Transcript #45

MuggleCast 45 Transcript


Show Intro


Andrew [Show Intro with music in background]: Because I’m down at the beach and can’t get access to my e-mail to get access to the show entries submitted by the listeners – this is MuggleCast Episode 45 for June 25th, 2006.

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Hello, friends and welcome back to the show. I’m Andrew Sims.

Ben: I’m Ben Schoen.

Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.

Greg: And I’m Greg Porter.

Andrew: And joining… Yes.

Greg: Sorry. [laughs]

Andrew: [laughs] Joining us this week, Greg Porter. From? Where are you from? MuggleNet – you do some work on MuggleNet.

Greg: Yes, I do things here and there.

Andrew: Wait, you’ve been on the show before, haven’t you?

Greg: Yes.

Andrew: Once before? Yes. You’re an alumni.

Greg: Soothin’ Babies, was that it?

Andrew: What’s that? [laughs]

Greg: Soothin’ Babies, was that the episode?

Andrew: I don’t know. I will take your word for it.

Greg: All right.

Andrew: Before we do anything else, Micah Tannenbaum is standing by in MuggleCast News center with the latest Harry Potter news stories.


News


Micah: The British paperback edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince hit shelves Friday. If you would like to purchase it online, you can do so at Amazon. That wasn’t a shameless plug or anything. The American paperback edition of Book 6 will be released on July 25th.

In an announcement Wednesday, Warner Bros. revealed that the fifth Harry Potter movie will be released simultaneously in conventional and IMAX theaters on July 13th, 2007.

Speaking of Order of the Phoenix, Ain’t It Cool News was at the New York Licensing Show Tuesday, where a promotional banner for the fifth film was spotted.

The picture depicts Harry holding his wand with Hogwarts in the background. Although this is a generic promotion for the next film, one major difference in this film appears to be Dan’s hair.

Jason Isaacs (who plays Lucius Malfoy) recently did an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News, noting that he will be filming for Movie 5 in September and October. He also discussed why he enjoys portraying the nasty character:

“I torture myself by always trying to be interesting and human on screen, but every now and again it’s great to be in ‘Harry Potter’ and just rip it up and be as singularly evil and unpleasant as possible.”

Filming for Order of the Phoenix is expected to recommence next month.

Yahoo! has published a top 20 list of the most-searched-for rumors on the world’s second biggest search engine. Rumors related to the seventh book in the Harry Potter series topped the chart, followed by Sopranos and X-Men 4 rumors.

Earlier this week TLC was able to capture the commercial for the Queen’s 80th birthday party. The clip features Dan telling an owl (presumably Hedwig) to deliver a letter. The birthday bash took place earlier today and was aired on BBC.

Finally, 24Dash.com reports that JK Rowling will be receiving a Doctor of Laws degree to recognize her contribution to Multiple Sclerosis research. Jo was quoted in the article, praising MS research:

“I am extremely honored to be receiving this honorary degree from such a distinguished Scottish university, with such a dynamic international reputation.”

Jo will receive her degree from the University of Aberdeen on July 6th at Marischal College.

That’s all the news for this June 25th, 2006 edition of MuggleCast. Back to the show!

Andrew: Okay, thank you, Micah.


Where Is Everyone?


Andrew: Where is everyone this week? What’s up with these groups of people we have been putting together lately?

Micah: Slackers.

Andrew: They all quit. They are all holding out for money.

[Ben laughs]

Andrew: To that I say NEVER! No, Laura is finishing her finals this week. Kevin is sick. [mockingly cries] And Eric is in England for three or four weeks. He is on a trip.

Ben: Visiting his e-girlfriend.

Andrew: No, he’s not.

Greg: That’s classy.

Andrew: [laughs] That is classy. No, he’s – what is he doing over in England anyway? Anyone know?

Ben: I told you. He’s visiting his e-girlfriend.

Greg: Is he wearing his robes?

Andrew: Okay.

[Micah and Andrew laugh]

Andrew: I – he probably is. I am sure he brought them with him. And with Eric being gone we are going to take a break from Chapter-by-Chapter for…

Ben: Ever.

Andrew: …at least three or four weeks. At least until he gets back and then we’ll start Chamber of Secrets. So, it will probably be right before Lumos or right afterwards – right after New York.


Announcements


Andrew: Speaking of that. Lumos 2006 and Leaky Mug LIVE in New York City are both quickly approaching. Lumos 2006 is on July 29th at the JW Marriott in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Lumos 2006 Harry Potter Symposium. And our LIVE podcast in New York City is after JK Rowling’s second – no, before JK Rowling’s second book reading on August 02nd (if I didn’t already say that). It’s going to be around Noon and the reason I am bringing this up is because we are encouraging everyone to go if they can come out, but we also want everyone to RSVP by e-mailing hplive at gmail dot com. Or you can go to the all new LeakyMug.com. Hopefully by the time this show is out, that site will be out – LeakyMug.com. You might remember, it’s where The Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet.com hosted their – hosted our prank. It will be a lot of fun, so everyone come out if you can. I am telling you right now, we are going to have a blast at both of these podcasts. So, please come out and show your support.

Also, help support the show by purchasing a MuggleCast t-shirt.

Ben: Or 12.

Andrew: Or 12 of them. And those help the show by giving us money so that we can pay for flights and pay for food, so we don’t starve to death at the LIVE podcasts.

Greg: Heaven forbid.

Andrew: How are we supposed to podcast without food?

[Everyone laughs]

Andrew: So, thanks to everyone for helping us out. I like how I talk like this. I’m going to keep doing this.


Juvenile Arthritis


And every once in a while we like to make a little public service announcement here on MuggleCast to get the word on a little topic. This week Emily, who is a MuggleNet editor, who goes through the site and corrects all the grammar mistakes that we make, because we are terrible at our English.

She wanted to let everybody know about juvenile arthritis. And I have a little thing from her. She says:

The problem that arises with trying to raise funds for juvenile arthritis is that people don’t realize that kids can get arthritis as well. The child I worked with was only two when she was diagnosed and was in considerable pain. It got to the point where she had to wear a neck brace to control movement and spasms. A few months later the pain came back, only this time it was everywhere – even in her toes and fingers. Being so young, she couldn’t understand why her parents were unable to help her or why her toys gave her no reprieve. She is now four and has learned to adjust with the help of shots twice weekly.

So, the reason we’re letting everyone know is that juvenile arthritis is still a serious problem even in little kids – you wouldn’t think so because we always hear about it occurring in the elderly. We encourage you to visit MuggleCast.com and look at the “Show Notes” for this week’s episode and we have a link to a few articles about juvenile arthritis and the problems it is causing.

And, finally, we have a super-special announcement at the end of the show. So, make sure you stick around. Because it’s so big, it doesn’t even – it’s not even worthy of a position here in the regular announcements. It deserves its own segment.

Now it is time for this week’s voice rebuttals, sent in by you guys, the listeners – called in by dialing 1-218-20-MAGIC. So, here they are now.


Voice Rebuttals


[Audio]: Hi, this is [inaudible] from Pennsylvania and I have a few comments about last week’s show. First of all, you talked about if and how the Ministry is influencing Percy. One thing that caught my attention is that at the beginning of Book 4, Percy is working on a report on cauldron bottoms. Then at the end of the book, Voldemort emerges from the cauldron. There seems to be a link and it makes me wonder what side the Minister is on. The next thing that I would like to mention is the occurrence at the end of the your character discussion about choosing a girl. I personally believe the Weasleys are descendants from Godric Gryffindor, so they needed a girl to continue the bloodline. Lastly, I would like to say something about spoilers. We all think that we try to avoid them, but at the same time we watch movie clips before the movie is released, highlight the text on MuggleNet without really thinking, and look ahead in the books. In a way, it’s just part of the experience. Even though I hate to be spoiled, I’ll admit they do play an important part in the fandom.

[Audio]: Hi, MuggleCasters! This is Lucy from Iowa. I just had a rebuttal/comment about Mad-Eye Moody. I remember in your last show when you talked about Moody, you talked about how you thought his magical eye came from the Ministry of Magic. However, in Order of the Phoenix when Harry goes to the Ministry and talks to Kingsley Shacklebolt, there is a witch with an eye patch. And I thought that if she had lost an eye like Moody the Ministry would have provided her one too, if they had provided one for Moody. Also, Moody did not have his eye patch when he was in the first scene for Harry in the Pensieve for Goblet of Fire, but he did in the second scene. Thanks!

[Audio]: Hi, MuggleCast! This is [inaudible] from Los Angeles, California. When listening to Episode 44, I found it rather offensive when Eric and the others began wondering why anybody would ever have seven kids. I have several friends who have seven or even eight children in their family. And once you actually have such a large family, each person becomes their own individual and numbers become irrelevant. In fact, despite the fact that they weren’t wealthy, some of my friends even wish that their parents would have a ninth child. Maybe the Weasleys wanted that kind of happy, relaxed, family atmosphere. Thanks again and keep the great shows coming.

Andrew: All right. And those were this week’s voice rebuttals.


Listener Rebuttal – Disney Dan


Andrew: Now, it’s time for the listener rebuttals sent in via e-mail.

I have good news everyone. Disney Dan e-mailed in. His real name is not actually Disney Dan. His real name is Dan Larson, 21, from Chicago. And he didn’t include anymore information with the pictures because it was late at night. Uh no, no, maybe the pictures were just late. So, thanks Disney Dan for clearing that up. Now we can all rest peacefully.

Ben: Yep.

Andrew: Yes.


Listener Rebuttal – Nicknames For Micah


Andrew: And we have a new nickname for Micah sent in by Jack. [laughs] Micah, how do you like this one? The Baum Bomb? B-a-u-m B-o-m-b.

Micah: It’s…

Andrew: Jack wants to know what you think?

Micah: It has some potential. I think we can work with that a little bit. What do you guys think? You guys come up with nicknames for me all the time, so this is…

Andrew: I think it’s catchy.

Micah: You do?

Greg: It is.

Andrew: I like it.

Ben: La-la-la Baum Bomb.

[Everyone laughs]

Andrew: So, we have Baum Bomb, The La Baum-ba, [laughs] T-Baum…

Micah: T-Baum.

Andrew: …Micah Tan. Tanny. These are getting better and better. Every week before we introduce you for the news, we will give you a new name. How does that sound?

Micah: That’s cool.

Andrew: If we remember.


Listener Rebuttal – Lose The Tone


Andrew: This rebuttal comes from blank, age blank, from blank. Thank you for including all of your information, but [laughs] you’ll know why in a minute. This person writes:

“Hi Guys, I just finished listening to Episode 44 and for the first time since Episode No. 1, felt compelled to write in. I’ve admired the fact that you folks have taken the – what some might call the moral high road, and have made the conscious decision to keep the language G-rated. However, this episode, it seems as if you decided to begin the transformation to a non-family friendly show. Granted, it is your show and you decided it’s tone, but I think that most of us listeners have grown to believe that words such as, “bleep,” “bleep,” or “bleep,” don’t belong on MuggleCast. Please reflect back on your original intentions to keep the show clean and realize that that may have contributed in some small way to the great success to which you have so far been blessed.”

So yeah, guys, last week there was a little bit more language than there was in previous episodes and we have said in the past that there will be no cursing on this show. To be honest with you, I missed the one word that I will not say here on this show because it is inappropriate. The word – for some reason, I missed it while editing. I don’t even know who said it. But, we apologize if any younger listeners were surprised and got yelled at by their parents for listening to inappropriate content. But, we will not be doing that anymore. It was a little bit of an experiment, too, to see if it would help the show at all with the older audience, but we’re just going to keep it out all together. So, I’m sorry!


Listener Rebuttal – Large Families


Andrew: Next rebuttal:

“I hate to say it, but for the first time ever I have been offended by – “

Look at all these first times. [laughs]

“I have been offended by something said on an episode of MuggleCast. Perhaps I’m just a bit too touchy about this, but it truly hurt me when it was implied that people who have many children are in some way unable to provide the full range of proper care for their children.”

There is more to this e-mail, but I’m not going to read it here. So, end quote. And this comes from Kimmi. And I would just also like to point out that we weren’t implying that larger families cannot support themselves. This is not true at all. We were just making a reference to the Weasleys. And also [laughs] when I said maybe all the Weasleys kids were an accident, I was saying that jokingly [still laughing] and I did not mean that that’s how all families are. Of course, that’s not true. It’s not true for – large families cannot support themselves, either. So, sorry about that if we offended anyone. We got a few e-mails about that.


Listener Rebuttal – Napkins


Andrew: And lastly, Carla S., 18 from Iowa, wants to talk about napkins. She wanted to clarify some of the discussion we were having last week about how JK Rowling wrote the original books, and she quotes an article here and, I quote:

“It was after settling in Edinburgh at the end of 1993 that Rowling began to write the first Harry Potter novel. She wrote in longhand on notepads in several Edinburgh cafes, most notably Nicolson’s Cafe near Edinburgh University. However, the rumor that she scribbled the manuscript on the back of napkins, unable to afford paper, is untrue. She admits that she was on the dole for six months during this time period, but denies media reports that she couldn’t afford to heat her flat and escaped to cafes for a warm place to write. During ’94 and ’95, she went back to college to get her teaching qualification that would enable her to teach French in Scotland.”

So, that clears up some of the discussion we were having, although we did come to the conclusion at the end of last week’s show that she didn’t write the entire books on napkins. That’s just silly.

[Micah laughs]


Main Discussion: Book 7 – Riddle Me This


Andrew: Moving on to some discussion this week, we want to talk about Book 7 questions. We touched on this a few weeks ago. And now we’re going to do some more of it. So, Micah, take it away.

Micah: Hold on. All right, we mentioned this a couple of shows ago. We talked a little bit about this editorial, written by Kristie, looking at the riddles from Goblet of Fire and wondering if they foreshadow anything into the final books, specifically the riddle related to the Black Lake and the riddle relating to the Sphinx. And I know you guys took a look at this editorial earlier, so you have a little bit of a better idea of what she was trying to get across. But, I guess we can start with the riddle from the Black Lake and just kind of seeing what you guys thought, and its relationship to Sirius Black?

Andrew: Are you talking about the riddle – the Merpeople’s riddle?

Micah: Yes.

Andrew: That she talks about? Okay.

Micah: Should we read it? You can.

Andrew: I have it up.

Come seek us where our voices sound,
We cannot sing above the ground,
And while you’re searching, ponder this:
We’ve taken what you’ll sorely miss,
An hour long you’ll have to look,
And recover what we took,
But past an hour–the prospect’s black,
Too late, it’s gone, it won’t come back.

So, this editorial takes different lines of this riddle and explains what each of them means in relation to, basically, Harry having to go into the veil and pulling someone out? Right?

Micah: Right. Or seeking somebody out to get information.

Andrew: Of the veil.

Micah: Yes.

Andrew: So, the first part of the riddle, “Come seek us where our voices sound, / We cannot sing above the ground…” She talks about this in relation to Harry being unable to understand the voices in the Department of Mysteries. And then, the next part of the poem, “And while you’re searching, ponder this: / We’ve taken what you’ll sorely miss…” And the author comes up with some ideas of who Harry’s missing: Sirius, Dumbledore, and obviously, his parents. But then, further on in the riddle, “But past an hour–the prospect’s black…” – Sirius Black – “Too late, it’s gone it won’t come back.” And this is sort of in relation to Harry – er, Sirius falling into the veil, and he fell back into it. And the author goes on to say that maybe he could come back because he – it wasn’t a normal death. He fell into this veil. It wasn’t like all the other deaths, where he’s hit with Avada Kadavra or some unfortunate accident.

Micah: Didn’t she also argue that it’s possible something could come up and he’ll have an hour to go into the veil and…

Andrew: Right.

Micah: …seek out Sirius and either find out information – possibly even about his brother. And he only has a certain about of time to do this and if he doesn’t complete it in time, then he won’t be able to retrieve the information that he needs.

Andrew: Right. So it’s…

Micah: Which I thought was kind of interesting.

Andrew: Yeah.

Micah: Because this isn’t something I’ve ever heard before.

Andrew: Yeah, this was a very interesting theory. Right, and she was saying that she was surprised it hasn’t really been brought up before because the riddle involving the potions, I think it was? She made a reference to it but I couldn’t find anymore information on it. Do you know anything about that, Micah?

Micah: What potions? The ones from…

Andrew: In Sorcerer’s Stone.

Micah: Yeah, the room that he has to go to?

Andrew: Right. Each different potion represented a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?

Micah: Yeah, I think I’ve heard something about that. I don’t – like you said, I don’t…

Andrew: That’s what she made a reference to. Anyone else know about that?

Micah: Greg?

Greg: I hadn’t heard anything of it until I read this article. So, nope.

Andrew: Basically, each potion represented each Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I guess with – I don’t even know [laughs]. I tried looking it up but I couldn’t find anything.

Micah: That was just another example of how Jo had hidden things in earlier books? Or…

Andrew: Right.

Micah: Yeah.

Andrew: And so what she’s saying is this – the Merpeople’s riddle could possibly foreshadow what we will see in Book 7 because, obviously, it didn’t happen in Book 5 or 6 yet. Yeah, it’s very interesting. And we will include a link in the “Show Notes” so everyone can take a look at it and read it through. It’s very detailed. She definitely did her research. Who’s this girl? Kristie E.R. It’s her pen name.


Clues Left Behind


Andrew: So, another question we have here: What clues has Dumbledore left for Harry, if any, and will we see him or Sirius again? Go ahead, explain it, Ben.

Ben: Well, JK Rowling mentioned that Sirius was given – Sirius gave Harry the two-way mirrors and she said that it might hold more significance in the future books. So, I don’t know if it means that Harry will be able to communicate with him beyond the veil, or what exactly it means.

Andrew: But will – what about seeing Dumbledore again? Or, what clues has Dumbledore left for Harry? I think that Dumbledore hasn’t really left any clues for Harry because he told him everything he needed to know in Book 6, and basically, he said – and I think he thinks that it’s Harry’s time to figure this out all on his own. And I’m sure he has full confidence in him. Greg, do you think Dumbledore’s left any clues for Harry?

Greg: It’s possible. It’s one of those things that – I mean, we have one book left and at this point, I’m just thinking, theories, who cares? We’re going to read the next book and it’ll all be over. So, I absolutely – I have no opinion on that. I’ll be a nice little politician here.

Andrew: [laughs] Micah, has Dumbledore left any clues for Harry?

Micah: I agree with what you said. I think he taught him a lot. And it all depends really – this is what we were talking about yesterday. If he had any time to plan before his death, and if he knew what was going to happen in the end. If he took any steps to leave certain clues for him behind.

Andrew: But what about Sirius? Anything else besides the two-way mirror? I mean, it’s been a whole book now and I think we would have seen something by now. I don’t think it’s just going to pop up in Book 7.

Greg: When we’re introduced to something, such as an Animagus, or something like that, we’re given time to think about it. Such as in Book 1, we’re shown what an Animagus is. In Book 3, we’re given a lot of detail. So, perhaps that is why Book 6 had nothing to do – didn’t tell you about the mirrors, because she wanted you to kind of think about it for a while. And then she’ll throw it back in there in Book 7. Because she does that a lot.

Andrew: Yeah, good point. And thatís really the reason why this whole Harry Potter community with theories and speculation and groups of analysis and all that have really spawned, because she gives us all this time to think about it, rather than just at the beginning of the book, some new thing, such as the two-way mirror pops up, and then at the end of the book, itís already answered. She gives us time. Thatís the beauty of it.

Micah: Yep.

Andrew: Thank you. Iím here all week.


Horcruxes: Take Five Million


Andrew: Next question: We wanted to revisit Horcruxes again. We talked about them a lot in the beginning of the early days of MuggleCast as it was right after Book 6, and we were all like, [deep gasp] “Horcruxes are so cool!”

[Greg laughs]

Andrew: [laughs] So, so, now we wanted to revisit exactly what Dumbledore said when he listed where he thought they – where he thought the final Horcruxes were, or all the Horcruxes were in Half-Blood Prince: Tom Riddle’s diary, Gaunt’s ring, Slytherin’s locket, Hufflepuff’s cup. So, what of Gryffindor’s, what of Ravenclaw’s, and Nagini? So, what could it be of Gryffindor’s, Greg?

Greg: Could it be the Sorting Hat? I think that’s something many people have already come up with, but it could easily be anything that Dumbledore owned, or just anything in the castle. But then, it could have been the sword of Godric Gryffindor. It could have been that hat.

Andrew: Mhm.

Greg: It could have been anything. Who knows? Since Nagini was already a Horcrux, maybe it could be Fawkes? Who knows?

Ben: Do we actually know Nagini is a Horcrux?

Andrew: Nuh uh.

Greg: Well, we don’t, but we speculate.

Andrew: That’s what everyone believes.

Ben: One theory with the Sorting Hat is that when Voldemort goes in Dumbledore’s office in Half-Blood Prince to interview for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching job, there’s this part where he has a flick of his wrist, and many people think that he might have made the Sorting Hat or something in Dumbledore’s office a Horcrux at that time.

Andrew: Ohhh. Interesting.

Micah: But my question about that is wouldn’t he have just had to have killed somebody in order to do that?

Ben: We have to see that. We don’t know the process that goes into actually making a Horcrux, if you understand what I’m saying.

Micah: Yeah. That’s a good point. I was just assuming that somebody would have to have been killed, and then you would have to do it immediately as opposed to taking some time. I donít think we know anything really about Ravenclaw.

Andrew: Well, it would probably be – it would probably be an artifact, wouldn’t it be? Because we have Slytherin’s locket and then Hufflepuff’s cup. So, from each house, it must be some important item of – it would be something in Rowena’s possession, or was in her possession.

Micah: So, you’re thinking…

[Ben and Micah laugh]

Andrew: Huh?

Micah: So, something with like an R encrusted on it, or…

Andrew: Right.

Micah: I guess it says here that Ravenclaw’s symbol, judging from the Hogwarts crest, is a bronze eagle. So, maybe something that’s lying around the school that…

Andrew: Right. Now, as for Nagini. I mean, Nagini is not official, but the reason that everyone seems to think that it’s Nagini is because Nagini is Voldemort’s giant snake that he’s really attached to. But I’m…

Micah: And that Dumbledore himself brought it up as a possibility.


Harry The Horcrux


Andrew: And what else could be a possible Horcrux? What about Harry? What do you guys think about the whole Harry-being-a-Horcrux thing, when he cursed him that fine day?

Ben: JK Rowling said that Harry couldn’t be a Horcrux on her website.

Andrew: Oh, that’s right.

Greg: She didn’t say his scar was, though, did she? Could some individual part…

Andrew: Yes.

Greg: … of him could be?

Andrew: Yeah. Is the scar a part of him? Part of him?

Micah: One thing that works well for that is Dumbledore thought that Voldemort had only created six Horcruxes up until the night that the Potters were killed. So…

Andrew: Really?

Micah: Yeah.

Andrew: I don’t remember that. When did he say that?

Micah: Somewhere in Half-Blood Prince [laughs].

Andrew: Well, duh [laughs], but I mean, like…

Micah: I don’t have a page number. I can try to find it, though.

Andrew: All right. I guess it doesn’t really matter.


Other Possibilities


Micah: But the Lexicon lists a couple others, and they’re usually pretty good.

Andrew: Uh huh.

Micah: One was the Basilisk from The Chamber of Secrets, and they like that because it is extremely long-lived and well hidden.

Andrew: That’s true.

Micah: Or it was, anyway.

Andrew: Yeah.

Micah: And the other one was Wormtail’s silver hand right after he killed Cedric.

Andrew: I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like – I don’t understand.

Micah: That – I don’t like that one.

Andrew: Me, neither, because Wormtail is Voldemort’s assistant, and I don’t think Voldemort has enough trust in him to have Wormtail actually protect a Horcrux. Would Wormtail even know it?

Micah: No. Probably not.

Andrew: That would be a nice final debt to Harry, giving him the Horcrux. Hmmm? Hmmm?

Micah: Ahhh! Yeah!

Andrew: Yeah. Ah ha ha?!

[Micah and Greg laugh]

Andrew: Thank you.


Draco’s Fate


Andrew: What will happen with Draco Malfoy? Because he seems to care for his parents very much, and he was scared and indecisive in the outcome of Half-Blood Prince. Can anything change his perspective about the war? I certainly do not think so, because at this point, he is too corrupt to continue on as a normal wizard.

Ben: Well, someone brought up the fact that Draco is actually Latin for, “Dragon,” and they say you can’t tame a dragon, so it makes sense for him to go…

Andrew: So, are you saying…

Ben: …against his parents.

Andrew: …he’s going to get a big dragon? [laughs]

Ben: No, I’m saying that it makes sense for him to go against what his parents are saying, because he can’t be tamed.

Andrew: Ah yes, Ben.

Greg: He could go the other way, though.

Andrew: Who’s he going to…

Greg: That he can’t be tamed by the good side.

Micah: So…

Andrew: Right. And who’s he going to side with on the good side? It’s too late.

Micah: See, I don’t know. I tend to think that if something happened to his mother, he may react in a different way, because even throughout the earlier books, you saw he has a very strong relationship with her, and I’m inclined to think that instead of killing him, if Voldemort kills Narcissa because Draco failed to do his task with Dumbledore, we might see him revolt potentially.

Andrew: I don’t know. I just – I mean, back to my question. How would he – who would he side with on the good side?

Micah: Well, is Snape truly evil? I mean…

[Andrew laughs]

Micah: I think that would play a role in it.

Andrew: Okay, but if he sided with Snape, who’s Snape going side with? Say that three times fast. There’s no one. And Harry’s going try to kill him anyway.


The Role of the Ministry


Andrew: Now, what role will the Ministry play, if any, in Book 7? I think the Ministry, too, is too corrupt to possibly be involved with trying to kill off Dumbledore, especially since Lucius is in the Ministry and Lucius is going – Lucius, now, Lucius is in Azkaban now. What am I thinking? I am one uninformed fan!

Micah: Didn’t they break out?

Andrew: Did they? Did Lucius? Oh, okay. But still, Lucius has no opinion in the Ministry of Magic anymore. He has no influence, I wouldn’t think. Unless he threatened Scrimgeour. Greg, what do you think? What role is the Ministry going to play?

Greg: It’s hard to tell, and that seems to be my answer for everything tonight…

[Andrew laughs]

Greg: …but my guess is not much.

Andrew: I like it.

Greg: My guess is not much. Harry’s going to be really distracted, but unless Harry becomes a fugitive, I don’t think much is going to happen with them.

[Andrew laughs]

Greg: They might just be a fly in his face or something, or you know, a gnat? Just in his ear.

Andrew: Mhm.

Greg: Just something annoying him the entire time.

Andrew: Yes.

Micah: Like in Book 6.

Greg: Yep.

Andrew: I would have to agree. What did you mean by the question what’s Scrimgeour’s deal, Micah?

Micah: Well, are we going to see him at all, or did he just kind of play out his role in Book 6? I mean with Fudge gone, I think Scrimgeour brings a little more credibility to…

Andrew: Yeah.

Micah: …the role of Minister of Magic. [coughs]

Andrew: I think anyone who replaces…

[Micah laughs]

Andrew: …Fudge could bring more credibility, because Fudge was a you-know-what! I would say it, but we are not on Episode 44 anymore.


The Final Battle


Andrew: Where will the final battle take place? I’m going to have to put it in a scenic spot. I’m going to say the Hogwarts grounds. It would be very emotional for both Harry and Voldemort. What do you think, Micah?

Greg: Godric’s Hollow.

Micah: Yeah, I was just going to say…

Andrew: Or Greg. Oooh. Godric’s Hollow.

Greg: Godric’s Hollow would be an interesting place.

Andrew: That would be emotional, too.

Greg: Yeah.

Andrew: Yes. Especially since Harry hasn’t been there since his parents’ deaths. That would be very emotional.


Gimme A Butterbeer: Celebrity Privacy


Andrew: Now it’s time for this week’s Gimme A Butterbeer segment, once again with Benjamin Schoen. Take it away, Benny Boy!

Ben: Well, I’d like to thank everyone for all the feedback I received on last week’s topic about Harry Potter spoilers. Thank you, and remember to continue to send your feedback to ben at staff dot mugglenet dot com. This week’s Gimme A Butterbeer is going to be different than Butterbeers that we’ve had in the past weeks. Rather than myself going on a rant about, you know, some issue that’s involved in Harry Potter, I’m going to bring up a topic and then open it up for debate and discussion with the rest of the group.

We all know that each and every one of us likes to have our privacy. Just a few nights ago, the CBS’s hit TV show Big Brother made its season premiere, and sometimes for celebrities, it always seems like Big Brother is watching. Recently, we have seen several pictures of actresses and actors from the Harry Potter movies, and these images are indeed from their personal lives. I was curious to see what you guys thought about this and whether it should be stopped. I’m Ben Schoen, and I say, “Gimme A Butterbeer!”

Andrew: In some ways, I sort of think that the actors and actresses bring it onto themselves, especially when they are acknowledging the camera, right there in front of them.

Ben: Right.

Andrew: You know, they’re smiling or waving, you know while…

Ben: Yeah, well, you know, like I said in my commentary…

Andrew: Ben! I’ve not finished my statement!

[Ben laughs]

Andrew: Please let me finish. [laughs] Now I forget what I was saying. Oh, when they’re doing illegal activities. And then these pictures get out, and then it’s a whole big spiel, and then they wonder, [Fake crying] “Why did they get out they’re going to ruin my reputation!” But it’s their fault for doing it.

Ben: Well, what I was trying to say, is that it’s one thing if their private lives are literally being invaded, and it’s another thing if they’re in a public setting and they’re partaking in illegal activity. Those are two different things. It’s different if it’s paparazzi than if it’s a case where their friends take a picture of them, and they may not like them, and they put it online. Micah, Greg? Micah, Greg? Tanny? What’s up? What do you guys think?

Greg: Well, frankly, I think that if they’re out in public, I don’t see why people would get so upset about, “Oooh, snapshot of you laughing.”

Andrew: Yeah. Right.

Greg: It’s like come on. Who cares? I mean, if you’re doing something in your house and somebody starts filming you from a window, then there’s a problem, but… [laughs]

Andrew: Yeah.

Greg: … that’s not the case here. So, otherwise, I just don’t see it as being a problem. When there’s a camera in front of you, don’t do something stupid.

Micah: Yeah, no, I agree with Greg. I think when you’re out in public – you’re a celebrity. That’s, unfortunately, part of what comes with it. And there’s always going to cameras around, so it’s kind of your own responsibility to watch what you do. When you’re in private, if that’s still going on, I personally have a problem with that. I don’t think that that’s right. But if you’re out, and you’re doing things that you shouldn’t be doing, and you get caught on camera, you’ve got nobody to blame but yourself.

Andrew: On the other hand, people wonder why the paparazzi do it, and as Ben said in his Butterbeer, why does the paparazzi do this, and why are they so into it? I mean, the paparazzi – these pictures sell. They sell big time. I mean, look in the recent headlines. Ah, what’s their names? Tom – [laughs] You know! You know!

Ben: Spartz?

Andrew: [laughs] Yeah. Jumping on Oprah’s couch.

Ben: Oh, Tom Cruise.

Andrew: Tom Cruise and Kate…

[Ben laughs]

Andrew: No, no, no, not those two! Brad Pitt and uhhh…[laughs]

Greg: Angelina Jolie?

Andrew: Wow, I’m up on my celebrity. Yes. Yeah, those two. They sold their baby’s pictures for what, four million dollars?

Ben: Yeah.

Andrew: To one of those tabloid magazines. It’s amazing how these pictures sell, and it’s amazing how people are so obsessed with celebrities lives because, maybe there’s something in these normal people’s real lives that they always cling on to celebrities so much. But, it sells and that’s why the paparazzi is so obsessed with doing this. It is a shame, but…

Micah: Well, I mean all you have to do to learn and to see how badly they just want to take pictures, is to look at what happened with Princess Diana. And her life was taken as a result of it.

Andrew: Mhm.

Ben: They wrecked her car.

Andrew: All right.

Greg: Well, look at Britney Spears. [laughs] That’s all that I have to say about that.

[Andrew and Micah laugh]

Micah: A clear parallel.

[Ben laughs]

Andrew: White trash. [laughs] Yeah. No, Britney Spears is abused by this, too, and she was on the…

Greg: Well she’s a – do you think she seriously doesn’t know that people are watching her when she was stuffing her baby on the corner…

Andrew: No, I’m..

Greg: …of the takeout window? [laughs]

Ben: Dashboard. [laughs] No, what I’m saying is, don’t you think sometimes, like in the case of the recent pictures that we’ve seen online, that there is no such thing as bad publicity? Do you think that’s true? Micah, you’re a media man. Do you think that’s true? That they’re still getting attention, whether it’s good or bad? And some people, you know, particularly their fans, may like them more because they’re doing the cool thing or whatever.

Micah: No, I think there are definitely instances where any media, no matter good or bad, is still, in essence, a good thing because your name, or your product, or whatever, is still getting out there. And, you know, a lot of times, as a result of bad media attention, you get people who write in – you get people who respond to it and say, “No, this isn’t the case,” or, “Why are you doing that?” So – and often times people’s attitudes can change as a result. I mean, I don’t know if it’s necessarily the case with these pictures. I haven’t seen these pictures, so I don’t necessarily know what exactly was depicted in them.

Andrew: But, I think there is such thing as bad publicity. Bad publicity can seriously affect someone. I can’t really think of someone specifically, but I mean – and I wish I had an example, but one picture or two pictures could reveal something of an actor or actress that totally ruins their lives.

Micah: No, that’s definitely true.

Andrew: [Singing] Da da da da da! Yeah.

[Andrew and Micah laugh]

Andrew: Okay, so that was this week’s Gimme A Butterbeer segment. Thanks again, Benjamin.


Voicemail – Legilimens The Horcruxes?


Andrew: Now it is time for this week’s voicemail questions. They are back this week thanks to Kevin finally getting his act together.

[Ben laughs]

[Audio]: Hi, I’m Michelle from Florida, and I wanted to pose a theory on Harry finding the Horcruxes. If Voldemort puts a piece of his soul into each Horcrux, one which Dumbledore believed to be Nagini, and then if Harry can Legilimens his way into the fragmented soul of Voldemort and also Nagini during the attack on Arthur Weasley, couldn’t Harry use Legilimancy to find the rest of the Horcruxes by connecting with the other fragments of Voldemort’s soul?

Ben: The answer is no, and here’s why. The first reason is because, in order to accomplish Legilimens (however you say it), you must be able to make eye contact with the person and then be able to read their thoughts and stuff that way. And it would be kind of hard for Harry to make eye contact with a Horcrux. And the reason that Harry was able to get into Voldemort’s mind really wasn’t Legilimens, it was the fact that he had the Horcrux – not the Horcrux, excuse me, the scar on his forehead. So, that’s what allowed him to enter Voldemort’s mind. Not really Legilimency.

Andrew: Very well said, Ben. Next voice mail.


Voicemail – Get Out Of My Bar


[Audio]: Hi, this is Kelsey from Indianapolis, Indiana. In Half-Blood Prince, Trelawney tells Harry that she remembers Snape being thrown out of the Hog’s Head during her interview with Dumbledore, but if it were true that Snape only heard half of the prophecy, she shouldn’t have remembered him at all. I find that very suspicious. Do you think there’s something about that interview that Dumbledore never told Harry? Thanks, love the show! Bye!

Micah: Wouldn’t Trelawney know, though? I mean she got interrupted, so obviously she’s going to know who’s outside the door, no?

Andrew: Right. Well, she would look, I would imagine.

Micah: I don’t think Dumbledore – I think Dumbledore was completely honest with Harry once he sat down and he told him everything that happened that night. I don’t think he left any information out. Yeah, I think once Snape got caught outside, Dumbledore obviously opened the door or whoever opened the door, so that’s why Trelawney knew that Snape was there.


Voicemail – Stop Picking On Me


[Audio]: Hi, my name is Sammi. I’m from a suburb outside Chicago called [inaudible] and I was just wondering, you know, me being 17 and loving Harry Potter, and you guys are all around the same age – do you guys ever get made fun of, because I know I do all the time? Love to hear what you guys say. Love your show! Bye!

[Andrew fake cries]

[Micah laughs]

[Andrew continues to fake cry]

Ben: Awww, welcome to Andrew’s world.

Andrew: Too bad Eric’s not on the show. I’m sure he would have some good stories about this.

Ben: He would be able to empathize with her.

Andrew: To be honest, my answer is no.

Ben: Mine too.

Andrew: Because I tell people about MuggleNet and they say, “That is cool, Andrew. Do you want to go do something?”

Ben: Well, actually, that last part’s not true.

[Andrew and Micah laugh]

Ben: With me they’re like, “Yeah, that’s pretty cool!” You know?

Andrew: Mhm.

Ben: “You’re famous!” That’s what they tell me.

Andrew: Just tell them – just tell them that you met the actors, and that you work for the biggest Harry Potter fan-site online, and then ask us to put up a little fake bio about you on MuggleNet, and then you can totally trick them out, and then they’ll think it’s cool. Micah, are you a subject of bullying?

Micah: Well, you read a press release earlier, didn’t you?

Ben: I read that too.

Andrew: Yes I did.

Ben: That was messed up.

Micah: That was pretty funny, though, wasn’t it?

[Andrew laughs]

Ben: Yeah.

Andrew: Yes. Do you get bullied in the work office?

Micah: In the work office? No, actually they’re…

Andrew: Do you need a guidance counselor?

Micah: There are a lot of people around the office that like the series and like the movies. I don’t think they really listen to MuggleCast. But for the most part, everyone’s pretty cool about it. I’ll get the occasional joke and the occasional quip remark or something like that, but overall…

Andrew: [Says mockingly] “Hey! Got a scar on your forehead?”

Ben: Do they know you work for – do they know that you are with MuggleCast and all that?

Micah: Yeah, some of them do. There’s a part of it on my resume, so…

Andrew: Oh?

Ben: Oh, really?

Micah: Yeah

Andrew: How about you, Greg?

Greg: When I wear Harry Potter t-shirts to school, I’ll get some remarks like, “Oh, you like Harry Potter? You’re so immature! How old are you?” It’s like, “Hey, you Snape-ing Horcrux!…

[Everyone laughs]

Greg: …I can read!”

[Everyone laughs]

Andrew: I’m sure they love that comeback.

Greg: [laughs] Oh yeah.


Voicemail – Memories


[Audio]: Hey guys, what’s up? This is [inaudible]. I’m 15 years old, and I’m a country girl living in a California world. First of all, I’d like to say that love at first sight can be about a podcast, too. I’m dangerously in love with MuggleCast, and you guys are awesome! My question for you guys is about memories. When a witch or wizard extracts a memory from someone else, like when Slughorn removed his own memory about Horcruxes from his mind, is this specific memory permanently gone from that person? Is it vanished from their mind to where they don’t even know they’ve experienced it? Or is the memory that is extracted more like a copy of the memory, so that person still has his or her memory? Thank you so very much, and Laura rocks my socks!

Andrew: Laura rocks my socks, too.

Ben: Okay I’m pretty sure that – no she doesn’t. [laughs] I’m pretty sure that it’s just a copy of the memory because that wouldn’t make sense. Because Dumbledore has a lot of memories in his Pensieve, so that would be like half his brain, and that just doesn’t make sense.

Micah: Yeah, and in reference to Slughorn, I think when you look at what happened in Half-Blood Prince, when they’re showing the memory from the Pensieve, it’s a distorted memory, but when Harry goes to talk to Slughorn, and he – he actually recounts everything that went on with Tom Riddle. He tells Harry all about the Horcruxes. So, if it was just extracted and then – Slughorn wouldn’t have been able to recall anything, right? Dumbledore would have had the full memory himself, and Slughorn would have just been staring at Harry, you know, saying, basically, “What the heck are you talking about?” So, I agree with Ben. It’s just a copy.


Voicemail – Other Horcrux Makers


[Audio]: Hey, this is Jennifer from Massachusetts, and first I’d love to say that I love MuggleCast, it’s amazing! And my question, I don’t know if it’s already been answered, but do you think anybody else, besides Voldemort, has Horcruxes? Okay! Thanks, bye!

Ben: I think it’s pretty obvious – I bet that someone else had to have done it before, just that it really wasn’t that common. I don’t know. Maybe they knew the magic existed, and that someone has experimented with it, but I doubt anyone was really ever using it along the same lines that Voldemort was, which was to achieve immortality and basically stay alive forever. I doubt there has really been any evil wizard that’s done it before. Because I bet there are some – it’s kind of like drinking unicorn blood. You end up with a cursed life. I bet there’s something bad that happens with…

Micah: You have a few lying around, don’t you, Ben? Just for safekeeping?

Ben: A few Horcruxes?

Micah: Yeah.

Ben: Yeah. Three or four.

Greg: I have a few pints of unicorn blood in my fridge. But, that’s besides the point.

[Everyone laughs]

Ben: Oh yeah?

Andrew: You can sell it on eBay. Oh, that’d be a great MuggleCast fund raiser. No? Nothing?

Greg: Oh, gosh, have you seen the Horcrux? The official Horcrux on eBay?

Andrew: I think I remember that. I think we posted it.

Greg: Yeah.

Andrew: We were suckered in enough.


This Week in Potter: HBP Title Released


Andrew: Well, now it is time to do another “This Week in Potter,” as it is now the summer months here on MuggleCast. A lot of things have happened involving the Harry Potter books and films over the summer, so it is only right that we do another “This Week in Potter.” This week, on July – oh, no, sorry, June 29th. Was it June 29th? I should have my links open. I’m a bad host. Harry Potter – the title of Harry Potter Book Six was released to the world by JK Rowling herself, all because of the Pillar of Storgé. What originally happened was: the rumor someone posted on the forums claiming that they were just clicking around the site, and they ran into something to unlock the Room of Requirement. And then, he got the title of Book Six, along with a little explanation from Jo. Long story short: JK Rowling made a post in her Rumor Section, saying Book Six is called Pillar of Storgé (that was the rumor). And then, she says, “I’m trying very hard not to feel offended that anyone thought this was possible. Storgé, for crying out loud. Come on people, get a grip.” Well, a video got out too, of him unlocking it, and that’s when people started believing it. But then there was some skepticism, because the writing wasn’t exactly Jo’s style, and some of it was written in English.

Ben: Yeah, the grammar and stuff.

Andrew: Right.

Ben: Hey, Greg. Greg. Didn’t you rush and buy harrypotterandthepillarofstorgé.net or something?

[Andrew laughs]

Ben: Wasn’t that you?

Greg: No.

Ben: I could have sworn that was you.

[Micah laughs]

Andrew: He just doesn’t want to admit it.

Greg: It wasn’t. I almost – actually almost did, but right before I did, the real title came out.

Andrew: Oh. [laughs] And then you went and…

Greg: I tried to buy halfbloodprince.com, but it was taken.

Ben: Oh, geez.

Andrew: Oh gee, I wonder why.

Greg: In every form. There was halfbloodprince.tv.us. Everything was taken.

Andrew: It’s a shame. We actually had planned for Matthew Vines to be on the episode this week, but then we had to change the recording date and he couldn’t make it. But, he actually wrote the post on MuggleNet.com, explaining why this Pillar of Storgé was not the title. Like he had several reasons why. Because there was so much – the community just burst with this excitement and all this theorizing, and speculation, and all that.

And then Jo made a nice, long explanation when she announced the real title, saying, “I was delighted to see that a hardcore of super-bright fans knew that the real title was once, in the long distant past, a possibility for Chamber of Secrets.” And from that deduced it was genuine. Some crucial pieces of information in Book Six were originally planned for Chamber of Secrets, and very early on, in the first draft of Chamber, I realized that this information’s proper home was Book Six. I’ve said that before, and that Chamber holds some very important clues to the ultimate end of the series. Not as many as Six, obviously, but there is a link.” End quote.


Possible Book 7 Titles


Andrew: So, I wanted to talk about a little something else now, relating to titles for Book Seven. It was noted that Harry Potter – and this is very, very, very debatable. It was noted that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was actually trademarked in the UK patent office back in 2003, and Jo made this announcement a year later. And the reason that Warner Brothers trademarked that name, and so many others that I’ll get to in a minute, is so that they have the rights to them in case the title was leaked for some weird reason, and then someone else would have access to that domain name (www.harrypotterandthehalfbloodprince.com), for movie purposes, and for printing and publishing purposes. So, I went today, onto the UK trademark and patent office website, and I went and looked up all the trademarks under Harry Potter, and they’re all under Warner Brothers, and there’s many on “Harry Potter” – just the phrase “Harry Potter”. And there are a lot of titles that Warner Brothers trademarked back in 2003. And, it’s interesting now because coming back three years later, you’ll see that fifteen of these titles have been – their trademarks were withdrawn. And the reason Warner Brothers trademarked additional names was to throw people off. And if they only did one, such as Half-Blood Prince, then everybody would immediately make that connection that it’s the next title. However, there are three titles that are still registered, and mind you, fifteen of them have been withdrawn since they were patented in 2003. And those titles are: Harry Potter and the Alchemist’s Cell, Harry Potter and the Chariots of Light, and Harry Potter and the Pyramids of Furmat. So, I ask you fellow MuggleCasters, could any of these three titles possibly be the title to Book 7?

Greg: I hope not.

Andrew: Why not?

Greg: I really hope not. Those titles are horrible.

Andrew: [laughs] Couldn’t you say that about any of the other titles, before you knew the plot? Like, Chamber of Secrets, doesn’t that sound kind of corny?

Greg: It sounds better than The Pyramids of Furmat.

Andrew: I think…

Greg: What the heck does that have to do with anything?

Andrew: I think Alchemist’s Cell could possibly make sense.

Greg: Yeah, but the only alchemist was…

Micah: Nicholas Flamel.

Greg: Yeah, he was the only alchemist, and it just doesn’t seem likely.

Andrew: First book? Sorcerer?

Greg: And I don’t like the title, personally. Personally, I don’t like that.

Andrew: What do you think, Micah?

Micah: I like the second one. I think if any of them were going to be used, it’d probably be that one.

Andrew: Chariots of Light? Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I mean, the reason that these three are still registered, I would think, is that – well, first of all, you don’t register just one that nobody knows about, yet. Because that’s sort of a dead giveaway. You would register – you would have a few of them patented to throw people off. So, I think it’s very possible and feasible that one of these titles are of Book 7, and if it is true, because we do know that JK Rowling has already settled on a title, then, you can all come back to me and say, “You rule!”

Greg: I’m afraid people are going to look at this and think, “Oh, Andrew said this, therefore it is correct.”

[Andrew and Greg laugh]

Greg: I think people are going to start spreading it around the Internet, “This is the title of the seventh Harry Potter book, oh my god!”

[Ben laughs]

Andrew: It’s my crackpot theory, and gosh, darn it, I think it has some credibility.

Ben: Which one? Which title?

Andrew: Any three of them. Any of the three.

Greg: I don’t.

Andrew: Well, if you don’t like those titles, what if I tell you about some of the other titles that were rejected?

Ben: Oh, this will be interesting.

Andrew: You’ll love these. Harry Potter and the Realm of the Lion. Harry Potter and the Serpent’s Prince.

[Greg laughs]

Andrew: Harry Potter and the Serpent’s Revenge. Harry Potter and the Shadow of Serpent. Harry Potter and the Tower of Shadows, oooh.

[Greg laughs]

Andrew: Here’s a good one, Harry Potter and the Hogsmeade Tomb. Harry Potter and the

Greg: I’m waiting for…

Andrew: Huh?

Greg: I’m just waiting for Harry Potter and the Temple of Doom.

[Andrew and Greg laughs]

Andrew: There’s one called Harry Potter and the Curse of the Dementor.

[Greg laughs]

Andrew: I like this one, this one doesn’t make sense: Harry Potter and the Parseltounge Trophy. Could there be some sort of contest? Whomever can speak the best Parseltounge? Harry Potter and the Mudblood Revolt, sounds like Hermione’s going to be…

Ben: Leading that one.

Andrew: attacked – yeah. And, Harry Potter and the Battle for Hogwarts. There’s a total of fifteen of them. Mind you, these were all withdrawn, [laughs] so Warner Brothers does not have these trademarked. So, there’s a very small chance that these will actually be used.


Big Announcement


Andrew: Now it is time for the big announcement that we promised at the beginning of the show. Ladies and gentlemen, this is going to change the way Harry Potter podcasts are done. I’m so excited, I can’t even say it. Starting next week, with Episode 46, we will be premiering – I hope you’re all sitting down, because you’re all going to pass out – MuggleCast Live.

[Ben gasps]

Andrew: [dramatically] Da da da da da.

Ben: Andrew, Andrew. But, Andrew!

Andrew: Yes, Ben?

Ben: What exactly does MuggleCast Live entail?

Andrew: MuggleCast live means we’re going to a new location every weekend…

[Greg laughs]

Andrew: …every major US city, and we’re going to podcast their, live.

Ben: Okay, what does it really mean? [laughs]

Andrew: Just kidding, it’s a joke. [laughs] What it really means is…

[Greg laughs]

Andrew: …at least with next week’s episode, we will be doing live shows over the Internet. Meaning that close to 100 people will be able to listen in as we record the show, live. And you will not only be able to just listen, you will be able to participate, because in replacement of our voicemail segment, we will be taking calls from those who are in our – in our live MuggleCast SkypeCast room. And, even better yet, we will be taking live feedback throughout the entire show. You will be able to write in to us and say what you want to, relating to a topic that we are talking about at that moment. And we will read your feedback live on the air. This is going to change the way we do our discussions because now everyone who is listening will also be involved. And we’re going to go change into a little live show format; we’re still going to have the same great segments that we bring you every week. But ladies and gentlemen, we’re going live.

Ben: Are we going to do this every week or just this one week?

Andrew: Well, I don’t know. [laughs] We’re going to try – I think we should try to do it every week, but we’ve got to see how this one goes and then based on that, maybe we will just do it once a month or every other week or something like that. So, our first live show next week will be Wednesday at 7 PM Eastern. You must have Skype, and there are these new things called SkypeCasts where you can fit up to 100 people in a room, and of course everyone who’s listening in will be muted, but us five will be the only ones talking. And we will have a live feedback system set up so you can send in your feedback as we are doing the show and we’ll read it on the air. So, you can basically drive our conversations just by giving us some good feedback, like a rebuttal, sort of. Full details can be found at MuggleCast.com. Just click on the “LIVE” tab and then we have a page full of great information. We cannot wait to do this, I know I’m really excited. I’m sure Ben and everyone else is too.

Ben: Oh, I am pumped! This’ll be pretty cool.

Andrew: This is – it is. It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’re going to take a break, a quick break about halfway through. It’s – we’re going to…

Ben: This is going to be unprecedented in Harry Potter podcasting.

Andrew: It is. Yes, it is, and we’re going to – if it goes well, we’ll try to do it every week. I’m sure there’s going to be a week or two where we won’t be able to do it live, but this is going to be a lot of fun. One recommendation that I have for you that will probably not be on the website is you must get in the room quick [laughs] because we’re going to have, I would guess, at least 500 people trying to get into this live room, but we can only fit about 95 people. Eventually, if it’s a big enough success, we’ll – maybe we’ll find a way to broadcast it over a stream so we can have as many people listening as we want, but for now we’re going to have to do it over Skype. And that’s – well, that would also cost a lot of money. So, MuggleCast Live next week, starting at 7 PM Eastern. We’ll record for about a little under two hours, and Jamie will be back. And so will Laura. It’s going to be me, Ben, Laura, Jamie, and then either Micah or Kevin. If Kevin’s still dead, then it’ll definitely be Micah. Micah, are you pumped? Are you ready for this?

[Ben laughs]

Micah: I’m ready, man. Let’s go!

Andrew: [laughs] Let’s go? Okay, let’s do it right now! It’s going to be a lot of fun, so please check out MuggleCast.com for more information.


Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul


Andrew: We’ll wrap things up this week with a Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul. This one comes from Melissa, 13, of New York. She writes:

“Hey guys, hate the show! Nah, just kidding, I love the show! Anyways, I have a story of myself for your “Chicken Soup” segment, and I didn’t know by what means to submit it. So anyways, here it is. I really adore Harry Potter, but none of my friends enjoy it to the extent that I do. It is very lonely when you feel like you’re in your own little world when it comes to personal interests. At least I had my mom to confide in, who was very welcoming of my attitude towards these books. Unfortunately, she passed away in a car accident in September 2005. I felt more alone than ever. This is when I discovered MuggleNet, and through MuggleNet, I discovered MuggleCast. Just hearing other people like yourselves voice my feelings and thoughts about HP made me feel less alone, and I actually felt bold enough to get a couple of my friends into MuggleCast as well. Thank you MuggleCast, for removing much of my lonely feelings after my mother’s death. I am forever grateful!”

Andrew: Isn’t that a nice story?

Greg: Touching. It was very touching.

Ben: That was very, very, very touching, Andrew.

Andrew: And she also included a fun rap that I’ve been looking forward to rapping all week. She says:

“Also, I don’t know if you guys get this all the time but, I ummm, I sort of, kind of, made a rap [laughs] about MuggleCast. Stop laughing! L-O-L. Anyway, here it is. Oh, and my Internet name is Nixi, so that’s why I use it.”

Andrew: So Greg, do you want to give me a good beat here so I can do this rap? Sort of like a…

[Greg makes a rapping beat noise]

Andrew: No, it’s got to be like [makes rapping beat noises].

Ben: Micah, you do it.

Greg: I can’t do that, I’m sorry.

Micah: Can I give you a beat? [laughs]

Ben: Like…

Andrew: Yeah, like…

[Ben makes rapping beat noises]

Andrew: Yeah, like that. Ben, you do it.

Ben: [laughs] Do that? Just that over and over again?

Andrew: Yeah. Start.

[Ben makes rapping beat noises throughout the rap]

Andrew: One, two, three, four… [laughs]

Yo yo it’s Nixi
She be rockin’ da mike
And MuggleCast’s the show

Dat everybody’s gotta like
No theory is safe
When it comes to this show
Harry Potter speculation
Show’s what you know
Character discussion
And chapter by chapter
These people are my homies
From here on after
The show gets funny with Andrew and Ben
No theory Laura makes isn’t a gem
Our fav Brit Jamie has da joke of the day
And Micah wit da news got so much to say
Dumpster diving Jo
And Jamie’s got da PRO-cess
Andrew’s gone one show
And they call it “Andrew-less”
Spyin’ on Spartz
But he’s no fun
I wanna listen more
When the show is done
Foreshadowing is big
‘Cause Jo knows what she’s doing
Wit da Horcruxes, Malfoy
And potion brewing
The Weasleys and Harry
Hermione too
They talk about it all

Magically doing the do
You guys are so intelligent
So funny and sweet
Every week MuggleCast
Is an awesome treat!

Ben: Wooohooo!

Greg: Wazzup?!

Ben: Yeah, Andrew!

Greg: Yeahhh!

[Andrew laughs]

Greg: Hey, Andrew… All right, we’re not going to let Andrew…

Andrew: All right. So…

Andrew: So…

Greg: We can’t let Andrew rap anymore.

Andrew: So, thank you Melissa, aka Nixi.

Greg: We have to stop Andrew from rapping because he might leave MuggleCast if he keeps doing this. He’s too good at it.

Andrew: [laughs] I might pursue a career as Eminem.


Show Close


Andrew [Show Close with music in background]: Well ladies and gentlemen, that wraps up MuggleCast 45. Next week: MuggleCast Live, Episode 46 for those of you who want to listen in and participate in our all new show. Please be on Skype by 6:30, and try to get in the room when it opens promptly at 7 PM. Only 95 people will be allowed into the room, so if you can’t get in, we’re sorry. Give us money so we can afford a stream. [laughs]

Ben: And just remember that is not our rule, that is Skype’s rule. We do not decide that.

Andrew: Yeah, so either e-mail Skype or give us money. Or, oh! Here you go. If anyone is able to provide us with a server to stream the show live – I mean, a serious server, not these $5.95s from Go Daddy or whoever. I mean, those are great for web hosting.

Ben: And use the code Muggle, that’s M-U-G-G-L-E.

Andrew: E-mail us.

Micah: Sure, make fun of the sponsor.

Andrew: [laughs] I’m not making fun of the sponsor, I’m just saying they don’t stream audio. They are a great sponsor. I host my website AndrewSimz.com through them. [pushes his Staple’s button that says “That Was Easy”] And that’s my Easy button.

Ben: And I use BenSchoen.com. That’s my domain registrar.

Andrew: There you go!

Ben: And Horcri.com!

Andrew: [laughs] There you go. Go visit Horcri.com today! We should trademark that. All right! So, that does it for Episode 45. Once again, I’m Andrew Sims.

Ben: I am Ben Schoen.

Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.

Greg: And I’m Greg Porter.

Andrew: We’ll see you Wednesday if you’re listening live. If not, we’ll see you next Sunday. Goodbye everyone!

Greg: Buy a t-shirt!

Andrew: [laughs] Thank you, Greg!

[Greg laughs]

Micah: Twelve of them.


Comments


[Latin music plays in the background]

[Audio]: Yo, MuggleCast! This is KT from South Texas, more specifically Houston. I’m just calling to let you guys know that I have been [laughs] in computer hell for the past couple weeks because my external hard drive crashed, and I lost all of my sound files for the past however long, including all of your episodes! But, I was able to get them all back, and the time that I spent getting them all back was made all the more enjoyable by the fact that I was able to listen to all of them all over again! It was awesome! So, I’m looking forward to the next time you guys put on another show, and I will listen until you stop, which hopefully will be never. Keep it up, guys! I love you all, including you, Andrew! [imitating Andrew] Yeah! Yeah! [laughs] Bye, y’all!

[Audio]: Hey MuggleCasters. This is Katie. I’m an American in the Czech Republic, and I’m calling on behalf of all the Hufflepuffs from the MuggleNet Fan Fiction Beta Forums. We’d just like to say that we really, really love you guys and that you really make our week every time you put out a new MuggleCast. We’d like to give a special shout-out to Laura because as she should probably know, we all love her very much and wish she could be around the forums a lot more often. Thanks, you guys! Bye!

[Audio]: Hey MuggleCast, this is Rebecca from California. I love the show! Okay. Especially Ben. Okay, bye!

[Audio]: Hey, MuggleCast! This is a shout-out to all those who won the official MuggleCast Wear Your T-Shirt Day Contest, and I just want to say that I love your show and that’s it! Bye!

[Music ends]

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Written by: Micah, Amanda, David, Jessica, Margaret, Martina, Rhiannon, and Sarah