Rat de bibliothèque

I keep forgetting the age differences between the older Weasleys, so here they are. Hopefully this will be useful to someone.

Bill - born in 1970 (10 years older than the Golden Trio)

Charlie - 1972 (8 years older)

Percy - 1976 (4 years older)

Fred and George - 1978 (2 years older)

Ron - 1980

Ginny - 1981 (1 year younger)

Arthur - 1950

Sirius asks a perfectly reasonable question: why is Snape teaching Harry instead of Dumbledore? And he's right. Sure, Dumbledore was afraid Voldemort would spy on him through Harry (which I don't consider a good enough justification), but assigning Snape to teach him was one of his stupidest decisions. His excuse made me so angry: that he forgot some wounds run too deep. Damn it, Dumbledore, you know perfectly well that Snape hates Harry with every fiber of his being. He may "protect" him, but at the same time he does everything he can to make Harry's life miserable. Of course he was never going to teach him properly. And Harry could never relax in Snape's presence or feel safe around him. Occlumency requires clearing your mind of emotion. Harry already struggles to do that on his own, and then he's forced to learn from someone who humiliates him during every lesson and mocks his memories. Didn't Dumbledore see this outcome coming? It's hard to let go of your emotions in such a toxic environment. If Occlumency was really that important, Dumbledore should have done everything he could to make sure Harry was actually able to learn it (and maybe properly explain why he needed it in the first place). He should have asked McGonagall, for example. Maybe she wasn't a master Occlumens like Snape, but I'm sure she knew something. It would have been better for Harry to learn the basics than nothing at all. Or Flitwick. Yes, he wasn't in the Order, but Dumbledore could have asked him. After all, he asked Firenze to become the Divination teacher even though he knew what it would cost him (which was pretty awful in itself). But I'm getting sidetracked—back to Sirius.

He warns Snape not to mistreat Harry during those lessons. Once again, someone finally steps in because of Snape's disgusting treatment of Harry. As I've said before, none of the adults had ever stood up for Harry before; they all turned a blind eye to it. But not Sirius. He understands the situation perfectly (he knows how Snape feels about him and James, and he saw how Snape treated Harry in Prisoner of Azkaban), and he tries to protect his godson, including by giving him the mirror. And Harry does the same in return, refusing to use that mirror, no matter how much Snape torments him, because he wants to protect Sirius...

And then there was the duel that almost broke out because Snape insulted the two people Sirius loved most...

I love him. 💔

First of all, I absolutely can't stand Hagrid. I used to like him, but during this reread he constantly annoys me with his stupidity, immaturity, and so on. The trio constantly supported him as a teacher. They were the only ones who showed any interest at all (despite the very real danger!), and when they dropped his classes, he got offended! Hagrid, remember that you're an adult and they're children (teenagers)! How can you avoid them and sulk like a child?! As the adult (and considering he's only a couple of years younger than Voldemort), Hagrid should have realized that if even his friends stopped taking his classes, maybe he needed to get a grip.

As for Harry: I love his grim determination and his intelligence in this scene. It was a great plan! By the way, later in the same book, he solves another problem through bluffing and cleverness: during the first Quidditch match in Half-Blood Prince, when he pretends to pour Ron some Felix Felicis so Hermione will notice and tell Ron.

The same should have happened if Sirius hadn't been killed in Order of the Phoenix: Harry could have gone to stay with him at least for the Christmas holidays. And during the summer too. He didn't actually have to spend the entire summer with the Dursleys for the protection to work (despite Dumbledore's awful decisions in that book). And the protection wouldn't even have been necessary, considering how well Grimmauld Place was protected. Although it's entirely possible that Dumbledore would have decided he had the right to control Harry's life and make that decision instead of Sirius, and wouldn't have allowed Harry to live with his godfather over the summer.

Harry wouldn't have had to feel sad about staying at Hogwarts over Christmas while everyone else went home to their parents. He would have had that too. Both Sirius and Harry would have been so happy about it. And he wouldn't have had to spend Christmas at the Weasleys' in Half-Blood Prince.

It's not exactly surprising, but I still want to point it out. It's all because of his loneliness—he's afraid of ending up alone again. Before, he had no one (thanks, Dudley). Then Ron and Hermione came into his life and became incredibly important to him. Later, he gained Sirius, his godfather, the competent adult he'd always dreamed of, "almost like a parent," and Harry had only just lost him. Now he's terrified of losing the last thing he has left: his best friends.

Can someone please give my boy a hug?

I don't agree with this statement. It should be treated just as critically as Katniss's suspicions that Peeta (in the first book) and Finnick (in the second) want to kill her. In the first two books, Katniss is an unreliable narrator. Of course, a lot of what she says is true—but not all of it.

If you look at the facts, her claim that Haymitch was negligent is mistaken. Back on the train, when Katniss and Peeta "backed him into a corner," Haymitch was already trying to help them. Katniss decided it was because of what they did, but I think he was going to do his job anyway. Throughout the entire book—during the Games, the preparation for them, and afterward—Haymitch does everything he can and never slacks off.

In one of the later books (I don't remember which one), he says that when he saw Katniss, and how badly Peeta wanted to protect her, he realized the girl actually had a chance. But that doesn't mean he hadn't been trying before. The point is that tributes from District 12 generally have very little chance of surviving, but Katniss is different. She's smart, a fighter (I was struck by how composed she was while saying goodbye to Prim and her mother), and an excellent hunter. On top of that, there's Peeta, who's willing to watch her back. Then there's Cinna (the other District 12 tributes had terrible stylists), and the fact that she volunteered for Prim, which helped win the audience over. Katniss had every chance. That doesn't mean Haymitch didn't try with the others—it just means nothing he did worked.

Besides, I seriously doubt sponsors preferred dealing with morphling addicts over a drunk.

And now I realize that, without even meaning to, Percy is reminding them of their children, of their responsibility, of the fact that they're parents, not just gods. That's much harder to distance themselves from (and that's exactly what the gods usually do). It reminds me of Percy's wish in The Last Olympian that the gods would acknowledge their children.

Pottermore

Fleamont was James's father. Apparently, his hair stuck up just as much as his son's and grandson's. It's funny that he invented that potion, while his son deliberately messed up his own hair. And Harry's hair was always a mess too—the Potter genes always won. 😂

Before that, he turned a blind eye to the Ares kids nearly killing Percy during Capture the Flag. Sure, after Percy was claimed as Poseidon's son, Chiron had more important things to deal with. But he still should have done something!

And then, in The Last Olympian, Clarisse complains that everyone bullies and looks down on her cabin, which is just ridiculous. They're bullies who dunk new campers' heads into toilets. People don't dislike them because they dislike Ares—they dislike them because they act like jerks.

Let's take a moment to appreciate the trio's reactions to this situation. Grover is panicking, Annabeth is too hungry to think straight, and Percy (who the fandom unfairly thinks is an idiot) is trying to find a way out of the situation, coming up with some kind of story, just like he did with Medusa and the circus.

This is awful! The boy has learning difficulties and ADHD, and he's genuinely interested in what "Mr. Brunner" is saying for once. He's paying attention, telling everyone else to stop talking, and he still gets scolded for it! Sure, Mrs. Dodds is a Fury and all that, but Percy doesn't know that!

While rereading this chapter, "Good Kid" from the musical keeps playing in my head.

Alright, I know Medusa said this because of her love for Poseidon (who, by the way, Percy resembles a lot). But I just want to point out: even she—a monster—acknowledged that Percy is handsome.

It's no wonder so many girls fell in love with him later on. Although, of course, it isn't just about his looks. Percy is simply very hard not to fall in love with.

Damn, Annabeth annoys me so much. Percy has only just found out that the gods exist, gone through absolute horror, nearly died, and lost his mother, and she's jealous and thinks he's being ungrateful! I know she'd been dreaming about going on a quest for years, but from her side it's incredibly selfish and completely lacking in empathy.

Just imagine: you're fighting for your life and the life of your only friend, your mother (the most important person in your life) has just been killed right in front of your eyes, you find out that Greek myths are real, people not only laugh at you and expect you to know everything (Chiron behaved the same way), but they also tell you that what happened to you is an incredible stroke of luck that you should be grateful for.

At least later in that scene she expressed her sympathy over Sally's death.

So yeah, I really can't stand Annabeth.

And by the way, these opening pages do such a great job of establishing Percy as a character. They show his huge insecurity, his sense of humor, his temper, and the way he (like a true Gryffindor) stands up for Grover.

There was a time when Rick really knew how to write.

Because of Katniss, Rue became one of the symbols of the resistance against the Capitol.

Katniss covered her body with flowers to expose the Capitol's cruelty. Rue's mentors and Haymitch sent Katniss bread from District 11, even though tributes had never before received gifts from another district.

During the Victory Tour, after Peeta promised that he and Katniss would give part of their winnings to the families of Thresh and Rue, and Katniss gave a speech about them, the people of District 11 responded with District 12's salute, and an old man sang Rue's song.

Peeta painted a portrait of Rue for the Gamemakers.

Later, Finnick spoke about her in one of the Capitol's propaganda videos.

Then I remember Peeta’s words on the roof. “Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to . . . to show the Capital they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their Games.” And for the first time, I understand what he means. I want to do something, right here, right now, to shame them, to make them accountable, to show the Capitol that whatever they do or force us to do there is a part of every tribute they can’t own. That Rue was more than a piece in their Games. And so am I.