Bludgers - Eye rolls

[Amy Z]

No: HPFGUIDX 24683

Allyse asked:

>Was anyone else appalled to discover in QTTA that the Bludgers are 
actually made of iron? 

Yes, I wondered about the death toll too!  It's hard to believe that 
no one's been killed by one in centuries of play at Hogwarts.

Maybe they're enchanted to be slightly less damaging than your normal 
10-inch iron ball would be.

Cynthia wrote:

> The Quiddich World Cup (It's a tall order to make us care about 
 Ireland vs. Bulgaria). (GoF)

Ah, but you are clearly not a sports fan.  One of the joys of the 
Muggle World Cup (football/soccer) is that one develops a passionate 
rooting interest in Cameroon for two weeks of one's life.  (Me, I go 
for the Latin American teams . . . but I digress.)

Also, look at it from the British characters' point of view:  it could 
have been Uganda vs. Transylvania.  England, Scotland, and Wales went 
down in flames, but at least their part of the world is being 
represented in the final by Ireland.  Most of the time the final 
involves two countries you couldn't care less about.

None of the other things you listed made me roll my eyes (add me to 
the list of house-elf fans), nor did Harry's "you're mad" line.  But 
this exchange makes me cringe:

"I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually 
over Pettigrew's head.
  "Forgive me, Remus," said Black.
  "Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," said Lupin, who was now rolling 
up his sleeves.  "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing 
*you* were the spy?"
  "Of course," said Black . . .

I may be way too forgiving, but the Evil Overlord Idiocy didn't bother 
me in the matter of untying Harry and giving him his wand.  Voldemort 
knows the same thing Harry does:  there is nothing Harry could have 
learned that would protect him against Avada Kedavra.  He gets away by 
a million-to-one chance.  I also think it's psychologically realistic 
that V would call off the DEs even as Harry was getting away.

Kelly, the brooms-in-the-key-room made me roll my eyes, but we 
discussed it on the list a few months ago and I've been won over to 
believing that neither JKR nor Flitwick is being stupid.  Check it out 
and see what you think; the thread begins with message #19092.

However, I agree that Crouch Jr. really needs to read the E.O. 
Handbook.

CMC wrote:

> That's just a difference between books and real life - the reader 
> must be informed at some point as to what is going on, and who 
better 
> to inform him than the evil agent actually manipulating the plot? 
and 
> what better time than at the moment of maximum suspense?  In real 
> life terms, this may ridiculous - it would be like John Wilkes Booth 
> giving Lincoln an explanation of why he was about to be assasinated- 

He did, but he kept it to three words.

Amy "Did someone call me schnorrer?" Z

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 Professor Trelawney kept predicting Harry's 
 death, which he found extremely annoying.
                -HP and the Goblet of Fire
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