The Wildcat's Den

I just thought of this hilarious image concerning things in Deathly Hallows. Some spoilers:

It's the wrong reference, but who cares?

Finished "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" last night at midnight.  It's been a crazy weekend - full of laughing, crying, shouting, confusion and the list continues.  And all this happened without leaving my bedroom which I was barricaded in all weekend (my new roommate thinks I'm mad, but there you are).


To my flist (especially those who aren't as nutty about HP as I am): Someday I may finally have something other than Harry Potter to discuss.  Thanks for putting up with it, though.

I was going to wait to do this, but Leaky posted one last news item from JKRowling.com.  It's a note from Jo acknowledging all the amazing people that got her to this point (and if I could link directly to her note, I would.  You go to Jo's website, click on the pink eraser on her desk.  That takes you to a closed door that usually has a "Do Not Disturb" sign on it, but the sign is gone.  Click the handle and the door opens to reveal a desk with a piece of paper on it.  Click the paper and read the note.  The Lexicon might have it up later, who knows?).  It humbles me that someone so wonderful and talented will come up with a letter to everyone who's helped her and it's even more awesome that she included her oldest daughter the way that she did.

I've been trying to come up with a meaningful way to express what I'm feeling right now.  On the one hand, I've been waiting for this since I was a goofy high school sophomore.  I want there to be closure to Harry's story - whether that bodes well or ill.  Then again, I don't want the experience to end either.

I have known Harry through what I call my "Formative Years" - through high school and college (some of us are late bloomers).  When I was first introduced to Harry, I was a shy little geek without a driver's license that wouldn't take a chance on anything.  I wouldn't stick up for myself or the people/things I love and am loyal to.  I was content to go wherever the wind took me and, looking back, I would not have been happy where I would have ended up (on a lighter note, I could hardly run the internet before Harry).  But now, all of that has changed to one degree or another.  I've learned that I love writing stories as well as reading them.  I've learned that I can have an opinion and a belief system that may not be popular with the rest of the world.  I've learned to stick up for myself and those I love because it's the right thing to do.  I've learned that it's okay to make mistakes (as long as Dumbledore likes it and he'll reward your house with a million points ^_^)  In short, I find myself echoing Melissa Anelli of the Leaky Cauldron: Before Harry, there was nothing brave about me.  After Harry, I work every day to be a deserving member of the House of Gryffindor.

Harry has been with me in my joys and triumphs and also my letdowns.  My good days were made better by the influence of Harry Potter and my bad days were made less bad by the examples Harry and his friends provide.  From the books to the movies to the websites to the podcasts to the nutty fan discussions to the disagreements to the midnights of release date insanity - I have found things that make me happy and things that I've applied in my life that have made me a better person.

There are precious few things that have come along in my life that have made such an impact and Harry Potter is one of them.  Because of Harry, I have gained the confidence to tackle things that I would probably would have otherwise avoided.  I have made so many good friends and acquaintances that I wouldn't have known.  I'm not saying that I credit Harry Potter 100% with everything good in my life, but he's responsible for a substantial portion of it.  If I had to make a list, it would go: Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, Mom and Dad, Family, Friends, Harry Potter, Everything Else (considering what Everything Else entails, trust me, that's substantial).

In conclusion, as I was coming home last night, I was listening to the "Wicked" soundtrack and a song came on that I felt was perfect to express what I want to say.  If I could send out a song dedication to Harry Potter and Jo Rowling, this would be it.  It's called "For Good":

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you:

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good

It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend:
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you:

Because I knew you:

I have been changed for good

And just to clear the air
I ask forgiveness
For the things I've done you blame me for

But then, I guess we know
There's blame to share

And none of it seems to matter anymore

Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes the sun.
Like a stream the meets a boulder halfway through the wood.

Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea.
Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood.

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
I do believe I have been changed for the better?

And because I knew you:

Because I knew you:

Because I knew you:
I have been changed for good.

I am grateful for my aunt and uncle recommending Harry Potter to our family all those years ago.  I'm grateful for a lazy summer day in August 2000 where I saw a little unopened paperback book sitting on the bookshelf in the basement.  I'm grateful that I was prompted to open that little book and read "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four Privet Drive..."  I'm grateful for everything that has happened to me since and I am honored to have grown up with Harry and tagged along for all his adventures.  Even though the fandom and friendships will continue, the journey ends tonight and, while I'm sure many tears will be shed, I am grateful for everything it has meant to me.

"With you whatever happens."

See you on the flip side.

Love from,
Jenny Wildcat
July 20, 2007

PS, As of right now, my internet existence is null and void (what with Potter parties to attend and books to read and such).  I'll probably be back on Monday with a greater understanding of the universe ^_~

Subject line adapted from PotterCast's most recent anti-spoiler plea (and it looks like Leaky is broken, so I can't put a link to the specific post, but trust me, it's there).

I never thought it would happen to me, but I have had spoiler attempt after spoiler attempt on my life since yesterday morning.

Attempt #1: Some a****** thought it would be funny to post spoilers in my LJ comments (see yesterday's post for more info).  Luckily, they were only links to possible spoilers and not the spoilers themselves.  Perpetrator was banned and reported to the proper authorities.  Privacy settings on my LJ go through the roof in order to keep my DH-virgin eyes that way until July 21 (I've always been paranoid, but now I have an excuse).

The Harry Potter Read-A-Long community (read_hp) posted about banning other LJ Death Eater wannabes who get their sadistic kicks from ruining the endings of books.  They provided usernames, which I promptly added to my Banned User list.  This community and The Leaky Cauldron are the only two HP-related websites that have been proven to be spoiler-free (MuggleNet lost that distinction over the weekend, apparently - I'm just glad I dropped their sorry cans a long time ago).  I'm thanking the Powers That Be for Leaky, but it looks like their credible reputation is working against them since the site is down.  I guess they're about the only ones who won't post spoilers, so those who need their cyber HP fix are overloading the dock.  Sigh...

Attempt #2: Yahoo! News (of "OMG Harry Kisses a GURL!" headline fame) had a front-page blurb about DH spoilers abound on the web.  If I didn't knew Hotmail was just as bad (what do you expect from people who still think the Live Earth circus is relevant news?), I would switch over.  Anyway, I don't use Yahoo for news flashes.

Attempt #3: This was a completely innocent incident, but I blame Fate and no one else.  While my sister was a work yesterday, one of her co-workers was sifting through some HP spoilers on a website and they were all discussing them and how real they could possibly be (my sister claims that this co-worker usually surfs MuggleNet and that's how they found the spoilers.  I promptly told her that MN isn't worth the powder it'd take to blow it to hell - as Grandpa would put it).  Anywho, Emily said that they didn't think the spoilers were real because they just didn't seem plausible.  They were set up in a system that said "On page X, A, B and C happen," except Emily told me what A, B and C were.
    From what they were, I'm inclined to believe it was fanfic passed off as real, but I explained to her that this was just as bad as posting real spoilers.  Plus, she said some of the page numbers were up into the mid-800s, and we know for a fact that Deathly Hallows is 700-some odd pages long.  But I can't get what she told me out of my head and I'm hoping (HOPING) that it wasn't real spoilers.

Case for DH Innocence #1: Jo Rowling has updated the Diary section of her website.  It's not quite debunking the BS that's out there, but it makes me feel better (if it comes from Jo about HP, then it's legitimate - if we can't trust Jo, we're all screwed).

Two-point-five days until the party begins!  I can do this.

ONE LAST THING TO WOULD-BE SPOILER FOLKS: It pains me that I have to keep repeating myself because I really hate doing it.  Then again, the smartest person in the room often has to (especially when the room is full of retards): I know people who know people.  You spoil me and a Crucio curse will feel like a warm summer breeze.  And if posting spoilers is how you get off, I would highly suggest you get a girl- or boyfriend so they can tell you how much of a jackass you are.  Heavens knows your mother won't do it for you (if she did, she would have kicked you out of the house twenty years ago when you turned 18).

I have no kind words for idiots.  Never could do it.

EDIT: And that DH spoiler spotlight LJ has on the main page is driving me nuts.  Not that I wasn't already.

EDIT #2: Leaky is back and reporting that Jo's lawyers are on the case. HA, TAKE THAT YOU MEANIE BUTTS! (it's what my little cousin calls 'em...)  Woot for fans owling in and for practicing CONSTANT VIGILANCE (*does a happy victory dance and is pleased to have been part of the effort*)
    But one question, couldn't the lawyers start with the press (i.e. the Times) that is reprinting these spoilers?  They're just as bad!  Kudos to Leaky for not providing the link and only quoting what's relevant to us fans.

EDIT #3: Also, I've heard to avoid DeviantArt, since people there aren't very sensitive to the No-Spoiler rule either.  Sheesh, this is like season 3 of "24."

Stupid little me got thinking and then I got all nostalgic and sentimental (but not so weepy this time - saving that for next week).  I didn't go to bed until about 12:15 am and then it hit me:

This time next week, I will have a copy of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' in my hot little mitts.

I've been an obsessive Harry Potter fan since I was fifteen.  Back then, I was a tall, scrawny dweeb with glasses and a retainer.  I was the little grunt for the yearbook staff and I didn't even have my driver's license yet.  I read the first three Harry Potter books the summer before my sophomore year and read Goblet of Fire the first day of school (my mom surprised us with a copy after we got home).  I then spent the next three years going nuts with waiting for the fifth book and getting even more and more obsessive.  Two more years, and Half-Blood Prince was out (as was the old wizard).  Most of my obsession has been fueled by the Internet and forcing my friends to go to midnight showings and releases with me.  None of them are insane about this as I am.  Only this past year did I meet someone with whom I could relate:  shellic and I became roommates my last year of college and I finally had a fellow Potterholic to pal around with in real life.

So now, we're in the home stretch.  All the theorizing, all the discussion, all the movies, all the fandom-ness is down to these last seven days (In my case: seven years spent waiting for seven days before the seventh book - 07-07-07 weddings, eat your heart out).

It's 5:00 in the afternoon right now.  If I do Deathly Hallows the way I did Order of the Phoenix, I will probably have finished with the book this time next week.  That's how it goes with waiting for something big: you always spend more time waiting than you do actually enjoying the experience (Goblet of Fire: Harry says that the days leading up to the First Task in the Triwizard Tournament were much worse than actually going at it with the dragon).

I don't know when something this amazing and awesome will come around again, so I have to gush for a minute: I have been greatly inspired by Jo Rowling and the Harry Potter books.  I have branched out into other genres and I have learned to think about things in different ways.  Without Harry Potter, I might not have majored in English and I might not enjoy writing the way I do.  The theorizing has helped me learn to synthesize information and not treat information in a vacuum.  But most importantly, I have made friends and enjoyed myself and enjoyed life the way I think few people ever get to enjoy.  Harry Potter is one of my wide and varied interests, but it's a big part of the fun I have.  I've learned to be braver than I ever was before and I've learned to stand up for myself.  I've learned that heroes are flawed and I've learned how to defend people and things that I love.  It's not "just" the books that have done this - it's how I internalized what I love and subconsciously made it a part of me.

Whatever happens next week - whoever dies, whoever lives, whoever is on the good side, whatever turns out to be a Horcrux, whatever theories turn out to be true, it's been a fun and wacky ride, not to mention very soul-enriching.

Let the final countdown begin!

Back in the day, I used to be really into filking songs for Harry Potter themes.  I found one that I wrote for the Leaky Lounge two years ago for the release of "Half-Blood Prince."  The discussion was prompted because someone had a gallon of milk in their fridge that expired on July 16, 2005 (HBP's release date) and they all started talking about how they wanted their milk to expire so they could have the book.  Geeky-nerdiness ensued and inspiration followed.  Now we're in the home stretch for Deathly Hallows, it would be appropriate to haul it out of mothballs and polish it up (it's the last chance I'll have to use this, so shut up):

Curdle Now

To the tune of “Better Now” by Collective Soul

SCENE: Potterholics peruse their refrigerators in search of milk that will expire on or around July 21, 2007.  Once they find it, they serenade it in some kind of weird-rock-and-roll-ish-joy.

Oh, you're newly Pasteurized
All tasty and clean
Expires on the twenty-first?
Time for you to turn green

When “Hallows” comes out, you’re thrown out
You’ve got to curdle now
I wanna shout out, want to spit out
Oh, please just curdle now

I’ll be happy as Gilderoy
With another book sold
Stand in my position
And think thoughts of mold

It’s no hard feelings, but I’m still waiting
I want you to curdle now
In sixteen* days, I’ve come a long way
Oh, please just curdle now

This milk’s done drinking
When book seven's sitting
In my little hot mittens now
(Repeat until the end of the song with “curdle now” repeated in the background)

*Because I updated this on July 5, 2007; Any number is acceptable as we get closer to July 21 (once you get to the mono-syllabic numbers, you can add "long" as a second syllable (example, when there's nine days left, it'll be "In nine long days," you get the idea)

Behold the geek!! (What can I say? I don't make icons).

Love from,
Jenny Wildcat

PS, Emily and I had a nice little text message chat (she was at work) and all is well with the world, FYI. Thanks for the concern.

I just don't use this icon enough :3

Been watching old Animaniacs episodes on TV Links and LMAO at them.  Talk about childhood revisited.  Yakko was always my favorite ("Justice is not blind - she's crosseyed"), but Slappy Squirrel is awesome.  I love the ep where she has to deal with her nephew getting all emotional and crap over "Bumbie's" (as opposed to "Bambi") mother getting shot in the movie.  Pure gold.

Yesterday was interesting.  I got home late from the Kenny Chesney concert the night before (more on that later), but I have to be at work at 8:00 in the morning.  I basically spent the day doing data entry and also passing off a few low-maintenance edits.  4:15 finally rolled around and I came home and passed out on the bed - intending it to only be 30 minutes at most.  So guess what happens at 8:00?  I finally wake up from the Power Nap to end all power naps.  It didn't stop me from sleeping in until 10:30 this morning and taking another nap this afternoon (this one was thirty minutes, though).  Eh... what's a weekend if you don't relax, right?

Oh yeah, the Kenny Chesney "Flip-Flop Summer" tour concert.  I ended up taking my sister adjie.  My dad wanted me to find a date, but not in this neighborhood.  Anyway, the concert was amazing.  I'd never been to a concert this big before and this was at the outdoor Usana Amphitheatre.  Kenny played all his really awesome songs ("You Save Me" is starting to grow on me, seeing as how that's the song that I won the tickets on).  And the logo for the tour was made of win - it was a "Pirates of the Caribbean" type skull and crossbones (except they were guitars) with a cowboy hat.  I got pictures, but since I'm not rich enough to spring for a digital camera, they're on my disposable camera, which will have to wait until after all the "Harry Potter" hoopla is over and I can get them developed.  Captain Jack Sparrow (not Johnny Depp, though.  Rats) even made a short appearance in the pre-concert gearing-up-for-awesomeness video, but he didn't say "Why's the run gone?" which I was hoping he would since they didn't make it any secret that a rum company was sponsoring the tour (that would have been extremely funny).

"How Forever Feels" was great live, as was "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy."  I didn't realize I knew as many Kenny Chesney songs as I did, but I sang along to all of them.  The best part (IMHO) was when he sang "Back Where I Come From" and they played a montage of all the big Salt Lake City landmarks.  The whole crowd went nuts when they showed the Salt Lake Temple, the Delta Center with the Stockton-Malone statues (I refuse to call it EnergySolutions Thingy) and then there was Rice-Eccles Stadium with it's "Home of the University of Utah Utes" and "Real Salt Lake" banners, BUT they zoomed in on the "Home of the Utes" and ignored the soccer whatever.  Without insinuating anything that'll get me shot (or sent to Venezuela), that did my heart good. :P

If there was a complaint to be made, it's two things: ONE - Parking at Usana is a bitch.  It's on gravel (which, if your going to host a concert touted as "Flip-Flop Summer," wouldn't you assume people are going to wear the appropriate footwear and actually have some kind of surfacing they can walk on without impaling their feet?) and there are only, like, three entrances for cars to get into.  20,000+ people can fit in the amphitheatre, so they have to get home somehow.  I was a little aggressive trying to get out, so I got home about 1:00 am, but some people were sitting in that parking lot after the concert for THREE FRECKIN' HOURS.  Oy vay.  TWO - If you are a girl who's little on the hefty side, please, do NOT wear a size 2 tube top.  That in itself is bad enough, but then you start dancing to the music?  It ain't no Flip-Flop Summer no more.  More like a Flub-Flab Summer.  And maybe even something more not-PG-rated.  (yes, that was my lame attempt at humor.  I failed miserably).

July starts tomorrow and you know what that means?  21 days until Deathly Hallows!  I'm not as excited for the Order of the Phoenix movie, but it'll do for a start-up.  I never did write that Scribbulus essay about my insanely brilliant theory, but I did write it down.  No one can steal it!  I'll post it up here later, though.

Aaaand... Granddaddy Godric is jkrowling.com's Wizard of the Month (hey, if Sue Upton can claim to be related to Helga Hufflepuff, then I can claim to be Gryffindor's great-great-some-odd-granddaughter ^_^)

Wow, for spending a day doing nothing of redeeming value, this is quite the post.

Love from,
Jenny Wildcat

Deathly Hallows deluxe cover art, ahoy!!



First, I thought "Wow, another dragon!", but then I thought to look at the background, especially the village below.  It's very rural (note the farm fields on the left) and I think the pointy building on the bank of the river is a church.  It isn't Hogsmeade, b/c there's no giant castle around.  I think it's either Little Hangleton or Godric's Hollow.

The dragon seems pretty old.  I'm guessing it's blind and the whiskers around it's face are grey.  And it's wings are pretty worn, which could show some kind of age, unless the Trio was attacked along with the dragon (they don't look so great themselves).

I'm also wondering what kind of dragon this is (could it be Norbert? How fast do dragons age, anyway?)  The HP Lexicon says that the Antipodean Opaleye's eye has no pupil and it's multicolored (look at the high-res and it could be), but that dragon is native to New Zealand and Australia.  I don't think that the Trio is going that far away.  Norwegian Ridgeback (aka Norbert) has horns, but they're supposed to be bronze and this one's back isn't spiky enough.  Common Welsh Green?  Well, this one's an earthy color and the info I have doesn't say anything about horns and such (of course, I wouldn't have "Fantastic Beasts" handy when I need it, now would I? - the Lexicon doesn't have all of FB on the site because Jo wrote it for charity and who would buy a reference book when all the info is free online?).  The mystery continues...

What intrigues me (and makes me a little nervous at the same time) is that this dragon is probably very important to the story, being as it is on the cover (Arthur Levine's comment, notwithstanding) and I'm also anticipating Fawkes the Phoenix to be important as well.  The reason this makes me nervous is that I'm in the process of writing a story that also places importance on phoenixes and dragons, thought the phoenix comes first and is of higher importance.  Then again, a lot of stories use dragons and phoenixes, so I probably shouldn't worry.

And here I thought that all the exciting Deathly Hallows-related things had already happened and the next step would be July 21.  Silly me.

Love from,
Jenny Wildcat

Let's see if can get the latest DH countdown from Leaky to post here:

Run your mouse over the book and see how fast you can get the thing to spin (it's not like you're doing anything until July 21, right?)

Love from,
Jenny Wildcat

I finally got the quiz completed and here is my button (wait for it... it's coming... someday...):



More to come later!