harry potter & the next three books
- paigenherbooks
- Apr 19, 2023
- 6 min read
Slowly but surely we are making our way through this novel and I've finally come to the final installment of this magnificent world, and I truly believe that she deserves her own review--lots to unpack.
So, below you continue to read (please do haha) you'll find my thoughts on Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix, and Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince.
These next three books, especially with the introduction of the Goblet of Fire and how it ends introduce Harry and his friends to a darker and more shadowed wizarding world. Real death, consequences, and fear can be tasted and seen within these three, and it makes our heroines have to grow up quite a lot.
Goblet of Fire was way better than I remember it being. It was exciting, thrilling, and deep in ways that I totally forgot. The ending...THE ENDING.
I forgot how wildly different it is from the movie because wow. The depth, the pain, and the actual tears that fell from my eyes reading the last 30 pages of the book were raw & intense. This book is one where we see Harry have to struggle with the "fame" that has been thrust upon him as well as balance "normal kid" things, like having friends, school work, oh and the Dark Lord trying to kill him at every chance. This book for me starts to turn dark but still highlights all the fun things about Hogwarts that we love.
The introduction of new characters and world-building with the other schools, as well as the fun classes and the games themselves. We see Harry have to face these daunting tasks while still having "fun" but knowing something sinister is happening as well. I think in a lot of ways he grew a lot during this novel. It kinda hits him that this whole title of being "the boy who lived" is something he has to live up to and deal with.
I think this novel also does a good job of showcasing the growing pains of friends. The jealousy that Ron and Harry face is an irritating portion of the book I won't lie (I love Ron but he can be a twat) but showcasing how they work through it, or well Hermione basically makes them work through it, can be a lesson to a lot of people. Relationships take time, effort, and understanding.
The soft introduction of Hermione and Ron's romance is also introduced in this novel and I will forever be a Hermione and Krum stan.
I think that would have been cute.
The ending of this book sets the stage perfectly for the chaos that is going to ensue with the last three upcoming books. The return of Lord V, the death of Cedric Diggory, and the trauma that it will forever imprint on Harry as he continues his schooling and life in general.
Order of the Phoenix: I know might not be everyone's favorite book but I on the other hand quite like her. As many of you know, I'm obsessed with Sirius Black...if you didn't know that, where have you been? And I feel like in the Order we get to see more of him, we are stationed at the Black house and he and Harry's relationship grows. This relationship is one that I just adore but it is also tinged with sadness as well.
It's obvious that Sirius loves Harry, and I think Harry and Sirius' life would have been wildly different if they would have gotten to spend it together. Though, it's also painfully and heartbreakingly obvious that Sirius does sometimes forget that Harry is not James. Some may find that conceited or even childish of him but I on the other hand find it just right down depressing.
He is still in deep mourning for his best friend, his platonic other half, and he sees so much of James in Harry, arguably a lot of the better parts. So for him it's like reliving his youth as well as almost getting a second chance to see his best friend again.
Ugh, it kills me.
OOTP also introduces some new highlights into Harry's "savior boy complex" that has been pushed on him since his literal birth. We find out more about Neville and his parents as well as his part to play in this prophecy. I think this part of the novel is really deep. The whole fact that Harry has this "burden" of being the "chosen one" is literally due to Voldemort choosing him.
It reminds me of the Tumblr quote that is actually a Shakespeare quote but was always edited with Harry Potter and Percy Jackson..."some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them" and Harry was always the "and some have greatness thrust upon them picture.
Whew, blast from the past.
The Tumblr girlies had it right.
We see Harry struggling with the fact that his parents are dead all because of a choice, of a prophecy that hadn't or may never come to fruition but will now do to the choices that set it in motion. I think it's a powerful lesson on the reality of making choices, how great they can be, whether in terms of good or insistently evil.
Then we of course have Sirius's death.
*moment of silence*
I cry each and every time I read this part. Harry's thoughts after the event always crush me as well and his loss is so great that it's hard not to feel it with him. He just lost his last taste of family. I know he has Remus...but Remus, as much as I love him, wasn't Sirius. He wasn't Harry's godfather, his direct and intimate link to his parents, his literal guard dog...and now he's just gone. It happens so quickly too, like one minute he's there and the next, gone.
Had to bury an empty casket.
damn.
Then we also have Dolores Umbridge which I don't even feel like giving that woman any attention at all so if you know you know and if you don't consider yourself lucky.
The Half Blood Prince is honestly one of my favorite Harry Potter aesthetics, it oozes dark academia with the angst, the stalking, the darkness shrouding the plot. It's the real HP aesthetic that I love.
It's very Slytherin (hehe)
We see Harry become a total freaking stalker, but I mean he wasn't wrong and everyone should have listened to him...things could have went very very differently.
I know those of us who have read the whole series understand why the events that happened needed to but for some of us, like a very good friend of mind Mr. Alex Pape, haven't so I won't be diving deeper into that until the final installation.
(Alex if you're reading this you should go read your book...)
The reality of what is happening is starting to really settle on Harry, he's diving deep into the life of Tom Riddle and is seeing similarities and or/differences with himself while also really seeing for the first time how powerful Lord V was. That in reality he's like 16 and this man is the GOAT, like the evilest goat of all time and he has to kill him. When I was 16 I would cry if my socks didn't match so I can't imagine the pressure and the overwhelming feeling that Harry is now dealing with. The introduction of Slughorn and horcruxes are two-mile markers that the story is about to take a turn to the darkest points.
The conversation about Voldemort splitting his soul into pieces is a dark subject matter that hasn't yet been explored yet within the novels, and now it is. This brings in the introduction of the death eaters taking over Hogwarts and the death of Dumbledore as well as the "turning" of Malfoy. The last few chapters of the book aren't easy to read, they're gross and difficult to get through as we watch Harry lose everything again, the death of the greatest headmaster ever, and the only person who seemed to know what exactly was going on, alongside the "loss" of Snape and the burning of Hagrids house. Combine this with Harry breaking up with Ginny and this book has turned into quite frankly a shit show.
These three novels do such a good job of fleshing out the world of Harry Potter while also showcasing the growth of our characters, whether they be side or main. They almost flawlessly set up the stage of the last novel and do a damn good job of ensuring that readers are captivated and just a little bit confused about what's going to happen and where the story is going to go. These three are great examples of novels that add new information to the larger plot while still keeping things that readers love intertwined (like Quidditch).
This world is one of my favorites and I refuse to critique them due to the inner child that still dwells inside of me, so there ya go. My thoughts on the three middle books per se of Harry Potter. This re-read has been extremely fun and insightful, I forgot just how much this world excites me and feels like home in more ways than one.
Now, off to The Deathly Hallows.
Happy reading & happy spring :)
xoxo, paige
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