"Your world. My world. Yer parents' world." (p. 54). For those of us who have felt like we've never fit in, just as Harry, these words of Hagrid's are a comfort, a shock of warmth, and one of the reasons I adore this chapter. 

The first curiosity, and funny coincidence, I found in this chapter was Vernon Dursley responding to a question of Hagrid's with "something that sounded like Mimblewimble" (p. 54). You might be familiar with this as the incantation for the Tongue-Tying Curse, but to Muggles, this just seems like a string of words meaning nonsense. I find it a bit humourous that Vernon is unknowingly saying something quite magical, despite all his efforts to avoid and run from it. 

On Harry's letter, Dumbledore's name is followed by a list of impressive titles, all of which I was quite familiar with except for one: Supreme Mugwump. After a bit of  research, I found that it had nothing to do with Muggles, as the name might suggest, but is rather the head of the International Confederation of Wizards (for any Muggle-borns, think of it like the Wizard United Nations). There is debate as to where the term comes from. It may come from the Native American Algonquin word for "war-leader". The term is also used colloquially among Muggles to derogatorily refer to someone who is too impartial, especially in political matters. 

In her spiel about Lily's magical abilities and her jealousy, Petunia mentions something strange: "(Lily) came home every holiday with her pockets full of frogs-spawn, turning teacups into rats." (p. 57). This appears to be breaking the Statute of Secrecy, as she would be in a Muggle household. The most plausible explanation is that she is in close proximity to a wizarding household, for example, that of Snape, who has a witch for a mother, and is practicing her magic there, possibly with Petunia present. 

When Hagrid describes to Harry the recent history of the wizarding world regarding Voldemort's rise to power, a few lines stood out to me. The first was: "Didn't know who ter trus, didn't dare get too friendly with strange wizards or witches ... Terrible things happened, he was taking over. 'Course, some stood up to him - an' he killed 'em." (p. 59). I don't know why, but my mind first jumped to Sirius Black, who was so quickly distrusted even before his imprisonment as a mole within the Order (as we know him and Lupin suspected each other), and then to Regulus Black, who did stand up to Voldemort, and met his death as a result.

There are surely other examples, but this is where my mind led me. Hagrid also says: "Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway." (p. 59). Of course, upon a first read you take this as a sign of Voldemort's fear of Dumbledore, which it is, but it could also be a foreshadowing, as we know everything eventually culminates in the Battle of Hogwarts years later. 

Only a page later, I was struck by a few names Hagrid mentions in passing: "he'd killed some of the best witches an' wizards of the age - the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts" (p. 60). We will later learn that these were people in the original Order of the Phoenix. A relative of the Bones, Susan, even ends up being in Harry's year, and a Prewett, Molly Weasley, ends up as a maternal figure in Harry's life. If you are unaware, the Prewetts who died were Molly's older twin brothers, Fabian and Gideon, who's initials, F and G, are repurposed into the names of Molly's twin sons, Fred and George. 

There is an interesting bit of foreshadowing from Hagrid, when he talks about the fall of Voldemort on the night he attacked the Potters: "Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die." (p. 62). It is near impossible that Hagrid is aware of Horcruxes, but his guess is actually extremely accurate when we come to learn how Voldemort was able to "survive" after his own Killing Curse rebounded on him. 

This chapter is the first time Hogwarts is referred to (here by Hagrid) as "the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world." (p. 63). Maybe it's my overly analytical and nitpicky nature, but it made me wonder: is it genuinely the best wizarding school, or is that just something British witches and wizards say out of a sense of national pride? I'd have to learn more about other wizarding schools to know for sure, but as someone who is very interested in other cultures (I am an avid language learner in my spare time), I do wonder if this is a case of bias. 

In summary

• A world we belong in
  


• Explaining "Mimblewimble"


• What is the Supreme Mugwump?


• Lily using magic outside of Hogwarts in her school days


• Linking Hagrid's words to the Black family


• Foreshadowing the Battle of Hogwarts


• A hint of the original Order of the Phoenix


• Hagrid foreshadows Horcruxes


• What is the "best" wizarding school in the world?