Comments on: The Very Secret Diary

By: Sara

Sara — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:09:37 +0000

@May – I agree with what Erin said. While Ginny is obviously NOT a Death Eater, she’s probably much closer to Voldemort than anyone besides maybe Harry has ever been. She’s literally being possessed by him and, as she points out to Harry in OotP, “I’m the only other person in the world who knows what it feels like to have Voldemort in their head.”

She may not have joined forces with Voldemort willingly, but she’s very ingrained in his plans this time, and very deeply connected to him.

That’s a lot for an eleven year old girl to handle I’d say!

By: Erin

Erin — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:34:45 +0000

May – Perhaps Ginny using “The Dark Lord” in the poem is another hint at what her year has been like so far.

By: Billie

Billie — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 02:41:50 +0000

It finally hit home to me that when Hagrid was expelled and became assistant gamekeeper, he was a thirteen-year-old orphan. He’s been without a family and supporting himself since he was just thirteen. I can’t imagine that . . .

No wonder he’s so loyal to Dumbledore.

By: May

May — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 08:17:41 +0000

Re: The Boy Who Lived. So it was truly Ginny who sent that Valentine to Harry. Why in the world did she use the term “Dark Lord”? I thought only Death Eaters and close associates of Voldemort were familiar with the term? As far as I have known, they are the only ones who use this term. A probable slip-up in Jo’s part, you think?

If I hadn’t been so irritated with Lockhart, I’d find him comical. Imagine, he managed to humiliate or infuriate all his colleagues now since he began teaching at Hogwarts – the latest victim being Flitwick. How inconsiderate and shallow-minded.

I find it unfair that even with no evidence, Riddle successfully got Hagrid expelled. Come to think of it, Aragog had escaped before Riddle could tackle it and so, the case of Hagrid’s expulsion rested on Riddle’s word solely. And yet, they seemed to trust Riddle so much – what with him being a top student and a Head Boy – that they took his word for it and expelled Hagrid, with the exception of Dumbledore, of course. Or maybe, just like the present-day Ministry under Cornelius Fudge, the Ministry back then just wanted to see some action done, so as to reassure the public.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 21:34:40 +0000

It’s interesting that, in the books, the student’s doesn’t appear to be wearing anything that gives away which house they belong to. As in this chapter, where Harry has no idea that Riddle is a Slytherin (a fact that probably would have made him more suspicious if he knew), and just in the previous chapter with the Polyjuice Potion, Harry and Ron approach a Ravenclaw girl and ask her for the way to Slytherin’s common room.
So, at the tables in the Great Hall and in their Quidditch robes seems to be the only times when the students are differing visually from each other… it’s interesting because in fan art it’s very common with ties, scarfs, cloaks and such in the colours of the house, not to mention in the movies. But I guess it would make sense to add that when making a movie or drawing, simply to make it easier for the watcher to recognize who the characters are.
Maybe the school is so small that the students learn quickly who belongs where, but it would seem in line with the story to have at least a badge or something, since the rivalry between the houses seems to be so deeply rooted, at least between Gryffindor and Slytherin. But maybe some do wear things that give away their house of free will – it isn’t hard picturing Malfoy with a cloak fastening in the shape of a silver snake, or Fred and George with a Gryffindor lion hat like the one Luna has.

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:24:00 +0000

I’ve just finished reading this chapter and noticed that Hermione didn’t leave the hospital wing until early February. They took the polyjuice potion on Christmas day so she has been there for at least 38 days. It just seems such a long time to be in hospital for ‘just’ being semi-turned into a cat.

By: Reebus

Reebus — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:58:03 +0000

*exception

By: Reebus

Reebus — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:57:31 +0000

GhV, I don’t think Dumbledore’s a huge expection. After all, Elphias Doge is still around, and they were in the same year at Hogwarts. Grindelwald was only a year or two younger, and he’s still alive at the beginning of DH despite having been in prison for decades. Plus there are the OWL examiners, at least one of whom was already an examiner when Dumbledore himself was sitting for the OWLs.

By: Josiah

Josiah — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 02:34:52 +0000

@Gracehasvictory So Bathilda is another exception. The oldest recorded person, and by that I mean muggle, lived to the ripe old age of 122, though undoubtedly not as spry as Dumbledore. This being the case, Bathilda’s age is unusual, but not unreasonable by wizard’s standards.

By: Grace has Victory

Grace has Victory — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:43:57 +0000

Lily, JKR has said that wizards have a longer life-expectancy. Dumbledore lives to be 116, and McGonagall is 70 in GoF. The one that doesn't make sense to me is Bathilda Bagshott, who is supposed to be old enough to be Dumbledore's great-aunt. Now, even if she's a very young great-aunt, she must still live to be about 130. And very few other wizards seem to make it past 90. Dumbledore, although within the possible range of longevity for wizards, was supposed to be an exception.