In this episode, Liz and Heather discuss their favorite bits of information about the Harry Potter world after-the-fact (Potter After Dark).

On the tail of Heather attending Houston's Comicpalooza, we discuss all of our favorite things we have learned about the Harry Potter universe after the series ended. A lot of this came from the Jason Isaacs' (Lucius Malfoy) panel at the convention.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  We have a giveaway! At Comicpalooza, met an awesome artist who gave us a Wonder Woman print ($60 retail value) to give away on our podcast!! Sweet!!! The photo of our giveaway is posted on our Instagram page, so make sure to check it out!  In order to qualify to be in the drawing for this print, we will announce the keyword sometime throughout this podcast - you need to tweet us, Facebook, Instagram, or e-mail us the keyword. You have until July 31, 2015 to enter! You need to make sure it is addressed to us, and you can post the keyword. On August 1st, we will randomly draw the winner and will contact you if you win! We will also announce the winner on our podcast following the drawing. So sign up! The print is amazing!!

Topic 1 – Jason Isaacs' appearance at Houston’s Comicpalooza 2015 and how he impacted the outcome of the Lucius Malfoy character. The video is on YouTube, so make sure to check that out.

Topic 2 – Harry Potter facts we learned after the series/movies ended

• Dumbledore is gay. - We never thought anything about this.
• Rowling is the first person to become a billionaire by writing books.
• Fred & George Weasley were born on April Fool’s Day.
• Draco Malfoy attended Fred’s funeral. He stood in the far back, careful not to be seen. He’d never let on that he secretly thought the twins were quite funny, and he was truly sorry he’d been part of the reason Fred died. He felt that way about all who died, but he would have never attended the funeral. Draco would never tell anyone he was there, and George would never tell anyone he saw Draco cry, apologizing to the headstone.
• Vladimir Putin was pissed about the portrayal of Dobbie because he felt it was based on him.
• Dumbledore & Harry saw the same thing when they looked into the Mirror of Erised – Themselves reunited with their families.
• Voldemort was incapable of loving someone because he was conceived under the effect of a love potion.
• A Patronus often mutates to take the image of the love of one’s life because they so often become the happy thought that generates a Patronus. This is why Snape’s Patronus was Lily’s doe.
• Severus Snape is the only Deatheater who can produce a Patronus.
• Harry, Ron, and Herminoe were all put on Chocolate Frog cards. Both Ron and Albus Dumbledore consider this their greatest achievements

Topic 4 – Horcrux in Harry vs. the Dursleys (from the article) – Is this why they were so cruel? Horcruxes make people that much worse, even if they are already terrible people. We don't know if this is intentional by Rowling, but it makes sense to us and becomes Head Canon.

Topic 3 – From the article “37 things the Harry Potter movies need to answer (to the books)”, here are a few that we agree definitely needed to be mentioned in the movies.

• Aunt Petunia’s howler from Dumbledore and why they were unable to just kick Harry out when they clearly hated him. They don't explain to the audience why Petunia was so jealous and hateful.
• The Elder wand - in the book, he uses the wand to mend his own wand and then places it back with Dumbledore. In the movie, without fixing his own wand - he breaks it in half and chucks it over the side of the bridge.
• Where the heck did the Weasley twins get the money to open a shop when their family is really poor? They got it from Harry.
• Dumbledore’s backstory. Seriously? “This was his sister” is about all that comes out of it, when it was truly complex.
• The Marauders were never explained – Who were they and how were they connected to Harry? And what did Harry do with the map after Hogwarts?
• All memories connected with horcruxes are removed, so how can people really understand what they are?
• Weasley house fire. That never happened. How could they afford to rebuild?

 **Keyword mentioned**

Internet comment of the week – “I didn’t get in, but it was still neat to have a small owl deliver my rejection letter.” – Commentary from The Onion

Bitch of the Week – (Heather) – Stores not having enough people to run the store. Especially during the busiest times of the day! The stores are trying to save money by cutting their employees, but they are doing it at the expense of their customers.

Mr. Massingill Award - The dude with the shoe ad. (check out Pinterest page for the full report)

Recommendations –

• Liz – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix series)
• Heather – Criminal Activities (movie - coming out Sept/Oct 2015)
• AND Bossypants by Tina Fey (book)

Don't forget to enter into the drawing!! This print is really cool! Send us the keyword through social media or through e-mail!!

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You can e-mail us at ContactUs@nerdybitches.com, or you can e-mail each of us directly at liz@nerdybitches.com or heather@nerdybitches.com

This week, the Nerdy Bitches talk all things Harry Potter. We are supermassive fans of the series, both books and movies. Why were they on the banned list at one point?

Liz is currently reading the books to and watching the movies with her 7-year-old niece.

Themes

• Friendship - They aren't completely torn apart by petty shit. They always come back together and have each others backs. Each character has his or her strengths and weaknesses, and they play off of those well. Harry probably wouldn't have made it very far without Ron and Hermoinie. Additional friendships come in to play as the series - Luna, Hagrid, Neville, Ginny, etc.
• Good vs. Evil - This is a very strong theme throughout the whole series. But even within the good and bad, there are factions of good and evil within. Example - The Malfoys. They are terrible people, but mostly because they don't even have any motivation to do anything but follow what is easy. As we go through the series, we can see that Draco starts changing and isn't ready to just go in full force.
• Girls Kick Ass - The main character is Harry, but where would he be without Hermoinie? Hell, he can't even fix his own glasses without her!
• Some struggles are worthwhile - You have to go through the bad to get to the good. This series teaches youngsters that they CAN make a difference and stand up for what is right (just because it is right).

Are we the only ones who think that Hogwarts is the most dangerous school on the planet?? Why do people keep sending their children there? For example, why in the world would the Tri-Wizard Tournament even be a thing? Like is it ok to let 14-17 year olds play in some tournament that could kill them?

Where do magical children go to school before age 11? Do they go to Muggle school? Are they home schooled? What gives? What happens to the Squibs? Do you have to go to Muggle school? Are you just out? We need to know these things, J.K.

Favorite Characters

• Heather's: Snape! - It didn't happen immediately, but he's all Alan Rickman, so how could you not like that? He's just awesome and hates stuff. The ultimate red herring in the series. We never saw that coming, even when they were showing us his good side all along.
• Liz's: So many. All of the characters are so well developed. But top 4 - Hermoinie, Luna, Hagrid, and Neville. They come out of the woodworks to help out and save the day. We love how Luna was always true to who she was - weird and all.

Least Favorite Characters

• Delores Umbridge - gag!! Pure evil. All she cared about was power. She never cared who she hurt to get there.
• The Durselys. Just mean people for no real reason. Jealous and hateful to Harry, almost to the end. Uncle Vernon has zero redeeming qualities. We do love that Dudley and Harry get to be friends at the end.

The Dumbledore Twist - What the hell? Everything along the way tells us that Dumbledore is the benevolent figure - until the end, when we find out that he has really been keeping Harry safe until it is the right time for him to die. Backstory on Dumbledore - also power hungry in his younger days, but when bad shit happens, his life changed.

You think you know people, but you don't always.

And then there's Hagrid. We LOVE Hagrid. He is the one person from the very beginning to always put himself out there for Harry. He really was a father-figure to Harry. He is sorely overlooked in this capacity. He is consistently good.

Bitch of the Week: Movie theater close-sitters: Hello, I got to the movie on-fucking-time, so no, I am not moving so you can sit together 2/3rds of the way back. Sit up front like the rest of the late assholes. If the theater's not full, you get to sit on the very edge or the front four rows. If you wanted a good seat, you should have got here on time. Once the lights go down... game over. I'm in my spot - I don't need to make more of an effort for your late ass.

Out of Context Comment of the Week:

Unless they say Hogwarts on the ass a'la juicy couture, these are a rip off... And even if they do, I dont want the word "warts" that close to my genitals. – JM 

Recommendations:

• Heather: AdBlock extension (free) - Blocks all flashing ads/banner ads, etc.
• Liz: Retailmenot.com - Find coupon codes online for just about anything you want to buy.

Next week - Book Club! Princess Bride! Join us for the fun!

E-mail us with any feedback at ContactUs@nerdybitches.com. You can always find us on Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. Also, give us a 5-star review on iTunes and we will shoot Delores Umbridge out of a cannon!