Eric: You don’t like the Lost Continent, Andrew.

Andrew: No, it’s horrible. The only good thing there is Mythos, the restaurant. But there’s all that room that they could be using for the Wizarding World.

Eric: Well…

Andrew: My only concern is the Wizarding World – the entrance right now would no longer be the entrance. So, I – that would be kind of weird…

Eric: Yeah.

Andrew: …having two…

Eric: Well, there’re…

Andrew: …areas that feel like entrances.

Eric: There already are two entrances to the park, though.

Andrew: Yeah, but you know the main one where the Hogwarts Express is, that’s…

Eric: Right, but that’s actually not the main one. The main one is over the bridge that takes you under Hogwarts, according to everybody I spoke to, because when in times of trouble they would close what I would consider to be the main entrance by the Hogwarts Express, and that leads in from the Lost Continent. And they actually – the large bridge – the line was forming, took you in through – in between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, right near Jurassic Park, through that bridge. That seems to be what they were calling the main entrance, even though the one by the Hogwarts Express…

Andrew: See, I don’t think that’s the main entrance because all the publicity photos, the grand opening day, that was all by the Hogwarts Express. But nonetheless, the rumor that seems to be floating around right now is a Gringotts ride, and I sort of put two and two together. There was an article from the Orlando Sentinel that said Warner Bros.’ contract with Universal states they must “incorporate elements from the final Potter films.” So, I was thinking, well, there is a Gringotts scene in Part 2 – there is a Diagon Alley scene in Part 2 when they go to Gringotts, and there’s that action-packed sort of ride and the dragon breaking in. So, I thought that would be a perfect ride that they could – or a perfect scene they could base the ride on. Do you guys agree that would be cool?

Eric: They could just plant a bunch of trees and call it the “English Countryside Ride” and people can camp out.

Andrew: And everybody…

Micah: No. [laughs]

Andrew: …gets to run through the forest.

[Eric laughs]

Micah: That would be a little boring, I think.

Eric: But…

Micah: But how would they mold that? Would it be similar to the Forbidden Journey ride, or would it be something along the lines of what they have in other parts of Universal, maybe how King Kong and Jaws and those rides used to be, where it’s more of you’re kind of just going through and you see things around you, or would it be a roller coaster? What do you guys think? They already have two roller coasters.

Eric: They do have two roller coasters.

Andrew: I think…

Eric: My preference is for a Wild Mouse-type roller coaster where you…

Andrew: Yes, yes.

Eric: …can go over the edges but be in mine carts underneath Gringotts, like – so it will be indoors again, but they’ve had a lot of success with those kinds of things, like The Mummy ride in Universal as well. They seem to be really good at building those and that type of ride is kind of – I want to say it’s why you go to Universal, for those types of rides where you’re sitting and watching more so than you are being thrown around. Dueling Dragons now is a violent, violent ride and so you get your fix for roller coaster there but the other rides are just kind of themed and you’re watching. You’re a spectator almost, to the movie.

Micah: Right.

Andrew: Yeah, and that kind of – there could be sharp turns, there could be sudden drops, I think, for that sort of mine cart ride. I was sort of thinking like in Disneyland and Disney World, they have Big Thunder Mountain which is sort of like a train style, and it’s got drops and turns and it moves pretty fast. I think it could be something like that, and all the while you’re sort of watching the dragon maybe chase you or you’re trying to get to the right vault or something. I don’t know, there’s a lot of potential there, I think.

Eric: I have to say…

Micah: Well, especially with the Horcrux, maybe they can tie the destruction of the Horcrux into that particular ride because all the fire that takes place in the vault and they have trouble trying to get out. So, it would be interesting.

Andrew: So, this is – the rumor right now is currently 2013, which actually I think is kind of late. I would have thought they would tried to open it up like in the beginning of 2012 or something…

Eric: Well…

Andrew: …but maybe that’s just too soon.

Eric: Okay, my initial reaction when I read these separate news posts was the last thing that that theme park needs is more shops.

Andrew: Okay, well…

Eric: More places to sit around and spend your money. They need rides. They need rides. Two of the three rides in that park already existed prior to building the Wizarding World. We let it slide because the Wizarding World is a great place but realistically, they need to build more rides. They need to build new, more rides that are specific to that park because they’re getting off easy. Think of all the money they’re raking in.

Andrew: Do you know what Mr. Universal would say if he heard you say that right now, that they don’t need more shops? Mr. Universal?

Eric: Yeah, what?

Andrew: He’d say this… [maniacal laughter]

Micah: [laughs] It’s all about money, Eric.

Andrew: It’s all about money! They have – and as we’ve reported before, they have made so much money…

Eric: Yeah!

Andrew: …off the Harry Potter merchandise. They are just using money as toilet paper at this point.

Eric: [laughs] That’s because instead of rides they have these themed merchandise. And don’t get me wrong…

Andrew: But is it a problem?

Eric: Yes! Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful, but I mean, people are still waiting in line three hours to get – to go to Gringotts and get chosen for a wand – or go to Ollivander’s and get chosen for a wand. But it’s not the point.

Micah: I was going to ask that, Eric, though. Do you think Ollivander has squatting rights in Diagon Alley? Can he move back?

Eric: I think he can open up two shops.

Andrew: I think they should add a second one. They need to – yeah.

Eric: Yeah.

Andrew: Let’s…

Micah: Move on.

Andrew: …move along. Again, this is – I am really excited for the expansion. We know for sure there will be an expansion but the big questions are what it will be and when it will be, and that’s why we’re reporting whatever we can find because [laughs] we’re so excited. And Mr. Universal, Eric, is looking to add more shops.

Micah: He’s rolling in the dough. Anyway…

Andrew: He’s laughing at you right now.

[Eric laughs]

Andrew: Before we move on, first we’d like to tell you about this week’s sponsor, Audible.com, the Internet’s leading provider of audiobooks, with more than 75,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Bestsellers. For listeners of MuggleCast, Audible is offering a free audiobook to give you a chance to try out their awesome service. One audiobook to consider is Orson Scott Card’s classic, Ender’s Game. Check out the special 20th Anniversary edition which is digitally remastered with a full cast production. So, to purchase that or any other audiobook of your choice for free, go to AudiblePodcast.com/MuggleCast. That’s AudiblePodcast.com/MuggleCast.

News: Harry Potter Films To Receive Honorary BAFTA Award

Micah: The Harry Potter franchise is set to receive an honorary BAFTA, it was announced on Thursday, for its Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema…

[Eric laughs]

Micah: …at this year’s awards. Now, J.K. Rowling and producer David Heyman will be there to accept this award. Thoughts? I mean, is this something that, potentially, the Oscars would follow suit on? Or you don’t think that that’s even going to be possible?

Eric: Micah, what’s an honorary BAFTA? Is that any more important than a regular BAFTA? Because it would have to be…

Andrew: Well, it’s for – the reason the Oscars wouldn’t do this sort of thing is because – well, they could, but the BAFTA – this honorary BAFTA is for “highlighting the expertise within the British craft and technical industries.” So, it’s the fact that the Harry Potter film franchise is a British production that they’re getting this honorary award at the BAFTAs.

Eric: And it is. It was a wise choice, in my opinion, because to set the film – to film the film in Britain and not on some stage in America where, obviously, Warner Bros. pays for it. But it’s – so BAFTAs are great. I don’t think it says anything about Oscars, though, but I think it’s really important that the films do receive this award.

Andrew: And it’s cool that J.K. Rowling is going to be accepting.

Eric: Well, it’s not like she had to – was writing a book or something, was busy [laughs] doing something else.

Micah: Easy…

Andrew: Well, if you read her Twitter, she is.

Eric: [laughs] She’s – what? Pen and paper…

Andrew: [poorly imitating J.K. Rowling] I would love to accept the BAFTA, but pen and paper are my priority at the moment.

[Eric laughs]

Micah: Well, what’s interesting, though, is there was an article, I think earlier this week, that featured Rupert Grint and Richard Griffiths talking about the lack of Oscar appreciation…

Eric: That’s an odd combination.

Micah: …that the Harry Potter series has gotten.

Eric: Rupert Grint and Richard Griffiths. [laughs]

Micah: Well, maybe they just interviewed both of them. They were at a premiere or something like that. But it’s interesting now to sort of hear the actors’ reaction to not getting a whole lot of recognition when it comes to the Oscars. I know we’ve had this conversation before, but with Deathly Hallows: Part 2 coming out in July, will there be that push from Warner Bros. to nominate the final part of the series, do you guys think?

Andrew: Absolutely, absolutely.

Eric: And maybe the films are too British – all British actors – to ever receive an American award. But then that’s incorrect because movies like The King’s Speech – in fact, America has an obsession with British actors in American films. So, everything – Hugh Jackman or – I’m not even going to continue, but a lot of Australians, too. Yeah.

News: Dear Mr. Potter

Micah: All right. Well, final piece of news, Dear Mr. Potter. This is something that was started by sixteen-year-old Lily Zalon, and it’s a non-profit book featuring stories, letters, and photos from Harry Potter fans around the world, telling how the series has impacted and inspired them. And the book, which is going to be available for purchase this summer, is being sold one hundred percent non-profit to benefit youth literacy through the Harry Potter Alliance. And I understand, Eric, both you and Andrew have written letters and they will both appear in the printed version of this book.

Andrew: It’s a really cool idea, this Dear Mr. Potter project. I think this is sort of almost long overdue, this kind of collection, and I cannot wait to read it. They’re also – if you go to DearMrPotter.org/, they’re posting a lot of the letters now. Some of these aren’t…

Eric: Well, it started as a web blog, didn’t it? I mean, it started that way.

Andrew: Yeah. I mean, it’s on Tubmlr, so it technically still is a blog.

Eric: Oh, okay.

Andrew: But a lot of these letters won’t be printed in the book, but – and some of them will. So, you can go there now and just read through them. You’ll get a nice look at what you can expect in the book.

Micah: Yeah. It’s really great stuff.

Andrew: DearMrPotter.org/. All one word.

Micah: And it’s cool that this was all started by a sixteen year old. To me, that’s really impressive.

Andrew: Maybe it was J.K. Rowling’s daughter. Isn’t she around that age now?

Micah: Could be. Her first name was Lily, so – I mean, you got to wonder.

Andrew: Ooh!

Micah: Maybe it’s her penname.

[Andrew laughs]

Announcement: LeakyCon 2011

Micah: You never know. All right, Andrew, we have a big summer announcement here and I’m going to throw it to you to talk about MuggleCon 2011.

Andrew: [laughs] Yes, we are launching…

[Micah laughs]

Andrew: We are announcing MuggleCastCon! No. So, for the summer we obviously wanted to be a part of something big. It’s the final Harry Potter film, everybody is going to be so excited leading up to the launch of the film, and a lot of fans want to be together. And as people know, we’ve been to many Harry Potter conferences in the past and many of you listeners have showed up to them, and we’ve done live podcasts at them, we’ve done panels, meet and greets, you name it. And so, this year we are going to be at LeakyCon 2011. Our friends at The-Leaky-Cauldron.org are organizing this event. It’s going to be in Orlando, Florida at the same hotel that Infinitus was at last year. It’s going to be July 13th to the 17th. Obviously it’s right on the Universal property which is where The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is, so not only do you get to go to a Harry Potter fan conference, you also get to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. So, we’re going to be there, we’re going to be doing at least one live podcast. We’re going to be doing a – the plans right now are that – the idea right now is to do a Leaky Mug with our friends from PotterCast to – either before – I don’t know. The plans are kind of early right now, but the news is that we will be going to LeakyCon. We highly recommend going to LeakyCon.com, check it out. You really should consider going to this. If you’ve ever been to a fan symposium before you know how much fun these are. You’re surrounded by tons of Harry Potter fans, everybody is just really friendly, it’s a great, great atmosphere, and everyone always has so much fun.

I’m going to run through some of the details about LeakyCon right now. Registration is open right now through February 28th. It’s $200, you have to be thirteen to go, but eighteen to go without a chaperone. And currently they have a White Pass which allows parents to go as chaperones, but they – it’s at no cost to them, so they can still – since some people need a chaperone, they can still go but the parents don’t have to pay as long as they have the White Pass. Special guests so far: us, StarKid, who we talked about on a recent episode of MuggleCast. They’re going to be doing a special performance as well as a Q&A. The Potter Puppet Pals will also be attending. There will be a Lit Day. It’s a big – like a conference within a conference. It’s going to be a bunch of speakers talking about literature, of course, and there’s going to be a keynote during Lit Day by Arthur Levine, the editor at Scholastic. He’s been a big player in the Harry Potter books, so it’s going to be very cool to hear from him. There’s also going to be twelve wizard rock bands over two shows, including Harry and the Potters, and Draco and the Malfoys. There’s going to be the premiere of Finding Hogwarts, which is a documentary put together, actually, by a couple of friends of ours. There’s also going to be a Final Battle performance. It was a musical that premiered at Infinitus last year. They’re doing it again. Plus, those people are putting on another new musical. And there’s a bunch of other things as well: Quidditch, arts and crafts, meet-ups, tons of programming about Harry Potter, and more soon to be announced. So, obviously a lot of details there. Just go to LeakyCon.com, you’ll find all the information you need. As it is still pretty early, a lot of the plans aren’t set in stone yet but from what they’ve told us they’re planning, it is really going to be an amazing event. You will not want to miss this one.

Micah: Well, there was one thing that you left out, Andrew, I think. There’s going to be a movie, right?

Andrew: [laughs] Yes! Well, I was just going to say…

Micah: [laughs] Right around that time?

Andrew: This – LeakyCon is happening over the release of Part 2. So, there’s going to be a big group trip to the movie theater at midnight to see the film…

Eric: In IMAX.

Andrew: …and – in IMAX, at the beautiful Universal theaters. Did you guys see a movie there? I saw Toy Story 3…

Eric: Yeah, I saw…

Andrew: …in their downtown area.

Eric: We saw Inception at midnight because Inception came out during Infinitus. Funny story is that the whole group I was with all fell asleep during it.

[Andrew laughs]

Eric: Except for me. I stayed up.

Andrew: Well, I saw Toy Story at these movie theaters. It is, honestly, one of the most gorgeous screens I’ve ever seen a film on. They’re huge and they’re just – it must be a digital projection, it’s just beautiful. So, you’re going to be seeing Part 2 with some of the biggest Harry Potter fans as well, which is cool in and of itself because when you’re watching with all these hardcore Harry Potter fans, you’re going to be laughing and crying at some of the strongest emotional moments in the film.

Micah: Possibly cursing.

Andrew: [laughs] Possibly cursing depending on how it was adapted. And also, finally – I know this is a lot of details but this just shows you how big LeakyCon is. They’re going to be planning a private park event. It’s not going to be included in the registration, but they will be offering a ticket that allows you into the park earlier in the day plus access to the private park event. And that’s going to be an after-hours event where only attendees of LeakyCon will be able to go in to the Wizarding World and just spend time with each other. And that will be announced – the details about that will be announced in the coming months. So, again, LeakyCon.com, July 13th to the 17th in Orlando, Florida, taking place at the Royal Pacific Resort right on Universal property. The room block is sold out. They’re sold out of the LeakyCon block of rooms, but they have opened up another block of rooms at the Crown Plaza. So, just visit LeakyCon.com, again, for all the information. And when you do go to register, use referral code “Muggle”. We’re all familiar with that code…

[Eric laughs]

Andrew: …over the years. Use “Muggle”, M-U-G-G-L-E, when you go to register. We’ll have more details about…

Micah: And save 10% on your dot com domain.

[Everyone laughs]

Micah: Oops. Wrong one.

Andrew: We’ll have more details about what we’ll be doing there in the coming months, but it’s going to be a huge, awesome, really fun event. I can’t wait.

Eric: Cool.

Andrew: So, we’ll be talking about that leading up. Oh, [laughs] sorry, one other thing I want to mention. There’s going to be a ball, and the dance is always, I think, the highlight of the conference for me because everybody is just together in one giant room and their plan – LeakyCon has some really cool events planned for the ball as well as the opening and closing festivities.

Eric: Cool.

Chapter-by-Chapter: “Rita Skeeter’s Scoop”

Andrew: So, go. If you guys are looking for something to do, go to LeakyCon. This is going to be really, really special. I promise you you will have the time of your life. LeakyCon.com, referral code “Muggle”. Okay, now that I’m out of breath I get to do [laughs] the first chapter here…

[Eric laughs]

Andrew: …for Chapter-by-Chapter this week.

Eric: Who planned this, Andrew? [laughs]

Andrew: Yeah, I shouldn’t have done this. We’re doing Chapters 24, 25, and 26 of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The first chapter is “Rita Skeeter’s Scoop.” So, the chapter opens with Harry struggling to find out what the clue is that the egg is holding because the second task is coming up and he still has no idea what he can expect. He’s reluctant to take Cedric’s advice because he finds it to be silly, but is that kind of immature of Harry, I feel? He has no idea what – where to be looking for clues yet he finds Cedric’s clue to be so stupid.

Micah: Well, why would Cedric lie to him? I mean, Cedric got this clue and he gave it to Harry through Moody we find out later. But Harry has helped him with the first task, it would make sense that Cedric would in turn help Harry out with this task and I think – again we talked about this – was it the last show or two shows ago? I think it has a lot to do with Cho Chang and his feelings towards Cedric are kind of, maybe a little bit…

Andrew: Bitter?

Micah: Bitter, yeah, compared to where they were right around the first task, so I think that that plays into it.

Eric: Yeah. He has no reason not to trust Cedric but he kind of invents reasons and in the meantime – so eventually he does take Cedric’s advice, but in the meantime these other events of this chapter are going on. So, it’s kind of like Harry hasn’t forgotten about the egg, but he has put it on the back burner as it were, which is kind of funny because you cook eggs on a burner.

Andrew: So, shortly after that at Care of Magical Creatures, Harry learns that Hagrid won’t be teaching the lesson. He asks Grubbly-Plank what the deal is with Hagrid but she won’t say, but they end up learning that Hagrid is embarrassed by the article written by Rita Skeeter who paints Hagrid in a very bad light. And the full article is in the book and it’s a pretty lengthy write up, and it was just cruel what Rita did. And even though later in this chapter we see Dumbledore really trying to confront – or console Hagrid because he knows Hagrid is really upset that all this information got out. Do you think Dumbledore was somewhat disappointed by the fact that Hagrid did talk to Rita Skeeter and the fact that this information did get out?

Eric: If Dumbledore were a true friend he would squash Rita Skeeter like a bug.

[Micah laughs]

Andrew: Well, and we hear he banned her from the school but shouldn’t he have – shouldn’t she have been banned earlier? This seems kind of late.

Eric: She still hangs out at the school.

Micah: Yeah, I think, though, that Hagrid has a very unassuming personality so he doesn’t – just like Dumbledore, he doesn’t see the negative side of people and he does have that trustworthy quality to him. So, when he was talking to Rita he probably didn’t think anything of it. But that’s also surprising to me, too, because clearly she’s been around for a long time and she’s been writing these kind of articles. So, to think that she would go to Hagrid and write an article that would be in a positive light is pretty dense on the part of Hagrid to think that way. So, I would imagine that Dumbledore is a bit disappointed, but as you said, why wasn’t she kicked out previously? Clearly she’s not the only reporter that works for The Daily Prophet, or the only paper that’s around. You would think that they could get a more seasoned, [laughs] qualified person to write and cover this tournament. Don’t they have a sports writer or something there?

Andrew: [laughs] Right, a sports writer. But yeah, no – you would think like a Quidditch writer…

Micah: Yeah!

Andrew: …for the paper could go and cover the Triwizard.

Micah: Exactly!

Andrew: So, after this lesson, getting back into the plot here, Parvati said she enjoyed the class because she actually got to learn about a magical creature, they had learned about a unicorn that day. And that kind of upsets Harry and Ron because they miss Hagrid and they’re upset that people are enjoying Hagrid not being present. But I have to say, even I had this sort of feeling when I was a kid in school sometimes. You really like a teacher but then you don’t like how maybe – you’re never on task with anything.

Eric: Yeah.

Andrew: You’re always sort of like – [laughs] it’s just a mess. The teaching style is a mess.

Eric: Yeah, I’ve had those teachers, too, where it’s like, you like the teacher but what do you really learn except to have fun? It’s kind of like that.

Micah: Well, they also have a strong personal tie to Hagrid which – that’s a completely different element to add into it.

Andrew: So, a week goes by and they don’t see Hagrid at all, and Harry goes to Hogsmeade in hopes that he’ll run into him but instead he runs into Mr. Bagman who reveals Barty Crouch has gone missing. And the excuse is – Percy says that he’s ill. But then Bagman says he’s taken a liking to Harry, and as such he’d like to help him – help point him in the right direction for the next task. Harry doesn’t take the offer and he’s not sure why he says no, but this is just another piece of evidence we see in the ongoing list of reasons why the Triwizard Tournament is really corrupt.

Eric: Yeah.

Andrew: I mean, it’s just a bunch of cheating and rule-breaking.

Eric: Everybody wants to help Harry.

Micah: Yeah, and I don’t think that Harry trusts Bagman’s character too much.

Eric: Well, he sees…

Andrew: Oh, so you think…

Eric: …what he did to the Weasleys. He still owes them money.

Micah: Right, but I don’t – does Harry know that at this point?

Andrew: I don’t think so, but doesn’t Harry – isn’t Harry thinking – if I was Harry, I’d be worried that since I turned down the offer for advice he’d be going to somebody else. I mean, Bagman does say he’s taking a liking to Harry but that would just worry me that the other people are getting help. So, I think you’ve got to play dirty to stay in the game here.

[Eric laughs]

Micah: Yeah…

Andrew: Because if everybody’s cheating, you have to cheat, too.

Micah: But what I mean in terms of trusting his character, though, is I don’t think – I think he’s a bit suspicious of why Bagman is coming to him saying that he’s willing to offer his help.

Eric: I think Harry just has trouble, first, accepting that somebody takes a liking specifically to him, and two, he doesn’t want to associate with those kinds of people who treat him special. He never wanted to be treated special. He just wants to be, “just Harry.”

Andrew: [laughs] No. Yeah, that’s a good point, and we see that more and more as the books go on, of course. So, moving along, while talking over what just happened with Ron and Hermione, Rita Skeeter enters the Three Broomsticks and we hear her trying to put together a story about Bagman based on what she just saw with him talking to the goblins. And – so, Harry gets really fed up about this and Harry calls her out for writing the poor article on Hagrid. And Rita, Hermione, and Harry end up throwing insults back and forth at each other, Rita calling Hermione a little girl and so forth.

Eric: Ooh.

Andrew: [laughs] And I got to say, now that the Wizarding World theme park does exist, I was totally picturing this happening in the actual Wizarding World Three Broomsticks.

Eric: [laughs] Like people – somebody portraying Hermione and somebody portraying Rita?

Andrew: Yeah!

Eric: Yeah?

Andrew: And then I started thinking, people should re-enact these scenes…

[Eric laughs]

Andrew: …in the Wizarding World park. That would be so cool!

Eric: That would be cool.

Andrew: So, they leave Hogsmeade and head back to Hagrid’s hut, and while pounding on the door it finally opens, but it’s Dumbledore who answers and it turns out Dumbledore was there to console Hagrid which sort of answers our question earlier. I mean, if Dumbledore was that upset about this article, I don’t think he would have been spending so much time with Hagrid because we see that Dumbledore is sort of trying to talk him out of his misery. And the trio try to help as well, but – and Hagrid does eventually come around when he hears that Harry is making good progress on the egg clue even though that’s a complete lie. But this does make Harry realize, okay, it’s time to go and take up Cedric’s offer.

Micah: I think it’s more that Dumbledore is angry with Hagrid’s reaction to the article than he is with the fact that the article was even published.

Eric: Yeah.

Micah: Hagrid kind of buries his head in the sand and doesn’t want to teach class. So, Dumbledore is always there, I think, to pick people up. He talks about all the letters that have been sent in support of Hagrid. But I wanted to ask, why does Harry feel so guilty, though, about lying to Hagrid about the egg, but not necessarily when he’s talking to Ron or Hermione?

Eric: He knows Hagrid – Hagrid’s more of a parental figure, if you can imagine that. But it’s basically – he doesn’t want to let an adult down, who trusts in him. His friends are his peers, they share a lot of the same issues. But Hagrid, who is in a weakened state – the only way Harry cheers him up is by lying to him. That can’t feel good. I mean, I think by him taking Cedric’s advice, by him deciding to take Cedric’s advice, he realizes that this is – there’s so much evil in the world right now, you’ve just got to take the advice from someone who seemed to be – innocently given. He realizes that Cedric probably doesn’t have it in for him, but people like Rita are the people in this world who do have it out for people.

Chapter-by-Chapter: “The Egg and The Eye”

Andrew: All right. Well, let’s move on now to Chapter 25.

Eric: Right!

Andrew: And I have to say, on a behind-the-scenes note, Eric is notorious for writing a long list of notes, but for this chapter he wrote the shortest list of notes we have ever seen him produce.

[Eric laughs]

Andrew: Which does not mean he’s getting lazy, it just means it was a short chapter.

Eric: It’s…

Andrew: Eric, I applaud you. It was – well, I know it must have been hard to keep the notes so short.

Eric: Thanks. The chapter is really two events that happen, and there are interesting tidbits of information here and there, which is good. First, Harry does decide to take up Cedric’s advice, and he tickles the statue of Boris the Bewildered or [laughs] he mentions the incantation. It’s this guy – Boris the Bewildered is this statue at Hogwarts. He looks a little lost and he has his gloves on the wrong hands, so I thought that was funny. And Harry gains access to the prefects’ bathroom. His immediate reaction is that it would be worth becoming a Hogwarts school prefect just to be able to use this bathroom. And the reason is it’s this large – I want to say swimming pool, it’s this large rectangle the size of a swimming pool and there are about a hundred taps, each with a different color of jewel-encrusted faucets, basically. What did you guys think of this bathroom?

Micah: I don’t know. I mean, as far as bathrooms go, it sounds pretty cool.

[Eric and Micah laugh]

Andrew: Let’s not dwell on the topic of bathroom experience.

Micah: [laughs] Yeah.

Eric: All right, all right.

Micah: It looked cool in the movie.

Eric: I guess that was an inappropriate question. I can’t trust you guys to be mature about this. All right. So anyway, Harry – the instructions are to take the egg into the bathroom, which Harry does. And Harry opens the egg and still nothing happens, so he decides to go for a swim. Soon enough he meets Moaning Myrtle, who, it is revealed, happens to spy on people in the prefects’ bathroom. I guess prefects are hot or something. But Moaning Myrtle is spying on Harry, Harry feels pretty violated, but she reveals a few things. She actually hints to him that he needs to put the egg under the water in order to hear the clue, which Harry does. But in the meantime – or that gets him thinking, “Well, what sort of creature can I only hear underwater?” A few minutes later he realizes, “Oh, merpeople.” So, Harry’s theory is that merpeople will somehow play a role in the second task. But he asks Myrtle if there are merpeople in the lake, and she says yes, she sometimes runs into them when she’s not expecting it and somebody flushes the toilet that she lives in. So, I guess this means that the toilets of Hogwarts dump into the lake.

Micah: Seems pretty normal. No? I mean…

Andrew: Really?

Micah: Well, where do you think all ours goes? [laughs]

Andrew: Well, I don’t know.

Micah: That big blue thing in between us and England!

Andrew: This is a very gross chapter.

[Eric laughs]

Micah: Well, for you…

Andrew: I don’t even want to think. It’s too early.

Micah: …it goes between you and Hawaii out there.

Eric: [laughs] It goes through a – I assume there are processing facilities.

Micah: Yeah, of course. There’s septic tanks and…

Eric: Yeah.

Micah: …waste management facilities.

Eric: This is a crappy chapter.

[Andrew and Eric laugh]

Eric: Anyway…

Micah: Ba dum.

Eric: …[laughs] the other thing about Myrtle that we learn, which is kind of cool, is that she’s talking about Harry, she tries to guilt Harry for not visiting her and she remembers the story of Olive Hornby discovering her body. So, Olive Hornby, if you remember from Chamber of Secrets, was the girl who was always teasing Moaning Myrtle about her glasses. It turns out that Olive was the one who actually went to find Myrtle. One of the teachers sent Olive Hornby to go find Myrtle, and Olive went into the bathroom on the second floor and asked, “Myrtle, are you still in here crying?” And at that point, I guess the ghost of Moaning Myrtle decided that she was going to haunt Olive Hornby and even made an appearance at Olive Hornby’s brother’s wedding. Moaning Myrtle is recounting this story to Harry, who doesn’t really care, and she gets cut off, though. She cuts herself off and says, “But then Olive Hornby went to the Ministry of Magic, and they made me come back to Hogwarts and dwell in my toilet.” So, apparently the Ministry of Magic has some kind of power over ghosts, over this realm of the almost-unseen, because somehow they were able to force Moaning Myrtle to stop haunting, or stalking as Moaning Myrtle says, Olive Hornby. What do you guys think? And what kind of power do they have over ghosts?

Micah: Clearly a lot. I mean, [laughs] I don’t know. It just seems – this is a situation, though, where a ghost is clearly harassing somebody, haunting them…

Eric: What are you going to do?

Micah: …which I guess is what most ghosts do.

Eric: Slap them on the wrists?

Micah: Yeah. But I mean…

Eric: Won’t it go right through them? [laughs]

Micah: But – yeah, exactly. But the point is they obviously have a means of being able to control them and in some cases, obviously with the case of Peeves, he’s a poltergeist so it’s a little bit different, how different, I don’t know. But yeah, Myrtle is just a ghost that is obnoxious and – are you forced, though? I mean, I guess not when just looking at the house ghosts. You’re not forced to necessarily be in the place where you’re killed, you’re able to be mobile and that’s proven by the fact that she does goes to the wedding. But I would think, though, for the majority of their afterlife they would have to spend it in a place where they’re not necessarily bothering a whole lot of people. I don’t know.

Eric: So, you’re saying the fact that they shoot her back to the toilet is actually cruel and unusual punishment?

Micah: In a way, yeah, I think so because she’s forced to live here now, some Ministry decree has been passed saying, “You must stay here.” I mean, what if she just wants to go off of Hogwarts grounds? She can’t do that anymore.

Eric: So, now she’s always reliving in a sense the moment of her death, by…

Andrew: I think they know their placement, too. They know the limits, and I think they also respect Dumbledore in some capacity so in that regard they stay within reason, in terms of behavior, [laughs] ghost behavior.

Eric: Well, do you think that the power that the Ministry has over ghosts comes from their studying of the veil and the afterlife, like from the Department of Mysteries?

Micah: Possibly. I mean, I don’t think, though – if Myrtle wanted to go back and haunt Olive Hornby for the rest of her life, what’s preventing her from doing that? What is the Ministry, like you said before, actually going to do? I mean, they probably, what, asked her nicely [laughs] to go back to Hogwarts?

Eric: [laughs] Well, I got the…

Micah: But how do you impose that restriction? I mean, the ghost can – it’s not going to be impacted by any spell that’s cast at it.

Eric: That’s the real question, though, what magic – because she gives the impression that they forced her to go back to Hogwarts. It’s not just they asked nicely. What is a ghost – what reasons does a ghost have for listening to a Ministry that ministers to the living? They’re dead, it doesn’t matter. But obviously Olive Hornby was still alive, and Myrtle just wanted to haunt her and that’s – it’s obviously ill will, so apparently somewhere there’s a definition of what a ghost’s purpose is in their afterlife. If they’ve chosen to walk the earth, apparently there’s rules still, that they can’t break. So, I thought that was very interesting. So, that’s the first part of this chapter. The second part is what happens after Harry leaves the bathroom. He’s about to go back to the Gryffindor dormitory and he’s under the cloak, carrying the egg in one hand and the Marauder’s Map in the other. And he notices something on the Marauder’s Map, a person pacing around in Snape’s office that is not Snape. In fact, it is Bartemius Crouch – is what the Marauder’s Map – now in the previous chapter, as Andrew said, Barty Crouch is supposed to be sick and missing in action as it were from his duties at the Ministry. Why, Harry wonders, would he be in Hogwarts? Especially at this late hour. Obviously, not invited, not welcome into Snape’s office which he’s pacing, so Harry cannot resist the urge to investigate. Unfortunately, his leg gets caught in one of the staircases, in one of the trick stairs, and all hell breaks lose. He drops the egg which wails, and he drops the map as well. So, he’s there with his foot stuck in a step, he’s under the Invisibility Cloak, but both the map and the egg are out of his control. And soon Filch shows up, but that’s not enough. Soon after that, Snape shows up. And once they’re talking about a student being out of bed, Snape, of course, suspecting Potter, Mad-Eye Moody shows up and says, “What is this? A pajama party?” And it’s just this gradual increase in suspense because Harry is – we’re forced to read Harry on the steps, not being able to move. And it’s kind of – I drew the parallel between this and the end of Book 6 when Harry can’t move, and he’s sort of invisible and can’t react to anything. But he’s in a lot of danger right here, and I didn’t know if you guys had anything specific you wanted to bring up, but I just thought that this was very interesting how the suspense gradually lifts and only at the very end of the chapter does it really release.

Micah: Well, this scene doesn’t even take place in the movie, right?

Eric: Right.

Andrew: No.

Micah: Well, it’s not uncommon, though, for Snape to suspect Harry. I mean, there’s a champion’s egg that’s lying out here and sure you can put it on Peeves but there’s a good chance that it’s Harry because the other two champions that are not from the school aren’t in Hogwarts to begin with. Cedric is probably not somebody who’s going to be out roaming the corridors in the middle of the night. And once Snape sees the Marauder’s Map, I mean, that’s a clear indication to him after what happened in Prisoner of Azkaban that it’s Harry.

Eric: Yeah.

Micah: So…

Eric: Snape did have that bad experience.

Micah: So, I don’t understand – yeah, why didn’t he do some sort of spell or curse, or something to…

Eric: I think he was about to.

Micah: …reveal Harry’s presence – I know – until Mad-Eye Moody shows up. But…

Eric: And Mad-Eye says to him, “I think Dumbledore would be concerned that you’re always trying to harm Mr. Potter,” or something – words to that effect where – Moody, obviously – Moody can see Harry, and that’s the first thing Harry realizes because Moody’s eye goes straight to him and his mouth kind of gapes open a little bit before he first speaks. But the interesting thing is that Moody actually helps Harry out of this situation. But when Snape is, like, inches from Harry, and Harry’s worried that he just took a bath so he smells nice, I think. That’s what he’s worried about, that Mrs. Norris – because I think it’s even confirmed in the beginning of the scene, Harry’s wondering again if Mrs. Norris can see through the cloak. But by the end of the scene he’s realized that she just detects the smell of him, that there’s this perfumey [laughs] pink bubble bath that Harry has just been taking, is now working against him. So, the moral of the story is don’t take baths.

Micah: Right. Or, well – but if you smell like you-know-what you can also have a stench emanating from you as well.

Eric: That’s true.

Micah: Just look at Snape.

[Eric laughs]

Micah: But this is an interesting part, though, because he shows up on the Marauder’s Map and I thought that should have been a huge clue to Harry, especially after what happened in the last book where there are people showing up on the map that aren’t supposed to be there. And the fact that – in the last book, you’re dealing with an Animagus, but in this book, you’re dealing with somebody who’s using Polyjuice Potion. I’m just surprised that Harry wasn’t more apt to think – and then later on in the next chapter, Hermione or Ron, that maybe it’s somebody who is just not who they appear to be.

Andrew: Well, I guess that is the excuse, is that maybe Harry is not aware of this long-term transformation type of magic where Barty Crouch could pose as Mad-Eye for so long.

Eric: Additionally, though, he thinks it’s Barty Crouch, Sr. and the trick here is that the Marauder’s Map – obviously a senior and a junior share the exact same name – exact first and last name. So, Bartemius Crouch – Harry doesn’t have enough information to piece this together because he doesn’t – as far as I’m aware, he doesn’t know about Barty Crouch, Jr.’s existence. I think Sirius at one point did say about Barty Crouch, he threw his own son in Azkaban, but I don’t think that scene has happened yet where he really tells the story. I think that happens in the cave, and that’s after Harry suspects Barty Crouch, Sr. is at the works. And Moody, a.k.a. Barty Crouch, Jr., says to Harry, pretending to be Moody, that “you think I’m bad at wanting dark wizards behind bars. Barty Crouch, Sr. is worse.” So, it’s very interesting that Harry and Moody have this exchange, and if there’s nothing else, I’ll end the chapter, but I just thought that this scene was interesting, but it’s really the only thing that happens in this chapter.

Micah: Yeah. Well, just the last point that you have there, I think it’s interesting that Barty Crouch, Jr. is [laughs] suggesting that Harry become an Auror.

Eric: Yeah. And that’s the real irony, almost, and I think it’s revisited in Book 6, I believe, where Harry’s like, “Oh yeah, that guy was a criminal. That’s kind of weird.” But it’s one of those interesting things about Barty Crouch, Jr.’s character that he would suggest to Harry. The other important thing that happened is that Moody has the map and this is actually a plot hole in the books. It’s a book mistake that Moody never gives Harry’s map back to him. And in Book 5 there’s a scene where Harry pulls out the map, just randomly, like he already had it on his person, but it’s never written how Harry gets that map back. So, that’s interesting, but that was really all I had for this chapter.

Chapter-by-Chapter: “The Second Task”

Micah: All right. Next chapter, Chapter 26, “The Second Task.” As I mentioned before, I’ve done “The First Task,” “The Unexpected Task,” and now…

[Eric laughs]

Micah: …”The Second Task.”

Eric: Yeah, Micah dibs – here’s more behind the scenes. Micah’s like, “Hey guys, I’m dibbing the third task.”

[Micah laughs]

Eric: He’s like, “I got dibs…”

Micah: All right.

Eric: “…because I did all these other stupid tasks.”

Micah: So, as I mentioned earlier, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are discussing this confrontation that happened the previous night between Snape and Mad-Eye Moody. And Ron seems really interested in Snape’s second chance that was mentioned during their conversation. And of course, we later learn that Snape is being given a second chance because he was in fact a Death Eater, but Hermione seems more concerned in why an ill Barty Crouch Sr. was nosing around at Hogwarts. And it’s interesting that that’s exactly what Harry was thinking, so Harry and Hermione are of the same thought, as opposed to Ron who’s kind of focusing in on Snape. And it’s interesting that Hermione is the one who uses Lupin and Hagrid as a defense to Ron’s argument about Snape getting the second chance. But she’s right. I mean, Hogwarts is kind of the Island of Misfit Toys in terms of professors. You have Lupin who is a werewolf, you have Hagrid who is a half-giant and who was accused of opening the Chamber of Secrets, so Dumbledore is very much in favor of giving people second chances.

Eric: Yeah, Micah just…

Andrew: Yeah, and he’s…

Eric: Go ahead, Andrew.

Andrew: I think he’s always sort of preached the whole acceptance of everyone sort of angle, which of course is always an overarching theme in the Harry Potter books.

Eric: Micah just made a Christmas reference.

Andrew: So…

Micah: Yes.

Eric: That was cool.

Micah: The Island of Misfit Toys?

Eric: [laughs] Yeah. But you’re right, and I think Snape’s second chance is – in that scene, Snape grabs for his arm when Moody – so it’s almost very obvious if you knew what you were looking for. For Harry, the mystery would be solved. But Hermione’s right, I think, to be more concerned about Barty Crouch nosing around because to think about it, if his presence isn’t known he’s pretty much like Sirius Black, being in the castle when he doesn’t belong. You can’t just Apparate in and out of Hogwarts, so it’s almost like how do you appear and disappear so quickly…

Micah: Right.

Eric: …is probably a really big concern.

Micah: Yeah, definitely. So, Hagrid does return to teach in classes and based upon what I read, he actually gives a pretty good lesson where people are learning about the creatures that he’s showing them, the unicorns still. And he seemed to be pretty knowledgeable for the first time, I think, in quite a while and doesn’t have a bunch of Blast-Ended Skrewts running around blowing themselves and students up. So…

Andrew: I think this is a refreshed Hagrid who sort of has a new outlook, or like a cleansed outlook on…

Micah: He did his homework the night before and was ready to teach class.

Andrew: Yeah.

Micah: So, again there’s this interaction between Hagrid and Harry. Hagrid is asking him how he’s coming along in terms of the second task, but now he faces the issue of trying to figure out how he’s going to survive for a period of an hour underneath the lake. So – and we talked a little bit about this before in terms of Harry feeling bad about lying to Hagrid. You guys seemed to think he was more of a parental figure, so that was one of the questions that I had. Was he more of a parental figure or more of like kind of a big brother? Because just based on how mature Hagrid comes across, to me he seems more of kind of the big brother. What do you guys think?

Andrew: Yeah. I mean, I would call it fatherly just because Hagrid’s always very proud of Harry, and I think you see fatherly characteristics in that over big brotherly, so…

Eric: Yeah.

Andrew: …I would say fatherly. And just the difference in the connection – the relationship connection, Hagrid having worked with his parents in the past. I would call it fatherly.

Eric: Yeah.

Andrew: Like Sirius.

Eric: And I mean, he does get drunk and [laughs] the trio has to dip him in a tub of cold water, and it’s kind of – I don’t know. I guess you do that for your brother, too, but I think – there’s just such an age difference that Hagrid, as Andrew said, traipsed around with Harry’s parents. But also the trio wasn’t even of drinking age at that time and here they are taking care of Hagrid who’s mothering a dragon, that sort of thing. So, I do think it’s more fatherly.

Micah: So, he’s like a drunk uncle, is that what you’re saying? [laughs]

Eric: Like a drunk uncle.

[Micah laughs]

Eric: If “drunk uncle” were an option, I think “drunk uncle” would be Hagrid, completely.

Micah: Okay. So, as I mentioned, what’s happening is they’re trying to help Harry figure out how in the world he’s going to be able to compete in this task underwater. And they’re searching the library for hours and hours and hours on end, they get McGonagall’s permission to go into the Restricted Section. And why is this such a hard task to crack, thinking about breathing underwater? I mean, there’s a couple of options that come up but Harry’s not advanced enough in terms of being able to perform certain charms, transfiguration, things like that. But there has to be a simple solution to this. Was it just a matter of them working too hard, you guys think? Were they overlooking maybe an easy solution to this?

Andrew: Yeah. [laughs]

Eric: Well, why would there be a spell or a charm to breathe underwater? Where would it be useful? I feel like the wizards in the wizarding world aren’t like Muggles where we have deep-sea divers and people who are really interested in how the earth formed, and they’ll need a solution to go down underwater to the depths of the earth. But wizards, wizard-kind, they almost – we only see spells and charms that have practical uses for sort of their nomadism. It’s not exactly like – they’re never rooted down so there really wouldn’t need to be a reason to breathe underwater, almost, for a wizard. Because it’s not…

Micah: Well, clearly there are people that live at the bottom of the lake. I’m sure they live in other underwater places around the wizarding world, too, so you would think that – Dumbledore apparently converses with the merpeople on quite a regular basis, so…

Eric: So, you’re thinking as a sort of magical creature is getting to know other races of creatures, that that would have a use for people learning – well, learning Mermish. Dumbledore knows Mermish. Why does he know Mermish? I don’t know. But that would be a reason to have a device that allows you to breathe underwater?

Micah: Well, same thing with – say there’s plants, Herbology being the study of them. You have to go underwater to get some of these things. How do you achieve that if you don’t know how to breathe underwater?

Eric: Well, I think just all the answers – part of it has to do with Harry being fourteen and not seventeen. So, you’re saying like, what Krum does, transfigures his head into a shark, is obviously a little bit more advanced for Harry. But also all of the solutions, even Gillyweed, is pretty rare, it’s uncommon. The only reasons Gillyweed is available is because Snape had it in his potions – and trust Snape to have those really obscure weeds. But I think that it is kind of a hard question. It’s kind of a hard task. There’s no – there only are obscure charms to do it. There’s no real one quick “This will help you breathe underwater,” so that presents a challenge.

Micah: No, that’s a good point. But as you mentioned, Harry does use Gillyweed which he’s given to – which is given to him by Dobby. And a clear book/movie difference here because it’s Neville in the movie who ends up giving it to him.

Eric: I think in both the book and the movie it was stolen from Snape’s storage, right?

Micah: Yeah, Dobby steals it from Snape’s storage. And so again I think it’s just a matter of them not wanting to put house-elves on the screen and have to pay for them.

Andrew: Save some money.

Micah: Yeah, exactly.

Andrew: Yeah.

Micah: And Dobby also lets Harry know about his “Wheezy,” which Harry learns is Ron who has been taken from him. Now did Harry know that it was Ron in the movie prior to going into the lake? Did they announce it right before they went underwater?

Andrew: No, I don’t think – no. In the movie, I think you see Harry really shocked once he’s in the water, that he sees Ron and then Hermione.

Micah: Right.

Andrew: So…

Micah: So, the second task begins and Harry is getting mocked by the crowd when he’s waiting for the Gillyweed to take effect. He’s not actually sure what’s going to happen. I mean, Dobby, who has presented clear danger to him in the past trying to save his life, has just given him this weed that he’s supposed to eat and who knows what’s going to happen. But he does turn into…

Andrew: Don’t say “weed,” say “Gillyweed.”

Micah: Oh, sorry.

[Eric and Micah laugh]

Andrew: It sounds inappropriate.

Micah: Anyway, he takes this…

Eric: Hash.

Micah: …Gillyweed and he…

[Andrew laughs]

Micah: For all intents and purposes, he turns into this human fish and he goes underwater. And who does he run into but Moaning Myrtle at one point, so she makes another cameo. [laughs]

Eric: Somebody must have flushed her accidentally down in the… [laughs]

Micah: Must of, yeah. Why again was she not included in the movie? We have Dobby not being included, now she’s not included.

Eric: Well, she was.

Micah: In this particular scene. Again, just the matter of staying true to the books. I know we can have that argument all day long, but it would have been interesting because she points him in the right direction of where he’s supposed to go, so he’s getting this assistance again in the task. So, Harry follows what Moaning Myrtle tells him to do and, I think it’s in the book, twenty minutes later he arrives at what I call “Merpeople Square.”

[Eric laughs]

Micah: laughs] Sort of this little town under the water. And Harry sees Ron tied up and he remembers Sirius’s knife, and I noted this is not the first time he has forgotten to use something Sirius gives him – or it actually is the first time that he forgets to use something Sirius gives him. Later on, we find out that he is pretty prone to not using things that Sirius provides him with.

Eric: [laughs] Yeah.

Micah: The mirror being, of course, what I’m talking about.

Eric: Yeah. Does he just not give Sirius the credit he deserves? What’s up with that?

Micah: I think it’s – he doesn’t plan well. I mean, that’s the thing. He’s very impulsive. He’s got that sort of saving people complex that Hermione refers to later after they get out of the lake. And if he would have thought about this task – he seems to be not focused, in a way. But again, who knows why – would you really think to bring a knife underwater with you? I probably wouldn’t.

Andrew: I mean, if you had – yeah, I guess not. [laughs]

Micah: If you had more of an idea as to what would be going on…

Andrew: Yeah, yeah.

Micah: …then maybe, yeah, you would because you see when Krum gets there to rescue Hermione, Harry helps him out with a rock to free her. So, none of them were prepared. Now comes the big question, though: Why doesn’t he just take Ron and leave? This is a competition after all, and do you think the age discrepancy plays a role here? Is he a little bit too immature? Because later on we see Ron and Hermione tell him, “Well, you didn’t really think that Dumbledore was going to let us all die down there, did you?” What do you think plays into it here?

Eric: Well, what’s at stake? I mean, that’s the question, what is at stake? I mean, the riddle from the egg – and I’ll read just the last two lines – says, “But past an hour, the prospect’s black. Too late, it’s gone, it won’t come back.” That sounds to me like they’re going to kill some students. Like really, it does. And the movie doesn’t really make that clearer because Harry obviously tries to save everybody and the merpeople aren’t like that, but it really seems like they were going to drown these people, these students, and I don’t think I ever understood that in this chapter.

Micah: But I mean – see, I don’t know if I agree with that because Cedric comes, he takes Cho. Krum comes, he takes Hermione without a second thought. And I think they’re more mature in terms of age and they realize, “Well, this is a competition and I don’t really need to be bothered with anybody else because at the end of the day, past an hour, chances are anybody who hasn’t made it there, they’re going to free whomever is captive down here.” I mean…

Eric: So, you’re saying Harry’s kind of naive to think that…

Micah: Yeah, I think he is and I think he’s not focusing on what the competition is about, and that’s getting out of the water first.

Eric: Well, is the competition about that? Because Harry gets awarded these special points for being a hero, and…

Micah: Well, we can talk about that, too. We can talk about “Does he really deserve those points?”

Eric: Well, why would Dumbledore give them if there wasn’t some kind of – it’s like almost a pat on the back, like, “Nice try, Harry. You didn’t really get the point of the competition, but because you’re a hero and we all love you…” Like that’s what Harry…

Micah: Right. Like here’s some extra credit. [laughs]

Eric: Well, that’s the thing. So, Harry, I guess, became confused over the nature of the competition. He believes, and I don’t think he’s wrong in doing so, that this is the Triwizard Tournament. This is the tournament that people die in, historically that’s happened and so he really feels as though Fleur will not get her sister back if…

Andrew: Yeah, it’s in Harry’s character to make this sort of move, so I think…

Micah: Well – yeah, you’re right. But part of it, I think – Eric, you said the word before – he’s a bit naive. He’s a bit immature when it comes to realizing what’s going on and that saving hero complex is kind of clouding his decision making, much like it does in Order of the Phoenix when he mistakenly goes to try and rescue Sirius when he’s not really in trouble.

Eric: Well, to be fair, he did go and use the fireplace to make sure that Sirius wasn’t there in Book 5. But I think – Dumbledore has to chat with the merpeople to get the full picture and the merpeople tell Dumbledore of Harry’s heroism. But it’s just weird because I don’t think it’s ever clarified that they were actually not in danger, that the people who were taken were not going to die. I mean, it just seems so plausible, I think, to Harry that if he doesn’t rescue these characters, they will die.

Micah: Okay. Well, just a couple more quick points in this chapter. What does it say about these merpeople that they clearly fear magic? When Harry takes out his wand, they back off immediately. What do you think has happened over the years to make them react in such a way?

Eric: That’s a really good question.

Andrew: Could they – I mean, one theory that kind of doesn’t take that into consideration is, were they told by the organizers to act this way? To be on the attack? I mean, obviously with the dragons, they were being protective of their egg. That makes sense. But what about the merpeople could upset them other than just being told, “Be this way”? Or maybe they just don’t like wizards in their habitat. It’s…

Eric: But then, “Why agree to this?” is the other thing. Why agree to be…

Andrew: Did they, though?

Eric: Well, yeah, they must have. I mean, mustn’t they have? They have tied up these – “What we took,” is in the poem. I think it took tremendous cooperation between Dumbledore and the merpeople to set this whole thing up, especially because they are, like, “We’re going to have strangers swimming through your territory.” That’s a pretty big deal.

Andrew: But if you don’t tell them, then wouldn’t that be a reason for being pissed? [laughs]

Eric: [laughs] Yeah, it would, I guess. But…

Micah: Well, they are not really pissed, they are fearful. I mean, when Harry basically threatens them with the wand, they all scatter away.

Eric: Well, one of the interesting things was when Harry is losing his gills, and he still speaks and they can understand him but he can’t understand them above water. He can somehow communicate underwater. There are all just these different creatures and I think – we know that the Ministry of Magic has prevented all non-humans from wielding a wand, even if they have inherent magic. House-elves have powerful, powerful magic but they are not allowed. And goblins have magic but they are not allowed, and this is an issue of contention for goblins, to use a wand to direct their magic. So, I think merpeople have long been denied a wand, even if – say they have magic that they can do. I think they are very fearful because of the power that a wizard would have over them. They are not able to conduct their magic in such a way. They would naturally be very fearful…

Micah: Yeah.

Eric: …of Harry.

Micah: Well, it’s possible also they have been threatened in some way in the past by a wizard or a witch of some kind, and this is how they react. And then I had a question about – do you think more time is focused on figuring out the task as opposed to the task itself? Or is figuring it out part of the task? Because to me, this seems like a really straightforward task to handle. You go underwater, you swim to this place, you rescue the person, and you’re out. There is no big obstacle. I think the biggest obstacle was figuring out how you were going to swim underwater.

Eric: Yeah, but that’s actually – isn’t that said straight out in the book at some point? That really the real task is figuring out what you are going to do about the task? Discerning – the whole point of the clue is to figure out what the task is. And once you open the egg and learn how to do it, they tell you what the task is, so from that point on, it’s prep. It’s all prep. Just like – but I’m saying it’s the same with the first task. You have to get an egg out from under a dragon. That’s pretty straightforward, right? I mean, you just have to figure out what you are going to do about the dragon.

Micah: And then Harry gets out of the lake with both Ron and Fleur’s sister, they are up on the shore, and Krum notices that there is a water beetle lodged in Hermione’s hair, which ends up being an important plot point later on in the series. And of course, we mentioned earlier there is the scores that are discussed amongst the judges and Harry ends up getting extra points for moral fiber, even though he ended up showing up outside the time limit because Harry was, of course, the first one to get there but he waited until all four of the – I call them hostages [laughs] for lack of a better term, were rescued.

Eric: The hostages?

Micah: Well…

Eric: Well, that’s my point, is that he was over time and nobody was there to rescue Fleur’s sister. At that point, he was past time and nobody was there. So, going with the riddle, past an hour, too late, it’s gone, goodbye. That’s a pretty big deal. Nobody was standing by to make sure that if the champions didn’t make it – and more to the point, when Fleur failed to collect her sister, her sister wasn’t miraculously released by the merpeople.

Micah: Well, yeah…

Eric: So, I…

Micah: …that is true, the time had expired, but I guess they were waiting for Harry to emerge from the water. And I mean, we can have a conversation as we did earlier about did Harry actually deserve the extra points because in the rules of the competition, he didn’t make it back in time regardless of whether he was the first there or he cared about everybody else. I mean, I think he kind of got a little bonus where it wasn’t necessary. But he ends up being in a tie with Cedric for first. We learn, of course, that the next task will take place at sundown on June 24th and they will learn about what the task will be a month beforehand, but Harry is just excited that the second task is out of the way and he mentions that if next time he is in Hogsmeade, he is going to buy Dobby a pair of socks for every day of the year because of what Dobby was able to do for him. So, that’s where Chapter 26 ends.