Complete and Utter Sadness
Just finished OoTP.
This was by far the hardest of the books to read, and in my opinion, the best.
Draco didn't die.
Lupin was in it.
Ginny got a little more depth.
Ron and Hermione didn't get kissy.
Harry didn't die... well, physically, at least.
This book was the darkest, the best, the funniest, and the worst of all five books. It had more answers than any of them, but maybe more questions.
Sirius dying was awful. I cried badly, but not until Harry was in the office with Dumbledore. I think I cried through that whole chapter because most of the words were rather blurry. From Harry telling him he didn't want to be human (good lord, trying to kill me?) to Dumbledore telling him that his weakness was loving Harry more than any of the nameless/faceless future victims (and Dumbledore's single tear!)... that whole thing was just heartbreaking.
And speaking of... Snape's memory. I think that's my favourite chapter in any of the 5 books. It made me question everything, as it did Harry, but waaah. It was delightful. There has to be more story still waiting there. It makes me see why Snape hates Harry so much though, and I feel I can hardly blame him. Makes me wonder, though, if JKR is going to go a "sins of the father" route. Will Snape see that Harry's not James? And also... is Draco a true Malfoy?
Draco, Draco, Draco.... still as vile as ever. And yet... he's so childish. Nothing he does can really be described as "evil." He's a brat, he's imature. He makes faces at people behind their backs, for God's sake. Can that really be the making of an arch-nemisis? Harry doesn't ever seem to be threated by Draco, but rather just irritated. I suppose that Draco can go two ways - he'll either become like his father and be a true Death Eater and supporter of Voldemort... or he'll grow up, get a spine and perhaps take a different route, or "redemption." But, it's hard not to make comparisons between him and Harry, and between the 'old school' crowd of Sirius, James, Remus and Peter. In the Pensieve, I was struck by the fact that Sirius and Draco seemed to have quite apparent similarities, but maybe that's just me. Look at their families, their up-bringings, the way the treat people at the age of 15, their looks, their mannerisms... I see parallels.
Am I the only one who thinks Harry should be a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, rather than an Auror? I loved the lessons and how the student body really expanded in this book. There was a lot less interaction with the teachers and more emphasis on the other students, and I liked the insight we got into some of them.
Like Neville! What a wonderful character - he rules my school. I was shocked by the fact that the prophecy could have referred to him - I can't help but think that will be important later. (At least, I hope so, because as a whole, the prophecy was very disappointing, but more on that later.) He was great in this and I really liked the addition of Luna Lovegood. She was just bizarre, but I loved how nothing really seemed to affect her.
Fred and George - yay! That is all.
Ginny - I liked her further development good enough, I think. I don't know... I kinda wished that she had more substance to her. I wish that she had more edge than she appears to have, and I had high hopes when she mentioned to Harry that she's the only one that can tell him what it's like to be possessed by Voldemort, but that seemed to be really glossed over. There should be more emphasis on that. I find that whole thing to be terribly dark, but it's never really referenced again.
Speaking of dark... gah. I will not tell lies. I will not tell lies. I will not tell lies. That disturbed me more than anything on the HP series, I think. I made me feel sick.
I have never loathed a character more than I did Umbridge. "Hem hem!" Uggggggggggggh. Hated. Her.
I was actually happy about the lack of Hagrid (he somewhat annoys me) and was distressed by the lack of Dumbledore. Wished there was more Lupin, but he's not dead (yay!) so there's time for that. Wish Harry would get over himself and trust Snape. Want to know why Dumbledore won't give Snape the DADA job. Stupid house-elves. Didn't like Dumbledore talking about the way Sirius treated that evil house-elf right after he'd died. Hermione always being right is both useful and annoying. Harry's refusal to study Occlumency was utterly maddening. The Decree's made me want to scream. Was very surprised Sirius came from a family of dark wizards.
Okay, the ending... Hmm. I don't know. The prophecy was very anti-climatic. I'm not sure what to think of it. It didn't tell us anything we didn't already know, nor did it tell Harry anything that he didn't already know, aside from the fact that he and Voldemort are going to have to kill each other to survive, but that's pretty logical, isn't it? Maybe the important thing to come out of this was Neville's involvement, but I don't know. Still... wasn't really satisfied with the ending. They didn't defeat anything or anyone... also, Sirius's death left me feeling empty. However, maybe that was the point too.
Gah.
Too. Many. Thoughts.
Okay, I think I've rambled enough. I'm sure I'll have more to say though.
This was an amazing book, the best in the series. It was utterly heartbreaking though, to watch Harry in this. His childhood is gone, he's no longer innocent. The wizarding world, his one haven, has betrayed him and he's forced to see it for what it really is.
Although, I think the same can be said for any person who, as they grow up, have to face the harsh realities that is life and the world we live in.
This was by far the hardest of the books to read, and in my opinion, the best.
Draco didn't die.
Lupin was in it.
Ginny got a little more depth.
Ron and Hermione didn't get kissy.
Harry didn't die... well, physically, at least.
This book was the darkest, the best, the funniest, and the worst of all five books. It had more answers than any of them, but maybe more questions.
Sirius dying was awful. I cried badly, but not until Harry was in the office with Dumbledore. I think I cried through that whole chapter because most of the words were rather blurry. From Harry telling him he didn't want to be human (good lord, trying to kill me?) to Dumbledore telling him that his weakness was loving Harry more than any of the nameless/faceless future victims (and Dumbledore's single tear!)... that whole thing was just heartbreaking.
And speaking of... Snape's memory. I think that's my favourite chapter in any of the 5 books. It made me question everything, as it did Harry, but waaah. It was delightful. There has to be more story still waiting there. It makes me see why Snape hates Harry so much though, and I feel I can hardly blame him. Makes me wonder, though, if JKR is going to go a "sins of the father" route. Will Snape see that Harry's not James? And also... is Draco a true Malfoy?
Draco, Draco, Draco.... still as vile as ever. And yet... he's so childish. Nothing he does can really be described as "evil." He's a brat, he's imature. He makes faces at people behind their backs, for God's sake. Can that really be the making of an arch-nemisis? Harry doesn't ever seem to be threated by Draco, but rather just irritated. I suppose that Draco can go two ways - he'll either become like his father and be a true Death Eater and supporter of Voldemort... or he'll grow up, get a spine and perhaps take a different route, or "redemption." But, it's hard not to make comparisons between him and Harry, and between the 'old school' crowd of Sirius, James, Remus and Peter. In the Pensieve, I was struck by the fact that Sirius and Draco seemed to have quite apparent similarities, but maybe that's just me. Look at their families, their up-bringings, the way the treat people at the age of 15, their looks, their mannerisms... I see parallels.
Am I the only one who thinks Harry should be a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, rather than an Auror? I loved the lessons and how the student body really expanded in this book. There was a lot less interaction with the teachers and more emphasis on the other students, and I liked the insight we got into some of them.
Like Neville! What a wonderful character - he rules my school. I was shocked by the fact that the prophecy could have referred to him - I can't help but think that will be important later. (At least, I hope so, because as a whole, the prophecy was very disappointing, but more on that later.) He was great in this and I really liked the addition of Luna Lovegood. She was just bizarre, but I loved how nothing really seemed to affect her.
Fred and George - yay! That is all.
Ginny - I liked her further development good enough, I think. I don't know... I kinda wished that she had more substance to her. I wish that she had more edge than she appears to have, and I had high hopes when she mentioned to Harry that she's the only one that can tell him what it's like to be possessed by Voldemort, but that seemed to be really glossed over. There should be more emphasis on that. I find that whole thing to be terribly dark, but it's never really referenced again.
Speaking of dark... gah. I will not tell lies. I will not tell lies. I will not tell lies. That disturbed me more than anything on the HP series, I think. I made me feel sick.
I have never loathed a character more than I did Umbridge. "Hem hem!" Uggggggggggggh. Hated. Her.
I was actually happy about the lack of Hagrid (he somewhat annoys me) and was distressed by the lack of Dumbledore. Wished there was more Lupin, but he's not dead (yay!) so there's time for that. Wish Harry would get over himself and trust Snape. Want to know why Dumbledore won't give Snape the DADA job. Stupid house-elves. Didn't like Dumbledore talking about the way Sirius treated that evil house-elf right after he'd died. Hermione always being right is both useful and annoying. Harry's refusal to study Occlumency was utterly maddening. The Decree's made me want to scream. Was very surprised Sirius came from a family of dark wizards.
Okay, the ending... Hmm. I don't know. The prophecy was very anti-climatic. I'm not sure what to think of it. It didn't tell us anything we didn't already know, nor did it tell Harry anything that he didn't already know, aside from the fact that he and Voldemort are going to have to kill each other to survive, but that's pretty logical, isn't it? Maybe the important thing to come out of this was Neville's involvement, but I don't know. Still... wasn't really satisfied with the ending. They didn't defeat anything or anyone... also, Sirius's death left me feeling empty. However, maybe that was the point too.
Gah.
Too. Many. Thoughts.
Okay, I think I've rambled enough. I'm sure I'll have more to say though.
This was an amazing book, the best in the series. It was utterly heartbreaking though, to watch Harry in this. His childhood is gone, he's no longer innocent. The wizarding world, his one haven, has betrayed him and he's forced to see it for what it really is.
Although, I think the same can be said for any person who, as they grow up, have to face the harsh realities that is life and the world we live in.