Book: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Page: 581
Which is: Returning to Hogwarts after Christmas on the Knight Bus
Lead: 788
Time Spent: 48.7
Today’s Movie Target: 776
Pages Remaining: 1143 (72% complete)
Estimated Completion: Sat 14th July
Favourite Character: Neville
Cool Moment: Meeting Neville in St. Mungo’s
Slightly behind on the movie target but not irretrievably so. I didn’t get any reading done at lunchtime yesterday so… but ah, I’ve realised that me talking about how I’m managing the time is not really interesting.
I said yesterday that the bratty teenager stuff is done well even if it hurts the likeability of the character. Today I note that the lovesick teenager stuff is done very well and it’s funny.
Also the “plot” is starting to kick into gear a bit more. It’s darker than we’ve had before. Cedric dying was harsh, Arthur Weasley nearly dying is much more so because we’re closer to him. So the stakes are being raised. Harry’s feelings about being the snake feel now less like him being bratty and more like a fear I can genuinely identify with. Though an excellent moment is when Ginny points out that he’s not bothered to talk to her about it, the one person he knows who has genuinely been possessed by Voldemort. Nevertheless I’m less inclined to be annoyed with Harry and more likely to feel empathy for him at this stage.
The scene with Neville in St. Mungo’s is heart-breaking. The way he’s uncomfortable with others knowing and his gran, incorrectly, thinks he’s ashamed of his parents. That Harry is aware enough to try to think how he can help (he can’t) speaks highly of him.