Chapter 3: The Burrow
In chapter three of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets a trio of Weasley’s do one of the most badass things a youth can do and steal their father’s illegal flying car, fly it across the countryside, and break Harry out of Dursley prison. We are reminded that the twins are hilarious and prone to breaking the law, and that Ronald Bilius Weasley is Harry’s ride-or-die.
(Please be advised that this is a reread and I will be discussing book and movie spoilers.)
I take a moment to reflect on the fact that the Harry/George/Fred friendship is seriously undervalued. They help a little unknown first year with his trunk his first time on the train, and from then on it skyrockets into breaking and entering a Muggle’s home and tearing bars off a window, and let’s not forget the special hell of helping a friend move.
Yes ok, Harry owns about three belongings so it’s not that much of a move and the twins didn’t have to lug collections of pinned insects and bins of worn out sweatshirts up about three flights of stairs, but I have feels still for the FW/GW/HP friendship. Harry almost forgets Hedwig, who immediately begins plotting revenge.
We get some Malfoy family backstory on Daddy Malfoy’s involvement with Voldemort when Fred and George speculate on who could be rich enough to own a house elf, and giving Harry some food for thought that perhaps he shouldn’t have trusted Dobby at his word. In retrospect, it’s amusing that they’ve already figured out that Dobby belongs to the Malfoy family about two seconds after he appears, even if they don’t realize it. We get another tiny red herring thrown into the midst, when George mentions the odd fact that Percy’s locked himself in his room all summer (spoiler it’s cause he’s doing this)
We also learn about Arthur Weasley, a man who’s job is described as “boring” by his own sons yet made a magical flying car and has to deal with beserker tea pots attacking Muggles like this is boring, Weasley bros?
Molly shows up to yell at her reckless sons for illegally flying a car while interjecting love towards Harry and we get our first look at The Burrow, Ron’s home, which is wacky and lopsided and tiny, and warm and loving and perfect to someone like Harry and me. Not only is the house cozy, but Mrs. Weasley does something absolutely wild, total lunacy right Aunt Petty and feeds Harry. GASP! What a novel idea! Feeding a child in your charge!
Ginny shows up to goggle awkwardly at Harry and Mrs. Weasley says in the movies an incredibly weird line that is never explained and is treated like normal
What cat? The Weasley’s even have a cat? it wears a jumper? A human sized jumper? No one thinks this is weird? Is the Weasley cat Salem Saberhagen, bent on world destruction?
No wonder Ginny runs off in terror at this thought.
Also, can we pour one out for poor Ginny Weasley here, who’s humiliated by having her crush see her in her pyjamas fresh out of bed with no damn warning? Anyway, Ginny’s probably off crying into her cat fur covered jumper or whatever while no one cares while Mrs. Weasley punishes her sons by making them de-gnome the garden and we get our first mention of one of the other reasons Chamber of Secrets is my favorite Harry Potter book, Gilderoy Lockhart.
But I’m getting ahead of myself as always. We’ll deal with glorious Gilderoy later.
We get a fun scene of wizarding life which involves flinging gnomes around willy nilly while they sneak back in the garden afterwards and we meet Arthur Weasley, one of our candidates for Harry’s best surrogate dad. (Our other so far: one Rubeus m’f’ing Hagrid) who mentions some casual Muggle baiting he’s had to deal with at work (setting us up for our story getting darker) and instantly endears himself to us by excitedly asking his sons how the illegal flying car thing went.
Our chapter ends with Harry seeing Ron’s tiny orange room and declaring the Burrow the best house ever, and I agree. (As long as you add on a reading turret with endless supplies of chocolate and tea, of course.)
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Were you impressed Fred, George, and Ron flew an illegal car that far for the first time?
What was your second impression of Mrs. Weasley? Ginny?
What was your first impression of Mr. Weasley?
And what do you think of The Burrow?
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