OOP: My favorite Harry/DD moment; other thoughts (long)

[innermurk]

No: HPFGUIDX 64294

Deb331 wrote:
> ***standard disclaimer:  I haven't read all the posts; I don't know 
> if anyone has said these things before; etc., etc.***
> 
> HARRY AND DUMBLEDORE:
> The most emotional moment in the book for me was when Dumbledore 
> explained why he hadn't made Harry a prefect.  After all the 
> monumental stuff  he had just told Harry, the moment he had a tear 
> came in connection with something as normal as being a prefect, and 
> his desire to give Harry a break with everything else going on.  
The 
> humanity, vulnerability, and love that came through in those few 
> sentences just about undid me.  It also showed that Harry would 
never 
> be able to have a normal childhood, despite Dumbledore's attempts 
to 
> allow him that.

I agree Deb, but I would like to add:
The part where Dumbledore kept asking Harry if he saw the flaw in his 
plan. His somewhat strained attempt at telling Harry how much he 
loved him. I kept wanting to scream,....SAY IT! JUST SAY IT ALREADY! 
But he never did in so many words. However, it was one of the most 
touching scenes Rowling has written so far. I had to read it three 
times in a row before I could move on.


>Deb said: MRS. WEASLEY:
> I kept waiting to find out Mrs. Weasley's reaction to the twins 
> leaving school.  Ron alludes to the fact that she'll probably blame 
> him, but we never see that or any other response.  The family is 
> together in the train station, so presumably she was eventually 
okay 
> with the idea, but given her character I expected something more 
> explicit.  Perhaps she realized that things had gotten to such a 
> state at Hogwarts that she wasn't as mad as she might have been.

I add:
I kept wondering if she was scared because of what happened with 
Percy to make a huge issue of it. She didn't want the family divided 
more than it was, so to speak. Not that that would stop her yelling 
at them in private, but she didn't want to make it a family issue.

>Deb said: UMBRIDGE:
> I would subtitle this book "The Struggle for Hogwarts."  This evil 
> woman turned my stomach into knots every time she entered the 
scene.  
> This whole story line, though, really showed the tactics used in 
long-
> term struggles such as this:  those who control the education of 
the 
> next generation control the nature of the fight.  Add to that the 
> fact that the one place Harry truly felt as Home was now turned 
> against him. Some have commented on this book's place in the series 
> as just a "place-holder" on the way to the final showdown, but I 
> think Dumbledore establishing his firm control over Hogwarts is 
very 
> significant.

I add:
You have summed up my feelings here completely! I HATED her! 
Everytime she hem hemed into the scene I wanted to just have one of 
the characters whip around and stun her. Or something worse. She was 
the worst kind of underhanded evil I think we've seen. She seemed 
worse even than Voldemort. Because of her activeness in the book, she 
seemed to do more evil than the evil guys. I kept wondering if she 
wasn't some morphed V in disguise or something. AND why DD saved her 
from the centaurs. (Not that I condone murder, but she certainly 
deserved a few kicks)
She brought about the most disturbing part of the book. Her quill. I 
have never (not even in the graveyard scene) been so appalled at 
something happening to Harry (maybe it was the betrayed trust, or 
that she being a teacher, is supposed to help or something. At least 
Snape has the decency to openly dislike Harry as well as his 
treatment of him). It seemed so sinister that she was applying this 
punishment to the students under the very protection they expect at 
Hogwarts. I think this quill and it's punishments are significant in 
some way that we have yet to see. Isn't a document written in blood 
somehow more powerful than any in ink? The fact that she has reams of 
Harry's blood spelling out "I will not tell lies" makes me fear for 
him. Especially since she's not dead. I still get chills.


>Deb wrote: HARRY AND NEVILLE:
> Despite the ambiguities of the prophecy, I believe that Harry is 
now 
> definitely the one indicated in the prophecy.  It may be just 
because 
> Voldie went after him first, so he was the one to fulfill it.  
> Nonetheless, he is now the one who is marked and connected to 
Voldie, 
> and there is no undoing that or going back to say, "Whoops!  It was 
> really Neville all along!"  

I agree:
Harry was definately singled out to be that child when V went for 
him. It would've been interesting to see (if he hadn't gone after 
Harry as a baby) which one of the two he thought it was later. IMO it 
would've and could've been either one, and V would be the one to 
decide who, simply by going after them.

Neville:
I was surprised to hear that Neville was using his Father's old wand. 
That means he should be getting a new one. Perhaps now his magic can 
improve since "You will never get the same results with someone 
else's wand" We've been waiting for confirmation of that in action. 
And I think now we'll finally see it, and Neville can finally show 
his power.


Luna:
Hey, I really liked this character!!! I think I'll start a Harry/Luna 
loveboat here :) (In my own backyard I mean. I'm sure that someone 
here already has a ship. But my boat is tiny enough to fit in a 
swimming pool, cuz I'm not a BIG shipper ;)
She made me laugh so much! She was just a relief to read. Maybe only 
because things with everyone else were so tense. But she did do some 
pretty kooky things. Hats anyone?


Mrs. Figg:
She was a bit of a let down after all the speculation that went on. 
Though I must say that no one really got the correct answer that she 
was a squib. (did they?) Anyway, it was a pleasent surprise for me 
because I would accept her treatment of Harry if she can't do magic. 
But if she could, and was simply polyjuiced (thank goodness not 
another one!) then I would be VERY upset at her letting him get so 
abused like that all of his life.
Hey, I think that Mrs. Figg and Filch should get together! They are 
both squibs, they both like cats, and they'd probably be good for 
each other. She could help him be less bitter, and he could help her 
be more comfortable around witches and wizards.


I simply LOVED oop, and am so excited that we finally have it. I know 
that our theory building will be fun and am ready to jump into it, 
but the amount of posts is simply too much for me to keep up with. 
So, if you want to respond to my posts, could you please do me the 
courtesy of sending a copy to my email? It would help me to find it. 
Especially if you want a reply, or something.

Thanks!
Innermurk