She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named: How Much I LOVE Neville Longbottom!

   You all remember our guest writer from the previous article, who poured out her loathing at the man known as Alan Rickman.  Now she's back to gush over a different person.  I present the ever-charming, ever-obsessing, ever-enthusiastic, not-an-evil-Slytherin... She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!
   One day -- it was a Saturday, I believe -- my dear friend and I went to see the second part of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Within the first half hour, a face appeared out of the gloominess and created a glowing halo that left me dumbfounded.

   Who was this dashing fellow, this man who was not a Jack? (That meant "common man" in the olden days, like the 1300s.) The answer appeared before my eyes as my brain racked through files of the memories of my life, and that's when I realized, with a tear dripping down my cheek, that this man, this handsome man who can be compared to the 20-year-old Jack Dawson (okay, maybe he's not as attractive as Leo was), was the chubby little kid...

 Neville Longbottom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   Yes, oui, si!!! It was HIM!!! That pudgy child with the pet toad he always managed to get lost, along with everything else he owned? It was HIM!! And he had blood on his face!! And even better, it made him look awesome!!!

   Now, let's talk about the evolution of Neville Longbottom. In the first movie, he was that forgetful Jack (tee hee) who was undergoing the butterball phase, as my mom puts it. (Basically you have all this chubby fat that will go away after having some major growth spurt and blah blah blah etc.) He was like that until the fifth movie...? And then it hit.

   His hair, once straight and overgrown, was trimmed to a perfect cut. His wimpiness transformed into a brave, roaring lion from Gryffindor. (Rawr.) Soon he was the one battling the bad guys, facing his fears, while Harry tried to escape his problems by hiding in a dense forest. By the last two films, he is a man of wax indeed. (More Shakespearean language for you Romeo and Juliet fans!)

   To conclude this daring, fanatical article, Neville Longbottom could replace Stalin as the Man of Steel. (Just puttin' some history class on your already frying brain.) Because you all know he's that attractive!

   Just admit it!

With undying, prancing love for Neville and Jack,

She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named :)

"Give me my Neville; and when he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine,
That all the world will be in love with night,
And pay no worship to the garish sun."
~Neville and Sam, Act III, Scene II

(... Fine, it was Romeo and Juliet, gosh!)

She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named: How Much I Hate Alan Rickman

Disclaimer: This article was written by a guest writer.  The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the creator of this blog.

It started with a spark and grew into a raging fire of hatred. Ever since I had watched the 1995 movie "Sense and Sensibility" with Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant, my awesome opinion of Severus Snape turned into a glowing ball of fury for the person known as Colonel Brandon.

Let me just say that I am a huge fan of the British actress Kate Winslet. So when I put on my bucket list "See all of Kate Winslet's movies," I decided to watch "Sense and Sensibility." Another fact at that time was that I was reading Jane Austen novels, and I was a few pages into this spectacular story of two very different sisters. So of course when I realized Alan Rickman played one of the love interests, with his wrinkled forehead and overly large nose, my jaw dropped and I quickly tried to prove the theory -- that that wasn't him -- by searching the movie.

Unfortunately, it was him. And even more sadly, he was there to stay.

When Mr. Willoughby entered the picture, I was like "Oh, yes! He's cute!" But it didn't last, and soon Marianne (Kate Winslet) had her heart broken and Brandon was all like "I love you forever" and stuff like that. So when she runs out in the rain, risking her health, and he carries her in his arms bridal style, I was trying to drench the clouding thoughts of "She's way too pretty for him! He looks so old! Gosh, why doesn't she just stick with Leo??"

Next, there was the ending, where there was the wedding. And since I didn't finish the book I told myself, "Good, it's Elinor and Edward's wedding." Then my eyes bugged open when Kate Winslet appeared in a gorgeous dress with her hair all nice and done and there was Alan Rickman right next to her with his beady eyes and old man face.

So, to summarize this up, I strongly dislike Alan Rickman. That is all.

Now, onto Harry Potter. After this rant, I have realized: no wonder Snape didn't win Lily's heart! He's been rejected by many women. I think all he needs is a nice, big hug from Sam. Of course, I love Snape! I love Harry Potter. So in actuality I am a huge Snape fan, but I just don't like some of Alan Rickman's other characters. (*Cough* Colonel Brandon.)

Obviously.

With dear hate,

She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

Stop the House Hate

One problem that I have noticed in the Harry Potter fandom is the issue of house hate. Sometimes it seems that people don't like a certain house for whatever reason. The two houses I feel get the most dislike are Hufflepuff and Slytherin.

First is Hufflepuff. It feels like this is the least popular house. Is it because it's not mentioned much in the series? Is it because the actor who portrayed Cedric Diggory in the movies also plays Edward Cullen in Twilight? Or do people just not see what Hufflepuff has to offer?

I am a Hufflepuff myself, and normally people making fun of Hufflepuffs annoys me. A lot. I don't see what's so bad about being a loyal, kind, hardworking person. Just because we possess those qualities doesn't mean we completely lack the traits of the other houses. I may not be a Ravenclaw, but I'd consider myself to be a smart person.

If you want more evidence of what makes Hufflepuffs great people, look at the Triwizard Tournament. Out of all the brave Gryffindors, cunning Slytherins, and intelligent Ravenclaws, who did the Goblet of Fire choose as the most worthy Hogwarts student to compete? Cedric Diggory - a Hufflepuff.

So please, don't underestimate us Badgers. We're capable of much more than people think we are.

Next is Slytherin. The most common label to be put on Slytherins seems to be that they are evil. Yes, there have been plenty of Dark wizards to come out of Slytherin, but that doesn't mean that they are all bad people. One of my friends was just sorted into Slytherin on Pottermore, and she is not evil.

There are several examples of Slytherins who aren't evil. I feel that one of these people is Draco Malfoy. I believe that he wasn't truly a bad person. If he was really evil, wouldn't he have killed Dumbledore when he had the chance? Wouldn't he have identified Harry at Malfoy Manor? Sure, he was a bully to Harry and his friends, but so was James Potter in his Hogwarts days. Everyone makes mistakes. Draco Malfoy has honestly become one of my favorite characters.

Another example is Severus Snape. He may have been on the wrong side initially. He may have been horrible to Harry and the other Gryffindors. But in the end, he turned out all right. He started to go against Voldemort and support the other side. That must have taken a lot of courage and strength to go against the most evil Dark wizard of all time.

Slytherins are described as ambitious and determined. Since when is "ambitious" synonymous with "evil"? When you hear that someone is a Slytherin, you can't automatically assume they're a bad person.

Really, I don't see the point of house hate. The Hogwarts houses are supposed to be united, not divided. Each house has unique qualities that make it special, but that doesn't mean they can't work together. Keep an open mind, and you just might see how awesome the other houses can be.

Draco Malfoy

You can sail on a ship. You can ship a package across the country. Or you can ship two characters.

Ship can be short for 'relationship'. People in the Harry Potter fandom (and in other fandoms, too, I'm sure) ship, or pair, characters with just about anyone, it seems.

Two ships I like, both involving Hermione, are Romione (Ron/Hermione) and Dramione (Draco/Hermione). You can really tell in the books and movies how much Ron loves Hermione, and I think they're great together. However, I'm finding myself becoming interested in Draco falling in love with Hermione.

When I first heard about shipping Draco with Hermione, I thought, 'Oh, gosh, no, that would never work!' But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Now I'm even writing a Dramione fanfiction.

I really think that Draco could have turned out to be a good person. It almost seems like he and Harry were in similar situations. Sure, Draco wasn't locked up in a cupboard under some stairs for ten years. But neither he or Harry had a positive role model in their lives growing up.

I think that the reason Draco was the way he was is because he had bad influences. His parents and one of his aunts were Death Eaters, and he probably learned from them.

Of course, Voldemort was more of a threat to Harry than he was to Draco. But Dumbledore sort of mentored Harry, so why not Draco? If Draco had had someone like Dumbledore to guide and support him, maybe he wouldn't have been such a bad person. Deep down, I think he was a good person, and I don't see any reason why he couldn't have fallen for Hermione.

Mugglenet March Madness and a Bit More from Pottermore

When the phrase 'March Madness' is heard, many people would probably think of college basketball. Not the Potterheads over at Mugglenet.com. They have created a bracket of their own... for Harry Potter characters.

The HP tournament is currently in its "Elite Eight" stage. It pits Harry Potter against Nymphadora Tonks, Neville Longbottom against Luna Lovegood, Sirius Black against Severus Snape, and Hermione Granger against Minerva McGonagall.

There have been several upsets, including number six seed Tonks beating out number three seed Ginny Weasley, Colin Creevey (11) ousting Dudley Dursley (6), Xenophilius Lovegood (14) winning over Peter Pettigrew (3), and more recently, Ron Weasley (1) losing to Sirius (4).

If I had to choose a winner out of the remaining characters, I would probably predict Snape. People's like of Snape now due to the revelations in Deathly Hallows combined with their love of Alan Rickman (who portrays Snape in the films) seems to make him a fan favorite.

To vote for your favorite character, head over to http://www.mugglenet.com/marchmadness/.

In other news, Pottermore has opened a shop where fans can download the Harry Potter series in eBook and digital audio book form.

Books 1-3 as eBooks cost $7.99 each, while the rest are $9.99 apiece. Or, you can get the entire collection for $57.54.

The audio books are a bit more expensive. Books 1-3 are $29.99, and books 4-7 are $44.99. The entire collection is $242.94.

According to the Pottermore Shop site, "Harry Potter eBooks are compatible with all leading eReaders, tablets and smartphones," and the audio books "are compatible with MP3 players, including iPods and hundreds of other audio devices."

To check out the shop, go to http://shop.pottermore.com/en_US?c=USD.

(Also... I don't know why all this text is underlined. I don't know how to get rid of it...)

myHogwarts Beta Opened

The Chamber of Secrets has been opened - or rather, myHogwarts has started to open to beta users. (Lame joke, sorry...)

Anyway, myHogwarts was (at least for me) a highly anticipated new website for Harry Potter fans to meet and interact with other fans, take Hogwarts classes, and more.

I have finally gained access to the site, and I'm here to tell you what it's like.

After activating my account, I read through an orientation about the world of Harry Potter beyond the books and movies. It covered topics such as wizard rock music, Muggle Quidditch, the Harry Potter Alliance, and Starkid (the creators of YouTube sensations A Very Potter Musical and A Very Potter Sequel).

Then, it was time to create my profile. It was a fairly easy process, just inputting information about myself and uploading a profile picture. And if you weren't happy with your Sorting on Pottermore or have your heart set on being in a particular house, never fear. myHogwarts lets you choose your house.

When I finished creating a profile, I was placed in a dorm with other Hufflepuffs (my house). Dorms, when completed, are made up of 10 people of the same house. These people are automatically added as your friends on myHogwarts.

Everyone has their own profile where you can see information about them. You can post statuses as well as post things in your dorm. You can add other friends, send messages, and "prod" people.

So in case you haven't guessed by now, myHogwarts is like a Harry Potterized version of Facebook. The layout is very similar, and there are a lot of the same features (prodding is like poking, it seems).

Not everything myHogwarts has to offer has been made available to beta testers yet, but there will be more added sooner or later. Right now, the profiles and dorms are open, as well as a wizard wrockbox (hope I spelled that right) to listen to wizard rock music. I haven't checked that out yet but I plan to very soon.

That's all I have for right now, but I will be sure to post more as I explore the site and more areas of the site are opened. I am so excited for this!

Pottermore and myHogwarts

For those of you waiting for entry to Pottermore, the wait is almost over. Pottermore Insider has revealed that the site will open in early April. An exact opening date hasn't been given.

Many Pottermore beta testers, however, are waiting for the release of the second Harry Potter book, Chamber of Secrets, on the site. I have heard a rumor that only one book will be released each year, but I don't know if that is confirmed or not.

Meanwhile, another Potter site will be opening to beta users soon - myHogwarts. From what I've gathered about the site, "students" at myHogwarts will be able to sort of attend Hogwarts. There will be classes with professors, online textbooks, and even homework. There will also be other activities, such as a myHogwarts choir.

myHogwarts will begin granting access on March 15. However, only people that got into beta testing on day one will be able to get in that day. Day two people will get in on March 16, day three people on March 17, etc.

Also, the entire site won't be available right away. They will open more and more things over time.

I am a beta tester of myHogwarts, and I am so excited to get into the site. Once I start, I will be sure to post a review on this blog. I am hoping that myHogwarts won't turn out to be somewhat of a disappointment like Pottermore, but from what I've seen, it looks like it'll be pretty cool.

For more information on myHogwarts, check out their site: myhogwarts.co.uk.