An old-fashioned discussion

[charisjulia]

No: HPFGUIDX 35338

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "booleanfox" <j.balfour at l...> wrote:
> I would be interested to know what everybody's favourite non-
> wizarding character is, and why?
> 
> For the record, mine is Dobby, which I believe will be an unpopular 
> choice, but I think he's very funny, very loyal to Harry and his 
> friends and of course is a bit of a dobber!
> 
> Jules


That's easy! No competition! No competition whatsoever! My favourite 
non-wizard character is indubitably Firenze.


I've always had a soft spot of centaurs. Well... I don't particularly 
like them the way they're portrayed in Greek mythology: Nasty, mean, 
maiden-napping bastards! But they are easily my favourite creatures 
in the Chronicles of Narnia. There's something wise about them and 
knowledgeable and proud and –especially—* noble*. When I first read 
PS and got to the Forbidden Forest chapter and Ronan I can clearly 
remember thinking "Wow, there's centaurs too! This book isn't just 
good, it's downright fantastic!" 


Of course Bane doesn't get too many popularity points from me... His 
attitude towards star—reading is far too Divinationey for my tastes! 
And Ronan's pretty useless too. But Firenze... he knows how to read 
the stars -–which I see as the centaurs own branch of magic and not 
Astrology in the Trelawney sense -- but he also knows that what he 
reads has to but enacted by people down on Earth, he's not too 
arrogant to accept that he might be mistaken and in any case will 
fight for what he thinks is right no matter what the stars say.


By the way that prediction has always worried me. It's always been in 
my mind the strongest piece of evidence that our poor Harry isn't 
going to make it. <Charis lets out bawl of absolute misery> What if 
Bane did get it right after all and just miscalculated with the 
timing?


I like Crookshanks as well but I can't really get into a character 
that doesn't say anything. So one more point in favour of the 
centaurs is... they can speak! And sometimes not even in third person 
singular either! It's not that I dislike Dobby... but if I was to 
meet him in real life (errr, so to speak
) I suspect he'd get on my 
nerves. Big time.


Charis Julia, who is now dreaming about riding into the sunset * on* 
the man of her dreams! <g>