![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
HBP - spoilers, obviously
So I read OotP yesterday afternoon, and then HBP this afternoon, and resultantly my best friend has accused me of being a robot. How charming of her.
DISOWNED, Tink. For the billionth time :D
Right, right, reaction. Not very profound, I am sickasadog and didn't really make any notes as I was reading.
- Fleur is ten million kinds of awesome. (Yes, that was my strongest impression.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wickedtrue, you have corrupted me.)
- Surprisingly, so is Ginny. About halfway through the book I found myself alarmed at the way I was no longer wincing at the obviousness of that particular romantic storyline but instead feeling vaguely benevolent and approving. Ginny is a Mary Sue come to life (I play Quiddich! I smell PRETTY! I flick my hair! Whee!) and yet I couldn't feel annoyed at her. She's sensible and funny and Harry likes her. That's good enough for me. This coming under the heading of my newfound Harry Can Do No Wrong credo, but we'll get into that later.
- I hope Luna and Neville hook up. That would be cute. Luna is wonderful.
- I have nothing for Ron/Hermione but....meh. It was always going to happen. I'm kind of glad it's happening slowly.
- I knew the Lupin/Tonks was coming and I was bracing myself for the Bombshell That Sank My Ship, and then it happened and I just laughed. I mean, I'm sure it'll turn out to be canonical and meant to be endearing and everything, but really. Lupin might as well have been wearing a badge that said I'm Saving Myself For My Dead Boyfriend and wow, I'm totally going overboard with the random capitalisation today. And Tonks is young, yes, but that doesn't bother me nearly as much as how young she was acting. I mean...changing her hair colour and Patronus and moping and going teary at the drop of a hat...I'm starting to wonder if the reason we never saw much of Cho is because decided to act on her lingering schoolgirl crush on Remus, stole some hair of Tonks' and Polyjuiced her all year, because that is not the pragmatic Auror I remember from the last book.
We all know where the real Tonks is, of course :) *nudgesindy_go*
Plus, if she was mooning over Remus (ahaha, my inadvertent puns rule all) and not feeling wracked with guilt over Sirius' death, why DID she get all teary whenever he was mentioned? I'm gonna stick with the obvious 'he lurves Sirius and not meeeee' explanation, here.
- Have I exhausted all the het yet? Can I drag some more out of the book? Of course I can! Fred/Verity/George threesomes all the way! Seriously, I'm thinking all the copies of HBP that were waiting for distribution were stored underneath boxes of Mills&Boon novels and some kind of bizarre literary osmosis happened. Which explains oh so much about the last book, really, because that one obviously got stuck between Anne Rice and Michael Ondaatje.
- Maybe it's just the comparison between CAPS LOCK HARRY and this wondrous new incarnation, but man, that kid is just inhuman, they may as well just crown him king of the world and be done with it. Godric Gryffindor's spirit probably cast some kind of benevolent spell on Lily and James so that their son would be chipped out of a solid block of Nobility with the exquisite tools of Loyalty and Maturity. Or possibly there was a thing with fairy godmothers, damned if I know (Umbridge was the one who didn't get invited to the party). That brand of perfection I normally find infuriating in heroes, but I just kind of drifted along in a delicious daze of GO HARRY GO. His adherence to Dumbledore wasn't trite or overwritten, just...right. Kids could do far worse with their role models.
- There were just lots of little things that I liked, such as Slughorn and the nod towards traditional English schooling's little political ins-and-outs and the importance of connections, and the fact that they revel in their free periods and then end up studying in them (we were kind of the other way around...) and Fred and George and just Weasleydom in general. And Riddle's backstory! Man, so good. I was hoping that we'd get something more of an insight into how the whole Death Eater racket grew up around one ex-Head Boy.
[I would like to have it noted that I am writing this up whilst watching Lost: The Journey and I keep on feeling the urge to insert something about how bloody pretty Emilie de Ravin is or how Sawyer is so misaligned, poor darling, etc, so consider this a purging of said urges. Back to the book now.]
- Regulus is also of the awesome. I was going to amuse myself by thinking up hilarious middle names for him, but really, the Blacks probably gave him something aristocratic and dull. He might even have been loaded with his aunt's name before she became estranged from the family, which would have been amusing in its own way. Milliways has kind of screwed around with my perception of half the characters, but I must say I think it improved my reading of the book :D
- Draco! I think I was expecting a bit more depth, from everyone's raving, but really? I don't blame the kid one bit. He's not a killer. He was scared shitless. He's never known anything except his parents and their single-minded adherence to their cause, so you can't exactly blame him for not - what? Turning on them? Getting them killed? I'm going to be very interested to see where Rowling takes him, although he'll probably either die doing something vaguely heroic or just get killed by accident because hell, he's gonna die. And the shippers will sob for the passing of the cheekbones.
- Speaking of which. Ahahaha Zabini *snerks* He's very talented at...posing...damn, see, I think I like Ginny so much because she kept on saying the kind of snarky thing that I used to add as mental linear notes.
- Uh, okay, Snape. I really liked the idea of the Half-Blood Prince's notes in the book, of him making up his own spells, and I really liked all the exciting new potions that the book brought up. As for the whole good/evil thing...I'm still undecided, it's very Rowling to spring a final HE'S REALLY GOOD AFTER ALL twist on us in the final book, and the death scene can be read sympathetically with very little effort. Draco wasn't going to kill Dumbledore, and all of the other Death Eaters were very clearly about to take it upon themselves to do it. If Dumbledore's death was thus inevitable - and if Snape would have died if it hadn't been him to perform the kill, because of the Vow - then really, there wasn't any other choice. And Snape is very probably now beyond question when it comes to his loyalty, at least from Voldemort's point of view. So if he's still on the side of good, there are some definite silver linings. And the little parts of the scene can be read that way as well - Snape's 'hatred and loathing' could very well be for himself or for Voldemort, and Dumbledore's 'pleading' be an effort to tell him just to do what had to be done. If Snape is reporting everything to him, Dumbledore would KNOW that Draco was supposed to be killing him (he certainly didn't appear very surprised when Draco turned up) and possibly about the Vow as well. Plus, Rowling was all but leaning over our shoulders coughing madly and drawing a big pink arrow between the names Narcissa and Severus - if that's where she's coming from, then I am sure Snape would do almost anything to safeguard Narcissa's son and/or honour her wishes.
That said? Killing Dumbledore is fairly compelling evidence in favour of the EVIL EVIL argument. I've never found second-guessing to be particularly worthwhile, though, although I know many thrive on it - I'm happy to wait for the next book, wherein all will be revealed.
ETA:- The Horcruxes! I admired the way that part drew us back to the diary from the second book, which I've always thought needed a bit more explanation than just 'he was controlling her through the diary, er, um, yeah'
- What is it with everyone using 'Fenrir' all of a sudden? Mike Carey featured him (well, the actual Norse chaos wolf-god) in Lucifer 8, and now Rowling has as well. My Pandora and the Devil Fenrir is going to be old news. Harumph.
DISOWNED, Tink. For the billionth time :D
Right, right, reaction. Not very profound, I am sickasadog and didn't really make any notes as I was reading.
- Fleur is ten million kinds of awesome. (Yes, that was my strongest impression.
wickedtrue, you have corrupted me.)- Surprisingly, so is Ginny. About halfway through the book I found myself alarmed at the way I was no longer wincing at the obviousness of that particular romantic storyline but instead feeling vaguely benevolent and approving. Ginny is a Mary Sue come to life (I play Quiddich! I smell PRETTY! I flick my hair! Whee!) and yet I couldn't feel annoyed at her. She's sensible and funny and Harry likes her. That's good enough for me. This coming under the heading of my newfound Harry Can Do No Wrong credo, but we'll get into that later.
- I hope Luna and Neville hook up. That would be cute. Luna is wonderful.
- I have nothing for Ron/Hermione but....meh. It was always going to happen. I'm kind of glad it's happening slowly.
- I knew the Lupin/Tonks was coming and I was bracing myself for the Bombshell That Sank My Ship, and then it happened and I just laughed. I mean, I'm sure it'll turn out to be canonical and meant to be endearing and everything, but really. Lupin might as well have been wearing a badge that said I'm Saving Myself For My Dead Boyfriend and wow, I'm totally going overboard with the random capitalisation today. And Tonks is young, yes, but that doesn't bother me nearly as much as how young she was acting. I mean...changing her hair colour and Patronus and moping and going teary at the drop of a hat...I'm starting to wonder if the reason we never saw much of Cho is because decided to act on her lingering schoolgirl crush on Remus, stole some hair of Tonks' and Polyjuiced her all year, because that is not the pragmatic Auror I remember from the last book.
We all know where the real Tonks is, of course :) *nudges
indy_go*Plus, if she was mooning over Remus (ahaha, my inadvertent puns rule all) and not feeling wracked with guilt over Sirius' death, why DID she get all teary whenever he was mentioned? I'm gonna stick with the obvious 'he lurves Sirius and not meeeee' explanation, here.
- Have I exhausted all the het yet? Can I drag some more out of the book? Of course I can! Fred/Verity/George threesomes all the way! Seriously, I'm thinking all the copies of HBP that were waiting for distribution were stored underneath boxes of Mills&Boon novels and some kind of bizarre literary osmosis happened. Which explains oh so much about the last book, really, because that one obviously got stuck between Anne Rice and Michael Ondaatje.
- Maybe it's just the comparison between CAPS LOCK HARRY and this wondrous new incarnation, but man, that kid is just inhuman, they may as well just crown him king of the world and be done with it. Godric Gryffindor's spirit probably cast some kind of benevolent spell on Lily and James so that their son would be chipped out of a solid block of Nobility with the exquisite tools of Loyalty and Maturity. Or possibly there was a thing with fairy godmothers, damned if I know (Umbridge was the one who didn't get invited to the party). That brand of perfection I normally find infuriating in heroes, but I just kind of drifted along in a delicious daze of GO HARRY GO. His adherence to Dumbledore wasn't trite or overwritten, just...right. Kids could do far worse with their role models.
- There were just lots of little things that I liked, such as Slughorn and the nod towards traditional English schooling's little political ins-and-outs and the importance of connections, and the fact that they revel in their free periods and then end up studying in them (we were kind of the other way around...) and Fred and George and just Weasleydom in general. And Riddle's backstory! Man, so good. I was hoping that we'd get something more of an insight into how the whole Death Eater racket grew up around one ex-Head Boy.
[I would like to have it noted that I am writing this up whilst watching Lost: The Journey and I keep on feeling the urge to insert something about how bloody pretty Emilie de Ravin is or how Sawyer is so misaligned, poor darling, etc, so consider this a purging of said urges. Back to the book now.]
- Regulus is also of the awesome. I was going to amuse myself by thinking up hilarious middle names for him, but really, the Blacks probably gave him something aristocratic and dull. He might even have been loaded with his aunt's name before she became estranged from the family, which would have been amusing in its own way. Milliways has kind of screwed around with my perception of half the characters, but I must say I think it improved my reading of the book :D
- Draco! I think I was expecting a bit more depth, from everyone's raving, but really? I don't blame the kid one bit. He's not a killer. He was scared shitless. He's never known anything except his parents and their single-minded adherence to their cause, so you can't exactly blame him for not - what? Turning on them? Getting them killed? I'm going to be very interested to see where Rowling takes him, although he'll probably either die doing something vaguely heroic or just get killed by accident because hell, he's gonna die. And the shippers will sob for the passing of the cheekbones.
- Speaking of which. Ahahaha Zabini *snerks* He's very talented at...posing...damn, see, I think I like Ginny so much because she kept on saying the kind of snarky thing that I used to add as mental linear notes.
- Uh, okay, Snape. I really liked the idea of the Half-Blood Prince's notes in the book, of him making up his own spells, and I really liked all the exciting new potions that the book brought up. As for the whole good/evil thing...I'm still undecided, it's very Rowling to spring a final HE'S REALLY GOOD AFTER ALL twist on us in the final book, and the death scene can be read sympathetically with very little effort. Draco wasn't going to kill Dumbledore, and all of the other Death Eaters were very clearly about to take it upon themselves to do it. If Dumbledore's death was thus inevitable - and if Snape would have died if it hadn't been him to perform the kill, because of the Vow - then really, there wasn't any other choice. And Snape is very probably now beyond question when it comes to his loyalty, at least from Voldemort's point of view. So if he's still on the side of good, there are some definite silver linings. And the little parts of the scene can be read that way as well - Snape's 'hatred and loathing' could very well be for himself or for Voldemort, and Dumbledore's 'pleading' be an effort to tell him just to do what had to be done. If Snape is reporting everything to him, Dumbledore would KNOW that Draco was supposed to be killing him (he certainly didn't appear very surprised when Draco turned up) and possibly about the Vow as well. Plus, Rowling was all but leaning over our shoulders coughing madly and drawing a big pink arrow between the names Narcissa and Severus - if that's where she's coming from, then I am sure Snape would do almost anything to safeguard Narcissa's son and/or honour her wishes.
That said? Killing Dumbledore is fairly compelling evidence in favour of the EVIL EVIL argument. I've never found second-guessing to be particularly worthwhile, though, although I know many thrive on it - I'm happy to wait for the next book, wherein all will be revealed.
ETA:- The Horcruxes! I admired the way that part drew us back to the diary from the second book, which I've always thought needed a bit more explanation than just 'he was controlling her through the diary, er, um, yeah'
- What is it with everyone using 'Fenrir' all of a sudden? Mike Carey featured him (well, the actual Norse chaos wolf-god) in Lucifer 8, and now Rowling has as well. My Pandora and the Devil Fenrir is going to be old news. Harumph.
no subject
...
*has coughing fit from all the revelling*
argh argh, i have potter opinions of course, but the thought of all the typing tires me - shall discuss at the impending potter party, hmm?
no subject
I heart you and I think that will give the SxR/RxS folks more fuel. The whole TonksxRemus thing was too weird and random. And as I said in my journal - it seemed like she had something more pressing than romance on her mind. After OotP, I would imagine she wasn't like the other girls and all, but oh well :x
no subject
I dunno -I've written off a lot of Ginny's Mary-Sue-ish-ness-ness-li-ness as being Harry biased and hormonal opinion. "OMG that Ginny she's cool and funny and she plays Quidditch and her hair is pretty and her face is pretty and if I don't ask her out somebody else will because EVERYONE knows she's cool uber-pretty quidditch playing funny awesome and supar!hott OMGSOAWESOME *melts*"
Of course, she also reminds me of my best friend through high school, only with red hair, a little more self-confidence and quidditch instead of horseriding.
*glees away*
It was almost like having friends...
Book Draco is so much less intelligent and more cowardly than 'net Draco. I don't think he ever made a very effective nemesis.
Dumbledore! *sobs*