Finally Back & Harry FP: A Rethinking & An OT Question

[abigailnus]

<With great difficulty, Abigail extricates herself from under a 
huge pile of dusty posts.>

Well, that was an interesting three weeks.

Technically, I've caught up to the main group.  Realistically, I 
think I might have read one post in ten.  In fact, ten might be 
optimistic.  I've added my selections to the Fantastic Posts table, 
in case anyone is interested - there weren't that many, which is 
probably as much a function of my sporadic reading as of the 
quality of posting over the last seven weeks.

Wow, has it really only been seven weeks?

It has, and at the same time it is *already* seven weeks since 
OOP was published.  I've been thinking a lot about the Harry 
FP (in case anyone's forgotten, that's Hufflepuff's job).  I seem 
to be of two minds on the matter.  Back in June, when I first 
joined, I offered the following outline:

 1. Harry's character, development and relationships
    1.1 Harry as an abused child, including the theory that the 
          entire series is his protective halucination, or that the 
          series will end up being a dream.
    1.2 The differing views on Harry's personality - is he a 
          take-charge hero or an arrogant kid? How justified is 
          Harry's incessant rule-breaking?
    1.3 Harry's inability/unwillingness to ask for help
    1.4 Harry's relationships with adults 
    1.5 Harry's relationships with his contemporaries. The Rift 
          in GoF, and maybe Harry's treatment of Neville.
    1.6 Harry's reactions to fame.
    1.7 Harry failing 

 2. Harry's purpose, abilities and destiny
    2.1 Why did Harry survive? Straight up love protection, 
          Love as a Spell Component and Ancient Magic.
    2.2 Is Harry special, and how? Stoned!Harry, Trelawney's 
          First Prediction and Heir of Gryffindor.
    2.3 Harry's abilities - is Harry simply a talented wizard, 
          or a preternaturally powerful one?
    2.4 Was the Philosopher's Stone ordeal rigged?
    2.5 Will Harry die? Will defeating Voldemort cost him his 
          magical powers? Will he be forced to leave the 
          wizarding world?

Looking at this outline from a post-OOP standpoint, there 
are some obvious necessary changes.  Almost all of section 
1 needs to address the changes in Harry's personality in OOP 
and how those changes affect his future.  In particular, section 
1.2, Harry's personality, needs to include discussions on Harry's 
development, and on what his behavior in OOP tells us about 
him.  Is he a normal boy going through adolescence?  Are his 
outbursts normal for the amount of pressure he's under?  Is he 
suffering from mental problems such as depression or PTSD (this 
one might belong in section 1.1)?

Section 1.3 remains mostly unchanged, although I think a 
discussion of Harry's reactions to Umbridge might belong here 
- why doesn't he speak out against her punishment and what 
does that tell us about him?  For that matter, an important 
theme in OOP is self-control, and Harry's lack thereof - that 
might also belong here or in 1.2.

Section 1.4 will have to expanded.  I'm thinking that 
sub-sections will be necessary at least for Snape, Dumbledore 
and Sirius, and possibly Hagrid.  I really think that the theory 
that these men and others are Harry's father-figures belongs 
here, and there has to be some discussion about how Harry is 
consistently failed by adults in OOP.  I also think that 
generational parallels - with James, Sirius and Snape - should be 
discussed in this section.

In section 1.5, there should obviously be some discussion 
of how Harry treats his friends and contemporaries in OOP.  I 
said in my original message that Shipping was already 
well-covered by other FPs and shouldn't be discussed here, 
but I think Harry's relationship with Cho tells us a lot about 
him and about his growth, and should probably be addressed 
here.  I also think that in view of the prophecy it's important to 
include a discussion of Harry and Neville as mirror images of 
each other.

I suggested section 1.7 because the main group had recently 
discussed at length whether or not Harry would fail in his fight 
against Voldemort.  In OOP, he did just so - does this make this 
section superfluous or should it remain?

Section 2 should probably remain largely unchanged, with the 
exception of section 2.2.  Harry is obviously special, and 
Trelawney's first prediction has panned out.  However, I've seen 
posts on the main group that continue to defend both 
Stoned!Harry and Heir of Gryffindor, so they should probably 
remain.  However, this section will obviously have to include 
discussions of the prophecy.  Similarly, section 2.5 will also have 
to be updated in light of the prophecy.  In fact, I'm wondering if a 
section devoted to the prophecy might not be in order.

And, of course, this is just what I see.  Reading one post in ten 
doesn't make me an expert on the ideas raised on the list, and 
I'm sure there are topics that I've overlooked.  

Where I'm of two minds should now be obvious.  There are not 
enough fantastic posts discussing OOP and Harry's development 
in that book.  At least not that I've seen.  On the other hand, 
the FPs are now woefully out of date, and by the time the group 
produces material of the caliber that we'd like to see it'll be at 
least fall, and I personally won't have as much free time as I have 
now.  

So, Hufflepuffs and other FPers - should we get started on the 
Harry FP now or should we wait?  I suspect that this question 
has been on the minds of the other houses as well, and is partly 
the reason for the silence on the group these past three weeks.

On a more personal nature, I have an OT question.  I thought it 
might be cute to record my reactions to OOP on a 
chapter-by-chapter basis.  I was thinking mainly of several 
discussion on the group that touched on readers' immediate 
reactions to events, and I wanted to keep a sort of snapshot of 
my own reactions.  I was thinking of posting this to the group, 
but now I just don't know.  There's been so much posted already, 
and not a lot of what I have to say hasn't already been covered.  
Also, it's rather long.  Does this sound like something that anyone 
would be interested in, or should I just cannibalize the file for a 
few good ideas and leave it at that?

Abigail