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Alohomora!

“Alohomora!” Episode 112: “Goosebumps” – now available!

MuggleNet’s global book club, “Alohomora!”, continues its reread of the “Harry Potter” series, as we make our way to the Ministry of Magic via Thestral! Join Eric, Kat, Michael, and special guest host Keith Hawk as they discuss Chapter 34 of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”, “The Department of Mysteries.”

Harry talks to a snape in London Zoo in the film adaptaion of Sorcerer's Stone

Features

Becoming Harry Potter: Parselmouth #MNBHP

Harry is labeled a Dark wizard because of an “inherited” skill. Ernie Macmillan is essentially saying the skill makes the person and not the other way around. Hopefully most of us know not to take Ernie seriously in forming our opinion of Harry’s character, but how many of us take Ernie-like judgment statements as fact rather than prejudice (pre judgment)? How many things do we believe about others just because someone says they are so without getting to know the person ourselves?…

Features / The Daily Prophet

Symbols for Social Change in “Harry Potter”

Many fans of the “Harry Potter” series, and other works in the fantasy genre, have criticised J.K. Rowling’s use of magical creatures and the tension between magical races to act as a metaphor for real world racism and other inequalities. While critics justify their position by arguing that metaphor makes the messages easy to miss or intentionally ignore, I have to disagree. I think the initial ambiguity of the deeper meaning behind the tension between pure-bloods, werewolves, goblins, and trolls is actually a very powerful tool for educating readers about larger systems of discrimination, particularly for young readers.