Scout the Route! (OOTP Chapter 7, The Ministry of Magic)

Help MuggleCast grow! Join us at Patreon.com/mugglecast, and receive a slew of great benefits instantly, including bonus episodes, recording studio access, ad-free episodes, and much more! Listeners can browse our official merch at MuggleCastMerch.com and pick up overstock items from years past at MuggleMillennial.Etsy.com, now more affordable than ever! This week, get ready to apparate to the charming village of Budleigh Babberton - but keep your wands at the ready because something is afoot! Join Andrew, Eric, Micah and Laura as they attempt to find... and recruit an old friend out of retirement! Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Half-Blood Prince Chapter 4: Horace Slughorn The MuggleCast Pensieve segment, highlighting our last discussion of this chapter on MuggleCast #381, features some raspberry jam analysis! Why don’t Dumbledore and Harry simply Apparate into Slughorn’s home? Should Harry have so willingly trusted that Dumbledore was, in fact, Dumbledore, given the danger and uncertainty of the times? What do we think of Dumbledore’s plan to use Harry to lure Slughorn back to Hogwarts—is it clever strategy or subtle manipulation? What does it say about Slughorn that he isn’t aligned with Voldemort, yet refuses to take a stand against him? Slughorn “The Collector” is one of the most morally gray Slytherins of the series How does Slughorn’s casual bigotry—his need to say “You musn't think I'm prejudiced!”—reveal a subtler form of bias in the wizarding world? Does Slughorn’s “collector” mentality mirror real-world networking culture? Isn't the Slug Club just Hogwarts’ version of a professional society? MVP: What's the best perk Slughorn gets from his Slug Club alumni? Lynx Line: Patreons tell us about a talent/accomplishment that would get them recruited to the Slug Club! Participate in our weekly trivia segment by answering this week’s Quizzitch question at MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Help MuggleCast grow! Join us as our patron at Patreon.com/mugglecast, and receive a slew of great benefits instantly, including more than 60 hours of bonus episodes, 30 hours of chapter readings, and much, much more! Listeners can browse our official merch at MuggleCastMerch.com and pick up overstock items from years past at MuggleMillennial.Etsy.com, now more affordable than ever! This week, join us as we witness Albus Dumbledore welcoming himself into the Dursley's perfect kept home. It's the depants-ing we've been waiting for! Plus, we look at why Dumbledore decided to take care of the Kreacher business in front of the Dursleys, if Albus had any right criticizing the parenting of Dudley, and more. Welcome back to the show, Meg! Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Half-Blood Prince Chapter 3: Will and Won't The MuggleCast Pensieve segment, highlighting our last discussion of this chapter on MuggleCast #380, features a Kreacher possibility. Harry's back! And he's ever more undignified than ever. From flower beds to pigstys, is our hero losing his cool factor? What's the beef between Albus Dumbledore and Rufus Scrimgeour that the Prophet is eluding to? It may have been hinted at already. Do we approve of the Ministry's guidebook for protecting oneself during the current era? Why didn't Harry believe Dumbledore was going to show? Does this has to do with Dumbledore's treatment of Harry in the last book? Why are the Dursleys awake and cleaning at 11pm? Dumbledore goes hard against the Dursleys. Finally! But why did it take this long for them to meet, and for Albus to depants them? MVP: What is the most effective guideline from the Ministry? Lynx Line: If Dumbledore could’ve left a Yelp review for the Dursleys, what would it say? Participate in our weekly trivia segment by answering this week’s Quizzitch question at MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Help MuggleCast grow! Join us as our patron at Patreon.com/mugglecast, and receive a slew of great benefits instantly, including more than 60 hours of bonus recordings, 30 hours of chapter readings, and much, much more! Listeners can browse our official merch at MuggleCastMerch.com and pick up overstock items from years past at MuggleMillennial.Etsy.com! This week, join us as we wind our way to Spinner's End and throw ourselves at the mercy of everyone's (least) favorite Potions Master. Grab a tall glass of elf-made bloodred wine and toast the Dark Lord because its unlikely you'll make it out of this chapter without making an Unbreakable Vow. Welcome back, Irvin! Check out his new book Malfoy: The Most Treacherous Family, which is available now! Potter TV Show News: Our first look at John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore! Chapter-by-Chapter continues with Half-Blood Prince Chapter 2: Spinner's End We analyze Snape's decision to remain in his childhood home. Could it be because of Lily? And why is it such bad shape? The Sisterhood of Bellatrix and Narcissa: do the two actually care for each other? Would Bellatrix rather be right or wrong about Snape's loyalty?  Snape vs. Bellatrix: we're here for snarky, sassy Severus Snape! Snape’s allegiance: do we recall how we felt when first reading this chapter? Could there be trouble in paradise with Voldemort and Bellatrix? Did Narcissa manipulate Snape during the final step of the Unbreakable Vow? MVP: Who’s the better chess master - Snape or Dumbledore? Lynx Line: Snape’s childhood home is clearly a little drab - if Snape’s home were the subject of a home makeover show, what would it be called? Participate in our weekly trivia segment by answering this week’s Quizzitch question at MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Help MuggleCast grow! Join us as our patron at Patreon.com/mugglecast, and receive a slew of great benefits instantly, including more than 60 hours of bonus recordings, 30 hours of chapter readings, and much, much more! Listeners can browse our official merch at MuggleCastMerch.com and pick up overstock items from years past at MuggleMillennial.Etsy.com! That new assistant named Kingsley is a high performer! This week we're starting our Chapter by Chapter re-read of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and discussing all the problems that Cornelius Fudge has just dumped on the British Prime Minister's doorstep. It's a rare Harry-less chapter this week, titled "The Other Minister." News: Congratulations to SIR Gary Oldman! (He really puts the Sir in Sirius) Chapter by Chapter continues with Half-Blood Prince Chapter 1: The Other Minister Where were the hosts when the sixth Potter book came out? It was only 3 weeks shy of MuggleCast's first episode! The MuggleCast Time-Turner segment is now the MuggleCast Pensieve! It's Book-6-themed and, this week, flashing back to MuggleCast #376, from July 16, 2018! The hosts compare favorite chapters and discuss this is one of them. The poor British PM believes the chaos was his to own, only to find out that the wizards are at fault for all of it! Do wizards have a superiority complex? It sure seems like it, around the Muggle PM. Is this chapter tied to a particular politician or administration from years past, when the book was set? Or perhaps when it was written? The hosts speculate. Is the portrait of the "frog-like" man (Umbridge's dad?) a privacy concern for the Muggles? MVP of the Week: Who was the best working man in this chapter? Lynx Line: What event from human history was magical in origin, but was covered up between the two governments? Participate in our weekly trivia segment by answering this week's Quizzitch question at MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch!  On Bonus MuggleCast, we discuss the newly released album art for the upcoming full cast production audiobooks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Help MuggleCast grow! Become a MuggleCast Member and get great benefits like Bonus MuggleCast! Patreon.com/MuggleCast  Listeners can browse our official merch at MuggleCastMerch.com and pick up overstock items from years past at MuggleMillennial.Etsy.com! On this week's episode, we're as excited as Dedalus Diggle bumping into Vernon Dursley after Voldemort's downfall, as we bust open our Muggle Mailbag to hear directly from YOU - our listeners! Filming News: We react to new behind-the-scenes footage from around Little Whinging before and after the first downfall of Voldemort. It's our Order of the Phoenix Muggle Mail episode! How will HBO adapt lengthy books like Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince for the new Harry Potter TV show? Is eight episodes truly enough? Why didn't Voldemort choose to become a ghost? Were Arthur Weasley's early career ambitions derailed by the Imperius Curse? We Declare Canon: Crookshanks is the Potter's cat! Listeners make the case for and against ♥️ Voldemort & Bellatrix ♥️ How did the Diary Horcrux have knowledge of Voldemort's future self? And by the way... does the basilisk ever eat? We're concerned about its diet. Lynx Line:  With the new Harry Potter audiobooks on the horizon, we asked supporters on Patreon to take a line from one of their favorite characters in Order of the Phoenix or Half-Blood Prince and submit their best impression! AND THEY DO NOT DISAPPOINT! Participate in our weekly trivia segment by answering this week's Quizzitch question at MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices