COS Chapter One: "The Worst Birthday"

[for-diddled.livejournal.com]

* I've liked reading these entries so much, I thought I'd have a go at writing my own. Enjoy! :)

* COS is probably my favourite book in the series. It will be interesting to see whether this is still true when I've finished snarking about it...

* The Dursleys spend most of the first page talking about food, just so no-one forgets that they’re fat, and therefore evil.

* Note that Dudley asking for more bacon is entirely different to Harry eating several portions of food when he’s at the Weasleys’.

* Gosh, the Dursleys really don’t like Harry talking about magic, do they? Not that I blame them, given what happened to Dudley the last time they met a wizard.

* Harry’s being treated “like a bomb that might go off at any minute”. That would seem to imply that they tiptoed around Harry, terrified lest they upset him, rather than yelling at him at the slightest provocation. Apparently the Dursleys think that bombs will deactivate if you shout at them loud enough.

* Harry’s worried that he’ll be thrown off the Quidditch team, conveniently forgetting that he’s a world-class player without even trying. Gotta keep that underdog status!

* It’s odd that Harry’s only skill is in sports, and that he’s skilful without having to work at it all. For a former teacher, JKR can come across as remarkably anti-intellectual and dismissive of hard work sometimes.

* The narrative voice briefly gets all judgemental about the Dursleys being ashamed to have a wizard in the family, whilst forgetting to mention how wizards treat their Muggle relatives (*coughGrangerscough*).

* I quite like Harry’s “I’ll be in my room, making no noise and pretending I’m not there.” It’s nice to see JKR actually showing Harry as a put-upon underdog, rather than simply telling us that he is whilst showing him on the receiving end of multiple displays of blatant favouritism.

* Harry’s only enjoyment comes from threatening Dudley. Remember folks, this is the boy whose amazing power is the ability to love.

* Remember the days when we hadn’t seen Voldemort fail to defeat three rather dim seventeen-year-old children, and could still hear someone say that he was “still terrifying, still cunning” without laughing? Man, I miss those days.

* “‘Well done,’ said Harry. ‘So you’ve finally learnt the days of the week.’” For a boy who thinks “U-No-Poo” is the height of wit, this is almost funny.

* If Dudley’s so fat, why are his trousers in danger of falling down?

* Whipped cream and sugared violets sounds quite unappetising to me. I suppose this lack of taste is meant to illustrate the Dursleys’ evilness or something.

* Harry goes upstairs to bed, and our blissful unawareness of Dobby’s existence is cruelly shattered.

Comments

[sharaz-jek.livejournal.com]

But this requires that the parts of the soul be available.

Does it? When I read that I was imagining the soul as a piece of torn silvery candy floss that could grow back where it had been torn (sometimes my midn goes to weird places) and with the wound gone, there would be no place for the Horcruxified soul fragment to fit, thus there would be no connection to the Horcrux. Admittedly, this sort of soul connection isn't really given any precedent in the magic system, but we don't even know what a soul is - how does it connect to the mind? Does it bring the mind with it to the afterlife? If not, do people have two minds - one in their brain and another in their soul? Is Voldemort fully aware of his unending torment or is it just a part of his mind, unable to actually comprehend the agony? What happens if a Secret Keeper splits their soul? Can you hide a secret in a Horcruxified soul fragment? What would happen to that secret if you destroy the Horcrux? What would happen to a hidden secret if the Secret Keeper is kissed by a Dementor? If a Dementor ate Voldemort's soul, would the Horcruxes bring him back or would he be trapped and digested?

[oryx_leucoryx]

What happens if a Secret Keeper splits their soul? Can you hide a secret in a Horcruxified soul fragment?

This has been the basis of a theory for why Voldemort never used himself as the Secret Keeper of his Horcruxes. He just can't, the Secret doesn't have what to be held in.

I like your other questions too.