 YBFREE.com
In Pursuit of Human Interests |
| |
|
The Rebirth of the Fairy Tale:
The Wonderful World of Harry Potter
Years 1 through 4
Visit YBFREE.com's FANDOM and Costuming/Cosplay Shoppes for COOL Harry Potter Stuff!
By: Jennifer Walford
The Magic Culture
Muggles, if you want to understand Harry Potter you must first get acquainted with the magic communities culture. Mind you magic people live among us, they just hide themselves in order to prevent that little thing called a witch hunt. They bewitch their homes and communities from Muggles to keep both groups happy and safe. The Ministry of Magic sets up rules and codes to prevent people in the Magic community from abusing their powers and disturbing the Muggle world.
Other important Magic customs Muggles should be familiar with are:
-
Clothing-in the magic world people wear robes. Like the kind you see Merlin wear in pictures. There are robes for all kinds of occasions, parties, Quidditch, and so on.
-
Owls-are the means by which people in the Magic Community correspond with one another. Owls of different shapes sizes deliver mail throughout the world to whomever the sender wishes.
-
Screamers-NO ONE wants one of these red envelopes. No good news comes in them. Mothers send them when they are irate with their children. Upon opening a screamer her voice bellows out in an ear piercing pitch loud enough to wake the dead.
-
The Daily Prophet-The British Magic Community's number one source for news and information at home and abroad.
-
Diagon Alley-A street in London, just for the magic community. Its entrance is through a shabby looking bar. Of course only magical people know how to enter it.
-
Quidditch-The game of Witches of Wizards. A Co-Ed sport, a little like soccer, except it is on broomsticks, and two large balls called Bludgers try to knock you from your broom to the ground. It is a cross between soccer and polo on brooms. The stadiums have seats high off the ground, since the entire game is played in the air. At opposite ends of the field are two poles with holes for Chasers to put the Quaffle, a large red ball, in. Players called Keepers, who are the equivalent to the Soccer Goalie, try to keep the Quaffle out of their team's goal. To make the game more interesting, 2 black balls called Bludgers are used to attack the opposite teams Chasers and Seekers. Beaters are responsible for protecting their Chasers and Seeker and attacking the other Teams. Then there is the Snitch, a golden object with wings, that usually decides which team will win the game. The Seeker's only goal in the game is to catch the Snitch and stay safe from the Bludgers. The Seeker that catches the Snitch gets 150 points for their team, usually winning the game. Imagine all of this thought provoking movement on a broom!
-
Nine and Three-Quarters Platform-The platform where students meet to go to and from Hogwarts. It is located between tracks Nine and Ten. But Muggles can't see it. Magic people walk through a pillar during rush hour to avoid being seen.
-
Chocolate Frogs-a type of candy that has cards of famous Wizards and Witches inside.
-
The Forbidden Forests-on the perimeter of Hogwarts, this forest is off limits to students. The only time they are permitted to enter is with a teacher and that is usually at 12 AM for detention. This forest is full of dangerous creatures that would love to get their hands on a young wizard or witch for a midnight snack. But the forest is also full of beautiful creatures as well, including unicorns and satyrs.
-
Azakaban-The official prison for wizards and witches who abuse their power, Azakaban is hands down the worst prison on Earth. Prisoners are guarded and punished by Dementors, Grim Reaper type creatures that feed off misery. They put prisoners in a state of depression and live off of their sadness. The ultimate punishment for a prisoner of Azakaban is the Dementor's Kiss, which takes the soul but leaves the body alive, it is like the death penalty but worse, because the person's body still lives in a vegetable state.
The Books
If you are a fan of Harry Potter you are right now in serious withdrawal. I plowed through the first four books in three weeks and I am now finding myself looking around in despair. I need to know what is going to happen next. I cannot possibly wait until March 2002 for the next book! Oh the humanity! Ok, the movie is coming out in November, but I want book five!
The Harry Potter series is going nowhere anytime soon. Rowling has planned seven books, each chronicling Harry's years at Hogwarts. Each book from year one, the Sorcerer's Stone, gets bigger so sit down and get ready to read! The first four books together total 1, 819 pages. But the books are so exciting that you feel like 1,000 pages would still not be enough!
-
The Sorcerer's Stone (The British Title: The Philosopher's Stone) Year I-309 Pages
The Introductory book to the series has the reader meet young Potter and enjoy his first year at Hogwarts. Find out about Harry's origins, his first Quidditch Game, and very first adventure involving his second encounter with the wizard that sought to kill him, Lord Voldemort. Voldemort is after the Sorcerer's Stone, an artifact rumored to give eternal life.
-
The Chamber of Secrets Year II-341 Pages
My favorite book of the series chronicles Harry's second year at Hogwarts. Something is in the walls. A strange whispering sound is calling for the living heir of Lord Slytherin, founder of the Slytherin House. And as the whispers increase so do the number of students who are turned to stone. Wizards, Witches and Diaries, oh my!
-
The Prisoner of Azkaban Year III-435 Pages
Sirius Black, a notorious henchman of Lord Voldemort has escaped the dreaded magical prison of Azakaban. Black is notorious for killing several Muggles and wizards in an act of madness. He was also the one who is blamed for leading Lord Voldemort to Harry and his parents a decade earlier. Hogwarts is under strict guard by the Dementors because it is feared that Black is out for Harry.
-
The Goblet of Fire Year IV-734 pages
The Ministry of Magic of Briton has coordinated the Tri-Wizard Tournament between Magic Schools from France and Bulgaria. The Tournament is a skills test for young wizards. Because the challenges are dangerous and sophisticated, the Tournament is restricted to wizards and witches in their seventh year or seventeen years old. To insure no younger students try to enter Dumbledore places an age spell to prevent anyone under age from entering. But some how Harry's name is entered, and those whom the cup accepts must participate in the Tournament. With only four years of magic under his belt Harry, Ron, and Hermione have their work cut out as they search spells to help Harry compete.
Related Articles
Return to YBFREE.com's Main Page