Hang on! Help is on its way....merilAugust 13 2003, 21:12:54 UTC
[/Little River Band]
What saved me from OotP-related bunnies was rereading Flag in Exile, but that just gave me LaFollet-related bunnies that I can't do anything with. XD (That and the urge to finish the Thomas Theisman page.)
Since you're not a Harrington initiate, in your case rereading one of the Vorkosigan books may help. XD
'Sides, we know from reading the rest of the book that James has a bit o' problems of his own...Petunia probably did mean him.
And maybe I'm just twisted, but I would be greatly amused if the boy Petunia thought so "awful" wasn't James at all, but Snape.
My evil thoughts exactly. (Sorry, that's not helping much, is it?)
This really set the Inner Conspiracy Theorist crazy.
1. "awful boy" seems a very strange way for Patunia to refer to James -- after all, she must have known him after Lily married, and "boy" doesn't seem appropriate. "Awful man," sure, but boy?
2. How would Petunia have contact with any of Lily's friends from Hogwarts (because, if you accept premise #1, "boy" implies there was contact with Lily's family while Lily was at Hogwarts
( ... )
I like your first three points -- and I agree. It really does sound as though JKR is pulling another fast one on us, and the "awful boy" is someone other than James (Snape being, I agree, the best candidate).
And I'm not even going to try to excuse ICT's Mulder-class idea about Snape actually having a family living in hiding in the vicinity of Privet Drive. (Though I'd love to see Dudders show up to try to boss "Marcus" Evans around if Daddy Perseus happened to open the door.
for the working theory I settled upon in Chapter One, that Harry spends the whole book fighting against Voldemort's influence.
This idea does tie up with book one/two if we assume that the sorting hat saw the Voldemort within Harry's head which at that point was only the residue of the curse, but as Voldemort gets closer and stronger it is possible that this influence can increase.
But is Harry fighting it, a conscious or unconscious act? Does he have natural Occumency skills or is it just he fights the little voice in his head that we call our conscience?
I agree that Harry was marked by Voldemort via the curse that backfired, but I think it was Voldemort taking Harry's blood to reconstitute himself at the end of GoF that really heightened the bond to the level that we see in OotP. Also, of course, that Voldemort is now back at full power, whereas in the first four books he was still in a weakened and bodiless state.
As for Harry fighting it, I don't think that he does fight it, or even knows how to fight it. All that happens is that Voldemort's influence over Harry waxes and wanes with the intensity of Voldemort's own feelings. If V. is preoccupied, or feeling neutral, Harry is more like his old self and less prone to violent outbursts, paranoia, nastiness and megalomania. But when V. is deliberately bending his thoughts on Harry in an effort to see what he sees (remember, this is why Dumbledore refused to meet Harry's gaze all year, or otherwise let on that his relationship to Harry was anything special), or when V.'s emotions are strong, then Harry's mental state reflects that
( ... )
I've thought the same thing for ages. "Awful boy" is an odd way for Petunia to refer to James, especially since she's always referred to him by name before. Why would she change now, except to go along with JKR's games? And "awful boy" just somehow fits Snape better than James anyway...
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What saved me from OotP-related bunnies was rereading Flag in Exile, but that just gave me LaFollet-related bunnies that I can't do anything with. XD (That and the urge to finish the Thomas Theisman page.)
Since you're not a Harrington initiate, in your case rereading one of the Vorkosigan books may help. XD
'Sides, we know from reading the rest of the book that James has a bit o' problems of his own...Petunia probably did mean him.
Reply
My evil thoughts exactly. (Sorry, that's not helping much, is it?)
This really set the Inner Conspiracy Theorist crazy.
1. "awful boy" seems a very strange way for Patunia to refer to James -- after all, she must have known him after Lily married, and "boy" doesn't seem appropriate. "Awful man," sure, but boy?
2. How would Petunia have contact with any of Lily's friends from Hogwarts (because, if you accept premise #1, "boy" implies there was contact with Lily's family while Lily was at Hogwarts ( ... )
Reply
Sure, but -- what's an ICT?
I like your first three points -- and I agree. It really does sound as though JKR is pulling another fast one on us, and the "awful boy" is someone other than James (Snape being, I agree, the best candidate).
And I am still puzzling over Mark Evans, too.
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Sorry -- Inner Conspiracy Theorist. Which lives in surprising harmony with Inner Snape.
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It is quite a Muldereqsue idea though, and borders on Greek drama, what with the interconnected family and the internecine warfare and all...
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This idea does tie up with book one/two if we assume that the sorting hat saw the Voldemort within Harry's head which at that point was only the residue of the curse, but as Voldemort gets closer and stronger it is possible that this influence can increase.
But is Harry fighting it, a conscious or unconscious act? Does he have natural Occumency skills or is it just he fights the little voice in his head that we call our conscience?
Reply
As for Harry fighting it, I don't think that he does fight it, or even knows how to fight it. All that happens is that Voldemort's influence over Harry waxes and wanes with the intensity of Voldemort's own feelings. If V. is preoccupied, or feeling neutral, Harry is more like his old self and less prone to violent outbursts, paranoia, nastiness and megalomania. But when V. is deliberately bending his thoughts on Harry in an effort to see what he sees (remember, this is why Dumbledore refused to meet Harry's gaze all year, or otherwise let on that his relationship to Harry was anything special), or when V.'s emotions are strong, then Harry's mental state reflects that ( ... )
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I've thought the same thing for ages. "Awful boy" is an odd way for Petunia to refer to James, especially since she's always referred to him by name before. Why would she change now, except to go along with JKR's games? And "awful boy" just somehow fits Snape better than James anyway...
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