Just Call Me the Master Accomplisher

I'm revamping the purpose of this blog a little bit. Not a lot, but just in the spirit of it actually being a new school semester and I should probably do other things than watch sports and read Harry Potter. And I find that blogging about any experience makes it more exciting, thus, I plan to blog about this school year and my struggle to be productive.
You see, now that I am getting into my major(s), I have stuff that is actually somewhat important to do. And being the Super Procrastinator that I am, and seeing that I would rather spend my time in a fantasy world, I find these real world tasks difficult to accomplish. Tasks such as:

• doing homework
• writing papers
• doing projects
• studying for quizzes, tests, etc.
• doing the readings for classes
• applying for Study Abroad and scholarships
• declaring a second major
• getting my butt out of bed and going to class
• buying necessities when I don't want to go outside
• going to meetings for organizations
• doing laundry
• cleaning my room
• working out
• basically being responsible in any form

Being lazy is kind of my thing, but the problem with that is that I also strive to be great. Even if I know that I did not put enough effort into my classes, I still feel entitled to straight A's. Do you see where I run into problems? It's a difficult life to lead.

Anyway, I can't do anything productive for responsibility's sake. That is why I am writing this post, and probably the posts to come. Because if I feel like I have to blog about it, I will actually do it. That's the point to which my procrastination has progressed.

So far, I would say my blog-inspired motivation has been a success! I didn't say in my title to call me the "Master Accomplisher" for nothing. I did tons of stuff today that I would normally never want to do if it wasn't the day before the deadline or there was threat of fine or expulsion.

I accomplished three main things today:

1. finished the Study Abroad application process
2. began the first 2 out of 3 steps to declare a double major in Spanish and Psychology
3. and went to a meeting about volunteering in an elementary school for my Spanish class

On top of all that, I went to both of my classes for the day. Now, this may be a normal day in the life of a college student for you, but for me, this is a day full of dangers and physical and mental exertion.

Let's not forget that I am not only an established procrastinator, but I am an extreme introvert. I am really shy, basically. If I can avoid talking to people, I will. Doing these things...that requires a lot of human contact. Also, keep in mind that I did all of these things by myself, with no supportive friends by my side. All me. And strangers. And grueling tasks.

Number 1: I had to drop off my photocopy of my passport receipt to the Study Abroad Office. I did this after my first Psychology class today. I overshot where the International Studies building is, so I walked around an entire block unnecessarily so I wouldn't have to awkwardly turn around right where I stood, even though I realized I had walked too far. Then, no one was in the Reception Office, so I waited in there with another girl for somebody to show up. A minute later, a lady comes in, and it takes me two seconds to give her my sheet and walk out of there. But still. Emotionally taxing.

Number 2: I went straight from there to a building way north called the Computing Applications building. I walked through shady-ville and wondered what the risk of me getting jumped at 11:15 in the morning would be. Finally reached my destination, and after asking around a bit I found out where I was supposed to get my Second Major Declaration sheet (I just made up what it is called). Once I had that, I just had to go back to the Psychology building and get an advisor to sign it. Then on a later date, I must return to the far-away land called the Computing Applications building and my major will be officially double!

But that whole advisor thing...not my forte. It required a lot of talking and acting normal and happy, all the while hiding that I probably have a psychological disorder that prevents me from being able to carry on normal conversations without having my heart beat a foot out of my chest. Mission accomplished, though.

Then, I sat around and waited until class started. Went to class, actually talked to someone briefly afterwards (gasp!) (and it was a boy!), went to lunch, then did nothing until 2:40.

Number 3: That's the time that I had to start walking to the Education Building to go to my orientation for tutoring elementary school kids in Spanish. It was mostly filling out paperwork, but the supervisor lady seemed to take to me and the other girl that were there for our Spanish in the Community class. I figure that's a good sign. Mostly because I was still trying to be normal and outgoing at this point. We played a short version of a game that we would play with the kids (which is throwing a ball with questions on it, and you have to answer the question that your right thumb lands on when you catch it), and the lady for some reason chose to throw me the ball first.
The question was "If you could change places with one person in the world for a day, who would you switch with?" And of course I didn't answer because that's a ridiculous question. Introverts need time to let those questions marinate before declaring an answer to a room full of people we don't know.

But anyway, the orientation was a good experience and it wasn't scary. And I met a girl that is in the same course as me and she studied abroad in Granada last year, which is where I'll be going in the fall. And she has a car and offered to drive me to the school when we have to volunteer. So basically it was a winning situation.

And that is why my name for the day is Master Accomplisher. Because although I have not completed a lick of homework today, I did a whole bunch of responsible crap. So I'm telling the world, and you should be proud of me.

And now, every time I do something responsible and good that defies my procrastinate-y and introverted nature, I will blog about it. Or else I will share my concerns before doing something new and strange, like when I actually have to go and tutor these kids. Or return to give my double major sheet to that guy.

Point being, there will be more posts on my exciting and adventurous life to come. I hope you're ready.

Why I Like the Teams I Like

I've gotten a lot of crap from people about my choices in which sports teams to support. Particularly, yesterday, when the Packers played the Bears for the NFC title and advancement to the Super Bowl, people were baffled as to why I would be rooting against the Bears.
For the record, and for those of you who don't know me as well, I choose to root for the St. Louis Cardinals when it comes to baseball, and the Green Bay Packers when it comes to football. Any other sport, I could really care less, and I don't follow minor league or college sports very much at all.
This is not an "anger" post. But I feel like I should give my reasons for why I love these teams and not those that would be expected (namely, my teams' rivals: the Chicago Cubs and the Chicago Bears).
And finally, before we get into everything, I would like to say that despite all my reasoning, what it really comes down to is that I root for these teams because I grew up rooting for them with my dad. It's because of him that I started loving these teams. But I will still defend my right to like them.
So, these are the two complaints I get most often, and I will rebuke them as best I can.


Complaint #1: But you are from Illinois! You are a traitor not to root for Illinois teams.

Yes, I am from Illinois. But I am not from Chicago. If I were from Chicago, I would be just plain stupid not to root for Chicago teams. Not only stupid, but I must have a death wish. Contrary to popular belief, there is a difference between Chicago and Illinois. My hometown is the exact same travelling time away from Chicago as it is from St. Louis. I feel I should get free choice between at least the teams within that distance. That would include (for baseball) the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and St. Louis Cardinals. I don't feel that a border should prevent me from rooting for whichever team I choose.

The distance reasoning works out all fine and dandy with baseball, but not so much with football, since Green Bay is further north from Chicago, so it would take more travel time. So my reasoning for that is this: a large portion of my dad's side of his family lives in Wisconsin. I go there at least once a year to visit them, and of course, they are all huge Packers fans. I have no family in Chicago. Or in Illinois, outside of my hometown. So, according to family ties, I have every reason to root for the Packers.

All in all, I don't believe that a person should be condemned to root for a team just because of the place in which he was born. Similarly, people should not be forced into fan-dom simply because of the choices of their fathers or husbands. Everyone deserves the right to decide which team to root for on his or her own terms. If your terms are that you want to like the team that your friend likes, then go for it. But if you feel compelled to support a team simply because of the preferences (and pressure) of a person, family, town, or state, then I say you have the right to make your own informed decision. And if people don't like it, they can deal.


Complaint #2: But your teams suck!

Ohhhh, this is my favorite complaint. Okay, so it might be a knee-jerk reaction to put down your teams' rivals, which I can understand. But if you really want to dig out evidence and put it to the test, let's.
Note that I am only providing evidence on the teams as a whole and their successes. I do not want to start on individual players and their legacies, because players change teams and fans don't.

How about baseball first, eh?

• The Cubs have won 2 World Series titles, their last win being in 1908.
• The White Sox have won 3, their last in 2005.
• And the Cardinals have won 10, their last in 2006.

• The Cubs have 16 NL Pennants, their last in 1945.
• The White Sox have 7 AL Pennants, their last in 2005.
• And the Cardinals have 17 NL Pennants, their last in 2006.

• The Cardinals have the most World Series wins in the National League, and they are only second in all of baseball, following the Yankee's killer lead of 27.

Good enough? Okay. Now football.

• The Bears have won 8 NFL Championships (that was before the Super Bowl started), and they have won 1 Super Bowl in 1985.
• The Packers have won 9 NFL Championships, and 3 Super Bowls, the last being in 1996.

Point being, my teams don't suck. I believe my dad put a lot of thought and effort into choosing the franchises that he wanted to support (because his dad is a Chicago fan, so he made his decisions on his own), and I respect that enough to follow in his footsteps.

Like I said, this post isn't a rant, but merely a validation for my sports preferences. So, root for your teams and I'll root for mine. And I'll respect your decision as best I can while we beat you. ;)

Note: I now realize that my facts are outdated! Make that:

• The Packers have won 9 NFL Championships, and 4 Super Bowls, the last being in 2011.

There we are. :)

It's Over: Book Seven Has Been Completed

It hasn't really completely sunk in yet that I'm finally done. I'm not going to go to bed tonight and read eagerly for an hour or so before I go to sleep. I'm not going to get to the climax of a book at the most inconvenient time so that I'm up until 4am because I can't tear myself away. And I'm not going to write another blog post following the completion of such a compelling story. It's all come to an end. No more predictions, no more shielding myself from any extra knowledge that I may not have read yet. I know it all.


Now, I must start off by saying I remembered a whole lot from the seventh movie. Despite my attempts to sleep or space out during the film, I came away with a good amount of information that I did not know before. I hoped that time would steal away some of these memories, but unfortunately, they pretty much stayed put. I find it incredible that I can see a movie like Tron at midnight in December, actually pay attention to the whole thing, and still when I go back and try to recount it, I can remember more from seeing Harry Potter at midnight in November while trying to block everything out.


Anyway, the first half of the book was surprisingly like the movie. When I realized they were in a certain place or were talking to a person, I could picture that very scene in the movie quite clearly. It was a little disappointing that I knew a lot of what would happen in the first half, but I dealt with it.


So, if you recall, I had produced a list of people that were absolutely not allowed to die in the seventh book. Just a refresher, here it is:
Neville, Professor McGonagall, Lupin, Gilderoy, Fang, and Luna.
I regret to say that my request was not completely heeded. Lupin, as I feared, died. Everyone else was spared, although I had some close calls with Neville and Professor McGonagall that had me quite worried.
That said, I think it's time to go into further detail about the things that stood out to/bothered/interested me most about this book.

Lupin and Tonks. What were you guys thinking? Why get married so fast? I was counting on my predictions being wrong because I didn't think you would have time to get married and have a baby! But, no, page ten, freaking page ten of the seventh book informs me of your marriage. Then, you both start acting all weird and I know you must be having a freaking baby.
Do you realize that your baby is now an orphan? Huh? If you're gonna have a baby, stay alive to take care of it. Children benefit from having proper parents, otherwise they start snogging people all over the place. Rock solid evidence right there.

Speaking of dying parents. I was struck while reading the last couple of books with an insane amount of sadness about Harry's parents' deaths. I was almost angry that they had to die and not see how great their son grew up to be. The story of James and Lily intrigued me, and I found myself craving more and more information about their lives before they died.
In fact, the only time that I cried in these books was—not Dumbledore's, Sirius's, Dobby's, Fred's, or anyone's death—but when Harry uses the Resurrection Stone to talk to his parents and Sirius and Lupin. I cried then because it was so touching.


Now, let's talk about Snape. Oh, old tricky Severus. You were really good the whole time! You remember all those things that I said about you before, you know, how you were mean and you broke my trust? All is forgiven.
Not! Ugh. I still don't like you. You are still mean. And you're still shady. And creepy. And you toyed with my trust too often; I tired of it. So I don't care about you anymore.
You were in love with Lily?! That's unsettling. She was happily married with a child and you still held on. Your Patronus is a doe?! A doe?? A freaking female deer??? I'm sorry, but that's like the wimpiest Patronus you could possibly think of. A goat is better than that. A doe is rather effeminate, Snape, and I don't want to get into accusations or analyses or anything, but it's just weird. Your Patronus is Bambi's mom.
Anyway, I think I made my point clear. My trust...you still don't have it. And now you're dead. And I did not cry.


Okay, I would like to point out that I had a third of R.A.B.'s identity pegged. Black. Yeah I got that right. What.


I was not quite so lucky with my relationship prediction. Yeah, I knew that Harry and Ginny got married and had kids at the end and so did Ron and Hermione. But my hope that Neville and Luna would get together never came to fruition. Granted, the book does not explicitly say that they didn't get married or that they married other people, but it gives no indication as to whether they did marry each other.
So I'm using my right as a reader to make up stuff and believe it to be true of the story. Neville and Luna get married. It happens.
My friend told me that Rowling gave an interview in which she says that Neville marries Hannah Abbott and Luna marries someone else, but she didn't put that in the book. While this thought is tempting for me to believe, seeing that I identify with Hannah Abbott and I love Neville, I refuse. Neville and Luna forever. That's how it is.


But oh how I do love Neville. You've probably gotten tired of me gushing about him during every post, but I love him so so much and I'm so proud of him! My opinion of him went from "he doesn't even do anything super special" to "HE IS A HERO AND SAVES EVERYONE!" Okay, so he just destroyed one Horcrux, but it was incredibly brave and oh my gosh I love him, Luna is such a lucky woman.
When Neville stepped forward out of the crowd at the end and started talking smack to Voldemort, I freaked out. I was convinced that Voldemort would smite him where he stood at any second, so I had my hand over my mouth and I was whispering "no no no no no no" without stop because I was so afraid for his life. I am so glad he is alive. I definitely, definitely would have cried if he had died.


Another character that I grew to love over the course of this book was Kreacher. I can't really explain why I like him, but the thought of him caring about Harry and Ron and Hermione and cooking for them and then fighting Death Eaters in the end makes me feel all warm and happy. I like him so much better than Dobby. I'm sorry, but I really could care less about Dobby. If anything, he is just annoying. It was sad he had to die, but not nearly as sad as other deaths. Some of you probably hate me right now. I'm sorry.


Well, I think I've wasted enough space with my worthless opinions. I can now take Harry Potter quizzes on Facebook without being paranoid of spoilers, and I can look forward to the second part of the seventh movie just like the rest of the planet! Hooray! Mission accomplished.
But did I meet my goals?

1. Do not get obsessed. Um...to be honest, I actually did a pretty good job keeping things under wraps while reading these books. My family and close friends can attest to the fact that I'm downright annoying once I latch on to something. I relate every single thing to my obsession and won't let it go until a new one comes along. I didn't really do that this time around. Not to say that everything didn't remind me of Harry Potter, but I kept my mouth shut when it did. Only during the last two books did I lose some of my self control. But I'd give myself a pat on the back even though this goal was nowhere near accomplished.
2. Finish before the very last movie. Success. I reached this goal with flying colors.
3. No buying shirts, dressing up, or anything of the like. Okay, so I won't buy a shirt or like a wand or anything. So far. The opportunity has not really presented itself yet. But I find myself looking forward to dressing up for the final movie, so this goal won't really have been accomplished either. Oh well.

My, my. Well, it's been a thrilling journey. Thank you, if you are still reading this, for following me through this and giving me your feedback and helping push me further and further into obsession. I really do appreciate that people have taken the time to read these things.

All right. I think all has been said. This is farewell.

I daresay I will be revisiting these books in my future, like any good Harry Potter fan.

So, on to the next book! Now that it's begun, it will never end.

Want to see my other posts about the series? Right here.

Through with Book Six!

So, I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince earlier today. It took me about five days to get through it, which for me is pretty fast. I did enjoy it as it kept my attention and brought forth even more feelings that make me realize that I am now in the inescapable grasp of these books. I've done my best at resisting, but there's no point. I'm going to get the seventh book today and see how far I can get in that before I have to go back to school.

Anyway, back to the book in question. I have some rants in store, so here goes...

Ahem.

What the crap, Book Six? Can no one die for a reason and not just because of something stupid that could have been avoided? Seriously. What. The. Crap. When will the dying become actually necessary and noble instead of due to avoidable mistakes?? You suck.
So, Dumbledore dies. I knew that from the beginning, including who kills him. We could have just left it at that, but no...the Horcrux that he basically died for (because had they not gone on that mission, the school would not have been left unattended for all the Death Eaters to enter) is worthless! Some other stupid person has it, so it was all for nothing! What the freak. Okay, fine. Kill all the people you want, I don't care.
Wait, no, that was a lie. I do care. Don't kill any more people, okay?
List of people you cannot kill (and of whose fates I don't already know): Neville, Professor McGonagall, Lupin, Gilderoy (although I'm sure we've seen the last of him, so I'm not worried), Fang (close call at the end of this book, whew), and Luna (mostly because I think she and Neville would make a good couple).
There are more, but I don't want to get greedy.

Next.

What the crap, Snape? I trusted you! Did you not hear all the nice things that I said about you in my last post? I assumed, even though I knew from the start that you killed Dumbledore, that there would be some reason behind it that made sense in the end. I thought that maybe, after reading the second chapter of the book, the only reason you did it was because you had to make that Unbreakable Vow and retain your credibility among the Death Eaters that were with you at the time. But then you had to go and be so mean to Harry! Hold a grudge all you like, Snape, but Harry never did anything to you. There comes a point when you have to let go! Harry should not suffer your inability to distinguish between him and James.
And, you were an integral part in killing his parents! You're stupid. I can't believe I liked you. The seventh book can kill you, I don't care. And, I already know that it does. Serves you right.

Next.

Who the crap is R.A.B? I've decided it stands for Remus Albus Black because I can't think of one person that has even the initials RB. Why do you have the stinking Horcrux, RAB? It's your fault Dumbledore died for no reason. I hope you can explain yourself.

Next.

Tonks, really? You're in love with Lupin? Really? He's twice your age! I imagine he's in his forties and you are in your twenties, and that can't be a healthy relationship. And he's not very good looking, if you go by the movies.
And Remus? What are you thinking, holding hands with Tonks at the funeral? Robbing the cradle a bit, huh? You need to be the voice of reason in this. I do not approve of this relationship.
Another reason why I don't approve of this relationship: I wrote in my very first post about Harry Potter before I read any of the books that I knew Tonks died. Not only that, but that maybe her husband and even her child died.
That does not bode well for Lupin in my opinion, and any child that he and Tonks potentially have. Granted, my knowledge of this is quite fleeting, so I could be very wrong. And, Tonks and Lupin are only getting together now, so maybe there won't be time for them to get married and have a baby by the time Tonks gets snuffed.
Basically, I hope I guessed wrong. In case you didn't notice, Lupin is on the list of characters that are not allowed to be killed.

Next.

This book makes it very hard for me to root for certain relationships to succeed. Of course, I was pulling for Ron and Hermione, then Ron has to be a doofus and go out with Lavender. Ew. And then, Ginny has to be with Dean and crap, and all of a sudden Harry just starts loving her.
I have been sick of these detour romances since Cho was first mentioned, and now they've distressed me to the point that I didn't even care that Harry and Ginny were finally together.
I'm not the Harry-Ginny shipper I thought I would be. Yeah, whatever, they're together and all that jazz, whoopee. I am now officially a Neville-Luna fan. This is the only relationship that has my stamp of approval, other than Ron and Hermione (however, I have chosen to overlook the Lavender situation and pretend it didn't happen).

Okay.

I think that's all for my rants at the moment. Now for more uplifting things. Well, not uplifting per se, but I wish to convey feelings other than anger from now on.

1. I now know what Horcruxes are! I saw the seventh movie (begrudgingly, of course), so I heard about them and stuff, but now I know why they actually have to destroy them and why they are so important. I like when I find out about things that I have heard before from Harry Potter fans and such.
2. I learned who the Half-Blood Prince is! It's Snape (stupid), but I thought it was Voldemort the whole time, despite his aversion to calling himself half-blood.
3. Dumbledore finally died. It wasn't how I expected him to go because I thought they would just find him dead in his office or something and not find out who did it until later. Of course, the real way was a lot more exciting. I sort of expected him to die while he was in the cave with Harry until I remembered that Snape had to do it somehow. Anyway, it was an adventurous death, albeit unnecessary. And I will miss him. I did not cry, though, probably because I knew it was coming.

Well, that is all for that. It was a very good book and kept me enthralled most of the time (when I wasn't frustrated with reading about constantly changing relationship statuses). It's bittersweet going into the seventh, but I'm finally there. Can't slow down now.

Want to see my other posts about the series? Right here.

I finished Book Five!

Where to begin? I already had to write a post halfway through the book because I took so freaking long to read it. I'm sorry that I'm such a slow reader. But my determination to finish was so strong that I was up until almost 4am reading until I forced myself to go to bed and finish in the morning.
So, I suppose I will go back and address those very few movie moments that I remembered oh so long ago and recounted in my previous post.

• "Sirius Black dies." I remember there being something fishy about this when I saw the movie because I did not remember an actual moment where he is killed. I just knew that he died somehow. In fact...I had a vague feeling that he not so much died, but disappeared. Of course, I was right, but there will be more on this later.
• "There are these glass globe things that fall all over the place." Obviously the prophesies.
• "Harry takes some sort of special lessons from Snape and learns stuff about his father." Boom. Right on. Harry takes Occlumency lessons with Snape and learns that his father was a big jerk.
• "There's a standoff at the end with Voldemort and stuff." Pretty easy to guess, but I at least remembered parts from the movie.
• "Luna reads a magazine upside down." Yes she does. More on her later as well.

So what has happened since my last post? Some key moments.

1. Dumbledore's Army. Yes! I now know exactly what Dumbledore's Army is, so the world makes sense! Harry and friends meet secretly to learn the Defense Against the Dark Arts since stupid freaking Umbridge won't let them and doesn't teach them squat because she's a coward.
2. Hagrid returns. Unfortunately, his extended absence had nothing to do with Lucius Malfoy (as far as we know), but instead was due to his unfaltering love for monsters and his need to bring back his giant half-brother, Grawp. This, of course, was following his and Madame Maxime's failed attempts to win over the remaining giants.
3. GILDEROY! We get to see Gilderoy Lockhart at St. Mungo's, and I couldn't have been happier. Just for the record, I love this man so much that I named my new iPod Touch after him. Yes, its name is Gilderoy, following its predecessors: Marlon (after Brando), Montgomery (after Scotty from Star Trek) and Jefferson (because it's a cool name). You know who else we saw at the hospital? Neville and his family! Two of my favorite people in one place! This was possibly my favorite chapter because of this fact alone. More on my undying love for Neville to come.
4. The prophesy. I've seen the main part quoted a few times in my life without knowing its exact context: "And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives." Now I know. Oh, Harry Potter has to kill Voldemort now because it was foretold. Well, either that or the other way around, but I know how it goes. I would like to say, though, that when Dumbledore said that Professor Trelawney had only made one other true prediction before her ominous declaration during the third book, I was sure it would come into play later. It did. Go me.

Those are some big things. The rest of the stuff I have to say pertains to certain characters. Namely: Sirius, Snape, Cho, Luna, and Neville.

Sirius: I am mad. So stinking angry and I don't even know why. I knew he was going to die. I knew that the only reason I actually liked him very much was because he could turn into what I thought at the time was a wolf in the fifth movie. I knew that he was reckless and was bound to get himself in trouble. What I didn't know was that his death was going to be so infuriating. 
Really?! He falls through an archway and disappears? After Dumbledore arrives to save the day and the Prophesy is broken so there's no use for Bellatrix to be fighting anymore? When it all could have been avoided if Harry didn't have his hero complex and Dumbledore had just been straight from the beginning? I'm not okay with this. If he had maybe died on his own terms because he was too eager to get out of the house or something, been Avada Kedavra-ed even, I would be okay with that. But this? He died because he was trying to save Harry who was misled into saving Sirius when he wasn't even in danger. And it was just because they were fighting in that stupid room with the curtain and he happened to fall the wrong way.
But I'll stop ranting now because I could go on and on. And this post is already really long. I apologize.

Snape: I used to hate him. Actually, my journey with Snape has taken some interesting turns. At first, one of my good friends is a super duper Snape fan, so before I knew anything about Harry Potter, I thought he would be a pretty cool guy. Wrong. When I started reading the books, I wondered how my friend could ever like him because he's so mean. These feelings continued on until recently. Then I saw into Snape's mind. The poor kid was tormented by Harry's dad and friends for seemingly no reason. No wonder he can't let go of his residual hatred that he now directs at Harry. 
And, he's a devoted member of the Order, of that I'm sure. I knew that when he left Harry in Umbridge's office with her and the Inquisitorial Squad, he was going to alert someone or do something. I half-expected him to be the one to burst in and save the day at the Department of Mysteries. Anyway, that said, Snape is now all right in my book. And I feel smug every time Draco looks to him for help because he has no idea that his beloved teacher is not a Death Eater, but a member of the very group seeking to destroy Voldemort. Hahahaha.

Cho: Ugh. She was okay at first; I could deal with her little advances on Harry without too much trouble. But then she started getting all blubbery, and it was obvious that she was not ready for a relationship. So, things don't work out with Harry. What does she do? She moves on to Michael Corner (which, I admire this little altercation) without so much as a backward glance to her dear mistletoe buddy, Harry. Stupid mistletoe.
Anyway, I hope we don't see much more of her. Now, just to get Ginny away from Dean Thomas (really, what does she see in boys a year older than her?) and all can be right in the Harry-Ginny universe.

Luna: Having seen Luna in movies number five and, regrettably, seven, I was fond of her before actually meeting her in the book. Then I met her. Unfortunately, she is not as likable as I would have imagined. She seems a lot more spacey and downright rude sometimes. The one in the movies may be socially awkward, but she was wise and aware moreso than in the books, I think. Oh well.

Neville: It's official. Neville is my hero. I love him so so much, and my love for him grows with each book, if that is even possible. He doesn't even do anything super special, but he has a heart of gold. And, he is right up there with Harry as far as importance goes, according to the Prophesy. Had Voldemort decided to go after Neville when he was a baby, we could very well be reading books called Neville Longbottom and the Sorcerer's Stone, and people with the initials NL would be famous instead of those blessed with the letters HP. The world would be a different place.

So that is all for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It's a long book, so I suppose it's worthy of such long posts. I won't waste more time with a frilly conclusion. On to The Half-Blood Prince! Eek!


Want to see my other posts about the series? Right here.