear-free breath until the cars started up and we pulled away. He'd let us live. Even with that priceless piece of magical insight, he'd let us live. "I'm still stunned we got out alive," I sighed. "I wasn't really sure he'd take the news as well as he did." No one said anything for a minute. "Why would he have killed us?" Delilah inquired. "You, I understand. I don't know what you communicated to that young lady, but the old guy wasn't happy about it. He was going to kill us over that?" Pause. "What did the rest of you see and hear?" I looked around the cabin. Pamela appeared worried. "I didn't know you spoke Chagatai," Miyako smiled at me. "You are full of surprise. I only caught a word, or two, and none of it made sense." "MRI," I groaned. "Magnetoencephalography," Pamela said in the same breath. "Mine is better, Boyo." "What is going on?" Rachel upped her alertness level. "We need to take Cáel to a hospital that has a Magnetoencephalography device," Pamela insisted. "He's spontaneously speaking languages he didn't know moments earlier, " Maddox put things together first. The rest nodded at her assessment. "We'll need to have his records from Havenstone sent over as a baseline." Poor Virginia, the absurdity of my life was sucking her in. "I'll call Katrina," Rachel informed us. I was a mental case once more. At least my input was still being solicited. "How many guns do you have on you?" Pamela zinged me. The answer was obvious, two. My Glock and my back-up. That didn't seem right. "Ah, two?" I responded. "Yeah, something is happening to your muscle memory as well," Pamela shook her head. "What exactly does that mean, and what's wrong with Cáel's brain?" Delilah studied the group. "It means he could spontaneously pull out his gun and start shooting us?" Pamela confessed her uncertainty. "I don't know. We'd better figure out which impulses are his guiding light right now before that happens." "I don't even know how to begin reporting this," Maddox muttered. "Cheer up. Our Cáel is still currently in charge. Did you appreciate how he lured in that young Mongolian girl? That's classic Cáel," Pamela comforted the crowd. I was saved from a straightjacket because I was a 'Playa'. (Meadowlands Medical Center in far off New Jersey) I'm not political. For me, that means I am completely and utterly dedicated to whatever doctrine that the cutest political campaigner in front of me endorses. Fifteen minutes on the internet and you can fake it like a pro. Be careful to be with the winning team when the results come in. Nothing makes a political chick go wild like sneaking into the candidate's office and screwing her on the newly elected/re-elected figure's desk. Let her scream out her idol's name. Odds are neither of you will be welcomed back afterwards anyway. Why politics now? Javiera called some people. I had a sneaking suspicion that someone I knew and trusted got in touch with my 'Aunts' as well. All I knew for sure was the Hospital's Administrator's phone began ringing off the hook and I'd become the hospital's number one priority. The hospital staff was visibly irritated with the clout raining down on their heads for about an hour. Once they digested my Havenstone records, all of that changed. Holy 'Published in The New England Journal of Medicine', someone had drilled a micro-surgical hole in my skull in the middle of a wrestling match with no resulting cerebral scarring. THEN this unknown device shot into my skull with pinpoint accuracy and pumped a ghastly amount of energy into my cerebrum. They were fascinated. They were so fascinated I heard two medical technicians mutter about where the Zombie Survival Guide could be found. They triple checked my vital signs, again. I was still as much alive as when I checked myself in. There was a rumor that a fire ax disappeared from a stairwell close by, but not one confessed to the deed. I was speaking in languages I had no reason to know? They were surprised I could contain my mouth drool. It was somewhat disheartening to hear three seasoned physicians discuss what probable scenarios could explain me still being in a non-vegetative state,  or alive for that matter. Some poor nurse had to ask. "Do you feel an unnatural, interest in human brains?" she whispered when she though no one was close by. "I'm not sure what you mean," I whispered back. "I always respect a woman's intelligence. Sex is a cerebral passion. What's the point if you can't communicate with your partner?" Pamela slapped me upside my head. That disturbed just about everybody else in the vicinity and my mentor was promptly exiled from the room. I was curious about what havoc she was perpetrating on this establishment. My condition had gotten her past all the heavy security and I knew without seeing that someone high ranking had misplaced their ID badge. Maybe Pamela was the love-child of Batman and Cat woman. Before you think that's comic fanboy talk, recall what my life was like at that moment. Tests ensued. The staff decided that Havenstone employed a bunch of quacks and snake charmers. Two hours later, they found out they were wrong. Larger battery of tests, same results. I was the second coming of Christ, back from the dead, or a zombie living in a convincing state of denial. Some folks wouldn't let that go. Pamela had proved to be prophetic. Her pet gizmo finally provided a new picture of what my neural pathways were up to. If there is any doubt, 'I've never seen that before' is not what you want to hear one of North America's experts in the field of neuroscience say. The first educated opinion was that I suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, that meant I was hit in the head a lot. Normally that diagnosis comes in the midst of an autopsy. I was having paralytic seizures. They had me juggle a squeeze-ball, then two and finally three. My perfect performance frustrated them. Women find relatively simple carnival tricks to be seductive. Pluck a card from a girl's bra gets you both to some dark corner, hungrily looking for the rest of the deck, I speak from experience. Next up at bat: 'I was possessed', I shit you not. Holistic medicine was right on board with the team. Was I influenced by a supernatural power? Yes I was. So claimed the majority of people on Earth. Did I receive specific instructions? Yes, and so did practitioners of Voodoo/Vodun on three continents. I added that I attempted to evade said instructions when I could. Did I have 'evil' impulses to hurt myself, or others? Huh? For starters, my matron goddess was more of a 'fucker' than a 'fighter' and her instructions were always suitably vague, the same way a Philosophy professor would give you a ten word pointless sentence on Friday and expect you to have a 250 page doctrine on Monday morning. That hit home. Too many normally smart people take a philosophy class in college hoping for an easy-A. Some teachers love dissolving those delusion, sitting back and watching your hopes and dreams of task-free weekends go down the drain. The more obscure the discipline, the more perverse the desire. That is why you always pick a teacher of the opposite gender (if in doubt, use a gay/lesbian test) and keep 'sex for grades' on the menu. Was I suffering from optical illusions, or phantom noises? Straight to the point, yes, I saw and talked with ghosts. So did the Long Island Medium, the casts of Ghost Hunters, Paranormal Witness plus George Anderson and Chip Coffey. To my credit, I didn't do it for profit, or in order to influence people. Was I seeing ghosts now? I was in hospital, so odds weren't bad. I had every non-ghost raise their left hand. No ghosts. Was my paranormal dementia pre- or post-brain trauma? Did seeing a college student being called before his class and successfully accused of plagiarism on his senior thesis, turning him into one of the Restless Dead count? No? My 'disputed' abilities were all post-college employment, thank you very much. Did the ghosts possess me/tell me to do things? I was not possessed and, discounting sexual bondage and my current work venue, had never been possessed. From my limited exposure, ghosts wanted to not be alone in the afterlife, to be guided to a final resting place with others of their kind/family/friends. None had taught me languages, asked me to steal something, or kill anyone. Had any done so, I would have denied them. Such actions were immoral and I could still freely differentiate between right and wrong. I preferred to commit wrong on my own initiative and making me do good was a chore most sane people abandoned after a few days. I took a Rorschach test. The results were predictable because I had taken old 'R' several times before. Just like every other time, I'd mixed up sexual innuendo with a psychological test to seduce the test-giver,  everything reminded me of intercourse. I changed it up with this girl. I gave her numbers. Sometime after I was long gone, they were going to figure out the ink blots were numbered after whichever erotic positions from the Kama Sutra I was reminded of at the time. I knew that wasn't being helpful and I was certain I wasn't a brain specialist. I also knew Rorschach wasn't the key to solving my woes. Final remaining hypothesis, I was utilizing 30 % of my brain capacity with three independent patterns emerging, not the usual 5 %. For that to work, my brain had to be oozing out my ears because brains generate a terrific amount of heat. My temperature was a steady 37.3 C (99 F) and my ear channels were free of obstruction. Hey man, cleaning your ears is quick and easy. Don't risk turning off a date with misfortunately located ear-hair and wax. How was my brain shedding the heat? Their solution, let's do a Spinal Tap. No way. I'd seen that band and they were all extremely fucked up, even for old guys. I wasn't going down that road. They insisted. I suggested that I consent to the procedure with the condition that I received no pain killers/sedatives of any kind and I got to grab and hold onto the testicles of my two, current, least favorite doctors. When they realized I was deadly serious and immovable on the issue, they came up with a new plan, no Spinal Tap. Gutless sissies. Into this vacuum of information, a brainstorm emerged (besides my inexplicable one). They would talk to me, no more interrogations, an actual verbal exchange. They couldn't come over and start flapping their gums like some punk rock band with no talent. They were suddenly worried about 'concerning' me and 'agitating my unstable state'. I pray to Goddess Ishara that one day soon they play back the tapes of their early hours working on me and pay close attention to my facial expressions of shock, horror, fear and depression as they clearly and openly talked about me as if I was the Fiji Mermaid. But hey, a few of them were kinda cute, so in the final analysis all that emotional trauma worked its way out. Hospital highlights: (Understand, I was lying on a table while various specialists prodded and talked about me as if I wasn't there. To strike back at reality, I throbbed my penis every time this cute Parasitologist looked at it. Finally ) Female Chief of Neurosurgery: "Did anyone think to study changes in is body's nervous system?" (Guilty looks all around) Neuro Surgeon: "What are all these needle marks?" Havenstone Medico, "Those are muscle stimuli insertion sites. They kept his musculature from atrophying while he was in a coma." Neuro Surgeon: "Let me get this straight. This man had a lightning bolt go off in his head and part of your healthcare regimen was to run a constant current of electricity throughout the rest of his body." (Scathing looks at the Medico from everyone else, jackals) HM: "He has retained excellent muscle tone." Neuro Surgeon: "Have you even taken the Hippocratic Oath?" HM: (offended) "Of course not, he's Greek." Neuro Surgeon: "What does my patient being Greek have to do with anything?" HM: "Not him (pointing at me). Hippocrates, he was a Greek. Cáel is Magyar/Irish Gaelic." Neuro Surgeon: "Helpful, that's not. He seems to have a great deal of bruises and scarring, some of it certainly received over an extensive period of time. Is this your work?" HM: (in a positive note) "No. It has not been my pleasure to spar with Cáel yet." Neuro Surgeon: "Isn't he a bit, big for you?" &

god love jesus christ women new york amazon time death head father english stories earth man house sports olympic games hell reality deep war ms chinese wild sex japanese leader russian batman new jersey medicine north america dad mom greek shame hospitals afghanistan respect harry potter fbi philosophy fantasy saved champion stage wind leads humor touch beyonce atlantic manhattan muslims straight mine council narrative iraq acting cult id records cat worse senior names rio fate sexuality tests raiders odds fuck gaza faces connected constitution jail qatar guilty fatherhood traffic ot holistic knock buddy houses janeiro missionary goddess bahamas quebec keeper psychologist tlc fifty compassionate liar new york giants blink taxi translation rolls recall wild west sd mri cheer bing girl scouts explicit jehovah adultery ancestors anal nsa administrators underworld mano bastards clever protocols warner brothers slaughter scandinavian bitches lay larger mare runners novels ajax arial lebanese internship band aids conqueror mysticism buttons hm dumbledore duh secret societies yummy grizzly magnum stud caucasians canada day turks maldives erotica brownies fp spinal tap nerf weave mongolian cyclops grandson assyria new england journal tad animaniacs iliad peugeot endo orgies clans high priestess glock draco foe forc burnham rorschach ako medico umm hippocrates appoint coughing castello ursula k le guin pluck amway eek my house legions canadian american anat trojan war consulate scathing hippocratic oath developing world evian ruger granddad cunnilingus first house seven pillars other half oink tigerlily bestiality mountie estere main man gutless long island medium javiera yalda friendless issue one marilynn un charter corporate security professor snape kyrgyz paranormal witness temujin council chambers george anderson wakko miyako literotica zombie survival guide chip coffey house heads mycenaeans black sands shammy nicorette 2x4 fiji mermaid amazon c kazaks katrina love
ExplicitNovels
Cáel and the Manhattan Amazons: Part 8

ExplicitNovels

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2024


Cáel's tombstone: For the love of women, women put him here.In 25 parts, edited from the works of FinalStand.Listen and subscribe to the ► Podcast at Connected..

christmas united states america god tv love jesus christ ceo women american new york director family amazon time new year netflix death live money head game canada world learning president friends trust thanksgiving new york city church father chicago australia lord europe art english babies stories business hollywood earth starting china peace school science spirit man freedom mother los angeles house rock body las vegas france men secret work england voice sports giving woman personal college olympic games talk water mission hell law service real running training state crisis change reality land americans british living gospel child french pain stand young speaking germany canadian care west deep building truth club video race nature war society africa ms office girl brothers chinese gold european home wild masters dating blood fire sleep spiritual ukraine government cross italy rich sex simple walking evolution strength fighting german brain turning murder japanese board leader 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violence union force touch dark saving sweden wolf cleveland beyonce standing alaska player daughter clear medical south carolina captain quit killing walmart laws curse fight tool britain danger chicken rights atlantic manhattan catholic muslims mothers straight dangerous kiss wise casa old testament threats forgive warriors partners snow queens couple bubbles netherlands scary daddy cops act mine council narrative iraq paradise calm sexual tears dinner married figure civil war bond fathers acting cult covenant plant obedience id gang new england guilt mac stanford breakfast flash taste records columbia cat adolf hitler cd mass worse lust male senior names kick sister doom cia air tiger shit hang worthy caring james bond unknown philippines credit sitting blame beginners indonesia poland engaging mma venezuela soccer peru eat federal smile accept southern laugh define latin anime rio pure sisters chocolate criminals honestly west coast prepared fate south america wikipedia pope gotta hint dare norway attorney ninjas trick sense kicking sexuality stepping oz alpha flesh korean secure gps picking failing tests offering raiders sword bodies odds denmark outdoors fuel belgium shoot heads flowers drunk entering brazilian egyptian sucks scream fuck gaza faces twenty confusion connected guys thousands highways bbq constitution lying jail equality east coast hunting heading albert einstein bang honesty walls new hampshire qatar tasks congratulations funeral factor boxing guilty lent defeat bright laughter loyalty fatherhood lonely traffic sort steal bass astrology delivery neighbor ot long island lift eleven cold war fantastic wearing beating implications pillars sins logic dracula heritage harder investigation jedi physicians civil uganda lunch mafia holistic pants knock explain confused ecuador finished crimes best friend cpa armed treating publishers hanging cancel swiss ram personally cheap ash warm buddy worried eyes ottawa quitting cows contest mount hundreds fed serial killers bitch nun delaware drinks excuse clothes uncle polish finishing idiots stealing prey samaritan denial careful houses southwest nepal domestic violence catholic church janeiro shut virgin nirvana pulling assistant doc smoking esp upset missionary sad constant selfish southeast asia vengeance goddess cliff slap human resources domestic punch buddha soviet union bahamas professionals rapid ethiopia mexico city antarctica legion badass portuguese menu hook batteries valor discrimination northeast afterlife padre hungary needless selection ark quebec psycho keeper islamic soviet thai sharp psychologist bmw thirty tlc arm mutter warfare northern home alone correct conscience amendment subway rios turkish lie great britain gemini washington state competing horn won retire indians champagne arctic worked laughing thank god day one cgi goodbye knife touching gamble hoping celtic top ten old man runner shirt warner defend spring break plague halfway arab contrary chose mourning fifty recycling ladder bullshit silly household terrorists protocol nah tested compassionate tight cosmos bdsm liar lighting jerks conduct smooth penis nobel prize ignoring new york giants carnival canceled theft lemon arabic blink little mermaid orders fascinating painful hern grandmothers tide ding cycling taxi knives masculine gremlins syrian possession eastern europe translation afghan hunters bit lands myanmar communists belly grandpa acid rolls mp added bedroom recall brotherhood wild west foolish saturday night mumbai kindergarten handbook minimum companion forgetting homeland security physically crap illuminati burned screw hurry cobra vietnamese unc petty almighty babe bro hierarchy remind real housewives relentless serpent allah guinness secret service sd irishman peter pan goodnight libra mansion mri bluetooth king kong pops cheer roman empire ranger abyss tango smaller homer btw bing dmv gangs salmon newark girl scouts hq explicit jehovah blonde sixth good morning martian charging ak casper grandparents fiscal glasses yahweh appeals fucking planned parenthood acquisitions state department adultery grandfather pole belarus nypd bibles aunt murdered rude central park heavens holy grail ancestors fuego breach libertarians mister anal wisely winds patagonia plea nsa santa fe momma boy scouts device feds bordeaux ballet converting bounce rope administrators sasquatch south koreans shore lemonade estonia 401k atm underworld mano monday night sir meth puerto rican dwellings rockies predators bastards clever menace torn hungarian knees apologize promising naples protocols warner brothers slaughter cpr tend tender diaspora laden slayer unable south asian cargo cape scandinavian bitches jaguar lay immortal homicide technically tibet underwear copper cheerleaders condoms refer pd lacking guarding asians stevenson al qaeda esquire devo appalachian ambitious virtually larger ro automatic benjamin franklin nile mare life insurance summer camp fist runners sunday night taurus equally novels personnel oath midway std nazi germany thursday night lithuania dwayne johnson angola conversely liquor insults stephen hawking respecting ems hmmm kerr hamsters middle ages swinging pile atlantic ocean pratt tarzan hush sneak ajax mecca wwi seduction lost ark cock mistress verbal scotch special forces kkk morals slovakia east africa tibetans justice department smiling my father friendzone business management odd free will placing dominican erotic affordable care act sixty swear accuracy excessive flavors asshole lebanese goth halls illusions internship martial cort day two dunkirk jefe band aids pointing reception azerbaijan british empire conqueror mysticism alps tuna stupidity latvia underneath bow milfs workday sully buttons anima pin windy city sexually papua new guinea grinding allied lone hm understood spear ids muay thai dumbledore professors wham duh hooters guards western europe supreme court justice introspection repeating vacuum burma green beret males nikita defy democratic republic kinky trojan missing link bce charlie chaplin interpol hamptons big one cheetahs freemasons virginity angelic pity jason statham oak mccabe kill bill parasites ear year one behave irrelevant thrilling nutcracker mothering convincing futurama george carlin vessels white christmas eastside depaul yugoslavia al capone secret societies ran slight neanderthals yum serbian yummy grizzly central asia cha extensive cougar vulcans pinnacle liking sweaty tragically storming triple crown morons whore chinese communist party lesbians airborne sikh great wall reminding heavily magnum exiting grappling osama savor pleased obama administration u s missing person stud state fairs generals dispelling bulgarian deep south pocahontas man up lawless gf emergency rooms state senators caucasians nipple madi obtain suffice shampoo inuit tandem canada day turks maldives erotica sensing goddesses speeding brownies soviets archery purple heart cambodians fp strangely sob atf rising sun spinal tap fdic oh god nerf weave helium mmm anthrax hostility marshal god almighty mongolian comforting lk federal court apologizing ghost hunters renfield moor holy cross ncis princess leia old world cyclops roman catholic church cicero restraint oaths trojans grandson barnum rasputin good guy grenades reload assyria oh my god sop brewster collar new england journal sz east asian kurdish referring ade amazonian jason voorhees creeping jonestown special agents janus my dad ish dg braille horace belles jokers third reich fraternity ballroom carmichael medical center diplomatic stalkers tad federal bureau eurasia taser timer seti messina christmas holiday legalize feinstein sub saharan africa genghis khan soaking winslow arabian spirit world laguardia nimrod farsi patriot act hecklers pla district court carnegie mellon animaniacs wiccans goddamn testicles directive iliad stasi slavic bohemia peeling peugeot poo luxemburg truce chalmers columbian endo chicagoans equestrian catholic school orgies faults modernism home loans village voice recount precinct kurdistan kneel harmonious sipping clans my mother high priestess glock team lead resonate lombard lcd draco ancestor invading foe keyes donetsk emergency services magna carta coroner forc krav maga burnham bushido celts hubby rhodes scholar rorschach violating assyrian penetration grace kelly congolese fabiola asc bolivian snape frat ako mah atwood blush second language enrique iglesias friday morning darwinian medico ancient world umm germanic prc i won big boss hippocrates buster keaton pinhead eurasian woot snapping world domination ishtar kama sutra dumbass bum swiss alps coal mine holy crap improper life plans tigger sizzling armory my son holy shit prick beg appoint holy cow four days hunting season castello coughing speedo amusement park rangers neapolitan athleticism vassar college orphan black central africa omniscient felicit hadrian timothy leary his house eharmony father daughter wha alphas little sister amazonia great pumpkin pandering naughty list infighting finnes ursula k le guin propelled birthed umami pluck evasion timur magyar us navy seals chuckles hittites solar plexus amway barring geisha intensive care cowardly eek my house hilton head legions danube motherfuckers restraining orders mongoose western united states evil empire black forest zen masters brainiac iron age disrespecting yakima intercourse acp vietnamese american silky trust funds ow bacchus mein kampf abed bad girl taunting internal affairs kindergarten cop assistant manager canadian american cavemen anat 3f padawan trojan war old spice mesoamerican hellas crouching tiger ramses lumpy consulate shotguns medical examiners top shot last place hittite patching oliver cromwell boohoo east river chicago pd crewe intensive care units cunt scathing your father constanza imhotep hippocratic oath sick leave rolling thunder groan dominicans saturday afternoon deyoung scythians northern district ash ketchum fifth amendment developing world octopussy evian flatbush fuckers voa jacking laughable aerospace engineer nonviolent maoist atta tasmanian devils ssr girls gone wild hidden dragon khmer firemen surrogates bbc america ruger wonder twins troika huns vassar insulted soe exceptionally every member security services arwen big wheels ace hardware extermination incan saint james chicago police department writ gibbon granddad wies united states district court good hope bravado sterile alternating littering nubian ragged humping ohio valley little bighorn cunnilingus sex addicts first house ngozi sparing united states attorney seven pillars colonial america clearinghouse ravine witness protection iridium baring flailing cleverly other half bitchy sky blue central european invariably overt your mother international finance black hand braulio mafioso hic sapphic oink holy mother tigerlily brawling other' inadvertently moorish azerbaijani murmurs mmmmmm bouncers errands pharos lashing moose jaw bestiality quebecois smg retrieve stanhope sot uzbek mountie supremacists southern india sex god gruff black lotus modern american searing kibble wmds estere shoshone miranda rights augur sperm whales sheath olmec matron caress durex coils amory madame butterfly grans big sis main man gutless jaywalking minoan sinaloa cartel lead investigator belafonte foolishly slaughtering genghis long island medium unconquered squirts slavs romany mumbling javiera hey dad normals yalda caller id muay cherrie friendless bolingbrook egg mcmuffins latin kings yuppie blood feud garden gnomes wakefulness sunni islam ibew you god tri state area issue one picts cloaking holy fuck han chinese mossberg low countries bereft western roman empire marilynn we americans un charter misinterpreting rusty nail reichmann amateur night new agers peregrine falcon tabriz mississippi valley corporate security weeee magyars bwana inflicted dutch east indies death certificate ninja assassin professor snape kyrgyz momma bear christmas elf communist russia cambodian americans bomo englishwoman tamerlane lothario amerindian epona casus belli counter intelligence angel falls otolaryngologist subcontinent paranormal witness temujin dcup council chambers negative reinforcement pillow guy george anderson arpad wagnerian wakko fbi headquarters my aunt genoese obedience training welcome wagon miyako nazg hey bro british sas good golly wiggling zombie survival guide yes ma chip coffey literotica mediterranean world divulging my sisters personal defense bumpkin charlie horses me let savate hron new york county free tibet director c unluckily italian deli motherfu dual survival collapsible house heads century bce lucky bastards mycenaeans lilliputian natural born killer shammy eminently black sands hey lady daniel burnham english midlands dacian policia federal thorazine nicorette cheese puffs 2x4 in soviet russia 'thelma marda dimwit us tax code brian fung currying firing range dutifully cherry vanilla every amazon carnegie melon green meadows she had cocksucker unbutton fiji mermaid late saturday lydians amazon c neutron bomb bersa homicide division thuggee goddess ishtar united states federal wiccan priestess cyberdyne systems stanica girl you sarmatians deoxyribonucleic avars my japanese mirandized kazaks karvala bulgars her aunt gotchya maldives islands ruger lcr katrina love you broke
Employment Law This Week Podcast
Spilling Secrets: Wizarding and the World of Trade Secrets

Employment Law This Week Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2024 21:31


Prepare to be spellbound this Halloween as we cast a magical twist on the realm of trade secrets and restrictive covenants! Whether you're a Gryffindor at heart or more of a Slytherin, there's something for every magical mind seeking to safeguard their organization's trade secrets. In this episode of Spilling Secrets, Epstein Becker Green attorneys A. Millie Warner, Jill K. Bigler, and Aime Dempsey team up with Kristen O'Connor—Senior Assistant General Counsel, Employment at Marsh & McLennan Companies—to wave their legal wands over topics such as Professor Snape's secret potion book, Hermione's clever jinxes, and much more.  Visit our site for this week's Other Highlights and links: https://www.ebglaw.com/eltw366 Subscribe - https://www.ebglaw.com/subscribe/. Visit http://www.EmploymentLawThisWeek.com. This podcast is presented by Epstein Becker & Green, P.C. All rights are reserved. This audio recording includes information about legal issues and legal developments. Such materials are for informational purposes only and may not reflect the most current legal developments. These informational materials are not intended, and should not be taken, as legal advice on any particular set of facts or circumstances, and these materials are not a substitute for the advice of competent counsel. The content reflects the personal views and opinions of the participants. No attorney-client relationship has been created by this audio recording. This audio recording may be considered attorney advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. The determination of the need for legal services and the choice of a lawyer are extremely important decisions and should not be based solely upon advertisements or self-proclaimed expertise. No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: Ch 25-27

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2024 54:09


Chapter 25 - The Seer OverheardHarry found himself newly and happily impervious to gossip over the next few weeks. After all, it made a very nice change to be talked about because of something that was making him happier than he could remember being for a very long time, rather than because he had been involved in horrific scenes of Dark Magic. Q1 - What is the happiest you've been in recent memory?“Well, why not? Harry, there aren't any real princes in the Wizarding world! It's either a nickname, a made-up title somebody's given themselves, or it could be their actual name, couldn't it? No, listen! If, say, her father was a wizard whose surname was Prince, and her mother was a Muggle, then that would make her a ‘halfblood Prince'!” Q2 - Could Hermione be right here?“The headmaster has intimated that he would prefer fewer visits from me,” she said coldly. “I am not one to press my company upon those who do not value it. If Dumbledore chooses to ignore the warnings the cards show —” Her bony hand closed suddenly around Harry's wrist. “Again and again, no matter how I lay them out —” And she pulled a card dramatically from underneath her shawls. “— the lightning-struck tower,” she whispered. “Calamity. Disaster. Coming nearer all the time . . .” Q3 - What is she talking about here?I must confess that, at first, I thought he seemed ill-disposed toward Divination . . . and I remember I was starting to feel a little odd, I had not eaten much that day . . . but then . . .” And now Harry was paying attention properly for the first time, for he knew what had happened then: Professor Trelawney had made the prophecy that had altered the course of his whole life, the prophecy about him and Voldemort. “. . . but then we were rudely interrupted by Severus Snape!” It was Snape who had overheard the prophecy. It was Snape who had carried the news of the prophecy to Voldemort. Snape and Peter Pettigrew together had sent Voldemort hunting after Lily and James and their son. . . . Q4 - What do you think about Snape interrupting?Q5 - Why did Dumbledore hire Snape?“Professor Snape made a terrible mistake. He was still in Lord Voldemort's employ on the night he heard the first half of Professor Trelawney's prophecy. Naturally, he hastened to tell his master what he had heard, for it concerned his master most deeply. But he did not know — he had no possible way of knowing — which boy Voldemort would hunt from then onward, or that the parents he would destroy in his murderous quest were people that Professor Snape knew, that they were your mother and father —” “You have no idea of the remorse Professor Snape felt when he realized how Lord Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy, Harry. I believe it to be the greatest regret of his life and the reason that he returned —” “But he's a very good Occlumens, isn't he, sir?” said Harry, whose voice was shaking with the effort of keeping it steady. “And isn't Voldemort convinced that Snape's on his side, even now? Professor . . . how can you be sure Snape's on our side?” Dumbledore did not speak for a moment; he looked as though he was trying to make up his mind about something. At last he said, “I am sure. I trust Severus Snape completely.” Q6 - Why does he trust Snape? And why does he say Snape regrets it?“I . . . they're up to something!” said Harry, and his hands curled into fists as he said it. “Professor Trelawney was just in the Room of Requirement, trying to hide her sherry bottles, and she heard Malfoy whooping, celebrating! He's trying to mend something dangerous in there and if you ask me, he's fixed it at last and you're about to just walk out of school without —” “Enough,” said Dumbledore. He said it quite calmly, and yet Harry fell silent at once; he knew that he had finally crossed some invisible line. “Do you think that I have once left the school unprotected during my absences this year? I have not. Tonight, when I leave, there will again be additional protection in place. Please do not suggest that I do not take the safety of my students seriously, Harry.” Q7 - What did Draco just do?“If I tell you to hide, you will do so?” “Yes.” “If I tell you to flee, you will obey?” “Yes.” “If I tell you to leave me and save yourself, you will do as I tell you? “I —” “Harry?” They looked at each other for a moment. “Yes, sir.”Q8 - Is this stuff actually going to happen?“No!” said Hermione, as Ron unwrapped the tiny little bottle of golden potion, looking awestruck. “We don't want it, you take it, who knows what you're going to be facing?” “I'll be fine, I'll be with Dumbledore,” said Harry. “I want to know you lot are okay. . . . Don't look like that, Hermione, I'll see you later. . . .”Harry turned. At once, there was that horrible sensation that he was being squeezed through a thick rubber tube; he could not draw breath, every part of him was being compressed almost past endurance and then, just when he thought he must suffocate, the invisible bands seemed to burst open, and he was standing in cool darkness, breathing in lungfuls of fresh, salty air. Q9 - What is going to happen in the cave?Chapter 26 - The CaveHe was standing upon a high outcrop of dark rock, water foaming and churning below him. He glanced over his shoulder. A towering cliff stood behind them, a sheer drop, black and faceless. A few large chunks of rock, such as the one upon which Harry and Dumbledore were standing, looked as though they had broken away from the cliff face at some point in the past. It was a bleak, harsh view, the sea and the rock unrelieved by any tree or sweep of grass or sand. “What do you think?” asked Dumbledore. He might have been asking Harry's opinion on whether it was a good site for a picnic. Q1 - What do you think of Dumbledore and Harry's interactions?I imagine that Riddle climbed down; magic would have served better than ropes. And he brought two small children with him, probably for the pleasure of terrorizing them. I think the journey alone would have done it, don't you?” Q2 - Shouldn't Riddle have been found out with underage magic? What happened here?“Yes, this is the place,” said Dumbledore. “How can you tell?” Harry spoke in a whisper. “It has known magic,” said Dumbledore simply….“Here,” he said. “We go on through here. The entrance is concealed.” Harry did not ask how Dumbledore knew. He had never seen a wizard work things out like this, simply by looking and touching; but Harry had long since learned that bangs and smoke were more often the marks of ineptitude than expertise. Q3 - How do you sense magic?Q4 - How good of a wizard is Dumbledore?“You are very kind, Harry,” said Dumbledore, now passing the tip of his wand over the deep cut he had made in his own arm, so that it healed instantly, just as Snape had healed Malfoy's wounds. “But your blood is worth more than mine. Ah, that seems to have done the trick, doesn't it?Harry had not expected this, but cleared his throat and said loudly, wand aloft, “Accio Horcrux!” With a noise like an explosion, something very large and pale erupted out of the dark water some twenty feet away; before Harry could see what it was, it had vanished again with a crashing splash that made great, deep ripples on the mirrored surface. Harry leapt backward in shock and hit the wall; his heart was still thundering as he turned to Dumbledore. “What was that?” “Something, I think, that is ready to respond should we attempt to seize the Horcrux.” Harry looked back at the water. The surface of the lake was once more shining black glass: The ripples had vanished unnaturally fast; Harry's heart, however, was still pounding. Q5 - How chilling is this?“I do not think you will count, Harry: You are underage and unqualified. Voldemort would never have expected a sixteen-year-old to reach this place: I think it unlikely that your powers will register compared to mine.” These words did nothing to raise Harry's morale; perhaps Dumbledore knew it, for he added, “Voldemort's mistake, Harry, Voldemort's mistake . . . Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth. . . . Now, you first this time, and be careful not to touch the water.” And then Harry saw it, marble white, floating inches below the surface. “Professor!” he said, and his startled voice echoed loudly over the silent water. “Harry?” “I think I saw a hand in the water — a human hand!” “Yes, I am sure you did,” said Dumbledore calmly. Harry stared down into the water, looking for the vanished hand, and a sick feeling rose in his throat. “So that thing that jumped out of the water — ?” But Harry had his answer before Dumbledore could reply; the wandlight had slid over a fresh patch of water and showed him, this time, a dead man lying faceup inches beneath the surface, his open eyes misted as though with cobwebs, his hair and his robes swirling around him like smoke. Q6 - What do you think about Voldemort's protections?Q7 - Who's bodies are these?“There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.” “Lord Voldemort would not want to kill the person who reached this island.” Harry couldn't believe it. Was this more of Dumbledore's insane determination to see good in everyone? “Sir,” said Harry, trying to keep his voice reasonable, “sir, this is Voldemort we're —” “I'm sorry, Harry; I should have said, he would not want to immediately kill the person who reached this island,” Dumbledore corrected himself. “He would want to keep them alive long enough to find out how they managed to penetrate so far through his defenses and, most importantly of all, why they were so intent upon emptying the basin. Do not forget that Lord Voldemort believes that he alone knows about his Horcruxes.” Q8 - Who else knows?“Undoubtedly,” he said, finally, “this potion must act in a way that will prevent me taking the Horcrux. It might paralyze me, cause me to forget what I am here for, create so much pain I am distracted, or render me incapable in some other way. This being the case, Harry, it will be your job to make sure I keep drinking, even if you have to tip the potion into my protesting mouth. You understand?” Their eyes met over the basin, each pale face lit with that strange, green light. Harry did not speak. Was this why he had been invited along — so that he could force-feed Dumbledore a potion that might cause him unendurable pain? “You remember,” said Dumbledore, “the condition on which I brought you with me?” Harry hesitated, looking into the blue eyes that had turned green in the reflected light of the basin. “But what if — ?” “You swore, did you not, to follow any command I gave you?” “Yes, but —” “I warned you, did I not, that there might be danger?” “Yes,” said Harry, “but —” “Well, then,” said Dumbledore, shaking back his sleeves once more and raising the empty goblet, “you have my orders.” “Why can't I drink the potion instead?” asked Harry desperately. “Because I am much older, much cleverer, and much less valuable,” said Dumbledore. “Once and for all, Harry, do I have your word that you will do all in your power to make me keep drinking?” “Couldn't — ?” “Do I have it?” “But —” “Your word, Harry.” “I — all right, but —” Before Harry could make any further protest, Dumbledore lowered the crystal goblet into the potion. For a split second, Harry hoped that he would not be able to touch the potion with the goblet, but the crystal sank into the surface as nothing else had; when the glass was full to the brim, Dumbledore lifted it to his mouth. “Your good health, Harry.”Q9 - Should Harry have drunk this?And obediently, Dumbledore drank, as though it was an antidote Harry offered him, but upon draining the goblet, he sank to his knees, shaking uncontrollably. “It's all my fault, all my fault,” he sobbed. “Please make it stop, I know I did wrong, oh please make it stop and I'll never, never again . . .” Dumbledore began to cower as though invisible torturers surrounded him; his flailing hand almost knocked the refilled goblet from Harry's trembling hands as he moaned, “Don't hurt them, don't hurt them, please, please, it's my fault, hurt me instead . . .” Q10 - What is Dumbledore seeing here?“Drink this, Professor. Drink this. . . .” Dumbledore drank, and no sooner had he finished than he yelled, “KILL ME!” “This — this one will!” gasped Harry. “Just drink this . . . It'll be over . . . all over!” Dumbledore gulped at the goblet, drained every last drop, and then, with a great, rattling gasp, rolled over onto his face. “No!” shouted Harry, who had stood to refill the goblet again; instead he dropped the cup into the basin, flung himself down beside Dumbledore, and heaved him over onto his back; Dumbledore's glasses were askew, his mouth agape, his eyes closed. “No,” said Harry, shaking Dumbledore, “no, you're not dead, you said it wasn't poison, wake up, wake up — Rennervate!” he cried, his wand pointing at Dumbledore's chest; there was a flash of red light but nothing happened. “Rennervate — sir — please —” Dumbledore's eyelids flickered; Harry's heart leapt. “Sir, are you — ?” “Water,” croaked Dumbledore.The goblet filled and emptied once more. And now Dumbledore's breathing was fading. His brain whirling in panic, Harry knew, instinctively, the only way left to get water, because Voldemort had planned it so . . . Q11 - How sick is Voldemort?Q12 - Could you have done what Harry is doing?And pulling Dumbledore's uninjured arm around his shoulders, Harry guided his headmaster back around the lake, bearing most of his weight. “The protection was . . . after all . . . well-designed,” said Dumbledore faintly. “One alone could not have done it. . . . You did well, very well, Harry. . . .” “It's going to be all right, sir,” Harry said over and over again, more worried by Dumbledore's silence than he had been by his weakened voice. “We're nearly there. . . . I can Apparate us both back. . . . Don't worry. . . .” “I am not worried, Harry,” said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. “I am with you.” Q13 - How intense was this chapter?Q14 - If the cave was protected like this, was it the same for the Gaunt shack and all the other horcruxes?Chapter 27 - The Lightning Struck Tower“What has happened?” asked Dumbledore. “Rosmerta, what's wrong?” “The — the Dark Mark, Albus.” And she pointed into the sky, in the direction of Hogwarts. Dread flooded Harry at the sound of the words. . . . He turned and looked. There it was, hanging in the sky above the school: the blazing green skull with a serpent tongue, the mark Death Eaters left behind whenever they had entered a building . . . wherever they had murdered. . . . Q1 - Dumbledore is exhausted here, what's the tiredest you've ever been?Harry hurried over to the door leading to the spiral staircase, but his hand had only just closed upon the iron ring of the door when he heard running footsteps on the other side. He looked around at Dumbledore, who gestured him to retreat. Harry backed away, drawing his wand as he did so. The door burst open and somebody erupted through it and shouted, “Expelliarmus!” Harry's body became instantly rigid and immobile, and he felt himself fall back against the tower wall, propped like an unsteady statue, unable to move or speak. He could not understand how it had happened — Expelliarmus was not a Freezing Charm — Then, by the light of the Mark, he saw Dumbledore's wand flying in an arc over the edge of the ramparts and understood. . . . Dumbledore had wordlessly immobilized Harry, and the second he had taken to perform the spell had cost him the chance of defending himself. Q2 - Why did Dumbledore do this to Harry?Q3 - What do you think of Draco disarming Dumbledore? Draco Malfoy did nothing but stare at Albus Dumbledore, who, incredibly, smiled. “Draco, Draco, you are not a killer.” “How do you know?” said Malfoy at once. “But why? I don't think you will kill me, Draco. Killing is not nearly as easy as the innocent believe. . . . So tell me, while we wait for your friends . . . how did you smuggle them in here? It seems to have taken you a long time to work out how to do it.” Q4 - What do you think of Dumbledore's attitude here?“I tried, Draco. Professor Snape has been keeping watch over you on my orders —” “He hasn't been doing your orders, he promised my mother —” “Of course that is what he would tell you, Draco, but —” “He's a double agent, you stupid old man, he isn't working for you, you just think he is!” “We must agree to differ on that, Draco. It so happens that I trust Professor Snape —” “Well, you're losing your grip, then!” sneered Malfoy.Q5 - How much does it hurt to hear these words?“Someone's dead,” said Malfoy, and his voice seemed to go up an octave as he said it. “One of your people . . . I don't know who, it was dark. . . . I stepped over the body. . . . I was supposed to be waiting up here when you got back, only your Phoenix lot got in the way. . . .” Q6 - Has someone actually died?“Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban. . . . When the time comes, we can protect him too. Come over to the right side, Draco . . . you are not a killer. . . .” Malfoy stared at Dumbledore. “But I got this far, didn't I?” he said slowly. “They thought I'd die in the attempt, but I'm here . . . and you're in my power. . . . I'm the one with the wand. . . . You're at my mercy. . . .” “No, Draco,” said Dumbledore quietly. “It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now.” Q7 - Is Malfoy redeemable?“We've got a problem, Snape,” said the lumpy Amycus, whose eyes and wand were fixed alike upon Dumbledore, “the boy doesn't seem able —” But somebody else had spoken Snape's name, quite softly. “Severus . . .” The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading. Snape said nothing, but walked forward and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word. Even the werewolf seemed cowed. Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. “Severus . . . please . . .” Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore. “Avada Kedavra!”Q8 - How evil is Snape?

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: Ch 21-24

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2024 67:00


Chapter 21 - The Unknowable RoomHarry fully expected to receive low marks on his, because he had disagreed with Snape on the best way to tackle Dementors, but he did not care: Slughorn's memory was the most important thing to him now.Q1 - How do you think Snape takes on dementors? And is it better than Harry's?‘It's one of Fred and George's Spell-Checking ones … but I think the charm must be wearing off …' ‘Yes, it must,' said Hermione, pointing at the title of his essay, ‘because we were asked how we'd deal with Dementors, not “Dugbogs”, and I don't remember you changing your name to “Roonil Wazlib”, either.' ‘Ah, no!' said Ron, staring horror-struck at the parchment. ‘Don't say I'll have to write the whole thing out again!' ‘It's OK, we can fix it,' said Hermione, pulling the essay towards her and taking out her wand. ‘I love you, Hermione,' said Ron, sinking back in his chair, rubbing his eyes wearily.Q2 - Is this the first time Ron has said “I love you” to Hermione?Q3 - What is Malfoy doing in the Room of Requirement?‘God, I've been stupid,' he said quietly. ‘It's obvious, isn't it? There was a great vat of it down in the dungeon … he could've nicked some any time during that lesson …' ‘Nicked what?' said Ron. ‘Polyjuice Potion. He stole some of the Polyjuice Potion Slughorn showed us in our first Potions lesson … there aren't a whole variety of students standing guard for Malfoy … it's just Crabbe and Goyle as usual … yeah, it all fits!' Q4 - Is Harry (therefore Danny) right?Q5 - Do you ever remember when a teacher embarrassed you?‘Well, what Harry said is the most useful if we're trying to tell them apart!' said Ron. ‘When we come face to face with one down a dark alley we're going to be having a shufti to see if it's solid, aren't we, we're not going to be asking, “Excuse me, are you the imprint of a departed soul?”‘When you say you had lots in common,' said Ron, sounding rather amused now, ‘d'you mean he lives in an S-bend, too?' ‘No,' said Myrtle defiantly, her voice echoing loudly around the old tiled bathroom. ‘I mean he's sensitive, people bully him, too, and he feels lonely and hasn't got anybody to talk to, and he's not afraid to show his feelings and cry!'Q6 - Who is Myrtle talking about here?Q7 - Why was Tonks going to see Dumbledore?Q8 - Was she in love with Sirius?Chapter 22 - After the BurialQ1 - What do you think of Hagrid asking the trio to come out after dusk to the burial?‘Look, Potions will be almost empty this afternoon, with us all off doing our tests … try and soften Slughorn up a bit then!' ‘Fifty-seventh time lucky, you think?' said Harry bitterly. ‘Lucky,' said Ron suddenly. ‘Harry, that's it – get lucky!' ‘What d'you mean?' ‘Use your lucky potion!' ‘Ron, that's – that's it!' said Hermione, sounding stunned. ‘Of course! Why didn't I think of it?'Q2 - Is this the best way to get the memory?Q3 - What do you think of Harry's Euphoria potion?Harry took out the rolled-up socks at the bottom of his trunk and extracted the tiny, gleaming bottle. ‘Well, here goes,' said Harry, and he raised the little bottle and took a carefully measured gulp. ‘What does it feel like?' whispered Hermione. Harry did not answer for a moment. Then, slowly but surely, an exhilarating sense of infinite opportunity stole through him; he felt as though he could have done anything, anything at all … and getting the memory from Slughorn seemed suddenly not only possible, but positively easy …Q4 - What would you use Liquid Luck on?Getting through the portrait hole was simple; as he approached it, Ginny and Dean came through it and Harry was able to slip between them. As he did so, he brushed accidentally against Ginny. ‘Don't push me, please, Dean,' she said, sounding annoyed. ‘You're always doing that, I can get through perfectly well on my own …'Q5 - Was Dean being chivalrous or annoying?After an hour or so, Hagrid and Slughorn began making extravagant toasts: to Hogwarts, to Dumbledore, to elf-made wine and to – ‘Harry Potter!' bellowed Hagrid, slopping some of his fourteenth bucket of wine down his chin as he drained it. ‘Yes, indeed,' cried Slughorn a little thickly, ‘Parry Otter, the Chosen Boy Who – well – something of that sort,' he mumbled, and drained his mug, too.‘But she didn't move. Dad was already dead, but she didn't want me to go too. She tried to plead with Voldemort … but he just laughed …' ‘That's enough!' said Slughorn suddenly, raising a shaking hand. ‘Really, my dear boy, enough … I'm an old man … I don't need to hear … I don't want to hear …' ‘I forgot,' lied Harry, Felix Felicis leading him on. ‘You liked her, didn't you?' ‘Liked her?' said Slughorn, his eyes brimming with tears once more. ‘I don't imagine anyone who met her wouldn't have liked her … very brave … very funny … it was the most horrible thing …' ‘But you won't help her son,' said Harry. ‘She gave me her life, but you won't give me a memory.'Q6 - Is there any new info you gained from the Lily story?‘Be brave like my mother, Professor …'‘You're a good boy,' said Professor Slughorn, tears trickling down his fat cheeks into his walrus moustache. ‘And you've got her eyes … just don't think too badly of me once you've seen it …'Q7 - What will this memory tell them?Chapter 23 - Horcruxes‘Good gracious, Harry,' said Dumbledore in surprise. ‘To what do I owe this very late pleasure?' ‘Sir – I've got it. I've got the memory from Slughorn.' Harry pulled out the tiny glass bottle and showed it to Dumbledore. For a moment or two, the Headmaster looked stunned. Then his face split in a wide smile. ‘Harry, this is spectacular news! Very well done indeed! I knew you could do it!'‘Well,' said Slughorn, not looking at Riddle, but fiddling with the ribbon on top of his box of crystallised pineapple, ‘well, it can't hurt to give you an overview, of course. Just so that you understand the term. A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul.' ‘I don't quite understand how that works, though, sir,' said Riddle. His voice was carefully controlled, but Harry could sense his excitement. ‘Well, you split your soul, you see,' said Slughorn, ‘and hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But, of course, existence in such a form …' Q1 - What do you think of Horcruxes now?‘How do you split your soul?' ‘Well,' said Slughorn uncomfortably, ‘you must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature.'‘Yes, sir,' said Riddle. ‘What I don't understand, though – just out of curiosity – I mean, would one Horcrux be much use? Can you only split your soul once? Wouldn't it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces? I mean, for instance, isn't seven the most powerfully magical number, wouldn't seven –?' ‘Merlin's beard, Tom!' yelped Slughorn. ‘Seven! Isn't it bad enough to think of killing one person? And in any case … bad enough to divide the soul … but to rip it into seven pieces …'Q2 - Do you think Voldemort ripped his soul into seven pieces?‘But now, Harry, armed with this information, the crucial memory you have succeeded in procuring for us, we are closer to the secret of finishing Lord Voldemort than anyone has ever been before. You heard him, Harry: “Wouldn't it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces … isn't seven the most powerfully magical number …” Isn't seven the most powerfully magical number. Yes, I think the idea of a seven-part soul would greatly appeal to Lord Voldemort.' ‘He made seven Horcruxes?' said Harry, horror-struck, while several of the portraits on the walls made similar noises of shock and outrage. ‘But they could be anywhere in the world – hidden – buried or invisible –' ‘I am glad to see you appreciate the magnitude of the problem,' said Dumbledore calmly. ‘But firstly, no, Harry, not seven Horcruxes: six. The seventh part of his soul, however maimed, resides inside his regenerated body. That was the part of him that lived a spectral existence for so many years during his exile; without that, he has no self at all. That seventh piece of soul will be the last that anybody wishing to kill Voldemort must attack – the piece that lives in his body.'Q3 - Is Dumbledore right?‘But the six Horcruxes, then,' said Harry, a little desperately, ‘how are we supposed to find them?' ‘You are forgetting … you have already destroyed one of them. And I have destroyed another.' ‘You have?' said Harry eagerly. ‘Yes indeed,' said Dumbledore, and he raised his blackened, burned-looking hand. ‘The ring, Harry. Marvolo's ring. And a terrible curse there was upon it too. Had it not been – forgive me the lack of seemly modesty – for my own prodigious skill, and for Professor Snape's timely action when I returned to Hogwarts, desperately injured, I might not have lived to tell the tale. However, a withered hand does not seem an unreasonable exchange for a seventh of Voldemort's soul. The ring is no longer a Horcrux.'Q4 - What AND where are the other Horcruxes?Q5 - Does this make you trust Snape a bit more?‘He seems to have reserved the process of making Horcruxes for particularly significant deaths. You would certainly have been that. He believed that in killing you, he was destroying the danger the prophecy had outlined. He believed he was making himself invincible. I am sure that he was intending to make his final Horcrux with your death.Q6 - Did he have an object with him then and what would he have used for a Horcrux after killing Harry?‘Yes, I think so,' said Dumbledore. ‘Without his Horcruxes, Voldemort will be a mortal man with a maimed and diminished soul. Never forget, though, that while his soul may be damaged beyond repair, his brain and his magical power remain intact. It will take uncommon skill and power to kill a wizard like Voldemort, even without his Horcruxes.' ‘But I haven't got uncommon skill and power,' said Harry, before he could stop himself. ‘Yes, you have,' said Dumbledore firmly. ‘You have a power that Voldemort has never had. You can –' ‘I know!' said Harry impatiently. ‘I can love!' It was only with difficulty that he stopped himself adding, ‘Big deal!' ‘Yes, Harry, you can love,' said Dumbledore, who looked as though he knew perfectly well what Harry had just refrained from saying. ‘Which, given everything that has happened to you, is a great and remarkable thing. You are still too young to understand how unusual you are, Harry.'Q7 - What is the deeper thing here? Why is Harry too young to understand this?He heard the prophecy and he leapt into action, with the result that he not only handpicked the man most likely to finish him, he handed him uniquely deadly weapons!' ‘But –' ‘It is essential that you understand this!' said Dumbledore, standing up and striding about the room, his glittering robes swooshing in his wake; Harry had never seen him so agitated. ‘By attempting to kill you, Voldemort himself singled out the remarkable person who sits here in front of me, and gave him the tools for the job! It is Voldemort's fault that you were able to see into his thoughts, his ambitions, that you even understand the snakelike language in which he gives orders, and yet, Harry, despite your privileged insight into Voldemort's world (which, incidentally, is a gift any Death Eater would kill to have), you have never been seduced by the Dark Arts, never, even for a second, shown the slightest desire to become one of Voldemort's followers!'Q8 - How did Voldemort actually give him these powers and this connection?I do not think he understands why, Harry, but he was in such a hurry to mutilate his own soul, he never paused to understand the incomparable power of a soul that is untarnished and whole.'Harry watched Dumbledore striding up and down in front of him, and thought. He thought of his mother, his father and Sirius. He thought of Cedric Diggory. He thought of all the terrible deeds he knew Lord Voldemort had done. A flame seemed to leap inside his chest, searing his throat. ‘I'd want him finished,' said Harry quietly. ‘And I'd want to do it.' ‘Of course you would!' cried Dumbledore. ‘You see, the prophecy does not mean you have to do anything! But the prophecy caused Lord Voldemort to mark you as his equal … in other words, you are free to choose your way, quite free to turn your back on the prophecy! But Voldemort continues to set store by the prophecy. He will continue to hunt you … which makes it certain, really, that –' ‘That one of us is going to end up killing the other,' said Harry. ‘Yes.' But he understood at last what Dumbledore had been trying to tell him. It was, he thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but Dumbledore knew – and so do I, thought Harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents – that there was all the difference in the world.Q9 - How do you destroy a Horcrux?Q10 - What do you think of this and everything in this chapter?Chapter 24 - SectumsempraQ1 - Why isn't Dumbledore just doing this himself? Why is he roping Harry into this whole thing?‘I think I'm going to take another swig of Felix,' said Harry, ‘and have a go at the Room of Requirement again.' ‘That would be a complete waste of potion,' said Hermione flatly, putting down the copy of Spellman's Syllabary she had just taken out of her bag. ‘Luck can only get you so far, Harry. The situation with Slughorn was different; you always had the ability to persuade him, you just needed to tweak the circumstances a bit. Luck isn't enough to get you through a powerful enchantment, though. Don't go wasting the rest of that potion! You'll need all the luck you can get if Dumbledore takes you along with him …' She dropped her voice to a whisper.Q2 - How do you think Harry is going to use the last of the Felix Felicis?‘No one can help me,' said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. ‘I can't do it … I can't … it won't work … and unless I do it soon … he says he'll kill me …' And Harry realised, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying – actually crying – tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin. Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror and saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder.Q3 - Is it shocking to see Draco in this state?Q4 - What is he talking about here?There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wall behind Malfoy's ear and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped over as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, ‘Cruci—' ‘SECTUMSEMPRA!' bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly.Q5 - Thoughts on Draco using Crucio?The door banged open behind Harry and he looked up, terrified: Snape had burst into the room, his face livid. Pushing Harry roughly aside, he knelt over Malfoy, drew his wand and traced it over the deep wounds Harry's curse had made, muttering an incantation that sounded almost like song. The flow of blood seemed to ease; Snape wiped the residue from Malfoy's face and repeated his spell. Now the wounds seemed to be knitting.He gasped. Despite his haste, his panic, his fear of what awaited him back in the bathroom, he could not help but be overawed by what he was looking at. He was standing in a room the size of a large cathedral, whose high windows were sending shafts of light down upon what looked like a city with towering walls, built of what Harry knew must be objects hidden by generations of Hogwarts inhab- itants. There were alleyways and roads bordered by teetering piles of broken and damaged furniture, stowed away, perhaps, to hide the evidence of mishandled magic, or else hidden by castle-proud houseelves. There were thousands and thousands of books, no doubt banned or graffitied or stolen. There were winged catapults and Fanged Frisbees, some still with enough life in them to hover half-heartedly over the mountains of other forbidden items; there were chipped bottles of congealed potions, hats, jewels, cloaks; there were what looked like dragon-egg shells, corked bottles whose contents still shimmered evilly, several rusting swords and a heavy, blood-stained axe.Q6 - What do you think of this room?Harry hurried forwards into one of the many alleyways between all this hidden treasure. He turned right past an enormous stuffed troll, ran on a short way, took a left at the broken Vanishing Cabinet in which Montague had got lost the previous year, finally pausing beside a large cupboard which seemed to have had acid thrown at its blistered surface. He opened one of the cupboard's creaking doors: it had already been used as a hiding place for something in a cage that had long-since died; its skeleton had five legs. He stuffed the Half-Blood Prince's book behind the cage and slammed the door. He paused for a moment, his heart thumping horribly, gazing around at the clutter … would he be able to find this spot again, amidst all this junk? Seizing the chipped bust of an ugly old warlock from on top of a nearby crate, he stood it on the cupboard where the book was now hidden, perched a dusty old wig and a tarnished tiara on the statue's head to make it more distinctive, then sprinted back through the alleyways of hidden junk as fast as he could go, back to the door, back out on to the corridor, where he slammed the door behind him and it turned at once back into stone.Q7 - What's the coolest thing you've ever just found?One by one Snape extracted Harry's books and examined them. Finally the only book left was the Potions book, which he looked at very carefully before speaking. ‘This is your copy of Advanced Potion-Making, is it, Potter?' ‘Yes,' said Harry, still breathing hard. ‘You're quite sure of that, are you, Potter?' ‘Yes,' said Harry, with a touch more defiance. ‘This is the copy of Advanced Potion-Making that you purchased from Flourish and Blotts?' ‘Yes,' said Harry firmly. ‘Then why,' asked Snape, ‘does it have the name “Roonil Wazlib” written inside the front cover?' Harry's heart missed a beat. ‘That's my nickname,' he said. ‘Your nickname,' repeated Snape. ‘Yeah … that's what my friends call me,' said Harry. ‘I understand what a nickname is,' said Snape. The cold, black eyes were boring once more into Harry's; he tried not to look into them. Close your mind … close your mind … but he had never learned how to do it properly … ‘Do you know what I think, Potter?' said Snape, very quietly. ‘I think that you are a liar and a cheat and that you deserve detention with me every Saturday until the end of term. What do you think, Potter?' ‘I – I don't agree, sir,' said Harry, still refusing to look into Snape's eyes.Q8 - Hermione reprimands Harry for following the Prince…but who is the Prince?Harry looked around; there was Ginny running towards him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her. The creature in his chest roaring in triumph, Harry grinned down at Ginny and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole. A long walk in the grounds seemed indicated, during which – if they had time – they might discuss the match.Q9 - Love at last?

Harry Potter Theory
Dumbledore was a SLYTHERIN (NOT a Gryffindor) - Harry Potter Theory

Harry Potter Theory

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2024 21:31


Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we'll be discussing the many reasons why Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, famed Headmaster of Hogwarts and former Gryffindor student, may have been more well-suited to Slytherin House. As fans, soon after Harry Potter received his letter of acceptance and we were first introduced to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, we also learned about the magical institution's four founding members and how they decided that the student population would always be divided into four houses, which would represent the characteristics and traits most valued by each of those founding members. As the majority of you watching this will already know, the four founding members of Hogwarts School were Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin, with the corresponding houses being named after each of their surnames. And while later instalments of the series eventually focused on students from the houses of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, the beginning of Harry Potter certainly had a lot more emphasis on Gryffindor and Slytherin. What's more, there was a very obvious dichotomy presented between the two, with all of the protagonist characters—aka the “good guys”—being Gryffindors, and all of the antagonists—or “bad guys”—being Slytherins. From Harry to the compassionate and friendly Weasley family who helped him find Platform 9 and ¾, and the world-famous Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, everyone who was presented as good and heroic in the first few years of Harry's time at Hogwarts was a current or former Gryffindor student. By contrast, each of the BADDIES that we met during Harry's first few years were all Slytherins, including the bully Draco Malfoy, the cruel Professor Snape and, of course, the most evil wizard to have ever lived—Lord Voldemort. And who could forget what Hagrid told Harry before he entered his first year at Hogwarts: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mysteries of Science
Magic potions

Mysteries of Science

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2024 12:40


Inspired by the Harry Potter series, hosts Stevie and Michael explore magic potions! They uncover the real-life inspiration behind Professor Snape, revealing that a real potions master named Henry Lloyd Snape existed in the late 19th century... We also meet illustrator Johnny Duddle and ask you for your own ideas for magical potions!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: Ch 5-8

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2024 48:43


Chapter 5 - An Excess of PhlegmQ1 - Tonks seems really sad and out of it at the beginning of this chapter…why?‘What do you like me to call you when we're alone together?' Even by the dim light of the lantern Harry could tell that Mrs Weasley had turned bright red; he himself felt suddenly warm around the ears and neck, and hastily gulped soup, clattering his spoon as loudly as he could against the bowl. ‘Mollywobbles,' whispered a mortified Mrs Weasley into the crack at the edge of the door. ‘Correct,' said Mr Weasley. ‘Now you can let me in.'Q2 - What do you think of Mollywobbles?Mrs Weasley made a noise that sounded like ‘tchah!' ‘Mum hates her,' said Ginny quietly. ‘I do not hate her!' said Mrs Weasley in a cross whisper. ‘I just think they've hurried into this engagement, that's all!' ‘They've known each other a year,' said Ron, who looked oddly groggy and was staring at the closed door. ‘Well, that's not very long! I know why it's happened, of course.Q3 - What do you think of Fleur coming back into the story?‘Nobody knows what it said, though,' said Hermione quickly. ‘It got smashed.' ‘Although the Prophet says –' began Ron, but Hermione said, ‘Shh!' ‘The Prophet's got it right,' said Harry, looking up at them both with a great effort: Hermione seemed frightened and Ron amazed. ‘That glass ball that smashed wasn't the only record of the prophecy. I heard the whole thing in Dumbledore's office, he was the one the prophecy was made to, so he could tell me. From what it said,' Harry took a deep breath, ‘it looks like I'm the one who's got to finish off Voldemort … at least, it said neither of us could live while the other survives.' The three of them gazed at each other in silence for a moment.Q4 - What do you think of Harry telling Ron and Hermione the prophecy?Harry did not really listen. A warmth was spreading through him that had nothing to do with the sunlight; a tight obstruction in his chest seemed to be dissolving. He knew that Ron and Hermione were more shocked than they were letting on, but the mere fact that they were still there on either side of him, speaking bracing words of comfort, not shrinking from him as though he were contaminated or dangerous, was worth more than he could ever tell them.Q5 - Why do you think Harry is feeling this?Q6 - What do you think of Harry's OWL results?Q7 - Do you remember what you got on your SATs?Harry looked back down at his results. They were as good as he could have hoped for. He felt just one tiny twinge of regret … this was the end of his ambition to become an Auror. He had not secured the required Potions grade. He had known all along that he wouldn't, but he still felt a sinking in his stomach as he looked again at that small black ‘E'.Q8 - So Harry can't become an Auror, what career path will he go down now?Chapter 6 - Draco's DetourHe spent most of his days playing two-a-side Quidditch in the Weasleys' orchard (he and Hermione against Ron and Ginny; Hermione was dreadful and Ginny good, so they were reasonably well-matched).Q1 - How much does Ron suck at Quidditch?‘And they've found Igor Karkaroff's body in a shack up north. The Dark Mark had been set over it – well, frankly, I'm surprised he stayed alive for even a year after deserting the Death Eaters; Sirius's brother Regulus only managed a few days as far as I can remember.'Q2 - What do you think about Igor Karkaroff being dead?Q3 - What do you think of Ollivander being gone?Q4 - How is Bill able to take money out of Harry's vault?‘I see that being Dumbledore's favorite has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter. But Dumbledore won't always be there to protect you.' Harry looked mockingly all around the shop. ‘Wow … look at that … he's not here now! So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!'Q5 - Is Harry smart to instigate this?Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who? You SHOULD Be Worrying About U-NO-POO – the Constipation Sensation That's Gripping the Nation!‘“Patented Daydream Charms …”' Hermione had managed to squeeze through to a large display near the counter and was reading the information on the back of a box bearing a highly coloured picture of a handsome youth and a swooning girl who were standing on the deck of a pirate ship. ‘“One simple incantation and you will enter a top-quality, highly realistic thirty-minute daydream, easy to fit into the average school lesson and virtually undetectable (side-effects include vacant expression and minor drooling). Not for sale to under-sixteens.” You know,' said Hermione, looking up at Harry, ‘that really is extraordinary magic!' ‘For that, Hermione,' said a voice behind them, ‘you can have one for free.'Q6 - How brilliant is the joke shop?Q7 - What is their best invention: Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, Decoy Detonators, or Shield Hats?They had drawn level with the only shop in Knockturn Alley that Harry had ever visited: Borgin and Burkes, which sold a wide variety of sinister objects. There in the midst of the cases full of skulls and old bottles stood Draco Malfoy with his back to them, just visible beyond the very same large black cabinet in which Harry had once hidden to avoid Malfoy and his father. Judging by the movements of Malfoy's hands he was talking animatedly. The proprietor of the shop, Mr Borgin, an oily-haired, stooping man, stood facing Malfoy. He was wearing a curious expression of mingled resentment and fear…‘… you know how to fix it?' ‘Possibly,' said Borgin, in a tone that suggested he was unwilling to commit himself. ‘I'll need to see it, though. Why don't you bring it into the shop?' ‘I can't,' said Malfoy. ‘It's got to stay put. I just need you to tell me how to do it.'Q8 - What is Draco trying to mend?‘No?' said Malfoy and Harry knew, just by his tone, that Malfoy was sneering. ‘Perhaps this will make you more confident.' He moved towards Borgin and was blocked from view by the cabinet. Harry, Ron and Hermione shuffled sideways to try and keep him in sight, but all they could see was Borgin, looking very frightened.Q9 - What did Draco show him?Chapter 7 - The Slug Club‘Malfoy, revenge? What can he do about it?' ‘That's my point, I don't know!' said Harry, frustrated. ‘But he's up to something and I think we should take it seriously. His father's a Death Eater and –' Harry broke off, his eyes fixed on the window behind Hermione, his mouth open. A startling thought had just occurred to him. ‘Harry?' said Hermione in an anxious voice. ‘What's wrong?' ‘Your scar's not hurting again, is it?' asked Ron nervously. ‘He's a Death Eater,' said Harry slowly. ‘He's replaced his father as a Death Eater!'Q1 - You think Harry is right about Draco being a Death Eater?‘Au revoir, 'Arry,' said Fleur throatily, kissing him goodbye. Ron hurried forwards, looking hopeful, but Ginny stuck out her foot and Ron fell, sprawling in the dust at Fleur's feet. Furious, red-faced and dirt-spattered, he hurried into the car without saying goodbye.Q2 - Is Ginny becoming a mean girl?‘They're staring at you because you were at the Ministry, too,' said Harry, as he hoisted his trunk into the luggage rack. ‘Our little adventure there was all over the Daily Prophet, you must've seen it.' ‘Yes, I thought Gran would be angry about all the publicity,' said Neville, ‘but she was really pleased. Says I'm starting to live up to my dad at long last. She bought me a new wand, look!' He pulled it out and showed it to Harry. ‘Cherry and unicorn hair,' he said proudly. ‘We think it was one of the last Ollivander ever sold, he vanished next day – oi, come back here, Trevor!'Q3 - Is Neville going to be better or worse now that he has a new wand?Q4 - Why did Draco forgo his role as Prefect?Every now and then students would hurtle out of their compartments to get a better look at him. The exception was Cho Chang, who darted into her compartment when she saw Harry coming. As Harry passed the window he saw her deep in determined conversation with her friend Marietta, who was wearing a very thick layer of makeup that did not entirely obscure the odd formation of pimples still etched across her face. Smirking slightly, Harry pushed on.Q5 - Does Marietta deserve this?Q6 - What do you think about Slughorn's little club?Q7 - Is Draco dating Pansy Parkinson?Malfoy yawned ostentatiously. ‘I mean, I might not even be at Hogwarts next year, what's it matter to me if some fat old has-been likes me or not?' ‘What do you mean, you might not be at Hogwarts next year?' said Pansy indignantly, ceasing grooming Malfoy at once. ‘Well, you never know,' said Malfoy with the ghost of a smirk. ‘I might have – er – moved on to bigger and better things.'Q8 - What do you think he means by this?‘I thought so,' he said jubilantly. ‘I heard Goyle's trunk hit you. And I thought I saw something white flash through the air after Zabini came back …' His eyes lingered for a moment upon Harry's trainers. ‘That was you blocking the door when Zabini came back in, I suppose?' He considered Harry for a moment. ‘You didn't hear anything I care about, Potter. But while I've got you here …' And he stamped, hard, on Harry's face. Harry felt his nose break; blood spurted everywhere.Q9 - What do you think of Draco besting Harry?Chapter 8 - Snape VictoriousQ1 - How do you think Tonks found Harry?‘Hagrid was late for the start-of-term feast, just like Potter here, so I took it instead. And incidentally,' said Snape, standing back to allow Harry to pass him, ‘I was interested to see your new Patronus.' He shut the gates in her face with a loud clang and tapped the chains with his wand again, so that they slithered, clinking, back into place. ‘I think you were better off with the old one,' said Snape, the malice in his voice unmistakeable. ‘The new one looks weak.'Q2 - What do you think of Patronus' changing form? How would it change form?Q3 - Why do you think Snape is mean to her?‘Fifty points from Gryffindor for lateness, I think,' said Snape. ‘And, let me see, another twenty for your Muggle attire. You know, I don't believe any house has ever been in negative figures this early in the term – we haven't even started pudding. You might have set a record, Potter.'Q4 - The points are stupid.‘Professor Snape, meanwhile,' said Dumbledore, raising his voice so that it carried over all the muttering, ‘will be taking over the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.' ‘No!' said Harry, so loudly that many heads turned in his direction. He did not care; he was staring up at the staff table, incensed. How could Snape be given the Defence Against the Dark Arts job after all this time? Hadn't it been widely known for years that Dumbledore did not trust him to do it?Q5 - What do you think of Snape getting the Defense against the Dark Arts job? And knowing the curse on the position, do you think he'll be there after a year?

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Ch 34-37

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2024 76:28


Chapter 34 - The Department of MysteriesThis is mad,ʹ Ron murmured, moving his free hand gingerly up and down his horseʹs neck. ʹMad… if I could just see it ‐ʹ  ʹYouʹd better hope it stays invisible,ʹ said Harry darkly. ʹWe all ready, then?ʹ Q1 - Is Harry being a dick here?Q2 - Thoughts on riding on an invisible horse?Q3 - What animal would you want to ride from the magical world?Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business.ʹ  ʹHarry Potter, Ron Weasley Hermione Granger,ʹ Harry said very quickly, ʹGinny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood… weʹre here to save someone, unless your Ministry can do it first!ʹ  Thank you,ʹ said the cool female voice. ʹVisitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes.ʹ  Half a dozen badges slid out of the metal chute where returned coins normally appeared. Hermione scooped them up and handed them mutely to Harry over Ginnyʹs head; he glanced at the topmost one, Harry Potter, Rescue Mission.Q4 - Is Harry dumb to say this stuff?ʹWhatʹre those things?ʹ whispered Ron. ʹDunno,ʹ said Harry. ʹAre they fish?ʹ breathed Ginny. ʹAquavirius Maggots!ʹ said Luna excitedly. ʹDad said the Ministry were breeding —ʹ  ʹNo,ʹ said Hermione. She sounded odd. She moved forward to look through the side of the tank. Theyʹre brains.ʹ  ʹBrains?ʹ ʹYes… I wonder what theyʹre doing with them?ʹQ5 - What is the ministry doing with these brains?Instead of a chained chair, however, there was a raised stone dais in the centre of the pit, on which stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked and crumbling that Harry was amazed the thing was still standing. Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched. ʹWhoʹs there?ʹ said Harry, jumping down on to the bench below. There was no answering voice, but the veil continued to flutter and sway.Q6 - Is there someone behind this veil?ʹI can hear them too,ʹ breathed Luna, joining them around the side of the archway and gazing at the swaying veil. There are people in there!ʹ  ʹWhat do you mean, ʺin thereʺ?ʹ demanded Hermione, jumping down from the bottom step and sounding much angrier than the occasion warranted, ʹthere isnʹt any ʺin thereʺ, itʹs just an archway, thereʹs no room for anybody to be there. Harry, stop it, come away ‐ʹ Q7 - What's going on with this veil?Q8 - Why is Hermione so angry?Q9 - Why didn't Harry make a quick stop to Grimmauld Place?S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D. Dark Lord and (?)Harry PotterQ10 - What does this all mean?Nothing whatsoever happened. The others moved in closer around Harry, gazing at the orb as he brushed it free of the clogging dust. And then, from right behind them, a drawling voice spoke. ʹVery good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me.ʹ Q11 - Who's voice is this?Chapter 35 - Beyond the VeilʹItʹs time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter,ʹ said Malfoy. ʹNow give me the prophecy, or we start using wands.ʹ Q1 - Thoughts on this being a prophecy?ʹSo,ʹ said Harry, ʹwhat kind of prophecy are we talking about, anyway?ʹ  He could not think what to do but to keep talking. Nevilleʹs arm was pressed against his, and he could feel him shaking; he could feel one of the othersʹ  quickened breath on the back of his head. He was hoping they were all thinking hard about ways to get out of this, because his mind was blank. ʹWhat kind of prophecy?ʹ repeated Bellatrix, the grin fading from her face. ʹYou jest, Harry Potter.ʹ  ʹNope, not jesting,ʹ said Harry, his eyes flicking from Death Eater to Death Eater,.looking for a weak link, a space through which they could escape. ʹHow come Voldemort wants it?ʹ Several of the Death Eaters let out low hisses. ʹYou dare speak his name?ʹ whispered Bellatrix. ʹYeah,ʹ said Harry, maintaining his tight grip on the glass ball, expecting another attempt to bewitch it from him. ʹYeah, Iʹve got no problem with saying Vol—ʹ  ʹShut your mouth!ʹ Bellatrix shrieked. ʹYou dare speak his name with your unworthy lips, you dare besmirch it with your half‐bloodʹs tongue, you dare ‐ʹ ʹDid you know heʹs a half‐blood too?ʹ said Harry recklessly. Hermione gave a little moan in his ear. ʹVoldemort? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a Muggle ‐ or has he been telling you lot heʹs pure‐blood?ʹ Q2 - Is Harry right to instigate here?ʹDumbledore never told you the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?ʹ Malfoy sneered.Q3 - Why didn't Dumbledore tell Harry?Harry stared into the slitted eye‐holes through which Malfoyʹs grey eyes were gleaming. Was this prophecy the reason Harryʹs parents had died, the reason he carried his lightning‐bolt scar? Was the answer to all of this clutched in his hand?The jet of red light flew right over the Death Eaterʹs shoulder and hit a glass‐ fronted cabinet on the wall full of variously shaped hour‐glasses; the cabinet fell to the floor and burst apart, glass flying everywhere, sprang back up on to the wall, fully mended, then fell down again, and shattered ‐ Q4 - What happened here?The Death Eater had pulled his head out of the bell jar. His appearance was utterly bizarre, his tiny babyʹs head bawling loudly while his thick arms flailed dangerously in all directions, narrowly missing Harry, who had ducked. Harry raised his wand but to his amazement Hermione seized his arm. ʹYou canʹt hurt a baby!ʹ Q5 - Thoughts on Hermione saying this?But the Death Eater Hermione had just struck dumb made a sudden slashing movement with his wand; a streak of what looked like purple flame passed right across Hermioneʹs chest. She gave a tiny ʹOh!ʹ as though of surprise and crumpled on to the floor, where she lay motionless.Q6 - What is this magic and is Hermione dead?Neville kicked aside the broken fragments of his own wand as they walked slowly towards the door. ʹMy granʹs going do kill be,ʹ said Neville thickly, blood spattering from his nose as he spoke, ʹdat was by dadʹs old wand.ʹ Q7 - Thoughts on this?ʹPotter, your race is run,ʹ drawled Lucius Malfoy, pulling off his mask, ʹnow hand me the prophecy like a good boy.ʹ  ʹLet ‐ let the others go, and Iʹll give it to you!ʹ said Harry desperately. A few of the Death Eaters laughed. ʹYou are not in a position to bargain, Potter,ʹ said Lucius Malfoy, his pale face flushed with pleasure. ʹYou see, there are ten of us and only one of you… or hasnʹt Dumbledore ever taught you how to count?ʹ  ʹHeʹs dot alone!ʹ shouted a voice from above them. ʹHeʹs still god be!ʹ Q8 - Do you see why I love Neville so much now?Harry did not have to think; there was no choice. The prophecy was hot with the heat of his clutching hand as he held it out. Malfoy jumped forwards to take it. Then, high above them, two more doors burst open and five more people sprinted into the room: Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks and Kingsley.ʹHarry, take the prophecy, grab Neville and run!ʹ Sirius yelled, dashing to meet Bellatrix. Harry did not see what happened next: Kingsley swayed across his field of vision, battling with the pockmarked and no longer masked Rookwood; another jet of green light flew over Harryʹs head as he launched himself towards Neville ‐ Q9 - thoughts on everything happening here?He gave another stupendous heave and Nevilles robes tore all along the left seam ‐ the small spun‐glass ball dropped from his pocket and, before either of them could catch it, one of Nevilleʹs floundering feet kicked it: it flew some ten feet to their right and smashed on the step beneath them. As both of them stared at the place where it had broken, appalled at what had happened, a pearly‐white figure with hugely magnified eyes rose into the air, unnoticed by any but them..Harry could see its mouth moving, but in all the crashes and screams and yells surrounding them, not one word of the prophecy could he hear. The figure stopped speaking and dissolved into nothingness.Harry turned to look where Neville was staring. Directly above them, framed in the doorway from the Brain Room, stood Albus Dumbledore, his wand aloft, his face white and furious. Harry felt a kind of electric charge surge through every particle of his body ‐ they were saved.Q10 - How good do you feel that Dumbledore is here?Only one pair was still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrixʹs jet of red light: he was laughing at her. ʹCome on, you can do better than that!ʹ he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room. The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest. The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock. Harry released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore, too, turned towards the dais. It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arch. Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfatherʹs wasted, once‐ handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind, then fell back into place. Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrangeʹs triumphant scream, but knew it meant nothing ‐ Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second… But Sirius did not reappear. ʹSIRIUS!ʹ Harry yelled. ʹSIRIUS!ʹ  He had reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps. Sirius must be just behind the curtain, he, Harry, would pull him back out… But as he reached the ground and sprinted towards the dais, Lupin grabbed Harry around the chest, holding him back. Thereʹs nothing you can do, Harry ‐ʹ  ʹGet him, save him, heʹs only just gone through!ʹ  ʹ‐ itʹs too late, Harry.ʹ  ʹWe can still reach him ‐ʹ Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin would not let go… Thereʹs nothing you can do, Harry… nothing… heʹs gone.ʹ Q11 - Thoughts on Sirius death here?Chapter 36 - The Only One He Ever FearedLupin dragged Harry away from the dais. Harry, still staring at the archway, was angry at Sirius now for keeping him waiting But some part of him realised, even as he fought to break free from Lupin, that Sirius had never kept him waiting before… Sirius had risked everything, always, to see Harry, to help him… if Sirius was not reappearing out of that archway when Harry was yelling for him as though his life depended on it, the only possible explanation was that he could not come back… that he really wasQ1 - How will Sirius's death affect Harry?`Aaaaaah … did you love him, little baby Potter?ʹ  Hatred rose in Harry such as he had never known before; he flung himself out from behind the fountain and bellowed, `Crucio!ʹ  Bellatrix screamed: the spell had knocked her off her feet, but she did not writhe and shriek with pain as Neville had ‐ she was already back on her feet, breathless, no longer laughing. Harry dodged behind the golden fountain again. Her counter‐spell hit the head of the handsome wizard, which was blown off and landed twenty feet away, gouging long scratches into the wooden floor. `Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you, boy?ʹ she yelled. She had abandoned her baby voice now. `You need to mean them, Potter! You need to really want to cause pain ‐ to enjoy it ‐ righteous anger wonʹt hurt me for long ‐  Iʹll show you how it is done, shall I? Iʹll give you a lesson ‐ʹQ2 - Harry just used an unforgivable curse…thoughts?`Potter, Iʹm going to give you one chance!ʹ shouted Bellatrix. `Give me the prophecy ‐ roll it out towards me now ‐ and I may spare your life!ʹ  `Well, youʹre going to have to kill me, because itʹs gone!ʹ Harry roared and, as he shouted it, pain seared across his forehead; his scar was on fire again, and he felt a surge of fury that was quite unconnected with his own rage. `And he knows!ʹ said Harry, with a mad laugh to match Bellatrixʹs own. `Your dear old mate Voldemort knows itʹs gone! Heʹs not going to be happy with you, is he?ʹ  ʹWhat? What do you mean?ʹ she cried, and for the first time there was fear in her voice.`Donʹt waste your breath!ʹ yelled Harry, his eyes screwed up against the pain in his scar, now more terrible than ever. `He canʹt hear you from here!ʹ  `Canʹt I, Potter?ʹ said a high, cold voice.Q3 - How intense is this? Did you expect Voldemort to be there?`It was foolish to come here tonight, Tom,ʹ said Dumbledore calmly. `The Aurors are on their way' `By which time I shall be gone, and you will be dead!ʹ spat Voldemort.Q4 - How good is this comeback?Dumbledore flicked his own wand: the force of the spell that emanated from it was such that Harry, though shielded by his golden guard, felt his hair stand on end as it passed and this time Voldemort was forced to conjure a shining silver shield out of thin air to deflect it. The spell, whatever it was, caused no visible damage to the shield, though a deep, gong‐like note reverberated from it ‐ an oddly chilling sound. `You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore?ʹ called Voldemort, his scarlet eyes narrowed over the top of the shield. `Above such brutality, are you?ʹ  ʹWe both know that there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom,ʹ Dumbledore said calmly, continuing to walk towards Voldemort as though he had not a fear in the world, as though nothing had happened to interrupt his stroll up the hall. `Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit' ‘`There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!ʹ snarled Voldemort. `You are quite wrong,ʹ said Dumbledore, still closing in upon Voldemort and speaking as lightly as though they were discussing the matter over drinks. Harry felt scared to see him walking along, undefended, shieldless; he wanted to cry out a warning, but his headless guard kept shunting him backwards towards the wall, blocking his every attempt to get out from behind it. `Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness'Q5 - Why would Dumbledore not be satisfied to take Voldy's life?Q6 - What is this magic Dumbledore is using?He was gone from the hall, he was locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes, so tightly bound that Harry did not know where his body ended and the creatureʹs began: they were fused together, bound by pain, and there was no escape.Q7 - What is happening here?Let the pain stop, thought Harry… let him kill us… end it, Dumbledore… death is nothing compared to this… And Iʹll see Sirius again…Q8 - How much do you hate Fudge?Q9 - What is the plan of action next?Chapter 37 - The Lost ProphecyIt was unbearable, he would not think about it, he could not stand it… there was a terrible hollow inside him he did not want to feel or examine, a dark hole where Sirius had been, where Sirius had vanished; he did not want to have to be alone with that great, silent space, he could not stand it ‐ `Let me out,ʹ Harry said yet again, in a voice that was cold and almost as calm as Dumbledoreʹs. `Not until I have had my say,ʹ said Dumbledore. `Do you ‐ do you think I want to ‐ do you think I give a ‐ I DONʹT CARE WHAT YOUʹVE GOT TO SAY!ʹ Harry roared. `I donʹt want to hear anything youʹve got to say!ʹ  `You will,ʹ said Dumbledore steadily. `Because you are not nearly as angry with me as you ought to be. If you are to attack me, as I know you are close to doing, I would like to have thoroughly earned it.ʹ Q1 - Is Dumbledore to blame for everything that happened?Q2 - What are your thoughts on Harry's response?Harry, I believe I was right to think that Voldemort would have made use of you in such a way. On those rare occasions when we had close contact, I thought I saw a shadow of him stir behind your eyes …`Kreacher lied,ʹ said Dumbledore calmly. `You are not his master, he could lie to you without even needing to punish himself. Kreacher intended you to go to the Ministry of Magic.ʹ  `He ‐ he sent me on purpose?T ʹOh yes. Kreacher, I am afraid, has been serving more than one master for months.ʹ  `How?ʹ said Harry blankly. `He hasnʹt been out of Grimmauld Place for years.ʹ  `Kreacher seized his opportunity shortly before Christmas,ʹ said Dumbledore, `when Sirius, apparently, shouted at him to ʺget outʺ. He took Sirius at his word, and interpreted this as an order to leave the house. He went to the only Black family member for whom he had any respect left … Blackʹs cousin Narcissa, sister of Bellatrix and wife of Lucius Malfoyʹ Q3 - Thoughts about your confirmed suspicions of Kreacher?`Kreacher is what he has been made by wizards, Harryʹ said Dumbledore. `Yes, he is to be pitied. His existence has been as miserable as your friend Dobbyʹs. He was forced to do Siriusʹs bidding, because Sirius was the last of the family to which he was enslaved, but he felt no true loyalty to him. And whatever Kreacherʹs faults, it must be admitted that Sirius did nothing to make Kreacherʹs lot easier —Q4 - Do you hate or pity Kreacher?`Snape made it worse, my scar always hurt worse after lessons with him - Harry remembered Ronʹs thoughts on the subject and plunged on `‐ how do you know he wasnʹt trying to soften me up for Voldemort, make it easier for him to get inside my - `I trust Severus Snape,ʹ said Dumbledore simply `But I forgot ‐  another old manʹs mistake ‐ that some wounds run too deep for the healing. I thought Professor Snape could overcome his feelings about your father ‐ I was wrong.ʹ Q5 - Do you trust Snape?ʹIt is time,ʹ he said, `for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry. Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything. I ask only a little patience. You will have your chance to rage at me ‐ to do whatever you like ‐ when I have finished. I will not stop you.ʹ Q6 - Did you get excited after reading this line?`While you can still call home the place where your motherʹs blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, whilst you are there he cannot hurt you. Your aunt knows this. I explained what I had done in the letter I left, with you, on her doorstep. She knows that allowing you houseroom may well have kept you alive for the past fifteen years.ʹ Q7 - Thoughts on Remember my Last?`The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies … and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives … the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies …ʹ Q8 - What does this all mean?`The odd thing, Harry,ʹ he said softly, `is that it may not have meant you at all. Sybillʹs prophecy could have applied to two wizard boys, both born at the end of July that year, both of whom had parents in the Order of the Phoenix, both sets of parents having narrowly escaped Voldemort three times. One, of course, was you. The other was Neville Longbottom.ʹ `There is a room in the Department of Mysteries,ʹ interrupted Dumbledore, `that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than the forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. That power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you.ʹ Q9 - Is Love the only power Harry has over Voldemort?Chapter 38 - The Second War BeginsThey were in the hospital wing. Harry was sitting on the end of Ronʹs bed and they were both listening to Hermione read the front page of the Sunday Prophet. Ginny, whose ankle had been mended in a trice by Madam Pomfrey, was curled up at the foot of Hermioneʹs bed; Neville, whose nose had likewise been returned to its normal size and shape, was in a chair between the two beds; and Luna, who had dropped in to visit, clutching the latest edition of The Quibbler, was reading the magazine upside‐down and apparently not taking in a word Hermione was saying.Q1 - How do you guys deal with grief?Malfoy looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him; he felt a kind of detached satisfaction at the sight of his pale, pointed face contorted with rage. ʹYouʹre going to pay,ʹ said Malloy in a voice barely louder than a whisper. `Iʹm going to make you pay for what youʹve done to my father…ʹ  `Well, Iʹm terrified now,ʹ said Harry sarcastically. `Iʹsʹpose Lord Voldemortʹs just a warm‐up act compared to you three ‐ whatʹs the matter?ʹ he added, for Malfoy Crabbe and Goyle had all looked stricken at the sound of the name. `Heʹs a mate of your dad, isnʹt he? Not scared of him, are you? ʹYou think youʹre such a big man, Potter,ʹ said Malfoy, advancing now, Crabbe and Goyle flanking him. `You wait. Iʹll have you. You canʹt land my father in prison - `I thought i just had,ʹ said Harry.Perhaps the reason he wanted to be alone was because he had felt isolated from everybody since his talk with Dumbledore. An invisible barrier separated him from the rest of the world. He was ‐ he had always been ‐ a marked man. It was just that he had never really understood what that meant…Q2 - What do you think of Harry's grief?Q3 - How do you think knowing that he is a marked man will effect Harry?Professor Umbridge left Hogwarts the day before the end of term. It seemed she had crept out of the hospital wing during dinnertime, evidently hoping to depart undetected, but unfortunately for her, she met Peeves on the way, who seized his last chance to do as Fred had instructed, and chased her gleefully from the premises whacking her alternately with a walking stick and a sock full of chalk. Many students ran out into the Entrance Hall to watch her running away down the path and the Heads of Houses tried only half‐heartedly to restrain them. Indeed, Professor McGonagall sank back into her chair at the staff table after a few feeble remonstrances and was clearly heard to express a regret that she could not run cheering after Umbridge herself, because Peeves had borrowed her walking stick.Harryʹs heart began to race. He remembered seeing his dead parents in the Mirror of Erised four years ago. He was going to be able to talk to Sirius again, right now, he knew it ‐  He looked around to make sure there was nobody else there; the dormitory was quite empty. He looked back at the mirror, raised it in front of his face with trembling hands and said, loudly and clearly, ʹSirius.ʹ  His breath misted the surface of the glass. He held the mirror even closer, excitement flooding through him, but the eyes blinking back at him through the fog were definitely his own. He wiped the mirror clear again and said, so that every syllable rang clearly through the room: ʹSirius Black!ʹ  Nothing happened.Q4 - How devastating is this part?Nick turned away from the window and looked mournfully at Harry. `He wonʹt come back.ʹ  `Who?ʹ  `Sirius Black,ʹ said Nick. And so strong was his belief, Harry actually turned his head to check the door, sure, for a split second, that he was going to see Sirius, pearly‐white and transparent but beaming, walking through it towards him. `He will not come back,ʹ repeated Nick. `He will have… gone on.ʹ Q5 - Do you understand how ghosts work now?Harry nodded curtly, but found that for some reason he did not mind Luna talking about Sirius. He had just remembered that she, too, could see Thestrals. `Have you…ʹ he began. `I mean, who… has anyone you known ever died?ʹ  `Yes,ʹ said Luna simply, `my mother. She was a quite extraordinary witch, you know, but she did like to experiment and one of her spells went rather badly wrong one day. I was nine.ʹ  `Iʹm sorryʹ Harry mumbled. ʹYes, it was rather horrible,ʹ said Luna conversationally. `I still feel very sad about it sometimes. But Iʹve still got Dad. And anyway, itʹs not as though Iʹll never see Mum again, is it?ʹ  `Er ‐ isnʹt it?ʹ said Harry uncertainly. She shook her head in disbelief. `Oh, come on. You heard them, just behind the veil, didnʹt you?ʹ  `You mean…ʹ  `In that room with the archway. They were just lurking out of sight, thatʹs all. You heard them.ʹ Harry was surprised to find that this information did not hurt at all. Wanting to impress Cho seemed to belong to a past that was no longer quite connected with him; so much of what he had wanted before Sinusʹ,ʹ death felt that «°av these days… the week that had elapsed since he had last seen Sirius seemed to have lasted much, much longer; it stretched across two universes, the one with Sirius in it, and the one without.Q6 - Would Harry and Cho be a good couple now? Do you think they'll get back together?When the ticket inspector signaled to Harry, Ron and Hermione that it was safe to walk through the magical barrier between platforms nine and ten, however, he found a surprise awaiting him on the other side: a group of people standing there to greet him who he had not expected at all…Harry nodded. He somehow could not find words to tell them what it meant to him, to see them all ranged there, on his side. Instead, he smiled, raised a hand in farewell, turned around and led the way out of the station towards the sunlit street, with Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley hurrying along in his wake.Q7 - How will Harry go from this point on?

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Ch 28-31

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2024 70:16


Chapter 28 - The Madness of Mr Crouch"Master is - hic - trusting Winky with - hic - the most important - hic - the most secret..."Q1 - What is this secret?Q2 - What do you think of Nifflers?"Oh..." he said, the memory coming back to him at last. "I dunno...I never noticed it had gone. I was more worried about my wand, wasn't I?" They climbed the steps into the entrance hall and went into the Great Hall for lunch. "Must be nice," Ron said abruptly, when they had sat down and started serving themselves roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. "To have so much money you don't notice if a pocketful of Galleons goes missing."Hermione hung back in their next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson to ask Professor Moody something. The rest of the class was very eager to leave; Moody had given them such a rigorous test of hex-deflection that many of them were nursing small injuries.Q3 - Is this Moody or Crouch?Q4 - If Rita isn't using an invisibility cloak and she can't use bugging equipment, how is she learning all this stuff?Suddenly a man staggered out from behind a tall oak. For a moment, Harry didn't recognize him...then he realized it was Mr. Crouch.Q5 - What is Crouch doing out there and in that state?Q6 - How does this line up with your theory, Jenn?Crouch's eyes were rolling in his head. Harry looked around at Krum, who had followed him into the trees, and was looking down at Crouch in alarm. "Vot is wrong with him?" "No idea," Harry muttered. "Listen, you'd better go and get someone -" "Dumbledore!" gasped Mr. Crouch. He reached out and seized a handful of Harry's robes, dragging him closer, though his eyes were staring over Harry's head. "I need...see...Dumbledore...." "Okay," said Harry, "if you get up, Mr. Crouch, we can go up to the-" "I've done...stupid...thing..." Mr. Crouch breathed. He looked utterly mad. His eyes were rolling and bulging, and a trickle of spittle was sliding down his chin. Every word he spoke seemed to cost him a terrible effort. "Must...tell...Dumbledore..." "Get up, Mr. Crouch," said Harry loudly and clearly. "Get up, I'll take you to Dumbledore!" Mr., Crouch's eyes rolled forward onto Harry. "Who...you?" he whispered. "I'm a student at the school," said Harry, looking around at Krum for some help, but Krum was hanging back, looking extremely nervous. "You're not...his?" whispered Crouch, his mouth sagging. "No," said Harry, without the faintest idea what Crouch was talking about. "Dumbledore's?" "That's right," said Harry. Crouch was pulling him closer; Harry tried to loosen Crouch's grip on his robes, but it was too powerful. "Warn...Dumbledore..." "I'll get Dumbledore if you let go of me," said Harry. "Just let go, Mr. Crouch, and I'll get him...." "Thank you, Weatherby, and when you have done that, I would like a cup of tea. My wife and son will be arriving shortly, we are attending a concert tonight with Mr. and Mrs. Fudge." Crouch was now talking fluently to a tree again, and seemed completely unaware that Harry was there, which surprised Harry so much he didn't notice that Crouch had released him. "Yes, my son has recently gained twelve O.W.L.s, most satisfactory, yes, thank you, yes, very proud indeed. Now, if you could bring me that memo from the Andorran Minister of Magic, I think I will have time to draft a response...."Q7 - What is this conversation about?He raised his wand into the air and pointed it in the direction of Hagrid's cabin. Harry saw something silvery dart out of it and streak away through the trees like a ghostly bird. Q8 - What kind of magic is this?Chapter 29 - The Dream“You can't disapparate in the Hogwarts grounds, haven't I told you enough times?” said Hermione.Q1 - Who attacked Krum?"Maybe he didn't want you to get there!" said Ron quickly. "Maybe - hang on - how fast d'you reckon he could've gotten down to the forest? D'you reckon he could've beaten you and Dumbledore there?" "Not unless he can turn himself into a bat or something," said Harry.Q2 - Is Snape a vampire?Q3 - What do you think Snape would turn into if he were an animagus, and what do you think his Patronus would be? Or any characters for that matter…Somebody was climbing the steps up to the Owlery. Harry could hear two voices arguing, coming closer and closer. "- that's blackmail, that is, we could get into a lot of trouble for that-" "- we've tried being polite; it's time to play dirty, like him. He wouldn't like the Ministry of Magic knowing what he did -" "I'm telling you, if you put that in writing, it's blackmail!” "Yeah, and you won't be complaining if we get a nice fat payoff, will you?" The Owlery door banged open. Fred and George came over the threshold, then froze at the sight of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.Q4 - What are Fred and George doing?Q5 - Is Harry's dream real?Q6 - Who was killed in Harry's dream?"Or else - well..." Fudge sounded embarrassed. "Well, I'll reserve judgment until after I've seen the place where he was found, but you say it was just past the Beauxbatons carriage? Dumbledore, you know what that woman is?" "I consider her to be a very able headmistress - and an excellent dancer," said Dumbledore quietly.Chapter 30 - The PensieveA shallow stone basin lay there, with odd carvings around the edge: runes and symbols that Harry did not recognize. The silvery light was coming from the basin's contents, which were like nothing Harry had ever seen before. He could not tell whether the substance was liquid or gas. It was a bright, whitish silver, and it was moving ceaselessly; the surface of it became ruffled like water beneath wind, and then, like clouds, separated and swirled smoothly. It looked like light made liquid - or like wind made solid - Harry couldn't make up his mind.Q1 - Before Dumbeldore explained this, what did you think this basin was?"Crouch is going to let him out," Moody breathed quietly to Dumbledore. "He's done a deal with him. Took me six months to track him down, and Crouch is going to let him go if he's got enough new names. Let's hear his information, I say, and throw him straight back to the dementors." Dumbledore made a small noise of dissent through his long, crooked nose. "Ah, I was forgetting...you don't like the dementors, do you, Albus?" said Moody with a sardonic smile. "No," said Dumbledore calmly, "I'm afraid I don't. I have long felt the Ministry is wrong to ally itself with such creatures."Q2 - Is Dumbledore right to not want to ally themselves with dementors?"Not yet!" cried Karkaroff, looking quite desperate. "Wait, I have more!" Harry could see him sweating in the torchlight, his white skin contrasting strongly with the black of his hair and beard. "Snape!" he shouted. "Severus Snape!" "Snape has been cleared by this council," said Crouch disdainfully. "He has been vouched for by Albus Dumbledore." "No!" shouted Karkaroff, straining at the chains that bound him to the chair. "I assure you! Severus Snape is a Death Eater!" Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. "I have given evidence already on this matter," he said calmly. "Severus Snape was indeed a Death Eater. However, he rejoined our side before Lord Voldemort's downfall and turned spy for us, at great personal risk. He is now no more a Death Eater than I am."Q3 - Do you think Snape is still a Death Eater?Q4 - What kind of person do you think Karkaroff is?Q5 - Do you think Bagman is more seriously a Death Eater than portrayed in this memory?The dementors placed each of the four people in the four chairs with chained arms that now stood on the dungeon floor. There was a thickset man who stared blankly up at Crouch; a thinner and more nervous-looking man, whose eyes were darting around the crowd; a woman with thick, shining dark hair and heavily hooded eyes, who was sitting in the chained chair as though it were a throne; and a boy in his late teens, who looked nothing short of petrified. He was shivering, his straw-colored hair all over his face, his freckled skin milk-white. The wispy little witch beside Crouch began to rock backward and forward in her seat, whimpering into her handkerchief."We have heard the evidence against you. The four of you stand accused of capturing an Auror - Frank Longbottom - and subjecting him to the Cruciatus Curse, believing him to have knowledge of the present whereabouts of your exiled master, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named -" "Father, I didn't!" shrieked the boy in chains below. "I didn't, I swear it. Father, don't send me back to the dementors -" "You are further accused," bellowed Mr. Crouch, "of using the Cruciatus Curse on Frank Longbottom's wife, when he would not give you information. You planned to restore He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to power, and to resume the lives of violence you presumably led while he was strong. I now ask the jury -"Q6 - What do you think of Crouch and his son?Q7 - Are any of the other people recognizable to you?Q8 - What do you think about the person they were cursing?The dementors were gliding back into the room. The boys' three companions rose quietly from their seats; the woman with the heavy-lidded eyes looked up at Crouch and called, "The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!" ​​But the boy was trying to fight off the dementors, even though Harry could see their cold, draining power starting to affect him. The crowd was jeering, some of them on their feet, as the woman swept out of the dungeon, and the boy continued to struggle. "I'm your son!" he screamed up at Crouch. "I'm your son!" "You are no son of mine!" bellowed Mr. Crouch, his eyes bulging suddenly. "I have no son!""What is it?" Harry asked shakily. "This? It is called a Pensieve," said Dumbledore. "I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind." "Er," said Harry, who couldn't truthfully say that he had ever felt anything of the sort. "At these times," said Dumbledore, indicating the stone basin, "I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one's leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form."Q9 - Do you like the idea of the Pensieve?"Yes," said Harry. "Professor - I was in Divination just now, and - er - I fell asleep." He hesitated here, wondering if a reprimand was coming, but Dumbledore merely said, "Quite understandable. Continue.""D'you - d'you know why my scar's hurting me?" Dumbledore looked very intently at Harry for a moment, and then said, "I have a theory, no more than that....It is my belief that your scar hurts both when Lord Voldemort is near you, and when he is feeling a particularly strong surge of hatred." "But...why?" "Because you and he are connected by the curse that failed," said Dumbledore. "That is no ordinary scar."Q10 - Do you understand why his scar hurts?"You know - you know the trial you found me in? The one with Crouch's son? Well....were they talking about Neville's parents?" Dumbledore gave Harry a very sharp look. " Has Neville never told you why he has been brought up by his grandmother?" he said. Harry shook his head, wondering, as he did so, how he could have failed to ask Neville this, in almost four years of knowing him. "Yes, they were talking about Neville's parents," said Dumbledore. "His father, Frank, was an Auror just like Professor Moody. He and his wife were tortured for information about Voldemort's whereabouts after he lost his powers, as you heard." "So they're dead?" said Harry quietly. "No," said Dumbledore, his voice full of a bitterness Harry had never heard there before. "They are insane. They are both in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I believe Neville visits them, with his grandmother, during the holidays. They do not recognize him." Harry sat there, horror-struck. He had never known...never, in four years, bothered to find out…Q11 - What are your thoughts on this?Harry looked into Dumbledore's light blue eyes, and the thing he really wanted to know spilled out of his mouth before he could stop it. "What made you think he'd really stopped supporting Voldemort, Professor?" Dumbledore held Harry's gaze for a few seconds, and then said, "That, Harry, is a matter between Professor Snape and myself."Q12 - What do you think this is, and is Dumbeldore right?Chapter 31 - The Third TaskHarry and Hermione went to see. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were standing in the shadow of a tree below. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be keeping a lookout; both were smirking. Malfoy was holding his hand up to his mouth and speaking into it. "He looks like he's using a walkie-talkie," said Harry curiously.Q1 - What are these three doing?"Yes," said Hermione breathlessly. She ran her fingers through her hair again, and then held her hand up to her mouth, as though speaking into an invisible walkie-talkie. Harry and Ron stared at each other. "I've had an idea," Hermione said, gazing into space. "I think I know...because then no one would be able to see...even Moody...and she'd have been able to get onto the window ledge...but she's not allowed...she's definitely not allowed...I think we've got her! Just give me two seconds in the library - just to make sure!" With that, Hermione seized her school bag and dashed out of the Great Hall.Q2 - How does Rita Skeeter know these things?Harry finished his breakfast in the emptying Great Hall. He saw Fleur Delacour get up from the Ravenclaw table and join Cedric as he crossed to the side chamber and entered. Krum slouched off to join them shortly afterward. Harry stayed where he was. He really didn't want to go into the chamber. He had no family - no family who would turn up to see him risk his life, anyway. But just as he was getting up, thinking that he might as well go up to the library and do a spot more hex research, the door of the side chamber opened, and Cedric stuck his head out.Q3 - Who did you think was going to show up for Harry?Q4 - Do you really believe Mr and Mrs Weasley were going for a nighttime stroll at four in the morning?He had been hurrying along the new path for a few minutes, when he heard something in the path running parallel to his own that made him stop dead. "What are you doing?" yelled Cedric's voice. "What the hell d'you think you're doing?” And then Harry heard Krum's voice. "Crucio!"Q5 - Is this the first bit of bad language in the books?Q6 - Why was Krum torturing Cedric?Q7 - Did you take time to guess what the Riddle was? Did you get it right?"I was the only one who was thick enough to take that song seriously!" said Harry bitterly. "Just take the cup!” "No," said Cedric. He stepped over the spider's tangled legs to join Harry, who stared at him. Cedric was serious. He was walking away from the sort of glory Hufflepuff House hadn't had in centuries.Q8 - What do you think of Cedric?Q9 - Which of the tasks would have tripped you up?

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Ch 6-9

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2024 49:08


Chapter 6 - The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-QuartersFF: Not who Hedwig is named after, but Saint Hedwig of Andechs (1174–1243), Duchess of Silesia, is the patron saint of orphans.Q1 - Is Hagrid an idiot for not showing Harry how to get on the platform?He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, “Gran, I've lost my toad again.”“Blimey,” said the other twin. “Aren't you —?” “He is,” said the first twin. “Aren't you?” he added to Harry.” “What?” said Harry. “Harry Potter,” chorused the twins. “Oh, him,” said Harry. “I mean, yes, I am.”They leant out of the window for her to kiss them goodbye and their younger sister began to cry. “Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls.” “We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat.” “George.” “Only joking, mum.”Q2 - What is your first impression of the Weasley family?Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to — but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.“Are all your family wizards?” asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him. “Er — yes, I think so,” said Ron. “I think mums got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him.”Q3 - What is your first impression of Ron?Q4 - What sweet sounds the best?Bertie Botts Every Flavor BeanDroobles Best Chewing GumChocolate FrogsPumpkin PastiesCauldron CakesLiquorice Wands“Go on, have a pasty,” said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties and cakes (the sandwiches lay forgotten).Q5 - Is 500 chocolate frog cards an alarming amount of chocolate frogs to eat?When they shook their heads, he wailed, “I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!” “He'll turn up,” said Harry.Q6 - First impressions of Hermione Granger?“You'll soon find out some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.” He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it. “I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks,” he said coolly.Q7 - What do you think of Scabbers the rat's bravery in biting Goyle's knuckle?Chapter 7 - The Sorting Hat“Welcome to Hogwarts,” said professor MGonagall“There's nothing hidden in your head the sorting hat can't see.”Q1 - If you had to create a way for students to be sorted into their houses without using the sorting hat, what would you do?Q2 - So what house are you?Q3 - Why do you think it took so long to sort Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom?“You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — no? Well, if you're sure — better be Gryffindor!”Q4 - Why do you think Harry nearly got sorted into Slytherin?“Before we begin out banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!”“Is he — a bit mad?” he asked Percy uncertainly. “Mad?” said Percy airily. “He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit, yes. Potatoes, Harry?”Q5 - Do you know what mint humbugs are?Q6 - Where do you think these ghosts come from?It happened suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes — and a sharp, hot pain shot across the car on Harry's forehead.Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand, and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest. “Ah, music,” he said, wiping his eyes. “A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot.”Q7 - Do you know what a poltergeist is?Chapter 8 - The Potions MasterQ1 - If you had a scar, where would you want it and what would you want it of?Q2 - Do you think Harry is going to get married? If so, do you think he'd marry any of the people who were introduced in the book so far?At the start-of-term Banquet, Harry had got the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry — he hated him.Q3 - Do you think there's any reason why Snape would hate Harry or is just one of those let-me-pick-a-student-to-be-mean-to-on-the-first-day kind of thing?Q4 - Is Fang a boar or a dog?Q5 - First impression of McGonagall and Snape?Chapter 9 - The Midnight DuelHarry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy.Q1 - Would you like to have a remembrall?Q2 - So far in the Hogwarts experience, what event/class would you be most excited for and why?WHAM! — a thus and a nasty crack and Neville lay, face down, on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher and started to drift lazily toward the Forbidden Forest and out of sight.Q3 - Was it Nevilles issue for falling off his broom or was it his broomstick?Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leant forward and pointed his broom handle down — next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball — wind whistled in his ears, mingles with the screams of people watching — he stretched out his hand — a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently on to the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his hand.Q4 - What did you initially think was going to happen to Harry after McGonagall caught him flying?“Wood?” Thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?Q5 - Is it a bit too early to make Harry Seeker after one nice catch of a Remembrall?Q6 - Would you like to learn how to fly on a broom?“And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?” “Throw it away and punch him on the nose,” Ron suggested.Q7 - What are your thoughts on Draco Malfoy?“What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?” Ron said finally.Q8 - Is Hogwarts really safe…like really?Q9 - Does Steak and Kidney pie actually sound good?

Tootie’s Tales
Chapter 8: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (The Potions Master)

Tootie’s Tales

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2024 13:51


Join us as we explore Harry's first encounters in the dungeons of Hogwarts with the enigmatic and intimidating Professor Snape, who seems to harbor a mysterious grudge against Harry. We'll dissect the complexities of the potions class, Snape's puzzling behavior, and the developing friendships and rivalries among the students.Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. RowlingDid you know ToTalk Armenian offers Eastern and Western Armenian classes for children and adults?Click on the link belowwww.totalkarmenian.comDid you know you could get the accompanying literary labels from our online store?Literary labels are already translated & transliterated into Armenian. You can simply peel & stick them on your book.Click on the link belowhttps://shop.totalkarmenian.com/collections/literary-labelsYou can support us on Patreon.https://www.patreon.com/totalkarmenian

Tootie’s Tales
Chapter 8: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (The Potions Master)

Tootie’s Tales

Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2024 14:04


In this episode, we explore Harry's challenging first potions class with Professor Snape, who shows a clear dislike for Harry. Discover the mysteries behind Snape's disdain for Harry and the unfolding friendships and rivalries at Hogwarts. Don't miss out as we unravel the magic and drama of this pivotal chapter! Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. RowlingDid you know ToTalk Armenian offers Eastern and Western Armenian classes for children and adults?Click on the link belowwww.totalkarmenian.comDid you know you could get the accompanying literary labels from our online store?Literary labels are already translated & transliterated into Armenian. You can simply peel & stick them on your book.Click on the link belowhttps://shop.totalkarmenian.com/collections/literary-labelsYou can support us on Patreon.https://www.patreon.com/totalkarmenian

Flipper Flix
196 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Wordplay

Flipper Flix

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2023 46:48


What's easier, transfiguring Ron's robes for the ball or turning a glass of water into a cocktail? I feel like Professor McGonagall would actually help you while Professor Snape is def not going to do you any favors. Let us know your thoughts on this episode and what your favorite Harry Potter film is on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠. Don't forget to recommend movies like this for us at any time, just visit our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

The Fallible Man Podcast
Embracing the ”Bad Guy” Role as a Parent!

The Fallible Man Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2023 12:21 Transcription Available


In this episode, host Brent delves into the world of parenting, using the revelation about Professor Snape in Harry Potter as a launchpad. Utilizing movies and personal antidotes Brent explores one of the many difficult roles of being a parent. With air quotes around the "bad guy" role, Brent emphasizes the importance of responsible guidance over being a friend to your child. Brent highlights the role of parents in imparting valuable knowledge, making tough decisions, and being the guiding force in their child's life. While not always easy, Brent reminds us that being the "bad guy" is an essential part of parenting. Embrace the challenges, set hard boundaries, and understand that, sometimes, the "bad guy" becomes the hero in the bigger story of your child's life. Tune in, buckle up, and explore the twists of movies and parenting in this engaging episode of The Fallible Man Podcast. Sometimes, being the "bad guy" is just a stepping stone to being the hero in your child's narrative.

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers
S2 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Ch 8-10

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2023 86:31


Chapter 8 - The Potions MasterQ1 - If you had a scar, where would you want it and what would you want it of?Q2 - Do you think Harry is going to get married? If so, do you think he'd marry any of the people who were introduced in the book so far?At the start-of-term Banquet, Harry had got the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry — he hated him.Q3 - Do you think there's any reason why Snape would hate Harry or is just one of those let-me-pick-a-student-to-be-mean-to-on-the-first-day kind of thing?Q4 - Is Fang a boar or a dog?Q5 - First impression of McGonagall and Snape?Chapter 9 - The Midnight DuelHarry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy.Q1 - Would you like to have a remembrall?Q2 - So far in the Hogwarts experience, what event/class would you be most excited for and why?WHAM! — a thus and a nasty crack and Neville lay, face down, on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher and started to drift lazily toward the Forbidden Forest and out of sight.Q3 - Was it Nevilles issue for falling off his broom or was it his broomstick?Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leant forward and pointed his broom handle down — next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball — wind whistled in his ears, mingles with the screams of people watching — he stretched out his hand — a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently on to the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his hand.Q4 - What did you initially think was going to happen to Harry after McGonagall caught him flying?“Wood?” Thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?Q5 - Is it a bit too early to make Harry Seeker after one nice catch of a Remembrall?Q6 - Would you like to learn how to fly on a broom?“And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?” “Throw it away and punch him on the nose,” Ron suggested.Q7 - What are your thoughts on Draco Malfoy?“What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?” Ron said finally.Q8 - Is Hogwarts really safe…like really?Q9 - Does Steak and Kidney pie actually sound good?Chapter 10 - Hallowe'enQ1 - Is it shady that McG has bought a Nimbus Two Thousand — the current best broomstick in the world — for Harry?“Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor,” said Malfoy quickly. “Yes, yes, that's right,” said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. “Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what Model is it?” “A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir,” said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. “And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it,” he added.Q2 - Is the Snitch worth too many points?Ron looked still more awkward at this [news Hermione was crying and wanted to be left alone], but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Hallowe'en decorations put Hermione out of their minds.Q3 - What position would you want to play in Quidditch?Q4 - Theories on how on earth someone could smuggle a troll into the castle?Q5 - Why didn't Hermione tell the truth?Q6 - Is five points a little too skimpy for two first years taking on a mountain troll and winning?Q7 - The point system at Hogwarts seems absolutely arbitrary, do you think there is a rule book for the point system?But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.

Harry Potter Theory
Why Dumbledore Should've Been in Slytherin (+What IF He Was)

Harry Potter Theory

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2023 21:31


Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we'll be discussing the many reasons why Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, famed Headmaster of Hogwarts and former Gryffindor student, may have been more well-suited to Slytherin House. As fans, soon after Harry Potter received his letter of acceptance and we were first introduced to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, we also learned about the magical institution's four founding members and how they decided that the student population would always be divided into four houses, which would represent the characteristics and traits most valued by each of those founding members. As the majority of you watching this will already know, the four founding members of Hogwarts School were Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin, with the corresponding houses being named after each of their surnames. And while later instalments of the series eventually focused on students from the houses of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, the beginning of Harry Potter certainly had a lot more emphasis on Gryffindor and Slytherin. What's more, there was a very obvious dichotomy presented between the two, with all of the protagonist characters—aka the “good guys”—being Gryffindors, and all of the antagonists—or “bad guys”—being Slytherins. From Harry to the compassionate and friendly Weasley family who helped him find Platform 9 and ¾, and the world-famous Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, everyone who was presented as good and heroic in the first few years of Harry's time at Hogwarts was a current or former Gryffindor student. By contrast, each of the BADDIES that we met during Harry's first few years were all Slytherins, including the bully Draco Malfoy, the cruel Professor Snape and, of course, the most evil wizard to have ever lived—Lord Voldemort. And who could forget what Hagrid told Harry before he entered his first year at Hogwarts: “There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Ch 26-27

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2023 120:32


Chapter 26 - The CaveHe was standing upon a high outcrop of dark rock, water foaming and churning below him. He glanced over his shoulder. A towering cliff stood behind them, a sheer drop, black and faceless. A few large chunks of rock, such as the one upon which Harry and Dumbledore were standing, looked as though they had broken away from the cliff face at some point in the past. It was a bleak, harsh view, the sea and the rock unrelieved by any tree or sweep of grass or sand. “What do you think?” asked Dumbledore. He might have been asking Harry's opinion on whether it was a good site for a picnic. Q1 - What do you think of Dumbledore and Harry's interactions?I imagine that Riddle climbed down; magic would have served better than ropes. And he brought two small children with him, probably for the pleasure of terrorizing them. I think the journey alone would have done it, don't you?” Q2 - Shouldn't Riddle have been found out with underage magic? What happened here?“Yes, this is the place,” said Dumbledore. “How can you tell?” Harry spoke in a whisper. “It has known magic,” said Dumbledore simply….“Here,” he said. “We go on through here. The entrance is concealed.” Harry did not ask how Dumbledore knew. He had never seen a wizard work things out like this, simply by looking and touching; but Harry had long since learned that bangs and smoke were more often the marks of ineptitude than expertise. Q3 - How do you sense magic?Q4 - How good of a wizard is Dumbledore?“You are very kind, Harry,” said Dumbledore, now passing the tip of his wand over the deep cut he had made in his own arm, so that it healed instantly, just as Snape had healed Malfoy's wounds. “But your blood is worth more than mine. Ah, that seems to have done the trick, doesn't it?Harry had not expected this, but cleared his throat and said loudly, wand aloft, “Accio Horcrux!” With a noise like an explosion, something very large and pale erupted out of the dark water some twenty feet away; before Harry could see what it was, it had vanished again with a crashing splash that made great, deep ripples on the mirrored surface. Harry leapt backward in shock and hit the wall; his heart was still thundering as he turned to Dumbledore. “What was that?” “Something, I think, that is ready to respond should we attempt to seize the Horcrux.” Harry looked back at the water. The surface of the lake was once more shining black glass: The ripples had vanished unnaturally fast; Harry's heart, however, was still pounding. Q5 - How chilling is this?“I do not think you will count, Harry: You are underage and unqualified. Voldemort would never have expected a sixteen-year-old to reach this place: I think it unlikely that your powers will register compared to mine.” These words did nothing to raise Harry's morale; perhaps Dumbledore knew it, for he added, “Voldemort's mistake, Harry, Voldemort's mistake . . . Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth. . . . Now, you first this time, and be careful not to touch the water.” And then Harry saw it, marble white, floating inches below the surface. “Professor!” he said, and his startled voice echoed loudly over the silent water. “Harry?” “I think I saw a hand in the water — a human hand!” “Yes, I am sure you did,” said Dumbledore calmly. Harry stared down into the water, looking for the vanished hand, and a sick feeling rose in his throat. “So that thing that jumped out of the water — ?” But Harry had his answer before Dumbledore could reply; the wandlight had slid over a fresh patch of water and showed him, this time, a dead man lying faceup inches beneath the surface, his open eyes misted as though with cobwebs, his hair and his robes swirling around him like smoke. Q6 - What do you think about Voldemort's protections?Q7 - Who's bodies are these?“There is nothing to be feared from a body, Harry, any more than there is anything to be feared from the darkness. Lord Voldemort, who of course secretly fears both, disagrees. But once again he reveals his own lack of wisdom. It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more.” “Lord Voldemort would not want to kill the person who reached this island.” Harry couldn't believe it. Was this more of Dumbledore's insane determination to see good in everyone? “Sir,” said Harry, trying to keep his voice reasonable, “sir, this is Voldemort we're —” “I'm sorry, Harry; I should have said, he would not want to immediately kill the person who reached this island,” Dumbledore corrected himself. “He would want to keep them alive long enough to find out how they managed to penetrate so far through his defenses and, most importantly of all, why they were so intent upon emptying the basin. Do not forget that Lord Voldemort believes that he alone knows about his Horcruxes.” Q8 - Who else knows?“Undoubtedly,” he said, finally, “this potion must act in a way that will prevent me taking the Horcrux. It might paralyze me, cause me to forget what I am here for, create so much pain I am distracted, or render me incapable in some other way. This being the case, Harry, it will be your job to make sure I keep drinking, even if you have to tip the potion into my protesting mouth. You understand?” Their eyes met over the basin, each pale face lit with that strange, green light. Harry did not speak. Was this why he had been invited along — so that he could force-feed Dumbledore a potion that might cause him unendurable pain? “You remember,” said Dumbledore, “the condition on which I brought you with me?” Harry hesitated, looking into the blue eyes that had turned green in the reflected light of the basin. “But what if — ?” “You swore, did you not, to follow any command I gave you?” “Yes, but —” “I warned you, did I not, that there might be danger?” “Yes,” said Harry, “but —” “Well, then,” said Dumbledore, shaking back his sleeves once more and raising the empty goblet, “you have my orders.” “Why can't I drink the potion instead?” asked Harry desperately. “Because I am much older, much cleverer, and much less valuable,” said Dumbledore. “Once and for all, Harry, do I have your word that you will do all in your power to make me keep drinking?” “Couldn't — ?” “Do I have it?” “But —” “Your word, Harry.” “I — all right, but —” Before Harry could make any further protest, Dumbledore lowered the crystal goblet into the potion. For a split second, Harry hoped that he would not be able to touch the potion with the goblet, but the crystal sank into the surface as nothing else had; when the glass was full to the brim, Dumbledore lifted it to his mouth. “Your good health, Harry.”Q9 - Should Harry have drunk this?And obediently, Dumbledore drank, as though it was an antidote Harry offered him, but upon draining the goblet, he sank to his knees, shaking uncontrollably. “It's all my fault, all my fault,” he sobbed. “Please make it stop, I know I did wrong, oh please make it stop and I'll never, never again . . .” Dumbledore began to cower as though invisible torturers surrounded him; his flailing hand almost knocked the refilled goblet from Harry's trembling hands as he moaned, “Don't hurt them, don't hurt them, please, please, it's my fault, hurt me instead . . .” Q10 - What is Dumbledore seeing here?“Drink this, Professor. Drink this. . . .” Dumbledore drank, and no sooner had he finished than he yelled, “KILL ME!” “This — this one will!” gasped Harry. “Just drink this . . . It'll be over . . . all over!” Dumbledore gulped at the goblet, drained every last drop, and then, with a great, rattling gasp, rolled over onto his face. “No!” shouted Harry, who had stood to refill the goblet again; instead he dropped the cup into the basin, flung himself down beside Dumbledore, and heaved him over onto his back; Dumbledore's glasses were askew, his mouth agape, his eyes closed. “No,” said Harry, shaking Dumbledore, “no, you're not dead, you said it wasn't poison, wake up, wake up — Rennervate!” he cried, his wand pointing at Dumbledore's chest; there was a flash of red light but nothing happened. “Rennervate — sir — please —” Dumbledore's eyelids flickered; Harry's heart leapt. “Sir, are you — ?” “Water,” croaked Dumbledore.The goblet filled and emptied once more. And now Dumbledore's breathing was fading. His brain whirling in panic, Harry knew, instinctively, the only way left to get water, because Voldemort had planned it so . . . Q11 - How sick is Voldemort?Q12 - Could you have done what Harry is doing?And pulling Dumbledore's uninjured arm around his shoulders, Harry guided his headmaster back around the lake, bearing most of his weight. “The protection was . . . after all . . . well-designed,” said Dumbledore faintly. “One alone could not have done it. . . . You did well, very well, Harry. . . .” “It's going to be all right, sir,” Harry said over and over again, more worried by Dumbledore's silence than he had been by his weakened voice. “We're nearly there. . . . I can Apparate us both back. . . . Don't worry. . . .” “I am not worried, Harry,” said Dumbledore, his voice a little stronger despite the freezing water. “I am with you.” Q13 - How intense was this chapter?Q14 - If the cave was protected like this, was it the same for the Gaunt shack and all the other horcruxes?Chapter 27 - The Lightning Struck Tower“What has happened?” asked Dumbledore. “Rosmerta, what's wrong?” “The — the Dark Mark, Albus.” And she pointed into the sky, in the direction of Hogwarts. Dread flooded Harry at the sound of the words. . . . He turned and looked. There it was, hanging in the sky above the school: the blazing green skull with a serpent tongue, the mark Death Eaters left behind whenever they had entered a building . . . wherever they had murdered. . . . Q1 - Dumbledore is exhausted here, what's the tiredest you've ever been?Harry hurried over to the door leading to the spiral staircase, but his hand had only just closed upon the iron ring of the door when he heard running footsteps on the other side. He looked around at Dumbledore, who gestured him to retreat. Harry backed away, drawing his wand as he did so. The door burst open and somebody erupted through it and shouted, “Expelliarmus!” Harry's body became instantly rigid and immobile, and he felt himself fall back against the tower wall, propped like an unsteady statue, unable to move or speak. He could not understand how it had happened — Expelliarmus was not a Freezing Charm — Then, by the light of the Mark, he saw Dumbledore's wand flying in an arc over the edge of the ramparts and understood. . . . Dumbledore had wordlessly immobilized Harry, and the second he had taken to perform the spell had cost him the chance of defending himself. Q2 - Why did Dumbledore do this to Harry?Q3 - What do you think of Draco disarming Dumbledore? Draco Malfoy did nothing but stare at Albus Dumbledore, who, incredibly, smiled. “Draco, Draco, you are not a killer.” “How do you know?” said Malfoy at once. “But why? I don't think you will kill me, Draco. Killing is not nearly as easy as the innocent believe. . . . So tell me, while we wait for your friends . . . how did you smuggle them in here? It seems to have taken you a long time to work out how to do it.” Q4 - What do you think of Dumbledore's attitude here?“I tried, Draco. Professor Snape has been keeping watch over you on my orders —” “He hasn't been doing your orders, he promised my mother —” “Of course that is what he would tell you, Draco, but —” “He's a double agent, you stupid old man, he isn't working for you, you just think he is!” “We must agree to differ on that, Draco. It so happens that I trust Professor Snape —” “Well, you're losing your grip, then!” sneered Malfoy.Q5 - How much does it hurt to hear these words?“Someone's dead,” said Malfoy, and his voice seemed to go up an octave as he said it. “One of your people . . . I don't know who, it was dark. . . . I stepped over the body. . . . I was supposed to be waiting up here when you got back, only your Phoenix lot got in the way. . . .” Q6 - Has someone actually died?“Come over to the right side, Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban. . . . When the time comes, we can protect him too. Come over to the right side, Draco . . . you are not a killer. . . .” Malfoy stared at Dumbledore. “But I got this far, didn't I?” he said slowly. “They thought I'd die in the attempt, but I'm here . . . and you're in my power. . . . I'm the one with the wand. . . . You're at my mercy. . . .” “No, Draco,” said Dumbledore quietly. “It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now.” Q7 - Is Malfoy redeemable?“We've got a problem, Snape,” said the lumpy Amycus, whose eyes and wand were fixed alike upon Dumbledore, “the boy doesn't seem able —” But somebody else had spoken Snape's name, quite softly. “Severus . . .” The sound frightened Harry beyond anything he had experienced all evening. For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading. Snape said nothing, but walked forward and pushed Malfoy roughly out of the way. The three Death Eaters fell back without a word. Even the werewolf seemed cowed. Snape gazed for a moment at Dumbledore, and there was revulsion and hatred etched in the harsh lines of his face. “Severus . . . please . . .” Snape raised his wand and pointed it directly at Dumbledore. “Avada Kedavra!”Q8 - How evil is Snape?

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Ch 23-25

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2023 141:38


Chapter 23 - Horcruxes‘Good gracious, Harry,' said Dumbledore in surprise. ‘To what do I owe this very late pleasure?' ‘Sir – I've got it. I've got the memory from Slughorn.' Harry pulled out the tiny glass bottle and showed it to Dumbledore. For a moment or two, the Headmaster looked stunned. Then his face split in a wide smile. ‘Harry, this is spectacular news! Very well done indeed! I knew you could do it!'‘Well,' said Slughorn, not looking at Riddle, but fiddling with the ribbon on top of his box of crystallised pineapple, ‘well, it can't hurt to give you an overview, of course. Just so that you understand the term. A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a person has concealed part of their soul.' ‘I don't quite understand how that works, though, sir,' said Riddle. His voice was carefully controlled, but Harry could sense his excitement. ‘Well, you split your soul, you see,' said Slughorn, ‘and hide part of it in an object outside the body. Then, even if one's body is attacked or destroyed, one cannot die, for part of the soul remains earthbound and undamaged. But, of course, existence in such a form …' Q1 - What do you think of Horcruxes now?‘How do you split your soul?' ‘Well,' said Slughorn uncomfortably, ‘you must understand that the soul is supposed to remain intact and whole. Splitting it is an act of violation, it is against nature.'‘Yes, sir,' said Riddle. ‘What I don't understand, though – just out of curiosity – I mean, would one Horcrux be much use? Can you only split your soul once? Wouldn't it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces? I mean, for instance, isn't seven the most powerfully magical number, wouldn't seven –?' ‘Merlin's beard, Tom!' yelped Slughorn. ‘Seven! Isn't it bad enough to think of killing one person? And in any case … bad enough to divide the soul … but to rip it into seven pieces …'Q2 - Do you think Voldemort ripped his soul into seven pieces?‘But now, Harry, armed with this information, the crucial memory you have succeeded in procuring for us, we are closer to the secret of finishing Lord Voldemort than anyone has ever been before. You heard him, Harry: “Wouldn't it be better, make you stronger, to have your soul in more pieces … isn't seven the most powerfully magical number …” Isn't seven the most powerfully magical number. Yes, I think the idea of a seven-part soul would greatly appeal to Lord Voldemort.' ‘He made seven Horcruxes?' said Harry, horror-struck, while several of the portraits on the walls made similar noises of shock and outrage. ‘But they could be anywhere in the world – hidden – buried or invisible –' ‘I am glad to see you appreciate the magnitude of the problem,' said Dumbledore calmly. ‘But firstly, no, Harry, not seven Horcruxes: six. The seventh part of his soul, however maimed, resides inside his regenerated body. That was the part of him that lived a spectral existence for so many years during his exile; without that, he has no self at all. That seventh piece of soul will be the last that anybody wishing to kill Voldemort must attack – the piece that lives in his body.'Q3 - Is Dumbledore right?‘But the six Horcruxes, then,' said Harry, a little desperately, ‘how are we supposed to find them?' ‘You are forgetting … you have already destroyed one of them. And I have destroyed another.' ‘You have?' said Harry eagerly. ‘Yes indeed,' said Dumbledore, and he raised his blackened, burned-looking hand. ‘The ring, Harry. Marvolo's ring. And a terrible curse there was upon it too. Had it not been – forgive me the lack of seemly modesty – for my own prodigious skill, and for Professor Snape's timely action when I returned to Hogwarts, desperately injured, I might not have lived to tell the tale. However, a withered hand does not seem an unreasonable exchange for a seventh of Voldemort's soul. The ring is no longer a Horcrux.'Q4 - What AND where are the other Horcruxes?Q5 - Does this make you trust Snape a bit more?‘He seems to have reserved the process of making Horcruxes for particularly significant deaths. You would certainly have been that. He believed that in killing you, he was destroying the danger the prophecy had outlined. He believed he was making himself invincible. I am sure that he was intending to make his final Horcrux with your death.Q6 - Did he have an object with him then and what would he have used for a Horcrux after killing Harry?‘Yes, I think so,' said Dumbledore. ‘Without his Horcruxes, Voldemort will be a mortal man with a maimed and diminished soul. Never forget, though, that while his soul may be damaged beyond repair, his brain and his magical power remain intact. It will take uncommon skill and power to kill a wizard like Voldemort, even without his Horcruxes.' ‘But I haven't got uncommon skill and power,' said Harry, before he could stop himself. ‘Yes, you have,' said Dumbledore firmly. ‘You have a power that Voldemort has never had. You can –' ‘I know!' said Harry impatiently. ‘I can love!' It was only with difficulty that he stopped himself adding, ‘Big deal!' ‘Yes, Harry, you can love,' said Dumbledore, who looked as though he knew perfectly well what Harry had just refrained from saying. ‘Which, given everything that has happened to you, is a great and remarkable thing. You are still too young to understand how unusual you are, Harry.'Q7 - What is the deeper thing here? Why is Harry too young to understand this?He heard the prophecy and he leapt into action, with the result that he not only handpicked the man most likely to finish him, he handed him uniquely deadly weapons!' ‘But –' ‘It is essential that you understand this!' said Dumbledore, standing up and striding about the room, his glittering robes swooshing in his wake; Harry had never seen him so agitated. ‘By attempting to kill you, Voldemort himself singled out the remarkable person who sits here in front of me, and gave him the tools for the job! It is Voldemort's fault that you were able to see into his thoughts, his ambitions, that you even understand the snakelike language in which he gives orders, and yet, Harry, despite your privileged insight into Voldemort's world (which, incidentally, is a gift any Death Eater would kill to have), you have never been seduced by the Dark Arts, never, even for a second, shown the slightest desire to become one of Voldemort's followers!'Q8 - How did Voldemort actually give him these powers and this connection?I do not think he understands why, Harry, but he was in such a hurry to mutilate his own soul, he never paused to understand the incomparable power of a soul that is untarnished and whole.'Harry watched Dumbledore striding up and down in front of him, and thought. He thought of his mother, his father and Sirius. He thought of Cedric Diggory. He thought of all the terrible deeds he knew Lord Voldemort had done. A flame seemed to leap inside his chest, searing his throat. ‘I'd want him finished,' said Harry quietly. ‘And I'd want to do it.' ‘Of course you would!' cried Dumbledore. ‘You see, the prophecy does not mean you have to do anything! But the prophecy caused Lord Voldemort to mark you as his equal … in other words, you are free to choose your way, quite free to turn your back on the prophecy! But Voldemort continues to set store by the prophecy. He will continue to hunt you … which makes it certain, really, that –' ‘That one of us is going to end up killing the other,' said Harry. ‘Yes.' But he understood at last what Dumbledore had been trying to tell him. It was, he thought, the difference between being dragged into the arena to face a battle to the death and walking into the arena with your head held high. Some people, perhaps, would say that there was little to choose between the two ways, but Dumbledore knew – and so do I, thought Harry, with a rush of fierce pride, and so did my parents – that there was all the difference in the world.Q9 - How do you destroy a Horcrux?Q10 - What do you think of this and everything in this chapter?Chapter 24 - SectumsempraQ1 - Why isn't Dumbledore just doing this himself? Why is he roping Harry into this whole thing?‘I think I'm going to take another swig of Felix,' said Harry, ‘and have a go at the Room of Requirement again.' ‘That would be a complete waste of potion,' said Hermione flatly, putting down the copy of Spellman's Syllabary she had just taken out of her bag. ‘Luck can only get you so far, Harry. The situation with Slughorn was different; you always had the ability to persuade him, you just needed to tweak the circumstances a bit. Luck isn't enough to get you through a powerful enchantment, though. Don't go wasting the rest of that potion! You'll need all the luck you can get if Dumbledore takes you along with him …' She dropped her voice to a whisper.Q2 - How do you think Harry is going to use the last of the Felix Felicis?‘No one can help me,' said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. ‘I can't do it … I can't … it won't work … and unless I do it soon … he says he'll kill me …' And Harry realised, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying – actually crying – tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin. Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror and saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder.Q3 - Is it shocking to see Draco in this state?Q4 - What is he talking about here?There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wall behind Malfoy's ear and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped over as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, ‘Cruci—' ‘SECTUMSEMPRA!' bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly.Q5 - Thoughts on Draco using Crucio?The door banged open behind Harry and he looked up, terrified: Snape had burst into the room, his face livid. Pushing Harry roughly aside, he knelt over Malfoy, drew his wand and traced it over the deep wounds Harry's curse had made, muttering an incantation that sounded almost like song. The flow of blood seemed to ease; Snape wiped the residue from Malfoy's face and repeated his spell. Now the wounds seemed to be knitting.He gasped. Despite his haste, his panic, his fear of what awaited him back in the bathroom, he could not help but be overawed by what he was looking at. He was standing in a room the size of a large cathedral, whose high windows were sending shafts of light down upon what looked like a city with towering walls, built of what Harry knew must be objects hidden by generations of Hogwarts inhab- itants. There were alleyways and roads bordered by teetering piles of broken and damaged furniture, stowed away, perhaps, to hide the evidence of mishandled magic, or else hidden by castle-proud houseelves. There were thousands and thousands of books, no doubt banned or graffitied or stolen. There were winged catapults and Fanged Frisbees, some still with enough life in them to hover half-heartedly over the mountains of other forbidden items; there were chipped bottles of congealed potions, hats, jewels, cloaks; there were what looked like dragon-egg shells, corked bottles whose contents still shimmered evilly, several rusting swords and a heavy, blood-stained axe.Q6 - What do you think of this room?Harry hurried forwards into one of the many alleyways between all this hidden treasure. He turned right past an enormous stuffed troll, ran on a short way, took a left at the broken Vanishing Cabinet in which Montague had got lost the previous year, finally pausing beside a large cupboard which seemed to have had acid thrown at its blistered surface. He opened one of the cupboard's creaking doors: it had already been used as a hiding place for something in a cage that had long-since died; its skeleton had five legs. He stuffed the Half-Blood Prince's book behind the cage and slammed the door. He paused for a moment, his heart thumping horribly, gazing around at the clutter … would he be able to find this spot again, amidst all this junk? Seizing the chipped bust of an ugly old warlock from on top of a nearby crate, he stood it on the cupboard where the book was now hidden, perched a dusty old wig and a tarnished tiara on the statue's head to make it more distinctive, then sprinted back through the alleyways of hidden junk as fast as he could go, back to the door, back out on to the corridor, where he slammed the door behind him and it turned at once back into stone.Q7 - What's the coolest thing you've ever just found?One by one Snape extracted Harry's books and examined them. Finally the only book left was the Potions book, which he looked at very carefully before speaking. ‘This is your copy of Advanced Potion-Making, is it, Potter?' ‘Yes,' said Harry, still breathing hard. ‘You're quite sure of that, are you, Potter?' ‘Yes,' said Harry, with a touch more defiance. ‘This is the copy of Advanced Potion-Making that you purchased from Flourish and Blotts?' ‘Yes,' said Harry firmly. ‘Then why,' asked Snape, ‘does it have the name “Roonil Wazlib” written inside the front cover?' Harry's heart missed a beat. ‘That's my nickname,' he said. ‘Your nickname,' repeated Snape. ‘Yeah … that's what my friends call me,' said Harry. ‘I understand what a nickname is,' said Snape. The cold, black eyes were boring once more into Harry's; he tried not to look into them. Close your mind … close your mind … but he had never learned how to do it properly … ‘Do you know what I think, Potter?' said Snape, very quietly. ‘I think that you are a liar and a cheat and that you deserve detention with me every Saturday until the end of term. What do you think, Potter?' ‘I – I don't agree, sir,' said Harry, still refusing to look into Snape's eyes.Q8 - Hermione reprimands Harry for following the Prince…but who is the Prince?Harry looked around; there was Ginny running towards him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her. The creature in his chest roaring in triumph, Harry grinned down at Ginny and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole. A long walk in the grounds seemed indicated, during which – if they had time – they might discuss the match.Q9 - Love at last?Chapter 25 - The Seer OverheardHarry found himself newly and happily impervious to gossip over the next few weeks. After all, it made a very nice change to be talked about because of something that was making him happier than he could remember being for a very long time, rather than because he had been involved in horrific scenes of Dark Magic. Q1 - What is the happiest you've been in recent memory?“Well, why not? Harry, there aren't any real princes in the Wizarding world! It's either a nickname, a made-up title somebody's given themselves, or it could be their actual name, couldn't it? No, listen! If, say, her father was a wizard whose surname was Prince, and her mother was a Muggle, then that would make her a ‘halfblood Prince'!” Q2 - Could Hermione be right here?“The headmaster has intimated that he would prefer fewer visits from me,” she said coldly. “I am not one to press my company upon those who do not value it. If Dumbledore chooses to ignore the warnings the cards show —” Her bony hand closed suddenly around Harry's wrist. “Again and again, no matter how I lay them out —” And she pulled a card dramatically from underneath her shawls. “— the lightning-struck tower,” she whispered. “Calamity. Disaster. Coming nearer all the time . . .” Q3 - What is she talking about here?I must confess that, at first, I thought he seemed ill-disposed toward Divination . . . and I remember I was starting to feel a little odd, I had not eaten much that day . . . but then . . .” And now Harry was paying attention properly for the first time, for he knew what had happened then: Professor Trelawney had made the prophecy that had altered the course of his whole life, the prophecy about him and Voldemort. “. . . but then we were rudely interrupted by Severus Snape!” It was Snape who had overheard the prophecy. It was Snape who had carried the news of the prophecy to Voldemort. Snape and Peter Pettigrew together had sent Voldemort hunting after Lily and James and their son. . . . Q4 - What do you think about Snape interrupting?Q5 - Why did Dumbledore hire Snape?“Professor Snape made a terrible mistake. He was still in Lord Voldemort's employ on the night he heard the first half of Professor Trelawney's prophecy. Naturally, he hastened to tell his master what he had heard, for it concerned his master most deeply. But he did not know — he had no possible way of knowing — which boy Voldemort would hunt from then onward, or that the parents he would destroy in his murderous quest were people that Professor Snape knew, that they were your mother and father —” “You have no idea of the remorse Professor Snape felt when he realized how Lord Voldemort had interpreted the prophecy, Harry. I believe it to be the greatest regret of his life and the reason that he returned —” “But he's a very good Occlumens, isn't he, sir?” said Harry, whose voice was shaking with the effort of keeping it steady. “And isn't Voldemort convinced that Snape's on his side, even now? Professor . . . how can you be sure Snape's on our side?” Dumbledore did not speak for a moment; he looked as though he was trying to make up his mind about something. At last he said, “I am sure. I trust Severus Snape completely.” Q6 - Why does he trust Snape? And why does he say Snape regrets it?“I . . . they're up to something!” said Harry, and his hands curled into fists as he said it. “Professor Trelawney was just in the Room of Requirement, trying to hide her sherry bottles, and she heard Malfoy whooping, celebrating! He's trying to mend something dangerous in there and if you ask me, he's fixed it at last and you're about to just walk out of school without —” “Enough,” said Dumbledore. He said it quite calmly, and yet Harry fell silent at once; he knew that he had finally crossed some invisible line. “Do you think that I have once left the school unprotected during my absences this year? I have not. Tonight, when I leave, there will again be additional protection in place. Please do not suggest that I do not take the safety of my students seriously, Harry.” Q7 - What did Draco just do?“If I tell you to hide, you will do so?” “Yes.” “If I tell you to flee, you will obey?” “Yes.” “If I tell you to leave me and save yourself, you will do as I tell you? “I —” “Harry?” They looked at each other for a moment. “Yes, sir.”Q8 - Is this stuff actually going to happen?“No!” said Hermione, as Ron unwrapped the tiny little bottle of golden potion, looking awestruck. “We don't want it, you take it, who knows what you're going to be facing?” “I'll be fine, I'll be with Dumbledore,” said Harry. “I want to know you lot are okay. . . . Don't look like that, Hermione, I'll see you later. . . .”Harry turned. At once, there was that horrible sensation that he was being squeezed through a thick rubber tube; he could not draw breath, every part of him was being compressed almost past endurance and then, just when he thought he must suffocate, the invisible bands seemed to burst open, and he was standing in cool darkness, breathing in lungfuls of fresh, salty air. Q9 - What is going to happen in the cave?

Stories From Women Who Walk
60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday: What Will Make Today Different? I Have an Idea!

Stories From Women Who Walk

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 14, 2023 2:56


Hello to you listening in Mount Lawley, Western Australia!Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is Stories From Women Who Walk with 60 Seconds for Motivate Your Monday and your host, Diane Wyzga.The former British actor Alan Rickman (whom many remember as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter movie series) was an avid diarist of all things large and small in his storied life. The book, Madly, Deeply - The Alan Rickman Diaries Review spans 22 years of diaries, beginning in 1993 and ending in December 2015 shortly before his death capturing Rickman at the height of his fame.This line on page 37 of his book caught my ear: “I hate it when my head, heart and aspirations are filled to the brim only with career. The rest of me hangs around like a jacket on the back of a doorknob.”Apart from Rickman's magical imagery, I hear longing for belonging to all parts of his life. Maybe like me you get caught up in the tasks of the professional day and let linger those delights and pleasures that round out a successful life.Practical Tip: Today is your chance! Think about that part of you that “hangs around like a jacket on the back of a doorknob” and resolve to pick it up, put it on, and explore what else is out there to enjoy with love and lust for life. You're always invited: “Come for the stories - stay for the magic!” Speaking of magic....., would you subscribe, share a 5-star rating + nice review on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time!Meanwhile, stop by my Quarter Moon Story Arts website to:✓ Check out Services I offer,✓ Arrange your free Story Start-up Session,✓ Opt In to my monthly NewsAudioLetter for bonus gift, valuable tips & techniques to enhance your story work, and✓ Stay current with Diane and on LinkedIn.Stories From Women Who Walk Production TeamPodcaster: Diane F Wyzga & Quarter Moon Story ArtsMusic: Mer's Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron MusicAll content and image © 2019 to Present Quarter Moon Story Arts. All rights reserved. 

The Mario Rosenstock Podcast
REPOST - Dermot Whelan tries to unwreck my head

The Mario Rosenstock Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2023 57:57


While we're on our short summer break, I'm playing some of my favourite episodes from the series so far. This one is from May 2021, its with my friend and colleague Dermot Whelan, who has just announced that he's leaving the Dermot and Dave Show on Today FM to focus on his mindfulness business. When we record this episode, Dermot had just released his bestselling book Mind Full. He told me all about the book, the business and how and why it all started. Dermot is also a very talented impressionist. Diarmuid Gavin, Rory McIlroy, Professor Snape from Harry Potter and even the late great Terry Wogan all make an appearance in this interview. Enjoy the chat and don't forget to follow the series for free, and drop us a rating and review if you're feeling generous! Produced by Patrick Haughey, AudioBrand

Harry Potter Theory EXTRA
Did Snape Know Harry Was a Horcrux? - Harry Potter Theory

Harry Potter Theory EXTRA

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2023 5:22


Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we're discussing whether or not Professor Snape ever knew that Harry was one of Lord Voldemort's Horcuxes.A complicated wizard with only somewhat less complicated allegiances, Severus Snape is one of those characters whose true intentions we didn't learn until the very end of the series. As he lay dying in front of Harry Potter after Voldemort had cut him down, we at long last were given his version of the truth--he had been on Harry's side all along.But throughout his life, Snape's loyalties certainly did waver. He went from Lily Evan's best friend to a reverent young Death Eater, only to inevitably become a double agent whose true allegiances lay with Albus Dumbledore and The Order of the Phoenix--a role which left Snape in a rather precarious position on both sides. Many of Voldemort's Death Eaters questioned him and just about every member of The Order of the Phoenix distrusted him, with the exception of Dumbledore. But even though Dumbledore trusted Snape, the question in today's video is--did he tell Severus all that he knew? Considering the following exchange between the two wizards, it would seem that he did not...Socials: https://linktr.ee/hptheory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Ch 6-8

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2023 114:55


Chapter 6 - Draco's DetourHe spent most of his days playing two-a-side Quidditch in the Weasleys' orchard (he and Hermione against Ron and Ginny; Hermione was dreadful and Ginny good, so they were reasonably well-matched).Q1 - How much does Ron suck at Quidditch?‘And they've found Igor Karkaroff's body in a shack up north. The Dark Mark had been set over it – well, frankly, I'm surprised he stayed alive for even a year after deserting the Death Eaters; Sirius's brother Regulus only managed a few days as far as I can remember.'Q2 - What do you think about Igor Karkaroff being dead?Q3 - What do you think of Ollivander being gone?Q4 - How is Bill able to take money out of Harry's vault?‘I see that being Dumbledore's favorite has given you a false sense of security, Harry Potter. But Dumbledore won't always be there to protect you.' Harry looked mockingly all around the shop. ‘Wow … look at that … he's not here now! So why not have a go? They might be able to find you a double cell in Azkaban with your loser of a husband!'Q5 - Is Harry smart to instigate this?Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who? You SHOULD Be Worrying About U-NO-POO – the Constipation Sensation That's Gripping the Nation!‘“Patented Daydream Charms …”' Hermione had managed to squeeze through to a large display near the counter and was reading the information on the back of a box bearing a highly coloured picture of a handsome youth and a swooning girl who were standing on the deck of a pirate ship. ‘“One simple incantation and you will enter a top-quality, highly realistic thirty-minute daydream, easy to fit into the average school lesson and virtually undetectable (side-effects include vacant expression and minor drooling). Not for sale to under-sixteens.” You know,' said Hermione, looking up at Harry, ‘that really is extraordinary magic!' ‘For that, Hermione,' said a voice behind them, ‘you can have one for free.'Q6 - How brilliant is the joke shop?Q7 - What is their best invention: Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, Decoy Detonators, or Shield Hats?They had drawn level with the only shop in Knockturn Alley that Harry had ever visited: Borgin and Burkes, which sold a wide variety of sinister objects. There in the midst of the cases full of skulls and old bottles stood Draco Malfoy with his back to them, just visible beyond the very same large black cabinet in which Harry had once hidden to avoid Malfoy and his father. Judging by the movements of Malfoy's hands he was talking animatedly. The proprietor of the shop, Mr Borgin, an oily-haired, stooping man, stood facing Malfoy. He was wearing a curious expression of mingled resentment and fear…‘… you know how to fix it?' ‘Possibly,' said Borgin, in a tone that suggested he was unwilling to commit himself. ‘I'll need to see it, though. Why don't you bring it into the shop?' ‘I can't,' said Malfoy. ‘It's got to stay put. I just need you to tell me how to do it.'Q8 - What is Draco trying to mend?‘No?' said Malfoy and Harry knew, just by his tone, that Malfoy was sneering. ‘Perhaps this will make you more confident.' He moved towards Borgin and was blocked from view by the cabinet. Harry, Ron and Hermione shuffled sideways to try and keep him in sight, but all they could see was Borgin, looking very frightened.Q9 - What did Draco show him?Chapter 7 - The Slug Club‘Malfoy, revenge? What can he do about it?' ‘That's my point, I don't know!' said Harry, frustrated. ‘But he's up to something and I think we should take it seriously. His father's a Death Eater and –' Harry broke off, his eyes fixed on the window behind Hermione, his mouth open. A startling thought had just occurred to him. ‘Harry?' said Hermione in an anxious voice. ‘What's wrong?' ‘Your scar's not hurting again, is it?' asked Ron nervously. ‘He's a Death Eater,' said Harry slowly. ‘He's replaced his father as a Death Eater!'Q1 - You think Harry is right about Draco being a Death Eater?‘Au revoir, 'Arry,' said Fleur throatily, kissing him goodbye. Ron hurried forwards, looking hopeful, but Ginny stuck out her foot and Ron fell, sprawling in the dust at Fleur's feet. Furious, red-faced and dirt-spattered, he hurried into the car without saying goodbye.Q2 - Is Ginny becoming a mean girl?‘They're staring at you because you were at the Ministry, too,' said Harry, as he hoisted his trunk into the luggage rack. ‘Our little adventure there was all over the Daily Prophet, you must've seen it.' ‘Yes, I thought Gran would be angry about all the publicity,' said Neville, ‘but she was really pleased. Says I'm starting to live up to my dad at long last. She bought me a new wand, look!' He pulled it out and showed it to Harry. ‘Cherry and unicorn hair,' he said proudly. ‘We think it was one of the last Ollivander ever sold, he vanished next day – oi, come back here, Trevor!'Q3 - Is Neville going to be better or worse now that he has a new wand?Q4 - Why did Draco forgo his role as Prefect?Every now and then students would hurtle out of their compartments to get a better look at him. The exception was Cho Chang, who darted into her compartment when she saw Harry coming. As Harry passed the window he saw her deep in determined conversation with her friend Marietta, who was wearing a very thick layer of makeup that did not entirely obscure the odd formation of pimples still etched across her face. Smirking slightly, Harry pushed on.Q5 - Does Marietta deserve this?Q6 - What do you think about Slughorn's little club?Q7 - Is Draco dating Pansy Parkinson?Malfoy yawned ostentatiously. ‘I mean, I might not even be at Hogwarts next year, what's it matter to me if some fat old has-been likes me or not?' ‘What do you mean, you might not be at Hogwarts next year?' said Pansy indignantly, ceasing grooming Malfoy at once. ‘Well, you never know,' said Malfoy with the ghost of a smirk. ‘I might have – er – moved on to bigger and better things.'Q8 - What do you think he means by this?‘I thought so,' he said jubilantly. ‘I heard Goyle's trunk hit you. And I thought I saw something white flash through the air after Zabini came back …' His eyes lingered for a moment upon Harry's trainers. ‘That was you blocking the door when Zabini came back in, I suppose?' He considered Harry for a moment. ‘You didn't hear anything I care about, Potter. But while I've got you here …' And he stamped, hard, on Harry's face. Harry felt his nose break; blood spurted everywhere.Q9 - What do you think of Draco besting Harry?Chapter 8 - Snape VictoriousQ1 - How do you think Tonks found Harry?‘Hagrid was late for the start-of-term feast, just like Potter here, so I took it instead. And incidentally,' said Snape, standing back to allow Harry to pass him, ‘I was interested to see your new Patronus.' He shut the gates in her face with a loud clang and tapped the chains with his wand again, so that they slithered, clinking, back into place. ‘I think you were better off with the old one,' said Snape, the malice in his voice unmistakeable. ‘The new one looks weak.'Q2 - What do you think of Patronus' changing form? How would it change form?Q3 - Why do you think Snape is mean to her?‘Fifty points from Gryffindor for lateness, I think,' said Snape. ‘And, let me see, another twenty for your Muggle attire. You know, I don't believe any house has ever been in negative figures this early in the term – we haven't even started pudding. You might have set a record, Potter.'Q4 - The points are stupid.‘Professor Snape, meanwhile,' said Dumbledore, raising his voice so that it carried over all the muttering, ‘will be taking over the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.' ‘No!' said Harry, so loudly that many heads turned in his direction. He did not care; he was staring up at the staff table, incensed. How could Snape be given the Defence Against the Dark Arts job after all this time? Hadn't it been widely known for years that Dumbledore did not trust him to do it?Q5 - What do you think of Snape getting the Defense against the Dark Arts job? And knowing the curse on the position, do you think he'll be there after a year?

LOL LIT - Ladies of Literacy
Season 3 Episode 29 Professor Snape

LOL LIT - Ladies of Literacy

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2023 11:00


#LITHAPPENSLOL Professor Snape What are your thoughts of Snape in The Prisoner of Azkaban? Tune in as we discuss a character that we will ALWAYS talk about!!!! If you never understood the fandom of Harry Potter or just can't understand what all the fuss is about, this podcast series is for you!!! Side note, if you LOVE Harry Potter, this podcast series is for you as well. We look forward to hearing your perspectives, questions and even comments! We are a book club first and yes!!! We read other books! Stay connected to see what books we will read later on in our third season! We can't wait to share! Leave your thoughts or a comment by sending us an email at lithappenslol@ladiesofliteracylit.com Leave your favorite moment or thoughts of Professor Snape from The Prisoner of Azkaban on one of our social media posts!!! Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @lithappenslol Please take the time to like and subscribe to us everywhere! Turn on your notifications or just subscribe to our podcast!! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lithappenslol/message

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Ch 37-38

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2023 146:14


Chapter 37 - The Lost ProphecyIt was unbearable, he would not think about it, he could not stand it… there was a terrible hollow inside him he did not want to feel or examine, a dark hole where Sirius had been, where Sirius had vanished; he did not want to have to be alone with that great, silent space, he could not stand it ‐ `Let me out,ʹ Harry said yet again, in a voice that was cold and almost as calm as Dumbledoreʹs. `Not until I have had my say,ʹ said Dumbledore. `Do you ‐ do you think I want to ‐ do you think I give a ‐ I DONʹT CARE WHAT YOUʹVE GOT TO SAY!ʹ Harry roared. `I donʹt want to hear anything youʹve got to say!ʹ  `You will,ʹ said Dumbledore steadily. `Because you are not nearly as angry with me as you ought to be. If you are to attack me, as I know you are close to doing, I would like to have thoroughly earned it.ʹ Q1 - Is Dumbledore to blame for everything that happened?Q2 - What are your thoughts on Harry's response?Harry, I believe I was right to think that Voldemort would have made use of you in such a way. On those rare occasions when we had close contact, I thought I saw a shadow of him stir behind your eyes …`Kreacher lied,ʹ said Dumbledore calmly. `You are not his master, he could lie to you without even needing to punish himself. Kreacher intended you to go to the Ministry of Magic.ʹ  `He ‐ he sent me on purpose?T ʹOh yes. Kreacher, I am afraid, has been serving more than one master for months.ʹ  `How?ʹ said Harry blankly. `He hasnʹt been out of Grimmauld Place for years.ʹ  `Kreacher seized his opportunity shortly before Christmas,ʹ said Dumbledore, `when Sirius, apparently, shouted at him to ʺget outʺ. He took Sirius at his word, and interpreted this as an order to leave the house. He went to the only Black family member for whom he had any respect left … Blackʹs cousin Narcissa, sister of Bellatrix and wife of Lucius Malfoyʹ Q3 - Thoughts about your confirmed suspicions of Kreacher?`Kreacher is what he has been made by wizards, Harryʹ said Dumbledore. `Yes, he is to be pitied. His existence has been as miserable as your friend Dobbyʹs. He was forced to do Siriusʹs bidding, because Sirius was the last of the family to which he was enslaved, but he felt no true loyalty to him. And whatever Kreacherʹs faults, it must be admitted that Sirius did nothing to make Kreacherʹs lot easier —Q4 - Do you hate or pity Kreacher?`Snape made it worse, my scar always hurt worse after lessons with him - Harry remembered Ronʹs thoughts on the subject and plunged on `‐ how do you know he wasnʹt trying to soften me up for Voldemort, make it easier for him to get inside my - `I trust Severus Snape,ʹ said Dumbledore simply `But I forgot ‐  another old manʹs mistake ‐ that some wounds run too deep for the healing. I thought Professor Snape could overcome his feelings about your father ‐ I was wrong.ʹ Q5 - Do you trust Snape?ʹIt is time,ʹ he said, `for me to tell you what I should have told you five years ago, Harry. Please sit down. I am going to tell you everything. I ask only a little patience. You will have your chance to rage at me ‐ to do whatever you like ‐ when I have finished. I will not stop you.ʹ Q6 - Did you get excited after reading this line?`While you can still call home the place where your motherʹs blood dwells, there you cannot be touched or harmed by Voldemort. He shed her blood, but it lives on in you and her sister. Her blood became your refuge. You need return there only once a year, but as long as you can still call it home, whilst you are there he cannot hurt you. Your aunt knows this. I explained what I had done in the letter I left, with you, on her doorstep. She knows that allowing you houseroom may well have kept you alive for the past fifteen years.ʹ Q7 - Thoughts on Remember my Last?`The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies … and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives … the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies …ʹ Q8 - What does this all mean?`The odd thing, Harry,ʹ he said softly, `is that it may not have meant you at all. Sybillʹs prophecy could have applied to two wizard boys, both born at the end of July that year, both of whom had parents in the Order of the Phoenix, both sets of parents having narrowly escaped Voldemort three times. One, of course, was you. The other was Neville Longbottom.ʹ `There is a room in the Department of Mysteries,ʹ interrupted Dumbledore, `that is kept locked at all times. It contains a force that is at once more wonderful and more terrible than death, than human intelligence, than the forces of nature. It is also, perhaps, the most mysterious of the many subjects for study that reside there. It is the power held within that room that you possess in such quantities and which Voldemort has not at all. That power took you to save Sirius tonight. That power also saved you from possession by Voldemort, because he could not bear to reside in a body so full of the force he detests. In the end, it mattered not that you could not close your mind. It was your heart that saved you.ʹ Q9 - Is Love the only power Harry has over Voldemort?Chapter 38 - The Second War BeginsThey were in the hospital wing. Harry was sitting on the end of Ronʹs bed and they were both listening to Hermione read the front page of the Sunday Prophet. Ginny, whose ankle had been mended in a trice by Madam Pomfrey, was curled up at the foot of Hermioneʹs bed; Neville, whose nose had likewise been returned to its normal size and shape, was in a chair between the two beds; and Luna, who had dropped in to visit, clutching the latest edition of The Quibbler, was reading the magazine upside‐down and apparently not taking in a word Hermione was saying.Q1 - How do you guys deal with grief?Malfoy looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him; he felt a kind of detached satisfaction at the sight of his pale, pointed face contorted with rage. ʹYouʹre going to pay,ʹ said Malloy in a voice barely louder than a whisper. `Iʹm going to make you pay for what youʹve done to my father…ʹ  `Well, Iʹm terrified now,ʹ said Harry sarcastically. `Iʹsʹpose Lord Voldemortʹs just a warm‐up act compared to you three ‐ whatʹs the matter?ʹ he added, for Malfoy Crabbe and Goyle had all looked stricken at the sound of the name. `Heʹs a mate of your dad, isnʹt he? Not scared of him, are you? ʹYou think youʹre such a big man, Potter,ʹ said Malfoy, advancing now, Crabbe and Goyle flanking him. `You wait. Iʹll have you. You canʹt land my father in prison - `I thought i just had,ʹ said Harry.Perhaps the reason he wanted to be alone was because he had felt isolated from everybody since his talk with Dumbledore. An invisible barrier separated him from the rest of the world. He was ‐ he had always been ‐ a marked man. It was just that he had never really understood what that meant…Q2 - What do you think of Harry's grief?Q3 - How do you think knowing that he is a marked man will effect Harry?Professor Umbridge left Hogwarts the day before the end of term. It seemed she had crept out of the hospital wing during dinnertime, evidently hoping to depart undetected, but unfortunately for her, she met Peeves on the way, who seized his last chance to do as Fred had instructed, and chased her gleefully from the premises whacking her alternately with a walking stick and a sock full of chalk. Many students ran out into the Entrance Hall to watch her running away down the path and the Heads of Houses tried only half‐heartedly to restrain them. Indeed, Professor McGonagall sank back into her chair at the staff table after a few feeble remonstrances and was clearly heard to express a regret that she could not run cheering after Umbridge herself, because Peeves had borrowed her walking stick.Harryʹs heart began to race. He remembered seeing his dead parents in the Mirror of Erised four years ago. He was going to be able to talk to Sirius again, right now, he knew it ‐  He looked around to make sure there was nobody else there; the dormitory was quite empty. He looked back at the mirror, raised it in front of his face with trembling hands and said, loudly and clearly, ʹSirius.ʹ  His breath misted the surface of the glass. He held the mirror even closer, excitement flooding through him, but the eyes blinking back at him through the fog were definitely his own. He wiped the mirror clear again and said, so that every syllable rang clearly through the room: ʹSirius Black!ʹ  Nothing happened.Q4 - How devastating is this part?Nick turned away from the window and looked mournfully at Harry. `He wonʹt come back.ʹ  `Who?ʹ  `Sirius Black,ʹ said Nick. And so strong was his belief, Harry actually turned his head to check the door, sure, for a split second, that he was going to see Sirius, pearly‐white and transparent but beaming, walking through it towards him. `He will not come back,ʹ repeated Nick. `He will have… gone on.ʹ Q5 - Do you understand how ghosts work now?Harry nodded curtly, but found that for some reason he did not mind Luna talking about Sirius. He had just remembered that she, too, could see Thestrals. `Have you…ʹ he began. `I mean, who… has anyone you known ever died?ʹ  `Yes,ʹ said Luna simply, `my mother. She was a quite extraordinary witch, you know, but she did like to experiment and one of her spells went rather badly wrong one day. I was nine.ʹ  `Iʹm sorryʹ Harry mumbled. ʹYes, it was rather horrible,ʹ said Luna conversationally. `I still feel very sad about it sometimes. But Iʹve still got Dad. And anyway, itʹs not as though Iʹll never see Mum again, is it?ʹ  `Er ‐ isnʹt it?ʹ said Harry uncertainly. She shook her head in disbelief. `Oh, come on. You heard them, just behind the veil, didnʹt you?ʹ  `You mean…ʹ  `In that room with the archway. They were just lurking out of sight, thatʹs all. You heard them.ʹ Harry was surprised to find that this information did not hurt at all. Wanting to impress Cho seemed to belong to a past that was no longer quite connected with him; so much of what he had wanted before Sinusʹ,ʹ death felt that «°av these days… the week that had elapsed since he had last seen Sirius seemed to have lasted much, much longer; it stretched across two universes, the one with Sirius in it, and the one without.Q6 - Would Harry and Cho be a good couple now? Do you think they'll get back together?When the ticket inspector signaled to Harry, Ron and Hermione that it was safe to walk through the magical barrier between platforms nine and ten, however, he found a surprise awaiting him on the other side: a group of people standing there to greet him who he had not expected at all…Harry nodded. He somehow could not find words to tell them what it meant to him, to see them all ranged there, on his side. Instead, he smiled, raised a hand in farewell, turned around and led the way out of the station towards the sunlit street, with Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley hurrying along in his wake.Q7 - How will Harry go from this point on?

On My Box
On My Box #89 - The Harry Potter Mega-Episode

On My Box

Play Episode Play 40 sec Highlight Listen Later Mar 28, 2023 128:35


To celebrate the 100th published episode of On My Box, We (Brandon, Jordann and myself) are joined by guests, Nurse Ashley, Josh "The Darkstar" Greenwalt, Zachary Greene and introducing TikTok Mega-star Cindy Murphy, to talk about the 8 Harry Potter Movies.Some highlights that we addressed while talking about the 8 Harry Potter Movies:We each introduce ourselves with our Pottermore House, Wand and Patronus.We talk about how Gryffindore students receive special treatment.Cindy "mansplains" Quidditch to The Dark Star.Jordann expresses why she hates Professor Snape.Follow the link to hear the On My Box + Bonus Episode: The Harry Potter Bonus Episode (https://onmybox.buzzsprout.com/348632/12503059) where I talk about some of the differences between the books and movies.Follow Cindy Murphy on TikTok at cindymurphy723. Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showSubscribe to On My Box + to listen to exclusive BONUS Episodes (https://www.buzzsprout.com/348632/subscribe)Follow the podcast on Instagram @ onmybox_podcast (https://www.instagram.com/onmybox_podcast/)Follow the podcast on Facebook @OnMyBoxPodcast (http://www.facebook.com/OnMyBoxPodcast) Follow Joe Greene on Twitter @JWGreene4 (https://twitter.com/JWGreene4)Music provided by Infraction No Copyright MusicSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3FqoNJ6

Left of Greg Podcast
#196: Clark Dever (Part 1)

Left of Greg Podcast

Play Episode Play 58 sec Highlight Listen Later Feb 14, 2023 80:11


On today's episode we are joined by our good friend and Arcadia Cognerati advisory board member, Clark Dever. Clark is an entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in emerging technology and he is an expert at building products, teams, and successful businesses. We brought Clark on the show today because he wanted to explore human behavior and human performance from a business angle using his past experiences.  We get into a number of different topics during the discussion including hiring, recruiting, interviews, building a diverse team and we even discuss what we can learn about social engineering from the Harry Potter character Professor Snape. Please don't forget to follow us on social media, you can find the links in the episode details and if you enjoyed the podcast, please tell your friends about it. Thanks for tuning in and we hope you enjoy the show!Contact Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarkdever/Support the showFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/LeftOfGregInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_left_of_greg_podcast/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LeftOfGreg More about Greg and Brian: https://arcadiacognerati.com/arcadia-cognerati-leadership-team/

Better Regulate Than Never
E 120 What is the difference between Nice and Kind?

Better Regulate Than Never

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 27, 2022 19:28


Would you describe Professor Snape as Nice? How about Kind? Do you know the difference between these two words that seem the same? In today's episode, I want to share with you what I found out about these two words and give you some real-world examples of how they are different. Find my podcastEmail me: ccoufal@betterregulatethannever.comText me: 785-380-2064More information Help me with my research. I would love to hear from you. Can I interview you?

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Ch 28-30

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2022 134:08


Chapter 28 - The Madness of Mr Crouch"Master is - hic - trusting Winky with - hic - the most important - hic - the most secret..."Q1 - What is this secret?Q2 - What do you think of Nifflers?"Oh..." he said, the memory coming back to him at last. "I dunno...I never noticed it had gone. I was more worried about my wand, wasn't I?" They climbed the steps into the entrance hall and went into the Great Hall for lunch. "Must be nice," Ron said abruptly, when they had sat down and started serving themselves roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. "To have so much money you don't notice if a pocketful of Galleons goes missing."Hermione hung back in their next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson to ask Professor Moody something. The rest of the class was very eager to leave; Moody had given them such a rigorous test of hex-deflection that many of them were nursing small injuries.Q3 - Is this Moody or Crouch?Q4 - If Rita isn't using an invisibility cloak and she can't use bugging equipment, how is she learning all this stuff?Suddenly a man staggered out from behind a tall oak. For a moment, Harry didn't recognize him...then he realized it was Mr. Crouch.Q5 - What is Crouch doing out there and in that state?Q6 - How does this line up with your theory, Jenn?Crouch's eyes were rolling in his head. Harry looked around at Krum, who had followed him into the trees, and was looking down at Crouch in alarm. "Vot is wrong with him?" "No idea," Harry muttered. "Listen, you'd better go and get someone -" "Dumbledore!" gasped Mr. Crouch. He reached out and seized a handful of Harry's robes, dragging him closer, though his eyes were staring over Harry's head. "I need...see...Dumbledore...." "Okay," said Harry, "if you get up, Mr. Crouch, we can go up to the-" "I've done...stupid...thing..." Mr. Crouch breathed. He looked utterly mad. His eyes were rolling and bulging, and a trickle of spittle was sliding down his chin. Every word he spoke seemed to cost him a terrible effort. "Must...tell...Dumbledore..." "Get up, Mr. Crouch," said Harry loudly and clearly. "Get up, I'll take you to Dumbledore!" Mr., Crouch's eyes rolled forward onto Harry. "Who...you?" he whispered. "I'm a student at the school," said Harry, looking around at Krum for some help, but Krum was hanging back, looking extremely nervous. "You're not...his?" whispered Crouch, his mouth sagging. "No," said Harry, without the faintest idea what Crouch was talking about. "Dumbledore's?" "That's right," said Harry. Crouch was pulling him closer; Harry tried to loosen Crouch's grip on his robes, but it was too powerful. "Warn...Dumbledore..." "I'll get Dumbledore if you let go of me," said Harry. "Just let go, Mr. Crouch, and I'll get him...." "Thank you, Weatherby, and when you have done that, I would like a cup of tea. My wife and son will be arriving shortly, we are attending a concert tonight with Mr. and Mrs. Fudge." Crouch was now talking fluently to a tree again, and seemed completely unaware that Harry was there, which surprised Harry so much he didn't notice that Crouch had released him. "Yes, my son has recently gained twelve O.W.L.s, most satisfactory, yes, thank you, yes, very proud indeed. Now, if you could bring me that memo from the Andorran Minister of Magic, I think I will have time to draft a response...."Q7 - What is this conversation about?He raised his wand into the air and pointed it in the direction of Hagrid's cabin. Harry saw something silvery dart out of it and streak away through the trees like a ghostly bird. Q8 - What kind of magic is this?Chapter 29 - The Dream“You can't disapparate in the Hogwarts grounds, haven't I told you enough times?” said Hermione.Q1 - Who attacked Krum?"Maybe he didn't want you to get there!" said Ron quickly. "Maybe - hang on - how fast d'you reckon he could've gotten down to the forest? D'you reckon he could've beaten you and Dumbledore there?" "Not unless he can turn himself into a bat or something," said Harry.Q2 - Is Snape a vampire?Q3 - What do you think Snape would turn into if he were an animagus, and what do you think his Patronus would be? Or any characters for that matter…Somebody was climbing the steps up to the Owlery. Harry could hear two voices arguing, coming closer and closer. "- that's blackmail, that is, we could get into a lot of trouble for that-" "- we've tried being polite; it's time to play dirty, like him. He wouldn't like the Ministry of Magic knowing what he did -" "I'm telling you, if you put that in writing, it's blackmail!” "Yeah, and you won't be complaining if we get a nice fat payoff, will you?" The Owlery door banged open. Fred and George came over the threshold, then froze at the sight of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.Q4 - What are Fred and George doing?Q5 - Is Harry's dream real?Q6 - Who was killed in Harry's dream?"Or else - well..." Fudge sounded embarrassed. "Well, I'll reserve judgment until after I've seen the place where he was found, but you say it was just past the Beauxbatons carriage? Dumbledore, you know what that woman is?" "I consider her to be a very able headmistress - and an excellent dancer," said Dumbledore quietly.Chapter 30 - The PensieveA shallow stone basin lay there, with odd carvings around the edge: runes and symbols that Harry did not recognize. The silvery light was coming from the basin's contents, which were like nothing Harry had ever seen before. He could not tell whether the substance was liquid or gas. It was a bright, whitish silver, and it was moving ceaselessly; the surface of it became ruffled like water beneath wind, and then, like clouds, separated and swirled smoothly. It looked like light made liquid - or like wind made solid - Harry couldn't make up his mind.Q1 - Before Dumbeldore explained this, what did you think this basin was?"Crouch is going to let him out," Moody breathed quietly to Dumbledore. "He's done a deal with him. Took me six months to track him down, and Crouch is going to let him go if he's got enough new names. Let's hear his information, I say, and throw him straight back to the dementors." Dumbledore made a small noise of dissent through his long, crooked nose. "Ah, I was forgetting...you don't like the dementors, do you, Albus?" said Moody with a sardonic smile. "No," said Dumbledore calmly, "I'm afraid I don't. I have long felt the Ministry is wrong to ally itself with such creatures."Q2 - Is Dumbledore right to not want to ally themselves with dementors?"Not yet!" cried Karkaroff, looking quite desperate. "Wait, I have more!" Harry could see him sweating in the torchlight, his white skin contrasting strongly with the black of his hair and beard. "Snape!" he shouted. "Severus Snape!" "Snape has been cleared by this council," said Crouch disdainfully. "He has been vouched for by Albus Dumbledore." "No!" shouted Karkaroff, straining at the chains that bound him to the chair. "I assure you! Severus Snape is a Death Eater!" Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. "I have given evidence already on this matter," he said calmly. "Severus Snape was indeed a Death Eater. However, he rejoined our side before Lord Voldemort's downfall and turned spy for us, at great personal risk. He is now no more a Death Eater than I am."Q3 - Do you think Snape is still a Death Eater?Q4 - What kind of person do you think Karkaroff is?Q5 - Do you think Bagman is more seriously a Death Eater than portrayed in this memory?The dementors placed each of the four people in the four chairs with chained arms that now stood on the dungeon floor. There was a thickset man who stared blankly up at Crouch; a thinner and more nervous-looking man, whose eyes were darting around the crowd; a woman with thick, shining dark hair and heavily hooded eyes, who was sitting in the chained chair as though it were a throne; and a boy in his late teens, who looked nothing short of petrified. He was shivering, his straw-colored hair all over his face, his freckled skin milk-white. The wispy little witch beside Crouch began to rock backward and forward in her seat, whimpering into her handkerchief."We have heard the evidence against you. The four of you stand accused of capturing an Auror - Frank Longbottom - and subjecting him to the Cruciatus Curse, believing him to have knowledge of the present whereabouts of your exiled master, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named -" "Father, I didn't!" shrieked the boy in chains below. "I didn't, I swear it. Father, don't send me back to the dementors -" "You are further accused," bellowed Mr. Crouch, "of using the Cruciatus Curse on Frank Longbottom's wife, when he would not give you information. You planned to restore He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to power, and to resume the lives of violence you presumably led while he was strong. I now ask the jury -"Q6 - What do you think of Crouch and his son?Q7 - Are any of the other people recognizable to you?Q8 - What do you think about the person they were cursing?The dementors were gliding back into the room. The boys' three companions rose quietly from their seats; the woman with the heavy-lidded eyes looked up at Crouch and called, "The Dark Lord will rise again, Crouch! Throw us into Azkaban; we will wait! He will rise again and will come for us, he will reward us beyond any of his other supporters! We alone were faithful! We alone tried to find him!" ​​But the boy was trying to fight off the dementors, even though Harry could see their cold, draining power starting to affect him. The crowd was jeering, some of them on their feet, as the woman swept out of the dungeon, and the boy continued to struggle. "I'm your son!" he screamed up at Crouch. "I'm your son!" "You are no son of mine!" bellowed Mr. Crouch, his eyes bulging suddenly. "I have no son!""What is it?" Harry asked shakily. "This? It is called a Pensieve," said Dumbledore. "I sometimes find, and I am sure you know the feeling, that I simply have too many thoughts and memories crammed into my mind." "Er," said Harry, who couldn't truthfully say that he had ever felt anything of the sort. "At these times," said Dumbledore, indicating the stone basin, "I use the Pensieve. One simply siphons the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours them into the basin, and examines them at one's leisure. It becomes easier to spot patterns and links, you understand, when they are in this form."Q9 - Do you like the idea of the Pensieve?"Yes," said Harry. "Professor - I was in Divination just now, and - er - I fell asleep." He hesitated here, wondering if a reprimand was coming, but Dumbledore merely said, "Quite understandable. Continue.""D'you - d'you know why my scar's hurting me?" Dumbledore looked very intently at Harry for a moment, and then said, "I have a theory, no more than that....It is my belief that your scar hurts both when Lord Voldemort is near you, and when he is feeling a particularly strong surge of hatred." "But...why?" "Because you and he are connected by the curse that failed," said Dumbledore. "That is no ordinary scar."Q10 - Do you understand why his scar hurts?"You know - you know the trial you found me in? The one with Crouch's son? Well....were they talking about Neville's parents?" Dumbledore gave Harry a very sharp look. " Has Neville never told you why he has been brought up by his grandmother?" he said. Harry shook his head, wondering, as he did so, how he could have failed to ask Neville this, in almost four years of knowing him. "Yes, they were talking about Neville's parents," said Dumbledore. "His father, Frank, was an Auror just like Professor Moody. He and his wife were tortured for information about Voldemort's whereabouts after he lost his powers, as you heard." "So they're dead?" said Harry quietly. "No," said Dumbledore, his voice full of a bitterness Harry had never heard there before. "They are insane. They are both in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I believe Neville visits them, with his grandmother, during the holidays. They do not recognize him." Harry sat there, horror-struck. He had never known...never, in four years, bothered to find out…Q11 - What are your thoughts on this?Harry looked into Dumbledore's light blue eyes, and the thing he really wanted to know spilled out of his mouth before he could stop it. "What made you think he'd really stopped supporting Voldemort, Professor?" Dumbledore held Harry's gaze for a few seconds, and then said, "That, Harry, is a matter between Professor Snape and myself."Q12 - What do you think this is, and is Dumbeldore right?

Sacred Tension
Snapewives | Dr. Zoe Alderton

Sacred Tension

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 4, 2022 58:36


In this episode of Sacred Tension, I am joined by Dr. Zoe Alderton to explore the Snapewives: a short-lived new religious movement that declared Professor Snape from the Harry Potter books their master and husband. Zoe Alderton is a trans-disciplinary researcher specialising in academic communications and the promotion of scholarly excellence. She has a passion for helping students achieve transforming learning experiences as they strive to be scholars both in the world and during their time at university or college. She is dedicated to helping everyone get the most out of their commitment to education. Zoe has been involved with the education sector since her childhood, watching her mother develop dynamic classroom environments. This exposure gave Zoe a grounding in the student experience, which she has now transplanted to her broad teaching experiences in the tertiary sector. After being the youngest person in her department to be awarded first class honours and a PhD, Zoe has worked in a number of academic and publishing positions across an impressive range of disciplines. She has been employed by a range of universities and has helped them in their development of exciting curricula and innovative course design. These include the University of Sydney, Western Sydney University, Australian Catholic University, and the University of New England. Zoe has taught in the fields of Studies in Religion, Sociology, Theology, Writing Studies, and Economics. In each of these discipline areas she has shown students how to carefully examine their own processes of learning. She then develops each student's capacity for scholarly reflection by teaching them key strategies and skills for significant results in assessment tasks and research production. Additionally, her work in innovative teaching design in the School of Economics at the University of Sydney has demonstrated to her and her students that the highest standards of understanding are linked inextricably with the highest standards in academic communication. Become a patron so I can continue my crippling content creation addiction: https://www.patreon.com/StephenBradfordLong Join my Discord server: https://discord.gg/PrDU4zx My work is sponsored by The Satanic Temple TV: a streaming platform featuring documentaries, live streams, conversations, rituals, and more. Use my code SACREDTENSION at checkout to get one month free. https://thesatanictemple.tv/  

Hans Shot First
Invaders From Mars - We Marines have no qualms about killing Martians!

Hans Shot First

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2022 71:46


#441 - This week we review the 1986 version of Invaders from Mars. Not too scary for an adult, but this movie scared us when we were kids. The teacher ate a frog! We then crossover to the worst teachers in movies. Mr. Hand, Professor Snape, etc.. HSF Rating Alex-5, Scott-3, Jeff-4 Please follow and contact us at the following locations: Patreon: http://patreon.com/hansshotfirst Facebook: Hans Shot First Twitter: http://twitter.com/hansshot1st Email: hansshotfirst@outlook.com iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hans-shot-first/id778071182 Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/I5q2th5tzsucvpzgmy3kmzgtd44?t=Hans_Shot_First iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-hans-shot-first-30934202/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ityvhlXhdtoXFJFOO1cvA

Flappity Flap
094 - Hurt Feelings: The Alan Rickman Diaries

Flappity Flap

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2022 24:30


Brandon and Sarah speculate whether the late, great Alan Rickman (aka Professor Snape aka Hans Gruber) would have really wanted his diaries published, and how it affects those left behind. Is it just a money grab? Will we ever know for sure?

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Ch 6-10

Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2022 101:38


Chapter 6 - The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-QuartersQ1 - Is Hagrid an idiot for not showing Harry how to get on the platform?He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, “Gran, I've lost my toad again.”“Blimey,” said the other twin. “Aren't you —?” “He is,” said the first twin. “Aren't you?” he added to Harry.” “What?” said Harry. “Harry Potter,” chorused the twins. “Oh, him,” said Harry. “I mean, yes, I am.”They leant out of the window for her to kiss them goodbye and their younger sister began to cry. “Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls.” “We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat.” “George.” “Only joking, mum.”Q2 - What is your first impression of the Weasley family?Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to — but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.“Are all your family wizards?” asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him. “Er — yes, I think so,” said Ron. “I think mums got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him.”Q3 - What is your first impression of Ron?Q4 - What sweet sounds the best?Bertie Botts Every Flavor BeanDrooble's Best Chewing GumChocolate FrogsPumpkin PastiesCauldron CakesLicorice Wands“Go on, have a pasty,” said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties and cakes (the sandwiches lay forgotten).Q5 - Is 500 chocolate frog cards an alarming amount of chocolate frogs to eat?When they shook their heads, he wailed, “I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!” “He'll turn up,” said Harry.Q6 - First impressions of Hermione Granger?“You'll soon find out some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.” He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it. “I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks,” he said coolly.Q7 - What do you think of Scabbers the rat's bravery in biting Goyle's knuckle?Chapter 7 - The Sorting Hat“Welcome to Hogwarts,” said professor McGonagall“There's nothing hidden in your head the sorting hat can't see.”Q1 - If you had to create a way for students to be sorted into their houses without using the sorting hat, what would you do?Q2 - So what house are you?Q3 - Why do you think it took so long to sort Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom?“You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — no? Well, if you're sure — better be Gryffindor!”Q4 - Why do you think Harry nearly got sorted into Slytherin?“Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!”“Is he — a bit mad?” he asked Percy uncertainly. “Mad?” said Percy airily. “He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit, yes. Potatoes, Harry?”Q5 - Do you know what mint humbugs are?Q6 - Where do you think these ghosts come from?It happened suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes — and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead.Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his want, and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest. “Ah, music,” he said, wiping his eyes. “A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot.”Q7 - Do you know what a poltergeist is?Chapter 8 - The Potions MasterQ1 - If you had a scar, where would you want it and what would you want it of?Q2 - Do you think Harry is going to get married? If so, do you think he'd marry any of the people who were introduced in the book so far?At the start-of-term Banquet, Harry had got the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry — he hated him.Q3 - Do you think there's any reason why Snape would hate Harry or is just one of those let-me-pick-a-student-to-be-mean-to-on-the-first-day kind of thing?Q4 - Is Fang a boar or a dog?Q5 - First impression of McGonagall and Snape?Chapter 9 - The Midnight DuelHarry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy.Q1 - Would you like to have a remembrall?Q2 - So far in the Hogwarts experience, what event/class would you be most excited for and why?WHAM! — a thus and a nasty crack and Neville lay, face down, on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher and started to drift lazily toward the Forbidden Forest and out of sight.Q3 - Was it Neville's issue for falling off his broom or was it his broomstick?Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leant forward and pointed his broom handle down — next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball — wind whistled in his ears, mingles with the screams of people watching — he stretched out his hand — a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently on to the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his hand.Q4 - What did you initially think was going to happen to Harry after McGonagall caught him flying?“Wood?” Thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?Q5 - Is it a bit too early to make Harry Seeker after one nice catch of a Remembrall?Q6 - How do you think Goyle feels for now being picked as Malfoy's second?“And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?” “Throw it away and punch him on the nose,” Ron suggested.Q7 - Thoughts on the Fat Lady taking a stroll and not manning her post at the door?“What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?” Ron said finally.Q8 - Is Hogwarts really safe…like really?Chapter 10 - Hallowe'enQ1 - Is it shady that McG has bought a Nimbus Two Thousand — the current best broomstick in the world — for Harry?“Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor,” said Malfoy quickly. “Yes, yes, that's right,” said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. “Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what Model is it?” “A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir,” said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. “And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it,” he added.Q2 - Is the Snitch worth too many points?Ron looked still more awkward at this [news Hermione was crying and wanted to be left alone], but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Hallowe'en decorations put Hermione out of their minds.Q3 - Theories on how on earth someone could smuggle a troll into the castle?Q4 - Why didn't Hermione tell the truth?Q5 - Is five points a little too skimpy for two first years taking on a mountain troll and winning?Q6 - The point system at Hogwarts seems absolutely arbitrary, do you think there is a rule book for the point system?But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.SummaryQ1 - What is your favorite moment in these five chapters?Q2 - Who is your favorite character so far?Q3 - Which character do you think won the house cup? (we'll call it the house cup because you guys know what it is and it'll be like the MVP award for each podcast.)Q4 - Discussion on Hogwarts houses. What houses are all of us in?Q5 - What do you think the major theme of these chapters is?

Bright Side
Harry Potter Characters: In the Books Vs. In the Movies

Bright Side

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2022 15:32


What if the characters of "Harry Potter" looked like they did in the Books? J.K. Rowling brought us the world of Harry Potter and endowed it with an impressive number of secrets. However, some characters don't match their descriptions from the books. Did you know that when the first book was written, Professor Snape was just over thirty? Watch this video for more surprising details! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Harry Potter Theory
How the Marauders Map Was Created (+What Happened to It AFTER the War) - Harry Potter Explained

Harry Potter Theory

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2022 9:43 Transcription Available


Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today we're discussing the CREATION of the Marauder's Map. The Marauders' Map was one of the most important tools that Harry Potter used to fight against Voldemort's forces. It helped him discover Peter Pettigrew's true identity, Barty Crouch Jr. 's lies, and kept him one step ahead of Professor Snape. But have you ever wondered how the map was created?  And how it was directly related to Potter's father, James? Today, we're going to answer those questions, and more, as we look at the history of the Marauder's Map.

The Vedic Astrology Podcast
Prosperity and Annihilation: Life-coaching levers as outlined by Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra

The Vedic Astrology Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2022 35:00


Chapter 11 Verses 14-16 of Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra outlines the formula for calculating the Prosperity or Annihilation of a House in a Birth Chart.  While it can be distressing to be assessed as having an 'annihilated' house - yikes! - is the BPHS formula actually revealing the secret life-coaching levers that we can use to pivot our behaviour and create success?  Join me as I revisit the factors involved in the formula and discuss possible insights arising from each question of Annihilation.  In the discussion, I also touch on Professor Snape from "Harry Potter", "There's a Hole in My Sidewalk: The Romance of Self-Discovery" by Portia Nelson and "Milton's Secret" - a film based on the work of Ekhart Tolle.  I hope you enjoy and I look forward to your feedback.  If you would like to learn to read Vedic Astrology, please visit The Asheville Vedic Astrology Apprenticeship Program on teachable.com at https://vedic-astrology.teachable.com/courses/vedic-astrology-apprenticeship-program?affcode=472402_kmvc7dum

Booking Back
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: "There's no need to call me 'sir' Professor."

Booking Back

Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2022 72:19


Join Penn and new guest host Scrapple as they discuss Voldemort's origins story, some real life inspirations for some of the more evil characters and why  Snape is such a bad dude.  I mean, Professor Snape. Support the show

Books and Nachos
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Books and Nachos

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2022 43:13


This week Brock, Stuart, and Arnie graduate from Hogwarts as they complete JK Rowling's seventh and final Harry Potter novel, The Deathly Hallows.  Is the boy wizard ready to lead the fight against a Ministry of Magic overtaken by Death Eaters?  Where exactly has Dark Lord Voldemort hidden the last piece of his soul?  And what is the real reason Professor Snape hates Harry so much?  Find out if your predictions for the conclusion come true.  Listen Now!     

Accio Politics! A Harry Potter Podcast
628: The Assassinator (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Chapter 28)

Accio Politics! A Harry Potter Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2022 53:27


Don't know how to say this any other way, but strap in for another chapter of HBP that is filled with sadness. Your hosts, Helene and Adri, talk about the politics of assassination and grief respectively. We talk about the aftermath of Dumbledore's assassination and the different ways in which Snape, Harry, and Hagrid deal with the initial stages of grief, especially when that grief has a political symbolism attached to it.     Patrons get a bonus segment for this episode! This week, we're diving deep into our feelings about Professor Snape. Want access to this bonus content and more? Become a Patron for as little as $2/month by heading over to www.patreon.com/acciopolitics   We want to hear from you! Leave us a voicemail: 915.996.1699 or email an mp3 recording to info@acciopolitics.com   Do you prefer the written word? Send us an owl: info@acciopolitics.com or leave us a message through our site.   Find us online: Social Media: We are @acciopolitics on twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Our site: www.acciopolitics.com

The Restricted Section
Padfoot Returns feat. Harmat from ASIOAF Symposium

The Restricted Section

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2022 83:01


Professor Snape threatens a child, then the kids finally get to reunite with Sirius. Email us at restrictedsectionpod@gmail.com to tell us what you thought of Padfoot Returns 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.bonfire.com/store/restrictedsectionpod/ THANK YOU LOVE YOU IG: https://www.instagram.com/restrictedsectionpod/ TW: https://twitter.com/restrictedpod FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rspoddetentioncrew/ Check out our other amazing Movie Night Crew Network podcasts! This episode featured: Harmat, co-host of A Song of Ice and Fire Symposium! https://popculturesymposium.tumblr.com/ Harmat plugged Little Women (2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3281548 IG @mcturndownforwatt https://www.instagram.com/mcturndownforwatt/ TW  @mcwattsup https://twitter.com/mcwattsup Check out That's What I'm Tolkien About every Tuesday wherever you get your podcasts https://tolkienaboutpod.podbean.com/Mary Clay Watt Mary Clay plugged Witcher 3 Christina Kann https://linktr.ee/christinakann Christina plugged The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides https://bookshop.org/a/65495/9781250301703 I'm Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal https://bookshop.org/a/65495/9781492678892 A Black Woman's History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kari Nicole Gross https://bookshop.org/a/65495/9780807001998 Lockdown on London Lane by Beth Reekles https://bookshop.org/a/65495/9781989365854 Octavia's Brood ed. Adrienne Maree Brown https://bookshop.org/a/65495/9781849352093 And check the fanfics Ashley recommended! In her words: P.S. - I have a few of my favorite FanFics I'd like to plug if you don't mind! These are short and really pull at the heartstrings: -You Meet in Paris (2019) by enembee - "..and she eclipses the Sun" Harry/Gabrielle Delacour https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13328397/1/You-Meet-in-Paris -Cauterize (2008) by Lady Altair - "Of course it's missing something vital. That's the point." Dennis Creevey takes up his brother's camera after the war. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4152700/1/Cauterize ^ This one WRECKED me -The Twine Bracelet (2012) by CheddarTrek - Another short & sweet about Colin Creevey https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8461800/1/The-Twine-Bracelet

Your Morning Breakfast
Professor Snape fan club

Your Morning Breakfast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 15, 2022 48:31


Matt and Jon help you start your day @ymbpodcast on instagram and Twitter yourmorningbreakfast@gmail.com