OOP: Delurking & Probable Spoilers

[jmgarciaiii]

No: HPFGUIDX 63389

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I returned home from a business trip 9pm on Saturday to find OOP 
stuffed into my mailbox. Put those whom I have offsprung to bed and 
started reading. Stopped @ 12M out of sheer exhaustion. Picked it up 
again after Mass (~11am Sunday) and chugged pretty much straight 
through (the odd espresso, meal & potty breaks in between) until 
11:13pm EDT when I declared victory. Thanks to my long suffering 
wife for letting me have an unfettered Sunday for this.

Long time reader, just now delurking with miscellaneous thoughts 
(apologies if they have been covered before, and if so, thanks in 
advance for the message number related to said coverage) in no 
particular order...

1- I caught a casual, seemingly offhand, remark about goblins in 
OOP, about their being denied their "full rights." Combining this 
with previous exposure to them (their banking acumen, their 
being "clever as they come," all those riots, etc.) it seems to me 
that goblins might be viewed by wizards the way Jews might have been 
viewed in the 1930s.

2- I think the soundest advice HP got in the whole book was from 
Phineas. He certainly seems to let temper get the better of him. 
Even if he DOES have ample reason, it is still a weakness and, IMO, 
his Achilles' heel. I am somewhat puzzled why he, knowing that what 
James et al. had done to Snape was wrong, didn't take the 
opportunity to mend fences with Snape.

3- There seems to be a LOT more Brit-slang in this one, even the US 
edition. (Memo to our cousins across the pond: Rhyming slang--unless 
I am missing something--is essentially unheard-of here.)

4- Sirius. I was surprised both by his death as well as the reaction 
thereto. I liked him well enough, but was not THAT distraught over 
it. I supposed HP felt the kinship because this was his godfather, 
i.e., in a way "assigned" by his parents, whereas--for example--
Lupin was not.

5- Keep your eyes on Aunt Petunia. That's all I'm saying.

6- I'm s-l-o-w-ly inching to the conclusion the Dursleys (maybe not 
Dudley) have gotten a slightly worse rap than they deserve. Uncle 
Vernon's spiel about how they tried to "squash it out of [HP]" made 
me think MAYBE their nephew-rearing was tough love gone 
dysfuntional, as opposed to sadism on their part. After all, they 
COULD have dropped HP off at the orphanage, right?

7- I am troubled, now more than ever, by HP's tendency to not share 
important information with other characters. Something will happen 
to HP, he will tell R&H, they will suggest he tell Dumbledore, he 
will refuse.

8- It's OK for HP to have a hero complex, since he is, after all, a 
hero. :-)

9- I am not so sure Mr. & Mrs. Longbottom are at St. Mungo's for the 
reasons stated. The bit about the gum wrappers made my radar bleep 
furiously, and Neville's "gran" making sure he disposed of them only 
exacerbated this nebulous hunch. Neville's memory seems to be 
UNUSUALLY bad to be that way without, ahem, external assistance. He 
also took to DA lessons really, really well (Bravo, Neville!!) 
meaning the Auror genetics will come out.

10- Is it just me or does Cornelius Fudge remind anyone else of 
Neville Chamberlain?

11- Percy. He seems to like power and authority and "order" a bit 
too much. Expect a run-in with The Twins.

12- LOVED the twins. I hope they make more money than JK Rowling 
herself. ;-)

13- There is no 13. I am superstitious.

14- Do we know for a fact that HP did NOT see his mother die? Or is 
it he only remembers the green light?

15- I like Luna. A whole LOT.

16- What happened between the centaurs & Grawp?

17- Is there NOBODY decent in Slytherin?

That's all I can recall for now.

Discuss.

-Joe in SoFla