Hands, softer than he had been expecting, touched Harry’s face, pulled back an eyelid, crept beneath his shirt, down to his chest, and felt his heart. He could hear the woman’s fast breathing, her long hair tickled his face. He knew she could feel the steady pounding of life against his ribs.
“Is Draco alive? Is he in the castle?”
The whisper was barely audible; her lips were an inch from his ear, her head bent so low that her long hair shielded his face from the onlookers.
“Yes,” he breathed back.
He felt the hand on his chest contract; her nails pierced him. Then it was withdrawn. She had sat up.
“He is dead!” Narcissa Malfoy called to the watchers.
And now they shouted, now they yelled in triumph and stamped their feet, and through his eyelids, Harry saw bursts of red and silver light shoot into the air in celebration.
Still feigning death on the ground, he understood. Narcissa knew the only way she would be permitted to enter Hogwarts, and find her son, was as part of the conquering army. She no longer cares whether Voldemort won.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
Mal: My thanks Wash, nice save as always.
Wash: A pleasure.
Mal: And how are our passengers?
Kaylee: They’re fine. So, what happened? Was there a terrible brawl?
Zoe: Oddly enough, there was.
Wash: Are you gettin’ my wife into trouble?
Mal: Wha? I didn’t start it! Just wanted a quiet drink.
Zoe: Funny, sir, how you always seem to find yourself in an Alliance-friendly bar come U-day, looking for a “quiet drink.”
Mal: See, this is another sign of your tragic space dementia, all paranoid and crotchety. Breaks the heart.
Firefly – Episode 2 – “The Train Job”
‘What one is bound to do, one usually does with little acknowledged feeling; a vague desperation, no more,’ he said, taking up his stance. Yet as he did so his face assumed a cold, dangerous aspect and his body moved with the easy precision of a machine. The sand spat up from the edge of the handkerchief; the smoke lay hardly stirring; the horse was little affected by the noise, but it watched idly for the first dozen shots or so.
‘I have never known such consistently accurate weapons,’ he said aloud. ‘I wonder, can I still do Dillon’s old trick?’ He took a coin from his pocket, tossed it high, and shot it fair and square on the top of its rise, between climbing and falling.
Post Captain – Patrick O’Brian
It’s great when a TV show can surprise you. It’s even better when a show can surprise you with the very plot development you knew was inevitable, simply by the way the story was told and the timing of events. Agents of SHIELD pulled off just such a surprise this week by giving us something I knew would happen eventually but so soon in week two. Last week we got an early glimpse at some of the ongoing storylines for season three with the introduction of Lash, the ATCU, and Daisy’s search for Inhumans. This week brought back May and Ward, missing from the previous episode, as well as a guest star from season one, all while solving some mysteries only to leave more behind. Throw some major emotions into the mix and I couldn’t be more excited about the direction season 3 is headed. So let’s jump into “Purpose in the Machine”, written by DJ Doyle and directed by Kevin Tancharoen.
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Buffy: What do you want?
Spike: I told you. I want to stop Angel. I want to save the world.
Buffy: Okay. You do remember that you’re a vampire, right?
Spike: We like to talk big, vampires do. ‘I’m going to destroy the world.’ That’s just tough guy talk. Strutting around with your friends over a pint of blood. The truth is, I like this world. You’ve got… dog racing, Manchester United. And you’ve got people. Billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with legs. It’s all right here.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 2: Episode 22 – “Becoming (Part 2)”
Every movie critic wants to stand out from the crowd. There’s a joy that comes from trashing a highly popular film, and a righteous pleasure from praising a film that was critically panned or generally ignored. But lauding a film that’s cheered by both critics and moviegoers feels a little superfluous, as we’re telling people what they already know. Nevertheless, here I am to tell you that The Martin is just as good as critics and audiences alike have proclaimed. It’s a tense, dramatic story of human ingenuity and the will to survive that feels like a mashup of Apollo 13, Gravity, and Cast Away, but funnier and generally more fun than any of its predecessors. The result is a film that takes tried and true storytelling tropes and makes them feel fresh and entertaining, all anchored by a standout performance from Matt Damon, making The Martian director Ridley Scott’s best film in over a decade.
“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry’s ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure.
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
The Love Pirate 