Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling

...end of Book 4, with Harry Potter the soul witness to Lord Voldemort's return to strength. But the wizard newspaper 'The Daily Prophet' has made him out ot be an attention-seeking psycho. Nobody in their right mind is going to believe the feverish testamony of a fourteen-year-old boy and his eccentric old headmaster Dumbledore, when the Ministry of Magic (sort of wizard government) says one's a pathological liar and the other is going senile.
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...surviving relatives, the obnoxious Dursleys, Harry is led to believe that his parents died in a car crash. However, the letter inviting him to join Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry reveals he is no ordinary boy. He is a wizard, and what is more he is famous the world over for defeating Voldemort, for at the age of one, the curse that should have killed him was deflected off him, leaving Harry with his lightning scar, and Voldmort barely ... more

In our everyday lives the media is everywhere. The Wizard World is no exception. There's a war on, nobody knows it. Nobody wants to know because propaganda is strongest in times of war. It's far easier to believe that a few people are lying, than to believe that the darkest sorcerer the world has ever seen, is at large once more.

This is how JK Rowling leaves the situation at the end of Book 4, with Harry Potter the soul witness to Lord Voldemort's return to strength. But the wizard newspaper 'The Daily Prophet' has made him out ot be an attention-seeking psycho. Nobody in their right mind is going to believe the feverish testamony of a fourteen-year-old boy and his eccentric old headmaster Dumbledore, when the Ministry of Magic (sort of wizard government) says one's a pathological liar and the other is going senile.

The connection between Harry and Lord Voldemort is quite remarkable, as is Harry's story. Living for ten years with his only surviving relatives, the obnoxious Dursleys, Harry is led to believe that his parents died in a car crash. However, the letter inviting him to join Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry reveals he is no ordinary boy. He is a wizard, and what is more he is famous the world over for defeating Voldemort, for at the age of one, the curse that should have killed him was deflected off him, leaving Harry with his lightning scar, and Voldmort barely alive.

No wonder, all these years later with the Wizard World supposedly rid of Voldemort for good, it would appear that Harry, his fame diminshed by a decade of peace, is simply seeking the attention he once had... making up stories of Voldemort's return, tricking the Goblet of Fire to make him fourth champion in the Triwizard Tournament of the previous book... stuff that will get him noticed by the media. But why would Harry lie about the return of the torturer of so many muggles (non-magic folk) who killed Harry's parents? Why would Harry lie about seeing Voldemort murder someone before his very eyes? Nobody rational would believe the crackpot stories of 'Potty wee Potter'!

The Biggest Book Yet!
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At a whopping 766 pages, the fifth installment of the Harry Potter series resembles a large brick. When the release date arrived, back in June 2003, postmen from the Royal Mail complained as these huge books wouldn't fit through letter boxes, and they needed to employ extra vans to get them out to eager readers.

I've mentioned before how JK Rowling's pages and pages sometimes look like quantity over quality. In some respects the same applies here. A lot of pages are taken up with setting the story in context by filling the story with details from the other four books, bewildering for new readers, and boring for old ones. The relatively slow trudge before the action kicks in isn't as bad a wait as in the last book, but is still a black mark against this book. A lot of people have found it less exciting than previous books, and I blame its size.

You can't sustain someone's excitement completely for 766 pages. This is where Harry's emotions come in to fill up some of the pages. It is a darker book, with a more adult plot line, one of secret motives and battling authority. And since Harry is growing up too, the book is distinctly marked by his change in attitude, having now faced the Dark Lord four times in the previous books. JK Rowling is often criticised for making Harry too 'angry' in this book, an attitude problem and raging temper that build up through the year and give him the appearance of a very stroppy teenager. A lot of people have lost their close empathy with Harry because of this. Yes, he has a right to get angry, not being believed by anyone as to his near-death experience at the end of Book 4, being ignored by Dumbledore, and deliberately kept in the dark. But taking it out on everybody is not the best way to deal with his anger; he has a habit of snapping at his best friends Ron and Hermione, his new teacher Professor Umbridge, and finally Dumbledore's office. Most readers, both critics and fans, have found Harry almost unbearably annoying.

Another problem with a book of this scale is its lack of direction as the story just seems to go on and on. At least Book 4 had the three events of the Triwizard Tournament to keep its 636 pages moving along nicely. Book 3 had regular Quidditch matches to give some idea of the passage of time. But this book doesn't seem to have any of the same structure at all, Harry just seeming to drift through his summer holiday and hellish weeks at Hogwarts. His recurring dream of long corridors and locked doors is too repetitive to give the same effect of 'looking forward' to some event that was JK Rowling's device in previous books.

SUMMERTIME BLUES
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Part of Harry's anger stems from his long summer holiday where he is almost kept like a prisoner at 3 Privet Drive, without any news of Voldemort's return from any of his friends who hint that they know more than he does. His frustration is increased by The Dursleys...His Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley delight in their power over him; and because they've realised that if Harry uses underage magic he will be expelled from Hogwarts, Harry no longer has any ability to fight back.

He is obsessively watching the Muggle (non-magic) news for mysterious disappearances or murders, but there is nothing. Extremely ominous. What is more, the Wizard Newspaper 'The Daily Prophet' is still oblivious that anything remotely sinister may be happening at all.

To relieve his frustation Harry goes for a walk, and reveals perhaps the most nasty side of his character we have yet seen, as Harry actually picks a fight with his cousin Dudley. However when two renegade Dementors, the deadly guards of Azkaban Prison, turn up in Magnolia Cresent we know something is definitely up. Have these two Dementor's joined Voldemort, out of the Ministry of Magic's control? Surely Harry cannot be expelled for using magic to save his cousin and his own life!

GRIMMAULD PLACE
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Sirius Black's house is being used as the headquarters of 'The Order Of The Phoenix', an assembled group of witches and wizards on the side of good and Albus Dumbledore. Some members of the Order remain from the last time Voldemort was in power. It is very impressive to see Harry rescued from Privet Drive with a small army of Aurors (dark wizard catchers).

Grimmauld Place is a dusty and sinister place, with it's own resident house elf, Kreacher. I think it could be a combination of 'Grim Old Place' or possibly 'Grim mauled Place', the Grim being Sirius Black's animagous form (i.e. he can turn into a huge black dog at will).

Before the release of this book, JK Rowling released a few pages from this chapter. I remember distinctly feeling that this was a fake, that she didn't write in this style and that someone else had made it up. I was a little disappointed to discover that it was actually part of the book. Perhaps it just goes to show that her style has changed, and the setting has darkened considerably.

THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
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However, there are a few new members of the Order as well. And also a few losses... Harry's parents were killed just before Harry caused the Dark Lord's demise, and Alice and Frank Longbottom were tortured into madness by Voldmort's followers 'The Death Eaters'.

Old members...

Mad-Eye Moody: An auror with heavy battle scars, a wooden leg, and a swirling magical eye that can see through the back of his head or through walls. Moody is regarded by a lot of people as paranoid, and past-it, but he's still a worthy and respected member of the Order.

Remus Lupin: We are reunited once again with Harry's old Defence the Dark Arts Professor from the third book. He, along with Sirius Black, was among James Potter's (Harry's Dad's) closest friends. The discovery by the rest of the world that he is a werewolf has made him a little self-concious about people's discrimination. Due to new Ministry laws he is finding it very difficult to get a job anywhere.

Mundungus Fletcher: Strange that someone so crooked could really be on the side of the good guys. 'Dung' spends most of his time making money from illegal enterprises such as stolen cauldrons. An upside is that he knows where all the crooks hide out.

Arthur and Molly Weasley: Mr and Mrs Weasley have appeared in numerous books, as the parents of Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend, the mischievous twins Fred and George, equally mischievous Ginny, and grown-up Percy, Bill and Charlie. They all have flaming red hair, and a much bigger part to play in this book.

New Members...

Tonks: Nymphadora Tonks is a Metamorphmagus, i.e. from birth she has been able to change her appearance at will, a rare and very useful gift. She adds a bit of light-heartedness to an otherwise dark book, by changing the shape of her nose at the dinner table, and taking requests. It's funny to see her clumsily knock things over all the time.

Kingsley Shacklebolt: The auror in charge of the capture of escaped wizard Sirius Black, Kingsley is a useful addition to the Order. Because nobody except the Order knows that Harry's Godfather is really innocent afterall, Kingsley has been feeding the Ministry false information that Sirius is really in Tibet.

POTTER GETS POLITICAL!
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Harry's return to Hogwarts sees one of the surealist years yet. The Ministry of Magic, run by Minister Cornelius Fudge, has placed Delores Umbridge as the new Defence Against The Dark Arts Professor. She is the most obnoxious character JK Rowling has ever created (and compared to Rita Skeeter, that's saying something). Toad-like with a saccharine sweet voice, and an ambition to take over the school, we watch as she goes from teacher, to inspector, to High Inquisitor, finally kicking out Dumbledore in her dictator-like regime.

She instantly takes a dislike to Harry and does everything in her power to make his life hell. What is more, we discover the Ministry is not allowing the actual 'use' of spells in her Defence classes. It's seems to Minstry is afraid that Dumbledore may be creating an army of students against them.

THE D.A.
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For Harry, Ron and Hermione, this is their hardest year yet... OWL year (Ordinary Wizard Levels), the exams that will decide what career they can take when they graduate. They are loaded with classwork, often working past midnight... reminds me a bit of my GCSE's.

Yet there is something more important than exams and lessons... even bookworm Hermione admits it. "Dumbledore's Army" provides moments of light relief as Hogwarts Students, led by Harry, teach themselves how to defend themselves. Even when all clubs, teams and groups have been banned, they meet in secret. It really does seem like a dictatorship when all communication into and out of Hogwarts is checked by the Ministry, and it is small acts of rebellion like this that give that spark of triumph as people fight back.

WEASLEY'S WIZARD WEAZES
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More light relief comes from the Weasley twins Fred and George, who spend most the year developing products for their joke shop (secretly funded by Harry). Skiving Snackboxes are an absolute genius creation. By inventing tablets that give instant nosebleeds, fainting or sickness that let you get out of class (tested on themselves and unsuspecting first years), wonderful fireworks that multiply if you try to vanish them, Fred and George are the best tricksters since James Potter and Sirius Black were at the school. Their battle with Umbridge had me laughing out loud!

IS ALL THE ROMANCE REALLY NECESSARY?
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There is a scary amount of 'Relationship Stuff' in this book with Harry's crush on Cho Chang (a pretty Chinese girl on the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team) finally coming into fruition. However, everytime he gets near her she just starts crying. As a female reader, it's a bit weird to watch Harry... a complete relationship novice... saying all the wrong things, and tripping over himself. But it's also good to see that Hermione isn't just a bookworm. She actually understands how women feel, and her pen-pal Viktor Krum from Durmstrang has Ron behaving very weirdly. I suppose it just shows that the three of them are growing up, although it is a bit unnecessary and cringe-worthy.

WHAT IS REAL? AM I DREAMING?
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Yet 'The Order Of The Phoenix' also has a very sinister side. By skimming The Daily Prophet, Harry, Ron and Hermione hear about mysterious attacks on Ministry members, even if everyone else fails to believe that Voldemort has returned. Harry's dreams about corridors and locked doors continue throughout the book, getting more pronounced, and more real. When Harry's dreams start coming true, Dumbledore starts to worry that Voldemort is getting at Harry's mind. Yet he continues to ignore Harry, leaving him feeling isolated. A mass breakout from the Wizard Prison Azkaban also leaves a nasty aftertaste as what is going on inside Hogwarts is very sheltered from the outside world.

THE END OF IGNORANCE
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But this state of false security cannot last forever. The end of the book reveals Lord Voldemort's return to the rest of the Wizard World with undeniable proof. After facing Lord Voldemort yet another time, Harry also learns a few things that Dumbledore should have told him a long time ago. I won't give away much about the ending because it is the dramatic climax of the book, and has been a bit of an anticlimax for some people. I found it very surreal, almost as if Harry was still dreaming, and of course very very disturbing and sad.

The Missing Link:
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This is a huge book, and despite the lengthy story line I've given, I feel that there is so much in the book that I've given only a fraction away. When the book was released we were told that it was to be the longest one yet, that someone was to die... "Harry's fan", and that (as always) it was to be the darkest one yet.

JK Rowling is masterful in her creation of vibrant and individual characters. Some people have noted that her writing is at times a bit childish, her English not spot on, and her characterisation sometimes a bit 2-D, but on the whole I have never cared about the characters in a book more.

For many children who started Harry Potter years and years ago, they have grown up with the Saga, and the books have grown up too. I therefore think I am right in saying that these later Harry Potter books are no longer children's books, and this is the first time that I would NOT recommend this book for young children. However, the first children that got into Harry Potter will now be growing up, and this book is for THEM as it has grown up with them. It is still a parent's decision whether they let young children read this book, and never has it been more important to read the book first to find out if it is suitable and whether there are difficult questions that need to be answered in a supportive and understanding way.

It is dark. It is scary. And death is presented as more real than ever before. JK Rowling walked out of her kitchen crying after writing it. She said she wanted to show how people who died in battle could be at your side in one second and gone in the next. I must have been 16 when this book came out, and remember a week afterwards how I'd felt a dead weight in my stomach, funny because I was sure something was missing. In fact, I felt distinctly like I was being followed by a Dementor. Harry struggles to find a loophole to bring the character back to life, but an acceptance to the finality of death is presented in quite a clever way. JK Rowling has no religious input in her books (though the message is has almost Christian attitudes), so Luna Lovegood's suggestion that he will be reunited with his parents once again is the only comfort given.

The message, as always is that Good overcomes Evil, yet sometimes good people still die. The books have come a long way since little Harry, driven by curiosity, went in search of the Philosopher's Stone. Now he is face to face with a strong Voldemort, and Dumbledore has told him how he must destroy him. It just feels like a waiting game for that moment to come in Book 7 when they will have their final showdown.

Do I Recommend This Book?
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Yes, it is a definite read for a proper understanding of the whole Saga. But I recommend first reading the other books in the series. It is an exciting book, full of twists and turns as ever, with lots of imaginative and well-researched ideas that give it a sense of 'realness'.

But I was not longing for a re-read of this book. In fact, I can honestly say that to re-read it is almost unbearable. Yes, you learn a lot, and find out details that you've missed out the first time round. But there is a kind of dread, as tiny details and the inevitabilty of the end of the book, stick out. It is an ending swamped with 'If Only's' and 'What If's'. There is so much blame, and things that could have been done to stop the end that crashes onwards like the a Hogwarts Express train. The only problem is that it's marked in writing, which is as good as it being written in stone (back to the brick imagery again).

I just hope, that like the Phoenix soaring from the flames on the book's cover, that there is stength from the awful events of this book. Afterall, it is "Love" that has always been Harry's greatest weapon against evil. And Dumbledore says at the end that this is a power greater than death, greater than the powers of Lord Voldemort himself.

There is nothing I can write here that stops the inevitable climax of this book, unfortunately. But it has been a kind of therapy for me. I know that sounds sad! Harry grows up no end in this book, increasing his understanding of magic, of relationships, of death, and of evil. He learns a new kind of strength in the ridicule from The Daily Prophet and all the insinuations that he is a liar. Although I liked this book and it was a good read, it is the kind of book that keeps you thinking about it for days afterwards. But although the message is hopeful there is a bitter aftertaste, and then there's the constant wait for the next book to make everything clearer.

Product details:
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Hardcover edition:
Published by Bloomsbury in June 2003, 766 pages
Original price: £16.99
Amazon price: £9.99

Paperback edition:
Published by Bloomsbury in July 2004, 766 pages
Original price: £7.99
Amazon price: £6.39 

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