My second-favorite line in the Harry Potter books: "I like a healthy breeze around my privates, thanks."
In The Goblet of Fire, two other things worth noting: Here, again, Rowling is excellent at introducing things early in the book in such a way that I, at least, did not notice on a first reading that something was being set up for later use. I'm thinking of the portkeys, which are so integrated into the story of the Quidditch World Cup that they do not cast any shadow of foreshadowing, and when Rowling needs the portkey at the end, she just uses it, without needing to explain a thing.
Secondly, this, after Harry tells Dumbledore that Voldemort used Harry's blood to rejuvenate himself: "For a fleeting instant, Harry thought he saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes."
I know, I just implied that Rowling does not foreshadow, but that seems like a pretty major teaser to me!
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2 comments:
I love the way she does that with the time-turner in Azkaban, too.
B-Cat
The time-turner involves some seriously brilliant plotting, indeed. But the special thing about it, is that she actually does provide the explanation in the middle of the action, rather than earlier. But it makes sense, since it is Hermione explaining the time-turner to Harry, who had no clue about it. Further, readers of the novel have been waiting, like Harry, for an explanation of how Hermione has been attending classes simultaneously.
So the whole thing with the time-turner is a major exception in terms of the general patterns of how her plots are constructed, but it is a masterfully handled exception.
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