Julia Welfynn
Ju404
Order of the Phoenix


Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is one of the best books I’ve
ever read. It is the fifth book in a line of 7, that just seems to get better
and better as the series continues.

The book introduced to us, several new characters, including, but not
limited to, Professor Dolores Umbridge, Grawp, and the house elf known as
Kreacher. Just when we thought there would never be another professor at
Hogwarts who hated Harry as much as Snape, along comes Dolores Umbridge. As
awful to Harry as Snape is sometimes, it is nothing compared to the way Umbridge
treats him. From being kicked off the quidditch team, to writing painful lines,
she did not take it easy on Harry. Grawp is the full sized Giant that is
Hagrid’s brother. Hagrid discovered Grawp while on his journey with Madam
Maxime, and brought him back to Hogwarts to take care of him. Kreacher is the
disturbing house elf who resides in the house of Black. Remaining loyal only to
Sirius’ Mother, he proved to be quite a pest throughout the book.

The Order of the Phoenix also brought the return of the arrogant Gilderoy
Lockhart, who was a little less sharp in the mind as he used to be. Harry, Ron,
and Hermione ran into him while visiting Mr. Weasley at St. Mungo’s. Although
Lockhart lost his memory in the Chamber of Secrets, he still seemed to be fond
of his old life. He loved signing autographs, even though he couldn’t
remember his own name.

Harry’s experiences in the Goblet of Fire brought him troubles in the
Order of the Phoenix. Harry constantly had to relive the horrors of the night
he came face to face with Voldemort. It tested his friendships with Ron and
Hermione, and was partly the reason for being excluded from the Order. Harry
was alone for a good portion of the summer, and when he finally arrived at
Headquarters, he let out all of his frustrations on Ron and Hermione. They did
not fully understand what Harry was going through, and were very sympathetic to
him.

Harry became angry with Professor Dumbledore for leaving him in the dark on
important issues. Dumbledore feared to look at Harry, for Harry was a second
pair of eyes to Voldemort. Harry started taking Occlumency lessons with Snape
to be rid of his dreams of the Department of Mysteries. However, Harry’s
curiosity outweighed his willingness to get rid of these dreams, and he
continued to envision the door whenever he slept, progressing a little further
through each time.

Through her ties with the Ministry of Magic, Umbridge was given the title of
Hogwarts High Inquisitor. This role, unfortunately, gave her more power than
even the Headmaster himself had. For anyone who got in her way of running
Hogwarts, an educational decree was created. Not surprisingly, each educationl
decree she created had something to do with Harry. Umbridge also created the
Inquisitorial squad, composed of all Slytherins, who badly abused their powers.

Being sick of the lack of a proper Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson,
Hermione introduced the idea of Harry teaching the students in secret. Harry
was skeptical, and thought that Hermione would be better suited for the job, but
she quickly pointed out to him that he was the best Defense Against the Dark
Arts Student. After thoroughly convincing him, a group of students who wanted
to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts, met at the Hog’s Head in Hogsmeade.
The group later became known as the DA, or Dumbledore’s Army. They met on
designated days in the room of requirement, until Umbridge and her inquisitorial
squad found them out. Dumbledore protected Harry and the other students by
claiming that he was the creator of the DA. He then disappeared, so Fudge
couldn’t have him sent to Azkaban, and Umbridge was installed as the new
Headmistress.

Fred and George Weasley made sure to make it has hard as possible for
Umbridge to run the school. They set off a swamp in one of the corridors, which
the teachers pretended they couldn’t get rid of. When they left Hogwarts,
they enlisted Peeves to torture her further.. “Give her hell for us Peeves.”

In a brilliant attempt to get rid of Umbridge, once and for all, so they
could rescue Sirius, Hermione pretended that they knew of a weapon that was to
be used against the ministry. Harry and Hermione led Umbridge through the
forest to show her the “weapon”. Instead of the supposed weapon, they led
her straight to the centaurs, who despised wizards of any kind. They attacked
Umbridge and carried her away. They would have done the same to Harry and
Hermione, had Grawp not passed by. The centaurs shot their arrows at Grawp, and
splattered blood all over Harry.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna flew on thestrals all the way
to London in order to save Sirius. They entered the Ministry of Magic, and made
their way to the Department of Mysteries. Voldemort’s Death Eaters chased
them through a maze of rooms, looking for a prophecy that involves Harry and
Voldemort. Harry finds the prophecy, and tries his best to keep it from them.
The members of the order show up to rescue Harry and are engaged in a battle
between themselves and the death eaters. It is when this happens that Sirius is
killed by his Bellatrix. Dumbledore appears at the ministry of magic and
battles with Voldemort, while trying to keep Harry protected.

Fudge, who for the longest time, was under the impression that Dumbledore
was against him, saw with his own eyes that Voldemort had indeed returned. He
could no longer deny the truth, and was once again on the side of reason.

Harry was devastated by the death of his godfather, Sirius. He wanted
nothing more than to die himself. He tried his best to make contact with him,
using the mirror, but it was no use. He even asked Nearly Headless Nick if it
was possible for Sirius to become a ghost, but Nick shot that down too.
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On a side note, I would just like to add a few things that I didn’t put in my
report… I was impressed with Neville in this book. He showed bravery beyond
what I had expected in him, and I saw him differently for the first time. He is
no longer to me, the scared boy who wasn’t good at much, but a very brave one,
who works very hard and has showed tremendous improvement. I would also like to
say that the death of Sirius was devastating to me as well… He was my favorite
character in the series, and reading his death was very painful. Despite that,
it is still my favorite book so far, and I’m hoping beyond hope that he might
return somehow.

Very good Analysis, shows good knowledge of the book and I am glad you didn't rewrite the whole novel out, you just pick bits of the book and explored that...

50 points...