Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Chapter Notes

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 20: Hagrid’s Tale

• “Harry sprinted up to the boys’ dormitories to fetch the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder’s Map from his trunk; he was so quick that he and Ron were ready to leave at least five minutes before Hermione hurried back down from the girls’ dormitories, wearing scarf, gloves and one of her own knobbly elf hats. ‘Well, it’s cold out there!’ she said defensively, as Ron clicked his tongue impatiently.” – In which Hermione is me.

• Hagrid mentions that one of the gifts he and Madame Maxime offered the Giants was a branch of Gubraithian fire – everlasting fire. Which of course again defies the laws of physics. Magic.

• “‘And what did Karkus say?’ asked Harry eagerly. ‘Nothin’,’ said Hagrid. ‘Didn’ speak English.’” – I feel like this is a bit of meta commentary, how some people whose native language is English don’t seem to bother to learn a foreign language, assuming everyone speaks English. And well, Hogwarts students don’t learn a foreign language either. I wonder if it is mandatory at other schools; both Krum and Fleur could speak English, though it seems like there is no spell to learn a new language (it is mentioned that Fleur moved to London to improve her English). Anyway, ironically the Potter books are the reason a lot of people improved their English. I know a lot of people whose first book in English was a Potter book, usually because they couldn’t be bothered to wait some additional months for the translation. And the Potter books are a great way to learn the language, as the vocabulary gets more complex with each book.

• “So we bowed outta the way an’ went off an’ found ourselves a nice little cave ter spend that night in an’ the followin’ mornin’ we went back an’ this time we found Karkus sittin’ up waitin’ fer us lookin’ all eager.” – Soooooooooooo, where are all the fan fics about that night in the cave, huh?

• Hermione urges Hagrid to teach them something that will come up in their O.W.L. exam to pass Umbrige’s inspection. Therefore it is very likely that the Ministry decides what comes up in the O.W.L. exams, and it is up to the teachers to prepare the students accordingly. However the Ministry doesn’t decide about the curriculum. Teachers are still given a lot of freedom in how they present their classes. I have mentioned it before that why I love Hagrid I don’t think he is the best teacher. For one thing because of his love for monsters and how he constantly underestimates how dangerous they are. But also how he is not interested to teach his students the creatures that are likely to come up in their exams, simply because he doesn’t think they are interesting enough.