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Reading: Harry Potter 5 - Order of the Phoenix.
Harry's world is changing. First, an encounter with a Dementor on the streets of Little Whinging puts Harry on notice that the old boundaries between the magical world and the mundane one have begun to fall. Then he is spirited away, not to Hogwarts directly but to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix - a secret organization founded to fight the resurgent Voldemort, in defiance of official denials of the Voldemort threat. Harry, returning to classes at Hogwarts, narrowly escapes politically-motivated prosecution for defending himself against the Dementor, but does not escape his classmates' distrust and suspicion following the deadly events of last year.
The mood of the book is distinctly somber and menacing. Fear and isolation are taking a toll on Harry, and his lines of dialog are often abrupt and irritable. He has gone from rock star to pariah among his classmates at Hogwarts, and the arrival of hostile meddling from the Ministry - in the person of Dolores Umbridge - bodes ill for Harry's relations with the leadership there. The Order Headquarters at Grimauld place may be an improvement over the abusive lodgings with the Dursleys, but it is scarcely a warm or welcoming environment, and Harry and his friends are continually reminded that they are excluded from participating in the Order's activities because of their age.
The Deep State takeover of Hogwarts has an eerily familiar feel to it. Students of the Defense Against Dark Arts class are now confined to studying theory only - and not practice - because "Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" The mainstream press (the Daily Prophet and its busybody reporter Rita Skeeter, who comes equipped with an AI-like writing device called the Quik Quotes Quill) conspire to make Harry's life unbearable.
Whom to trust? What to believe? These are critical questions that Harry is forced to answer in the story - and not always successfully. A key plot point is in fact a major failure by Harry, and the "Order of the Phoenix" of the title plays almost no role in the story (except to bail Harry out in the end). That pivotal event, with tragic consequences for Harry, is a good illustration of how easily principled people can be exploited by the manipulation of their moral sense and their need to play the hero. [399]
The mood of the book is distinctly somber and menacing. Fear and isolation are taking a toll on Harry, and his lines of dialog are often abrupt and irritable. He has gone from rock star to pariah among his classmates at Hogwarts, and the arrival of hostile meddling from the Ministry - in the person of Dolores Umbridge - bodes ill for Harry's relations with the leadership there. The Order Headquarters at Grimauld place may be an improvement over the abusive lodgings with the Dursleys, but it is scarcely a warm or welcoming environment, and Harry and his friends are continually reminded that they are excluded from participating in the Order's activities because of their age.
The Deep State takeover of Hogwarts has an eerily familiar feel to it. Students of the Defense Against Dark Arts class are now confined to studying theory only - and not practice - because "Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" The mainstream press (the Daily Prophet and its busybody reporter Rita Skeeter, who comes equipped with an AI-like writing device called the Quik Quotes Quill) conspire to make Harry's life unbearable.
Whom to trust? What to believe? These are critical questions that Harry is forced to answer in the story - and not always successfully. A key plot point is in fact a major failure by Harry, and the "Order of the Phoenix" of the title plays almost no role in the story (except to bail Harry out in the end). That pivotal event, with tragic consequences for Harry, is a good illustration of how easily principled people can be exploited by the manipulation of their moral sense and their need to play the hero. [399]