A general thread for discussion of the Harry Potter books. Any new books set in the same world are also on-topic.
Games, films and other adaptations may be more appropriate for other threads if they're being discussed in isolation.
The HBO tv series has its own thread
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Mod Notes:
- Media threads are primarily for fans of the works they cover. Not everyone will like everything, of course, and that's especially true in a franchise like Harry Potter. It's fine to say a particular story within the franchise doesn't work for you, or to talk about why it doesn't work for you. But please try not to dwell on the negativity for too long. Complaints shouldn't take up too much space on a thread that's intended for fans.
- This is a thread to talk about Harry Potter and the content of the stories, not a place to talk about J. K. Rowling's more controversial views. If there's something newsworthy where Rowling's activities become relevant (e.g. it affects her relationship to new Potter works and adaptations), that's fair enough. Otherwise it's all been said already and we don't need to repeat it.
there doesn't seem to be a general HP topic...
Edited by Mrph1 on May 27th 2025 at 9:17:24 AM
Yes. It has indeed. Most of it was pretty much bullcrap. Some of his stuff has been able to stick though. How accurately is debatable, but hey.
edited 7th Dec '10 3:13:23 PM by MrAHR
Read my stories!Freud needed to chill the fuck out with the symbolism. It's like AP teachers who want to analyze Beatles songs.
Oh, apparently I have tattoos because of my low self esteem.
- Mom: Do you really need more tattoos?
- Me: Need? I get them because they represent something
- Mom: You know I have a client who..
- Me: I haven't killed anyone or joined a cult, c'mon now...
Yeah. That. See, I think the problem is associating things like tattoos or cars or whatever to ONE possible reason. It is A reason, but there are other possible ways it can be analyzed. And obviously, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Read my stories!@AHR: you need an awesome back piece; might I suggest a labyrinth
◊?
._. That is beautiful. I don't do tattoos (parents would skin me, I still cry when I get shots), but that is certainly kick ass. I'd prolly get rid of the red guy and just keep the design. Love ornate tattoos that look semi-artifacty.
edited 7th Dec '10 3:24:05 PM by MrAHR
Read my stories!I remember a guy
taking about getting a tat like the chick in Mirrors Edge
◊.
We have a tattoo thread
BTW.
I like the WMG that Luna is (at least) half Eldritch Abomination. Doesn't even have to mess with shipping, Did You Just Romance Cthulhu?.
edited 7th Dec '10 3:32:25 PM by DrRockopolis
[[tvtropes.org/pmwiki/lb_i.php?lb_id=12919183980B30760200 Liveblog of]] John Carter Of MarsScorpius Malfoy and the Improbable Plot
is probably my favorite Harry Potter fic of all time.
The prose, so gorgeous and hilarious...
ophelia, you're breaking my heartI'm going to take this opportunity to pimp Harry Potter and Eagle of Truthiness
again:
Beside him, the curtain on the puppet-show theater thing whisked aside, revealing a smooth blue field with The Word etched on it in letters of white fire. Beneath that, more letters appeared.
Voldemort
As one, everybody but Harry reacted with the usual gasps of horror, moans of dread, and squeals of dismay that the name engendered.
"Voldemort," Professor Colbert said forcefully, speaking over the din. "Yes, I said it. I'll say it again. Voldemort."
Lavender Brown slumped forward in a dead faint.
"None of this 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' or 'You-Know-Who' crap for this wizard, thank you very much." Colbert jerked his thumb toward his chest as he spoke. "Any name is fair game in my classroom."
On the blue field, Voldemort winked out and Jon Stewart? winked in its place.
edited 7th Dec '10 9:16:10 PM by Medicus
It's not over. Not yet.Amid the enormous piles of dreadful, dreadful badfic, HP fandom does have some absolute gems.
And an amusing fact for the Harry/Luna conversation: Luna's actress is a Harry/Ginny shipper who thinks Harry and Luna wouldn't work as a couple.
Speaking of Peggy Sue, I read one such longfic. It ended up being a bad story with numerous good ideas, rather than vice versa, but what kept me reading was the overall theme of "Dammit, dammit, dammit, this was supposed to go right!"
The concept has mileage in it. Maybe not a lot, but enough for some good storytelling. When the wrong people started dying, the predictability didn't blunt the impact. (Also? "Ten-year-old" Ginny asking mum if she could meet that Luna girl from over the hill, ordinary idea. Luna staring at Ginny for a good long time and then asking what time she's come from, good idea. Luna concluding that Harry, Ron and Ginny are the time-travelling Arthur, Percival and Guinevere, great idea.)
Until a good Peggy Sue fic does come along, everyone should read Scorpius Malfoy and the Improbable Plot.
Well, while it makes infinitely more sense than Harry/Hermione, I do see a Harry/Luna relationship being... weird and wonky. I kind of see it as Harry trailing behind her all the time (metaphorically of course). They can relate to each other a lot, but that alone doesn't make a believable relationship.
Order Of The Phoenix did a pretty good job giving both Ginny and Luna big, noticeable roles in the series (lots of people like to say Ginny only became important in the sixth book, but actually it's an obvious increase starting slightly in Goblet of Fire, happening mostly in Order Of The Phoenix, and ending in Half Blood Prince), but the book focused a lot on the Kindred Spirits relationship between Luna and Harry, so much that it almost seemed like the alternative to his hilariously screwed up relationship with Cho. But truthfully that book wasn't big on romance in the first place - Harry didn't really spend a lot of time getting particularly close to anyone.
Ginny became a major part of the Nakama, or, at the very least, it became obvious she was going to be a major part of the Nakama during that book, but much like the rest of the book there weren't many romantic undertones there. The romantic highlights kind of appeared suddenly in Prince, before that it looked like they might have simply become very close friends.
One of the major problems Rowling had occasionally was that she relied a lot on us assuming things happened off camera: you could conceivably believe that Harry and Ginny spent a lot of time getting close with all the time he spent at the Burrow (indeed, that was a major implication in Order), but why not show us? Just a scene or two, really?
Though, honestly, I didn't really give a crap who Harry ended up with, though I was ultimately satisfied with the end result. Really, Ron and Hermione were the infinitely more interesting couple, which was likely Rowling's intention.
edited 8th Dec '10 8:25:23 AM by KnownUnknown
I actually agree with pretty much all of that. Especially about not being close in that book - a major part of it is Harry's emotional isolation, which has negative consequences all round. (Including the Ron/Hermione bit. I like Harry most as a character, but Ron/Hermione is the more fun ship)
I remember one of those documentaries on JKR showing a picture of her plot outline for Oot P. There was this big table of all the running subplots/character developments, and she put Ginny and Cho in the same column. (The Order had another, the D.A. another, Snape another, so on) Aha, I found it!

I was the first person on the tangent to bring up Harry/Luna. You don't need to convince me. :P
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