COS, 5 Revisit: Dang It, The Toffees

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:16):
This is episode four hundred and seventy one of Aloha
Mora for September twenty seventh, two thousand and twenty five.

(00:37):
Welcome to another episode of Aloha Mora, the fandom's original
Harry Potter book Club.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
I'm Alison singerd.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
I'm Shamnie Willis, and I'm Kat Miller and I have
the pleasure of introducing my good friend and our guest today,
Marie sa Lange, coming to us all the way from
South Africa.

Speaker 4 (00:54):
Hello, my friend, Hello guys, I'm really happy to be here.

Speaker 3 (00:58):
Yeah, tell our listeners a little bit about yourself, like
your Potter story and all that.

Speaker 4 (01:03):
So I first discovered Harry Potter when I was like
eight years old. My mom borrowed a book from a
friend that I had at school. She handed it to me.
I was like, actually, way too young to read a
book like that, I would say, But I did, and
I really enjoyed it. I started with Prison off Askaban,
like I was. I was a little ahead of this, yeah,

(01:28):
and then I went back. Luckily, I forgot most of
what I read in the first time I read Prisoner
of Azkaban, because I mean, my mind was still very young.
So I had the pleasure of like rereading it and
rediscovering and like connecting all the dots from the first
two books to the third, which was really fun. Yeah,
and I think Harry Potter is a big part of
what I grew up to become a journalist. I just

(01:51):
love writing, I love storytelling. I love asking why I
was ascar why. So for me, throughout the Harry Potter books,
it was just really fun too. I mean each book
left you with questions and all the little easter eggs.
I just I just loved, loved, I will never forget
reading Deathly Hallows for the first time. It was magical

(02:15):
And obviously the moment I cracked that book open, I
knew that. I was that this is an experience and
I'm never going to have again. I was grade seven,
I think when that book came out. Yeah, it's a
core memory. So yeah, never never never left the Wizarding
World after that, stayed right in there and now I
get to be here, which is really.

Speaker 3 (02:36):
Uh, do you have a favorite book?

Speaker 4 (02:38):
Prison not Askaban, Finnily the one that I've read, but
it only became our first when I did a reread,
like from the first, second, third, and I was yeah,
when I when I finished reading all of them. That
that's my That's my favorite. A close second is Half
Blood Prints.

Speaker 3 (02:56):
Good choice. Reading Prisoner first must I mean, you said
you didn't really remember any of it, but do you
remember any of that experience, like reading this and being like,
what were you confused at all? I am so intrigued
because we have a whole feature in our book about
how you can basically skip the first book if you
watch the first movie because they're so similar. But I

(03:19):
can't imagine starting with Prisoner.

Speaker 4 (03:21):
Yeah, I do remember being quite confused. There were quite
a lot of things that didn't make sense. There was
a lot of puzzle, I mean in the first few books,
if I remember correctly, because I haven't done a reread
since twenty fifteen. Full disclosure, the author does do some

(03:43):
recapping here and there, so you do get an idea
of what has happened before, what certain things mean, etc. Yeah.
But other than that, I remember being confused. That I'm
one of those people who there's no such thing as
I don't finish a book. I always finish a book,
even if I hate it. So I finished that darn

(04:04):
book even though it was confusing. And then a by
the end of our book. So yeah, it's it's a
distant memory, but I distinctly remember the cover and it
was in Afrikaans. It wasn't in English. I got to
read the translated version. Yeah, I only read it in
English for the first time when I did a reread

(04:25):
in twenty fifteen, and it was it was amazing. Yeah,
what is annoying those that they changed some of the
names in the Africaans I was just going.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
To ask you what are some of the fun Afrikaans names.
I'm super interested to know.

Speaker 4 (04:40):
I have to remember because am putting you on this bart.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
I'm sorry, it really it.

Speaker 4 (04:45):
Really irritated me. Hermione her name is Hermen in the
Afrikaans version, and his surname is Lechrana, which I think
you actually you spell it the kranga, but it's actually
pronounced La Francie. I think, if I remember correctly, this

(05:06):
is like one of those weird Afrikaans surnames that you
don't pronounce the way it is spelled. If anybody whose
Africans is listening to this, if I got this wrong,
I'm sorry. So that was that was one of the
things I related veritate me. Ron stayed the same, Harry
stayed the same. Then I remember Dumbledore was Dompul douris
or something like that, which also I was just I

(05:28):
kind of love that. Here's the best part, uh, the
Homewards houses. They kept greffindor the same. Slytherin is Slytherin.
Half of Puff is like and this is really really
funny if you're Afrikaans, but like you guys are not
going to get it, but like half a puff is
hohosain't bruce, which which is basically that means in English

(05:51):
half a puff, but they like so half of puff
like like translated the Afrikaans, Who's and bruce? Like this
half and puff? I think Raven claw what was a
Robin Clode, which like it's just basically verbatim translations of
Raven and Claw and Griffin or they kept the same
if I if I recall correctly that which is which

(06:14):
is it was annoying. It wasn't consistent, you know, like
they changed some things and something. Uh, there was some
really interesting quidditch is quidique. Yeah, it's it's fun and
some of the stuff in the Africans books ohilarious that
wouldn't necessarily be funny in English. There's one such moment

(06:39):
in the first book where missus Wiz you know it's
bread and draw It tells Ron there's something on his
nose right before they go through I think it's in
the first book, right before they go through to a
two platform nine and three quarters they time there's something
on his nose. And just the Afrikaans translation of that,
the way they say it, it just left me howling

(07:03):
when I did a reread, and it's just it's not
the same in English. So that's the fun thing about
reading different translations. Obviously if you speak the language and
you you can understand it.

Speaker 3 (07:15):
Yeah, you were saying that, like you said, you hadn't
read since twenty fifteen, and that's when you read in English,
because you were telling me you read this chapter in English,
which was like the first time. Yeah, a really long time, right,
h cool? Cool?

Speaker 4 (07:29):
Yeah, So it was a fun experience. It's not getting
to re experience it.

Speaker 3 (07:35):
Yeah, hopefully today's episode is also a fun experience for
you and for everybody.

Speaker 1 (07:41):
Definitely, because today's episode we are looking at chapter five
of Chamber of Secrets, the Womping Willow, and we originally
discussed this one way way wait, wait, wait, wait, way
back on episode twelve when we covered this chapter and
chapter six because we used to do two.

Speaker 3 (08:02):
Chapters an episodes wild.

Speaker 1 (08:06):
And that episode is titled this Book Sucks from September
twenty twelve with hosts Caleb Rosie, Laura and guest Dan Bergstein.
So definitely go back and listen to that if you'd like.
That's a long time ago. Oh my goodness.

Speaker 3 (08:26):
I I the Dan. Dan was like a blogger back
in the day. He used to do like Twilight blogs
and Harry Potter blogs, and Laura loved him, so we
had to have him on the show. And I remember
her and Caleb coming up with that title, and Rosie
was like, this book doesn't suck. We can't say that.
It was a whole. I remember it like it was yesterday.

(08:47):
So shout out to Laura and Caleb there for giving
us a chuckle. Literally thirteen years oh my god, thirteen
years closer. Wow, that was when.

Speaker 2 (08:59):
I was starting college.

Speaker 1 (09:01):
Was I think that month is wow.

Speaker 3 (09:05):
Wow, that's insane how time passes. But anyway, for.

Speaker 1 (09:11):
Twenty thousand, it's been a real long time for Shaminy.

Speaker 3 (09:16):
Sometimes it feels like twenty thousand years ago.

Speaker 5 (09:18):
And today we want to thank our Patreon sponsor for
sponsoring this episode, Sam Salvage. Thank you, Thank you, Sam.
You're awesome. We appreciate you so much. And if you
didn't know, our Patreon offers a lot of great perks,
including ad free episodes, monthly meetups with the hosts, and

(09:39):
so much more. Our perks started just three dollars a month,
so head over to patreon dot com slash alohe more
to become a sponsor. And if you're looking for our
non monetary way to support the show, you can subscribe,
save and share this episode with all of your friends
and to your favorite Harry Potter communities. And we always
appreciate the support of every single one of our listeners.
However you're able to do so, so thank you again everyone.

(10:01):
You are fantastic.

Speaker 3 (10:03):
Thank you Sam. Three turns should do it?

Speaker 4 (10:08):
Chapter revisit Talk to Flog.

Speaker 3 (10:24):
The Womping Willows. All right, friends, let's jump in to
the Womping Willow. Not literally though, because yeah, after a
truly glorious day at the Borough, September first comes and

(10:47):
it is time for the Weasley Brewd to head back
to Hogwarts. Ironically, we are recording this on September first,
How do we plan that? We did not plan that?

Speaker 1 (10:56):
I don't think we did.

Speaker 3 (10:57):
We didn't. That's kind of brilliant, but anyway, I love
this time. They also have Harry in tow. After a
few false starts, the group gets to platform ninety three quarters,
but only just before Harry and Ron can make it through.
Seconds before the train is due to leave the station,
the barrier is sealed shut mysterious. Being the typical twelve

(11:18):
year old boys that they are, they don't do the
rational thing and decide to wait for Molly and Arthur, or,
as McGonagall later suggests, send an owl, but they decide
to steal a car and fly the eight ish hours
to Hogwarts instead. As they approach, the old entired car
crashes into the womping willow, causing them some harm, but
nothing in comparison to what befalls them once they face

(11:39):
Snape McGonagall and Dumbledore. Uh boys, twelve year old.

Speaker 1 (11:48):
It's very much. It's yeah, it's one of those chapters
where it's like you just nailed like kid logic. Basically,
so much of these chapters just like kid Logic, which
is great.

Speaker 3 (12:02):
Well, and that's something that we talk. You know we've
talked about so many times is that one of the
things the author does well and has always done well,
is write teenage kids. I mean that's it's couldn't be
more nail head, like, couldn't be more perfect here with
their quote unquote rational thought.

Speaker 1 (12:23):
I do well. I mean we'll get to that part.
But when mcgonag's like you could have sent an owl,
and literally Harry's like, Harry's jaw dropped, like duh every time. Yeah,
But we start off with the end of Harry's best
month of his life so far, which is so sweet,
where he got to spend time at the borough. You know,

(12:45):
he got to you know, hang out with his best friends,
be kind of a normal kid. There's also in this chapter,
and I feel like we haven't talked about this for
a while, but we've talked about this before when we
talked about these early books. These very clear hints at
the Dorsley's abuse, and very much like this chapter I

(13:11):
think hits on that again where it hints that like
Harry wasn't used to people being excited to see him,
or like being able to eat what he wanted or
be able to do what he wanted and it's just
like I feel like sometimes that I mean, obviously it
drops off I think in the later books because Harry
has found himself more and he's not like in that
situation as much anymore by the later books, because the

(13:35):
Disleys are more afraid of him.

Speaker 3 (13:37):
Well, yeah, bigger, and he can fight back, and he's yeah,
in his magical abilities and he's like, I don't need
you dummies, you know, yeah, take care of myself.

Speaker 1 (13:47):
But it was just there, and it just I don't know.
I think the older I get, the more it stands
out to me, those hands that are there.

Speaker 3 (13:55):
Yeah, listen to people who are like the Dursley has
never abused Harry. I'm like Petunia was going to hit
him with a frying okay, Like.

Speaker 2 (14:01):
Plus there's emotional abuse.

Speaker 5 (14:05):
Abuse, the emotional mental abuse he endured.

Speaker 4 (14:08):
Yeah, yeah, I mean the kid loved under the stairs.
So yeah, it.

Speaker 3 (14:17):
Truly is a miracle that he turned out with any
sort of empathy or or compassion for other people, honestly.
But yeah, Harry is living that magical life and he
is loving it.

Speaker 1 (14:31):
I do have to ask, though, because they talk about
this last like dinner, and it specifically mentions that Molly
serves all of Harry's favorite dishes, right, including his favorite dessert,
which is that trachule tart. And it made me think.
I was like, do the other kid's mind that Harry
seems to get preferential treatment for Molly or is this

(14:53):
more like Harry's tastes or just more defined by Molly's
care right? Like are these his favorite dishes just because
they're the ones that she makes and he's not used to?

Speaker 5 (15:04):
Like?

Speaker 2 (15:05):
These?

Speaker 1 (15:05):
Lovingly?

Speaker 2 (15:05):
Made?

Speaker 4 (15:07):
You know? Like?

Speaker 2 (15:09):
Is that I do too? Because I think that's very cute.

Speaker 5 (15:11):
Then I think that's absolutely why, because I mean Petunia
obviously wasn't making him any good food. What was it
he had in the beginning? A lump of cheese and
some bread.

Speaker 3 (15:23):
Oh yeah yeah, half a grapefruit once? Uh no, a
quarter of a grapefruit once?

Speaker 1 (15:30):
Have you in the small quarter of the grapefruit not
even like grapefruits?

Speaker 3 (15:34):
Gross?

Speaker 4 (15:34):
So I forgot that Dudley was on a diet that
everybody had to go on. That was.

Speaker 3 (15:44):
I like to think, is that that Mollie is making?
You know, Listen, we sometimes come down on Molly, I
think justifiably sometimes, but she is a good mother and
I think for for for all of her other shortcomings,
she is just trying to make Harry feel like he matters.

(16:06):
He's part of the family. Somebody cares about him, somebody
listens to him, somebody knows what he likes. So forget
her other kids they get their favorite foods other times. Yeah,
Harry gets it tonight.

Speaker 1 (16:19):
I mean, I guess, I guess this food could be
some of the other kids' favorite food too, probably like
somebody likes something else, right.

Speaker 5 (16:30):
And I don't think they mind, because I think most
of them know what Harry goes through with the Dursleys.
And yeah, I mean, I don't think they mind because
it's not like an all the time thing. It's just
he's there once in a while and he gets something
a little special, and I think they're they're probably okay
with that.

Speaker 3 (16:46):
I mean, for f's sake, they broke him out of
the bedroom that had bars on her windows.

Speaker 5 (16:51):
They know what he goes They're probably like, feed this guy.

Speaker 4 (16:56):
There are a lot of kids that live together, so
I think that kind of is to sharing, having to
share Molly's attention between them, so having one extra that
doesn't really make that big of a difference.

Speaker 2 (17:07):
Well, and they all kind of love Harry too, so exactly.

Speaker 4 (17:10):
And also in my experience that's not true. This is
not like the universal truth, but the whizy isren't the
richest folks around. But also that the people who tend
to not have a whole lot of money also tend
to be the most generous, which is what I've experienced
in my life personally, which kind of translates here. They
just love sharing and they love having him there, and

(17:32):
they don't mind. I can't imagine Dudley enjoying sharing anything
with anybody. He's an only child. He's spoiled, and that
is like just not how the Wizies were brought up,
which is another reason why I think they just love
having him there. And they don't mind their mother making
Harry's favorite treat, which probably is also theirs, as we

(17:52):
just said, so they probably love having him there because
they get to eat extra well maybe.

Speaker 3 (18:00):
I'm gonna say maybe maybe this is like Molly's most
extraordinary cooking, and everybody is like, Harry, come all the
time because your hair and we get corned beef sandwiches
when you're not.

Speaker 5 (18:13):
You know, sweet Harry is coming. Good food, excellent, extra desserts.

Speaker 4 (18:20):
You'll like that Ulterio motives were breaking him out. They
wanted they were that were done with all the bland food.
They were like, Mom needs to cook something better. Let's
go get out it.

Speaker 1 (18:30):
That's why. That's why when she's yelling at them, they
go they were starving it.

Speaker 4 (18:37):
He was starving us.

Speaker 2 (18:40):
Oh my goodness.

Speaker 1 (18:41):
Well the next morning they head off to Hogwarts, and
I just have to say this part where it's talking
about there, it's it's chaos. It's just a chaotic morning.
And this part where it talks about people half dressed
running into each other on the stairs with bits of
toast in their hands, just makes me laugh every single
time because I can just picture it like everybody's like

(19:02):
running downstairs grabbing a piece of toast, running back upstairs
to do something, running back, and they're just ramming into
each other all times.

Speaker 3 (19:09):
Especially if you think of the movie version of the
Borough where yes, nothing like nothing is congruous, like nothing
is straight or easy or yeah, it's pretty comical. I agree.

Speaker 4 (19:24):
As someone who was always lighter, I can relate to
that whole scene, especially with the bits of toast and hand.
That is me many a morning when I need to
be somewhere.

Speaker 5 (19:36):
Yeah, oh, that's totally. It's so relatable because that they
got up early, and so you think getting up early,
you're going to be ahead of schedule, but you're not.
And that's so incredibly relatable. Like wow, like listen, I've
gotten three kids ready for school and that was chaos.

(19:57):
So I can't even imagine like situation. This is way
way beyond anything I can ever handle.

Speaker 1 (20:06):
Because what there's six kids and two adults trying to Yeah,
poor Mollie. I'm sure Mollie was up like in the
middle of the night to sleep and get this ready
to get them going in the morning.

Speaker 3 (20:23):
And well, you know, there's this whole theory and I
can say that I have lived. This is when the
place that you're going to is close, you think you
have more time than you do, so you leave late.
But if the place that you're going to is further away,
you tend to leave early so you're not late. So
like I used to work literally as stone throws from
my house, I had to be there at eight o'clock,

(20:44):
and I consistently showed up at eight o five because
I was like, oh, it's only two minutes from my house.
So then I'd get in my car at seven fifty eight.
By the time I like rolled out, it was eight
oh one. But now I work seven minutes away from work,
and I always get there early. So I mean not
that the Weasleys live close, but you get what I'm saying.

(21:06):
You always think you have more time than you do
plus with six kids, and.

Speaker 4 (21:11):
I'm guilty of that.

Speaker 3 (21:12):
Yeah, But this whole scene where they're like piling into
the Ford Anglia and Mollie is like, wow, Muggles really
do make roomy cars. I'm not quoting her verbatim or whatever.
I decided to be like Mollie, like, girl, you know
who your husband is, Like, come on, do you really

(21:34):
think that this is what the inside of a Muggle
car looks like? I think it makes me laugh.

Speaker 1 (21:39):
I think to some extent she does, right, because I'm
assuming this is like the only car she's ever really
been in. She doesn't really go out into the Muggle
world a lot. I get the impression. Yeah, And you know,
I mean, she's a stay at home mom and she's
had seven kids, like she has been doing all lot

(22:00):
in the in the outside world, and I'm sure a
lot of Yeah, and she she comes from like a
pure blood family and all these things, and I'm sure
that a lot of her Muggle knowledge is actually just
what Arthur has told her.

Speaker 3 (22:15):
You're probably right, and.

Speaker 1 (22:16):
I mean, and that's I think in some ways where
Ron gets some of his from then, right, is like
that's all he's ever known. So I know we rag
on Ron a lot about like not knowing Muggle things
and thinking it's weird, but I think a lot of
it has just come from this worldview he's gotten because
of yeah, his parents. Yeah. It is funny though, because

(22:42):
I was reading this and the way it's described, I'm like,
this has got to be a slight nod to the
Tartist because it's described exactly like that, right, And so
I'm like, it's gotta be just a very subtle, even
like subconscious, because it's just such part of British culture
that like.

Speaker 3 (23:04):
It's there, that's entirely possible. It's entirely possible. You know,
you've been in my little car. I have a I
have a little Mini Cooper convertible and I have a
Tartist sticker on the back because so many people get
in they're like, wow, it's a lot of roomy er
in here than I'm like, yes, it is so yeah,
I mean I could say that how it's like we're

(23:28):
talking about like Molly and Arthur as like how they
relate to each other and their kids and whatever. How
do they let friend George go back for fireworks?

Speaker 6 (23:36):
Like it's also thinking about it doesn't make sense. Why
would you do that? It's not allowd I mean, they're
they're like wet start fireworks right because they had set
them off at dinner the night before two, So maybe
they don't see them as that dangerous because they're they're
like maybe they think they're like kid proof. Did he

(23:59):
tell them was his fireworks or jinny?

Speaker 5 (24:02):
Did they know that they were going that's what they
were going back for.

Speaker 1 (24:06):
I mean in the book, that's what it says.

Speaker 3 (24:07):
But yeah, you have to assume so, but I mean,
but maybe not.

Speaker 4 (24:11):
I would have loved to hear that argument, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (24:14):
Mom, I need like fireworks. You don't need your fireworks?

Speaker 1 (24:17):
Fred, Oh it's George. George forgot his fireworks. Oh whatever,
Fred forgot his broomstick, which it's like really my due, Like.

Speaker 3 (24:28):
Yeah, yeah, but what I mean obviously a plot, but
what a different book this would be if Genny had
left her diary at home.

Speaker 1 (24:35):
Yeah, yes, this is one of those very like subtle too,
because obviously we have to have a mention of the
diary and that Jenny needs to have it right, and
so there's for the for the plot. So I think
it's clever to have Fred and George have forgotten something too,
and to have that like repeated, because you almost miss
the Ginny forgot her diary and you don't really catch

(24:57):
it until the end when you're like, oh yeah, So
it's just so it's just well written, right, it's just
well crafted to have that there, because it's also very funny.

Speaker 4 (25:08):
I was thinking, like, if they, like I don't know
if I'm going to watch the TV series, but if
they get to a second season or when like whatever,
whatever season the second book will be, if they could,
like the get the comedic timing of that scene just right,
it would be really hilarious. It would be really fun
to have the whole like we're going, We're coming back,
We're going, We're coming back with chops.

Speaker 5 (25:31):
Basically in the car in the cart.

Speaker 3 (25:40):
I did see that they that they cast a Professor Bins,
which I thought.

Speaker 4 (25:44):
Was interesting they did so I don't know how to
feel about this freaking TV series. To be honest, I
get excited, like.

Speaker 3 (25:53):
None of us are, like, you know, horror ambivalent about it.
But you know, but Professor Binns, I was like, oh, okay,
so we're going to go somewhere maybe kind of interesting.

Speaker 4 (26:02):
Yeah, if they're costing him.

Speaker 3 (26:03):
Yeah. So they go back the three times and they're
running late, and Arthur is trying to convince Molly, like,
come on, just let us fly there. We'll get there
so much quicker, and Molly says I said, no, Arthur,
not in broad daylight. And I paused and I said, okay,
So maybe if it was dark out, maybe Molly would

(26:24):
say yes. Do you think she'd say yes if it
was darker?

Speaker 1 (26:28):
Come on? I think she may have been more open
to being convinced. I don't know if she'd say yes, yeah,
but I think she might because I mean, darkness offers
a certain cover as well, right of course, but she
knows that in the middle of the day people are
going to see a flying car and not be used
to that.

Speaker 2 (26:48):
So, you know, Harry and Ron should have.

Speaker 1 (26:50):
Thought of that.

Speaker 4 (26:53):
I think Mollie is secretly and like maybe a thrill seeker.
I mean she's married too to author Weasley, so maybe
like a small part of her would have loved to
like take the flying call at nighttime and just see
what it's like because she gets to fly in a call,
not a broomstick. I mean, it's a novelty for wizards.

Speaker 1 (27:16):
Maybe that's why she's so mad at the kids, because
she's like, why are you wanting this? And I haven't
gotten to exactly.

Speaker 4 (27:22):
I was just thinking.

Speaker 3 (27:23):
That that could be like their jasmine in a Laddin
moment where they go up in the park together, they
have a little date and they fly amongst the clouds.
That'd be so sweet. I want that for the well
a whole new world. Yeah, I want that for them now.

Speaker 1 (27:46):
So they finally do make it to King's Cross. And
why why does Molly always insist Percy go first? Right?
Because she does that. I think every year we see
them go through, she's always like, Percy first, Percy first,
And it's like why, I feel like, if anything, Percy
should almost go last because he's the oldest.

Speaker 3 (28:08):
Maybe he is the most fastidious and the pickiest and
takes the longest amount of time getting on the train
because he sees a lot of people that he knows
because he's kissing some butt.

Speaker 2 (28:22):
I mean, I guess he is. He is a prefect.

Speaker 1 (28:25):
So maybe she's like, he needs extra time because he's
supposed to be, you know, helping people on and whatnot,
and what.

Speaker 4 (28:33):
She knows that he likes to feel important, and yeah,
of course she's like, you got to first, my boy. Yeah,
maybe that's why.

Speaker 3 (28:42):
Well she does like him above all the others, so
you know.

Speaker 1 (28:46):
Well.

Speaker 4 (28:48):
Blue eyeboy.

Speaker 3 (28:50):
Yeah, but no matter who goes first, I'm sorry. There
is no world ever, ever where a mother would leave
two twelve year old boy it's on the platform alone
for any reason ever. I mean, shamany your boys are
of that age bracket, Like there's no.

Speaker 5 (29:10):
Way, absolutely not, Like I've no, no, you go in
front of me? No, yeah, because I mean, what can happen?
They get distracted easily, They might wander off and go, hey,
we have time to go look at this over here,
and then they know absolutely not.

Speaker 4 (29:28):
No.

Speaker 1 (29:30):
Well, and I get like one adult going through with Genny.
It's you know, sure whatever, But I'm like, why why
was it? Like Molly goes with Genny and then Arthur
waits until everybody else is through, like it just so irresponsible.

Speaker 5 (29:45):
You have two parents, it's always one in front, one
in back, kids in the middle. That's just that's how
it works.

Speaker 4 (29:53):
Yeah, where I'm from, though, I have to say they're
all mothers will absolutely leave their kids alone on the platform.
I mean, I guess twelve is not the best moms obviously.

Speaker 5 (30:06):
I think.

Speaker 4 (30:08):
Molly was like a little overwhelmed, and she was like
maybe a little concerned about Jenny, and she was just like,
hapan Ron has already done this, Like I went through
with them last year. It's fine, it's fine, They're right
behind me. I'm going through. I mean, she couldn't I
have foreseen that they were going to the gets stuck
on the other side. Technically, the barrier is just that

(30:29):
a barrier, So it was supposed to be like she
goes through, they go behind her, And I mean she didn't.
She could not have known the dobby was like doing
the sneaky business that it was doing. I'm trying to
keep Harry from going to Hogwarts. Obviously not her best moment.
I am. I am very defensiful of Molly though, because

(30:49):
I love her so much.

Speaker 1 (30:51):
No, I totally get and I guess twelve is about
an age where you start kind of letting kids be
a little bit more independent, right, And I mean I
think twelve was when I started being able to be
like left home without an adult for a little bit,
you know, like that's about the I mean on a
busy platform. Probably not the greatest idea, but right, you know,

(31:16):
it was just it was they were running late, it
was busy, they were trying to get everybody on.

Speaker 2 (31:22):
They had to get Ginny through for her first time,
and it.

Speaker 1 (31:25):
Was like just and maybe again this is Molly almost
like showing preferential treatment to Harry of like Harry's mature, right,
Like she thinks Harry is a little bit more mature
than he is. And she's like, Harry will make sure
Ron will get on, Okay, it'll be fine.

Speaker 3 (31:43):
Well, you know, on the other side of that coin,
it's also you know, as Marisa said, like she's worried
about Ginny, her only girl, her little girl, so you
know she's really just focused on her. Yeah, I'm not
so worried about the boys, which you know, I mean,
obviously the answer is plot like, we get it, but

(32:04):
Molly or.

Speaker 1 (32:05):
If nothing else, have Percy bring up the rear, right,
he's the oldest one and he also is so like
if that was like a special moment of like going
through the barrier with like for Ginny with both her
parents on her first trip, Okay, but have Percy bring
up the.

Speaker 3 (32:21):
Rear then yeah, that would have been so comical because
then let's say Percy is waiting and Harry and Ron
are trying to go through and Dobby blocks the barrier
and they miss the train and now they're stuck with.

Speaker 1 (32:34):
Percy with Percy in the car.

Speaker 2 (32:37):
Can you imagine?

Speaker 3 (32:39):
I mean, they would never take the car.

Speaker 4 (32:44):
And put him in the.

Speaker 1 (32:47):
Yeah, there would have been just like a massive argument
between Ron and Percy about what to do, and Harry
would have been like, I don't want to be here
right now.

Speaker 3 (32:56):
They would have sent that owl. They would have sent
the They would have.

Speaker 4 (33:00):
Because first he would have done that first thing.

Speaker 1 (33:02):
Yeah. But I also feel like though they may have
taken the car because Percy would have been like, I
am going to show that I am like response, I
can save the day, right, and so he would.

Speaker 5 (33:13):
Have been I am a prefect, I'll drive the car.

Speaker 1 (33:16):
Yeah exactly, he would have won driving. And but and
it would have taken them a while to get there,
but like he and Ron would have argued, and finally
he would have been like, well, it's my responsibility to
do this, so I'll do it. And then he and
Ron would have argued the whole way there, and like
Ron would have been a backseat driver, and Percy.

Speaker 3 (33:34):
Would especially once Ron gets hungry and sweaty and start.

Speaker 5 (33:41):
Ron what a miserable trip.

Speaker 1 (33:45):
Harry would have been in the back with Hedwig like
save us.

Speaker 4 (33:50):
I just imagining closest reaction when they when they slam
into the tree. I mean, one could argue that that
wouldn't have happened if he was driving, but I didn't.
I didn't think it would have had a difference that.

Speaker 1 (34:02):
Pan attack.

Speaker 5 (34:06):
First, I'm a bad Dare you attack me like the valuable?

Speaker 3 (34:14):
Yeah? Oh my god.

Speaker 4 (34:17):
Psy might have actually agreed with Snipe.

Speaker 1 (34:19):
Yeah exactly. Somebody who's gonna drawing?

Speaker 2 (34:22):
Will you like draw me?

Speaker 1 (34:24):
Percy and Ron arguing in the front seat, and Harry
and Hedwig just like looking at each other in the back,
like deliver us.

Speaker 4 (34:31):
Somebody can stroll that, I will buy that, I will
hang you in my house.

Speaker 3 (34:36):
I need a promic of that alternate comic that would
be so good, that'd be so good. But the before
they crashed in the woman Willow, we see them crash
into the barrier, which, like, it's so good, it's so.

Speaker 5 (34:53):
Funny, fdassic get. Every single time I read this or
listen to this, I just start cracking up, like I
I'm howling laughing because the visual in my head, especially
thinking about poor Headwig as she rolls away in her
cage she's shooting people are probably scary. Like it's just
it's great, it's written so well, it's great.

Speaker 3 (35:16):
I really thought a lot about this time, is where
is Dobby? Like is he just shining somewhere nearby? Can
he make himself invisible? Or is he like hiding so
well on the platform that no Muggles see him? Just
I was really thinking about that this time.

Speaker 1 (35:32):
Well, you know, I guess the question is is he
on the muggle side or is he on the platform
nine to three quarter side? Because I wonder why did
he come with the moufloys and so he's there, but
he's just got like senses that are allowing him to
figure this out, and so he seals it from that side.

Speaker 5 (35:50):
Hmmm, can he see through the platform since elf magic
is different?

Speaker 3 (35:55):
I think so maybe I've always thought so, oh interesting,
really interesting.

Speaker 4 (36:01):
I'm also wondering, like what he would have done if
Harry and Ron didn't end up being alone on the
other side, I mean they would have been an adult,
they still would have gone to school. Like Dobby's plan
wasn't really that great, to be honest, Or maybe he
just saw that they were the loss to go through
and then he was like, oh wait, I'm going to

(36:22):
stop them. Maybe it was an impromptu thing and it
wasn't planned. I mean, it's Dobby anything.

Speaker 5 (36:28):
He saw an opportunity and was like, hey.

Speaker 1 (36:30):
Yeah, yeah, did he somehow? This is way like conspiracy
theory time, But like can elves influence what people think
and do? Is that alone?

Speaker 3 (36:42):
He's not glad real? No, I have never thought before
about how Dobby got to the platform. I never assumed
he went with the Malfoys, but that's really intriguing to me.
I always just assumed that he was sort of stalking
Harry that because he can operate anywhere he wants, he
was maybe at the Burrow and like sort of followed them,

(37:08):
met them there. It would be interesting if he could
see through the barrier, but I would I would tend
to believe that he's on the Muggle side, but you're
probably right, he's probably on the platform nine and three
quarter side. But then he's just guessing he's just taking
a stab because what if, like Dean Thomas came up
behind Harry and was like, hey, Brody too.

Speaker 1 (37:30):
Well, My question is like our wizard's really that punctual
that in the last fifteen minutes, no one else is
trying to get through, right, Like, are there other sides
or other entrances that other people are getting through?

Speaker 3 (37:45):
Oh, there could be other barriers, but.

Speaker 1 (37:47):
Yeah, or like, so I don't know. Maybe maybe part
of the reason I've always assumed Dobby was on platform
nine and three quarters instead was because he was going
to find any way to try and stop Harry from
coming and so whatever, like that's where Harry's gonna be,
so he's gonna have to find a way to stop him,

(38:08):
and and that just happened to be the moment. I
also can definitely see the Malpoys being like, and Dobby's
coming with us so he can carry you.

Speaker 2 (38:16):
Know, Draco's trunk an owl.

Speaker 4 (38:18):
And like gross, you know another interesting gross saying that's
just popped into my head. What if Dobby is the
reason they were light, Like everybody forgot stuff? What did
he hit them? Like?

Speaker 1 (38:34):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (38:35):
And the diary because Dobby knew the diary. Didn't Dobby
know that something was up with the diary? I'm not sure? Yes?
So so, I mean, so he was really trying.

Speaker 3 (38:48):
To help breaking it.

Speaker 1 (38:50):
Why listen say he just kept getting more and more desperate.

Speaker 3 (38:53):
Dobby, my boy, y'all crap on him?

Speaker 5 (38:57):
Huh.

Speaker 4 (38:58):
I love that. Olf I hardcore cried like so much
when he died. Yeah, yeah, I'm still sad about that.

Speaker 3 (39:07):
Oh, I love ye. I love that so much. I
That's what I love about this show and have many
different people on. They bring up new things and they
never think about before. That is so chaotic. If Dobby
is like taking stuff out of their pack.

Speaker 5 (39:27):
No, like you see him reaching. No, if they forget this, No.

Speaker 2 (39:33):
He just blends into the chaos of the morning.

Speaker 1 (39:35):
And that's why nobody notices him because everything's so crazy.

Speaker 4 (39:39):
Exactly like it was kind of the reason that things
were crazy. Probably huh. I was actually wondering, like we
were talking about the barrier, can Dobby c through it?

Speaker 3 (39:52):
Like?

Speaker 4 (39:53):
Is there any like Harry? Like if I remember correctly
from my reread of the chapter. Harry praises his ear
against the barrier to like he like he can hear
anything on the other side. I was wondering if you
can actually a year through it and be has any
Muggle or squib ever accidentally walked through the damn thing
to the other side, Like is that possibility? Is it

(40:15):
like a thing like you have to be a wizard
to like get through. But if you're like technically a
wizarding heritage but you can't do magic, can you still
pass through?

Speaker 2 (40:25):
So I think.

Speaker 3 (40:29):
I think that's been answered that, Like Hermione's parents are
on the platform at some point, right, Yeah, Like it's
one of those things that you have to know. Yeah,
I don't think. I don't think that you could be
a Muggle. I mean well, I mean.

Speaker 2 (40:42):
Well, I'm looking it up.

Speaker 5 (40:43):
I'm looking it up on But if you have to run,
I can't see a Muggle like randomly just running it
at the wall.

Speaker 3 (40:50):
You don't have to run, Molly says, you just run
if you're nervous. It would be pretty amazing if you
just leaned on it and fell through it. I feel
like maybe you do have to have magical blood or
something because Hermione's parents give birth to a muggle Born.
But that has to mean that there's magical blood somewhere
in the family, because I feel like you can't just

(41:14):
have a magical child, although maybe you can. I mean,
there have been anomalies of two white parents giving birth
to a black baby, so like maybe maybe maybe it's
just genetics. I don't know, that's such an interesting question,
wild though. I would feel so bad for that Muggle.

Speaker 5 (41:33):
Can you imagine you just fell through and all these
things you're saying, like what is this and.

Speaker 3 (41:39):
All of a sudden there's an owl rolling by you
in a cage, like poor headwig, poor headwig.

Speaker 5 (41:47):
That poor girl wings flapping out her eyes wide.

Speaker 1 (41:52):
Are you finding anything, Alison, No, I could have sworn
it's set up somewhere at one point that like you
do have to have some sort of like wizarding heritage
or it, or it's like Diagon Alley where you have
to have a wizard like lead you through, which is
how like muggleborn parents get on there.

Speaker 2 (42:10):
But I'm I'm not seeing it, so maybe I made
that up.

Speaker 5 (42:15):
I feel like you have to have a wizard with you,
like it's set up like the barrier and what is it?
Is it half blood prints where like you have to
have a dark mark to go through that specific Yeah,
Like maybe it's set up where you have to have
some kind of magical blood or magical association, be a
wizard adjacent in some way to be able to get through.

Speaker 1 (42:35):
Yeah, or it's like I mean, or we know, like
the entrance to diagonall or like the Leaky Cauldron, right,
like muggle eyes just kind of go over it. So
maybe there's something like that where they can't hear anything,
they can't really see it. They don't really see the
people going in as long as you're doing it quickly,
you know, unless like somebody's there to point it out

(42:56):
to you.

Speaker 3 (42:57):
Isn't the platform like on platable or on something able?

Speaker 1 (43:06):
Hang on, let's see, well it can't be unplattable, because.

Speaker 3 (43:10):
Let's see concealed. I'm just whizzing through the what was
once Potter More, which is then Wizarding World dot Com,
which is now Harry Potter dot Com.

Speaker 1 (43:21):
I just looked.

Speaker 2 (43:22):
I looked on that too, and I wasn't saying.

Speaker 3 (43:24):
Yeah, there's like nothing here, does does mention? Celestina Warback though, who.

Speaker 1 (43:30):
I recently found out as a Gryffindor. Forgot about that,
so that was fun.

Speaker 3 (43:35):
Sweet. Yeah, interesting, I don't hmmm hmmm, well it's a
good question to toss to the listeners.

Speaker 2 (43:46):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (43:47):
I love it.

Speaker 3 (43:49):
And in the meantime we can all run to the car.

Speaker 2 (43:54):
I love how delivers that line. I'm sorry, but that.

Speaker 3 (44:09):
Harry the car in his face with his big eyes.
He is so cute in this movie. He's peak adorable,
little British ginger adorable.

Speaker 4 (44:20):
Once we watch the movies and I just looked at
his face the entire time. It is a comedy like
it is brilliant at.

Speaker 1 (44:31):
Background half the time with the funniest faces. It's amazing.

Speaker 3 (44:35):
Rupert Gran gives good face. He's like, he's a very
expressive Yes.

Speaker 4 (44:41):
One of my favorite lines from his is when they're
in the in the Forbidden Forest with all the spiders
and like looks at Harry, uh and he's like, can
we no. I often use that line myself.

Speaker 3 (44:56):
Yeah, And that was a very good facial impression.

Speaker 4 (45:00):
It was very good.

Speaker 3 (45:01):
That's very good. You've practiced that clearly.

Speaker 1 (45:06):
I do have to say, this is really a ron
is a Gryffindor. Moment too write that he thinks about
the car and he's like, we can fly the car. Right.
I definitely think this is like he really wants to
show he's as good as friend George right flying this
car again.

Speaker 2 (45:21):
He wants to be clever. It's also very twelve year
old boy, right.

Speaker 1 (45:24):
He wants to be clever and independent, and he wants
that thrill of like guess who arrived in a flying car?

Speaker 5 (45:30):
You know?

Speaker 1 (45:31):
And I just I think it's brilliant. I think sometimes people,
especially lately, people have been like, why is Ron a Gryffindor?
And it's like Ron is such a griffin door you
got absolutely.

Speaker 5 (45:42):
Because Ron doesn't care. Ron has no ends to give
about anything, and he's like, let's do it. Yeah, reckless
is it? Maybe let's go, let's go, let's do it.

Speaker 2 (45:52):
Yeah yeah. And I just it's funny.

Speaker 3 (45:56):
I mean, yeah, it is. It is it in this
part where I think when they start getting in the
car and then their Harry is like daydreaming about like
rolling up to Hogwarts, like landing on the line. Everybody'd
be like, oh, so.

Speaker 1 (46:13):
Cool the Glover. I should find that part and read
it because it's very funny, is it?

Speaker 3 (46:19):
In this part though, Was it like this early in
the chapter. I couldn't remember where I.

Speaker 4 (46:22):
Swear I read it. He had this whole vision of
them being such cool kids.

Speaker 1 (46:28):
Well, it's like right after they It's like right after
they take off.

Speaker 3 (46:33):
Yeah, like once again the clouds. I think, once the
oh no, the invisibility booster is not working. Drama, yeah
is over. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (46:41):
It was as though they had been plunged into a
fabulous dream. This thought Harry was surely the only way
to travel past swirls and turrets of snowy cloud in
a car full of hot, bright sunlight, with a fat
pack of toffees in the glove compartment, and the prospect
of seeing friend George's jealous faces when they landed smoothly
and spectacularly the sweeping lawn in front of Hogwarts Castle.

Speaker 3 (47:03):
Smoothly and specular.

Speaker 4 (47:07):
It was anything but but they did come in with
a literally.

Speaker 5 (47:11):
I mean it was spectacular, just not in a good way.

Speaker 3 (47:15):
Yeah, it does beg the question though, like, were Molly
and Arthur actually blocked from getting back? Like I always
assumed that they would just operate home, So how how
would like how I don't I can't picture them going
back through the barrier. Why would they sure the car
is there? I guess, but they could just operate to

(47:37):
the car. I don't know. The whole thing always seemed
a little I mean plot.

Speaker 1 (47:41):
This is another thing that I'm like, I swear this
has been answered somewhere, and I can't find where.

Speaker 3 (47:49):
While we're talking to Google it.

Speaker 1 (47:52):
Yeah, like I saw this before we started recording, and
I was thinking about it and trying to look into it,
and I didn't find anything. I was just like, I
swear it's been answered and I don't remember where.

Speaker 5 (48:04):
I always just assumed they would have operated back to
the car, like because I have well, I don't know,
because well, yeah they would have. Like Muggle parents, they
probably would have had to come back through the barrier.
But like wizard parents, I don't know, can you operate?

Speaker 3 (48:22):
Oh well, I just found the answer to her first question.
So this is from a two thousand and one interview
on BBC Harry Potter and Me. She says, blah blah
blah blah blah blah blah. I like the entrances to
be places that you can only find if you have
the knowledge. So anyone who ran at the barrier with
enough confidence would be able to break through onto platform

(48:43):
nine to three quarters. Oh yeah, so there's a rante
to that. You were right. She did talk about it somewhere.
It was an interview twenty five years ago. Good memory.

Speaker 1 (48:57):
Yeah, I'm sure it's on the lexicon and I just
somehow missed it when I was reading that.

Speaker 3 (49:02):
Yeah, I'm for this weird one off stuff where we're like,
I'm pretty confident the author mentioned that is I like
achio quote. It has not been updated in forever, but
they've got all the old stuff, got all the old stuff.

Speaker 1 (49:16):
So so does it come up that they did operate
home because I swear.

Speaker 3 (49:21):
I think I think it's in the next chapter in
the Howler or somewhere where Molly says that they had
to operate home. I think maybe that's what you're thinking of.
Maybe it's not in the Howler, but I'm confident that
they did actually operate home, and they probably would have
gone back to the car otherwise.

Speaker 5 (49:41):
So if Harry and Ron had just like waited a
few minutes at the car, yeah, and they probably will
shown back up at the car, yeah, and all would
have been fine.

Speaker 3 (49:53):
I'm not really seeing anything on Achio quote with the
word operate in it. She talks a lot about the platform,
but not like in the way we're talking about it.
So I think we just have to assume that. I
mean that quote from the two thousand and one interview.
If you're confident enough, you can get in there, she said,
anybody It didn't say magical being.

Speaker 2 (50:15):
I guess a cold person.

Speaker 4 (50:16):
Which one of you will take one for the team
and like go run and see if you need.

Speaker 3 (50:21):
Let's go meet up in London and April twenty six,
we're going to go crash into the platform together.

Speaker 1 (50:27):
Let's do it.

Speaker 4 (50:29):
Imagine that we actually go through.

Speaker 3 (50:31):
It'd be amazing. No, that's why they set up the
fake one out front for the muggles, so.

Speaker 1 (50:35):
That, yeah, because you had so many people.

Speaker 3 (50:37):
Yeah, so that dummies, you know.

Speaker 1 (50:40):
I think the first time I went there, I actually
did go and like just like touch it to just
be like see sure I like the actual one because
you're like, maybe it's check. They've renovated it in the past,
like decade or something though, so it's not the same
at all. And I also think now you have to
have a ticket to get to the platforms actually, so.

Speaker 3 (51:02):
Yeah, security harder, Yeah, but Eric has my favorite picture
ever of anybody at the like fake platform nine and
three quarters. He was on like a Harry Potter fan
trip and I don't know, two thousand and two or something,
and there's a whole series of photos of him running
up to it and then he like purposely tipped over
his luggage and like laid on the ground like he

(51:23):
ran into it. It's adorable.

Speaker 1 (51:26):
I love that.

Speaker 3 (51:27):
Eric's my favorite people. So but yeah, I mean so
Molly and Arthur, since they have to get back to
the car, probably go up to the barrier and hit it,
like run into it, just like run carried it on
the other side.

Speaker 1 (51:46):
I mean, they probably tried to just walk through it
still because they only say, like run if you're nervous, right, Yeah,
I swear that was answered somewhere. It's gonna bother me.

Speaker 3 (52:00):
Now.

Speaker 4 (52:01):
They didn't come They didn't come back for them. But
they should have realized, I mean that Molly should have
realized that they didn't come through behind her.

Speaker 1 (52:11):
Maybe they were trying to right and maybe and then
they got stuck, and so I mean they probably were kind.

Speaker 4 (52:20):
Of right to the other side if they are stuck,
which is again like this like.

Speaker 5 (52:26):
That was my question. Can you operate for a platform?

Speaker 3 (52:28):
And you can?

Speaker 2 (52:30):
I think you can because they do.

Speaker 3 (52:32):
Yeah, they do like to the platform.

Speaker 5 (52:34):
But can you operate like back out onto the muggle side.

Speaker 2 (52:38):
Yes, I think you can.

Speaker 3 (52:39):
In one of the books, isn't someone looking out a
window saying that, like people are dis operating? I think
I'm making that up too. You know, my friends, we
make a lot of things up.

Speaker 1 (52:49):
As there's so much knowledge and theory and conversations in
our heads. I think sometimes we just get them confused
and things just come out hmm. I mean, I wonder
if they weren't that worried though, because they were like, oh,
they got through, and that obviously they had to have
gotten on the train obvious, you know.

Speaker 3 (53:11):
Yeah, we just missed them more because.

Speaker 1 (53:13):
Because so we were helping Ginny and and but obviously
they got on and they took care of it. I
don't know.

Speaker 4 (53:20):
I remember when I read it as a kid. I
love that I can remember the emotions I felt when
I read this as a kid. I guess it's just
because I was such a I have a really vivid imagination.
I remember everything in like HD color, like you know,
the pictures on my head there. They just remember reading
his part, and I was terrified, okay, like like they

(53:41):
can't get through. Like I was like their parents aren't
going to be able to get through either. And then
I was when Ron suggested they take the car, I
was like, that is that is not the best idea,
but it is a pretty good idea because how else
are they going to get to school? Like I was
still out panicking. I wasn't thinking of owls or whiteing

(54:01):
for them to come back going anything. I was just like,
this is an emergency. We need to do something about it.

Speaker 3 (54:06):
Then how old were you like nine?

Speaker 4 (54:08):
I yeah, probably nine ten. So I was about the
kid logic kid logic absolutely, I didn't.

Speaker 1 (54:16):
Quite sure it's such kid logic, So.

Speaker 4 (54:19):
Yeah, I would have. I mean, I'm also a gryffindo.
I guess I would make the sinus sykes wrong. It's like, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 5 (54:26):
There you go, there you go, because in all honesty,
I probably would have done the same thing.

Speaker 3 (54:32):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (54:33):
I mean, like I like to think now as an adult,
I'm all haughty and I'm like, oh I would never
do that, But as a kid, now I would totally have. Yeah,
it can't be that hard to buy it's magic.

Speaker 3 (54:44):
I'm afraid of, right, So I never would have done that, Like,
actually never would have done that. I remember going up
in a hot air balloon that was tethered to the
ground at like there when I was a kid, and
we got ten feet off the ground and I was
like curled up at the bottom of the basket like
sobbing crying. Oh no, So I never would. I've always

(55:06):
wanted to go in a helicopter, but I know that
I'd never be able to handle it, and I'm confident
that angler would be the same thing. So if I
was with somebody, they might try to convince me and
be like, I'm that is not happening. I'm going to
pass out if I get into that car because I'm
going to get.

Speaker 4 (55:23):
I would have had to petrificus to tell us you
so that you can, Like you would have been hermione
in that situation, just like you're a riven claw. You
would have you would have like talked some sense into
the if you maybe.

Speaker 3 (55:40):
I mean again, it's easy in hindsight as an adult
to be like I wouldn't do that, But I don't
think I would have come up with an alternate solution.
I just know that I would have refused to get
into the flying car.

Speaker 1 (55:52):
Oh see, I would all on board. I would have
been like, let's go.

Speaker 3 (55:56):
Yeah, well, you grew up with a pilot for a
father sometime helps.

Speaker 1 (56:00):
And I also am a very like punctual person and
like not being somewhere on time kind of freaks me out,
So I'd be like, we have to get there on time,
so it doesn't matter.

Speaker 7 (56:10):
Yeah, yeah, its wandered after this all the students like
the Whole Goods Express or are there some of them
that takes alternate methods of transportation like when you're like
fifth years year, seventh year.

Speaker 1 (56:24):
Yeah, it's been confirmed by the author says that because
it was talking about there's an old pot or more,
you know, one of those tidbits that talks about how
you know. Many pure blood families were outraged at the
idea of their children using muggle transport, which they claimed
was unsafe, insanitary and demeaning. However, is the ministry decreed

(56:45):
that students either rode the train or did not attend school.
The objections were swiftly silent. So the only way.

Speaker 4 (56:51):
That clears up the twenty year question I've had for
like since I read that.

Speaker 3 (56:57):
Yeah, I mean, the thing that bothers me is like,
so let's let's go off the accents in the nationality
of folks in the films. Right, Choe is Scottish, she's
already in Stolin and she has to go all the
way to London to take the train back to Salin.

Speaker 4 (57:15):
Yeah, that's ridiculous.

Speaker 3 (57:17):
I it would make more sense to me if the
train made incremental stule. It doesn't, but it would make
more sense to me if it did. Of course, you
don't think about that when you're writing, Alison, think about
that stuff when you're editing your novel.

Speaker 1 (57:34):
I'm trying.

Speaker 3 (57:36):
Someday in however, many years from now, when somebody has
a podcast about your books breaking it apart, they're going
to be like, Allison, why didn't you ever think.

Speaker 1 (57:46):
About I mean, there are also sometimes things where you're like,
please just suspend your disbelief for this. You don't imagine
somebody running a fourteen year long podcast picking apart every
single detail, you know what, Maybe you should.

Speaker 5 (58:03):
It's a new day and age. You have to now.

Speaker 3 (58:05):
So when you were writing this in the nineties, yeah,
when podcasts did not exist. Yeah, no, for sure, Yeah,
but the audacity of Ron just being like, let's just
do it. I mean, I know we've sort of touched
on this, but he was not raised poorly enough for

(58:25):
this behavior. Like the howler that he gets is justified.
Because if this were my kid and I were Molly, yeah,
I'd be pretty I'd be pretty effing mad.

Speaker 1 (58:40):
I mean, she's a Gryffindor. That's all to say for
that is that. And it's also I mean, if you
think about it, it's back to school time for them,
and I think they go to Hogwarts and they are
a little bit more on their own in a way, right,
I mean they're not, but they are right.

Speaker 3 (58:59):
And are like that.

Speaker 5 (59:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (59:01):
Yeah, and so maybe that was kind of the the
idea was he was like, Okay, it's he's kind of
back in that mindset of we're back to school, and
that means I have to solve some problems on my own,
and that means, hey, let's go get the car, you know.

Speaker 2 (59:13):
I mean, I'm just gonna stand up for run here.

Speaker 3 (59:17):
I mean, that's okay, you'res I mean, yeah, like I
get it.

Speaker 4 (59:21):
I just.

Speaker 3 (59:24):
Yeah, there's there's no defense.

Speaker 1 (59:25):
It is no but it is again, it is a
very stupid thing to do, and it is a very
like kid logic, Griffin door, all of these things that just.

Speaker 2 (59:34):
Create this perfect storm of we did something dumb.

Speaker 5 (59:39):
Now that we're we're talking about it, and I'm thinking,
was it really that bad? Because like, had they not
been seen, like had everything gone smoothly, the invisibility thing
worked properly, had they not been seen and they had
not crashed into the womping willow? Was it really that
bad of a play?

Speaker 3 (01:00:00):
I mean no, yes, but nould in formed or talked
to an adult like, yeah, they they should have talked
to an adult like yeah, I mean in concept, great
in theory or in actuality, you know, maybe.

Speaker 4 (01:00:23):
I mean there's a lot that didn't think about, like
what what if like did the car run on? Guess,
like does Ron really know how to drive this thing?
But there are a million things like I didn't think
of this as a kid, obviously, but there are million
things that could have gone wrong, and what if they crashed?

Speaker 3 (01:00:38):
Like you don't they even know how to drive a
car exactly?

Speaker 4 (01:00:42):
Yeah, So taking it up in the as.

Speaker 3 (01:00:45):
As an adult, he doesn't even know how to drive
a car because he has to do like a super
century charm for like a backup thingy or something. He
like makes a dumb joke about that. Anyway, Ron like
taps the dash with his wand underage magic.

Speaker 1 (01:01:03):
Yes, I don't know. I was thinking about that too,
and I was thinking, is it more like.

Speaker 3 (01:01:12):
An on button?

Speaker 1 (01:01:13):
I can't even think of the word now, but you know,
like when kids do magic accidentally instinctual That's the word
I was looking for. Is it a more instinctual thing
instead of like actual magic?

Speaker 2 (01:01:25):
But he just happens to be using.

Speaker 1 (01:01:27):
His wand because he doesn't really say anything, he just
kind of taps it to be like hey, wake up,
almost And that's kind of what he uses it for,
is he just wants it to do certain things and
he doesn't know how to do that, and so he's
just almost doing that like instinctual.

Speaker 3 (01:01:47):
He's unknowingly doing unverbal magic. Yeah yeah, yeah kind of.
And it's almost that like, but now because he.

Speaker 1 (01:01:55):
Has a wand and he spent a year with his
wand using it to chain that instead of doing it
just kind of with whatever like he would before kids
get wands, now he kind of uses the wand to
channel it.

Speaker 5 (01:02:12):
More like I don't know if I'm intentional.

Speaker 1 (01:02:16):
Yeah, like it's it's not an actual spell, it's just
his like instinctual we need the car to start, start car,
you know.

Speaker 3 (01:02:27):
Well when he didn't say anything, so maybe that's where
the line is sort of drawn with underage magic. I mean,
of course, like we were talking, you know, nonverbal and whatever,
but I don't think he was thinking anything either other
than just oh, I've seen dad do this, I've seen
friend George do this.

Speaker 1 (01:02:44):
I mean, there's also probably the fact of, like we've
talked about how kids and wizarding families can get away
with more because it just detects magic, not who does it.
So maybe because they were in the car which belongs
to Arthur, it didn't read. I mean. He also says
that like underage wizards are allowed to do magic in

(01:03:06):
life threatening or dangerous situations, which like maybe.

Speaker 3 (01:03:09):
That three quarters, so it could be any number of things.
Hm hmmm, I don't know. I don't know. I feel
about that one. I feel like it's it's a it's
a and I don't want to call it a plot hole,
because not everything is a plot hole, but I feel
like it's an inconsistency when it comes to Yeah, I mean, it's.

Speaker 1 (01:03:33):
Also just I mean that whole how they detect underage
magic is really unfair and biased. Anyway. Yeah, so they
take off into the clouds though they finally get in
the air and I caught this time they talk about
there's a fat pack of toffees in the glove compartment
that Fred and George left, and I was like, oh,

(01:03:53):
wait a second, is this a hint towards ton tungue toffees?
Were they already developing these and did they perhaps leave
them in the car after they rescued Harry because they
were hoping maybe to test it out already.

Speaker 3 (01:04:10):
Maybe maybe there's just another thing that they left behind.
And they got express and they were like, oh, I
left my toffees in the car. Dang it, I can't
go back for the can't go back for the toffee.

Speaker 4 (01:04:22):
Yeah. I think it was probably tonguetongue toffees. I would
pay good money it was. The way it's described is
very similar to what it's described like light in the
books on the fat toffees. So possibly, yeah, maybe they left.
Maybe they left it they intentionally hoping their dad would
like eat one. It would it would be funny to

(01:04:45):
them that it's Fred and George. I mean, I can
just imagine that how after after.

Speaker 1 (01:04:54):
That, Yeah, yeah, she would have lost her mind.

Speaker 3 (01:05:03):
Totally, totally. So they finally get in the air and
you know, after all of the invisibility booster things not working,
and they're freaking out because it turns on, it turns off,
it turns on, and they're like, let's just fly above
the clouds. And I was thinking about the I guess
physics isn't the word the I don't know the actuality

(01:05:23):
of flying above the clouds because when you're on a plane,
you're above the clouds, and that's pretty high, right, I
mean like that's high. So of course I did a
little Ravenclaw research and the lowest flying clouds are at
sixty five hundred feet, which is pretty tall. Park City, Utah,
where they have Sundance, is about seven thousand feet, and

(01:05:45):
the tallest building in the world, the Berje Khalifa, is
twenty seven hundred feet, so they are like, they're pretty
high up there. You can still breathe a sixty five
hundred feet because that's what I was thinking of. I
was like, can they even breathe a sixty five hundred feet?
You can. However, you'd get altitude sickness pretty quickly, which

(01:06:08):
I guess we maybe sort of see here because they
only have toffees and they have nothing to drink, and
they feel sick and they get headaches. Probably not what
the author was thinking, but that's what I was thinking
when I read at this time.

Speaker 1 (01:06:19):
So well, it's interesting I saw this, and I also
looked up that the highest point in Britain is ben Nevis,
which is about forty four hundred feet, So they are.

Speaker 5 (01:06:30):
Like, that's still pretty high.

Speaker 3 (01:06:32):
Like where is that? Where's the ben Nevis?

Speaker 1 (01:06:35):
I want to say it's in Whales, that makes sense,
so they don't actually go over.

Speaker 2 (01:06:40):
No, it's in Scotland. I'm sorry.

Speaker 3 (01:06:44):
Yeah, maybe that's the mountain Scotland.

Speaker 2 (01:06:48):
It's up in the Highlands.

Speaker 3 (01:06:51):
Yeah yeah, I mean sixty five hundred feet is really
high up there, definitely. Now, like twelve year old cat,
there is no way she'd be in that car. I
would be passed out if someone had gotten me into it,
I'd be passed out in the backseat.

Speaker 1 (01:07:07):
Yeah done, I mean I think sixty five hundred feet.
Let's see, my parents just went flying the other day.
Where did my dad say, how high up they were.

Speaker 3 (01:07:16):
I mean that's probably pretty standard for a small for
a small Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:07:20):
So so the other day my parents were up forty
five hundred feet.

Speaker 5 (01:07:26):
Yeah, in.

Speaker 2 (01:07:28):
The Cessna.

Speaker 1 (01:07:30):
Normally is about sixty five hundred feet. Yeah. Commercial airliners
usually fly at about like thirty thousand feet or so,
that's about thirty to thirty two thousand feet. But yeah, a.

Speaker 3 (01:07:43):
Smaller craft is going to be about about yeah, yeah,
because what's the point. Wait, at what altitude can you
no longer breathe? Eight twenty six thousand feet? Okay, so
we're quite a bit off not being to break.

Speaker 1 (01:08:03):
But they still I mean you still could get altitude
sickness and stuff. And they also they're in the seat
like that, you know, like unrelenting heat. They're dehydrated, I
mean eight hours without food, two except for those toffees,
birdles probably causing problems.

Speaker 2 (01:08:23):
Yeah, it's not.

Speaker 3 (01:08:25):
A good time twelve year old boys.

Speaker 5 (01:08:28):
We don't think there was no common sense at play
here whatsoever. Like there was no thinking ahead, there's no.

Speaker 3 (01:08:36):
No Yeah, and it's cute how hair is, Like he
was thinking about that ice cold pumpkin juice was like
when I was down on that train, baby, yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:08:46):
I'm surprised they didn't fall asleep.

Speaker 1 (01:08:48):
Yeah for real.

Speaker 2 (01:08:51):
Well, I mean I guess.

Speaker 1 (01:08:52):
I guess when you're up that high, and especially if
you're in like a car more and you've got like
the sunlight coming in, that would probably.

Speaker 4 (01:09:01):
Enough to keep you awake. I suppose it's somebody who
lives with away.

Speaker 5 (01:09:06):
Yeah, they were scared. There was too much adrenaline, like
they were too scared to go to Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:09:12):
Probably.

Speaker 3 (01:09:14):
Also it is the Ford Angli, a self driving car.
I mean Ron's hands are on the steering wheel and
they have to keep going down to look at the train.

Speaker 2 (01:09:23):
Yeah, it does like twiddle the steering wheel.

Speaker 3 (01:09:26):
So yeah, I.

Speaker 2 (01:09:28):
Think it's like semi self driving.

Speaker 3 (01:09:31):
Yeah, but you Ron has like road trip stamina like
you do. He can drive for eight hours like uninterrupted.
Alison has impeccable road trips.

Speaker 1 (01:09:43):
Yeah I have. I can't do it anymore, but I
used to be able to sit in the car and
not get out for twelve hours.

Speaker 2 (01:09:50):
Wow from Sacramento Provo.

Speaker 3 (01:09:53):
I was going to say that drive yeah crazy.

Speaker 1 (01:09:57):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's I can't really do it anymore,
but now I need.

Speaker 4 (01:10:05):
To stretch my legs. Said a lot of like.

Speaker 5 (01:10:08):
Yeah, and what if you need to get gas? Like
with Harry and Ron, my thought was, so, this is
a magical car, so I'm assuming your runs on magic.
There's no gas needed. But what if they had needed
gas and the tank wasn't full, And what if they
had fallen out of the sky, like a long time
before they even got to Hogwarts, like we talked about

(01:10:32):
a little bit earlier, they would have died, Like they
would have just crossed to the ground and died. And
I wonder, like, when they get to Hogwarts and the
car starts to struggle, is that because it's running out
of magic? Like how how does this work? Does it
need to be recharged like a like an electric car

(01:10:54):
or like, like what what is going on? Exactly?

Speaker 3 (01:10:58):
I'll prime the conversation and I have it a little
later in the dock, but we can have it now.
There's been a long time debate over the car, okay,
because the car, when Harry and Ron get into it
is just a car. The car is just a car. Yes,
it's a magical car that Arthur has modified and put

(01:11:22):
the booster on and made bigger on the inside and
all of that. But when the car gets to Hogwarts,
that car is not just a car. That car gains sentience.
That car has a brain, and it thinks and it
kicks them out. It like flows, and it goes into
the forbid forest and it becomes wild, and then it
saves them from the spiders. Listen. There has been a debate,

(01:11:44):
and I have long been on the side that the
car gains sentience and becomes magical when it enters the
Hogwarts grounds. And I will not hear arguments against it,
except that I will because we're on a podcast, and
that's the.

Speaker 5 (01:11:59):
See.

Speaker 1 (01:12:00):
I think it gains that sentience when it gets like
enough magic in it, which is why that happens when
it gets to the grounds. I think it was magical
before it had like enough magical energy put into it
that it could do these magical things. But I think
it kind of hits the point of like sentiences, if

(01:12:22):
you will, Like it has enough magic that it kind
of absorbs once it hits the grounds. So at this point,
when they're flying, it had to have been enchanted to
go anywhere for as long as you needed it pretty much,
or like better gas mileage or something.

Speaker 5 (01:12:42):
So do we think there was any gas used in
this at all?

Speaker 3 (01:12:45):
Can't be.

Speaker 1 (01:12:45):
I don't think so, because I can't see Arthur. Well, okay,
I'm of two minds. I can see Arthur being like,
I'm gonna make it so it doesn't need gas because
that seems like an impediment that it shouldn't need. And
I can also see Arthur being like getting petrol in
a car, is it like formative Muggle experience cell like

(01:13:07):
but maybe like extending how long it'll last.

Speaker 2 (01:13:10):
That's the thing. I'm up two minds of that.

Speaker 5 (01:13:12):
Like a dual tank situation where there's like there's gas
and magic, so like one accident backup.

Speaker 1 (01:13:19):
So it's like a or or its itself less gas.
Yeah yeah, oh whoa, that's good.

Speaker 5 (01:13:28):
Oh I like that.

Speaker 1 (01:13:30):
I mean it's a possibility you could have put a
spell on the tank to have it be like refilling.

Speaker 4 (01:13:35):
I mean, I think I think it's possible. Like Cat's saying,
the car became sentient when it entered the Wholewoods grounds,
I am wondering if, like in my childhood mind, I
was like that. I never that's a really good argument.
I never thought of it like that. Funnily enough, I was.
I was thinking the car is sick and tired. Like

(01:13:56):
it just drove for eight hours. It doesn't want to
do this anymore, just got beaten up by the warming willow.
It's like, screw you, I'm not doing this anymore. But
I was thinking what I was reading this, and before
I heard Kat's argument, I was like, did allthur weisby
accidentally like performs some kind of profound magic to create
a call that was sentient? Like is he actually a

(01:14:19):
way more powerful wizard than anyone is ever given him
credit for? Like, is it possible that he created this
thing that no one's ever created before? A sentient car?
I mean, and it just it just it just happened
to Kat's leg, but like it just happened to manifest

(01:14:39):
the second it got beat up, and it was like
it's sense of self preservation kicked in the moment it
hit the warmping willow and was about to get crushed,
and then Harry tells it to reverse and then it
does exactly what he tells it to, even though Ron
isn't doing anything. So yeah, I was wondering about that,
like maybe this is all authors doing and he's actually

(01:15:00):
Brittan Well let me even he doesn't, I.

Speaker 3 (01:15:03):
Think Allison's explanation is right in the middle of what
you're saying, And what I'm saying is that Arthur had
put all this magic into it already. So then when
it got to Hogwarts and it got more magic, it
actually it kind of woke it up yet, like it
gained a personality. It became there's no other word for it.
It became sentient. It became a car with a quote

(01:15:27):
unquote brain, with a personality with actions, and it can
respond to Harry saying back up like it just there
are people who don't believe that, and I really struggle
with that, Like I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:15:42):
I will I will say I do think Arthur is
a lot more powerful than we give him credit for.
It's a similar way to like the Twins, right, are
a lot more powerful than we give them credit for,
because they use that power and that cleverness in ways
that other people don't think are right because they use
them for different reasons. And so I can definitely think

(01:16:05):
that and maybe that is part of the reason why
when the car gets to Hogwarts and it like absorbs
more magic it's able to do that is because Arthur
had put enough into it to get it to that
point almost and then bam.

Speaker 3 (01:16:20):
Yeah, so yes, the answer to everybody is yes, yes.

Speaker 2 (01:16:27):
Yes, Arthur is more. Car is alive.

Speaker 3 (01:16:29):
Yes the car, car is lots of magic into it. Yes,
the car is alive. I feel enough to a conclusion.

Speaker 4 (01:16:39):
Yes enough, isn't it? I remember quote uh, and I
don't from I don't know if I'm making this off.
Isn't it is an author who said, never trust anything
that can think for itself.

Speaker 1 (01:16:51):
But doesn't where it keeps it, where it keeps its brain.

Speaker 4 (01:16:54):
Yes, I remember the quote in Africa once for some
reason I couldn't get into English. So yes, it's it's
ironic that he said that, and he technically created a
call that things voice.

Speaker 1 (01:17:06):
I wonder if that's why he says that. It's because
he's had experiences where he's come across things or he's
accidentally put something in something and he's like, wait, that
ended really poorly.

Speaker 3 (01:17:16):
And so I mean, but that also leads me to
believe that the car and I think that's just more
evidence that the car was not a sentient, could not
act on its own before it got to Hogwarts. Because yes,
maybe Arthur had had these experiences, but I think if
the car had been that experience, there's like no way.

(01:17:38):
He would have been so impressed with his kids driving
the car. I think I think he draws the line
maybe at the dangerous things when it comes to his kids. Yeah, so,
but yeah, that is a really good quote. Also, what
would be the brain of the car? Clearly like the engine?

Speaker 1 (01:17:55):
Yeah, yeah, but that's but that's different. Engine is also
more like a heart in a way.

Speaker 5 (01:18:01):
You know, No, dude, this is like, yeah, this is
an old car, so they wouldn't have that.

Speaker 3 (01:18:10):
Yeah, what would be the brain? You're right, You're right.
The engine would be the heart, like pumping the gas
and the oil.

Speaker 1 (01:18:17):
I mean, but there are sorts of sensors and stuff,
electrical system.

Speaker 3 (01:18:23):
Yeah, it does, it does, so I can see.

Speaker 1 (01:18:27):
Again this goes into the theory of Arthur takes it
just to the point of it having a quote unquote brain, right,
Like he gets it up to that point because don't
trust anything if you can't see where it keeps its brain.
And then when it gets to Hogwarts, that's enough to
kick it over and like give it a brain basically.

Speaker 3 (01:18:46):
Amazing.

Speaker 4 (01:18:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:18:50):
Yeah, speaking of Hogwarts, I have a question about the
layout of the grounds because they hit the womping willow
and it says that they so over the lake and
the greenhouses and the lawns, and then they hit the tree.
But in Prisoner of ask Man it says that there's
a secret entrance to the like from the castle that's

(01:19:11):
blocked by the tree, right, because the twins say, oh,
this secret entrance you can't get out of because the
womping willow's right in front of it. So like, am
I just really bad at spatial reasoning because I've been.

Speaker 2 (01:19:26):
Trying to figure this out.

Speaker 1 (01:19:28):
I suppose I could look at that map that's come out,
but I'm like, how are they going over the greenhouses
and the lawns? Am I thinking of this weird? Somebody
explained this to me.

Speaker 3 (01:19:42):
I don't know that you're thinking of it weird, though.
If I'm remembering the map correctly, if you cut it,
like if you picture a like a landscape piece of paper,
Hogwarts is in the top right square, the lake is
like middle left, and the tree is bottom right. I

(01:20:03):
think so I think they sort of fly in front
of the castle, like across the castle. Oh okay, first
in front of the castle or behind the castle into
the tree smash. I think if I'm remembering that, yes.

Speaker 1 (01:20:18):
You're right, I just found the map again. And yes,
so there's like the lake. The castle's kind of on
a cliff. Yeah, that then goes down and behind the
castle on the other side of the lake is the
forest and the quidditch pitch and hogs mean.

Speaker 2 (01:20:33):
Kind of on that other side.

Speaker 1 (01:20:36):
Yeah, and the womping willow is kind of So you've
got the castle and then the greenhouses are right to
the right of it, and there's like the lawn that
lead that goes to Haggard's hut in the forest, and
then the womping willow is like right there.

Speaker 2 (01:20:51):
Okay, yeah, okay, gotcha.

Speaker 3 (01:20:54):
But yeah that I mean poor Ron and Harry car,
poor tree, but most mostly poor Hedwig. Like, up, why
didn't he let her out to fly? Yeah, exactly, don't
mean to be in the car.

Speaker 5 (01:21:14):
She's having such a terrible day, like she's been burned around,
tossed and rolled around. Not just oh, poor Headwig.

Speaker 1 (01:21:21):
But I think if Harry had thought of, oh, let's
let Headwig fly. But also okay, number one, he already
did that once because he did that when they got
away from the Dursleys, they let fly behind them. Yeah,
But I was also like, if you had let Hedwig out.

Speaker 2 (01:21:38):
He probably have thought, oh, we could send a letter.

Speaker 3 (01:21:42):
So that's true.

Speaker 1 (01:21:44):
What is a problem. Yeah, you're not thinking about Hedwig
at all, apparently right now terrible.

Speaker 5 (01:21:52):
She's probably like, dude, what are you doing? Like are
you trying to kill him?

Speaker 1 (01:21:56):
Like, hello, I'm making quite a rack it to try.

Speaker 3 (01:22:03):
Why that whole time she probably wasn't well, maybe she
was asleep. Maybe she was asleep.

Speaker 2 (01:22:09):
Because it was daytime.

Speaker 5 (01:22:11):
She was traumatized for.

Speaker 3 (01:22:12):
You know what it is. She's like, I never get
to fly without flapping my wings. This is nice. He's
just enjoying the ride.

Speaker 2 (01:22:21):
She's like, I can sleep and fly at the same time.

Speaker 4 (01:22:24):
This is.

Speaker 5 (01:22:27):
It was a good time until the tree started to
beat them up, and then not such a good time,
which I always think about. The tree like basically starts
attacking them, and I feel like Harrie and Ron should
have been way more injured than what they were.

Speaker 3 (01:22:43):
Ye, like.

Speaker 5 (01:22:46):
Giant tree trying.

Speaker 3 (01:22:47):
I mean they are protected by the car, Yeah, I
mean the thing. So I think they did a really
good job of this in the film because yes, they're
protect by the car, but also this is a huge tree. Yes,
the tree can hit hard, but it also can't get
a lot of momentum, so it's not going to hit

(01:23:10):
you at two hundred miles an hour because you know
the branch is here, and you know it can only
it can only manipulate itself so far. So it's big
and it's hitting you big. I was going to say bigly,
But it's hitting you with a lot of mass but

(01:23:32):
not a lot of speed. Yeah, that those are the
words that I'm trying to say, with a lot of
mass but not a lot of speed. And I feel like, yes,
sometimes mass is more painful than speed. However, I think
in this case, because they are in the car and
it is an old car that is probably metal metal plastic, like,

(01:23:53):
it's well built. It's a Ford for all intents and purposes.
Does it actually say ford Anglia?

Speaker 1 (01:24:01):
Yeah, just al in the book it ford Anglia. Great.

Speaker 3 (01:24:07):
I hear you, I hear you. But I think it's
the physics of it all.

Speaker 2 (01:24:14):
You know that the tree is trying to attack in
on itself.

Speaker 1 (01:24:18):
More and because they're in the middle of it, Yeah,
so it does. It probably doesn't have a lot of
room to not like if you were outside the tree.
I mean, it's a willow, so it's probably got like long.

Speaker 3 (01:24:33):
Tendrils arms.

Speaker 1 (01:24:36):
That was the w I was looking for, And so
that probably hurts you almost more when you're outside of
the tree.

Speaker 5 (01:24:43):
You're inside the tree just below it, like right in the.

Speaker 4 (01:24:48):
Probably could.

Speaker 1 (01:24:50):
But you can't get You can't get much like leverage
when it's like yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:24:57):
It's like it's hard to beat up yourself because you can.

Speaker 4 (01:24:59):
Only yeah exactly. I feel like I should have had
at least a concussion, a light concussion, just from.

Speaker 3 (01:25:08):
Oh maybe they I think they did.

Speaker 1 (01:25:09):
They probably did, but they never got diagnosed.

Speaker 3 (01:25:12):
Because it's.

Speaker 4 (01:25:15):
They weren't even saya like they're not going to go
or somebody sent them to have like a medical evaluation.

Speaker 1 (01:25:22):
No, they didn't go to the hospital wing, but they
said that they were fine.

Speaker 2 (01:25:27):
She doesn't, she doesn't. Wait, no, she does.

Speaker 1 (01:25:30):
She does. Ron is bleeding a little bit, and she
says should go to the hospital wing, and Ron's like, yeah,
it's not big deal, it's fine, So.

Speaker 5 (01:25:37):
She just believes him.

Speaker 1 (01:25:38):
So, I mean, it was the nineties and like head
injuries were not something that people were paying as much
attention to. So what as long as you weren't bleeding
and nothing was broken you're good.

Speaker 4 (01:25:50):
It was fine.

Speaker 3 (01:25:53):
It's fine, Yeah, fine.

Speaker 5 (01:25:55):
Whiplash whatever, You'll be okay in a few days. It's fine.

Speaker 3 (01:26:00):
No bigs.

Speaker 5 (01:26:02):
But this section brings one of my favorite lines from
this book, where Ron says, can you believe our luck?
Of all the trees we could have hit, we hit
the one we have to hit the one that hits
back and again. This is another one that just sends
me over the edge every time, because imagine getting beat
up by a tree, Like you come in, you're bruised,
you're bleeding and whatever, and everybody's like, what happened to you? Oh?

(01:26:25):
The tree beat me up? True, I'm sorry?

Speaker 3 (01:26:27):
What you know what that reminds me of. It reminds
me of the Gilmore Girls quote when like, uh, Jess
gets beaked by the swan and he's like, it beaked me. Yeah,
It's just I'm not like a Gilmore Girls fan. I've
watched it a couple of times, but that quote always
gets me. It beaked me, Yeah, it would be. It

(01:26:47):
would be hard to admit that you'd been beaten up
by a tree.

Speaker 5 (01:26:53):
Yeah, bested by a tree.

Speaker 4 (01:26:56):
One of the quotes from the movie like you need
The book is so much better. But one of the
something that's in the movies that's not in the book
is where Ron breaks his wond off. He like yells
at the car stop stop stop, this like broken, and
it's like he tells Harry like and then Harry is like,

(01:27:17):
be thankful, it's not your neck. And that's not in
the book, and like that cracks me up every time.
It's just it's just they're in this dire situation and
areas like a's time for equipped like be thankful it's
not your neck.

Speaker 1 (01:27:32):
It's also another hands down, just great line delivery.

Speaker 4 (01:27:36):
Okay, I just love that part, just the devastation on
Ron's face when he looks at his wonders like it's
it's so that's.

Speaker 3 (01:27:45):
Why I have such issues with the original title for
the chapter of the episode chapter twelve there or episode twelve.
You know, this book sucks, No, bro, This book is fun.
This book is fun, especially as I've become as I've
come to love have Blood Prints, I have a deeper

(01:28:06):
appreciation for Chamber of Secrets now as well, just sort
of they're parallel themes and all and all of that.
I think it's I think it's a fun book. And
now that they're finally at Hogwarts, we get this beautiful
recap of the Hogwarts traditions, and I really, you know,
I thought a lot about it this time is that

(01:28:27):
these books were written as children's books. They are children's books,
and at this point it is still very much a
children's book. At what point in this book, in particular,
do you think that it turns a little bit sinister?
When when? Because you know, a lot of people really
talk about Goblet being sort of the turning point from oh,

(01:28:48):
these aren't really meant for kids anymore. I think we
get a little I think we get a touch of it,
and it starts to get more serious and more dark,
no pun intended in Prisoner of Azkaban, but the end
of this book is terrifying. I mean, you get a
giant snake, you've got blood, you've got possession like things

(01:29:08):
being it's this is scary. So I wondered for you all,
what point you think that that flip, that switch sort
of flips in this book.

Speaker 4 (01:29:19):
For me, I think it was when we didn't know
it was Jenny, but the script against the wall that
wasn't blood. Ah, That's just what came to mind now
immediately when you said that because that was kind of like, oh, okay, yeah,
that was.

Speaker 1 (01:29:38):
Kind of my initial reaction is when people start getting attacked.
But then I thought, and I was like, I actually
think it's actually mud Bloods and Murmurs. I think it's
when we start getting that like pure blood supremacy line
coming through, and maybe to a kid, that doesn't seem
dark because for a lot of kids, right like, that

(01:29:59):
kind of stuf isn't like the scariest thing that can happen, right, Like,
the scariest thing that can happen is something more physical,
because kids think more concrete and not as abstract, especially
the younger they are. But I think that's when it
really starts to get sinister, is when we start learning that.

Speaker 3 (01:30:15):
There is.

Speaker 1 (01:30:18):
Major bigotry in this world that causes major issues, and
then that starts leading into these attacks happening where people
are getting like physically injured and being put into comas
basically and nobody knows why. So I think that's kind
of where.

Speaker 2 (01:30:36):
It starts turning.

Speaker 4 (01:30:37):
Moment how he speaks to the snake, I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:30:41):
For the record, mud Bloods and Murmurs is two chapters
after this one.

Speaker 2 (01:30:45):
Yeah, it's pretty quick, Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:30:48):
That real quick?

Speaker 5 (01:30:50):
Yeah, oh, Rabbi and Hobwurtz.

Speaker 3 (01:30:53):
Oh look, yeah, I don't disagree with you. I think
that's a good I think that could be a good
either of those honestly. And I think it depends on,
you know, the age and the child and that person's experiences,
you know, like like with everything, I mean, what defines

(01:31:18):
a children's book, Like what makes it a children's book?
There has to be some guidelines. I can't just write
a romanticy and call it a children's book.

Speaker 1 (01:31:29):
It's usually I mean intention, right, Like who the author
is intending it. For a lot of times you can
tell by then age of the protagonist is usually a
good guideline as well.

Speaker 3 (01:31:46):
Is it usually kids? Like nine out of ten times,
or like ten out of two times or yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:31:52):
Pretty much any book that's written for kids, the protagonist
is going to be in the age range.

Speaker 2 (01:32:00):
Of who the book is meant for.

Speaker 5 (01:32:02):
Got it.

Speaker 1 (01:32:04):
There are some, like adult books that are written with
like children protagonists for different reasons, but for the most part,
like picture books are usually going to have younger protagonists, right,
Ya's are usually going to have fourteen to eighteen or
nineteen or so. Middle grades are going to have in

(01:32:24):
that like eight to twelve ish area, And.

Speaker 3 (01:32:29):
I guess that's why they say graphic novels have such
a cross appeal because you can have older protagonists, but
that graphic nature of it sort of appeals to a
wider range of readers.

Speaker 1 (01:32:42):
Yeah, so that's usually kind of the guidelines. And then,
of course, once you're writing in that age range, there's
more of just like what's developmentally appropriate for a child
in that age range is where you try and keep it,
which is why like you usually won't get a lot
of swearing in like middle grade and below, but you'll

(01:33:03):
get more in YA right, Or like you might get
a more sexy scene in an older YA right, but
it's probably not going to be a full blown I
mean some of them are getting there now.

Speaker 2 (01:33:19):
But that's a different story to talk about.

Speaker 3 (01:33:21):
So yeah, like not to get us too much off
the chapter we'll get back to in a second. But
so then do you all think that's I mean sort
of some of those guidelines that Alison just laid out,
Like does Harry Potter meet that? Sure? Like the protagonist
is the right age, the themes are dark af like,

(01:33:42):
especially as we get later, I.

Speaker 5 (01:33:45):
Mean they are, but I think it's written in a
way where it's age appropriate.

Speaker 1 (01:33:51):
There's also the I mean, it is common to write
about these kinds of things, especially in things like fantasy,
because fiction, especially for children, is a very good way
for them to learn about and process darker things in life.

Speaker 3 (01:34:10):
Right to well this abstract idea as you mentioned, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:34:13):
Yeah, exactly, Like it's like everyone talks about how like, oh,
they were traumatized by either Lion King or Bambi. Right,
But that is a usually in some ways considered developmentally
appropriate in those regards, because kids figure out some of

(01:34:33):
these things younger than I think people give them credit for.
But when they're at a certain developmental stage, they can't
really process it and understand it, and fiction helps them
do that. So, for example, they're twelve in this book,
and we get like a parallel to racism, right, we
get an idea of bigotry here, and that is roughly

(01:34:57):
about an age, like a middle grade age, when a
lot of kids are really starting to I mean, obviously
depending on their circumstances, but a lot of kids are
really starting to understand what that means and how that happens.
And so to have it happen in fiction helps them
process that and then apply, whereas sometimes when they're having

(01:35:22):
it happen directly to them or seeing it in real life,
it's a lot harder for them to process and to
process in a safe way. That's the other thing is
that fiction helps us process things in a safe psychological way,
whereas often if it happens, like if it happens to us,
especially depending on the age, if we haven't processed that yet,

(01:35:44):
then that's going to cause more trauma psychologically. So yeah, So,
I mean, and kids are interested in that, Like kids
as young as like four and five, when they discover
like the concept of death, they become fascinated by it,
right because it's you know. So again, that's another thing
that fiction is helpful for is they're fascinated by it,

(01:36:05):
and that helps them process and figure out what it means,
Whereas if that was maybe happening directly impacting them, it
becomes more difficult. So I just totally went off on
a whole rant there, and I'm so sorry.

Speaker 3 (01:36:20):
It's okay. I asked the question knowing that you would
answer it.

Speaker 1 (01:36:23):
So yeah, yeah, I mean, it's it's funny because I
think a lot of times once we're adults. We don't
give kids credit enough for where they're at. Like we
understand that, like children and adolescents have different psychological development stages,

(01:36:44):
but I think a lot of people don't realize.

Speaker 2 (01:36:46):
How early those things start.

Speaker 1 (01:36:48):
Actually, why was I thinking about this the other day
where I was like, more people need to like be
educated on actual childhood and adolescent development stages.

Speaker 3 (01:36:59):
I mean, I mean Dumbledore even says it himself, like,
you know, the old forget what it's like to be young, Yeah,
you know so so.

Speaker 1 (01:37:08):
Yeah, so yeah, it does get dark, but it's it's
in a way that is processable and manageable for that
stage of development.

Speaker 2 (01:37:16):
Is basically what it comes down to.

Speaker 3 (01:37:17):
Well, to bring us back to the chapter, from one
dark subject to another. Uh, they have landed and they
have somehow gotten themselves out of the womping willow. The
car is gone off into the off into the forbidden
for it kick yeah, Matt here and who but their

(01:37:40):
favorite dark haired bat like professor shows up? But Snape.
Of course it's Snape. Of course it's Snape.

Speaker 1 (01:37:51):
It has to be.

Speaker 8 (01:37:53):
But why why is he the one looking for them?
That was my thing is I was like Is he
the only one looking for them? Is it a regular
occurrence that students don't show up? So like they have
somebody on duty who's supposed to go round up everybody
and make sure he's there.

Speaker 1 (01:38:11):
Like, why is it Snape?

Speaker 3 (01:38:14):
Well, I mean you touched on a question that I had.
Is it like? What is the protocol when students don't
show up? Is this the first time that has ever happened?
And if it's the first time that has ever happened,
what are they going to do about it? If it's
not the first time this has ever happened? Yeah, Like,
is he just on student duty? Is Snape being malicious?

(01:38:37):
And he realizes they're not there? And McGonagall is busy
with the mcgonagall's busy with the sorting at ceremony because
Snape could never do that. So Snape's the one out
looking for them, regardless of what house they're in.

Speaker 5 (01:38:52):
I imagine Snap doing.

Speaker 3 (01:38:58):
Terrifying Put the hat on your head, never mind, I'm
just gonna leave, never mind.

Speaker 1 (01:39:06):
I don't know, Brian, Well, we do know that before
in that piece about the Hogwarks Express, it talks about
before the train was instituted in like the eighteen hundreds
kids would just show up, however, so there has to
be a like it's happened before where kids have shown up. Yeah, yeah, so,
And I wonder if like when they walk in, unless

(01:39:27):
you're the first year's because the first year's come their
own way. So I wonder if every other year there's like,
you know, it's actually it's this movie, you know, when
they like arrive and they're going up the steps and
they're like running up and there's all the luggage and
everything scattered about. I wonder if there's like a teacher
normally there or somebody normally there that's like checking off
that people have arrived. I mean, because it is it's

(01:39:49):
like taking attendance right. And also it's like you're legally
liable and responsible for these children.

Speaker 2 (01:39:56):
You have to tell their.

Speaker 1 (01:39:56):
Parents right that they got to school or not. So
maybe that is like a rotating duty. And it's not
McGonagall because McGonagall always does the sarting ceremony and it
can't be Dumbledore because Dumbledore has to be at you know,
the opening to give his opening remarks and whatever.

Speaker 2 (01:40:16):
But maybe they like rotate other teachers.

Speaker 1 (01:40:20):
And that's my thing is it's like, are there are
other teachers like so and so didn't show up. We
have to go find them, because I'm sure there have
been kids that have gotten there and been like I
don't want to go to the feast this year, or
like I don't want to deal with this. I'm gonna
like go do whatever, like.

Speaker 3 (01:40:36):
I've a headache, I got to take a nap.

Speaker 1 (01:40:38):
Yeah, or you can't tell me. The marauders weren't like
we're gonna go figure something out right now, like come on.

Speaker 4 (01:40:44):
I was just thinking about that because they surely one
of them didn't show up on time, like.

Speaker 1 (01:40:52):
James and Sirius got off the train one year and
they were like, we want to go explore hogsmeat or something,
or like we don't want to deal with this, and
so they tried to like skyve off the welcoming feast
and they got caught flying.

Speaker 5 (01:41:08):
I mean, I'm kind of the opinion that it's Snape
is just nosy and malicious and is always in other
people's business. And I think even if he wasn't the
teacher that was taking the attendance that day, he noticed that.
I think he's always on the lookout for Harry to
catch him doing something wrong and he noticed that him

(01:41:29):
and Ron weren't there, and he was like, I'm going
to go find them and bust him, and that's exactly
what he did.

Speaker 3 (01:41:34):
Yeah, I mean, you know, Jeff ragged on me last
time for bringing this up, But I think I think
my knowledge here can be helpful as someone who does
work at a boarding school, Hogwarts works a little differently
than most boarding schools. Most boarding schools, you are brought
to the school directly via your parents. You were not

(01:41:55):
put on a train and then by you know, maybe
there are some that operate like that, and maybe once
you get into the sixth or seventh year that doesn't
matter as much. But as like a young kid, I
just can't ever see that happening. So yeah, the more
I think about it, I think you're right. It probably

(01:42:16):
has happened before, and they must have protocols for it.
And don't we see correct me if this is just
the film? But isn't Flitwick the one in Half Blood
who's taking attendance or is that just a film? Harry
Luna walk up.

Speaker 2 (01:42:31):
Yes, yes he is in the mood in the book.

Speaker 5 (01:42:36):
But I see Snape in the book. It's Snape again.

Speaker 1 (01:42:40):
In Halfwood. No, in.

Speaker 3 (01:42:45):
Snape is the one that comes to greet them, because
Tongs finds Harry on the train, sends the patronis and says,
I meant for Hagrid. I think she says to get
that and Snape, snape whatever. But I don't Rememberwick taking
attendance in the book, but I know he did in
the film.

Speaker 4 (01:43:04):
Remember Harry telling Flitwick, you've known me all my life?
Why are you?

Speaker 5 (01:43:08):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (01:43:11):
No, no, no, that's in the movie.

Speaker 4 (01:43:13):
It's not in the movie.

Speaker 2 (01:43:14):
Oh my gosh, I'm gonna look it up right now.

Speaker 5 (01:43:16):
I'm pretty sure in the book he says that because
he says, all right name. Oh wait, maybe that is
in the movie.

Speaker 3 (01:43:21):
Yeah, I think it's the movie. I think it's a movie.
Allison's gonna go look at love.

Speaker 4 (01:43:26):
How it all gets all muddled up in here because
we've watched both first.

Speaker 3 (01:43:31):
I mean, and we've talked about this in here before too.
It's really difficult when you're reading them. When you're reading
them not only the books out of order, but the
chapters out of order. But I think that's what makes
the show sort of special, because when you aren't thinking
of things so literally linearly in a linear fashion. That's

(01:43:52):
probably a better way to say it. It allows your
mind to wander a little bit more and you can
think about those sort of weird, sort of one off
random connections.

Speaker 4 (01:44:02):
Speaking of random connections, I was thinking that maybe given
the fact that Valdemort like tried to kill Harry, Like
did he try to kill him in the first at
the end of the first book, it kind of he tried.
So when Harry and Ron doesn't show up, I mean
I feel like Dumbledore like would have known they're not there,

(01:44:25):
and Snape was kind of his right hand, so he
would have been like, as the rest, dude, who you
do it were? For them? Like where they I am worried.
And that is why it was specifically Snape found them.
I mean, all the other theories are as just as good,
But as for why specifically Snape, obviously it's because Harry,

(01:44:47):
like for the plot's purpose heavy hates him, and it
just it's it's it's just perfect that after their perfect
entrance was disrupted, now their least favorite teacher finds them
scolds them. Harry has convinced he's going to get expelled.
But like in my mind, I was like, mightbe it
was Snipe because Bumbleboo told him like they.

Speaker 5 (01:45:07):
Stept fine, that's very possible.

Speaker 3 (01:45:11):
What'd you find?

Speaker 1 (01:45:12):
So in half Blood Tonk sends the patronis to tell
Hagrid that Harry's that she's got Harry and they're coming
to the castle. Snape intercepts it and comes and gets
him anyway, and it's just Snape walks him up to
the castle and is like needling him the whole time.
Funny enough, he also directly references this chapter because he says,

(01:45:32):
you know, I'm sure you wanted to make an entrance,
and with no flying car available to you, you just
thought you burst into the hall, and he walks him
right into the Great Hall, and Harry considers like this
also connects because Harry thinks about maybe I can grab
my invisibility cloak and use it to sneak in, and
Snape directly calls him out on that, and so he

(01:45:54):
has that like Legilimen's thing again. So yes, it's just
Snape walks Harry up.

Speaker 3 (01:46:00):
I thought, and I like how you say quote unquote.
Funnily enough, he references this chapter Ellison.

Speaker 1 (01:46:05):
No, I know, I know, I know, I know what
it is.

Speaker 5 (01:46:08):
I just is there a reason for that, but.

Speaker 3 (01:46:13):
I have no idea.

Speaker 1 (01:46:14):
I just had not I mean, I mean, I knew,
but it like is a direct reference. I just thought
it was funny that I'm looking for that answer and
it was directly referencing this moment right here.

Speaker 3 (01:46:27):
It's it's good too that you brought up the legitilements,
because we haven't we haven't really talked about that. So
Snape somehow sneaks up on Harry and Ron, which like
listen like it it does. The narration does talk a
lot about how Snape appears out of nowhere. He's very quiet,
he's very soft footed.

Speaker 1 (01:46:45):
They were also like staring in the window.

Speaker 3 (01:46:50):
And their ears are focused elsewhere. The tree is probably
still making creaky noises behind them. They're talking. It's easy.

Speaker 5 (01:46:59):
I don't know. I feel like they should have heard something,
but or like felt his presence at least, because you
know when when somebody comes up behind you like you.

Speaker 1 (01:47:10):
Can, so they have no recognition.

Speaker 5 (01:47:15):
You know what, you're right, you're right, because I can
creep up on my kids all the time, So you
know what, you're right, You're absolutely right.

Speaker 3 (01:47:20):
Never mind, but yeah, there's a there's a part in
the narration I can't remember exactly what it says, but
it's something like Allison's got her.

Speaker 1 (01:47:35):
Book hold on.

Speaker 3 (01:47:38):
It says better to read than to summarize it poorly.

Speaker 1 (01:47:42):
Right, So silent, said Snape coldly. What have you done
with the car Ron Gould? This wasn't the first time
Snape had given Harry the impression of being able to
read minds, but a moment later he understood a Snape
unrolled today's issue of The Evening Prophet.

Speaker 3 (01:47:56):
There you go. Yeah, however, obviously he can read mine.
He can do legitimacy. That is the thing that he
can do. Does it mention in there that he looks
at them at all? I feel like you would have
just read it, because you just read the whole part.
But there's no mention that the eyes are staring or anything. Right.

Speaker 4 (01:48:14):
But if you're powerful enough, your claws is enough? Right?
Or do I have that wrong?

Speaker 3 (01:48:20):
The only person that we see who doesn't really need
eye contact is Queenie Goldstein. And like it's hard to.

Speaker 1 (01:48:26):
Hear just looking at them, it says the fireplace was
dark and empty. Snape closed the door and turned to
look at them because they're in his office.

Speaker 3 (01:48:36):
Okay, so they are all staring at each other.

Speaker 4 (01:48:40):
And he saw everything that happened. Because that was my thing.
I was like, oh, here's the first hint that Snipe
can read minds because he saw that article. Obviously, it
could have been any wizard pulling version Annigan's. It wasn't
to say it was Harry and Ron just because they
were light like he knows because he just saw it
in their eyes and in their minds. But yeah, we

(01:49:04):
just as the reader back then didn't know. I loved
reading back and then seeing these little east eggs of like, yeah, actually,
Nipe can read minds.

Speaker 2 (01:49:11):
Do you think he saw the car crash?

Speaker 4 (01:49:16):
Was probably laughing at the end of that night, like
off he lifts listen.

Speaker 3 (01:49:21):
Somebody had to have seen it.

Speaker 1 (01:49:23):
Here's my thing is how else would he know that
the womping willow was damaged? And my other thing is like,
was he like going around the womping willow because you
know it has associations with James and therefore he associated
with Harry and so like, was he purposefully around there
because he thought that might have been a connection.

Speaker 5 (01:49:44):
Hmmm, well it says he was walking around the grounds.

Speaker 4 (01:49:47):
Yeah, I'm thinking, like what if he saw stuck in
the tree, and he was just like he was just like, oh,
he's like serve.

Speaker 1 (01:49:56):
Too, right, and Vaudemot hasn't got a at him.

Speaker 4 (01:50:00):
The tree is getting him.

Speaker 1 (01:50:01):
So yeah, yeah, He's like, this is payback for the
time that the marauders almost tried to make me get
a sack.

Speaker 3 (01:50:11):
I'm going to slowly walk out there and just let
the tree take care.

Speaker 4 (01:50:17):
Yeah, because Snipe actually made it. Now, I'm like sending
this whole thing on its head. What if he didn't Harry.

Speaker 1 (01:50:26):
I think it was Harry. I think the car is
protective of them. It only chucks them out once they're
safe on the ground. Ye, knock them out in the trees, so.

Speaker 3 (01:50:38):
That would be more of a snake thing.

Speaker 4 (01:50:41):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:50:42):
But do we think do we think he's doing any
sort of legitimacy here? I know that it's not consistent
with how legitimacy works in the later books. However, this
is an earlier book. The concept may not have been
fleshed out, so I think we have to not think
about what happens later.

Speaker 2 (01:51:01):
I think he is.

Speaker 1 (01:51:03):
I also think he is because I think, in his
twisted bullying way, he's trying to prove by reading their
minds that they wanted to just be spectacular or whatever.
Like he's trying to find malicious intent from them so
that he can call them out on it and like
really expel them, kick them out. Yeah, because he seeks Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:51:29):
Yeah, I mean I have to agree, I do.

Speaker 4 (01:51:34):
Have a soft spot for them, if I'm allowed to
say that, just.

Speaker 3 (01:51:38):
Because we're not going to agree with you, but.

Speaker 2 (01:51:42):
You say it.

Speaker 4 (01:51:44):
Also, the white things ended, like I was like, shine, man,
I feel bad for the dude. So I like.

Speaker 5 (01:51:53):
He brought it on himself because he did.

Speaker 4 (01:51:56):
He did it was bad decisions. But snipe for me
like a very good example of what happens when you
carry bitterness with you. Yeah, and then there it go
as a very good life lesson. I was like, never
be like that. I only understood that when I got older.
Obviously it wasn't like when I was a kid. That
didn't translate, But as an older person, I was like,

(01:52:17):
he was miserable because he just refused to forgive and
forget and let'd go of his cost and open himself
up to the future. So, I mean, you can keep
blaming the people who did stuff to you, or you
can like put it behind you and like use it
as rocket field to go forward. It's your choice. Yeah,

(01:52:39):
Like I said, like life is how you react, Like
ninety percent of life is how you react to it.
Snape didn't get that memo, but now we can learn
something from it.

Speaker 3 (01:52:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:52:49):
He also like speaking of not letting go of the
past when he's like, well, they caused damage to an
old and valuable tree, Like come on, Snape, Like I
was not happy like that, Snape that the tree has
like traumatic input in what's.

Speaker 4 (01:53:04):
Exactly you know? Now he just wanted to about something.

Speaker 1 (01:53:07):
Come on, man, like you don't care about that tree,
not at.

Speaker 4 (01:53:12):
All, not at all. I found it hilarious when I
read it the first time that he was going on
about the tree, because I was like, what about the
car and the kids? Like you're not like I know
this is Harry Potter and you hate him, but still
you're going on about the tree.

Speaker 5 (01:53:25):
Seriously, still a child for.

Speaker 1 (01:53:30):
Reels.

Speaker 2 (01:53:30):
Also like the tree almost killed you once, so like.

Speaker 4 (01:53:35):
Why do you have any sentiments with a freaking tree?

Speaker 3 (01:53:38):
Yeah, yeah, he's just being the butthole that he is
being saved from that tree is the whole reason that
you have like such a grudge against James really like
calm down. No one has ever well maybe Laurie Kim.
I was gonna say, no one's ever argued that Snipers
entirely rational, But that's true.

Speaker 1 (01:53:57):
Speaking of fear, though and rationality we again get. And
another thing that comes up in a lot of these
early books is Harry's kind of distrust of adults because
Snape says, well, it's you know, to be up to McGonagall,
and Harry's like, oh, this is almost worse, right. He's
almost as much afraid of mcgonaga as he's a snape.

(01:54:17):
He's like, she's fair, but she's very strict. And I
just find that so sad because I think we know,
especially as the books go on, how much McGonagall really
cares for Harry. She is very strict and she's but
she is fair and you know, but Harry just has
this damage where he just doesn't trust adults, and so

(01:54:39):
even an adult that is kind and cares for him,
for the most part, he just can't trust, right, And
I actually this just popped in my head and Kat's
gonna hate me for this. I think the way that
this changes for him is serious is getting to know
serious and having an adult he feels like he can

(01:55:00):
trust and confide in helps him open up to other
adults that he starts to understand he can trust and
confide in.

Speaker 5 (01:55:07):
Is it serious or would it be Lupin? Though, because
I feel.

Speaker 1 (01:55:10):
Like, boom, oh, it's probably boom Okay, yeah, it's probably both.
It's probably probably because and I mean maybe even to
some tiny degree Dumbledore, right, But yeah, yeah, I think
it is because that really starts to almost go away
a little bit more in prisoner, So you're probably right,
it probably is Lupin, And then it is serious, I

(01:55:32):
think though, because Lupin he has some trouble confiding in
for a while, because Lupin is still a teacher, Lupin
is still an authority figure. But then he gets serious
who is more of a father uncle figure, and that
helps him to start to kind of change that viewpoint.

Speaker 3 (01:55:51):
I mean, i'd also argue that you know, some of
the folks he's closest to at Hogwarts, Hagrid, and even McGonagall.
I think that he continually has a healthy fear slash
respect for McGonagall, and I feel as though she not
so much the fear, but I think that she also

(01:56:11):
has a weird weird it's not the word a uh
inherent maybe respect for Harry just because of what he's
been through and what she knows that he has gone through.
Because the moment in this book, and I'm skipping ahead
a little bit here, but when they're all gone and
she like is starting to talk to them, and I

(01:56:33):
think it's Harry or maybe it's run. One of them
is like, oh, the school wasn't in session yet, so
you can't take yeah, and she sort of looks at
him and then it says like her mouth looked like
it was a little less thin, just like peaque McGonagall.
I love it. It unscrews the other way. Everything about
her is iconic, and I think that these little moments

(01:56:58):
help reinforce that trust for Harry because he puts it
out there and she appreciates being also a griffindor she
appreciates the cheekiness of it. And I think they do
that within each other. Yeah, you know, no, I definitely
think that's that's true.

Speaker 1 (01:57:14):
And I brought that up too, Like, I think she
one hundred percent appreciates how clever he is in that moment,
He's like, well, technically and she's like, you little. She
really appreciates that. But I think on Harry's side, he's
still he doesn't like Maybe subconsciously he understands that he
can trust her, but he still doesn't as much until

(01:57:39):
he starts to really kind of put it together a
little bit more.

Speaker 3 (01:57:41):
Well, And this is one of those moments too, where
his life isn't necessarily in danger. And I think he
has a harder time in those moments because we have
seen it time and time and time again where he
doesn't ask for help in those moments. These are the
little moments where he does get to build some of
that trust and then eventually, many years from now, is like,

(01:58:02):
oh maybe I should get help here. Yeah it's not
from McGonagall, but well, and in this moment, he knows,
he knows that he and McGonagall have have the same
viewpoint on gryffind or winning.

Speaker 1 (01:58:15):
Things right, Like she put him on the quidditch team
last year. She was like super all about it last year,
So he knows they have that in common. He knows
that's a kind of a boundary, not a boundary, but
like that's a button he can push and he'll probably
get away with that. Yeah, Yeah, he knows that by
this point, and like you said, he's he's not in

(01:58:35):
danger anymore.

Speaker 2 (01:58:36):
They're not going to be expelled.

Speaker 1 (01:58:38):
He knows that already, so he does feel a little
bit more secure and able to push that button.

Speaker 4 (01:58:45):
Well.

Speaker 3 (01:58:46):
And before that moment, Dumbledore comes in, which is so
funny because reading it, I was like, oh, I don't
remember that happening. I didn't remember Dumbledore showing up. That
was sort of a big surprise moment for me this
time around. And he's there for a minute and a
half maybe if then.

Speaker 1 (01:59:04):
Yeah, he hears the whole story.

Speaker 5 (01:59:06):
Yeah, and he's so disappointed and not angry, and Harry
says it would have been almost better if he had
just yelled, but he didn't, and it made me think,
that's always so much worse. You know, when you were
a kid and you were getting in trouble and your
parents like, I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed, and they
give you that look, and you feel like the lowest

(01:59:28):
person that ever lived, like the lowest of the low.

Speaker 4 (01:59:35):
I remember that moment because it made me feel more
respectful and fearful as a kid towards Dumbledore as well,
because just because of the way he handled the conflict
like Snipe was all raging and like the Tree and
the Tree and mcgonigall is more calm and collected, and
Dumbledore's just like a quiet guy who's like talking to

(01:59:55):
them with his disappointed voice. That's one of the reasons
I lost the original actor who played Dumbledore, because he
did that quiet way of Dumbledore so well, which is
something I really missed in subsequent films. I particularly Gobblet
of Fire. We all know the scene I'm talking about.
Oh yeah, that quiet is a boy.

Speaker 1 (02:00:19):
I find it interesting that I think that actually connects
in some ways to Order, where when Harry is so
angry at and frustrated with Dumbledore and he's like raging
at Dumbledore and Dumbledore doesn't react, and Harry's like, why
won't he react right? Like it would be better, and
it almost makes Harry more upset that he won't react
and rage back or get after Harry right, and.

Speaker 2 (02:00:40):
He's like, why won't he just react right?

Speaker 1 (02:00:43):
And so there's very much that connection there between that
as well, and here Harry's just shamed, but there it
frustrates him.

Speaker 3 (02:00:53):
Yeah, and all three of these characters aren't characters who
get explosive mad. Explosive mad is all Harry is used
to and probably what Ron is used to from Mollie.
I can see Molly being the one who gets explosive mad.

Speaker 2 (02:01:13):
Well, we see that when they come back with the car.

Speaker 3 (02:01:16):
Yeah, and Arthur. I think it works in their favor
that it's that it's these three sort of more level headed.
Maybe that's not the right word, but calmer characters. I mean,
they work with kids all the time, so I think
they probably have a slightly more even temperament. I can't

(02:01:38):
believe I said those words.

Speaker 1 (02:01:39):
In relationships, but at leastide personal experience.

Speaker 3 (02:01:48):
It inside Yeah, ye.

Speaker 5 (02:01:53):
Speaking of name like shout out to when he finds
out that they're not going to be expelled and Snape
looks like Ristmith has been canceled.

Speaker 4 (02:02:02):
Yes, I love that line. It's such a kid thing
to think. But like I can literally see Snape's space
in my mind's eye, like the moment they're not getting expelled, well.

Speaker 3 (02:02:15):
And you know, thinking about it now in this time,
specifically knowing what comes. Okay, so let's say they had
been expelled that like screws Snape. How is he supposed
to protect Harry Potter if he was thinking with him
all year.

Speaker 2 (02:02:31):
He doesn't have to protect him.

Speaker 1 (02:02:33):
If he's no longer there where he can look after him,
he can be like send him to.

Speaker 4 (02:02:40):
The Muggle world to take care of Harry. I think
that would be white worse.

Speaker 5 (02:02:45):
Oh, imagine them recover.

Speaker 2 (02:02:49):
See I don't I don't believe. I don't think that
would happen.

Speaker 1 (02:02:51):
I think Snape would have felt like he could just
be like, well, I can't do anything now.

Speaker 3 (02:02:58):
Oh darn, that's the loop pool he's been looking for. Yeah, honestly,
so Dumbledore leaves and Snape leaves because yeah, Christmas has
been canceled and McGonagall, you know, they have that whole
exchange about the house points and then she conjures them sandwiches.
Did that come from the kitchens? Because like GAM's law,

(02:03:19):
you can't just conjure food. It had to come from
the kitchens, right.

Speaker 2 (02:03:22):
I think it is.

Speaker 1 (02:03:22):
I think it's like a magical plate that's maybe like
one of the plates that's in the Great Hall that
like can draw food from the kitchens, you know, because
it says that the sandwiches keep refilling themselves. Yeah, right,
so so it obviously has to keep coming up from
from the kitchens, and so I think it's it's probably
like one of the plates that they have in the
Great Hall, and she was able to just conjure it

(02:03:46):
from there and then sandwiches.

Speaker 3 (02:03:50):
Which makes me want one of those plates me.

Speaker 2 (02:03:53):
Too, the same.

Speaker 3 (02:03:54):
Absolutely, I mean I only want one of the plates
if there aren't elves on the other end.

Speaker 4 (02:04:02):
Making my food.

Speaker 5 (02:04:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:04:03):
Absolutely, To be clear, it has to be magical food
that comes from nowhere. I mean in order. If I was.

Speaker 1 (02:04:10):
Paying the l for something and they were conditions, maybe, yeah,
that would be okay. My personal chef and like cleaning service,
yes please, that would be okay.

Speaker 3 (02:04:22):
The the ethics of paying the elves, yeah, well yes, yeah, yes,
I know. Still cool though. I mean a plate that
reveils itself. I wonder if she has that in her
office all the time, that would be great. I'm just
dreaming about sandwiches now, because that sound good.

Speaker 5 (02:04:42):
I would be so like I would weigh eight hundred
pounds because I would never have to get up and
I would just have my plate with me all the time.

Speaker 3 (02:04:51):
You know what, You'd be okay though, because there are
one hundred and forty two staircases in Hogwarts, you have
to go up and down all the time.

Speaker 5 (02:04:56):
That's true.

Speaker 4 (02:04:57):
Yeah, that's true.

Speaker 1 (02:04:58):
Great workout.

Speaker 5 (02:04:59):
I still get my car.

Speaker 3 (02:05:01):
Yeah, I mean listen, the people that work and live
in that castle, I mean go to school in that
castle must have pretty decent cardio health because that's a
lot of stairs, it is, and stairs are the one
of the hardest cardio exercises. Yeah, I hate them, honestly.
My lungs would be good, my knees would be like
what are you doing? Especially? Yeah, anyway, totally off topic.

Speaker 1 (02:05:28):
It's okay, but they do they go up the stairs
to the griffin or common room, which is when they
run into Hermione. Which I thought of this a minute back,
and I didn't say it, but I wonder if Hermione
tipped somebody off of like Harry and Ron weren't on
the train or this is the sadder one. She didn't
see them on the train and they didn't confind her.
Was she thinking like they don't want to be friends anymore?

(02:05:50):
Like that would break my heart?

Speaker 4 (02:05:52):
But anyway, yeah, because did they ride to each other, Like,
did they ride to each other over that soma? Because
I done for a cool tho, Yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:06:00):
They did, and.

Speaker 5 (02:06:06):
They're avoiding me.

Speaker 4 (02:06:08):
That's her freaking But also they saw her in Diagonelly
when they went shopping, so fine.

Speaker 1 (02:06:17):
So she probably was just freaking out that they're not
on the train.

Speaker 2 (02:06:21):
So maybe she did. Maybe she tipped McGonagall off.

Speaker 3 (02:06:24):
Maybe she like, maybe you know what she did, she
sent by a owl because she's harmony, because she is
the rational one.

Speaker 1 (02:06:33):
Yes. Anyway, so they run into her. She tells them
the password as she tries to like tell them off though,
but they get pulled into the common room and we
end on this very triumphant note, which is just so
great with all the gryffin Rs, like this is the
greatest thing that's ever happened. Someone arrived by flying car,

(02:06:55):
which once again is just peak Griffin.

Speaker 4 (02:07:01):
I feel like it's one of those stories that went
down as like a legendary tale generations down the line,
because I mean, come on, who's going to forget that?

Speaker 3 (02:07:12):
I mean absolute clearly have an entire chapter or two
in the future version of Hogwarts of History that are
all about Harry's six years of.

Speaker 5 (02:07:24):
Let's be absolutely the Harry Potter years.

Speaker 3 (02:07:27):
Yeah, and Harry Potter Years exactly. That school has never
seen so much action.

Speaker 1 (02:07:32):
It's an entire seven book edition to the.

Speaker 3 (02:07:38):
They hired this Muggle writer to like write about it.

Speaker 4 (02:07:40):
Yeah, I know.

Speaker 3 (02:07:41):
Whatever, Now we're getting meta on ourselves. All right, friends,
let's leave it there for today before we go too
much further down the rabbit hole, which means we need
to thank you Marisa for being here today.

Speaker 4 (02:07:54):
It's an absolute pleasure. Thank you for having me. It
was so fun to discuss this chapter with you. Guys,
read visit this book. It was magical.

Speaker 3 (02:08:05):
Can't explain it any other Yeah, you know, I was
thinking about it. You might be the first and only
South African we've ever had on the show.

Speaker 4 (02:08:15):
So you get that a lot. I don't know why
others out afreakings on here, but yeah, I'm happy. I'm
happy to be representing my country.

Speaker 3 (02:08:24):
Great, we love that. Are there anywhere that the listeners
if they wanted to find you online could or maybe
they could read some of your work because you have
authored co authored quite a few of the MuggleNet reference
library books, so maybe you want to plug those?

Speaker 4 (02:08:40):
Yeah I could. I need to like, why is a
f on my bookshelf? And I was to actually look
at their names? Is it hilarious? That I can't remember
the exact titles of the books that I wrote.

Speaker 3 (02:08:52):
When you're such a prolific writer, it happens. It's okay.

Speaker 9 (02:08:56):
As I authored the Unofficial Harry Potter His Theory and
the Ultimate Wizarding World Guide to Magical Studies, and then
also the Ultimate Visiting World History of Magic.

Speaker 4 (02:09:13):
Wait is that also? It is just the Ultimate Visiting
World History of Magic and a new book coming very
very soon that I co author.

Speaker 3 (02:09:22):
I've talked about it here. It's okay, Maria's.

Speaker 4 (02:09:26):
I'm about to say it. Yeah, that one's coming soon.
We're so excited about it. So, yeah, you guys can
go tech check those books out. They're really fun. I
have a few friends who bought them that found them
really nice to write fan fiction. Like, I have a
lot of friends who enjoyed writing fan fiction and they're
just nice quick guys.

Speaker 3 (02:09:46):
So yeah, like and the Giant Squared or like what.

Speaker 4 (02:09:53):
I actually can't give you titles right now, but I
do know, I do know a few of our friends
enjoy doing those Some of them do it and they
don't publish it.

Speaker 10 (02:10:02):
They just do it for fun. Sometimes they send some snuppets,
which is I like reading it. It's fun to do
that in a free time. Gives me the idea for.

Speaker 3 (02:10:13):
It's a good exercise for it's a good exercise for
stretching your creative muscles too.

Speaker 4 (02:10:18):
Absolutely, especially as somebody who writes for a living. Sometimes
just writing creatively for fun knowing I'm not going to
publish it is the best medicine just to get that
best creative juice is flowing for something that maybe you
do want to publish. I always write based when I
tell myself publish this, and then I'm like, oh, maybe

(02:10:39):
I will when I read it again. So tup to
the aspiring writers out there, just tell yourself you're not
going to publish it when you start writing. You actually
you can't be My one professor said, you can't be
critical of yourself and creative at the same time.

Speaker 2 (02:10:54):
It's true.

Speaker 1 (02:10:55):
You got to turn off the internal editor exactly.

Speaker 4 (02:10:58):
You need to be fully created the first and then
you can go back and look at your work from
a more critical angle. And that stuck with me. It
really really works as somebody who has a PhD and
overthinking especially that.

Speaker 5 (02:11:12):
Works doctor overthinker.

Speaker 4 (02:11:18):
Yeah, if you want to follow me on social media,
I am at Marissa Lang on Instagram. I got I
got my name without any underscores or numbers because I
don't know. I was lucky. So yeah, I could also
find me over there.

Speaker 3 (02:11:31):
Cool. Well, thank you again for yeah being here and
for repping gryffin doorhouse and literally all South Africans.

Speaker 4 (02:11:39):
Thanks, there's my absolute honor.

Speaker 3 (02:11:43):
Yeah, I'm not even sure we've ever had anyone from
the entire country to be fair, like of Africa.

Speaker 4 (02:11:51):
That isn't what I meant. Yeah, obviously it's a huge
ass continent. You would think that. Yeah, it's also it's
also one of the least like it's pretty underdeveloped, Like
I think South South Africa is the most developed country
in Africa.

Speaker 3 (02:12:08):
I just read an article and yes, listeners, we are
going to end the episode, but any say, I just
read an article that Africa as like a collective is
lobbying or whatever. Get the maps changed because I saw
it so undersized on the maps that they were like,

(02:12:28):
we should redo the maps and so you can actually
see how big Africa is. And I was like, let's
do it.

Speaker 4 (02:12:35):
Brilliant. I pull disclosure. I had no idea about this.
I am very uninformed about my own country's news to be.
To be honest, I think you can understand that it's
it's it's always easier to look at what other countries
are doing and be like, oh dude, then look at
your own country and be like, oh dude. But yeah, yeah, totally,

(02:12:58):
that sounds pretty cool.

Speaker 3 (02:13:00):
Oh yeah, I'm I'm glad to break the news to you.

Speaker 4 (02:13:04):
Yeah, I'm glad to hear it from you now. I'm
I'm definitely going to chump on Google right now to
see how they're planning on drawing those maps.

Speaker 3 (02:13:11):
Do it.

Speaker 5 (02:13:13):
Well. The next time we gather, we will be discussing
chapter fourteen of Deathly Hallow's The Thief, So a completely
different direction from what we say.

Speaker 1 (02:13:26):
Very direction, And if you want to keep up with
us before then, you can follow us on pretty much
any social media outlet at alohomore MN or on Facebook
at Open the Dumbledore. And you really want to make
sure that you're checking out our Instagram to see which
of our moments this week, either figuring out Fluffy's Flute

(02:13:47):
song or when we sang the Hogwarts school song has
been voted the favorite. We're getting closer to crowning the
top a Lohomoer moment of all time, and the competition
is fierce, and I will tell you I'm probably going
for the fluffy flute song just because that was me
and I remember that and it was a very funny experience.

Speaker 3 (02:14:05):
So yeah, uh that was you? Was it me and
Caleb on the episode.

Speaker 2 (02:14:11):
With no Michael?

Speaker 1 (02:14:12):
Michael was on that episode?

Speaker 3 (02:14:13):
Oh yeah, it was Michael. I was on it because
I feel like I think you were. Yeah, yes, because
that sounds right.

Speaker 1 (02:14:21):
We took like it literally was like a half an
hour where we stopped and figured out what the notes were.
It was very funny.

Speaker 3 (02:14:28):
I remember, it was wild. It was a good time though.
It deserves to be in the top moments for sure.

Speaker 2 (02:14:33):
And make sure that you subscribe and save and share
this episode with everyone you have ever met ever.

Speaker 3 (02:14:41):
Dig back into your memory, pull out your pensive, make.

Speaker 1 (02:14:44):
A list everyone everyone you've ever met. And with that,
we're going to jump in our flying cars and hopefully
not hit the womping willow. This has been episode seventy
one of the Final one hundred.

Speaker 5 (02:14:57):
I'm Allison, I'm Shamani, and I'm Cat.

Speaker 3 (02:15:00):
Thank you for listening to episode four hundred and seventy
one of ALOHI Mora.

Speaker 4 (02:15:04):
Ma gluped.

Speaker 11 (02:15:18):
Aloha Mora is produced by Tracy Dunstan. This episode was
edited by Patrick Muslek. Aloha Mora was co created by
Noah Freed and Cat Miller and is brought to you
by APWBD LLC.

Speaker 1 (02:15:43):
Which part are you looking at?

Speaker 3 (02:15:45):
The part where where we think he's doing legitimacy? Oh?

Speaker 1 (02:15:49):
Yes, sorry, because I just hit on the They're like,
where's snape.

Speaker 8 (02:15:53):
Maybe he's ill, maybe he's left, maybe he's been.

Speaker 1 (02:15:56):
Sacked, maybe he's right you yeah, let's see.

Speaker 3 (02:16:03):
I like how we all do the snape voices Alan Rickman,
It's great.

Speaker 5 (02:16:06):
Yes, that is the only snape voice.

Speaker 3 (02:16:10):
Yes, oh you know what I wanted to bring up,
and I forgot to. We moved on from the moment.
But like, I like that name better than fumble the fur.

Speaker 1 (02:16:19):
Oh yeah, no, I thought it was so funny. It
was hilarious.

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