Harry Potter and the HBP (Spoilers)
POSTED BY: airylli
UPDATED: Friday, September 2, 2005 08:21
VIEWED: 19789
PAGE 5 of 8
aw, Emma called me eloquent! thanks Emma!
"Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us." ~Jerry Garcia
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Quote:
Originally posted by amygdala:
Snape is actually a good guy.
- Snape and Dumbledore are overheard arguing about something that Snape doesn't want to do (ie. what he ends up doing).
- Dumbledore's reaction to Snape turning is "Severus, please", not "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" or anything along the same vein as what he was saying to the other Death-eaters. He could equally be asking Snape to do what they'd agreed to (ie. what he did).
- As Snape is running away after doing what he did, his 'taunts' to Harry are actually some pretty damn good advice about what he should be working on as far as magic.
I'm with you -
"Severus, please" - what if Dumbledore was already dying from the liquid he drunk (hey, Harry, room for another serving of guilt on your plate?), or was turning into an Inferi because of it?
or
"Potter, no!" - Severus needed to get away to finish his task for Dumbledore. This was the only to prove his turn back was complete - to kill Dumbledore in front of witnesses.
I enjoyed the book - okay, not many "events" happened, but this one always had to be about moving the final pieces into play - didn't like the opening, but after that it really kept going till the end.
"I threw up on your bed"
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Basically, I just want the next book NOW, dammit.
----
I swallowed a bug.
www.cafepress.com/airylli
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Thought the book was good. Not great, but definitely good (I think I liked it better than 4 and 5... I have a preference for the earlier books).
I know a lot of folks felt that the Slughorn and HBP plots didn't go anywhere, and I'm sort of inclined to agree, but I don't think they were supposed to. This book was, to me, about us learning all about who Voldemort is and how he got to be there, and both Slughorn and Snape are echoes of him to some degree (as are Harry and Malfoy). So, to my mind, the stories didn't do much on their own, but as reflections of Tom Riddle, I think they add a lot.
I think the romance sub-plot with Harry and Ginny is also pivotal, since we've pretty much been told that love is Harry's weapon against Voldemort. So, for that to work, he's got to love someone.
At this point, my guesses about the final book go something like this:
Harry, Ron and Hermione (possibly assisted by others, including Tonks and Lupin) track down and destroy the remaining Horcruxes.
School continues without them, although they'll probably need to sneak on-campus at least once or twice to speak with Dumbledore (note that by implying that Harry will not be at Hogswart's next year, Rowling can allow Dumbledore's demise to have continued impact... if Harry could just go talk to the painting every day, it wouldn't mean anything).
Much as I hate to say it, I think that Snape is a good guy, but, for some reason, needs HARRY to believe he's a bad guy, so Dumbledore had to sacrifice himself to that end.
As our heroes close in on Voldemort, he'll attack Hogswart's and, among other things, kidnap Ginny (who Harry has conveniently isolated from those who would protect her).
Final confrontation will invlove Voldemort vs. Harry, with Harry protecting Ginny, bringing things full circle to the way his mother protected him.
Of course, I haven't gotten all that much sleep since Saturday, so I may not be that coherent.
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Good book.
Who knows what may have passed between the minds of Dumbledore and Snape as they stood there? Dumbledore's appeal to him might have been the only part anyone heard out loud. Given the choice between:
a) Snape breaks the vow, dies, Dumbledore dies when someone else kills him anyway, all plans fail
b) Snape kills Dumbledore, Snape continues as before in deep-ish cover, plans continue
b seems the better option.
I never got that Snape was the HBP. But I'm often a lazy reader as much as I am a lazy film/tv viewer.
A lot of the secondary characters fell into the background, that's for sure. I'm not sure I miss them all that much though; the story's not about them, in the end. Maybe I'm not as involved in it as everyone else seems to be.
Sad to see Albus go, though. The only way we'll see him again is in the Pensieve, or from his headmaster portrait. The only way he could Obi-Wan it is as a ghost, which doesn't seem likely. Dead is dead in HP-Land.
To add to what has been said before, Snape's evil act can only mean he is good (or at least not truly irredeemably evil) and will thus suffer a heroic death of sorts. Or maybe be struck down unfairly. I don't think he'll die before answering numerous important questions, though.
Will it all end well? Hard to say. They certainly deserve it, but that doesn't mean a thing. I hope so.
"My God - you're like a trained ape. Without the training."
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Quote:
Originally posted by GWEK:
Thought the book was good. Not great, but definitely good (I think I liked it better than 4 and 5... I have a preference for the earlier books).
I know a lot of folks felt that the Slughorn and HBP plots didn't go anywhere, and I'm sort of inclined to agree, but I don't think they were supposed to. This book was, to me, about us learning all about who Voldemort is and how he got to be there, and both Slughorn and Snape are echoes of him to some degree (as are Harry and Malfoy). So, to my mind, the stories didn't do much on their own, but as reflections of Tom Riddle, I think they add a lot.
I think the romance sub-plot with Harry and Ginny is also pivotal, since we've pretty much been told that love is Harry's weapon against Voldemort. So, for that to work, he's got to love someone.
At this point, my guesses about the final book go something like this:
Harry, Ron and Hermione (possibly assisted by others, including Tonks and Lupin) track down and destroy the remaining Horcruxes.
School continues without them, although they'll probably need to sneak on-campus at least once or twice to speak with Dumbledore (note that by implying that Harry will not be at Hogswart's next year, Rowling can allow Dumbledore's demise to have continued impact... if Harry could just go talk to the painting every day, it wouldn't mean anything).
Much as I hate to say it, I think that Snape is a good guy, but, for some reason, needs HARRY to believe he's a bad guy, so Dumbledore had to sacrifice himself to that end.
As our heroes close in on Voldemort, he'll attack Hogswart's and, among other things, kidnap Ginny (who Harry has conveniently isolated from those who would protect her).
Final confrontation will invlove Voldemort vs. Harry, with Harry protecting Ginny, bringing things full circle to the way his mother protected him.
Of course, I haven't gotten all that much sleep since Saturday, so I may not be that coherent.
Hmmm... good call on Slughorn, HBP etc echoing Voldemort. And the love thing. And the portrait thing too.
Harry sacrificing himself to save Ginny and mirroring his mother's sacrifice? Interesting... and if Voldemort has no horcruxes by that point he'd die. But... who would be our viewpoint then? Who would we see through the end of the book with?
...unless Ginny sacrifices herself for Harry...
"My God - you're like a trained ape. Without the training."
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Quote:
Originally posted by fray101:
Also, that RAB is Regalus Black. Any other theories there?
I had a theory on RAB. The proprietor (or a family member) of Bobbins & Burke. We were never given a first name, and since Riddle worked there at the proper time in history, he is in a unique position to be one of just a few people to know about the horcruxes and the cave.
I want to believe Snape is good, too. We shall see. Don't forget, Dumbledore had been ingesting poison, and maybe was a goner anyway.
"Don't say 'ka' until you've tried it." Daniel Jackson
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that's a good theory, SD.
"Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us." ~Jerry Garcia
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I’m not very eloquent here.
Okay. I’m disappointed. I am. This was not the book I was looking forward to reading. It didn’t read like a Harry Potter book. I know that sounds crazy, as it is a Harry Potter book, but we all felt it didn’t we? That little niggling feeling that things weren’t ‘right’.
I’m okay with Albus dying at Snape’s hands. I’m okay with Draco being saved. What did bother me? There really was no Harry Potter story was there? It was all Tom this, Tom that. I’m all for learning about Voldy, but just a bunch of pensieve memories? There must be a better way. If you’re gonna call a book HBP, at least have the HBP be in the story as more than a footnote. Fleur and Bill? Come on. Add them to the story why? Just to mutilate Bill and show Fleur’s love for him? I didn’t like Tonks wandering around as some lovesick girl either. I like Remus and Tonks together, and Bill and Fleur, she just didn’t make me excited that they were in the story. Ginny? Whatever.
I know I’m griping a lot.
Characters that were abused: Hermione, Luna, Neville. What happened to the girl we met in Book 1? The girl that was so smart she could figure out Snape’s logic puzzle? She’s been reduced to a mindless swot. Hermione has always shown initiative and creativity. Why is she suddenly fawning over Ron and completing their homework? I expected her to get on to Harry for the HBP thing, but she was still not Hermione. You know? Poor Luna. I never expected her to be a major character. However, she deserved better than to just be a last minute date and an extra hand in the battle. Same for Neville. I guess I wanted a story with action and character interaction.
RAB is likely the Burke guy. Harry is a horcrux...maybe. I can't believe harry is dropping out of school.
www.thatweirdgirl.com
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"...turn right at the corner then skip two blocks...no, SKIP, the hopping-like thing kids do...Why? Why not?"
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I liked the book.
I also think the Snape and Dumbledore were working together. If you assume that Dumbledore was correct about Snape. Then you must also believe that Snape told Dumbledore about the unbreakable vow. They cooked this up together. I'm still not convinced that Dumbledore is dead. He might pull a Gandolf.
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