Harry Potter // Fan Club

[Cherrim]

I still sign onto Pottermore every so often and I still really love it. I've been trying to make time this last week to read the first chapters of Chamber of Secrets that went up. I'm really excited for new content!

So long as you look at Pottermore as a companion site to the series rather than the full-fledged social networking/web game site they were sort of implying it was in the beginning, it's a great resource for additional information and interesting facts. The minigames, sorting, and social networking are just a bit of a bonus. :3

Also you must be American or something :P in the Australian/English copies of the book there are no illustrations at all, so you're lucky you get any haha.

This post is a little old but I've been MIA in this forum for a while and didn't see it till now. Replying anyway.

I think I vaguely knew that the American books had illustrations at the head of each chapter, even if they're just more thumbnail-ish of an item/setting from the chapter rather than full-fledged illustrations of scenes (right?) but I never felt that not having them affected my enjoyment of the books. If anything, I feel luckier for not having them: instead of going into a chapter with expectations or already having part of the chapter visualized for me, I got to create the whole world in my head with no influence except the words on the page and the cover of the book :(. I really think I prefer my reading experience that way.

(Btw, do the Australian versions use the same illustrations as the British version? Ours do. I prefer them over the American ones. :P)

 

[RubyJB88]

I just got an email saying the first few chapters of CoS is now available for me to read. I don't think I've finished Book 1 yet.

 

[Cherrim]

I've been meaning to get to them for a week now. Finally taking the time to go through them now. There's an excellent piece on Muggle Technology (and how Wizards use/avoid it) in Chapter 3 of CoS.

Forgot how much I love learning new stuff through Pottermore. T_T

 

[Shining Raichu]

(Btw, do the Australian versions use the same illustrations as the British version? Ours do. I prefer them over the American ones. :P)

The Australian versions have no illustrations at all, not even with the chapter titles. It's completely illustration-less. I assumed the British copies would be the same way since our book covers are the same as the British ones, but maybe I'm wrong.

I agree with you on the overall feelings about illustrations as well - I prefer they not be there because often illustrations are cartoon-y and make me imagine the scenes going on in a cartoon-y way, whereas I prefer my imagination to work like a live-action film.

 

[Golurks Were Meant to Fly]

How have I never noticed this before? I want in!

I'm in Ravenclaw according to Pottermore.

My wand is 10 3/4 inches, Poplar, Phoenix Feather, Hard.

Yellow!

My thoughts on current topics (it's long, so I spoilered it)

Spoiler:

I always kinda liked the illustrations :/ I found them a little fun and liked the little hint they would give me for each chapter. It made me excited to read them, (unlike Game of Thrones where I'm 100% not excited to read Catelyn's chapters, but that's another story) which was hard enough when I was like 9 when the 800-something paged 5th book came out. (I love it now)
I found/find Pottermore really disappointing. When it first came out (I had the beta) I was like, this rocks! (and the beta was like 2 months late) And then 9 months or so happened before it was even released to the public. The second book is just coming out now, in chunks. I bet the 7th will be here when I'm 80. That's my main problem with pottermore - there isn't that much to do. I've read all the things, collected everything (and I get housepoints for grabbing a teacup?) and there's just...nothing. I feel like if it was updated more frequently, I'd be A-okay, but since the updating of the site is so terrible, it doesn't really make me want to come back. As much fun as it is to wait an hour for a cauldron to blow up in my face/press P, then P then T then T the F then F... And why is there one spell that's miles above the rest? That makes dueling REALLY boring!
I knew it wasn't going to be all that I hoped for, but I was really hoping, and then they were kinda dashed...
As for the Veil... I always found that really interesting. First of all, I feel like the Veil is something really old, that would never move (like the pyramids) so how did they get it there? Was the Ministry of Magic BUILT around it? Was it originally built TOO study it? And I really do like the concept that there is a pathway between our world and the world of the dead (even if I don't really believe in the afterlife, but again, another story) I do know that JKR based the Harry Potter books (their values at least) on whatever denomination of Christianity she is... does the Veil have to do with that? And I loved how only those who had seen death could hear the voices (Luna, Harry, Neville) Are thestrals like the gate keepers, or from that world or something? So many unanswered questions...

Hope I'm able to join :)

 

[Rayshin]

Why didn't I see this before? I want in too!
What house would you like to be in?: Gryffindor
Wand description (Wood, Length, Core): Ebony|13 inches| Veela hair
Sunshine daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat...: Yellow.
Hope the Sorting Hat won't have me as the first rejection.

~Always.

EDIT:
@ The "Sirius' death by Veil" Topic:
They were originally gonna have Arthur Weasley die, when Nagini attacked him, but instead J.K. Rowling switched to killing Harry's father figure instead. And also, the veil is somewhat of a portal to death, or something like that.

 

[Cherrim]

Welcome, guys! :>

The Australian versions have no illustrations at all, not even with the chapter titles. It's completely illustration-less. I assumed the British copies would be the same way since our book covers are the same as the British ones, but maybe I'm wrong.

I agree with you on the overall feelings about illustrations as well - I prefer they not be there because often illustrations are cartoon-y and make me imagine the scenes going on in a cartoon-y way, whereas I prefer my imagination to work like a live-action film.

I meant cover illustrations. I was curious whether the Commonwealth sticks together when it comes to Potter. :P

 

[NeoPsychedelia]

What house would you like to be in?: Ravenclaw. On a large RP/fansite hybrid, I'm one of Ravenclaw's Prefects.
Wand description (Wood, Length, Core): Redwood and veela hair, 11 3/4 inches.
Sunshine daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat...: Yellow.

 

[Barrels]

...To eerily echo the previous two posts: how the hell am I not in this club? (I designed the freaking header, lol.) Laziness is baaad.

What house would you like to be in?: Lord knows (well, Rowling does). I want to be a Gryffindor because I'm just a great big cliché like that, but I have a feeling I'm more Ravenclaw. Wouldn't say no to Hufflepuff though. So, um, yeah. Have fun adding me to the first post, Mr Club Owner Sir. :P
Wand description (Wood, Length, Core): Pine, three feet long and three inches thick with a fiery burning core of dragon tail. Hell YES. This ain't just no wand, it's a big ol' stick for bashing with. When the going gets tough, m'wand gets smacking.
Sunshine daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat...: Pink. With purple stripes. And a cute little sunhat. Maybe some bunny slippers. Who says rats can't be adorable?

NOW ONTO THE DISCUSSION... *rubs hands*

My thought is that Sirius is loved by so many people because he was so important to Harry and we identify by proxy - it doesn't matter that he's not around a whole lot in GoF, because that adds to how much Harry misses him.

It just shocks me that people would single him out as their favourite when others got the opportunity for shine twice as bright for twice as long.

Yeah, but Harry never really had another father figure (unless you count Dumbledore, who's really more of a mad old grandpa, or Arthur, who doesn't interact with Harry all that much, or Lupin, who's more of a kindly but flawed uncle). It's having that particular parent substitute ripped away from him that sends Harry over the edge - he never freaks out anywhere near as much over a death as he does at the end of OotP.

Was the Ministry of Magic BUILT around it? Was it originally built TOO study it? Are thestrals like the gate keepers, or from that world or something?

That... is really interesting. :D Plot bunny ahoy!

They were originally gonna have Arthur Weasley die...

Poor old Arthur. He's been bumped off and resurrected at least twice now. BUT STILL!

Spoiler:

LUPIN AND TONKS!

*sobs*

The Australian versions have no illustrations at all, not even with the chapter titles. It's completely illustration-less. I assumed the British copies would be the same way since our book covers are the same as the British ones, but maybe I'm wrong.

Nah, the British ones don't have illustrations either... which I am so, so glad about. Let me imagine that world for myself, ta very much.

I think it would have had more impact if she'd hit him with a Stunning Curse or something and it made him stumble backwards into the veil - because that way it would be more tragic as it were a curse that wouldn't have killed him otherwise; it was just a terrible choice of location that made him die.

I was just about to agree... but it's Bellatrix, lol. Why would she shoot anything other than Avada Kedavra? She doesn't exactly strike me as a loving humanitarian. (Mind you, I never ever understood how duelling works, anyway. If you can't block Avada Kedavra, why doesn't everyone just spam that immediately? And don't whinge about 'morals', especially you, Mr Club Owner Sir Yes Sir. You're officially a Slytherin.)

As to the Marauders dying in reverse order, I never noticed that! That's really cool! But if she did plan that, why? What purpose did that serve to the story? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!

Did you notice the other stonker in OotP? xD

Spoiler:

In St. Mungo’s, when they are going to visit Mr. Weasley- 'They climbed a flight of stairs and entered the "Creature-Induced Injuries" corridor, where the second door on the right bore the words 'DANGEROUS' DAI LLEWELLYN WARD: SERIOUS BITES.' If you put these words on a sign, they would read:

Creature-Induced Injuries
Dangerous
Dai Llewellyn Ward
Serious Bites

Take the first word of each of these and what do you get get? Creature Dangerous Dai Serious? No - Kreacher dangerous, Die Sirius...

I couldn't get my interest back after they sorted me into Slytherin.

Ahem.

 

[Rayshin]

Actually, Kreacher's behaviour is a result of his pure-blood masters' hatred for Muggles and blood traitors, causing their attitude to rub off on him. A bit of kindness wouldn't hurt him, though. Bribe him a little...

~Always.

 

[Shining Raichu]

Oh my God I really suck at being a club owner this week haha - welcome to GolurkIsDaBomb, Daniel Evans, Barrels and NeoPsychedelia :D.

I meant cover illustrations. I was curious whether the Commonwealth sticks together when it comes to Potter. :P

OH. My bad. Well yeah, the Queen is our homegirl so we stick together, even when it comes to Harry Potter :P

...To eerily echo the previous two posts: how the hell am I not in this club? (I designed the freaking header, lol.) Laziness is baaad.

What house would you like to be in?: Lord knows (well, Rowling does). I want to be a Gryffindor because I'm just a great big cliché like that, but I have a feeling I'm more Ravenclaw. Wouldn't say no to Hufflepuff though. So, um, yeah. Have fun adding me to the first post, Mr Club Owner Sir. :P
Wand description (Wood, Length, Core): Pine, three feet long and three inches thick with a fiery burning core of dragon tail. Hell YES. This ain't just no wand, it's a big ol' stick for bashing with. When the going gets tough, m'wand gets smacking.
Sunshine daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat...: Pink. With purple stripes. And a cute little sunhat. Maybe some bunny slippers. Who says rats can't be adorable?

NOW ONTO THE DISCUSSION... *rubs hands*

My thought is that Sirius is loved by so many people because he was so important to Harry and we identify by proxy - it doesn't matter that he's not around a whole lot in GoF, because that adds to how much Harry misses him.

Yeah, but Harry never really had another father figure (unless you count Dumbledore, who's really more of a mad old grandpa, or Arthur, who doesn't interact with Harry all that much, or Lupin, who's more of a kindly but flawed uncle). It's having that particular parent substitute ripped away from him that sends Harry over the edge - he never freaks out anywhere near as much over a death as he does at the end of OotP.

That... is really interesting. :D Plot bunny ahoy!

Poor old Arthur. He's been bumped off and resurrected at least twice now. BUT STILL!

Spoiler:

LUPIN AND TONKS!

*sobs*

Nah, the British ones don't have illustrations either... which I am so, so glad about. Let me imagine that world for myself, ta very much.

I was just about to agree... but it's Bellatrix, lol. Why would she shoot anything other than Avada Kedavra? She doesn't exactly strike me as a loving humanitarian. (Mind you, I never ever understood how duelling works, anyway. If you can't block Avada Kedavra, why doesn't everyone just spam that immediately? And don't whinge about 'morals', especially you, Mr Club Owner Sir Yes Sir. You're officially a Slytherin.)

Did you notice the other stonker in OotP? xD


Ahem.

Quoting this whole post because I just want to LMAO at most of the hilarious things you write, but quoting each individually is tedious :P. Particular honorable mention goes to that last link though. The title of that article had me on the floor (figuratively) for a good five minutes :P.

Oh and until you decide on a definitive house, you are going to be a Muggle! Whahahahahahaha

Anyway on the point of how Sirius died - I know it was Bellatrix that killed him and JK Rowling made the right choice logically in having her use the Avada Kedavra Curse. Because, as you said, it's Bellatrix. JK knows her characters inside and out and that's why she's such a great storyteller. I still think though that it would have had more of an emotional impact if the death were more unnecessary. On me, at least. If it were just this horrible, horrible luck and not necessarily the evil side's intention, it just makes the death even more needless. And the more needless a death, the more heart-wrenching.

 

[Jorah]

I was so weirded out by one of the Malfoy's liking Elizabeth. All I can imagine is Lucius Malfoy's actor and something that looks like Elizabeth's portrait together o__O I wonder if the Malfoy's nowadays knew of the "actual" reason they hated muggle-borns. Also, I hate whoever made that gnome game.

 

[Shining Raichu]

God I feel like such a terrible Potter fan for asking this, but... who is Elizabeth?

 

[Golurks Were Meant to Fly]

@Shining Raichu

This is what Jorah means:

"Though hotly denied by subsequent generations, there is ample evidence to suggest that the first Lucius Malfoy was an unsuccessful aspirant to the hand of Elizabeth I, and some wizarding historians allege that the Queen's subsequent opposition to marriage was due to a jinx placed upon her by the thwarted Malfoy."

(from Pottermore)

So you're not a terrible potter fan after all! :D

And I like the gnome game :/ even if at times it's somewhat infuriating. I HATE the stupid pudding hopping game. D:<

 

[Shining Raichu]

Oh! Oh. Man, I really need to go catch up on my Pottermore. I should just get over the fact that it put me in Slytherin so I can go get more of my original content :P

And is this the gnome game from the PS2 games? I love that game so much.

 

[Cherrim]

No, pretty sure it's the gnome game on Pottermore. :P Go explore it! Worst case, just make a new account now that it's open. Otherwise I guess you could work to sabotage Slytherin if you don't like it? XD Just start a bunch of duels and lose them on purpose or melt your cauldrons repeatedly! Mwahahaha!

I'm kind of torn, guys. ;~; The Japanese e-books finally went up on the Pottermore store and I really, REALLY wanna get them to help me practise my reading but they don't work on Kindle waaah. I hate reading things on my PC or smartphone but... but... Harry Potter books! Think it's worth it? :c (Especially since just importing the last books [they split all of the later books into two!] is like $50 per book before massive shipping costs because the books weigh a ton. ;__;)

 

[Golurks Were Meant to Fly]

@Shining Raichu Just make a bunch of accounts until you get the house you want lol (just skip through the first 6 and a half chapters) That's what I did when I got bored haha

Also, the PS2 games are the best! I used to play them all the time! The fourth is good because of mutiplayer but the fifth is just the best overall. (I don't have 1-3 and I have the rest for wii) Speaking of video games, any one play the lego harry potter's? They're the best! :D

@Lightning. Do it! Worst case scenario you just don't read them and then waste uh... 20 bucks? 30? (I really have no clue as to how much things cost XD) But, best case, you learn Japanese (and Japanese potter spells) in a really cool way ^_^

 

[Jorah]

Oh! Oh. Man, I really need to go catch up on my Pottermore. I should just get over the fact that it put me in Slytherin so I can go get more of my original content :P

And is this the gnome game from the PS2 games? I love that game so much.

I actually loved the gnome game on PS2. I loved the first three games, actually, I replayed them so much when I was younger. OOTP was meh, and let's pretend the GoF game doesn't exist...those two put me off from buying the last 3 games at all.

 

[Shining Raichu]

I'm kind of torn, guys. ;~; The Japanese e-books finally went up on the Pottermore store and I really, REALLY wanna get them to help me practise my reading but they don't work on Kindle waaah. I hate reading things on my PC or smartphone but... but... Harry Potter books! Think it's worth it? :c (Especially since just importing the last books [they split all of the later books into two!] is like $50 per book before massive shipping costs because the books weigh a ton. ;__;

If it's something you want, go for it! It sounds like you're definitely getting out cheap in the end lol. I'd wait for a little bit though and see if a Kindle-compatible version comes out though. It might be worth your while to bide your time a little.

@Shining Raichu Just make a bunch of accounts until you get the house you want lol (just skip through the first 6 and a half chapters) That's what I did when I got bored haha

Haha I would if I had the patience to do that! With my luck I'd just keep making the same mistakes over and over again and just have seventeen Slytherin accounts :P. Besides I really love the wand I got on my first account and I don't wanna give it up :(

I guess I'll just have to suck it up and be a Slytherin lol.

-----

On the subject of the PS2 games; omg I love them so much. I agree with Jorah that the first three are the best; I love the format of just running free around the castle. I think that's awesome, much better than the plot-based games from 4 onward. I think the problem with 4 onward is that there is a lot more story to fit into the game, so they couldn't really keep going on in the same format. They had to fit as much in as efficiently as possible so they had to go by plot points instead. Which sucks, but I understand it.

AND THE GNOME GAME OMG. OK I had the first two games on PS1, so when I first got them on PS2, I nearly lost it. I was like "LOOK AT THESE GRAPHICS!!!!!!11!1!1" So then when the first thing you did was play the gnome came in Chamber of Secrets, I think I spent over an hour just throwing gnomes over the Weasley's fence. It was so pretty and serene in the Weasley back garden, I loved it there! Ahhh memories.

My main problem with the Harry Potter games was "Flipendo". What the hell was that lmao.

 

[Jorah]

Flipendo is in Pottermore, so I take it it is a canon spell now. I actually liked Flipendo...I like hitting random people with it XD Then again, I do that in most games where you have a gun and are able to shoot random citizens XD The 4th was horrible because you were outside the whole time with a plot that revolved around killing everything. You didn't even enter the castle once. I remember the camera angle being terrible, as well. From 5 onwards, I noticed that they based the plot on the films, rather than loosely on the books as the first 3 did (I have no idea what the 4th was going for). My favourite thing about the old games was running away from the prefects at night XD

I had PS and CoS for both PS1 and 2 as well...it was actually pretty cool because it wasn't just updated graphics, the game play was pretty different, too. ...I...I think I played these games too much :> Good times.