To think Dumbledore was a massive cheater?

[Slytherine]

Just finished watching the first Harry Potter film on TV and forgot about the injustice for the Slytherins at the end. I have changed my name in solidarity.

So the Slytherins get the most House Points (presumably fairly as most of the professors at Hogwarts could barely hide their disdain for Slytherin House so wouldn’t have been dishing out points to them for no reason) and are sat there enjoying their win of the House Cup, and celebrating with the room decorated in their House colours, and then former Gryffindor Dumbledore just decides (even though the school year was officially over!!) to throw out an unreasonable amount of points to Harry, Hermione and Ron drawing them level with Slytherin, and then a further 10 points to Neville pushing Gryffindor over the edge and into the win. And then, just to rub salt into the wound, publicly humiliated them by casting a spell to replace all the Slytherin colours with the Gryffindor colours and gives them the award instead and they all celebrate, including him and most of the teachers, and Slytherin has to sit there and just accept it??

AIBU to think WTAF and that was very unfair and he was biased by doing this and it’s no wonder the Slytherins were openly hostile and dismissive of him after that!? I’d be fuming if I were a Slytherin student and if I were a parent of a Slytherin student I’d be marching up to the school myself and having a word with the head.

I've read some really good fan fictions that have other partners and they are extremely well written.

I must be the only person in the world that didn't like Alan Rickman as Snape

Imelda Staunton as Umbridge was way better than the book one. Helena Bonham Carter was well cast too. I am also very glad that Robbie Coltrane was cast as hagrid and not Robin williams.

I loved Thewliss, calm and gentle but with that undercurrent of feistiness. I actually thought all the adult actors were incredibly well cast, the child actors less so. Hermione was an exceptionally irritating person in book 1 and I think Watson did a good portrayal of her in the first film, but then she just became more and more wooden. Agree film Ginny was pointless, such a shame as she was so much more in the books than what we see on screen. I actually think Grint's comic timing was pretty good

Sorry posted too soon!
Grint was also far less wooden that Radcliffe and Watson!

What I don’t like about Gambondore (as we call him in our house) is the weird grey rags he wears. Original Dumbledore wears such regal robes.

Agree I liked Thewlis as Lupin. Gentle and caring but careworn. Let’s not forget he’s spent most of his life being ostracised and down and out but he’s still a brilliant teacher, enthusiastic, patient and empathetic with the kids.

Sirius was a total dick, I understand why Harry formed such a strong attachment to him but Lupin was obviously the better choice for surrogate Dad.

@GrandTheftWalrus

HBC was the perfect bellatrix. I love the films and books and love pulling them apart even more

I love Helena Bonham Carter in virtually anything, and I think her Bellatrix had some brilliantly unhinged black-comic moments (I always feel bad for finding the timing and tone of her ‘How’s Mum and Dad?’ to Neville hilarious), but who decided that a member of an old, vaguely aristocratic pureblood House of Black should be played with a Cockney accent?

Better now they are about to be avenged!

One thing that's always annoyed me is ALL the students get to hogwarts on the train (apart from book 6) but there must be Scottish wizards so do they need to go all the way to London to sit on a train for 8hrs to come back?

I love the 'how's Mum and Dad?' scene too but mainly for Jason Isaacs, who I thought played Lucius Malfoy brilliantly.

'Let's just all calm down'
'Now now Draco, play nicely' (CoS Flourish and Blotts scene).

What irritated me most with the actors who played the trio is partly Radcliffe's 'wow' reaction to magic after 6 years of living in the magical world. Emma Watson did an unnecessary pause periodically, sighed and pulled a face, before continuing her speeches, which I found very un Hermione-ish.

One thing that's always annoyed me is ALL the students get to hogwarts on the train (apart from book 6) but there must be Scottish wizards so do they need to go all the way to London to sit on a train for 8hrs to come back?

We live in Scotland and DD and DS were having this exact conversation recently.

Also on the subject of travel from Scotland - London - how did the kids on the thestrals not freeze to death during that night flight? I can’t remember if it was covered in the book or not.

I think it's because thestrals fly very quickly? Coz when Harry went to headquarters he was freezing on his broom.

Love the thread 😀.

Going back to the original question, I think that's the reason for the enduring success/love for the books.

When I first read them to DS I suppose I did so from his childlike perspective, where you imagine yourself as Harry/Hermione in Gryffindor and look up to Dumbledore, hate Snape/Slytherin etc

As you go through the books it's obviously becomes clear it's not that simple - but at the time of reading the first book it was "yay Dumbledore giving the house prize to the right house".

It was really interesting reading them again alone in "adult mode" and you realise just how multiple dimensional many of the characters are.

In many ways the protagonists of Harry/Hermione/Ron are the least interesting insofar they are who you think they are and behave as you expect they would.

Dumbledore and Snape are really natural opposites in the sense one is perceived as being good while actually having made some pretty damn poor moral choices over the course of his life and seems unwilling to acknowledge that beyond it was all part of his grand plan, while the other is despised yet has put himself at great risk through much of his life to do what's right trying to make up for past mistakes.

Then you have a whole set of really interesting flawed/fucked up adult characters that are products of their upbringing/living through trauma and people who you find have inner resolve you didn't see coming (ref: Molly Weasley going toe to toe with Bellatrix and bringing the "bitch" down).

I think I'm going to read them all again!!!

@DrSbaitso

With the right ageing makeup etc, Robin Williams could have been a wonderfully dotty, eccentric, but very wise and clever Dumbledore.

I didn't like either Dumbledore. Why didn't they get Ian McKellen?

I’m picturing Dumbledore saying all the best quotes from Mrs Doubtfire now. Dumbledore telling Voldemort, “touch me again and I’ll drown you, you bastard”

Telling Hagrid and Madame Maxime to “Hide the weasel, park the porpoise”

I struggle to imagine anyone managing to pull off Dumbledore, whatever their acting skills — he’s basically a cuddly, benign Santa Claus who is also an incredibly powerful wizard feared by the world’s most iconic dark force AND who also behaves in ways ranging from neglectful to actively cruel to children in his care, including grooming one for death.

That’s a lot for an actor to pull off, especially when hampered with a long wig and a trailing robe.

Who thinks Rita Skeeter could write for the daily fail

I thought Helena Bonham Carter was a great Bellatrix. The right level of madness I think.

She wasn't the original choice — it was Helen McCrory, but she was pregnant.

Actually, I've just looked that up — Helen McCrory was actually cast as Bellatrix, then became pregnant and left the film, so HBC was brought in then.

Then they had Helen back as Narcissa in the later films.

@StolenAwayOn55thand3rd

Agree I liked Thewlis as Lupin. Gentle and caring but careworn. Let’s not forget he’s spent most of his life being ostracised and down and out but he’s still a brilliant teacher, enthusiastic, patient and empathetic with the kids.

Sirius was a total dick, I understand why Harry formed such a strong attachment to him but Lupin was obviously the better choice for surrogate Dad.

I think part of it is that Lupin is introduced to Harry as a teacher. He does take an interest in Harry, invites him to the office for tea and a chat etc - but he also invites Neville. Whereas Sirius is the first person in Harry’s life who belongs to him and loves him more than other people around him, eg would write to/want to see Harry but not his classmates or friends.

Whereas Lupin, Hagrid etc Harry shares with other people. But yes Lupin is the better role model really.

@grannymrssmith

Who thinks Rita Skeeter could write for the daily fail

There was an article written for the mail a few weeks back about Tom felton (draco) when the he had recently collapsed on a golf course and it was so harsh it could have been Skeeter. Was hoping the poor soul never saw it whilst he was recovering cause boy, talk about kicking someone when they are down.

Jason isaacs was perfect casting.

Ooh I'm going to make a coffee and read the thread ☕️ 🧙‍♀️

I love this thread

My biggest gripe is the casting of Ginny in the films. The actress is the complete opposite of how I imagined fiesty Ginny. Her and Radcliffe had zero chemistry. A massive disservice to book Ginny.

Yeah film Ginny was rubbish! No personality.

Whenever I have a mince pie I think of Ginny in that awful ‘open up, you’ scene where Harry is there at Christmas and Ginny very woodenly tried to be flirty by shoving a mince pie in Harry’s mouth 😂

@WheelieBinPrincess

Whenever I have a mince pie I think of Ginny in that awful ‘open up, you’ scene where Harry is there at Christmas and Ginny very woodenly tried to be flirty by shoving a mince pie in Harry’s mouth 😂

So cringe. Then she ties his shoelace and suddenly we’re supposed to believe they have some deep connection.

At least in the books they talk about quidditch and spend time together over the course of all the books.