Not my favourite of the five
I wondered how I would feel if Sirius was the one. Well I know now. I feel terrible. I feel as if a real person has died. I wish I didn't, but I do. I suppose it's a tribute to JKR's skill at (sometimes) creating characters that really resonate with people at some archetypal level. For example, I don't really think Luna Lovegood is one of her more successful creations. *rolls eyes*
Much as I may wish it were otherwise, the hero's journey JKR is writing is Harry's not Sirius's. Therefore the important markers in that journey have to happen to Harry. One of the most important of these is that he has to learn that he is not invincible. It has been pointed out on more than one occasion that he has never failed (where it mattered). If he is going to successfully defeat LV the possibility of failure has to be very real - otherwise he won't believe that he might. More importantly, we as readers won't believe he might.
So for us to believe that Harry can fail, what better way to underline the impact of what it can mean, than for him to fail to save the life of the person he most cares about? And for that death to be unnecessary, a waste of a good man's life? What a bitter, bitter lesson it is for Harry to learn.
I can see why JKR has done it, but I don't have to like it.
So apart from the demise of my favourite character, how was it for me?
It pretty much rocked. I liked the character development of most of the teenagers (although Draco Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins remained sadly 2D)
I LOVED all the backstory and detail we got (loads of names) especially about Sirius's family. OOtP will have settled a lot of arguments - James had hazel eyes - and fuelled more - so just what House was Sirius in?
Dolores Umbridge - what a hideous character. Poisoned honey indeed. A bit OTT towards the end, though.
Luna Lovegood - as above. Weird.
Figg - so much less important than we had thought.
People got their wish of seeing more of the twins, but they may not have entirely liked what they saw. Ditto MWPP.
And what I really like, is that Neville could have been the Boy Who Lived, that it wasn't inevitably Harry. It is so much our choices that make us.
So, where does my writing go from here? I'm not sure. In my writing, the Hero's journey does belong to Sirius, insofar as there is a Hero's journey in what I write. I decided about 7 or 8 months ago to try an AU and see where that took me. I'm pleased that it only needs minor tweaking to bring it back into line with the backstory we've found out in OOtP. I'm REALLY pleased that I was nearly spot-on with the way the Dursley's were protecting Harry. I already had some ideas for more in that universe, so I'm likely to continue, after that, who knows?
And I missed JKR herself! I had decided that I wasn't going to head into the centre of town at midnight on a Friday night to Waterstones in Princes St to get my copy - I know call myself a fan? Instead I was down there at 7:50am, only to find that if I had gone down at midnight I would have seen JKR, who turned up to do a suprise book signing, although she only signed about 40 copies - all for kids before leaving.