Chapter 4: Back to the Burrow | Goblet of Fire

[@carterphillips3357]

I like how you guy have this big magical explanation for why Dudley and Vernon weren’t loosing weight and I just assumed they were finding ways to sneak food😂

[@thunderflare59]

Dudley especially

[@carterphillips3357]

@@thunderflare59 I was sorta picturing Vernon just stopping and buying junk food and splurging on his way home from work, and then slipping some to Dudley since he feels his son is perfect and the school was wrong for saying he needed to diet.

[@UnfazedPhoenix]

Me too! 😂

[@UnfazedPhoenix]

​@@carterphillips3357 same! 😂

[@stecky87]

Same

[@kayleighlehrman9566]

Arthur talking about muggle stuff is identical vibes to someone learning as much as they can about Japanese history and culture by watching anime.

[@thunderflare59]

Ko-ni-chai-wa

[@Escapingmuffin]

Facts

[@LightsOnTrees]

nani?

[@nehabono6248]

Regarding the muggle clothing vs wizards robes....I would like to set forth a real world example of India. My grandmother would wear saris at all times....she had everyday saris, festive saris, all sorts. This would, I suppose, be like wizard robes. To our generation, that garment seems really complex to wear, and I will do it only during a wedding or some such festive occasion, when in everyday life, I usually just stick to jeans, and tops and such "muggle" clothing. My grandma would always be perplexed about the 'complexity' of the "young generation's" clothing because it requires so many garments, whereas a Sari is literally just a long piece of cloth. I hope this clears it up a little bit. Just wizards who are old fashioned feel more comfortable, and understand wizarding clothes much better than muggle clothes which can be a bit complicated for them, and vice versa.

[@booksandtea1663]

Exactly this!!!

[@6666Imperator]

I love this comparison!

[@ginnyjollykidd]

I don't think it has to do with the twin cores. More than anything I'm sure it has to do with Harry being a Horcrux so that no wand Voldemort uses will go against Harry.

[@6666Imperator]

@@ginnyjollykidd what has that to do with muggle and wizard clothes differences? The twin cores cause the Priori Incantatem effect iirc. Or help with it at least.

[@teaniery]

The thumbnail broke my brain. I had a moment of panic thinking "have I lost two weeks of my life?!" 😂

[@jeffscott5684]

I had the same reaction. How am I 2 chapters behind. I don't want to miss anything!

[@animatorxstudios100]

your not the only one

[@pixywings]

Me too! I was so confused!

[@Caffeinated_Firefly]

I listened to the spotify version this week and today I saw this on my youtube feed and was so confused because I KNEW i had listened to it "wait the portkey? did I dissociate half my listen of the chapter???"

[@xAbbieCx13]

Yes, it is very normal for us to have doors into every room in the UK. In fact I don't think I've ever been in a house that is open like they are in the US. I was so confused when you brought it up haha.

[@camillacongiu7828]

i’m from italy and it’s pretty common to have doors separating each room here as well. obv we also do have open space houses, but i feel like having doors everywhere is more common lol (and super useful when you’re cooking something that has a strong smell tbh, cause otherwise the whole house would smell)

[@ilianag5680]

"they don't want the fire" that's exactly why Mr Weasley would Disapparate afterwards. So he can fix the fireplace, AND the boarded part with the electric fire.

[@mrgreatauk]

Yet again its funny to see how normal British things from the 90's / 2000's are lost in the Atlantic now! It was quite common for old fireplaces to blocked up and have an electric fire (think an ugly electric bar heater, nothing fancy, the fake coal fire mentioned in this chapter is a bit more upmarket) attached in front of them. Actually removing the chimney brickwork and lining etc is a big job so mostly unused fireplaces were just blocked up rather than removed. Most domestic fireplaces were pretty small, so there wouldn't be room to put an electric heater actually in the fireplace itself.

[@gileswood7452]

Absolutely! J and Ben, you guys have about as much knowledge of British culture as Arthur does of muggle culture! You need someone British with you to explain these normal things like electric fires, blocked up fireplaces, and doors between rooms! 🤣

[@grantmaxfield7301]

100% agree ive conmented the same loads of times lol​@gileswood7452

[@werebison]

"How strange a concept, a fake fireplace." As a fake gas lamp flickers behind them. :)

[@aaronsavage1234]

Yeah. And there’s already a brick platform to put the electric one, in front of the blocked off chimney. Then you wouldn’t need dancing Chimneysweeps on the roof. Ugh.

[@emlynbarnden1229]

I know. Perfectly normal things like wands, magic and Hogwarts seem so spectacular to Americans

[@Viking_Actual]

50:43 - I had thought that the fireplace was a regular wood burning or gas one in Philosopher's Stone; as it had a working chimney for the Hogwarts letters to utilize when the mail slot had been boarded up. Now, paranoid (well perhaps more than usual) the Dursleys had boarded it up, and placed an electric one in front of it. Thus, when Aurther blew his way through the boards the "electric fire" that had been in front of the boards was shot across the room.

[@mb-sb5ever]

Exactly what I was going to say

[@Malendar]

I believe the reason the kids had to leave first and Arthur had to disapperate, is because after he repaired the wall, the fireplace would be covered up by the electric one again and he wouldn’t be able to use it. Which is also why he couldn’t repair it until after the kids had used it to leave.

[@alessandrorossi7135]

57:00 he has to disapparate because he's going to rebuild the electric fireplace 😂

[@GuyWestcott]

I think the escaped rhinoceros is a reference to James and the Giant Peach, where an escaped rhinoceros eats the main character's parents (thus forcing him to live with his aunts, who mistreat him)

[@stuffingtonjfluffypantsiii]

I always figured the diet wasn't working because Dudley had his own loose floorboard and a hidden stash of food

[@VenaCava]

And so did Vernon

[@animatorxstudios100]

I love that Uncle vernon says "-either they drive some tin pot car or-" because the ford anglia is pretty beat up, living life in the forbidden forest

[@YRUrunning]

Arthur stoping Harry so that they can say goodbye to him saves Fred and George from getting into so much serious trouble,imagine Dudley not finding the toffee until after Arthur fixes the fireplace and leaves...they would rush him to hospital and the ministry would find out...they could even get expelled for muggle baiting

[@felipetellez7066]

Glad to see I’m not the only one confused by the thumbnail 😂

[@tjmaraven]

I was wondering how I missed two episodes! 😂

[@animatorxstudios100]

I was like 'oh no! I read the wrong chapter this week!'

[@Odd_goblin2112]

It is a Fred and George chapter. Perhaps they pranked us.

[@AHufflepuffAndASwiftie]

Lol 😅 That was my first thought! I was like, “Wait . . . ” 😂

[@AHufflepuffAndASwiftie]

@@Odd_goblin2112Ooh! Good thinking! 😅

[@abucket14]

I got so excited seeing the thumbnail. It feels like so long between these and they're the height of Sundays. I saw chapter six and went "I missed two?!" And checked the channel to go back and listen to all three in a row

[@pavlik1832]

Same😂

[@roryrousseau111]

Samee #2 😂

[@JaimieAnne]

I think this chapter was meant to introduce the twins’ business ventures, some comedic relief, and it’s been since the first book that the Dursley’s encountered the magic in-person world via Hagrid so they were overdue lol

[@LessaCaira]

Fireplace, boarded up and covered with gypsm board(drywall). The new electric fireplace (which is made to look like a coal fireplace but is essentially an electric heater) Is sitting on the brick/tile of the original fireplace. So when they blow out the boards and drywall it hits and pushes the fake fire away as well.

[@PositiveOnly-dm3rx]

I'm always confused by how such simple things confuse them...

[@bombus8377]

If you think about it, the marauders map was first given to Harry by Fred and George but at the end of the book Lupin is the one that lets him keep it. So you could say his 3 main items he lists off were gifts from the 3 good marauders

[@marcusmiles5449]

Except Dumbledor gave Harry the cloke. (Sorry can't spell)

[@bombus8377]

@ you’re not wrong! It does belong to Harry’s dad though. Dumbledore was borrowing it at the time of his death.

[@IslarfPokemon]

What came from Sirius? The house? Property is quite a big deal in this day and age. Lupin and James need to step up on their gifts to Harry.

[@bombus8377]

@ he bought Harry the fire bolt! If we are going by what they left Harry when they passed on James did leave him a vault full of gold so that’s pretty nice lol!

[@IslarfPokemon]

@@bombus8377 I guess the house and gold were left by accident

[@deeannfleet2723]

I think its the end of this chapter that is most relevant and most important - the fact the dursleys do not even say goodbye to harry without prompting. It shows mr weasley - who will tell all to mrs weasley - just how shabby the dursleys are and in the coming chapters be the main reason the weasley’s show up on champion family day for harry

[@romansilva00]

In that chapter I remember like it was yesterday, when harry found out who came to visita him, I had to stop washing the dishes, paused the audiobook, and started crying my eyes out, my wife came to the kitchen and asked what happened bc I was out of me at the moment

[@sparkyphoenix56]

I think they don’t like fire is because maintaining a real working fire place is quite messy and we know how much Petunia loves mess.

[@kayleighlehrman9566]

I always attributed the Weasley's lateness to the electric fireplace being incompatible with the standard Floo Network, and since Arthur didn't know it was an electric fireplace he wouldn't have been able to tell the ministry about it.

[@trinkab]

I think Dudley is getting food, snacks, and treats from spendimg time at his friends (Piers etc.).

[@AndrewJGaming]

Maybe he has his own loose floorboard in his room

[@dudaseifert]

i thought that was a established fact, but now i can't remember where i got that from. maybe i'm confusing with harry eating the cake he has hidden

[@lydiaquinones2546]

I thought it was stated in the book that he would go to friends places for tea??? But maybe that's later books ....

[@rationaltrekker2509]

Many older houses I've been in had doors into at least most rooms so that a room can be closed off. In some cases, the doors might be made of glass and the room will be kept especially presentable and reserved for special occasions.

[@twitaw]

Kids are wearing muggle clothing because it is the fad of the time for the kids and the parents just wear what they are used to. This is similar to the way muggles kids follow trends and the parents just don't. At least that is my head cannon

[@superpotterfan7435]

We also have Fred and George mentioning later in book 6 that they are going into town to see a pretty girl, so I’d bet that the kids dress muggle more than Molly and Arthur to go into town

[@robertgronewold3326]

I know EXACTLY what the electric fireplace is because my brother had one. They were quite hideous. Basicallythere was a heater hidden in a fake hearth, and a light would turn on and a glowing cylinder would rotate beneath some artificial logs and ashes, giving the impression of glowing embers and coals to mixed results. They were so tacky, and you would hear the motor running 😂

[@jaspermooren5883]

It fits exactly with what the Dursleys would have though. It feels like that JK Rowling imagined that and that the boarding up is more the chimney than the front of the fireplace. Maybe Rowling imagined the flew powder actually sends you down the chimney.

[@mrandrews3616]

My grandparents had one, it didn't even rotate.

[@sawanna508]

I think there are even some with fireplace noises like crackling and hissing. I guess the Dursleys have a fake fire because the real thing is messy and dangerour. I unable to picture Pentunia or Vernon to set a real fire in their fire place.

[@Anza2700]

Wrong thumbnail?

[@glebjohnson9057]

Yes

[@heylolp9]

Nah this is definitely Chapter 6: The Portkey

[@CityStarrzz]

@@heylolp9guessing it was fixed.

[@marjoe32]

I wizard is never wrong, he changes the thumbnail for interaction like he plans to.

[@AidenMurphy-n1h]

It adds charm and whimsy

[@jenniedarling3710]

The reason why Arthur needs to disapparate is because once he has put the room back how it was he won't be able to use the fireplace (for the same reason why they couldn't get out).

[@aFairyTookMyName]

He boarded up the fireplace after the letters from sorcerers/philosophers stone! The electric fire was to replace it, and I always imagined those plug in electric heaters that look like a fireplace

[@nicolaashamman6201]

To answer the Percy Jackson, as someone from South Africa: Yep, it'd quite whimsical to read a book about someone travelling across America! I do know Dr. Pepper, but I saw it AFTER reading those books, so I get the experience of seeing an American brand and thinking "that's the Percy Jackson thing!". Also, most of my understanding of American geography and landmarks come from those books. Later Heroes of Olympus books and The Kane Chronicles un the same universe go international, so there's some of that foreign wonder to be had as Americans. Plus the Magnus Chase books usually take place in Fantasy worlds.

[@lisacox4984]

The point of the chapter: the Weasleys' concern for Harry, the Dursleys' indifference/outright disdain, Arthur's concern for Dudley, Fred and George's defense of Harry, albeit in a pranking way, and Harry's resignation or whatever the appropriate word is to the Dursleys' disdain for him. And just leaving for the Burrow :). And more about Arthur's fascination with all things Muggle.

[@jackbland3406]

Seen chapter 6 at thumbnail and was like have I been asleep for 2 weeks or is that a lil mistake. Could listen to you guys talk potter all day long all year long but yous also have busy life's to live so I'll settle for just an hour a week 😅

[@marcinz.3570]

I like the pacing of the book so far. We start heavily, with some serious dark plot. And then we chill a bit, update on Dursley, lots of laughter, short chapter. But we’re not staying too long, cause it would be boring, so we get a quick and effective trip to the burrow. Great start.

[@psychojoe4764]

This is my favorite summer holiday out of all the books and this is such a great start, from the twins pranking Dudley, Mr. Weasley skeet shooting the knick knacks and the phase "bellowed like a wounded hippo" so amazing.

[@sawanna508]

Strangly it is a rhino in German.

[@psychojoe4764]

@sawanna508 huh interesting. What a random change

[@Hawker5796]

And now Vernon’s rant in Order of the Phoenix is complete. Although the incidents are listed in no particular order, it’s still hilarious.

[@whomigazone]

I assumed that Mr Weasley would send the kids back using the fire, put out the fire, reblock the fireplace as it originally was, then apparate home as the fireplace is not now accessible for use.

[@EpicRandomness555]

29:56 Coming from a large family, being late is very normal lol.

[@RoPiDe]

52:52 HAHAHAHA I love how these guys are willing to find magic everywhere in the books, but sometimes i just want to shout "Is just a figure of speech, mates!!!" Hahaha

[@matyasrevesz2455]

The "open house" thing (where the kitchen is with the living room) is literally called american kitchen bros

[@aqwkingchampion13]

I live in a house with basically that setup in Oklahoma. The living room and dining room are one huge room, the area of the kitchen with the stove/oven/sink is a glorified hallway to nowhere.

[@MelanieNLee]

"American kitchen"? I've lived in houses or apartments where the kitchen was right next to the living room, or where there was a dining room between the living room and the kitchen, but never one where the kitchen and the living room merged. Or am I misunderstanding you? I'm from Queens, NY, USA.

[@fannisantha8539]

I was thinking the same. We are both Hungarians and we do call it an American kitchen. Here dining rooms are rarely a thing, so that's why it's the living room and the kitchen

[@PositiveOnly-dm3rx]

Its called "American kitchen bros"? That's a weird name. Nobody in America calls it that. That's like telling an English person "its called an English muffin". They dont call it that there. You clearly don't understand how language works.

[@animecrazy90]

Relating to the muggle studies and Arthur's fascination with muggles: you can study a country and it's cultures and still get there and realize you have NO IDEA what is going on.

[@Maksymilianciukszo]

Let me explain the fireplace situation for you guys. (Hope this helps) Vernon boarded the fireplace in year one because of the letters from hogwarts. The eclectic fire is standing in front of the boarded up fireplace, probably touching it or standing very near to it so it shot forward. Arthur then says he’ll disappirate because he plans to start the fire and then get the boys through. He will then fix the house and board up the fire again and dissapirate. This doesn’t really work and he just goes through the fire, maybe the house is still broken then 😂😂😂😂.

[@ThePokeStarter]

I imagine that the Weasleys were late because they initially tried to drive there the Muggle way, got lost, and then decided to Floo.

[@drm726]

I will always find it funny that Harry being completely indifferent to how Hermione is getting to her classes is actually what saved her. If Ron had been just a little more pushy about wanting to know how she was doing it, he would have persuaded Harry to check map and they would have seen 2-3 Hermiones running around.

[@itsallme1234]

Arthur Weasley's fascination with Muggles is like a six year old who's really into dinosaurs. He can spend all day telling you all about them, and most of what he says will be painfully obvious, mispronounced, or outright wrong.

[@yasi-h]

I really can't imagine Mr. Weasley wearing shiny dress shoes like he is in the chpater art...or maybe he goes Muggle shoe shopping on the weekends :)))

[@robertgronewold3326]

I feel that shoes are probably one of the few places where wizard and muggle attire is the same.

[@yasi-h]

@@robertgronewold3326 yeah you might be right...I just remembered that there were wellington boots at the Burrow. But polished dress shoes just seem out of character for Arthur :))

[@Jazz20OneLeg]

I was confused by the thumbnail also. Love this Podcast keep up the great work.

[@jmace2424]

Right, a ton of the letters from Hogwarts came flying out of the fireplace. That’s why it’s boarded up. So Uncle Vernon doesn’t have Nam Flashbacks.

[@PatheticApathetic]

I think the fireplace being boarded up is definitely meant to be carried over from Vernon boarding it up in PS to stop the letters. He just never took the boards down and got an electric fireplace instead

[@npickle54]

You really think the orderly dursleys would just leave ugly wooden slats up or something? Opposed to the perfectly commonplace practice of bricking up an old fireplace to replace with a modern system...

[@PatheticApathetic]

@ evidently they did

[@huntercarden3754]

I like how j just repeats what Ben says in a different tone of voice😂. Love this series it’s so good. You men are the best

[@MsTJ10]

As a British person here I feel the need to clarify that doors between every room in houses (even on the ground/first floor) is quite the norm, well it is at least in every house i've ever lived in

[@erikamohrmann7986]

my top three podcasts on Spotify wrapped were this, then SCB, then Popcorn Culture lol! Needless to say I'm so excited to see y'all live when you come to Nashville! It's a couple days before my birthday!

[@coreyreading9636]

I would say, that Arthur not repairing the damage straight away makes sense. Harry, Ron and the Twins all have the Trace on them, and with connecting the fireplace up possibly not being legal, wouldn't want to get into more trouble doing magic where it could get picked up upon. That is up until Harry leaves freeing Arthur up to be able to cast magic free of any Trace.

[@RedHeart-gt9xr]

Wow I didn’t realize they had thumbnails prepared in advance, that’s cool but also very funny

[@benjaminjaschke1174]

Just like a tv show it’s an illusion a lot of prep happens behind the scenes! I bet this was recorded at least a week ago

[@fynnkitching680]

It’s literally just the chapter art chapter name and a colour lmao

[@filipkaminski3695]

The thumbnail is from chapter 6 guys

[@bluetone-amv]

36:59 "What is it, Gaston Petunia?"

[@michaelfrench2586]

I just found out that you guys had this podcast and after about two weeks, I’m finally caught up with you guys. I would listen to a chapter on Audible, and then go straight to the podcast afterwards. It’s been incredibly fun so far to listen to you guys. Actually create new theories in real time. From now on I’m going to come back to this podcast whenever I start to listen to the audiobooks again.

[@passerby6695]

30:53 - This is pretty normal, maybe not in US. It is general courtesy to offer dinner if the guests are in your house at dinner time.

[@Jake-hw9kp]

Can confirm doors into sitting rooms is normal in the UK 😂

[@jb888888888]

The Weaslys were late because they were trying to navigate the floo network to an unlisted/unusual/Muggle location. Like if you were driving somewhere new to you, and you don't have GPS you only have a hard copy map, and it's a new development so it's not actually on the map. I thought that was obvious. [ETA] And Arthur has to stay behind after everyone else Floos in order to put out the fire and Repairo the wall from the living room side, after which he can disapparate.

[@itsdylan-w1b]

It was great seeing all the pictures from the tours!

[@PcCAvioN]

Had such a stressful week I forgot to read the chapter on Friday or Saturday like I usually do. Had a busy day today, got home late, and didn't even wait to finish eating before I started reading. Cheers

[@DeviousFink]

Dudley's diet isn't working because he 100% had "floorboard cakes" the same way Harry did 😂

[@d22777]

Petunia was protecting Dudley from perceived harm. Similarly to Ron standing on his broken leg in front of Sirius. He never was really in danger but based on what he knew, he displayed incredible bravery. Here Petunia knows her son is hurt and there is man more powerful than she is, so she is throwing herself between the man and his son. I would say this is indeed similar in some way to Lily (of course we know that Arthur is nice,but she doesn't)

[@jaredwonnacott9732]

So, I saw the thumbnail, and was like, "Wow, I always forget how much there is in GOF before they even get to school! We still have a couple chapters before the world cup and then we still have all the stuff after the match." Then, I start watching and realize we've got 2 whole chapters to go before we even get to where I thought we were.

[@jakob8408]

Arthur will light a fire in the fireplace that was built, but has later on been built in to accomodate the electric fireplace. Afterwards, he'll put the fire out, restore the electric fireplace and finally, disapparate.

[@jaredwonnacott9732]

I've been late to something and ended up being invited for dinner on several occasions. It's never been intentional, and I only actually stay when it's with family, but it does happen.

[@Tomer_nur]

I think the twin core thing only happens when two cores are harvested simultaneously rather than just coming from the same creature, I think the implication is that the holli wand waited at olivanders for all those years riddle has been walking around with his wand and both had been made at the same time. Otherwise we would have so many groups (as opposed to pairs) of twin unicorn hair wands

[@hollynixon9570]

I think electric fire places were really popular when this book series was written. People would put electric fires on the face of their real fire places because real fire places were too much work so i imagine that’s what is really happening.

[@sif9041]

This is not the first time I have left a comment with this theory when you two read the part about Arthur Weasley having a large collection of batteries do you think he has the collection because in his understanding that’s what Muggles do we just collect batteries he doesn’t understand that the battery is a portable version of electricity. It’s the battery itself. That is the collectible thing. That is a series that lives rent free in my mind that Arthur Weasley simply collects the batteries because he sees Muggles doing it.

[@decapitatedonionthe3rd77]

53:39 I could see Fred and George magically altering themselves to confuse people

[@stecky87]

I think my favorite picture was J on the broom, and Ben clearly wanting to sweep😆

[@marcinz.3570]

Maybe they were late because muggles are not supposed to have their chimneys connected to the Floo Network, so Arturs friend waited till 5pm until everyone will leave the ministry and go home and only them started doing it

[@alessandrorossi7135]

45:32 in chamber he sees it burst into flames, but by the of the book fawkes is big enough to help fight the basilisk and it cannot be more than a few months

[@paulsimon3517]

First on arthur and his muggle studies he was born around the 40s to 50s which means he understood muggles from that era maybe 60s culture if u know British history 50 right through to the 90s we changed alot in terms of culture all the way from the beatles to Margaret thatcher and upto and including tony blair so his school studies would be useless in the 90s. The electric fire and divided rooms come from older houses use to divide rooms to save on heating as you would use a coal fire that changed alot with central heating gas boilers and the coal fireplace became a way for heat to escape so it was plaster boarded up and replaced with fake fires for the looks

[@Zeke_O3773]

My head canon is that, had Fawkes given more feathers, it would’ve diluted the connection between Harry and Voldemort. Also, the horcrux in Harry’s head may be making the connection even stronger than usual.

[@lisacox4984]

Maybe the Dursleys don't use the fireplace because of all the work it would take to maintain it; Petunia, who wipes down the kitchen every night, would not want to deal with the ashes etc. And I picture a solid board covering the fireplace opening and the fake coal fire sitting in front. I've got a small space heater that has lights in the front that glow like flames and I'm maybe theirs is something similar.

[@emilycoy8289]

You're forgetting that the feathers don't have to come from tame phoenixes. They could be collected after wild phoenixes shed them.

[@hopelessnihilist1425]

I always imagined that the Dursley's had a traditional fireplace (re: owl post) and after that incident they boarded the fireplace up so no more owls could come through, and they plunked an external gas fireplaces in front of the old boarded one

[@NaranjaDj]

I like to think that the reason the weasleys were late is because the floo powder didn't work the first few times (as there's no real fireplace at the other end) but they kept trying until the magical fire was like "alright, if you insist!" 😂

[@GrantDolanMusic]

My grandmothers house had doors form the kitchen into the hallway, the living room and to the utility room. There was also a door from the hallway into the dining room. I was always under the impression it had to deal with only heating parts of the house that was being used.

[@pattilawrence6384]

In the UK, central heating wasn't a thing, so you only heated the room you were in. Hence, having doors separating rooms. Also, heating costs are much higher in the UK.

[@sawanna508]

I live in Europe too (Austria) and people here have rooms with doors. There are some small homes or more modern homes that have a combination of a living room and a kitchen without doors between them.

[@Ricaidius]

I wonder if Arthurs lack of knowledge about muggle culture is meant to be a reflection on the prejudices or wizard society. Clearly there must be dozens if not hundreds of muggleborns or halfbloods that would have high functioning knowledge of muggle culture, but because Arthur is a pureblood (and sacred 28 no less) he gets to head a department about it

[@vvvxzv]

you board up where the gas cylinder was and to stop the draft of cold air. usually it's plastered over and then the electric heater would be put on the newly plastered wall

[@adamrabe3105]

Love the thought of Dumbledore finding joy in the pig's tail on Dudley. In line with his allowance of Peeves at Hogwarts.

[@tr011gaming4]

I believe that in 5th year when Harry and gang are looking at job pamphlets . Even the job of working with muggles doesn’t require any OWLS . Just ask for patience and a good work ethic to work for them .

[@traceecagley9433]

A drinking game for listening to the podcast: each time Ben or J says “let’s see here” you take a shot.

[@nobodyfamousX]

42:25 my thought about the twin cores thing is that while other people could make Priori incantatum happen if the same animal happened to give their cores, but there has to be multiple factors happening to make it happen. One would be that it has to be a real duel. As in the combatants have to be actually trying to kill each other, so it might not be an issue in a school setting. Also, I think harry and voldemort have the added factor of the horcrux. When Voldemort tries to kill Harry, the horcrux inside Harry is actively trying to stop Voldemort from killing him.

[@satsujin-shathewitchkingof6185]

To be fair,the point of Percy Jackson is deities in the modern world so it referencing the modern world frequently makes a lot of sense. I personally never noticed myself being taken out of the immersion, anyway

[@nickpatricolamusic8054]

34:45 heh heh... The "Doorsleys"😂

[@femailler22]

I've seen people with their tongues swollen because of an allergic reaction (thankfully witnessed in a hospital), albeit much smaller than Dudley's is described. The issue is not that it hurts or tastes terrible, but that it cuts off the airway and you can't breathe. So Dudley is essentially choking to death while the chaos reigns around him. Bully that he may be, he's still only a kid, so I'm on Arthur's side here.

[@RobinSijtsma]

I think we should all comment about the thumbnail, alot 🤣 I'm surprised they didn't make a typo to drive it home

[@MacAoidh4]

I'm not seeing enough comments on this 😂

[@stefanjentoft8107]

I don’t think wizards wear muggle clothing as much as you might think. Just consider Archie, who we get to meet in a few chapters

[@richewilson6394]

I think it probably from what chamber secrets has shown us is that it takes almost half a year for a Phoenix to get to full maturity to be able to fly. So from what we can see it takes a full year for a Phoenix to do a life cycle then burns out.

[@MelanieNLee]

You may be right; however, possibly Fawkes could've gone through a couple of cycles of life before the battle in the Ministry of Magic.

[@vandal280]

Dying at the warm breath thing😂😂😂

[@blizzair]

I always assumed Vernon boarded up the fireplace for the same reason he boarded up the mail slot… because of the Hogwarts letters! 😂

[@failurenotsorry6600]

38:05 nah, it's just a normal british thing. partially because the dursley's don't want anything coming from the chimney, and so there's no real fire because it would burn the 2-by-4's blocking it. had nothing to do with fire being magical or whatever.

[@hannahchristelle1909]

I always thought they were late bc they had trouble getting the Dursley's house connected to the Floo Network

[@samfrisby6135]

Extremely disappointed to find that ‘Muscle Cars With Ben’ does not in fact exist

[@jmace2424]

I wonder if the Weasleys were late because Fred and George were trying to decide which of their sweets to bring.

[@naxgulengames9863]

First, it is kind of implied that not all wands are made with cores from domestic sources. Wild phoenixes must be a thing. They are just harder to find. I could imagine unicorns being captured and put into a pasture but, taming them would seem to be counter to their magical purity. I very much doubt that there are dragon's raised for butcher, so that a heartstring can be harvested. Second, it is summer so, of course the electric fire is cold. You can still have the lights going as an aesthetic for your home.

[@alopex1228]

Perfect timing for a snow day 😊💜