This week we watch Goblet of Fire and finish up our pre-Half-Blood Prince ‘Potter discussion. Highlights: we dive more into the various houses and their meanings, discover Chuck’s final sorting result, hear from Kristina Horner and listen to the music of The Parselmouths, note all the awesome new GWCer-generated content on the GWC Community Blog, discuss the similarity between the Death Eaters and real-life hate groups, love how the best battle advice Potter and friends receive is “hold your friends close,” enjoy Harry’s great relationship with Ron, wonder if all the wizards in France and witches in Bulgaria are MIA, dis on Ron’s dress robes, and take some great listener calls.
Oh, these are the movies when things start to get interesting. Mr Columbus being a bit too literal.
Well, Snape is pretty awesome. He’s a Slytherin.
Though, I suppose on some levels, Slytherin continues to get a bad rep, given what happens in the last chapter of the last book. Even Dumbledore, in what he said about Snape in the last book, makes me think that while he remains fair to all the houses, he definitely favours Gryffindors over Slytherins.
Oh, and yes, Neville is such a HOTTIE! 
Question: When did The Doctor Moodie replace the real Moodie in GoF? The reason I ask is that in retrospect it seems that The Doctor Moodie was actually one of the best and most practical Dark Arts teachers they had, even if he was a bit sadistic. Was he just trying to keep a good cover by teaching them good DA spells? It would seem that if he was working for Voldermort he wouldn’t actually want to teach them that well at all. Anyway, just something that’s always confused me a bit…
I asked this same question while we were re-watching The Goblet of Fire last night. It seems that he wanted to make sure he was deep into his cover so he wouldn’t blow it. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and the others were fooled by the Polyjuice potion but probably would have seen through behavioral differences easily. The other thing is, Fake Moody wanted Harry to do well and get to the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament - that was the plan all along - he would help Harry (and nudge Harry’s friends along to offer help as well), Harry would make it to the end of the labyrinth, touch the goblet/portkey, and be transported to Voldemort, where he would be killed. So if Fake Moody’s plan worked out, he could stay in character AND have Harry get offed at the end of the tournament, and he (Barty Crouch, Jr.) would supposedly win Voldemort’s approval.
I haven’t rewatched the movie yet but in the book, Mr. Weasley gets called to Moody’s place one night on an alert but it turns out that it was just him spooking at something harmless. But it turns out that it was really BC Jr making the switch.
I figured that the good teaching was mostly just keeping his cover - because what we see of Moody in later books, he would have been a fabulous professor if he hadn’t been kept in a trunk all year.
In the movie, Moody is drinking from the flak at the Opening feast, after he zaps the ceiling. Real Moody never taught at all, it was always BCJr.
Now may I boast a bit (because my Slytherin blood demands it) for calling which houses Chuck and Sean belong to. Yeah me!!!
Now, may I also say I will never let go my “Audra is a Ravenclaw” knowledge. That’s right, it’s not a theory, it’s fact!!!
“Wit beyond measure is a man’s greatest treasure.” Ravenclaw House prizes intelligence, knowledge, and wit in its members. Thus, many Ravenclaws tend to be academically motivated and talented students.
Embrace your Ravenclawness!! 
With Slytherin I think the deciding factor that is the source of Dark Wizards is Conceit. It is natural (for all but even stronger in Slytherin’s) to to think of their needs before others. Voldemort says there is no good and evil, just Power and those to weak to take it. IMO - It takes much more strength to always think “how will this affect other”.
Hey everyone - check out today’s “Sunday Sweets” on the Cakewrecks blog!
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/2009/07/sunday-sweets-harry-potter.html
Very good point. I guess they never figured he could train him well enough to a stalemate with Voldermort. Thanks!
I grew up in rural southwest Missouri, the buckle of the Bible belt, so I know all about the Harry Potter hating. Our main school library never had the books as far as I know, but a lot of the classroom libraries did, and so did the public library. The books were never banned, but it was easy for the librarian to choose not to order them. (And on a “there’ll be dancing next!” tangent, dancing is against the law in Purdy, MO, which is not far from where I grew up. We played them in Softball, and would dance when we got off the bus.)
That sorting hat cake is the coolest cake ever!
That one was my favorite too!
okay, once again, ChuSeanDra have sold me. books 1-7 on their way from amazon 
Good for you Lady D!!
Ok…
Censorship… Or as I like to call it Censors*$&…
I had a teacher in grade school who was VERY much a bible thumper and did not care that it was against the rules to preach in a public school…
I believe she must have had something on those in charge overwise she should have been fired.
She hated Harry Potter and tried to throw one of my books away. My mother had it out with her many a time. This lady was a nutbag and I was so happy to be out of that school after 6th grade and I am happy to say I have not had another teacher like her…
Just my two cents on that…
As for the cast, Great as always and I hope you guys stay in this genre a little longer…
It’s a nice break from the Syfy…
Yeah, good discussion on censorship. Thank you Dawn AZ for brining it up.
I think it’s fair to compare the goose stepping morons who burned books to the goose stepping morons who protest books because they are told to, but I don’t fault those who have actually read something and feel the need to speak out against it. Free speech for everyone. It’s only wrong when that sort of brain dead collectivism infringes on individual rights.
Huckleberry Finn was banned for the excessive use of the word “nigger” but I have yet to read a stronger treatise against racism and slavery.
Fahrenheit 451 was banned at one point- Fahrenheit 451- if you’ve read the book you’d understand the irony in that.
there’s going to be more out cries against Harry Potter now Rowlings declared Dumbledore is gay… (that interview should be called Harry Potter and the Dumbledore’s Closet)
personally I find it strange for people to get upset about it. It’s not like the books ever focused on Dumbledore’s sexuality. And if readers find Dumbledore’ qualities admirable before the Rowling outing, why should the after thought of him being gay affect readers view on him… Besides, the character is like over 110 years old…
Some positive Slytherins… well Slughorn’s not a bad fellow, and Sirius’s brother Regulus is kind of awesome in the end, too.
[spoiler]and despite his other actions… Snape, too.[/spoiler]
And the (uni) library is less busy now than during the school year (I still get here early to make sure I get the equipment I want, though;))… though the area’s public libraries fill up, but it’s sad because it’s usually the homeless who have nowhere else to go since the funding for shelters keeps getting cut.
Deathly Hallows-inspired thoughts on Slytherin House.
“Sometimes, I think we sort too quickly.”
Came across that last night as I am now just a good 40 pages away from finishing my re-read. Kind of pokes a hole in the idea that there is still lots of good in Slytherin. I like to try to see Slytherin as a bit more complex than the books often describe Slytherin, but it seems that trying to “save” Slytherin as a legitimate and useful house is something of a difficult job. While good wizards have come out of Slytherin, it seems very much the exception in the books, and even two examples of good wizards both went down the wrong path at first.
That being said, it does seem that perhaps Slytherin House has a chance for redemption post-Voldemort, with a new generation redefining their purpose going forward.
I’d say that Slytherin house would not change significantly following the end of Voldemort. There are two things at work when it comes to people in the house:
- The attitudes, ideas, and attributes that Salazarr Slytherin placed in his house.
- The individual decisions that a person makes.
I think it’s Hagrid who initially said that there wasn’t a dark wizard that hadn’t come out of Slytherin. I think the rarity of a dangerous wizard probably happens as the collective memory of the public fades. For probably several years (after book 7) Slytherin would be free from aspiring dark wizards, but then new feelings of superiority would being to creep in.
As Audra said, I think a lot of it may be connected to the strength of the Pureblood fanaticism that happens. Rowling says that a lot of that started to go away, but as people are people, I think that this kind of thing happens in waves in society.
Blaise was a pretty decent fellow too if I remember correctly