auntbijou | Watchin' Harry Potter...

Okay, so we've seen "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" a second time. We saw it Wednesday night, as you all know, at our local theater, and it seemed uncommonly dark and dreary, until I realized it was because one of the lamps behind the screen was flickering in and out. Drove us nuts, because scenes that were actually dark were pretty much obscured. Very frustrating! And even though the theater was packed, and the teenaged girls sitting in the row in front of us were all clutching wands, we got the feeling of being alone in the wilderness. These people liked Harry Potter, but... that was it.

Yesterday, we drove into Austin to see the movie again, this time choosing the AMC at Barton Creek Mall, and OH what a difference! The lighting was better, the SOUND was better, and... well, we ended up sitting in the very front section, and I thought, oh well. At first, the Impossible Son was happy, because there was no one in front of us and he could SEE!! Then... a group of people showed up that sat in front of us, and he moved from my lap, to the Husbandly One's lap, even to the Impertinent Daughter's lap, trying to see, and ended up curled up in a ball of misery in his chair, so very frustrated. "Why'm I so SMALL??" he nearly wailed.

"Because Papa and I are small," I whispered back.

He sniffled. "Well... get tall. I'm tired of being LITTLE!!"

If only it was so easy!

The Husbandly One got him up, and they moved two rows in front of us so they could sprawl back in their chairs and stare up Dan Radcliffe's nostrils, and Mr. Manzie was so much happier because he could finally see. This meant Miss Priss and I were free to huddle together and make comments to each other, and quietly squee or wince as we pleased.

This was a much different experience than Wednesday, because it turned out the people surrounding us in our little section in the front were teens and twenty-somethings who apparently were all not only fans, but FANS WHO READ FAN-FIC!!

Every time Harry and Ron seemed to have a "moment," like when Ron grabbed Harry to pull him away from Malfoy, they cheered, or said things like, "That's it, Ron, GO GET YOUR MAN!!" It was hilarious! I didn't feel so ... inhibited... laughing at the really funny parts that only sick, twisted, perverted people like US would get. The whole Snape dragging Harry down to the dungeons got several of the kids quite excited, and they actually went, "Awwww," in disappointment when all he did was throw Harry in a chair to start invading his mind! I leaned over and said, "Oh, please, you have read the books, did you really think they were going to do that in the movie??"

The reply? "Hey, I can dream, can't I?"

*merry laughter*

Oh, what a difference! I guess we could have driven into San Marcos, but... I'm glad we drove into Austin instead. It was worth it just to listen to all the comments of those kids sitting around us, and to see the Impertinent Daughter's eyes light up as she leaned toward me and said, "Mom! They're just as weird as we are!"

I laughed and said, "Oh, Hunnybunny, if you only knew!"

I nearly convulsed with laughter when one of the boys in front of me craned his neck over his chair and asked, "Hey, lady, you ever read something called fanfic?"

Miss Priss jabbed me HARD with her elbow as I bit my tongue hard and said, "I may have read some a time or two."

I'm going to have bruises where she jabbed me three more times. Of course, it was probably to get me back for clapping my hand over her mouth when she started to say, "Are you kidding? She writes it!"

Somehow, I think he knew anyway.

Now, of course, the kids are jabbering about the next book, when it comes out, when we'll get our hands on it, and so on. Miss Priss has decided she will attend the Potter Party as Luna Lovegood, and we have finished her Butter Beer cork necklace. No, it looks nothing like the one from the movie. She wanted one more like what she pictured in her head from the book. We drew logos on the corks, because she decided that each pub brewed its own Butter Beer, and thus Luna would probably collect them. So, we have corks from the Three Broomsticks, The Leaky Cauldron, and the Hog's Head. But we also have Rosmerta's Best, Tom's Special Butter Beer, and Seeker's Best from the Golden Snitch Inn. We have the Whomping Willow, and the Full Moon Inn, which is a special pub for werewolves, though non-weres are allowed as long as accompanied. There's the Broken Wand, and the Dragon's Eye, and quite a few others I don't remember off the top of my head. We had a lot of fun drawing thumbnails and then inking the logos onto the corks. We worked on the radish earrings last night. I think I may have to redo them, but we'll see.

Mr. Manzie is going as Harry Potter again. He's hoping to win another free copy of the book like he did when "Half Blood Prince" came out. He was such a cute little Harry Potter! He wants to look like Harry either when the Dementors attacked, or for the battle at the Ministry. I'll have to see what I can pull out of my creative hat. This should be interesting!