On Re-Reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Phew. And done!
I'm doing what I should have done with previous posts, and putting this behind a big old LJ-cut to spare those of you who do not care that this is Harry Potter week, damn it. Personally, I adore seeing the entire world go mental about something that is not related to sports, war or politics, and I have been thoroughly enjoying my inanse indulgence in super-HP obsession for the last couple of months, even if my friends have been a hair's breadth away from staging an intervention at various times.
Part of my recent re-reading frenzy has been about re-asserting canon in my head - reminding myself that yes, once upon a time I was actually pleased about who Harry got to kiss in Book 6, and that I was once capable of having a conversation about Harry Potter without asserting that Ron and Draco are obviously soulmates (heh, this is fun for all the family when talking to people who have never heard of slash fic - their faces go all sorts of funny colours).
So, yes. The real book coming tomorrow. And apparently there will be a - bane of fanfic writers - epilogue that tells how everyone turned out. I've been fluctuating about an opinion on this - on the one hand, I've been very keen to *know* how it turns out, but on the other hand, fanfic has kind of spoiled me for that. I *like* that I don't know whether Harry is going to be an Auror, or a Hogwarts professor, or a wandmaker, or a drag queen...
On the other hand, this is the author's vision, and revisiting the books has shown me that, despite her tragic error in never giving Pansy Parkinson a decent sub plot of her own, she actually does a pretty good job. So here I am, (gulp) leaving myself in her hands.
And in the mean time... (spoilers galore, you know it)
So when they turn Book 6 into a film, that scene at the beginning with the Muggle Prime Minister - if he isn't played by either Hugh Grant or Anthony Stewart Head, there is no justice in the world.
While we're at it, Slughorn should be Terry Jones or Billy Connolly, Scrimgeour should be Bill Nighy, and Fenrir Greyback should *not* be Rupert Everett, no matter what Isabel says. Wouldn't say no to Tim Roth, though. Narcissa Malfoy should be Gwyneth Paltrow. I think she could actually play frosty queen bitch rather well, and I think the idea of her as Helena Bonham Carter's sister is hilarious. But I could live with Kristin Scott Thomas, the "obvious" casting choice.
If there is no Pansy in the film, I will kick something. Even if she does nothing but play with Draco's hair in the book. That's not the point. They still keep Parvarti Patil around, don't they?
Heh. The second chapter gives us no doubt that this book is all about Snape. This is the first time we've ever seen him in a scene told from a POV other than Harry's - and surprise surprise, suddenly he's all sexy and confident. No mention of greasy hair, and he's clearly relishing his power not only over Wormtail, but also the Black sisters. Evil definitely suits him.
Not that he is, of course, evil. :) Well, mostly not.
I find it fascinating that Snape agreed to the Unbreakable Vow, as this is one thing that can not directly be seen to advance either his role as Voldemort's flunky, or his role as Dumbledore's trusted comrade. He must have done it for his own reasons, and it's hard to see exactly what those are, other than being hot for Narcissa. Which is a definitely possibility. Protecting Draco, yes, fine. But the Vow is serious business, and certainly cuts off any flexibility in that protection. He's basically taken himself from double agent to triple agent. So, hmm. It makes me want to know more about Snape's history with the Malfoy family.
One of the (admittedly, minor) developments with HBP is the introduction of Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin previously named only in the Sorting of Harry's first year. Zabini is a character whom I have noticed as being hugely popular in fanfic, even before the reveals in HBP that he was a) a boy and b) black - neither are particularly shocking revelations, but they do provide for some lovely archaeological layers of fic that have been rendered now severely AU (espec. the girl!Blaise stories). In any case, after years of pretending that there are no Slytherins other than Draco, his two enforcers, plus Millicent and Pansy, it is interesting that JKR is expanding the cast at this late stage to include both Blaise and Nott. (cough, cannon fodder)
And yes, it has been said many times before, but how is it that Harry is still unaware of who half the kids in his actual classes are?
My big disappointment with HBP is that the previous book's expansion of Harry's Dream Team to include Neville, Luna and Ginny is now ignored until the very end. This is mainly because of the dissolution of the DA - which I still don't get at all. Considering that Harry now knows that he is going to be personally going up against Voldemort, why doesn't he take the opportunity to keep training up his fellow students in defence spells? His flimsy excuse that they have a real DA teacher now. But it's Snape! Harry hates Snape! In particular, Luna only has one or two notable scenes (she does at least get some comedy gold with her legendary Quidditch commentary, and her rather sweet "date" with Harry), and Neville is pretty much completely invisible even when participating in the final battle. Mind you, Ron and Hermione are also less important than ever before. Harry doesn't have time for friends - he's too busy stalking Draco!
Ah, the stalking Draco love. :) This is truly the best part of this book, ramping up the school yard rivalry to a quite vicious extent, and making it clear once again that Draco Malfoy is Important, people. I also like that Draco has finally been given depths beyond the usual "yah boo sucks, Potter," which is quite promising for book 7. Even Harry is starting to see things from his enemy's point of view, by the end.
One notable feature of HBP in comparison to earlier books is the romance quotient - while very few actual scenes are devoted to "slushy stuff," HBP establishes more romantic pairings than any other HP book, setting things up for the final volume. Most of the romances are dealt with pretty sharply, unless they can be used (like Ron and Lavender) for comic effect. Even the long-awaited Harry/Ginny pair up is pretty much blink and you'll miss it.
I found the perfumed car crash that was Ron/Lavender very entertaining, though Hermione's hysterical reaction to the romance was a little disturbing. I would have preferred her to be cooller about it because, you know, she's Hermione. I was just embarrassed when she threw spiky birds to attack him over it. Dating McClaggen was much better revenge. It's pretty obvious that JKR has Ron and Hermione heading for true love territory. Which is cute and all, but I can't help thinking that a long term relationship between them would probably destroy them both. Ron really doesn't seem the type to be able to cope with a partner who is more successful than him and, let's face it, she will be.
The worst-handled romance in the book is that of Lupin and Tonks - I have no problems with the pairing as such, as they're both cool characters and if they fancy each other, hey, why not? But the handling of the romance is terrible. I know JKR was hamstrung by conveying the romance through the eyes of Harry the Self Involved and Somewhat Oblivious, but I found it really disappointing to have cool, independent Tonks turning into a total drip and miserying around the place until she emotionally blackmailed Lupin (in front of their friends) into giving her a chance as a girlfriend. Blerk.
Heh. And thanks to the wonder of fanfic, I find it impossible now to read the "Too poor, too old, too dangerous" speech without adding, in my head "and by the way, totally gay for Snape/Sirius/Bill." I'm sorry, but if someone's making lame excuses not to be with you, that's a warning sign! Tonks deserves better. Someone put her on the back of a dragon and send her to Romania.
Getting back to the actual plot, Dumbledore is being awfully helpful in his private lessons with Harry, sharing his information, etc, giving him an insight into Voldemort's head. All well and good. But wasn't he actually supposed to be teaching him Occlumency? Wasn't that, like, an important skill for him to pick up? Too late now, dudes.
Also, Dumbledore makes a big thing about the seventh Horcrux - the one still inside Voldemort - being the one that has to be squished last. But really, wouldn't it make sense to bump Voldemort off again, and then run around mopping up the rest of the Horcruxes while he's back to that "half-life" he was in for the first three books?
It's nice to see Harry reuinted with his "trio" at the end of the book, as they haven't really been a team for a few books, now, what with the expanded DA team in OoP, Ron's newfound snogging superpower, and Hermione's extreme bitchiness (for two books solidly!). It's a little weird that Harry chooses to break up with Ginny at the end to keep her out of the fight with Voldemort, considering she's proven herself a far more loyal follower than his two best friends throughout the year - defending him and trusting his judgement where they raised skeptical eyebrows and told him a) Dumbledore knows best (hah!), b) Draco is harmless (hah!) and c) maybe you'd have a better chance of finishing your homework if you could stop staring at Draco for ten minutes (well, yes, fair point). Honestly, he should leave Ron and Hermione at home, hang on to Ginny, and pick up Fred and George along the way. They would be way more supportive sidekicks.
I can only hope that now Harry was proved right about Malfoy, this will cancel out the huge errors he made in OoP that Ron and Hermione are obviously still holding against him, and they can go back to supporting his hunches blindly in the final volume. He is the hero, after all, and if nothing else, it will save time. [note for HP drinking game, take a shot every time Hermione gives Harry a dubious look, or Ron says "but, mate..."]
I have to say, Dumbledore's chat with Malfoy on the Astronomy Tower is the first sign that he actually does care about any of the current students other than Harry. Who'd have thought it? Maybe if he hadn't spent the past six years completely alienating the current bunch of Slytherins, the chat might have had more effect.
Also, if Dumbledore is as smart as he keeps telling us, couldn't his expert silent spellcasting have been used to lock the door behind Malfoy?
I think it's fairly evident that Snape's actions on the Astonomy Tower were part of his orders from Dumbledore, and that he belongs to the side of Light. The story just doesn't work any other way. And I find it very hard to believe that Snape will survive his redemption, because that's also the way this kind of story goes. (and no, I haven't read any spoilers yet! I've been both good and lucky in this regard, plus I've been avoiding the internet for a few days)
My guess is that Draco will be redeemed & will be allowed to survive, though he will suffer for it. And, once and for all, it would be nice for Harry to actually *learn* the lesson that the world is not divided into those people who like him, and those people who are Evil. He already seems to be feeling sympathetic towards Draco by Dumbledore's funeral, and it would make for a more satisfying conclusion if these two have to work together in Book 7.
Heh. I know we won't get it, but wouldn't it be awesome if JKR actually went all crack!fic in the epilogue and had Hermione shacked up with Charlie Weasley and Oliver Wood, Ron and Luna raising 14 crazy babies together, and Harry and Draco as Big Gay Aurors? I know she takes her work seriously and all, but I can't believe she wasn't at least tempted to screw with us a little...
(pause)
(twiddles thumbs)
I need a book to read.
I'm doing what I should have done with previous posts, and putting this behind a big old LJ-cut to spare those of you who do not care that this is Harry Potter week, damn it. Personally, I adore seeing the entire world go mental about something that is not related to sports, war or politics, and I have been thoroughly enjoying my inanse indulgence in super-HP obsession for the last couple of months, even if my friends have been a hair's breadth away from staging an intervention at various times.
Part of my recent re-reading frenzy has been about re-asserting canon in my head - reminding myself that yes, once upon a time I was actually pleased about who Harry got to kiss in Book 6, and that I was once capable of having a conversation about Harry Potter without asserting that Ron and Draco are obviously soulmates (heh, this is fun for all the family when talking to people who have never heard of slash fic - their faces go all sorts of funny colours).
So, yes. The real book coming tomorrow. And apparently there will be a - bane of fanfic writers - epilogue that tells how everyone turned out. I've been fluctuating about an opinion on this - on the one hand, I've been very keen to *know* how it turns out, but on the other hand, fanfic has kind of spoiled me for that. I *like* that I don't know whether Harry is going to be an Auror, or a Hogwarts professor, or a wandmaker, or a drag queen...
On the other hand, this is the author's vision, and revisiting the books has shown me that, despite her tragic error in never giving Pansy Parkinson a decent sub plot of her own, she actually does a pretty good job. So here I am, (gulp) leaving myself in her hands.
And in the mean time... (spoilers galore, you know it)
So when they turn Book 6 into a film, that scene at the beginning with the Muggle Prime Minister - if he isn't played by either Hugh Grant or Anthony Stewart Head, there is no justice in the world.
While we're at it, Slughorn should be Terry Jones or Billy Connolly, Scrimgeour should be Bill Nighy, and Fenrir Greyback should *not* be Rupert Everett, no matter what Isabel says. Wouldn't say no to Tim Roth, though. Narcissa Malfoy should be Gwyneth Paltrow. I think she could actually play frosty queen bitch rather well, and I think the idea of her as Helena Bonham Carter's sister is hilarious. But I could live with Kristin Scott Thomas, the "obvious" casting choice.
If there is no Pansy in the film, I will kick something. Even if she does nothing but play with Draco's hair in the book. That's not the point. They still keep Parvarti Patil around, don't they?
Heh. The second chapter gives us no doubt that this book is all about Snape. This is the first time we've ever seen him in a scene told from a POV other than Harry's - and surprise surprise, suddenly he's all sexy and confident. No mention of greasy hair, and he's clearly relishing his power not only over Wormtail, but also the Black sisters. Evil definitely suits him.
Not that he is, of course, evil. :) Well, mostly not.
I find it fascinating that Snape agreed to the Unbreakable Vow, as this is one thing that can not directly be seen to advance either his role as Voldemort's flunky, or his role as Dumbledore's trusted comrade. He must have done it for his own reasons, and it's hard to see exactly what those are, other than being hot for Narcissa. Which is a definitely possibility. Protecting Draco, yes, fine. But the Vow is serious business, and certainly cuts off any flexibility in that protection. He's basically taken himself from double agent to triple agent. So, hmm. It makes me want to know more about Snape's history with the Malfoy family.
One of the (admittedly, minor) developments with HBP is the introduction of Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin previously named only in the Sorting of Harry's first year. Zabini is a character whom I have noticed as being hugely popular in fanfic, even before the reveals in HBP that he was a) a boy and b) black - neither are particularly shocking revelations, but they do provide for some lovely archaeological layers of fic that have been rendered now severely AU (espec. the girl!Blaise stories). In any case, after years of pretending that there are no Slytherins other than Draco, his two enforcers, plus Millicent and Pansy, it is interesting that JKR is expanding the cast at this late stage to include both Blaise and Nott. (cough, cannon fodder)
And yes, it has been said many times before, but how is it that Harry is still unaware of who half the kids in his actual classes are?
My big disappointment with HBP is that the previous book's expansion of Harry's Dream Team to include Neville, Luna and Ginny is now ignored until the very end. This is mainly because of the dissolution of the DA - which I still don't get at all. Considering that Harry now knows that he is going to be personally going up against Voldemort, why doesn't he take the opportunity to keep training up his fellow students in defence spells? His flimsy excuse that they have a real DA teacher now. But it's Snape! Harry hates Snape! In particular, Luna only has one or two notable scenes (she does at least get some comedy gold with her legendary Quidditch commentary, and her rather sweet "date" with Harry), and Neville is pretty much completely invisible even when participating in the final battle. Mind you, Ron and Hermione are also less important than ever before. Harry doesn't have time for friends - he's too busy stalking Draco!
Ah, the stalking Draco love. :) This is truly the best part of this book, ramping up the school yard rivalry to a quite vicious extent, and making it clear once again that Draco Malfoy is Important, people. I also like that Draco has finally been given depths beyond the usual "yah boo sucks, Potter," which is quite promising for book 7. Even Harry is starting to see things from his enemy's point of view, by the end.
One notable feature of HBP in comparison to earlier books is the romance quotient - while very few actual scenes are devoted to "slushy stuff," HBP establishes more romantic pairings than any other HP book, setting things up for the final volume. Most of the romances are dealt with pretty sharply, unless they can be used (like Ron and Lavender) for comic effect. Even the long-awaited Harry/Ginny pair up is pretty much blink and you'll miss it.
I found the perfumed car crash that was Ron/Lavender very entertaining, though Hermione's hysterical reaction to the romance was a little disturbing. I would have preferred her to be cooller about it because, you know, she's Hermione. I was just embarrassed when she threw spiky birds to attack him over it. Dating McClaggen was much better revenge. It's pretty obvious that JKR has Ron and Hermione heading for true love territory. Which is cute and all, but I can't help thinking that a long term relationship between them would probably destroy them both. Ron really doesn't seem the type to be able to cope with a partner who is more successful than him and, let's face it, she will be.
The worst-handled romance in the book is that of Lupin and Tonks - I have no problems with the pairing as such, as they're both cool characters and if they fancy each other, hey, why not? But the handling of the romance is terrible. I know JKR was hamstrung by conveying the romance through the eyes of Harry the Self Involved and Somewhat Oblivious, but I found it really disappointing to have cool, independent Tonks turning into a total drip and miserying around the place until she emotionally blackmailed Lupin (in front of their friends) into giving her a chance as a girlfriend. Blerk.
Heh. And thanks to the wonder of fanfic, I find it impossible now to read the "Too poor, too old, too dangerous" speech without adding, in my head "and by the way, totally gay for Snape/Sirius/Bill." I'm sorry, but if someone's making lame excuses not to be with you, that's a warning sign! Tonks deserves better. Someone put her on the back of a dragon and send her to Romania.
Getting back to the actual plot, Dumbledore is being awfully helpful in his private lessons with Harry, sharing his information, etc, giving him an insight into Voldemort's head. All well and good. But wasn't he actually supposed to be teaching him Occlumency? Wasn't that, like, an important skill for him to pick up? Too late now, dudes.
Also, Dumbledore makes a big thing about the seventh Horcrux - the one still inside Voldemort - being the one that has to be squished last. But really, wouldn't it make sense to bump Voldemort off again, and then run around mopping up the rest of the Horcruxes while he's back to that "half-life" he was in for the first three books?
It's nice to see Harry reuinted with his "trio" at the end of the book, as they haven't really been a team for a few books, now, what with the expanded DA team in OoP, Ron's newfound snogging superpower, and Hermione's extreme bitchiness (for two books solidly!). It's a little weird that Harry chooses to break up with Ginny at the end to keep her out of the fight with Voldemort, considering she's proven herself a far more loyal follower than his two best friends throughout the year - defending him and trusting his judgement where they raised skeptical eyebrows and told him a) Dumbledore knows best (hah!), b) Draco is harmless (hah!) and c) maybe you'd have a better chance of finishing your homework if you could stop staring at Draco for ten minutes (well, yes, fair point). Honestly, he should leave Ron and Hermione at home, hang on to Ginny, and pick up Fred and George along the way. They would be way more supportive sidekicks.
I can only hope that now Harry was proved right about Malfoy, this will cancel out the huge errors he made in OoP that Ron and Hermione are obviously still holding against him, and they can go back to supporting his hunches blindly in the final volume. He is the hero, after all, and if nothing else, it will save time. [note for HP drinking game, take a shot every time Hermione gives Harry a dubious look, or Ron says "but, mate..."]
I have to say, Dumbledore's chat with Malfoy on the Astronomy Tower is the first sign that he actually does care about any of the current students other than Harry. Who'd have thought it? Maybe if he hadn't spent the past six years completely alienating the current bunch of Slytherins, the chat might have had more effect.
Also, if Dumbledore is as smart as he keeps telling us, couldn't his expert silent spellcasting have been used to lock the door behind Malfoy?
I think it's fairly evident that Snape's actions on the Astonomy Tower were part of his orders from Dumbledore, and that he belongs to the side of Light. The story just doesn't work any other way. And I find it very hard to believe that Snape will survive his redemption, because that's also the way this kind of story goes. (and no, I haven't read any spoilers yet! I've been both good and lucky in this regard, plus I've been avoiding the internet for a few days)
My guess is that Draco will be redeemed & will be allowed to survive, though he will suffer for it. And, once and for all, it would be nice for Harry to actually *learn* the lesson that the world is not divided into those people who like him, and those people who are Evil. He already seems to be feeling sympathetic towards Draco by Dumbledore's funeral, and it would make for a more satisfying conclusion if these two have to work together in Book 7.
Heh. I know we won't get it, but wouldn't it be awesome if JKR actually went all crack!fic in the epilogue and had Hermione shacked up with Charlie Weasley and Oliver Wood, Ron and Luna raising 14 crazy babies together, and Harry and Draco as Big Gay Aurors? I know she takes her work seriously and all, but I can't believe she wasn't at least tempted to screw with us a little...
(pause)
(twiddles thumbs)
I need a book to read.