Recent HP observations:

– Stephen Fry’s Hermione is much, much better. There was no way it wouldn’t be since I hate Jim Dale’s Hermione very much. But yes. Fry’s Hermione sounds bossy and like a know-it-all, but she doesn’t sound absolutely annoying. If any of the Harry/Hermione shippers ever heard the way Dale has Hermione say Harry’s name, I’m pretty sure they would all find the pairing absolutely unbelievable. That’s how terrible Dale’s Hermione is.

Of course, the true test of Fry’s domination over Dale will come when Luna appears. Nowhere to go but up there either.

I should add that I enjoyed Dale’s reading of HP overall, but I hated the way he voiced Hermione and Luna and maybe one other character. Those were the moments that took me out of the story. All of his other voice work and character work was just fine. But, omg, Hermione and Luna are just terrible. Terrible.

– I love Percy. I really do. I know people don’t, but he makes so much sense to me, and I love that Hermione is able to talk to him about classes. Also, Percy’s comment that Peeves won’t even listen to prefects is perfection.

– Hagrid hints that only losers have toads as pets. Enter Neville with a toad for a pet. Oh, Neville. I love you. I really and truly do.

– Snape is a terrible teacher. TERRIBLE. I’m not even counting how he treats Harry (which is, of course, awful). He calls Neville “idiot boy.” That is not on. Also, Hermione raising her hand so high she lifts out of her seat in his class is, again, perfection. I feel you, Hermione.

– Harry’s first dream at school is that Quirrell’s turban talks to him and tells him join Slytherin, which makes his scar hurt. Oh, and Quirrell doesn’t want to talk about what happened to him when he faced zombies in Albania. But he’s fine with the vampire questions.

– Hagrid is delightful when read by Fry. I think this is the most I’ve ever liked that big guy.

– James’s wand was excellent for transfiguration and Lily’s was perfect for charms. Never noticed either of those details before.

Also, because everything exists on the internet, here’s a comparison of Jim Dale and Stephen Fry reading from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. (Seriously, what did we do before YouTube?)