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Popularity and Harry Potter, Is being the centre of attention all it is cracked up to be?

WaggaWaggaWerewo... WaggaWaggaWerewolf View Member Profile	Jun 29 2009, 06:02 AM Post #1
Madame Pince's House Elf Posts: 4,607 Joined: 5:46pm January 28, 2005 Location: In HP Book Club 4, awaiting the HBP film's release	POPULARITY From the first day he entered the Wizarding World, on his eleventh birthday, Harry Potter has been well-known. This has been a mixed blessing. People might enjoy his exploits but when things went wrong, it was Harry Potter that would bear the odium. Such as when he was caught out of bounds the night he and Hermione got rid of Norbert, or when it was he who accidentally spoke Parseltongue during the Duelling Club. After a particularly horrible time after his name came out of the Goblet of Fire, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Hagrid were informed by Dumbledore: 'Really Hagrid, if you are holding out for universal popularity, I'm afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time'. (GOF p. 394). Throughout the following year, Harry, in particular, was at the receiving end of a Daily Prophet and a Ministry of Magic campaign to discredit him. And now in HBP, Harry is suddenly popular, in sharp contrast to his previous career at Hogwarts. But exactly why is he so popular all of a sudden, when he was unpopular the year before? Should Harry trust this new-found popularity? Why is everyone suddenly trying to join the Gryffindor Quidditch team, even when they don't actually belong to Gryffindor? How has Harry's attitude to Neville and Luna changed from a year earlier when he first shared a railway carriage with them? Why is Romilda Vane suddenly trying to attract Harry's attention? -------------------- Check out the Beedle the Bard Book Club

Replies (1 - 2)

MattG711 View Member Profile	Jul 8 2009, 01:23 AM Post #2
Being Eaten by the Pea Soup Posts: 33 Joined: 11:53pm July 5, 2009	Lots of questions but here is the basic gist I got. In OoTP, Harry was considered a liar and crazy for saying that Voldemort was back. The Minister of Magic said he was wrong and the whole ministry stood behind that. After OoTP, when people finally believed that Harry was telling the truth he got more popular because people now considered him "The Chosen One". He had this before but not to the same degree he did after OoTP. Before OoTP he had survived and destroyed Voldemort once which raised his popularity immensely, but after ordeals in the first four books (Cedric's Death, Accusations in CoS, Sirius Black Ordeal, Rita Skeeter, Arguing with the Minister, etc.) I think his hype kind of faded. No doubt he was still HUGE, but instead of everyone loving him he obviously had his fair share of doubters now. It seems silly that this would happen to the boy who destroyed the dark lord, but since no one really knew what happened that night when Voldemort was defeated maybe it was easier for people to not hold onto him as much. Then when the truth came out he exploded because it proved that he had stood toe to toe with Voldemort multiple times and defeated him or not died. It proved that Harry was correct when the ministry was wrong, and it also became more obvious that Harry was Dumbeldore's right hand man. He was getting a whole bunch of new headlines and people were loving him and stuff. That's why I think his hyped went up in HBP in the entire wizarding community.. Why did everyone want to join the Qudditch team? Harry was captain, the team has been good the past couple years, and yeah because Harry was now the "Chosen One". Why did all the ladies flock to Harry? Well you gotta remember that in HBP Harry was 16 years old. In OoTP, he was 15 and everyone thought he was crazy. In GoF, he was 14 and had his amount of admirers. He got them because of the popularity in HBP, but also because he was finally becoming of age where this stuff happened. It's not like he was going to have groupies at 12 years old.

gadigal ghoul View Member Profile	Jul 11 2009, 06:22 AM Post #3
Cauldron Bottom Measurer Posts: 130 Joined: 11:58pm April 21, 2007 Location: Haunting werewolves	QUOTE(MattG711 @ Jul 8 2009, 02:23 AM) Lots of questions but here is the basic gist I got. In OoTP, Harry was considered a liar and crazy for saying that Voldemort was back. The Minister of Magic said he was wrong and the whole ministry stood behind that. I'd agree. But a fair few of those who might have changed their minds at the end of OotP, had parents and relatives who had their doubts about HP. I bet there were plenty like Marietta Edgecombe, whose mother worked for the Ministry, not to mention Zachariah Smith. Half the student population had parents working for either the Ministry, the Daily Prophet or Gringotts, among the biggest employers in the Wizarding World. QUOTE Then when the truth came out he exploded because it proved that he had stood toe to toe with Voldemort multiple times and defeated him or not died. It proved that Harry was correct when the ministry was wrong, and it also became more obvious that Harry was Dumbeldore's right hand man. He was getting a whole bunch of new headlines and people were loving him and stuff. Or were they just getting on the bandwagon? This is the upside of fame. The downside of fame is that it is fickle, and doesn't always like the infamous. Some rebels, Ned Kelly for example, end up famous and beloved, but not all of them. Some others like HP are doomed to be considered a nuisance. And no, I wouldn't trust the popularity Harry enjoys in HBP. Isn't there plenty of evidence so far that Voldemort also had his groupies? What was the attraction Merope Gaunt felt for Tom Riddle? Was it love? Or did she just see someone who was somewhat more desirable to associate with than her obnoxious family? QUOTE Why did all the ladies flock to Harry? Well you gotta remember that in HBP Harry was 16 years old. In OoTP, he was 15 and everyone thought he was crazy. In GoF, he was 14 and had his amount of admirers. He got them because of the popularity in HBP, but also because he was finally becoming of age where this stuff happened. It's not like he was going to have groupies at 12 years old. Sorry, I don't think that it makes a lot of difference normally whether one is 12 or 16. Some people at the age of 12 do have groupies. (cough-Colin Creevey-cough) A lot of people like to go with the flow, considering only external appearances. (hem, hem, Lockhart, hem) The age of majority in the Wizarding World is 17, after all. And the rush to get an Apparition licence, something as prestigious as a Driving Licence, suggests that surface appearances and 'saving face' matter rather too much in Hogwarts. --------------------

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