The Potter Discussion: Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and the Wizarding World Fandom

What 150 Episodes and 2 Years Has Taught Me About Harry Potter!

October 02, 2022 Sound Owl Media Episode 150
The Potter Discussion: Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and the Wizarding World Fandom
What 150 Episodes and 2 Years Has Taught Me About Harry Potter!
Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

In this episode, we discuss what I've learned from 150 episode and 2 years of Harry Potter podcasting. Enjoy!

Topics and Links:
·     When I started this podcast in 2020, I found a video that told what a podcast was and how to start one, so I began to listen to podcasts. Eventually, I wanted to start my own podcast. I tried topics on books, like a book club, but I settled on Harry Potter. I still have the very first recordings of episodes saved that will never see the light of day (for now…).

·     After many theories I switched to longer form episodes, which I am very glad of. My story telling mode only kicks in when the theory was finishing up, not when it was at the peak. Now I have the freedom to tell a rambling long story.

·     Thinking about the story and characters can only get you so far, but talking out loud about it is how my understanding was deepened, which is another area the length of episodes came in handy.

·     I’m big into the Harry Potter audio books. It is an immersive experience that allows for a full spectrum of the story.

·     There are also some questions in the story that can’t or shouldn’t be answered. You may say: “Well, every question should be answered!” But that might not be true. Questions are very valuable to the fandom and the story, and opinion questions are what keep the fandom going, and the ones that can’t be answered, because there’s more than one answer.

·     The ones that shouldn’t be answered are the ones that are more valuable unanswered that answered. Why is Dumbledore haunted my Ariana? Why do Dumbledore and Aberforth have some level of resentment towards each other? These questions keep the story going and should be kept in the vault. 

·     You also don’t have to approve of everything Harry does. He is certainly a hero, but all of his actions aren’t perfect. Harry shouldn’t feel the need to lash out every second of every day. He may not live in a very peaceful place, but his stubbornness with a small amount of arrogance makes for an uncomfortable environment for Harry.

·      Another lesson I have learned it not every couple is meant to be. Remus and Tonks look good on the surface, but Remus is worried about his son becoming a werewolf and Tonks isn’t, so they fight. Pansy Parkinson and Draco is another good example. Pansy showers Draco in compliments and pampers him, which Draco loves. A good match right? Not really. Draco is enjoys compliments because he is insecure. Here are some episodes that explore this: BreakDown: Draco Malfoy Pt. 1 | BreakDown: Draco Malfoy Pt. 2 | Draco Malfoy and his Big Secret

·     The best part of Harry Potter is making connections in the real world. Seeing sets, places in London, and studio tours. Its inspiring to see where the cameras really were and seeing the real Hogwarts Express and model of Hogwarts. Sitting where Draco was, walking where Harry was. Those things are what make Harry Potter so magical.

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VO:
Welcome to the Potter discussion.

Oscar:
Welcome back to the Potter discussion, discussing Harry Potter fantastic piece in the Wizarding World fandom. I'm your host, Oscar, and this is episode 150. Yes, yes. We finally made it to 150. Only 50 more to go until 200 huge milestone. I do have something planned that I thought of yesterday. So in about a year when that comes around, that is going to be the episode that we are going to be doing, the one that I thought of yesterday. I do have time to make it and write it and design it, if that gives you any hint of what it will be. But there is some time between them for 50 more amazing episodes of the Potter discussion. I want to thank you all for listening and you specifically for sticking around for every episode. If you've been here since the beginning, I hope you have seen how much this podcast has grown. And if you haven't, I hope you are excited to see it grow from here. So again, thank you all for listening to the Potter discussion for years at this point. But today we have an episode like every other day. This is a good one and this is not a usual episode because I'm going to be talking about stuff in the real world and in the story. This episode is about all the things that two years and 150 episodes of podcasting has taught me about Harry Potter and podcasting, pretty much. So that is the topic for today's episode, because I was thinking and there's a lot there's a lot of things that I've noticed and things that have changed and just little whatever that seems small to me now but are huge later. And I wouldn't have gone certain places at this podcast. I wouldn't have met certain people or got involved in different things. So I am thrilled that I made the choice to stick with it. And I definitely think that I'm going to stick with it for a long time in the future. So that is the topic of today's episode, what two years and 150 episodes has taught me about Harry Potter and podcasting. But before we get into today's episode, I will give you a few little announcements. First up on the quill and ink. This week, the Potter discussion newsletter. I will be going more in depth into this topic. So if you enjoyed this episode, make sure you sign up for the Quill and Ink, because that issue is coming out to you soon, this Wednesday, October 1, today. That's why I'm recording this. It is around October 5, 6th. So if you are listening after that, and I'm sorry, you cannot get that email, but if you are listening before then, absolutely sign up. Because if you enjoy this episode, more content like it is coming your way. And a very happy International Podcasting day to you. It was on September 30. That's a Friday. It is passed as I'm recording this. So it's passed while you're hearing it. But international Podcast Day. Woohoo. That's awesome. Glad I made an International Day for it. So that's exciting. But now that's all out of the way, let's get into today's episode. The first thing that I have really noticed, the first change that has been made throughout my years of podcasting has been that my understanding of the story has been significantly deepened. Before I did this podcast, I was a huge Harry Potter fan. I mean, of course I wouldn't have started this without Harry Potter, but when I was trying to think of something to podcast about, I really could not think of a good topic. This is really kind of a look back into the history of the Potter discussion. But it was in September and August, or August mostly of 2020, that I really started to think about this. I was just scrolling on YouTube like anyone does, and I saw this video that was how to start a podcast in 2021. And I never heard of a podcast. I clicked it and it was like, yeah, you need a microphone and this and you need to do that. And then you read your episode. And I was like, whoa, like that? No thanks. But I was introduced the podcast. That was my dip into the water, which is very important because I never heard of a podcast up until then. So I asked a friend of mine, I said, this whole podcasting thing, do you know about it? And they said, yeah, I listen to podcast. And I was like, wow, that's strange. I didn't realize it was such a big thing. And it actually wasn't a terribly large thing then. But I started to listen to podcasts. And before then I was a huge audiobook person. I made audio books all the time and I still am, but now I interspersed with the occasional podcast. It's split 50 podcast and audiobook, which is perfect. But back then it was 100% audiobooks. Then it kind of podcast begin to creep in. And I was like, wow, this is good because I like to take walks and do things that require my attention in my hands and my eyes. So watching videos is great. I'm going to sit down and do that. I can't just put on a video and then do the dishes or something like that. Now I'm going to put on a podcast and do that. So that's really where this whole thing started. And then I was like, you know what, nothing to do. Covet is happening. I don't want to get the spicy cough, so I'm going to start the podcast. And I had no idea what that meant back then when I was so much younger and less wise. But I tried so many different things. I tried stuff on books. That was really when I was closest, but that was the first thing I tried was a book theme podcast, like a book club type thing, going chapter by chapter. Then I tried a Harry Potter chapter by chapter podcast, and I really liked it. So I said, no. Harry Potter. I'm definitely going to keep Harry Potter in mind. I didn't do chapter in chapter, which I'm kind of glad because I want to save that for another day. And plus, there are some other Harry Potter podcasts in the genre doing that at the moment, so I don't want to encroach their territory. But I was doing chapter by chapter, not publishing episodes, just sitting at my desk, actually sitting right where I am now. I was doing that and I was speaking to my little microphone on my headphones, and it was like, very late. I mean, I didn't realize that recording the morning is really when I prefer to do it. But I tried that. It was like it just wasn't clicking. I tried a bunch of fact podcast. Like, you know, that stuff you should know podcast. I tried something like that because I wanted to teach people to kind of tell a story, to do something like that, and that just didn't really work. I was like, I don't really want to do this. And eventually I said, you know what, harry Potter definitely feels like a way to go. And I'm a much bigger Harry Potter fan now because talking about Harry Potter has deepened my understanding of the story and everything. I can appreciate a lot more. But back then, I was, of course, a huge Harry Potter fan. Now I'm a ginormous Harry Potter fan. But back then, I knew facts, not my thing. Chapter by chapter, not my thing. Book club would be awesome. But there's one series in particular that I really like, that's Harry Potter. And so the Potter discussion was born. I'm actually glad that I picked a relatively good name for the show because rebranding is very difficult. Changing the artwork is not nearly as challenging because it keeps the title, it keeps everything. Because what I did was I just found a random Harry Potter related photo on a stock image site, put it into a photo editor, put the Potter discussion on it, and then that was my chapter artwork. Actually, it wasn't that bad because the font was pretty cool, but the image was edited horribly by me. And I'm going to keep that forever because I really want to know. But I have three recordings on my phone, not even my computer. I have three recordings on my phone of the first three episodes of the positive discussion, and they're not published. Those are just my tests. Those are my earbuds episodes one, two, and three. I think it's the founder's items. Maybe something to do with Hagrid and the giant squid. I have these episodes, and I'm never, ever going to tell anyone that I have them. Of course, now the cat's out of the bag, but I'm never going to share them unless maybe episode might be like 300 or 400. I might consider it because that's just so funny. I think I'm going to keep it up because they're so embarrassing. Well, for me at least, I think later, when I have been podcasting for longer, I'll definitely appreciate having them. But for now, no thank you. So I have those, but that's kind of how it started. I think history is interesting. This kind of history, looking back, is very fascinating. And from there I did 79 theories exactly, actually, of theaters about Harry Potter. I did my research, I had questions that I answered, and a lot of them were crazy. A lot of them were perfectly sane and plausible, and a lot of them were in between. And I really enjoyed doing it. And then I realized that two episodes a week, although short, is difficult. So I switched. I did one episode a week around episode 80. And actually soon I will have done more longer episodes than shorter ones around episode 81, 61. In a couple of months, I will have done more longer episodes than shorter ones. But around episode 80, I switched from long form or rather very short form, like 1015 minutes short form theory, scripted to just kind of rambling discussion longer. And the first episode I did was I think it was was it true villains? No, it was character arcs. That was the first episode and I really enjoyed it. I said, like, this is pretty cool. Doing these longer episodes I really enjoyed because I feel like I got into my story mode when I was almost done with the episode. Like, now I'm telling a story and that's at like eleven minutes or almost twelve minutes of recording, and by this time I would be wrapping up the theory, which is cutting it away too short. The value extends so much farther. So I knew I really wanted to do the long form. And I'm glad I switched. And from there, really, the rest is history. I've done a lot of episodes about Fantastic Beasts, about different character breakdowns. Quiz Master tried out a bunch of series that didn't work, and I'm glad I not continued them. Like the Slowmo, which I shouldn't have called it a series because what I really should have done is just broken down that one scene because that's why I started it. I did a slow mo episode, which is I called it a series, breaking down different scenes bit by bit. And I probably shouldn't have done that because the one scene that I did, the Battle of North Phoenix, my favorite scene in the entire series, is the one scene that I was thinking that would be a great episode for it, and it was a great episode for it, but after that, I mean, kind of filled it out and also flipped the script. It shouldn't have been a series because it's a very simple thing that could have been explained in no series. But those exist. Those are there. There are good episodes. I'm going to leave them because they're good content. But that is kind of the history and how I really saw deeper into the story. Because even now, like what I'm saying, I have so much more insight into what I'm doing. I have so much more opinion and just ability to choose topics and stuff like that. So it's really deep my understanding of podcasting and kind of talking about characters and stuff. And it also has deep my understanding of the story and Harry Potter because thinking about the story and the characters and the plot and all the different twists and elements can always get you far. I had so many ideas and questions and things that weren't answered and things that I want to be answered and different or whatever is constantly throughout my reading of the story. And that was great. I mean, questions always question, always wonder, but I wanted to answer them. And talking through this, I mean, three times an episode I'm like, oh yeah, I forgot about that now. I know I do that so much. I forget things and then I remember them on air and then I answer my own questions accidentally, like all these different things. I'm just so glad that I can talk about these things and really understand more about them because there's definitely a difference between talking out loud, listening and reading. I think there's a lot of different things. I think listening to the Harry Potter books is probably the most immersive way to consume them because you're hearing the narrator do different voices and you can really just close your eyes and just lay down and just really visualize what's happening. It's much more immersive experience. And I think the books is really where the detail is. That's where the story it really comes to life on the page. So the audiobook, the reason I started audiobooks is because it's such an immersive thing. Like I'm saying, it's like an audio drama without all the sound effects and all that kind of stuff. And I like the audiobooks because like I said, I don't have to be reading. I don't be carrying on a book. It's just my phone and some headphones. And I like the book because it's very detailed. You can go back, you could look at the chapter artwork, you can feel the pages, you can really see the story unfold. And the films are great because of course you can see the characters. You can put faces to names and names to places and all these different things. You can really have a better understanding. But the best combination of consuming the story is the audio books. The books and the films because that's when all strengths of all mediums really come together. Because now, whenever I'm listening to the audiobook, I can see Hogwarts and I can see Harring Ron hermione. And whenever I am reading, I can see the Room of Requirement and for a Proof of drive. And I can really use the chapter artwork and the artwork on the outside of the book. I can really see everything in so much more detailed. The book really helps the audiobook come more come to life. The audiobook helps the book, and the films help everything, and the books help the film. This is really a multilayered thing of how my understanding has been deepened. But the bottom line here is really that so many things are complicated and a lot of things are simple in these books. And talking out loud about Harry Potter has allowed me to see all aspects of the things that I had previously not completely understood, like different characters, different relationships, different places. This has really allowed me to see deeper into the plot and have a better understanding of where the story is going as a whole. And with that very long section, let's move on. Another thing I've realized, and this is a rather strange one it is that some questions can't or shouldn't be answered. A lot of people might disagree because they might say, well, every question should be answered, and we should know everything and kind of have a basic understanding of all aspects of the story. But that's really where I disagree with you here, because I really like asking questions. Questions mean you don't know everything. Questions mean there's more to be discovered. It means that there is a layer that is still yet unchanged. It is buried beneath the story. And questions, in my opinion, are really one of the most valuable things you can do in terms of asking them about a book or about a film or about a story. So when I say that some questions can't be answered, it's the questions that are 100% opinion. Something like, does X and y relationship work? Should hogwarts accept Slytherins? And there's a clear cut answer, but it may not be the right answer, and it may not be the wrong answer. It may be a nothing answer. Maybe it is the right answer. We just don't know this kind of thing. The questions that have too many variables to know, like, Is that good? Any of the questions like, Was Coral evil? You're like, yes, it was. But then you might be saying, well, no, because it was Voldemort who really bewitched him with his words and kind of showed him a dark path and really steered him. But then you're saying, well, no, but Coral believed him, but then he did this and he did that, and then Coral accepted the back of his head, but then Coral was afraid of him, and it didn't really want and then he felt like that rabbit hole is an awesome one. And that is a question certainly a certainly good question for another day. That's also why I started the show. To answer those questions and to discuss Potter to the Potter discussion. But can't is the opinion based? Is the no yes or no? The maybe the kind of the Easter egg sparked the unknowable and they shouldn't a different part of this? This is really something that I think is a bit of a strange take on it, I think, but some questions shouldn't be answered is definitely something that I stand by because something like what did Snape really think of Lily? Is a great question. That's something I really would have liked to see answered. But I don't think it should be answered because that is Snape's business. I think we're really kind of approaching him from an angle that he doesn't feel comfortable with. So leaving the story in the minds of the characters is very important and I think that's how it stays alive. We don't know everything about the story. We don't know everything about the characters. We can't see into their minds and we can't understand what they're thinking and feeling and seeing for themselves. And that question of what does what is Dumbledore's actual plan? Why is Dumbledore so haunted by the death of Ariana and does he think it's his fault? Why does he have a fourth dislike Dumbledore? Why does this happen? Like, all the different things sorry, I'm talking about Dumbledore a lot. I just watched the serious Dumbledore again on HBO. It was great, by the way. But all these different things culminate into the unimaginably valuable answers that will explain the story, that will explain so many things. And that's why I think they shouldn't be answered because I don't want those things to be explained. I would love it for those things to be explained. I mean, on my deathbed, I'm going to say, all right, just tell me now. Because the magic of the story is what the characters do and how they do it. The relationships, basically, of course, again, that is a topic for another day. But the question that should be answered are the ones that take the magic away. It's like a magician showing his tricks. It's fascinating. It is absolutely fascinating. Like when you see in like insanely amazing magic tricks. I mean, that is impossible. You blink and a house is there. You blink and it's gone. That is just amazing. But when they tell you like, oh, you're just wearing VR Goggles and I just click the button. All right, okay, that's great. Maybe now I know how to do that now. But now the match is gone. Now I can't think about that. Now I can't wonder. That's the kind of thing that I don't want to be answered. It's the questions that matter for the story. The innermost questions, the most sensitive that I think should be left in the vault. The ones I was talking about, the ones involving Dumbledore and Snape and even Petunia, what does she think about Harry Dudley? What's his side of the story at Fort Brew Drive. I am spitting goals out here. These episodes I'm going to do in the future 100% but it's those things that I don't think should be answered rather than cancer. So those are my thoughts on general questions but let's move on. This next thing that I want to talk about is one that I have been thinking about for a long time and something that I really had to come to terms with and that is you don't have to approve of everything Harry does. Harry Potter, the main character, the valiant Gryffindor, the savior of the Wizarding world sounds great, right? Well, maybe not. This is definitely again, that's all for another day. How many times am I going to say this episode? But Harry is the main character of the story and is a good person. He saves the world, he defeats Voldemort in a valiant effort and he is really honored among wizards and witches. So good for him. But everything he does is not perfect. You don't have to approve of his entire person and I don't really I think he is rather stubborn, too stubborn for his own good and it did get him through the Wizarding World, the battle of Hogwarts and did aid him in his journey. He has a lot of self destructive qualities, he has a lot of trauma and his childhood and things like that. He is a very interesting person I think is definitely a good breakdown topic. But you don't have to prove off his entire person because there are things that he does that you don't. Like he spies on Vernon and Petunia, which is that is for good reason, but then he insults them and runs away like I hate to say it, but it's kind of cowardly. He shouldn't feel the need to lash out because he is not allowed to hear something. I think he has many other ways of gaining access to the news than just by listening to the wisps of it under the window. For example, newspapers, he was getting them out of bins and he was talking about Muggle newspapers when he was talking about that in the Order of the Phoenix. No one's throwing away the daily profit in a Muggle bin for sure. So that's how he gets the news. How about a library? Maybe it's too it's not in little Binging but maybe friends even like Mrs. Fig who I'm sure is of course a squib and she doesn't have to be ultra friendly with them but you can at least tell him stuff like those kinds of things. There are outlets for Harry that he is not seeing, he's not accepting, he's not using to his advantage despite the fact that he absolutely could. So those are things that I think Harry could definitely work on as a person. But the main message here is that you don't have to approve of every person, of everything here. He does is that the main character isn't always the best. They aren't always perfect, they aren't always courageous and amazing and everything you want them to be and they go through hard times, but sometimes they always come out on top because they have flaws. And I think writing a character with flaws is really fascinating. And it's characters like a pain villain. Those are the characters that I really enjoy watching or reading. For example, Voldemort I enjoy reading because he hates his father and his family and everything to do with them. I think his is definitely less of a kind of story that I would want to hear about because it's not so much pain and just anger and frustration and resentment. But someone who struggles with themselves. Someone who has pain that they cannot get rid of inside themselves. That they have to work with their enemy or their foe or their presumed enemy to get rid of those characters. Fascinating. That's why I'm so disappointed that they're not in Harry Potter because I think a character like Voldemort who should have some kind of insecurity she has something like inside him that he just wants to get rid of. But no, he doesn't. I think Snape and Dumbledore are probably the closest characters because we see in the fantastic B series that Dumbledore is haunted by the fact that he may have killed Ariana and that he is not a good person. That he is of course a fantastic person and the chilling bow to him and he is very pure of heart. But he doesn't think so. Which is really a fascinating thing for a character. So I would like to be a villain like that. But Harry, he's not like that. He doesn't have anything inside and he wants to get rid of. I think it's just the fact that he's a partial tongue and all that kind of stuff. But that's not him, even. That's a Voldemort and it is inside them, but it is not him. It's not a fundamental part of himself. So that's really what I'm trying to get out here, is that Harry doesn't always have to be the perfect person. He doesn't always have to be the perfect character who always does the right thing. He always is in the right situation. He sometimes does not have to be written perfectly. He does not have to be the perfect character and he does not have to be the perfect person in general. So that's the main message of this talking point. But let's move on. This next point is a simple one. It is one that I have been preaching for a long time. That is, some couples just weren't meant to be simple as that. Some people just don't go with other people and they just could not accept that, or they are just in moments of pain that they cannot get out of, that they need someone helping through it. And those are the couples that I think were not supposed to be together. The ones that popped to mind are Remus and Tonks and Malfoy and Pansy parkinson you could argue that they weren't really a couple, but I mean, they were flirtatious towards each other. So let's start with Remus and Tonks. They are a great match on the surface. They are one's clumsy one is not the same kind of opposites and opposites attract, of course, that's how the saying goes. But that's just on the surface and there's so much more on the inside than just on the surface, as we all know. And that is I think the main factor here is the werewolves inside of Lupin, who Lupin is terrified of passing on to his son Teddy. And that is really what sparks Lupin's misgivings about marriage and about being in a relationship and with having a child, passing on his DNA of a werewolf hood to his kid and he's very terrified of that. So he wants to save a child from that and not be with Tonks. But Tonks doesn't see it like that. She wants to have a kid because that is amazing and of course it's a wonderful thing and they want to build a family, but Loop is like, no, we can't because of werewolf and all that kind of stuff, let's just get married and be done. No, but this but no but, yes but, no but. You can see what the problem is here and that's why they have such a difficult time together, because they fight, because Lupin isn't around a lot, because he has to be with the Order and fighting voldemort and there's so many problems here. So that is really one group that I think could have done without each other. Certainly remus tongs. And the second one is Draco. And pansy Parkinson. I think they're definitely a better couple than Remiss and Looping, loop than Remiss and Tonks. But I think it's definitely born out of Draco's insecurity than anything because I think they definitely go together and Draco likes being pampered and put on a pedestal and complimented and shown to be the best. And that's exactly what Panty Parkinson does. She know, gives it like strokes his hair and gives them all these things and compliments him and all that kind of stuff, which is exactly what Draco wants. So it's perfect. But I think Draco wants all that stuff because he's very insecure about himself. That could be for a multi different reasons that actually are explained in episodes previous. So if you'd like to check out those, those will be in the show notes. But Draco has a lot of insecurities again in the episodes and I think that's why he wants to be with someone like Pansy who is all about compliments and all that kind of stuff. So Draco wants to be with Fantasy because she gives him a bunch of compliments. He can feel good about himself and he can. Accept them and think, well, if one person thinks this, then everyone must think this. And that kind of mindset may not be the healthiest. So that's really what I see here with

Participant #1:
Draco. That's a new one with Draco. But those are kind of my thoughts on the couples that were meant to be. It's a simple one. That's why we don't have to go on a longer discussion. But that's the bottom line. Some couples just weren't meant to be together. And let's move on. The final topic for today is one that is very close to my heart and one that I have definitely discovered recently. Rather than later. Sooner rather than later. That's what I was trying to say. And that is that's the best part of Harry Potter. That's the best the best part of Harry Potter is making connections in the real world with filming locations and sets and studio tours and all that stuff. That's really, well, one of the best, if not the best parts of Harry Potter as a whole. Visiting the real place, meeting the real people, making connections to London, like real London and Harry Potter London, seeing where they flew, seeing where they walked, seeing all this stuff in the real world and also reading about in Harry Potter is the best. That is really the final thing that I ever realized after so many years of reading, watching and listening to Harry Potter. And I think the thing that really sparked this was just recently, a couple of months ago, on my trip to the UK, I went to London and Oxford and Lake Hawk and the Leviston Studios and all this different stuff, all these different places that were where Harry Potter was filmed. And that kind of stuff was those locations were the places that really sparked my amazingness juices in my brain. And I guess you could say it's just so inspiring to see where the cameras were, like the cameras were there, filming that exact place I was standing, where the directors were. I was walking through all the sets, through the big ticking clock, through the bottle of Hogwarts, through the Hogwarts Express, through the borough, through the night bus, through the greenhouses, all those different places where what was there, and then going home and reading about them and knowing, and then watching the movies and seeing them and seeing exactly where I was on film. That is amazing. And in Oxford, in New College is where they filmed a lot of the courtyard scenes. To seeing all of that and then seeing Hermione in the window, and then Harry and Ron walking out, and then Draco on the branch and Cedric on the bench, and then going there and walking where Harry was sitting, where Draco was lying, where Cedric was just walking with the Hogwarts students is amazing. So that's really, in my opinion, one of the best parts of Harry Potter. And as I said in the very beginning of this episode. I probably wouldn't have done any of this if I didn't start this podcast because I have been my fan. I don't know what you would call it. My level of commitment to Harry Potter has definitely gone through the roof since recording all these episodes and talking about all these characters in depth. And I likely would have done some of the things, but like the Harry Potter studios, not a chance. Not a chance, which is one of the favorite places that I've ever been. So just imagine that I maybe would not have done this if I hadn't started this podcast. And I didn't realize that there's such a wide world full of the things that I love and things that I can see and touch and feel and just really understand fully. That is really the best part of podcasting in Harry Potter, making connections and meeting people. I saw so many people at the Harry Potter studios and I talked with someone and I talked to all the people working there who were just the same Harry Potter fans that I were. And even besides that trip, like going to the Harry Potter store, seeing the cursed child, all these things are just things that I would never have done if not for this podcast. That's why I am eternally grateful for you listening right now. You are the one who helped me do all these different things. And probably I hope I helped you a little bit, if not just entertainments and hopefully giving you the motivation to go see these plays and go to these stores and places and filming locations and countries and travel and meet new people and just expand your horizons. So that's really it the amazingness of Harry Potter. Summed up in a couple of minutes, really what I have learned from podcasting, from talking for hours on hours. I should do the math and I'll get back to you on that one of literally how many minutes I have been talking. It's going to be very approximate. That'll be very interesting, actually. So there we have it. That's the episode I hope you enjoyed. Again, if you did enjoy this episode, then the Quill and Ink is coming out with an issue on this topic around October 5, six. So make sure you sign up for that if you're listening. After that, unfortunately, you cannot get that email, but there are a ton of more emails coming your way, a ton more magical content. So make sure you subscribe to the Quill and Ink newsletter. If you have any questions, comments, topics, or anything else you want me to know that you want to hear on the show or just let me know. Then make sure you send me an email. My email is thepotterdiscusion@gmail.com that is thepotterscuscusion@gmail.com you can also send me a DM. My Instagram is at the Potter discussion and I'm also at Potter underscore discuss on Twitter. Thank you all again for joining me. Today was a wonderful day. Recording fortunately, where I am, the sun is not out and it is raining a little bit. But as always, it was a pleasure to talk to you. And as always, remember that happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on. I will see you later.

VO: 
This was The Potter Discussion

VO and Intro
My understanding of Harry Potter has been deepened
Some questions are better left unanswered
We don't have to approve of everything Harry does
There are some couples that don't belong together
The best part about Harry Potter is making connections in the real world
Outro + CTA