Howl and Potter
Jul. 24th, 2005 10:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bending_sickleOk, the short stuff first:
Reading TPratchett's Monstrous Regiment and, though it's not as chock-full of jokes as other Discworld novels, it's a very good war book. Recommend reading it even if his general style isn't one's cuppa tea. (And what is it with my liking Pterry's vampires so much? Maladict, I think I love you.)
Watched Howl's Moving Castle, a Japanese cartoon film by the director of Spirited Away (I think) and based on a book by MS. Wayne Jones. It's bloody gorgeous, plotwise and pretty-wise. The dubbing is great too. (And omg, cartoon character's shouldn't have that much appeal to young ladies such as meself... Sigh.)
Go watch. (Or read a review by ENoel here.)
And now, the Harry Potter commentaries so far:
General:
evadne_noel: I think this book is much better than OotP, mostly because the basic plot did not drive me up a wall with its complete uselessness. Also, Harry was a lot calmer and only broke out the ALL CAPS once.
irvys_sefie: This book was leagues ahead of OotP in both plot and character development. Especially where Harry was concerned. And Narcissa, actually. It's nice to see that she wasn't like eighty percent of the fandom would have you believe. And regardless of what the fans have been grumping about, Hermione was just acting like a 16 year old with a crush, which is *gasp* exactly what she was! I loved the book. It's just a pity that the fanbrats are ruining it for me.
Snape:
anon: I didn't ever once think that Snape was evil since the first book. At the end of the sixth book, my first reaction was, "Oh no, Harry! You've got all wrong! Argh! No, Lupin, Snape's a good guy! McGonagall? Not you too..." Actually, I was knocked over backwards to see people saying, "oh my! he really was evil after all!" It was like: ... what?
I rather thought that Snape had already told Dumbledore what Draco was up to, as well as the promise he had made to Narcissa Malfoy. One of the professors told Harry that Snape and Dumbledore had an argument, if you recall, and in my mind, that was Jo sneaking in a hint. Dumbledore, I imagine, would rather have Snape kill him than let Draco do it, not for saving both Draco's and Snape's life ("There are much worse things than dying"), but to prevent Draco from becoming a murderer, and I belive that an argument would have stemmed from Snape saying "no, I won't kill you," while Dumbledore would say, "well, I can't have you and/or Draco die, or have Draco lose his innocence, so tough cookies, yo." Only the argument would be more serious and better phrased.
It broke my heart when Snape shouted, "DON'T CALL ME A COWARD!" in his final confrontation with Harry. (They could be such good friends; they both use all caps!). Snape must have really been so brave, to promise Narcissa Malfoy that he would help Draco, even if he may have died because of it, and then to kill Dumbledore, the first person to believe Snape could actually be good. I was floored and a little hurt that everyone in the Order only trusted Snape because Dumbledore did. Does this guy have any friends?
irishmastermind: You see, I've been saying that Snape is actually evil since book 4, so by all reason I should be delighted. However, I am now grudgingly and almost entirely convinced that he isn't. I think it was on Dumbledore's orders that he killed him. Remember that they are both skilled at legilimancy, and they had eyecontact for a few moments before D. got zapped. I can't see Dumbledore begging for his life at all, but I can see him begging someone to keep a promise they made to obey him implicitly in all things, up to leaving him to die, or killing him themselves. This would keep Draco from becoming a murderer. He is a stinky little turd, but he's still one of Dumbledore's students. It would also strengthen Snape's position amongst the DE- not even Bellatrix could doubt his loyalties now. Plus, it was probably too late for Dumbledore. Furthermore, Snape pretty much only deflected Harry's hexes, wouldn't let him use unforgiveables, wouldn't let the other DEs hurt him, and didn't stun him and bring him along to drop at the Dark Lord's feet. I mean, you could argue him evil too, but it really seems to me like this is another fake-out on JKR's part. He won't be too much good as a spy now, as the Order will almost certainly attack him on sight. However, as a saboteur or a last minute switcher, he could prove highly useful.
diptutod: I agree on the Snape, and I was just going to step in and say so. At first glance, I was horrorstruck at the pure evilness of a character who I desperately want to be good. However, I've read people's theories and I must agree: Dumbledore was rather resigned to the fact that he would die, to the point of asking Severus to do it should the need arise. Well, the need obviously arose, and his "Severus...please..." was a plea for death, not life. The hatred on Snape's face? Well, if the only person who'd ever had any faith in you ordered you to kill them, wouldn't you hate them for it just a bit? And afterward...my goodness, does he ever get worked up over being called a coward. Perhaps it's because he's just done the bravest thing he's ever had to do? And I'd like to know what that "mouth shut and mind closed" comment was referring to...Occlumency, clearly, but was Snape also blaming Harry for the necessity of Dumbledore's death?
I do not think what Harry heard from Trelawney was Dumbledore's reason for trusting Snape. His reason was something he didn't even tell to McGonagall -- it must have been a lot more serious and convincing than "Well, he seemed remorseful."
It just doesn't add up.
evadne_noel: Part of me would just like Snape to stay evil because I've been expecting him to be good since book one. For me, this book is a big turnaround, and another turn around so soon would feel contrived. Plus, I have no idea what could cause another turnaround since he's already killed Dumbledore, who seemed like the person most likely to save him. Now I'm only holding out hope that there's some kind of Peter Pettigrew - Severus Snape showdown (because Peter owes Harry big time), and the two turncoats duking it out would be interesting to me.
DarthMaligna: And I still believe in Snape. There's something more going on; there has to be. Dumbledore's entire death sequence reeked of misinterpretation on the part of Harry. There is no way Dumbledore would have been taken in by what Harry described in the hospital wing as having been Snape's "big sekrit path to righteousness." No way; that explanation was way too lame. There's something else going on. And if there's not, well, JKR, you can sod off and take your books with you. I'm still in the fandom for now, because you saved that second few hundred pages in spectacular manner, but I can only put up with so much.
nuclear_lobster: After reading through the death scene and the specifics of Snape's Unbreakable Vow (plus the tidbits like Hagrid overhearing Snape telling Dumbledore he didn't want to do something anymore) I get the feeling that things on the astronomy tower went both horribly wrong and exactly as planned.
What's really interesting is that Snape is in deep shit with both camps now and that he is probably in even bigger trouble with Voldy in fact than with the Order.
Voldy won't be shedding tears for Dumbledore, naturally, but I think he wanted to save the old man's death for something more...productive. Draco was supposed to make the attempt and die doing it as punishment for Lucius. I get the feeling that Tom is not one to easily forgive violated orders, especially with what he loses because of it.
No offense to Dumbledore, but he was just Voldy's most prominent obstacle, rather that his largest. Snape threw away his greatest asset to Voldy by compromising his ability to freely spy when he did Draco's work for him. Dumbledore may have bit it, but now Voldy has to work that much harder to get his intel on the workings of the Order and the Ministry, whose bulk present a greater threat than Dumbledore alone, and Harry Potter, whose very existence is key to his undoing.
Horcruxes:
daphyn: I agree about the hat. The words I was yelling in various order were "HORCRUX...FAWKES...NOT DEAD!" (I was excited enough that coherent sentences were not a possibility.) But that's my own personal theory. I want to reread it but my friend has mine :(
nuclear_lobster: I think the next surprise regarding horocruxes will be that they have a Light Side counterpart (Happycruxes?) whose substance is love instead of murder. Instead of breaking a soul apart you share it with one or more living things via some emotional bond or something. That way, when the body dies, the soul is still held to the Earth.
If Dumbledore does make another appearance, I think it will be because he used Fawkes as his Happycruxe. He'll probably appear as a slightly more substantial ghost who can offer counsel and support.
evadne_noel: If Rowling makes Harry one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, I will laugh my ass off. Or, alternatively, I will have to bang my head against a wall until I bleed from the nose. I think if it was really Nagini, thus derailing an obvious, angst-ridden conflict, I would be much more amused.
paderau: For some reason I think a horcrux is something that takes a bit of planning. It just sounds so dark and fancy I doubt it's something you just toss together at the last minute. He went there with the intention of murdering the child. That being said I think we shall be spared the angst of Harry The Horcrux.
Turning the one person destined to defeat you into a mooring for your own soul does not seem very smart to me. I mean, a hero who kills himself to save the world is something every villain worth his salt should expect.
evadne_noel: The only reasons I think Harry might be a Horcrux are a) the only known requirement that we know of (death) was fulfilled, b) in CoS, Dumbledore's description of Voldemort putting himself into Harry sounds exactly the same as making a Horcrux, and c) it would be really, really angsty. I don't think Voldemort would have done it on purpose (as he keeps trying to kill Harry, and wasn't even aware Harry was in his head until OotP), but there was lots of inadvertent magic going on that night. Magic seems to be prone to really serious error, even by ultimate evils.
[...] If Harry is a Horcrux, I don't think it was intentional. But we already know that Harry has a bit of Voldemort in him, and the requirement that someone die was fulfilled. There's probably more to the spell (I would certainly hope so anyway), but there was lots of inadvertent magic going on. Voldemort wasn't aware of his connection to Harry until OotP, which I think is why he kept trying to kill him. As for the possession, I think it's a worse idea to give part of your soul to something that can feel for itself, more than think for itself.
angelsflame: I'm still not sure if Voldemort would trust a living thing to be his Horcruxe. Wouldn't that be rather stupid, seeing as living things die?
artiephesus: Hmmm... wonder... if a living horcruxe had a bit of someone else's soul in it, would that make it also immortal? Just a query...
evadne_noel: Maybe if the soul put in was immortal? But does the entire soul become immortal if put into objects, or is the soul inherently mortal and the anchoring to objects is what makes it immortal?
thehighbrow: I don't think that Harry is a Horcrux. It's likely that Voldemort wanted to turn Harry into one, but even so, he would've been planning to kill Harry first before doing the soul-encasing spell (makes more sense performing a difficult spell on a dead person than on a live one, if possible). If that was the case, Voldemort would never have gotten around to performing the latter spell because he would've been killed first by the backlash of Avada Kedavra on Lily's blood-magic/pervy shield-of-lurve around Harry.
Although one can never be sure of anything when it comes to JKR. Except for the fact that Severus is secretly a sex god. I have no doubt of that.
(Edit: Ok, that last sentance isn't about horcuxes, but come on, you know it's true.)
irvys_sefie: If Harry was a Horcrux I think he'd be an accidental one. I don't think Voldemort would split himself into that kid if he could help it. Like "with Harry's awesome Parseltongue powers comes part of Lord Voldemort's soul!"
evadne_noel: I definately think that if Harry is a Horcrux, it's a mistake. We know Voldemort put something into Harry, so it might have been a bit of his soul (this is also the reason I believe the Dementors tried to kiss Harry without cause, because they could sense the Voldemort in him and it seems likely the Ministry would have, at some point, authorized use of the Kiss for Voldemort even though we know it couldn't work).
irishmastermind: I doubt that Harry is a horcrux. Voldemort seemed to have a thing for using important or significant murders to make them, so I wouldn't be suprised if he was going to use Harry's death to make the final one, but having failed at that, also failed to make the horcrux. I think that there are, or were, 5 total. As much of a drama queen as V. is, he would probably refuse to finish his crafty plan unless he uses Harry to make that last horcrux.
kikiwritingbird: This suddenly struck me as I was driving in my car earlier this afternoon.
People have been talking about how since James and Lily Potter would be significant deaths, Harry might be a Horcrux. I don't think it makes sense to put a piece of your soul in an unbearable body (even by accident). But what if instead of putting a part of his soul into a person, Voldemort put it into a specific *place*.
Like Godric's Hollow.
Name sound slightly familiar? It would certainly fill in a possible gap quite nicely...
Ginny/Harry
evadne_noel:Ginny was a little out of left field. I mean, it didn’t surprise me, but it seemed like one day he just looked at her and, whoa! Harry is angry about Ginny/Dean!
paderau: I think the Ginny thing was needless. Especially since Harry had to call it off shortly after. He's the hero, he needs to factor in self-sacrificing acts of nobility into his future plans. He knows he's going to commit them.
evadne_noel: I'm still not sure why Ginny was there, other than to give Harry something else to give up. If he lives, I'm quite certain he could pick it up again. They're only 16/17 after all. It's not like their biological clocks are ticking.
thehighbrow:
One day ...
Harry: Hey, there's Ginny!
Ten seconds and many hormones later ...
Harry: Whoa, hot mama! This sex beast in me wants more, MORE!
Must. Resist. Urge. To shag Ginny.Like fanfiction writers have had me shagging Draco.
irvys_sefie: Since I'd been keeping an eye out for Harry/Ginny stuff since CoS I wasn't so much surprised as I was confused as to where Harry's Hormonal Beast of Lust came from. I knew she liked him, but where did his attraction come from?
[...] I have no idea where The Sex Beast came from. All I know is that it was kinda creepy beyond all reason because JKR actually called it a beast.
Draco
DarthMaligna: You know what did me in? Draco. Draco has always been a character I adored in fanon - I liked seeing a useless two-dimensional jerk being taken and having the same essence twisted into an interesting snarky character along the lines of Snape. However, I've always realized that this was just fanon, and I never expected to see Draco given any depth in canon. But I was wrong. I could see him going either way after this, and wouldn't it be glorious if he went to the "right side?" What a plot twist! I've been reading the same thing in fanfic for years but it would still be a shocker! He's such a bastard, but at the end, I just wanted to give him huggles and stroke his hair. And then go find Narcissa and do the same thing to her as well, and then whisk them both away to a happy snarky place.
evadne_noel: Wow, is this me actually feeling sorry for poor, destined to fail Draco?
irvys_sefie: It's a pity, because Draco really doesn't know what to do with himself. I felt bad for him with that scene in the bathroom, but then I reminded myself that he BROKE HARRY'S NOSE and I kinda don't feel so bad for him. But knowing that he's just a pawn of Voldemort's makes me feel bad.
capri_chan: Tell me, was I the only one pleased to see that Draco was smart enough to catch Harry on the train? It was rather nice to see Harry not being perfect, and that Draco was the one to bring that about. Also, I've gotten too used to fanon!Draco, as I wasn't quite THAT surprised when he was revealed to be..well...not completely evil.
R.A.B.
roz_mcclure: icon of dumbledore: I definitely think "R.A.B." is Regulus Black. In fact, I thought it immediately, and then spent sixty pages going "IT'S YOUR GOD-UNCLE, HARRY, YOU IDIOT!"
darthsnuggles: Most people I've seen discussing it are pretty sure it's him - there've been mentions of something from OotP, where Harry and the others were cleaning Grimmauld Place and discovered a "heavy locket which none of them could open."
thehighbrow: I'm almost positive R.A.B. is a reference to Regulus. First, there was the unopenable locket, which was mentioned in the comments above. Also, Sirius mentioned that he had an Uncle Alphard. Regulus could've been named for this uncle. Therefore, R.A.B. = Regulus Alphard Black is a possibility.
irishmastermind: Not only do I think the locket was stolen by Regulus, I think it has now been stolen by Mundungus. Why else would we have the scene where Harry attacks him for stealing stuff from 12 Grimmauld? And since he's in prison, Harry will probably end up having to cut a deal with the Ministry to see him. I don't think Regulus will become really important though. We may find out a bit more about him, but I think it's safe to say that he's safely dead.
JKR's originality:
elletaria: Does anyone know if there's a list somewhere of all the writers JKR has stolen from been influenced by? Some are terribly obvious - The Worst Witch series, that woman who took JKR to court for pinching her Larry Potter and the Muggles stuff, the Narnia series - but others are less so. For instance, E.M. Forster's "The Celestial Ombnibus" is where she got the Knight Bus, which occurred to me for some reason on my flight home on Saturday (probably subliminal influences from all the advertising in the airport, I'm the one person on LJ who isn't planning to read HBP).
captainsblog: A boy separated from his parents near birth, raised by an aunt and uncle with only vague knowledge of his powers, eventually taught by ones far wiser than he in distant lands, constantly being warned to stay away from the Dark Side and doing near-mortal hand to hand combat with one known as the "Dark Lord"?
Yeah, that's original.
But then, Lucas is so obviously ripping off Tolkien at times- "Welcome to Mustafar! It's Mordor only with better special effects!"- you'd think they'd set up a webring between all of them
Comments from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
evadne_noel's lj here and metaquotes.
There's a video of a man yelling out "Snape kills Dumbledore" the night the book came out in Texas. (Yes, he made it out alive.)
This I just had to share:
Taken fromtybalt_quin's entry, a short moralistic tale about balloon animals and the dangers of using dark magic:
Almost every store you walk past in London has people dressed up as witches and wizards making balloon animals and spinning crystal balls for the amusement of the kiddies. I was walking past one bloke who was struggling manifully with a pink balloon giraffe for a small girl.
Small girl: "I want my giraffe to be made from black balloons!"
'Wizard': "Oh now, only bad wizards want black giraffes. Good wizards want pink giraffes."
Small girl: "I want to be a bad wizard! I want a black giraffe!"
'Wizard': (Looking tetchy) "Well I'm a good wizard, which means I can only make pink giraffes."
Small girl: "I'll put a spell on you to make you a bad wizard." (points at 'Wizard') "Imperio!"
'Wizard': (Now looking like he wants to put the balloon giraffe somewhere not recommended by the British Medical Council) "I've blocked your spell so it has no effect on me."
Small girl: (points at 'Wizard' again) "Avada kedavra!"
'Wizard': (glares at small girl and bursts the balloon giraffe) "You see what happens when you're a bad wizard? The balloon giraffe dies. Next!"
Exit small girl. Crying.
Reading TPratchett's Monstrous Regiment and, though it's not as chock-full of jokes as other Discworld novels, it's a very good war book. Recommend reading it even if his general style isn't one's cuppa tea. (And what is it with my liking Pterry's vampires so much? Maladict, I think I love you.)
Watched Howl's Moving Castle, a Japanese cartoon film by the director of Spirited Away (I think) and based on a book by MS. Wayne Jones. It's bloody gorgeous, plotwise and pretty-wise. The dubbing is great too. (And omg, cartoon character's shouldn't have that much appeal to young ladies such as meself... Sigh.)
Go watch. (Or read a review by ENoel here.)
And now, the Harry Potter commentaries so far:
General:
evadne_noel: I think this book is much better than OotP, mostly because the basic plot did not drive me up a wall with its complete uselessness. Also, Harry was a lot calmer and only broke out the ALL CAPS once.
irvys_sefie: This book was leagues ahead of OotP in both plot and character development. Especially where Harry was concerned. And Narcissa, actually. It's nice to see that she wasn't like eighty percent of the fandom would have you believe. And regardless of what the fans have been grumping about, Hermione was just acting like a 16 year old with a crush, which is *gasp* exactly what she was! I loved the book. It's just a pity that the fanbrats are ruining it for me.
Snape:
anon: I didn't ever once think that Snape was evil since the first book. At the end of the sixth book, my first reaction was, "Oh no, Harry! You've got all wrong! Argh! No, Lupin, Snape's a good guy! McGonagall? Not you too..." Actually, I was knocked over backwards to see people saying, "oh my! he really was evil after all!" It was like: ... what?
I rather thought that Snape had already told Dumbledore what Draco was up to, as well as the promise he had made to Narcissa Malfoy. One of the professors told Harry that Snape and Dumbledore had an argument, if you recall, and in my mind, that was Jo sneaking in a hint. Dumbledore, I imagine, would rather have Snape kill him than let Draco do it, not for saving both Draco's and Snape's life ("There are much worse things than dying"), but to prevent Draco from becoming a murderer, and I belive that an argument would have stemmed from Snape saying "no, I won't kill you," while Dumbledore would say, "well, I can't have you and/or Draco die, or have Draco lose his innocence, so tough cookies, yo." Only the argument would be more serious and better phrased.
It broke my heart when Snape shouted, "DON'T CALL ME A COWARD!" in his final confrontation with Harry. (They could be such good friends; they both use all caps!). Snape must have really been so brave, to promise Narcissa Malfoy that he would help Draco, even if he may have died because of it, and then to kill Dumbledore, the first person to believe Snape could actually be good. I was floored and a little hurt that everyone in the Order only trusted Snape because Dumbledore did. Does this guy have any friends?
irishmastermind: You see, I've been saying that Snape is actually evil since book 4, so by all reason I should be delighted. However, I am now grudgingly and almost entirely convinced that he isn't. I think it was on Dumbledore's orders that he killed him. Remember that they are both skilled at legilimancy, and they had eyecontact for a few moments before D. got zapped. I can't see Dumbledore begging for his life at all, but I can see him begging someone to keep a promise they made to obey him implicitly in all things, up to leaving him to die, or killing him themselves. This would keep Draco from becoming a murderer. He is a stinky little turd, but he's still one of Dumbledore's students. It would also strengthen Snape's position amongst the DE- not even Bellatrix could doubt his loyalties now. Plus, it was probably too late for Dumbledore. Furthermore, Snape pretty much only deflected Harry's hexes, wouldn't let him use unforgiveables, wouldn't let the other DEs hurt him, and didn't stun him and bring him along to drop at the Dark Lord's feet. I mean, you could argue him evil too, but it really seems to me like this is another fake-out on JKR's part. He won't be too much good as a spy now, as the Order will almost certainly attack him on sight. However, as a saboteur or a last minute switcher, he could prove highly useful.
diptutod: I agree on the Snape, and I was just going to step in and say so. At first glance, I was horrorstruck at the pure evilness of a character who I desperately want to be good. However, I've read people's theories and I must agree: Dumbledore was rather resigned to the fact that he would die, to the point of asking Severus to do it should the need arise. Well, the need obviously arose, and his "Severus...please..." was a plea for death, not life. The hatred on Snape's face? Well, if the only person who'd ever had any faith in you ordered you to kill them, wouldn't you hate them for it just a bit? And afterward...my goodness, does he ever get worked up over being called a coward. Perhaps it's because he's just done the bravest thing he's ever had to do? And I'd like to know what that "mouth shut and mind closed" comment was referring to...Occlumency, clearly, but was Snape also blaming Harry for the necessity of Dumbledore's death?
I do not think what Harry heard from Trelawney was Dumbledore's reason for trusting Snape. His reason was something he didn't even tell to McGonagall -- it must have been a lot more serious and convincing than "Well, he seemed remorseful."
It just doesn't add up.
evadne_noel: Part of me would just like Snape to stay evil because I've been expecting him to be good since book one. For me, this book is a big turnaround, and another turn around so soon would feel contrived. Plus, I have no idea what could cause another turnaround since he's already killed Dumbledore, who seemed like the person most likely to save him. Now I'm only holding out hope that there's some kind of Peter Pettigrew - Severus Snape showdown (because Peter owes Harry big time), and the two turncoats duking it out would be interesting to me.
DarthMaligna: And I still believe in Snape. There's something more going on; there has to be. Dumbledore's entire death sequence reeked of misinterpretation on the part of Harry. There is no way Dumbledore would have been taken in by what Harry described in the hospital wing as having been Snape's "big sekrit path to righteousness." No way; that explanation was way too lame. There's something else going on. And if there's not, well, JKR, you can sod off and take your books with you. I'm still in the fandom for now, because you saved that second few hundred pages in spectacular manner, but I can only put up with so much.
nuclear_lobster: After reading through the death scene and the specifics of Snape's Unbreakable Vow (plus the tidbits like Hagrid overhearing Snape telling Dumbledore he didn't want to do something anymore) I get the feeling that things on the astronomy tower went both horribly wrong and exactly as planned.
What's really interesting is that Snape is in deep shit with both camps now and that he is probably in even bigger trouble with Voldy in fact than with the Order.
Voldy won't be shedding tears for Dumbledore, naturally, but I think he wanted to save the old man's death for something more...productive. Draco was supposed to make the attempt and die doing it as punishment for Lucius. I get the feeling that Tom is not one to easily forgive violated orders, especially with what he loses because of it.
No offense to Dumbledore, but he was just Voldy's most prominent obstacle, rather that his largest. Snape threw away his greatest asset to Voldy by compromising his ability to freely spy when he did Draco's work for him. Dumbledore may have bit it, but now Voldy has to work that much harder to get his intel on the workings of the Order and the Ministry, whose bulk present a greater threat than Dumbledore alone, and Harry Potter, whose very existence is key to his undoing.
Horcruxes:
daphyn: I agree about the hat. The words I was yelling in various order were "HORCRUX...FAWKES...NOT DEAD!" (I was excited enough that coherent sentences were not a possibility.) But that's my own personal theory. I want to reread it but my friend has mine :(
nuclear_lobster: I think the next surprise regarding horocruxes will be that they have a Light Side counterpart (Happycruxes?) whose substance is love instead of murder. Instead of breaking a soul apart you share it with one or more living things via some emotional bond or something. That way, when the body dies, the soul is still held to the Earth.
If Dumbledore does make another appearance, I think it will be because he used Fawkes as his Happycruxe. He'll probably appear as a slightly more substantial ghost who can offer counsel and support.
evadne_noel: If Rowling makes Harry one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes, I will laugh my ass off. Or, alternatively, I will have to bang my head against a wall until I bleed from the nose. I think if it was really Nagini, thus derailing an obvious, angst-ridden conflict, I would be much more amused.
paderau: For some reason I think a horcrux is something that takes a bit of planning. It just sounds so dark and fancy I doubt it's something you just toss together at the last minute. He went there with the intention of murdering the child. That being said I think we shall be spared the angst of Harry The Horcrux.
Turning the one person destined to defeat you into a mooring for your own soul does not seem very smart to me. I mean, a hero who kills himself to save the world is something every villain worth his salt should expect.
evadne_noel: The only reasons I think Harry might be a Horcrux are a) the only known requirement that we know of (death) was fulfilled, b) in CoS, Dumbledore's description of Voldemort putting himself into Harry sounds exactly the same as making a Horcrux, and c) it would be really, really angsty. I don't think Voldemort would have done it on purpose (as he keeps trying to kill Harry, and wasn't even aware Harry was in his head until OotP), but there was lots of inadvertent magic going on that night. Magic seems to be prone to really serious error, even by ultimate evils.
[...] If Harry is a Horcrux, I don't think it was intentional. But we already know that Harry has a bit of Voldemort in him, and the requirement that someone die was fulfilled. There's probably more to the spell (I would certainly hope so anyway), but there was lots of inadvertent magic going on. Voldemort wasn't aware of his connection to Harry until OotP, which I think is why he kept trying to kill him. As for the possession, I think it's a worse idea to give part of your soul to something that can feel for itself, more than think for itself.
angelsflame: I'm still not sure if Voldemort would trust a living thing to be his Horcruxe. Wouldn't that be rather stupid, seeing as living things die?
artiephesus: Hmmm... wonder... if a living horcruxe had a bit of someone else's soul in it, would that make it also immortal? Just a query...
evadne_noel: Maybe if the soul put in was immortal? But does the entire soul become immortal if put into objects, or is the soul inherently mortal and the anchoring to objects is what makes it immortal?
thehighbrow: I don't think that Harry is a Horcrux. It's likely that Voldemort wanted to turn Harry into one, but even so, he would've been planning to kill Harry first before doing the soul-encasing spell (makes more sense performing a difficult spell on a dead person than on a live one, if possible). If that was the case, Voldemort would never have gotten around to performing the latter spell because he would've been killed first by the backlash of Avada Kedavra on Lily's blood-magic/pervy shield-of-lurve around Harry.
Although one can never be sure of anything when it comes to JKR. Except for the fact that Severus is secretly a sex god. I have no doubt of that.
(Edit: Ok, that last sentance isn't about horcuxes, but come on, you know it's true.)
irvys_sefie: If Harry was a Horcrux I think he'd be an accidental one. I don't think Voldemort would split himself into that kid if he could help it. Like "with Harry's awesome Parseltongue powers comes part of Lord Voldemort's soul!"
evadne_noel: I definately think that if Harry is a Horcrux, it's a mistake. We know Voldemort put something into Harry, so it might have been a bit of his soul (this is also the reason I believe the Dementors tried to kiss Harry without cause, because they could sense the Voldemort in him and it seems likely the Ministry would have, at some point, authorized use of the Kiss for Voldemort even though we know it couldn't work).
irishmastermind: I doubt that Harry is a horcrux. Voldemort seemed to have a thing for using important or significant murders to make them, so I wouldn't be suprised if he was going to use Harry's death to make the final one, but having failed at that, also failed to make the horcrux. I think that there are, or were, 5 total. As much of a drama queen as V. is, he would probably refuse to finish his crafty plan unless he uses Harry to make that last horcrux.
kikiwritingbird: This suddenly struck me as I was driving in my car earlier this afternoon.
People have been talking about how since James and Lily Potter would be significant deaths, Harry might be a Horcrux. I don't think it makes sense to put a piece of your soul in an unbearable body (even by accident). But what if instead of putting a part of his soul into a person, Voldemort put it into a specific *place*.
Like Godric's Hollow.
Name sound slightly familiar? It would certainly fill in a possible gap quite nicely...
Ginny/Harry
evadne_noel:Ginny was a little out of left field. I mean, it didn’t surprise me, but it seemed like one day he just looked at her and, whoa! Harry is angry about Ginny/Dean!
paderau: I think the Ginny thing was needless. Especially since Harry had to call it off shortly after. He's the hero, he needs to factor in self-sacrificing acts of nobility into his future plans. He knows he's going to commit them.
evadne_noel: I'm still not sure why Ginny was there, other than to give Harry something else to give up. If he lives, I'm quite certain he could pick it up again. They're only 16/17 after all. It's not like their biological clocks are ticking.
thehighbrow:
One day ...
Harry: Hey, there's Ginny!
Ten seconds and many hormones later ...
Harry: Whoa, hot mama! This sex beast in me wants more, MORE!
Must. Resist. Urge. To shag Ginny.
irvys_sefie: Since I'd been keeping an eye out for Harry/Ginny stuff since CoS I wasn't so much surprised as I was confused as to where Harry's Hormonal Beast of Lust came from. I knew she liked him, but where did his attraction come from?
[...] I have no idea where The Sex Beast came from. All I know is that it was kinda creepy beyond all reason because JKR actually called it a beast.
Draco
DarthMaligna: You know what did me in? Draco. Draco has always been a character I adored in fanon - I liked seeing a useless two-dimensional jerk being taken and having the same essence twisted into an interesting snarky character along the lines of Snape. However, I've always realized that this was just fanon, and I never expected to see Draco given any depth in canon. But I was wrong. I could see him going either way after this, and wouldn't it be glorious if he went to the "right side?" What a plot twist! I've been reading the same thing in fanfic for years but it would still be a shocker! He's such a bastard, but at the end, I just wanted to give him huggles and stroke his hair. And then go find Narcissa and do the same thing to her as well, and then whisk them both away to a happy snarky place.
evadne_noel: Wow, is this me actually feeling sorry for poor, destined to fail Draco?
irvys_sefie: It's a pity, because Draco really doesn't know what to do with himself. I felt bad for him with that scene in the bathroom, but then I reminded myself that he BROKE HARRY'S NOSE and I kinda don't feel so bad for him. But knowing that he's just a pawn of Voldemort's makes me feel bad.
capri_chan: Tell me, was I the only one pleased to see that Draco was smart enough to catch Harry on the train? It was rather nice to see Harry not being perfect, and that Draco was the one to bring that about. Also, I've gotten too used to fanon!Draco, as I wasn't quite THAT surprised when he was revealed to be..well...not completely evil.
R.A.B.
roz_mcclure: icon of dumbledore: I definitely think "R.A.B." is Regulus Black. In fact, I thought it immediately, and then spent sixty pages going "IT'S YOUR GOD-UNCLE, HARRY, YOU IDIOT!"
darthsnuggles: Most people I've seen discussing it are pretty sure it's him - there've been mentions of something from OotP, where Harry and the others were cleaning Grimmauld Place and discovered a "heavy locket which none of them could open."
thehighbrow: I'm almost positive R.A.B. is a reference to Regulus. First, there was the unopenable locket, which was mentioned in the comments above. Also, Sirius mentioned that he had an Uncle Alphard. Regulus could've been named for this uncle. Therefore, R.A.B. = Regulus Alphard Black is a possibility.
irishmastermind: Not only do I think the locket was stolen by Regulus, I think it has now been stolen by Mundungus. Why else would we have the scene where Harry attacks him for stealing stuff from 12 Grimmauld? And since he's in prison, Harry will probably end up having to cut a deal with the Ministry to see him. I don't think Regulus will become really important though. We may find out a bit more about him, but I think it's safe to say that he's safely dead.
JKR's originality:
elletaria: Does anyone know if there's a list somewhere of all the writers JKR has stolen from been influenced by? Some are terribly obvious - The Worst Witch series, that woman who took JKR to court for pinching her Larry Potter and the Muggles stuff, the Narnia series - but others are less so. For instance, E.M. Forster's "The Celestial Ombnibus" is where she got the Knight Bus, which occurred to me for some reason on my flight home on Saturday (probably subliminal influences from all the advertising in the airport, I'm the one person on LJ who isn't planning to read HBP).
captainsblog: A boy separated from his parents near birth, raised by an aunt and uncle with only vague knowledge of his powers, eventually taught by ones far wiser than he in distant lands, constantly being warned to stay away from the Dark Side and doing near-mortal hand to hand combat with one known as the "Dark Lord"?
Yeah, that's original.
But then, Lucas is so obviously ripping off Tolkien at times- "Welcome to Mustafar! It's Mordor only with better special effects!"- you'd think they'd set up a webring between all of them
Comments from
evadne_noel's lj here and metaquotes. There's a video of a man yelling out "Snape kills Dumbledore" the night the book came out in Texas. (Yes, he made it out alive.)
This I just had to share:
Taken from
tybalt_quin's entry, a short moralistic tale about balloon animals and the dangers of using dark magic:Almost every store you walk past in London has people dressed up as witches and wizards making balloon animals and spinning crystal balls for the amusement of the kiddies. I was walking past one bloke who was struggling manifully with a pink balloon giraffe for a small girl.
Small girl: "I want my giraffe to be made from black balloons!"
'Wizard': "Oh now, only bad wizards want black giraffes. Good wizards want pink giraffes."
Small girl: "I want to be a bad wizard! I want a black giraffe!"
'Wizard': (Looking tetchy) "Well I'm a good wizard, which means I can only make pink giraffes."
Small girl: "I'll put a spell on you to make you a bad wizard." (points at 'Wizard') "Imperio!"
'Wizard': (Now looking like he wants to put the balloon giraffe somewhere not recommended by the British Medical Council) "I've blocked your spell so it has no effect on me."
Small girl: (points at 'Wizard' again) "Avada kedavra!"
'Wizard': (glares at small girl and bursts the balloon giraffe) "You see what happens when you're a bad wizard? The balloon giraffe dies. Next!"
Exit small girl. Crying.
