Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Two-Way Mirror

(doh! and a case of premature posting... pretend it is Wednesday, please...)

TOMORROW NIGHT!!!!! OHMYGAWD!!!! But on our countdown, we are to TWO... Two days to the LAST big Harry Potter Group Experience.

You know... I read the first book when my daughter, Tartlet #1, brought it home from the school library at age 6. I was a little excited... I'd wanted to read them, but had slated them (there were 3, 4th out for Christmas) for about 3rd grade. But since she'd brought it home... I read to her... and proceeded to read into my evening the week we had the book... Santa brought the first three... I read them in a closet before Christmas and bought the 4th by new years... and then waited... Was it 2 years? I think it might have been... I'd almost forgotten how much I loved them, but when Order of the Phoenix came out, daughter wanted to read to prep... son wanted to read for the first time... So for me, that made 5 times through the first 4—three times through the 5th... And honestly, the 5th is when I fell in love... with them not as passive I love this stories, but as things going on that I was trying to figure out...

It took me a while... years, even... to work up the nerve to seek out fellow Potterheads. In March of 2005 I finally worked up the nerve to SAY SOMETHING at the Wizard War at HPANA... You know what my first post was on?

THE TWO WAY MIRRORS!!!

Harry was blaming himself for not opening the gift... for not having the reliable way to reach Sirius that could have prevented needing to go into Umbridges office... could have headed off Kreacher betraying Sirus... for causing Sirius' death. He broke that mirror in the bottom of his trunk... but there was too much made for them to be nothing.

We had a lot of predictions... the most popular that the mirrors would be used for the trio to communicate when Harry was out Horcrux hunting. It was fairly certain they would be important SOMEHOW.

I loved though, how they ended up mattering... the tease that that blue eye was a Dumbledore eye... our HOPE that maybe Sirius really DID have it going through the veil and had passed it to DD so he could help Harry... I liked though, that it was nothing so improbable in the end...


That is all I have today, as I am also over at Burrowers, Books and Balderdash talking about Publishing Options, so anyone wanting more meat—particularly writing related stuff, that is where to find it...

Happy Hing Day Folks!!!

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember all the Harry Potter books so vividly, but I completely forget the 7th one every time! *sigh* Guess I'll just have to reread it! ;)

Cheeseboy said...

Maybe, just maybe, THIS is the movie that finally gets me into Harry Potter???

Mustang Sally said...

Of all the weeks for me to go missing ... damn, I am a Potterhead too! I would have loved to be a part of those discussions but well, it is what it is. There was no help for it.

I just got computer access back this evening, I'm trying to play catch up and then I find the link back to your fan fic.

Now I want to read the whole and CAN'T as I've already lost most of the night there and I really need to catch up with some people's blogs, but when I DO I will be back to read the rest.

LOL I want to argue about your treatment of Sirius ... but I've always been a sucker for the bad boys, so I will wait until I finish before saying more about that.

I can't believe the whole thing is coming to an end. I think this is the first time I didn't reread the series before the movie came out ... hee hee, yeah, I got it bad.

CA Heaven said...

The new HP movie got good critiques in our local newspaper this morning. I hope you will enjoy it >:)

Cold As Heaven

Creepy Query Girl said...

Today is the big day here in france too! DOubt I'll get to go see it in a theater but I'm definitely asking for the full box set in blue ray for christmas. I've read all the books at least three times over too. They really are something special.

Old Kitty said...

Hoooorah for Tartlet no.1 !!!!!
:-) Take care
x

Sarah Ahiers said...

oh man. I remember having so much hope for that mirror after sirius and then dubmbledore died. In the end, it was bittersweet for me.
And, oh man, i remember having to wait for #3 to be released. TORTURE! Especially since i was still trying to convince my friends and other booksellers that they needed to read these books ASAP

Hart Johnson said...

Madeline-HURRY! If you start now, you might make it!

Abe-READ THEM! I have faith though, you will fall in love with them eventually--read them with your sons! (my kids dived in with me at 6 and 5 respectively)

Sally-what a crummy week to be offline! I hope you can get back to the story. Intermixed there are some comments of die-hard Sirius fans, though I think I make my case pretty well.

CaH--YAY! Good reviews are a good sign!

Katie-oh, you have to go to the theater! (though as I understand it, the tickets for day one are steep, at least in the neighboring Netherlands). I really want the extended versions of the movies...

Jenny-Yes, YAY Tartlet!

Sarah-You got there early! It just hadn't occurred to me before hitting that first one that YA would be MY thing even more than my kids... and it was really the first fantasy series I read--when i was young, i thought I was too old... or something.

Colene Murphy said...

The mirror was awesome the way she worked it back in. I remember being FURIOUS with him for not getting the mirror and Sirius dying in that book. But the way you felt like it HAS to be important somehow was very cool! (I always held out hope to the very last page of the 7th book that Sirius wasn't really dead, too. *sigh*)

RaShelle Workman said...

I am soooooo excited. I love the books. Going to see it for my birthday next Thursday... I have the whole evening planned and THE HUBS is coming along for the ride. LOL.

Raquel Byrnes said...

I shall check out your post at BBand B...as for the Harry Potter countdown, it sounds like you're having so much fun. I always hoped for Sirius to somehow make it back...so bummed.
Edge of Your Seat Romance

Hart Johnson said...

Sirius believers! Our group had a couple of those. I like how she did it. I think the integrity was better, but you ladies are in good company.

RaShelle-I wish I could get my hubby to take any interest... he doesn't really approve of imagination. That is a great birthday treat though!

Ciara said...

*sniff, sniff* I won't be able to see it for over a week. :(

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Safe to say you are a little excited?

Deniz Bevan said...

Great series! For what it's worth, I love Remus too :-)
And yea, the first time around, I had no idea at all what that blue eye could be - love how that one turned out. Going to start my reread of the last book tonight!

Abby Minard said...

Aw, Sirius...I remember thinking that too- I think we all did! I always thought Dumbledore would miraculously pop up in the next book after he died, and be all "HA- Snape and I fooled you! I'm not really dead!" But alas, didn't happen. Can't wait for my little girl to start reading them! She's 6 now, and loves the movies. Maybe I can start reading the book to her....

Hart Johnson said...

Ciara-how can you wait!?

Alex-yes. Very safe.

Deniz-are you a speed reader? I started Monday and I still have about 250 pages left!

Abby-I was ALL OVER that DD not really dead theory! I believed they'd faked it, too. There was a ton of book support there--starting with 'stopper in death' in SS, all the way up to telling Draco 'they can't kill you if you are already dead' suggesting faked death. If your daughter doesn't spook too easily, I think you can start!

Michael Di Gesu said...

I had a funny feeling that mirror would come into play somewhere along the line. It was brilliantly used.

Deniz Bevan said...

Hee hee - don't know about speed reading, but I'm definitely a procrastinator. I'm supposed to be spending this weekend editing my own novel!