Chapter 30 - The White Tomb

[cheeringcharm]

Classes and examinations have been canceled. Students are being whisked away from Hogwarts by frightened parents. Ministry officials are staying at Hogwarts. Everyone is waiting for Dumbledore's funeral.

Harry spends his time with Ron, Hermione and Ginny, repeating his horcrux mantra, the locket...the cup...the snake...something of Gryffindor's or

Comments

[cadesama]

"because it was hard to forgo his best source of comfort" -- Harry might as well be talking about giving up drinking. The only angle on the relationship is how it affects him, and not at all how Harry sees Ginny as a person. He needs the comfort. He can't be distracted by her. He can't lose another person. Am suddenly reminded of Anakin's speech to his mother from AotC. Aaaand I'm done.

You go, Hermione, cling to your tiny shreds of rightness! It's very important that Snape is related to Eileen Prince . . . I'm sure.

Argh, are we going to get recaps at the ends of the books as well as the beginnings now? Yeah, we know you spent time with Dumbledore, Harry. We've read the books.

Uh, Harry, Ginny wasn't used as bait in CoS because she was your best friend's sister. She was used because she was Tom Riddle's instrument, and he was dead bored with her.

I'm sorry, but Harry going back to the Dursleys is just an unforgivably stupid plot device. Even if we play along, and assume that Harry actually is safe there (despite all

[woman_ironing]

I very honestly hope that the graves of Harry's parents are a) tacky tourist attractions and b) empty, because his parents are now Inferi. Serve him right for never visiting in six years.

Lol!

Oh cadesama, you have become bitter! Come on now. Have a sit down, a nice cup of tea, and a slice of malt loaf. Works for me.

[cadesama]

But but but . . . wishing bad things on Harry doesn't make me bitter! It makes me enjoy the plot of the book! Now, wishing that Dumbledore would become an Inferius simply so that he can die a second time . . . that show I'm bitter.

[madderbrad]

Ha ha ha!! Okay, I've enjoyed your anti-Dumbledore stance over this book, and you've had the evidence to back it up, but I thought by now I was inured to your treasonous diatribes against the world's most powerful/best wizard. But this one sneaked up when I wasn't expecting it (must have been your shortest entry ever) and caught me by surprise. LOL, good stuff.

[house_elf_44]

"because it was hard to forgo his best source of comfort" -- Harry might as well be talking about giving up drinking. The only angle on the relationship is how it affects him, and not at all how Harry sees Ginny as a person.

Another reason why I think something's fishy with H/G. This sounds so selfish. When I was reading predictions for HBP, I thought it was ridiculous to think Jo would give them snogging buddies. But that's what we got! Not even considering whether he might tell Ginny everything, and the trio waiting for her to leave to talk about the important stuff added to the feeling that she was a snogging buddy. Which is what Jo labeled her as, actually, "a distraction arrived in the shape of Ginny".

[cadesama]

I dreaded H/G because I never believed JKR would make them less than soul mates (too many attachments to other characters and too much ::gags:: "thematic symmetry" for otherwise), but I really, really wanted Harry's dating experience to exclusively fall into the snogging buddy realm. I'd actually be happy with the H/G relationship in the book (well, sort of) if not for the damned interview and ideal girl crap.

[madderbrad]

When I was reading predictions for HBP, I thought it was ridiculous to think Jo would give them snogging buddies. But that's what we got!

Given what we did get, I would have been happier if she'd left the whole romance thing alone, as she did up until HBP. The boy-girl stuff really seemed like a very superficial paper-thin veneer laid over the plot. Except for the fact that half the darn book seemed to be spent in watching the Won Won show. Was she under pressure and needed to pad the book out, feeling that a reduction in page count would be counted as a failure? Did she take too much notice of all the fan sites and decide that romance was necessary?

Or is it impossible to write fiction about sixteen year olds without having kissing buddies?

[house_elf_44]

Was she under pressure and needed to pad the book out, feeling that a reduction in page count would be counted as a failure? Did she take too much notice of all the fan sites and decide that romance was necessary?I blame it on alchemy. The 6th step goes with Venus, and the chemical wedding, which is often symbolized as sex in various locations and positions

[pilly2009]

I very honestly hope that the graves of Harry's parents are a) tacky tourist attractions and b) empty, because his parents are now Inferi. Serve him right for never visiting in six years.
LOL! I know this was probably meant to be sarcastic, but I would seriously pay big money to read that. *crosses fingers

[cadesama]

Dude, why would that be sacrastic? I've been hoping that the Potter's graves were tacky tourist attractions since right around the release of OotP. The Inferi stuff is new, I admit, but would be extremely fun wrenching to read.

H/G on the first readthrough was such a laugh riot that I didn't think she could possibly be serious about it (Growling/purring chest monster? Ginny's "flowery" scent [so original that I'm dying of envy]? "The heart and soul of the Quidditch team"? [HarlequinSQUEE!11], and don't even get me started on the Spiderman-ripoff end scene), but now that I know she actually is, it's really sort of creepy.

Heh, so true. It's bizarre too, since I thought the Harry/Cho relationship was handled both realistically and enjoyably. There were awkward, wince-worthy moments, but those were scattered around so that it didn't affect my opinion of either of them (unlike R/Hr), and what happened in the relationship was tackled enough for us to get a real flavor of what it was like and why it ultimately wouldn't work (unlike H/

[pilly2009]

I've been hoping that the Potter's graves were tacky tourist attractions since right around the release of OotP. The Inferi stuff is new, I admit, but would be extremely fun wrenching to read.

If Voldemort doesn't use Lily and James in this manner to get to Harry, then he's an even bigger idiot than canon makes him out to be -- I figured the main reason that JKR touched on the subject of necromancy with the Inferi at all was because they can be brought back as anyone's dead loved one.

Heh, so true. It's bizarre too, since I thought the Harry/Cho relationship was handled both realistically and enjoyably.

What's ironic is that as far as actual writing and literary structure goes, Harry/Cho will actually come out far more superior to H/G when the series is over and the books are being studied; at least there JKR was able to tell us why the relationship would not work...odd that she can't tell us why H/G would (all of their dates happen offscreen).

[madderbrad]

I figured the main reason that JKR touched on the subject of necromancy with the Inferi at all was because they can be brought back as anyone's dead loved one.

My goodness, but that's a great/clever idea! A sort of mirror of their battle when Voldemort was resurrected, except we get back inferi rather than ghostly echoes. Great stuff to think about, thanks!

H/Cho really was superior to HBP's H/G, wasn't it? In OotP I was emotionally involved in Harry's fumbling attempts with Cho, even if I hoped they wouldn't last. But my biggest emotion with H/G was just ... surprise.

[pilly2009]

What's telling is that people have b*tched about Cho's behaviour in OotP, about Harry's behaviour toward her, about general frustration to the relationship as a whole, but it's been two years and I have yet to see anyone complain about how unrealistically or badly it was written. It was put together very well.

Whereas sadly, I think surprise is probably the best thing HBP!H/G has going for it (and possibly the only reaction JKR hoped to ignite that she did so successfully). The number one problem with H/G is how badly it was written, with the number two problem often being how badly GINNY was written, then come the complaints about the relationship in general.

[cheeringcharm]

et apparently not important enough for him to know any of her friends, her interests (other than the ones she shares with him of course), or even the classes she's taking this year.

Let's also not forget that she's not important enough for Hermione to tell her about Eileen Prince. She pointedly waited until Ginny left before telling Harry about it. Although that could be a case of Hermione not wanting Ginny to belittle her for telling Harry "I told you so."

[pilly2009]

When you think about it, Ginny knows about as much about Harry as Harry does about her...perhaps a bit more, since his friends are both her brother, and her only older female friend