I just recently got back in to the Harry Potter series, and I thought of an interesting concept. What if Hogwarts completely disbanded the four houses and created not four, but five new houses? I feel like everyone would have a spot in one of these houses. The big difference between these houses and the houses we know and love in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin is that these five houses are based on your hobbies and interests, not your character traits. I thought this would just be a fun little exercise to do, come up with these five houses and sort popular Harry Potter characters into them.
I'll first name the house (explaining it's pronunciation and Latin origins), what hobbies and interests members of that house would have, explain a bit more about the house, and then name some witches and wizards who would be sorted into that house.
House #1: Valdepartum (VAL-DUH-PART-UM, Latin for very creative)
Hobbies/Interests: Writing, art, music, theater, cooking
Comment: Members of Valdepartum love to express their creativity through art, music, writing, and anything they can create or make and share with the world.
Members: Rita Skeeter, Celestina Warbeck, Dean Thomas, Nymphadora Tonks, Molly Weasley, Gilderoy Lockhart
House #2: Descientia (DUH-SIGH-EN-TEE-UH, Latin portmanteau of words for desire and knowledge)
Hobbies/Interests: Reading, learning, teaching, traveling, experiencing new things
Comment: Members of Descientia love learning and experiencing new things. They enjoy learning and also sharing their knowledge, possibly through teaching. They also love being the smartest person in the room.
Members: Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore, Percy Weasley, Bill Weasley, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Tom Riddle/Voldemort
House #3: Ludobonum (LOU-DOE-BOE-NUM, Latin portmanteau of words for game/sport and good)
Hobbiest/Interests: Sports (Quidditch), games (chess, gobstones, wizard crackers), competition
Comment: Members of Ludobonum love playing games and sports. They generally are good sports and care more about having fun than winning. They just want the world to be a happy and fun place.
Members: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Ludo Bagman, Dean Thomas, Fred and George Weasley
House #4: Amarevivus (UH-MAW-RAY-VEE-VUS, Latin portmanteau of words for love and living)
Hobbies/Interests: Animals, plants, magizoology
Comment: Members of Amarevivus love plants and/or animals. They feel they sometimes can relate to them better than humans. They hate to see any plant or animal life suffer and want to protect them and their rights.
Members: Neville Longbottom, Newt Scamander, Luna Lovegood, Charlie Weasley, Rubeus Hagrid, Pomona Sprout
House #5: Amiculus (UH-MICK-YOU-LUSS, Latin portmanteau of words for friendly and people)
Hobbies/Interests: Hanging out with friends, public speaking, talking, making friends
Comment: Members of Amiculus are what you'd call a "people person". They fit right into any group, they make friends easily, and they are generally well-liked. They want to make the world a better place and enjoy meeting new people. They are best-suited of the five houses for a career in politics or social relations.
Members: Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour, Arthur Weasley, Sirius Black, James Potter
Showing posts with label Harry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harry. Show all posts
Friday, September 23, 2022
New Hogwarts Houses and Who'd Be in Them
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
My Gripes with Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
The app and game I have played the most the past two years (or so) is definitely Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery. Anyone that knows me knows that I am a huge Harry Potter fan, so when this app came out in April of 2018, I had to play it. I've basically been hooked since then, but I have stopped playing the game for multiple days at a time. That is because there are certain things the developers have chosen to implement into the game that I do not like. If anyone from Jam City that has input on the Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery game reads this, please try to fix one of these things at the very least:
- Dueling
One of my biggest complaints I have with the game is the dueling. It's just a boring game of rock-paper-scissors. There's very little strategy involved. The games are clearly rigged because in a standard game of rock-paper-scissors, you would have the same move as your opponent (draw) 1/3 of the time. In dueling in HPHM, you draw only 10% of the time, if that. Worst of all, no matter what moves you select and when, you lose a little more than you win. My suggestion is to add helping items or bonuses that can give you a boost in dueling, such as healing items, tiebreakers, or extra damage. These bonuses or advantages could be earned through events and/or classes. That would increase the strategy in dueling ten-fold and make it much more fun. Or if that's too hard to do, make dueling more like an actual 1/3 shot of either winning, losing, or drawing.
- Full Marks
Full Marks events are near impossible to win. I won't go over their details in what is required to do well (and possibly win), but they last between five to seven days, so in order to get a top prize you have to be at it 24/7 for close to an entire week. Even if you are, you'll likely still remain behind at least one or two players. I am convinced some of the players on the leader board that you compete with are bots and not real players. I have read many posts and comments on Reddit about how when people see a Full Marks event, they take a break from the game because the event is just not worth it. You bust your butt for an entire week for coins and maybe some books? Not worth it. My suggestion is to have rewards for getting a certain amount of points, regardless of how everyone else does. It's fine to have the grand prize (outfit, decoration for dormitory) be a competition between players, but every other prize should be obtained from reaching a certain number of points, just like in House Pride events.
- House Pride
Speaking of House Pride events, they are not perfect, either. I like how you get rewards no matter how your team does, but getting the top prize is near impossible now. When this event first started out, it was very easy to win, and now it's impossible. No matter how often I play and get extra energy from spots around the castle, I always am behind at least one person on my team and behind at least one house for the house totals. One thing I have read is that as you progress through the game, your energy requirements to complete classes goes up. When you first play, it only takes 10 energy or so to get a star in a class. In year six, it takes 15-20 energy. In other words, a team full of first and second years can complete classes much quicker than a team of sixth years. That should not be the case; in fact, it should be the other way around. Jam City, you have this backwards. I don't know how, but somehow make it easier for dedicated players to the game like myself to win these House Pride events. Perhaps give players in later years a multiplier on the house crests earned. But we should not be penalized for being further in the game than other players. I honestly cannot remember the last time I won either a House Pride or Full Marks event.
- Story/Characters
The story in the game has severely lacked in years 5 and 6. The story gets released so slowly, it can be very hard to try to remember what was going on in the last chapter. I am getting to the point of losing interest in ever finding out who's behind this "R", if we'll ever find and get revenge on Rakepick, and if our brother Jacob will ever hang around for more than a minute. I can't remember the last time our story involved Tulip Karasu or Barnaby Lee. You've made a mockery of Tonks, whose only apparent character trait is being a prankster. And Ben Copper's character took a complete 180 and became cold and uninteresting. And you can't seem to make up your mind if Merula will ever come around, or if she's going to forever be our arch rival. And with the story being released as slowly as it is, it's extremely hard to get invested in it at all, and I find myself not really caring too much for what the characters are saying.
- Focus
Clearly, Jam City's focus in the past year or so in the game has been to try to get people to spend real life money by introducing new pets, creatures, and now dorm decorations. It seems like every time I go on the game there's a new thing to buy or try to invest books in. I know, that's how you guys keep the game running, but if you keep at this pace, people aren't going to care. The game is slowly becoming all show and no substance. Some players have realized this, and more will if you're not careful. Many apps and games have seen their profits dwindle because they tried too hard to get people to spend money and didn't focus on making a quality game. I don't feel as fulfilled with having creatures and pets as I do with a great story, interesting characters, and fun and winnable events to do. The game is at its best when the pets and cosmetics are an additional/side feature, not the main feature.
- Creature sidequests with Hagrid
Every now and then a sidequest with Hagrid will pop up involving a pet or creature. However, the most recent two are ones that make me not want to even try anymore. The sidequests require we adopt a certain pet or creature, and their requirements are insane. First, the Welsh Green Dragon, which requires 60 Red and 30 Blue Books. Blue books are extremely hard to get in the game, and getting just two or three in an event is very tough to do (usually it's the reward requiring the most amount of classes/crests). And you're asking for thirty of them!? Second, the Puppy Crup, which requires 120 Brown Books. Fortunately, Brown Books are a lot easier to obtain, but 120 of them?! And woe is me, I spent 50 Brown Books on a Streeler mere days before the Puppy Crup sidequest comes out. Figures, right? If I had known, I would have saved my Brown Books. These requirements to obtain these creatures to further our friendship with Hagrid are just insane, and they make players like me not want to even bother because it's so difficult and time-consuming to earn them. And you can't expect players to shovel out real money just so they can progress a sidequest.
- Friendship Requirements/Attribute Requirements
The requirements to level up certain friendships are insane. I'm talking about Jae, Badeea, Liz, and Fred. Having to do a friendship task 20-30 times with each to level up is just way too much. And having to spend our hard-earned coins each time just adds insult to injury. I've basically stopped doing the friendship tasks unless I'm trying in a Full Marks Event and it requires a friendship task. At least there are some friends who don't require that many points to level up, such as the three Quidditch friends (Orion, Murphy and Skye), Chiara, and Talbott (sort of).
And then the points required to level up your attributes (courage, empathy, knowledge) get insane around the late 20's. At level 29, it requires over 17,000 points?! Are you kidding me? I'd say the average net for an attribute in a 2 hour class is 15 points. That's being generous, because you don't always get attribute points as a reward, and the highest you can get (40) is pretty rare. Doing the math, this would require us to do 567 two hour classes or 227 eight hour classes! To level up all three attributes, it would take 1,700 two hour classes or 680 eight hour classes! That's just insane. And playing the game every time you reached full energy (during awake hours, so 18 hours for most) would take an attribute to level up between 70-80 days, and that's if you focus on that one attribute only and play pretty much every time you reach full energy while you're awake. That is asking way too much of us.
I say all this despite the fact I am on it basically every day, every few hours. I still really like the game, but honestly the times when I decide to take a break and not play, I feel a bit of a relief that I'm not stressing over trying to win an event or complete a sidequest before time runs out. I am seriously thinking of taking a break from the game for a while, and not just for a few days. It's getting to the point where it's not worth it anymore. I would definitely come back and play again, if only to catch up on the story. But it is getting to that point with me, and I will not hesitate to stop playing for a while. The game is just not what it used to be. The story is severely lacking in quality, events are near impossible to win, and the side bits of the game (Dueling, pets, friendship tasks) are just not worth the time and effort. The game started out great, but then fizzled out in its second year, and if they're not careful, the same downward trend will continue, and they will lose players.
Edit: I am currently in a hiatus from the game, and part of me wants to go back to the game, but when I think about doing so, I just lose interest very quickly. This game has unfortunately descended into the depths of money grabbers, and I just lose interest in a game quickly when that happens. Also, it's hard to keep up with the game when you're busy with a job and other apps take up your time.
- Dueling
One of my biggest complaints I have with the game is the dueling. It's just a boring game of rock-paper-scissors. There's very little strategy involved. The games are clearly rigged because in a standard game of rock-paper-scissors, you would have the same move as your opponent (draw) 1/3 of the time. In dueling in HPHM, you draw only 10% of the time, if that. Worst of all, no matter what moves you select and when, you lose a little more than you win. My suggestion is to add helping items or bonuses that can give you a boost in dueling, such as healing items, tiebreakers, or extra damage. These bonuses or advantages could be earned through events and/or classes. That would increase the strategy in dueling ten-fold and make it much more fun. Or if that's too hard to do, make dueling more like an actual 1/3 shot of either winning, losing, or drawing.
- Full Marks
Full Marks events are near impossible to win. I won't go over their details in what is required to do well (and possibly win), but they last between five to seven days, so in order to get a top prize you have to be at it 24/7 for close to an entire week. Even if you are, you'll likely still remain behind at least one or two players. I am convinced some of the players on the leader board that you compete with are bots and not real players. I have read many posts and comments on Reddit about how when people see a Full Marks event, they take a break from the game because the event is just not worth it. You bust your butt for an entire week for coins and maybe some books? Not worth it. My suggestion is to have rewards for getting a certain amount of points, regardless of how everyone else does. It's fine to have the grand prize (outfit, decoration for dormitory) be a competition between players, but every other prize should be obtained from reaching a certain number of points, just like in House Pride events.
- House Pride
Speaking of House Pride events, they are not perfect, either. I like how you get rewards no matter how your team does, but getting the top prize is near impossible now. When this event first started out, it was very easy to win, and now it's impossible. No matter how often I play and get extra energy from spots around the castle, I always am behind at least one person on my team and behind at least one house for the house totals. One thing I have read is that as you progress through the game, your energy requirements to complete classes goes up. When you first play, it only takes 10 energy or so to get a star in a class. In year six, it takes 15-20 energy. In other words, a team full of first and second years can complete classes much quicker than a team of sixth years. That should not be the case; in fact, it should be the other way around. Jam City, you have this backwards. I don't know how, but somehow make it easier for dedicated players to the game like myself to win these House Pride events. Perhaps give players in later years a multiplier on the house crests earned. But we should not be penalized for being further in the game than other players. I honestly cannot remember the last time I won either a House Pride or Full Marks event.
- Story/Characters
The story in the game has severely lacked in years 5 and 6. The story gets released so slowly, it can be very hard to try to remember what was going on in the last chapter. I am getting to the point of losing interest in ever finding out who's behind this "R", if we'll ever find and get revenge on Rakepick, and if our brother Jacob will ever hang around for more than a minute. I can't remember the last time our story involved Tulip Karasu or Barnaby Lee. You've made a mockery of Tonks, whose only apparent character trait is being a prankster. And Ben Copper's character took a complete 180 and became cold and uninteresting. And you can't seem to make up your mind if Merula will ever come around, or if she's going to forever be our arch rival. And with the story being released as slowly as it is, it's extremely hard to get invested in it at all, and I find myself not really caring too much for what the characters are saying.
- Focus
Clearly, Jam City's focus in the past year or so in the game has been to try to get people to spend real life money by introducing new pets, creatures, and now dorm decorations. It seems like every time I go on the game there's a new thing to buy or try to invest books in. I know, that's how you guys keep the game running, but if you keep at this pace, people aren't going to care. The game is slowly becoming all show and no substance. Some players have realized this, and more will if you're not careful. Many apps and games have seen their profits dwindle because they tried too hard to get people to spend money and didn't focus on making a quality game. I don't feel as fulfilled with having creatures and pets as I do with a great story, interesting characters, and fun and winnable events to do. The game is at its best when the pets and cosmetics are an additional/side feature, not the main feature.
- Creature sidequests with Hagrid
Every now and then a sidequest with Hagrid will pop up involving a pet or creature. However, the most recent two are ones that make me not want to even try anymore. The sidequests require we adopt a certain pet or creature, and their requirements are insane. First, the Welsh Green Dragon, which requires 60 Red and 30 Blue Books. Blue books are extremely hard to get in the game, and getting just two or three in an event is very tough to do (usually it's the reward requiring the most amount of classes/crests). And you're asking for thirty of them!? Second, the Puppy Crup, which requires 120 Brown Books. Fortunately, Brown Books are a lot easier to obtain, but 120 of them?! And woe is me, I spent 50 Brown Books on a Streeler mere days before the Puppy Crup sidequest comes out. Figures, right? If I had known, I would have saved my Brown Books. These requirements to obtain these creatures to further our friendship with Hagrid are just insane, and they make players like me not want to even bother because it's so difficult and time-consuming to earn them. And you can't expect players to shovel out real money just so they can progress a sidequest.
- Friendship Requirements/Attribute Requirements
The requirements to level up certain friendships are insane. I'm talking about Jae, Badeea, Liz, and Fred. Having to do a friendship task 20-30 times with each to level up is just way too much. And having to spend our hard-earned coins each time just adds insult to injury. I've basically stopped doing the friendship tasks unless I'm trying in a Full Marks Event and it requires a friendship task. At least there are some friends who don't require that many points to level up, such as the three Quidditch friends (Orion, Murphy and Skye), Chiara, and Talbott (sort of).
And then the points required to level up your attributes (courage, empathy, knowledge) get insane around the late 20's. At level 29, it requires over 17,000 points?! Are you kidding me? I'd say the average net for an attribute in a 2 hour class is 15 points. That's being generous, because you don't always get attribute points as a reward, and the highest you can get (40) is pretty rare. Doing the math, this would require us to do 567 two hour classes or 227 eight hour classes! To level up all three attributes, it would take 1,700 two hour classes or 680 eight hour classes! That's just insane. And playing the game every time you reached full energy (during awake hours, so 18 hours for most) would take an attribute to level up between 70-80 days, and that's if you focus on that one attribute only and play pretty much every time you reach full energy while you're awake. That is asking way too much of us.
I say all this despite the fact I am on it basically every day, every few hours. I still really like the game, but honestly the times when I decide to take a break and not play, I feel a bit of a relief that I'm not stressing over trying to win an event or complete a sidequest before time runs out. I am seriously thinking of taking a break from the game for a while, and not just for a few days. It's getting to the point where it's not worth it anymore. I would definitely come back and play again, if only to catch up on the story. But it is getting to that point with me, and I will not hesitate to stop playing for a while. The game is just not what it used to be. The story is severely lacking in quality, events are near impossible to win, and the side bits of the game (Dueling, pets, friendship tasks) are just not worth the time and effort. The game started out great, but then fizzled out in its second year, and if they're not careful, the same downward trend will continue, and they will lose players.
Edit: I am currently in a hiatus from the game, and part of me wants to go back to the game, but when I think about doing so, I just lose interest very quickly. This game has unfortunately descended into the depths of money grabbers, and I just lose interest in a game quickly when that happens. Also, it's hard to keep up with the game when you're busy with a job and other apps take up your time.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Things in the Harry Potter series that have made me shake my head
I just finished reading the Harry Potter series for what feels like the 50th
time (probably closer to 15 or 20), and I really praise JK Rowling on one of
the most captivating and best-selling book series of all time. She did such a great job. But if there's one thing (or several) that I
would change, it would be the logic used by some of the characters, but not
just that: the reason for introducing certain plot devices, characters,
etc. Here are my list of things, by
book, that I felt the series could have done without, or needed some
change. Basically, the Harry Potter
things that made me shake my head:
Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone
- Dumbledore gives Harry to a family that won't love him
Seriously, why would anyone do that to a baby, other than to maybe toughen him up? Dumbledore easily could have given Harry to a wizarding family and had them change his name to protect his identity. Either that or given the family extra protection, such as the fidelius charm. Sure, the Dursley's just happened to be Harry's only living relatives, but I wouldn't have given a child to a family that wouldn't love him. This was later explained because their house contained magical protection (since Harry's mom died to save him--she and Petunia have the same blood), but I still would not have subjected a kid to such torture. I would've had another family adopt him and give him a different name--then when he's old enough tell him the truth.
- Harry is allowed on Quidditch team despite being a first year
This bugs me more than it does other people. The school rules clearly state Quidditch is open to second years and above. And yet Harry is allowed on. To top it off, he got on the team by disobeying a teacher. Realistically, allowing Potter on the team should have made every first year want to be on a Quidditch team. Just isn't fair to the others.
- The trio manage to get through obstacles designed to stop the smartest of wizards.
This wouldn't have bothered me at all if they were near the end of their schooling and ready to become adult wizards. But they were only FIRST YEARS, having only studied magic for a mere 9 months. So the part of this that really bothers me is that is wasn't terribly difficult for first years (none of them died). If it wasn't terribly difficult for them, then the obstacles certainly weren't difficult enough. There should have been some advanced magic that even competitors in the Triwizard Tournament would have trouble with.
Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone
- Dumbledore gives Harry to a family that won't love him
Seriously, why would anyone do that to a baby, other than to maybe toughen him up? Dumbledore easily could have given Harry to a wizarding family and had them change his name to protect his identity. Either that or given the family extra protection, such as the fidelius charm. Sure, the Dursley's just happened to be Harry's only living relatives, but I wouldn't have given a child to a family that wouldn't love him. This was later explained because their house contained magical protection (since Harry's mom died to save him--she and Petunia have the same blood), but I still would not have subjected a kid to such torture. I would've had another family adopt him and give him a different name--then when he's old enough tell him the truth.
- Harry is allowed on Quidditch team despite being a first year
This bugs me more than it does other people. The school rules clearly state Quidditch is open to second years and above. And yet Harry is allowed on. To top it off, he got on the team by disobeying a teacher. Realistically, allowing Potter on the team should have made every first year want to be on a Quidditch team. Just isn't fair to the others.
- The trio manage to get through obstacles designed to stop the smartest of wizards.
This wouldn't have bothered me at all if they were near the end of their schooling and ready to become adult wizards. But they were only FIRST YEARS, having only studied magic for a mere 9 months. So the part of this that really bothers me is that is wasn't terribly difficult for first years (none of them died). If it wasn't terribly difficult for them, then the obstacles certainly weren't difficult enough. There should have been some advanced magic that even competitors in the Triwizard Tournament would have trouble with.
Chamber of Secrets
- Chamber of Secrets never found?
I find it hard to believe that the Chamber of Secrets was never found by someone until Harry and Ron. Professor Binns (McGonagall in the movie) stated that the school had been searched thoroughly many times. Yet somehow, they passed over a mysterious sink in the 2nd floor girl's bathroom which had a snake etched into it. I mean, wouldn't they be looking for a symbol like that, knowing it's SLYTHERIN's chamber they are looking for? This isn't too big of a head scratcher for me, but maybe I overestimate grown wizards.
- Harry survives encounter with basilisk
There were a number of things that bothered me with this. First off, Harry is just 12 here. Just 12. He not only manages to avoid its deadly stare (until Fawkes takes out the basilisk's eyes), but he manages to kill it as well. The basilisk did indeed bite him, and its venom is extremely poisonous, only having one antidote. And guess what? That antidote conveniently happened to appear in the form of Fawkes' tears. Logically speaking, if a 12 year old wizard with a sword and a bird face off against a monstrous basilisk, the basilisk wins every time.
Prisoner of Azkaban
- The Time-Turner
JKR introducing the Time-Turner was probably her biggest mistake as a writer. As soon as she introduced it, Harry Potter (the series, not the character) went from fantasy to a bit science fiction. She strayed away from her book's own genre. Let's not forget the fact that anyone who has a Time-Turner can reverse any bad thing happening. She explains it by having them under strict Ministry of Magic control in the Department of Mysteries. And the fact that they'd trust a 13 year old girl (Honors student or not) with one is astounding.
- Peter Pettigrew is Scabbers... Fred and George didn't see?
So in Book 3 we learned that Ron's pet rat was actually one of Harry's father's old school friends (and the one that betrayed him). That was actually a good plot twist that I did not see coming the first time I read the book. However, also in this book, we learn that Fred and George were in possession of a certain magical map known as the Marauder's Map. This map shows EVERYONE in Hogwarts, whether they are an Animagus like Pettigrew or not. Wouldn't they have seen a "Peter Pettigrew" dot in the boys dormitory, often right next to Ron as he slept? Or how about knowing there is a "Peter Pettigrew" in Gryffindor somewhere but never meeting one with that name? A real head shaker here...
Goblet of Fire
- Harry has to participate in the Triwizard Tournament just because his name came out of the goblet
I find one of the premises in Goblet of Fire to be the most hard to believe. So, someone (Barty Crouch Jr.) put Harry's name into a magical tournament that clearly states you must be 17 to participate. Harry at this time is only 14. His name comes out and all of Europe's brightest wizards conclude he just has to compete. They refer to a "binding magical contract", but where is this contract? And why can't they just reverse it or change it? They know magic, don't they? They have the greatest wizard in Albus Dumbledore presiding over the tournament but not even he can get Harry out of it? So they let a 14 year old (who only was introduced to the magical world three years prior) compete? And they allow one of the three schools to have two competitors? That's like allowing an extra basketball team for the USA in the Olympics. A real head-shaker here.
- Making the Triwizard cup a portkey--why not something easier?
This has been brought up before. Why go through all the hassle of A) Getting Harry into the Triwizard Tournament, B) Making sure he does well enough to win and C) Making a valuable object a portkey and making sure Harry gets to it first, when you could just trick him instead? Seriously. All Moody/Crouch Jr. had to do was get Harry alone on the grounds, give him a portkey disguised as something non-threatening that Harry would grab (A wizard's card, a quaffle?), and boom, Harry gets transported to the graveyard. It just seems weird to go to all that trouble.
Order of the Phoenix
- The Ministry of Magic is mysteriously deserted when Harry and the gang arrive
When Harry and the others (Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna) arrive at the Ministry of Magic to save Sirius, they find it mysteriously deserted. Absolutely no one there. You'd think that in such an important place there'd be at least security guards. This is the equivalent of six American teenagers arriving to the White House and being able to go in and finding absolutely no one inside. I don't think this was ever explained. Obviously, it needed to be empty for the plot to continue as it did, but why was it empty? Why would the Ministry of Magic EVER be empty?
Deathly Hallows
- Voldemort orders Narcissa Malfoy to check if Harry's dead instead of just checking himself
We learned one of two things here. Either Voldemort is the laziest douchebag in the wizarding world or he trusts all his Death Eaters with ANYTHING. Voldemort should remember he's a bad guy with bad guy henchmen, and bad guys tend to betray and lie to one another. Not once did Voldemort check on Harry until Harry finally opened his eyes and began fighting. I find it hard to believe that Voldemort, being a pretty smart guy, would just assume Harry was dead. Or even trust a Death Eater.
- Chamber of Secrets never found?
I find it hard to believe that the Chamber of Secrets was never found by someone until Harry and Ron. Professor Binns (McGonagall in the movie) stated that the school had been searched thoroughly many times. Yet somehow, they passed over a mysterious sink in the 2nd floor girl's bathroom which had a snake etched into it. I mean, wouldn't they be looking for a symbol like that, knowing it's SLYTHERIN's chamber they are looking for? This isn't too big of a head scratcher for me, but maybe I overestimate grown wizards.
- Harry survives encounter with basilisk
There were a number of things that bothered me with this. First off, Harry is just 12 here. Just 12. He not only manages to avoid its deadly stare (until Fawkes takes out the basilisk's eyes), but he manages to kill it as well. The basilisk did indeed bite him, and its venom is extremely poisonous, only having one antidote. And guess what? That antidote conveniently happened to appear in the form of Fawkes' tears. Logically speaking, if a 12 year old wizard with a sword and a bird face off against a monstrous basilisk, the basilisk wins every time.
Prisoner of Azkaban
- The Time-Turner
JKR introducing the Time-Turner was probably her biggest mistake as a writer. As soon as she introduced it, Harry Potter (the series, not the character) went from fantasy to a bit science fiction. She strayed away from her book's own genre. Let's not forget the fact that anyone who has a Time-Turner can reverse any bad thing happening. She explains it by having them under strict Ministry of Magic control in the Department of Mysteries. And the fact that they'd trust a 13 year old girl (Honors student or not) with one is astounding.
- Peter Pettigrew is Scabbers... Fred and George didn't see?
So in Book 3 we learned that Ron's pet rat was actually one of Harry's father's old school friends (and the one that betrayed him). That was actually a good plot twist that I did not see coming the first time I read the book. However, also in this book, we learn that Fred and George were in possession of a certain magical map known as the Marauder's Map. This map shows EVERYONE in Hogwarts, whether they are an Animagus like Pettigrew or not. Wouldn't they have seen a "Peter Pettigrew" dot in the boys dormitory, often right next to Ron as he slept? Or how about knowing there is a "Peter Pettigrew" in Gryffindor somewhere but never meeting one with that name? A real head shaker here...
Goblet of Fire
- Harry has to participate in the Triwizard Tournament just because his name came out of the goblet
I find one of the premises in Goblet of Fire to be the most hard to believe. So, someone (Barty Crouch Jr.) put Harry's name into a magical tournament that clearly states you must be 17 to participate. Harry at this time is only 14. His name comes out and all of Europe's brightest wizards conclude he just has to compete. They refer to a "binding magical contract", but where is this contract? And why can't they just reverse it or change it? They know magic, don't they? They have the greatest wizard in Albus Dumbledore presiding over the tournament but not even he can get Harry out of it? So they let a 14 year old (who only was introduced to the magical world three years prior) compete? And they allow one of the three schools to have two competitors? That's like allowing an extra basketball team for the USA in the Olympics. A real head-shaker here.
- Making the Triwizard cup a portkey--why not something easier?
This has been brought up before. Why go through all the hassle of A) Getting Harry into the Triwizard Tournament, B) Making sure he does well enough to win and C) Making a valuable object a portkey and making sure Harry gets to it first, when you could just trick him instead? Seriously. All Moody/Crouch Jr. had to do was get Harry alone on the grounds, give him a portkey disguised as something non-threatening that Harry would grab (A wizard's card, a quaffle?), and boom, Harry gets transported to the graveyard. It just seems weird to go to all that trouble.
Order of the Phoenix
- The Ministry of Magic is mysteriously deserted when Harry and the gang arrive
When Harry and the others (Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna) arrive at the Ministry of Magic to save Sirius, they find it mysteriously deserted. Absolutely no one there. You'd think that in such an important place there'd be at least security guards. This is the equivalent of six American teenagers arriving to the White House and being able to go in and finding absolutely no one inside. I don't think this was ever explained. Obviously, it needed to be empty for the plot to continue as it did, but why was it empty? Why would the Ministry of Magic EVER be empty?
Deathly Hallows
- Voldemort orders Narcissa Malfoy to check if Harry's dead instead of just checking himself
We learned one of two things here. Either Voldemort is the laziest douchebag in the wizarding world or he trusts all his Death Eaters with ANYTHING. Voldemort should remember he's a bad guy with bad guy henchmen, and bad guys tend to betray and lie to one another. Not once did Voldemort check on Harry until Harry finally opened his eyes and began fighting. I find it hard to believe that Voldemort, being a pretty smart guy, would just assume Harry was dead. Or even trust a Death Eater.
So there you have it. I'd love to be able to ask JK Rowling some of these. Perhaps some of these WERE answered or explained better in the books, but somehow in my 20 readings of them I missed it. If you feel the need to explain anything further, be sure to leave a comment.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)