The Real Weird Sisters (Alice and Martha) recap chapter six of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Be aware that the show may contain spoilers for events which take place later in the series.
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So a few thoughts on this fun episode.
1- The Dursley’s would NEVER have asked Wizards for help removing the tail so hagrid would not have gotten into trouble.
2- I agree that the amount of time spent on JK spent Scabbers just cries to me that there was more intended for him.
3- The train station brings with it a lot of questions for me. No one notices all the people disappearing into platform 9 3/4. Also, why would someone like Seamus Finnigan travel all the way from Ireland to London just to ride the train back up to the North of England where Hogwarts is supposed to be located. Seems more plausible that people would be coming from multiple locations.
4- This chapter is a great introduction to Ron and Hermione, we really get to know them in just a few paragraphs.
I want to say that I’m pretty sure later on in the books, the Ministry of Magic just *knows* if you do magic and you don’t… So Hagrid technically should have gotten in trouble.
I honestly don’t remember why A History of Magic is so important. I look forward to finding out as the book club goes on. When Mrs. Weasley was asking what was the platform number, I always interpretted as if she was quizzing the boys instead of genuinely asking.
I wondered why I couldn’t 100% recognize your voices in the theme song. I knew it was the both of you and I figured who was who, but I didn’t understand why it was off.
Alice’s theory about how the carts became more crowded because people had more kids after wartime is very similar to the beginning of Fernwithy’s Teddy Lupin saga (https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5615/FernWithy) because Teddy was a part of the smallest year since no one was having kids during wartime. When Teddy becomes older, there were waves and waves of new students (many named after Harry or Hermione) from the wizard baby boom.
Rowling definitely knew what she was doing with Scabbers. I on the other hand was completely oblivious.
I know my comments are way late, but I still wanted to share thoughts.
It kind of makes sense that a Potter would invent Sleekeazy’s Hair Potions because of the infamous untidy Potter hair that both Harry and James have.
There’s a Pottermore article that explains the origin of the Hogwarts Express. It says that it used to be the parents responsibility to get their children to Hogwarts. The article says, “Hogwarts students used to arrive at school in any manner that caught their fancy.” They took brooms, enchanted carts, various magical creatures, and some apparated. There was a change when the International Statute of Secrecy in 1692 was passed because the other methods caused many muggle sightings. They tried a network of Portkeys, but it was complicated and many of the students got “Portkey-sick.” After that, the Hogwarts Express was the new method of transport to Hogwarts.
Hi Kate! We’re happy to hear your thoughts! That’s a good point about Sleekeazy’s! And very interesting about the Hogwarts Express! We’ll have to look up that article!
Thanks for listening 🙂
I’m new to your podcast but I have to say that I adore it! I love the insight you guys bring to the series! I’ve read the books, watched the movies, listened on audiobook so many times (although not quite 75 times), and I find myself pausing the podcast a lot and thinking, “Wow, I never even considered that!”
I’m so glad I came to the podcast while you guys are currently reviewing book 6 because I have been listening everyday on my work commute, so I have plenty of material to carry me through the next few weeks!
Thank you for listening, Sydney! Glad you are enjoying the show so far!