What If . . . What If It's A *Dud?*

[amy_marblefeet <amy_marblefeet@yahoo.co.uk>]

No: HPFGUIDX 51844

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Cindy C. <cindysphynx at c...>" 
<cindysphynx at c...> wrote:
> Lately, for reasons I don't fully understand, I have been consumed 
> with angst over the possibility that OoP will be . . . oh, I don't 
> know . . . unsatisfactory.  Substandard.  Disappointing.  *Dud-
> worthy.*
>
>snip< 
> 
> So I was wondering:  What could go wrong with OoP?  What would 
would 
> it take to positively *ruin* the book, do you think?
>
>snip<
> 
> So what do you think?  How confident are folks that OoP will be 
> really good, and why?  And if it's not very good, will it really 
> matter?

Well I was confident until you posted that.  Now I'm all nervous.

First of all let me agree that the third book is definitely the best 
so far and CoS was my least favourite.  There are allot of good 
things about CoS: the fight in the book store, flying to Hogwarts, 
being introduced to the word Mudblood, Polyjuice etc but they are 
just the bangs.  They are not tied together as tightly as the bangs 
in PoA.

My main worries in OoP are that she does go over old ground with a 
wizard controlled by magic, another Polyjuice twist.  But my biggest 
fear, my biggest fear would have to be Harry catching the snitch 
first in every Quidditch match, slipping through Voldemort's fingers 
again and then Gryfindor successfully winning the house cup.  What I 
liked about PoA was it had nothing to do with Voldemort.  Or at the 
very least in a round about sort of way it did, there were doubts 
whether Gryfindor would win the Quidditch and the house cup was not 
won by mass marks collected by the trio at the end of the year.  (At 
least I am fairly sure of this – my cannon is about 200 miles away 
from me at the moment)

What I want to see is Harry suddenly discover that he is bad at 
something.  That he has to actually work at a subject for him to 
understand it.  I want Draco to look smart, like he probably is, I 
want Hagrid to screw up big time and for it not to be sorted by a 
time turner, the trio or Dumbledor.

I want Harry to burst into tears and Ron to be slapped and Hermione 
to become disillusioned with work.  I want Neville to actually forget 
something instead of being frightened into confusion.

And most of all I want to know absolutely nothing about Snape.  I do 
not want to know why he joined the death eaters, why he left and 
chose to spy on them I do not want to know why Dumbledore trusts 
him.  But most of all, the thing I hope for above all else, is that 
he never, ever, ever mentions Lily.

Otherwise the next two books would be awfully dull.

As for if it matters whether it's any good or not I do not think it 
really matters.  This is the fourth book in seven and once they are 
all out I'm sure it will rattle along fine with the others.

Amy