(written by Terry MacNeil, on November 30 – December 1, 2024)

I get the impression there are more humans who have seen the Harry Potter movies than have read the books. Which is fine – it’s not as if the Harry Potter novels are counted among the greatest examples of English literature (though I did enjoy reading most of them). I saw most of the movies – and (as best as I can recall) it was only parts 3 and 6 that impressed me. I recall my Mom was watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2) on TV a few years ago – and I did watch a little bit of it, during the time of the “final showdown”. And I thought “Is it just me, or is the final showdown even more lame in the movie, than it was in the novel?” To be clear, I’ve only seen the first six movies in their entirety. Also, my memory of the novels is a lot clearer than it is of the movies (most of the movies left little to no impression on me). From this point on (in this note), I shall say no more of the movies.

Anyway, as unimpressed as I was by the novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I shall list a few points which would’ve improved it:
“Neville Longbottom” kills “Voldemort”. “Harry Potter” turns his back, then is killed by “Neville”. Then “Neville” becomes the new Dark Lord, after giving a longwinded speech saying he was in close contact with “Professor Quirrell”, and spending long nights reading books in the library’s Restricted Section (without ever getting caught). Also, “Neville” had a mind link with “Voldemort” – and “Voldemort” made him his heir. Would the Death Eaters accept “Neville” as their new leader? If “Neville” actually killed “Voldemort” – I imagine they would (though they might be a bit embarrassed that a teenager was their new leader). So “Neville” would probably need to schedule a mass murderous purge of the Death Eater ranks, after adopting a way cooler name for himself than “Neville Longbottom”. Oh, and “Bellatrix Lestrange” would become “Neville’s” lover.

As for all that absurdity about “Dumbledore” knowing about every single thing that ever occurred at Hogwarts – I don’t give a fuck about that. I’m confident “Voldemort” and “Neville” could’ve kept him from knowing they were collaborating.

And since the Ministry of Magic (in the UK) was overthrown by the Death Eaters – why didn’t the Ministries of Magic from other countries intervene, and try to restore order in the UK? Does the rest of the World not have their own Ministries of Magic? Did the Death Eaters have control over not only the UK, but also the Ministries of Magic throughout THE ENTIRE WORLD? Because I never got that impression.

And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, represents my thoughts on (as best as I can remember) the novels. So yes, the novels left way more of an impression on me than the movies – all those years ago. I won’t be reading the Harry Potter series ever again – because when I did read them, I had read them out loud to my sister when she was child. But now she’s an adult! And I have no desire to ever set aside the time to re-read those novels to myself. Nope, I only want to retain my memories from reading those books back in the day – even though my memory of them is fading and becoming increasingly unreliable, as time goes on. Ⓐ