dragonyphoenix: Blackadder looking at scraps of paper, saying "It could use a beta" (Blackadder)
dragonyphoenix ([personal profile] dragonyphoenix) wrote2015-07-18 10:09 pm

Harry Potter

I've been watching the second movie. One thing I've never noticed before is how Rowling sets up plot points ahead of time. In the first book we saw the children learning the Wingardium Leviosa spell which is used in the second book to float cupcakes to Crabbe and Goyle. In the second book, Hermione botches up the spell with cat hair suggesting that humans can be transformed into animals which is of course a major plot point in the third book. Also we have an early parallel between Harry and Tom Riddle; Dumbledore asks each of them if they have anything to tell him and they each lie. I'm looking forward to catching more of these.

[identity profile] rebcake.livejournal.com 2015-07-19 06:22 am (UTC)(link)
I'm gonna pick a nit here, and say that Professor McGonagall, who we first meet as a cat in the opening scene, is the first seed planted regarding animagi. Hermione's mistake with the Polyjuice Potion is not really relevant. The only other time I can remember a person being transformed into an animal against their will is when fake!Mooney turns Draco into a ferret. Though the Polyjuice Potion is key to the whole Mooney storyline, so there's that seed planted early, too!

Which is to say, I agree that she's really good about setting things up. Also, I officially remember way too many details about that world, and I don't even write fanfic in it!

[identity profile] dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com 2015-07-19 03:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Prof. McGonagall as first animagi image: Good point. I just happen to be watching the second movie so that's what came to mind.

I wish I had your memory. A horse-back riding accident when I was a teen scrambled my brains. It's difficult for me to recall things.

[personal profile] kikimay 2015-07-19 09:29 am (UTC)(link)
It's a really well thought saga!

[identity profile] dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com 2015-07-19 03:03 pm (UTC)(link)
It very much is. I hadn't appreciated how much before.

[identity profile] snogged.livejournal.com 2015-07-19 02:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Great observations. :)

[identity profile] dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com 2015-07-19 03:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you.

[identity profile] feliciacraft.livejournal.com 2015-07-19 04:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Yay, Harry Potter! It's a really well-thought out series, because Jo had the whole thing planned out in her head before she started writing. (For example, when she says there are 12 uses for dragon's blood, that's not just a number she randomly picked out. She actually has in her head what those 12 uses actually are.) That makes her stories more consistent than 99% of the series out there. :)

Wish I could write with such forward planning.

I'm glad you're discovering these fun details!

[identity profile] dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com 2015-07-20 12:14 am (UTC)(link)
Wow! I'm pretty sure no story of mine will ever be that detailed. Good for her!