HBP Assorted Stuff (Spoilery, of course, and long and rambling too)
Updated since yesterday to reflect a more post-HBP mindeset. :-p
Significant stuff:
Who else needed a hug at the end? I've been anticipating Dumbledore's death since the end of OotP, but it still was awful. And we even had sufficient time to prepare for it, as his mortality was shining through in the cave - or even with the withered hand. Still. *sniffle*
And Snape just gave me a rhetorical kick in my rhetorical nuts. I was trying the entire book to convince myself that he's ultimately good, he's just telling the Death Eaters what they want to hear. Then he goes and does *that.* I don't like this new development at all; I can take the bad guys, but I'd always had Snape pegged as good and courageous for spying, and now. Oh well.
But then what does Voldemort mean at the end of GoF? Remember, one too cowardly, one gone forever, and one as his most loyal servant. We expected Snape as the "gone forever" one, but he's obviously not if he's still alive and working for Voldemort. So that's a new twist and I don't think there's room for Crouch, Snape, and Karkaroff to all sit comfortably within those descriptions.
Of course, everyone else is rallying to believe that Snape's, like, quadruple-crossing Voldemort and working for the Order, and both he and Dumbledore had accepted that Dumbledore would be a nice martyr to the cause if necessary. And it's a nice thought. Snape made an Unbreakable Vow to Dumbledore that was similar to Harry's promise - to continue the fight against the Dark Lord despite Dumbledore's own mortality. And that would instill the trust in Snape that nobody else saw. Although he'd have quite a problem convincing the Order since Dumbledore never confided this in anyone else, it seems. Except for the one who oversaw the bond. And I really can't think of anyone significant enough that it could be. A lot of people are speculating Lily, but.... I don't know. There's no real reason why she would be.
I agree though, that Dumbledore's last Please, Severus wasn't begging him to live, but to die mercifully and not let any of the other DE's, or Voldemort himself, get at him. Which ties back in with what the Vow might say.
The Horcrux plot is kind of fascinating, but I get the feeling that the seventh book will be a Horcrux scavenger hunt and I hope it isn't. But I really enjoyed all the insights on Voldemort. I love the idea that each of the Horcruxes is manifested in some significant part of his life/personality. And so I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of them are, and why.
Also, props to Jo for not going the "Tom was abused" storyline. But that raises its own questions. If the orphanage was alright, as orphanages go, why didn't Tom want to go back in CoS? Does it go back to how Dumbledore said he loved Hogwarts more than any person or anything? Or was he going to look for artifacts, undisturbed, over the summer?
The idea of Tom becoming a teacher raises some most interesting AU questions. Would he be any better adjusted if Dippet hadn't turned him down? DADA classes would be brilliant, of course. But I have a hard time swallowing that the position is as cursed as everyone says, even while staring into the face of hard evidence. But Tom requesting the position was, what, forty years before Harry's time? They ran through forty DADA teachers and none of the staff brought up the idea that maybe they should suspend it for awhile? And it just seems like some of the teachers would be out of Voldemort's reach. How could he have set up Lupin, have foreseen that he'd resign after the Shrieking Shack? Or Lockhart? My goodness, Lockhart was oblivious enough to be able to ignore any harbingers, and seemed untouchable. So I think that the "cursed" position is mostly idle talk, with a bit of truth buried beneath it all.
Greyback is first on my hit list now, he's just abhorrent. (We got to hear part of Lupin's past too, though, yay for that.) I'm also going on a limb and predicting that Draco was bitten by him, or will be. He was described the entire book as pale and ill, and sure, there's the Death Eater thing and the cabinet thing going on for him, but Greyback's a family friend. And it'd just be wonderfully ironic if the snotty Pureblood got turned into a halfbreed.
I couldn't help feeling sorry for Draco, though, near the end. When he was protesting that he had to kill Dumbledore, otherwise Voldemort would kill him and his family. And it was very...I don't know, humane, that even then Dumbledore offered him a chance for redemption. Of course, that all went to hell minutes later, but it fleshed out Draco's character in a really complex and sympathetic way.
There's been a lot of speculation thrown around that Harry himself is the seventh Horcrux, marked by his scar of course. And I really like this idea because then Harry will have to sacrifice himself to kill Voldemort. And it already seems likely that he is, because of how connected they are - their shared emotions and dreams, their Parseltongue, everything. And after I heard the prophecy in OotP, I was very unhappy, because having one kill the other shows little moral strength. And it would be much more interesting if either they both live or both die. So I think I got my wish. Hope I did. Because that's just brilliant and fascinating.
The scene in the cave was very dark and depressing, it didn't read like your standard HP at all. Harry telling Dumbledore it'll all be over once he drinks the potion? I was sitting there, equal parts stunned and sniffling and depressed. But Dumbledore was dying long before that, it seemed, once he got hold of the ring. So he was willing to make a sacrifice by drinking the potion, or having Snape kill him, or everything else. But that doesn’t make that scene any less sad.
RAB is, of course, Regulus. Which means that the Blacks have three blood traitors in their line. What pushed him to do that, though? I imagine Harry will find that answer in his newly-acquired 12 Grimmauld Place. If Mundungus didn't steal it, of course. The bastard.
I liked this book much better than OotP, and you know why? Because Harry's grown up so well. Last time it was Harry Potter and the Overwhelming Teen Angst, and it just cast a very negative tone over the whole thing. But this time, he's so confident and well-adjusted, I loved it.
So we're going to venture outside of Hogwarts, hm? As long as we return periodically, it won't be bad. If reminiscent of the hike to Mordor. And, like Frodo, Harry's going to have to accept Ron and Hermione's help to a point, but this is ultimately his battle. And that's really just a very sobering thought.
Not as significant stuff:
Dumbledore at the Dursleys'. You know who I kept imagining? Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka as Dumbledore. His affectations were just spot-on.
Why are you worrying about You-Know-Who?
You should be worrying about U-No-Poo -
The constipation sensation
That's gripping the nation!
Brilliant. I endeavor to either make that an icon or filch it from someone else who's beaten me to it. :-p
ETA: *points upwards* *grins immaturely*
After Dumbledore said that Voldemort's magpie tendency would be significant later? I imagined the Final Battle with Harry throwing out something glittery, Voldemort going "Ooh, shiny!" and racing after it and leaving himself completely vulnerable. And I laughed and laughed. But perhaps it's just me.
I heart the gnome angel. :-D
I still love Lupin and how level-headed, if melancholy, he was at Christmas. He was competing as my favorite, but he can have it now that Snape's an ass. Even so, Tonks/Lupin?! WTF. It was just so there and unprecedented, and it felt a lot like it was put in only to appease their shippers. Remus is a confirmed bachelor, guys, let him alone. :-p
"He called it my 'furry little problem' in company. Many people were under the impression that I owned a badly behaved rabbit." XD
Damn, but Flitwick's cool. I am a wizard, not a baboon brandishing a stick. Hee. So so cool.
The exchange between Harry and Dumbledore about him being Dumbledore's man? Mm, very sweet. I got all prematurely teary-eyed at that. (Of course, there's going to be a wave of Harry/Dumbledore fics sweeping the 'Net. But still. :-p)
Luna was the best Quidditch commentator EVAR. I hope Zacharias steps down and lets her do it full-time. She's not Lee, but she's just as amusing in her own way.
"I don't want to stay here overnight. I want to find McLaggen and kill him."
"I'm afraid that would come under the heading of 'overexertion'."
Was Madam Pomfrey always that cool and I just missed it? Because, dude, she's cool. :-p
"How d'you spell 'belligerent'? It can't be B-U-M - "
"No, it isn't. And 'augury' doesn't begin O-R-G either."
XDDDDDD Filthy, Jo. Loves it.
"Oh, very good. Yes, it is easy to see that nearly six years of magical education have not been wasted on you, Potter. 'Ghosts are transparent." Even if Snape is evil, I can't bring myself to hate him that much. Not when he says things like that.
And finally, there was entirely too much romance this book. Won-Won and Lavender, Won-Won and Hermione, Harry and Ginny, Remus and Tonks. Oy. And can I add that, between the hooking up and the evilness, all of my ships have been destroyed? I think I'm going to do a Sirius-fangirl thing and pretend that HBP never happened so I can continue to write my lovely slash in peace. :-p
Significant stuff:
Who else needed a hug at the end? I've been anticipating Dumbledore's death since the end of OotP, but it still was awful. And we even had sufficient time to prepare for it, as his mortality was shining through in the cave - or even with the withered hand. Still. *sniffle*
And Snape just gave me a rhetorical kick in my rhetorical nuts. I was trying the entire book to convince myself that he's ultimately good, he's just telling the Death Eaters what they want to hear. Then he goes and does *that.* I don't like this new development at all; I can take the bad guys, but I'd always had Snape pegged as good and courageous for spying, and now. Oh well.
But then what does Voldemort mean at the end of GoF? Remember, one too cowardly, one gone forever, and one as his most loyal servant. We expected Snape as the "gone forever" one, but he's obviously not if he's still alive and working for Voldemort. So that's a new twist and I don't think there's room for Crouch, Snape, and Karkaroff to all sit comfortably within those descriptions.
Of course, everyone else is rallying to believe that Snape's, like, quadruple-crossing Voldemort and working for the Order, and both he and Dumbledore had accepted that Dumbledore would be a nice martyr to the cause if necessary. And it's a nice thought. Snape made an Unbreakable Vow to Dumbledore that was similar to Harry's promise - to continue the fight against the Dark Lord despite Dumbledore's own mortality. And that would instill the trust in Snape that nobody else saw. Although he'd have quite a problem convincing the Order since Dumbledore never confided this in anyone else, it seems. Except for the one who oversaw the bond. And I really can't think of anyone significant enough that it could be. A lot of people are speculating Lily, but.... I don't know. There's no real reason why she would be.
I agree though, that Dumbledore's last Please, Severus wasn't begging him to live, but to die mercifully and not let any of the other DE's, or Voldemort himself, get at him. Which ties back in with what the Vow might say.
The Horcrux plot is kind of fascinating, but I get the feeling that the seventh book will be a Horcrux scavenger hunt and I hope it isn't. But I really enjoyed all the insights on Voldemort. I love the idea that each of the Horcruxes is manifested in some significant part of his life/personality. And so I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of them are, and why.
Also, props to Jo for not going the "Tom was abused" storyline. But that raises its own questions. If the orphanage was alright, as orphanages go, why didn't Tom want to go back in CoS? Does it go back to how Dumbledore said he loved Hogwarts more than any person or anything? Or was he going to look for artifacts, undisturbed, over the summer?
The idea of Tom becoming a teacher raises some most interesting AU questions. Would he be any better adjusted if Dippet hadn't turned him down? DADA classes would be brilliant, of course. But I have a hard time swallowing that the position is as cursed as everyone says, even while staring into the face of hard evidence. But Tom requesting the position was, what, forty years before Harry's time? They ran through forty DADA teachers and none of the staff brought up the idea that maybe they should suspend it for awhile? And it just seems like some of the teachers would be out of Voldemort's reach. How could he have set up Lupin, have foreseen that he'd resign after the Shrieking Shack? Or Lockhart? My goodness, Lockhart was oblivious enough to be able to ignore any harbingers, and seemed untouchable. So I think that the "cursed" position is mostly idle talk, with a bit of truth buried beneath it all.
Greyback is first on my hit list now, he's just abhorrent. (We got to hear part of Lupin's past too, though, yay for that.) I'm also going on a limb and predicting that Draco was bitten by him, or will be. He was described the entire book as pale and ill, and sure, there's the Death Eater thing and the cabinet thing going on for him, but Greyback's a family friend. And it'd just be wonderfully ironic if the snotty Pureblood got turned into a halfbreed.
I couldn't help feeling sorry for Draco, though, near the end. When he was protesting that he had to kill Dumbledore, otherwise Voldemort would kill him and his family. And it was very...I don't know, humane, that even then Dumbledore offered him a chance for redemption. Of course, that all went to hell minutes later, but it fleshed out Draco's character in a really complex and sympathetic way.
There's been a lot of speculation thrown around that Harry himself is the seventh Horcrux, marked by his scar of course. And I really like this idea because then Harry will have to sacrifice himself to kill Voldemort. And it already seems likely that he is, because of how connected they are - their shared emotions and dreams, their Parseltongue, everything. And after I heard the prophecy in OotP, I was very unhappy, because having one kill the other shows little moral strength. And it would be much more interesting if either they both live or both die. So I think I got my wish. Hope I did. Because that's just brilliant and fascinating.
The scene in the cave was very dark and depressing, it didn't read like your standard HP at all. Harry telling Dumbledore it'll all be over once he drinks the potion? I was sitting there, equal parts stunned and sniffling and depressed. But Dumbledore was dying long before that, it seemed, once he got hold of the ring. So he was willing to make a sacrifice by drinking the potion, or having Snape kill him, or everything else. But that doesn’t make that scene any less sad.
RAB is, of course, Regulus. Which means that the Blacks have three blood traitors in their line. What pushed him to do that, though? I imagine Harry will find that answer in his newly-acquired 12 Grimmauld Place. If Mundungus didn't steal it, of course. The bastard.
I liked this book much better than OotP, and you know why? Because Harry's grown up so well. Last time it was Harry Potter and the Overwhelming Teen Angst, and it just cast a very negative tone over the whole thing. But this time, he's so confident and well-adjusted, I loved it.
So we're going to venture outside of Hogwarts, hm? As long as we return periodically, it won't be bad. If reminiscent of the hike to Mordor. And, like Frodo, Harry's going to have to accept Ron and Hermione's help to a point, but this is ultimately his battle. And that's really just a very sobering thought.
Not as significant stuff:
Dumbledore at the Dursleys'. You know who I kept imagining? Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka as Dumbledore. His affectations were just spot-on.
Why are you worrying about You-Know-Who?
You should be worrying about U-No-Poo -
The constipation sensation
That's gripping the nation!
Brilliant. I endeavor to either make that an icon or filch it from someone else who's beaten me to it. :-p
ETA: *points upwards* *grins immaturely*
After Dumbledore said that Voldemort's magpie tendency would be significant later? I imagined the Final Battle with Harry throwing out something glittery, Voldemort going "Ooh, shiny!" and racing after it and leaving himself completely vulnerable. And I laughed and laughed. But perhaps it's just me.
I heart the gnome angel. :-D
I still love Lupin and how level-headed, if melancholy, he was at Christmas. He was competing as my favorite, but he can have it now that Snape's an ass. Even so, Tonks/Lupin?! WTF. It was just so there and unprecedented, and it felt a lot like it was put in only to appease their shippers. Remus is a confirmed bachelor, guys, let him alone. :-p
"He called it my 'furry little problem' in company. Many people were under the impression that I owned a badly behaved rabbit." XD
Damn, but Flitwick's cool. I am a wizard, not a baboon brandishing a stick. Hee. So so cool.
The exchange between Harry and Dumbledore about him being Dumbledore's man? Mm, very sweet. I got all prematurely teary-eyed at that. (Of course, there's going to be a wave of Harry/Dumbledore fics sweeping the 'Net. But still. :-p)
Luna was the best Quidditch commentator EVAR. I hope Zacharias steps down and lets her do it full-time. She's not Lee, but she's just as amusing in her own way.
"I don't want to stay here overnight. I want to find McLaggen and kill him."
"I'm afraid that would come under the heading of 'overexertion'."
Was Madam Pomfrey always that cool and I just missed it? Because, dude, she's cool. :-p
"How d'you spell 'belligerent'? It can't be B-U-M - "
"No, it isn't. And 'augury' doesn't begin O-R-G either."
XDDDDDD Filthy, Jo. Loves it.
"Oh, very good. Yes, it is easy to see that nearly six years of magical education have not been wasted on you, Potter. 'Ghosts are transparent." Even if Snape is evil, I can't bring myself to hate him that much. Not when he says things like that.
And finally, there was entirely too much romance this book. Won-Won and Lavender, Won-Won and Hermione, Harry and Ginny, Remus and Tonks. Oy. And can I add that, between the hooking up and the evilness, all of my ships have been destroyed? I think I'm going to do a Sirius-fangirl thing and pretend that HBP never happened so I can continue to write my lovely slash in peace. :-p