Can I join as well?

I think I remember that now haha. It's been a while since I read the book, but I'm making my way through it among assignments and a major research project lol. :)

Absolutely! I'll add you to our list. :) Thank you for the question, too! It's very interesting and I will happily post it to the club in the future. <3

I think we're onto chapter three? Anyhow, it's obvious something is bothering Fudge, but not what's going on. All is not well in the wizarding world, though honestly Fudge is a bit paranoid, though not about the things he /should/ be paranoid about.

I can't say why without spoilers to the rest of the book of those that have not read it yet.

You're right, we're on to chapter three! I posted it earlier and somehow Subeta ate my post with all the pings and things. I think it must have been around the time I got a few 502 errors earlier, so that's what must have happened. Anyway, I agree about Fudge being paranoid. Do you think it's right of him to just keep Harry in the dark at this point, or do you think it'd be better for him to fess up about Sirius Black and all that's going on?

Agreed about the escape, for sure. I also feel like because of how big a threat Black is, though, there's already so much potential of exposure of the magical world that maybe Fudge was also scared that if Harry got into trouble, he'd run off himself and go out into the Muggle world and cause yet another potential exposure risk that way, so he'd rather keep Harry happy and close at hand. Additionally, having Harry away from Hogwarts and the magical world might prompt Sirius, in Fudge's opinion, to do something rash in public to kill Harry and another bunch of Muggles, creating yet another major incident that they'd have to later cover up since he doesn't know the whole story behind who REALLY created all the problems back when Harry's parents were killed.

The Chapter 3 question is up in the first post! I posted it in a new post here earlier with pings, but it looks like that post has somehow disappeared (likely due to 502 errors). Feel free to take a look at the new question at your leisure and offer up your thoughts! <3

You are dead on. ^.^

I think there are legitimate concerns about telling Harry. At the same time, however, it's an easy trap, to think you know best and not to tell someone something that you probably should in order to protect them or avoid troubling them. And you have good points about the risks telling Harry poses.

, being what we know at this point in the story - Is hard - lol. I think it was suppose to be a mystery of why he was being so lenient on Harry.

I will pretend like I've never read the book to answer this one.

I think he is being more lenient because he took into consideration the fact the Harry is so public of a figure now. If he expelled Harry he would have to deal with all the backlash of doing that which is not something he wants to do. He may also have taken into thought the events surrounding Harry's use of magic - Marge did bad mouth two people who were revered in the wizarding world.

We do know that Black escaped - but at this point we don't know his connection with Harry - so I tried not to bring that into my answer.

From a philosophical standpoint, I agree about there being that lesser of two evils kind of dichotomy between telling Harry and not telling him. I would have had trouble deciding what to do in Fudge's shoes, for sure.

I never even thought of it from a media relations perspective, of what kind of criticism would rain down on Fudge and the Ministry at large if he were to have Harry expelled or sent to Azkaban. Comparing that situation to real world situations, we idolize celebrities and when one of them does something wrong, there's the crowd that rushes in to defend them because they've had a hard life with all the invasions of privacy being a celebrity brings, and the other crowd that vilifies them to the highest degree and demands the same, if not harsher, punishment for their crimes as a regular person would be dealt. With witches and wizards being as powerful as they can be, it would pose a huge danger to the ministry to anger the wrong people by essentially ostracizing Harry from the wizarding world.

Fudge is saving face. Like most people in politics he's worried about how he is viewed. He certainly doesn't want to be the one to expel the famous Harry Potter without having the backing of the public.

Hullo all, I'm here with a couple of questions about chapter 4! I have to say, its easily my favourite chapter in the book and probably one of my favourite chapters in the entire series. I absolutely loving being able to see Diagon Alley through Harry, and I only wish it went into even more detail!

Chapter 4 - The Leaky Cauldron ~What do you think is the coolest thing that Harry describes seeing in Diagon Alley? Where would you most like to go? ~Were you suspicious when the witch in the pet shop told Ron that ordinary garden rats only live to 3 years, but we know that because he'd already belonged to Percy for a while, he must be much older than that? ~In regards to Molly and Arthur's argument about telling Harry about Sirius Black, who do you think is right? Would you have told Harry, even though he's only 13? Discuss :)

Wand shop. I mean, who wouldn't want their own wand? Then probably a bookstore. Because books <3.

The Firebolt is the coolest thing Harry describes. It'd be pretty cool to have. I would most like to go to Flourish and Blotts.

I don't think I was suspicious of Ron's rat being older than ordinary garden rats the first time I read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

I wouldn't have told a thirteen year old about Sirius Black. However, Harry isn't an ordinary thirteen year old. By the age of thirteen he had already escaped death (with the help of his friends and family) several times and faced dangerous situations that the average young wizard/witch would have been seriously injured or killed.

Considering how much Harry has been through already, I think I would have told him some parts about Sirius Black, but maybe wouldn't begin with "hey this guy escaped so he could kill you". I think it would be fair to let Harry know that he needed to be more careful, but otherwise he clearly can take care of himself at this point. He has handled life threatening situations before and I think being at the very least, mentally prepared would be safer than him being blindsided. I also think it's important that the truth came from people he trusts and looks up to - like a concerned family.

I come bearing the next discussion question!

Chapter 5 - The Dementor

In this chapter, Harry first encounters a dementor. When Harry is affected by the dementor's energy, he hears screaming all around him which none of the others can hear. Who do you think he can hear screaming? On a more introspective note, how deeply, based on your own personal life experiences, do you think you would be affected by a dementor? If you would like to share, feel free to tell us what sorts of memories from your past might surface in the wake of an encounter with a dementor.

I'm pretty sure its his parents passing that he can hear in the screaming.

I agree. I think it's Lily he hears, and even though he was just a baby, it was so burned into his mind that it came up from his subconscious.

and I agree about Harry hearing his mother scream although he is only aware at this point in time its a women screaming. As for facing a dementor not sure what my worst fear is as I have buried things in the past.

I agree as well that the woman Harry hears is his mother - which is a pretty traumatic thing to remember at all. I think it's a terrible thing that a dementor would bring such a horrible memory, especially when Harry really has no other happy memories of his parents to replace this one with.

I think being attacked by a dementor would bring up some depression which would be difficult to shake.

Again I am going to answer as though I have not read the book before.

I think the screaming he hears is the people in his life that he loves. It is probably his mother but could also be the echoes of his friends as well. Since he has been to Hogwarts he has developed relationships with many females so the screaming could be any of them. His mother though was a terrible event in his life that would have forever stained his memory.

I think for me, a dementor would just bring about a feeling of loneliness. The feeling that everyone has left me is one of my worst fears. I do not have many traumatic events that I have dealt with in my life that would come back to haunt me like Harry.

I can't imagine what I would remember under a dementor's influence, either. There are plenty of traumatic things in my past, but none quite so awful as the violent deaths of family members like what Harry has seen. Like some of you, I think I'd just experience a pervasive, deep depression. Thankfully we'll never have to find out!