MuggleCast 76 Transcript
Show Intro
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[Intro music begins to play and then cuts out]
Andrew: Her eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad. Her hair is as dark as a blackboard. I wish she was mine, she’s really divine. The hero who conquered the…
Micah: Hey, Andrew.
Andrew: Oh, Micah. [laughs nervously] Hey, what’s going on?
Micah: What are you doing there, buddy?
Andrew: Oh, nothing. It’s just I found some poetry online, I thought I might read it. You know, check it out, because it’s, you know, coming up on Valentine’s Day and all, I just thought I might get in the romantic mood.
Micah: Well, that wouldn’t happen to be a valentine for anyone in particular, would it?
Andrew: [laughs nervously] Oh, no. No, that was just – I was just, you know, brushing up on some poetry, just in case, you know, I found someone.
Micah: Ah, sure you were.
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah, but anyway, this is MuggleCast Episode 76, for February 11th, 2007. Awkward!
[Intro music plays]
Andrew: J.K. Rowling has said that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is her favorite. What do you guys think about that?
Ben: Oh, my gosh. O-M-G.
Eric: It’s good enough for me, it really is.
Laura: What a concrete statement.
Ben: What did she think of Order of the Phoenix? I mean, a lot of people didn’t like that book, so. Did she think it was her favorite? I don’t remember.
Andrew: Didn’t Jo – what was Jo’s favorite book? Prior to Book 7.
Laura: Half-Blood Prince…
Andrew: Did she tell us?
Laura: …I think.
Kevin: Oh, was it?
Andrew: Was it Half-Blood Prince?
Laura: I think so.
Eric: When asked that question, I think even on her site, she replies, “It’s usually the most recent one you’ve written.” But she did say this time around, and she has said in the past, that she was particularly happy when she finished writing Prisoner of Azkaban. And that’s what she compared this happiness to, only she said this one was greater.
Andrew: Ah, okay. Because, yeah, I was going to say, after every book, wouldn’t you call that book your favorite? Maybe I’m nuts…
Ben: Well, when I read it I always do…
Eric: Well, yeah, she’s said that…
Andrew: Except for Book 4, because she wasn’t happy with Book 4.
Eric: Right.
Ben: But that was one of my most favorite, actually.
Laura: Yeah, same.
Kevin: Yeah, I liked Book 4, yeah.
Eric: Yeah, she still did a really good job.
Andrew: Yeah. Well, welcome, everyone, to the show. It’s another week of MuggleCast and, Ben, you’re finally back.
Ben: Yeah. You know…
Andrew: Thank…
Ben: …that little special episode was my idea, and I wasn’t even on it.
Andrew: Yeah. [laughs]
Ben: Yeah, so I’m sad.
Andrew: Half of us were saying, “No, let’s not do it,” and you and, I guess someone else, were saying, [cheesy voice] “Lets do it. Hey!” We’ve got a lot to discuss on today’s show, including some more Deathly Hallows discussion with the release date and everything, and we’ve got a lot of voicemails. So, I’m Andrew Sims.
Ben: I’m Ben Schoen.
Kevin: I’m Kevin Steck.
Eric: I’m Eric Scull.
Laura: And I’m Laura Thompson.
[Intro music continues to play]
News
Andrew: Micah Tannenbaum is standing by in the MuggleCast News Center with the past week’s top Harry Potter news stories. Micah!
Micah: The big news this week, Jo updated several sections of her official site. The biggest update was in her diary section, where she shared her thoughts on finishing the seventh novel. She went on to say that Deathly Hallows is her favorite book of the series. And in the rumors section, she cleared up why the announcement made last week didn’t sound so happy. Lastly, Jo made two updates to her FAQ section, one addressing what the two other titles she considered for Book 7 were, and another refusing to tell us what “Deathly Hallows” means, as it would give away too much of the story.
And although most fans were not expecting one, a lawyer for J.K. Rowling’s literary agency confirmed earlier this week that Deathly Hallows would not be released in an e-book format. The previous six Potter novels were not released as e-books, either. Concerns for releasing a legal e-book include online piracy and the, “desire for readers to experience the books on paper.”
This Sunday’s edition of the New York Times featured a review of MuggleNet.com’s What Will Happen In Harry Potter 7. You can read the full review online now. There is also a small article on the online fandom, including a blurb about MuggleCast, that will accompany the review.
MuggleNet visitor Daniel recently had the opportunity to speak with Mary Grandpre, the US book illustrator, for his school. In the interview Mary talks about her thoughts on Deathly Hallows. She says:
“I’m anxious for this to be the last book as much as I’ve enjoyed the journey. It’s nice to kind of wrap it up and celebrate it as a whole and to just kind of look back and take a deep breath and go, “Whew! That was quite a ride!”
The 2007 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards nominations have been announced, and the Potter series is up for the “Favorite Book” category. It is competing against How to Eat Fried Worms, Island of the Blue Dolphins, and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. Voting will commence March 5th on Nickelodeon’s website, and Justin Timberlake will be hosting this year’s ceremony live on March 31st.
Wrapping up book news, Half-Blood Prince has been named the most borrowed book in Scotland.
To movie news, the February/March issue of “The Saddle Club” features a new interview with Rupert Grint, where he talks about the sixth film, the fandom, and recent rumors concerning Emma Watson.
New photos of Tom Felton, Matthew Lewis, an MSNBC preview of Order of the Phoenix with a few new shots, and more promotional pics in high-resolution are now available over on MuggleNet.com.
MSNBC has posted a brief interview with production designer Stuart Craig, where he reveals some interesting info about the changing sets throughout the years.
He also says that work for Half-Blood Prince is already underway; “It has been impressive and beautiful and poignant. So I’m looking forward to doing that.” He is also eager to start reading Deathly Hallows.
Finally, The Times Online and The Observer have both released new interviews with Daniel Radcliffe.
Of particular interest to book fans, The Observer website provides an interesting experience Dan had with Jo during one of her Order of the Phoenix set visits. He said:
“Jo came down to the set at one point and I said, ‘Oh hello, why are you here today?’ And she said, ‘Oh I just needed a break from the book – Dumbledore’s giving me a lot of trouble.’ And he said, ‘But isn’t he dead?’ And Jo went on to say, ‘Well, yeah, but it’s more complex…’ And he said briskly, ‘Okay, I’m not gonna ask anything else!'”
That’s all the news for this February 11th, 2007 edition of MuggleCast. Happy Valentine’s Day! Back to the show.
Ben’s Take on the Release Date
Andrew: All right. Thank you, Micah. Okay, so Ben, we have not had a chance to get your thoughts on the release date, yet.
Ben: Well…
Andrew: However, I want to – what?
Ben: Go ahead. Go ahead.
Andrew: What? When you found out that morning, you were very upset.
Ben: Yeah, I just didn’t get it. Because funnily – funny enough, the day before that, I was talking with Jamie online, and we were talking about the summer, what’s going on, and he said – he told me, “I don’t see very many Harry Potter events past this summer,” and I was like, “Oh, so Book 7 isn’t a big event?” Because, you know, I figured 2008, and he said, “Well, she still could release it this summer,” and I told him, “I am 500 percent sure…”
[Andrew and Kevin laugh]
Ben: “…she will not release the book this summer.” This was on January 31st. February 1st, I wake up in the morning, and I get a call from Emerson.
[Andrew and Kevin continue to laugh]
Ben: [imitating Emerson] “Dude, the book’s coming out Feb – uh, July 21st.” So I was like, “You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s no way.”
[Andrew laughs]
Ben: So I get on MuggleNet…
[Kevin laughs]
Ben: …I see Jamie’s made the post. And yeah, then I sent an e-mail saying, “This has to be some kind of joke.”
[Laura laughs]
Ben: Because like, I don’t know, it’s sort of like, it’s like your – your number is called early, you know what I mean?
Andrew: Mhm. Well, jeez…
Ben: This isn’t supposed to happen.
Andrew: …especially when – I know you and Jamie are very competitive, so I’m sure you’re not going to live that one down any time soon.
Eric: So…
Ben: He actually hasn’t rubbed it in yet. I’m surprised.
Eric: Huh.
Andrew: Oh, really? [laughs]
Eric: So Ben, were you interested in – yeah, did you want a 2008 release?
Ben: Yes.
Eric: Yeah, so that’s what you were kind of hoping for?
Ben: Mhmm. I just didn’t think it…
Andrew: Are you excited, though, Ben?
Ben: It’s sort of bittersweet. I mean, I think it’s bittersweet for everybody, because we don’t want to see the series end, but at the same time – you know, I’m eager to see the story, to see what happens and all that good stuff.
Andrew: I did want to point out, though, that on Episode 50 – and some people pointed this out to me, but I thought they – everyone had it wrong, and he was talking about Harry dying in Book 6, he’s going to – or, Book 7, he’s going to eat 50 sausages. Jamie actually said on Episode 50, that if [laughs] the book comes out in summer 2007, he would eat 50 jumbo sausages or something, I forget the direct quote.
Laura: Yeah, that’s right.
Ben: Did you listen to it?
Andrew: I didn’t listen to it, but I read the transcript just to make sure.
Eric: Wait…
Andrew: And, so, he definitely said that, so [laughs] I don’t know what his plan is. He hasn’t brought this up to any one of us, so I think he’s maybe hoping everyone forgot…
Ben: Also…
Andrew: …or he forgot.
Ben: …looking back into some of the shows, those of you who were at the live show in LA, or you who watched the video or whatever, would someone please try to find – I guess I said that if the book comes out this summer, that I’d eat 72 inches of Subway, so…
[Kevin laughs]
Laura: [laughs] Yeah.
Eric: That’s why Jamie hasn’t been on these shows. He’s been hiding, hoping that everyone forgets, which is also why we made sure to announce it in the announcements of the show.
Andrew: Right. Yeah, actually, the transcript for that show still isn’t up yet for some reason. But, yeah, so, you know, hopefully we’ll have Jamie on next week. By the way, I know we keep promising Jamie’s going to come back and…
[Ben laughs]
Andrew: …we keep getting e-mails about Jamie not coming back, or some people think that we fired him or got rid of him just because he’s been gone away – or he’s been away for a few weeks, and that’s not true at all.
[Kevin laughs]
Ben: We wish.
[Andrew laughs]
Ben: Just kidding. Just kidding. We love Jamie.
The Marble Bust
Andrew: That’s not true at all. Jamie’s still alive and well. He just had, has had some things to do. I know, you know, a lot of you guys like Jamie, but he’ll be back, so don’t worry about him. But, moving along. Laura, last week, we recorded the show, I brought up a theory to you about…
Laura: That’s right.
Andrew: …why Jo wrote on the marble bust, and I don’t know why we didn’t come up with this on the show…
Laura: I have no clue.
Andrew: …but I suggested, and you supported, maybe Jo did it to make it – Jo wrote it on the marble bust to reveal the title to the world. She was hoping she didn’t have to make an announcement on the site. She just wanted this to be her clever way to announce it to the world.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: What do you guys think about that? Laura?
Laura: I thought it was a really good idea because, when you think about it, why would she have done that thinking that it wouldn’t leak out? I mean, seriously. So, I think it would have been a very humble, and yet personable, way to announce the release, or announce that the book was finished.
Andrew: I agree.
Kevin: Yeah, that would be really cool.
Andrew: It also may answer why there was no big announcement on her website, because she was planning on the big announcement to be from the hotel.
Ben: I don’t really understand that.
Laura: What would have happened to stop that, though?
Andrew: But, well, yeah. Here’s the other thing: The Sun didn’t post this, or report on the story, until the day the book release date was announced. So, I’m thinking that they somehow found out about it, and maybe they tried to clear it with Jo’s lawyers or something, and they said, “Wait until we announce it officially.” What do you guys think about all this?
Ben: Or – I’m just – I just think that she wrote that on there for the heck of it. You know, just to sort of commemorate, that type of thing. I don’t know.
Andrew: Yeah, but why wouldn’t anyone notice…
Ben: The occasion.
Andrew: …until three weeks later?
Ben: Now, is this in the hotel? This is in the room, isn’t it?
Andrew: Yeah.
Ben: Well, I don’t know, maybe someone thought it was a joke.
Andrew: Probably – I guess. I mean, it was written on like, the back of it, from the way it looked. Eric?
Eric: Okay, I think it’s particularly significant, though, that it was the bust of Hermes – the Greek god Hermes, because I’m reading – well, just for fun, I went on Wiki and looked up Hermes, and it said he’s the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, as well as shepherds and cowherds of all ages and wit, of literature and poets. So, he’s like the god of literature and poets and crossing boundaries, and surely, the Harry Potter series, if it’s done one thing, it’s broken all the records.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: Crossing boundaries.
Andrew: Well, there is a couple of funny things here. Actually, some visitors on MuggleNet posted on the MuggleNet comments about what they think about this, and one user, muggleatuniv wrote that – she pointed out the Hermes reference, too. She says that “he was a messenger between the gods and humans, and now the messengers between J.K.R and us. He invented fire, and here’s the most important clue: Hermes also served as a psycho pomp, or an escort to the dead, to help them find their way to the afterlife, the underworld in the Greek myths,” and then she goes on to say, “I believe that some of our theories have just been proved. Moreover, he was the son of Zeus, to whom he was extremely loyal.” So, it’s interesting, but when you think about it was – she didn’t know, going into this room, that there was going to be a marble bust of Hermes in this room.
Ben: Hold on, though. Hold on, though. Why would she be writing in a hotel room to begin with?
Andrew: Well, we sort of talked about this last week. I mean, she’s written outside of her own home a lot, and some suggested that since it – we didn’t talk about this last week, actually – since it is relatively close to the café she started writing the books in, she wanted to write it – or finish writing it – in an area that was close to the café. And obviously she probably wouldn’t have been able to go to the café without covering herself up and getting noticed. Oh, plus that café doesn’t exist anymore, that too. [laughs]
Eric: Yeah, that could be why.
Andrew: It’s now a Chinese restaurant. I mean, so unless she wanted to go get some fortune cookies and whatever else they have there.
Ben: Well, I don’t think that – I don’t think she went to that room just because – she chose this hotel because it has a marble bust of Hermes. I don’t think that proves any theories. Sorry.
Laura: No.
Eric: Well, there is a voicemail. There is a voicemail on this.
Andrew: It is a coincidence; however, she might have gotten the idea to write on the marble bust because she saw that it was Hermes. I’m sure it’s probably labeled or something, I would think, So, she could have been like, “Hm, Hermes is the messenger god.”
Ben: Or she’s pretty smart, she could probably have known…
Laura: Well, he probably recognized it.
Ben: Yeah, she might recognize it. I don’t know, Andrew.
Andrew: Or recognized it. Whatever. I don’t know if she had a picture of him in her head.
Room 652
Andrew: Another interesting fact, though. She was in room 652, and if you’re not reading the outline of the show we have, do you guys know what is significant about 652?
Laura: The number of pages in…
Andrew: Number of pages in Half-Blood Prince. That’s a little fun fact for you.
Eric: Is that UK or US?
Laura: US.
Andrew: US. It’s US.
Eric: Yeah. Well, then…
Andrew: Interesting. Again, probably a complete coincidence. Some people were like, “Oooh, 652! That must mean that’s how many pages there are going to be in the book.”
[Kevin laughs]
Andrew: Well, it’s not like she – when she books the room, she was like, “Okay, I think I am going to have this many pages.”
Ben: No, she booked 625 through 660 just in case.
[Everyone laughs]
Ben: So she can move to the right room.
Kevin: She knows after it’s typed up how many pages it’s going to be.
Andrew: Right. [laughs]
Eric: Yeah, it all goes with type setting and all sorts of – they won’t know that for a little while, yet. For sure.
Andrew: Yeah, and of course Micah asked and Jo…
Ben: Delivered.
Deathly Hallows is Jo’s Favorite
Andrew: I completely screwed the – yeah, Jo delivered, yes. She made a news update in her diary saying that Deathly Hallows is her favorite. That’s good.
Eric: I think she answered all of us, actually. I think she was talking directly to all of us.
Ben: [imitaing Micah] Thanks! Thanks, Micah!
Eric: She was really – she really – last week and the week before, or on the mini-episode, I think we kind of agreed that it was kind of eerily cold, or Jo’s actual wording was absent in the explanation, or explanation was lacking in the date and things like this, but now she updated what? Her diary, a bunch of rumors, some trash bin things…
Andrew: Yeah. Well, she directly addressed why it wasn’t a big announcement. She didn’t say exactly why, but she said that “any brevity in the announcement was due to the fact that I was busy editing.”
Eric: Yeah, and then you…
Andrew: And she said she was very excited about the release date as well.
Eric: She took our concerns and really, truly did, I think, address them appropriately and fittingly as well.
Balmoral Hotel on Princes Street
Andrew: Yeah, another visitor of MuggleNet pointed out that – now, this, again, could be another coincidence, but it’s all kind of fun facts – about the location of the Balmorel hotel. It’s on a street called Princes Street. This poster on MuggleNet, ArtemisLlicos wrote, “I’m a bit surprised that nobody has taken Princes Street to its next logical step. That word is a plural, folks. We know from the sixth book that Snape may fancy himself a prince, but he isn’t really one. So could this mean that we should be looking for another prince in Deathly Hallows, and this time, he is the genuine?”
Kevin: No. [laughs]
Ben: No! No! No!
Eric: No, no, no. I agree with Ben.
[Laura laughs]
Ben: Stop! Stop making all of these connections, please!
[Everyone laughs]
Ben: They’re cool, but don’t think they’re real, though. I mean, if something happens, it’s only a coincidence.
Eric: There are only so many… Right. Say Jo did mange to either plan on the bust of Hermes, or the room number, or just go to the hotel because it’s on Princes Street, I think it’s only logical that one, and maybe both – the question is, how many, not all of them could be true. Not all of them can be intended. I really don’t think there’s a way that Jo would have known that a statue of Hermes would be in room 652. And I don’t know that she would say, “I need room 652,” and happen to find the statue of Hermes there, and the truth is she could have just gone to the hotel because it was on Princes Street, or she could have just gone to a hotel looking for a bust of Hermes. You don’t know.
[Ben laughs]
Eric: I mean it could be one…
Ben: Or she could’ve gone because she…
Laura: Or it wasn’t any of them.
Ben: …felt like going there.
Eric: Or it wasn’t any of them, exactly. I mean what are the odds of Princes Street, room 652, and a bust of Hermes? I mean, yes the connections are brilliant, but I really, really want to stress that J.K.R. is, or at least I think so, human and incapable of that much.
Andrew: I don’t know these could be, sorry, Ben, but I do think maybe the marble bust could be a little hint or a little suggestion – a little suggestion of what to expect just because…
Ben: You’re wrong.
Andrew: Maybe she got the idea from seeing…
[Kevin laughs]
Andrew: …the marble bust. Okay, well, yeah, coming from the guy who was 500% sure that the book wasn’t coming out in 2007.
Ben: Oh, shut up! Shut up!
[Andrew laughs]
Andrew: I’m going to be using that one for a while, by the way.
Ben: Dude, go back to the previous shows. There was one show before that where I said the book will be released…
Andrew: Well, yeah, yeah
Ben: …June of 2007, so I was pretty darn close. Actually there’s another one I said, July 15, and then you made fun of me, you were like, [uses a silly voice] “Two days after the movie?” And then look at it, a week after the movie. In your face, Andrew.
[Andrew laughs]
Andrew: I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Ben. So there you go, some little food for thought there, and I still stand by my publicity stunt theory. Maybe not publicity stunt, but a unique way of announcing that the book is finished, something just went awry. Clearly.
Laura: Yeah, I think that’s a definite possibility.
Announcements
Andrew: We have a few announcements now. We want to remind everyone that Ben, Micah, Jamie and I will all be at Enlightening 2007 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from July 12th to July 15th. We’re going to be doing a live podcast there and also we’re going to be doing a special workshop on how to create your own podcast. We’ll be talking to everyone about how we create MuggleCast on a week-to-week basis, which, trust me, is not easy, and it’s going to be a lot of fun so we encourage everyone to go to Enlightening2007.org. It’s a family – it’s a unique Harry Potter conference because it’s designed for families. Adults can go and bring their kids, and there’s going to be different areas of the conference for kids, and adults…
Ben: And what dates are those again?
Andrew: …and mixing. July 12th to the 15th. And we want to remind everyone to Digg us on Digg.com/Podcasts and to also vote for us once a month at Podcast Alley. Once again, we’re doing well on Podcast Alley, so we thank everyone who has been voting for us at both websites, and you can find links to vote for us at MuggleCast.com. And Ben, we haven’t done that for this in a while, MuggleNet.com’s – is there a new title now? I think I saw?
Ben: No.
Andrew: On Borders?
Ben: Well, it’s called the Deathly – Official Deathly – Unofficial Deathly Hallows Analysis.
Andrew: Not just that but it’s not, it’s not Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Falls in Love and How the Adventure Will Finally End. Didn’t they change it?
Ben: No.
Andrew: On the Borders thing, it had a different title, but okay. So, Ben, there’s going to be a big article in the New York Times this week – Sunday.
Ben: Yeah, this Sunday, there’s a book review for us. It’s awesome. Go out and buy the book, please. It’s great, the New York Times agrees with us, I think; hopefully, they should. But also, I did an interview with the New York Times earlier this week. It’s going to be on their podcast, which I’m searching right now, to see if it’s on there or not. See I go – I’m on the New York Times podcast this week. The New York Times Book Review podcast, excuse me. There is – it’s about a five to ten minute interview, or so. I talk about what MuggleNet is and things like that, so you can go check me out on the New York Times. Yeah. Cool stuff.
Listener Rebuttal: Dudley’s Worst Memory
Andrew: All right, so that’s that. We have a rebuttal to get to now. This is a bout Dudley having his magical abilities. We had talked about this a little bit last week and I wanted to talk about it a little bit more because I started rereading Half-Blood Prince the other day, and an e-mailer, actually someone, a few people pointed out in an interview, what Jo had to say about Dudley, and is there more to Dudley than what meets the eye, and she replied:
“No. What you see is what you get. I’m happy to say that he’s definitely a character without much back-story. He’s just Dudley. In the next book, Half-Blood Prince, is the least that you see the Dursleys, you see them quite briefly, you see them a bit more in the final book, but you don’t get a lot of Dudley in Book 6, very few lines. I am sorry if there are Dudley fans out there, but I think you need to look at your priorities if it is Dudley that you are looking forward to.”
And then she laughs – she laughs about it. So, from this, what I gather, and tell me what you guys think, basically what she’s saying there is Dudley – the Dursleys don’t play a big role in Book 7, and that really means that there really couldn’t be more to Dudley.
Laura: Yeah. Well, I don’t really know that we won’t learn something more about the Dursleys, because we’re supposed to, at least about Petunia. But, I think that pretty much confirms that what we see is what we get with Dudley. He’s just kind of a stupid bully…that’s pretty much it.
Eric: And I do want to say, I’m sure there were rebuttals and things, but when I was – when J.K.R. updated her FAQs, I noticed that she had already pre-answered that Petunia will not show magical ability at all in the series. She actually did deny that.
Laura: Mhm.
Eric: So, I was…
Laura: She did.
Eric: I neglected to see or hear about that until last episode, so that’s fixed now. I will no longer speculate…
Andrew: Yeah. And Laura, I believe it was you – well, I want to talk about a little bit more. Laura, I believe it was you, last week, you pointed out a quote in the beginning of Half-Blood Prince when Dumbledore is visiting with the Dursleys.
Laura: Right.
Andrew: We were – we didn’t have the exact quote, but I was rereading it and it still strikes me as…
Laura: It’s still weird, isn’t it?
Andrew: … hinting that – yeah, let me read it. Dumbledore says, “The best that can be said is that he (Harry) has at least escaped the appalling damage that you have inflicted upon the unfortunate boy sitting between you.” Both Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon looked around instinctively, as though expecting to see someone other than Dudley squeezed between them. ‘Us – mistreat Dudders? What d’you -?’ began Uncle Vernon furiously, but Dumbledore raising his finger for silence, a silence which fell as though he had struck Uncle Vernon dumb.” So…
Ben: I think…
Andrew: What do you…
Ben: I think that the damage that was done to Dudley – is that what you were getting ready?
Andrew: Yeah, yeah.
Ben: I think it has a lot to do with the way they’ve spoiled him and the way they’ve sheltered him. I don’t know if there’s any – I mean, there could be something deeper than that, but at face value, that’s what it looks like, that the fact that they’ve sort of…
Andrew: But…
Ben: You know what I mean?
Eric: That was very well said, Ben.
Andrew: I think what’s interesting is that Dumbledore says that he has at least escaped the appalling damage, meaning he got…because they wouldn’t…Harry…he got out of the Dursley’s trying to hide that he was a wizard. Whereas, if he didn’t escape, he wouldn’t have been spoiled.
Laura: Yeah, but couldn’t…
Ben: Well, no. I think – I think it means…
Laura: …escape also refer to the fact that they were terrible to him, but they spoiled Dudley? And so this way…
Ben: Yeah, sort of like that. The way I think it is is that the way they’re talking about Harry is that through Harry’s hardships and being treated like crap, basically, he’s learned that life isn’t easy and that you have to persevere in order to succeed, and he doesn’t take anything for granted when Dudley, on the other hand, takes a lot for granted.
Andrew: That’s true.
Ben: But he could be magical. I don’t know. So…
Andrew: That’s true. True. Yeah, although I really I think what Jo does say – not seeing much of the Dursleys – pretty much all but gives away that we’re not going to be seeing something big like that going on. But like you said, Laura, still a big revelation about Aunt Petunia. So…
Laura: Yeah, we haven’t really heard anything about her, so there’s got to be something.
Listener Rebuttal: Seeing Dementors
Andrew: It’s strange. It’s strange. And then also, Brandon, 15, of Fresno, wrote in about Dudley. He says:
“In the latest episode, it was debated if Dudley’s worst fear is if he is a wizard or a Squib or if he has done magic, but this cannot be possible because only wizards and Squibs…
Kevin: Yeah, that’s true.
Andrew: …can see Dementors and Dudley could not see them in an alleyway.” Good point.
Ben: Is that necessarily true, though?
Laura: Yeah, I don’t think it was ever specifically said that Dudley could see…
Ben: Said that you have to be a wizard…
Andrew: That…
Laura: Well, no.
Ben: Because maybe you have to believe they exist or something.
Andrew: That he couldn’t see them?
Laura: No, I think so, because when they were in court…
Ben: Maybe you have to acknowledge the magical world.
Laura: Fudge…
Ben: Maybe that’s what it is.
Laura: Maybe.
Ben: Because Squibs can’t do magic, but they can still see them, so they’re as useful as a Muggle. Or wait! Wait! Squibs can’t see them.
Laura: Yeah, they can.
Ben: They can’t. No, they can’t. What’s her name…
Laura: Didn’t…
Ben: Mrs. Figg couldn’t see them.
Laura: I thought she said she could.
Ben: No, I thought – she was freaking out because she couldn’t.
Laura: Or maybe she was lying.
Ben: No, no. Don’t you remember? She was freaking out because – she said, “I know what they are.” Wasn’t she?
Laura: Yeah, but it seems like when they were in court, Fudge was being kind of disparaging towards Squibs and he said, “Can Squibs even see Dementors?” And she got very flustered and she was like, “Yeah, we can.” So, I don’t know if she was making it up to cover up Harry’s case.
Ben: Right, but she was lying, though. She was lying there. But I’m saying – I’m saying, right after the incident happened, right after the incident happened in Chapter 1…
Andrew: I’m looking at the Lexicon. It says that they can’t see Dementors.
Laura: Okay. Cleared up.
Eric: Okay, but yeah, the – unless J.K.R. cleared it up, I think the book actually leaves it open for us to think because it doesn’t necessarily say that Figg couldn’t see the Dementors, but we get the impression from her…
Ben: Yes it – I think it’s clarified in… I think she makes it clear in the opening chapter – or opening two chapters of Order of the Phoenix that they can’t. Because Arabella Figg – I think Harry asks her. Andrew, do you have a copy of the book near you?
Andrew: Order of the Phoenix?
Eric: Well, no, that’s the confusing thing…
Ben: Yeah.
Eric: When she was asked to describe them…
Andrew: Not near me.
Eric: …she couldn’t. She did rather badly, rather poorly in the courtroom – of describing Dementors, but she told Fudge, the Wizengamot that Squibs could see them, and maybe they could, but maybe it’s an instance, maybe it’s a case of the fact that Figg didn’t. Maybe she was just too far down the street to see Dementors, but normally Squibs can see Dementors.
Ben: No, but she didn’t know how they moved.
Laura: Yeah, but…
Ben: No, but she couldn’t describe how they move, though. That was the thing. She couldn’t describe their motions when they move.
Eric: Well no, she did, didn’t she?
Ben: No, she incorrectly described it. She said, “I saw a Dementor running,” or something like that.
Eric: Oh, and Dementors glide.
Laura: Yeah.
Ben: Yeah.
Laura: But didn’t she – whenever the whole thing was over, didn’t she come running up and say, “Come on, get up before they come back.”
Kevin: Because…
Laura: Or something?
Kevin: You can feel them.
Laura: How would she have known what was going on if she couldn’t see?
Ben: Well, because if – if they were gone, Harry wouldn’t be…
Kevin: Right.
Ben: …just sitting there. You know? And yeah, she would feel their strain that they put on your body or whatever.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Back to the original question, but this also raises the question, could – I mean, it’s hard to think that Dudley would pretend to not be able to see them, but it was never specifically stated anyway that he couldn’t see them, right?
Kevin: Yeah.
Andrew: He was just – he was just saying, “What’s that? What’s that?” Right?
Laura: No. It wasn’t.
Kevin: It was just implied that he was feeling something, but he didn’t know what it was coming from, or where it was coming from.
Ben: Well…
Eric: Yeah.
Ben: He obviously just felt something. I think that they can’t see them.
Eric: He felt like he would never be happy again.
Listener Rebuttal: Misquoted
Andrew: Yeah. Okay, well, guess that answers that. We have a rebuttal now from Courtney, 15, of England. She writes:
“Hi, MuggleCast. I was listening to Episode 75 and you were discussing a passage from Chapter 1 of ‘Goblet of Fire’. You read out the passage and quoted Wormtail as saying, ‘If we proceeded – If I murder…’ I looked back at this passage and Wormtail actually says, ‘If I curse…’ Just thought I’d mention it, as this gives a whole new meaning to your discussion, as Wormtail is most likely talking about putting the Imperius Curse on Crouch Senior. Love the show, you guys are great. Courtney.”
I don’t know how we got the wrong quote in there.
Laura: It almost seems like it did say murder.
Kevin: Anyone have books near them? [laughs]
Laura: Just from remembering reading the book. Maybe I’m wrong, but…
Kevin: I don’t, either.
Andrew: Okay so, we looked into this and the English – the U.S. version is murder, but since she lives in England, it says, “if I curse,” apparently.
Kevin: No, but…
Andrew: So, that’s…
Kevin: Maybe it’s…
Andrew: I mean, does curse mean murder?
Kevin: …the type of curse they’re implying.
Laura: No.
Andrew: In England?
Laura: I don’t think so.
Kevin: Maybe prior to that they implied…
Andrew: Hmmm.
Kevin: …Killing Curse and, therefore, they didn’t have to say…
Laura: Yeah. That’s true.
Ben: What kind of Harry Potter fans are we? We don’t even own the U.K. versions!
[Kevin laughs]
Laura: I do.
Andrew: I know.
Laura: But – well, I could go get it. [laughs]
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: Do you want me to?
Eric: Yeah, I own the U.K. version, but it’s – I don’t think it’s with me.
Andrew: Okay, well, there’s a little interesting tidbit for everyone. Not sure what that means, but interesting stuff that these translations can give away.
Andrew’s Bad Pronounciation
Andrew: All right, now, as everyone might remember, a few weeks ago we started our Deathly Hallows [pronounces as “hollows”] theory contest, where we asked everyone to send in your Deathly Hallows [mispronounces again]…
Ben: Andrew! Andrew, Andrew, Andrew.
Andrew: What?
Ben: It’s, “Hallows.”
Laura: Yeah.
Ben: Not, “Hollows.”
Andrew: Hollows. [mispronounces again] Hollows. [and again]
Laura: Hallows.
Eric: Thank you, Ben!
Ben: Hallows.
Eric: Thank you, Ben!
Andrew: Hallows.
Ben: Hallows.
Andrew: Hallows.
Ben: You’ve…
Andrew: Deathly Hallows.
Ben: You’ve been calling it, “Hollows,” since…
Andrew: Because I like calling it, “Hollows.”
Ben: …I can’t remember. Well, yeah.
Andrew: Can I change it?
Ben: Not even…
Andrew: Can I get everyone to start Deathly Hollows?
Ben: Yeah, that…
Andrew: So, it’s, “Hallows”? Death – Deathly Hallows. That’s confusing.
[Kevin laughs]
Winners of the Deathly Hallows Theories Contest
Andrew: So, here they are now, our favorite Deathly Hallows…
[Kevin laughs]
Andrew: …theory contest winner thingers.
[Music from Goblet of Fire movie soundtrack]
[Audio]: Hey, MuggleCast! It’s Karen, from Raymond, Ohio, and I have a Deathly Hallows theory. On page 604 of the U.S. hardcover edition of Half-Blood Prince, Snape says to Harry, “You dare use my own spells against me, Potter? It was I who invented them. I, the Half-Blood Prince! And you’d turn my inventions on me, like your filthy father?” This could mean that James used Snape’s old Potions book to hurt him in the sense that he almost killed Snape more than once. I think we will probably learn more about this in Book 7. I absolutely adore the show and, Jamie, you’re my favorite. Bye!
[Audio]: Hello, MuggleCast. I’m Cici, 13, from Massachusetts, and I have an answer to your book, Deathly Hallows, theory contest that you announced in Episode 73. My theory is that I was looking online, and I found that hallows is most of the time associated with All Hallow’s Eve, more commonly known as Halloween. On this time – and the theory, of course, originated in Scotland, Britain, Ireland, which is where Hogwarts is – it is that time that magic is at its worst and most potent and magical. That makes me think that maybe Voldemort has some special spells and evil that he needs to complete only on that day. Maybe he was going to make his last Horcrux on that day. I was just wondering what you thought. It also makes sense that maybe on Halloween, that would be when the final battle was. Bye!
[Audio]: Hey, MuggleCast. This is Sam Matea from California, and I’m just calling in about the contest. My thoughts on the ending of 7 – Book 7 – will be that it will come down to Harry, and Snape, and Malfoy. And Voldemort, having let all of his followers out of Azkaban, will try and take over Hogwarts. He will succeed, probably killing some people in his path, but he will succeed, and then it will come down to a match-up between Malfoy and his father. Now, I know this is slightly unlikely, but I have a feeling that he has a lot of hatred for his father. Then, it will come down to Snape, Harry, and Voldemort. Snape will eventually go over to Voldemort, pretend he’s on his side, disable Voldemort’s wand, Harry will then use it, that will cancel out the Priori Incantatem effect, or the other wand, as you were saying on the show, and Harry will be able to defeat him, and after that, I don’t know what will happen. The rest of the Order will be fighting off the other people as it goes along. That’s my thoughts. Thanks for listening. If you want to e-mail me. Thank you!
[Audio]: Hey, guys. I’m calling in for the Deathly Hallows theory thing. My theory is a familiar one, but I have a different take on it. My theory is that the Hallows are the souls that Voldemort has killed, and I think it is because of the foreign translation of the title where, instead of Hallows, they use Saints. And I think of it as All Saints Day, All Souls’ Day. I think that these people will somehow help Harry on his quest, maybe guide him to special places, or tell him something about a weakness of Voldemort’s, or whatever. And I don’t think that people will come back to life, but I do think that somehow they will get a hold of him. And, yeah. So, love the show. Keep up the great work. Bye-bye!
[Audio]: Hey, MuggleCast. This is Sumay from Minnesota calling in with a Deathly Hallows theory. I think that Deathly Hallows may be referring to an old church in London called All Hallows-by-the-Tower. I think so because when Harry and Dumbledore are leaving Slughorn, they stop at an old church to apparate. That’s pg. 75 of the hardcover U.S. edition of Half-Blood Prince. I think that this is one of the foreshadows or hints. All Hallows-by-the-Tower could be either the resting place of one of the Horcruxes or the site of another significant event. Okay. That’s all. Thanks. Bye!
[Audio]: Hi, MuggleCast! I have a couple of theories for Deathly Hallows. “Hallows” means “to respect,” so maybe somebody respecting a certain person or a thing could die. Like, for example, Bellatrix. She respects Voldemort a lot, and she might die, like have a big death scene in Deathly Hallows because of this respect and the loyalty that comes with it. I have another theory, too. There is – this is kind of obvious, but Deathly Hallows could be referring to Voldemort himself, because part of his soul is still in his body, and the soul might be the holy object, and he is obviously deathly. Thanks for listening. Bye!
Audio: Hey MuggleCast. I’m Jason from Georgia and I’m calling to tell you my view on Deathly Hallows. The prefix “hallows” in science means “salt” and I know that witches are prevented from performing magic if there is a ring of salt around them. Salt can also be harmful to witches as well. This could fit because the title of Book 7 has the prefix “hallow” in “hollows”- or, “hallows,” obviously, and salt can be deadly to witches. It’s just a theory. Take it for what it’s worth. Laura Mallory is definitely a shame on the state of Georgia. Pickles rock. Thanks! Jason.
Audio: Hi, this is Crystal, 13 from Arlington Heights, Illinois. My theory on The Deathly Hallows is that it’s a kind of cleansing or purification process. I think this is because the definition of “hallow” is to sanctify or consecrate. Right now, Harry is too filled with hate and anger and we know that he would love to defeat Voldemort. Pure, unadulterated love, like the kind that saved him when he was a year old. Thank you! Love you! Bye!
Audio: Hey MuggleCast, this is Jeff from Iowa. This is my theory in response to the contest mentioned in Episode 73. I was recently watching Disney’s Hocus Pocus and there was a line in there that witches cannot set foot on hallowed ground. This got me thinking about how the Deathly Hallows could be a place of hallowed ground. So I did some research. “Hallowed ground” refers to holy ground, generally a place where there has been death or burial grounds. The most common example of hallowed ground in American history is a stretch of battlefields from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to Charlottesville, Virginia, from the American Civil War. If a battlefield, where so much blood was shed, is hallowed ground, is it not plausible that there’s somewhere in the wizarding world where there was a great battle? Perhaps the battlefield of the first war with Grindelwald? If there is such a place, I think Voldemort would be drawn to this place and perhaps conceal a Horcrux. I tend to lean more towards a place where the final battle between Harry and Voldemort will become known as The Deathly Hallows. I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!
Audio: Hi, this – I’m Miranda Marshall from Roseland, Michigan and this is my theory on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I’ve researched many literary references to “hallows” and I found something that might be useful. In The Lord of the Rings trilogy, there is a fictional building called the House of the Kings. The House of the Kings was located in the hallows on the fifth level in the Minas Tirith. This was the burial place for the kings of Gondor. Some theories are also said to be on hallowed ground. This may be the reason for the name in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. According to Dictionary.com, one of the definitions of “hallows” is “to respect or honor greatly; revere.” Perhaps the hallows is the burial site of the four founders. Would they not be considered the “kings and queens” of Hogwarts? They, perhaps, in the wizarding world, are the most respected and honored. This may give us some insight on the Horcruxes. Also, if Voldemort was working for evidence of their personal nature. Also, while Goblet was taking place, I heard that J.K. Rowling made a comment about the placement of the graveyard to Director Mike Newell, saying that “that one is not on Hogwarts grounds.” Is it just me, or does it sound like there’s more than one? That, however, is a quote that I received secondhand. I remember my friend telling it to me a few weeks ago and it supported my theory and I’m still looking for evidence that it actually exists. Thanks!
Audio: Hey MuggleCasters! I’m Trish, 16, from Pennsylvania. I was just calling about the Deathly Hallows theory contest. As I was studying for my English midterm, I had to make flashcards for my vocab words. As I was mindlessly copying them out, I came across the word that stopped me in my tracks. It read “consecrate: to set apart for a specific purpose, to make holy, hallow.” What really interested me was this first part of the definition: “to set apart for a specific purpose.” I did a little research and it turns out that the Israelites first coined this word “holy,” however it didn’t always mean “sacred.” It meant “to separate from the ordinary.” At that moment, everything became limpid. A magic too clear or transparent. Is it at all possible that the “Deathly Hallows” refers to Harry, hallowed, or as the prophecy says, “marked”? I hope you guys are as ardent about this theory as I am, ardent being an adjective meaning “very enthusiastic or impassionated.” Well, it just goes to show; maybe a little vocab isn’t that bad after all. Love you guys!
Audio: Hi, this is Cynthia and I’m from Kentucky and I have been hearing some theories going around about Harry – or that Harry was actually the one who was at Godric’s Hollow on that Halloween night in 1981. After thinking about it, this makes perfect sense to me because when you see The Sorcerer’s Stone movie, it looks like that scene is being witnessed by an on-looker. Yet, in all of the books, they are written in or from Harry’s point of view. And this scene just does not seem to be in Harry’s point of view. But, after thinking about this theory, I think truly it was or has been written from his point of view because the present day Harry used a Time-Turner to return to that night and actually warned his parents that Voldy was coming. Remember, James said, “he’s coming,” like he was not at all surprised that Voldemort was coming. So then James told Harry to get under the invisibility cloak and Harry then witnessed his mother being murdered. This was the hardest thing Harry ever done, but she knew he couldn’t change his mother’s murder because it would change his whole future. After the murders I think that there was some kind of struggle with future Harry and possibly some Death Eaters and that is why the Harry’s house – that is why the Potter’s house was destroyed. After all we have never seen the Avada Kedavra ever destroy a whole house. After that I think that Harry went to the Dumbledore of the past and told him what needed to be done with baby Harry and what had happened to the house, then told him what was going to happen in the future as well. And also at that time he gave Dumbledore the cloak so Dumbledore could give it to the future Harry, in the future at his first year at Hogwarts. Anyway, that is kind of the way I think it is going to happen. So, thank-you very much! Bye!
Audio: Hi MuggleCasters, this is Jessica. I’m sixteen, I’m from St. Louis, Missouri, and I am calling with my own Deathly Hallows theory. So, when developing my theory, I was particularly interested in finding the meaning to the words “deathly hallows.” “Deathly” is something that has the appearance of death and “Hallows” which has no dictionary definition as is. I used “hallow” which as verb form is “to make or set apart as holy”. In my opinion, this has to refer to Horcruxes. Splitting one’s sole resembles death and Voldemort’s Horcruxes are the most sacred thing to him ever. However, I don’t believe the meaning of this title doesn’t stop here. The word “hallows” is used as it was for a reason and this was to refer to the four Hallows of Tuatha de Danaan, which I found on – while researching the four Hallows of the Arthurian Legend. I believe this to be the key to the identity to the four founders’ Horcruxes. The first artifact is the “Pole of Combat,” which is Ravenclaw’s wand, the second “the cauldron of cure,” Hufflepuff’s cup. The third the “Stone of Destiny,” which is the stone in Slytherin’s ring. Finally, we have the “Sword of Light.” However, I don’t think that Gryffindor’s sword is a Horcrux. I think that Gryffindor had a shield that went with that sword and that is where Voldemort put his Horcrux. Lastly, I’d like to add that your discussion about the “Hangman” lead me to one final conclusion. The “Hangman” refers to Harry. However, I am not entirely sure that he is going to die. I think his sacrifice may ultimately be the act of killing Voldemort, in which case his soul will be torn in two. For some this act means nothing, but to Harry it will mean a lot more. So, thanks for listening, I love the show and especially Jamie. Bye!
Audio: Hello, everyone. My name is Amy, and this is my submission for the “one-minute theory.” The more I research the more I believe that “Deathly Hallows” refers to the Horcruxes themselves. And yes, I am basing this on the Arthurian Legend. I know big shocker, right? Well, there is more to it than that. We can’t deny that the Harry Potter series has been linked to King Arthur influences. Chamber of Secrets screams Excalibur. I would like to point out another Arthurian connection that interests me. Taliesin was advisor and chief Harper of King Arthur. But more than that he became obsessed with becoming immortal. He believed that the Hallows of Laugrith were the keys to immortality. When researching Taliesin, I came across several literary works in which Taliesin is a main character. The Dark Is Rising is a five book series by Susan Cooper, published throughout the ’60s and ’70. The books follow a young boy named Will who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he is destined to seek the signs before the final battle with the Lord of the Dark. In these books, signs are a set of six circles quartered by crosses. The six signs are each made of a different material and represent a different element. In the presence of these, the dark is powerless. I know this theory isn’t exactly answering all of the burning questions the fandom has and I know the whole “King Arthur” theory isn’t exactly original, but I do believe that this puts a different spin on it. Let me know what you all think. Bye!
Eric Says Cheers
Andrew: All right, so there you go. Congrats to everyone who had their theory just aired. And don’t forget we want everyone to go to MuggleCast.com and vote for their favorite theory and we’ll giver everyone, lets say two weeks to vote – no, one week to vote and then we will announce the winners on Episode 77. All right Laura, we got some more voicemails this week. [goofy voice] Goodie!
Eric: Okay. Wait, Andrew before you get to the voicemails I am going to go. I have some…
Andrew: Awww, Eric.
Eric: Yeah, I know I was invited to go waterskiing, actually. So, that will…
Andrew: Oh, well, I am glad to know waterskiing is a priority over MuggleCast. That’s good.
Eric: Yeah, and so – you know, I’m just blending in, doing the Kiwi thing so its one…
Andrew: No, really. It’s fine. No, go ahead, go. No, please, don’t worry about it. Go
Eric: Okay, cool. I am Eric Scull, cheers. Bye!
Laura: Let’s get started.
Voicemail: Umbridge Sabotage Lupin-Tonks?
[Audio]: Hey MuggleCast, this is Melanie from North Carolina, and my question is do you think that now that Tonks is getting together with Lupin, do you think that Umbridge will try to sabotage their relationship? Just something to think about. Later, bye!
Ben: No.
Andrew: I don’t think so. Why Ben?
Ben: Why would she care?
Laura; Well, I think the point that she is trying to make is that Tonks is an Auror and Lupin is a werewolf and she has passed all sorts of laws against werewolves, codes and such that make it hard for them to get a job. And I think what Melanie is trying to say is that Umbridge might feel that…
Kevin: Yeah.
Laura: …Tonks might share some privileged information with him and he might, in turn, betray them because he’s a werewolf.
Ben: I don’t think so. I think Lupin’s done enough to align himself with the Order that that really wouldn’t matter. I doubt Umbridge would care.
Laura: I don’t think…
Kevin: I don’t think they have the power to restrict that kind of stuff.
Laura: Yeah. My thing is, I don’t think it has anything to do with the Order. I think it’s just that the Ministry has been so discredited in the last book that no one’s going to give…
Kevin: That’s true, yeah.
Laura: I have to think of a polite way to say this – no one’s going to care what they have to say, essentially. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
Ben: Yeah. It’s sort of, you know – in war, oftentimes the law of the land goes out the window.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Even though this is a love relationship. [laughs]
Voicemail: Will Jo Tie Up Loose Ends?
[Audio]:“Hi, MuggleCast. This is Jess from Florida. In Jo’s recent diary entry, she said, “We will still have much to speculate after Book 7.” I know in the past, she’s contradicted herself by saying that she’s going to tie up all loose ends. I was wondering if she was just trying to make us feel better with our separation anxiety, or if she’s really leaving things open. Thanks, I love your show, and I’m sorry. I’m a little sick, so pardon my sniffles. Okay, bye.”
Andrew: I don’t know how that’s making everyone feel better.
Kevin: Yeah I don’t think…
Laura: No, and I don’t think she’d lie.
Andrew: If you just want to be able to – Yeah, no, she’s definitely not lying. Let’s face it, you can’t close everything. It’s impossible.
Laura: No, I think the point is she’s going to close up all of the huge…
Kevin: Pivotal points.
Laura: Yeah, all of the important stuff. I think that the kind of stuff she’s talking about is still being able to speculate about will be more inconsequential things.
Andrew: Yeah. Well, I still think it’d be cool if she left one – maybe not huge thing – but one thing open that could get a wide amount of speculation.
Laura: A cliffhanger?
Andrew: Not so much a cliffhanger, but just something – she knows what the fans like doing – they obviously love speculating. So, just leave a couple things open that aren’t so small, but could be discussed for a while. I don’t know what exactly.
Laura: Yeah, but again, this is the woman that said she wants to tie it up so that nobody else can ever come back and write a sequel when she’s dead 100 years from now. Or…
Andrew: But you still can. You can write prequels.
Ben: Yeah.
Kevin: Yeah.
Laura: Yeah, but I think she wants to wrap up all the big stuff.
Ben: Prequels to the sequels.
Andrew: Yeah. I think the big stuff will be, but I think – what’s her exact quote?
Laura: I have no clue.
Andrew: She says, “We’ll still have much to speculate about,” so I don’t see Jo leaving just the little things. I think there might be one or two interesting topics to discuss still.
Kevin: Yeah. I think that’s going to be the fact just because it’s impossible to touch every piece of information that she laid out there, you know?
Ben: Yeah, I mean…
Kevin: She kept going back and trying to tie up these loose ends that didn’t flow with the story.
Ben: It just wouldn’t work.
Kevin: Exactly. It’s going to make for a crappy book.
Voicemail: Hallows: A Deathly Cry?
[Audio]: Hi MuggleCast! This is Dana, 14, from Iowa. I was calling in regards to the Deathly Hallows title. I was looking in my dictionary, and I noticed that hallows had two entries: one meaning “to revere or to make holy,” but the other one basically saying it’s “an alternate spelling for hallo,” H-A-L-L-O. So, I looked that up in my dictionary, and I found that it is basically “a cry used in hunting, or a shout or exultation.” And I got to thinking, “deathly cry” and I thought that this might pertain to the voices that Harry and Luna can hear inside or beyond the veil. I was wondering what you think about this. Thanks! Love the show.
Laura: I don’t know. The first thing I think of when I think of “deathly cry” is Lily. Like, whenever Harry hears her screaming. Whenever he’s near the Dementors.
Kevin: Yeah. Yeah, me too.
Laura: I mean, it’s a good guess.
Kevin: It’s possible, but we’re still speculating. I mean, she said it herself that she’s not going to tell us what the meaning of hallows is because…
Andrew: It would give too much away.
Kevin: Yeah.
Ben: Well, imagine if she told us who the Half-Blood Prince was.
Kevin: Right.
Ben: Like – what?!
Laura: Yeah, that would suck.
Ben: I would be more confused than anything.
Laura: But what can a deathly cry do? I mean, pretty much everything we’ve talked about on the show makes sense, but I don’t see what a cry could do.
Kevin: That’s how Harry’s going to kill Voldemort. He’s going to let out a cry.
Laura: [laughs] He’s just going to let out a battle cry.
Kevin: Yeah.
[Andrew laughs]
Kevin: His head is going to explode or something like that.
Andrew: I just hope that Deathly Hallows [mispronounces “hallows”] is…
Ben: Hallows! Hallows, hallows, hallows, hallows, hallows.
Andrew: That’s what I said!
Ben: You said “hollows.”
Kevin: You did say “hollows.”
Andrew: Hallows!
[Laura laughs]
Kevin: There you go.
Andrew: Hallows. Right?
Laura: Yes.
Andrew: Hallows. [laughs] I definitely said it. Whatever. I just hope that the Deathly – [laughs]
[Kevin laughs]
Laura: You Jersey people. You can’t say anything right. [laughs]
Andrew: I’m just hope that Deathly Hallows – get it right?
Laura: Yeah. There you go.
Andrew: [laughs] I’m just going to record a sound clip of it and just edit it in every time – will have a more important significance than Half-Blood Prince because that just seemed like sort of a let down. We were misguided from the beginning when Jo on her website, posted that quote, “He looks like a scraggly, old lion,” or whatever she said, when she was talking about Scrimgeour.
Laura: Why did you feel misled by that?
Kevin: Because people made it out to be something huge.
Andrew: Because people assumed he was the Half-Blood Prince.
Kevin: Yeah.
Laura: Well, that – I mean, that’s – I don’t know.
Andrew: But what I’m trying to say is, Half-Blood Prince…
Laura: I didn’t think it was. That would have been too easy. [laughs]
Andrew: But Half-Blood Prince was – the book helped Harry, but it wasn’t the main focus. I don’t know. It just didn’t seem right.
Kevin: Yeah, but remember we said that it could come into play later, and that’s why…
Andrew: The book?
Kevin: No. Half-Blood Prince.
Andrew: Oh. Yeah. That is true because Jo says it’s basically a two part series.
Kevin: Right.
Andrew: Or we’ve said, but so yeah. Okay.
Listener Rebuttal: Horcruxes in the Sorting Hat?
Laura: Brandon from Ohio says:
“When I was re-reading ‘Chamber of Secrets’, in the ‘Heir of Slytherin’ chapter, I noticed something sort of cool. As Harry is wanting help, he keeps wishing for something to save him. He then pulls the sword of Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat. If items of the four founders are the remaining Horcruxes, is it possible that they are inside the Sorting Hat?”
Kevin: I doubt it.
Laura: Yeah, me too.
Kevin: Yeah.
Laura: I think the reason I doubt this is because when asked if the Sorting Hat was a Horcrux on her site, Jo said that Horcruxes do not make shows of themselves singing in front of crowded rooms of people and I think that would kind of apply to having Horcruxes hidden inside of it too.
Kevin: Not to mention access to the Sorting Hat.
Laura: Yeah. Not to mention, that’s a lot of stuff to fit into a hat.
Kevin: You have to remember, wasn’t Dumbledore headmaster at the time when Tom Riddle went off and started creating the Horcruxes?
Laura: Yes.
Andrew: Yeah.
Kevin: So, it’s not likely that Tom Riddle snuck into…
Ben: And the diary didn’t come out of the…
Laura: Yep. That’s true.
Andrew: …Sorting Hat.
Laura: Neither did the ring.
Ben: The ring didn’t come out of the Sorting Hat. The locket didn’t come out of the Sorting Hat.
Laura: I think, again, that would be too easy if he had them all hidden in one place.
Kevin: It would, definitely.
Andrew: Okay. Well, I think that concludes this week’s short voicemail segment. We’ll have some more in the near future. We want to remind everyone if you have a voicemail to call in just dial 1-218-20-MAGIC in the United States and we’ll give you the other numbers in a few. That pretty much does it for this week’s episode of MuggleCast. I think it’s a shorter show than some we’ve had recently, but last week’s was one-hour-and-a-half so we’re all talked out. Of course, next week we’ll be back with more.
Mikey
Andrew: We’re happy to say that Mikey is probably going to become more of a regular on the show.
[Kevin laughs]
Ben: Well, actually, that was in direct response to the Facebook petition to make Mikey…
Andrew: Yes, the Facebook – yeah. [laughs]
Kevin: Yeah. The Facebook that we all got invites to.
Ben: Or actually, maybe we realized ourselves that Mikey is a decent host.
Andrew: Yeah, even though you’ve never hosted with him, but yeah. He’s a good host and a lot of people like him. So, yeah. I’m sure he’ll be on more often.
Listener Feedback
Andrew: Actually, let’s spend a minute here talking about the show. I just wanted to say that we like getting everyone’s feedback about the show. So, if you have anything to say, if you have any complaints, something you don’t like but you’ve never voiced your opinion about it, feel free to e-mail us: mugglecast at staff dot mugglenet dot com. It’ll get to all of us and we want to make the show as best as it can be, and if you guys have a problem with it and you’re not telling us, then we’re just going to keep doing it. So, if you hate how I’m always, you know, [funny voice]“Welcome to MuggleCast, woah,” then tell me, and I’ll be all mellow and boring.
[Ben laughs]
Andrew: Or if you don’t like wizard rock, or if you don’t like Ben, or you don’t like Laura or Kevin. Well, nobody likes Kevin, but he’s still on here.
Kevin: Oh, thanks a lot.
Andrew: [laughs] I’m just kidding, Kevin, just kidding. [laughs] I’m completely kidding.
Laura: Side note: do you ever get emails from people, like who directly email you telling you that they hate you.
Kevin: I have actually.
Andrew: No. I’ve gotten a couple.
Kevin: I haven’t gotten many, but you do get a couple from time to time.
Laura: Yeah.
Kevin: I think they’d go along the same lines as, “I hate your guts. Get off the show. I don’t want to hear you again.”
Laura: Yeah. I got a MySpace thing from this girl, a message, and it was like all caps and it was like, “You ruined MuggleCast.” And she was like, “I’m never listening again until you get off the show.”
[Andrew and Ben laugh]
Andrew: Yeah, I’m sure.
Kevin: They’re just jealous.
Ben: I mean, I was holding out until Laura was off, too, but I decided to come back this week.
[Andrew, Kevin, and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Now, say you’re kidding.
Ben: I’m just kidding, Laura.
Laura: Yep. I was enjoying the three weeks Ben was gone.
Andrew: And if you have a good feedback, give us some good feedback. Or if you have a suggestion of a main discussion to talk about on the show let us know. You know what we like to talk about here, if you’ve been listening awhile. So, anything. Give us any feedback. Again, we continue to get emails, “Don’t go after Book 7!” We’re not going to go after Book 7. We’re going to go after Book 7, but it won’t be in the immediate vicinity of Book 7, I guess you could say.
Laura: One week.
Andrew: So, one week. Yeah, give it a couple of weeks. No!
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: No, seriously, we’ll be around for a while after Book 7, so don’t worry about that. We’re all going to be… I will admit, we all will be in college. Well, most of us will. Kevin, you’ll still be in college right?
Kevin: Yep.
Andrew: What are you right now?
Kevin: I’m currently a senior in credits, but I…
Ben: First-semester senior, right?
Kevin: Yeah, but I have a five year course plan so I’ll be here.
Andrew: Oh, okay. Besides Micah, we’re all going to be in college, so admittedly it will be harder.
Ben: Actually, Micah’s going back.
Andrew: Is he?
Ben: Yeah. You didn’t hear about that?
Andrew: No.
Laura: Oh, cool. We’re all going to be in college.
Andrew: Then we’re all screwed. [laughs]
Ben: I’m just kidding. I’m just kidding. He’s not going back. I just made it up.
Andrew: Oh, okay. [laughs] He never went to begin with, so now he’s going.
Show CLose
[Show music Begins]
Andrew: No, but admittedly it might be harder to schedule the shows. I mean, on one hand we might have more free time, on the other hand we might be involved in extracurricular activities. So, who knows, but we’ll keep doing it for as long as possible.
Show Close
Andrew: So, with that said, Ben what’s the P.O. Box is people want to send us some parcel mail.
Ben:
P.O. Box 223
Moundridge, Kansas
67107
Andrew: For voicemail questions, as I mentioned earlier, you can dial 1-218-20-MAGIC if you’re in the United States. If you’re in the United Kingdom, you can dial 020-8144-0677. If you’re in Australia, you can dial 02-8003-5668. You can also Skype the username “MuggleCast” to leave us a message directly. Just remember whether it’s by phone or Skype, keep your message under 30 seconds and try to eliminate as much background noise as possible. You can also go to MuggleCast.com for a handy Feedback Form where you can contact any of us, or use our first name at staff dot mugglenet dot com. Don’t forget all of our community outlets: MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, we’ve got Frappr, Last.FM, Fanlisting Forums, of course, Digg, Podcast Alley, and Yahoo! Podcasts. So, I think that just about does it for this week’s show. Once again, I’m Andrew Sims.
Ben: I’m Ben Schoen.
Kevin: I’m Kevin Steck.
Laura: And I’m Laura Thompson.
Andrew: We’ll see everyone next week for Episode 77. Oh my god guys! Two sevens, 77.
Laura: Amazing.
Kevin: Yep.
Andrew: We’ll see you next week. Bye bye.
Laura: Bye.
Kevin: Bye.
———————–
Written by: Micah, Adrienne, Allison, Amanda, Briana, Eloise, Jessica, Mandie, Margaret, Martina, Matt, Megan, Roni, Samantha, Sarah, Shannon and Shelly