OOP: Spoiler: name, Neville, Ron's tea leaves, LOLLIPOPS, SAD DENIAL

[Terry James]

Spoiler snitches:
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OK.  Let no one get the idea that I didn't like OOP.  It was an awesome 
book, a much tighter read than GoF (which, let's face, was just sprawly), 
had some wonderfully-written and conceived new characters in it, and brought 
along many of our old characters quite nicely.  Since we knew there was 
going to be a big death, it was a major page-turner and I must have mentally 
killed off every single character, one by one, throughout the book.  Some of 
them more than once!

But....Brian?!?  I mean, I ask you.  Brian?  How Muggle-ish can you get?

Re "It could have been Neville"... somebody mentioned yesterday about 
"Neville Longbottom and the Sorcerer's Stone".  What was funny is that I had 
read that quite a while back on one of these lists.  Don't know when or 
where, but somebody had connected those two for some reason.

Also, when Harry gets on the Knight bus in PoA, and they ask his name, the 
first name that comes to his head is "Neville."  Why?  He's much closer to 
Ron, and he has more interaction with many other people through Quidditch, 
etc., than he does with Neville, at that point in time at least.  I don't 
think we've seen the last of the Neville-Harry connection.

Did anybody else get a bad feeling when they read Ron's line about "even if 
my tea leaves say 'Die, Ron, die!"

The whole Morphmagus---Magusmorphism--Mighty Morphin Power Wizard thing is a 
way too obvious plot device.  Since Animaguses have been worked to death, 
bring on something else!  Ten Galleons says a Power Wizard will play a major 
role in later books.  I vote for Dumbledore.

Congrats to the LOLLIPOPS people!  Although you may argue that the 
"mudblood" line puts Snape's feelings in doubt, I remember adolescence well 
enough to know that it makes perfect sense when you're 15.  You have a 
hopeless crush on someone; you know it's hopeless, but you have fantasies of 
rescuing your crush from something horrible and he/she falling in love with 
you forever; then you not only get humiliated in front of your crush, but 
your crush thinks you need help and tries to rescue you.  Of course you're 
horribly rude, so that no one will ever guess your feelings.  And when your 
crush gets angry that you were rude, you can blame him/her and say they 
weren't worth anything anyway.

Re this whole "Snape's Worst Memory" chapter title:  I wonder.  This can't 
be the only time Snape was bullied by the two twits.  Why did Snape 
carefully remove it each time, and not, for instance, the memory of him 
crying as a child?  You'd think he wouldn't want Harry to see a weakness 
like that, but if he really is a heartless rat, he would want Harry to see 
that his father was not perfect.

Weird thought here: Maybe Snape was trying to protect Harry from seeing 
that, in his own twisted way.  I know, I know, Snape has always tried to 
impress upon Harry that his father was arrogant, etc.  But there's a 
difference between being told it and actually seeing it.  Then Snape could 
have gotten PO'd because Harry bypassed the protection Snape had been trying 
to give him....again.

This is not a pet theory, just a passing thought; feel free to shoot spit 
balls at it.

Last but not least, welcome aboard to everyone who has requested to join the 
U.S.S. SAD DENIAL (Sirius' Awful Death Didn't End Neatly; It's A 
Lie!--Acronym courtesy of Tabouli, thanks very much!) Any and all variations 
welcome: my own, it was clearly specified red light, not green light, so 
Sirius was not dead when he fell; or the person who fell was 
Polyjuice!(anybody), or whatever you prefer, so long as it results in Sirius 
being just sexy, not dead.

To the people who are realistic enough to point out JKR's interviews and 
such...thanks, guys, I know you have good intentions, but the name of the 
ship is DENIAL.  Go look it up. :)

Terry LJ

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