Too many things for this subject line...spoilers

[Firebolt]

No: HPFGUIDX 1513

> 2.  What he didn't do next -- he didn't take Ron to the surface & save
> him before returning to be the noble hero; he didn't start chopping away
> at Cho's bindings, which "to me would have been the logical thing for
> him to do *if* he was so infatuated with her.  His rescue of Cho would
> have been the perfect way to undercut a boy who at this point in the
> novel he is very competitive with."  (Quotes are from Ebony's email to
> me).

On the other hand, he might be sort of...how to put it - 'getting back at
Cho'. You know, subconciously, he feels that Cho has rejected him for
another guy, so even though he still likes her, he's not really in the set
of mind to want to help her - know what I mean?

> Ebony also points to Hermione's reaction after they all get out of the
> lake.  Krum continues to try & get her attention ("Hey!  Look at me -- I
> just *saved* you!"), but the only person she wants to talk to is Harry.
> <g>

This might simply mean that right at that moment she'd rather talk to Harry,
her best friend for four years, who's just come out of the water, then her
comparatively new boyfriend who is clearly fine. At this point, while
they've got hormones coming, I don't think that Harry-tachi are mature
enough for love or even extreme fondness of that sort yet.

I just know I'm making no sense whatsoever.

<In the interest
of gender equality, I guess I should at least consider the
possibility that Lily held Voldy off while James went off with the
baby, but James is the better wizard, making him more qualified to go
mano a mano with Voldy, and if part of the reason Harry survived was
that his mother died trying to protect him, it is implied that she
was actually physically standing in Voldy's way as he tried to get to
Harry.  So Lily being the one to take Harry and run/hide is more
likely.>

Ahem. We have no proof that James is a better wizard, do we? I mean, Lily
*was* Head Girl, and while McGonagall said that James and Sirius were
'exceptionally bright', she was talking specifically about the two of them
and their relationship, so that doesn't mean that there weren't other
exceptionally bright students. Also, she mentions Remus only indirectly as a
tag-along, when to hear it from Sirius and Remus he certainly was not - and
there's a good chance that Remus was closer to Sirius than Lily.

<Now, I know there's a popular theory that
Lily has Slyth blood, but why not James?  Does everybody feel that
the many times JKR's mentioned how much Harry, Tom Riddle, and James
all resemble each other is just a red herring?  I just can't let this
go.  Couldn't Lily be descended from Gryff?  Maybe she turned up on
Petunia's parents doorstep the way Harry ended up with the Dursleys.
Petunia's parents raised her as their own, and Petunia never knew; or
maybe she did.  Maybe Godric Gryffindor has emerald green eyes.
Everyone just assumed Lily was muggle-born.  Couldn't Harry be
descended from both Slyth and Gryff?  It was Gryff and Slyth who had
the big blow out all those years ago; Harry being descended from both
would be a great twist.>

Thank you! I was thinking the same thing about James and Lily's ancestry.
Another plausible way for Lily to be the descendant of Gryff (or any famous
wizard, for that matter) is if one of both of her parents was descended
from/is a squib...

<So, in answer to your question, I think it might not be unusual (not saying
whether it's normal or not) to feel a high degree of anxiety about a
fictional character.  <g>>

When I read the part about Harry getting mad over Sirius's insistence that
he stay inside and be careful, I immediately assumed that Sirius was going
to die, and formed this whole little scenario where Sirius dies trying to
save Harry from some sort of mischief he's gotten himself into by
disregarding his orders later in the book, so that Harry gets all angsty and
blames his godfather's death on himself. I was *frantic* about it (almost in
tears, believe it or not - Sirius isn't my favorite character, but still!),
and since I was at summer camp (my friend was a saint! she let me read her
copy before she did!), I couldn't read it in one sitting, so naturally I was
going mad.

~Firebolt