Remember Cedric Diggory.

Regrettably, I was not able to see the midnight opening of Order of the Phoenix last night. It was due largely to the movie unexpectedly being pushed up two days, and therefore having a midnight premiere awkwardly on a Tuesday night, but also because when I went to buy IMAX tickets last week they were sold out already. I was a little relieved, though, as I now have a few extra days to finish Book Five. I am now set to attend the IMAX 3D screening (as I am fortunate enough to be just down the road from an IMAX theater) on Friday night, the original release date, and couldn't be more ecstatic. Below please find my thoughts on Year Four, book and film.

I know many people who count this as their favorite amongst the series, but for me it's hard to with Sirius being so scarce. Mad-Eye Moody provides an interesting distraction, but it's sort of a gyp when we find out that everything likable about the character was all a farce. I find this book to be more of a gateway; a necessary gap between Harry finding a parental figure and losing him, and Voldemort's servant returning to him and helping him to regain his body and power. With this book, we are also drawn further into the wizarding world outside of Hogwarts, as the third book began to do. The power of the press is a heavy theme, with Rita Skeeter being introduced. There is also the whole "shady politicians" theme which applies mostly to Barty Crouch, though in the end we see the injustice and ignorance of Fudge, the Minister of Magic himself. Another thing I love about this book is the trials which Harry witnesses in the Pensieve. Clearly written to echo the famous McCarthy trials of Hollywood, with Karkaroff naming names, which of course themselves were often called "witch hunts."

Obviously the biggest issue this book addresses is in the last 100 pages, in which Harry witnesses the death of a fellow student, the rebirth of his mortal enemy, and the closest that he'll ever see of his parents being alive again. Not to mention the torturing, the duel, and all those people trying to kill him. It's hard to be Harry Potter. Cedric's death is shocking, but just enough to set Harry off into the temper-driven, angst-ridden teenager he turns into in the fifth year. Had it been someone closer to Harry (ie. one of the Weasleys, one of his Quidditch teammates, or any other fellow Gryffindor) it would have made him into a whole different person, perhaps more quiet and subdued. But though Cedric was a kind, fair, and good person, he was above all a rival to Harry. He's beaten Harry at Quidditch (though unfairly, much to his dismay), he's older and more handsome, he's the competition in the Triwizard Tournament, and he's dating the only girl that Harry would have very much liked to take to the Yule Ball. Therefore, it's a mixed bag of emotions for Harry when he is killed. It's a stroke of genius for Rowling to kill someone like Cedric; the only death that I really can't be mad at her for. Harry needed something like this to push him over the edge so that he can inevitably assume (once he works through all that anger) the tough I've-seen-it-all stance he needs to teach others to become stronger, lead them into battle, and to face down Voldemort alone (presumably without Dumbledore's aide in this final installment.)

The movie, unfortunately, does not convey any of this. It had seemed a steady upswing of adaptations, with the first two films getting the magical and off handed comedy right, but the acting was awful and the scenes long and drawn out. The third movie was able to master the magic, the comedy, and even get a good grip on the acting, but painfully passed over important plot points that broke the hearts of many fans. This one, however, manages to get none of that right and carries over all the faults of the first three. It seems that nearly every character is misrepresented. Though Sirius' presence is scarce that year, even in the book, he is sorely missed from the movie nearly altogether. Snape is grossly underused, as usual. Even Hermione's character is ridiculously pointless save for the one scene in which her character displays actual emotion, the Yule Ball. And Dumbledore seems wildly out of character as he seemingly loses it in front of Harry wondering what's going on exactly and who could be doing all of this, while he slumps against a wall in frustration. Until the sixth book, I am quite certain that Dumbledore has never wavered in his rigid, powerful, and yet humble appearance, yet in the movie he looks quite helpless. The tasks were all done well (except for the maze- it would have been nice to see that Sphinx), but with all the heart missing in this movie, why should we care who wins the tasks? My biggest gripe is at the end when they discover the true identity of Moody, they simply write off Barty Crouch Jr.'s appearance with a line, "Alert Azkaban, they'll find they're missing a prisoner." This is ridiculous for many reasons, the first being that Barty Crouch Jr.'s disappearance from Azkaban is rather more involved, in fact, everyone believe him to be dead, something they don't mention once in the film. The second reason this line is so misplaced is because Sirius is said to be the only one to have escaped Azkaban. Does that mean that since he got out, the Ministry will no longer hold an extensive manhunt in search of the escaped prisoner? Will the dementors get the owl that Barty Crouch Jr. is at Hogwarts and look around and say, "Hmmm, I thought I felt one less soul in here..."? It's so silly to write this off when the way he really escaped is so much cooler, and certainly makes Barty Crouch Sr. look like a much more decent guy than he comes off to be in the movie. The first time I saw this movie a lot of it irked me and felt very unsettling; it felt to me that to truly understand what was happening, especially with the Crouch's back story, you had to go in having read the book. And as we watched the other night, my boyfriend pointed out how unsatisfying the Quidditch World Cup is. All that intro and build up, and they don't even show a snippet of the match? He thought there should be a subtitle between cuts that read, "For all the excitement of the Quidditch World Cup, please read the book." Did they think they were making up for it with their painfully drawn out dragon fight in the first task? It makes Harry come off as a blundering fool, as opposed to the confident champ that he is on his broom in the book. They don't even explain the Summoning Charm, making you think he conjured his broom out of pure luck or something.

Most painful of all, perhaps, is what's completely missing from the plot. Harry always begins every book at the Dursleys, yet they are sorely missing from this film altogether. A pity, as I would have loved to have seen Dudley on a diet. The Crouch storyline doesn't move well at all because Winky is not there. And while no Winky means no Dobby and no S.P.E.W. (both of which are not so bad), it's just another means to explain away the son as a mere delinquent. What's really missing from this film is the tension that the end of the book brings. In the chapter "The Parting of the Ways," Dumbledore explains to a bumbling Fudge that Voldemort is back and there are many steps that they will have to quickly take to be ready. Fudge denies everything up and down and questions Harry's credibility. It is when Harry truly realizes how corrupt the Ministry is; it lays the groundwork for EVERYTHING that will happen in the fifth year. It would have been nice to see this scene, and the one that follows in which Dumbledore gathers those who are there (Sirius included) and begins to dish out orders on what they must do to reassemble the Order. While everything here can be explained in a few quick sentences at the beginning of OotP, I would have liked to see this set up. I especially would have loved to see the scene in which Sirius is revealed to Snape and they coldly accept that they must work together. Instead the movie replaces all of this with a silly scene in which the trio is walking Hogwarts grounds and Hermione says, "Everything's going to change now, isn't it?" and Harry bluntly and dumbly says, "Yes" and they giggle and walk off into the sunset. Fair trade, right?

The movie has a few visual positives to it, as all the Harry Potter films do. It's hard to truly hate something that brings to life your favorite characters and shows you the stunning visuals that you can only possibly dream up while reading and rereading the books. I thought Fleur and Krum's casting was spot on. The Quidditch World Cup is nice until it cheats you out of seeing anything. The underwater scene in the second task is eerie and well done. I enjoyed a few scenes between the teachers, particularly one in which Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Moody discuss how and why Harry's name ended up in the Goblet of Fire. My favorite thing translated to the screen, however, is at the end of the film when Harry leaves the cemetery and reappears in front of the maze. The band is booming, the audience is cheering, that is, until, Fluer registers what she is seeing and lets out a blood curdling scream. Harry is sobbing over Cedric's body as the teachers are circling around him, but the band slowly drifts off and the audience begins to gasp and scream as well. In writing, it is not nearly as dramatic as it is in the film, and I think it is the one thing that is masterfully done.

In this installment, we find out that Snape was indeed a Death Eater. It's not just his mark that gives him away, but Dumbledore himself claims (at the trial seen in the Pensieve) that Snape was a Death Eater, but switched sides before Voldemort's downfall and continued the facade at "great personal risk." In this book, Harry really begins to question Snape's loyalties, moreso than ever before. He wonders, just as we do, what it is that Snape did to gain Dumbledore's trust and how we can be so sure that he really switched sides. Unfortunately, we really get no insight into either side. Sirius weighs in on it as well, but with arguments for both sides- Snape hung with a bad crowd of Death Eaters at Hogwarts and knew lots of powerful, dark magic, yet if Dumbledore trusts him, then we must as well. All of Snape's dealings with Karkaroff, though they look shady to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, we know to be simply discussions about the Dark Mark reappearing. Karkaroff was a Death Eater, and if Snape switched sides under cover, then Karkaroff would have no reason to think that he wasn't still supporting Voldemort. I believe that the only insight we get into Snape at all in this installment is his reactions. When Harry claims he saw Voldemort and begins to name the Death Eaters for Fudge the first one he mentions is Lucius Malfoy. At this, "Snape made a sudden movement, but as Harry looked at him, Snape's eyes flew back to Fudge." Snape's relationships with the Malfoys is certainly one of interest. One would think that you wouldn't want to be too closely involved with fellow Death Eaters if you were really a spy. However, at school, Snape favors Draco heavily, more than all the other Slytherins, even. Also, we know that Snape is close with Narcissa as he takes the Unbreakable Vow with her to protect Draco. I can't tell whether this movement at Malfoy's name suggests startle that Lucius had returned so quickly to Voldemort that night, or perhaps fear that Fudge might believe Harry? Also, when Dumbledore is handing out instructions to Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, and Snape, he tells Snape he knows what he must do. Snape replies that he is ready and prepared. "He looked slightly paler than usual, and his cold black eyes glittered strangely." Could the strange look in his eye be fear (as I imagine Harry has never seen Snape be fearful before)? Or could it be excitement to rejoin the Dark Lord? Even more interesting is the sentence that follows where Dumbledore, "watched, with a trace of apprehension on his face, as Snape swept wordlessly after Sirius."  Is Dumbledore fearful of what may happen to Snape if he is found out, or is he fearful that he may be betraying him? Could the apprehension have been the beginnings of an understanding between Snape and Dumbledore? When Dumbledore tells Snape, "You know what you must do" is it the beginning of setting their plan into works in which Snape must kill Dumbledore to win back Voldemort's trust? (P.S. I fully believe that Rowling uses a word that has a double meaning simply to mess with those like me who read the books too many times for their own good).

My last bit of Snape info from this book comes from Voldemort himself. When observing some missing Death Eaters amongst his circle he comments on three empty spots, "...One, too cowardly to return...he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever...he will be killed, of course...and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already reentered my service." The faithful servant is undoubtedly Barty Crouch Jr., and the cowardly one is likely Karkaroff. It's the one who has left him forever that we take to be Snape, yet if Voldemort ever believed someone to have left his service, he would indefinitely kill them, as he mentions. So how is it, that Snape gets through Book Five unscathed? If he returned to Voldemort, as it seems Dumbledore ordered him to do, and Voldemort believed him to have left his side, how is he still alive? Who else, then, might Voldemort have been talking about? These are all mysteries that will be solved next Friday (yay, it's getting closer!), but it's still nice to mull everything over before it all comes to an end.