MuggleCast 628 Transcript
Transcript for MuggleCast Episode #628, Did the Dursley’s Gifts to Harry Foreshadow ‘Deathly Hallows’? And More MuggleMail
Show Intro
[Show music plays]
Andrew Sims: Welcome to MuggleCast, your weekly ride into the wizarding world fandom. I’m Andrew.
Eric Scull: I’m Eric.
Micah Tannenbaum: I’m Micah.
Laura Tee: And I’m Laura.
Andrew: And this week, we’re getting owl post again as we bust open the Muggle mailbag to get your feedback on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. And boy, did we get a lot of great feedback. Micah once again curated it all. And boy, do we have – according to Micah – the best theory he may have ever heard!
Micah: Oh yeah.
Andrew: Coming up. But first, we do have a couple of announcements, and then we’re going to wrap up Prisoner of Azkaban. Laura, you have an important reminder for everybody.
Laura: That’s right. As a reminder, the MuggleCast 2023 listener survey is live now. The survey is going to be open through October 6, and we want to know what you love about the show, what you think we could do to improve it, and what other content you’d be interested in us making in the future. We’re also asking anyone who supports us on our Patreon about their experiences, so we can improve the bonus content over there as well. The survey is open to all whether you’re a Patreon supporter or not, and it will be available through our website and our show notes and across our various social channels. Again, thanks to everyone who’s taken the survey so far, and thanks in advance to everyone who will take it here over the next couple of weeks. We couldn’t do this without you.
Eric: The survey questions for non-patrons is really simple. It’s two questions. Question one is, are you a patron? And question two is, why not?
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: In a way, it’s like that. It’s a little more intricate.
Eric: But yeah, it’s interesting that this genuinely… Laura, you did an amazing job with this. I enjoyed filling it out under various names.
[Micah laughs]
Eric: And it really does help us move the show forward.
Andrew: Yes, Eric, your submissions definitely help us. [laughs]
Laura: We’ll see. Now I’m going to have to go through the data and figure out which bogus responses to omit.
Eric: I put little Easter eggs in there.
Andrew: Don’t do that. No, no, no. We don’t want to encourage listeners to start playing around with that.
Eric: No, I’m only I’m only adding humor so it sparks the engagement of people going and… guys, do this; Laura worked really hard on it, and we’re going to use it. We’re going to use the info for growing the show in a way that you desire.
Micah: For a lot of fun things.
Andrew: You can help us shape the future of the show, so please don’t hesitate to fill that out. And we mentioned Patreon, Micah. We do bonus MuggleCast twice a month, and we’re recording a new one today, right? What can listeners expect later this week?
Micah: Yeah, we’re recording a new edition of bonus MuggleCast today. And given that we are just about to start Goblet of Fire, we did our Goblet of Fire movie commentary last night. I think a Time-Turner has to be involved in some way to have this all makes sense as we talk about it here.
[Eric laughs]
Micah: But yeah, given that inspiration, I thought it’d be fun to talk about what didn’t make the movie. So it’s actually a good thing we watched the movie last night, and now we’re going to talk about what we love so much in the Goblet of Fire book that didn’t make the cut for the film, but certainly could be a possibility for the Harry Potter TV reboot.
Andrew: Yes.
Micah: And should be, in many cases.
Andrew: It’s going to be a long season of that show. But yeah, that’ll be a lot of fun to discuss at patreon.com/MuggleCast this week. So Micah, you also dropped a new playlist on Spotify. We’ve all done playlists, and last but not least, you created a playlist for us, for listeners.
Micah: Yeah, I’ve been busy this week. So I created a playlist that is Quidditch-themed. And you all mentioned that you did it for your respective Houses, and of course, Laura and I are in the same House, and she did such a great job with Ravenclaw that I thought I’d take a little bit of a different spin here. I had a lot of fun putting it together, and so hopefully, whether you’re just using it to go for a walk or you’re working out at the gym, it’s something that’ll amp you up a little bit, get you ready for for your workout.
Andrew: Or, of course, if you’re playing Quidditch.
Micah: Oh yeah, that too.
Andrew: We will have a link to that in the show notes, and the link is already available on social media. Those are the announcements for this week.
Chapter by Chapter wrap-up
Andrew: And now we are going to wrap up Prisoner of Azkaban Chapter by Chapter. First we are going to reread every single one of our Seven-Word Summaries that we did for Book 3. Then we are going to redo one of the Seven-Word Summaries – we voted on which one we were going to redo in advance of recording – and then we will do a Seven-Word Summary for the entire book before jumping into Muggle Mail today. Let’s hear all of our Prisoner of Azkaban Seven-Word Summaries in order now. Chapter 1: Owls deliver presents to Harry’s bedroom window.
Eric: Chapter 2: Aunt Marge enjoys abusing Harry every minute.
Micah: Chapter 3: Help arrives for Harry after an encounter.
Laura: Chapter 4: Discoveries are everywhere around this Leaky Cauldron.
Andrew: Chapter 5: Fear about the murderer abounds on trains.
Eric: Chapter 6: McGonagall shades Trelawney during Transfiguration class, ooh.
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: Chapter 7: Neville fears rebuke when Snape poisons Trevor.
Laura: Chapter 8: Teachers forbid Harry from going to Hogsmeade.
Andrew: Chapter 9: Suspicions rock the Hogwarts student body tonights.
[Laura laughs]
Eric: Chapter 10: Secrets are divulged via professors drinking butterbeer.
Micah: Chapter 11: Somebody sends a Firebolt mysteriously to Harry.
Laura: Chapter 12: Lupin teaches Harry how to fight Dementors.
Andrew: Chapter 13: Cho distracts Harry with her amazing looks.
Eric: Chapter 14: Mud finds its recipient.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Laura: Is this the one we didn’t finish?
Eric: Yeah, Micah was like, “Leave it.”
Andrew: That’s my favorite one.
Micah: It’s accurate. Chapter 15: Fatigue sets in for Hermione intensely, whoa.
Laura: Chapter 16: Exams consume clairvoyance and shocking revelations, executions.
Andrew: Chapter 17: Sirius attacks Ron viciously when Scabbers appears.
Eric: Chapter 18: Lupin reveals backstory to many children, ta-dah!
Micah: Chapter 19: Pettigrew begs Harry for forgiveness for murder.
Laura: Chapter 20: Chaos ensues on Hogwarts grounds under moonlight.
Andrew: Chapter 21: Hermione saves Buckbeak with a Time-Turner.
Eric: And Chapter 22: Justice is served by Hermione and Harry.
Andrew: All right, so we all voted in advance, and with three votes, the winner of the redo is actually Chapter 3: “Help arrives for Harry after an encounter.” That was voted on by Micah, Laura, and myself.
Eric: So Chapter 3 is, of course, “The Knight Bus,” usually.
Andrew: Usually? [laughs]
Eric: Yes, when it’s not being titled by us.
Andrew: Oh, oh, okay.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Eric: I want to remind people because we’re going to redo it, right. So it’s “The Knight Bus,” Harry puts his arm out, he sees the Grim…
Andrew: It’s important for us too, yeah. So here we go!
[Seven-Word Summary music plays]
Eric: Stan…
Laura: … arrives…
Micah: … to…
Andrew: … pick…
Eric: … “Neville”…
Laura: … up…
Micah: … safely.
[Seven-Word Summary music ends]
Eric: Oh yeah.
Andrew: Okay! I like it. I like the Neville choice.
Laura: I actually think it’s a better summary than what we had before.
Andrew: It is, and that’s why we do this.
Eric: And Neville is in quotes.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: And now we’re going to do a Seven-Word Book Summary!
Laura: I’m bored.
Andrew: Same order. Here we go.
[Seven-Word Summary music plays]
Eric: Sirius…
Laura: … prevails…
Micah: … over…
Andrew: … Ministry…
Eric: Ooh… officials…
Laura: … and…
Micah: Snape.
Eric: There we go!
[Micah laughs]
[Seven-Word Summary music ends]
Muggle Mail
Andrew: So to kick off Muggle Mail this week, instead of hearing ourselves talk more, reading your amazing emails, we’ll start with voicemails. And I teased earlier: We have what Micah says may be the best theory he’s ever heard. I can’t wait to hear what this person Cameron said concerning the Dursleys’ Christmas presents.
[Voicemail plays]
“Hi, this is Cameron. I’ve been a listener since the beginning of COVID, and I’m 14 years old, and I just called in to tell you of a theory that I had. I recently finished the fourth book in another reread, and I started focusing on all the gifts that the Dursleys give Harry. I’ve always kind of wondered why they give him gifts, since they usually just send him something that they probably picked from the trash. And I’ve always kind of thought that it was probably Hedwig who would bug them into sending him something. And I started looking at it, and they send him three gifts throughout the series. In the Sorcerer’s Stone, they send him a 50-pence piece. In the second book, they send him a tissue, and in the fourth book, they send him a toothpick. And I don’t know, maybe this theory is kind of a stretch, but a 50-pence piece, in the way that you flip it over and that it doesn’t really have much value unless you look into it, is kind of like the Resurrection Stone. A toothpick is kind of like a wand, maybe the Elder Wand. And a tissue is kind of like a cloak, maybe a Cloak of Invisibility. Now, I’m not saying that the Dursleys were Death, or that they really knew what they were doing. But maybe J.K. set this in as a little teaser for the Deathly Hallows. Just a theory. I love to listen. Bye!”
[Voicemail ends]
Andrew: Wow. Thanks, Cameron.
Laura: I love this. As I was listening to this, I was putting it together and being like, “Oh my god, it’s the Deathly Hallows!” This is such an amazing catch. For anyone who was watching, my face was like, mind blown listening to this.
Micah: Yeah, I saw your face.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Laura: This is so good, Cameron.
Andrew: That is very interesting. I would agree with you that the Dursleys didn’t see what they were doing, of course, but maybe it was an idea from J.K.
Laura: It’s an Easter egg.
Eric: And I checked, and this holds up. I had a memory of the Dursleys giving Harry a coat hanger and one of Vernon’s old socks, but that happened for his 10th birthday, so before the book is set. So yes, during the course of the books, it is only these three gifts that we know about. This is phenomenal.
Micah: Pretty amazing, yeah. And what’s wild is that we’ve been doing this for 18 years. I don’t think I’ve ever heard that theory, ever.
Laura: No.
Micah: So great job, Cameron.
Eric: The next generation is totally fine. Good for you.
Micah: All right, I’m done with the show for the day.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: One of us has to step away and Cameron has to step up. This is the changing of the guard that was foretold.
Andrew: We have so much great feedback today. Here’s a voicemail from Eden, concerning why Voldemort really has no hair.
[Voicemail plays]
“Hey, MuggleCast, this is Eden. I’m a 12-year-old Gryffindor, and I just wanted to share with you something pretty funny that I found. So I was looking through Harry Potter stories and I found one that said that the reason Voldemort didn’t have any hair is so no one can make a Polyjuice Potion of him. I thought that was pretty cool. I think Voldemort really just did it, though, to add to the whole baddie vibe… but that’s a pretty cool added bonus, and it got me thinking, too, of Voldemort with a mullet. Anyway, thank you so much. Love the show. Bye.”
[Voicemail ends]
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: That’s great.
Eric: That’s also very cool.
Laura: That’s a good call-out, Eden.
Eric: I suppose you could do it with toenails, but nobody would want to get that close.
Andrew: Eww. His feet definitely smell.
Eric: Oh man.
Micah: I really liked this. And I was trying to think… there’s something about the bald character trait that seems to signify a level of power. I feel like when you… at least for me when I look back on other series that I’ve either watched or read, there’s this significance… people in the magical world, when they’re bald, they seem to have this certain level of power. I don’t know if I’m just making things up at this point.
Eric: Kingsley, Voldemort… who else?
Micah: Slytherin.
Andrew: Mr. Freeze.
Eric: Absolutely.
[Laura laughs]
Micah: I believe most depictions of Slytherin have him as being bald as well.
Andrew: People are listening live right now on Patreon and Margot -am I pronouncing that name right? Margot said, “I’m so glad we have a new generation reading the books and bringing us new theories.” Yes, good call. That’s not an observation I considered before, the back half of that. All right, next voicemail is from Alex with a Snape and Neville theory.
[Voicemail plays]
“Hi, MuggleCast. Stereotypically first time caller, longtime listener. But I had a theory that I wanted to throw your way. I wanted to see what you think. So as we know, Severus Snape is very brutal and very mean to Neville. Of course to Harry, but really Neville. And with Harry, we get it, but Neville, it’s never really so much explained. I have a theory and I want to know what you all think. My theory is because Snape might have known the prophecy, maybe every time he sees Neville, he thinks to himself, ‘It should have been you. It could have been you, and Lily would have been safe.’ Maybe that’s why he channeled so much anger and frustration into Neville. Not okay, of course. Not justified. But it’s a theory. Wanted to know what you all think. Big fan. Hope to hear from you soon, bye.”
[Voicemail ends]
Andrew: 100%. Love it.
Eric and Laura: Yeah.
Eric: This is brilliant. The only thing I would add to this is the first lesson with Snape ever, Snape as a teacher comes across as not liking what he says are dunderheads. And so he’s over-teaching, in general, incompetent students, because he’s the kind of teacher where he’s like, “Well, it’s easy for me. It’s intuitive for me. Why can’t you get it? You’re stupid.” He has disdain for students that maybe need a little extra help, so that is added on to everything he feels about the prophecy that Alex is saying, and Neville is just the worst at that.
Andrew: Bonus points for your delivery, Alex, of Snape’s thoughts when you were voice-acting. That was really good. Next voicemail, from a mystery caller about the full moon.
[Voicemail plays]
“Hey, guys, I was just listening to this week’s episode when you were talking about Lupin’s transformation. I do some rituals during the new and full moon, and if you look up moon phases and when the full moon is, it’s actually… the reason why Lupin might turn at a specific time is because there’s a certain time that is recorded where the moon is the highest in the sky. This Wednesday, I think it’s actually at 7:30. And other days, other months, it could be 2:00 in the morning, it could be in the afternoon where the full moon is high in the sky, maybe not visible, but still highest in the sky. So I think Lupin’s transformation has less to do with the moonlight – maybe that’s more for dramatic flair – and more to do with the certain timing of the moon phases. Just thought I’d leave that feedback. Hopefully you can hear this; I’m in my car driving to work. Love you guys so much. Bye.”
[Voicemail ends]
Laura: Hey, we love you too. And yeah, I think this is a really good call-out, actually. I think it’s one of those things we can think about as headcanon. I know we’ve talked quite a bit about headcanon in recent history, but just taking something like this and plugging it in to fill the information gap where it feels like a plothole…. but something like this could perfectly explain it, which is great.
Eric: I love this. Yeah, and I love that there’s a certain specific time where rituals have higher success, or the significance of the placement of the moon in addition to all the other cool things that the moon does for us and all the other ways in which its cycle is broken down… good stuff. Really, really love this theory.
Micah: Yep. And just a reminder, when folks do call us, to leave your name. We want to be able to credit you for your voicemail, and I think there’s a tendency sometimes for people to forget. Just wanted to throw that reminder out there, much like Cameron and Eden did. Follow the youngsters; leave your name when you drop us a voicemail.
Andrew: I think also people just… when you leave a voicemail, typically… I know older generations, they still say, “Hi, it’s Grandma.” I know it’s Grandma; I can see that on caller ID. Younger generations aren’t as used to having to say your name, so I see why people forget.
Laura: Well, yeah, and also, I’ll say this: Maybe not everybody wants their name to be shared. In that event, I would say come up with a creative nickname. Think about some of the nicknames people use for Quizzitch.
Micah: Like I do on Quizzitch. [laughs]
Laura: Yeah, do that.
Andrew: Or just say, “I’m Tonks.” Pick a Harry Potter character. All right, well, thanks to everybody who does call in and write in. We really appreciate the voicemails; we love hearing our listeners. If you would like to get in touch with us, if you want to drop a voicemail yourself, you can send a voice memo to MuggleCast@gmail.com. Just record it using the Voice Memo app on your phone. Or you can call our phone number, which is 1-920-3-MUGGLE, 1-920-368-4453. When you do call us, give us your name, or a made up name, and try to keep your message about a minute long.
Micah: Most of these emails are related to Prisoner of Azkaban, but we do have a few at the end that are kind of random. [laughs] I guess it’s the best way to categorize them.
Andrew: And we’ll also end with some sweet chicken soup emails too.
Eric: Aww.
Laura: Well, our first one comes from author C.K. Brooke. I looked this up; C.K. Brooke is an author of YA fantasy romance, so definitely check them out. But Micah, I think you’re getting called out a little bit here. So C.K. says,
“Hey, y’all,”
Thank you for including that.
“I’m writing in response to Micah’s question in your recent Chapter by Chapter discussion of Chapter 21 of Prisoner of Azkaban. In the episode, Micah asked if the Time-Turner might simply have been a lack of creativity on the author’s part, for not being able to think of a better way to free Buckbeak and Sirius. Respectfully, I wanted to say that not only was I dissatisfied with the explanation he gave, but I think the question itself misses the point entirely.”
Micah: Well, hold on. She said “the explanation I was given,” so she’s talking… not only was she dissatisfied with my question, she was dissatisfied with the response that was given from the rest of you all.
Laura: Oh, I see.
Andrew: She handles this very nicely, though.
Laura: Yeah, no, it’s funny.
Micah: It’s all of our faults.
Laura: That’s true. I read the sentence wrong. So,
“From a writer’s perspective, while saving Buckbeak and Sirius is part of the immediate plot, the deeper and overarching theme is that Harry must save himself. Before going back in time, Harry believes it’s his dad who conjured the Patronus that saved him. Only with the Time-Turner could he come to the pivotal realization that it was he, and not his dad, who had to save himself. This speaks to larger themes in the series of Harry’s self-reliance and eventual savior-hood. As well, consider the symbolism behind the message: Your father is not coming to save you; you must save yourself. I suspect this to be a reflection of the author’s feelings toward her own father, from whom we know she’s long been estranged. Whether this messaging was intentional or subconscious on her behalf, though, is probably a separate discussion. So the purpose of time travel in Book 3 is far more than just a device by which to rescue Sirius and Buckbeak. Rather, it was an ingenious way for Harry to be in two places at once so he could literally save himself, thereby learning the self-reliance he needs in order to become the savior of wizardkind. I was a little surprised that nobody touched on this in your discussion, but hopefully it sheds more light on why, from a writing perspective, time travel was a perfectly fitting and creative method by which to convey several of the series’ major themes. Thanks for reading. Hope you keep up the show for many years to come. Peace and love.”
No, I love this
Andrew: Peace and love. Peace and love! I love it too.
Micah: All right, C.K., trying to soften at the end. “Peace and love.”
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: I thought it’s thoughtful.
Micah: No, I agree with you. I think that one of the things to keep in mind is it’s good for us to throw out different questions for the purpose of discussion, right? And I think that, especially when you’re the person who’s responsible for planning a discussion, you try and come up with different ways to pose it to the rest of the panel, and I think that for me, in this moment, I was probably only thinking purely from the standpoint of how the plot plays out, and could there have been a more interesting way for Sirius to have been freed? But I think C.K. really does make a strong point here in that as much as this is about Sirius and Buckbeak, it is about Harry, and Harry having that confidence-building moment to know that there are things that he can do that he doesn’t even know. So I really like this point that she’s making.
Laura: Yeah, same. And honestly, you asking that question, Micah, is exactly what opened the door for a really great email like this to come in.
Andrew: Thank you, C.K. And now, this next email comes from Katie concerning Lupin’s lesson plans, another interesting observation here.
“Have you guys noted that all of Lupin’s DADA lessons are creature-centric? Why? Boggarts, grindylows, Kappas, red caps… was there ever a non-creature focused lesson? There’s surely more to DADA than defense against potentially dangerous creatures? Perhaps Lupin has a special interest in magical beasts given his personal history, or was he just following the traditional textbook? Maybe it’s the theme of the year three text. Is Lupin teaching about defensive spells and other aspects of Dark magic to other years? I have always wondered this, and I’m curious to know your thoughts. Sincerely, former Pickle Pack member Katie.”
Micah: Ooh.
Andrew: Clever way to sign your name.
Laura: Oh man, Katie is an OG.
Andrew: Katie said maybe it’s the theme of the year three text. I would extend that and say it’s a theme of Book 3, and that’s why there’s a focus from the writing perspective. But also, I like this idea that because Lupin is a werewolf himself, he is teaching about creatures, and maybe it’s almost foreshadowing for the reader.
Eric: Yeah, I’m trying to pick… you know how when we did Home Economics – or Family and Consumer Science, it was called – that they waited until we were old enough to cook because we had to handle machinery or because we had to handle things like that. So maybe there is something to handling magical creatures, which is another class they have this year. They’re 13, so they’re judged as being capable of handling it. I think there might be something to that as far as like, it’s the theme of the year. But yeah, I like your idea, Andrew, that maybe because there’s all this focus on beasts in the way of Buckbeak, they’re offsetting it by showing a lot of creatures in the magical world so that it doesn’t seem like she’s always writing about Buckbeak because you’re learning about all these other creatures that exist, and boggarts and Dementors and all this other stuff.
Andrew: Hashtag world building.
Micah: Yeah. I’m trying to think back to the other books and what they actually learned prior to this in Defense Against the Dark Arts. I don’t know that we get a whole lot of time with Quirrell. I think the first DADA class we actually spend time in is with Lockhart, and we know how much of a disaster he is as a professor, although creatures coming into play there, too, right? Cornish pixies. He does teach them how to duel, which is a natural defense against the Dark arts practice. But the other thing with Lupin, though, is that we are seeing more Defense Against the Dark Arts; he’s just teaching Harry. He’s not teaching the rest of the class, and I think he’s setting Harry up for Order of the Phoenix to really be the strategic Defense Against the Dark Arts professor when he starts to teach the rest of Dumbledore’s Army. All right, our next email comes from Jenna, who talks about father figures. She says,
“Hey MuggleCast, listening to Episode 624, and I had a few things to note. You talk about father figures in this episode, and in others. Most father figures to Harry are majorly flawed in some way and I guess Hagrid is the only ‘flawless’ father figure that Harry has. Anyway, my point is, I think the reason for this is because J.K. Rowling herself has a tough relationship with her own father.”
As was noted in a prior email.
“I’m positive I saw an interview with her where they revisit her past and her childhood, and she mentions her relationship with her own father. Perhaps this influences the father figures in Harry’s life. Thanks for being awesome and the best possible way to end what is usually a stressful day at work for me.”
Andrew: Aww. We got you.
Eric: We got you. Yeah, doesn’t make sense. You write what you know. And unfortunately, whether you want to or not, inevitably, the relationship spectrum that you have in your life can appear in your writing, I think, if you really showcase all types of people. And it does happen that a lot of these characters do happen to be fathers, but there is enough of a variety in there. You can picture other characters being good dads, but the ones Harry has, there’s always something else going on with them.
Micah: I don’t know that I would call Hagrid flawless. He has his blind spots.
Andrew: No, but he’s as close to flawless. Nobody’s perfect. Oh my god. I say it every episode, that…
Laura: Yeah, but what about Arthur?
Micah: I thought about him too.
Andrew: Perfect?
Laura: Yeah, Arthur is a father figure to Harry. But I think the interesting thing about it is Harry does have a number of father figures, and the ones that he seems to place the most emphasis on are maybe the ones who weren’t the best father figures to him. But then when you think about people like Hagrid, people like Arthur, who were great father figures, and he could have drawn inspiration for his future children’s names from those people, but he didn’t. He instead chose “Albus Severus.” [laughs] So it’s just very interesting to see that happening, and I think we could also do a deeper reading into the text to think about what that says about Harry and the trauma that he carries around. The lack of a central positive father figure in his life.
Micah: And I think, too, so many of these characters provide different things that Harry needs. They’re not all the same type of father figures, so it’s almost like it’s a collective that is raising him.
Andrew: And that’s life, right?
Laura: It takes a village.
Andrew: You connect with different people. It takes a village, but you connect with different people and get different things out of them. Everybody’s got different skill sets to help you move along through life, whether you’re an orphan or not.
Laura: Yeah, it is really interesting to zoom out and take that 30,000 foot view of how concepts of fatherhood and motherhood are built and portrayed in these books. Again, that could be a whole episode, if we wanted it to be.
Eric: The next email comes from Jackie about Bill the werewolf and the Marauder’s Map.
“Hi, it’s Jackie, and I want to correct you guys on something.”
Very strong beginning to that email.
“Bill isn’t a werewolf. He was scratched by Greyback when Greyback was in human form. And I’ve read a theory concerning why no one saw Peter on the map. That Marauders did a charm that hides the fact that they are Animagi. In the book, when Remus looks at the map he sees Peter and Sirius, but when Snape looks at it, he only sees the trio, Remus, and Sirius, but not Peter (who was still in rat form). This was created as a safety precaution in case the map wound up with a teacher.”
Laura: That’s interesting. So only they would be able to see themselves in Animagus form on the map.
Andrew: Yeah, that seems like a good security measure.
Micah: I like that.
Laura: I wonder how that works.
Eric: Also the importance of closing the map when you’re done using it.
Laura: Yep!
[Laura and Micah laugh]
Micah: Just a little thing, but I think I was the one who had said that Bill was a werewolf, so I appreciate Jackie calling that out.
Laura: It is a good call-out. I think I recall, though, wasn’t there some kind of reference made by Lupin that Bill prefers his steaks on the raw side now or something?
Eric: Yeah, Lupin counsels Bill as a result of what happened. I mean, a scratch is putting it lightly; his face is really cut up.
Micah: I’m trying to remember if that’s actually a line in the books, though. It’s a movie-ism. It’s Deathly Hallows – Part 1 in the Seven Potters scene when Bill is introduced to us.
Laura: Yeah, I think it is from the books, but if I recall correctly, I think it was actually something from Half-Blood Prince said in the hospital wing, and I think they just ported the line over to Deathly Hallows – Part 1.
Micah: Right, because isn’t there a back and forth with Molly and Fleur about how she really still loves him even if he is in this condition?
Eric and Laura: Right.
Eric: And that makes Molly…
Micah: Maybe he’s just not full-blown werewolf.
Eric: It’s in Chapter 29, “The Phoenix Lament,” and it just says his wounds are cursed, so they have some element of lycanthropy, but yeah, he’s not a werewolf.
Laura: Yeah, not full blown, at any rate.
Eric: I did check and Teddy Lupin is also does not have his father’s curse.
Andrew: All right, next email comes from Rachel.
“Hey guys, I was reading Chapter 19 of Prisoner and noticed something odd. After the trio knocks Snape out, Lupin wants to offer up proof about Pettigrew. He refers to Ron as ‘you, boy…’ I wondered why he would refer to Ron this way, because he was always such a casual and personable professor and often called his students by their first name. Do y’all think the author meant to have Sirius give that line/was it an editing mistake? Or is this just an out of character moment for Lupin? Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.”
Eric: For me, it reads like a Dickensian way, like when Scrooge wakes up and he’s so excited and he runs out the window and he’s like, “You, boy! Do they still have that prize turkey in the window?” Yeah, he’s thinking too quickly, he’s extremely excited, and Ron, even though he… you’re right, he always gives that first person touch relationship with the students. Maybe Ron really is that boy that he addressed the least or is least familiar with. I think just quickly, “You, boy,” that works.
Laura: All right. Our next one comes from Jenny, and it’s about Veritaserum and Secret Keepers. Jenny says,
“Hi, y’all! After listening to the podcast about Chapter 19, I got to thinking about being a Secret Keeper. Do you think the magic of being a Secret Keeper is stronger than the magic of the Veritaserum potion? Otherwise, what would stop someone from giving a Secret Keeper the potion to learn the secret?”
Eric: Oh, I love these branches of magic, and it’s like we pit them against each other and are like, “Okay, so which one will win out?” It’s like the Dueling Club all over again.
Andrew: So sometimes I just get Googling when people ask us great questions because obviously, Harry Potter is massive and everybody’s got a theory on every question on the Internet. We obviously love trying to answer these ourselves, but like I said, I went Googling and I liked this answer I saw on StackExchange.com, which is like a Quora website. This one person said, and this is – it looks like – Au101, in 2016. They said,
“The first thing I’d say is that Veritaserum is only one tool. It may be magic, but it is not invincible. It is not infallible. Rowling has gone on record saying, ‘Veritaserum works best on the unsuspecting, vulnerable, and those insufficiently skilled in one way or another to protect themselves against it.’ As such, in no sense can Veritaserum be relied upon to always force the truth out of someone. That, I think, is worth bearing in mind. Secondly, the magic of the Fidelius Charm to me is rather beautiful. It’s about fidelity, loyalty, trust, and friendship. To me, the element of choice there is all-important. The spell is broken if your Secret Keeper betrays you. It’s about betrayal, infidelity, treachery.”
Andrew: So that’s the short answer, and I like that.
Laura: Interesting.
Eric: Yeah, I like that too. Also, Lauren in the discord says, “I thought the Secret Keeper has to willingly give the answer. It can’t be forced out of them.” That speaks to like betrayal, loyalty, the fact that you’re being fidelious…
Andrew: Yeah, yeah. Right.
Eric: Yeah, that’s really interesting.
Micah: Cool. Our next email comes from Jonathan talking about the godfather’s magical bond. I feel like Eric will really like this email.
Eric: I’m waiting.
Micah: He says,
“Hi y’all, I’m from Mississippi, after all. I just finished listening to Episodes 624…”
624 was a big one we got feedback on. “Where’s the Moonscreen?”
Andrew: With a title like that, it got everybody tuning in.
Eric: I’ve got to say, I’m happy about several titles coming from my brain lately, you guys.
Micah: Well, and Mississippi – maybe they interpreted that as “Where’s the moonshine?”
[Eric and Laura laugh]
[Micah continues reading]
“When Laura first talked about Sirius being Harry’s godfather, it got me thinking. There are a few times in the series that it talks about a magical way to bind two people. The Unbreakable Vow (Snape and Narcissa), blood pact/oath (Dumbledore and Grindelwald), and the less life-threatening bond between Bill and Fleur when they got married. Do you think that when James and Lily asked Sirius to be Harry’s godfather, that there was some kind of bond that formed ‘binding’ him to Harry? I believe that there was, even if no one realized it at the time. It may not be as strong as when Lily gave her life to save Harry, which took a little time for Dumbledore to figure out, but I believe something happened. Keep up the good work on the podcast. I’ve been a Potter fan for about 12 years, and got into it because of my kids that are now adults. Keep up the good work and let me know what you think of my headcanon, Jonathan, Ravenclaw, Hogwarts class of ’93. P.S. I asked Dumbledore, ‘Why Lockhart?’ And he just smiled and said, ‘You’ll laugh with me. I’m sure of it.'”
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Micah: I guess it’s a reference to him hiring Lockhart?
Andrew: I think so, yeah.
Laura: I think so.
Andrew: Hogwarts class of ’93. That’s a fun little part of your signature, your sign off.
Laura: I do love that.
Eric: I do fully agree with this, that there’s probably some kind of magical bond, because famously, godparents are the ones who vow – it is a vow – to look after the child in the event of their parents’ demise. There are reasons why Sirius obviously can’t fulfill his vow. But if you’re Catholic, for instance, you have to be baptized, which is a sacrament, one of the few in the church, and you’re present at the baptism of the child as well, so you’re witnessing the next generation and you’re a prominent part of that baptism ceremony. I know there’s not a religious-leaning aspect to the wizarding world, but there’s still that same, “This is important, this will be a magical commitment,” or a supernatural, let’s say, commitment with impact and ramifications to the world beyond. 100%, I think it’s probably some level of a magical bond there.
Laura: I agree. And I think, too, that religion, particularly Christianity, does come through in these books quite a bit, which makes a lot of sense; the author is Christian. And a lot of those overarching themes of the savior character who dies but then comes back, really do come through in these books. And actually, that’s one of the most interesting readings that I think you can do about Harry Potter, is picking out where biblical references really do come through in the books. Thinking about it from a very academic perspective, of course; not to say that you should use Harry Potter to preach to anybody. But I think that it is a really true representation of the fact that religion and myth play such a huge role in the stories that we tell, even if we don’t necessarily know that that’s what we’re doing. So it’s an amazing call-out, and I would just say, to add to your point about the bond of godparents, Eric, even outside of a religious context, there’s legalese sometimes tied up in somebody being a godparent. I didn’t grow up religious, but I do have godparents, right? And that was something that was written into my parents’ will, that if something happened to them, that this is where me and my brother were going to go. So the idea of there being an unbreakable bond, I think, is very real.
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: For me, when you just think about the whole mother’s love angle that is so important in this series, I can buy this as well.
Laura: Same.
Micah: Yeah, just to build off of what was said, I think there is such an importance in being somebody’s godfather or godmother because you’re being entrusted with the responsibility to raise that child. The parents are looking at you and saying, “If anything happens to us, you are the next best option to take care of my child.”
Eric: Did Lily not have any friends?
[Andrew laughs]
Eric: They had to go with James’s.
Micah: But it shows how much they cared about Sirius, and trusted him, more importantly, with Harry, and so I would believe that on some level that constitutes a magical contract between Harry and Sirius.
Eric: This next one comes from Corn! Question is did Cursed Child steal their prophecy?
“In Cursed Child, which has a debatable level of canoninity, there is, of course, a prophecy.”
Here it is, oh joy.
“‘When spares are spared, when time is turned, when unseen children murder their fathers, then will the Dark Lord return.’ I think this is perfectly applicable to not Albus and Scorpius’s adventures, but the events of Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire. Harry spares Pettigrew, they then turn time to spare additionally Sirius and Buckbeak; the unseen (literally for an Invisibility Cloak, figuratively for his disownment and shields from public view) Barty Crouch, Jr. kills his father Barty, Sr.; and at the end of Goblet of Fire, the Dark Lord returns. Just a thought.”
Oh, yeah, so the prophecy really can be relevant to the plot of Books 3 and 4, even though the prophecy is occurring later when Cursed Child is going on. So the idea that the prophecy would even be relevant to events that have already passed means or indicates that we’re going to experience those events again and then that will make the Dark Lord return-return-return again?
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Return-return-return, is that what you just said?
Eric: He already did, yeah.
Micah: We do see so much of Goblet of Fire in Cursed Child because of when Albus and Scorpius travel back in time too, but the way I took the email was almost as if the writers of Cursed Child were borrowing their own narrative in a way, or in this case, the prophecy from the events of Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire, so they they weren’t doing a whole lot of their own thinking, so to speak.
Eric: Well, that’s true.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: That’s kind of what I was going to say. We don’t know who exactly wrote this prophecy; if you remember, it was Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne who wrote this screenplay. I took this email and the revelation as, they’re making a callback to the books. It wasn’t a coincidence. It was probably purposeful that they’re referring to the core series. All right, this next email comes from Lauren about Hermione’s hatred of Divination.
“Hi all, I’m a new listener catching up to follow along with your chapter by chapter analysis, so I’m a little behind on the discussion of POA. But I’ve had Hermione’s skepticism toward Divination on my mind, and I think I found the origin of her close-mindedness on the subject. I recently reread Sorcerer’s Stone and noticed this passage at the end of Chapter 15, after Harry tells Ron and Hermione about his run in with Quirrellmort and the centaurs.
‘Hermione looked very frightened, but she had a word of comfort. “Harry, everyone says Dumbledore’s the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won’t touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that’s a very imprecise branch of magic.”‘
Turns out Hermione had already been influenced to mistrust Divination by her first year. And based on the context of the situation, this could be where she develops a seed of bias against centaurs after they basically told her best friend he was doomed to die. While she could just be trying to comfort Harry in that moment by dismissing what the centaurs told him, we see her opinion remain on both Divination and centaurs for years after (although Trelawney didn’t help her case.) Thanks for all the great work you do on my new favorite pod! P.S. I’m a Ravenclaw whose favorite book and movie are both POA.”
Eric: Aww.
Andrew: Welcome to the show, Lauren. Excited to have you. And excellent theory.
Eric: Good catch. Yeah, it’s a great catch. I also love the idea that the professional relationship between McGonagall and Trelawney is so poor that even to her first year class, McGonagall is just like, “Fortune-telling sucks!”
[Micah laughs]
Eric: And certain kids who care about…
Micah: Impressionable.
Eric: Yeah, impressionable kids. Hermione picked up on the fact that McGonagall, at some point during their first year, was talking about fortune-telling being imprecise, and internalized it as, “Oh, maybe that’s not even worthy of study” that early on. So it’s because McGonagall hates Divination that Hermione even in Book 1 is skeptical of it.
Micah: Definitely. There’s something I would argue, that for Hermione, it’s aspirational when she sees McGonagall, and there’s something that she really sees in her and I think that we see that develop over the course of the series. But yeah, the whole idea that this is… it’s not on a subconscious level, but perhaps she hears McGonagall say this, she stores it, and then when third year rolls around, she’s already going into the Divination class with a preconceived notion of what it’s supposed to be like. It informs her behavior towards Trelawney. I mean, let’s not forget, Hermione is not the best to Trelawney throughout… I think it’s probably one of the only relationships we see with a teacher where she’s willing to really, really push back until maybe we get to Umbridge.
Eric: Right.
Laura: Yeah. I think this also just highlights how Hermione does not navigate ambiguity very well, especially when it comes to her academics. She’s very prescriptive. It’s binary. It’s yes or no, this or that. And that’s not Divination; Divination is a very qualitative type of science where there is a lot of nuance. There’s a lot of interpretation that things are left up to and she just doesn’t navigate those kinds of spaces very well, because there aren’t necessarily clear answers. All right, our next email comes from Angela, who’s asking about Professor Binn’s grading practices. Angela says,
“I have just had this random shower thought and I can’t believe it’s never been mentioned before. How did Professor Binns grade his papers?”
[Eric laughs]
“He can’t move the parchment or lift a quill. Did you have a classroom aide? Or was it another professor? As I recall, he doesn’t know he’s dead. Would Dumbledore have convinced him to allow someone else to do his grading for him? Like, ‘Hey, Binnsy. You are so important to us that we would like to give you a break from from this most tedious portion of your job.’ I mean, why would Dumbledore tell him he’s dead when he now has a position he never has to pay?”
Andrew: [laughs] These must be those other emails Micah was teasing.
Laura: That’s funny.
Micah: Yes, we’ve moved off of Prisoner of Azkaban. Now we are in unchartered waters.
Andrew: Got it. Interesting.
Laura: So here’s the thing: Hogwarts? Accessibility nightmare.
Eric: Yeah, shout-out to shower thoughts. Really. Honestly, this is great. I love the idea that you’d be like, “Wait, what?”
Micah: Yeah, “What do you think about in the shower?” “Professor Binns.”
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: Right between the shampoo and the conditioner phase? I’m thinking of ghosts. Yeah, no. So the thing about Professor Binns, maybe there’s ghosts, parchment and ghost paper, that he can write the grades that transferred over with him, his whole library. It’s an option. For me, we see him not even know what the students’ names are. Or it’s not that… okay, he gets their names wrong, but I have full confidence that the names he calls them were the names of previous students that might have been around when he was alive, and so it’s possible that these children legitimately aren’t getting graded at all in History of Magic. Maybe Binns is doing some kind of a routine where he’s grading the same old students and then somewhere it’s getting converted to… maybe nothing they do in that class really matters, just like everybody thinks it doesn’t.
Micah: Yeah, I think that’s right. And I love the fact that he and his classroom are both in Hogwarts Legacy, and that you can explore that.
Laura: I was just thinking about that.
Eric: You have to push X to not fall asleep.
Laura: Okay, so I’ve got to call out, my character definitely fell asleep because the droning of his voice made me totally zone out and I wasn’t remembering to press X, so I fell asleep during History of Magic.
Eric: It’s perfect. It’s the perfect little mini game.
Andrew: Laura, you fell sleep IRL?
Laura: No, no, no, my character did.
Andrew: Oh, just your character. [laughs] It almost sounded like you were saying you fell asleep so you forgot to hit X.
Laura: No, I just zoned out.
Eric: Eleanor survived History of Magic. I almost want a T-shirt in Hogwarts Legacy where it says “I survived.”
Micah: All right, our next email comes from Abby about the narration of Harry Potter, and she says,
“Hey, MuggleCast, I’m a 12 year old Raven-puff (a cross between a Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw in case y’all didn’t know) and I love you guys. I’ve been trying to catch up with your chapter by chapter for a while now. I finally did, so I was scrolling through your episodes looking for something to listen to. I clicked on Episode 338 and had an idea about a question that was asked. You were wondering if Harry Potter was being narrated, and if so, who the narrator could be. I think it’s possible the narrator could be Ginny telling your kids a bedtime story. What are your thoughts on this? I would love to hear what y’all think.”
This is quite the bedtime story.
Eric: “How I met your father.”
Andrew: [laughs] Who would narrate? Dumbledore. Yeah, I want Dumbledore as my narrator.
Eric: I can see Dumbledore doing it; he’s kind of the manipulator of all time and space anyway. For me, I will say when I was young, I really, really, really internalized the Jim Dale narration voice on the DVD menus, if you remember, because it would be like, “Welcome to Hogwarts.” You’d load up the DVD and there would just be this voice talking at you, and I always internalized that as being the voice of the world itself guiding you through. So if there were a narrator, it would be in his voice for me. And it wouldn’t necessarily be a person that you could go up to in touch and meet, but truly a disembodied, omniscient narrator guy, just a narrator guy, the way Jim Dale narrates Pushing Daisies.
Andrew: Bring us home, Eric.
Eric: Okay, this is from Dalia. Beautiful name. Beautiful flower too.
“My name is Dalia, I’m 13, and I’m a Hufflepuff. I’m writing to you because recently my family went to the Berkshires of Western Mass. J.K. Rowling’s Potter-no-more article about Ilvermorny says that it’s located on the top of Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts, which is located in the Berkshires. I convinced my family to drive up to the top of the mountain.”
Laura: Awesome.
Eric: This is so cool, Dalia.
“On the top there is a war memorial, lodge, hiking trails, and more. The thing that stood out to me, though, was at the bottom. In the article about Ilvermorny, it says that the school started out as a stone cottage. When we were driving up to the top, at the base of the mountain was a small stone cottage that had a sign on it that said schoolhouse from 18-something.”
Andrew: Whoa.
“My theory is that even though Ilvermorny is supposed to be at the top of the mountain and founded in the 1600s, the cottage I saw is the original Ilvermorny. They could have moved the small cottage down the mountain to make room for a bigger school using magic, and as for the date, Muggles get lots of things wrong.”
Andrew: That is so cool. That is so observant, and I love that you’re merging book canon with the real world. [laughs] You made something physical in the real world canon in your head.
Eric: Yeah, that’s the beauty of this level of storytelling, where it’s like the wizarding world lives alongside our world, because then when you go out in nature – and the woods can be kind of spooky, but they’re definitely magical – and you can it’s easy to imagine that cottages and nothing is what it seems.
Micah: I really like this email and the fact that she was able to get her family to go to the top of the mountain.
Eric: You have to drive to the top of the mountain, I read it on Potter-no-more.
Micah: And in fairness, we know that J.K. Rowling does a lot of research before creating these parts of the magical world. Now, in some cases, we also know that she should have done a little bit more research, but for this, let’s just say I think there’s something to take away from Dalia’s email. It’s very cool. If you have a picture of it, send it in. We’d love to see it.
Andrew: Yeah, we’d love to see that. I bet she does.
Laura: Well, and the placement of Ilvermorny being in New England is just so apropos historically, just because we know about the Salem witch trials and things like that. So there has always been a strong emphasis, I think, in Harry Potter on drawing inspirations from real life events, or even the inclusion of real characters of mythological origin, right? Think about Merlin, for example, who was a student at Hogwarts, but obviously isn’t just a Harry Potter character. So I love this connection. Great catch, Dalia.
Andrew: Now we’ll move to a couple of chicken soup emails to wrap up this Muggle Mail episode. This is from Shannon.
“Hi MuggleCasters, or should I say hey, y’all?”
That really stuck, Laura. Listeners love it.
Laura: I know, it’s so good. Anyway, go ahead. [laughs]
“Longtime listener here since 2007ish. I was listening to the 18th birthday episode and loved how Laura mentioned that MuggleCast gives a sense of routine and safety through life’s struggles. I had my first child back in March, and he unexpectedly spent his first week of life in the NICU. Several months later, the emotions of it all really started to get to me. I was back at work, not getting to see my little boy but a few hours a day, and was really struggling to stay strong for him when I did see him. As a new mom with a difficult birth experience, I didn’t really know how to find myself again after what I had been through. I was not and am not the same person I was before my son was born. But when things got really tough, I was able to start listening to MuggleCast at work again. There you were, just as you had always been: that little piece of my old self to fall back on and remind me of who I am.”
Andrew: This is so sweet; I’m going to cry.
“While I’ve been through a trying experience and have changed a lot, I am still a Harry Potter fan. That remains the same. MuggleCast has helped to remind me of who I am in trying times, and from the bottom of my heart, I thank you for that. Shannon.”
Shannon, that is so beautifully written and heartfelt and meaningful to us. Thank you.
Laura: All right. And our next email comes from Tuesday, who says,
“Hey y’all (this sounds terrible in my Scottish accent so it’s strictly written use only).”
I would love to hear what it sounds like for a Scottish person to say, “Hey, y’all.”
Andrew: Call in.
[Laura laughs]
Eric: There’s this one video where it’s trying to get Scottish guys to say just the weirdest words and they can’t say it. Like, “ouroboros,” and they just can’t do it.
Laura: Well, Tuesday says,
“I’m late to the party, but I still wanted to message you guys to tell you one of my favorite MuggleCast moments and to say thank you. Towards the end of last year into the beginning of this year I found myself homeless. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. I was staying in various temporary accommodations, it was negative eight degrees in Scotland, there was no heating, and I couldn’t get a hot shower. I was miserable and spent many a night in tears. I also had no Internet access, which in itself doesn’t bother me too much, but it meant I struggled to get podcasts and audiobooks – I’m registered blind and those are my go-to media form. Around the new year, I got to stay with a family I know through scouting. One of the first things I did was catch up on podcasts. I was sitting in the warm, in newly washed clothes, having had a lovely hot shower, and listening to you guys. I remember not what any of the episodes were, but I do remember the feeling of being surrounded by friends, of laughing for the first time in ages, and feeling content. Fast forward a few months and I’m sitting in a flat of my own. Scotland has turned the temperature up to 25 degrees Celsius, and I’m listening to you guys with that same contented smile on my face. Thank you for being there when I needed it most. Here’s to many more years of magic.”
Andrew: Here’s to many more years of magic. Amen to that.
Laura: And I’m so glad that you’re doing okay. It sounds like things have gotten a lot better, and I’m so glad to hear it.
Andrew: Well, listeners, you have once again inspired us, moved us, and reminded us why we do it, after all this time. We know the show makes a big impact on y’all and obviously makes a big impact on us too. We really love doing it. We really enjoy being your Harry Potter friends. Next week, we will have our Goblet of Fire movie commentary track. We recorded it last night so we’ve been on our mics for quite a bit over the last 18 hours or so.
[Laura laughs]
Eric: This is hour five, yeah.
Andrew: It was a lot of fun. We hope you all enjoy it too. You will need to bring your own copy of Goblet of Fire, by the way, just be aware of that. We do help you sync up with us as we’re watching. We all brought our own shot of alcohol to shoot when Dumbledore screams, “Did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?” because it’s such an iconic moment in the Harry Potter fandom. [laughs] We had to celebrate that decision.
Eric: I will say, yes, legal age adults only. Do not try that at home if you’re underage, as many of you, now we are learning more with every episode, are.
Andrew: 100%. Unfortunately for us on the panel here, we are way past 18. And if they’re – sorry, 21. And because of that, we are allowed to have some alcohol from time to time. But if you’re under 21, bring a little soda or glass of water.
Eric: Oh yeah, something special that you like.
Quizzitch
Andrew: It’s time for Quizzitch.
[Quizzitch music plays]
Eric: Last week’s question: Who gives Pigwidgeon his name? The correct answer is Ginny Weasley. I never ever pass up an opportunity to have Ginny be the correct Quizzitch answer. And oh boy, do we have some great names that people submitted under, and got the correct question. They include Harry Potter picked a peck of pickled peppers; an unregistered fluffy Snitch disguised as an owl; guys I had homecoming last week and then had to march in a parade the next day Lucy the 15-year-old; pickles for Pigwidgeon; Luke the 12-year-old hey y’all it’s Luke in math class oh crap he sees me bye; HBO’s reboot better not do Ginny dirty; Bort the 32-year-old; Rocket the aptly named golden retriever; Niffle puff; Yer a qwizzard Harry; Accio 12 Bagels; what happened to Quizzitch Live give me Quizzitch Live; flu chowder cooking TM; orb-worthy prophecy; Matthew the 11-year-old; tell Kevin to play Tears of the Kingdom if he likes Skyrim; Jenny Penny loves Sirius Black; Yo Rufus on Fiya is back; loony loopy lovely Lupin; Voldy moldy and the goldie trollies; Luke the 12-year-old; Ivy soon to be 10-year-old; I am the biggest fan of Piggly Wiggly; Winky’s bubbly little problem; and the one that Micah submitted under. Are you ready for it? If you needed any more proof Ginny is terrible at naming things, see her children.
[Everyong laughs]
Andrew: There will be news on Quizzitch Live, for that Quizzitch person who submitted. There will be a Quizzitch Live sooner rather than later, I would say.
Eric: Within a month!
Micah: We’re working on it.
Eric: Announcement to come later on that. Here is next week’s Quizzitch question.
[Quizzitch music plays]
Eric: Who found the Riddle family dead? As in, who discovered their bodies? Submit your answer to us on the Quizzitch form located on the MuggleCast website, MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch, or go to MuggleCast.com and click on Quizzitch from the main nav.
Andrew: If you’re an Apple Podcast user, for just $2.99 a month you can receive ad-free and early access to MuggleCast right in the Apple Podcast app. We have lots more benefits on Patreon, though, so be sure to hit up Patreon.com/MuggleCast. You’ll also get access to bonus MuggleCast on Patreon. Like Micah said at the top of today’s episode, we’ll be recording a new one about the things from the Goblet of Fire book that didn’t make it to the movie and hopefully, will make it to the TV show. We have a great list together that we will talk through. If you’re a Spotify user, you can pledge to Patreon pretty easily. Just tap into the show on Spotify, and you’ll see a Patreon banner there, and then you can get the audio benefits that we post on Patreon right within the Spotify app, actually. This is a newer feature. It’s really great. So tap into the show, Spotify users, and check it out. If you enjoy the show and think other Muggles would too, tell a friend about the show. We love when people spread the good word about the pod. And we would also appreciate if you left us a review on your favorite podcast app. And last but not least, don’t forget that we are on social media, posting all kinds of stuff throughout the week. We’re @MuggleCast on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Threads. Thanks, everybody for listening. I’m Andrew.
Eric: I’m Eric.
Micah: I’m Micah.
Laura: And I’m Laura.
Andrew: Bye, everyone.