Hey, @nrllee!
This new Hong sisters’ drama “Alchemy of Souls” would be right up your (Diagon) alley. You’re missing out on the fun, and I’m missing your HP encyclopedic input.
Try to speed through first six episodes (Is there an enchanting spell like “absorbus kdramaticus” to absorb dramas in one sitting?) and meet me at Episode 8. Among other things, I want to know if Harry Potter had:
1. a mirror — what was it used for anyway? To see his family? Was it a mirror of desire or something?
2. a special stone — was it the philosopher’s stone or sorcerer?
3. an alchemist — how does an alchemist differ from a regular wizard?
4. friends rescuing a maiden on a quest — or friends going underwater?
5. special tea or brew — whose expertise was that?
6. a powerful charm, spell or wand attack that can kill with one flick — “accio”?
7. a young wizard discovering his special destiny on his birthday — Aside from Harry Potter, of course. Was it Neville?
8. What was the deal with the Harry Potter’s mom? Was everybody in love with her including the bad guy?
Thanks a bunch.
Pm3
I have only seen one or two of the movies and it’s been manyyyyy years since I’ve read the books but until @nrlee makes her appearance off the top of my head the answers to these questions:
1. Mirror of erised— desired spelled backwards. It showed your deepest desire. Harry always saw his family
2. It was both. UK version was philosophers/ USA changed it to sorcerer’s stone
3. There was a potions class and a dark arts class. Snape taught potions and the dark arts teacher was always changing- usually taught by a baddie.
4. I think the French lefleur girl had underwater moments in book 4 during the tournament. No other water scenes come to mind. Well besides the toilet girl in book 1 or 2
5. Special tea or brew hmm…reading tea leaves, butter beer, invisibility potion. Wait, that was a cloak. Did the potion turn you into someone else?
6. Ava da kedevra sp?
7. NA
8. She was sweet and kind. Snape ***SPOILER**** a baddie who secretly turned good fell in love with her. Also Harry’s father loved her. They had a “friend” who betrayed them, not sure if he was ever in love with her.
Hope this helps
Mrs Potterhead. Pffffft.
Alright. Just bouncing off Birdie007’s comments
4. So in the underwater thing in the tournament, Harry chewed a leaf(?) tha helped him develop gills & stuff so he could breathe underwater. They were supposed to rescue someone special to them
5. Yh there was a potion that helped you turn into a particular person. They had to dissolve something of the person(hair usually) & the effect would wear out in few hours or so
7. Idk abt special Destiny but the prophecy could have applied to Neville also. Voldemort basically chose Harry as his opponent by attacking him
And they had to reach a certain age to be invited to join Hogwarts
3. The only alchemist mentioned in HP is Nicholas Flamel (in Book 1). I am not sure if he was also a wizard. The goal of an alchemist is to create the Philosopher’s stone, an all-powerful object which can turn all metals into gold and grant immortality. The only wizard who had the same goal as an alchemist was Voldemort (and his followers, the Death Eaters).
4. Friends rescuing a maiden: Harry and Ron save Hermione from a loose troll in Book 1. They also save Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets in Book 2. Going underwater to save someone precious is the second task at the Triwizard Tournament in Book 4.
5. Special drinks: The Polyjuice potion is brewed by Hermione in Book 2. It allows the drinker to assume the appearance of someone else, but it wears out fast. The same drink plays an important role in Books 4 and 7. There is also Felix Felicis which Harry wins as a prize in Book 6. Amortentia (love potion) is also mentioned in Book 6.
6. Avada Kedavra is the Killing Curse, one of the 3 Unforgivable Curses in the Wizarding World. Doing Alchemy of Souls without the natural development of magical skills seems to be an Unforgivable and forbidden deed in the land of Daeho.
7. Not sure if anyone else besides Harry finds out about his magical vocation on his birthday. Voldemort maybe?
8. Both James Potter and Snape were in love with Lily. I also think that Remus Lupin liked her a lot. In the HP books, it is always mentioned that Harry has her eyes. In AoS, it is the eyes of the heroine that reveal her true identity.
NOOO…don’t mention it you muggle. 😂 I stayed away from Alchemy because of the rumour that it’s seasonal. After the train wreck that was HP, I swore off seasonal dramas. I wish I could say “obliviate” (to myself) with anything that relates to that drama 🙄
Looks like my trusty Potterheads have answered rightly. They are quicker than I am. 👍👏
7. I would say for Harry his 11th birthday was when “magic” was introduced to him. He was born to a wizarding family. His mother saved him when Evil Voldemort was out there killing everyone who wouldn’t “turn to the dark side”. Both she and Harry’s father died when Voldemort killed them. Her “love” protected Harry when he was a toddler then. He has a scar on his forehead to prove it. In the wizarding world he was known as “the boy who lived”. He was left in the care of his aunt/uncle to lead an ordinary life (to protect him) until he was “recalled”. I guess you could say these young wizards/witches were “called” when they got their letters to attend Hogwarts? For Harry, it happened on his birthday when Hagrid showed up once more in his life to sweep him up into Hogwarts. I can’t think of anyone else when their invitation letter to Hogwarts linked up with their birthday. But with Neville you could possibly say that he had similarities to Harry because his parents went insane (due to Voldemort) when he was little as well. And he was therefore raised by someone other than his real parents. You could sort of say he mirrored Harry in some respects. Both were unassuming and never really wanted the limelight. Both exhibited great courage under fire and were loyal friends. Both used the sword of Gryffindor to kill snakes (magical). Harry to kill the Basilisk in Chamber of Secrets and Neville used it to kill off Nagini in the final act which was what finally vanquished Evil Voldemort.
@nrllee Nice summary of the intro to being a wizard to Harry! I really enjoyed the books and watched all the movies, but I didn’t retain as much of the details as I’d have liked.
It was a satisfying series, even for me as an adult. 🙂
@pkml3, I’m just repeating here what I wrote under the last ‘W’ thread, … please move ‘W’ Episode 17 thread to the ‘W’ category, so that we won’t lose it. Thank you!! 🙂
@GB as with most things the books were so much more than the movies. Hubby and I would line up for the next installment each time and take turns to read it (usually in 1 sitting – goodbye sleep 😂). I would however fail miserably at those Trivia nights for Harry Potter because I didn’t really delve deeply into the world building like some fanatics would. For example I knew Nicholas Flamel was an alchemist but I didn’t bother to dig further about what that “brand of magic” entailed. So Packmule calling me a Potterhead is not entirely accurate.
I asked my daughter who finished the HP series a few months back and she said that the Alchemy of Soul is in has some similarities to the Horcrux. I’m going to add a no.9 point here.
9. Horcrux – a dark art where the wizard hides a part of his soul in an object. Voldemort hid his in many parts, including Harry. While the Alchemy of Souls was a extracting and switching of souls, Horcrux was a means of storing a fragment of the soul so that even if the original body was killed, the soul remains. It was a means to immorality. However a brutal killing of a person is required for a Horcrux to be created. In AOS, killing a person but ‘eating’ up their soul is needed to maintain the switched soul. “The Horcrux also has the ability to possess and eventually control a person.”
You can read more here https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Horcrux
@GB,
👍 I’m at the beach. Didn’t bring my laptop. Will change setting when I get home.
@nrllee and everybody,
Thanks for the HP connections. Keep them coming.
Will read in detail back home.
Hi @pkml3 okie dokie. Remember to slather sunscreen over yourself. Enjoy! 🏖️
@pm3. Enjoy your beach time! We are home after a week in the outer banks. Our first experience with an Atlantic beach. I ate doughnuts and crab every day and am having withdrawals from both.
This was a great read. I read the books and saw the movies. However, I am terrible at remembering the details, but it was nice to read through what folks remember. Good connections to AOS.
I wonder if they got inspired by Fantastic Beast as well for the prequel.
I am staying away from the sun a bit because I over did it and my skin is paying for it. Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday!!
Have fun in the sun @pm3!
Knowing the Hong sisters’ death fetish, this story in HP would probably have intrigued them. The story of the Deathly Hallows.
https://youtu.be/aJSh1zkPEvc
@nrllee, thank you for that video.
More HP references in AoS:
Duels – Snape vs. Gilderoy Lockhart
Harry vs. Draco Malfoy
Harry vs. Voldemort (twice)
Dumbledore vs. Grindenwald
The tale of the Deathly Hallows also mentions dueling wizards.
Swish and Flick technique
Using a sword in time of need
Jinyowon’s secret room is a combination of the creepy antique store and Gringott’s vault.
The idea that dark magic (Horcrux making /Soul Shifting) leaves traces and poisons the body. It cannot be defeated by regular magic.
Kalo mesimeri! Thank you Ladies for the info!
Much appreciated!
Thanks, all.
Knowing the Hong sisters’ track record, they’re more likely to borrow elements from a WESTERN show than a Chinese show.
IMO, the Chinese detractors of this drama who accused the Hong sisters of plagiarizing their xianxia hits are just jealous because their supposed blockbusters don’t have the same worldwide appeal as kdramas. Outside the Chinese community and niche audience, their dramas like “Untamed,” “Ashes of Love,” “Eternal Love,” and “Eternal Love of Dream” are unheard of.
Their fantasy/deity/xian xia dramas don’t appeal to most Westerners like me because they’re:
a. long
b. slow and dragging
c. silly (especially the female leads, ex. Yangzi in Ashes of Love)
d. plotty (too many sideplots about second lead, third leads, and their ancestors falling in love)
e. boring (The urgency is lost if love must wait for centuries)
f. rehashed (because of the reincarnation theme. The lovers are always searching for each other through space and time)
g. mirthless
h. moribund (someone is always dying a useless death)
i. uninspired
j. some of the above
k. all of the above
Although the Hong sisters can leave me frustrated at times, they still weave a better fantasy story than the Chinese xianxia writers.
My two cents.
@pm3, as much as I like some wuxia shows (Who rules the World is one but people say technically it isn’t a wuxia show), I have cringed at the weird settings and story world of some. It can lack the complexity of a good story and world building.
Anyway I came to share this interesting tweet of the houses of Hogwarts 😛 Which house will Uk be sorted into??
https://twitter.com/tsukayaSK/status/1546454608020512768?s=20&t=1yzH3ac4sXsqeB3MYLw5nw
@grace, too funny and perfect, too! Lol.
UK is definitely a Gryffindor (oops, I meant Songrim)!
@Nrllee et al.
Was there a book with invisible ink in Harry Potter? What did it do?
Thanks.
I found this online, @Packmule3:
Wizards doing magical research may try to hide their work from their rivals by using invisible ink. This can be a problem if they have forgotten what piece of parchment they were using. A Revealing Charm will, however, expose magical invisible ink to view (BoS).
Hermione Granger tried to use the Revealing Charm on Tom Riddle’s Diary, in case it had been written with invisible ink (CS13). Severus Snape speculated whether the confiscated Marauder’s Map might be a letter written in invisible ink that Harry Potter wanted to hide (PA14).
Insomnia?
Thanks, @Fern. So it wasn’t used to send love letters in Harry Potter. Just for a diary and a map.
Yes, insomnia. And @Snowflower’s mysterious post about the invisible writing didn’t help. 😂😂