This is a blog series about an American girl
reading the Harry Potter British editions. If you missed the previous posts,
well, to be honest you’re a bit behind. But there’s still time to catch up!
Here are the links: Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
First Line: “The
hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence
lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive.”
British
vs. American English: I’ve
been overseas so there are some things I read in these versions and don’t even
recognize as different. Like car park vs. parking lot or garbage vs. bin. But
here are a few differences that popped out to me.
(British edition word/phrase = interpretation/definition)
trainers = sneakers
holidaymakers = vacationers
mollycoddling = to coddle or pamper
dottiness = crazy, eccentric
taking the mickey = to tease or make fun of
frame-up = set-up
at loggerheads = in dispute with
gibbering = to speak inarticulately
Laugh-Worthy
Moment: After the Divination
exam…
“’We
shouldn’t have taken the stupid subject in the first place,’ said Harry.
‘Still,
at least we can give it up now.’
‘Yeah,’
said Harry. ‘No more pretending we care what happens when Jupiter and Uranus
get too friendly.’
‘And
from now on, I don’t care if my tea-leaves spell die, Ron, die—I’m just chucking them in the bin where they
belong.’” (page 633)
Cry-Worthy
Moment: Sadly, there were a few in OOTP, including when
Mr. Weasley was attacked and when Sirius fell into the veil. However, even
though those were both sad, I only truly teared up at the very end, during this
scene…
“’Bye,
then, Potter,’ said Moody, grasping Harry’s shoulder for a moment with a
gnarled hand.
‘Take
care, Harry,’ said Lupin quietly. ‘Keep in touch.’
‘Harry,
we’ll have you away from there as soon as we can,’ Mrs. Weasley whispered,
hugging him again.
‘We’ll
see you soon, mate,’ said Ron anxiously, shaking Harry’s hand.
‘Really
soon, Harry,’ said Hermione earnestly. ‘We promise.’
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.” (page 766)
Notable
Quote: “’Yes, yes, one of these days you’ll write
more horrible stories about Harry and me,’ said Hermione indifferently. ‘Find
someone who cares, why don’t you?’” (page 499)
This
quote is eerie now that Rita Skeeter’s article about the old DA reuniting at
the Quidditch World Cup was posted on Pottermore earlier this month.
Last
Line: “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.”
Thoughts:
Even though Harry’s been a teenager for two years, he
hits it full force with a few cringe-worthy episodes of angst in Order of the Phoenix. But who’s to blame
him? If you were at the center of a situation such as this (however unlikely,
but imagine for a moment that you’re in the midst of a wizarding
war), wouldn’t it be frustrating if everyone was treating you as though you’re
an outsider? If you were the ONLY ONE who had seen the darkest wizard return,
wouldn’t it be aggravating to be cut off from news of said world?
Of course it’d be maddening. However, Harry may have
taken it out on the wrong people. And even though he has moments when he knows
this, he still can’t seem to stop himself from blowing up at his closest
friends and supporters, Ron and Hermione. He doesn’t, however, seem to take it
out on the adults (mostly). Is he nervous that they’ll put him in his place?
Does he not want to be viewed as an insolent teenager? Or does he just feel
most comfortable with Ron and Hermione, knowing that even through it all, they
will still be his friends?
I seem to be asking a lot of questions, so I’m going to
switch gears. Order of the Phoenix is
by far the longest book of the series. It has a mingling of subplots (just as
the previous books) but there are two things that stand out to me in these 766
pages. Umbridge and the DA. One of them is the absolute worst and one of them
is probably the best thing about this book.
After my boyfriend read OOTP for the first time, he told
me that he hated Umbridge more than Voldemort. I wouldn’t be surprised if many
people in the Potter fandom feel the same. For all Voldemort’s done to Harry,
namely kill his mother and father shortly after his birth, there is something
so supremely frustrating about Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to
the Minister for Magic and High Inquisitor of Hogwarts. She believes
whole-heartedly that Harry’s delusional and that Voldemort hasn’t returned.
Since Harry refuses (rightly so) to deny Voldemort’s return, they are at odds.
Umbridge banning Harry from Quidditch still makes me grind my teeth. Blatant
favoritism (for Malfoy and the Slytherins), utter ignorance and a pompous
attitude all equal one of the most hated characters of the series. Luckily,
since she was the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, she only lasts one
book.
And the best thing about OOTP: Dumbledore’s Army, Harry’s
secret society in which he teaches a couple dozen Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and
Hufflepuff students defensive spells. There is inspiration in solidarity and in
youth taking it upon themselves to do something about an injustice. Umbridge’s
method of teaching Defense against the Dark Arts isn’t teaching at all. It
could be argued that Hermione’s motives in pressuring Harry into teaching them
defense were selfish. She wants to pass her OWLs, after all. However, I think
that although Hermione may have came upon the idea with that in mind, she never
would have opened it up to people outside the trio if she was indeed being
selfish.
In the end, Dumbledore’s Army gets very little page time
in OOTP, but the society plays an important role in Harry’s happiness (until
it’s disbanded) and in the incidents leading up to the climax. If the DA hadn’t
been discovered, Dumbledore wouldn’t have taken the fall for leading the
society and Harry would have had someone to go to (with Hagrid sacked and
McGonagall at St Mungo’s) when he dreamt that Voldemort was torturing Sirius in
the Department of Mysteries.
Per what happened at the Department of Mysteries: the
fandom saw two things they had been dying to see. 1) Action. (Fully-trained
wizards in action against Death Eaters.) 2) Dumbledore vs. Voldemort. (No
explanation needed). Within the setting of the DoM and the Ministry of Magic,
the climax is spine-tingling, exciting yet terrifying and ultimately
devastating. Sirius’ death comes as quite a shock and we barely have time to
process before Dumbledore and Voldemort are dueling. Then the Ministry Aurors
arrive to catch a glimpse of Voldemort, alive. Even though there are good
things that result from Harry’s trip to London, namely the wizard community
discovering that Voldemort has returned, it’s cast in the shadow of Sirius’
death. A double-edged sword, that one.
In the aftermath, the most notable piece of information
that Dumbledore divulges is the prophecy. It defines Harry’s path for the last two books. If neither can
live while the other survives, then eventually Harry and Voldemort’s path will
converge with a climatic, potentially heart-breaking result.
Up next month: Half-Blood Prince, the tale of a textbook,
teenage love and bits of Voldemort’s soul.
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