3.11 Prisoner of Azkaban - Wrap Up Discussion with a Special Guest!

The day is finally here! We are ending season 3 with a special wrap up episode. It’s special not just because we’ve never done a wrap up discussion before but also because we have a guest! We are joined by Vignesh Vijayakumar AKA Body, a certified Potterhead and a friend of the podcast. Listen on as we discuss

• The overarching themes of Prisoner of Azkaban

• Time-travel

• Book vs movie

• A little bit of book 4!

Thank you so much for listening to us this season ❤️

We’ll be back with a back with season 4 soon, so keep an ear out :)

3.10 Hemione's secret

The world changed after our previous episode. The COVID-19 situation has taken over our lives completely and we took a little hiatus to get used to working from home, cooking for ourselves, and generally living differently.

We are back now with the penultimate episode of this season where we discuss the last two chapters of Prisoner of Azkaban: 21. Hermione’s Secret and 22. Owl Post Again.

Since we had a sneaky suspicion that we incurred God’s wrath by doing a video episode last time, we’ve decided to just stick to audio for now!

SUMMARY

Harry wakes up in the hospital ward to hear Snape's version of what happened earlier the evening. Ron is still unconscious but Hermione is awake and ready to help him tell Fudge, the Minister of Magic, what they saw and heard. But to their dismay, Snape and Fudge wave them away, believing that Black confounded their minds. Luckily, Dumbledore pops in then but he doesn't have a magical solution in his hat. He believes Sirius but admits that there's no evidence to back it up. The only thing he'll say is that they need more time. Hermione seems to understand this even if Harry doesn't and the minute Dumbledore leaves, Hermione turns an hourglass on a chain backwards three times, taking Harry and her back into time - three hours earlier. This gives them the advantage they need to save two lives - Sirius and Buckbeak.

Harry and Hermione manage to make it back to the hospital ward in time, undetected, and let Dumbledore know of their success. Snape however is furious that Black got away so much so that he rages into the hospital wing and yells at Harry in front of Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey and Fudge. Fudge retracts the award that he promised to Snape and removes all the Dementors. The next day, Harry finds out that Lupin resigned from the school in disgrace. Snape let the cat out of the bag wrt Lupin's transformation the previous night. Harry tries to convince Lupin to stay but it is to no avail. Dumbledore and Harry have a heart to heart that makes Harry feel better but only a little bit. He cheers up when he receives a note from Sirius clarifying some events and giving him official guardian permission to go to Hogsmeade the next year. Ron is also happy because Sirius sends him an owl to make up for exposing his rat as a human being. Harry returns to the Dursleys, anticipating a better summer than the previous ones.

NOTES

• We’ve done detailed discussions on how time-travel and prophecies work in the Harry Potter world in this one. What theories do you have? Let us know in the comments and we’ll give you a shout out in the next episode!

3.9 Hermione faces the Dementors

Hello and welcome to Mimblewimble, the now-video and audio Harry Potter podcast! A lot of people have asked us about how the sausage gets made (we’re flattered!) so we decided to do something fun and do two versions of this episode: an unedited video version and a more polished audio version for the people who prefer to listen to us and not look at us. Enjoy!

In this episode, we covered Chapters 19. The Servant of Lord Voldemort and 20. The Dementor’s Kiss.

SUMMARY

After Snape reveals himself in the Shrieking Shack, he makes it clear that he has no intention of listening to Sirius’ side of the story. His childhood humiliation and hatred takes over. and he wants to give Sirius over to the dementors and Lupin too for supposedly helping Sirius. Shocked by how deranged Snape sounds, Harry, Ron, and Hermione take matters into their own hands and knock Snape out to give Sirius and Lupin a chance to explain. They reveal that Scabbers, the rat, was in fact Peter Pettigrew and that he faked his own death to escape getting caught by Sirius. Lots of questions that have been building up since the beginning of the book are answered in this chapter:

• Why was Scabbers losing his health?

• Why was Crookshanks obsessed with Scabbers?

• How and why did Sirius escape?

• Who was the actual secret keeper?

• Why would Peter Pettigrew not utilise all the chances he had to kill Harry?

• How did Harry end up seeing the Grim during the Quidditch match? Or did he really see the Grim?

• And more! We really like bullet points!

Harry decides that they should hand Pettigrew over to the authorities instead of letting his father’s best friends kill him and go to Azkaban. But unfortunately, on the way to the castle, Lupin transforms into a violent werewolf because it was full moon and he’d forgotten to take the wolfsbane potion. Sirius turns into a dog to protect the others from Lupin. But Pettigrew uses the chaos to attack Ron and Crookshanks and escape. The Dementors find Sirius. Harry and Hermione try their best to save him. Sirius loses it, Hermione loses it, and Harry is about to be kissed by a Dementor when a mysterious Patronus saves them. At this point, we are just very happy that Harry’s first kiss was not a Dementor.

NOTES

• How do we look and sound? Do you prefer this format or would you like it if we just stuck to audio? Let us know what you think!

• We hope you’re staying indoors and being safe. Social distancing is the need of the hour. We recorded this episode before things got a little dire over here.

3.8 Hermione meets the Marauders

THIS IS ACTUALLY THE MOMENT WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. This episode covers the action packed chapters 16, 17 and 18 Professor Trelawney’s Prediction, Cat, Rat and Dog, and Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. Basically:

The text version for the fans:

1) Hermione has exams but she's not able to concentrate because Buckbeak's appeal is on their last day of exams and she has multiple exams scheduled for the same time slot. Why can’t a body just write an exam in peace?!

2) They find out that Buckbeak lost the appeal - when they visit Hagrid to offer their condolences, they find Scabbers in the hut! Sneaking back to the castle becomes a chore because Ron's rat is determined to make a run for it - a task that becomes even more strenuous when Crookshanks and a great big, jet black dog becomes involved. The much foreshadowed dog kidnaps Ron and lets his leg break in the process.

3) When Hermione and Harry follow, they find out that the dog is actually Sirius Black and he “wants to finish the job". A scuffle later, the trio come out on top but they're interrupted by Lupin who turns out to be on Black's side?! And is a werewolf?! And Scabbers is actually a man called Peter Pettigrew?! They were all best friends in school?! Except for Snape who sincerely loathes them and makes the best entrance of all time, at the end of Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs.

NOTES

• Please let us know all your theories, comments, and wishes by either commenting on our website or writing to us at mimblewimblepodcast@gmail.com. We love fanart, comics and fanfiction so really, send everything our way.

• You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

3.7 Hermione slaps Malfoy

IT’S THE MOMENT WE’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR.

But first, a summary of the events we cover in this episode, chapters 14. Snape’s Grudge and 15. The Quidditch Final.

After Sirius Black almost attacked Ron, more steps are taken to increase Hogwarts security: Sir Cadogan is out and the Fat Lady is instituted again, along with security trolls to protect her. When Ron and Harry meet Hagrid to discuss Sirius Black, they discover that Hermione had been helping him to argue for Buckbeak for their case against the committee for the Disposal of Magical Creatures. He also tells them to value the friendship they have with her.

However, Hagrid’s plan to get them back together has no chance of going through because Ron and Harry immediately hatch a plan that Hermione doesn't get behind: Harry visiting Hogsmeade using the invisibility cloak. Ron and Harry visit Zonkos, the post office and the Shrieking Shack. Everything would have been fine and things would have gone off, without a hitch, if Harry had not reacted to Malfoy’s comments about the Weasley family by throwing muck at him. He almost gets into serious trouble with Snape but Professor Lupin rescues him and admonishes him for being careless. He also reveals that he knows the makers of the Marauders Map. To make things worse, Harry and Ron find out from Hermione that Hagrid’s appeal failed and that Buckbeak’s execution date has set. This news unites the trio finally, right in time for the Quidditch final.

It’s Gryffindor vs Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup, a match that Harry wins for Gryffindor. When he lifts the cup in the air, he feels that it would probably be the happiest moment of his life.

Are we done?

Feels like we’re done.

Oh yeah, Hermione hears Malfoy talk shit about Hagrid and just slaps him. Just slaps, no questions no explanations. Her rebellious streak continues when she doesn't show up for the Charms class and quits Divination, quite dramatically. As with everything, Hermione is better than Harry and Ron at teenage rebellion too!

NOTES

• Hermione slaps Malfoy in the book but she punches Malfoy in the movies. We’re pedantics, till the bitter end.

• Aishwarya had a cold while recording this episode. Apologies for the stray sniffs and the nasal voice.

• It’s our two year anniversary! As the silent partner in this endeavour, you've made every step of this journey incredible. If you’re a super listener, thank you for all your feedback and good will. If you've been listening sporadically, thank you for keeping us in your thoughts. If you're just starting out, welcome! We love you already.

• Please let us know all your theories, comments, and wishes by either commenting on our website or writing to us at mimblewimblepodcast@gmail.com. We love fanart, comics and fanfiction so really, send everything our way.

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

3.6 Hermione has to read 422 pages

Bonjour! This is a bit of a short episode because it covers only one chapter: Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw. Over the course of this episode, we discuss the breakdown of Hermione’s relationship with the person whose pet gets eaten by her cat, the broomstick that damaged her relationship with her friends, a match that she may or may not have attended, a party that she left early and a book with atleast 422 pages that she had to read for a class.

SUMMARY

Tension between Ron and Hermione reaches an all-time high, after the apparent death of Scabbers at the claws of Crookshanks. To cheer Ron up, Harry offers him a ride on the new Firebolt after Quidditch practice, the last one before the game against the Ravenclaw, and it works.

The Firebolt is everything as advertised and the Gryffindor team is very excited about their chances against Ravenclaw, even Oliver Wood and Percy Weasley. They were right to be because Harry easily outflies his rival, Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker, and catches the Snitch. Harry and his friends celebrate the victory for the rest of the day and well into the night, until the party is broken up by Professor McGonagall.

When Harry finally returns to his dormitory to sleep, he's not able to catch forty winks before a scream shatters the silence of the dorms. The screamer is Ron, who claims that Sirius Black had slashed open the curtain around his bed. Everybody panics, and McGonagall shows up, to find out what happened. On Ron's insistence, she asks Sir Cadogan if he let anyone into Gryffindor Tower. The knight answers yes, that the intruder had all of the passwords written on a slip of paper, which Neville Longbottom, it is soon discovered, had accidentally left in one of the corridors. And yeah, Hermione has to read 422 pages about the habits of British Muggles even though Gryffindor just won a match against Ravenclaw.

NOTES

• We say this a lot but we always mean it with the utmost sincerity: we’re sorry about the long gaps between episodes. Our schedules have been really packed recently and while we try to squeeze in podcast time as much as possible, clearly, it’s not as much as we were able to, last year. Every time you’re tempted to wonder whether this is going to happen or not, just know that we will let you know if we’re giving up on Mimblewimble. We’re leaving the ghosting to professionals like Moaning Myrtle and sticking to just podcasting.

• Prashanthini had a cold when we recorded this episode and would like to apologize for her nasal voice.

• Please let us know all your theories, comments, and wishes by either commenting on our website or writing to us at mimblewimblepodcast@gmail.com. We love fanart, comics and fanfiction so really, send everything our way.

• A nice read about Hermione Granger and the importance she places on friendship (even if it might not seem obvious right now)

3.5 Hermione and Ron's friendship comes to an end

Oh hi there! Didn’t see you before. In this episode, Hermione eats a nice Christmas dinner, has to make a really really hard decision and rat her friends out to her teacher, spend some time by herself as a consequence, go through a reconciliation with said friends and then end up in a fight again with one of them because of her cat. Poor Hermione! That’s a lot of things for one person to go through over the course of one episode.

SUMMARY

When we last left off, Harry is still reeling from the shock of what he overheard in The Three Broomsticks. He is angry, confused, betrayed but mostly angry because so many people, including Hagrid, knew that Sirius Black is the reason his parents are dead but did not tell him. But instead of confronting Hagrid, he offers to help Hagrid defend Buckbeak, the Hippogriff, whose only crime was attacking an influential man's son. The dreary mood is lifted briefly by the arrival of an international standard broomstick - the Firebolt - as a Christmas present. Hermione is suspicious of the fact that someone sent Harry an expensive broomstick and it is not Professor Mcgonagall. She gets McGonagall to confiscate the broom leading to a rift within the trio.

Sybil Trelawney makes a special appearance in the small Hogwarts Christmas dinner and brings attention to the fact that Lupin is ill.

The term starts and with that comes Wood. He takes it as his personal task to harass McGonagall and get the Firebolt back. Meanwhile, Lupin starts teaching Harry how to get rid of Dementors because Harry does not want to faint during the Gryffindor vs ravenclaw match that is coming up. He learns from Lupin that the Ministry has announced that if Sirius Black is caught, he will have his soul sucked out of his body with a Dementor’s kiss. Harry thinks this is an appropriate punishment for Sirius’ crime but Lupin does not seem to agree.

McGonagall and the other professors test and find out that there is nothing wrong with the Firebolt and return it to Harry. Harry and Ron are so overjoyed that they almost make up with Hermione. But all hell breaks loose when Scabbers goes missing and Ron finds evidence of Crookshanks' involvement. It seems as if Ron and Hermione's friendship has ended.

NOTES

• When Prashanthini is sad, she drinks plain old tea with milk. When Aishwarya is sad, she drinks non-milk tea and eats cookies. LOTS of them. Her favorite cookies have cream or jam in them.

• We’ve spoken about this enough and I (Aishwarya)’m also getting tired of this but JKR’s math wrt when the Gryffindor team last won the Quidditch Cup just doesn’t add up. If Gryffindor hasn’t won it since Charlie left (and JKR puts this at the year before Harry joined), why does Wood say it’s been 7 years?! What kind of time loop is Wood living in?

3.4 Hermione's friend visits Hogsmeade

Hello again! In this episode, Hermione sleeps in the Great Hall, attends a Quidditch match even though it’s raining cats and dogs, and goes to Hogsmeade. With her friends! Exciting things afoot. Here’s a longer summary:

The night after Black's break-in, all the students sleep in the Great Hall, while the professors, led by Dumbledore, search the castle for Black. They find nothing. Sir Cadogan replaces the Fat Lady as the Gryffindor entrance portrait and things sort of go back to normal as the weather takes a turn for the worse. The Gryffindor team's first game is supposed to be against Slytherin but they back out using Malfoy as an excuse so it ends up being against Hufflepuff. To make matters worse, Lupin falls sick just before the game and Harry has to endure Snape as the substitute teacher. Quidditch is always fun though but not this particular game, for Harry. It's raining so much that Harry has poor visibility, despite Hermione's cool charm, and things take a turn for the worse when he sees the silhouette of a large black dog in the stands. When he wakes up in the Hospital Wing, he realizes that not only did they lose the match but the Whomping Willow has made short work of his broomstick.

After the fall from his broomstick, Harry is miserable, not only about the loss of his Nimbus or the game, but also about the strange effect of the Dementors on him, and his continued sightings of the Grimm right before disaster strikes. However, he feels a little better after talking to Lupin who gives him an explanation and promises to teach him an anti-Dementor spell soon. A second Hogsmeade visit rolls around, and Harry is approached by Fred and George Weasley, who give him an early Christmas present - a map that acts like Google Maps but also with people. Harry uses the map to navigate his way under the school and into the basement of Honeydukes where he encounters Ron and Hermione. They hang out in the Three Broomsticks Pub but unfortunately, the teachers have the weekend free so they're hanging out there too so Harry has to hide under the table. They say that eavesdroppers hear no good of themselves - I don't know who they are but they aren't completely right because Harry overhears truths - actual incidents that led up to Voldemort's demise and how he, his family, and Sirius Black were involved. That's how Hermione finds out why some people think her friend might have a death wish.

NOTES

• As promised, a zoomed in picture of the Marauder’s Map from Jim Kay’s illustrated edition

3.3 Hermione visits Hogsmeade

Hello again!

It’s Hagrid’s first class teaching Care of Magical creatures and it’s off to a rocky start. Hagrid shows the class a new half-horse, half-bird creature called a Hippogriff and gets Harry to even ride on one. But trouble comes in the form on Malfoy who taunts the creature and get’s injured. His father would surely hear about this!

Two days later, Malfoy joins the class for Potions and taunts Harry for not going after Sirius Black who is rumoured to be sighted, not too far from Hogwarts. Snape bullies Neville and takes away points from him because his Shrinking potion did exactly what it was supposed to do - only thanks to Hermione. However, Neville’s spirit is lifted by Professor Lupin, who’s first class goes much better than Hagrid’s. He introduces the class to a shape-shifting entity that feeds on fear. Everyone gets to tackle the boggart, except Harry, who worries that Lupin seeing him faint at the sight of a dementor might have lead him to think that he was a coward. But later on, Lupin clarifies that isn’t the case and that he did not want the Boggart to turn into Voldemort in his class. He also sees Lupin drink a mysterious potion made by Snape.

It’s Oliver Wood’s last year in Hogwarts and Harry is determined to get the Wuidditch cup for him this year. Harry is bummed because everyone gets to go to Hogsmeade during Halloween but him. After Hermione and Ron are back from Hogsmeade and an excellent feast is had, the Gryffindors discover that the portrait of the fat lady was attacked by Sirius Black.

NOTES

• We’re trying out a new setup so really, tell us how we sound

• Aishwarya thought it was weird that Harry would pet Buckbeak on the beak - are beaks super sensitive? Prashanthini, on the other hand, thinks that’s the part that Harry, a short teenager, could reach

• Oh, Hagrid.

PREPARATION

You can prepare for this episode by reading:

• Chapter 6: Talons and Tea Leaves

• Chapter 7: The Boggart in the Wardrobe

• Chapter 8: The Flight of the Fat Lady

of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

3.2 Hermione dislikes a teacher

“Well, look who it is. Potty and the weasel.”

When we last left off, Hermione had just bought a new pet that Ron thoroughly disapproved of. The three of them return to the Leaky Cauldron where they have dinner with the rest of the Weasleys.

When Harry's looking for Scabbers' rat tonic post-dinner, he accidentally overhears a conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and finds out that Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban to find and kill him, Harry. Things make a lot more sense after Harry overhears this but he's not too fussed because surely Black can't be harder to deal with than Voldemort who's he faced down not once but twice?

The next day at the station, Mr. Weasley gives him a warning and tries to get him to promise that he won't go looking for Black but Harry is unable to promise or ask further questions because he has to get on the train. Harry, Ron and Hermione find the only empty-ish compartment on the train, empty but for a sleeping new professor, to discuss these events.

However, the journey takes a turn for the unexpected when the train lurches to a stop and a black-robed figure, with a hideous, dead-looking hand attempts to enter. Harry hears a woman's scream and passes out. When he comes to, he's ashamed to discover he's the only one who was affected as strongly. The shame is just compounded when McGonagall asks to see Harry and Hermione in her office so that Madam Pomfrey can examine Harry and give him a clean bill of health. She just wanted to have a word with Hermione about her class schedule.

They go back to the feast - even though they missed the sorting ceremony, they make it back in time to hear that the sleeping professor is the new DADA teacher and that Hagrid would teach Care of Magical Creatures. Everything's pretty great except for the Dementors and Malfoy and Harry's glad to be back at Hogwarts. But you know what's not great? Divination. First, Harry and Ron have trouble finding said class. Then the professor predicts that someone will die, surprise surprise it's Harry. Also, Hermione seems really skeptical about the whole thing and doesn't seem to like the professor.

NOTES

• Hey! Remember us? Your friendly neighbourhood Harry Potter podcast? We’re sorry we went AWOL. It was not our intention. First life got in the way, then we recorded this episode but we were not happy with the sound. We figured we’d take the time to upgrade our mic and release a better sounding episode. Thus, the delay. But we are back now and we’re excited to continue nitpicking the fun adventures of Harry, Hermione, and Ron!

• Speaking of new mics, how do we sound?

• Potty and the weasel would have been an excellent name for our podcast. Is it too late to change?

• Prashanthini always knew that the third Harry Potter movie was special and she was overjoyed when she found this perfect video that she can send to her friends who don’t agree with her.

• Unfortunately, Aishwarya had to edit two versions of this episode and is so done with it that she will spontaneously combust if she had to listen to it again.

PREPARATION

You can prepare for this episode by reading:

• Chapter 4: The Leaky Cauldron

• Chapter 5: The Dementor

• Chapter 6: Talons and Tea Leaves

of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

3.1. Hermione buys a cat (Season 3!)

"You bought that monster?" said Ron, his mouth hanging open.

"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" said Hermione, glowing.

NEW SEASON, NEW US!

We’re really excited to be starting our newest season, covering a particularly favorite book for both of us: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. So, in the spirit of change, we’re shaking things up by reordering the way we come at this. First up, here are the chapters we cover in this particular episode:

Chapter 1: Owl Post

Chapter 2: Aunt Marge’s Big Mistake

Chapter 3: The Knight Bus

Chapter 4: The Leaky Cauldron (Till when - dun dun dun - Hermione gets a cat).

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

SUMMARY

A lot of things happen in these chapters so buckle up. Harry’s spending some time on his lonesome because it’s the summer and he’s stuck at the Dursleys. In fact, he’s so bored he’s doing homework in the middle of the night even though it’s the night before his birthday. Thankfully, he’s interrupted by some presents from everyone’s favorite best friends, a biting book and a letter from Hogwarts assuring him that he did not imagine everything that happened over the last couple of years.

However, the Dursleys, determined to one up themselves from the previous year, ruin Harry’s birthday by letting him know that Aunt Marge, Uncle Vernon’s sister, is due to visit for a week, complete with awful dog. Harry tries to make the best of it by resourcefully striking up a bargain with Uncle Vernon (a signature letting him go to Hogsmeade on select weekends in exchange for good behavior). However, and for very good reasons, he is unable to hold up his end of the bargain and ends up blowing up his aunt.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Harry packs up his bags and storms out, ready to face the unknown and expulsion rather than continue staying with the Dursleys. He gets a fright, thanks to a dark looming shape, but is saved by an unlikely purple Knight (Bus). He catches a ride to The Leaky Cauldron and up on the events in the wizarding world since the end of his previous school year. Turns out the notorious mass murderer on the loose is actually a wizard (Who’d have thunk?) When he arrives at the Leaky Cauldron, he’s surprised to discover that the Minister of Magic is waiting for him - not to arrest or expel him but just to let him know that everything’s been taken care of and the Dursleys will have him back next summer. In fact, things get curioser and curioser because the Minister actually rewards him for blowing up his (not) aunt by letting him stay at The Leaky Cauldron for the duration of the summer. Harry has the time of his life exploring Diagon Alley, meeting his classmates, buying his back-to-school stuff and books, writing his assignments in broad daylight (this is really sad even if he has homework about magic) and eating free sundaes. Just a day before he has to head to King’s Cross to catch the train, he runs into Hermione and Ron. They catch up with each other and when the plot needs to move, Hermione decides to buy herself a pet. Harry and Ron accompany her to Magical Menagerie where Scabbers (Ron’s rat) nearly gets attacked by a small tiger or a big cat….and Hermione buys his attacker.

NOTES

• Welcome back! Please let us know all your theories, comments, and wishes by either commenting on our website or writing to us at mimblewimblepodcast@gmail.com. We also love fanart, comics and fanfiction so really, send everything our way.

• We would also like to note that we’ve really missed this. And you. This season is really really exciting and we’re excited to have you here, with us.

2.10. Things work out for Ron (End of book #2)

When we last left off, Fawkes was leading our favorite group of teenagers minus Hermione plus Gilderoy Lockhart to Professor McGonagall’s office. When they get there, they realize that it’s not just McGonagall in her office but also the Weasleys and Professor Dumbledore. Everyone is very happy and excited to see Ginny alive and well. Harry explains everything that happened that night and over the last few months and Dumbledore helps him smoothen out the explanations and sort out some ends like Lockhart. Harry and Ron get Special Services to the school award and enough points to ensure Gryffindor wins the House Cup again. Harry and Dumbledore have a heart-to-heart and Harry finally gets to ask him some burning questions.

Their conversation is interrupted by Lucius Malfoy who is very surprised to hear about the turn of the events. Harry thinks on his feet and saves Dobby from Mr. Malfoy. The whole school attends a feast in the middle of the night to celebrate. All the petrified victims wake up and even Hagrid comes back from Azkaban. All’s well at the end of the day and everything works out for Ron.

PREPARATION

You can prepare for this episode by reading:

• Chapter 18: Dobby’s Reward

of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

NOTES

• “Father, have you seen Dobby lately?”

• When Harry climbs out of the hole in the bathroom, he’s covered in muck, slime, and blood. This was such a vivid description to Prashanthini that she forever associates this dirty version of Harry with the book. It doesn’t help that Daniel Radcliffe looks very grimy in the movie posters. Aishwarya would just like to note that the poster designers must have been pretty relieved that they got to use a sword, instead of a wand on the cover.

• JK Rowling’s essay on Gilderoy Lockhart in Pottermore.

• We'll be taking a break before we start the next book so stay tuned! Our next episode will be out in 2019. In the meantime, if you want to let us know what you think or simply just write to us, it's mimblewimblepodcast@gmail.com.

• The editor (Aishwarya) apologises for the creaky chair but for some reason, we kept swinging around.

2.9. Ron's sister is taken

This is it. The moment we’ve all been waiting for - the resolution of the tangle of plots that is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. In these two chapters, we discover:

• The identity of the monster attacking people

• The identity of the person who’s been enabling the monster

• The location of the Chamber of Secrets

• How the monster has been getting around the castle (pipes!)

• Why so many of Lockhart’s books feature him on the cover

• Why the Heir of Slytherin is obsessed with Harry and

• Why it matters that phoenix’s tears have healing powers

PREPARATION

You can prepare for this episode by reading:

• Chapter 16: The Chamber of Secrets

• Chapter 17: The Heir of Slytherin

of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

NOTES

• We only have one more episode left to go, in this particular season. In the next episode, we’ll discuss Chapter 18: Dobby’s Reward and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as a whole. If you have a theory to share or want us to discuss something specifically, let us know!

• This mammoth episode was recorded in one go. We knew there was a lot to discuss but we were kind of surprised ourselves. If you’re surprised too, please respond with a gif.

• Some smart people on the Internet wondered how the entrance to the ancient Chamber of Secrets that predates modern plumbing could be put in a girls bathroom. Pottermore has a fix! It was moved in the 1600s to the girls bathroom by Cornivus Gaunt.

• Incompetent Tom Riddle always gives Aishwarya the giggles.

2.8. Ron follows the spiders

After Hermione is petrified, Ron is in shock. There are talks about the school closing. This drives Harry to confront Hagrid. When Ron and Harry visit Hagrid, they observe that he is oddly jittery. They don’t have to wait long to find out why.

Hagrid is visited by Cornelius Fudge and Albus Dumbledore. Fudge, the minister of Magic wants to send Hagrid to Azkaban, the wizard prison, because they have to be seen “doing something” to prevent the attacks. Lucius Malfoy also arrives and tells Dumbledore that he is suspended. Malfoy thinks that Dumbledore was not a good headmaster that year and we kinda agree. Dumbledore and Hagrid leave the hut but not before delivering cryptic messages to Harry and Ron who were hiding there the whole time.

Of those, “follow the spiders”, the message Hagrid gives them is the one relevant to this episode. Ron displays immense courage and loyalty when he decides to follow the spiders in spite of being mortally afraid of them. The spiders lead them deep into the forbidden forest where they are abducted by elephant-sized spiders. They take them to meet Aragog who clears Hagrid’s name from the whole chamber of secrets ordeal. Aragog mentions that Hagrid gave him life and a family and promptly orders the said family to kill and feed on Hagrid’s friends… and you thought Ron’s fear was irrational. Tut tut.

How they escape the most horrifying kind of death forms the rest of the episode.

PREPARATION

You can prepare for this episode by reading:

• Chapter 14: Cornelius Fudge

• Chapter 15: Aragog

of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

2.7. Ron's friend is petrified

This episode is all about the events leading up to everyone’s worst fears since we discovered there’s a monster on the loose attacking Muggleborns. Before Ron discovers that his friend is the latest victim, he:

• (and Harry) discovers a suspicious diary in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. He’s very skeptical of it because books can be dangerous (beyond just giving you dangerous ideas) but Harry picks it up and carries it around anyway.

• suspects that Hermione might have given Lockhart a valentine. He is also around when Harry is forced to listen to his humiliating valentine.

• is not present when Harry writes his name on a page in T.M Riddle’s diary and discovers that the diary can write back. The diary belongs to someone who caught the person who previously opened the Chamber and you’ll never believe what happens next. DUN DUN DUNNNN.

• thinks that Riddle sounds shifty because he turned Hagrid in. He also picks classes sensibly instead of making choices based on someone else’s choices (AHEM).

• is sympathetic when the diary is stolen and also concludes that it’s a probably a Gryffindor who stole is.

• is with Harry when they find out that the latest victim is their friend, Hermione Granger :(

PREPARATION

You can prepare for this episode (can you ever be prepared enough for this, though?) by reading:

• Chapter 13: The Very Secret Diary

• Chapter 14: Cornelius Fudge

of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

2.6. Ron becomes Crabbe

“Oh Potter, you rotter, what have you done?”

When we last left off, Harry was beginning to question if he could really be the heir - he can speak Parseltongue AND the Sorting Hat wanted to place him in Slytherin. But before investigating anything else, Harry decides to find Justin Finch Fletchley and explain what happened the previous night. When attempting to find Justin, Harry overhears a bunch of Hufflepuffs discussing the possibility of his being the heir and attacking Muggleborn students.

Angry, Harry decides to return back to Gryffindor Tower - on his way back, he stumbles across a petrified Justin Finch Fletchley, just the person he was looking for, and the blackened shade of Nearly Headless Nick. When Peeves alerts everyone to the proceedings, McGonagall clears the corridor and escorts Harry to Dumbledore’s office.

While waiting for Dumbledore, Harry pokes around his office and finds the Sorting Hat that tells him that it stands by its decision and he’d have done well in Slytherin. Just as he’s looking around for something to distract him, Dumbledore’s bird catches on fire but Dumbledore assures him that it’s alright because it’s a phoenix. Hagrid rushes into Dumbledore’s office to proclaim Harry’s innocence and Dumbledore reassures him that he doesn’t think that Harry’s responsible. When Dumbledore invites Harry to confide in him, Harry declines.

It’s Christmas Day by the time the Polyjuice potion is ready. Hermione makes a plan to knock Crabbe and Goyle out with a Sleeping Draught so that Ron and Harry can assume their identities - her plan is to use the hair she plucked off Millicent Bullstrode’s robes from the Dueling Club. The plan goes off without a hitch and Harry becomes a replica of Goyle, Ron of Crabbe. Hermione refuses to come out of her stall, so Harry and Ron set off alone.

Unfortunately however, they find out that all the effort is for vain because Malfoy said he doesn’t know who the heir is. They nearly get made but they manage to make it out of the Slytherin Common Room before their identities are revealed. Hermione however is still in her stall because the hair she added to her potion turned out to belong to a cat.

PREPARATION

You can prepare for this episode by reading:

• Chapter 11: The Duelling Club

• Chapter 12: The Polyjuice Potion

of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

NOTES

• Aishwarya loves this scene because it’s her favorite Dumbledore plus look how cute baby Fawkes is!!

• Prashanthini would like to note that Lucius Malfoy is a consummate politician who tries to use everything to make sure his wishes are met. Mr. Weasley has a flying car? Surely, he must be sacked and ALL the policies he enforced should be removed. Aishwarya concurs and would like to add that Lucius probably sent Draco the clipping so he could use it against Ron.

• The episode is pretty short and it’s not just because we didn’t have as much to discuss as we usually do but also because there was some kind of electrical work going on in the building we work in. So, if you hear some distant shouts and thuds that the editor (Aishwarya) missed, apologies. It’s also the reason we practically hurry through the Slytherin common room bits.

2.5. Ron finds out Harry's secret

"Training for the Ballet, Potter?"

Welcome to yet another electrifying, riveting, innnnnvigorating episode of Mimblewimble - the Harry Potter podcast!

Okay, that's enough excitement for today. 

After Ron learns about the Chamber of Secrets, he thinks it's just like Salazar Slytherin to do something this twisted. He is also disgusted to find out that the whole school somehow came to the conclusion that it is Harry who is behind all the attacks. 

Harry, Ron and Hermione go back to the scene of crime to investigate. There, they find many spiders leaving the castle. Ron reveals that he has a fear of spiders much to Hermione's amusement. They go to the out-of-order girl's bathroom and talk to Moaning Myrtle about the night of the attack.

The trio strongly suspects Malfoy, and Hermione comes up with an idea to make him confess to them - the Polyjuice potion. The fact that Hermione is leading the charge to break about 50 school rules shocks Harry and Ron.

During the first match of the season, Harry is followed around by a rogue bludger. He catches the snitch and wins the game against the Slytherins with their superior brooms, but still ends up in the Hospital wing, thanks to the bludger and Lockhart.

Dobby visits him and reveals that the Chamber had been opened before but this time around, it is particularly dangerous for Harry even though he is a half-blood. Their conversation is cut short by Dumbledore and McGonagall bringing in the petrified body of Colin Creevey, poor guy. 

Lockhart starts a dueling club where Harry is paired with Malfoy for a duel. Things turn nasty quickly and Malfoy (with the help of Snape), ends up setting a snake on Harry. You will never believe what happens next.

HARRY POTTER STORIES

In this episode, this segment features Vinoth Shankaran, a friend and listener of the podcast.

If you are interested in sharing your story with us, just record yourself telling the story of how you starting reading the books and send it to mimblewimblepodcast@gmail.com.

PREPARATION

You can prepare for this episode by reading:

• Chapter 9: The Writing on the Wall

• Chapter 10: The Rogue Bludger

• Chapter 11: The Duelling Club

of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

2.4. Ron learns about the Chamber of Secrets

In this episode, we (and Ron) get to learn a little bit about the title of this book aka The Chamber of Secrets. But before that, a whole bunch of stuff happens:

- Harry and Ron get assigned detentions. McGonagall smartly tailors the detentions - Harry gets assigned time with his favoritest Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor and Ron has to clean the trophy room, in the Muggle way, with Filch. Talk about fun. During his detention, Harry hears a disembodied voice but can't be sure where it was coming from or who it could be.

- Harry almost gets another detention from Filch for dripping mud in the corridor but is saved by Nearly Headless Nick. Nick also invites him to his 500th Deathday Party on Halloween; Harry agrees to attend, with Hermione and Ron, out of sheer gratitude.

- As per Ron's prediction, the Deathday party turns out to be dead depressing so they split midway to go back to the feast. Harry hears the disembodied voice again in the corridor (Ron and Hermione can't), except this time it's saying a lot of scary stuff like 'Rip. Tear. Kill.' and 'I smell blood'. Harry runs towards the voice, a confused Ron and Hermione in tow, and end up in front of some writing on a wall ('The Chamber of Secrets is open. Enemies of the heir, beware') and a petrified cat - Mrs. Norris. The entire school shows up just after they do and catches them at the scene of the crime.

- Filch accuses Harry of killing his cat because Harry figured out he's a Squib. But thankfully, Dumbledore believes that Harry had nothing to do with the incident and gets him off the hook. Hermione remembers reading about the Chamber of Secrets but she doesn't have her copy of Hogwarts, A History to refresh her memory and all the copies have been borrowed from the library. So, she interrupts Professor Binns during a History of Magic lecture and asks him. That's how Ron learns about the Chamber of Secrets.

HARRY POTTER STORIES

In this episode, this segment features Pavithra Muthalagan, a friend and listener of the podcast.

If you are interested in sharing your story with us, just record yourself telling the story of how you starting reading the books and send it to mimblewimblepodcast@gmail.com.

PREPARATION

You can prepare for this episode by reading

• Chapter 7: Mudbloods and Murmurs (from when Ron started throwing up slugs)

• Chapter 8: The Deathday Party

• Chapter 9: The Writing on the Wall

of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

NOTES

The wikipedia entry for a Kelpie. Looks like they figure in the newest Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Crimes of Grindelwald movie.

2.3. Ron goes to Hermione's defense

"Eat slugs, Malfoy!"

In episode 3 of season 2, we discuss the events leading up to Ron coming to Hermione's defense. From what? Let's find out.

After they find out that they cannot get past the barrier in platform 9 3/4, Ron and Harry put their heads together to come up with a misguided and dangerous plan. They decide to ride the flying car to Hogwarts. What could go wrong, right? Turns out, everything.

• Well, the car is seen by some muggles

• The car loses juice and starts to protest against the long drive.

• They hit a tree in the Hogwarts ground. The only tree that hits back

• Ron breaks his wand.

• The car throws Harry and Ron out and drives itself into the forbidden forest.

• Finally, they get caught by Snape who is hell-bent on getting them expelled.

Dumbledore arrives to save the day and lets them off with a detention. But their bad luck does not stop there. Ron gets a howler from Mrs. Weasley and Harry gets a lecture from Professor Lockhart. Harry, to his annoyance, gets a 'FAN' (not Ginny), who follows him around taking pictures and attracting more attention. 

You'd think things would get better for Harry at the Quidditch practice. But the Gryffindor team's practice is interrupted by the Slytherin team. They show off their brand new Nimbus 2001s, generously donated to them by Mr. Malfoy to get his son on the team.

When Hermione points out that nobody in the Gryffindor team bought their way in, Draco Malfoy calls her a nasty word. That's when Ron goes to Hermione's defense.

HARRY POTTER STORIES

In this episode, this segment features Shruthi Venkatesh, a friend and listener of the podcast.

If you are interested in sharing your story with us, just record yourself telling the story of how you starting reading the books and send it to mimblewimblepodcast@gmail.com.

PREPARATION

You can prepare for this episode by reading

• Chapter 5: The Whomping Willow

• Chapter 6: Gilderoy Lockhart

• Chapter 7: Mudbloods and Murmurs

of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

NOTES

The very cute illustration of Snape’s first appearance in the Chamber of secrets.

2.2. Ron misses the train (S2E2)

"Very fishy. Definitely dodgy."

After Ron's heroic rescue of Harry who was imprisoned in the Dursley house, Harry updates the Weasley brothers on everything that happened during the summer. They have a very different take on the Dobby episode. Unlike Harry, they think that Dobby was sent by someone who hates Harry aka Draco Malfoy.

At this point, it is important to note that the Weasley brothers and Harry are in a magical flying car. They are flying it back to the Burrow, where the Weasleys live. We meet Mrs. Weasley who is very angry about the boys flaunting the statute of secrecy in this way. She assigns them chores but doesn't forget to feed them. 

Mr. Weasley is happy to finally meet Harry but he is happier when he hears that the flying car works because he was the one who enchanted it. 

Harry has the time of his life in the Burrow. He likes how disorderly and loving the Weasleys are. When his second-year term is about to start, they all decide to travel to Dialog alley using floo powder. Harry, unfamiliar with this new complicated method of travel, ends up in Knockturn Alley, where he overhears a suspicious conversation between Mr. Malfoy and a dark magic shop owner Mr. Borgin.

He is saved by Hagrid who brings Harry to the anxious Weasleys. They shop for a while and then go to Flourish and Blotts to buy their very expensive books. Here Harry and the gang meet their future Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher - the very colorful Gilderoy Lockhart.

The summer holidays end. The Weasleys and Harry hurry to catch the Hogwarts Express. What happens next will probably not surprise you if you have read the books.

--

Wow. I am tired of typing the summary. So many things happen in these chapters. And I did not even mention Ginny, Percy or the lady selling human fingernails. Just listen to the episode and enjoy our discussion of these very eventful chapters.

--

HARRY POTTER STORIES

In this episode, this segment features Muralidhar Mutnuru, a listener of the podcast.

If you are interested in sharing your story with us, just record yourself telling the story of how you starting reading the books and send it to mimblewimblepodcast@gmail.com.

PREPARATION

You can prepare for this episode by reading

• Chapter 3: The Burrow

• Chapter 4: At Flourish and Blotts

• Chapter 5: The Whomping Willow

of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

You can also listen to this podcast on iTunes, Google Podcast, or any other favorite podcast app. Just search for Mimblewimble - The Harry Potter Podcast.

---

NOTES

The editor (Aishwarya) tells me that I was so tired when we recorded this video that my continuous yawning ruined the latter part of the episode. Oops. So if you find surprisingly few discussions about the events in Diagon Alley, you know why.