Harry Potter? Lemon Sherbet!

*this post contains so many spoilers that if you were planning on reading any of the Harry Potter novels than you should probably just close the entire window.*


I’m so excited about tomorrow! The Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2, comes out at midnight, which means that work tomorrow is going to be a monstrous affair of time moving epically slow. I’m going to see it at AMC with Christine, and we’re dressing up (House elves forever!).


To prepare myself, I’ve been re-reading the second part of book seven, for the second time this summer. Nerd, I know.

Anyway, re-readingt he second part, and I always come to chapter thirty four, where Harry is apparently just been killed, but isn’t dead because he has a bit of Voldemort in him because Voldemort apparently entered Harry when he tried to kill him the first time as a baby. And then Dumbledore is there and is like, you aren’t dead, because Voldemort made himself using your blood in book four, so really, you two are made of and share the same blood and therefore, him killing you two seconds ago really just killed the bit inside of him that he put there when he was a baby. SO, now Harry is all Harry, and Voldemort is both Harry and Voldemort, which is the bit that doesn’t make any sense to me because wouldn’t that mean that Voldemort also has one of these purgatory times? I guess not, because when he “killed” Harry (just now), he too was affected. I guess that’s their cleansing moment, when they’re no longer connected.

See, it’s so unnecessarily confusing. And although I think I’ve explained it to myself and am content to know that Rowling and I are on the same page now, it only takes me about ten minutes before I’m like, waaait, that doesn’t make ANY sense. Kind of like Donnie Darko.

And then there’s the bit with the wands. Somehow, the Elder wand belongs to Draco, whose randomly the master and NOT Snape, because Snape helped him die. The one, supposedly, who defeated Dumbledore, without ever knowing it, was Draco.

BUT THIS NEVER HAPPENED. EVER.

The Elder Wand somehow recognized Draco as its master, though Draco never knew, and why should he, because he didn’t defeat Dumbledore at all. Like, no. Absolutely not.

And then, of course, Harry disarmed Draco weeks before, and that if the Elder Wand is aware of this fact, Harry is the Wand’s true master.

And I don’t understand this. And it makes me angry.


*Just kidding. It all make's sense now. See, Draco disabled Dumbledore, which apparently is the same as "defeating" him. Also, auto-correct wants me to change Dumbledore to Dumbwaiter.*

I hope for the movie that they try to keep it as close to the book as possible. But this scene… Also, the epilogue. I hope they don’t do the epilogue. For obvious reasons. Of course, it cant be as good as THIS Harry Potter movie.

I feel no shame in saying that I’ve also gone through other pains to prepare for tomorrows movie premiere. Such as reading *gasp* Fan Fiction.

I always thought Fan fiction writers were lazy and otherwise incapable of creating their own characters and backstory, and that their stories would just be, well, bad. I, like many people, have spent life under the view that fan fiction is porn (Harry and Draco slash anyone?) or that it reads like it was written by (and for) middle schoolers.

But today I read an article in TIME magazine where it discussed the misconceptions and ideas surrounding Fan Fiction, and I guess that changed my mind behind the whole premise. It’s kind of cool that these people do so much writing on a subject without ever expecting a penny for their work. It’s cool to think that these people are so devout as fans to a piece of writing that they would give up their valuable time to create more about these fictional characters that were, honestly, someone else’s creation entirely.

I can totally see both sides of the argument, that is, that the writer created the characters and that its almost unethical to let someone else mess with your vision, but the fear that they will change their characters is unnecessary. Fan fiction writers become fan fiction writers because they can love and identify the characters and just never want their story to end.

In a way, it’s the ultimate compliment. You made a character that other people love so much that they never want them to die. In other ways, it’s an insult to a writer, who made the character, which needed the writers to, shall I say, bring them to life.

The piece I read was named “Crossroads”, by Emmyjean. The whole thing is online, and I spent almost five straight hours sitting on the floor reading it (because who needs chairs?). It was about Lily and James Potter, about their relationship that led to their marriage. It was very well done- no grammatical errors, no spelling errors- and the story was almost entirely her own, that is, she used the pieces from Rowlings work to create the story, but it wasn’t as if she didn’t take creative license with it. And best of all, it was really very tasteful and I feel like Rowling would read it and, if not agree with it, at least be touched by the way her characters came to life.

Eulogy for Aniene

The other day was one of the most stressful days I have ever had.

I was prepared to give a Eulogy for one of my closest friends, which it turns out, is a lot harder than they (meaning anyone else) make it look.

What happened was, I spent the entire day before sitting around and not writing down anything, but instead making a rather angsty watercolor.

And then, when it came to be my turn to talk, I just kind of sniffled loudly into the microphone, claimed “sorry, that was gross,” and then burst into tears.

I feel really bad about that.

So, I wanted to make up for my inability to speak, and to share my speech here instead.



When everyone talks and remembers Aniene, they remember the stories she used to tell. There were the particularly grand ones, about her father finding gold and bank robbers, and there were those stories that were almost too good to be true, about her best friends who were made for each other but waited until time and circumstance decided it had waited long enough for them to be together.

And although Aniene’s stories were the highlight of my highschool working career, it was the things outside of her memories that I think we should remember. We should remember the little things she did without needing to tell anyone, without asking or needing to be recognized.

Without having been asked twice, Aniene spent hours of her time to make a quilt for battered children, putting aside her valuable time for people she didn’t even know. Aniene took phone calls at two a.m. and could recognize people she hadn’t talked to for thirty years. She invited people into her house and made them feel at home when they had nowhere else to go.

One of the most amazing things that really sticks with me is the time she let Andrew stay on her couch for a week after he had his wisdom teeth taken out. His parents were gone, his house was empty, so Aniene stepped up, compassionate towards someone who was basically a stranger, and took care of him like a son.

This is the image of Aniene that I will always remember:
She was loving, kind, compassionate, and selfless. She loved to make others happy, to sacrifice her time and resources to see others smile.

Aniene would have found a way to spin this into a story, which would have led into a side story, which would have led to another, further removed story, but the things that she did outside of the time she spent working were just as monumental as the things she shared.

And I feel that, although she's gone, we should never forget her attitude towards others, and that she will continue to live on through her loving example.