Day 3, 582 pages

Day 3 : Saturday, June 25th, 2011
Current Book : Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, page 273
Total pages read : 582 out of 4,100 (14% completed)


     Phew! Again, this is difficult but fun. This is putting me in the perfect state for the premiere. As I keep reading, I'm remembering all the crazy stories and mishaps that are to come. What I've found interesting is how dire everything seems to the trio. Not that they're not facing legitimate dangers in these first two books, but compared to the eventual showdown in Hallows, Voldy/Quirrell just seems like nothing! It was interesting to see them dealing in absolutes in times of danger ("it doesn't matter if we risk being expelled, we have to do *this* or else all is lost"), knowing that they've got real troubles ahead. They don't even know about horcruxes lol.
     So there were only a few places that stuck out to me this time. The first is just that we've really gotten to get a good look at Percy Weasley as a person. There've already been a few instances where he's staying on the path of pushing his family away. Here he's yelling at Ron. ""Five points from Gryffindor!" Percy said tersely, fingering his prefect badge. "And I hope it teaches you a lesson! No more detective work, or I'll write to Mum!"" The future fall-out with his family is being really well set up. It's sad.
     Oh--the other thing that literally made me laugh out loud was the description of the Mandrakes! It's completely left out of the movies, and I was probably too young to get it all when I first read this book. Their maturation is described in terms of a human, and it's hilarious! "Madam Pomfrey was pleased to report that the Mandrakes were becoming moody and secretive, meaning that they were fast leaving childhood. "The moment their acne clears up, they'll be ready for repotting again" Harry heard her telling Filch kindly one afternoon" and later on it says "in March several of the Mandrakes threw a loud and raucous party in greenhouse three. This made Professor Sprout very happy. "The moment they start trying to move into each other's pots, we'll know they're fully mature," she told Harry." Yeah, there've been a few times that I just had to burst out laughing while reading haha.
     Right now I'm at the point where everyone's been petrified and Ron and Harry have "followed the spiders" into the forest. They're about to meet Aragog. Gettin' close to the end!
     Only 3,518 pages to go!