MuggleCast EP38 Transcript
Intro
Andrew [Show Intro with music in background]: Because Mom won’t let you go out and play, this is MuggleCast – Episode 38 for May 07th, 2006!
See why GoDaddy.com is the No. 1 domain registrar world-wide. Now with your domain registration, you’ll get hosting, a free blog, complete e-mail and much more! Plus, as a MuggleCast listener enter the code “RON”; that’s R-O-N when you check out and get your dot com domain name for just $6.95 per year. Get your piece of the Internet today at GoDaddy.com.
Hi everyone, and welcome back to the show! I’m Andrew Sims.
Ben: I’m Ben Schoen.
Eric: I am Eric Scull.
Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.
Micah: And I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Andrew: [singing] Micah is back.
Laura: Yay!
Eric: [singing] The King has returned.
Andrew: Micah, it’s been so long I can’t even – I almost forgot your voice.
Micah: How could you forget my voice?
Andrew: Ah, because – no reason.
Micah: I’m sure Ben didn’t forget my voice. [laughs]
Ben: I’d never forget his voice, man.
Eric: Seeing as he reminds himself by imitating it every week.
Andrew: All right, well we have a jam-packed show for you this week and – oh, we’re even changing things up a bit, again. It’s that time again, laughs] I think. Before we go anywhere else, first let’s check in with Micah Tannenbaum for the past week’s top Harry Potter news stories.
News
Micah: MuggleNet is proud to present its newest affiliate in the actors site network – TomFelton.ws. Headed by staffers Jess, Elysa, Rachel and some girl named Laura, it will be bringing you the latest news and updates on everyone’s favorite Slytherin as well as Order of the Phoenix filming news. So head over to the site right now and check it out.
JK Rowling has emerged victorious in a privacy suit against the Daily Express. Jo and her husband Neil recently sued over the publication of their son David’s picture. Regarding the case, Jo said, “I am delighted that my children’s right to privacy has been recognized by the Daily Express. Neil and I will continue to protect that right, on our children’s behalf, as vigorously as possible.”
British newspapers are now forbidden “from photographing the children of celebrities in many situations.” Rowling has previously succeeded in privacy complaints over publication of photographs of her daughter.
Nintendo Power, the official magazine of the video game giant Nintendo, revealed in its most recent issue that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was the top-selling game for GameBoy Advance in April.
This surprisingly high ranking comes as the Goblet video games turn six months old on May 10th.
At Collectormania 9 yesterday, James and Oliver Phelps spoke a little to CBBC Newsround. With regard to filming the Order of the Phoenix movie, James said that that filming is going really well and it’s really good fun, while Oliver added that they’ve met a few of the new actors to join the cast and they seem really cool and they’re looking forward to working with them. They also discussed the fan attention they receive because of the Harry Potter films.
Both Variety.com and AOL Moviefone have posted interviews with Rupert Grint and Jeremy Brock, director of Driving Lessons, that were conducted at the Tribeca Film Festival. To see and/or read the full interviews head on over to MuggleNet.com. Additionally, you can see pictures of Rupert from the premiere as well as pictures of Alan Rickman who was at the Festival to promote his new movie, Snow Cake.
That’s all the news for this May 07th, 2006 edition of MuggleCast. Back to the show.
Announcements
Andrew: All right, now let’s get on to a couple of announcements here. Don’t forget – [laughs] buy a MuggleCast t-shirt.
Eric: Why must they buy a MuggleCast t-shirt? Well, because poverty is a Horcrux! That’s right! Poverty as we know it is a Horcrux and therefore must be stopped. Buy an MC tee and defeat Voldemort. Also, as a result of hasty agreement between us and JKR, a portion of our MuggleCast t-shirt revenue goes to supplying JKR with lined paper for her home in Edinburgh. You all heard what happened when she ran out – Book 7 was almost delayed a year for that. Buy a MuggleCast t-shirt and supply JKR with lined-paper. Thank you!
Andrew: I re-read that little entry on her site the other day, and I was thinking, “Ha! We should have started a little drive for JKR.”
[Andrew, Eric, and Laura laugh]
Andrew: “Submit your paper.” And we would just sent her this box load of paper sent in from everyone.
[Andrew and Eric laughs]
Ben: You know, it’s not like she doesn’t have the money for more.
Micah: [laughs] Yeah.
[Ben laughs]
Eric: But the fact is that it’s donated from us.
National Wear Your MuggleCast Shirt Day
Andrew: All right, so starting this week on Episode 38 we are commencing a new contest. Now, we have been working on this one for some time and it’s going to be huge and it’s going to change the way the world looks for a day.
Eric: Literally. Literally. Literally.
Andrew: Nobody knows this, but – I didn’t the other co-hosts here, but I’ve actually been working with Congress and President Bush on this one.
Ben: [laughs] Oh yeah!
Andrew: We’ve been working on this bill to get a certain day claimed, “Wear Your MuggleCast Shirt Day.” And I am very pleased, proud, and excited [Ben laughs] to announce today that we are [laughs] indeed – we have it signed off. The bill was signed by Congress – June 02nd of every year, from here on out, will be “National Wear Your MuggleCast Shirt Day.” And I know what you’re thinking, it means well what on Earth does it mean? If you didn’t get it from that tile, then you should just stop listening to the show.
Eric: Just quit. Just unsubscribe from iTunes.
Andrew: But on June 02nd, we want everyone to wear your MuggleCast shirt. That’s a Friday! It’s dress-down days at your local work or school. You have no excuse. “Wear Your MuggleCast Shirt Day” is going to be where everyone who purchased a MuggleCast shirt, to wear it out and support [in a high-pitched voice] the show. And what we’re going to do – we’re going to turn this into a contest. Everyone, including us, we’re all going to wear our MuggleCast t-shirts and we’re going to take a picture of ourselves somewhere in public, be it a McDonald’s or your school or you library or some sidewalk or wherever. Just some place – some public place where there is lots of people. Take a picture of yourself wearing a MuggleCast t-shirt. Send it in to an address we’ll give you later on and one of five people will be randomly selected to get an early-release MuggleCast Lumos Vegas 2006 t-shirt, which is awesome! Right, everyone?
Micah: Yep!
Eric: Yes!
Laura: Yeah, I really like the design!
Ben: So incredible! Visit BenSchoen.com for exclusives.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: No, we’re not showing this to anyone. This is going to be a super-secret shirt. These five winners who get it, you’re going to get it like – you’re going to get it a couple weeks before Lumos. So, only you guys will be able to see the shirt. And when we first saw it, we were just like, “Whoa!”
Laura: I squeed.
Andrew: It is really – yeah, it is a sweet design. Yeah, these are only going to be on sale at Lumos. Or we’re going to give them away, but we’re going to give everyone else a chance to get the shirt. So, we’ll talk about this in a couple of future shows, but for now, “National Wear Your MuggleCast Shirt Day” is on June 02nd. Order now, and we can someone guarantee you’re going to get it in time. [laughs]
And I forgot one last final reminder. It is the top of the month, so do not forget to vote for us on Podcast Alley. We’re No. 8 right now. [fakes crying] Usually, we’re No. 1. Last month we were No. 1 by a couple hundred votes. So, that’s great and we love beating these podcasts that think Harry Potter is a joke because then we get hate from their listeners and I enjoy reading it. So…
Ben: Me too.
Andrew: Don’t forget to vote for us on Podcast Alley. Just go to MuggleCast.com and on the “Listener To-Do List,” it says “Vote For Us On Podcast Alley” or something.
Listener Rebuttal – Nonverbal Spells
Listener rebuttals are back this week.
Ben: This is Patrick Tierney from [mispronounces] Pawtucket – wherever that is.
Andrew: Pawtucket. Pawtucket.
Ben: Pawtucket, okay.
Ben: On Dumbledoreisnotdead.com they actually bring that up, and they say that since in the book there is an emphasis on wandless magic that that could possibly be what it is. I don’t see why you couldn’t, but I don’t know. Couldn’t they be sort of conflicting? How would the wand or whatever know which spell you were intending to cast – that’s the only thing.
Andrew: Well, could there be a priority system – whereas the non-verbal spell would take priority over the verbal spell?
Listener Rebuttal – Legilimency
Ben: That’s a good question, Andrew. Our next listener rebutt- rebutter- [laughs] rebuttal comes from Allyson, 15, from New Jersey. Only gross people come from that state. [clears throat]
Andrew: Representin’.
Ben: [laughs]
Ben: I agree that it was. I think that it makes perfect sense because it’s sort of foreshadowing that that’s going to happen, and then after we read Book 5, we saw that….
Eric: Yeah.
Ben: …that Snape was an accomplished Legilimens. [tries to pronounce it]
Eric: [laughs and mocks Ben] Legimumumumumumum. I think when we originally talked about – when I mentioned that hadn’t been brought up earlier, I also said that it was heavily implied, or at least I thought I did or I was thinking about it. I was mindful of how they always said that everybody could read minds except the sharp difference was that Harry didn’t re-live his memories whenever Snape or Dumbledore – Dumbledore often read Harry’s mind too in the first few books. Especially in Chamber of Secrets, when trying to determine if he was telling Harry the truth, when that was all he wanted to tell him, that kind of stuff. It was overplayed in the books and the movies. It just didn’t seem to be the same exact thing as Legilimency. Which is what confused me.
Listener Rebuttal – Morfin Gaunt
Ben: But I think that that’s what it really turned out to be, but, our next listener rebuttal comes from Virginia.
Eric: Yeah, I did. I did. I think it’s accurate that we completely just didn’t mention that and completely forgot about it – how Morphin does have his memory completely changed by Tom Riddle. And I think that just emphasizes the – I think Dumbledore said something like it took many strong wizards to actually pry into his mind and reveal the truth. The same thing – I mean Voldemort said that with Bertha Jorkins. How far – deep they’d have to pry to get the truth out would probably destroy her. But that just kind of shows, I think that, Pensieves are less accurate then we could hope they were, and that they can be fooled, I think. Even though they’re omnipresent. Even though you can go in and kind of look around and be a third party, I think at the same time it has to relate to the person and the person’s memory can be fake, and stuff like that. So…
Laura: Well, of course because they pull that memory from their mind so it’s definitely going to be bias toward them.
Andrew: But for some reason – was it last week’s show that we were talking? No, no, Episode 36 I think it was, we were talking about this. And Jamie was saying that it’s the absolute truth, but then the rest of us were saying, “Well no, it’s the truth in their mind.”
Laura: Weren’t we talking about Veritaserum? It seems like…
Andrew: Right.
Laura: Not the Pensieve.
Andrew: Yeah, but that’s what this relates, too.
Eric: Yeah, we made the mention…
Andrew: Isn’t that how this discussion got started?
Laura: I think that the Pensieve is more subjective and Veritaserum is not.
Ben: No, no, no it’s not subjective because Emerson asked – Emerson asked Jo in the interview he conducted when he went to her house or whatever, and she said that the memories aren’t bias towards the person’s point-of-view. And he said that he had thought that because it makes sense…
Laura: Oh, did she?
Ben: Yeah, so that’s the only reason why.
Laura: All right, proven wrong. My apologies.
Ben: No, I wasn’t trying to do it snidely, I’m just saying.
Eric: The Pensieve is a lot more – a lot less subjective because you can actually walk around in it. I think Dumbledore said at one point that was the magic of the Pensieve, that you could go back and view your memory, yes primarily as you remembered it, but also you could walk around a little bit and kind of see what else was going on. And also, tying in Book 6 when they’re following the guy around, they kind of have to follow him, but at the same time they have the beauty of standing beside him when he’s getting attacked by the Gaunts, instead of living inside his head or something like that.
Andrew: That wraps up this weeks listener rebuttals. Remember if you have anything to disagree about concerning what we talked about on this week’s show, don’t forget to e-mail it to mugglecast at staff dot mugglenet dot com and you will be on the show. Well, we’ll say your name.
Ben: Maybe.
Andrew: Isn’t that cool? Saying your name.
[Ben laughs]
Andrew: Don’t you like it? Mary? 300 Marys just went, “Oh my god!”
Ben: Ben, this is for all the Ben’s out there. Ben. Ben. Ben.
[Everyone laughs]
Character Discussion: Mad-Eye Moody
Andrew: All right, well, this week we are going to change things up a bit because we’ve taken your listener feedback into consideration and the general consensus is that: people enjoy the Chapter-by-Chapter, but people are missing the Character Discussion. So, we decided starting this week, we’re going to begin putting both of them into each show. So, we’re going to cut down on the length of Chapter-by-Chapter…
Eric: Kind of.
Andrew: …just a little bit. We’re going to turn it into a weekly segment. Yeah, just a little bit. And then two weeks a month we’re going to do a Character Discussion, which we’re going to do in a moment. And then the other two weeks we’re going to do something generally related to Harry Potter, maybe something going on in the news lately. It’s going to be a main discussion that’s basically miscellaneous. It could really relate to anything. I just want to applaud Character Discussion, how much I’ve missed ye. Let’s see, Episode 30 was the last time we did it? And…
Micah: It’s been a while.
Laura: Yeah. I think so.
Andrew: So, this week we’re going to do Mad-Eye Moody. Moody gains his nickname from the magic eye that gives him a distinctly unsettling appearance. While one of his eyes is small, dark, beady, and relatively normal, the other is large, perfectly round, and a vividly – vivid shade of blue. While his real eye behaves normally, the magic eye is unblinking and constantly rotating, taking in everything around it. Moody also has part of one leg missing, which has been replaced with a wooden stump. Underneath his thick mane of dark gray hair, his face is a little more than mismatch of intersecting scars. A large chunk of his nose is also missing. All these things are products of his time spent being an Auror, and a testimony to his countless fights with the agents of Lord Voldemort. So, he makes his grand appearance in Goblet of Fire, [gasps] or does he?
Ben: No, he doesn’t. We know he doesn’t. [laughs]
Name Origin: Alastor
Andrew: He lied to me. Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody. What does Alastor mean?
Micah: Oh, Alastor? [corrects him on the saying]
Andrew: Alastor. [laughs] Whatever.
Ben: Alastor.
Micah: Actually, I run the Name Origins section, so I figured that…
Andrew: Oh, this is a perfect question to pose to you.
Micah: It is.
Andrew: What is that at? mugglenet.com/nameorigins.shtml I’m thinking.
Micah: It’s /books/name_origin…oranges – [laughs] origins.
Andrew: I forgot MuggleNet was organized. I thought we just threw everything in the room.
Eric: We used to.
Micah: His name actually means “defender of mankind,” which is interesting considering he’s an Auror.
Laura: That is. Actually, also whenever I went and looked up the name…
[Micah laughs]
Laura: …on a different site – I actually can’t remember now. It said that it meant – that Alastor was actually…
Eric: Way to credit your source.
Laura: I know, I’m so good at that. Anyway, that Alastor was a demon, and it stood for “tormenting spirit or nemesis.”
Eric: Well, whoever wrote that was clearly smoking crack. Okay, continuing.
[Micah laughs]
Laura: No, no, no – I think that it could have something to do with the fact that he’s someone the Death Eaters are afraid of.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: And that sort of represents him in Book 4 towards the end.
Eric: And in Movie 4 when he comes in and the whole Great Hall and storms and it’s like big plot point. No.
The Magic Eye
Andrew: So, he gets his nickname Mad-Eye from that large, disgusting – well not disgusting, sort of disgusting – eye that he’s got.
Ben: That’s cool man.
Andrew: Where did he get that eye from?
Ben: Probably the Ministry.
Andrew: No Ben, where’d he get it from?
Ben: The Ministry. Because when he got his eye gouged out or whatever – how he lost it…
Eric: It’s standard issue.
Ben: No, man. It’s probably that when after he got his eye gouged out, that the Ministry said, “This is a perfect opportunity to give him something that can help him advance in his profession.” So, they gave him the eye so that he could see through things. Man, Andrew, wouldn’t it be cool to have that eye, though?
Andrew: If you’re a perv then yeah, maybe.
Ben: [laughs] Oh, okay, I wasn’t talking…
Andrew: I don’t know, you’d be seeing too much. I’d be seeing things I would not want to see.
Eric: I guess Ben’s suggesting it as some kind of standard-issue eye. Like James Bond has his Astin Martin and then Moody has his standard eye, but I think it was something that Moody would have pursued more to get in replace of his eye then the Ministry wouldn’t be like, “Here, have this.” I mean, as far as we know, his name is Mad-Eye Moody. I mean you don’t see – you don’t hear about this “Mad-Eye Joey” coming out of South Bronx or anything like that. There’s no Mad-Eye Joey who has an eye. I think Moody is like the only one who’s got to have this eye. So, I think it’s very unlikely that it’s standard issue or anything like that – anything of the sort. I think it’s very unique and I think Moody…
Ben: Yeah, I never said it was standard-issue. So, I don’t know where you came up with that from.
Eric: Well, I mean, you’re saying that the Ministry supplied it to him and unless somebody really cared about, “Hey, how can we enhance this guy?” I just see it as something Moody would have pursued getting for himself as a replacement to better enhance – to help him catch people.
Laura: Well, I think what Ben is kind of saying is that it’s possible that the eyes could be kind of like Time-Turners, for instance. Not everyone can have a Time-Turner. You have to be really special or have a really specific reason to have one. So, seeing as Moody is one of the best Aurors that the Ministry’s ever had, it’s entirely possible that they could have provided him with that.
Ben: I agree.
Andrew: Are there additional eyes out there, though? Like, shouldn’t they be giving these to more people who they could serve a purpose for.
Ben: I have a whole closetful, actually. [laughs]
Laura: Well, how many Aurors get their eyes popped out?
Andrew: Well, it might be a nice upgrade. [laughs] All right, seriously, think about it.
Laura: [laughs] Oh, you’re such a nerd. Okay…
Becoming An Auror
Micah: Okay, well, Andrew mentioned before that Mad-Eye Moody made an appearance in Goblet of Fire – we all know it really wasn’t him, but for a minute, I guess, pretend that he was because Barty Crouch Jr. tells Harry that he would have made a good Auror. So, what does it mean that Harry’s chose – excuse me, chosen career path was one that was suggested by a Death Eater? Would the real Moody have suggested the same thing?
Laura: You know, I had a couple of thoughts on that. I was thinking that maybe Crouch Jr. saw Harry as a threat if he were to be an Auror, so maybe he was hoping that telling Harry he would be good at something like that would kind of fuel his “saving-people thing,” and have him die in a situation where he’s trying to be a hero or something along those lines.
Andrew: Well, don’t you think he was going to be found out anyway, or he knew he would be found out eventually…Barty? So I mean, would that opinion go disrespected? Could it have been that Barty was just trying to get brownie points out of Harry by encouraging him?
Laura: Yeah, definitely. He could have definitely been trying to gain his trust.
Andrew: Right. So, I mean, I think looking back on that we should just take that with a grain of salt.
Eric: No, you know what I would say if I was asked this question about Barty Crouch Jr.? I would say that this – [laughs] this was a moment where, if circumstances would have been different, Barty Crouch Jr. was really, actually pretty much telling the truth and recommending an honest profession. I think there’s always kind of a hope – not necessarily “hope” in every villain’s eyes, but a chance that they will meet their enemy. That the hero will come and meet them. And the villain’s mindset is always, “Oh wait until the hero comes and tries to rescue his damsel because I’ll just show him off and destroy him.” You see it in all these movies – in Batman especially. Like say Batman Forever, the Riddler is waiting for Batman to come and rescue Nicole Kidman. It’s the mindset. So now, how this relates to Harry Potter is, in this scene, I think Barty Crouch Jr. was truly being truthful to Harry and he said, “I think you’d make a good Auror. You should try Auror-ing.” And I think, by saying that, he was either putting him on to discover what the plot was of the book or just honestly having a nice moment where he said, “I think you’d make a decent Auror.” I mean, it doesn’t necessarily take – I don’t think he’s ignorant enough that he wouldn’t recognize talent in a field against the Dark Arts. I mean, Harry stopped Voldemort as a child before he knew anything. I think it’s clear that Harry’s good at Auror-ing and I’m surprised nobody else recommended it to him before Barty Crouch did.
Ben: Well said, mate. Well said.
Moody Overcautious?
Andrew: So, when we meet Moody again in Order of the Phoenix, he seems even more over-cautious than he was before.
Ben: Well, it makes sense, though.
Andrew: Is this a function of the events of Goblet of Fire or the war?
Ben: Well, of course because he’s going to be more cautious because we all know that he was being perceived as a nut before and now that he was locked up in a box for nine months, he’s probably a little bit on edge.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: I was going to say. I mean, you spend your life in a cellar for nine months.
Laura: Yeah. [laughs] I have to agree with that.
Eric: The irony of this – I just realized this. If you think about it, Barty Crouch Sr. kept Barty Crouch Jr. in his basement, literally, under the Invisibility Cloak or whatever and under the Imperius Curse, and so it’s kind of fitting or funny that, in an ironic sort of way, of course that Barty Crouch Jr., when he escapes, he locks somebody up in a chest, which closely resembles a giant hole in the ground (wherever you set the chest) and it’s kind of like a basement. So, it’s kind of a parallel or similarity, whereas Barty Crouch Sr. locked his son up in a basement, that Barty Crouch Jr. should escape and then hide the real Moody in some kind of thing like that too while he continues his life and seeks his revenge. It kind of shows that father and son aren’t too different or draws that parallel.
Micah: Yeah, it could be a function of both things, you know? Both what happened in Goblet of Fire and also now it’s definite that Voldemort is back at this time, so Moody has even more reason to be overcautious than he was in previous books.
Moody In The First War
Micah: What do you think he was like in the First War? We know for a fact that he hadn’t – well, maybe we don’t know, but it would make sense that he hadn’t been as injured as he is right now. Well, actually we know that from the Pensieve scene in Goblet of Fire, when we actually see him normally. So, what do you guys think he was like back then?
Ben: I bet he was at the top of his game. That’s what I’d say to describe it.
Laura: I think that he was probably always kind of paranoid, but I think that that definitely increased due to what happened in Goblet of Fire and Voldemort’s return. I also think he was probably a little more laid back because in the Pensieve scene, he was saying stuff like, “This Death Eater took a chunk of me with him” and all this other stuff. So, I think he was probably a little more – I guess just laid back about everything and not quite so obsessed with thinking that people were trying to send him dark and cursed objects and the like.
Micah: But, he seems to enjoy it in a way, too. When he says stuff like, “This Death Eater took a piece of me.”
Eric: I was just going to say that.
Micah: In a weird sort of way.
Laura: Yeah, I think he did, definitely. But, I think that the paranoia has definitely gone up a few notches.
Eric: I think people overplay his paranoia. I mean like Micah just said, when he says, “That Death Eater took a piece away from me with him,” I think that’s probably my favorite Moody trait – is that he can talk about that and say, “Oh, this Death Eater was a nasty bugger.” And in the movie especially even with Brendan Gleeson, even though it’s Barty Crouch Jr. saying it, “I could tell you things about your father that would make your ears turn,” or whatever he says – that whole thing is a Moody character trait that I really enjoy, where he can truly use his knowledge to joke about his work but also take it so seriously. He attacks his job with knowledge, and precision, and personality – with stamina, with spunk. I think Moody is spunky. He should be called “Mad-Eye Spunky.”
[Micah and Laura laugh]
Laura: Well, I agree that he’s definitely very open about his job, but you’ve got to admit, the guy’s pretty paranoid. I mean, in the opening chapters of Order of the Phoenix, he’s telling Harry not to stick his wand in his back pocket because [laughs] he said he would blow his butt off. So…[laughs]
Eric: [laughs] It will blow his buttocks off!
Laura: So, I mean, he’s got to be a little out there.
Eric: I think, I don’t think that’s paranoid. You know what? Maybe he had a brother who was in to sticking his wand in his back pocket and he blew his buttocks off. You never know. It’s just a cautionary tale. It’s like don’t – don’t spread your – don’t do that smile thing where you pull your cheeks apart because it’ll get stuck like that. You know? Who does that? But parents will still tell that to a kid for no reason – they know it won’t do anything, but why, why would they say that?
Micah: I think he enjoys just bragging about it in a way.
Eric: It’s just – it’s just that kind of thing.
Mad-Eye’s Role In The Order
Micah: So what do we think his role in the Order was the first time around? I mean, he probably played a pretty important role, leadership-wise.
Andrew: Did he? Well, I mean, is there much evidence of that?
Laura: I would think he would definitely be a huge asset just because of the fact that he is one of the top Aurors. We don’t know necessarily what he did, but I’m sure that he did a lot of spying and…
Ben: Right, but was he a leader? Or was he a follower?
Micah: He’s missing a lot. He’s missing an eye, a leg, part of his nose.
Ben: Chicks dig scars, man. Chicks dig scars. [laughs]
The Photograph
Micah: So, in Order of the Phoenix, Harry gets shown the picture of the old Order by Moody, and he seems really dependent on showing him this photo. And in particular, he shows a picture of Peter Pettigrew sort of embracing Harry’s parents. Now, do you think he knew that Pettigrew was the traitor that he was at that time? Because it would seem to me that he wouldn’t be so intent on showing him this picture if he had known that.
Laura: I don’t really think he knew, but I don’t think it would make a difference if he did because if he was worried about upsetting Harry or kind of weirding him out, showing him a picture of his dead parents, like, doing the thing they did that pretty much caused their death would, you know, kind of freak Harry out. So, I don’t think that he would refrain from showing him the picture just because Pettigrew was in it. But, I really don’t think he did know. Or no – well, no, Sirius was in the Order so there would have to be some explanation for why Sirius was all of a sudden back.
Eric: Well, you guys have to remember also Dumbledore himself gave evidence that Sirius was guilty so, I mean, I don’t think it was possible that anybody would have implicated Peter in the plot. And that was just the genius of it was that everybody would so – I mean, everybody, not just the Marauders kind of disregarded him a little bit. Kind of didn’t appreciate him and that was everybody, including McGonagall, herself. I mean, even if they didn’t openly taunt him, nobody expected him to really do anything too – too, you know, climactic. So, when he went to the other side – when he disappeared nobody knew what hit him. And they would just assume – suspect Sirius because Sirius is more openly capable of doing something sporadic and rational, as we’re seeing. Rash, I mean. Not rational – there’s a difference. But that – that’s the deal. So, I don’t think Moody would have known at the time or else he would have stopped it or tried to. Or at least said something at Sirius’ – his court date.
Laura: Well, no, I don’t think that was really the question. I think we’re talking about did Moody know that Pettigrew was the traitor at the time he showed Harry the picture.
Eric: Oh! Like in book 5?
Laura: Yeah. I think he would have to, wouldn’t he? Because Sirius was back living at Order headquarters and I would think everyone would kind of want to know…
Eric: Oh, yeah.
Laura: …why he was all of a sudden in everyone’s good graces. [laughs]
Eric: [laughs] They’re kind of in everyone’s – yeah. No, I think that’s definite. I think one of the good things about Dumbledore – even though he holds a lot of crap back from everybody, you’ve got to kind of respect him for it. But he does – he will openly tell people what they need to know and there’s a lot of comparisons with people. Just looking at Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia, he’s not nearly as open with people as Dumbledore is – we should actually be very grateful. But still, both characters will tell people what they need to know. Both characters will tell people what they need to know. And so Dumbledore will tell Moody. I mean, I think especially since they’re at Sirius’ house, they need to know why he’s walking around. I mean, yes, of course, I’m sorry. I completely misunderstood the question.
Laura: Yeah, I think I did it at first too. Micah, did we get that right…?
Micah: No, no, you guys got it right.
Laura: …or did I sort of…
Micah: In the end, yeah.
Laura: …screw that up?
Eric: I mean…
Laura: Okay. [laughs]
Eric: Yeah, I think Dumbledore definitely would’ve – he had to tell everybody in the Order that Sirius was… I think there’s no mistaking – even at the end of book 3 with the dog and the infirmary, or whenever that happens. I think that, that happened, right? There was something where…
Laura: Book 4.
Eric: …that Sirius – yeah, they didn’t know.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah. Molly didn’t know that Sirius was Sirius the dog, and still Sirius was there in the infirmary. So ,he told – he tells them what they need to know. I think it’s – I think they all know the story now.
Micah: If anything, it was just to teach him more about the Order and maybe even to make him realize how close the friendship actually was.
Laura: Yeah, and maybe it was just his attempt to try and do something nice for Harry.
Micah: Yeah. He didn’t realize that maybe at first that Pettigrew was even going to be there.
Mad-Eye Gone Missing
Micah: A bigger question would be is where was Moody in Half Blood Prince? Is he, like, missing an arm now? Is he missing half his head?
[Laura laughs]
Eric: I didn’t notice that Moody was out of Book 6. I’m sorry. Was he not in the ending battle at all?
Laura: No, he wasn’t, actually. He wasn’t there.
Eric: That seems incredibly weird.
Laura: Yeah. Maybe we should be getting a little worried now.
Eric: I mean, it seems like – yeah, I think we should be worried because, well, Dumbledore mentioned all those old Aurors, and he mentioned all of them and if Dumbledore knows them, Moody would know them especially. They all broke out of Azkaban. In fact, these are the Death Eaters that Moody put away. So, why would he not want to jump at the challenge to put them back in Azkaban or face them at all? I mean, I don’t know. It’s interesting.
Andrew: You know what would be a great way to end this series? Is that – would be where every character – I guess not the minor ones so much but like, Mad-eye and Pettigrew. Well, maybe not so much Pettigrew either. [laughs] Well, yeah Pettigrew because he has the debt. Everyone comes back and plays some sort of little role in helping Harry. I just think that would be so cool to see everyone one last time. Everyone!
Eric: I thought that, too. I think I would agree. Yeah.
Laura: I can’t really remember – was Moody at Dumbledore’s funeral?
Eric: He better have been.
Laura: Because it would – because we know something’s wrong if he wasn’t there.[laughs]
Andrew: Someone search the book. [laughs]
Micah: We’ll have to look into that.
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah but I mean, they don’t mention – she doesn’t mention everyone at the funeral. So…
Laura: I mean, she talked about Madam Maxime.
Micah: She took the time to mention Umbridge.
Laura: Yeah. Oh no, wait – it says Mad-Eye Moody was there. Never mind. Okay.
Andrew: We would’ve gotten so many e-mails on that one.
[Everyone laughs]
Laura: I know.
Andrew: That’s why we need that monkey.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: People were ready to hit the send button. You can stop, you can stop. Hit the little “X.” Thank you.
Eric: [laughs] Close the e-mail.
Andrew: [laughs] Thanks, Laura.
Laura: We try really hard, you guys. We really do. [laughs]
Andrew: You don’t understand how many people just hit their head up against the screen and are now going to the hospital.
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: So, one appearance.
Laura: Now watch. We’re going to get tons of e-mails that are like, “What are you talking about? Moody did this huge thing” and all this other stuff. [laughs]
Andrew: “Page 334, it was right there!”
Eric: You know what, though. No, but we live for that kind of crap so don’t, you know…
Andrew: Well, I guess that lays to rest any thoughts that he could have been in some really bad – really bad shape.
Moody’s Role In Book 7
Andrew: So, like I was just saying earlier, how could he help in Book 7? I’ll tell you how he can help. He can use that magical eye and see through walls for Horcruxes.
Ben: I’m sure they’re just hiding behind all the walls. [laughs]
Laura: Yeah. [laughs]
Andrew: I’m telling you. It’s going to be in a really obvious spot and nobody’s going to even think to look there. Someone sent an e-mail – I hate to jump on this Horcrux discussion. It always goes back to the Horcruxes. [laughs] Someone sent in an e-mail – I guess one or two weeks ago saying that maybe the final Horcrux is in Dumbledore’s office because who would think to look there? It’s such – it’s in a such obvious place.
Eric: I think Dumbledore would think to look there.
Laura: Why would Voldemort put it there?
Andrew: Because nobody would think to look there.
Eric: Okay, well, guys. There…
Andrew: Would Dumbledore even think to look there? Although, then raises the question how would Voldemort have gotten into Dumbledore’s office?
Eric: Andrew, I’m going to – well, I can answer that. I am going to shoot down the theory, but I can answer that. There is – when Voldemort comes back to Dumbledore’s office, asking for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post or whatever, there is a point where Voldemort twitches his wand or at least grasps for his wand as if to battle Dumbledore. Now, some people who are ‘shippers of the theory that the Sorting Hat is a Horcrux argue that this moment, while perceived by Harry to be a potential attack, could have rather been Voldemort twitching his wand and aiming at something within the office, in this case, the Sorting Hat, and turning that into a Horcrux. The reason I am against this is because the Horcrux ceremony is supposed to be a little bit more complicated than that. Not to say that Voldemort couldn’t dull it down a little bit, and, you know, make it into a wand click or whatever, but also I think that Dumbledore would be the first person to think to look there. I mean, it’s – at the same – it’s under Dumbledore’s nose in a way that it would be completely brilliant if it happened, but at the same time, I think it’s too under Dumbledore’s nose, and Dumbledore figured out the whole freaking you have to, like, cut your hand and spray blood on the wall and part the thing and go across the way. He figured out this whole thing to get the other Horcrux, and he somehow destroyed the other Horcrux. I think it would be very, very unlikely, in all his life of living in that office as headmaster for fifty so years, if he didn’t notice anything that had a particular magical quality about it that would indicate a Horcrux. I think – I don’t think anybody is that, that good, to fool Dumbledore if it were right in his office, especially if it were the Sorting Hat.
Laura: Yeah, I agree with that.
Andrew: Well said. No, yeah, I think that was really well said. And then, of course, which raises the question, “Well, how do you make a Horcrux?” And, oh, how we’d love to figure these things out!
Moody And The Horcruxes
Eric: Well, going back to Moody, I wanted to say, I think it’s cool that I brought up the blood-spraying thing, because now that Dumbledore is gone (sob, cry, kick chair, hurt toe, yelp), I think Moody is probably the second best bet for helping Harry locate a Horcrux. Do you guys agree with that? Like as far as – I mean, Moody is an Auror, so I’d like to think that he’d be more keen to people and bad wizards as opposed to finding extraordinary magic. But at the same time, Moody has been in long. He has put his time in for the service, and he would probably would be able to, I think – he still would probably be second best to detect some kind of magic that would be a Horcrux. At least in destroying a Horcrux, he should be able to help, and I think he could really prove to be Harry’s next best option. Well, talking about Moody.
Laura: I think at the very least, he would definitely know where to look, but at the same time, I don’t want to see anyone help Harry too much, because this is where Harry is supposed to grow up and come into his own, and this is his battle. And I don’t know. I don’t want to see someone helping him kill Voldemort or helping him defeat a Horcrux.
Eric: Well, okay, but I don’t want to see Harry going into every single building that Voldemort was in. It would be cool to write about, of course, you know, like an odyssey of everywhere Voldemort went, and, you know, sniffing the walls and hoping. I mean, what we have seen in Book 7, sorry, in Book 6, was that not only is Dumbledore a lot more powerful than Harry will ever be, but he speaks other languages and other – he has other ways of detecting extremely dark magic that haven’t even been referenced or foreshadowed in the books. I mean, Dumbledore is just up there, completely out there – beyond anything. And it’s not like one of those things where Harry will have to grow up and one day become that. I don’t think anybody can become Dumbledore. So, he will need to accept help in some form, and while I agree he should look for the Horcruxes, and while his journey should be his own, I wouldn’t mind him accepting help from Moody because I really don’t see it as realistic that he’s going to go to Godric’s Hollow, where he shouldn’t even know where that is, by the way, or shouldn’t even know why he’s going there, and find something that should help him do something. I think he needs to rely on people, and I think Moody is definitely one of the people I want to see helping him.
Ben: About that, you’re talking about how Harry needs to rely on other people. Was I the only one – I hate to sort of branch off-topic here, but I think this is staying on topic. You know, when Imposter Moody in Goblet of Fire is helping out Harry through the three tasks, was I the only one who felt at the end, it sort of made you – like, how you thought how Harry was such a great wizard and all these things because he was able to succeed in the tasks, that it sort of devalued it to the extent that since we knew he had all that help from Imposter Moody? Did you guys feel the same way?
Eric: I think she balanced it.
Laura: I didn’t feel disappointed with it. I didn’t feel disappointed with it, if that’s what you’re saying, but I definitely felt like it gave Harry a lot to live up to. It sort of forged his future path and the kind of things he would need to learn, and what kind of person he would need to become to be able to succeed on his own.
Eric: Yeah. I think it also – I think it’s the philosophy that Dumbledore actually probably went to and used in his first five years of not telling Harry everything, was that, if you help him, they will either become reliant on help, or the second option, which is be more inclined not to be able to find help on their own. I think in this case, Moody’s helping him kind of hindered Harry’s ability to – Harry doesn’t expect to be helped, but at the same time, I don’t know that he could have developed other abilities that would have allowed him to find more things out on his own if Moody hadn’t been helping him. And I think that’s one of the key reasons why Dumbledore didn’t help him too terribly much throughout the book. Apart from the fact that Dumbledore wants people to live their own life and make their own choices, Harry also kind of had to figure things out for himself, because Dumbledore figured he wasn’t going to be there when Harry went for the end line, and so it only makes sense that he would give Harry this – Hogwarts as his playing ground, but to live his life, you know, without too much help. I think that’s why Dumbledore didn’t help Harry more throughout the books.
Micah: I just think it’s part of the plot. Like Moody, or Imposter Moody, is the reason why he’s there in the first place, so he has to help him along. Otherwise, his plan goes for nothing.
Mad-Eye Brendan Gleeson
Andrew: It’s time to wrap this up. Let’s finish things off by explaining our views on Brendan Gleeson. I have to say, I was very impressed by him. He exceeded my expectations. He was both funny, witty, and he was very – he portrayed the character very strongly. He always had this angry tone in his voice. I really liked him.
Ben: See Andrew gives Mr. Brendan Gleeson an exceeds expectations. I think that he did – oh, what’s another ranking? An outstanding job.
Laura: I really appreciated his portrayal. I thought he was absolutely excellent, and I am really, really looking forward to seeing him in Order of the Phoenix. I just thought that he was a real character, and I really enjoyed watching him.
Eric: Me as well. He was definitely one of the strong points – I don’t know. I don’t want to say strong points in Goblet of Fire because it had so many. I just really liked the movie. But he definitely added a color that was essential to the palette, if I’ll use that. Sorry, the art show was this week. I’m thinking in art terms.
Andrew: All right. So, as I said earlier, we will be doing two of these a month, so that means that next week, we will be doing a miscellaneous discussion. We will give you that topic next week. We want to keep it a surprise. [in low voice] Shhh. Don’t tell anyone.
Chapter-By-Chapter: Chapter 12, Sorcerer’s Stone
Andrew: All right. Now, it’s time for this week’s Chapter-by-Chapter. This week, we will be discussing Chapter 12 of Sorcerer’s Stone, titled, “The Mirror of Erised,” and you know what, guys, I was looking at this for a while, and the word Erised is in here, this chapter, specifically a lot of times, and I realized that spell Erised backwards, you know it says, “Desire”?
Laura: Yeah…?
Micah: Oh, wow, you are…
Laura: And, you know…
Micah: …you[laughs] quick!
Laura: …how the top of the mirror backwards says…
Andrew: Laura!
Laura: …”I show not your face but your heart’s desire”?
Andrew: Laura, everyone knows that already, okay?
[Laura and Micah laugh]
Andrew: I’m pointing out a new theory.
[Laura laughs]
Eric: What is this? What is this? Come on. What’s up? What about the inscription?
Laura: It said that, “I show not your face, but your heart’s desire.” It says it backwards.
Ben: I remember when I figured that out on my own – when I was looking at it on my own I figured it out. I freaked out. I thought I like…
Laura: [laughs] I know!
[Andrew laughs]
Ben: I thought I broke open the series right there.
Laura: I know.
Ben: I started punching the air.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Ben: “Yes! I got it!”
Chapter 12 – The Mirror Of Erised
Eric: It opens up, “Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around.” And this seems funny, because I believe he visits the Merpeople, and they sleep with him and keep him warm. All right, no, so the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching snowballs and throwing it against Quirrell. All right, who do you think they were punished by? It doesn’t really say that, it just says they were punished for throwing snowballs at Quirrell’s turban.
Andrew: Well, more importantly it’s just funny that they’re throwing them. Jo specifically points out, on the back of his turban.
Eric: Yeah, which is where Voldemort is, I mean.
Presents!
Eric: Page 200, Harry’s presents. He starts opening his presents and he gets a wooden flute from Hagrid, which is kind of saying, “I don’t want you to break the rules, but here you go anyway.” But listen, his second present that he opens up is from the Dursleys, and you all know how he talked about the Dursleys being, you know, mean on purpose and stuff like that, right? And making a point to tick him off during Christmas time. You know we all talked about that? There is a messaged attached to the Dursley’s note which says, “We received your message, and enclosed your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia.” Now Harry wouldn’t have asked. What does it mean, “We received your message?” Because Harry wouldn’t have sent an owl to them asking for a Christmas present.
Micah: Dumbledore probably did.
Eric: Dumbledore. He said, “By the way, Christmas is coming up and it would be very polite to send your nephew something,” but it’s interesting because…
Micah: “Or I’ll blow your heads off.”
[Laura laughs]
Eric: “Or I’ll blow your heads off.” [laughs] I can see Dumbledore as a mobster in the mafia.
Andrew: First of all, I find this message very generic, almost as if it wasn’t from the Dursleys. “We received your message, and enclosed your Christmas present.” Who writes ‘enclosed’?
Eric: The British people.
Micah: British people.
Andrew: Who would write that…
Ben: Yeah, that’s true.
Andrew: Well, would you expect that from your aunt? “Hi, I’ve enclosed your…”
Ben: No, I just think that’s more common over there.
Andrew: I don’t know. It sounds really generic and almost fake, but not just that. As to how they would have know he was staying, or why they’d sent this gift there, wouldn’t have made sense – don’t they need to get some sort of permission to stay back at the school?
Eric: Yeah, but they also went out of their way to use the owl – you know, they went out of their way to get an owl to send him, or you know, it didn’t say Hedwig went and pecked them on the fingers until they gave him a gift. I think she does that later, doesn’t she? Or something like that to people? But yeah, it’s nothing like that, so I don’t even know – I don’t know. It just seemed interesting that it said, “We received your message” and then gave him crap anyway. But I just figured that it way like Micah said, that Dumbledore will just blow them up if they don’t give him presents and stuff.
Andrew: It just seems too generic to me.
Laura: Well, yeah, they don’t like him, and they don’t want to write him a warm Christmas greeting, so they’re just very straightforward.
The Invisibility Cloak
Eric: Soon Harry opens his presents and comes across a long, billowing, gray thing. However, there is a note that falls out of it once Harry puts it on, and it says, “Your father left this in my possession before he died. It was time it was returned to you. Use it well.” We do know later that this note is actually from Albus Dumbledore. My question is, guys, do we know why James Potter left the Invisibility Cloak in Dumbledore’s possession before they went into hiding as they later described, or wouldn’t it make sense that in addition to the Fidelius Charm, they would keep the Invisibility Cloak with them if they were caught, or what exactly would Dumbledore – what would the purpose be giving Dumbledore this Invisibility Cloak, if additionally he could get invisible without using a cloak?
Ben: Well, he probably – he intended to have him give it to Harry because it’s a family heirloom, and he wanted him to keep the tradition, keep passing it on. Because he knew that his own life was in jeopardy so he saw fit that he needed somebody to like his legacy continues.
Eric: I don’t think that Harry has any guarantee that Harry… Sorry. James didn’t have…
Ben: Right, but in the event that Harry lived.
Eric: Yeah. So, “Here I’m going to give you this Invisibility Cloak which could probably help me hide from Voldemort and help my family, but give it to my son if by chance my wife dies to save him and we’re both dead, but he’s not.” It makes no sense to me. Dumbledore doesn’t even need the cloak. Why didn’t James keep it?
Ben: Okay, seriously though, think about it. You’re Harry’s dad. Are you really going to think about your kid dying?
Laura: Exactly. No parent is going to make plans for if their child dies. They’re going to make plans for if their child lives.
Ben: I mean I don’t think they’d even consider the option of them dying, really.
Eric: No, they wouldn’t, but at the same time they have to consider…
Laura: Because I think that they could trust Dumbledore to give it to Harry.
Andrew: Yeah, if you’re going to give it to anyone, who else would you trust?
Eric: What I’m saying… No, Dumbledore, but you’re right. I’m saying there’s no guarantee – dude, if Voldemort is after your life, why would he not kill Harry? In fact, why should there not be a problem with killing Harry? There shouldn’t be. If James was fearing for him and his wife’s life, he should have feared for his son’s, too. They should have considered that Voldemort wasn’t going to spare his son, because he wasn’t going to, and he almost didn’t.
Micah: Maybe he thought it would have been of use to Dumbledore at some point.
Eric: You know, to Harry. If he wanted to give it to Harry, he would have put it in the vault at Gringotts with the possession, that’s what I think.
Laura: I’m sure that the Potters were completely aware of the possibility that Harry might die as well, but I think it was sort of just kind of exhibiting James’ personality and saying that he wanted Harry to have the cloak at Hogwarts. He wanted Harry to be able to have that so that he could sneak around and do all these other things, and how ironic is it that the person who gives this cloak to Harry is the headmaster of the school?
Eric: I think that’s very ironic, but also I think that you’re – I think that’s exactly it. I think you’ve probably hit the nail on the head.
Laura: Here’s the thing, though. Here’s the thing. Didn’t Harry, during the “Mirror of Erised” chapter, think something – or later in one of the books, kind of wonder if Dumbledore could see through the Invisibility Cloak? So, if Dumbledore can, I’m pretty sure Voldemort could.
Eric: That’s a good point.
Laura: So, I’m not sure how much of a help an Invisibility Cloak would be.
Eric: Well…
Micah: Never mind two grown people underneath it.
Eric: No, no, no.
Laura: Yeah, we already saw that in Book 5, I think? Ron was getting too tall?
Eric: Well, you can expand things, too. There’s the charm to do that. I think that is the question. Does that mean if Dumbledore can see through it – I don’t know. I’ve heard it been speculated that Dumbledore is actually part – not entirely human. Part other creature. Part something else that allows him to become invisible naturally, in addition, you know, which has nothing to do with his magical finesse. So, if that were the case, then it doesn’t necessarily mean that Voldemort would be able to see through Invisibility Cloaks.
Andrew: All right, next question.
Reporting For Duty: Agent Filch
Laura: Well, what I thought was interesting was how last time we were talking about how Snape seemed to trust Filch with what was going on with Fluffy and knowing that he’d been in the third floor corridor. And here, after Filch hears Harry in the restricted section of the library, he -Snape comes up in the corridor and he says, “You asked me to come directly to you, professor, if anyone was wandering around at night.” Now, do we know if Filch knows that Snape is onto Quirrell? Or did Filch just generally think Snape was interested in catching any students or does Filch really have any idea about the Sorcerer’s Stone or that there’s something being guarded?
Eric: I asked this question too, because Snape clears – Snape is confiding in Filch about his leg and about Fluffy. I think it makes sense that Snape would have told him that he was suspecting somebody was after the Sorcerer’s Stone. And I think it’s likely that Snape would ask Filch and would confide in him. As we see here, he did. He said, “Come to me if anybody’s wandering about.” And he said specifically on Christmas, or at least it seemed like it was specifically that night. And so Snape is pretty much ahead of the game at suspecting that Quirrell or somebody’s going to be trying to either get around Fluffy or trying to be just out of bed, you know, and up in the corridors making noise. I just think – yeah. I think this is a case where Snape said, if anybody wanders around, come to me. And I think that they have some kind of eerie understanding between each other that we didn’t really notice before in the books. And maybe that’s one of the good things that we did – you know, this whole chapter-by-chapter, that we’re noticing this “affiliacy” (if that’s the word) between Snape and Filch.
The Mirror Of Erised
Andrew: Let’s move on to the part where Harry first runs into the mirror. I just think it’s really cool how when he walks in, the mirror’s just there. It’s just standing there, there’s like no – it’s not hidden, there’s no special thing you have to do to get access to it. It’s just there, which shows that people – I don’t think many people would expect that to have the ability that it did, and maybe that was one reason that it was just sitting out, and Dumbledore thought it was in a semi-secure place.
Eric: Well, I don’t know. You don’t know – it’s interesting, because if you realize that Dumbledore was monitoring Harry inside this room while he watched himself in the mirror at least two out of the three times, or a couple times throughout the chapters Harry returns, you begin to think that maybe it wasn’t necessarily just in this room. Harry conveniently found the only open room – you know, the door was open, and he happened to stumble into it. I think it’s more of a case where it’s possible that during the day and every single other night since the beginning of term, the door was locked. And I think that it’s possible that Dumbledore could’ve guided Harry into that room, and maybe the door wasn’t always unlocked, and maybe it always wasn’t that easy to get to.
Andrew: Yeah. Right here.
Laura: Or maybe Quirrell was examining it.
Andrew: Well, listen to this first. Page 207, US Edition. “But propped against the wall facing him was something that didn’t look as if it belonged in there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.” To me – and this was the reason that I brought it up – it just seems like exactly the reason it was put there. Dumbledore didn’t think anyone would mess with it. Because it was just…
Laura: Well, maybe it was a temporary place, because the next thing I was going to bring up was that Dumbledore told Harry that the Mirror of Erised was being moved to a new home, and I think that this probably means it had been in a more secure location previously, but that it was moved to that classroom for maybe a couple of days. And what I wanted to bring up about that was, why are they still taking precautions to protect the stone at this point? Why didn’t they do this all before school? Why are they doing it now? Does this mean that they thought the protections they had prior to school starting were enough, and then he finds – and then Dumbledore maybe finds out that someone is snooping, and that he wants to put more protections on it? And is Snape maybe spying for him?
Andrew: Well, I think they just – there was no, there was no threat before school had started that someone was going to try to get the Sorcerer’s Stone. So by the time – we still don’t – we talked about this earlier, on a previous show, why, how this threat came about. But…
Laura: Well, why would there be no threat for it being stolen if they were moving it to Hogwarts?
Andrew: I’m saying before they moved it to Hogwarts, they didn’t know there was a threat that it could have been stolen.
Eric: I don’t know. Dumbledore seems to do these things right in time – you know, just in time with things. He had Hagrid retrieve the Sorcerer’s Stone from Gringotts right before Gringotts was broken into. I just think it’s an accurate question to ask what was protecting the stone? How did you get to the stone before the Mirror of Erised? We know the Mirror of Erised to be the final straw where you can only ever get the stone if you want to get it but not use it, or whatever – you know, and however that works. I think it’s an accurate question to ask how did you get it before? Did you pass Snape’s potion thing and then all of a sudden it was in a – on a little post, like Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark, or Temple of Doom or whatever it is, where it’s just sitting on a podium where you can just pick it up? I mean, what exactly was the final step?
Andrew: All right, so moving along.
Eric: Well, Dumbledore says to Harry right when he’s telling Harry that – right when he’s telling Harry that it’s going to be moved to a new location, he says that men have wasted away before the mirror. Who do you suppose he means? Because obviously, Dumbledore knows the mirror’s history, but he says, “Men have wasted away before it.” Where exactly would it have been, and what men do you suppose would have wasted away before it?
Ben: I don’t know if he’s actually talking about someone literally wasting away, or if he just means that men have just sat in front of that mirror for a long time trying to find themselves or figure out the secret about it. I don’t know what he actually means. I don’t know if there’s actually a person who sat in front of the mirror and sat there until he died [laughs] or whatever.
[Andrew and Eric laugh]
Andrew: I think what he’s saying is people have gone crazy looking into that mirror and saying, “Oh my gosh, that’s what I want, and it’s right in front of me. I can’t ever leave this.”
Laura: Yeah, that’s the impression I got.
Andrew: That’s what they desire the most.
Laura: Anyway, I picked up on the fact that Dumbledore put a pretty strong emphasis on the possibility that Harry might run across the mirror again, and as we know, at the end of Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry says that he thought Dumbledore wanted to give him the chance to stand up to Voldemort. And I just thought that was an interesting little bit of foreshadowing. So, that he would kind of know how to use the mirror and know to be cautious of it when he did run across it again.
Eric: I think Dumbledore’s very seclusive with his knowledge, like not just in the sense that he doesn’t tell anyone but Harry until six years later, until it’s too late – but, also in the way that I think Dumbledore did know, and Harry was right in assuming that Dumbledore figured that Harry would battle Voldemort in the end, and definitely saying that Harry would possibly have a fighting chance at getting the Sorcerer’s Stone. I just think it’s a matter of you’re right, and Dumbledore put emphasis there because I guess he figured that he himself was fooled by a silly owl or something like that, and Harry would have to go in and save the day without him. Pretty much, yeah. You’re right. He just expected that, and that’s why he said it.
Dumbledore’s Desire
Eric: Okay, final question, guys. Dumbledore. What does Dumbledore see in the Mirror of Erised? Harry asks him this question, and he says, “socks,” and you know that’s a lie, but Harry doesn’t really mind it because he figures it’s a really personal question.
Andrew: Dumbledore is an old guy. He’s seen it all, he’s been through it all. I think the only thing that he could ask for is a peaceful world. What he desires is a peaceful world.
Ben: I agree.
Laura: Yeah, I would have to agree with that.
Andrew: So that does wrap up this week’s Chapter-by-Chapter. Next week, we will be discussing Chapter 13 of Nicho – titled “Nicholas Flamel.”
Dueling Club: Hippogriff vs. Thestral
Andrew: So now, moving on to this week’s Dueling Club. This one comes from Luke, 15, of London. He writes: “Hi, guys. Love the show…” [laughs] Everyone starts it out the same way. We appreciate those “love the shows,” but…
Laura: Someone write in and say, “Hey, guys. Hate the show!”
Andrew: “Hate the show.” [laughs] Yeah.
Ben: How about you say, “Hi guys, and gal – and Laura.” “Hi guys, and Laura”
Andrew: Yeah, that’s another thing. Everyone always says, “Hi guys, and Laura.”
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: I always think that’s funny. “Who would win between a Hippogriff and a Thestral? Would the Hippogriff even see it, or are we left with another does-the-Invisibility-Cloak-work-on-animals situation? Thanks.”
Ben: I don’t – I don’t know if it’s necessarily an Invisibility Cloak type thing. Well, I guess it is, because we don’t know if a Hippogriff would have to see some – another Hippogriff die in order to see the Thestrals. I think that it probably just applies to humans.
Eric: Actually, guys, I think – I wouldn’t be entirely incorrect in adding that most animals probably have a better in touch with nature than humans do, in the way that they have instinct and they can’t think for themselves. And, so…
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: …it makes sense to me that Hippogriffs could indeed see Thestrals.
Laura: Honestly, I can’t – I know I just said I agreed with you, but it’s mostly – I agree with the point you were making, I think it’s possible that because Hippogriffs are more in-tune with nature than I human would be, that it’s possible that they could see a Thestral, but I’m just not sure if invisibility can just be exclusive to humans, you know? I mean, I guess it could have something to do with the fact that, say, dogs have better senses of smell and such than humans do, but I just really don’t know. And I think that if you take the basics, the fact that both can fly, and both have defensive mechanisms, but the one thing that the Thestral would have over the Hippogriff, theoretically, is that it is invisible, then I think a Thestral would win.
Andrew: All right, so that wraps up this week’s Dueling Club. I think we’re – our group is split down the middle here.
Voicemail – Dumbledore’s Boggart
Andrew: Let’s move over to this weeks general voicemail questions.
[Audio]: Hi, it’s Chloe, I’m 15 and I’m from New York City. So, I had a thought I wanted to know what you guys think about. What do you think Dumbledore’s Boggart is? Any thoughts? Love to hear what you guys have to say, and I love the show! Bye!
Andrew: Well, hold on, first of all. Let’s refer to the interview with J.K. Rowling, conducted by Emerson, where Emerson actually asked that question.
Micah: Not Melissa.
Ben: Oh yeah.
Micah: Just Emerson.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: So, technically this is a MuggleNet exclusive. I think that’s what Micah’s trying to say. Emerson asked Jo, “What would Dumbledore’s Boggart be” and she says, “I can’t answer that, but for theories you should read Book 6 again.” There you go. So…
Laura: See? I think it’s students. I think it’s killing – I’m sorry, Micah, I didn’t mean to cut you off, but…
Andrew: Death of students?
Laura: Yeah. I think it’s death of students, or anything like that, because if, you know, whenever he was – he drank the potion…
Micah: Exactly.
Laura: …and he was saying “Don’t hurt them, don’t kill them.”
Eric: Yeah, I think that’s probably where she meant when she said to look in Book 6. I hope it isn’t, but I think…
Micah: Yeah, I think if you go back to that whole potion scene, I think we talked about what it meant, but I think it could even have been foreshadowing what was going to happen at Hogwarts. You know? Maybe he was seeing the school being under attack, and I think that’s his greatest fear, because I think what he values most in life is the school and the children in it.
Eric: So now, whereas a Boggart – a Boggart can’t represent a concept as much, but do you think in the case of Molly Weasley seeing all her sons lying dead on the floor, do you think that Dumbledore would see Harry on the floor dead?
Andrew: I think he would see a bunch of students lying on the floor, I don’t know about just Harry.
Eric: Well, Harry’s an example.
Laura: Yeah, I think it’s just students in general.
Andrew: I don’t think his greatest fear is Harry’s death.
Micah: His greatest fear could be making a mistake. He seems…
Laura: And being responsible for students dying.
Eric: Yeah, I think – I think so too. I think Dumbledore – I think his greatest fear would probably be more along the lines of not telling Harry everything he could. You know? You notice throughout the years that Dumbledore kind of wanted to tell Harry everything, but then never did, and he really does blame himself pretty hard in Book 6.
Voicemail – Hermione’s Desire
[Audio]: Hey MuggleCast guys, my name’s Cicira Straight, and I’m from Canada. So. what do you think Hermione will see in the Mirror of Erised if she ever saw it, if she ever went to the Mirror of Erised. What do you think her greatest desire is? That’s it, I love your show! Bye.
Laura: I think that Hermione would find it kind of dangerous. I think she would go with Dumbledore on the fact that people have gone insane in front of it, and people have kind of wasted away their lives, and thrown any ambition out the window just because they’re sitting there, so transfixed on what this mirror shows them. I don’t think Hermione would have any interest in wanting to look into it. I think if she were there, she would have gone all Hermione on them, and gotten into a huff, and been like “I’m not going to look at that,” and that’s just how I think she would have reacted.
Eric: I think that makes sense, but also, if she somehow did look in and her desire was Ron, and she wanted him, but not to get him, but to get him anyway, and she somehow got him, not that that makes any sense, but it never did anyway. Would she actually get Ron, or would the Ron in the mirror come out to her? Harry wants the stone and that like comes out to him.
Laura: No, that was just for the stone, that wasn’t – that wasn’t for anyone else; that was just for the stone.
Andrew: All right, so next week we will continue to answer your general voicemail questions. We thank you for sending them in. Don’t forget, you call them into 1-218-20-MAGIC.
Favorite Defense Against The Dark Arts Teacher
Andrew: Let’s wrap up this week’s show with favorites. We are going play Favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
Micah: I’ll go with Lupin. It’s an easy one, but…
Andrew: Why? Why Lupin?
Micah: He’s just the man. He probably taught Harry the most about what he would need to use in the future, in terms of Defense Against the Dark Arts, if you think about all the things that went on in his class.
Eric: I agree with Micah.
Micah: And he’s a werewolf. I mean, come on.
Andrew: I would have to say that my favorite would be Umbridge, and not because, “Oh I love her.” No, no, it’s not like a love sort of thing. I like her character, and what she did with the school. I always talk about it on the show, but I just really enjoyed that.
Eric: Yeah, yeah, I would agree. I think Umbridge, as much as we all hate her, I think she’s my favorite character because she exercises all of her power. She really uses herself to her full potential. She uses everything she has, all of her resources, to achieve her goals. And, from that, she screws a lot of people over, and she really causes the plot to happen. She drives the plot. My second favorite, even though we’re only doing favorites, would be Lockhart, because he never goes away, and we saw him in Book 5, and he’s just one of those characters that really doesn’t get a clue, and he’s just there. So, Lockhart. But, Lupin, of course. Never mind, I’m sorry.
Laura: Well, for me, I really like all of them, because I think at different points during the books they all had something interesting to offer, and they all had some really cool way of twisting the plot. But, I think if I had to pick one, it would be Imposter Moody, just because that was such a huge plot twist.
Ben: Awww, Laura, you stole mine.
Laura: I know, I’m so sorry. But – but no, it was mainly just because of the plot, and the fact that everyone thought Barty Crouch Jr. was dead, and then all of a sudden it turns out he had been in such close contact with Harry the whole year. It’s just really cool.
Ben: Well, I’m going to do a hybrid here. I’m going to say Imposter Moody and Lupin. I’m going with both of them. I don’t know, they both brought their own little contribution to the series. Both were really fun years. Prisoner of Azkaban was the first Harry Potter book – it was probably when I really, really started to enjoy them. I mean, I like Chamber of Secrets and Sorcerer’s Stone, don’t get me wrong. I’m just saying that I think they got really good once Prisoner of Azkaban hit, and the same thing with Goblet of Fire. So…
Show Close
Andrew [Show Close with music in background]: Well, with that, I think that does wrap up MuggleCast 38. This was a longer one than usual, or I think it will by the time it’s edited down. For the record, ladies and gentlemen, we’re up to 2:18:00 of recording.
Ben: Yeah. [laughs]
Andrew: If you look at your cute little iPod right now, it’s probably like at an hour and a half.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: Andrew, wouldn’t it be cool when you’re editing, and you hear yourself say that, and you’re like, at 45 minutes or something, wouldn’t that be amazing?
Andrew: Yeah, that would stink.
Ben: Yeah.
Andrew: It’ll probably be like ten minutes…
Ben: Yeah. [laughs]
Andrew: …because usually – I have this little filter that takes out everything that you say.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: So, it’ll probably be down to a ten-minute show. So, with that, once again I’m Andrew Sims.
Ben: I am Ben Schoen.
Eric: I am laying back and almost choking on my gum.
Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.
Micah: And I’m Micah Tannenbaum. [laughs]
Andrew: Next week, on Episode 38, Eric Scull will not be on the show because he will have choked to death.
Ben: Woo-hoo!
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: And, do not forget, National Wear Your MuggleCast Shirt Day is on June 02nd. Order now, or else you’re going to be out, out, out of luck. So, we’ll see everyone next week for Episode 39. I can’t wait for Episode 40.
Laura: I feel so old.
Bloopers
Andrew: Now moving on to our Character Discussion. It’s back! It’s back! Oh, praise sweet baby Jesus, it’s back!
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: I don’t think you can include religion in the show.
Micah: Oh, man.
Eric: How do you have any fans when you make… I don’t get it.
[Everyone laughs]
Ben: I really don’t get it.
Andrew: Oh, thank sweet baby Jesus.
———————–
Written by: Micah, Amanda, Jessica, Martina, Rhiannon, Roni, and Sarah