It Is Trish

Today is the second-to-last day for the Harry Potter 30 Day Challenge!

Day 21: Pick one character to bring back from the dead.

Just one!?  If Lupin had survived the Battle of Hogwarts, I would choose Sirius.  I want them to be BFFs for the rest of their lives.  But I can’t bring back one without the other, because they’ve already spent so much of their lifetimes alone, and I hate that for them.

I would bring back Dumbledore, but let’s be real.  He’s old, he lived a good long life, and he walked into death with his eyes wide open.

I’m a monster, and I never really cared all that much about Dobby.  I could maybe get on board with bringing back Hedwig, but in the end there’s only one choice:  Fred Weasley.

GEORGE NEEDS HIM.  I NEED HIM.  He died too young and too funny.  

Day 22: Would you rather read only Harry Potter for the rest of your life or never know it existed?

Ack.  What?  What an awful question.  On the one hand, of course I can’t give up every single other book in existence and just read Harry Potter over and over again until I die.  I would miss Lord of the Rings and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and so many more.

But on the other hand, to never know Harry Potter existed?  I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that who I am would be totally different.  Harry Potter took up a decade of my life, and in between reading new releases, I spent so much time online reading theories, essays, and fanfiction.  I was shaped by the series, and I don’t know who I would be without them.

So I guess….neither option.  I kill myself instead.  How very dare you, HP Challenge.

Day 23: Which scene (book or movie) made you cry the hardest?

No contest.  I sob throughout the entire scene when Harry force feeds Dumbledore the poison in order to get to the locket  at the end of The Half-Blood Prince.  Although it’s sad in the movie, it’s worse in the book.  After six books of Dumbledore being the all-wise mentor to Harry, suddenly the roles switch.  Dumbledore is infantilized by the pain, and Harry is thrown into the position of being in charge, of doing the hard thing, of hurting the man who has raised him.  *sob*

AND THEN THE LOCKET WASN’T EVEN THE RIGHT ONE, ow, my heart.

Day 24: Which scene did you wish was filmed, but wasn’t?

Hmmm.  Nothing immediately springs to mind, but that’s because I haven’t watched the films in years.  Let me do some quick Googling.

Oh, wow, this is super helpful!  Buzzfeed’s 28 Things the Harry Potter Movies Left Out has immediately enraged me.  Where was movie Peeves!?  He needed to be in all of them so that we could get on of my favorite scenes:  While Umbridge is Headmistress, McGonagall finds Peeves trying to unscrew a chandelier, but instead of stopping him, she mutters, “It unscrews the other way.”

And holy cow!  There’s no Charlie Weasley in the films!  Or Ludo Bagman, who I care less about.  The Tri-Wizard Tournament maze was nowhere near as cool as in the books.  There’s no background for the Marauders or Voldemort.  But whatever.  The movies are fine for what they are: bite-sized portions of 64 oz candy bars.

Day 25: Nineteen years later. Are you happy how it turned out, or do you wish something was different?

(image by Marta T)

Well, this is a mixed bag.  I like that everyone is happily married with kids.  I like the bookend feel of our heroes sending their kids off to Hogwarts to have their own adventures.  I love the last line: “All was well.”

Buuuut.  Partly this gets into shipping wars.  I would have much rather seen Hermione and Harry wind up together, even though it was obvious they were going to be with Ron and Ginny.  I hate the names, ugh, but that’s not a new opinion. Mostly I’m sad that nothing seems to have changed at Hogwarts.  In Book 5, the Sorting Hat urges the houses to unite, and I was so excited to see some Gryffindor/Slytherin bonding.  That never happened.  Not only did Rowling choose to have Slytherin bail in the final fight with Voldemort, nineteen years later Ron tells Albus that Gryffindor is the best house.  The stereoptypes haven’t changed!  And even though Harry assures little Albus that it’s okay if he’s in Slytherin, it’s all very hush hush.  Harry should have punched Ron in the mouth and told him to grow up.  *cough*  I might have feelings about this.

I know, I know, that there is a lot of Gryffindor pride, and maybe Ron doesn’t need to have his face punched in.  But I was really looking forward to a united Hogwarts, and I’m bitter that I never got it.

Previous Days:

Day 1: Your favorite book?
Day 2: Your favorite movie?
Day 3: Is there anything in the film adaptations that annoyed you?
Day 4: Least favorite female character and why?
Day 5: Favorite male character and why?

Day 6: Which house would you want to be in?
Day 7: Favorite female character and why?
Day 8: What’s your favorite lesson from the series?
Day 9: Who’s your least favorite male character and why?
Day 10: Horcruxes or hallows?

Day 11: Which character would you say you are most like?
Day 12: Favorite ship?
Day 13: Your least favorite movie?
Day 14: Team Voldemort or Team Harry?
Day 15: Pick three characters to be your best friends at Hogwarts?

Day 16: Expecto patronum! What form does you patronus take and why?
Day 17: Favourite Harry Potter fan adaptation?
Day 18: Least favourite book?
Day 19: Do you prefer the books or films?
Day 20: If you got to meet one member of the cast, who would it be?