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

[woodsie426]

No: HPFGUIDX 64366

****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.****

In response - lots of folks thought that the book had little 
action... but it was totally setting up the atmosphere for the 'war' 
that has now begun!  Place-holder is not the right term...  The 
character evolution and the struggle to maintain sanity in a world 
turned up-side down are genuinely important topics!  Now... on with 
the war!



--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "innermurk" <innermurk at c...> 
wrote:
> 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