Fresh Out Of Hogwarts

The first time I went to see Harry Potter I tried phoning someone during the credits to share the squee.

The second time I stayed sat in my seat to watch the credits in their entirety and to discover that they put paw prints on the map later on. And Harry says "mischief managed" at the end.

The third time I discussed the movie during the credits with a friend I had dragged with me to see it. It was when he asked "So, who was Voldemort?" in perfect seriousness that I realised that our conversation might have certain slightly limiting factors to it.

It was on the escalator out the cinema last night that I first articulated the thought that had occurred to me during all three viewings. Lupin's final scene. Mary Poppins, anybody?

Mary Poppins, renegade witch. Obviously concealing her wand in her umbrella, just like Hagrid. I dread to think what would happen were you to swish and flick whilst muttering 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocius'. (Even though the spelling of it might be quite atrocious.) Also, the street paintings. Moving paintings, magic paintings, variations on a theme. And the obsession with feeding birds, she obviously just misses her owl, poor lost creature. She even has her own pseudo crystal ball, if I remember correctly, with the whole of St. Paul's Cathedral held within.

The deciding parallel is Dick Van Dyke's character Bert and his obvious connection to Poppins' multi-flavour medicine. She had to be getting her supply from somewhere, because she certainly didn't pull out a cauldron from her bottomless bag. 'Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans' ring a bell? Obviously just a later development in the product line.

I don't even want to know what a modern day Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department would have to say to her.

Thus it is I share with you the latest of my never-to-be-written crack plotbunnies.

Mary Poppins, the prequel: 'Fresh Out Of Hogwarts'.