“Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.”
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling
As rankings go, at least so far during this Harry Potter rereadathon, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is one of the better books in the series. The Order of the Phoenix largely deals with propaganda waged by the Ministry of Magic and I recommend it to readers who are interested in fantasy with realistic political themes. Smear campaigns, propaganda, and government corruption are issues that will remain a large part of politics and the Order of the Phoenix stresses the importance of educating ourselves and questioning sources, the media and powerful authority figures in our digital age of click-bait and fake news.
I can’t help but wonder if willing students of History, Law, and Government and Politics enjoyed the Order of the Phoenix. This is, surprisingly, one of the less popular books in the Harry Potter series. Similarly, I find that many history enthusiasts, like myself, are major fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire series. This is my personal reflection, so I would love to hear your thoughts on whether the subjects we loved learning play a key factor in which book genres we consume.
Though the pacing was inconsistent at times and several themes were imperfectly and chaotically explored, rereading the Order of the Phoenix through an adult lens was enlightening. Simultaneously, it led me to question whether the themes were comprehensible for its target audience because, as a child, my unsophisticated mind did not, in the slightest, register the gravity of the politics being explored.
I had far too many thoughts on the Order of the Phoenix and this blog is basically my personal Pensieve, so get ready for some relentless rambling!
1. CHO DESERVES OUR SYMPATHY
Whenever I stumble upon a character assessment of Cho Chang, I encounter a high volume of venom directed at the grieving Cho. “She’s so weepy” is the common attack hurled at Cho and I find this line of reasoning devoid of any empathy. I think this calls for loud disapproval as I don’t believe that this is an appropriate message to send to anyone: that we should be ashamed of our emotions.
Cho Chang loses her boyfriend, Cedric Diggory, after he is murdered by Lord Voldemort. This is a very valid reason to cry… and cry a whole river. Given that we should all be mental health advocates, isn’t expressing emotion and grief valid especially given the circumstances that Cho is faced with? However, it is also important to understand why readers have adopted this attitude towards Cho Chang and these reasons are two-fold:
- Harry Potter considers it irritating
- Ginny Weasley isn’t “weepy”
Harry’s frustration with Cho for repeatedly breaking down in tears is more so in line with the fact that Harry is a classic male teenager who’s uncomfortable with and ill-equipped to deal with displays of intense emotion. Whichever character Harry is frustrated with should not be taken as the gospel truth of what is right and wrong.
Hermione Granger explains to Harry and Ron why Cho has been frequently emotional allowing us to see things from Cho’s perspective. Ron Weasley, on the other hand, understands that, realistically, Harry can only be attracted to whoever he is attracted to, and, for Harry, Cho Chang doesn’t match what Harry is looking for in a girlfriend.
Harry shouldn’t feel compelled to date Cho. He’s clearly suffered a lifetime of grief already at such a young age, and Ginny being more emotionally contained person enables Harry to attain and preserve the peace he so longs for. This doesn’t mean that Cho is, in any way, lacking and undeserving. No one is right or wrong here. Harry and Cho are simply incompatible. Ron and Hermione do wonderfully well here as a duo to teach us that we can be both empathetic and true to what we want.
2. HERMIONE V LUNA = HARD FACTS V WILD SPECULATIONS
Remember how I trashed Hermione Granger for trashing Luna Lovegood? Yeah, well, here I am… eating my words. I choose Hermione’s hard facts over Luna’s wild speculations.
What we saw here, dear readers, for those of us who are MBTI enthusiasts, is Ti (introverted thinking) v Te (extraverted thinking). Ti users (Luna Lovegood) seek accuracy and, as a result, find it difficult to rule out, well, a lot and are prone to avoiding generalisations. Whereas, high Te users (Hermione Granger) prefer to deal with solid proof and hard facts. They are efficient and prefer making fast judgements which is necessary for law and order. For me, or anyone, to ask Hermione to be open-minded to wild theories is akin to demanding Hermione to play pretty with conspiracy theories.
Hermione attacks Luna’s ideas, but she doesn’t *hate* her. Hermione and Luna approach logic in two wildly different ways, so it was only natural that they would butt heads. I completely understand Hermione’s frustration with Luna (that Tert-Te, people), but I still appreciate Luna’s openness to new ideas and theories.
3. REALISING THAT I DO ACTUALLY RELATE TO HERMIONE GRANGER
Books and social awkwardness aside, there are a lot of other things about Hermione that I find myself relating to. Tactless? Oh, yeah, I definitely can be when I no longer value what someone stands for. Stubborn? As a goat. Confrontational and passionate? Oh, where do I start (but may I add that I have learned some lessons in decorum and grace)? Loves a good debate? My family have been, unsuccessfully, trying to get me to be quiet for years.
Here is my moral quandary: Hermione Granger is J. K. Rowling’s self-insert and, to be frank, JKR gives me the heebie-jeebies. There are a lot of questionable things that Hermione does post-Prisoner of Azkaban which went unchallenged (except by Cho Chang). My primary concern is that J. K. Rowling is too sure of her own self-righteousness to hold her self-insert accountable. She’s too close to the picture to deliver character growth to Hermione believing herself incapable of ever being morally compromised.
Rowling gives me major Dumb Daenerys vibes. We’ve cheered her on for so long that she believes that she is the only one who knows what is good and nobody else gets to choose. In contrast, though George R. R. Martin sees the young version of himself in Daenerys for all the privileges of luxury and wealth that was taken away from him, he does not spare Daenerys for her faults. In short, George R. R. Martin did to Daenerys Targaryen what J. K. Rowling failed to do with Hermione Granger.
Hermione Granger is one of my favourite characters during this Harry Potter rereadathon because I can’t not root for a character who reminds me of me, but neither will I justify Hermione’s darker moments. Hermione is an inspirational character, but she has her fair share of troubling flaws too. Fleur Delacour and Sirius Black are the two other relatable characters. I love Fleur for her high standards and for her ability to graciously accept her own shortcomings, and I love Sirius because much of his trajectory in life is similar to mine – total douche in our teens who later develop a better moral conscience… but not exactly perfect either, and perpetually restless and easily bored.
4. A NEW DRINKING GAME COURTESY OF HARRY POTTER
I propose a new drinking game: every time Harry Potter says, “Er,” you have to take a shot. And for my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters, down that chilli pepper. Don’t look at me all incredulous, we are the spice, the drama, the garam masala, we can handle it just fine.
What are your thoughts on Cho? Is the fandom too harsh on her? What do you think of the Hermione v Luna beef? Have your thoughts on J. K. Rowling changed? Will you take on the Harry Potter drinking/all spice challenge? Let me know in the comments!
Sophia Ismaa
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Sofearless 
WOW, amazed how you broke this down.
You gave it great thought.
Bravo
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Thank you! 🙂
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😂 I have to admit I never realised the relationship between Luna and Hermione as far ad I was concerned the one thing they had in common:
They know Harry Potter.
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It was really funny because they’re so different! I used to think it was deep animosity between the pair when I read it when I was young, but now I realise it’s just harmless difference of opinions between the two. But I completely understand Hermione, facts over speculation all day every day!
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They’re both very unique characters in their own way
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I agree with you. Cho was annoying because she was annoying to Harry. We have to remember that while the book is in 3rd person, Harry is the lens through which we’re seeing this world, and for a teenager, Cho would be really annoying. The required level of empathy usually comes by later in life. But yeah, Cho and Harry were fundamentally wrong for each other, so I’m glad they didn’t end the books together.
As for JK, the words “trying too hard” come to mind every time she drops a new bit of fan service on Twitter. I liked the books, and I’ll probably always like them, but I’ve stopped following all of the new fanfictions of her own work when it seemed like she was trying to backpedal and pretend the stories were more inclusive than they actually were.
And I don’t drink or eat peppers, so I guess I’ll sit out the challenge lol
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Very true! I didn’t think of it like that. We kinda have to mature a little bit before we try and see where characters are coming from, but I found it odd on my part because I never saw Cho as being ‘weepy’ and ‘annoying’ – I wouldn’t say it’s down to maturity either, just critical thinking. I do find that quite a lot of adults do still hold on to that view even if it’s incongruent to mental health advocacy, but I guess that’s what this post is for, lol. I’m glad Cho chose a muggle instead, reading the series now, our world seems a bit nicer!
She definitely comes across as performative. One thing I do understand that she may not simply have the capacity to write books that demonstrate inclusion and present good diversity rep, it’s not every writer forte, she may end up doing more harm than good.
That sounds like it’s good for your health! How about doing a burpee instead? Or a jumping jack? Might be more trouble than it’s worth.
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I’ve only seen a little of the Harry Potter movies and I like stories that are made well. But is a dragon part of this story? I believe that the leviathan in the bible from Job 41: 1-34., was a dragon. I also believe the behemoth from Job 40: 15-24 was a kind of dinosaur. Take care now.
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Not one, not two, but four dragons! But that’s Goblet of Fire. This one has centaurs and giants. 🙂 I have no idea! Perhaps I should look into it.
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Thank you. I enjoyed reading Milestone. More people will open up in time. Take care now.
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I hope so, and I hope no one will call us “damaged”.
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Thank you.
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I always enjoy how you break down a book. Honestly, this is one of my least favorites of the series. I detest politics and like you said, this book is about propaganda and so forth. Okay NGL I was one of those people that thought Cho was annoying haha. But reading it as an adult, I have so much sympathy for her. Her boyfriend died ffs and Harry’s trying to make a move on her while she’s grieving. Luna is loveliness personified. I can’t hate on her just because the way she perceives the world is different from the way I do. A shot every time he says “er” lmao. Girl, you trying to give us alcohol poisoning?? Haha
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I LOVE politics though it gives me a headache sometimes, and I was delighted to see how well OotP covered it, but I don’t know how much of it registered because it is politics and usually it isn’t of interest… though I think Gen Z would enjoy exploring this more given our current political climate, we can’t ignore politics (I think our generation had it slightly more easy in that we could avoid politics without it affecting us).
I think it’s just one of those things that as you mature, we gain more perspective and compassion! But, you know, I’ve always liked Cho – she’s lovely, smart and brave, she’s pretty much a very well-rounded character and a friend we’d all love to have! Paha, I didn’t even think of it that way, Harry making a move at such a bizarre time, but they’re both young & sorta clueless when it comes to relationships.
And most of what Luna believes is harmless except for that Snorcack, but what were the chances of it blowing up lol!
LOOL. I love how Daniel Radcliffe also had a signature Harry face where that Er was completely present on his face. I don’t know how I could do a Harry impression without saying “Er”, it’s just not possible.
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Ah, true. To say I hate politics because it doesn’t affect me is a privilege. And you’re right, our generation had it kind of easy. Kids these days are so politically active, it’s amazing! I detest politics lol but at this point, I have the “I vote for future generations not myself” mentality. Which is something I wish the damn baby boomers would do! Because my goodness. The ish they elect into office…
Poor Harry had no game lmao
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Oh, no way, you have to vote for yourself too as well as for the younger generations! I agree, I wish the much older generations applied this kind of reasoning. Baby boomers really have it in for us millennials. Old-fashioned values, but I think they’re also pissed at us for daring to dream & not take s***, I wonder if a lot of their hatred towards us is then projecting their insecurities.
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Idk. Boomers are the ones that gave us the civil rights movement and the counter-culture. They were liberal as heck. Now they’re all super conservative asshats that think only of themselves. Their privilege made them sell-out their ideals.
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Oh, yeah, that’s true. I didn’t think of it that way. They did give us that. Hmm. And I think that boomer mentality kind of applies to some older POC generations as well sadly, I’ve seen so many sell out/abandon their own now they’re all cushty.
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