Harry Potter

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.

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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.

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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.

2.1. Ron rescues Harry (Season 2!)

"I'll be in my bedroom, making no noise, and pretending I'm not there."

We are excited to begin season 2 of Mimblewimble where we will be discussing Book 2 of the Harry Potter series: The Chamber of Secrets.

In the first episode of season 2, we are going to discuss the events leading up to Ron rescuing Harry. Why does he need rescuing when it's just the beginning of the book? Well, Harry is back at Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia's place. He is bored out of his mind and lonely because none of his friends wrote to him whole summer. Because he is with his relatives, he has to participate in a very hyped up dinner with a potential business partner of Uncle Vernon's. 'Participate' is a strong word as all he has to do his hide in his bedroom and pretend he doesn't exist. 

Things would have been okay...boring but okay, had it not been for the sudden appearance of the house elf, Dobby. Dobby is a funny little creature with a terrible fashion sense. He warns Harry against going to Hogwarts that year as horrible things are about to happen there. Harry is dismayed. He would rather be adventurous and have multiple near-death experiences than stay at his Aunt's and be bored out of his mind. 

But Dobby doesn't empathize. Turns out, he's been blocking all of Harry's letters too. He tries to force Harry to promise that he won't go back to Hogwarts (Tough love!) When he refuses, Dobby uses his own brand of magic to bring Aunt Petunia's pudding crashing down on the kitchen floor and then, he disappears. 

This event invokes an official warning from the Ministry of Magic. Though the appearance of the owl scares away the potential business partners, Uncle Vernon is overjoyed to find out that Harry is not allowed to do magic.

You'll never believe what happens next.

HARRY POTTER STORIES

In this episode, this segment features Jyotsna Hariharan, a listener and a friend 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 1: The Worst Birthday

  • Chapter 2: Dobby's Warning

  • Chapter 3: The Burrow

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 Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal comic that Aishwarya refers to during the episode: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2015-02-01

9. Harry meets a man with two faces

"To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure"

Harry walks through fire to meet Quirrell, not Snape. It's quickly revealed that Quirrell is acting under Voldemort's orders and is trying to discover the secrets of the Mirror of Erised so that he can take the Stone and bring Voldemort back to life. Somehow, Harry winds up with the Stone. Harry lies about it but the voice sees through his lies and demands to speak to him "face to face". Quirrell unwraps his turban to reveal a second face on the back of his head - Voldemort. Harry tries to get away when Voldemort monologues about how he's a mere shadow of himself. In the scuffle, Harry realizes that Quirrell can't touch him without suffering pain. So even though it hurts him as well he puts his hands on Quirrell until he passes out.

When he wakes up, he's in the Hospital Wing with Dumbledore who explains everything that happened and fills in some of the details. Dumbledore explains that he arrived to pull Harry off Quirrell but Voldemort got away. After discussing it with Flamel, Dumbledore destroyed the Stone as well. Harry recovers in time to attend the last night feast where Slytherin is expected to win the House Championship cup.

Except Dumbledore hands out some points in the last minute to Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville and Gryffindor ends up winning the cup. The year over, they pack their trunks, get on board the Hogwarts Express and leave Hogwarts. For now.

HARRY POTTER STORIES

In this episode, this segment features Madhumitha Narasimhan, a listener and a friend 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.

Are you just starting the Harry Potter series? No problem. Here's what you should read before listening to this episode from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone -

Chapter 17: The Man With Two Faces

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

FOOTNOTES

  • We made it! Who'd have thunk? If you've been listening from the first episode, thank you. You've made every step of this journey incredible. 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.
  • We'll be taking a break before we start the next book so stay tuned! Our next episode will be out on June 21, 2018. In the meantime, if you want to let us know what you think or simply just write to us, it's mimblewimblepodcast@gmail.com.
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8. Harry walks through fire

"Mars is bright tonight"

After Harry, Hermione, Malfoy and Neville get caught out of bed past curfew, by Filch, McGonagall takes 50 each from their respective houses and assigns them detentions. Losing a 150 points puts Gryffindor behind Slytherin, in the House Championships. This really pisses off the rest of the school who ostracize Harry and Hermione. Regretful, Harry decides to not meddle in business that isn’t his own and concentrate on studying (famous last words). They throw themselves into studying but even as Harry practices spells and memorizes dates, his resolve is put to test when he overhears a conversation between Snape and Quirrell that leads him to believe that Quirrell's about to crack.

Detention takes place in the Forbidden Forest - along with Hagrid and Fang, the four of them try to find a dying unicorn. They meet centaurs before running across a hooded figure drinking unicorn blood. Thankfully, a centaur rescues Harry and warns him to be careful. Shaken by his experience, the trio contemplate going to Dumbledore but decide to keep their heads down.

It isn’t until their exams are over, however, that Harry realizes that the timing of Norbert was very convenient. Things come to a head when the trio discover that Hagrid blurted out the secret to taming Fluffy to a random hood-wearing stranger to a pub aka Snape. They immediately decide to go to Dumbledore except Dumbledore has left to London. McGonagall is surprised to discover that they know about the Stone but dismisses their concerns. The trio make up their mind to go after Snape themselves that night. When they try to sneak out of Gryffindor Tower, Neville confronts them and refuses to let them out. Hermione ends up having to use the body-bind curse on him so that they can continue with their mission. 

They sneak through the castle using the Invisibility Cloak and make it to the Forbidden Corridor easily where Harry uses the flute to lull Fluffy to sleep. The trapdoor is open and a lyre is next to it, convincing them that they were right in assuming that Snape intended to steal the Stone that very night. They escape the Devil's Snare, use brooms to catch charmed keys, play chess with inanimate chessmen and solve a logic puzzle. Hermione goes back to take Ron to safety and alert Dumbledore while Harry walks through fire to confront Snape.

HARRY POTTER STORIES

This episode’s Harry Potter story shared by a listener and a friend of the podcast - Samyuktha Dega.

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.

Are you just starting the Harry Potter series? No problem. Here's what you should read before listening to this episode from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone -

Chapter 15: The Forbidden Forest

Chapter 16: Through The Trapdoor

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

FOOTNOTES:

- Read more about the Chiron Aishwarya mentions in this episode. If you know of any fantasy books with centaurs in them, please mention it in the comments section!

- We only have one more episode and that's the end of season one! 

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