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Happy Birthday, Harry!, A reading group style birthday discussion |
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 Jan 25 2008, 10:59 AM
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PotterWatch Executive Producer
Posts: 4,937
Joined: 9:14am February 16, 2006
Location: Behind the sofa, watching Doctor Who
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Happy Birthday, Harry!
Now don't cheat and use this topic as a way to cheat on the birthday gift quiz! 
Throughout the seven books of the Harry Potter series, we see Harry receive a number of gifts -- both useful and useless, fun and downright dull. Even Hedwig the owl is a birthday present! We've seen Harry get a coat hanger and a pair of socks, at least two Sneakoscopes, several cakes, a box of chocolates, a watch, some swag from Weasleys Wizard Wheezes... oh, yes, and a kiss. 
Here's a place to dissect the gift-giving and receiving and see what you can learn about Harry, about his friends and his family.
Points to Ponder:
Of all the gifts Harry gets for his birthdays, which of the Dursleys' gifts to him do you find the most insulting?
Hagrid gives Harry his first birthday cake (well, that Harry can remember) and Hedwig, even though Hagrid's never really met Harry before that day. What does that tell you about Hagrid?
What do you think is the most useful present Harry receives for his birthday, and who is the giver?
What do you think is the most fun present Harry receives? Who gives it to him?
Why do you think the Dursleys continue to bother giving him presents at all?
Whose presents do you think mean the most to Harry over time?
This post has been edited by becky920: Jan 25 2008, 09:53 PM
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Jan 26 2008, 09:14 AM
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Product Tester at Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes
Posts: 8,379
Joined: 4:57am January 28, 2005
Location: near Muggleswick, UK
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I don't think we can be sure that Hagrid never really met Harry before his 11th birthday. I can see Hagrid visiting Harry when the Potters were still alive, and I also think Hagrid was good friends with Harry's parents, so he would feel a bit of an obligation to Harry. But I do think it is significant that Hagrid knows that it is Harry's birthday, so either he knows it from previous events or has taken the trouble to find out. But in any case, Hagrid is under no obligation to give Harry either a cake or an owl, so it does show his generous nature, and Hagrid continues to send Harry birthday gifts (such as the biting book and a cake when Dudley went on a diet). Also Hedwig was very useful to Harry, as much for companionship during those long days in Privet Drive as delivering mail.
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 W.L.Y.J. We love you Jo |
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Jan 26 2008, 10:46 AM
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Luring Muggles into Knockturn-Alley
Posts: 5,406
Joined: 12:14pm September 3, 2005
Location: Yorkshire Birth place of Beedle The Bard
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Of all the gifts Harry gets for his birthdays, which of the Dursleys' gifts to him do you find the most insulting?
I wouldn't say any of the gifts he received from the Dursleys were insulting but they certainly showed
complete lack of thought and contained no sign of love/affection
What do you think is the most useful present Harry receives for his birthday, and who is the giver?
Has to be Hedwig from Hagrid which gave him the means to communicate with his friends and Sirius especially
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One woman, 7 books, 168 chapters, 3,407 pages, 884,170 words = The best story ever written.
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Jan 26 2008, 11:00 AM
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Dumbledore's Personal Secretary
Posts: 3,437
Joined: 10:28am December 31, 2006
Location: In a bowling alley with my boss.
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Great topic becky !
Hmmm....
Which of the Dursleys' gifts to him was the most insulting?
This is a difficult one. Except for the 50p, (but that was a christmas present wasn't it ?) everything else seemed totally useless. But I must say, Harry made good use of Vernon's horrible mustard socks.
Hagrid gives Harry his first birthday cake (well, that Harry can remember) and Hedwig, even though Hagrid's never really met Harry before that day. What does that tell you about Hagrid?
Just what we already know - the biggest part of Hagrid is his heart. Bless him ! Getting someone a cake on their birthday may seem commonplace, but that gesture of Hagrid's meant a lot to Harry, and I  Hagrid for that.
What do you think is the most useful present Harry receives for his birthday, and who is the giver?
Most useful present, eh ? Well, Hedwig given by Hagrid was very useful to Harry. Hermione's broomstick-servicing kit was also put to good use by him. Also the sneakoscopes given by both Ron and Hermione, though they were never correctly interpreted by Harry, both in PoA and DH.
What do you think is the most fun present Harry receives? Who gives it to him?
As far as birthday presents are concerned, WWW products definitely qualify as fun products. Chocolates too are good. Then there was Ron's Twelve Fail-Safe Ways To Charm Witches. And who can forget Hagrid's Monster Book of Monsters ? 
If we move on to christmas presents, there is the invisibility cloak, the Firebolt, Sirius' magical knife, and not to forget, socks and painting of Harry by Dobby. Love that elf !
Why do you think the Dursleys continue to bother giving him presents at all?
I've wondered about this and come up no satisfactory answer till date. Perhaps Hedwig turned up at 4PD and kept tapping with her beak till the Dursleys tied something to her leg.
Whose presents do you think mean the most to Harry over time?
That's another tough one. I think arthur and Molly's gift of Fabian Prewett's watch meant very much to Harry. I would have valued, and Harry did too, that battered old watch to any spanking new one. It held a lot of memories and showed how much Molly loved Harry to have given him something that had once belonged to her brother. 
Ginny's kiss was the one thing Harry remembered when he was looking into the face of death, and that's proves how much Harry thought of the gift and the giver more than anything else. 
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Jan 26 2008, 11:32 AM
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Being Eaten by the Pea Soup
Posts: 37
Joined: 1:30pm January 9, 2008
Location: Inside my own mind
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Of all the gifts Harry gets for his birthdays, which of the Dursleys' gifts to him do you find the most insulting?
I would not say they are insulting, they didn't intend on offending him, they just didn't care enough to bother.
Hagrid gives Harry his first birthday cake (well, that Harry can remember) and Hedwig, even though Hagrid's never really met Harry before that day. What does that tell you about Hagrid?
I think this shows how thoughtful and caring Hagrid is and how much he loves Harry. Giving someone a cake on their birthday seems common to most of us, but to Harry it meant the world and I think Hagrid knew this.
What do you think is the most useful present Harry receives for his birthday, and who is the giver?
I would have to say Hedwig from Hagrid for this, not only was Hedwig useful in the sense tha Harry could use her to send messages, but she was a constant companion, she kept him much needed company at the Dursleys.
What do you think is the most fun present Harry receives? Who gives it to him?
The firebolt from Sirius, since Harry loves to fly and play quidditch above everything else he enjoyed this present the most.
Why do you think the Dursleys continue to bother giving him presents at all?
I wondered this myself, but I think they felt they might have had some sort of obligation or something, they put no thought into it, but they could say to themselves that they gave him something.
Whose presents do you think mean the most to Harry over time?
I think that Hedwig and the watch meant the most to him. He loved Hedwig a lot, she was another friend for him and she must have meant a lot, his reaction to her death shows that. The watch must have meant the world to Harry, much more than a new one. Molly gave him a watch that belonged to her brother and a brother that died fighting voldmeort at that, that is not something you give to someone you do not think of as very close family, it solidifies that she thinks of him as a son and for someone who has no mother, that must mean a lot.
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Jan 26 2008, 12:10 PM
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Flesh-Eating-Slug Catcher
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Location: In the Burrow with Ron making Hermione jealous *mwuahaha*
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Of all the gifts Harry gets for his birthdays, which of the Dursleys' gifts to him do you find the most insulting?
I still don't get why the Dursleys even bothered sending Harry presents while he was a Hogwarts. I found those the most insulting, because it just reminded Harry of what was waiting for him at home after he finished his school year. If you're going to send a gift like that, don't send one at all.
Hagrid gives Harry his first birthday cake (well, that Harry can remember) and Hedwig, even though Hagrid's never really met Harry [b]before that day. What does that tell you about Hagrid?
I think he really cared for the Potters. They were probably good friends, and we can see that when we see Hagrid get so upset about leaving Harry in the Dursleys in chapter one of PS. And Hagrid and Harry ended up being good friends too, that was a great start to their friendship.
What do you think is the most useful present Harry receives for his birthday, and who is the giver?
I agree that Hedwig was probably the most useful gift, given by Hagrid.
What do you think is the most fun present Harry receives? Who gives it to him?
Oh, there's so many! George and Fred always gave Harry fun products from WWW. Also the firebolt from Sirius was probably one of the best gifts Harry ever received. And Harry probably found that kiss in DH fun too! 
Whose presents do you think mean the most to Harry over time?
I think Hedwig always meant so much for Harry, she was like a friend to him, the only connection to the wizarding world when he was at Privet Drive.
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