Snape's House of Deceit (HBP Chapter 2, Spinner's End)

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! 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

This week it’s time to wrap our Order of the Phoenix re-read with Quizzitch Live, to test your knowledge of the fifth book! Special guest Barry of the Harry Potter podcast Retold joins us to host this Harry Potter trivia night. Listeners competed live against one another across seven rounds of Order of the Phoenix questions. Do you remember the book and movie as well as your fellow Muggles do? Play along and find out! Thanks again to Barry and to all of our listeners for joining in our live event, and a special thank you to those who support us on Patreon. Without you, we couldn't host trivia nights like this! Next week, we'll catch up on MuggleMail before proceeding onward to our Half-Blood Prince read-through in October! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Help MuggleCast grow! You have until September 18 to become a member at the Slug Club level to receive this year's incredible physical gift: The MuggleCast 20th Anniversary Yearbook! Pledge now at Patreon.com/mugglecast, and receive a slew of other great benefits instantly! Listeners can browse our official merch at MuggleCastMerch.com and pick up overstock items from years past at MuggleMillennial.Etsy.com! Another book, gone! This week we're wrapping up our Chapter by Chapter re-read of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It's a feel-good chapter that ties up a lot of loose ends and teases what's to come in the final two Harry Potter books! To celebrate the end of this re-read, we'll be hosting a Quizzitch LIVE themed around Order of the Phoenix this Thursday, September 18 at 7:30 PM ET! Don't miss it! A link will be available on social media. Welcome Slug Club guest Ivana! In the news: Harry Potter production designer Stuart Craig has passed away, so we look at the legacy he left on the franchise. Meanwhile, the upcoming Harry Potter audiobooks have announced several more big name starts joining its ranks. Game of Thrones fans will be pleased! Chapter by Chapter continues with Order of the Phoenix Chapter 38: The Second War Begins. Tying up loose ends: Fudge immediately fumbles how the Ministry is handling the return of Voldemort. What could they have done differently? We're impressed by how Dumbledore got Umbridge out of the forest, but how exactly did he do it? And should Ron have responded to Umbridge's attack in the way that he did? Harry is looking for some Sirius comfort, and finds some in Hagrid and Luna. There's also one line from Harry that is extremely relatable, especially as we age: “Whenever he was in company he wanted to get away, and whenever he was alone he wanted company.” Nearly-Headless Nick offers Harry some disappointing information, but it has us wondering why wizards choose not to return as a ghost after they pass. The Order decides to greet Harry at King's Cross... but why haven't they been there for Harry's previous journeys to and from Hogwarts? MVP of the Week: Who had the most meaningful moment with Harry in this chapter? Lynx Line: What would happen if the Order had to pay a visit the Dursleys because Vernon and Petunia were mistreating Harry? Participate in our weekly trivia segment by answering this week's Quizzitch question at MuggleCast.com/Quizzitch!  On Bonus MuggleCast, we celebrate Back to Hogwarts season by creating our OWN Hogwarts Houses! Let us know which of these new five are your favorite! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices