Harry Potter and the First Time Readers

SILENCE! and join Jon, Jenn, Danny, and Kristen as they talk over chapters 15-17 of the Sorcerer's Stone. They talk over some theories about what will happen, impressions of the characters, and why the youngest seeker in a generation cannot catch one out of a thousand letters floating around his living room.

Chapter 15 - The Forbidden Forest

• It was the first time Hermione has ever failed to answer a teacher’s question. She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue.

Q1 - Do you really think McGonagall has never heard of four students out of bed before?

Q2 - At this point in the book were you convinced Snape was the main assailant to Quirrel? Would you have bet 12 sorcerer’s stones?

Q3 - Is the punishment of going in the forbidden forest too extreme for any students?

• “I want fang,” said Malfoy quickly, looking at Fang’s long teeth. “All right, but I warn yeh, he’s a coward,” said Hagrid.

Q4 - Is it weird that Hagrid goes by Hagrid and not Rubeus?

• “Always the innocent are the first victims,” he said, “So it has been for ages past, so it is now.”
• Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. At last, he said, “The Forest hides many secrets.”

Q5 - How much do you think Centaurs know? 

• “The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times.”

Chapter 16 - Through the Trapdoor

Q1 - Do you think you could make a pineapple tapdance across the classroom?

• “I think it’s a warning…it means danger’s coming.”
• “Neville will play quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down.”

Q2 - What do you think Dumbledore does on a day-to-day basis?

• “You can’t!” said Hermione. “After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You’ll be expelled!” “SO WHAT?” Harry shouted. “Don’t you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort’s coming back! 
• “I’ll use the Invisibility Cloak,” said Harry. “It’s just lucky I got it back.” “But will it cover all three of us?” said Ron.
• “I won’t let you do it,” he said, hurrying to stand in front of the portrait hole. “I’ll — I’ll fight you.” He took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad, who leapt out of sight. “Go on then, try and hit me!” said Neville, raising his fists, “I’m ready!”

Q3 - What are your thoughts on Neville?

• “HAVE YOU GONE MAD?” Ron bellowed. “ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?”

Q4 - What do you think was the level of difficulty for that chess game?

• “But Harry — What if You-Know-Who’s with him?” “Well — I was lucky once, wasn’t I?” said Harry, pointing at his scar. “I might get lucky again.” Hermione’s lip trembled and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him. “Hermione!” “Harry — you’re a great wizard, you know.” “I’m not as good as you,” said Harry, very embarrassed, as she let go of him. 
• “Harry took a deep breath and picked up the smallest bottle. He turned to face the black flames. “Here I come,” he said and he drained the little bottle in one gulp.

Q5 - Which was your favorite test?

Q6 - If you could add a test to the group, what would you do?

Chapter 17 - The Man With Two Faces

Q1 - When you first read this, did you expect that it was going to be Quirrell?

• “He was at Hogwarts with your father, didn’t you know? They loathed each other. But he never wanted you dead”
• “There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it.”

Q2 - What do you think Voldemort is at this moment?

• “How touching…” it hissed. “I always value bravery…Yes, boy, your parents were brave…I linked your father first and he put up a courageous fight…but your mother needn’t have died…she was trying to protect you…Now give me the stone, unless you want her to have died in vain.”
• And other voices, maybe in Harry’s own head, crying, “Harry! Harry!”
• “What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrel is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows.”

Q3 - How much elixir do you really think the Flamels have stored?

Q4 - Thoughts on Dumbledore?

• “To one as young as you, I’m sure it seems incredible, but to Nicholas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”

Q5 - What do you think Dumbledore means when he says the above quote?

• “The truth,” Dumbledore sighed. “It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.”
• “Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves it’s own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign…to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection for ever. It is in your very skin.”

Q6 - Do you think Dumbledore meant for Harry to go after Voldemort?

• “Sent owls off ter all ter parents old school friends, askin fer photos…knew yeh didn’t have any…d’yeh like it?” Harry couldn’t speak, but Hagrid understood.

Q7 - How rigged is the point system?

• “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr Neville Longbottom.”

Chapter 11 - Quidditch

Q1 - How much would you pay to watch the Quidditch World Cup match in 1473 that had all seven-hundred ways to commit a foul committed?

• Harry thought Flint looked as if he had some troll blood in him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Potter for President over the crowd. His heart skipped. He felt braver.

Q2 - How do we feel about Lee Jordan shooting his shot with Angelina during his commentary for the match?

Q3 - The Weasleys are poor, how does one of the twins have a gold wristwatch?

Q4 - Should they have magical protection for the players during a quidditch match?

Chapter 12 - The Mirror Of Erised

• So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family.

Q1 - The wizarding world needs google? This book is kinda at the dawn of the internet, so Hogwarts probably isn’t set with a computer lab, and most tech doesn’t work around Hogwarts, but how much time would they save with a google search?

• “And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is,” said Ron. “It’d be safe to ask them.” “Very safe, as they’re both dentists,” said Hermione.
• “Will you look at this? I’ve got presents!” “What did you expect, turnips?”

Q2 - How much would you pay for a Weasley jumper?

• Something fluid and silvery gray went slithering to the floor, where it lay in gleaming folds. Ron gasped. “I’ve heard of those,” he said in a hushed voice, dropping the box of Every-Flavor Beans he’s got from Hermione. “If that’s what I think it is — they’re really rare, and really valuable.” “What is it?” Harry picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch like water woven into material. “It’s an invisibility cloak,” said Ron, a look of awe on his face.

Q3 - Who did you think the cloak was from on the first read?

Q4 - Is a hundred fat, roast turkeys excessive for the number of kids likely staying at Hogwarts for Christmas?

Q5 - Is it irresponsible to give an eleven-year-old an invisibility cloak and just say “use it well?

Q6 - Did you catch the riddle of the inscription on the mirror: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi?

• He looked in the mirror again. A woman standing right behind his reflection was smiling at him and waving. He reached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she was really there, he’d touch her, their reflections were so close together, but he only felt air — and she and the others existed only in the mirror.
• Harry was so close to the mirror now that his nose was nearly touching that of his reflection. “Mum?” he whispered. “Dad?”
• Harry was looking at his family, for the first time in his life. The potters smiled and waved at Harry and he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them. He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible sadness. How long he stood there, he didn’t know. The reflections did not fade and he looked and looked until a distant noise brought him back to his senses. He couldn’t stay here, he had to find his way back to bed. He tore his eyes away from his mother's face, whispered, “I’ll come back,” and hurried from the room.

Q7 - This is way too personal, and I’m not going to ask this, but what would you see in the mirror?

• “So — back again, Harry?” Harry felt as though his insides had turned to ice. He looked behind him. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore. Harry must have walked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror he hadn’t noticed him. “I — I didn’t see you, sir.” “Strange how short-sighted being invisible can make you,” said Dumbledore, and Harry was relieved to see that he was smiling.
• If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. 
• It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that.

Q8 - What do you think Dumbledore saw in the mirror?

Chapter 13 - Nicholas Flamel

• Chess was the only thing Hermione ever lost at, something Harry and Ron thought was very good for her.
• “There’s no need to tell me I’m not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy’s already done that,” Neville choked. Harry felt in the pocket of his robes and pulled out a Chocolate Frog, the very last one from the box Hermione had given him for Christmas. He gave it to Neville, who looked as though he might cry. “You’re worth twelve of Malfoy,” Harry said. 

Q1 - What are your thoughts on Neville?

Q2 - Is there a serious issue that the trio could not find the only known maker of the sorcerer's stone — something that makes the elixir of life which makes the drinker immortal — in anything they read until they got to the chocolate frog? Is this bad searching, or bad recorded history?

Q3 - What position would you want to play in Quidditch?

Chapter 14 - Norbert The Norwegian Ridgeback

• “But there aren’t wild dragons in Britain?” said Harry. “Of course there are,” said Ron. “Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our lot have to keep putting spells on Muggles who’ve spotted them, to make them forget.”

Q1 - Now that you’d know but do you think the Ministry of Magic has ever put a memory spell on you?

Q2 - On your first read, did you think Snape was the one who was going after the stone?

Q3 - How much brandy and chicken blood do you think Hagrid went through to feed Norbert?

• “Wonder what it’s like to have a peaceful life?” Ron sighed.
• Harry suddenly turned to Ron. “Charlie,” he said. “You’re losing it, too,” said Ron. “I’m Ron, remember?”

Chapter 6 - The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

Q1 - Is Hagrid an idiot for not showing Harry how to get on the platform?

• He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, “Gran, I’ve lost my toad again.”
• “Blimey,” said the other twin. “Aren’t you —?” “He is,” said the first twin. “Aren’t you?” he added to Harry.” “What?” said Harry. “Harry Potter,” chorused the twins. “Oh, him,” said Harry. “I mean, yes, I am.”
• They leant out of the window for her to kiss them goodbye and their younger sister began to cry. “Don’t, Ginny, we’ll send you loads of owls.” “We’ll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat.” “George.” “Only joking, mum.”

Q2 - What is your first impression of the Weasley family?

• Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn’t know what he was going to — but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.
• “Are all your family wizards?” asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him. “Er — yes, I think so,” said Ron. “I think mums got a second cousin who’s an accountant, but we never talk about him.”

Q3 - What is your first impression of Ron?

Q4 - What sweet sounds the best?

• Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean
• Drooble's Best Chewing Gum
• Chocolate Frogs
• Pumpkin Pasties
• Cauldron Cakes
• Licorice Wands
• “Go on, have a pasty,” said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry’s pasties and cakes (the sandwiches lay forgotten).

Q5 - Is 500 chocolate frog cards an alarming amount of chocolate frogs to eat?

• When they shook their heads, he wailed, “I’ve lost him! He keeps getting away from me!” “He’ll turn up,” said Harry.

Q6 - First impressions of Hermione Granger?

• “You’ll soon find out some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.” He held out his hand to shake Harry’s, but Harry didn’t take it. “I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks,” he said coolly.

Q7 - What do you think of Scabbers the rat’s bravery in biting Goyle’s knuckle?

Chapter 7 - The Sorting Hat

• “Welcome to Hogwarts,” said professor McGonagall
• “There’s nothing hidden in your head the sorting hat can’t see.”

Q1 - If you had to create a way for students to be sorted into their houses without using the sorting hat, what would you do?

Q2 - So what house are you?

Q3 - Why do you think it took so long to sort Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom?

• “You could be great, you know, it’s all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — no? Well, if you’re sure — better be Gryffindor!”

Q4 - Why do you think Harry nearly got sorted into Slytherin?

• “Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!”
• “Is he — a bit mad?” he asked Percy uncertainly. “Mad?” said Percy airily. “He’s a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit, yes. Potatoes, Harry?”

Q5 - Do you know what mint humbugs are?

Q6 - Where do you think these ghosts come from?

• It happened suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell’s turban straight into Harry’s eyes — and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry’s forehead.
• Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his want, and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest. “Ah, music,” he said, wiping his eyes. “A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot.”

Q7 - Do you know what a poltergeist is?

Chapter 8 - The Potions Master

Q1 - If you had a scar, where would you want it and what would you want it of?

Q2 - Do you think Harry is going to get married? If so, do you think he’d marry any of the people who were introduced in the book so far?

• At the start-of-term Banquet, Harry had got the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he’d been wrong. Snape didn’t dislike Harry — he hated him.

Q3 - Do you think there’s any reason why Snape would hate Harry or is just one of those let-me-pick-a-student-to-be-mean-to-on-the-first-day kind of thing?

Q4 - Is Fang a boar or a dog?

Q5 - First impression of McGonagall and Snape?

Chapter 9 - The Midnight Duel

• Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy.

Q1 - Would you like to have a remembrall?

Q2 - So far in the Hogwarts experience, what event/class would you be most excited for and why?

• WHAM! — a thus and a nasty crack and Neville lay, face down, on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher and started to drift lazily toward the Forbidden Forest and out of sight.

Q3 - Was it Neville's issue for falling off his broom or was it his broomstick?

• Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leant forward and pointed his broom handle down — next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball — wind whistled in his ears, mingles with the screams of people watching — he stretched out his hand — a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently on to the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his hand.

Q4 - What did you initially think was going to happen to Harry after McGonagall caught him flying?

• “Wood?” Thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?

Q5 - Is it a bit too early to make Harry Seeker after one nice catch of a Remembrall?

Q6 - How do you think Goyle feels for now being picked as Malfoy’s second?

• “And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?” “Throw it away and punch him on the nose,” Ron suggested.

Q7 - Thoughts on the Fat Lady taking a stroll and not manning her post at the door?

• “What do they think they’re doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?” Ron said finally.

Q8 - Is Hogwarts really safe…like really?

Chapter 10 - Hallowe’en

Q1 - Is it shady that McG has bought a Nimbus Two Thousand — the current best broomstick in the world — for Harry?

• “Potter’s been sent a broomstick, Professor,” said Malfoy quickly. “Yes, yes, that’s right,” said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. “Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what Model is it?” “A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir,” said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy’s face. “And it’s really thanks to Malfoy here that I’ve got it,” he added.

Q2 - Is the Snitch worth too many points?

• Ron looked still more awkward at this [news Hermione was crying and wanted to be left alone], but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Hallowe’en decorations put Hermione out of their minds.

Q3 - Theories on how on earth someone could smuggle a troll into the castle?

Q4 - Why didn’t Hermione tell the truth?

Q5 - Is five points a little too skimpy for two first years taking on a mountain troll and winning?

Q6 - The point system at Hogwarts seems absolutely arbitrary, do you think there is a rule book for the point system?

• But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.

Summary

Q1 - What is your favorite moment in these five chapters?

Q2 - Who is your favorite character so far?

Q3 - Which character do you think won the house cup? (we’ll call it the house cup because you guys know what it is and it’ll be like the MVP award for each podcast.)

Q4 - Discussion on Hogwarts houses. What houses are all of us in?

Q5 - What do you think the major theme of these chapters is?

Chapter 1 - The Boy Who Lived

• He hurried to his car and set off home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn’t approve of imagination.
• “You can’t blame them,” said Dumbledore gently, “We’ve had precious little to celebrate for eleven years.”

Q1 - What are your general impressions of McGonagall, Dumbledore, Hagrid, and the Dursleys?

Q2 - Why can McGonagall transform into a cat? And if you could transform into an animal which would you choose?

Q3 - Why do you think Voldemort could not kill Harry?

Q4 - Do you think Dumbledore was right to separate Harry from the magical world?

• “You think it – wise – to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?” “I would trust Hagrid with my life,” said Dumbledore.
• “Yes, yes, it’s all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we’ll be found,” Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm…
• “Good luck, Harry,” he murmured.

Q5 - What year do you think all this happened?

Q6 - Is Dumbledore irresponsible for leaving Harry on the doorstep with just a letter?

Q7 - Why do you think it took so long for Dumbly and Hagrid to get to Privet Drive?

Chapter 2 - The Vanishing Glass

• He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorbikes.

Q1 - Out of all the magical things Harry can do in chapter 2, which do you think was the coolest?

• Hair Growth
• Shrinking Sweater
• Appearing on the roof
• Talking with a snake
• Making the glass disappear

Q2 - What are your first thoughts about Harry?

Q3 - What was the best birthday gift you ever got?

Chapter 3 - The Letters From No One

Q1 - Do you think the knobbly sticks are a useful teaching/character-building tool?

• “What’s this?” he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question. “Your new school uniform,” she said. Harry looked at the bowl again. “Oh,” he said. “I didn’t realize it had to be so wet.”
• Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon’s sister Marge, who was holidaying on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill and – a letter for Harry?

Q2 - How devastating must it be for Harry after the first letter was burned? He probably feels like he has to carry that for the rest of his life of never knowing who was writing to him.

Q3 - Why do the Dursleys want so badly for Harry to not go to Hogwarts? Wouldn’t it be better for them to have him out of the house?

• He hoped the roof wasn’t going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did. Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he’d be able to steal one somehow.

Q4 - Do you wonder if these letters are duplicated by magic or if Hogwarts is handwriting all these letters to Harry?

Chapter 4 - The Keeper of Keys

• BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake. “Where’s the cannon?” he said stupidly.

Q1 - What was Dudley dreaming about?

• “Las’ time I saw you, you was only a baby,” said the giant. “Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh’ve got yer mum’s eyes.”
• “Harry – yer a wizard.”

Q2 - If you are starving in a hut and a massive giant breaks in and starts cooking up a meal, what would you hope that he made?

Q3 - What are your first impressions of Hagrid? What’s up with his assault of Dudley?

Q4 - The logistics and maybe ethics of Hagrid throwing an owl out of the door in the middle of a raging storm is interesting. Let’s discuss.

• She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.

Q5 - Is it alarming or endearing that Hagrid can’t spell Voldemort?

Q6 - Why do you think Voldemort tried to kill Harry and killed Lily and James?

Q7 - Do you have any theories about what stumped Voldy about Harry?

Q8 - Hagrid says that us Muggles would want all our problems solved with magic. Do you think this is true? And what is the first problem you are fixing with magic?

Chapter 5 - Diagon Alley

Q1- Should the wizarding world have more than one bank? That seems like a bad monopoly.

• “Gringotts is the safest place in the world for anything yeh want ter keep safe – ‘cept maybe Hogwarts.”

Q2 - Hagrid and Harry took the boat off the island. How long were the Dursleys stranded there before they got off?

Q3 - Which book sounds the most interesting from Harry’s book list?

• Standard Book of Spells
• A History of Magic
• Magical Theory
• Beginners Guide to Transfiguration
• One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
• Magical Drafts and Potions
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
• Even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn’t help trusting him.

Q4 - What is the weirdest thing you think Hagrid keeps in his pocket?

• “If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they’d be sucked through the door and trapped in there,” said Griphook. “How often do you check to see if anyone’s inside?” Harry asked. “About once every ten years,” said Griphook, with a rather nasty grin.

Q5 - Does Draco have the wrong wand? His mother picked it up for him…

• “But I know I’ll be in Slytherin, all our family have been – imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I’d leave, wouldn't you?”
• “Where are your parents?” “They’re dead,” said Harry shortly.
• “Ah yes,” said the man. “Yes, yes. I thought I’d be seeing you soon. Harry Potter.”
• “It’s really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course.”

Q6 - If you could choose your wand, which wand core would you want and why?

• “I remember every want I’ve ever sold, Mr Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather – just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother, why its brother gave you that scar.”

Q7 - How do we like Hagrid?

We're talking all things introduction to the Harry Potter universe. Jenn, Danny, Kristen, and Jon all talk about what drew them into Harry Potter and why they are even starting this podcast to begin with.