Draco's Fate

Andrew: What will happen with Draco Malfoy? Because he seems to care for his parents very much, and he was scared and indecisive in the outcome of Half-Blood Prince. Can anything change his perspective about the war? I certainly do not think so, because at this point, he is too corrupt to continue on as a normal wizard.

Ben: Well, someone brought up the fact that Draco is actually Latin for, "Dragon," and they say you can’t tame a dragon, so it makes sense for him to go...

Andrew: So, are you saying...

Ben: ...against his parents.

Andrew: ...he’s going to get a big dragon? [laughs]

Ben: No, I’m saying that it makes sense for him to go against what his parents are saying, because he can’t be tamed.

Andrew: Ah yes, Ben.

Greg: He could go the other way, though.

Andrew: Who’s he going to...

Greg: That he can’t be tamed by the good side.

Micah: So...

Andrew: Right. And who’s he going to side with on the good side? It’s too late.

Micah: See, I don’t know. I tend to think that if something happened to his mother, he may react in a different way, because even throughout the earlier books, you saw he has a very strong relationship with her, and I’m inclined to think that instead of killing him, if Voldemort kills Narcissa because Draco failed to do his task with Dumbledore, we might see him revolt potentially.

Andrew: I don’t know. I just - I mean, back to my question. How would he - who would he side with on the good side?

Micah: Well, is Snape truly evil? I mean...

[Andrew laughs]

Micah: I think that would play a role in it.

Andrew: Okay, but if he sided with Snape, who’s Snape going side with? Say that three times fast. There’s no one. And Harry’s going try to kill him anyway.

The Role of the Ministry

Andrew: Now, what role will the Ministry play, if any, in Book 7? I think the Ministry, too, is too corrupt to possibly be involved with trying to kill off Dumbledore, especially since Lucius is in the Ministry and Lucius is going - Lucius, now, Lucius is in Azkaban now. What am I thinking? I am one uninformed fan!

Micah: Didn’t they break out?

Andrew: Did they? Did Lucius? Oh, okay. But still, Lucius has no opinion in the Ministry of Magic anymore. He has no influence, I wouldn’t think. Unless he threatened Scrimgeour. Greg, what do you think? What role is the Ministry going to play?

Greg: It’s hard to tell, and that seems to be my answer for everything tonight...

[Andrew laughs]

Greg: ...but my guess is not much.

Andrew: I like it.

Greg: My guess is not much. Harry’s going to be really distracted, but unless Harry becomes a fugitive, I don’t think much is going to happen with them.

[Andrew laughs]

Greg: They might just be a fly in his face or something, or you know, a gnat? Just in his ear.

Andrew: Mhm.

Greg: Just something annoying him the entire time.

Andrew: Yes.

Micah: Like in Book 6.

Greg: Yep.

Andrew: I would have to agree. What did you mean by the question what’s Scrimgeour’s deal, Micah?

Micah: Well, are we going to see him at all, or did he just kind of play out his role in Book 6? I mean with Fudge gone, I think Scrimgeour brings a little more credibility to...

Andrew: Yeah.

Micah: ...the role of Minister of Magic. [coughs]

Andrew: I think anyone who replaces...

[Micah laughs]

Andrew: ...Fudge could bring more credibility, because Fudge was a you-know-what! I would say it, but we are not on Episode 44 anymore.

The Final Battle

Andrew: Where will the final battle take place? I’m going to have to put it in a scenic spot. I’m going to say the Hogwarts grounds. It would be very emotional for both Harry and Voldemort. What do you think, Micah?

Greg: Godric’s Hollow.

Micah: Yeah, I was just going to say...

Andrew: Or Greg. Oooh. Godric’s Hollow.

Greg: Godric’s Hollow would be an interesting place.

Andrew: That would be emotional, too.

Greg: Yeah.

Andrew: Yes. Especially since Harry hasn’t been there since his parents’ deaths. That would be very emotional.

Gimme A Butterbeer: Celebrity Privacy

Andrew: Now it’s time for this week’s Gimme A Butterbeer segment, once again with Benjamin Schoen. Take it away, Benny Boy!

Ben: Well, I’d like to thank everyone for all the feedback I received on last week’s topic about Harry Potter spoilers. Thank you, and remember to continue to send your feedback to ben at staff dot mugglenet dot com. This week’s Gimme A Butterbeer is going to be different than Butterbeers that we’ve had in the past weeks. Rather than myself going on a rant about, you know, some issue that’s involved in Harry Potter, I’m going to bring up a topic and then open it up for debate and discussion with the rest of the group.

We all know that each and every one of us likes to have our privacy. Just a few nights ago, the CBS’s hit TV show Big Brother made its season premiere, and sometimes for celebrities, it always seems like Big Brother is watching. Recently, we have seen several pictures of actresses and actors from the Harry Potter movies, and these images are indeed from their personal lives. I was curious to see what you guys thought about this and whether it should be stopped. I’m Ben Schoen, and I say, "Gimme A Butterbeer!"

Andrew: In some ways, I sort of think that the actors and actresses bring it onto themselves, especially when they are acknowledging the camera, right there in front of them.

Ben: Right.

Andrew: You know, they’re smiling or waving, you know while...

Ben: Yeah, well, you know, like I said in my commentary...

Andrew: Ben! I’ve not finished my statement!

[Ben laughs]

Andrew: Please let me finish. [laughs] Now I forget what I was saying. Oh, when they're doing illegal activities. And then these pictures get out, and then it's a whole big spiel, and then they wonder, [Fake crying] "Why did they get out they're going to ruin my reputation!" But it's their fault for doing it.

Ben: Well, what I was trying to say, is that it's one thing if their private lives are literally being invaded, and it's another thing if they're in a public setting and they're partaking in illegal activity. Those are two different things. It's different if it's paparazzi than if it's a case where their friends take a picture of them, and they may not like them, and they put it online. Micah, Greg? Micah, Greg? Tanny? What's up? What do you guys think?

Greg: Well, frankly, I think that if they're out in public, I don't see why people would get so upset about, "Oooh, snapshot of you laughing."

Andrew: Yeah. Right.

Greg: It's like come on. Who cares? I mean, if you're doing something in your house and somebody starts filming you from a window, then there's a problem, but... [laughs]

Andrew: Yeah.

Greg: ... that's not the case here. So, otherwise, I just don't see it as being a problem. When there's a camera in front of you, don't do something stupid.

Micah: Yeah, no, I agree with Greg. I think when you're out in public - you're a celebrity. That's, unfortunately, part of what comes with it. And there's always going to cameras around, so it's kind of your own responsibility to watch what you do. When you're in private, if that's still going on, I personally have a problem with that. I don't think that that's right. But if you're out, and you're doing things that you shouldn't be doing, and you get caught on camera, you've got nobody to blame but yourself.

Andrew: On the other hand, people wonder why the paparazzi do it, and as Ben said in his Butterbeer, why does the paparazzi do this, and why are they so into it? I mean, the paparazzi - these pictures sell. They sell big time. I mean, look in the recent headlines. Ah, what's their names? Tom - [laughs] You know! You know!

Ben: Spartz?

Andrew: [laughs] Yeah. Jumping on Oprah's couch.

Ben: Oh, Tom Cruise.

Andrew: Tom Cruise and Kate...

[Ben laughs]

Andrew: No, no, no, not those two! Brad Pitt and uhhh...[laughs]

Greg: Angelina Jolie?

Andrew: Wow, I'm up on my celebrity. Yes. Yeah, those two. They sold their baby's pictures for what, four million dollars?

Ben: Yeah.

Andrew: To one of those tabloid magazines. It's amazing how these pictures sell, and it's amazing how people are so obsessed with celebrities lives because, maybe there's something in these normal people's real lives that they always cling on to celebrities so much. But, it sells and that's why the paparazzi is so obsessed with doing this. It is a shame, but...

Micah: Well, I mean all you have to do to learn and to see how badly they just want to take pictures, is to look at what happened with Princess Diana. And her life was taken as a result of it.

Andrew: Mhm.

Ben: They wrecked her car.

Andrew: All right.

Greg: Well, look at Britney Spears. [laughs] That's all that I have to say about that.

[Andrew and Micah laugh]

Micah: A clear parallel.

[Ben laughs]

Andrew: White trash. [laughs] Yeah. No, Britney Spears is abused by this, too, and she was on the...

Greg: Well she's a - do you think she seriously doesn't know that people are watching her when she was stuffing her baby on the corner...

Andrew: No, I'm..

Greg: ...of the takeout window? [laughs]

Ben: Dashboard. [laughs] No, what I'm saying is, don't you think sometimes, like in the case of the recent pictures that we've seen online, that there is no such thing as bad publicity? Do you think that's true? Micah, you're a media man. Do you think that's true? That they're still getting attention, whether it's good or bad? And some people, you know, particularly their fans, may like them more because they're doing the cool thing or whatever.

Micah: No, I think there are definitely instances where any media, no matter good or bad, is still, in essence, a good thing because your name, or your product, or whatever, is still getting out there. And, you know, a lot of times, as a result of bad media attention, you get people who write in - you get people who respond to it and say, "No, this isn't the case," or, "Why are you doing that?" So - and often times people's attitudes can change as a result. I mean, I don't know if it's necessarily the case with these pictures. I haven't seen these pictures, so I don't necessarily know what exactly was depicted in them.

Andrew: But, I think there is such thing as bad publicity. Bad publicity can seriously affect someone. I can't really think of someone specifically, but I mean - and I wish I had an example, but one picture or two pictures could reveal something of an actor or actress that totally ruins their lives.

Micah: No, that's definitely true.

Andrew: [Singing] Da da da da da! Yeah.

[Andrew and Micah laugh]

Andrew: Okay, so that was this week's Gimme A Butterbeer segment. Thanks again, Benjamin.

Voicemail - Legilimens The Horcruxes?

Andrew: Now it is time for this week's voicemail questions. They are back this week thanks to Kevin finally getting his act together.

[Ben laughs]

[Audio]: Hi, I'm Michelle from Florida, and I wanted to pose a theory on Harry finding the Horcruxes. If Voldemort puts a piece of his soul into each Horcrux, one which Dumbledore believed to be Nagini, and then if Harry can Legilimens his way into the fragmented soul of Voldemort and also Nagini during the attack on Arthur Weasley, couldn't Harry use Legilimancy to find the rest of the Horcruxes by connecting with the other fragments of Voldemort's soul?

Ben: The answer is no, and here's why. The first reason is because, in order to accomplish Legilimens (however you say it), you must be able to make eye contact with the person and then be able to read their thoughts and stuff that way. And it would be kind of hard for Harry to make eye contact with a Horcrux. And the reason that Harry was able to get into Voldemort's mind really wasn't Legilimens, it was the fact that he had the Horcrux - not the Horcrux, excuse me, the scar on his forehead. So, that's what allowed him to enter Voldemort's mind. Not really Legilimency.

Andrew: Very well said, Ben. Next voice mail.

Voicemail - Get Out Of My Bar

[Audio]: Hi, this is Kelsey from Indianapolis, Indiana. In Half-Blood Prince, Trelawney tells Harry that she remembers Snape being thrown out of the Hog's Head during her interview with Dumbledore, but if it were true that Snape only heard half of the prophecy, she shouldn't have remembered him at all. I find that very suspicious. Do you think there's something about that interview that Dumbledore never told Harry? Thanks, love the show! Bye!

Micah: Wouldn't Trelawney know, though? I mean she got interrupted, so obviously she's going to know who's outside the door, no?

Andrew: Right. Well, she would look, I would imagine.

Micah: I don't think Dumbledore - I think Dumbledore was completely honest with Harry once he sat down and he told him everything that happened that night. I don't think he left any information out. Yeah, I think once Snape got caught outside, Dumbledore obviously opened the door or whoever opened the door, so that's why Trelawney knew that Snape was there.

Voicemail - Stop Picking On Me

[Audio]: Hi, my name is Sammi. I'm from a suburb outside Chicago called [inaudible] and I was just wondering, you know, me being 17 and loving Harry Potter, and you guys are all around the same age - do you guys ever get made fun of, because I know I do all the time? Love to hear what you guys say. Love your show! Bye!

[Andrew fake cries]

[Micah laughs]

[Andrew continues to fake cry]

Ben: Awww, welcome to Andrew's world.

Andrew: Too bad Eric's not on the show. I'm sure he would have some good stories about this.

Ben: He would be able to empathize with her.

Andrew: To be honest, my answer is no.

Ben: Mine too.

Andrew: Because I tell people about MuggleNet and they say, "That is cool, Andrew. Do you want to go do something?"

Ben: Well, actually, that last part's not true.

[Andrew and Micah laugh]

Ben: With me they're like, "Yeah, that's pretty cool!" You know?

Andrew: Mhm.

Ben: "You're famous!" That's what they tell me.

Andrew: Just tell them - just tell them that you met the actors, and that you work for the biggest Harry Potter fan-site online, and then ask us to put up a little fake bio about you on MuggleNet, and then you can totally trick them out, and then they'll think it's cool. Micah, are you a subject of bullying?

Micah: Well, you read a press release earlier, didn't you?

Ben: I read that too.

Andrew: Yes I did.

Ben: That was messed up.

Micah: That was pretty funny, though, wasn't it?

[Andrew laughs]

Ben: Yeah.

Andrew: Yes. Do you get bullied in the work office?

Micah: In the work office? No, actually they're...

Andrew: Do you need a guidance counselor?

Micah: There are a lot of people around the office that like the series and like the movies. I don't think they really listen to MuggleCast. But for the most part, everyone's pretty cool about it. I'll get the occasional joke and the occasional quip remark or something like that, but overall...

Andrew: [Says mockingly] "Hey! Got a scar on your forehead?"

Ben: Do they know you work for - do they know that you are with MuggleCast and all that?

Micah: Yeah, some of them do. There's a part of it on my resume, so...

Andrew: Oh?

Ben: Oh, really?

Micah: Yeah

Andrew: How about you, Greg?

Greg: When I wear Harry Potter t-shirts to school, I'll get some remarks like, "Oh, you like Harry Potter? You're so immature! How old are you?" It's like, "Hey, you Snape-ing Horcrux!...

[Everyone laughs]

Greg: ...I can read!"

[Everyone laughs]

Andrew: I'm sure they love that comeback.

Greg: [laughs] Oh yeah.

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