I agree with pretty much everything you've said. I thought it was overall very well-down. Both Harry and the writing were more mature than her previous books- and it was less bloated than the last one.
I thought Remus/Tonks was somewhat perfunctory as well- especially since we've all seen Ginny/Harry coming for ages. As for the slashers- I bet they have a lot of fun with this actually. After all, Tonks is about the closest Lupin can get to Sirius, isn't she?
Interesting thought on the Sorting Hat. Who do you think RAB stands for? My only guess so far is Regulus- who we've heard about in passing, but not in detail so far.
Regulus is my only guess as well, especially since he was mentioned twice in the book without any particular need, as if we had to be reminded there was a younger ex-Death Eather Black brother. He could have done it in the few days between leaving Voldemort and getting killed.
I wouldn't say the notes made Harry brilliant, they just made him seem brilliant. I side with Hermione on this one, it's cheating, and Harry's basically lost a whole year of Potions he'd never be able to catch up on, I don't think.
On the other hand, he now knows how to do all that stuff, and all he needs is to memorize it properly. If he's been reading it at nights for the notes in the margins, I'd say he's most of the way there already.
Well, true, though I'd say that merely makes him very good, not brilliant, which to me implies a certain understanding of the subject, and harry doesn't have that like Snape does.
I'm with Ron on this one -- Harry used instructions he was given, same as the other kids, and if he had better instructions, that's fortunate but not cheating. ITA that Harry doesn't have a deep, fundamental understanding of the magic the way Snape does, but OTOH, he showed innovative magical thinking (sometimes about potions and remedies) in this story, and so even if he has to memorize information rather than develop it, Harry demonstrably has the smarts to know how to use that information once he's got it. It's definitely worth something.
The Sorting Hat would fit in with the Founders theme, but how would Voldemort have gotten his hands on it? Isn't it the point that he never got back into Hogwarts after graduation, and the hat is usually in the Headmaster's office?
With you on Dumbledore's hypocrisy. Though there's an interesting point: he tells the Dursleys that they damaged Dudley. Could it be that Dudley had magical potential too, but stifled by his upbringing?
True, how Voldemort could have gotten his hands on the Hat is a tricky question. Though if Diary!Tom Riddle could possess Ginny, the genuine article might have done that, too, to a Hogwarts student or teacher in order to get at the Hat.
Damaged Dudley: I thought that was referring to the fact that spoiling a child rotten, as they did with him, was just as bad, only in another way, as abusing him through neglect, as it happened to Harry. This notwithstanding, I wondered about Dudley as well, and Petunia - that they might have some potential, but repressed it completely due to their attitude towards magic.
I don't know if this is directly related, but I've always wondered what Dudley was remembering during the dementor attack. Rowling rarely makes points like that without returning to them later.
I'm fully expecting for JKR to reveal in book 7 that Dumbledore ordered Snape to kill him in book 6. It's such a classic set-up. It allows Snape to reveal himself to be a bitter, loathsome individual (which is is) and still a 'good guy undercover agent' (which fits his behavior).
Agreed about the set-up. And that was always the unique thing about Snape - he wasn't never a nice person, and always a bad teacher (one word: Neville), but he also came through when it counted in the big battle sense.
Totally agree. And when Snape made the Unbreakable Vow, he was swearing to not let Draco become a murderer, to protect his soul. So yes, I think Dumbledore made Snape promise to do it to save Draco. And there's also the fact that Snape wasn't letting Harry finish any of the curses, therefore making sure Harry didn't kill anyone either.
I do have to agree with Kangeiko, however, who compared the unveiling of Snape as the half-blood Prince to that of the unveiling of a Scooby Doo villian. A little out of nowhere - a bit more of a run up to that would have ben appreciated.
I really, really liked the character of Ginny in this one. I hope she has a large role in 7.
Snape as the HBP: well, there were clues enough. The handwriting was described in the same way Harry sees Snape's handwriting in the pensieve flashback in OotP; the bezoar and Harry even remembering this from Snape's very first lesson; the Septumrectra as a more refined and brutal version of the spell Snape cast against James in the flashback; and of course the entire potions text book thing, complete with Harry reflecting that the HBP is a better teacher than Snape ever was.
This being said, Snape bringing it up in the confrontation was out of nowhere, yes, - not the "using my own spells against me" but the "I the HBP" part.
We're very much on the same page re: HBP, except that I think absolutely anybody who can tell off the Dursleys, should tell off the Dursleys. Dumbledore sort of had to put Harry there to keep him safe, and though he may have had misgivings, he certainly could have had reason to hope for better than them locking Harry in the cupboard beneath the stairs.
Harry is so absolutely one of the holders of Voldemort's soul that I can hardly stand it. It went into him when the curse went wrong at Godric's Hollow, and that's the reason for the link between them -- and the reason Voldemort didn't die.
I believe in Snape's good intentions, but I am curious now as to why (a) Snape either didn't tell Dumbledore and others more about what Malfoy was up to, or, in the alternative, (b) why Dumbledore didn't trust Harry with this information. This is the book where Dumbledore finally treated Harry as an adult -- so why withhold something this vital from him? Hmm.
I'm not sure Snape knew what he was up to. In the one scene we saw, Draco seemed very unwilling to tell him anything.
And while part of me thinks Harry being the final Horecrux's would be an incredible conundum- doesn't it have to be done with purpose? Why would Voldemort deposit part of his soul in the child he was about to kill?
Snape had to know the essential question of what Draco was doing; in that initial chapter two, he certainly understands at least that Draco's been asked to kill Dumbledore. If Snape knows that, then why doesn't Dumbledore? And if Dumbledore knows it, why doesn't Harry? Given how closely Harry follows Malfoy throughout the story -- and his track record for sticking to his usual suspects like glue -- it seems a weird omission
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He could have hoped for better, but he knew what was really going on. For eleven years. And he didn't do anything. (When clearly Petunia at least could be influenced by pressure on his part, as evidenced in OotP.) Hence the feeling of hypocrisy I had in that scene.
Harry having one bit of Voldemort's soul: I have to agree with Anna here - if so, it can't have been intentionally on Voldemort's part, but I could see a scenario where Voldemort had been planning to depose that last bit in some artificact, and instead it ended up in Harry because of Lily's interference.
but I am curious now as to why (a) Snape either didn't tell Dumbledore and others more about what Malfoy was up to, or, in the alternative, (b) why Dumbledore didn't trust Harry with this information.I thought the conversation between Snape and Malfoy which Harry overheard made it clear Draco didn't want to tell Snape anything about his plan, because he thought Snape wanted "the glory" for himself. That conversation even included the information that Malfoy (as opposed
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I thought Remus/Tonks was somewhat perfunctory as well- especially since we've all seen Ginny/Harry coming for ages. As for the slashers- I bet they have a lot of fun with this actually. After all, Tonks is about the closest Lupin can get to Sirius, isn't she?
Interesting thought on the Sorting Hat. Who do you think RAB stands for? My only guess so far is Regulus- who we've heard about in passing, but not in detail so far.
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With you on Dumbledore's hypocrisy. Though there's an interesting point: he tells the Dursleys that they damaged Dudley. Could it be that Dudley had magical potential too, but stifled by his upbringing?
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Damaged Dudley: I thought that was referring to the fact that spoiling a child rotten, as they did with him, was just as bad, only in another way, as abusing him through neglect, as it happened to Harry. This notwithstanding, I wondered about Dudley as well, and Petunia - that they might have some potential, but repressed it completely due to their attitude towards magic.
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I do have to agree with Kangeiko, however, who compared the unveiling of Snape as the half-blood Prince to that of the unveiling of a Scooby Doo villian. A little out of nowhere - a bit more of a run up to that would have ben appreciated.
I really, really liked the character of Ginny in this one. I hope she has a large role in 7.
Just my thoughts...
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This being said, Snape bringing it up in the confrontation was out of nowhere, yes, - not the "using my own spells against me" but the "I the HBP" part.
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Harry is so absolutely one of the holders of Voldemort's soul that I can hardly stand it. It went into him when the curse went wrong at Godric's Hollow, and that's the reason for the link between them -- and the reason Voldemort didn't die.
I believe in Snape's good intentions, but I am curious now as to why (a) Snape either didn't tell Dumbledore and others more about what Malfoy was up to, or, in the alternative, (b) why Dumbledore didn't trust Harry with this information. This is the book where Dumbledore finally treated Harry as an adult -- so why withhold something this vital from him? Hmm.
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And while part of me thinks Harry being the final Horecrux's would be an incredible conundum- doesn't it have to be done with purpose? Why would Voldemort deposit part of his soul in the child he was about to kill?
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Harry having one bit of Voldemort's soul: I have to agree with Anna here - if so, it can't have been intentionally on Voldemort's part, but I could see a scenario where Voldemort had been planning to depose that last bit in some artificact, and instead it ended up in Harry because of Lily's interference.
but I am curious now as to why (a) Snape either didn't tell Dumbledore and others more about what Malfoy was up to, or, in the alternative, (b) why Dumbledore didn't trust Harry with this information.I thought the conversation between Snape and Malfoy which Harry overheard made it clear Draco didn't want to tell Snape anything about his plan, because he thought Snape wanted "the glory" for himself. That conversation even included the information that Malfoy (as opposed ( ... )
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