Half-Blood Prince thoughts
Jul. 17th, 2005 08:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darklunaI think I've had time to mull it over sufficiently.
BIG-ASS SPOILERS, NO KIDDING, TURN AROUND IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS
1. Stupid book, making me cry.
I started thinking Dumbledore wouldn't make it in the middle of the lake, but then when Draco's resolve wavered, so did my certainty, so I was still shocked when it happened.
I know it kind of had to from a narrative standpoint, because the mentor always bites it in hero stories, and I am sure Dumbledore meant to die. But STILL. *sniffle*
2. R.A.B. Hmm. On the one hand, I think it must be something we can figure out for ourselves - i.e., someone we've heard of before. What was Regulus's middle name? Or, what was Amelia Bones's first name?
JKR did refresh our memory about Regulus several times in this book, and (I can't find it, but as I recall) Remus said he was killed very soon after failing to return to Voldemort. If magical ability tends to run in families as seems likely, Regulus could have been pretty strong.
But JKR also mentioned Amelia Bones several times, and hinted that Voldemort had killed her personally.
However, I believe Voldemort doesn't know the locket Horcrux has been replaced, so if RAB is indeed dead, the manner of his or her death wouldn't necessarily be telling. My main question is: why does Harry assume he or she did not destroy the Horcrux before dying?
And it could always be someone we've never heard of at all.
3. Luna commentating kicked ass.
4. Even if Remus falls/has fallen in love with Tonks, that doesn't mean he didn't love Sirius. People are bi sometimes, you know. He's allowed to love someone after Sirius! Sheesh, fellow shippers; some of you have your knickers in such a twist that they're affecting the flow of blood to your brain.
5. When Harry kissed Ginny, I went EEEEEEEEE out loud.
6. Draco! I had formed two pretty firm beliefs over the last 5 books: 1. Draco is redeemable. 2. JKR doesn't intend to redeem him. Might have been wrong about #2, eh?
7. What keeps prisoners in Azkaban other than the Dementors? At the start of the book, I got the impression that Lucius and the others had pretty much just strolled out, but at the end it sounded like they were still in there.
8. I figured out that was Snape's book pretty early.
So as for Snape... Seeing where he lived made me sad. (It also made me wince, as I could hear the herd of Sues stampeding towards Spinner's End.)
At first I was sure he really had been on Voldemort's side all along. Then I started to wonder. He got Draco out of there, but on the way, did he attack anyone but Harry? If Dumbledore intended to die, and Snape was magically bound to do the deed when Draco couldn't, might Dumbledore not have ordered Snape to do it?
Because now Voldemort has what he'd consider ironclad proof that Snape is on his side. However, the good guys will never trust him again, and will probably kill him on sight. Hmm. I wonder if there is some reason Harry needs to believe he's bad (if he isn't), or if he just hates Harry that much.
God, it's early. :P Going to go to Uwajimaya later and get the fixings for that yummy inari sushi. The little tofu pouches come in cans, and so do the veggies, so they are super-easy to make.
Last night someone told me it was hard to make me laugh. HUH? Guess he really is convinced I'm some kind of hardass.
BIG-ASS SPOILERS, NO KIDDING, TURN AROUND IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS
1. Stupid book, making me cry.
I started thinking Dumbledore wouldn't make it in the middle of the lake, but then when Draco's resolve wavered, so did my certainty, so I was still shocked when it happened.
I know it kind of had to from a narrative standpoint, because the mentor always bites it in hero stories, and I am sure Dumbledore meant to die. But STILL. *sniffle*
2. R.A.B. Hmm. On the one hand, I think it must be something we can figure out for ourselves - i.e., someone we've heard of before. What was Regulus's middle name? Or, what was Amelia Bones's first name?
JKR did refresh our memory about Regulus several times in this book, and (I can't find it, but as I recall) Remus said he was killed very soon after failing to return to Voldemort. If magical ability tends to run in families as seems likely, Regulus could have been pretty strong.
But JKR also mentioned Amelia Bones several times, and hinted that Voldemort had killed her personally.
However, I believe Voldemort doesn't know the locket Horcrux has been replaced, so if RAB is indeed dead, the manner of his or her death wouldn't necessarily be telling. My main question is: why does Harry assume he or she did not destroy the Horcrux before dying?
And it could always be someone we've never heard of at all.
3. Luna commentating kicked ass.
4. Even if Remus falls/has fallen in love with Tonks, that doesn't mean he didn't love Sirius. People are bi sometimes, you know. He's allowed to love someone after Sirius! Sheesh, fellow shippers; some of you have your knickers in such a twist that they're affecting the flow of blood to your brain.
5. When Harry kissed Ginny, I went EEEEEEEEE out loud.
6. Draco! I had formed two pretty firm beliefs over the last 5 books: 1. Draco is redeemable. 2. JKR doesn't intend to redeem him. Might have been wrong about #2, eh?
7. What keeps prisoners in Azkaban other than the Dementors? At the start of the book, I got the impression that Lucius and the others had pretty much just strolled out, but at the end it sounded like they were still in there.
8. I figured out that was Snape's book pretty early.
So as for Snape... Seeing where he lived made me sad. (It also made me wince, as I could hear the herd of Sues stampeding towards Spinner's End.)
At first I was sure he really had been on Voldemort's side all along. Then I started to wonder. He got Draco out of there, but on the way, did he attack anyone but Harry? If Dumbledore intended to die, and Snape was magically bound to do the deed when Draco couldn't, might Dumbledore not have ordered Snape to do it?
Because now Voldemort has what he'd consider ironclad proof that Snape is on his side. However, the good guys will never trust him again, and will probably kill him on sight. Hmm. I wonder if there is some reason Harry needs to believe he's bad (if he isn't), or if he just hates Harry that much.
God, it's early. :P Going to go to Uwajimaya later and get the fixings for that yummy inari sushi. The little tofu pouches come in cans, and so do the veggies, so they are super-easy to make.
Last night someone told me it was hard to make me laugh. HUH? Guess he really is convinced I'm some kind of hardass.
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no subject
Date: 2005-07-17 03:26 pm (UTC)Oh yeah, I heard them too...hee!
And I just think it's too soon for Remus to get into a relationship, especially after Sirius, but then, I'm a hardcore R/S shipper. And he wasn't going to stand there in front of all those kids and say. "Sorry Tonks, you know, the gay thing..."
But it just feels wrong for JKR to have everyone happily and heterosexually paired up. Even Neville and Luna! I mean, I know it's a kids book, but there could be some more ambiguity.
Oh well, Yay for Alternate Universes!
no subject
Date: 2005-07-17 08:30 pm (UTC)And I'm glad to see we're on the same page about Snape. There's just so much more to this - Snape is the most ambiguous character I've ever seen. And in JKR's world, no one is 100% good OR evil. We have a lot to learn about Snape at this point.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-17 11:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-21 02:15 pm (UTC)Just finished the book, and I'm completely up-in-the-air on this. I still believe that Dumbledore was right about Snape, and therefore this probably had to happen. Teh Obi-Wan effect, maybe. When did Snape get the most upset? When Harry called him a coward. Which makes me think that maybe he's being very brave, and would like to be recognized as such, but can't. He'll definitely be in the confidences (such as they are) of Voldemort and the Death Eaters now. But if Dumbledore saw this coming, and Snape was supposed to Kadavra him, and none of the Order believes Snape, how will Snape (eventually) aid in the destruction of Voldemort? Surely he won't be reporting to Potter, even if he could convince him, which he couldn't now anyway. So, either I am wrong about Snape, or else maybe Dumbledore somehow returns, even as a ghost or something, to explain it to Harry? Hell, a letter might be enough.
Also, if their formal education is over, how will they continue to train up for battle? We need a montage training scene. Especially the younger wizards. And Neville.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-21 02:31 pm (UTC)A pensieve and a portrait are sitting right there in the headmaster's office...
We definitely need Neville. And Luna! If they're not going to be important, I shall be put out.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-21 03:50 pm (UTC)A lot of stuff to cover!
no subject
Date: 2005-07-21 04:16 pm (UTC)I do wonder why Voldemort would bother sending Draco to do something expecting him to fail. Maybe he figured if he failed, that's one incompetent wannabe DE out of the way, and if he succeeded, bonus.
I think we can skip the Quidditch. I was just looking at an interview with JKR where she said she's written her last match.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-21 05:31 pm (UTC)Re: Vold using Draco to get Death-Eaters inside Hogwarts and killing Dumbledore.
1. Draco is the only death eater (other than the double or triple agent snape) who can get into Hogwarts at all to try to open a path for others
2. Dumbledore's optimism and belief in the young, even Draco, gives Draco a free hand to try. Voldemort would know this, and would relish the possibility that he could turn Dumbledore's "love" business into the weakness that Voldemort wishes that it really were.
3. If securing the remaining Malfoy family's loyalty is important, binding Draco to him, succeed or fail, works.
4. Didn't Draco propose the plan himself? He had something to offer Voldemort - what does Voldemort stand to lose? Nothing.