Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Chapter Notes

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 18: Dumbledore’s Army

• So, Hermione suspects the same thing as I did: that Umbridge used Filch to get Harry’s letter, to find a way to read his mail. Like, I don’t want to say I am as smart as Hermione but that is exactly what I am saying.

• “‘Do you honestly trust his judgement?’ […]‘You don’t think he has become … sort of … reckless … since he’s been cooped up in Grimmauld Place? You don’t think he’s … kind of … living through us?’” – Hermione’s view on Sirius has changed since the last year, when she never questioned Sirius judgement. She did spent more time than Harry did with Sirius at Grimmauld Place, and unlike Harry she is way more objective when it comes to Sirius. I also think that Hermione has a social intelligence and maturity neither Harry or Ron have; she can read people. And she knows that there is some truth in Molly’s critique towards Harry. And from a reader’s perspective it is important to have a character like Hermione. We shouldn’t expect Harry to be objective about Sirius, but as the story is written from his perspective we still need a character pointing out Sirius’s flaws, a character we like and trust, like Hermione. Hearing those words from her makes us wonder if she might be right about Sirius.

• “‘She still does not care for clothes, Harry Potter. Nor do the other house-elves. None of them will clean Gryffindor Tower any more, not with the hats and socks hidden everywhere, they finds them insulting, sir. Dobby does it all himself, sir, but Dobby does not mind, sir, for he always hopes to meet Harry Potter and tonight, sir, he has got his wish!’” – I wonder if Harry ever told Hermione this? Because obviously Hermione wouldn’t want Dobby to have extra work, to clean the Gryffindor common room all on his own. And this obviously proves that while Hermione means well, she can’t force change. The house-elves think it is insulting to trick them to pick up clothes. Also, someone should tell Dobby that it is not necessary to wear all his clothes at the same time.

• Look the Room of Requirement is a bit of a Deux Ex Machina, or some lazy writing if you want, but I love the idea of a room that only appears when you are in need, equipped exactly for your needs. It is probably also the most used room in Fan Fictions, because who wants to make out in a dormitory?

• “For a moment Harry was tempted to go with Dobby. He was halfway out of his seat, intending to hurry upstairs for his Invisibility Cloak when, not for the first time, a voice very much like Hermione’s whispered in his ear: reckless. It was, after all, very late, and he was exhausted.” – Sirius would probably say Harry isn’t like his father, but (again) that is not always a bad thing. Subconsciously Harry knows that Hermione is right, she is the voice of reason, and I’m glad he listens to her.

• “At half past seven Harry, Ron and Hermione left the Gryffindor common room, Harry clutching a certain piece of aged parchment in his hand. Fifth-years were allowed to be out in the corridors until nine o’clock, but all three of them kept looking around nervously as they made their way along the seventh floor.” – First of all is the Room of Requirement on the Marauder’s Map? I don’t think it is, because that is the reason Harry never found out where Draco went in their sixth year. And I think it was also because Draco wished the room to be unplottable that Harry couldn’t see it on his map. But there is also the possibility that the Marauders simply never found the room, that there is a secret about Hogwarts they never found out but Harry did. Second, it is mentioned that fifth-years are allowed to be out in the corridors until nine, so when was the curfew the previous years? Where they meant to stay in their common rooms after dinner?

• “‘And just look at these books!’ said Hermione excitedly, running a finger along the spines of the large leather-bound tomes. ‘A Compendium of Common Curses and their Counter-Actions … The Dark Arts Outsmarted … Self-Defensive Spellwork … wow …’ She looked around at Harry, her face glowing, and he saw that the presence of hundreds of books had finally convinced Hermione that what they were doing was right.” – Do you think Hermione sometimes just used the room on her own, thinking of all the books she needs to read?

• “There was a gentle knock on the door. Harry looked round. Ginny, Neville, Lavender, Parvati and Dean had arrived.” – Apart from Seamus everyone from Harry’s year is part of the DA (I’m convinced there are only three girls in Harry’s year, because he never mentions more). Earlier though Hermione told Harry that Lavender wasn’t convinced about Harry’s story, just as Seamus. Did she change her mind? Did she attend the first meeting in the Hog’s Head out of curiosity, to hear Harry’s story first hand?

• “‘The Defence Association?’ said Cho. ‘The DA for short, so nobody knows what we’re talking about?’ ‘Yeah, the DA’s good,’ said Ginny. ‘Only let’s make it stand for Dumbledore’s Army, because that’s the Ministry’s worst fear, isn’t it?’” – Cho comes up with the DA, but it is Ginny’s name that sticks in the end. Just like Cho was Harry’s first girlfriend, but in the end it is Ginny who stays at his side.

• “She pinned the piece of parchment with all of their signatures on it on to the wall and wrote across the top in large letters: DUMBLEDORE’S ARMY” – I wonder if the list is still in that room? If people at Hogwarts can still find this room years later, the room that became history, and look at those names?

• “‘Oh, please,’ said Zacharias Smith, rolling his eyes and folding his arms. ‘I don’t think Expelliarmus is exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who, do you?’ ‘I’ve used it against him,’ said Harry quietly. ‘It saved my life in June.’” – This feels like a bit of meta commentary against people who say Harry only knows one spell. But I love the implications: how Harry, an underage wizard, used a basic spell, simply because he doesn’t know better, and it helped him survive, and will later defeat Voldemort. A non aggressive spell, a spell to disarm someone, simply but very efficient. Harry isn’t as talented as Dumbledore or Voldemort himself, but he doesn’t need to. And I’m pretty sure that years after the war Expelliarmus is known as the spell that defeated Voldemort and becomes incredible popular among Hogwarts students.

• Harry mentions that nobody is actually good at Expelliarmus (probably with the exception of Hermione) so I wonder at what year the spell is usually taught.

• “Ginny was teamed with Michael Corner; she was doing very well, whereas Michael was either very bad or unwilling to jinx her.” – Like I guess it is nice Michael doesn’t want to jinx his girlfriend but that is not what the DA is about, and also not what Ginny wants in a boyfriend. Treat her as an equal not someone made of glass.