It was constructed after Voldemort returned to England from abroad and started his campaign to take over the Ministry of Magic and persecute Muggle-borns. The original Order was created in the 1970s. The Order of the Phoenix was a secret society founded by Albus Dumbledore to oppose Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. It's the people who fought against You-Know-Who last time.' - Description and history of the Order That transformation is what Book Five is all about.Harry Potter: ' Is anyone going to bother telling me what the Order of the Phoenix - ?' Hermione Granger: ' It's a secret society. He needs to become a new type of hero, one who relies on something other than fighting prowess and his “saving people thing,” as Hermione calls it. No matter how powerful Superhero Harry might become, he would never be able to stand against Voldemort. In book five, we’re going to see all of that stripped away. Maybe capable of defeating the Dark Lord once and for all. Harry sees himself as becoming what I like to call “Superhero Harry,” capable of anything. He has even faced off against Voldemort and survived.

He has learned about his wonderful family - his father the Quidditch champion and his mother who was so loved by everyone. He’s defeated a dragon, proving his worth among students much older than he is. He is experiencing an emotional “drought,” if you will, which sets the tone for the entire book.Īnd why did Rowling inflict this emotional starvation on her main character? Because at the end of book four, Harry feels like he’s at the top of his game. In story terms, the drought mirrors the complete lack of contact Harry has with the Wizarding World at that time. In fact, in the summer of 1995 there actually was a pretty severe drought in England and hosepipe bans were a very real thing. And Rowling is spot on with the whole drought thing. This chapter takes place on the second of August, 1995. Rowling writes:Ĭars that were usually gleaming stood dusty in their drives and lawns that were once emerald green lay parched and yellowing - for the use of hosepipes had been banned due to drought. Today we’re spending a little bit of time with chapter one of Order of the Phoenix.įrom the very beginning, we’re introduced to the theme of drought.

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