Magical Readathon / Winter 2019/2020

In case you hadn’t noticed in recent years, Book Roast over on Youtube has created a fun, reoccuring harry potter themed readathon called the magical readathon. Next to the OWLS and NEWTS readathon she does, she often ends up doing some extra ones throughout the year, like in December 2019.

You can hear and find more information in her video and she has also created a magial readathon site. You don’t nessecarily had to do this in december and/or could take as long as you wished with it. So if you just now see this, you can still join in at any time. And this counts for the other readathons as well.

For this readathon we did not get a set prompt list. Instead on each sunday a chapter would open (story of chamber of secrets mostly) and based on your decisions you could get 1 or a few prompts per chapter. With a total of 5 chapters. Now that I am finished. I just thought I’d share my choices and reading. I am obviously not going to recount the entire text story here. Just my choices.

I finally finished it this month! I was doing so well with chapters 1 to 4 and keeping up but then the actual horror of 2020 started and well, here we are.

Chapter 1

It starts with Dobby who wants you to not return to Hogwarts as in the book. I choose to: Falsely promise you won’t go back to Hogwarts so Dobby Leaves.

When it is time to get suplies it is time to choose where to go first. I choose to go: Straight to Flourish and Botts.

Reading Prompt 1
Grab Your Most Recent Acquired Read! Be That Bought, Borrowed or Inherited.

Then someone familiar comes into the bookstore. I choose to : Roll your eyes and proceed to pay – you have the books you want to check out.

Off to Hogwarts we go.

My book choice is: Neon Genesis Evangelion Volume 2
At the time of opening the chapter one of my most recent borrows from the library

Chapter 2

So how did I sleep. Just fine at the Leaky Cauldron. After going to the train station, ron of course has to tip over his sisters trolley. I help and wait on Ron. And oh no, now we can’t get through!

Reading Prompt 2
Read a Book with an Orange Cover (or that has orange in the title).

Ron suggests going to the car. Of course I respond with: Ron wait. No. Lets wait on your parents! Oh luckily Mr. Weasley arranges a floo network for the two of you.

Reading Prompt 3
Read a comic book, manga, picture book or graphic novel

My Book Choices are: Hellstrom’s Hive by Frank Herbert  & Aquicorn Cove by Katie O’Neill
The Dutch edition of Hellstrom’s Hive has a dark orange title and Aquicorn Cove is a graphic novel.

Chapter 3

Time to start at Hogwarts and get your first breakfast. I choose: buttered toast, eggs, sausages and bacon.

A few weeks pass until Hermoine shares that they are starting a duelling club. Nick is also holding his 500th deathday party. And your quidditch captain wood is holding some non-mandotory quidditch practices. Of course they are all at the same time. I ended up choosing on going to Nearly Headless Nick’s deathday party.

Reading Prompt 4
Read a paranormal book or a book that has ghosts

Nick’s deathday party isn’t quite as cheerful as one would have thought. Rotting food and all.  Nick is sad about a rejection and hermoine really doesn’t want to talk to moaning myrthle. So what to do? I choose to cheer Nick up. It is his deathday after all.

In the end we manage to sneak away to the great hall for proper dinner. As we near the great hall we hear some unsettling sounds. Something is shining on the wall ahead. We look up. The Chamber of Secrets has opened!

My book choice is: City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
A bit of a stretch but I think ghouls and djinn are stretching paranormal. Shhh.

Chapter 4

After the message has appeared, Ron is sure it is Malfoy. In a quest to find out of he is the slytherin Heir Hermoine suggest a polyjuice potion. You have to choose whether or not to use it. I choose to find another way.

You are wandering the hallways thinking about that other way when the 7th floor hallway is flooded. It is coming from the bathroom. An old leather book has clogged up one of the toilets. Of course I pick up the book.

Reading Prompt 5
Read a book that has been written by an author who’s last name starts with either T, M or an R.

The diary appears to be empty. Yet when you start writing in it a message appears. ‘Hello, my name is Tom Riddle’. You ask if he knows anything about the Chamber of Secrets, he says yes and you dive into a memory.

The memory says that Hagrid opened the chamber the first time. How can that be? You race to Hagrid’s hut. Yet when he is about to answer you he is taken away for the second opening of the chamber. As he is led away he says: “If anyone wanted ter find out some stuff, all they’d have ter do would be ter follow the spiders.” You choose to follow the spiders.

Prompt
Why couldn’t it be follow the butterflies?
Tweet a picture of a butterfly with #ifollowedthespiders

After having spoken to Aragog you know that Hagrid did not open the chamber. But not more than that. You sneak back into the castle.

My Book Choice is: Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse
Two r’s!

Chapter 5

​ A month has passed and there is a party in the dorm. I play a game of gobstones.

You help out Neville and some students at herbology with the mandagoras for the un-petrify salf, by carrying sack of earth to them. After an hour you head back to the castle.

Another message is on the walls. Someone was taken into the chamber. It is Ginny! In chapter 4 I followed the spiders. You learned the enemy is deadly afraid of roosters. Now you must find one.

Reading Prompt 6
Read a book with a bird, a winged creature or feathers on the cover.

You have a rooster and realize that the legend says that the first girl who died in the chamber is still at hogwarts. There can only be one. Moaning Myrthle. You head to her bathroom.

She shares her death story. She shares that the sink must be the entrance. 

Reading Prompt 7
Read the first book you think about

You use parsel tongue to open the entrance to the chamber and enter it. Lumos shows you all the bones that litter in the tunnel as you move forward. Than there is a fork in the road. I go left.

You run into a chimera of all things that tells you a riddle to pass: ‘A rooster flies up to the top of the roof with the wind blowing from the south, when it lays an egg. On which side of the roof will the egg roll, tell me this, left or right?‘ I choose neither.

You are able to pass and manage to find a large chamber. It is the Chamber of Secrets. Someone is lying on the floor. It is Ginny! You run towards her. Tom Riddle appears who is actually a young Voldemort. Oh no! He summons a basilisk. You run until you realize you still have the rooster with you.

Reading Prompt 8
Read a book that starts with an R

With a spell you get the rooster to start crowing. The basilisk screams and crashes on top of Tom who dissapears. You send out an enchanted message asking for help.

All is well again at Hogwarts.

My Book Choices are: The Tyrant’s Tomb, Tristan Strong, The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O
(I didn’t exactly read them in this order but shh)